Beijing, the Unexpected City

Beijing was quite a trip. The city is contradictory: exciting, historic, modern and most surprisingly, kind of romantic. From the incredible Forbidden City to the not-so-forbidden and very crowded subway, I was not bored once!

Haeundae Beach, Busan, South Korea

I don't bring my good camera to the beach, but the light was so amazing that day it didn't even matter. Fall is fast approaching here. By the time we got to the beach the swimming season was long past, but still, with a view like this you can't complain.

Also, next week is the Korean holiday Chuseok, so since we've got some time off, we're headed to BEIJING! Of everywhere I've been so far in my life, this is the first I can say that has held a place in my imagination since I was a child. The Forbidden City, the Great Wall, I literally cannot wait!

Korean Sunset

The view from our apartment window in Masan:

As a coastal girl, I usually don't like how mountains interfere with a nice, pretty, horizony sunset, but sometimes Korea just gets it right.

Also, I just saw Little Ashes, which is not a very good movie. Why would three Spanish guys at a college in Madrid be speaking English? But it did make me homesick for Cadaques and Port Lligat. And the thought that I was playing on the exact same pebble beaches that Robert Pattionson had been filming on a few months earlier (and didn't even know it) is interesting to say the least! The movie is worth checking out, if for no other reason, to see everyone's favorite boy toy Dalí-ing it up.

The Center of The World

Another stop on the road trip, Perpignan, France. The center of the universe, according to Dalí. (Those are my boyfriend's inexcusable feet, BTW.)

Dalí trusted the train station there more than the one in his hometown, and even honored it with a painting.

We were there in April, during the worst of the ash cloud travel crunch, and the place was packed with stranded European tourists trying to get home, while still looking freaking fantastic. It's part of the fashion mystique us Americans are still trying to figure out.

The weather was hot, which we Southerners are used to, but dry, which meant your hair still looked good, which was nice.

There was much in Catalonia and France that made me homesick. I'd catch a whiff of Jasmine or spot a blooming Crepe Myrtle and be transported to springtime back home. It turns out a lot plants that are popular in South Carolina were brought there by the French, and originally come from Asia! So perhaps my new home will have much that is familiar as well.

One fashion trend I did not see in person, but I dearly hope is not catching on. (Now try not to get "Future Sailors" stuck in your head!)

Port Lligat, Spain

More photos from the Catalonia road trip. This time long-exposure night shots of the beach at Port Lligat, home of one of the zillions of Dalí museums. And not my favorite either, not even close. That goes to the house in Púbol. (That will get a post of its' own!)

These were taken in late April, during the hight of the ash cloud travel nightmare, so the place was devoid of tourists! (Other than ourselves.)

Quiet, blanketed in stars, and I didn't even miss the internet... too much. Even if the place had been crowded, it still would have been magic! (And that's not just the Estrella talking.)

I guess this kind of boat is popular on the Mediterranean. Alix of cherry blossom fame took a similar shot in Sicily.

Cerbère, France

Pictures from a roadtrip the boyfriend and I took around Catalonia and France at the end of April. These are from the Mediterranean town of Cerbère. The water was as clear as glass. (I did not Photoshop the bird. Just a touch of luck!)

Vyšehrad Castle, Prague 10

A big thanks to Sam, best roomie/model ever!

Also, I have left Prague and am moving to Masan, South Korea. This is not the end of the pictures however! I have tons of shots from Europe to edit and post. And Masan looks like it's going to be quite an experience in itself.

Ossuary (Bone Church), Kutná Hora

Viniční altán, Havlíčkovy sady, Prague 10

St.Vitus Cathedral, Prague Castle

Havlíčkovy sady, Prague 10

Vršovice, Prague 10