With just 2 days to closing, I finally made it to the Steve McCurry “La Mirada” Exhibition in Girona.
A wonderful rollercoaster of a journey.
While admiring his work it was obvious, Steve McCurry has had it rough.
Not by the travelling around the world taking photos but by the feelings being transmitted as the shutter closes.
You, yourself, take a picture because you feel something, after all that’s why you want to capture that instant.
Mixed emotions abound in Mr McCurry’s work, and you will feel them all: happiness, hope, pain, despair ... past, present and future.
I was transfixed by the little boy with the gun against his head; I felt his tears and despair.
I felt even more captivated with the 9/11 pictures. Having visited Ground Zero, some years after the tragedy but still sensing the horror and loss, I felt the same twinge here in the images.
You can’t help but like this guy and especially after learning about his obsessive 17 year quest to find Sharbat Gula “the Afghan girl”
1984
2002
You can be assured that Steve McCurry’s work will make you feel many things
It can take some people a lifetime just to visit one country, one city or even one town.
We were lucky and in the space of just 3 months visited 3, yes 3! Venice.
1) Viable Venice, Las Vegas
Well, the Vegas Venetian resort to be exact; a man-made construction with permanent blue skies and elaborate frescos, imitating Italian Venice.
Remember, IF the Italian counterpart does eventually sink
you’ll always have Vegas!
On crossing the replica Rialto, gondoliers transport tourists through a maze of canals while shoppers delight in high class shops and people chatter excitedly on terraces over an authentic Martini or Cappuccino.
Although crowded with eager visitors the artificial ambience and opera music move you to a world so far away from the bustling Strip outside.
Las Vegas boasts the World within walking distance and, after marvelling at the grandeur of an interior (but by no means inferior) Venice, we still found time to travel to New York, Egypt, Paris and Rome!
2) Varied Venice, Los Angeles
Opposites attract as this Venice houses luxurious beach retreats for the rich and make-shift beds for the homeless.
A tolerably wacky place but watching the sun go down here is
a truly magical experience!
Eclectic mixes of people rub shoulders here: Skilful skaters and surfers, curious tourists, lost tramps, dog walkers, baby strollers, wannabe models, sun seekers and lovers.
You can wander the house lined canals behind the front, get your "Botox on the beach", visit a herbal "doctor", haggle with a street vendor, amaze at the wackiness, but at the end of the day: Oh, that beach!!
It’s easy, and energizing, to promenade here along the golden Pacific coast.We joined the active set, hiring bikes for a day and, free and easy on two-wheels, rode to Santa Monica and Marina Del Rey.
3) Vaporetto Venice, Italy
A maze of wandering streets open up every now and again to reveal a square, a church, a canal, a bridge or oops …. a dead end!
Dear Venice, you are a truly unique place where
the story book closes on leaving but the memories live on!
On entering the mystical masked world of this Venice, the only traffic you experience is on the water.Noise pollution is the gentle whir of a boat engine or the soothing music flowing from the striped gondolier/church /Palazzo.Your car is your boat and the public bus is the Vaporetto.Daily business is aquatically conducted for policemen, firemen, taxis, delivery men and even the rubbish is collected by water.
By day there were people everywhere but by night all was deserted, which became strangely haunting when we got lost!Maybe we went at a quiet time, it was unusually cold, and it wasn’t just us that froze, the water did too!
All “Venice”: different in so many ways yet similar in others ……
In the short space of just 2 weeks I have been lucky enough to see not 1 but 2 Triumphant Arches!!!!
Paris, France
The first I saw earlier this month in Paris.
THE "Arc de Triomphe", of the French capital.
A constant whir of traffic surrounds this arch.
Buses, cars and trucks go about their everyday business, while camera flashes and toursits capture their memories before heading for a stroll down the "Avenue des Champs Élysées"
Barcelona, Spain
Then, this morning, I saw the "Arc de Triomf" in Barcelona, the Catalan capital.
The traffic circulates but not so much here, and not 360º.
