This aerial picture taken on June 6, 2016, shows the scene of a collision between a freight train and a passengers train on their way between Liege and Namur, in Saint-Georges-sur-Meuse, Eastern Belgium. Investigators worked through the wreckage of a high speed train crash in eastern Belgium on Monday that killed at least three people and injured nine others. A fast-moving passenger train late Sunday slammed violently into the back of a slow-moving freight train that was travelling on the same track for reasons that remain unexplained. (Photo by Laurie Dieffembacq/AFP Photo)

This aerial photo shows bullet trains parked at a station in preparation for the upcoming Lunar New Year travel peak in Nanjing, in eastern China's Jiangsu province on January 27, 2021, as authorities have encouraged people to stay put during the Spring Festival to curb the spread of of COVID-19 coronavirus. (Photo by AFP Photo/China Stringer Network)

Aerial view of Christ The Protector Statue at sunrise on April 21, 2021 in Encantado, Brazil. The statue under construction in Encantado, Southern Brazil, will be named Cristo the Protector and will surpass the iconic Christ The Redeemer of Rio de Janeiro by five meters. Made of steel and concrete, it will stand 43 meters including its pedestal, and become the third-tallest statue of Jesus Christ in the world. (Photo by Buda Mendes/Getty Images)

This aerial photograph taken on April 22, 2024 shows a flooded island after heavy rains in Qingyuan, in southern China's Guangdong province. More than 100,000 people have been evacuated due to heavy rain and fatal floods in southern China, with the government issuing its highest-level rainstorm warning for the affected area on April 23. (Photo by AFP Photo/China Stringer Network)

A groundskeeper uses a bamboo broom at Kasumigaike Pond at Kenrokuen Garden in Kanazawa, Japan on January 12, 2016. The japanese garden, located next to Kanazawa Castle, encompasses over 28 acres in downtown Kanazawa. With two ponds, rolling hills with streams and bridges, is considered a strolling-style landscape garden. It's regarded as one of the top three most beautiful gardens in Japan. (Photo by Linda Davidson/The Washington Post)

Iceland is known as the land of fire and ice and these images capture the essence of that perfectly. Incredible ever-changing landscapes demonstrate the contrast between the freezing ice and burning skies that dominate Iceland's beauty. The stunning pictures taken by photographer Lurie Belegurschi show the breathtaking and utterly unique ice plains formed in sub-zero temperatures. (Photo by Lurie Belegurschi/Caters News)

I would like to tell you why many artists, who like me, have painted portraits and landscapes in oils on canvas, worked with acrylics, watercolors, and pen and ink drawings, have turned to the art of gourd carving.

Since its unveiling in 2006 this masterpiece created by Frank Gehry to house the Hotel Marqués de Riscal has become a highly sought after contemporary, luxury retreat. Design, art, gastronomy, wine and the lush landscape all combine to create a memorable sojourn.