On our way to Sintra

Some drive by shots of DOORS on our way to Quinta da Regaleira in Sintra. Linked to Dan’s Thursday Doors Challenge

Metal pelicans all in a row

Large metal sculptures of pelicans are set on raised platforms jn the Marriott Waters Recreation Reserve in Lyndhurst. Linked to Debbie’s 6WS

From Belém’s pastries to Fado’s melodies

(and everything in Between) TRAVEL DIARY: LISBON 2 We started early and walked to the train station. Some interesting things to see and smell along the way. Like the protruding car, some souvenirs and chestnuts roasting … yum my fave! From the train window I saw these murals. I see that cat in a lot…

Embracing Barcelona’s Charm: on Our Last Day

TRAVEL DIARY BARCELONA 4: We had no precise plan for our last day in Barcelona except for the Banksy Museum. We headed off from our hotel and went on the direction of the Arc de Triomf which is a memorial arch in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. It was built by architect Josep Vilaseca i Casanovas as…

A walk through Dali’s Mind in Figueres

TRAVEL DIARY: FIGUERES About a 40 minute bus ride from Girona took us to Figueres, the home town of Salvador Dali. “I want my museum to be a single block, a labyrinth, a great surrealist object. It will be [a] totally theatrical museum. The people who come to see it will leave with the sensation…

Day tripping to Medieval Girona

TRAVEL DIARY: GIRONA Left our hotel early for Barcelona Nord. I organised this day trip via Get Your Guide. Met our guide at platform 17/18, left at 8:30 and arrived in Girona, Spain, in about an hour. Explored Girona with a local guide, who shared Game of Thrones Season 6 details which was shot there….

Park Guell: a fairytale-like experience

TRAVEL DIARY BARCELONA 3: Another place not to be missed when visiting Barcelona is Park Güell: it’s a fairytale-like experience featuring whimsical architecture, vibrant mosaics, and lush gardens meticulously crafted by Antoni Gaudí. Took an Uber to the Carretera del Carmel entrance of Park Güell. We chose the earliest available slot, I factored in my…

Exploring the Wonders Within and Beyond Sagrada Familia

TRAVEL DIARY BARCELONA 2: It is not unusual to walk down the streets of Barcelona and not see art in whichever way or form. From Casa Batllo we walked about 10 minutes and we reached another of Gaudi’s masterpieces, Casa Mila, more popularly known as La Pedrera (meaning stone quarry in Catalan). We didn’t go…

A walk through Casa Batllo

TRAVEL DIARY BARCELONA 1: After tiring our legs out in Paris for four days, hubby and I opted for a more leisurely pace in Barcelona. Our plan: two key attractions at the most daily, with the rest of the time dedicated to leisurely strolls around the city. Walked approximately 25 minutes from our hotel to…

Parisian Art Exploration

TRAVEL DIARY: PARIS 3 On our final day in Paris, October 11th, we aimed to explore as many Art attractions as we could before leaving. Initially, our plan was to visit Sainte Chapelle, but without a prebooking, the lengthy queue stalled our progress for 30 minutes. We opted to change course and explore another destination…

Strolling Through the City: A Parisian Adventure

TRAVEL DIARY: PARIS 2 On October 10th, we embarked on the Batobus, eager to explore multiple stops with the flexibility of hopping on and off. Linked to Jo’s Monday Walk First stop: Jardin des Plantes. Walked by without going in—hubby and I weren’t too interested. Went past the Botanical Gardens… This is the stop where…

London Public Art for a Cause

Discovered a Gorilla Trail in the heart of Covid Garden in London. Was disappointed that I just saw 3 instead of the 15 life size gorillas that was scattered there. This trail aims to show the beauty of this endangered species as well as educate the people on what is being done to help their…

A day in Montmartre

TRAVEL DIARY: MONTMARTRE 9th of October, our day started off early with breakfast at our hotel at 8 am. It wasn’t the usual buffet breakfast but wow was it so yum and healthy-ish. Great start of the day. Went on the metro just a 1 minute walk from our hotel. Emerged from this Metro station…

Paris, here we come…

TRAVEL DIARY: PARIS 1 We took the Eurostar from London to Paris on the 8th of October. The moment we emerged from the bustling Gare du Nord station in Paris we were greeted by a spectacular view and sunshine. The hotel we reserved on Belleville turned out to be small, but it wasn’t as tiny…

Finsbury Park doors

TRAVEL DIARY: LONDON Departed Melbourne on October 4th, I endured a challenging 25-hour flight (including stopovers and layovers), finally reaching Heathrow Airport in the early morning. Upon our early arrival in London at my son’s place, I resisted the urge to nap, aiming to maintain my sleep schedule. Instead, I took a stroll around my…

Post-holiday Blues

It’s common to feel a bit drained after returning from a vacation, experiencing what some describe as post-holiday blues. “I really need a holiday from my holiday.” That’s what people always say. I and hubby were away for a month and a half so feeling tired and jet-lagged is an understatement. Anyway…. Back to business….

