Category Archives: TRAVEL

Random Instagram Round uP

Mum & Me

I was 5 when my dad took this picture.I remember his new Nikon film camera.(and all the adjusting) It’s one of my favorite picture with my mum. I remember the moment it was taken. I remember the smell of the wild roses in the air and my Mum whispering in my ear softly. I remember everything. My mum made all my clothes then. Than jeans skirt was a height of fashion in 1985 🙂 I posted this pic on the 8th of March, on the International Women s day. Growing up in then communist society we didn’t celebrate or had Mothers day like we do today. It was still good, don’t get me wrong. 🙂 Love you mum!

Mum & me

My best friend draw this painting of me, on my office wall:-)… while waiting for me to finish  my meeting. I don’t get enough girls day’s out unfortunately!!! With my line of job and all the work on weekends it is hard to find some time off & just hang out. Luckily this was one of my free Saturday. We went out for some lovely lunch in our local Italian (Zizi’s) followed up by a Zombie room-com in cinema. Yeah boys and girls, that’s one romantic zombie movie. “he’s still dead but he’s getting warmer” is what got me into the cinema. Warm Bodies watch now.

Alice

My Cactus family. Papa cactus was given to me by my old boss back in 2009. In the meantime my family has grown to mama & papa  in 2010 and a little boy came out in 2011 followed by a little girl. I tough they should all have their own space so I’ve transplanted them in separate pots. In used old candle jars to house them all. Not bad for a girl who can’t water the plant.

cacti
This is fresh from the jar. I just came back from 4 days 3 night in Poland, Krakow. It was cold,/rainy and snowing but worth every second. I love European towns and their quirkiness.  We found this place while strolling down the Jewish quarter. It just started to snow and we needed to stop and have a deserved break after hours of walking. The decor is just brilliant. If I can have a bar/coffee shop one day it would look like this, old mixed with new with the cool gang to crouch in. Coffee is on us.

bar poland

If you follow me on Instagram (search for Source_girl if not) you might have seen this image. The words can not describe Auschwitz. I rest my case.

Auschwitz

 

Happy round up, what are your plans for this weekend?

x Ines

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Sevilla

Last December & January we visited  Spain and Morocco. This is our amazing trip, starting with Seville. I hope you like it as much as we did.

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bullSpain was beautiful, warm and welcoming, just like I remember it from our previous trips. I always wanted to visit Seville and Cordoba and this is what this trip was about. Morocco was just an added bonus. We rolled into Seville in our little rented car at about 10 am in the morning. Being so close to it (based in Estepona) it only took us 2 and a half hours to get there. The city was heaving, people everywhere, getting ready to celebrate the last days of the old year. Restaurants & bars were offering their famous tapas while the old ladies drank small glasses of cherry for the early morning kick. Tourists were everywhere, queuing to get in to the museums, taking horse carriage rides and standing at every corner with their maps wide open.

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Where we stayed: We stumbled upon Hotel Europa while looking at another close by hotel and decided to take a plunge at £45 per night. The room was nice. Clean and lean. Not too much character but we did get the last one and for a very good price. The hotel itself is an old converted 18 century palace and a grand reception room had plenty of atmosphere unlike the room.  It is located just around the corner from La Giralda and a great value for a short visit. Parking is a bit of a problem in Seville, as it’s so compact. It was a pleasant surprise when we discovered they have parking too. Price: 17 Euro per day.

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Seville is a charming town packed with loads of stuff to do. Whether you prefer to eat tapas all day, drink a great wine or sight see, you wont get disappointed. There is so much on offer and two days are enough but not plenty of time. We opted for a mixture of taking photos while having small breaks(in between those sunny bright hours full of shadows) and my fav, eating tapas! OMG, it is literally everywhere you turn, small plates of Serrano ham filled with sunbath olives served with goats cheese topped with sardines, garlic bread & albondigas with sauce-} read meatballs. We, I ate a lot. 🙂

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What to see:

La Giralda -an old mosque, now turned Cathedral is a very impressive building. Nestled in the city center and full of life there it stands in its full glory. You can go to the roofs if brave enough or visit the Cathedral it self, either way you wont get disappointed. It is a one stunning piece of the architecture and locals refer to it as La Giraldita as in a litlle, small pretty Giralda. The tower is 95.5 m in height and it was one of the most important symbols in the medieval city. Tickets start at: 6 Euro.

