DREAMY VENICE

Venice is probably one of the most fascinating places I’ve ever visited. It’s like being in a dream, like you’re in a fantasy world. And it gets better at twilight when most of the tourists have returned to the mainland for the evening. Suddenly it seems like you have the city all to yourself with the sounds of life becoming softer and a stronger connection with everything around you is felt. You also start noticing the many things you failed to notice earlier in the day: the Renaissance-inspired architecture, the rich earthy tones of the city, the cobblestone streets leading to neighborhood squares, the narrow canals and the stone bridges that crosses them and the multiple arches and columns that line the many narrow alleyways turning the city into one giant maze. Venice is such a magical place and it surely is every photographers paradise. I was like a child in a candy store the first time I visited the city. Here are a few of the many photographs I took the day I fell in love with the City of Love.

TRAVEL SERIES: CELEBRITY ECLIPSE

I easily get seasick so I’m probably the last person you’d think would jump on a cruise ship in an instant. Surprisingly, I have been in more than a dozen cruises and am looking forward to my next one June of this year. I have sailed around Europe, Alaska, the Caribbean, South America and across the Atlantic Ocean and my goal is to have cruised around the world before I eventually leave this planet. A month ago I was on a two-week South American cruise on board the Celebrity Eclipse and had an amazing time even meeting new friends. The cruise started in Buenos Aires, Argentina sailing down to Cape Horn, Chile, which is the tip of South America, then up to Uruguay before docking back in Buenos Aires. The ship is almost 10 years old but is still in great shape thanks to regular maintenance. Celebrity Cruises is the premium brand of Royal Caribbean and has been awarded by several travel magazines as one of the best premium cruises in the world. Above is a photo I took of the main dining room while below are photos I took around the ship including a photo of my stateroom using my GoPro Hero7 camera. The ship’s interior is very tastefully decorated, which was made cheerful by the Christmas decorations during my cruise. The ship in itself is a destination complete with specialty restaurants, a theater, casino, game rooms, bars, swimming pools, gym, spa and more. My preference for Celebrity is primarily due to the quality of the service, food and the crowd it attracts…much older and relaxed, fewer children and lastly no bar fights. LOL!

Library (both photos above)

Theater

Casino

Entertainment Court (both photos above)

Grand Foyer (both photos above)

Shops on the Boulevard

Promenade Deck

Multi-Floor View

My Stateroom

CASA MILÀ

A trip to Barcelona, Spain isn’t complete without visiting Casa Mila, which was the last residential building designed by the legendary architect, Antoni Gaudí. This modernist architectural wonder was built between 1906 and 1912 and declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1984. The building is also known as La Pedrera, which means “The Stone Quarry” due to its unique rough-hewn appearance. Fortunately, this famous landmark is just a block away from The Majestic Hotel where I was staying making the visit very convenient. The building’s design is very unconventional due to it’s undulating facade and spectacular rooftop covered with skylights, chimneys and staircases that look like sculptures using materials such as glass, broken marble and lime. The photos above and below were taken at the roof terrace of the building featuring the unique sculpture-like structures that are truly out of this world. I decided to zoom into the structures to emphasize the curves, angles, shapes and surfaces in order to make it look less familiar. Just so you know, people still live in this building to this day.

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