velvet | photography
mushroom-cannelloni-cal-sastre-photo

Culinary Journey: Cal Sastre in Santa Pau

What: Fine-dining at a small medieval village in the Garrotxa region of Catalonia. Where: Cal Sastre restaurant, Santa Pau. Notes: Santa Pau is a sleepy medieval village in the Garrotxa Volcanic region of Catalonia, north of Barcelona. The village is tiny but there are a variety of reasons that make a visit absolutely worthwhile: its [...]

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ice-skating-canals-amsterdam-photo

The Dutch winter frenzy

It’s that time of the year again, when the thermometer hanging outside my window shows a lower reading than the display on my freezer. When I first moved to the Netherlands more than 20 years ago, one of the first things that caught my attention was the Dutch people’s preoccupation with ice. As soon as [...]

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spring-sheep-flowers-holland-photo

Velvet moments: travel photo – fields of tulips in Holland

One of my favourite things to do (and something I recommend to everyone) in the spring is to go for a drive, a stroll or a bike ride around the tulip fields in Holland. The most famous tulip region can be found around the town of Lisse (where the popular Keukenhof gardens are located), southwest [...]

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noordwijk-sunset-photo

Velvet moments: travel photo – Noordwijk beach sunset

Noordwijk aan Zee is a beach town in the Netherlands, about a 45-minute drive southwest of Amsterdam. The town is especially popular in the summer. On beautiful winter weekends, the locals flock to the beach for a stroll to enjoy the cold breeze, the sound of the waves and the magnificent sunsets.

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rocky-mountaineer-jasper-dawn-photo

Epic train journey on the Rocky Mountaineer

The Vancouver skyline loomed large in the distance as I gazed out the window. My journey on board the Rocky Mountaineer train from Jasper was nearing its end. As the wheels of the train clanged and hissed on the approach into Vancouver station, my thoughts drifted to my experience on board over the past two [...]

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jordan-aerial-view-dead-sea-photo

Plane views: Dead Sea and Israel

I’d just spent eight amazing days in Jordan but there was one more awesome treat in store for me as I boarded my flight from Amman to Amsterdam. I was seated in row ‘A’ and minutes after the plane took off (in a westerly direction), the East Bank of the Dead Sea came into view. [...]

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swimming-with-manta-rays-photo

Velvet moments: travel photo – swimming with rays in Bora Bora

One of the many highlights of my trip to Bora Bora in French Polynesia was swimming with various types of rays in the Bora Bora lagoon, amongst which the large manta ray. I described this experience in my Travel Journal entry, A Little Piece of Heaven: “As the boat anchored, about a dozen large manta [...]

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mcleod-river-bottlebrush-photo

A personal source of inspiration

This time three years ago, I was roaming around South America, having the time of my life on my first solo round-the-world trip. After ten years of focusing on my career, this trip certainly opened my eyes to the world outside my comfy ‘bubble’. I learned to value the relationships I have with my family [...]

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tuscany-town-photo

Tuscany’s gifts to the world

It’s no secret that I’m a big fan of Tuscany, or Italy for that matter! My love affair with Tuscany began more than two decades ago. I think it started the moment I had my first meal at a cosy trattoria in Florence. The food was absolutely divine. Simple, fresh and cooked with a passion [...]

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camels-timanfaya-lanzarote-photo

Ten things to do in Lanzarote

Lanzarote is a small volcanic island in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Morocco. The island, part of the Canary Islands archipelago, is a popular holiday destination for Europeans who come here to bask in the sun and explore the extraordinary volcanic landscapes. From the air, Lanzarote looks like a chain of volcanic cones, [...]

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