7 days, 6 nights; departures March 23, June 14 & July 1, 2017. Highlights: In Vienna, Hofburg and Schönbrunn palaces, Sisi Museum, St. Stephen’s Cathedral/12th-century Klosterneuburg Monastery/in Salzburg, “Sound of Music” sites/in Lake District, Mirabell Gardens, Leopoldskron Castle, Nonnberg Abbey/Hallstatt. $2,370-$2,450 (per dates) ppdo. Single supp., $700-$880. EuropeToo (New York, NY; 877/387-1866, www.europetoo.com).
Like most travelholics, my wife, Sharon, and I are always looking forward to visiting the next place we’ve never been. And, yet, for various reasons, some places have a special attraction, begging for a repeat visit. For us, one such special place is Grenada (pronounced “Gre-nay-da,” not “Gre-nah-da”), where we were married in March of 1999.
We returned for a second honeymoon in March 2004, and in March 2016 we returned once more. As we’d already seen most of the sights, we planned to do very little beyond relaxing, but the trip proved to be full of new experiences.
On the southeastern coast of the North Island of New Zealand, Napier was destroyed by an earthquake in 1931 and rebuilt in the popular style of the time, Art Deco, thus the small city of 65,000 has one of the largest concentrations of Art Deco buildings in the world.
Worldwide artists’ and architects’ works of art incorporating high-tech light installations will be displayed along two routes at the fifth annual Amsterdam Light Festival, to be held in Amsterdam, Netherlands, in December 2016 and January 2017.
“Water Colors,” Dec. 1-Jan. 22, will exhibit monumental works meant to be viewed from boats in a canal. “Illuminade,” Dec. 15-Jan. 8, will have interactive art along a walking route in the Plantage neighborhood. Visit www.amsterdamlight festival.com/en.
I enjoyed reading Rick Steves’ article about Pablo Picasso (May ’16, pg. 55). Although I’m far from a fan of Cubism, there is one work by Picasso that I really, really like, and that is “Guernica,” which depicts the artist’s reaction to the German bombing of the Spanish town of Guernica in 1937.
The painting is on display at the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, situated in Madrid near the Atocha railway station and a short walk from The Prado.
Here are two temporary exhibitions at Barcelona’s Picasso Museum (Montcada 15-23, 08003 Barcelona, Spain; phone +34 93 256 30 00, www.museupicasso.bcn.cat/en):
• “Cubism and War. The Crystal in the Flame,” Oct. 20, 2016-Jan. 29, 2017, focuses on three artists living in France during WWI — Picasso, Juan Gris and Diego Rivera — with 60 Cubist works from 1914 to 1919.
In Macau, more than 30 artist and food booths plus live performances are featured at the @5 Outubro Street art fair, occurring on the second weekend in each month (except May and November) in 2016 at the Hong Kung Temple Square. Art and handicrafts made from materials like leather, ceramic and precious metals, some customized on the spot, are sold.
In southwestern France, I took the tour “Dordogne — Prehistoric Cave Art” with Andante Travels (The Clock Tower, Unit 4, Oakridge Office Park, Southampton Rd., Whaddon, Salisbury, England, SP5 3HT, U.K.; in US, 888/331-3476, c), Sept. 7-14, 2015.
I had heard of the Lascaux cave, which was the main reason I went on this tour. However, I had no idea that there are hundreds of various caves and rock shelters in Western Europe that show signs of humans dating back 40,000 years.
Pablo Picasso was the most famous and — OK, I’ll say it — greatest artist of the 20th century. Before he was 30, Picasso had revolutionized the art world. And that was just the beginning.
A Spanish expatriate, cocreator of Cubism and devoted womanizer, Picasso left an amazing legacy in his wake. In the course of his long life (he died in 1973 at 91), Picasso moved from Spain to Paris to the south of France. Every locale that he called home has claimed him as a native son, with museums big and small devoted to his masterpieces.
