Ma Guitare Bavarde

During my long walk in Spain, I slept in many hostels. They call it "Albergues" for pilgrims. One is only allowed to stay if he has the "pilgrim credential", a kind of a passport delivered at the start of your journey.

This one albergue was run by an old English couple. It had a huge garden which is a welcomed addition when you have walked all day under a bright sun, just to laze off and perfect your farmer's tan of course.

Fortunately, the albergue also had a few old guitars for pilgrims to play with. Although I cannot play any instrument, some of my friends with me could and were good at it! And there we were, sitting in that big garden, eating pasta and salad we prepared together and playing/singing under a beautiful blue sky and a perfect weather (ok, ok... It rained for a few minutes too.. BEFORE even we started singing).

It's these kind of moments together that touch me the most, bonding with travelers on their journey, behaving as if we knew each other for years..

This is the bliss of the traveler, the random encounters reminding us that we do live in a beautiful world with beautiful people after all!

Cheers!

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Burgos Cathedral II

Waking up really early in the morning, before the city has awaken and walk in the empty streets is really blissful. It gives the whole city another dimension, a new face.

This shot was taken at dawn, in Burgos, Spain. It's one of the most famous cathedrals in the country and one of the most visited on the Camino de Santiago. I never got the chance (stupid me) to visit inside of it but apparently, after asking many people that did, it is the most beautiful cathedral (from inside) on the Camino.

I also took another shot from my first Camino, this time from the front.

Cheers!

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Pont d'Austerlitz

The Pont d'Austerlitz is a bridge crossing the Seine in Paris. The construction began in 1801 till 1805 but it was rebuilt later due to cracks appearing all the time making it a dangerous bridge to cross. The actual bridge was finished in 1885.

It is pleasant to walk along the Seine river and watch the Peniches and Bateaux-mouches on the calm waters. Every traveler should at least visit the "berges de la Seine" once while having a good jambon-beurre (Ham and Butter in a baguette sandwich). So cliché but so good!

Enjoy!

The Lone Singer

One of my favorite bars in Chiang Mai, Thailand is "The Riva".

It's a Bar/Restaurant with different style live music every night. Usually it's packed with happy couples or groups of friends enjoying their drinks while the crazy bands play their tunes.

On a Wednesday night, I felt lonely in my hotel room and decided to go their to enjoy the music and socialize with some travelers. The band starts playing at 9pm, I arrived there at 8.45.. It was empty. I waited for the band, they came, they started playing.. the bar was still completely empty.. It was a funny feeling to be all alone in the whole bar, with a band playing just for you. I felt like a VIP! They played for an hour and I had the occasion to take a few portraits.

I hope you'll like it, as I am fairly a newbie in portrait shots.. I have to work on that hopefully soon :)

Cheers!

Stormy Path

This walk was a self-discovery, a month long journey with yourself as the best companion.

Everything around the journeyman contributed to help him understand and accept his path. Even the weather.

Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal.

~ Hannah Moore ~

La Blue Eiffel

An unusual shot of the Tour Eiffel in Paris. I have not touched the colors, so yes.. It was blue :)

In 2008, the Eiffel Tower was lit in blue every evening because France was presiding the E.U. at that time. It was an overcast evening so the sky appeared pinkish.

You can see a different view from the tower here. It also had the yellow stars that represent the European Union flag.

Enjoy!

Creeping Clouds

While I was watching the sunset in Finisterra, I saw those clouds creeping from behind. I climbed a few rocks to take a nice shot without many people showing up in the photo and an old woman was sitting next to me watching silently.

"It's going to rain tomorrow".

I looked at her with a smile and said: "Do you think so?"

She raised a finger towards the clouds and replied: "When the clouds are creeping in the sky like this, it means it's going to rain the next day".

I thanked her and went back to join my friends. The next day, it rained heavily for hours till late at night.

And so far, everytime I see these clouds, I remember the old lady, and what she told me has yet to be proven wrong to me :)