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Travel snapshots from Toonsarah

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        • The Friendly Friday Challenge: how to join in
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      • One-to-Three
      • Ten photos
      • Thursday Trios
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  • About me
    • Contact me
    • ‘Always Write’ interview
    • My love of travel
    • My photography
      • Photographic techniques
      • My photography journey
      • Video
    • Disclaimer & GDPR
  • Archive
  • Home
  • Destinations
    • England
      • London
      • Newcastle-upon-Tyne
    • Europe
      • Albania
      • Austria
      • Bulgaria
      • Estonia
      • France
        • Paris
      • Germany
      • Iceland
      • Italy
      • Jersey
      • Latvia
      • Norway
      • Portugal
      • Spain
        • Seville
      • Switzerland
      • Ukraine
    • Beyond
      • Africa
        • Botswana
        • Cape Verde
        • Gambia
        • Kenya
        • Madagascar
        • Morocco
        • Namibia
        • Senegal
        • Tanzania
        • Zimbabwe
      • Americas
        • Belize
        • Canada
        • Chile
          • Rapa Nui
        • Colombia
        • Costa Rica
        • Ecuador
          • Galapagos Islands
        • Guatemala
        • Jamaica
        • USA
          • Chicago
          • New Mexico
          • New York City
          • Washington State
      • Asia
        • DPRK
        • India
          • Kerala
          • Rajasthan
        • Indochina
          • Cambodia
          • Laos
          • Vietnam
        • Japan
        • Nepal
        • Oman
        • Syria
        • United Arab Emirates
        • Uzbekistan
  • Themes
    • Architecture
    • Art
      • Crafts
      • Street art
    • Colour
    • Dark tourism
    • Eco-tourism
    • Food & drink
    • Gardens
    • History
      • Ruins
      • War
    • Landscape
      • Coast & seascapes
      • Deserts
      • Mountains
      • Rivers
    • Nature and wildlife
      • Animals
      • Birds
      • Plants
        • Flowers
        • Trees, forests and woodland
    • People
      • Culture & tradition
      • Street photography
    • Travel in general
  • Photo galleries
    • Themed galleries
    • Travel galleries
  • Postcards from the road
  • Challenges
    • Photography challenges
      • Lens-Artists
      • Monochrome Madness
      • Nature Photo Challenge
      • One Word Sunday
      • Photographing Public Art
      • Pick a Word
      • Squares
      • Sunday Stills
      • The Changing Seasons
      • Cee’s challenges
        • CBWC
        • CFFC
        • CMMC
    • General challenges
      • Happy Place Happy Space
      • Monday walks
      • Words of Wisdom
      • Writers’ Quotes Wednesday
    • Challenges archive
      • Bird Weekly
      • Friendly Friday
        • The Friendly Friday Challenge: how to join in
      • Friday’s Foods of the World
      • Just One Person
      • Life in Colour
      • Mid-week Monochrome
      • One-to-Three
      • Ten photos
      • Thursday Trios
      • Thursday Doors
  • About me
    • Contact me
    • ‘Always Write’ interview
    • My love of travel
    • My photography
      • Photographic techniques
      • My photography journey
      • Video
    • Disclaimer & GDPR
  • Archive

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Topics I’ve touched on

africa animals architecture art birds black_&_white bulgaria cambodia chile cities colombia colour costa_rica dprk ealing england flowers france friendlyfriday Friendly_Friday history india landscape lens-artists Lens_Artists_Challenge london Monday_Walks naturephotochallenge nepal new_mexico north_korea paris people photography photo_effects PPAC ruins Street_Art Street_Photography Sunday_Stills thechangingseasons usa views village wildlife
  • Pick a Word,  Themed galleries

    Gallery: pick a word (January 2023)

    January 28, 2023 / 30 Comments
    A subway station platform seen through columns supporting the roof

    How do we define a ‘good word’? One that is appropriate for the situation? One that does good rather than harm? Or one that sounds good when we hear it spoken or read it aloud? Or perhaps all three?

    Carry on reading

    Or what about ...?

    Black and white photo of tiny fungi growing out of lichen

    Gallery: pick a word (September)

    October 6, 2022
    Man with a beard in sunglasses, wearing a hat

    Gallery: pick a word (July)

    July 28, 2022
    Large rock outcrops

    Gallery: pick a word (June)

    June 24, 2022
  • Sunday Stills,  Travel in general,  Writers' Quotes Wednesday

    My travel year in review, 2022

    January 2, 2023 / 70 Comments
    Collage of travel photos

    All of us who love to travel, and are fortunate enough to be able to do so, will I hope be looking back on a year filled with both familiar and foreign places. For most of us, 2022 was the year in which we began to feel comfortable travelling again. When, despite a few new forms to fill in and masks to be worn, perhaps reluctantly, on planes, the world opened up again and we could scratch that travel itch, relieve that homesickness ‘for the places we have never known’.

