Sign and Sleds on the Harbor Ice. March 2022.
More from Luleå! This time in winter!
Sunset on the Frozen Lule River, March 2022.
Battle in the Skies, March 2022.
Luleå Domkyrka, March 2022.
Bergnäs Bridge over a frozen Lule River. March 2022.
Frozen Island in the Sea. March 2022.
Time for a Dip! March 2022.
Equestrian Statue of Gyula Andrassy in Front of Hungarian Parliament Building. February 2022.
Spotlights on the Parliament Building. February 2022.
Spent the evening walking along the banks of the Danube River in Budapest two nights ago. I wanted to try out some handheld night photography with the new Tamron f/2.8 28-75mm G2 lens. The riverside monuments are beautifully lit at night, making for some really neat shots. Also had fun trying different adjustments in the RAW files. Let me know if you have any questions or comments, and which is your favorite!
Moon above Szent István Bazilika. February 2022.
Danube River Walk, February 2022.
Buda Castle and Europa Boat. February 2022.
Szent István Bazilika, February 2022.
Definitely one of my favorite cities. More to come from Buda and Pest!
Hungarian Parliament Building, the Danube River, and Buda Castle. February 2022.
A road trip across southern and central Idaho took me to many beautiful places, including Craters of the Moon National Monument (and Preserve!). You know how Idaho potatoes are famous? Well you can thank the volcanic soil and the fine water from the massive aquifers that lie beneath Craters of the Moon. By the way, the name is perfect for this park. There are expansive plains of exposed lava rock that make it feel exactly like the surface of the moon. Or rather, how I imagine the surface of the moon would feel. I’ve never actually been to the moon.
Anywho, I actually drove through the park at sunset because my campground was a few miles further (farther?) down the road outside of Arco, Idaho. Speaking of which, that is a fantastic place to camp. The lights from Arco are mostly off at night, and anyway it’s a small town. This means that the night skies are absolutely incredible. And I would be completely remiss if I didn’t mention Pickle’s Place in Arco. Great burgers, cheap beer, and open much later than I ever would’ve expected given the remote location. So yeah, go to Pickle’s Place.
Lava Lake, Craters of the Moon, Idaho. June 2018.
Idaho Locals. June 2018.
Big Cinder Cone. June 2018.
Many more pictures from CotM to come, I have wayyyy more to go through.
Recap and Recommendations:
Craters of the Moon National Monument - Hikes, caves, and climbing the giant cinder cone. There’s a nice long driving loop too, if you are feeling lazy and out-of-touch with nature.
Craters of the Moon / Arco KOA - A solid campground close to Pickle’s Place
Pickle’s Place - I don’t know if there are other restaurant bars within a hundred miles of Arco, but it doesn’t matter because you should just go here.
Questions? Comments? Favorite menu items at Pickle’s Place? Friends with Pickle himself? Let me know below…
Half Moon Over Marseille Harbour. September 2021.
Having just finished the 53 hour long audiobook version of “The Count of Monte Cristo” and after watching Anthony Bourdain’s Parts Unknown “Marseille” episode for at least the fifth time, I decided it was high time to visit myself. Marseille happened to fit perfectly in my plan for a two week Mediterranean vacation that included southern France, central Italy, and Croatia. After spending a few days lying on a beach in Nice and paying a visit to Monaco, we drove down the beautiful Côte d'Azur and checked in to the beautiful Hôtel La Residence Du Vieux Port, right on the harbour. The evening view of the harbour lights was incredible.
Marseille Harbour, September 2021.
Driving into the city is an interesting experience in itself. This city is huge, especially when compared to some of the other coastal cities and towns I have visited. And as Bourdain says, it is definitely a little rough around the edges. If you walk a few blocks away from the harbour in any direction, you will most certainly notice. But that’s not a bad thing. In fact, I think that’s part of what makes Marseille unique.
Église Saint-Ferréol les Augustins at Dusk. Marseille, September 2021.
Marseille harbour is pretty typical for the French Riviera. Combination Hotels/Restaurants line the outside edges, each with their own outdoor spaces and overpriced drinks. But I’m a tourist after all, so this is exactly what I wanted after a long day of driving and exploring the coast.
Fort Saint-Jean, Marseille. September 2021.
A Day Spent Wandering.
The first landmark you notice is the Basilique Notre-Dame de la Garde, perched on the area’s largest hilltop. Climbing the hill didn’t seem like much fun at the time, so we chickened out and caught the bus that ran from the harbour all the way to the top. This was easily justified by saying “We will definitely walk back down.”
