Travel Theme: Pink.

So, as you might remember, if you think dare to think back to over a year ago, I got involved in Ailsa´s travel theme in September 2012. I loved the concept of this weekly challenge as it combined my three loves – writing, travel and photography. It also gave me the opportunity to interact with so many people who shared my passions. It was fantastic. Ailsa herself was very welcoming and encouraging, which is always so nice. Then, as we all know, life got in the way and sadly, after only two posts, I had to walk away from the challenge.

As I was scrolling through my reader on Monday morning I spotted this weeks challenge. There it was, staring at me ever so boldly, luring me in. Right there and then I vowed that no matter how chaotic my work week got I would find a way, somehow, to fit this weeks challenge in. So here I am, over a year later, finding the time to squeeze this weeks posts in. Let´s face it, doing this challenge is way more rewarding than correcting that pile of corrections sitting on my desk (don´t worry all corrections will get done, no one will suffer for the sake of my joy!)

This weeks challenge is designed to welcome in one of my favourite seasons: Spring. Spring has always been a season that has filled me with joy, apart from those nasty allergies that it brings with it, I love everything about Spring. I love how everything starts to come to live again. The sun is shining brightly, the flowers are dancing in an attempt to show off their amazingly vivid colours and there is a hum of happiness in the air as people take to the street again in celebration of the end of winter.

Ailsa made a great point in her post as she offered up this weeks theme: pink, “It’s a colour you either love or hate, but if you look closely, there’s an awful lot of it around.” And it´s true, the streets are filled with this vivacious colour, there´s no escaping it. So, here is my offering for this weeks challenge. Humble as it may be, I hope you enjoy it.

Welcome to Spring.
Welcome to Spring.
Welcome to Spring
Welcome to Spring
Welcome to Spring.
Welcome to Spring.
Welcome to Spring
Welcome to Spring
Welcome to Spring
Welcome to Spring
Welcome to Spring
Welcome to Spring

 

If you would like to get involved in Ailsa´s travel theme challenges then here is all the information you need:

If you would like to join in (everyone’s welcome!) here’s what to do:

  • Create your own post and title it Travel theme: Pink
  • Include a link to Ailsa´s page in your post so others can find it too
  • Get your post in by next Thursday, as the new travel theme comes out on Friday
  • Don’t forget to subscribe to her page to keep up to date on the latest weekly travel themes.

To check out some other entries, click on the links below:

http://pathsunwritten.com/2014/03/21/travel-theme-pink/

http://esengasvoice.wordpress.com/2014/03/21/travel-theme-pink/

Travel Theme: Pink

http://loganbruin.wordpress.com/2014/03/21/travel-theme-pink/

http://lagottocattleya.wordpress.com/2014/03/22/travel-theme-pink/

 

Thank you for reading and I will talk to you in my next post.

Giana xoxo

Time to make my return to the world of writing

If you have been wondering where I suddenly disappeared to after posting my last piece, then wonder no more. I´d like to reassure my readers, some of whom have kindly been leaving me messages during my rather lengthy departure, that I´m still alive and that, more importantly, I´m back. This time for the long haul.

That said, I feel it´s only fitting that I fill all you lovely readers in on what I´ve been up to the past few months. I smile to myself as I type the words “few months”, realising that next month marks my year long absence. Once the dedicated little blogger, accustomed to posting once, maybe twice a week, I became quite disloyal to my followers, I hope you do forgive me.

Right, time to get the ball rolling and answer that big burning question: why has my absence been so lengthy? I won´t bore you with all the details, just introduce you to the wonderful new journey I have found myself on.

I moved
As you might remember, if you can cast your minds back to almost a year ago, I was living and working in Córdoba. An idyllic city that managed to steal my heart from the very moment I stepped foot on it´s narrow, little streets and, if I´m honest, still hasn´t given it back to me!

Well, brace yourselves. I know this will be hard to believe, considering how much I raved about Córdoba, but I no longer live in the dreamy city I grew to call my home. I made a tough decision in May of last year. After a rather gruelling period of weighing the pros and the cons of living in Córdoba. I did it, I made the decision. I decided to move nearer to my family in the Valencian region. After a difficult year I decided that being near my loved ones would be the best move for me, even if it meant leaving a part of me behind.

So I did it; packed up my things, handed in my notice and started applying for jobs. Such a daunting experience. I had become so comfortable in my surroundings, both in work and my social life, that the sheer thought of change terrified me. However, I stayed strong, did what had to be done and, guess what, I´m still here to tell the tale!

Some very wise people, who these people are I will never know, have said that a change is as good as a holiday. And, while it hasn´t all been a bed of roses, I´m inclined to agree with them. Change brings up so many experiences and emotions that you never knew you could have, and they´re not always positive.

Having made a huge move before, when I left my beautiful home country to come to Spain, I thought that I had it down. I naively thought that all it involved was moving my mass of possessions from one part of the country to the other. Oh, how foolish of me.

