History Abounds . . .

The photo above shows the Tower Bridge and the Tower of London. William the Conqueror built the original White tower in 1078. The tower began as a royal residence and was converted to a prison around 1100. The tower was expanded numerous times throughout the 12th and 13th century to become what we see today, a massive fortress looming over the river Thames. The Tower of London is haunted by some of the most famous names in England’s history including Thomas Becket, Henry VI, the Two Princes and Queen Anne Boleyn.

http://www.medievalarchives.com/2010/10/31/medieval-archives-podcast-episode-10-the-tower-of-london/

Could you ask for more ???

Steven Harris Architects designed the Surfside Residence on Montauk Point peninsula in New York. The home has private access to a beach, heated swimming pool, spa and best of all an amazing view looking out over the ocean. Talk about a dream home.

"the fairy tale castle“

Neuschwanstein castle is perched above Hohenschwangau, near Füssen in Southern Bavaria. Its construction started in 1869 on orders of king Ludwig II of Bavaria, who idealized a Middle-Ages chivalry castle.

To this day, it is one of Germany's most renowned monuments, attracting over a million tourists every year. Often described as "the fairy tale castle“, Neuschwanstein opened for visitors just 7 weeks after the king's death. It still amazes today by what were technological exploits of the times: it featured a central hot air heating system, hot running water, a meal elevator, as well as the telephone.

http://www.baviere-quebec.org/archives/wsd/00275/index.php.en

Style Counts

Takashi Kobayashi built this tree-house tea house worthy of Dwell magazine at the Niki Club in Nasu, Japan. 

http://www.latimes.com/features/home/la-lh-the-tree-houses-of-takashi-kobayashi-20130221,0,642630.photogallery

2014 Mercedes-Benz S550

The last word in luxury limos hasn't been spoken until Mercedes-Benz has had the floor. Herr Dr. Benz’s firm was making the preferred shipping containers for the mostly unelected elite when Audi was merely a business plan, when BMW was in the bubble-car business, and when the word “lexus” was just badly butchered Latin. No company in this market has more experience catering to finicky buyers.

Thus does Mercedes now deliver its latest take on the executive-level sedan after just about everybody else, from Hyundai to Hongqi, has taken a shot. Over the years, Benz and its closest competitors have reduced power, handling, and comfort to commodities. Supplying them in overabundance is the table ante now, so the strategy with the new S, code-named W222 and initially available in the U.S. as the S550 and S550 4MATIC, has been to think of what else the rich desire even before the rich think of it themselves. 

For example, absolutely nobody knows he needs two reverse gear ratios or stereo-speaker mood lights in seven driver-selectable colors. At least, not yet. Or seat coolers that suck (air) for four minutes before they blow, which does indeed chill your sweaty backside more quickly. The “hot-stone massage” feature, also optional, feels as if somebody were poking you with warm snooker balls. And the softer pillows on the headrests of the two optional, electrically reclining “executive” rear chairs are like dunking your head into clotted cream. Americans even get special maxi air conditioning that can channel a nor’easter at your chest, something Europeans hate, apparently. 

http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/2014-mercedes-benz-s-class-s550-first-drive-review