If you are going to Marseille and you’ve read about it anywhere else, I’m sure you already know that Notre-Dame is a must see. Not even so much for the basilica itself, but for the commanding view of the entire city. From here, you can see just how expansive (and beautiful) Marseille actually is. So I’ll add my recommendation on top of all the others that you probably have seen by this point: Be sure to go check out the city views from la Bonne Mère.
Taking in the view from the cathedral was great, because it gave me ideas for where to wander next. A very imposing fort guards the harbour entrance, so that seemed like the next logical choice. On the way there was a beautiful palace, and an amazing lunch at Le Chalet du Pharo, where you can sit and stare at the fort as boats go by. Also, you can take a little path down to the water and swim in the blue-green waters. One of the forts was closed, but Fort Saint-Jean was open to wandering (and free!) as was the Musée des civilisations de l'Europe et de la Méditerranée (also free!)
Basilique Notre-Dame de la Garde from Fort Saint-Jean. September 2021.
Its a pretty natural progression of a walk to go from the fort to the museum to the major cathedral. And I recommend all of them! There was even a giant (and friendly!) orange bear! And everything was free, which is a huge bonus in my book. It does seem like the whole harbour area is undergoing a refurbishing, with several things closed and scaffolding on a few of the attractions. I can’t wait to go back and visit again in a few years and see what has changed.
Cathédrale La Major, September 2021.
Hugs Please. September 2021.
Marseille is my favorite place in France so far. Uncharacteristically semi-nice people are occasionally less-than-reluctant to help you out if you need it, and I’m pretty sure one of the waiters almost smiled once. This is very different from my other French experiences. A quick fifteen minute drive to the airport and it’s time to pop across the water to The Eternal City. But before we go, here are a few recommendations:
Basilique Notre-Dame de la Garde. - It’s a giant church on a hill. The views are amazing
Fort Saint-Jean - Wander around an old stone fort with interesting exhibits and harbour views.
Cathédrale La Major - An inspiring stripey cathedral.
Hôtel La Residence Du Vieux Port - A wonderful boutique hotel, right on the harbour.
Le Caribou Marseille - Great drinks, and super friendly staff. Awesome staff shirts, hope they start a merch store soon!
Les Mets des Saintes - Creole/African spin on French food. Delicious and cozy atmosphere.
Little Temple Bar - I didn’t see any resemblance to the actual infamous Irish pub, but drinks were dirt cheap and the location was great.
Questions/Comments? Ask away in the comment section below!
Went wandering around town on a cloudy night with my tripod in tow to try out some night shots with the new Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 G2 lens. It did not disappoint!
Utrecht, Nederland. Tivoli Vredenburg and Hoog Catharijne at Night. January 2022.
Utrecht Centraal Train and Bus Station. January 2022.
Stadhuis and Domtoren. Utrecht, January 2022.
There’s no denying that Utrecht is easily one of the most beautiful cities in the Netherlands. And the Sony A7C/Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 G2 is a very solid combination for night photography. Feel free to leave any questions or suggestions about which Dutch Destinations I should visit next in the comments below!
Oudegracht in Black and White. January 2022.
Campanile di San Marco and the Palazzo Ducale from San Giorgio. August, 2020.
Welcome to Venice. As I am now a canal-loving Dutch resident, it was a dream for me to finally visit the most famous water-logged city in the world. As usual when traveling within Europe, it was a quick sub-two-hour flight from Amsterdam-Schiphol for a wonderful three-day weekend vacation. And because of limited tourism due to Covid-19, we enjoyed a relatively tourist-free experience for the trip, and lucked into beautiful weather the whole time. Hotel Firenze hosted us for the weekend, and its central location right near Piazza San Marco was great for exploring the city (top-notch guest services too, more on that below).
We arrived after nightfall, and I had read a tip somewhere about taking a water taxi from the airport into Venice proper. What an experience. Zooming across the water towards the city and navigating the empty canals at night was absolutely incredible. It is far more expensive than taking a bus, but worth every penny. And since the hotel was on the opposite side of the Venice from Marco Polo Airport, we got to see quite a lot of the city this way. If you are splurging on your trip, I cannot recommend this enough. After checking in, we grabbed some late night pizza from Pako’s (10/10 recommend) and take-away beer from Bar Al Campanile (also 10/10 recommend) we sat in a completely empty Piazza San Marco and enjoyed the warm night air before turning in.
