Marrakesh is mad!
Our 4 hour journey through the Atlas mountains was beautiful and scary at the same time.
Taghazout, a fishing village close to Agadir, was calm and friendly.
South of Sweden … pleasant enough, but …
To all the Scandinavian lovers out there – I am sorry… but there is something a bit dull about the south of Sweden – I mean, I have also joined the Scandinavian fever. I have watched all the Danish and Swedish crime series (my favourite – “Broen” or “the bridge“), I also really like Scandinavian design, but if I’m honest I didn’t find the south of Sweden very exciting.
So a couple of years ago we visited the posh areas around Malmö. I got the feeling this was where the well-off people go on their summer holiday. The houses are beautifully groomed, they all have a massive pole with the Swedish flag in their well manicured gardens – I guess just in case you’ve forgotten you were in Sweden. The sea is flat and with a brownish/blackish tint to it. We were considering going for a skinny dip, good thing we didn’t! The sea is really shallow for a few 100 meters – we would be showing our naked bums for a long time! There were lots of shrimps tickling your legs – that was cool.
We stayed in a lovely B&B (Malens Strandpensionat) in Båstad. I really recommend it, beautiful house. The landlady was really friendly and really into Emmerdale (an English soap), she was desperate to discuss all the plot’s details with us for breakfast – even though we have never watched it and don’t know anything about it…
Belfast … one of the safest cities to visit …
…”Belfast is one of the safest cities to visit on account of most of our criminals are in Parliament….” – said our tour guide.
As we all know, it was not always like that. The city has an amazing history of ups and downs. Unfortunately, I think at the moment the city is living through another down moment. You see a fair few boarded-up shops and a few run down buildings. Overall, though, it is true, the city feels quite chilled out. The Norn Iron people are really friendly and have a great sense of humour, which makes this a great place to visit.
Yummy Sunday
What would be your ideal 3 course meal for today?
This would be mine:
Chickpea Crepes – from Gourmet traveller
Salmon Sushi Salad – from In My Red Kitchen
Pineapple, Raspeberries and Orange Margaritas – from The Real Nutritionist
Yum!!
Yummy Sunday
Portuguese Cuisine by © Kerry Murray and by die Zeit Magazine
In her recent blog post “Modern Lisbon – A food story for Travel & Leisure Magazine” Kerry Murray shares some really yummy pictures of modern Portuguese food – really worth checking her blog.
…and for those of you who understand German, die Zeit Magazine had a special feature on Alexandra Klobouk and Rita Cortes Valente de Oliveira new cookbook – “Die portugiesische Küche” – it has some traditional Portuguese recipes as well as really cool graphics.
Midweek Inspiration
Stunning minimalistic landscape photography by © Attila Simon
Would you…
Would you open your house to showcase your art? This month there’s the annual Artist’s Open House event in Brighton, together with the Brighton Festival and the sun this makes Brighton a great place to visit in May.
I have only visited a couple of Artist’s Open Houses in the past, but I find this a great idea, it gives artists an opportunity to showcase their art without having to rely on galleries’ tastes, schedules etc… However, I ask myself this question: Would I open my house (i.e. very small flat) to show my art? I am not sure… it seems like you are showing more than your art, it’s also your life, all your personal belongings… Somehow that makes me uncomfortable. Would you do it? I still think it’s great and I hope it will carry on happening every year.
So, the Brighton Festival is also on. To be honest, I think there should be more free events related to the festival. This is also a good way of engaging people that are otherwise not interested in art or cultural events. But, ok, there are a few things happening for free. I really wanted to see PLANS – see photo – I am sad I missed it.
Text and Photo: ww.brightonfestival.org
World Premiere
Co-programmed in partnership with South East Dance
Amidst the bustle of Brighton Station, the city’s first contemporary dance company for men and women over 60 performs a specially commissioned work choreographed by James Finnemore, a former member of Hofesh Shechter Company. Although many members of Three Score Dance Company have no formal dance training, their wealth of experience brings a unique edge to their work.
Which sardine are you?
Lisbon will have its annual “town” party (Festas de Lisboa) in June, and as part of this the event the organizers posed this bizarre question to the creative minds of Lisbon: Which Sardine are you? They come up with some interesting answers, see the winners below.
Caldo Verde, is cabbage soup. You normally get chouriço in it – hence the two chouriço heads 😉
Quiosque is a kiosk 😉 there are lots of them in Lisbon.
This one is very Portuguese – it’s supposed to be an orchestra of sardines playing their own requiem.
This one is a play on an old Portuguese tooth paste – because everyone’s breath will be smelling of sardines by the end of the party.
There are always lots of live music, street DJs and dancing opportunities – so put on your best dancing shoes!
Party!
summer, sun, swimming…
If you’re looking for a nice place for a short European break, head to Lisbon – June is a great time to go. Lots of free events and lots of partying going on. Check out Journey Around the Globe for more touristy info.
Ah! Maybe you’re wondering what is this sardine stuff all about. See some of my previous posts on Portugal and the love of sardines and fun facts about Portugal.
Midweek Inspiration
WOMEN & ART
The BBC is showing a series of documentaries about women artists at the moment. The culture show had a really interesting special on women pop artists from the 60’s. Check out their work:
Pauline Boty – Marisol – Rosalyn Drexler – Idelle Weber – Letty Lou Eisenhauer – Jann Haworth
NeNeNA 