The Italian Escape

June 11, 2017

iPhone Panoramic picture from Capri Island – after a 1h hour very pleasant evening walk.

First time in Italy for Chiara and Olivier. They could not really believe a country where you could eat pizza, pasta and ice cream all day long under a sunny sky could exist. So they asked us pretty much every day before we got there. We did not want to bring any sort of deception so they realized such a diet (for one week only obviously) was possible – and we have all been blown away by the rest.

Our first stop for two nights was the Island of Capri – a photographer paradise and no car which is really appreciated. A few walks, a boat tour, a memorable and scary cliff jumping session and it was time to go already.

: Marina Grande, or more simply the harbour of Capri – where our hotel was. Picturesque and very busy with tourists.

: Our room was yellow, the bathroom was super yellow – so much Olivier and Chiara wanted a picture in it.

: Stairs climbing was the flavor of the day.

: Nice walk in Capri city chasing lizards and finding secret passages – I took this picture from above, as always one out of two is picture conscious …

: The entrance to the grotto is very tight – and it’s organise Italian-style, who shout the most gets first. Chiara witnessed an argument between captain – and she realised their parents fights was soft in comparison.

: Inside the blue grotto. It’s blue, very touristy and very expensive per minute inside.

Food. We only stayed one week in Italy but we could have made a whole book about it. Needless to say we took a few KG but had a blast, Chiara confirmed this was the best country in the world for food. This is likely an over-reaction but they loved it. They averages one pizza, one pasta and one ice-creams per day. Obviously some days were specials, two ice-creams were not uncommon.

: This is a pizza Margherita from the Napoli region. You can check in Chiara’s eyes, this is special, very special.

: Good tomatoes, good cheese and tasty Olive oil – my evening meal ready to enjoy the next day morning run.

View from our room in the Amalfi Cost. Luckily they had both stairs and lift to get down to the beach.

The next step was a few days on the coast Amalfi – close to Praiano. A very picturesque coastline with steep cliffs, narrow roads and very challenging driving conditions. It was difficult to stop to take pictures, town centers and pretty much only accessible by bus and getting down to the sea is usually privatized by hotels or restaurants. However it is stunning with those houses built on cliffs for kilometers.

: Olivier is continuing making efforts to pause – her sister following him this time.

: Ravello’s town center. Not sure if they put this on purpose. Nature morte.

: One of the very pretty restaurant of Ravello, with the view and the Oliviers.

: Olivier pointing at the dog’s warning sign – he had seen a larger representation in Pompei the day before and he will bring one back to put on his bedroom door.

: Rare enough family picture, with the camera laying down on the floor (Can’t trust anyone ;-))

: Chiara and JP’s snorkeling finishing on a rock – amazing experience for Chiara who is more and more comfortable in the sea.

: One of Ravello’s house gated entrance.

: This is the stairs going down to the sea from our hotel. The view was phenomenal – only two our us ever tried to climb them – guess who ?

: Villa Rufolo – very picturesque, photographer paradise. Drones forbidden !

Now we are coming to the main purpose of our trip – Pompei and the Vesuvio. We kept it for the end of the trip as a highlight and make sure we build up the expectation ! We had an amazing time, it was way too short. We knew Italy was a kids-friendly destination and that has been confirmed. Buona Notte.

In Vulcano Solfatara – bad smell, smoke and various examples and volcanic activities.

: Pompei. We had a funny french-speaking guide who has been aggressed by questions from Chiara and Olivier for all the tour. Difficult to find a street without tourists, here is the best attempt.

: Chiara using the zebra-crossing as they were two thousands years ago.

Gulf of Naples seen from the top of the Vesuvio !

The Kew Autumn Post

November 19, 2016

Leaves – no HDR trickery. Sometimes nature is more inspiring than kids – and definitely easier to capture. This image made the shortlist for our autumn desktop background.

Our annual – autumn in Kew tree photography was again amazing this year. Saturday being kids-frenzy day – the only slot is a Sunday morning around late October/early November. We’ve been lucky this year to have one slot – and as every year it’s one of the most beautiful day one could spend in Kew Gardens. Colors are just stunning.

This tree in the Japanese garden section of Key was particularly photogenic with all the ranges of leaves colors from green to dark red.

The tree-climbing crew

We do not regularly use our wide-angle on the 5D. This picture made the day, with a little HDR and lens correction help obviously 🙂

Quebec and Civilisation

September 13, 2016

Choosing the first image of a post is usually hard – this time was extra difficult – so many good pictures and souvenirs. This one is a big of a postcard but getting the big boat was not easy (the two in front wouldn’t help much) while trying to do a treasure hunt !

Two weeks lost in the Canadian country side, 2500km, at least 5 different types of boats – almost as many maths workbooks. We wanted to avoid cities on this family trip – and we got what we came from. Hopefully Chiara is now less afraid of insects, Olivier of wolves – and both of them will be allies in getting the family to live ouf of a city at some point !

Yourte in the park de la Jacques-Cartier. We got cold the first night (no fire) and hot the second night (fire too strong) – and that was the end of our trip, mastering wood-based overnight heating will be for another time.

: Tent (real ones) – probably the highlight of the trip for the kids.

: Warming up – preparing for the night – the power of fire.

: Minimalism is luxury. Wood Cabin, cosy and romantic.

: This is a tent – but it cannot be called camping.

We had a variety of accommodations – all in the serie, in the wild but still don’t forget my comfort. Fire and marshmallow some nights – stargazing for others – or wood exploration with flashlight. Needless to say, kids are happy outside, exploring – especially city kids like ours.

Moving every two days was tiring for us, but a bit less for the little ones catching up with sleep most of the time. Distance are not huge, but every journey feels slow.

My personal favourite – iphone photography sometimes works.

Canoe overnight trip in Mauricie. Wilderness, calm, paddling – slow life. This picture was taken with our GoPro with minor color correction.

I won’t embarrass myself with the exhaustive list of animals we saw in open zoo or parks but similarly – space not being at a premium in Canada – they have amazing outdoor recreations area where both animals and tourist enjoy encounters, without stress.

Chiara has always been at ease with everything that falls out of the insect category – especially mammals, big or small – they are all her friends.

Olivier getting out of his comfort zone.

Morning coffee on our whale watching tour.

See you soon Canada – and congratulations again to Michel and Orchidee, thanks for the incentive to come and visit ! 😉 Being so far away from civilization as we know it has been so refreshing.

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