As per usual, we spent the following day wandering:
That evening was also spent wandering, mostly along the water at sunset. The views were breathtaking:
Basilica di Santa Maria della Salute at sunset. August 2020.
A Dutch boat in Venice. August, 2020.
Throughout breakfast the next morning, we heard heard a Venetian local who worked at the hotel (Ricardo) going over a map with another couple and pointing out all of the best places to explore/eat/visit in Venice. He mentioned something about a really cool tower that wasn't nearly as busy as Campanile San Marco, so I asked him about it after he was done with his presentation.
Thirty-five minutes later I had a map with a hundred X's (don't go there), thirty circles (definitely go there), and the names of roughly fifty restaurants ("TripAdvisor has 1500 restaurants listed in Venezia, I've narrowed it down to 50 for you.")
"Have you ever heard of Noma? It is a restaurant in Denmark that was rated the absolute best in the world for several years in a row [Anthony Bourdain did an entire show about the restaurant/owner]. One of the chefs there was a Venice local, and eventually left Noma to open his own restaurant in Venice. That was temporarily closed due to Coronavirus, so he opened a pop-up at one of the hotels on the Grand Canal with Michelin star quality food for half the price. The Risotto di Gò is a very traditional Venetian dish, and there it is made by one of the best chefs in the world. And the beef carpaccio is maybe the best in the world."
So shout out to Ricardo at Hotel Firenze for the advice and for the best carpaccio and risotto [not pictured because I inhaled it instead of taking a picture] I've ever had.
Santa Maria dei Carmini, 08 August 2020.
Ponte di Rialto from the Grand Canal. 10 August, 2020.
The following day, looking to make the most of the perfect Sunday weather, we took a water bus to Lido, where the beaches are. Again taking Ricardo’s advice, we stopped at El Pecador, a double-decker bus converted into a food truck (with seating on the top deck!) parked right by the beach entrance (10/10 recommend)! The hotdogs covered in cheese may be the best I’ve had outside of America. The beach was an expanse of paid rentals of chairs and umbrellas common to many parts of the Mediterranean. We bought a few towels and walked out to the free section, getting some much-needed vitamin D and salt water. If you are looking to swim in Venice, this long skinny island is definitely the place to be.
Cruising to Lido. 08 August, 2020.
As any guide book will tell you, the Palazzo Ducale (Doge Palace) is a must see. Prepare to spend hours moving from room to room looking at paintings, beautifully carved woodwork, medieval armor and weapons, and golden everything. The statue below is actually in San Giorgio across the water, but hey I needed a filler for an even number of pictures.
Basilica Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari, August 2020.
Since we happened to be in the Piazza San Marco area already, we decided to grab a quick bite from Pako’s for the second (third?) time. That might be my favorite thing about Italy. Small, hole-in-the-wall places that have some of the best pizza/sandwiches/pasta in the world. Lekker!
Also, three seagulls dive-bombed Aus in Piazza San Marco and stole the tomato straight from the sandwich she was holding. They followed up a few minutes later by trying to grab my pizza. But I was (mostly) ready for them. So just be warned, those gulls are huge, and that’s probably because they are very good at dive-bombing in pairs to distract, while a third bird comes from another direction to snatch. We retreated to the safety of some covered steps between two small glass shops.
The tower Ricardo had mentioned turned out to be the Campanile di San Giorgio, and his advice was excellent. It is another “can’t-miss” in my book, because it is less crowded the San Marco Campanile and you can see the whole of Venice from the top. There was absolutely no line for us, but your mileage may vary in post-Covid times:
Dome of San Giorgio Maggiore from the Campanile di San Giorgio. 10 August, 2020.
Venice was amazing. Just go and wander around for the most part, because the city is truly unique. I do have a few recommendations when you find yourself there:
Hotel Firenze
Pako’s Pizza and Pasta
Bar Al Campanile
El Pecador
Lido Beach
Water Taxi from the Airport
Water Bus through the entire Grand Canal (just buy a Venice Pass for the trip and you can ride all you want)
The church/tower of San Giorgio
The Generator Venice. If you are looking for a cheap way to see Venice, this hostel is awesome. It is across the water from the city center, but if you get a Venice Pass you can boat across all you want and you can’t beat the price. There is a water bus stop just outside and it is right on the water. The bar is great too.
I love Italy, and Venice was no exception. 10/10 recommend. I hope you enjoyed my pictures, comment or like and let me know if you have any questions! Salute!
