Come Enjoy This Lonely Sky With Me

Piazza Duomo

noreply@blogger.com (francesbean) — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 13:24:00 +0000

Busker in Milan

noreply@blogger.com (francesbean) — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 13:19:00 +0000

Locks of Love

noreply@blogger.com (francesbean) — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 13:11:00 +0000

Parco Sempione, Milan

Santa Maria delle Grazie

noreply@blogger.com (francesbean) — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 13:03:00 +0000

The original fresco of Leonardo Da Vinci's "Last Supper" can be found here. However due to the popularity of the Da Vinci Code, one has to book months in advance in order to view the recently restored masterpiece.

Stazione Centrale

noreply@blogger.com (francesbean) — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 19:46:00 +0000

Galleria Vittorio Emanuele

noreply@blogger.com (francesbean) — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 13:14:00 +0000

Milan

La Serenissima

noreply@blogger.com (francesbean) — Wed, 07 May 2008 05:55:00 +0000

The Most Serene Republic, La Serenissima Repubblica. It is really a city like no other. I would love to go back and explore every street corner, every charming shop, admire the lovely homes with beautiful rustic palettes, the bridges, canals, gondolas, traghetti, vaporetti. It's such a blessed place on earth.

Alley

noreply@blogger.com (francesbean) — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 02:14:00 +0000

Venice, Italy

Don't Let It Bring You Down

noreply@blogger.com (francesbean) — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 08:56:00 +0000

I�ve always been negative in a lot of things, and I find much difficulty in seeing the positive. It�s hard to detach from these emotions even if you convince yourself again and again, that it�s nothing personal. Sometimes I just want to end it, because of certain situations, because of how it makes me feel about myself, how dispensable I appear, how it crushes my ego, how I feel I�ll never be good enough, how no one really looks out for me, how I feel like people are out to get me, how I always need to prove something before I feel good about myself. I don't know, I just want to let these things out.

I have a large gut.

noreply@blogger.com (francesbean) — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 18:29:00 +0000

I found a few posts on pinoyexchange.com about how people find my food pictures. I have collected and posted a lot since I started to document what I eat. That was more than two years ago.

This girl's got the magic eye!

WOW, those are amazing food shots. She must have a degree in Hotel and Restaurant Management.

^ or a large gut...

Ahoj

noreply@blogger.com (francesbean) — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 10:24:00 +0000

I have set up a new site at wordpress, thinking that effronte.org won't be back up anymore. Now that its back again (many many thanks to Nicole), I guess I'll be staying here. :)

Duomo Love

noreply@blogger.com (francesbean) — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 16:51:00 +0000

Apart from the awe-inspiring architectural marvels, it's watching these little beautiful moments that made the trip for me.
Atop the Duomo, Milan

Buona pasqua a tutti!

noreply@blogger.com (francesbean) — Sun, 23 Mar 2008 21:45:00 +0000

i'm in our dinky hotel lobby, and i'm having a hard time typing from this italian keyboard. it's been a good couple of days so far. the very short lent holiday is not nearly enough to see this wonderful country, but i'll take it, it's better than not being able to visit at all.

Riesenrad

noreply@blogger.com (francesbean) — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 13:23:00 +0000

I think �8 for one ride is a rip off, and there is practically nothing to see up there at night. It's still charming though, Before Sunrise was filmed here and also the cult classic The Third Man.

Peterskirche

noreply@blogger.com (francesbean) — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 13:20:00 +0000

St. Peter's Church at the heart of the Vienna city centre needs �120,000 per year for maintenance and restoration.

Hallo

noreply@blogger.com (francesbean) — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 13:19:00 +0000

Hohes Haus

noreply@blogger.com (francesbean) — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 13:17:00 +0000

The Austrian Parliament Building done on Greek Revival style. It's one of my favourite buildings in Vienna so far.

Wiener Staatsoper

noreply@blogger.com (francesbean) — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 23:00:00 +0000

Vienna State Opera. It's currently playing Puccini's La Boheme, I'm not too familiar with it but I know it's where the broadway musical Rent is based from.

A tiny improvement on my Google Adsense earnings has got me posting again. And by tiny I mean a few cents. But it still counts for something.

...and we'll never be impossible

noreply@blogger.com (francesbean) — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 09:14:00 +0000

Everyone and their dog must know that Jens Lekman is my favourite musician ever. The genre is described as Swedish Indie Pop (but he sings mostly in English); and it may not for everyone, as I don't even know a soul who likes him as much as I do.

Jens calms me like no other, takes me to a better place. His music is the only thing I can listen to for hours on end. Until he does a show somewhere near where I live, I must content myself with bootlegs-- and he has posted a lovely recording from his Valentines show in Istanbul.

And this video from 2006 just kills me.

In other news, Gogol Bordello is having a show in April and I hope hope hope I can find someone who wants to see them as well. One would not understand the greatness that is Eugene Hutz (Gogol Bordello's frontman) unless he sees Everything Is Illuminated. It would be great to be in the mosh pit as they play Gypsy Part of Town (my favourite from them) even if I'm 'too old' and 'too corporate' for that. But what the heck.

Hofburg Theater

noreply@blogger.com (francesbean) — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 20:44:00 +0000

In front of this structure is a large ice skating area where the young and old alike skate to K.T. Tunstall songs.

Pigeons at Hofburg

noreply@blogger.com (francesbean) — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 20:39:00 +0000

"Pigeons are like rats with wings."

Someday...

noreply@blogger.com (francesbean) — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 20:00:00 +0000

Gustav Klimt's Der Ku� (The Kiss)

U-Bahn Walkway

noreply@blogger.com (francesbean) — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 19:18:00 +0000

Walkway at the Vienna Metro.

happy balentimes. blah.

noreply@blogger.com (francesbean) — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 08:15:00 +0000

Flowers at Naschmarkt, Vienna

Gr�� Gott!

noreply@blogger.com (francesbean) — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 23:57:00 +0000

I went there not expecting anything, a bit uneasy because I was-- in my book, unprepared. I haven't really read up on the history and the places, and I just deplore being an ignorant traveler like that. Or, okay... tourist.

I thought it was just another snotty 'royal' city, but surprisingly I ended up falling in love. I hope to be back and actually go inside the museums and palaces, and perhaps fulfill these petty, pretentious dreams:

See Klimt's Der Ku� and Judith at Belvedere
Visit the Kaiserappartements
Get on the Riesenrad at Prater.
Go to a real kaffeehaus and have a latte and big delicious cream cake or sachertorte
See the Boys' Choir
Mozart's home or the Freud museum
Hundertwasserhaus (by the Austrian Gaud�)
Schloss Sch�nbrunn and the gloriette

Just putting things onto digital paper, lest I forget.