Tag: Spain

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Back From Spain!

¡Hola!  We are back from Spain.  Spain again, you say.  Haven’t we visited Spain like 2 years ago?  True.  But since we have been dipping in and out of the language for three years – the word ‘soaking’ would have been a vast exaggeration – touring Spain thus becomes one of our favorite choices.  Fortunately, there are lots to see in Spain.

“This is Cynthia and I with Gaudí in one of his houses!”

This year, we have visited one of the Canary islands so far off from the inland that could well be part of Africa.  But they are significant enough to be printed onto a 50€ bank note.  We have also visited the southern part of the country where the territories were lost to the Moors – Muslim from North Africa – and were re-conquered by the Spaniards.  Majestic Islamic influenced architecture monuments can still be seen in southern Spain today.  And since we flew directly from Singapore to Barcelona this time, we have spent some time to cover points of interest that we have missed in our last trip.  To my avid readers, after failing to visit the Picasso Museum in Barcelona twice (due to timing) and the Picasso Museum in Paris once (due to renovation), we have better luck this time.  On top of that, we have added 3 more UNESCO World Heritage Sites into our list.

To be totally honest, while I always look forward to a long holiday break, a fragment of me cringed at the physical demand of traveling in Europe.  The planning of itinerary and the logistics of the hotel and car rental booking, the rather long flight time (24 hours to reach Gran Canaria), lugging my rather heavy photography gears, and getting used to left hand manual driving through the narrow roads in the small towns and the mountain areas.  In no less than three counts, we nearly smashed our car onto the stationary cattle and a dashing deer at night.  Having said all of the above, every trip to Europe has always been a rewarding experience – both in the culture and nature departments.  I hope to share the journals and photos soon.  Preferably a faster turnaround time compare to our last trip to France.  Stay tuned.

A blog entry written on a SIA plane a couple of hours prior to landing in Singapore.

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Photography Travel Blog

This Is The End Of The Spain Holiday Series

At San Salvador

I wish I could save the best for the last.  But my favorite photo album is still the journal of the previous day.  Followed by the “Jelly Fish” post that some of my friends refer to.

The writing of this set of journal have been one helluva journey.  A total of more then 22,000 words not counting the associated blog entries and close to 600 photographs.  And this blog entry is dedicated to the regular readers of this series (and my website).  Without your support, I reckon I would gave up halfway.  So, thank you.

To read more about our last day of our trip in Mallorca …

To read the rest of the travel blog entries, please follow this tag.

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Photography Travel Blog

So Many Boats, In The Beautiful Island of Mallorca (Majorca)

Cynthia and I in Mallorca

If you are one of the handful of readers who follow this Sunday series, you probably wonder, where am I in the photos?  I am often not that keen to go in front of the camera.  Happy to stay behind the viewfinder instead.  And all of a sudden, in day 11, I put my tripod into action.  A bit late I know.  But better then never, eh?

Interestingly, out of this handful of readers who often drop a comment or two at my site (thank you!), one is traveling from Singapore to Hong Kong for holiday, with his wife.  And another one is traveling from Hong Kong to Singapore for holiday, also with his wife.  Well, bros, take some good photos and have a good family outing.  I look forward to seeing your photo albums!

Mallorca, or Majorca in English, is a beautiful island.  The beach, the boats, the blue sky, the lake, and the mountains.  It is a perfect destination for the cyclists too.  No wonder Mallorca is such a popular vocation destination for the Europeans.  To read more about our road trip in Mallorca.

To read the rest of the travel blog entries, please follow this tag.

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Photography Travel Blog

Traveling To The Beach Resort Island, A Prelude to Mallorca

A view near the hotel Mar Azul

The color of this photo is taken straight from my camera, a faithful reproduction of the beautiful sea view that we saw.  I have been contemplating if I shall combine the day 10 and 11 entries into one as I didn’t manage to take many photos that day, for circumstances that you will read later.  But since day 11 and 12 – the last 2 entries of the series – are pretty heavy with some real good contents (I promise), I shall leave day 10 entry as it is – like a prelude.  A bit light on the photo album (sorry!).  The journal, nevertheless, is as meaty as ever (kekeke).

As such, below are the options you may wish to read more about our first day in Mallorca.

To read the rest of the travel blog entries, please follow this tag.

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Photography Travel Blog

Madrid, It’s Madrid!

Cynthia on the top of a Cathedral in Madrid

Recently, I met up with one reader of my website, for a movie by an actress we both adore.  And he brought along with him a photo album of his recent overseas trip, shot using the camera that I recommended.  He had some questions in mind but I am far from being a pro.  Nevertheless, I was happy to share my experience with him.

I enjoy seeing a photo album of family and friends.  That is what I love to do; and that is what I love to see.  Specifically, I enjoy seeing the connection between the subjects and the photographer.  Personally, I find it hard to photograph subjects that I cannot relate.  Back to my new friend, we had such a good time.  He is a bright young man with great drive.  Certainly someone with a promising future.

Time flies.  Since when it doesn’t?  Some friends of mine start to ask, “How many more days to go?”.  Each Sunday, I publish a mini article on one day of my recent holiday trip to Spain.  Each article takes me any time between 8 hours to 16 hours to complete.  It must be quite an effort to follow this mini series of mine, as much as the effort I pour into each article.  The answer is: three more days to go.  And I am looking forward to the 26th of September, whereby I will take a break from the 12 weekends of non-stop publication of this travel blog.

