Travel Europe with Mariadams

08/11/2017

Give that unique gift to your loved ones
My artsy photobook business is up and running.

It's the best gift you could give to your family and loved ones - an artistically designed photobook of their lives, travels, milestones, special moments complete with captions and/or stories.

Special Offer until 31 December 2017 - 1.50 Euros per page (design fee + cost of printing).
Choose from 26 to 100 pages. Let's discuss your requirements.

Here's the sample book.

http://artsyphotobook.blogspot.ie/p/give-that-unique-gift-to-your-loved_8.html

Give that unique gift to your loved ones It's the best gift you could give to your family and loved ones - an artistically designed pho...

01/11/2017

Our town, surrounded by lakes, is popular with anglers who come mostly from Britain, France and Germany. They come for a day, hire boats and spend the whole day waiting for fish to bite their hooks, which, out of ten fish, they have to throw nine back into the water for future angling tourists to catch. I actually feel sorry for the fish. Imagine getting caught on the mouth, its full body weight hanging through a thin metal hook, then unhooked, only to be caught again, and the cycle goes on for how many times a day, for several days. It's torture, if you ask me.
(Killeshandra, Co. Cavan, Ireland)

01/11/2017

Breakfast at Zsivago's -

"We've been here before and we love the ambience so much that's why we're back," I told the waiter as he was serving our breakfast in dainty plates and cups. He smiled and that started our conversation about life in Budapest, his attachment to his work and the interior decoration of the Café that attracted us in the first place. “I did the decoration myself,” he exclaimed.

We just adore everything about Café Zsivago, its soft interiors, the great-grandmotherly crocheted table covers...

"You can find them at the flea market in Ecseri. That's where most of the furnishings you see here come from. Enjoy your breakfast while it’s warm.”

I see images of Omar Sharif and Julie Christie settling into the sofas. I'm impatient to go home. I must start this Russian oldschool style makeover quickly, right in our sitting room!

http://mariadams.com/2015/07/07/breakfast-at-zsivagos/

29/04/2017

http://mariadams.com/2015/04/30/five-hours-in-bologna/

I’ve always wanted to see Bologna, an Italian city I knew very little about except that they call it the Red City because of the colour of the terracotta roofs and the birthplace of the wor…

20/04/2017

The tulips at the Keukenhof gardens -
It is the largest bulb flower park in the world
Seven million flower bulbs planted by hand
It covers an area of 32 hectares 4.5 million tulips in 100 varieties

http://mariadams.com/2012/04/19/keukenhof-gardens-in-lisse-holland/

20/04/2017

Baden-Baden, Germany
The Roman emperor Caracalla* (AD 198–217) bathed in its mineral thermal waters to cure his arthritic pains. American novelist Mark Twain once said, “I fully believe I left my rheumatism in Baden-Baden.” The great Russian writer, Fyodor Dostoyevsky lost all his money and his wife’s jewels gambling at the casino and in the end, had to write the novel, “The Gambler”, to pay off his debts. Bill Clinton proclaimed, “Baden-Baden is so nice you have to name it twice.”
http://mariadams.com/2016/04/20/baden-baden-germany/

The Roman emperor Caracalla* (AD 198–217) bathed in its mineral thermal waters to cure his arthritic pains. American novelist Mark Twain once said, “I fully believe I left my rheumatism in B…

17/04/2017

Springtime in Paris
http://mariadams.com/2014/04/15/springtime-in-paris/

28/03/2017

http://mariadams.com/2014/03/26/sicily-san-marco-dalunzio/

We were driving back from Sant’Agatha di Millitello to home when we noticed a large enough town perched dangerously up a distant hill that we decided to go and explore it. It is so high up (r…

21/03/2017

First day of Spring -
My first day to wear just a sweater today,
no more bulky coats, woolen caps and infinity scarves.
Spring, thank you for finally coming back to us,
I shall relish each day of your presence
and look forward to the burst of flowers,
fruits and beautiful sunshine that you always bring.

