Blog catchit.com

@ starbeard

Patrick was born in Wales, during the 4th century. When he was 16 years old, invaders kidnapped him, and took him to the other side of the sea where he stayed 6 years, working as a pastor.
He took comfort in religion and converted himself into Christianity. After having studying priesthood for 14 years, Patrick went back to Ireland where he built churches and spread Christianity for the next 30 years, till he dies, the 17th of March 460.

St Patrick’s Day is celebrated worldwide. Usually, everyone wears something green (Christian or not) and/or linked to the Gaelic culture: there are a lot of shows and we drink mostly Irish beverages: beers, Irish stout, such as Murphys, Harp or Guinness, whisky, cider…). They even have green beers.

@ Fiskal

But did you know that…

Irish people are not always happy to wear green. The Irish folklore considers that this color is bad luck because it was the favorite one of the Leprechaun and the legend says all the ones who wear a lot green will be kidnapped.

But what is the deal between Patrick and the shamrock?

@ mafleen

Patrick used this shamrock to explain Trinity Sunday mystery: The Father, The Son and The Holy Spirit = 3 distinct elements within a single entity. His disciples got used to wear a shamrock the day of his celebration.

Beside Irish culture celebration, Patrick’s day is also, and especially, originally, a Christian fair celebrated by the Christian church, Irish church and other Christian community. This day is always during the Lent.

The parade in Dublin lasts 5 days and brings together 500 000 people each year.
The biggest parade of this day happens in New York. Each year, more than 2 millions of people meet there to enjoy Patrick’s day. Others big parades happen all around the world: Manchester, Argentina, London…

@Youtube

@ Claudio.Ar with flu … ((((

Gorgeous and dirt free, the peaceful Sweden is a ground of cultural diversity with a merge of Danish and Wild Arctic North influences. You can get the sense of urban livelihood in its gorgeous and charming cities and at the same time the calm of the countryside. Sweden has plenty of charm with fascinating medicinal villages, lakes islands, and forests.
Most of Sweden’s part is covered by forests and thousands of lakes. One of the beauties of this country is its islands impossible to skip. Stockholm is the capital of Sweden: it has 14 islands with thousand of great places to eat, nightlife, bars… Most of the people speak English. The west coast is specialist in serving seafood. Don’t forget to pass by the Ice Hotel, in Lapland, which is made of ice each winter. Sweden is an exciting country with great road and rail network.

Population & Languages

Sweden has 9 million inhabitants and its official idiom is Swedish. In Lapland, in the north, Sami people speak Lap. Most people can speak English fluently and a lot can speak German and French.

Customs

Like any other country, Sweden has its own traditions. It is usual not to drink until the host makes a toast. Smoking is banned in most public places. It is also traditional to say Tack f๖r maten to the host after having a meal which means thanks for the food. Casual clothe is suitable for everyday and formal dress for social gatherings. Also tipping up to ten percent is normal in restaurants and taxis.

Sightseeing

Stockholm, the capital, is the biggest city of Sweden; it is also one of the most gorgeous cities of our globe. The old town is a pleasure for your eyes and a walk around city’s waterway and parks is a real treasure. Most Tourists like to walk around and to see the medieval part of Gamla Stan. The city is made of archipelagos which are terrifically picturesque and can be discover by cruise.

By Stortorget

Gothenburg – it is the second biggest city of Sweden. Liseberg cannot be missed as it has a world class amusement park. It is a meeting of popular museums like Ostindiska huset, Konstmuseet and Sj๖fartshistoriska museet.

Vadstena – The Renaissance castle Vadstena slot & klosterkyrkan.

Visby – Port of Visby, ruins of Drotten, St Nicolai, St Lars and St Carin, cathedral of St Maria and Gotlands Fornsal historic musem.

Oland – Fort of Graborg, Eketorp museum and ruins of Borgholm Castle.

To get there

By Air – It is well connected to the rest of the world by air. Many international airlines serve Sweden. The other airlines are Air Canada, Air France, Aeroflot, British Airways, Finn air, Lufthansa, Ryan air etc.

By Sea – The ferries connect Sweden with other destinations such as New Castle, Copenhagen, and St. Petersburg etc.

By Rail – Trains connect Ostend (Sweden) to London. It is also connected to Denmark by Eurostar train.

By Road – You can drive to Sweden through Demark or Germany

Prohibited Items

Narcotics, firearms, ammunition, arms, most meat and dairy products, eggs, plants, rare species, fireworks and alcoholic beverages that contain more than sixty per cent alcohol.

@ monsterfabr

The city of Venice disguises with its best masks to do justice to the traditional carnival. Venice is a perfect scenario for this celebration; even if there is no décor, its environment is as magic as real.

Venice is made of 120 islands, joined with 400 bridges, a city that fights against floodings to protect its singularity and its beauty nonpareil. The Venetian school had an influence on some artists such as Rubens or Velázquez and had molded the baroque style http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baroque of the XVII century.
The spectacular yearly carnival is celebrated between the 13th and the 24th of February, and the beginning takes place at the St-Mark.

@ monsterfabr

Throughout the XVII, nobility, already, used to dress up to be able to mix up with people going unnoticed. The carnival was enjoying its height through the XVIII century and manages to reach aristocrats and travelers from all Europe looking for pleasure and distraction.
It has been already 20 years that Venice became a huge cultural and touristic pole, where masks are the protagonists.
Travel to Venice to enjoy the 2009 edition and to live this magic that will bring you in a mysterious and fantastic world.

Art never ends growing. The artist Jeremy Mayer managed to gather two kinds of arts and two eras in a single work.
The effect is a chock. Mayer managed to join literary art symbolized by History and the maudlin typewriter, with futuristic figures, through his sculpture.
Between all his figures, my attention stopped on the robot. It brings back to the past of raw material with some typewriter pieces, and to the future, expressed by the automaton’s shape.