Instead of being filled with hope and anticipation, like I had experienced in my last move, I was filled with a mixture of fear, uncertainty and apprehension. I was leaving behind a life that I absolutely loved and diving into the unknown without the ability to swim-terrifying. However, this time I knew that, unlike the last time, I had my loved ones around me to mop up the puddles of tears and kick my ass into gear when it needed to be.

That said, I´ve finally started to raise my head above the water again. After what seemed like an eternity, but in reality was only a mere three months, I´m settled. The puddles of tears have dissipated, the fear has subsided, the uncertainty – gone. In its place, thank god, lies a new love, going by the name of Murcia, and a new found hope and happiness. At last, I´ve come out the other side and, you know what, it might even be better than the life I have left behind.

So, that´s it. That´s all I have to offer you as an introduction to what comes next.

You may be wondering, what exactly have I achieved since my last post, apart from bettering the economy with the amount of tissues I needed to mop up the tears. Well, that´s easy: happiness, peace and hope.

I left behind a city I loved, friends who supported me through the toughest time in my life, a job I loved and security but I´ve gained so much since. I´ve gained a new found love for yoga, a passion for photography that I always knew was there but never gave myself the time to pursue, a wonderful new job and a bunch of great colleagues to go along with it, love and support from my family, some new friends, new activities and adventures and lots of visits and Skype chats with my friends.

Córdoba will always have a strong hold on my heart. The beauty of the city, the amazing adventures I had and the fantastic friends I made and miss terribly. However, now I´m ready to let go of my feelings for it ever so slightly to make room for the new adventures I´m about to embark on.

Where does that leave my blog? Well, I´m excited to be back writing again. It´s amazing how much you miss writing when you have to take a break from it. I´m filled with a new found enthusiasm for my blog again. I also have a lot of exciting adventures coming up which I can´t wait to share with you all. So, for now, to give myself a chance to get back into the swing of things, learn how to write again and all that jazz, I will only be posting once a week.

Welcome to Murcia

I want to thank you for your continued support and understanding during my absence. I look forward to sharing my journey with you and to reading about yours.

Thank you for reading and I will talk to you in my next post.

Giana xoxo

Weekly Photo Challenge: Renewal

After a long hot summer the last two weeks in Córdoba were a welcome break for some, I say for some as I´m pretty sure I didn´t appriciate it as much as the natives! For two weeks straight we have experienced Cordoba´s equalivent of stormy season: lots of thunder storms and heavy rain.

As much as I love listening to the sound of the rain beating off my window when I´m all tucked up in my nice warm bed with my hot water bottle, and believe me I do love it, I was glad to wake up this morning to a nice sunny day.

I think what I love the most about heavy rain is it´s ability to completely change the atmosphere. The change from the high summer temperatures to the lower winter temperatures is never an easy change, in fact it can be rather shocking to the system. However, throw in two weeks of stormy weather and, while unpleasant at the time, it makes it so much easier. The air seems fresher, cleaner and lighter than before, granted it´s colder but there is something really nice about the cool crisp air.

So; with the rain comes change: a renewal of the atmosphere and the temperatures. To capture this renewal I have decided to share some photos of Córdoba after the rain! My way to celebrate it´s departure and welcome the new season. I hope you enjoy!

Here are some other posts on this weeks challenge; be sure to check them out:

East of Malaga

What´s (in) the picture

s1ngal

The Accidental Kansan

Eat, travel, photograph

Create A Beautiful Life

Le Drake Noir

To see what other bloggers have come up with for this weeks challenge click here.

What did you think of this weeks theme? Did you have fun with it?

As always, thank you for reading,

Until the next time,

Giana

xoxo

 

 

 

Weekly Photo Challenge: Solitary

This weeks photo challenge has been a tricky one for me; I had visions of photos of solitary people matched with this stupid inability to actually take them! I don´t know why; but I feel that if I take a picture of someone, even in a public place, that I´m somehow invading their space and privacy. I need to get over this, I truly do, as some of my favourite photos are of people. I love facial expressions, fine lines and wrinkles, eyes, posture, mannerisms, I love it all. To me a photo of a person is beautiful, always, as it captures so much more than just a moment; it captures a life story, especially in older people! So; basically what I´m trying to say is that this week the photo challenge really was a challenge for me, I found myself sifting through my countless albums and failed to come up with anything that truly grabbed my attention.

In the end I settled on a few different shots, five in total. I do like these shots but the quality isn´t the best! I hope you enjoy them, if I do manage to overcome my fear then I will post again during the week! So without further delay, here they are:

Theme one: People.

This was a shot taken in the Sierra Morena one cool and crisp morning last February.
Again, this shot was taken in the Sierra Morena, once the morning fog had lifted!

Theme two: Animals.

This image was taken at Córdoba Zoo.
Again, this was taken at Córdoba Zoo.

Theme three: Bikes.

Taken at the start of summer in Córdoba!

 

So that´s it, for now anyway! Hope you enjoyed my three interpretations of this weeks theme. If I manage to take some more shots, I shall post them during the week!

To see what other bloggers have come up with for this weeks challenge click here.

 What did you think of this weeks theme? Did you have fun with it?

As always, thank you for reading,

Until the next time,

Giana

xoxo