All posts tagged: Architecture

Palma in my heart

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What can I say. I love this town! It has everything really. It’s beautiful, cosmopolitan, vivid, has amazing cuisine, a wonderful climate, bags of culture, beautiful old buildings, a cathedral, old churches, a beach, the list goes on… As a wonderful coincidence my family is also here at the same time as I am. They arrive in intervals and we meet up a couple of times when I’m on my road trip around Mallorca. Here are some snapshots from Palma. Strolling around town and enjoying the ambience. Palma has some awesome architecture. Lunch at Duke. Heavenly salad. Cool small interior shop in La Lonja, Viveca. I really like chocolate ice cream and look what we found. Lucky me! More of these cool tiles, here at Hotel Cort. La Rosa is a wonderful place to have a few tapas before heading out for dinner. Having one of the best dinners ever here at Canela. The food is amazing! It’s the last night with this gang. Family, friends and a random guy. Copyright and photo: Anita Martinez Beijer …

Snapshots from New York

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New York New York. I feel exited to be here at last. I have a hectic schedule while I’m here so I barely have time to land before I’m off to work. But how rewarding isn’t it? I meet wonderful people! And get to see amazing homes! I’m down in the subway in no time. I discover, since it’s Sunday, that this isn’t the best of days to travel by subway, because a lot of maintenance are made on weekends and therefore some of the lines are closed. Which leads to a general confusion, not only for me, on finding the best way to get to one’s destination. And the journey back home takes forever. Oh well, all the more time to people watch then. I people watch and people talk too, as I continue to strike up conversations with whoever I meet. This artist I observed while he was sketching some people on the train and we had a nice chat waiting for the next train. He is armed with his sketchbook, pencils and …

Mexico II – Frida Kahlo

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Of course I just had to make time to go to Frida Kahlos family home and studio La Casa Azul in Coyoacán while I’m here. And I’m not disappointed. I love visiting this famous and colourful home of an amazing artist and woman. She was born here and much is intact from when she lived here. This is the kitchen.  Even at the colourful entrance to La Casa Azul I feel exited. Coming here is something I have been looking forward to a long time. And I’m not disappointed. I like this museum because there are rooms still decorated the way they were at the time when Frida lived and worked here, so you get a sense of her life. Frida Kahlo became bedridden after a terrible traffic accident when she was young and she was seriously injured by it. She broke her spine and pelvis and had eleven fractures in her right leg and her right foot was crushed. As if that wasn’t enough, a handrail in iron pierced though her abdomen and uterus. It’s heartbreaking …

Mexico I – Condesa

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Hola Mexico! I’m so happy to be here at last. And I’m happy that my research proved me right, as I’m delighted to stay in the lovely tree lined area of Hippodrome Condesa. I love Mexico! I have opted to stay in a hotel for the duration of my stay, instead of changing locations for every photo shoot. For this I’m grateful. Not only because I thoroughly enjoy staying in the Boutique Hotel Nuevo Leon with it’s cool design and super friendly staff. Thanks especially to Christian and Alfredo. But also because I have nearly a photo shoot in a different location every day so it’s good to have one base. Love the details here especially the flooring! I enjoy being in the buzz of a city again, after my near monastic existence in San Marcos. From my grand bathroom in this smart Art Deco building I have a near 180 degree view, of all that’s going on the street outside the curved windows. A bath with a view! I relish eating in different cafes …

Guatemala I – Antigua

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I arrive in Guatemala on a propeller plane and head straight to Antigua. It is love at first sight with this beautiful town, with it’s cobbled stone streets, ruins and amazing colours and textiles of the Maya population. The women here wear the traditional and colourful clothing. The square-cut blouse is called huipil or güipil, the long skirts are called corte, and this is held up by a woven belt called faja. Every region has it’s own distinctive pattern and colour combinations. As a designer I go totally bonkers of delight. The vibrant colours and the intricate patterns of the textiles are so inspiring and I enjoy people watching more than ever here. I like the whole feeling of this old town with it’s beautiful buildings in Spanish baroque style, which used to be Spain’s colonial capital before it was severely destroyed by earthquakes in 1773 and the new capital was moved to a safer place, which is where Guatemala City is situated now. The town is dotted with ruins that remain from the earthquakes. …