Back in Ilocos Sur

(Road Trip Part 4) TRAVEL DIARY: VIGAN The last time we were here was in October of 2016. This is the UNESCO World Heritage City of Vigan, Established in the 16th century, this is the best-preserved Spanish colonial town in Asia. Calle Crisologo, the main street that is only open to pedestrians and horse drawn…

BGC Mural Walk

TRAVEL DIARY: BGC Bonifacio Global City also known as BGC is known for its stunning skyscrapers, its many restaurants catering to all types if cuisines, its colourful surroundings, and now for its many instagrammable murals dotting the city. BGC is a financial district in Taguig, Metro Manila, Philippines. It is located 11 km south-east of…

Museum Street in Angono

TRAVEL DIARY: ANGONO 2 Our Art road trip to Angono continues to Doña Aurora Street in Barangay Poblacion Itaas. It is home to the late National Artist Carlos “Botong” V. Francisco.. As a tribute, murals made of cement were installed on the walls that lined the street. These concrete murals were based on the actual…

Road Trip to Angono

TRAVEL DIARY: ANGONO 1 Angono, Rizal is said to be the art capital of the Philippines. It is about an hours drive from Makati CBD (depending on the traffic… which I know is very unpredictable). The town traces its artistic roots to Angono Petroglyphs in Binangonan, the oldest rock art in the Philippines, with over…

Over the Merri Creek Bridge

It was Christmas Day and as the little kids were all excited to play with their new toys and the young adults were happily exchanging gifts…. the adults with their tummies full decided to walk and burn a few calories down. Had a short walk around the Northcote area, an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria,…

Public Art in Budapest

“My garden is my most beautiful masterpiece.” – Claude Monet You’ll be surprised with the number of Monuments, Statues and Streetart all around the streets of Budapest.…But if you’re like me and my husband, every time we look for a place in google maps, we get lost. Why is it that my kids can find…

A walk on the PEST side of Budapest

“There are no foreign lands. It is the traveler only who is foreign.” – Robert Louis Stevenson The following day, the 16th of November 2018, took us to the opposite side of the Danube River, the PEST side of Budapest. From our hotel we crossed the Széchenyi Chain Bridge to get to the other side….

Sightseeing in Vienna

“Adventure is allowing the unexpected to happen to you. Exploration is experiencing what you have not experienced before.” – Richard Aldington It was the 13th of November 2018 and it was foggy, cold and raining when we went for our first breakfast in Vienna. Beautiful and calming scenery from the Hilton Vienna Danube Waterfront First…

Last Day in Prague (Part 2)

“Prague never lets you go. This dear little mother has sharp claws.” – Franz Kafka After our amazing pre breakfast walk, we went back to our hotel to have breakfast and to freshen up. Next in our itinerary was to go to Petrin Hill My husband and I went to Petrin Hill and that’s when…

Tour of Imperial Europe

“Prague changes like a precious stone to reflect the weather, the time of day and the season of the year.” – Christian Norberg – Schulz ”We must not cease from exploration. And the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we began and to know the place for the first time.” –…

The Cally

“I’m not lost, I’m exploring.” Tim, my son, used to live in Islington, a district in Greater London in 2018 … so best place to go for coffee is in Caledonian Road or The Cally (as locals call it). This is a long stretch of road running for a mile on the western side of…

Which Way Mural

“I don know where I’m going but I’m on my way.” For Which Way Photo Challenge and Monday Murals Challenge

Emerald town

Emerald is a town in the Dandenong Ranges which is 44 km south-east of Melbourne. The popular tourist appeal of the town is Emerald Lake and its scenic landscapes full of hills and forests. It also boasts of a quaint township. I have here featured are some doors for Dan’s Thursday Doors Challenge and some…

Dune at Caledonian Lane

During the release of the 2021 American epic science fiction film, Dune, 10 artists created a gigantic mural over the whole of Caledonian Laneway in Melbourne. It was done in 6 weeks and used about 1000 litres of paint. Painted over brick walls, warehouse windows and back doors, is this one massive art mural. You…