Traveling with JALE - Europe Vol. I

Traveling JALE with Europe

Vol. I

Paris ’

Architectural gems Barcelona of Favorites

Barcelona Architectural gems of

Casa Batllo built in the center of Barcelona & designed by Antoni Gaudi, known to be one of his greatest masterpieces.

Casa Batlló is located at number 43 on Paseo de Gracia, a street that, in the past, connected the city to Villa de Gracia, which today is a fully integrated district of the city.

Since 1860, when an ambitious urban plan was approved in Barcelona (known as the Cerdà Plan), Paseo de Gracia has become the city’s backbone and its most important families started to set up home here. In this manner, in the 19th Century, the street became a promenade for pedestrians and horse-drawn carriages, and from the 20th Century it became a main avenue for cars.

Originally, the building was built in 1877 by Emilio Sala Cortés (one of Gaudí’s architecture professors), when there was still no electric light in Barcelona. In 1903 it was purchased by Mr Josep Batlló y Casanovas, a textile industrialist who owned several factories in Barcelona and a prominent businessman.

Mr Josep Batlló granted full creative freedom to Antoni Gaudí, putting him in charge of a project that initially entailed demolishing the building. However, thanks to the courage shown by Gaudí, the demolition of the house was ruled out, and it was fully reformed between 1904 and 1906. The architect completely changed the façade, redistributing the internal partitioning, expanding the patio of lights and converting the inside into a true work of art. Besides its artistic value, the building is also extremely functional, much more characteristic of modern times than of the past. Some even see elements that herald the architectural trends of the late 20th Century.

It’s a must-see, without a doubt!

The Montjuic Communications Tower

Also known as Torre Calatrava and Torre Telefonica, is a telecommunication tower located in the Montjuic neighborhood of Barcelona, Spain.

In short, The Montjuic Communications Tower rises to a height of 136 meters, and dominates the main group of sports facilities on the slopes of the Montjuic in Barcelona, the site of the 1992 Summer Olympic Games. A competition entry for Telefonica, the steel tower is sited immediately next to the Palau Sant Jordi Arena, designed by Arata Isozaki. The tower not only became a symbolic focus to the dispersed Olympic complex but also a landmark for the city. Leaning gently from a three-point foundation to coincide with the angle of the sun at solstice, the tower’s feet rest on a brick drum (a requirement of the competition).

This base features an articulated door similar to Calatrava’s design for the Ernstings warehouse in 1983—a system that opens like an eye to provide access to telecommunication services. The heel of the tower is supported on a circular shell of white concrete, clad in broken tiles. The tower structure repeats the fundamental geometry of the base to support an annular segment, which houses the array of antennas. Emphasizing the vertical, a needle is suspended in the center of this ring.

La Sagrada Familia

the beautiful unfinished, true eye for Barcelona

Begun in 1882 and still unfinished, the tactile, organic form of the Roman Catholic basilica of La Sagrada Família (The Holy Family) is one of Barcelona’s most famous landmarks. It is an unexpected sight in its industrial setting, with its bold flying buttresses and twisted towers looming over the city.

Commissioned in 1882, the cathedral was funded by donations to encourage Christianity in Barcelona, which was in decline at the time. In 1883 Gaudí took over as chief architect, and he changed the original Neo-Gothic design to one based on the geometric forms found in nature. It was to be Gaudí’s Expressionist vision of a 20th-century cathedral, where he would use visual symbolism to express the many mysteries of the Christian faith.

Gaudí’s design and models, most of which were destroyed during the Spanish Civil War, show an enormous form capable of accommodating some 13,000 people. Built on a basic basilica plan, the Latin cross is surrounded on three sides by porticoes. To the east stands the Nativity facade with scenes celebrating Jesus’s birth; on the west is the Passion facade depicting Jesus’s crucifixion, and the main entrance boasts the Glory facade showing how humans can celebrate the Divine Glory. Overhead, several huge, spin dle-shaped bell towers rise to the heavens, each symbolizing different bibli cal figures: the apostles, the evangelists, the Virgin Mary and, tallest of all, a central tower representing Jesus.

When Gaudí died in 1926, only the Nativity facade, one tower, the apse, and the crypt were finished. Gaudí, whose tomb is beneath the cathedral, knew he would not live to see the completion of his vision, believing it would take 200 years—but, as he said, “The patron of this project is not in a hurry.”

