Explore This! Indonesia

This week, we travel to Indonesia, to see the sites and lifestyle this group of islands has to offer. I’ve been reading Sea by Heidi R. Kling, where Sienna, the main character travels with her father’s group, Team Hope, to help out at an orphange. The kids living there include a large number that were devastatingly affected by the tsunami in 2004. The worst of the impact hit an area called Aceh, so Kling’s Sea features a character, Deni,  from this area who survived but lost his family, as did so many others.

Most of the story takes place in Yogyakarta (also known as Jogja, Yogya, Jogjakarta) which is in Java. There’s discussion of the different religions that are found in this part of the world, from Buddhism, illustrated by the temple Borobudur, as seen in these first 2 images (which is a very …

Explore This! Sweden

This week’s tour takes us to Sweden. I decided upon this destination for a few reasons: I have a contest running over at my own blog for a copy of Stieg Larsson’s The Girl Who Played With Fire (click here to enter….after reading this post I’m also a big fan of Eric (played by Alexander Skarsgard, a native of Sweden) in the HBO series True Blood, which had its season premiere last night. Let’s just say it left quite the impression, to say the least…

I’ve realized that in previous posts, I had neglected to include a map, so I’ve corrected that issue here.

Explore This! Greece

My inspiration for our virtual tour this week comes from my recent delve into Oedipus Rex (which I reviewed on my personal blog here.) While finding actual pics of what Greece looked like circa 429 BCE, when Sophocles originally wrote this tragic play, is difficult, the Greek civilization is one that has endured, evolved and been remembered for thousands of years. We can still readily find architecture and landmarks that highlight the ancient aspects of their culture, but also see what Greece has become over these millenia.  Everytime I see articles in magazines featuring this stunning country (yes, the shiny pictures always grab my attention), I sigh and think, “One day…” So, feast you eyes on Greece and travel with me, vicariously:

Explore This! Paris Suburban Life and Algeria

Last week, I posted my review for Some Dream For Fools by Faiza Guene. The bulk of this story takes place in the poorer suburbs of Paris. We’ve all seen the Eiffel Tower, The Louvre, The Arc D’Triomphe, right? Well, our heroine, Ahleme, takes us to parts of Paris that we don’t often hear about. The Pierre de Coubertin Stadiuam, where her brother Foued gets in trouble with his friends, the Galleries Lafayette and the Thiais shopping centres, and the Chatelet-Les Halles, where Ahleme arranges to meet up for a date (this last picture is much older but I’m sure the archetecture remains much the same.) Note: the pictures are in order as listed.

Explore This: Tang Dynasty China

My virtual tour for this week was inspired by my recent review of Under Heaven by Guy Gavriel Kay (I reviewed it on my on blog, which can be linked to here). While Under Heaven takes place in a fictional place, it is loosely based on Tang Dynasty China. The Tang Dynasty began in June of 618 and lasted until June of 907 AD.

Today, I have samples of architecture, art work, and even a dance all based on this era of Chinese history. And, no discussion of China is complete without mentioning the Great Wall, which, again, has a paralleled version in Guy Gavriel Kay’s novel. For further research, I’ve linked some interesting articles at the bottom of this post. Happy traveling!

Tang Dynasty

The Great Wall

Explore this: Prague

As bookish people, we seek out our favourite reading spot and allow ourselves to be swiftly taken to different times and places. My new feature here focuses on the “places”. Call me your armchComposeair reference guide to the (literal) world of books; the less expensive way to explore our world, right here at your fingertips.

 I reviewed Vampire a Go-Go by Victor Gischler here yesterday. It starts off in anytown America…I don’t think it ever tells you where “Gothic State University” is, so that part is unimportant. We’re quickly whisked away to Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic. To quote the Wikipedia entry, “Situated on the Vltava River in central Bohemia, Prague has been the political, cultural and economic centre of the Czech state for more than 1100 years. For many decades during the Gothic and Renaissance eras, …