EDM#73 : Mailbox

mail·box :
1. A public container for deposit of outgoing mail. Also called postbox.
2. A private box for incoming mail. Also called letterbox.
3. A computer file or set of files for the collection and storage of e-mail.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition copyright ©2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2003. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

This is not my own private mailbox, because mine is not interesting in any way. This one is very simply, very "boxy" , old , used and rusty, but still functional. From my point of view - it is the most romantic mailbox I´ve ever seen.

You can find it on the beach Flic en Flac (depicted below in these small photos), located on the west coast of island Mauritius. When I saw it for the first time, it was interesting. For the second time I cannot resist to make picture of it.

3in1: Trip to Macocha

The third day we visit abyss Macocha.
Abyss Macocha is a huge doline, which is 138,7 m deep, with fascinating ground dimensions: 174 by 76 m.
The name of the abyss has its origin from a legend:
In the village of Vilemovice once lived a widower with his son. He married a second time and his little son got a step mother.
In time, the woman gave birth to her own child and wanted to get rid of the stepson. She asked him to join her in collecting the fruits of the forest. As they came close to the very edge of the abyss, the woman threw her stepson down into the depth.
However, the boy was spared from death by being caught on extending tree branches. Wood cutters, working nearby, heard the desperate cries, and saved the boy. Upon hearing the tales of the wood cutters, the village people of Vilemovice threw the step mother over the abyss.
Since that day the abyss has been called Macocha, the Czech word for stepmother.
This doline is part of the cave system Punkevní Jeskyně. The tour shows the abyss from the ground.
The visitors walk through mighty underground spaces and corridors decorated with stalactites and stalagmites. The foot walk is followed by a motor boat ride along the Punkva underground river. The ride includes the visit to the Masaryk Cave, one of the most beautiful caves of the Moravian Karst.

3in1: Trip to Karlštejn

The second day was dedicated to Karlštejn castle , which is situated in the Central Bohemia cca 40 kilometers from Prague.This High Gothic castle (founded in 1348) is the most visited and the most famous castle of the Czech Republic. It was built by Czech King and Roman Emperor Charles IV as a place for safekeeping of the royal treasures, especially Charles's collection of holy relics and the coronation jewels of the Roman Empire.

This is a detail of an ancient gate to the castle.You can smell a breath of history.
Entirely unique is the original decoration of wall paintings dating back to the 14th century, collection of 129 panel paintings by Master Theodoric in the Chapel of the Holy Cross (the world largest if its kind), the largest portrait gallery of Czech rulers in the country, exhibited replica of St. Wenceslas crown - the coronation crown of the Czech Kings as well as the unique castle well.
From my sketchbook (in the castle is forbidden taking a photography) you can see wooden statue of St.Nicholaus made personally by Charles IV with lead glass behind, rare vase from emperor´s private bedroom , or drawing of replica Czech crown,original is pure gold with gems and pearls and with torn from Jesus´s crown, weight is about 2.5 kg. Replica is from gold coated silver , but it is still gorgeous view.

You can see panoramatic view of several halls and rooms in this castle , look for symbol of eye on this web site

3in1: Trip to Prague

Last weekend we spent in Czech republic,that is a reason why 3in1 title. First day right in the capital city, in Prague. I must say I love Prague, especially Old town with it´s nostalgic atmosphere , Prague is full of interesting views and details .And if you want to draw.... :-) A must for me is always stop at the Clockhouse Tower :
As you see , it is still working, each hour doors are opened and you can see 12 apostols marching. Your next steps can go through Old town to Karl´s Bridge over river Vltava, where you can see stunning view to Hradčany . I try a quick sketch :
Another popular place is Venceslav´s Square , where is National museum . Aim for me this time was exhibition "Hundreds years with the silk ".

This exhibition show unique collection (from China National museum) of silk , from the oldest fragments of silk fabrics (dated b.c.) up to modern times.Very interesting !

EDM#69 : Favourite beverage - Shaken,not stirred

I am a big fan of James Bond films and books and I cannot leave unused the oportunity to draw some of favourite drink :-) :

The ingredients and method to prepare Bond's martini was invented by him and first requested in Ian Fleming's novel Casino Royale (1953). After just meeting his good friend Felix Leiter for the first time, Bond orders the drink from a barman while at the casino Royale-les-Eaux.

"'A dry martini,' he said. 'One. In a deep champagne goblet.'
'Oui, monsieur.'
'Just a moment. Three measures of Gordon's, one of vodka, half a measure of Kina Lillet. Shake it very well until it's ice-cold, then add a large thin slice of lemon peel. Got it?'
'Certainly monsieur.' The barman seemed pleased with the idea.
'Gosh, that's certainly a drink,' said Leiter.
Bond laughed. 'When I'm . . . er . . . concentrating,' he explained, 'I never have more than one drink before dinner. But I do like that one to be large and very strong and very cold, and very well-made. I hate small portions of anything, particularly when they taste bad. This drink's my own invention. I'm going to patent it when I think of a good name.'"
(Casino Royale, Chapter 7: Rouge et Noir)

This is the only instance where Ian Fleming's Bond orders his martini with both vodka and gin; it is later referred to as a "Vesper," named after the Bond girl, Vesper Lynd. Throughout Fleming's adventures Bond appears to prefer vodka martinis, but also drinks regular gin martinis. In total Bond orders 19 vodka martinis and 16 gin martinis throughout Fleming's novels and short stories .
The film adaptation of Casino Royale (Daniel Craig, Eva Green, Caterina Murino) is in production phase now and you can see it in cinemas November 17 ,2006 .

Note: For me this was good practice in watercolour to depict shiny metal surface, transparent and semitransparent objects.
And no , I don´t know taste of this cocktail :-)