05/11/2016

(Nov 2011)
A date in Tuscany

Incurable travelers, partly to satisfy our nomadic lifestyle and mainly because of H’s job which takes us relocating for short periods to various cities in Europe, we spend more time away from our principal home so that when our neighbours get the odd chance to see us in the village boulangerie (bakery), their standard question is: “So when are you leaving again?”

http://mariadams.com/2011/11/09/a-date-in-tuscany/

05/11/2016

(Nov 2015)
An autumnal walk in the woods -
http://mariadams.com/2015/11/06/an-autumnal-walk-in-the-woods/

01/11/2016

(Posted 01 November 2014)
To commemorate All Saints’ Day today, I went to visit the cemetery of the town where I (currently) live. Not only to pay respect to the dearly departed of Siracusa, I also wanted to find out how the locals observe their Festa dei Morti (literally Day of the Dead) and hopefully to capture some of their traditions and idiosincracies…

All Saints' Day, Siracusa (Sicily) style

http://mariadams.com/2014/11/01/all-saints-day-siracusa-style/

17/10/2016

Street Photography: Rome
Oct 2014
http://mariadams.com/2014/10/27/rome-street-photography/

30/07/2016

THE GRAND DEPART

It's a French tradition that every Thomas (Tom), Richard (Dick) and Harry (same in French) has to take his vacation in July or August. So what happens is, all the weekends of these two months should be blocked off in every tourists' driving itinerary because all autoroutes (motorways/highways) will be clogged with departing vacationers and the direction is usually from the mainland to the coast, with the Mediterranean Coast receiving the highest numbers hence the country tends to tilt down southward (just kidding!).
http://mariadams.com/2010/07/21/the-grand-depart/

27/07/2016

Virtual Museum #7

"Girl with a Pearl Earring"

Oil on canvas, 1665
by Johannes Vermeer
Dutch, 1632-1675
Mauritshuis, The Hague, Netherlands

Swivelling to her left, she glances suddenly in our direction, her soft face as luminous as the moon in the night sky. She wears a voluptuous blue and yellow turban on her head, while an improbably plump pearl hangs from her earlobe. A speck of bright moisture adorns the corner of her mouth, which is open as though she is about to speak. Her words, though, remain a mystery.
Seductive yet silent, this exquisite nameless creature is known simply as the ‘Girl with a Pearl Earring’. The inspiration for a bestselling historical novel by Tracy Chevalier, which in turn was adapted into a 2003 film starring Scarlett Johansson, she was painted around 1665 by Johannes Vermeer, one of the masters of the art of the Dutch Golden Age. (bbc culture)

Vermeer's most famous painting is also one of the best-loved paintings in the world.

Johannes Vermeer or Jan Vermeer was a Dutch Baroque painter who specialized in domestic interior scenes of ordinary life. His entire life was spent in the town of Delft. Vermeer was a moderately successful provincial painter in his lifetime. He seems never to have been particularly wealthy, perhaps because he produced relatively few paintings, leaving his wife and children in debt at his death.

Virtually forgotten for nearly one hundred years, Vermeer was rediscovered in 1866 when the art critic Thore Burger published an essay attributing 66 pictures to him (only 35 paintings are firmly attributed to him today). Since that time Vermeer's reputation has grown, and he is now acknowledged as one of the greatest painters of the Dutch Golden Age, and is particularly renowned for his masterly treatment and use of light in his work. (Vermeer-foundation.org)

The Girl with the Pearl Earring tells the story of G***t, a 16-year-old Dutch girl who becomes a maid in the house of the painter Johannes Vermeer. Her calm and perceptive manner not only helps her in her household duties, but also attracts the painter's attention. Though different in upbringing, education and social standing, they have a similar way of looking at things. Vermeer slowly draws her into the world of his paintings - the still, luminous images of solitary women in domestic settings. (tchevalier.com)

It was originally titled Girl with a Turban and it wasn't until the second half of the twentieth century that the name was changed. Regarded as Vermeer's masterpiece, this canvas is often referred to as the Mona Lisa of the North or the Dutch Mona Lisa. (artble.com)

20/07/2016

Virtual Museum #6:

"The Kiss"
Oil and gold leaf on canvas, 1907-1908
by Gustav Kilmt
Austrian, 1862- 1918
Österreichische Galerie Belvedere, Vienna, Austria

Gustav Klimt introduced his "Golden Period" to the whole world. He was inspired by the golden mosaics of Byzantine churches he saw in Italy.

