Brown Motion

Our flight back from Indonesia landed in Taipei, Taiwan (aka Republic of China) where we had a day long layover.  We decided we were going to spend it on the island rather than the airport on the island. So armed with our travel documents we ventured out at night (it was around 11 pm) and caught up with the young lady at the immigration desk.   No lines since they have like 10 counters open. She was perky and totally focused on making sure we had the right documents to enter and exit (when the time came).  "Show me ticket"  she sharply cried when we merely gave our passports to her to stamp.  Since our airline took away ongoing boarding passes claiming security issue (was not entirely sure what that was about) I had to resort to pulling out my smart phone and logging into the airport 'free wi fi' and showing her an e-version of the actual ticket the airline had mailed me. That was perfectly acceptable to her.  She peered over her desk and without act...

There are distinct architectural styles to a place and a large city is no exception.  The culture of the place shapes the city or state or country for that matter.  Here are some observations from places visited and how they differ. European cities largely tend to have a common theme - that of a large public square in which citizens gather to socialize, shop, eat and just have fun.  These squares are oft referred to as plazas and served as a central place in history for mass gatherings for political rallies and other non Facebook enabled events. Royal Palace in Madrid, Spain Often these plazas take the form of palace grounds or cathedral courtyards to allow people to come and admire, gawk or vicariously enjoy the grand life. Shores of Barcelona, Spain Some times the space is designed for a specific purpose like an expo and then used as a public gathering place for future. Plaza Espana - for World Expo in Seville, Spain Cities big and small also have...