First Saturday in May is Kentucky Derby Day. Ladies dust off their best hats, or get a new colorful and more eccentric one, while men polish the silver gobelets ready for an exhilarating sequence of mint juleps. The crowd is festive and cheering, the high spirit atmosphere defeats the occasional cold rain. Even though I’m … Continue reading
Warm shallow waters surround the islands lying off the coast of Sfax, Tunisia, brought the islanders to develop characteristic fishing methods. Octopi fishing is made with clay amphoras dropped on the sandy soil tied with a rope to a floating buoy, octopi looking for refuge hide and remain inside even when the amphoras are pulled … Continue reading
Trains are a passion – if you’re not into them just skip to the next post, bye bye. My interest is more aesthetic and mechanic: I love the gears, I appreciated the sturdiness and dimensions, I enjoy the photo ops. Not to mention that I consider trains the most civilized way to travel short and … Continue reading
Before Barcelona became a tired tourist mecca during the holy month, that in Barcelona runs 12 times per year, it was a beautiful city. Don’t get me wrong: beauty itself is still there, but it’s hidden by the awful overwhelming mass of people surrounding you. My personal opinion, I’m entitled to one. So, these photos … Continue reading
If somebody tries to convince you that Puerto Rico, PR for adepts, is about sandy beaches facing crystal clear warm waters, strong rum and good cigars, tasty food and outgoing people, body shaking music and comfy hammocks hanging from palm trees, well, do not believe a word. Because yeah, that’s true but it’s only a … Continue reading
I was dispatched to Lisbon on a pretty boring assignment, I’ll spare you those photos and the narrative. What’s here, instead, are the images taken in between the photo shoots. It’s a reduced mix of what I perceived, probably superficial, about alfacinhas – the people of Lisbon -: a mingle of devotion to traditions in … Continue reading
When the ice is at least 20cm (7.8in) thick on the entire circuit, almost 200km (125mi), the Elfstedentocht – Eleven Cities Tour – is announced and takes place within 48 hours. Excitement and expectations spread throughout the entire country, the Netherlands, and the day of the race a festive crowd lines the circuit drawn along … Continue reading
Among the many things that identify Dutch people, ice skating is probably one of the most peculiar. You cannot skate either on tropical sandy beaches or on gentle windswept grass covered hills. Did you visualize that? Ok. So, in order to be able to ice skate, beside balance and agility, one needs a flat ice-covered … Continue reading
Madagascar is Africa but it’s a continent on itself. And not simply because it’s a huge island, but for the different fauna and flora. As a matter of fact Pangea teaches us that the island never belonged to the continent to which it is geopolitically assigned, hence the differences. In the far Northwest, where Nosy … Continue reading
We arrived at the yurts after a long full day ride, and when around sunset the fog suddenly fell on the path, my horse decided it was too scared to keep moving, so I had to get off it and pull it for the last couple of miles. We didn’t meet the kids that night, … Continue reading
Iraq between the two Gulf Wars was a suffering and rundown country but where no one spared a smile, ever. Ok, almost never, I mean, we did bump into a couple, more than a couple, of … let’s say glitches, but that’s part of the adventure, isn’t it?! Anyway, as the first group of tourists, … Continue reading
From mountain peaks to sea, from dromedaries to dolphins, from world famous religious sites to geology formations. The Sinai Peninsula is much more than one would imagine. Well, at least I imagined it differently before visiting. Also, the sun is scorching, so bring a wide-brimmed hat, wear long sleeves shirt and long pants. In two … Continue reading
michele molinari 