Photography & travel

BARCELONA 2024#2

First time i visited the Sagrada Familia was in 2001, and a revisit in 2012. I still remember well how much of a construction site it was in 2001. The nave itself was not accessible, but climbing the Bell towers on the Passion façade, or Nativity, was possible in small groups. The progress that has been made in 23 years is simply amazing. (and not to forget that the first cornerstone was laid in 1882)The photo of star of this blog post is the ‘Star of the Virgin Mary’. A true milestone of the construction in November 2021. Was Antoni …

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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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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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ÉVORA #3

It is not always the case that the third time is the good time. We experienced this when were treated with heavy rain showers during our third stay at Alentejo. It was so bad that the day before our departure, Lisbon airport was even closed for several hours. But fortunately for us, the sun occasionally broke through the grey blanket of clouds so we planned several small trips around the area.For our first excursion we picked Monsaraz, a cozy fortified village on the right margin of the river Guadiana near the border of Spain. Which is about a 1hr drive …

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ÉVORA #2

All good things comes in three. And the best news is, this is only our second visit to Évora so we certainly need to go back another time! For the great food? The wines? Nature? The quietness you ask? Yes, all of them.But the main reason why we are so riveted to the Alentejo region is Villa Extramuros. A little piece of Heaven on earth. See previous post Évora for more info One of the advantages of a repeating visit is that you are even more à l’aise.You don’t need to rush to discover everything because you have seen already …

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PAUL KLEE

What to do on a cloudy & rainy day. Just stay in bed, read a book or visit a museum? We decided to go for the last option, after we stayed a bit longer in bed as usual, and drove to Bern. Destination Zentrum Paul Klee. The building on it’s own is already a piece of art. It blends wonderfully well with the surrounding area. It sits half hidden in the ground, and what is visible looks like a set of rolling hills. Design is from Renzo Piano. Paul Klee, was a Swiss born German artist. At age of 1 …

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SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE

The capital and largest city on the North-East side of the island. About an hour driving from Garachico. Our first stop is the Auditorio de Tenerife. Unmistakably a building designed by Santiago Calatrava. It’s massive yet elegant at the same time. The semi-arch suspended over the building is a technical masterpiece. Like almost every building by Calatrava, this one too got criticised because of various structural problems and budget increase. We have seen multiple buildings of his hand and i must admit, they are all stunning. What I honestly don’t understand, why on earth do you build such a building …

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GENOVA LA SUPERBA

‘It’s an inspiring city’ was our response to a Genovesi asking how we liked it. “But a little dirty, right?” she added spontaneously. True. It could be cleaner. ‘You notice the difference immediately when you get to Belgium,’ she continued. Turns out she had already been to Antwerp and that creates a bond.We baptise the city as ‘Genu’A’. Now it’s a little bit our city too!A veil of mysticism hangs over the city. Probably because the houses are so close together so the sunlight cannot penetrate everywhere. Often the Caruggi, or alleys, are no wider than 1.80 meters. Fortunately, the …

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FLOWERS FOR CONCRETE

Sometimes a creative moment presents itself. Walking to the bakery on a Sunday morning i suddenly realise that an old garage building in my neighbourhood is getting demolished.Nothing special planned i grab my camera gear, vase of lilies and my safety shoes. It remains, of course, a building under construction, albeit in reverse. The original garage activities were already long stopped. I only knew the building as a storage room for fruit and vegetables owned by a small entrepreneur.However, I never knew that people also lived in dingy flats with little or no comfort. Looking at the gas and electricity …

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Mazzorbo & Burano

Both islands in the bay of Venice, so surrounded by lots of water but not flooted by thousands of tourists. An excellent place to stay a couple nights and visit Venice, Murano, … True, not so close to the main attractions, but in return you will benefit of the beautiful views when you take the vaporetto!Promise me, you keep it a secret too ;-)

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