Photography & travel

BARCELONA 2024#1

It was only two months ago that we were driving around Spain, and now we’re back again.But this time it’s just for a long weekend. We had promised to show Karen’s nieces Barcelona because they had never been there before. And was is the easiest way to show people around? Yes, a velocipede, and a lot of walking… Some of the highlights we included in their planning. Plaça de George Orwell, Plaça Reial, Plaça de Calalunya, Las Ramblas, Gothic Quarter, Parc de la Ciutadella, La boqueria, Casa Milà, Sagrada Familia and more. We have a busy schedule, but we included …

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MADRID#3

Visit Madrid and not go to the Prado? Impossible. As a Belgian, you can’t obviously pass up the opportunity to admire a Rubens. The Prado owns one of the largest and one of the best collections of Rubens’s paintings thanks to the connection with the Spanish monarchy. There was one painting in particular that I definitely wanted to see; ‘The Adoration of the Magi’. I first came across it when I was nine years old in a Suske & Wiske comic strip. ‘De raap van Rubens’ or Rubens’ apprentice. What I didn’t know is that different versions were painted. The …

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MADRID#2

Parque de El Retiro really is a gem, a green lung in the middle of Madrid. A place to slow down, stroll, lie down on the grass, read a book or breathe in the sweet scent of roses. You can do the latter to your gusto in La Roseleda, a rose garden designed by Cecilio Rodriguez in 1915. The park has several highlights.To our disappointment, we were not allowed to enter one of them, the Palacio de Cristal due to renovation work. Built in 1881 for the 1883 National Exhibition of Mining, Palacio de Velázquez is now a museum and …

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MADRID#1

We have already been to many places in Spain, but never to the capital Madrid. Do we like it more than Barcelona? Yes. No. It’s different. Where’s the sea? Madrid is a vibrant city with great food, sangria, a nice atmosphere, lots of trees, nice parks, gardens with fragrant flowers, elegant boulevards, intimate squares & big squares, flamenco, beautiful museums, a partnership with Brussels [Belgium] and of course; Jamon! Since we like strolling around to soak up the atmosphere of the city we never took the metro. We stayed at Room Mate Alba next to Plaza de Santa Ana, which …

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VALENCIA

On our way to our next sleepover we planned to stop at Valencia to visit La Ciutat de les Art I les Siències. A project described as a ‘white elephant that the country could not afford’. I must admit, it’s something special, and megalomaniacal. Calatrava at his best and his second most expensive project. Calatrava designed the project together with Félix Candela. As the site is close to the sea, and Valencia is so dry, I decided to make water a major element for the whole site using it as a mirror for the architecture Santiago Calatrava Is it worth …

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ZARAGOZA

Zaragoza? Why do you plan a trip to Zaragoza?Well, because of the famous cuisine. And that brings me seamlessly to the real reason. Our son Mathijs, a newbie chef, is doing an internship at restaurant Quema, and we’re going to visit him. We were pleasantly surprised by the city. Like Antwerp, Zaragoza is located on a river, the Ebro, adding a special vibe to the city. Having a personal ‘local’ guide when visiting a city is always an advantage. Mathijs did a great job guiding us around, unlocking the secrets of the Zaragoza gastronomic street food. The absolute starting point …

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CINDY SHERMAN @ PLATFORM 10

Platform 10 at Lausanne is one of a kind. It combines 3 museums and 2 foundations (MCBA – mudac – Photo Elysée) on the same premisses. And when they have Cindy Sherman on display we didn’t hesitate to have a look. Cindy Sherman is an American artist who examine themes of representation and identity. Although almost always present in her work, she is never the subject of it. The works presented are photographs of individual parts of her face which are digitally cut & paste into a new composition. The museum (mudac – Photo Elysée) itself is well worth a …

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MORCOTE & GANDRIA

About 10 kilometres outside of Lugano you will find Morcote, a small village with a beautiful lake view. Morcote was founded around 1100. At that time, a castle was born to protect and control trade on the lake. 300 years later the church of Santa Maria del Sasso was built. Visible from afar. Visiting the church does not come without an effort, 404 steps separate you from the entrance. But once you reach the top, you will be rewarded with a magnificent panorama. North-East of Lugano lies Gandria, glued to the surrounding hillside of lake Lugano. Access to the village …

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ASCONA – LUGANO

Sometimes everything just works out fine. Ascension on a Thursday, Friday a bridge day and you have a nice long weekend just like that. And with a promising weather forecast we didn’t hesitate at all. Let’s drive to Lugano! You’re still in Switzerland but you’ll get a different experience. More on that later.We decided to take the shortest route possible, not only to save on battery juice, but to experience the Simplon pass. We crossed it around 8:30 in the morning. Perfect timing. The sky was mediterranean ocean blue and traffic fluid. Although it is already spring, there was still …

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Genève un après-midi culturel

Quoi faire when the sky is heavy and you’re longing for some brain food.Visit a museum. Or even better, visit 2 museums!Musée d’Art et d’Histoire and MAMCO it is.The clock on the Musée d’Art et d’Histoire’s facade is actually a counter, counting down to the end of the world. To be more precise, the extinction of the sun. Switzerland is not really known for its museums, nor are they numerous, but sometimes you still get surprised. Our first visit was so-so, but the second one was yippie.The building itself has a lot of grandeur but the collection is missing an …

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