Cutie And The Boxer
Okay. This movie isn’t any history lesson in art. Neither is it about any boxer and nor is it like any other saccharine romantic flick. It’s also quite likely that in this you won’t be smitten by somebody’s badass looks either (you may definitely fall for Cutie’s charm and her sketches though :))
what love is like..
Cutie and the boxer brings you the personal story of a sweet Japanese couple, living in New York. It’s about their life’s fragments as we keep looking back on time from the present day and their beautiful love- hate relationship while sharing a similar passion for A-R-T.
Why I like this movie is ‘coz it’s got some pretty impressive masterpieces, ranging from Ushio’s scupltures made out of discarded cardboard pieces and leftover art remnants to his wife’s classic cartoon characters depicting their bitter- sweet love story and the struggles they’d to face together to follow their heart to do what they both loved doing the most..
It tugs at my heartstrings to see the “real conversations” between them as a couple and be able to come this long way to find pleasures and happiness in the most tiniest, minutest and the most smallest things of all… which in reality, are actually exactly what you just need in life.
Vienna. All about art and music.
Vienna for me, is all about art and music. Amongst other things we did, the highlight was visiting a few museums this time just to catch a glimpse of Gustav Klimt’s masterpieces, an Austrian artist and also one of my ALL- time favourites. One of the oldest of such museums is Belvedere. Built as a baroque palace in the 18th century, it was once a summer residence to the prince. However, it is now the Austrian gallery museum with the biggest collection of Gustav Klimt’s works. Don’t forget to esp notice the best one of his works and also a crowd puller here – The Kiss.
Klimt’s masterpiece and my fav- The Kiss
One word that’d define Klimt’s paintings would definitely be SEXY. ‘The Kiss’ painted by Klimt in 1907 is his most well known work and known to be of a period when Klimt was beginning to use a lot of gold, at times even gold leaf. The Kiss shows two lovers locked in an embrace. The ornamentation is done in gold and creates a beautiful aura around them. His distinctive style is also one of painting women of high society exuding luxury, richness and material wealth. There are portraits of real women drawn with big hair and decorated dresses and rich elements surrounding them.
Another one of his exotics is ‘Life and Death’ which is kept in the Leopold museum. It shows living beings curled up on one another not threatened by death which stands at a distance.
Watching an old couple walk past us, holding hands.. so sweet… I wondered how many times they must’ve walked the same street.. or if they’re tourists like us…
And whilst we speak about art, let’s not forget the overstated vibe of ‘love’ we love :).. Couldn’t resist clicking this pic on the left of an old couple walking past us, holding hands.. Somehow the man reminded me of Shinohara Ushio, from the movie “Cutie and the boxer”..
One evening we decided to unwind the old fashioned, classic way by immersing ourselves into the symphony of Beethoven… the ol’ sweet Beethoven. The stage transformed into dim red and blue and orange every few minutes and yes although I wouldn’t deny the fact that under the influence of the soothing opera, I kept drifting in and out of snoozes, overall it was pretty good. We did follow indeed the entire plot inspite of it being in Austrian, owing to the brilliant performances of actors on stage, which was welcomed with an uproar of applause at the end.
An evening at the Beethoven Fidelio Opera
A lazy day by the Vienna bay. Strandbar Herrmann.
For more Vienna pictures, here’s a link to my instagram page: http://instagram.com/manavisinghal
Bohemian by nature- Prague
I always try to find something different in the design and atmosphere of the hotel/ city I’m visiting to have a different experience than at home.. What I’d describe as the arrival art to our hotel was pretty sweet this time. The sense of familiarity was amazing. The walls of the hotel were decorated with puppets of Prague and old LPs in our room. There was a level of comfort in each element. A soft pillow, a large bathroom, coffee mugs. And to top it up, we were totally taken by surprise on finding a cake and champagne organised by our friends as our anniversary- special. -)
Strolling our own tunes away, the mad bunch of the four of us visited quite a few of the happy- spots. Prague is full of cobbled streets and small cosy squares and it’s very famous for film- making too. We managed to pass through quite a few of the little alleys where the Bond must’ve chased the bad guy in the 70’s :p In fact a famous romantic- bollywood musical, starring Ranbir Kapoor was also shot in the wonderful locations of Prague.
The May- scorcher brought the entire Prague to pubs to ‘freshen’ up, as beer- drinking is a way of life in Czech Republic. Has to be. At THOSE prices. (!!) Some good local breweries I’d recommend are U medvídků and Uflaku.
The Charles bridge in Prague is something you cannot miss out. Quite like the Howrah bridge in Calcutta and Tower Bridge in London, though this one is filled with a string of musicians and artists on either side. You can imagine then in this state of an immersing experience of beauty how it must be.
