Just when you thought you could not love France any deeper, fall in love all over again with Carla Bruni’s debut album, full of tunes that are sweet as honey-like molasses slowly dripping. In the album, widely acclaimed songs such as “Quel qu’un m’a dit,” “Toute le monde,” “Le ciel dans une chambre” are sung by the former first lady of France, Carla Bruni. Even though the album was released in 2002, more than 10 years ago, the classical composition with the lyrical sounds of the guitar is impossible to become outdated. It was a nation-wide hit since its release, with the album dominating the French music charts, and gaining wide popularity across Europe. The French are renowned for taking much pride in their language, and the album, and Carla Bruni’s voice itself, does a wonderful job in accentuating the beauty of the French language. French sounds, like the whisper of two amorous lovers and that sentimentality is really brought to life thanks to Carla Bruni. At the end of the day, lie down and start the tour of the world with a set of earbuds plugged into the ears, and let Carla Bruni’s soft humming guide you through the lovers and streets of France.

 

   Even though Bollywood movies are widely renowned for their heart-warming plots and upbeat musical scenes, many are hesitant to start viewing them due to their unfamiliarity and exceptionally long running time. A typical Bollywood movie usually consists up to three-hours of tape, a quite hefty amount of time. Deiva Thirumagal’s heartfelt plot and jovial comedy scenes will not make the three hours feel wasted, though. Released in 2011, the English translation of the title is “God’s daughter”. As could be expected from the title, the story is about a daughter and her mentally challenged father. Even though the father’s mental age is that of an elementary school child, he raises his daughter with the most care and love that any father could give. But the authorities judge otherwise and take his daughter away from him, leading the father to seek out lawyers and judges who can help him reclaim his daughter. Every step along the way, the movie guides you with musical notes and choreographed performances to act as a caption to the plot and intensify the emotions the movie provokes you to feel. Supplies needed: ample amounts of comfortable pillows and blankets, a box of Kleenex for crying, and a hat to hold onto when you see the unexpected twist at the end.

   Next stop is Israel, a deeply religious Zionist society. For readers deeply longing to experience Israel but lacking the resources to travel there, watching the show Srugim is recommended, a show that aired from June 23, 2008 to Jan. 29, 2012 on Yes TV. The show succeeded in gaining nation-wide popularity, but it is quite deplorable how it failed to gain worldwide recognition. Srugim will help viewers experience the beauty of Israel on screen and help ameliorate whatever prejudices society has formed of Middle Eastern countries and enlighten the public. The show features five characters: Yifat, Hodaya, Reut, Nati, Amir, and their search for love. The focus is not only on the series of plight to find love, though, as it deals with controversial issues in Israel society, like religion and feminism. Even from the pilot episode, Reut takes a stance against her condescending boyfriend and men who try to segregate women in their religious practices. The show heated a nation-wide debate and stirred up many controversies but still enjoyed high ratings and five awards from the Israel academy of TV and movie awards.

    Over the years, various ethnic foods have succeeded in gaining mass popularity with the Korean public, such as Thai, Vietnamese and Mexican. But only a few are familiar with Greek food. However, everybody knows that a great trip cannot be complete without a platter of good ethnic food. Gyros is a great dish to start with, for those who are willing to broaden their horizons but reluctant to order from an unfamiliar menu. It is a Greek dish consisting of Pita bread and a meat of your choice, including, beef, pork, chicken, or lamb, vegetables, and Tzatziki sauce. Tzatziki sauce is a traditional Greek sauce consisting of yogurt, cucumber, garlic, herbs, and vinegar. The whole dish is highly nutritious and holds the full taste of the Mediterranean. Find one of the few venues in Itaewon that sell Greek food or try a new and fun challenge by cooking it at home! The Greek venues are eye-catching because they usually have a tall vertical rotisserie spinning with a huge piece of meat. It is enough to have meat lovers drooling over the spectacle. A taste of this delectable serving will send you to the bustling streets of ancient Greece.

The city of Barcelona is full of Gaudí’s creations. Starting from the most renowned Sagrad Familia Basilica to the breathtaking Casa Batlló, Barcelona holds many of Gaudí’s eccentric architectural works. It is one of the many things that make this city so special and attractive to tourists. Seoul citizens are lucky enough to be able to embrace Barcelona at their own convenience, as the Gaudí exhibition is coming to Seoul from July 23, 2015 to Nov. 1, 2015. Although the entire Park Guell was not moved and displayed in Seoul Arts Center, some of Gaudí’s artworks and his city planning notes have been brought to Seoul to show the artistic process of how he constructed Barcelona. Around 200 pieces of art, sketches, city designs, and architectural replicas that represent the ingenuity of Gaudí will be displayed. The exhibition also features references relating to seven of Gaudí’s architectural artifacts that are listed in UNESCO’s world heritage register, along with some of his unrevealed works and even furniture he had designed. The exhibition exemplifies Gaudí’s creativity and originality as an artist and is well worth visiting.

Time: Monday ~ Friday, 11:00-20:00

Date: July 23, 2015 ~ Nov. 1, 2015

Place: Seoul Arts Center