La Sagrada Familia was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1984.

La Sagrada Familia is one of a kind. Make sure you make time for it. The breathtaking architecture and incredible history is absolutely worth battling the lines!

Nicolas Ghesquière

“

What I find most interesting in fashion is that it has to reflect our time. You have to witness your own moment. ”

PARIS PARIS ’ FAVORITES

Age &size are only numbers.

Donna Karan

“

It’s the attitude you bring clothes that makes difference. ” the

to

Rooftop at Galerie Lafayette

Enjoy a breathtaking view of the capital, from the Eiffel Tower to the Montmartre district and the beauty of the city’s rooftops. A spectacular view over Paris from the 8th floor of Galeries Lafayette Par is Haussmann will take your breath away. You may even be lucky enough to marvel over a splendid sunset along with a number of photographers and influencers.

Opéra Garnier, the Eiffel Tower, Sacré Cœur, Notre Dame: all these monu ments can be seen from the Rooftop at Galerie Lafayette, the immense glass skylight behind you is no other than the store’s revered dome.

If you wanted a panoramic view over all of Paris, this is the place!

Street Art in Belleville

Belleville is the most famous district for Street Art in Paris. It has been an artists’ destination since the early ’80s. Poor artists were moving here to live in numerous squats that over the years turned into art galleries, studios and art communities. It is a favorite place for many French artists, like Nemo, Jérôme Mesnager or

Philippe Herard. And associations, like Art Azoi or Le M.U.R., often bring international artists to the scene.

The Artist community makes this area the most vibrant and constantly changing, inviting the locals to participate in many local activities, including not only art-making but also poetry or gardening. Want to make it even more fun? Book a tour with one of the local tour guide companies. During the tour, an artist, who has more than six years of experience in the topic, will share with you an intimate history of how the neighborhood and its street art came to be as they are today.

You will not only learn about the history of street art in Paris but hopefully, but you will start to recognize some of the most active street artists during the rest of your stay in the city.

Since Belleville is the second largest hill in Paris, during this tour we go up to have a wonderful view of the beautiful panorama of the city.

Every Saturday tours finish with a live performance. You can’t beat that one!

Cross the Pont Neuf

It is quite ironic and a little puzzling that the oldest standing bridge in Paris should be called the Pont Neuf (New Bridge). A span of five arches crosses the Seine from the Left Bank to the western end of the Ile de la Cité, and another span of seven arches joins the island to the Right Bank. When completed in the early 17th century, the bridge was unusual in that it was the first in the city not to have houses built upon it.

It was also fitted with pavements so pedestrians could be protected from the filth of the roadway and the hazards of passing horse-drawn carriages.

As well as being the oldest surviving bridge in Paris, the Pont Neuf is also, at 238 me tres, the third longest. When constructed in the early 17th century it was, of course, a new bridge, hence the name, but its precur sors have long since been demolished.

In 1577 King Henri III decreed that a new bridge should be built over the Seine and appointed a committee to ensure the proj ect’s steady progress. The following year, the first stone was laid by the king himself, in the presence of the queen mother, Cath erine de Medicis and the queen consort, Louise de Lorraine. The work continued until 1588, when construction was brought to a halt by a decade of political and reli gious unrest. The project resumed in 1599

during the reign of Henri IV, who presided over the inauguration of the bridge in 1607, some thirty years after it was begun.

It was the usual practice at this time to erect houses along the bridges of Paris, but Henri IV declared that the Pont Neuf would be free of buildings, allowing an unimpeded view of the Seine. Instead, the king had a beautiful square of impressive houses with identical facades built where the new bridge crossed the Ile de la Cité. This square was named the Place Dauphine in honour of the king’s son, the heir apparent of France, and swiftly gained a reputation as one of the most luxurious and romantic locations in Paris.

In 1610, King Henri IV was assassinated by the religious fanatic Francois Ravaillac, and his widow Marie de Médicis ordered an equestrian bronze of her late husband to be erected on the western tip of the Ile de la Cité, close to the Pont Neuf and the Place Dauphine. In 1792, during the French Rev olution, this suffered the undignified fate of being melted down to make cannons. Frag ments of the statue are today preserved in the Louvre. After the 1814 fall of the First Empire, during the restoration of the Bour bon monarchy, Louis XVIII decreed that a new statue be made using a surviving cast of the original. This was unveiled in 1818 and remains perfectly preserved today. Close to the Pont Neuf, you can enjoy a din ner cruise on the Seine with Paris en Scène.

things nobody tells you

I KNEW... I WISH

1. Always have some cash!

In most of Europe you would need some cash to get around, but some places in northern europe use a card & you would need a pin. Also, many banks will charge you an international transaction fee every time you use a card. Though small, those fees add up quick!

