I {heart} BCN

“Hy! My name is Barbara and I am a fall-in-love-holic... (And the crowd replies: Hy Barbara)”

I love falling-in-love – I fall in love with a good movie (and watch it over-and-over-and-over-an-over again), a great book (and then bully people around me to read it), an excellent meal, a work of art...you get the picture...I fall in love every-single-day in something and it passes after some time (a day or two)...

But sometimes, with something, that feeling stays... 

That happened with Barcelona. The moment we got out of the subway, I feel in love...with everything – sounds, smells, climate, people, culture, architecture, diversity of the city... 

Best view of the city is from hill Montjuïc:

Very relaxing place after a day-long-sightseeing is The Rambla del Mar. It’s a kind of extension to La Rambla, the most famous street of Barcelona. We found Häagen-Dazs shop there, mixed 3 favourite flavours, set down on this wooden/iron bridge and just...chilled...overlooking the harbour and sea... 

A special love exists between Barcelonians and their bikes :) 

While strolling through Gothic Quarter, we stumbled across castell competition:

Street performers in Park Güell and La Rambla:

Very creative graffiti street art can be found all-over-the place:

I love Gaudí – i think that everything he ever made is just pure perfection... I read “The Gaudi Key” (by Esteban Martin and  Andreu Carranza) in two days – and trust me, it’s not a small book...  

So you can imagine me in BCN on “Gaudí Architectural Tour” – like a kid in a chocolate factory... Sagrada Familia, Park Güell,  La Pedrera...

La Barceloneta is Barcelona's main city beach. It is surrounded by a ton of seafood restaurants, beachside “chiringuitos” and street performers. You know what is the best part about La Barceloneta? You come there in late afternoon/sunset... it’s still hot but just-the-right-temperature (we went there at the beginning of October – at 6 o’clock in the afternoon it was 32 degree Celsius)... and you sit at an open terrace of a local bar and enjoy a cold drink and a sea breeze...

Magnificent examples of artistic trends can be found all the city:   

Two particular sculptures “caught-my-eye”.... Beautiful sculpture by Joan Miró "Woman and Bird":  

And colourful “Barcelona Head” by Roy Lichtenstein:

After spending there almost a week, I have a feeling that I only scratched the surface of the city and that Barcelona has a lot more to show me... 

So, see you soon, BCN...I hope...  

Qui, une fois venu à Paris, vient toujours à Paris...

First thing everyone told me when I said we were going to Paris was: “Aaaa, Paris - the city of love!”. But Paris is sooo much more... famous buildings, works of art, chic fashion scene, culture... we travelled there in June and stayed for a week. These are some of my favourite places...  

What is a first thing that a non-Parisian does when in Paris? Climbs on Eiffel Tower – of course... and I have to admit – the view is breathtaking... 

If you have enough time, you should definitely talk a walk down both sides of Siene - "Rive Gauche" and "Rive Droite". On the left bank you can see Eiffel Tower and Conciergerie:

Some people are living on boats on Siene:

The Ile de la Cite is a natural island located on the Seine River in Paris between the Rive Gauche and Rive Droite and there the beautiful gothic cathédrale Notre Dame de Paris is situated:   

From the first day I knew I was going to Paris, I had my mind set to going (and possibly buying) a book at Shakespeare and company bookshop. So you can understand my disappointment when I came there and found it closed...Well, I guess I will have to go there again :)

Café?

A must-see is the church of Saint-Eustache with the L'écoute sculpture by Henri de Miller:

If I would have to pick one favourite museum in Paris, I’d definitely pick Musée d’Orsay. Standing 10 centimetres form G-E-N-I-U-S works of art (Vincent van Gogh, Renoir, Manet)...it doesn’t get much better than that...

Qu'est-ce que le menu aujourd'hui? French cuisine... no comment... something perfect...

Now home to a number of famous cafés (such as Les Deux Magots and Café de Flore), galleries, nightclubs, bookshops and publishing houses, the Saint-Germain-des-Prés area  was the center of the existentialist movement.

Parc Monceau - no better place to spend lunchtime on a park bench with wine and cheese...

If you prefer modern art, then THE place for you to see is Centre Georges Pompidou - the largest museum of modern art in Europe:

Parc de la Villette and the 'Metro de Moscou':

The magnificant Arc de Triomphe...

We had dinner at a cute little restaurant at Montmartre: 

And took a photo in front of Moulin Rouge :)

St. Augustine said: “The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.”... and I have many more pages to read... 

Riots in Egypt...

Reading about riots in Egypt reminded me on a 10-days-adventure-through-Egypt we took in 2008. We traveled there in August when the temperature was highest (in The Valley of the Kings it climbed to 48°C) and we traveled almost 1000 kilometers cruising the Nile – our starting point was Cairo and our finish line was Aswan. The scope of Egypt itself is magnificent – river Nile, the Pyramids, extraordinary history and above all - magnificent people; those of you who traveled there, know that :)

So I dug up some old photos I took on that journey for those of you who weren’t so lucky to travel there yet:

Personally, temple that impressed me the most was Temple of Edfu:

The best way to explore Nile is on a felucca (Egyptian sailing boat):

If you feel like getting up at 5 o’clock in the morning, traveling three hours in a convoy throughout desert you will be rewarded with  breathtaking beauty of Abu Simbel temples:

On a day trip to nubian village we visited their school, sit at their homes, swim in the Nile and drank coffee: 

Last but not least, Egyptian people. Their favorite saying “Only for you my friend, special offer…” can be heard from every corner: