Tag: cats

Postcard from Budapest, Hungary: When cats fly and other flights of fancy

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As we wandered rooted to the ground, so many winged creatures hovered above us.

The raven symbolic of King Matthias Corvinus. Angels, cherubs and griffins galore.

Warlike eagles. The falconer so grim he appears ready to man a guillotine.

Fantastical animals derived from their creators’ nightmares.

A contemporary breasted owl suspended above giant lips is no more whimsical than a centuries-old Icarus-type figure bearing the soles of a saint.

Hungarian National Museum
Budapest History Museum
Hungarian National Museum
outside of Buda Castle
stained glass griffin in Museum of Ethnography
Galeotto Marzio, the Italian court historian of King Matthias
entrance to City Park
raven symbolic of King Matthias
Hungarian National Gallery
printing press in Budapest History Museum
Kunsthalle Institution of the Hungarian Academy of Arts
entrance to City Park
inlaid panel of furniture in Hungarian National Museum

 

Postcard from Toledo, Spain: Catnapping after the fete

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Streets away from the Cathedral were peaceful when we were there. Peaceful enough for a catnap.

But flags still flapped in the breeze. Toledo was gussied up, as it has been for about the past 600 years, for the Feast of Corpus Christi.

Sheeting for shade, banners, lanterns and cones of flowers remained hung over the city’s narrow streets following the musical celebrations and solemn religious processions associated with the annual June event.

We missed the feast day itself, but enjoyed the leftover decorations.