Fewer tourists are snapping away, but people do wander under the arch to stroll down the avenue to "Parc de la Ciutadella"
This arch is used more as a target to get you to the bus station, but still stands proudly displaying all its beauty.
I don't know where I'm going but ........ I do know where I've been
Right now, I have absolutely no idea where I'm going or what I'm doing, but day by day is the way and as one door closes (well a few doors really) bla bla bla!!!!!
Anyway, I've been lucky enough to see some great places and share some fantastic memories, so this is me, Wickham, and some of my wanders so far (in no particular order):
and a rude awakening by the alarm o’clock, but in a flash it’s “Vamos a Paris yippee” and all systems are go! After a quick shower and putting the clothes on left out before bedtime house at We are raring to go, but tired and in need of caffeine. Picking up two more just around the corner and meeting another two at a nearby roundabout, away we go. The tired little red "Ferrari" zooms through the quiet streets of Girona to the airport and we arrive in plenty of time to go through security and have a McDonalds before boarding the plane and taking off at .
A relatively short flight but with lots of prospective sales opportunities for a captive audience: Hot food, bar, smokeless cigarettes, newspapers, scratch cards, duty free………. Nobody is really interested in buying as people sleep, chat and prepare their onward journey.
Landing at and with no luggage to pick up we all got on the bus from Beauvais (a shed of an airport really but that’s what makes the flight cheap). A mere 15€ one way! and a near 2 hr journey later we arrive at Porte Maillot bus station. Here we buy our ticket back and check the bus times. We need to be back by which gives us 9 hours to discover the Parisian delights.
A grey day in Paris but off we go, cameras at the ready, to get a Metro day pass (9.85€) and catch M1 (Metro Line 1) to Charles de Gaulle Étoile for the Arc de Triomphe. Oops wrong train!! We get off at Les Sablons and re-start our correct journey. Coming out into the open the famous arch stands right there, rammed with people and traffic, so it's a quick stop here for photos and off we go down the Champs-Elysées. By now the men are getting hungry and we stop at in a café for baguettes and drinks.
Fuelled up and raring to go we stroll down the “Avenue” to the next Metro, which by the way is not the stairs the 6 of us amble down to find a car park JThe actual Metro we get is M1 again from Franklin D Roosevelt. Relatively a short distance to Concorde but we’re getting our money’s worth out of the day pass AND time is of the essence.
Submerging from the station we find …… a road!! Oops Where is the “Place”?A kind French lady points us in the right direction and off we go. Then around a corner La Place de la Concorde appears and also the far away EiffelTower.
Picture time and a stop on the bridge, looking left at Notre Dame and right at the Eiffel Tower, we decide to stroll down the right bank of the river, cross the bridge with the Hôtel des Invalides straight ahead and look for the train station.
By the Air France building the station seems closed off but after a couple of seconds we realise it’s just the escalators that are shut, so down the steps into the depths of Paris we go. We take the RER C from Invalides to Champs de Mars for the EiffelTower. Leaving the train we take a right and pass a loud American chatting to some disinterested people. Not finding the exit after a good 5 minutes we head back, passing the same American still talking at the same disinterested people. And so, finally submerging from under the ground we find ….. oops!! no EiffelTower !!!!
However, following the crowds we finally see it! Up close and personal! Group photos here and some contortionist positions to try to get the whole tower in a photo (TIP: Just lie on the floor!). We rest our feet a little as the sun is trying to come out then we head back to the RER C (the American is not here now) and head off to St.-Michel Notre-Dame. We were a captive audience once again and some very bad accordion / clarinette buskers downstairs made the journey interesting. (If the passengers hadn’t encouraged them they wouldn’t have kept playing ….. Just a thought!)
1 pm and we walk around Notre-Dame. Photo opportunities abound on this island within the city and many people soak up the sights: the cathedral, statues, bridges, monuments …... The sky is getting greyer now and there’s a grrrr from the men as stomachs begin grumbling again. So we decide to head up the hill for Montmartre.
