Senor Hunter and La Sagrada Familia

Flat Mr. Hunter admires the gothic side of La Sagrada Familia, which has a nativity scene

Mr. Hunter's keeper has longed to visit Gaudi's famed Barcelona cathedral ever since she saw Irving Penn's marvelous photo of a funeral procession passing in front of La Sagrada Familia.

Funeral Cortège in front of La Sagrada Familía
Irving Penn
Thanks to the Pebbles From Paradise blog.

Flat Mr. Hunter and the austere Passion facade

Beautiful!  Mr. Hunter can't wait to see this cathedral with his own wooden eyes.  A big "Gracias!" to Liz for taking Flat Mr. Hunter to Barcelona in the meantime.

La Sagrada Familia

Barcelona, Spain

June 2011

Ghetto Mr. Hunter in Kyoto

Teresa brought Ghetto Mr. Hunter to Kiyomizu-dera, 

a Buddhist temple in Kyoto.

Another Komainu!

Teresa and Kiyomizu-dera 

Chillin' at Kiyomizu-dera.

Kiyomizu-dera

Kyoto, Japan

September 2008

Travels with Teresa: Sensō-ji Temple

While visiting Sensō-ji Temple in Tokyo, Ghetto Mr. Hunter admired the koi, enjoyed a snack, and posed with another Komainu.

That's the Senso-ji pagoda on the left.

Another Komainu!

Senso-ji Temple

Tokyo, Japan

August 2008

Ghetto Mr. Hunter Visits Tōshō-gū Shrine

The second half of Ghetto Mr. Hunter's inaugural journey with Teresa took them to Japan.  While visiting the Tōshō-gū Shrine in Tokyo's Ueno Park, 

Ghetto Mr. H. encountered this friendly fellow.

Nice to meet you, sir!

Ema prayer and wish plaques hanging in the foreground.

Ghetto Mr. Hunter and the shrine.

Ghetto Mr. Hunter and a Komainu.
Komainu (aka "lion dogs") act as guardians at shrines.

Among the features at Tōshō-gū Shrine

 is the Flame of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, a peace symbol 

which commemorates the atomic bomb attacks in Japan.

Those are colorful paper cranes
hanging alongside the Flame of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

About the Flame of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Thanks again to Teresa for letting a flat Mr. Hunter accompany her to Japan!

Tōshō-gū Shrine, Ueno Park

Tokyo, Japan

August 2008

Travels with Steve: Sri Mariamman Temple

Flat Mr. Hunter had a chance to see the Sri Mariamman Temple 

when he explored Singapore with Steve.

Sri Mariamman Temple

Singapore

November 2008

Flat Mr. Hunter's First Visit to Israel

Lynlea took Flat Mr. Hunter to Haifa. 

It was the first time any Mr. Hunter had visited Israel. 

Very exciting!

The Golden Dome on the Shrine of the Bab was covered in scaffolding.

Baha'i Gardens and Golden Dome

Haifa, Israel

August 2010

Their eyes met...

Mr. Hunter made a connection with St. Anthony at the Carmel Mission.

Here's a story about St. Anthony, 

along with another photo of this statue.

Carmel Mission Basilica

Carmel, California

April 2006

The Gates of Paradise, Part Two

Mr. Hunter recommends visiting the Museo dell'Opera del Duomo in Florence, home to the original panels of Lorenzo Ghiberti's Gates of Paradise doors.  It's a light and airy museum that also features some lovely Michelangelo statues, figures from the Duomo cathedral, and a striking statue of Mary Magdalene by Donatello.

Ghiberti's Jacob and Esau panel

I love these dogs from the Jacob and Esau panel!

the courtyard where the original Ghiberti panels are displayed

San Francisco's Grace Cathedral has a lovely site about the specific Ghiberti panels.

Museo dell'Opera del Duomo

Florence, Italy

June 2008

Mr. Hunter and Ghiberti's Gates of Paradise, Part One

The Baptistery in Florence is home to Lorenzo Ghiberti's famous Gates of Paradise doors, which feature bronze panels that illustrate various Bible stories.  The doors on the Baptistery itself are now replicas, and the original panels can be seen nearby in the lovely Museo dell'Opera del Duomo.  

Here's Mr. Hunter admiring the replica doors.

We'd paused to take these photos on our way to the Accademia.  Earlier that morning, we'd caught a bit of a parade for the Festa di San Giovanni and the Calcio Storico.  When we got to the Accademia, we realized that we had plenty of time before our reservations to go see Michelangelo's astonishing David, so we headed back toward the Duomo and the Baptistry to see if we could catch more parade action.  When we got there, another part of the parade was in full swing, and the Gates of Paradise were wide open!

Here's a snippet of the Festa di San Giovanni parade.

Battistero di San Giovanni

Piazza del Duomo

Florence, Italy

June 24, 2008

The Baptistery

One of Mr. Hunter's first stops in Florence was the Baptistery, which features a lovely mosaic ceiling.

Yes, that is the thumbs-up, thumbs-down Jesus in the background.

Battistero di San Giovanni

Florence, Italy

June 2008

St. Peter's Square

We ditched the Vatican Museum tour before they dropped us at the tour-sanctioned gift shop.  By this time, we were blazing and thirsty and ready to sit down for a rest before making our way into St. Peter's Square.  Shade was in short supply, but we were thrilled to find these frozen bottles of water.

Bliss!

St. Peter's Square

Vatican City

June 2008

Vatican Museum Tour

in the Vatican Library

in the Map Room at the Vatican Museum

The maps on the wall of the Map Room were lovely, but the tour itself was pretty draining.

       

"Move along.  Move along..."

Vatican Museum

Vatican City

June 2008

All Smiles

Mr. Hunter was all smiles when he posed with this peaceful Buddha on Mitzi's desk.

Namaste.

October 2008

Mr. Hunter, Jr hangs out at Angkor Wat

Another high point in MHJ's travels with Allyson...

Angkor Wat, Cambodia

June 2006