    Carry on reading

    Or what about ...?

    PhotoSpiralysis effect on a deep purple flower

    Gallery: fabulous florals in a spin

    April 26, 2022
    Roof line of yellow beach hut with yacht and seagull ornaments

    Gallery: exploring beaches, near and far

    July 7, 2022
    Bow of ship sailing towards snowy coastline

    The thoughts of a very occasional cruiser

    August 31, 2021
  • History,  Monday walks,  Portugal

    Faro’s old town: sights and impressions

    May 9, 2022 / 34 Comments
    White dome above a tiled roof

    Some of my best memories of my previous visit to Faro were of exploring the streets of the Old Town especially around the beautiful Cathedral. I was keen therefore to revisit favourite spots and discover new ones.

    Carry on reading

    Or what about ...?

    Stone church and blue sky

    The wonders of Bulgaria’s Bachkovo Monastery

    February 10, 2022
    Engraved gold band

    A postcard from Colombia: finding gold

    February 6, 2023
    Stone statue on a plinth on a grassy hillside

    Admiral Lord Collingwood, a forgotten hero

    April 25, 2021
  • Architecture,  Photographing Public Art,  Portugal,  Travel galleries

    Gallery: tiles, tiles and yet more tiles!

    April 30, 2022 / 42 Comments
    Blue tiles with religious painting

    I doubt you can walk more than ten metres through a traditional Portuguese town and not spot a ceramic tile or several! The unique craft of azulejos portugueses is an unmistakable feature of these lovely old houses. And just as you can’t walk far without seeing them, I find it impossible to walk any distance without photographing some!

    Carry on reading

    Or what about ...?

    Large yellow building with white window details and ornamentation

    Rundāle, the Baltic Versailles?

    August 18, 2022
    Row of elegant buildings in cream, blue and white

    Gallery: the Art Nouveau gems of Riga

    August 20, 2021
    Lake with palace on the hill beyond

    The Palace of Bundi: Kipling’s ‘work of goblins’

    November 18, 2020
  • Architecture,  Flowers,  Monday walks,  Portugal

    A stroll around Tavira

    April 29, 2022 / 38 Comments
    Two white bell towers

    I couldn’t go to the Faro area and not meet up with blogging friend Restless Jo, could I? Or perhaps I could! We planned to meet, naturally, but on the day fate intervened and our coffee date had to be … not cancelled, I hope, but certainly indefinitely postponed.

    Carry on reading

    Or what about ...?

    Looking across a park to an historic building with a river and modern skyscrapers beyond

    Gallery: what makes a perfect city?

    March 29, 2022
    Orange tiled roof with small figures along the apex

    Gallery: on the edge of the roof

    October 3, 2023
    Blue and green wooden doors

    Gallery: the doors of Nepal

    January 23, 2023
  • Flowers,  Photographic techniques,  Sunday Stills,  Themed galleries

    Gallery: fabulous florals in a spin

    April 26, 2022 / 41 Comments
    PhotoSpiralysis effect on a deep purple flower

    Of course spring flowers are glorious in their own right. We love to see them both for their beauty and because they herald summer days to come. But I’ve shared so many in the past. So when Terri asked to see some fabulous seasonal florals I wanted to do something different.

    Carry on reading

    Or what about ...?

    Three bright red flowers

    Gallery: three flowers, three fruits

    June 16, 2022
    Black and white photo of a single magnolia flower

    Gallery: spring sunshine, but in monochrome?

    March 21, 2022
    Soft focus rose and other flowers

    Gallery: flowers for Bren

    June 16, 2023
  • Art,  Photographing Public Art,  Portugal,  Travel galleries

    Gallery: a wartime farewell in Tavira

    April 23, 2022 / 40 Comments
    Sculpture of a soldier in uniform waving

    When we visited Tavira for the day from our weekend base in Faro, I couldn’t help noticing the life-size statue of a soldier outside the station. He holds his kit bag in his right hand while his left is raised in farewell.

    Carry on reading

    Or what about ...?

    Garden with statue and gold dome beyond

    A visit to the Musée Rodin in Paris

    January 26, 2022
    Green hillocks and winding paths

    Is it art or is it nature? Northumberlandia

    June 30, 2021

    Gallery: tripling the impact

    April 8, 2022
  • Coast & seascapes,  Monday walks,  Portugal

    A spring walk by the sea in Faro

    April 19, 2022 / 56 Comments
    Boardwalk with sea beyond and yellow flowers

    One of the delights of a spring break somewhere a little warmer than home is of course to get out and enjoy the sunshine. And if you can do so by the sea, so much the better. I’m not one for lying baking on a tropical beach; I can’t take the heat and I get easily bored. But I love the sea: the sound of waves on the shore, the fresh sea air.

