Photo Souvenirs

Early January, I decided to clean out my heavy photo albums, full of Kodak photos. Yes, before it was like that, remember? We took pictures with film and, once the roll was finished, we gave it to a photo shop to be developed.

In short, to come back to my story, I had a lot of trouble getting rid of these photos. My passion for travelling started very early, it’s in my roots. You could say that travelling is like breathing in my multicultural family.

That said, with age, my craze for travelling has cooled. 12 hour flights, plus stress at airports and the hassle of organising the whole trip are things that I can only face once a year now, instead of four times a year as I used to do.

What I retain from every trip I have made is the beauty of the country I visited, its culture and customs and the people I met, not to mention the culinary specialties and landscapes. I captured this beauty with my very old non-digital film camera. This is where my passion for photography comes from.

I was overcome with emotion as I looked at these souvenirs of my travels and I remembered lots of details. Travelling for me means always taking time to explore places calmly, at length and passionately. Like when you fall in love and you discover your partner every day a little more...

Here is a post that filled me with joy to compile. These pictures were chosen with difficulty among many. And, in case you want to know, no, I could not lighten my big photo box.

MOROCCO

1. The “guerrab” or water carrier in Djemaa el Fna Square, Marrakesh

2. Inside the Medina - I love those narrows alleys of Marrakech

3. Berber village in the High Atlas

BOAVISTA, CAPE VERDE

1. Sand dunes on Chaves Beach

2. On top of the sand dunes

SAL, CAPE VERDE

1. My driver and guide

2. Very early in the morning when the fishermen arrive

3. Fruit seller (I adore this photo)

NASSAU, BAHAMAS

1. Atlantis Paradise Island, probably the most spectacular hotel where I have stayed to date

2. Sunday parade on the Bay Street, Nassau

MALDIVES

1. The Kanuhura Resort, Maldives

2. Very tanned and pensive...

DUBAI, UAE

1. Impressive city, but not my cup of tea - too much glitter...

2. The Ritz-Carlton Jumeirah Beach, early morning swimming under the cascade

PORTO, PORTUGAL

1. Dom-Luís Bridge

2. Porto Ribeira is the historical centre of Porto

3. Lello bookstore, ranked among the 10 most beautiful bookstores in the world

MACAU

1. The ruins of Saint Paul

2. View from the bay - you can see the Grand Lisboa skyscraper that resembles a lotus leaf

LA VALLETTA, MALTA

1. La Valletta

2. Fort Saint Elmo

THAILAND

1. Golden Buddha statues in Wat Po, Bangkok

2. Woman resting in Bangkok’s floating markets

MONTSERRAT, SPAIN

1. Montserrat is a mountain range near Barcelona. The rocks have very peculiar shapes that reminded me of giant stone figures

2. Montserrat Monastery near Barcelona, the abbey houses the black virgin of Montserrat, patron saint of Catalonia

LAC DES QUATRE-CANTONS, SWITZERLAND

1. Lake Lucerne is a glacial lake in central Switzerland. It is 38 kilometres long. If I were to name my favourite place in Switzerland, it would no doubt be here. A breath-taking beauty spot close to Lucerne.

2. The mountain, the huts, the cows (I love farm animals and especially cows ... aren't they really beautiful?)

Oh, this photo melts my heart, my little Labrador puppy on the day I went to get him. He was the most wonderful birthday present!