Autumn Shades of Sunset in Lloret de Mar

Leaving the house wearing just a dress and sandals, sunbathing by the ocean, never-ending bright days that fill you up with energy, a myriad of colorful fruits from all over… Is there anything better than summers by the Mediterranean?

Every year when temperatures go down, it’s with a heavy heart that I take the jacket out of the wardrobe. Not the type of person that gets excited to open the it’s-already-dark-night-by-6pm season.

Sometimes, however, I must admit fall comes in with adorable sceneries. Add that to the fact that I have a soft spot for sunsets, and there you have me, taking dozens of pictures while admiring the metamorphose of the sky.

Yesterday I witnessed one of the longest and most beautiful sunsets, and I was lucky enough to be by Lloret de Mar, in Costa Brava. Hope you enjoy the view with #nofilter!

Spring in Normandie

(Yes, that’s Normandie as in French, sorry but I cannot bring myself to write Normandy, I think the y removes all the French glamour immediately.)

I had been thinking about traveling to that region of North-West France since a few years now, after seeing pictures of Honfleur and Deauville in some travel article, and falling in love with the coloured front row houses and vintage beach changing rooms. I also wanted to see the disappearing Mount Saint-Michel, but didn’t have time for that this time. (They say every time you travel, it’s better to leave some things off for a future visit 🙂 )

Giverny or the impressionist dream

If you come from Paris, as me and my sister did, I would recommend making a first stop by Giverny before heading towards the beach and visiting the Fondation Claude Monet. Especially if you’re coming in Spring. Remember those marvellous huge Water Lilies paintings? They were painted here.

Monet, one of my favorite painters, built his own garden with flowers that would grow all year long in front of his house. Once I saw the scenery, I realized that 2 hour-drive and the 40-minute waiting in line under the sun to get in were well worth it. I will let my pictures speak for themselves.

The Art of Jerusalem

Picasso once said, “Todo lo que puede ser imaginado es real” (Everything that can be imagined is real). So when Ahmad and Oren imagined a safeguarded space for citizens of Jerusalem where they could express themselves through art and leave behind any cultural, political or religious differences, they made it real.

They first found a rooftop in no man’s land in the old city of Jerusalem. A misused space full of garbage somewhere in between the Christian, Muslim and Jewish quarters. Anyone who has visited or lived in the Holy City, will know that the population usually stays around their own neighborhood and rarely intertwines with their neighbors. So, to find a place which is easily accessed from the different quarters appears to me like a sign that this project, called Jerusalem Art,  was simply meant to be.

Barcelona from the magic mountain: Tibidabo Views

There’s no excuse. It’s been almost 4 months since my last update, the longest period of time I have remained inactive since I started this project back in 2011.

However, I’ve always believed that quality beats quantity, and that means some times I rather wait until something worth it comes up.

For example going up to the Tibidabo Amusement Park, one of my favorite spots when I was a kid. Don’t get me wrong I didn’t actually go into the park and ride the attractions. I just went up the mountain and enjoyed the breathtaking views of Barcelona, completely worth it!

My relationship with Tibidabo started as far back as I can remember. My grandfather used to drive the tramway that connects Barcelona to the funicular that goes on top of the mountain and for that reason we got free entrances. I don’t know how many birthdays I celebrated (or attented to) in Tibidabo, but I never got tired of it!

If you plan to go up the mountain, and you don’t have a car, I recommend to take the bus in Plaça Catalunya, otherwise the price of the combination of metro + tramway + funicular will go higher.

Tibidabo allows you to enter the top floor of the park without a ticket and wander around the most classical attractions: the merry-go-round, the wheel and the watchtower.

From there you can also have a closer look at the  Expiatory Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (Sagrat Cor), with a combination of different styles ranging from Romanesque to Modernist. But as I said before, the main point of going up the mountain are the excellent views of the city. Don’t miss it out!

Universal children’s day around the world

Over the course of my trips I like to take pictures, not only of the main attractions, but also of locals and their way of life. To celebrate the Universal Children’s Day I’ve made a selection of some of my travel photos where kids are the main characters.

Miyazima (Japan)

One of the places I highly recommend you to visit is the beautiful island of Miyajima in Japan. There’s a a Torii Gate that seams to float on the water when tides are high, and when they are low you can approach it by foot. You can see its red reflection in the background and the little kid playing with sand and water.

Atlas (Morocco)

When we travelled to Marrakech in 2011 with my family we made a trip to the mountains of Atlas. It was like a trip in time seeing those kids playing with toys from my grand parent’s time.

Jardins du Luxembourg (Paris)

While visiting my sister in Paris last year, I took my camera and went for a walk in the beautiful gardens of Luxembourg. In the pond it was possible for kids to rent little boats and let them float away,

Nara (Japan)

Again in Japan we met this group of cute schoolkids visiting Nara in front of its Buddhist temple.

Poblesec (Barcelona)

Correfocs are very popular in the Catalan tradition, it consists of a group of Diables ( Devils) lighting fireworks and dancing. I had never seen such a young and proud diable before!

Hope you enjoyed those pictures, have a great day!