The day that chocolate beat art…

Categories: Food · PlacesTags: · · · · · 3 Comments

So its winter, and its cold, rainy and miserable… which always makes me want chocolate, makes me CRAVE chocolate. And it was while I was thinking about chocolate and blog posts that I remembered a day long ago in Ghent, Belgium, that I had photographed a chocolate factory when I was actually supposed to be photographing art… In my own defense, it was cold, miserable and raining… so I was doomed from the start. While on a tour of the town highlights we had stopped in at the world-famous Saint Bravo Cathedral, famous because it houses the 15th century Belgian…

In which I obsess about windows and doors:

Categories: ThingsTags: · · · · 14 Comments

We have previously discussed my bicycle fetish and so it was only a matter of time before I had to confess to another photographic obsession. Windows. And doors. So technically 2 obsessions but who’s counting. I have recently been trying to ignore the windows as I walk down the street, because really… enough already. But last weekend we were in the Alentejo and I saw a window that I couldn’t resist, and so the floodgates have been opened… Casa Branca, Portugal    Lisbon, Portugal    Serra de Sintra, Portugal   Gradil, Portugal  Alcaçovas, Portugal   Ericeira, Portugal   Ribamar, Portugal  Óbidos, Portugal  Carvoeira, Portugal  Tabuaço,…

Alaska

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Alaska is stunningly beautiful, breathtakingly expansive, almost unbelievable in its raw beauty… and yet, there is a sense of sadness. Like a powerful and majestic symphony played in a minor key, it leaves you with the feeling, after the music has died away, that something feels… odd. Behind the cheery facades and the tourist souvenir stalls filled with cruise passengers there was an undercurrent of loneliness, perhaps because of the isolation or the lack of sunlight in the winter.  Perhaps because the majority of people are only there temporarily, working the summer season and those who have stayed, or still stay,…

Autumn, chestnuts and horse-fairs… without horses.

Categories: People · PlacesTags: · · · 6 Comments

Well, actually there were horses, lots and lots of them, but since Zé Pequeno is apparently NOT a horsey kind of dog I didn’t get close enough to taking actual photos of said horses. So I (we) took photos of the other (more important) things that were happening at Golegã last weekend. Namely: food and people watching. There was a bit of agua-pé (alcohol) involved too, but one can’t drink, photograph and keep dog from eating-random-objects-on-ground simultaneously, so I have no photos from that part of the day…

São Vicente, Cabo Verde

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It was late in 2005 that I visited São Vicente, the biggest of the Cabo Verde islands. This was long before I had any idea about Portugal or her former colonies and even though my brand new Portuguese boyfriend was excited to drink a Sagres (beer) and feel a little bit at home it just seemed like Africa to me. Now, however, looking back at these photos after having lived in Portugal for over a year, getting to know the culture and traditions, I can see the influences. Cabo Verde is definitely more Africa than anything else, but the connection…

Istanbul: Cultures and Contrasts

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I was trawling through my photo archives recently and have decided to do a few posts about some of the awesome places I have travelled to over the past 5 years. Istanbul is the capital of Turkey and is definitely one of my favourite cities in the world. It’s a crazy place, very busy, constantly buzzing with people, traffic, boats, noises, an awesome place just to get lost in the crowd and wander. The history and culture here is incredibly rich; it’s the city where Europe and Asia meet and you can see it everywhere. Istanbul is a melting pot in…

Cabo da Roca

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Cabo da Roca is the western-most point of continental Europe and therefore, this South African feels a little bit at home here. Why? Because its windy, has a lighthouse, a shop selling icecream and wild seas threatening to smash you to bits should you venture too close to the shore… very much like my own southern-most point of Africa, Cape Agulhas. And the connection between these two wild capes runs deeper than than what meets the eye; the name Cape Agulhas means “Cape of Needles” in Portuguese, and was named as such by the first Portuguese navigators to sail past…

The Bicycle Fetish

Categories: Places · ThingsTags: · · · · · · 15 Comments

I am a collector of things. All sorts of things, depending on my mood. Right now my obsessions are cigar boxes, fabrics, vintage postcards, buttons, 19th century botanical prints, art nouveau fonts. When I was 5 I went through my “pretty soaps” collection period. Then, at about 8 years old was my “candle” period. During my early teens I was obsessed with bird watching and therefore accumulated an enormous selection of ornithology books. My angsty teen years were characterised by the collection of random articles that had “significant meaning” and were connected to some event in my life. Shoeboxes overflowing…