Caves of Remouchamps (Remouchamps, Belgium)

Des grottes de Remouchamps are really a hidden treasure in the Belgian ardennes. That is, if you like dark clammy spaces. I do.

The caves boast the world's longest continuous underground navigation (sounds a bit like the guiness record of fastest time to enter a suitcase (true story)). 

There is a boat ride that you can take on level 2 of the caves, with living creatures like frogs and shell fish in the water.

And on level 1, you'll see fossils with the most spectacular stalactices and stalacmites, rendered even more spectacular by the light show set up inside the caves.

i'll let the pictures speak for themselves.

Le Palais idéal (Hauterives, France)

There is nothing ideal about the palace of Ferdinand Cheval. That doesn't stop it from being utterly magnificent.

Ferdinand ol' chap took 33 years to build this palace, using rocks and stones he picked up during his day job as a mail man. He started off with stuffing the stones in his pocket, then upgraded to a basket, and when that wasn't doing the job, he invested in a wheelbarrow.

Clearly the wheelbarrow worked, because the palais, whilst no Buckingham, is huge. It incorporates different ideologies and faiths. It has, amongst other forms of architecture, a hindu temple and an islamic church.

I realised after that i was so fascinated by the construction of the palais that i had clean forgotten to get a picture of the palais in its entirety. Of course, that's what google images is for. For now, my paltry pictures below will have to do.

Bahá’í House of Worship a.k.a Lotus Temple (Delhi, India)

I visited Delhi for the first time ever this December, so in the 30 hours I was there, i squeezed in a day trip to the Taj Mahal, and a half day tour of Delhi.

One of the stops was Part I - 28. Bahá’í House of Worship a.k.a Lotus Temple (Delhi, India).

This would have been on January 7th 2011. Delhi was smothered in a thick layer of fog, hence the haziness of the picture. (Note aside: a good workman often just has rotten tools).

Truth be told, I did not enjoy visiting the Lotus Temple. While it was incredibly tranquil and beautiful, it was too cult like and eerie. Prayer to me is associated with joy and pain and humanity, all of which have their own special sights and sounds attached to it. This temple felt too stifled.