The sweetest highlight of my day however, was visiting the John Lennon (the famous Beatles artist) wall. It’s a long wall and in spite of the various scribbles and drawings of love and peace and nature, the handsome face of John Lennon can thankfully still be seen. The romantic picture it conjured, perfectly fit the image of Prague I had in my mind when I witnessed a wedding moment of a couple right below the Astronomical clock tower. We did think as well of visiting a beautiful high- ceiling church with baroque bells and popping the question to each other again…
The John Lennon Wall
A Prague Moment
For more Prague pictures, here’s a link to my instagram page: http://instagram.com/manavisinghal
La Rambla, Barcelona
We decided to ditch the cold winds for a few days in march last year to be completely involved in Barcelona’s cheerful holiday scene and explore the vast acres of its spacious outdoors..
Amongst other things, the bustling metropolis boasts of the famous La Rambla, which is a very happening and flattering Barcelonian ‘la calle’. The broad strip of La Rambla is always busy and brims with energy along both sides of the pedestrian street. One can pick up a pretty piece of jewellery or buy a memento of the old, historic Barcelona or have a painting off the local artists or enjoy the heritage street food of the region. It also formed a routined visit of our trip to the city as it starts in the main city square and descends towards the sea.
Whether it be fashion, food, nightlife or the houses, talk about colour and Spain always punches well above it’s weight 🙂
Mercat de la Boqueria
1. Hot & juicy & spicy chillies, for a bit of fun it’s good to be sillies 🙂
2. Gooey & soft delectable delights, melt like butter on Big Big bites :D.
Sun- kissed La Rambla street and myself with the living statue of a street performer
LaRambla at night
Houses in Barcelona have a great retro style with coloured curtains drawn in balconies to have the warm sun rays filtered through for the hot summer days. We were exposed to all weather cycles during our short stint, especially the ‘prolonged’ rains which was a bit of an annoyance though Spain showered us with rains the day we landed and I couldn’t help but smile at the nostalgic familiarity of this intervention with the famous lyrics..
the RAiNs in SPain stays MAiNly in the Plains…
houses in barcelona
Enroute to the hotel
Spanish showers
Big Pleasures
When it comes to watermelons, size DOES matter.
Happy Birthday, Nutella!
Happy Birthday Nutella! Here is what I made for you 🙂 Time to spread some chocolatey divine goodness…
Living life in the fast lane with Lamborghini
Ever seen a woman talk about cars?
I don’t usually either… but a Lamborghini passing by at high speed definitely leaves me staring at the lingering sound effect…
I am a lover of sports cars and Lamborghini surely takes me for a spin. This super car is my brand as a hero. From having a powerful sounding name and engine to having good looking exteriors, it goes beyond aspirations to create a human connection with the audience, to provide life enriching experiences.
The gold- plated snarling bull logo shows off its athletic ability along the way and incase you’re running your Spanish engines behind that thought, let me tell you, Sant’Agata Bolognese, north Italy is the headquarters where the super sports car is manufactured. Yes, Ferruccio Lamborghini, the creator was an Italian himself. However, his fascination with bullfighting and him being a Taurean (zodiac sign) himself, breeds the idea behind the Lamborghini logo.
It was interesting to read that the naming of various models like Murcielago, Diablo, Gallardo and Reventón has also been done after a legacy of the timeless Spanish game and their legendary bulls or the famous breeds which won epic bullfights.
Lamborghini strikes a perfect deal between the Spanish charm of the rugged matador and the exquisite tailoring of Italian elegance.
It’s flattering to see the Lamborghini models in many colours and styles and how it fits so perfectly between the different tastes of both the genders.
Marhaba Maldives
You haven’t lived unless you have whiled away ten minutes on the beach with the sand in your toes and your head in the clouds. A holiday to Maldives lets you do just that… and a lot more!
The exotic island across the Indian Ocean, it is also a tropical holiday destination. Maldives can only be described as a country with one of the most beautiful natural backdrops on the planet. The natural beauty of Maldives is flourished with lovely palm tree islands, dazzling sandy white beaches, turquoise lagoons and clear warm waters. The striking reefs steal the limelight along with good- looking marine flora and fauna.
The island where I stayed during my visit to Maldives was called, Bandos, where I had some of the best times of my life. My time was spent either simply lying on the beach and relaxing… or playing hide and seek with the infinite shades of blue in the luxurious swimming pool and the crystal waters of the serene island. It is a different thing altogether when in between meals you visit the bar to have a bowl of salty fries with a chilled fruity cocktail!
I also experienced Snorkelling and Scuba- diving and feel very fortunate to have had the opportunity to explore the underwater world. Not only the feeling of diving is incredible, but the visuals, the beautiful fish, the variety of corals and the way the light filters in makes you want to continue exploring the mysterious, pristine blue lagoons. Swimming across slowly gives you the feeling as if you are getting lost in the blue, blue world under the surface of the magical myriad of colours that inhabit the ocean world. It is an amazing experience and one that I will not mind going for over and over again.
Floral Grenade
Don’t we all need a quick wave of a loud, tropical & arty floral design to shatter this winter melancholy mood!! 🙂
Over, Above and Beyond 
