Flowers and artists

At Avila in Spain we came across this painter who painted landscapes and sold them. He was happy with his sales, and asked me to click his picture with the sale that he just made. He even gave us his website and asked me to look it up and post this picture there. But I kept wondering how he stood there under that hot sun all day to complete his paintings.

I did come across some other good artists too in Paris and Belgium and really appreciate the work that they have done.

We too bought a couple of these paintings in the hope of putting them up at home. (20 Euros for two of these is a fair deal I suppose)
The most common sight that you see in almost all of Europe are the flowers. Practically everything is decorated with flowers. The lamp posts, the railings, the balconies,

the buildings, the street corners, you name it and it is there.

The same street corner in the night from another angle,

It gives a pleasant and happy atmosphere to the whole place.
Some may like the flowers in the picture below and some may exclaim "wow Harley Davidson"

This one below was clicked in Belgium ( Bruges ) where this lady was just opening her shop and arranging the flowers.

© Photographer: Joezachs | Agency: Dreamstime.com

While I was at it, I could hear the clipetty clop of the horses and swerved around to see a horse drawn cart passing by. I almost missed that shot. Sometimes its a dilemma as to what to click and how and when.



For example we were cruising down the Seine river listening to the recorded commentary which is attached to the individual chair. You have to take out the handset and hold it to the ear. (so one hand is engaged there) I had a tough time holding the hand set as well as taking in the sight (and correlating with what I saw) and clicking with the other hand.

And then came the announcement “Now we will be passing under the famous bridge where you can make a wish and kiss your partner”
That was one more task to juggle for me. So wifey held the hand set and I kissed her and Christine took this shot from behind. Just in time before the bridge passed over us !!

Now I am trying to figure out the wish that I made :-)

Street shows

This is something that I really enjoyed throughout my travel in Europe.
Each place has its own style of entertaining people.

Its just a pleasure to simply wait on the side-lines and watch them perform. Some of them are so excellent that one can imagine the practice they must have gone through to perform so well. It’s a pity that I could not capture more of these performers.

When the hat is passed around your hand automatically goes to the wallet to contribute something. And talking of the hat, sometimes its not the hat, but then imagination runs wild in such cases. . . . . . . . . .

There is the Houdini act,

the silent statue act (and this comes in various forms and styles and attires)

The musicians (single or as a group)

In Amsterdam, after the Gay Pride Parade, there were impromptu dances held on the street. Passers-by just join in for a minute or two, dance to their heart’s content, and carry on walking. There was a young lady who was cycling down, she stopped and joined in (meanwhile a good Samaritan took her cycle from her and carefully parked it on the side) After a few minutes of hilarious fun and laughter and shaking the leg, she slowly melted away, took her cycle and pedaled off. (I could capture some of it on my video)

I realized that the music that they were dancing to, came from a house on the first floor. Probably there was a party there and they were kind enough to turn one speaker facing the street so that passers by could join. Also observed that as soon as it was 7pm the music was put off (maybe in line with the local law)

I noticed this young boy with the placard Free Hugs and was surprised that there were very few takers, considering the fact that there were so many tourists milling around.
I tried to make up for it by giving him some hugs before and after clicking his pictures.

There were other shows that we saw like the Moulin Rouge show and will write about it separately, but don’t expect any pictures of the show as photography is strictly forbidden .

I will be writing on the Gay Pride Parade too later as there is lots of footage that has to be processed.
Enjoy the video . . . .. . the tunes are catchy  (the last pull out shot is from the top of the Arc de Triomphe in Paris)

Concert at Iglasia in Spain

Life in the villages are pretty simple, but at the same time they enjoy the simple things in life. (that’s a new tongue twister ?)

Attended a musical concert at a church in La Iglesuela  a small village in Spain.

It was a simple affair but all the seats were taken and people just enjoyed and gave a standing ovation at the end.
What I liked was the dedication and devotion with which the choir members (young and old) came for the practice and finally performed with no flaw on the final day.

It was warm inside the church, but that did not dampen the spirit of the performers and the audience.

Usually for a stage performance, there are floodlights, but here candles were lit (inside and outside the church) making it something very unique (and difficult for me to do the filming)

The choir was conducted by Ms Vanessa Satur who put together the whole show.

After the performance, all got together at a pub in Piedralaves and had a round of drinks discussing the finer points about the show and how things went in general. Finally when all dispersed it was 2 am.

Two clippings of the show for those who want to hear it. (will add more clippings later when it is ready)

Bicycles

In general Europeans are healthy and not obese. It could be because of their eating habits and clean air. Another factor could be the extensive use of cycles. The dedicated cycle path that is provided on every road is a way of encouragement for the young and the old to confidently pedal down the road.

Provisions are made in trains, ferries and four wheelers to carry the cycle across long distance.

I liked the way the cycles were modified to carry the groceries. In some cases I found that this carriage acted as a pram, a good way to carry kids around.

Or for that matter this easy chair cycle that we saw at Vienna. What a way to pedal.  Looks like he is checking his messages while waiting for the light to turn green.

But one thing that really disappointed me was the theft of cycles. The crime rate in Amsterdam is very very low but I fail to understand how the theft of cycles can not be contained.
The end result was that all cycles were locked with heavy chains and padlocks. I am sure some of those chains must be weighing more than the cycle. (This goes for scooters too)

If the cycle is locked with the chain passing through the wheel, then the rest of the cycle is dismantled and taken away with the wheel left behind !!

And then there are cycles on hire with point to point cycle stations where you can hire a cycle at point A and leave it at point B (well locked and protected)

Head lamps are mandatory at night, which usually works on a small dynamo.

We were lucky enough to witness a cycle race that was held near Toledo in Spain. Managed to catch them in action (see movie clip)

Usually when you are back from a trip, you encounter a high pitched shrill.

It goes something like this "what you went to Paris and did not go up the Eifel Tower?" 

So to avoid that shrill   “what, you went to Amsterdam and did not go cycling?”  we too hired a tandem cycle and enjoyed pedaling on the dyke at Marken island with the lighthouse as the sole witness. I hope Dev Anand won’t have any objection to this. (see the 2 minute movie clip below)

Marken is a fishing island about 30 min from Volendam by ferry. (and Volendam is an hour away from Amsterdam by road) The island is so small that a walk around the outer dyke of the island is only 10 kms.

There is a small shoe factory on the island where they actually demonstrate how the clogs are made.

I have some movie clippings on that but more on that later when the clip is uploaded .

Outside the Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam there was this huge wheel. An impeller running for a very good cause.Wheel of energy, an unique way to draw attention to fight against cancer. Volunteers could keep it rotating by running inside the wheel (like a tread mill) and this would generate power.

Any one can sign in. How? 

"Put your hand on the screen and press start. In five seconds your picture will be taken. This completes the signing process. Thats all"

This was erected last year (for 365 days) and today is the 328th day.

Why I mentioned this here is that I found many cycles too at the base. Those who can't run can pedal away and help.

What a unique way.

To enjoy the video clip allow it to buffer first and then replay (preferably at a higher volume)