SOME OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL BRIDGES IN THE WORLD.

The Oxford Dictionary gives this definition for the word "bridge": A structure carrying a road, path, railway, etc. across a river, a road, or other obstacle.

But a bridge is much more than that. It is the structure that enables people from two shores to communicate with each other. On many occasions, these bridges offer startling views or seem to stretch in some impossible way.

There are many examples of bridges like these in English-speaking countries. We want to show you some of the most famous and spectacular ones. Come across them with us!


BROOKLYN BRIDGE (New York, US)

Completed in 1883, it is one of the oldest suspension bridges in the United States. A National Historic Landmark, the Brooklyn Bridge is an iconic feature of New York.

GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE (San Francisco, US)

More than 75 years old now, San Francisco Bay would not be the same without the beauty of this industrial age suspension bridge. It is one of the most recognizable bridges in the world.

ROYAL GORGE BRIDGE (Colorado, US)

This is the world´s highest suspension bridge at 359 metres above Arkansas River. Not surprisingly, it attracts lots of people who jump on parachute from it.

SUNSHINE SKYWAY (Florida, US)

This bridge of 6.67 kms. long connects St. Petersburg and Torre Ceia in Florida. The present bridge was completed in 1987, replacing an older bridge built in 1954 and partly destroyed in a collision in 1980.

THE BRIDGES OF MADISON (Iowa, US)

Although they are not the most beautiful bridges in the world, they became worldwide popular because of their important role in the Hollywood romantic drama movie The Bridges of Madison County (1995), starring Clint Eastwood and Meryl Streep.

There are only six of these bridges nowadays. If you have seen the film, they will be quite familiar for you. Here you have pictures of two of them: Roseman Covered Bridge and Cedar Covered Bridge.

MACKINAC BRIDGE ( Michigan, US)

This 2,626 metres long suspension bridge connects the Upper and Lower peninsulas of the U.S. state of Michigan. It was completed in 1957 after many decades of struggles to begin construction.

TOWER BRIDGE (London, England)

A combined bascule and suspension bridge spanning the River Thames in London, it was opened in 1894. Undoubtedly, it is among the most iconic landmarks in a city filled with with iconic landmarks.

CLIFTON SUSPENSION BRIDGE (Bristol, England)

This suspension bridge spanning the River Avon Gorge was opened in 1864. It is used as a symbol of Bristol on postcards or informational websites and it is one of the most distinctive landmarks all over Britain.

SYDNEY HARBOUR BRIDGE (Sydney, Australia)

Nicknamed "The Coat Hanger" by Sydney locals because of its arch-based design, the Sydney Harbour Bridge opened in 1932 and is a focal point of Aussie (Australian) pride and celebrations (like New Year´s Eve).

HA´PENNY BRIDGE (Dublin, Ireland)

Not the most spectacular or the highest or the longest of bridges, however it is a very famous one. Officially known as the Liffey Bridge, it is a pedestrian bridge built of cast iron in 1816 on the River Liffey in Dublin.

It owes its nickname to the half penny toll that everyone crossing it had to pay for more than a century.

EDGAR ALLAN POE. THE MACABRE AND THE HORROR.

Edgar Allan Poe is one of the greatest American writers ever

You have probably heard before about Edgar Allan Poe. His name brings to mind images of murderers and madmen, premature burials and mysterious women who return from the dead. Moreover, he is considered to be the father of the modern detective story and also to have contributed to the emerging genre of science-fiction in the middle decades of the 19th century.

His life and even his death were quite mysterious too. He had to face poverty and loneliness more usually than he would have wanted. As a result, he fell into drunkenness. On October, 7, 1849, he died in Baltimore in very mysteryous conditions. He had disappeared for some days and when he finally appeared, he was delirious and in great distress, dying  a few days later.

The actual case of the death remains a mystery. Speculation has included delirium tremens, heart disease, epilepsy, syphilis, rabies, cholera or meningeal inflammation. Therefore, his death was as mysterious as many of his works, contributing to create for him the image of "mad genius" or "tormented artist" that he still has nowadays.

A mysterious man was leaving cognac and three roses
on Poe´s grave for more than seventy years

A curious fact that happened many years after his death was the appearance of the Poe Toaster. This is the nickname of a mysterious person who, for over seventy years, visited the original Poe´s grave, poured himself a glass of cognac and raised a toast to Poe´s memory. Then, he would vanish into the night leaving three roses and the unfinished bottle of cognac. It happened in the early hours of every January 19, Poe´s birthday since the 1930s to 2009. He hasn´t appeared in the last three years, adding to the mystery which surrounds the writer´s figure.



POE´S WORKS


The Raven

The Raven is one of the most popular poems of all time

This narrative poem, published in 1845, made Poe widely popular in his lifetime and remains one of the most famous poems ever written. It tells the story of a talking raven´s visit to a desperate lover, tracing the man´s slow fall into madness. It´s impossible to forget how the raven increases the lover´s distraught by constantly repeating the words "Nevermore".  Here you are the initial verse of the poem:


"Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary,
Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore,
While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,
As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.
"Tis some visiter", I muttered, "tapping at my chamber door"-
                                                          Only this, and nothing more".



The Murders in the Rue Morgue

Recognised as the first detective story, it was published in 1841. In this short story, Poe created the character of the detective Auguste Dupin, who established a model for later fictional detectives such as Sherlock Holmes or Hercule Poirot.

This was the first detective story ever published

He created the figure of the brilliant detective, his friend who serves as narrator, and the final revelation being presented before the reasoning that leads up to it. This story has been adapted for radio, film and television many times.



The Fall of The House of Usher

This story is considered a masterpiece of American Gothic literature and Poe´s most famous prose work. The narrator travels to his old friend Roderick Usher´s house, who has asked for his help. This friend suffers from hypocondria, acute anxiety and hypersensitivity.

The macabre pervades the whole story of "The Fall of The House of Usher"

Usher´s sister dies and they both entomb her in a vault. One week later, they discover that she wasn´t really dead. She appears in front of them and hugs her brother, and both fall on the floor as corpses. The narrator runs away from the house just to see how it breaks in two .

The Tell-Tale Heart

One of the classics of the Gothic fiction and one of Poe´s most famous short stories. The narrator describes a murder he committed. He killed an old man with " a blind vulture eye" and hid his dismembered body under the floorboards.

One of the first illustrations of the story depicts the old man´s murder

 But finally the narrator breaks down and confesses his crime as he can´t stop hearing the man´s heart beating under the floorboards, reminding him of his guilt.



The Masque of The Red Death

Another example of short gothic story. The plot shows Prince Prospero trying to avoid a dangerous plague known as the Red Death by hiding in his palace. He and his nobles have a masquerade ball.

Nobody escapes the Red Death

 A mysterious figure disguised as the Red Death appears in the ball. Prospero himself dies after confronting this stranger. The rest of guests die in turns die in turn after realizing that the figure is actually the Red Death itself. It has been considered an allegory about the inevitability of death.

Finally, we are breaking our own rules puting up a song in Spanish. It´s Annabel Lee, by Radio Futura, one of the main bands of the so-called "Movida madrileña",  which is based on one of Poe´s poems. So you will be able to see the importance of Poe´s work in the history of art.