Blarney House, Ireland. September 2020
I took an afternoon trip from Cork and headed out to Blarney, a solid eight kilometer drive-slash-walk, to visit it’s eponymous castle (I hope I used that word correctly. I saw another travel blog that used it no less than twenty times in one post, so I figured I’d give it a shot.)
Walking up the claustrophobia-inducing staircase was almost as big of an adrenaline rush as leaning backwards over a 90 foot drop to kiss a rock. But the Blarney House and all of the surrounding gardens and forests were a very welcome surprise. And I think this picture of the Blarney House outshines any of the shots I took of the actual castle. In fact, I almost had the entire castle to myself due to the Covid tourism factor. The only other soul in the castle was Patrick, who was tasked with sitting beside the Blarney Stone all day and sanitizing it after each kiss. What a guy.
Blarney is absolutely worth a visit. The town is lovely, the castle is impressive, and the forested grounds are perfect for wandering. Plus they have a poison garden AND a carnivorous plant garden.
Blarney Castle From the North. September 2020.
When I moved to Europe several months ago, I already had my first road trip in mind. Bruges. It’s in Belgium. Back in college, my roommates and I watched “In Bruges” basically on repeat for months on end. The Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson film is dark, hilarious, and endlessly quotable. In fact, my entire reason for my visit was to take a picture of the famous belfry and send it to my former roommate with the caption “Bruges is a shithole” (A line from the aforementioned film spoken by a pouty Colin Farrell). But it isn’t. Bruges is a beautiful city, a perfectly preserved medieval city center that feels like a living fairy tale.
The 116m high tower of Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekerk (Church of Our Lady). c.13th-15th century
I decided my first adventure after moving to Europe would be to visit Bruges. After making the sub 3-hour drive down from Utrecht, I checked into my room at the Grand Hotel Casselbergh in the heart of the old town. The Casselbergh itself is a wonder, and sits adjacent to “The Burg”, an historic square that features the Town Hall and The Church of the Holy Blood. Even better, the famous Belfry is just down the road. After dropping my bag I grabbed a quick dinner across the street at the Restaurant Diligence, a nice brown pub with a fine Belgian beer selection and a traditional Belgian menu.
After dinner, I headed to The Burg, planning to make my way through quickly on my way to the famous Markt where the Belfry stands. As I stepped into the square, I was greeted by an array of rainbow colored lights and Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” filling the large open space. I had stumbled right into the middle of Benenwerk.
A Bruges Tripel and pre-dinner snack at Restaurant Diligence
Benenwerk festival at Stadsbestuur Brugge (Bruges City Hall)
Benenwerk (roughly translated, “Leg Work”) is a yearly festival in Bruges where dance floors are built all across the old city with live music and DJs. 80’s music in The Burg, Disco by the Belfry, and even dance classes in the old Markt. It was amazing.
City Hall being lit during Benenwerk 2019
Bruges City Hall, lit in red during Michael Jackson’s “Thriller”
Beer Bus in The burg
The infamous Bruges belfry. Its all windy stairs and that. I’m not bein funny.
Dance lessons being given under the Belfry for Benenwerk 2019
Benenwerk 2019 in Bruges, Belgium.
The next morning I went on a nice walk around the city. In general, I like to pick something interesting and walk towards it, stopping for anything interesting I may find along the way. When I’m hungry, I find food. When I’m thirsty, I find drink. This usually works out very well, but there are some exceptions. Climbing to the top of the Belfry required waiting in a long line. So it isn’t a perfect way to explore, but I enjoy it.
As with every medieval Western European city, there are plenty of beautiful buildings. Bruges also has plenty of canals, in the same vein of many of the Dutch cities I have since explored. It should be noted that Bruges is in West Flanders, a region of the Flemish portion of Belgium with deep Dutch roots (they speak Dutch as well).
Quick notes from the day of walking:
Sansveria Bagelsalon serves excellent brunch and coffee. I had a large, delicious breakfast bagel with bacon, egg, cheese and avocado. The bagel was ridiculously fresh and the coffee was great. It’s an easy walk from the middle of the old part of the city.
The Church of Our Lady is breathtaking. You can walk most of the way around it and the Bonifacious Bridge is right behind the church, crossing the canal. You can enjoy the shade and watch people cram onto the bridge for pictures.
The Markt is a must visit. Every building is interesting, including the Belfry.
Sint-Salvatorskathedraal Interior
The Obelisk in the middle of the Markt. The Belfry in the background.
All in all, Bruges was well worth a three hour drive and then some. I will visit again soon. Like or comment below if you have any questions.