Alcazar of Seville -The Almohades were the first to build a palace, which was called Al-Muwarak, on the site of the modern day Alcázar. The palace is one of the best remaining examples of mudéjar architecture. Subsequent monarchs have added their own additions to the Alcázar. The upper levels of the Alcázar are still used by the royal family as the official Seville residence and are administered by the Patrimonio Nacional.

Patio de las Doncellas

The name, meaning “The Courtyard of the Maidens”, refers to the legend that the Moors demanded 100 virgins every year as tribute from Christian kingdoms in Iberia. The story of the tribute was used as a myth to bolster the Reconquista movement.

text taken from : Wikipedia

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Plaza Del Espana-It was built for of the Ibero-american Exhibition of 1929, held in Seville. Its creator was Aníbal González. He mixed a style inspired by the Renaissance with typical elements from the city: exposed brick, ceramics and wrought iron (worked by Domingo Prida). Text taken from : Sevillaonline

Funny enough as I was watching The Dictator the other day with Sasha Baron Cohen I realized the the presidential palace in the movie was Plaza Del Espana slightly altered to fit in with the movie theme. It was one one our favorites places and it is surrounded by huge park where most of the Sevillans go for a stroll or run. Down the park path there is a Museum of The architecture. Another pretty building where locals gather around and talk about the past times. We were taking a break when I ears drop on the two old boys conversation about the world wars and how times have changed. Really cute.

Looking slightly as a mix of Venice it also has canals and you can take a small boat ride for about a tenner.

plaza

Spain 0019 Spain 0020 Spain 0021Where to eat: Seville has a lot of tapas bars & restaurants all over the place.If you are not into little bits and do prefer something big-ish, head over to Maccheroni & Co a great Italian in a walking distance from La Giralda. The size of bruschetta is huge-enormous and J. cannelloni’s were to die for, as was my prosciutto & black olives pizza.

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Another great place where to eat, was a sister restaurant of  Maccheroni & Co but we didn’t realize that until we got our final bill and business card with it. Gusto is literary opposite La Giralda and makes some mean burgers among some other tasty foods.

After our two nights, three days in Seville  we went to Cordoba and that is where I will be taking you next.

Hope you have a lovely relaxed Sunday, I am off to pack for another adventure, Krakow in Poland tomorrow x Ines

All photos except instagrams are courtesy of my very talented husband 🙂 and can be seen here or here.

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Travel Photo Alert – Morocco, Chefchaouen

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If you follow me on my work twitter or on my instagram you must know we went to Spain & Morocco a few weeks ago. We had a lovely time exploring some ancient towns like Seville and Cordoba but my favorite must be a blue town of Morocco: Chefchaouen.

Where to go and where to stay is coming up next but in the meantime if you would like to see some more stunning images from my talented husband please visit our other blog. 🙂

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x Ines

 

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Happy 2013!!!

Spain-1 Spain2-1 Spain2-2 Spain2-3 Spain2-4 Spain2-5 Spain2-6 Spain2-7 Spain2-8 Spain-6 Spain-13 Spain-15 Spain-16 Spain-18 Spain-19 Spain-20 Spain-25 Spain-26

What we did last week:

We walked on the beach & collected sea shells & pretty stones

Made our own Christmas lunch

Hung out with Italians/Croatians

Took photos and …

then took even more photos

Went for a quick browse through Seville & Cordoba (more to come on this)

Had a bbq on the beach for  New Year

Stole internet from the nearby hotel complex

Lounged

Sunbathed (a lot)

and

Packed our bags for Morocco trip

Have a great New Year

Xoxo Ines

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