Hannover is the capital of the federal state of Lower Saxony, Germany. Some years ago, I had the opportunity to travel in Hannover in order to meet my cousins and enjoy together relaxed times with our horses. The weather of Hannover is ideal for horses cause it keeps them fresh and alive. It is true that during summer time in Greece, horses are suffering high temperature and as a result they cannot move and exercise properly. So, I sent my horse in a stable in Hannover for summer vacation for well being and training reasons. The feeling of sharing a sport with friends is unique. It is of great pleasure when you do something in group and you know in details what you are dealing with. In our case this is horseback riding.
The landscapes in Hannover are of unique beauty. Nothing can be compared to get on a horse and go for a ride inside a lake, breathing the fresh air and listening to the birds call. I spent two relaxed and refreshing weeks in Germany with my relatives where apart from long walks with the horses, I had the opportunity to taste healthy food, visit huge malls with horse equipment, be trained for jumping fences from the best horse trainers, have a swim at the lake, enjoy late afternoon walks with my cousins in the forest, and sleep early at night. My horse, named Kario Fortuna was of Holland origins so it really enjoyed the weather. The most amusing time of the day was when I was leaving my horse free in a field and you could see the real power of a horse. The horse really enjoys its freedom and it loves eating and rolling on the grass, whinning and breathing the fresh air.
All these activities is a reason to keep you alive! Taking care of horses can create an excellent relationship between you and the horse! While the horse is inside its stable and the owner approaches the horse whinnes unstoppably looking for a carrot or a sugar!
Life in Hannover is so different from other European cities! You can feel the relaxing mood in the air! Everything is so well organized something that German people can be proud of!
As for me, I do not think I could live in Germany cause the Meditteranian culture differs a lot! I am proud of you German people but is something above my customs and everyday habits to follow you!
Yours, Angela
Fashion is my passion. Each day I think of fresh ideas to get dressed, decorate my house, add accessories to my clothes, make old clothing functionable, buy fashion and deco books for my library, watch old movies, and get inspired by the web. Through the years, I have made some collages combining art and creativity, which are filled with seasonal trends and personal inspiraton.
The procedure has as follows:
Step 1: Go to a bookstore and buy a large piece of thick paper. Ideally, it would be 70cm height and 1 meter length. Its price is insignificant.
Step 2: Buy also a thin colourful piece of paper which will function as a surface on the thick paper for a more playful result.
Step 3: Arrange the theme of your creation. It might be seasonal trends, bathing suits, hats, black and white colors, surrealistic, baroque and so on and so forth.
Step 4: Go through magazines and check what really goes well with what you are going o create.
Step 5: When all images are gathered go on with the sticking and final arrangement of the cutting pieces of images.
Step 6: Last, you have to visit a store in order to get the framing done. Tip: Make sure you match the framing with your context.
Below, you see my creations for getting inspired to prepare your one!
Some years ago I had an amazing trip in Italy. Let me share with you the hightlights of what you need to do in Italy. We took a boat from Patras, Greece to Ancona, Italy. The trip to Ancona lasted a half day (most of the time the trip is at night so you have time to get some sleep).
First stop: Venice. What a romantic place! Venice is one of the most important tourist destinations in the world, due to the city being one of the world's greatest and most beautiful cities of art. Today, there are numerous attractions in Venice, such as St Mark's Basilica, the Grand Canal, and the Piazza San Marco. There, we had the opportunity to have a tour with a gondola, taste gelatos, and visit the litle island of Murano where muranno deco are artcrafted.
Next stop : Garda: There we visited Gardaland, the Eurodisney of Italy let us say a place full of adventure and energy. The next stop was Italian riviera! Portofino is the most beautiful place! The part centered on Sanremo, is the "Riviera dei Fiori". Green everytwhere, colourful flowers, and fantastic hotels!
Then we went down to Florence. Florence is famous for its history. A centre of medieval European trade and finance and one of the wealthiest cities of the time. Florence is considered the birthplace of the Renaissance, and has been called the Athens of the Middle Ages. Old buildings and an air of majesty. We had a long walk at the city and we stayed in a wonderful hotel.
Next stop: Pisa. The building which leans on one side is fantastic!
We then spent some days in Rome! Rome is the ancient city of Italy and its current capital. Monuments and museums such as the Vatican Museums and the Colosseum are amongst the world's 50 most visited tourist destinations. Among others, a masterpiece of Renaissance architecture in Rome is the Piazza del Campidoglio by Michelangelo. Rome enjoys a Mediterranean climate. It is very beautiful! Fontana di Trevi is the most amazing place! Shopping is one of the things to do in Rome as well as tasting spaggetti and pizza.
I really had the greatest memories during this trip! Why don't you try it?
In June 2006 there was a medical conference in Barcelona concerning techniques on how to approach patients with kidney failure. As the nature of my job deals with hemodialysis clinics and my father is a nephrologist, my sister and I grapped the opportunity for a business and pleasure trip in Spain.
When we reached Barcelona it was late afternoon, so we went directly for an early drink at the rooftop of the hotel. We had to get up at 8 in the morning, have a breakfast and run to the conference till late noon, but then we had some extra time for sightseeing, shopping and tasting the local specialties.
The adventure lasted four days. During our stay in Barcelona, we visited La Sagrada Famiglia, a huge unfinished church by Antoni Gaudi, one of the biggest tourists attraction and a must-see. The famous British author George Orwell hated it and called the Sagrada Familia “the ugliest building on earth" but visitors adore it.
Tip: There are usually long queues to get in all year round, but to avoid having to stand in line for hours you can either book a Gaudi Bus Tour or buy tickets online.
Picasso Museum was a place of great interest. We had the opportunity to see many early sketches of Picasso. The museum is housed in several magnificent gothic mansions in the old medieval part of Barcelona called El Born.
Walking at La Rambla, we spent some time for shopping and gifts. It starts at Plaza Catalunya and ends at the Monument of Columbus at the Port Vell harbour of Barcelona. La Rambla is not a spectacular sight, but very pleasant to stroll down and enjoy the human heartbeat of Barcelona. If you have not strolled down it, you cannot say you have been in Barcelona. Also called Las Ramblas as it is really a collection of various stretches of street with different names. Be careful of pickpockets on La Rambla and in the Metro.
Our last stop was Parc Guell. It was designed by Antoni Gaudi and it is now a UNESCO Worid Heritage Site. The original plan for Parc Guell was to build a private and exclusive residential garden city with 60 houses on the grounds.
Last but not least, do not forget to taste the famous sangria as well as paella which is based on rice and meat or fish and tapas.
It really worths travelling in Barcelona. Many times I have caught myself dreaming of living in this wonderful city! Full of energy and passion for art! Unfortunately, I do not have any photos to share with you, because my camera was stolen at the Metro station in Barcelona the last day of the trip, full of captures and magic moments! So sad!
Anyway, enjoy some sample pictures from the web!