"The Kiss" is considered to be one of his most famous paintings in history.

The painting is portrayed by a man and woman embracing and sharing a passionate kiss. They are both dressed in gowns that are highly decorated. It can be noted that this painting showed how love should be at times. It should be intense, passionate and full of joy.

Klimt also used fresco, mosaic techniques and oil painting in this art work and this can be seen in the carpet of flowers. The play of swirls, spirals and ph***ic design was the primary composition of The Kiss. Gustav Klimt was able to bring forth the meaning of intimacy and passion in his canvas. Klimt brought to life his passion for the Byzantine mosaics in this beautiful painting. He was able to use this technique to bring a whole new emotion to love and unity. The entwined couple was a perfect symbolism of how love unifies couple into one lasting kiss. It is true that Gustav Klimt was able to show the world how he saw passion in his own eyes.

In 2003, this beautiful painting was commemorated by the Austrian State. It was part of a special collector’s Austrian coin depicting Klimt in his studio and The Kiss at the backside of the coin.
(totallyhistory.com)

14/07/2016

http://mariadams.com/2011/07/14/celebrating-bastille-day/

Bastille Day, “Quatorze Juillet” (14th of July) or Fete National (National Day)…..they all mean the same thing: France’s Independence Day. It commemorates the storming of th…

12/07/2016

"Paris heatwave and Aladdin's Cave"
(published July 2012)
It's good to be back home after a month of living in the suburbs of Paris. We are here for just a week to gather more household things to take with us by car, so instead of buying new stuff, we can make use of the ones we already have but that means digging into the basement opening up cartons upon cartons of decades old bric-a-bracs that rarely saw the light because our lifestyle is constantly on the move. It's nice to discover things that we have forgotten we have, kind of Aladdin's cave. It's just now a matter of compressing them all into the car, ready for the 12 hour drive back to the capital.
http://mariadams.com/2010/07/12/5082/

30/06/2016

"Incredible but we did it! We have just climbed the highest mountain in the Black Forest. We started in Seebach (700m) and scaled the 600 meter altitude in 2 1/2 hours. Slow, because the forest walk itself is an experience to behold despite the hairpin bends so steep that we had to stop every now and then to catch our breath.

But in our hearts, reaching our end destination is an achievement that we will treasure forever because Mummelsee is not only a picture postcard beauty but also the most famous lake in the Black Forest. Now we understand why climbers are incessantly and passionately aiming for the highest peaks because the reward is always sweetest after the hardest struggle!"

Excerpts from Month in Photos: May 2016
http://mariadams.com/2016/06/30/month-in-photos-may-2016/

29/06/2016

Part of "Month in Photos: May 2016" (coming soon)

29/06/2016

Virtual Museum #5:

"Raising of the Cross"
Oil on panel, 1610
by Peter Paul Rubens
Flemish, 1577-1640
Cathedral of our Lady, Antwerp, Belgium

Known as "the prince of painters and the painter of princes" due to his frequent work for royal clients, Peter Paul Rubens was one of the most famous and successful European artists of the 17th century. His skill at arranging complex groupings of figures in a composition, his ability to work on a large scale, his ease at depicting diverse subjects and his personal eloquence and charm all contributed to his success. His style combined Renaissance idealization of the human form with lush brushwork, dynamic poses and a lively sense of realism. His fondness for depicting fleshy, curvaceous female bodies, in particular, has made the word "Rubenesque" a familiar term. (biography.com)

Rubens painted the triptych of "Raising of the Cross" for the high altar of Antwerp's church of St Walpurgis, which was demolished in 1817. It marked his sensational introduction of the Baroque style into Northern art. The diagonal composition is full of dynamism and animated colour. The artist had just returned from Italy, with the memory of Michelangelo, Caravaggio and Venetian painting still fresh in his mind.

