Kochi (Kerala): sunsets, pizza, dresses and perfumes.

English:

Kochi (Kerala): sunsets, pizza, dresses and perfumes.

Hello everyone and welcome back to my blog!

This week I'd like to enlighten everyone with one of the reddest sunsets I've ever seen... It took place in Kochi (Kerala, India) back in October 2016 and right after spending some days in Alleppey. 

As you all probably know, back then I was still living in India and, during a school break, I decided to travel there with my friend Cristina, whom I had met in Anantapur while volunteering - I am sure you have seen her in other posts, like Agra and Jaipur. 

Amba Vilas (Mysore): the palace that is said to receive more visits than the Taj Mahal

English:

Amba Vilas (Mysore): the palace that is said to receive more visits than the Taj Mahal.

Hello everybody and welcome back to my blog!

First of all, HAPPY NEW YEAR! I think I forgot to say it in my previous post... I hope that you all had the best ending of the year and the best beginning, too! I also hope that all your dreams - and New Year's Resolutions - come true!

After such a long time without writing, I am coming back here to tell you a little bit about my plans for this year as well as telling you about my trip to Mysore, in the state of Karnataka (India), which took place in 2016, right after New's Years Eve.

Pisa and Florence, a dream come true

English:

Pisa and Florence: a dream come true.

Hello everyone, and welcome back to my blog!

I am here again today with the last post regarding the cruise to Malta and Italy that my students and I went on. Actually, the last stop was in Marseille (France), but we did not have time to see anything there.

The last stop in Italy was at the harbour of La Spezia and, as it had already become our routine during that trip, we took taxis again and went to Pisa, to see its famous leaning tower; and to Florence, to marvel at Il Duomo and eat some gelato. Needless to say, the journey to these places is beautiful, especially in spring: fields full of poppies and cypresses - so characteristic of Tuscany -, the sun setting at the horizon and the bluest sky of all.

Back to Pompeii, the city that found its way to be seen again

English:

Back to Pompeii, the city that found its way to be seen again.

When we think of Pompeii, the modern city that has grown up around those ruins covered by the lava of the Vesuvius volcano in the year 79 does not come to mind. Instead, we directly think about that city which, despite being buried for centuries, managed to find a way to resurface from those ashes and present itself again to the world. Majestic, magnanimous and imposing, this is how the ruins of Pompeii are presented to all those visitors who dare to walk on those stones which one day were its streets.

If you ever go on a cruise in the Mediterranean Sea, regardless of the harbour from which it departs, bear in mind the possibility of visiting Pompeii if the ship is moored in the harbour of Salerno. The harbour itself is a fairly commercial place and there is not much to see, so the best option is taking a taxi and spending the day in the ruins of Pompeii. And that was exactly what my students and I decided to do: we took some taxis that would leave us right in front of them, entered, and marvelled, once again, at their beauty.

Taormina: strolling the streets of one of Sicily's most beautiful cities

English:

Taormina: strolling the streets of one of Sicily's most beautiful cities.

Hello everyone and welcome back to my blog!

This week I'm coming back with a new post about the cruise I went on with my students back in 2015 and whose first stop was Valletta, in Malta. 

The post you are going to read today is about Taormina, on the Italian island of Sicily. Our stop was actually in Messina, but we decided to book several cabs and go to Taormina.

Taormina is like a balcony leading to the sea and facing Mount Etna - hence its consideration as one of the most important touristic areas in Sicily from the 19th century. Of course, Taormina has a lot to offer in terms of cultural visits, but, since we didn't spent too many hours there, we left so many things unseen. In fact, we only had time to savour its magical streets, devour a gelato and enjoy its magnificent panoramic view of the sea, with Mount Etna in the background. Needless to say, we would have enjoyed a visit to its famous theatre as well as its well-known Arab castle, but we like to think that there will be a next time.

Harrira

English:

Hello everybody and welcome to the inauguration of a new blog section!

As its name indicates, this section is going to contain vegan recipes... I know this is not purely related to travels, but a country's cuisine is part of its cultural background and it's therefore something you can learn from when travelling.

Valletta: baroque architecture in Malta's capital city

English:

Valletta: baroque architecture in Malta's capital city.

Hello everybody and welcome back to my blog!

This week I'm coming with a new series about a cruise that I went on with my students back in 2015. This was their end-of-year trip and, as their homeroom teacher, it was amazing to be part of it and go on this wonderful trip with them.

The upcoming posts are all going to briefly describe each and every stop of our cruise and they will mainly include pictures of the places we visited. As some of you may know, when you reach a harbour while going on a cruise, you have a very limited amount of time to see your destination, and so the amount of things you can see is also limited. However, I hope you can enjoy these short posts and the pictures they will include and you can get an idea about how wonderful this trip was and how recommendable it is to try to go on a cruise at least once in your life.

And [I] lived happily ever after

English:

And [I] lived happily ever after:

The concept of "happiness" has always been deeply anchored in the human mind... Even as kids, in the tales that our parents read to us, there was always the typical "...and they lived happily ever after" - a quote that, unfortunately, as we get older, becomes so difficult that we even consider it as something impossible.

From the proverbs of Chinese philosophy, Hindu mantras, yoga, meditation, exercise, slogans such as "mens sana in corpore sano", "carpe diem" or "you only live once" and arriving today in the form of a hashtag in social networks (remember the already mythical "hygge" taken from Danish), the concept of happiness has been represented by thousands and thousands of photos, quotes, articles and even books. But what is happiness? And, above all, how do we reach it?

Granada: the Alhambra, Moroccan food and a colourful bazaar

English:

Granada: the Alhambra, Moroccan food and a colourful bazaar.

Hello everybody,

How are you?

I am here again today in order to keep my weekly publication until I finish with all the remaining ones and I would like to talk about Granada, one of the most visited Spanish cities thanks to the Alhambra.

My trip to Granada took place in November 2014 with two of my best friends. We went to Granada one weekend in autumn, but the colors in our hearts were not only those of autumn leaves fallen from the trees, but also the Moroccan fabrics, decorative ornaments and jewellery that we found in a little street located in the city centre. All this, crowned by the aroma of the thousand and one flavors of tea that we were fortunate to buy in one of the squares of the city and, of course, the Alhambra and all its corners, made with different techniques, and in different materials and colors.

Violence? No, thank you.

English:

Violence? No, thank you.

I have wanted to write a post like this for a long time, a post in which I will express my opinion about a very popular subject but which, regardless of how popular it is, bothers me a lot. I am aware that this is a travel blog, but I guess that since it is my personal blog, there's room for my own thoughts.

This post and the ideas included in it are my own thoughts, things that I have been considering after (1) the terrorist attack in Barcelona yesterday and (2) the accident in which visitors of the Vicente Ferrer Foundation, where I volunteered for twelve months, died and were injured a few weeks ago. In both cases, as I keep in touch with both Spanish and Indian people, I have received messages on Whatsapp and Facebook in which the facts were presented, pieces of news from the newspaper were included, and a lot of graphic images were spread: images of dead people lying on the street with ripped clothes, blood on their skin and visible broken parts of the body.