Favorite pictures
Take a look at the selection of my favorite shots from around the world and click through to my extensive galleries on Flickr.
Besalú
Besalú announced itself as a contender for the title of the most attractive little town the moment I caught the sight of it from across river Fluvià. It definitively has one of the most impressive approaches, highlighted by its famous bridge that dates from 12th century. My photographic skills do not properly convey the majesty
Chasing World Heritage: #96 (Madriu-Perafita-Claror)
There are properties on the World Heritage list that have words “cultural landscape” in their name. These sites are relatively large areas whose history and development was directly influenced by the features of the landscape. The Andorran valley of Madriu-Perafita-Claror is one such site, offering an insight into how people survived and even prospered in
The Cloisters, New York City
It pains me to admit that until just a few years ago I was not even aware of the existence of Met Cloisters. Its comparatively remote location near the northern tip of Manhattan island played a role in my never being able to set aside time for a visit. Only this past Sunday, my lovely
A decade of blogging
We interrupt the current stream of travel vignettes in order to celebrate a truly momentous occasion: the 10th birthday of my online journal. It is no testament to either perseverance or superior writing that the blog, started as the written record of our expatriate experiences, has survived our subsequent repatriation, periods of little to no
Andorra La Vella
Counting the places I have visited is probably my only concession to any appearance of being vain. I have a couple of counts going. One, well documented in this blog, is my opportunistic chase after World Heritage sites. The other is the count of different countries that I set foot on. Seeing as Costa Brava
Chasing World Heritage: #95 (Poblet Monastery)
My well-known affinity for sacred architecture did not translate into significant appreciation of Poblet Monastery. The World Heritage inscription mentions majestic architecture on more than one occasion and uses the word “important” with a variety of emphatic modifiers to describe its place in the history of Catalonia. I saw an impressive enough complex with little
Chasing World Heritage: #94 (Tarragona)
An attractive city to the south-west of Barcelona, Tarragona’s claim to UNESCO recognition revolves around its Roman past, as evidenced by a significant number of architectural remains. The long history of the city means that the medieval, Renaissance, and modern architecture in the center coexist with remnants of Roman glory. Here is a not exactly successful attempt
Monells
I have to give unqualified credit to my friend Arthur. He has made Costa Brava his summer home for twenty years. The law of diminishing returns suggests that he should find it harder and harder to come across something not seen before. But in fact, he continues to discover fascinating places every year. One of
Tour of Pordamsa Porcelain factory
Our good friends who make Costa Brava their summer home have a business relationship with Pordamsa Porcelain. Pordamsa has been making innovative tableware in Catalonia’s Empordà region for 40 years. We toured their factory in the town of La Bisbal d’Empordà, which merits a separate entry in the recap of our recent trip. First, the
Peratallada
The first installment of the photo recap of our summer trip to Spain arrives in double-quick time. I will try to cover every distinct location that I have taken pictures at in more or less chronological order. Which brings us to Peratallada. Peratallada is among the most picturesque villages in the proximity of
Back from Costa Brava
We always have memorable vacations. Whether it is through mixing detailed planning and potential for spontaneity, combining specific destinations and experiences with periods of pleasant idleness, or simply being lucky with hitting mostly the right notes, we are hard pressed to recall a trip that did not leave positive impressions. We occasionally experience days that
A picture from San Gimignano
This may not be an especially striking picture, but I like it because it represents a bit of departure from the common type of San Gimignano photography. Most of the time people, myself customarily included, focus on the towers that give San Gimignano its unique skyline. While the towers retain prominence in this perspective, the
A postcard from London
This is one of my favorite photos of London. Old-timers on this blog may remember it making an appearance twice already, processed in rather different fashion back then. Although it is not objectively a postcard-quality shot, it comes close enough. We are standing in front of Tate Modern on the South Bank of Thames.
A place in my memory: Blackheath
If you did not come to visit us during our years in England, it is unlikely that you ever did or will set foot in Blackheath. At the edge of Greater London, it lies beyond major tourist routes. In my recent London guide, I did not mention it as a possible destination for a trip
A picture from Mantua
Sometimes, small details leave sharper impressions of a place than grand vistas. This picture taken in the Lombardian city of Mantua (Mantova in Italian) is a good illustration. The location is Piazza Sordello. This spacious main historic plaza is flanked by the local Duke’s Palace, a couple of other ancient buildings, and the Baroque
Someone is 6 today!
How do they grow so fast?
Another postcard from Oslo
This picture of the Royal Palace in Oslo proves that sometimes you can get a postcard-quality shot with practically zero effort. When the skies are radiant and the colors are dazzling, all you have to do is press the shutter button. The palace offers timed limited-number-of-people guided tours, of which only a few a
A place in my memory: Prague
Among my all-time favorite photographs, this one is the oldest, dating from our first trip to Prague over a decade ago. I fell in love with the city and to this day consider it the most beautiful in the world. I suspect there is not a significant number of people who would argue that Prague
A postcard from Manarola
Of the five villages that make up the breathtaking region of Cinque Terre on the Ligurian Coast in Italy, the two most photographed are Vernazza and Manarola. We made Vernazza our base a couple of years ago and I had ample time to build a reasonable portfolio of Vernazza images (the best ones can be
Re-counting World Heritage sites: #27 (Independence Hall)
On a recent sunny Sunday afternoon I was able to close one of the gaps in my World Heritage portfolio – re-visit and properly photograph the Independence Hall, the site that is the second geographically closest to me. The principles of freedom and democracy enshrined in the Declaration of Independence and the US Constitution, both