Month: November 2012
Simply… Thankful
The answer comes from a deep feeling of completion that I got while standing on this amazing place, over there at the North of Ireland, when I had the chance the walk for about 3 km along the shore of the tip of the island only to see the magnificence of this rock formations that have become the meeting point between the earth with the sea waters for hundreds of years.
So, now, with this image, I have the chance to put together in this post three of my strongest passions in life: traveling, writing and reading.
Although I didn’t physically have a book with me that day on the shore, books are always with me, both in paper and in my head. So, now that I’m thinking about how thankful I’m for all the wonderful things that these three passions have given to my life, I thought I’d also add to this post the titles of some of the books I’ve year and for which I’m absolutely thankful for.
So, from the list of my dearest books, I have to start with two stories that marked my childhood: One and Thousand One Nights, The Travels of Marco Polo and The Miser by Moliere.
While growing up, I added some other titles to my top list, such as the works of Oscar Wilde; Around the World in 80 days by Jules Verne; Love in the Time of Colera, by Gabriel Garcia Marquez; The Name of the Rose, by Umberto Eco; The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Conan Doyle, and the works of Charles Dickens.
Recently I’ve increased my list of dearest books with The End of Eternity by Isaac Asimov; The last Dickens by Matthew Pearl; Final Theory by Mark Alpert; The Broker by John Grisham, and the collection of books written by Debbie Macomber around Blossom Street.
It’s hard to keep me from prolonging this list, but the books that I’ve mentioned have giving me so many moments of reflexion and enjoyment, that it’s something to be thankful for.
As for my trips, I have to say that there’s not a single one for which I’m not absolutely thankful and amazed for.
Cheers!
Weekly Photo: Thanksgiving Inspiration
A thankfull feeling for all the good people in the world represented in this cozy image
A tour around the world in 1001 images
Text and Photo by Nora Vasconcelos
With breath-taking images, every single page of this book takes my mind hundreds of miles away every single time I go through it.
With inspiring explanations, going through the sections of this little “traveling machine” is like boarding an imaginary plane around the world. To make easier the journey, the book is divided in five sections.
The first one, Natural Wonders, explores the earth and the oceans, the mountains and the forests. In between, it takes the “travelers” to faraway cities founded by native people.
For more adventurous souls, the section on Hidden Treasures is a fascinating trip designed to get to know ancient civilizations and lost empires.
An spiritual journey starts with the Wonders of the Religious hubs section, visiting temples and cathedrals full of art pieces and magnificent structures.
For the urban-life lovers, going through the Amazing Cities section is a deal hard to resist. Seeing the unbelievable images of these places is an open invitation to take long imaginary walks.
The last section of the book is focused on Cultural Paths, giving the readers the opportunity to see in how many cases Nature and Civilization combine to create amazing landscapes.
And now that the mood is set and the weekend awaits, it’s time to start traveling around, no passport required!
Weekly Photo: Green
Weekly Photo: Renewal
Traveling and Suspense: An entertaining combination
I’ve just finished reading The Broker by John Grisham and I have to say that I enjoyed every single page of it.
Although I’ve read several novels by Grisham, what I found outstanding in this one was the author’s ability to combine the pleasures of traveling with the suspense of a thrilling chase of a disgraced lawyer who has to run for his life around Italy, Switzerland and the U.S.
With a very fast pace, the book also gives the reader the chance to relax and enjoy the very detailed descriptions of the small town of Treviso and the big areas of Bologna, with their tasty Trattorias and Cafés and their stylish way of living.
While the chase’s going on, the main character faces the challenge of not only running for his live but adjusting to a different culture and learning a foreign language, which totally remained me of the early days of a student or a traveler trying to grasp for any word that sounds familiar in order to participate in a conversation or to get the simplest things in life such a cup of coffee.
The descriptions are so clear that it’s easy to picture everyone of the scenes that are presented as the lawyer runs out of time to escape from the “bad guys” who want to get ride of him, at the same time that he manages to get closer to home by the hour.
With one last ace up his sleeve, “the broker” plays his final game, risking all what he has and what he has tried to save, hoping that this time, things will work out just fine for him.