2. Know the language!

Knowing a little bit of the local language is a perfect key to having a good trip in Europe, even just learning ‘’hello’’ , ‘’thank you’’ and ‘’please’’. Even if your “knowledge” ends at a few words, the effort is always met with a warm smile & an open heart from locals.

3. Skip money exchange counters!

Most exchange counters are a waste of time and a huge off. Calling your bank & telling them that you would be using ATM’s in a foreign country will both save time & money. I definitely wish we knew this trick when traveling in Europe.

4. Skip the line!

In many countries they offer a ‘’skip the line’’ pass at every tourist destination & point of interest.Take it! it’ll be a long wait without. Also, Google the location prior to arriving. Some places offer skip-the-line tickets online only.

5. Walk!

In Europe, there isn’t always the ‘’grab a taxi’’ or uber option, take some water & some money & walk to explore the local places & people. Some of our best moments & memories were made when we just walked around & got lost a couple of times. The little shops & restaurants we stumbled upon, the peek into a local culture, made extra long days definitely worth it!

“

One thing that is exciting about fashion is the surprise element. don’tPeopleknow whatwant.they Theyjust know when they see it. ”

Marc Jacobs

RESTAURANTS NOTE-WORTHY London’s

“Can you recommend a restaurant?” is one of the most-asked questions. Together with JALE, we have curat ed a list of our this month’s favorites , spanning numerous cuisines, neigh borhoods, and price points. JALE list tells the story of the London food scene: from dumplings, Sunday roasts, curries, pizza, sinasir to rarebits, udon noodles, pepper pot, and more, all that makes London among the very best and most diverse places to eat in the world.

This list reflects the state of “new normal” under which the city is operating in 2022, with new restaurants making their mark and older establishments having found their pre-pandemic vibe again. We will continue to showcase a mix of restaurants that enrich the city and its food culture.

Our monthly updated guide to the best new restaurants in London ( and other parts of the world) complements this list.

If you have any tips, suggestions and/ or ideas; please feel free to share them by contacting our editors here.

And now, we present to you our favorite hidden gems from this month!

The

Ivy

Chelsea Garden

Located on London’s enduringly chic King’s Road, The Ivy Chelsea Garden brings a relaxed yet sophisticated all-day dining restaurant to the heart of West London. From modern British cuisine to caféstyle classics and fantastic vegan and vegetarian dishes, there’s something for everyone to love.

Meanwhile, the lounge bar is the perfect spot to try out a cocktail menu, featuring classic serves and unique, contemporary pours unique to The Ivy Chelsea Garden.

So, whether you’re booking for breakfast, lunch, weekend brunch, or an intimate dinner for two, The Ivy Chelsea Garden has it all –a warm welcome, delicious food, incredible cocktails and friendly, knowledgeable service.

Durak Tantuni

As Jonathan Nunn wrote in his guide to north London’s best-value restaurants, “Durak, a tantuni salonu run by Dogan Yesil on West Green Road, is the superior late night snack template in London.” Only the tantuni, a speciality which orig inates in the city of Mersin on the southern coast of Turkey, is served here. Beef is boiled, sea soned with the likes of tomato, pul biber, sumac, & cumin and subsequently fried in cotton oil before being loaded, meat juices aplenty, inside a thin lavash with chopped parsley, tomato, and onion. It is then given a pleasing bend before being eaten; a selection of high-acid accompa niments — pickled chillies, lemon — provide the necessary cutthrough.

390 W Green Rd, London N15 3PX, UK 020 8889 6001

Bake Street

This small Stoke Newington cafe seriously over-delivers, prepar ing some of London’s best Amer ican diner-style smashburgers, Nashville hots, playful samo sas, and the inimitable chick en makhani sandwich come the weekend, with a solid core menu for weekday visitors. Its sweet

offering isn’t half-bad either; do not miss the ingenious crème brûlée cookie developed by pas try chef Chloe-Rose Crabtree from a recipe by Los Angeles’s Dough and Arrow, or the seasonal ice cream from Crabtree and co-founder Feroz Gajia in warmer months.