Leaving the island we head over to Hôtel de Ville where city people seem to be on the tennis court as the Roland Garros tournament is being broadcast on a huge screen with loungers and tables on an orange terrace.
We catch the M1 here to Concorde and change for M12 up to Montmartre. Undecided with which station to stop at (Lamarck or Abbesses) we get guidance from a nice resident Spanish lady who gives us some tips and we leave the metro at Lamarck, a more residential, less touristy, area with cafés / restaurants.
2.15pm and we stop for lunch. Just a “menu du jour” 18€ but nobody is really overjoyed with their meal, but at the end of the day it’s a stop and it’s food …. stringy rollmops, fried strong goats cheese, tough beef, tasteless fish, funny tasting tap water and beers later we head uphill for Montmarte. Onward and upward and in just a short walk we are transported into a colourful artistes haven where pictures and words rub shoulders with delicious pastries, biscuits and ice-creams. People amble, soak up the atmosphere on terraces, have their portraits done and take endless photos.
We get a sneak peek from Place du Tertre of the Sacred Heart and are enticed to seek out the cathedral, so off we go.
Sacré Coeur has always moved me in a way I can’t describe but just being there gives me a sense of peace. We contemplate the views of Paris and as the heavens open we rush inside to contemplate the beauty that hides within the somewhat grimacing façade of the cathedral.
Once outside again the rain has stopped and we go back to THAT view and sit on the stairs. People are walking up and down and vendors sell ice-cold beers. We buy some bottles and relax a bit, resting our feet and soaking up all that we have experienced earlier down there below.
We wander down the hill through the artistes area comparing the likeness of the portrait being created and guessing which feature the caricaturist will pick out for the smiling foreigner. Some souvenir shopping here is a must and we stop in a lovely macaroon/biscuit shop to buy tins of colourful delicacies for the parents.
Wandering down Montmartre to the Moulin Rouge we encounter chic boutiques and bistros, and the place is alive with chatter and laid back ambience. Arriving at the Moulin Rouge, however, the mood changes a little with the strangely interesting sex shops and video parlours. An area overwhelmed with people taking pictures of the famous red windmill and trying not to get run over in the process.
Looking at the time we decide we have just that much left to see the Louvre and wander off to find a metro station. Not finding one easily, we ask a nice Gendarme who points us in the right direction.
Taking the M2 Place de Clichy to Charles de Gaulle and changing for M1 to Palais Royale we look for the Louvre. Oops! We’re in a shopping mall? It's just before 6pm and we're wandering around, then we see the inverted pyramid so look for an exit. Submerging from the ground we finally see the famous pyramid. Time for a quick photo stop and off we go back into the ground to catch M1 to Porte Maillot.
On leaving the metro we think we've got Paris sussed, WE know where we're going! Hmm, well no! We end up in the train station (no American this time though) and walk the platform, but on turning around we head back and see the exit sign. Up the escalators we go (TIP: escalators are a great opportunity for a group shot looking down at everyone) and out into the air we go. Stopping on the way to visit Palais des Congrès, basically for the toilets, we get lost in a maze of designer shops in a near empty shopping mall.
We finally get to the bus station at 6.45pm and get on the bus, all hungry and tired but with a fulfilling experience of having seen (nearly) everything of Paris. The rain comes down, but we don’t care, and the bus leaves at . There’s a little bit of traffic but we get to see one last sight, from the comfort of the bus, La Défense.
Arriving at Beauvais about we get some tea. The supermarket has drinks and baguettes, sandwiches and snacks, and then the bar has some hot sandwiches and pizzas. We eat al fresco on the steps then go through security to wait. After dealing with a very rude checkout out girl, when we shopped in the duty free shop, we board the plane and take off on time at .
Exhausted and remembering all the fabulous sights we’ve seen, we arrive back in Girona at 12.15am, pick up the rested little red "Ferrari" and we arrive home, not quite 24hours but not far off, at 12.45am.
Oo la la !! A very long, interesting, exciting and thoroughly enjoyable day!
