PHOTOGRAPHS FROM FAR AWAY
It’s important to me this year to be more conscious of my spending. I gave some tips in my post on how to spend less in a recession, and of course it applies to myself.
While I’m still planning on snowboarding, surfing, and furnishing my apartment this year… I will be cutting down on a major expense… and that is travelling outside of BC. I love travelling. I love the photographs, I love meeting new people, I love exploring, trying new food, and learning about how people live in the rest of the world, outside our little bubble.
I’ve been to a number of places, and there are still SO many places I want to go. Alaska… Africa… South America… China… Russia. Ah well, that’s what the rest of my life is for, right? 
So in my decision to not travel anywhere this year, I couldn’t help but feel a little nostalgic. So here are some pictures from my trip to Europe and the Mediterranean in 2002. I’ve also posted a few here in previous posts, and here. These were all taken with my Nikon D50 back in the day.
The harbour in Cadiz, Spain. Such a beautiful place.
Gaudi’s work in Barcelona, Spain. Gaudi is all over Barcelona and it’s easy to see why it his art has become such tourist destinations. Talk about a visionary for his time.
Some workmen lining up outside in Lisbon, Portugal. Portugal is was one of my favourite stops. The food was delicious and the people are incredibly warm, kind, and have a passion for life you don’t see much anymore.
The sidewalks and roads in Lisbon are incredible. Such intricate detail on something so everyday.
Aging columns in Athens, Greece. If you get a chance to lie down in the grass and stare up at the sky and the columns, it’s easy to feel like you are back in ancient times and Adonis or Athena will come charging by.
This statue in Florence, Italy was one of the sculptures that touched me most during my trip (and trust me, we saw a LOT of statues… especially in Florence).”Il ratto di Polissena” or “The Rape of Polyxena” by Pio Fedi has such incredible emotion and detail carved into it; it’s hard not to feel moved by something immovable while standing there.
These donkeys/mules? in Santorini Greece did a lot of work… whether it was carrying people around or heavy loads. It’s amazing to see how people can get along just fine in life without cars, planes, or computers. It’s definitely a simpler life on Santorini.
A flower shop in Rome. There are no big box stores or sprawling shopping malls. Just normal people selling their wares on the street… anything from flowers to fish to shoes. Shopping takes on a whole different meaning and feeling.
A single rose in the trash in Barcelona on their version of “Valentine’s Day” there (La diada de Sant Jordi). Nope, this wasn’t a planted shot.
A gorgeous vista from Nice, France. One of my favourite places in the whole world. Nice moves at a different speed it seems, and when the sea is so blue and there’s so much sun it’s hard not to feel at peace. Just take a moment to yourself on a bench…
That’s it for now. On Saturday I hope to finally post those moving pictures I’ve been struggling to compile. Darn timelapse! Plans for this weekend: Seeing my best friend off from the UK with dinner, drinks, and TheatreSports… more furniture browsing, and cooking. Your weekend plans?
Tags: Athens, Barcelona, Cadiz, Europe, Florence, France, Greece, Italy, Lisbon, map, Nice, photographs, photos, Portugal, Rome, Santorini, Spain, Travel
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March 26th, 2009 at 11:31 pm
Wow, I seriously need to dig through your Flickr album – there’s some awesome photos you’ve taken from far away lands…
Looks like you’ve covered a huge swath of this little earth, but I spy you haven’t been to the UK (yet) so I have that tiny false victory to cling to.
Travel can be a huge expense, especially with exchange rates in the picture, and sticking to your passions in BC water/slopes will help out in a big way…
Timelapse? Did you film it or set the camera to take a photo every X seconds/minutes? I look forward to that, as I have a nerd-on for time lapse clips.
March 27th, 2009 at 12:44 am
Dang !!!! You’re really good at the photo thing….I love looking at people’s photos now that digital is ‘the way’. Back in the day it was difficult to see images because they were all film based. Hell yeah…just keep keepin’ on.
If you’re coming to the Kootenays let me know……
March 27th, 2009 at 4:54 am
Amazing shots, so envious. My world-footsteps are not as seasoned, but in the [many] frequent flyer miles I’ve racked up in the past couple of years, I can totally empathize. Travel has got to be one of the foremost pillars of our existence on this planet, and this recession is really hurting our ability to knock more places off the never-ending list. Although I still intend on South America and Europe again this year, I may have to shift the theme of the trips to hostels/street food instead of hotels/restaurants heh.
March 27th, 2009 at 5:22 am
Wow you’ve been around! (I mean that in a good way!) Nice looks awesome, with the blue waters etc. So many places to go, such little money to use..
I haven’t been to many places…yet. Robyn has traveled around too, so I am hoping some of that rubs off on me!
This weekend…we’re hitting Whistler on Saturday for the day. It will be the first time this season where I have been able to ride Whistler without riding ALL ON ICE! I’m so excited to ride actually on snow! We have days left on our Edge Cards.
Then on Sunday we might hit Cypress, which is supposed to be sunny? The season is coming to an end which sucks. I guess that means hiking trips will be starting soon then.
March 27th, 2009 at 9:12 am
You gotta go to Hong Kong as well.
March 27th, 2009 at 12:18 pm
‘Rape of Polyxena’ – is that Achilles?
March 27th, 2009 at 2:14 pm
Hey Allie, great post. I love traveling too and have also had to make the same decision. Nice looks very nice. You’ve inspired me to make a post about some of the places I’ve been.. perhaps this weekend, depending on how much homework I get done.
March 27th, 2009 at 7:19 pm
Wow, what wonderful pictures those are. It makes me want to just give everything up and go see the world! I love the colour compositions of your shots. I’ve got only a couple of small trips this year b/c hubby is doing his masters but next year we are planning on France and Belgium =D.
I see you’ve been to north africa but you’ve got to go to southern africa. it’s so incredible, and I keep wanting to go back for more. I’ve been to South Africa (twice – hubby is from there), Lesotho and Zambia and my next trip back will be Botswana and Mozambique. There’e nothing like a South African sunset!
Look forward to more pics!
March 31st, 2009 at 10:31 pm
These photos are amazing! When are you going to show me the rest? (Either I never saw them or I don’t remember them because I was 12 years old at the time)
May 24th, 2009 at 11:11 am
OMG. I’ve been visiting here since a long time ago but i never notice that you had already come to POrtugal!!!
I live in Portugal, and if you need some information on where to go to see beautiful things just tell me and i’ll give you some informations.
I’ve visited Spain and France too, and they’re both so beautiful.
I’ve never gone to North America though, But one of my dreams is to go so i need to work on that.
Good luck!!
And keep your great work!! =D
July 1st, 2009 at 11:05 am
Excellent YouTube post ! thanks for sharing. I’ll be adding your blog to my reader.
Juan
August 14th, 2009 at 4:30 pm
creation in Barcelona looks awesome