    Carry on reading

    Or what about ...?

    Woman on grassy cliff looking out at passing ships

    Gallery: I must go down to the seas again

    June 10, 2022
    Child playing on an otherwise empty beach

    Gallery: seeing the English coast in black and white

    August 24, 2023
    Wintery beach scene

    Gallery: blowing the cobwebs away at Druridge Bay

    January 4, 2023
  • Photographing Public Art,  Portugal,  Street art,  Travel galleries

    Gallery: art on the streets of Faro

    April 15, 2022 / 37 Comments
    Mural with three faces

    Never go back, they say. And in fact, I rarely do. But occasionally I make an exception, and especially if I have fallen for a place while visiting without my husband and want to introduce him to it. Riga and Tallinn were in the past such places, and now Faro, on Portugal’s Algarve coast, has joined them.

    Carry on reading

    Or what about ...?

    Colourful mural street art depicting two women

    Gallery: the street art of Candelaria, Bogota

    February 24, 2023
    Single storey houses in bright colours

    A wander through Getsemani

    March 21, 2023
    Two boys cycling past a utility box painted with a figure from South Park

    Gallery: boxing clever in Tirana

    May 14, 2023
  • Friendly Friday,  Portugal,  Travel galleries

    Gallery: underfoot in the Algarve

    April 12, 2022 / 44 Comments
    Cobbled pavement with black stones depicting a castle

    On our recent visit to Faro I found myself often looking down at my feet as I walked around. This was partly out of necessity; there were plenty of broken or uneven cobbles to trip me up! But it was also due to my fascination with the traditional patterns of the Portuguese pavements.

    Carry on reading

    Or what about ...?

    Colourful striped fabrics

    Gallery: abstract shapes and colours

    July 16, 2022
    Two men in a rowing boat

    Keeping North Korea clean and beautiful

    March 13, 2021
    Squirrel with a conker in his mouth

    A neighbourhood walk

    October 31, 2020
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Read my featured blogger interview

Logo for blogging feature
By Marsha of 'Always Write'

And my answers to Bren’s ‘five at five’ questions

Lady in a hat and red top sitting on rocks

Some favourite photos

Man in a turban with fishing nets
Fisherman in Fort Kochi, Kerala
Two elephants in long grass
Okavango elephants
Blue glacier edge
Glacier Grey, Torres del Paine, Chile
Elderly woman in black hat and sunglasses
In Santiago, Chile
Very large statues of North Korean Leaders
Statues of the Great Leaders on Mansudae Hill, Pyongyang
Water reflecting the sky with clouds and low sun
Approaching sunset in the Okavango Delta
Feet of huge metal sculpture, with man standing beside
The feet of the Angel
Large moai with row of more behind
The ‘travelling moai’ and Ahu Tongariki
Man in knitted hat by water, black and white photo
Waiting for the ferry, Banjul
Mountain reflected in a lake
On the road to Dyrholaey
Sunset at Wahiba Sands, Oman
Squirrel with a conker in his mouth
In Walpole Park, Ealing
Silhouette of a man in a gateway
Looking out from Bundi Palace
Blue and pink bird on a dead tree
Lilac-breasted Roller, Chobe NP, Botswana
Buddhist monk in orange robes with mobile phone
Monk at Wat Nong Sikhounmuang, Luang Prabang
Man sleeping in a tuk tuk by a carved stone wall
Tuk tuk driver by the Terrace of the Leper King
Close up of flamingo with head tucked under
Flamingo (Jersey Zoo)
Lady with baskets of fruit sitting by a canal
In Hoi An, Vietnam
Small fishing boat with a man in it, on a large lake
Lake Atitlan
Wet street and two people with bright pink umbrella
Street in Lucca, rainy day – edited

Some topics I’ve touched on

africa animals architecture art birds black_&_white bulgaria cambodia chile cities colombia colour costa_rica dprk ealing england flowers france friendlyfriday Friendly_Friday history india landscape lens-artists Lens_Artists_Challenge london Monday_Walks naturephotochallenge nepal new_mexico north_korea paris people photography photo_effects PPAC ruins Street_Art Street_Photography Sunday_Stills thechangingseasons usa views village wildlife

Archive

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  • December 2021
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  • December 2020
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  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020

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  • Gallery: look up, look down

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All images and texts copyright Sarah Wilkie - 2023 ©
 

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