In the centre, nine executioners strain with all their might to raise the cross from which Christ's pale body hangs. The dramatic action is witnessed from the left by St John, the Virgin Mary and a group of weeping women and children. On the right, a Roman officer watches on horseback while soldiers in the background are crucifying the two thieves. In other words, the subject is spread across all three panels. The outside of the wings shows Saints Amand, Walpurgis, Eligius and Catherine of Alexandria. (peterpaulrubens.net)

27/06/2016

Earth laughs in flowers... Ralph Waldo Emerson

27/06/2016

Summer Watch

26/06/2016

26/06/2016

Our last visit to the Black Forest.
The past several months, this magical place has been our weekend retreats and it has never failed to fascinate us. This fairy tale region of Germany will forever have a special place in our hearts.
Goodbye, Foret Noire, we will definitely visit you again sometime.

22/06/2016

Virtual Museum #4

Cherubs in the "Sistine Madonna"
Oil on panel, 1512
by Raphael (Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino)
Italian, 1483-1520
Alte Meister Gallerie, Dresden, Germany.

Did you ever wonder who painted these angelic cherubs that we see so often adorning giftware, advertisements and home décor? Well, you may be surprised to learn that the creator of this popular motif is not a present-day artist but instead, a Renaissance painter. The winged darlings are only a small part of a much larger painting known as the Sistine Madonna.

The winged angels beneath Mary are famous in their own right. As early as 1913 Gustav Kobbé declared that "no cherub or group of cherubs is so famous as the two that lean on the altar top indicated at the very bottom of the picture."Heavily marketed, they have been featured in stamps, postcards, T-shirts, and wrapping paper. These cherubim have inspired legends of their own. According to a 1912 article in Fra Magazine, when Raphael was painting the Madonna the children of his model would come in to watch. Struck by their posture as they did, the story goes, he added them to the painting exactly as he saw them. Another story, recounted in 1912's St. Nicholas Magazine, says that Raphael rather was inspired by two children he encountered on the street when he saw them "looking wistfully into the window of a baker's shop." (wikipedia).

20/06/2016

Happy Summer Solstice on June 21 - the longest day and shortest night of the year, 2016...

18/06/2016

Where's the best place to spend a wedding anniversary for a couple who fell madly in love with Germany and the Black Forest, who are passionate about nature hiking, who still believe in fairy tale romance and who are deeply attached to European medieval history and culture....

Where else but in the magical, fairy tale looking town of Gengenbach.

City of towers and half-timbered houses, Gengenbach, with 11,000 inhabitants, was founded in the 13th century. It was burned down in 1689, rebuilt and remained almost as is, untouched by the two world wars so the town is practically the same as it was from the 17th century. It has been chosen as background for films like Charlie and the chocolate factory and inspired painters and writers.

http://mariadams.com/2016/06/18/gengenbach-the-pearl-among-the-black-forest-towns/

15/06/2016

Virtual Museum #3

"Nighthawks"
Oil on canvas, 1942
by Edward Hopper
American, 1882-1967
Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois

The diner has become synonymous with America because of Edward Hopper.

It is Edward Hopper's most famous work, and one of the most recognizable paintings in American art. Within months of its completion, it was sold to the Art Institute of Chicago on May 13, 1942 for $3,000 and has remained there ever since. (wikipedia)

The "Nighthawks" was inspired by “a restaurant on New York’s Greenwich Avenue where two streets meet,” but the image—with its carefully constructed composition and lack of narrative—has a timeless, universal quality that transcends its particular locale. One of the best-known images of twentieth-century art, the painting depicts an all-night diner in which three customers, all lost in their own thoughts, have congregated. ... Fluorescent lights had just come into use in the early 1940s, and the all-night diner emits an eerie glow, like a beacon on the dark street corner. ...... The four anonymous and uncommunicative night owls seem as separate and remote from the viewer as they are from one another. Hopper denied that he purposefully infused this or any other of his paintings with symbols of human isolation and urban emptiness, but he acknowledged that in Nighthawks “unconsciously, probably, I was painting the loneliness of a large city.” (artic.edu)

08/06/2016

Virtual Museum #2

"Self-Portrait with Pipe and Straw Hat "
Oil on canvas, Oct 1887
by Vincent Willem van Gogh
Dutch (1853-1890)
Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam

Van Gogh was eager to practise painting portraits, but was mostly unable to afford models. Instead, he bought himself a good mirror and used himself as his subject. He later wrote to his brother Theo: ‘because if I can manage to paint the coloration of my own head, which is not without presenting some difficulty, I’ll surely be able to paint the heads of the other fellows and women as well.’