Day 9, we toured Madrid.  You know how some days you pick up your camera and feel that every shot you make is just great.  Some days, you keep trying for different settings and still not quite getting it.  Day 9 turns out to be quite a challenging day for me.  Maybe the sun was too strong.  Maybe I was messing around with the flash setting trying to do something different.  I thank Cynthia for being so patience, standing under the sun for those multiple shots of the same pose, same scene.  Till her nose bled.

As always, below are the options you may wish to read more about our trip.

To read the rest of the travel blog entries, please follow this tag.

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Photography Travel Blog

A Museum Crawling Day In The City Of Madrid

Inside the Queen Sofia Museum

Throughout this series thus far, you have seen pictures of the Churches and the monuments, of the road trips, and even those of the bizarre creatures and the futuristic buildings from Valencia.  On the 8th days, we dedicated the entire Sunday touring museums in Madrid.

Cynthia and I love to spend time inside a museum.  I reckon if we spend enough time inside museums, we could sharpen our sense of art appreciation.  I am not sure how museums are run in Singapore (perhaps we shall explore).  In Spain, Audio Guide rental services are provided.  We think Audio Guide is a wonderful innovation.  It is a headset that comes with a keypad.  At a given location, observe the numeric label besides the artwork, punch in the numbers, and listen to the commentary playback through the headset in the language of your choice.  We have learned how to appreciate cubism and realism.  And we have also learned what questions to ask when admiring art models in 3D.

As always, below are the options you may wish to read more about our trip.

To read the rest of the travel blog entries, please follow this tag.

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Photography Travel Blog

On The 7th Day, We Toured The Toledo

Cynthia, and the Street of Madrid

I would never forget the exhilarating experience of driving in the narrow sloppy streets of Toledo with a left-hand manual car.  Some of which I could not quite figure out the one-way road direction.  Another time, we drove into a dead end only to reverse all the way out to the road junction as the street was way too narrow to U-turn.  Overall, it was an interesting experience.  We just have to do it the hard way.

On the seventh day, we toured the Toledo.  And on the seventh day, we drove into the heart of Spain, Madrid.  Below are the options you may wish to read more about our road trip.

To read the rest of the travel blog entries, please follow this tag.

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Photography Travel Blog

Jellyfish Is Called Medusa In Spanish, Out Of Valencia And Into Toledo

Inside a Marine Center in Valencia

This post is dedicated to the loyal followers of this Spain holiday series and to those few of you who constantly ask me if the photos are coming out any time soon and drop some comments here.  It is your anticipation that keeps me going.  Thank you.  At the end of this series, we may have a 15,000 words journal completed with 600 photos.  All because of you!

Day 6, we have approached the midway point of our journal.  Of all the episodes, I look forward to the photo album of this one the most.  It is because the subjects are so different from the rest of what we have.  The structures in the “City of Art and Science” are so futuristic, so unexpected of.  I wish I had more time to tour this part of Valencia.

As usual, below are the options you may wish to read more about our road trip.

  • A photo collection for day 6 of our trip to Spain (39 photos with captions)
  • A journal written in details on what we did and more (approx 1,800 words)
  • A highlight of the photos below (8 photos – and for Facebook readers, please view the original post)

To read the rest of the travel blog entries, please follow this tag.

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Photography Travel Blog

Taking The Driver Seat For Our Valencia City Tour

Jesus on a Cross, inside the Cathedral of Valencia

I wonder if by now you may think that I am converting my personal website into some kind travel blog site.  Well, I am not.  Just a phase I am in.  I am still a raro (weirdo in English) and those out-of-the-world posts will return, I promise.  In fact, this weekend, I have been very much distracted by my songwriting activity.  I planned to squeeze in some time to do some home recording before Cynthia & Co. return from Hong Kong.  That didn’t happen.  I need a longer weekend.  A much longer weekend.

As you may have read my travel  journal, insofar I had been taking a back seat on this holiday to Spain in June.  Men are hopelessly lazy in nature.  That’s why we need our significant halves.  On day 5, my action oriented nature kicked in.  And so I took a more proactive approach to decide where we should go.  Taking the driver seat so as to speak – both figuratively and literally.

Speaking of driver seat, when I was in Valencia, I thought driving inside the city was crazy.  And in our next destination, it went even crazier.  But I am ahead of time here.  As usual, below are the options you may wish to read more about our road trip.

  • A photo collection for day 5 of our trip to Spain (63 photos with captions)
  • A journal written in details on what we did and more (approx 2,000 words)
  • A highlight of the photos below (10 photos – and for Facebook readers, please view the original post)

To read the rest of the travel blog entries, please follow this tag.

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Photography Travel Blog

A Road Trip To Valencia

The Beautiful Peñíscola

“You always like to do it the hard way” – I get that a lot from the people around me.  I have no idea how the hard way always find its way to me.  But I think, rewards are earned, not being handed over.

For the record, I don’t seek out the hard way.  I would prefer to take a train from one city to another, and then take an excursion trip like what we did in Montserrat.  But Cynthia wanted to experience what a road trip would be like in Spain.  And so, we rented a car in Barcelona, passing the beautiful coastal towns of Tarragona and Peñíscola, before reaching Valencia.

As usual, below are the options you may wish to read more about our road trip.

  • A photo collection for day 4 of our trip to Spain (38 photos with captions)
  • A journal written in details on what we did and more (approx 2,000 words)
  • A highlight of the photos below (8 photos – and for Facebook readers, please view the original post)

Talking about the hard way, I have not eaten since I woke up.  Eight hours I have spent on this entry.  Time to have a real good meal before watching the F1 broadcast at eight!

To read the rest of the travel blog entries, please follow this tag.