Who is Online

We have 292 guests and no members online

The National Gallery of Armenia

 

The National Gallery of Armenia was close to our hotel, on Republic Square.  It's the largest art museum in Armenia.

In addition to the world's largest collection of Armenian art it has an impressive collection of Russian and Western European art. 

Founded in 1921 under the decree of the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic it gained a core of works from Moscow.  In addition to the Armenian State collection and has works from artists of the Armenian diaspora working in Paris, New York, Rome and Beirut. 

The Russian collection is particularly strong, including works by Kandinsky and Chagall. But there are some important pieces of Western European art including the old masters: Donatello, Tintoretto and Canova. I spent several happy hours there.

 

See album See album
See album See album
See album See album

The National Gallery of Armenia, Republic Square
A pleasant way to spend some time wandering about
There are more images in the Armenia Album See more...
 

In the same building is the History Museum of Armenia, requiring an extra visit, before we left this delightful city for the long flight home.

 

 

 

 

No comments

Travel

Hong Kong and Shenzhen China

 

 

 

 

 

Following our Japan trip in May 2017 we all returned to Hong Kong, after which Craig and Sonia headed home and Wendy and I headed to Shenzhen in China. 

I have mentioned both these locations as a result of previous travels.  They form what is effectively a single conurbation divided by the Hong Kong/Mainland border and this line also divides the population economically and in terms of population density.

These days there is a great deal of two way traffic between the two.  It's very easy if one has the appropriate passes; and just a little less so for foreign tourists like us.  Australians don't need a visa to Hong Kong but do need one to go into China unless flying through and stopping at certain locations for less than 72 hours.  Getting a visa requires a visit to the Chinese consulate at home or sitting around in a reception room on the Hong Kong side of the border, for about an hour in a ticket-queue, waiting for a (less expensive) temporary visa to be issued.

With documents in hand it's no more difficult than walking from one metro platform to the next, a five minute walk, interrupted in this case by queues at the immigration desks.  Both metros are world class and very similar, with the metro on the Chinese side a little more modern. It's also considerably less expensive. From here you can also take a very fast train to Guangzhou (see our recent visit there on this website) and from there to other major cities in China. 

Read more: Hong Kong and Shenzhen China

Fiction, Recollections & News

A Secret Agent

 If you have an e-book reader, a version of this story is available for download, below.

 

Chapter 1

 

 - news flash -

Body in River

Monday

 

The body of a man was found floating in the IguazĂș river this morning by a tourist boat. Mary (name withheld) said it was terrible. "We were just approaching the falls when the body appeared bobbing in the foam directly in front of us. We almost ran over it. The driver swerved and circled back and the crew pulled him in. The poor man must have fallen - or perhaps he jumped?"

The body was discovered near the Brazilian side but was taken back to Argentina. Police are investigating and have not yet released details of the man's identity...

 

IguazĂș Herald

 

Everywhere we look there's falling water. Down the track to the right is a lookout. Over the other side of the gorge is Brazil, where the cliff faces are covered by maybe a kilometre of falling curtains of white, windswept water. Here and there the curtains hang in gaps or are pushed aside by clumps of trees and bushes, like stagehands peeking out into a theatre before the performance.  

Read more: A Secret Agent

Opinions and Philosophy

Now we are vaccinated

 

 

 

Now that every adult in my extended family is vaccinated is my family safe from Covid-19?

The short answer is no.  No vaccine is 100% effective. Yet, we are a lot safer. 

It's a bit hard to work it out in Australia as, although we are familiar with lockdowns, we have so little experience with the actual disease.

Read more: Now we are vaccinated

Terms of Use

Terms of Use                                                                    Copyright