carfour
Caroline Joined: April 20th 2008
Logged in: February 15th 2012
Logged in: February 15th 2012
The time since that first solo trip has flown by and it has been filled with some amazing opportunities. My photos have been selling quite well and has far exceeded my expectations. I contributed two essays to a book on Thailand and I just recently signed a licensing agreement for the use of one of my photos for a two-year production run of a poster. Oh and somewhere in there ... I'm an accountant.
And now I am embarking on my 7th solo trip ... a three-month trip through France, Italy, Spain and Portugal. Never in my wildest dreams did I think that this dream would come true and now here it is. I have no expectations going into this. I just want to live it and be in the moment. I can only be grateful for that opportunity and curious as to what it will bring me.
Photography websites: www.zazzle.com/carfour* and www.redbubble.com/people/carfour. You can also follow me on Facebook at www.facebook.com/CFournierPhoto and on Twitter (@CFournierPhoto)
Travel Blog Posts
1 The Dakota
Last year I had the chance to go to New York City with my mom for the very first time. It was something that we had both wanted to do for a very long time so it was truly a thrill to be there ... albeit an exhausting thrill. While we were there I think that we both quietly thought about the possibility of this becoming an annual pilgrimage. It is close enough to Ottawa that spending a short time there is very feasible. So it should come as no surprise that eventhough I had the incredible opportunity to travel through France, Italy, Spain and Portugal for three months this summer that it was always part of the master plan for this year to squeeze in another four days in New York City ... the big ... read more
1 Christiano welcoming me to Portugal
I had not done a lot of reading on Portugal before actually arriving there. Just enough to pick out where I wanted to visit. That was back in the winter as I was planning the trip and making hotel reservations so not alot of what I had read had actually stuck in my head. So I took the time on the short plane ride from Sevilla to Lisbon to quickly glance at my guidebook and scope out what I was going to do over the next five days. I started feeling a slight sense of dread when I read that Lisbon was built on seven hills ... more uphill walking!! My poor feet were going to stage a revolt at some point I thought. And this whole idea of always walking up and down hills was ... read more
1 My room
There is usually not much time that passes between the time that I've experienced what it is that I have experienced and the time that I write these blog entries. First, it's alot easier to write because it is so fresh in my mind and the excitement of the day is still very much present. So the fact that my netbook gave out on me on my last day in Cordoba means that the rest of these entries were going to have to be written once I got home. I normally take notes here and there throughout the day but this meant that I would have to be a little bit better at it. I guess I could have just skipped writing about the last three weeks of this trip entirely but I just thought that ... read more
My Netbook has had enough of this blogging thing and has decided to go on strike. Not the blue screen of death but it is definitely out of commission until my return home. I am using my iPhone to quickly type this out but obviously I cannot spew out a whole blog from that little keyboard!! I am just grateful that it is at the tail end of the trip (only 19 days to go) and not at the beginning. Train tickets are purchased and hotel reservations are done so it won't affect the trip itself. I will miss blogging because it is certainly a way for me to capture the moments I have just lived on these amazing journeys. I will just have to do a blitz when I get home for posting the many ... read more
11 Facade of church
Sorry about the lame title ... I am clearly running out of ideas for them! But really ... meandering is what I did. This is a great little town where getting lost in the streets and just poking in and out of museums is a really nice way to spend the day. Oh and disregard the comments on some of the photos ... for some reason my problem with uploading photos is back ... comments don't match the photo that I uploaded. I was a little worse for wear today ... stomach not good. I have been eating raw ham and carpaccio and chorizo and all kinds of crap ... no problem. A lovely little gazpacho ... and yes that's what tips me over the edge. It's tomatoes for the love of God! My body is ... read more
1 Shower
I woke up this morning not feeling 100%. I certainly was not in the mood for another train ride. If I had the choice, I probably would have rolled over and stayed in bed much longer. But I didn't have that choice. It was a short ride and if I didn't feel better, I could only hope that my room would be ready when I got there. So a little over an hour later and a long nap on the train, I made it to Cordoba feeling much better. Just an off morning I guess. Maybe too much detoxing in the saunas and pool yesterday! I found my hotel with no problems. Don't know what I would do without my iPhone and the great little app where you can download maps and the built-in GPS!!! It ... read more
1 Room
So again a blog entry that is going to cover the three days that I spent in Malaga. And again, this is not a sign that Malaga was not interesting ... not at all. It was kind of part of the plan that I would do a little sightseeing in Malaga but mainly it was added as part of the itinerary because of the fact that there were beaches. Ironically, I spent maybe an hour or two at the beach and made most of my new freckles by the pool at the hotel. I didn't even know that the hotel had a pool until I walked down the hallway towards my room and caught a glimpse of it. I was already doing a dance of joy simply based on the fact that my room had a ... read more
1 My room
I thought that I would do just one blog for the time that I have spent here in Granada. Do not take that to mean that I did not enjoy my time here. Quite the contrary. I've only had the chance to spend two and a half days here and I have truly enjoyed it. The only reason that I decided to do just one blog (apart from that whole time factor ... now I get when my mom who is retired says that she does not see the days go by) is the fact that about one day and a half of it was spent aimlessly wandering around and then there's the big chunck of time that I spent at the Alhambra. You will see that the photos attest to that fact. But let's start ... read more
1 Plaza de Toros
It was my last day in Madrid and it was going to be just a relaxing day to get the last few things done before I leave tomorrow. Although I would have loved to see Segovia and Avila, I certainly do not regret my choice of just staying in town and enjoying what Madrid has to offer. I have had a great time here. The day started with an attempt to visit the Museo Joaquin Sorolla, a Spanish painter. The website said that the museum was opened on Mondays (many museums are not) but the sign outside (and the security guard outside) seemed to say the opposite. Disappointing but not that big of a deal either. I then hopped back on the metro and headed towards the Plaza de Toros de las Ventas, the large bullfighting ... read more
1
Initially the plan was for me, during the five days here, to take a couple of days to go and visit Toledo, Segovia and possibly Avila. It sounds ambitious but I actually did three towns plus Madrid in about five days last time I was here. The difference ... I hadn't been travelling for 8 weeks prior to it. So yes there is a bit of travel weariness that is setting in (just a bit though ... not quite ready to throw in the towel) but I also felt like I had rushed through Madrid proper last time and I wanted to give it a little bit more attention. Like I have said before, the odds of me coming back here are pretty much slim to none. And I am enjoying the art thing these days ... read more