58 Evering Rd, Lower Clapton, London N16 7SR, UK 020 7683 7177

Adulis

Per Riaz Phillips in his guide to the city’s best East African restaurants, Adulis “palatial setting has to make it one of the finest east African and Eritrean restaurants in the capital.” The dark wooden fixtures give every meal here a sense of oc casion; a restaurant well-suited to solo or group dining, with a menu offering selections for one, two, four and eight persons — and featuring excellent cooking for vegans, vegetarians, and meat-eaters alike. Look out for kwanta fitfit, smoked, dried beef with green chilli and injera; or zilzl assa, grilled red snapper seasoned with Eritre an herbs; or the entire range of vegetarian and vegan stews, comprising spinach, beans, chickpeas, and lentils, all eaten

with more of the excellent, subtly tangy, and moreish injera.

44-46 Brixton Rd, London SW9 6BT, UK 020 7587 0055

Rules

A 4/5 star rated restaurant serving traditional British cuisine and is one of London’s oldest restaurants, it was built in 1798. From MICHELIN Guide’s Point Of View, Rules, as London’s oldest restaurant, boasts a fine collection of antique cartoons, drawings and paintings. Tradition continues in the menu, specializing in games from its own estate.

35 Maiden Lane, London, WC2E 7LB, UK +44 20 7836 5314

Bravi Ragazzi

Italian and English are not so much spoken as bellowed at Bravi Ragazzi. This boisterous slice of Naples serves some of the city’s finest rustic, leopard-spot ted, chewy-crusted pizza,so light it’s a wonder it doesn’t cave beneath the weight of its molten toppings. Order well-done, or “ben cotto.”

2A Sunnyhill Rd, London SW16 2UH, UK 020 8769 4966

Kenzo Takada

“Fashion is like eating. You shouldn’t stick to the same menu.”

Montparnasse Tower Terrace

This might be considered the ugliest building in the whole of Paris (it was also once voted the 2nd ugliest in the world) since it doesn’t fit well with the architectural design of other buildings but the Eiffel tower views it offers are out of this world. And since it’s theo retically directly opposite to the Tower with no other building obstructing, you’ll get clear views of the Eiffel tower.

Opening hours: The observation deck of Montparnasse Tower is always open from 9.30 AM –11.30 PM all year round.

IMPORTANT : don’t forget to grab this skip-the-line ticket to avoid the queues.

The Champ-de-Mars

Just next to the tower itself is a beau tiful green park known as Champs de mars! You might think that you may not get beautiful views of the Eiffel tower since it’s right next to it but you’ll be surprised!

To enjoy the views from here, even more, you can visit Paris in springtime to see the most spectacular Paris cherry blossoms, or better yet pack yourself a picnic and chill right next to the tower.

The Quai Branly Museum

A fantastic close up of the Eiffel Tower at different angles.

The Trocadero

Right across from Champ-de-Mars and a view of the Warsaw Fountain.

Located opposite the Eiffel tower on the other side of the Seine, Trocadero is probably the most famous and the best place to view the Eiffel Tower.

Its prime location gives direct views of the tower from different angles depending on whether you see it from the steps, the garden, or the fountain of warsaw.

Since this place is so famous and a popular Instagram photo spot with the Eiffel Tower, be ready to find lots of crowds.

Notre Dame Cathedral

The climb of the 378 steps of the notable Notre Dame Cathedral will treat you to impeccable views of Eiffel Tower which in my opinion, is one of the best places to spot the ion lady and take magical photos.

Opening Hours: The Cathedral is open dai ly from 10:00 PM – 6:30 PM from April to September but stays open up to 11:00 PM on Saturdays and Sundays in July and Au gust. However, it’s open from 10:00 AM –5:30 PM from October to March.

IMPORTANT*

Due to the devastating fire that burnt part of the Notre Dame Cathe dral, it is currently closed off to the public to undergo renovation. When the restoration is done and opens to the public again, be sure to check it out as it provides the best view of the Eiffel tower.

“ Women think of all colors except the absence of color. I have said that black has it all. too. Their beauty is absolute. It is the perfect harmony. ”

Coco Chanel

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