Buenos Aires VI – San Telmo, passionate tango and faded charm

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San Telmo is the oldest part of Buenos Aires, and has it’s own ambience and faded charm. Very bohemian and very authentic. Here is where most of the passionate tango dancing takes place. At Plaza Dorrego you can se dancers show of their tango skills in daytime for the tourists. But if you want to experience the real hard-core tango it’s the milongas you have to visit. I enjoyed watching the expressive dance. Best viewed live so have a look at the film clip. Street view at Plaza Dorrego. The Sunday market in San Telmo is the largest in Buenos Aires. The centre of the feria is here at Plaza Dorrego and then it spills out on the adjoining streets many blocks away, with stalls after stalls full of antiques, trinkets, bric-a-brac and artisans wares. This is the area where you find all the antique shops. Here is one on Defensa. I find San Telmo is the most architecturally beautiful neighborhood with loads of interesting buildings. Many of them crumbling and with a lot of patina but nevertheless exquisite. …

Cape Town VII –Cool & colourful Bo Kaap

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My final week I moved to Bo Kaap that has it’s own flavour and feel. It’s known for it’s brightly coloured houses situated at the foot of Signal Hill. Many of the residents are descendants of slaves from Malaysia, Indonesia and other African country that were imported to the Cape of Good Hope by the Dutch during the 16th and 17th centuries. The slaves were known as Cape Malays, and Bo Kaap is known as The Cape Malay Quarter. It’s the home of the Cape’s Muslim community and have several mosques here. First I stayed with fashion designer Olivia with her own brand Lalesso and her husband Wesley, a confirmed surfer, production manager for photo shoots and film production, and now co-owner of the new barista company Frothing. They have a lovely house in Bo Kaap and I spent a coupe of days in their home, with them and their Rhodesian Ridgeback Chesa. Olivia is from Kenya and Wes is from Cape Town. Here is Wes with his barista truck stationed at the corner of Buitensingle and …

Cape Town II – Green Point & other stories

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My first home was with Carin in Green Point. When I arrived from a hectic month in Asia, I had tons of photos I needed to take care of and blog posts to write. But none of that for Carin. – Come on, you have to see this…let’s go… And off we went. She went over and beyond to show me amazing places that I would never have found myself. So my first thanks is to you Carin. Thank you for showing me both hidden and not so hidden gems. And also for showing me some great contemporary African design. And of course for your lovely company! Carin’s home is itself wildly and wonderfully creative. It’s a veritable cascade of colours and made me feel that yes, I’m in Africa now. A small Victorian house, it has been opened up and felt spacious with it’s high ceiling, loft and large glass doors leading out to a very private courtyard, where the sound of water pouring in a small wall fountain was relaxing to listen to. …

Singapore part I

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Singapore is a city, an island and a country. Small in size but with a population of 5 million people. I found Singapore very green, humid and…unfortunately very hazy. But also with striking architecture, old colonial houses and the sometimes surreal new buildings and stunning structures such as the Supertree Grove in the Gardens by the Bay. As the haze was so prominent during my visit I have to mention this issue. I stayed at first with Joe and his friends and his flat that has this amazing view over looking the Gardens by the Bay. This huge recreational park area created from a vision Singapore had, to transit from “A city with a garden” to become “A garden with a city” opened in 2011. I had envisioned sitting on the balcony looking out over all this splendour, but unfortunately the haze was so bad that most days we couldn’t even have the doors to the balcony open. The haze is seasonal apparently and is the smoke that drifts in from, mostly illegal, slash-and-burn fires …