My first visit to Barcelona (and Spain in general) was in 2010, and the impression I got after 4 days of wandering around town in all types of weather was that it was a fascinating city I had to return to, sooner or later. It was not the Spain I expected and that I later on learned to know, but there was something about the city that urged me to return and rediscover it. Continue reading “Wandering around Barcelona”
It has inspired novels and poems; it featured in movies, shows and even video games. Its fortress-like exterior elevated above Granada, with the backdrop of Sierra Nevada’s snowy hilltops, its rich decorations, splendid rooms and inner patios – these are all truly iconic images. Alhambra is a palace woven in myth, history, supreme artistic value and wealth, telling a story of another time and life. Continue reading “The magic of Alhambra in 25 images”
Córdoba was the first town we visited during our trip to Andalucia, but for some reason, it ended up being one of the last ones I’m writing about. I don’t know why: it’s definitely not because the town disappointed us or because of its lack of beauty, for it just might be the loveliest of all Andalucian towns we got the chance to visit during our journey. Córdoba is extremely photogenic, unobtrusive and just plain lovely, a town where beautiful scenes and photo opportunities lie in every single corner. It is more peaceful and introverted than its famous Andalucian neighbors such as Sevilla or Granada, but well worth visiting for its fascinating history and some of the most important and spectacular monuments in the country. Continue reading “A day in charming Córdoba”
Sintra is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Portugal, a town well known for its many architectural monuments. It is located in the hills of Serra de Sintra, part of Parque Natural de Sintra-Cascais, and surrounded by woods, giving it a cool, fresh climate and a somewhat mysterious atmosphere. Continue reading “Palácio da Pena, Sintra: a photo diary”
Lisbon has many museums, befitting a capital of a great country with rich history and heritage. Without having a specific plan, we explored three “smaller”, but nonetheless very interesting museums, each of them telling one part of a complex story of Lisbon and, by extension, Portugal. Continue reading “Seafaring, resistance and music: three museums of Lisbon”
Lisbon is a large city with many attractions that allow you to get to know it, very affordably, in all … Continue reading 10 unmissable Lisbon experiences
We couldn’t leave Porto without dedicating some time and attention to the Portuguese wine, one of the country’s most famous and precious products. Continue reading “The reversed story of Porto wine”
If you walk around Porto long enough, you will see beautiful houses covered in colorful glazed tiles, next to dilapidated uninhabited houses on the brink of falling apart, next to empty plots of land where houses once stood, as suggested by the ruins and debris on the ground, next to gated houses with beautiful gardens, next to facades covered with scaffolding that no worker has climbed for a long time. Porto is like that – full of surprises. It is gritty, messy, sometimes smelly, but at the same time, charming, different and beautiful. This city does not care what you think of it but lives its authentic life, for which you can love it – or leave it. Continue reading “Porto. Period.”
Like every year, Christmas has arrived to my beloved Rijeka. Unlike every year, however, one of Rijeka’s main touristic sights, the Trsat Castle, this year got a new sparkly holiday makeover and brought even more holiday cheer to people of Rijeka and their visitors. Yesterday I got the chance to visit the Trsat castle in the evening and was completely stunned by how fairy-tale like it looks! Continue reading “Holiday Magic at Trsat Castle”
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