It's only a few days now to our trip to Buenos Aires and Rio de Janeiro we leave on Thursday and get there for Friday morning. Then the WFH Congress starts on the Saturday and finishes on the following Thursday. Then the real fun starts. We do a few excursions from Buenos Aires before heading off for a couple of days to Iguazu Falls which I believe is spectacular. From there we head to Rio de Janeiro for a few more excursions and relaxing days by the pool and the beach. Of course its winter time there and although it will be fine in Iguazu and Rio, Buenos Aires will be a different matter. None the less we'll have a great time, can't wait for it now.
Quick trip to Marbella
Just back from another few days in Marbella with a couple of friends. Great weather, food, and company! We arrived late after hiring our car from Helle-Hollis (they provide an excellent service) and we headed for Elviria. We rushed straight to my favourite fish restaurant Barbacoa Pedro which is directly across the road from the international English college. The fish there is cooked simply yet beautifully. We had a small salad (but big enough for the three of us) Rosada Frito, which was devine, Dorado, some chips, a bottle of Vino Sol and sparkling water for the driver (me!). And the total bill was less than €50.
On the following night we went to Messina, what a great restaurant! The work they put into cooking and presenting the food is phenomenal. A bit more expensive but worth every penny!
We slouched around for a few days with visits to Marbella, Benahavis, Benalmadena and Mijas. In Mijas we came across this very nice wine tasting Tapas Bar where we had a very relaxing afternoon and some good chat with the staff and other customers. My much needed dose of Spain for a while until August.
Thanks lads for a great break!!
The video will be here soon!
Now the Video:
Trip to Marbella from Shay Farrelly on Vimeo.
Saltees
This week our camera club had our annual week-end away and we went to Bunclody. The highlight for many of us was the day trip we took to the Saltees Island a bird sanctuary off the Wexford coastline. As we headed off from Kilmore Quay the weather looked fairly overcast and the thought of 5 hours stranded on the island didn't look too enticing. We were all wrapped up but wondered would the cloud blow away and give us a nice day to take some photographs of the Gannets, Puffins and other wild birds. We trekked off towards the Gannetries and we were not disappointed. The clouds cleared, the sun came out and we had great photographic opportunities. A few lucky people also caught glimpses and a few frames of the odd Puffin or two. By the end of the day we were exhausted but very happy.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hU1m0jqqOYs
The weekend was a great success we had lovely meals, a great day out and hopefully everyone got some great photographs.
My favourite shot of the day.
Group photo
The group that went to the Saltees, thank you Roisin for the photo.
WFH Istanbul
In June 2008 the WFH Congress was held in Istanbul and a great group from Ireland attended. Myself and Sharon took some Video but I never got around to editiing it so I got stuck in yesterday and finished it off. It's mostly from our day trip to Princes Island. Now I must look for that Video from the Vancouver Congress 2006!!
WFH Congress Istanbul 2008 from Shay Farrelly on Vimeo.
Howth Summit
At this point I was hoping to have a video from our trip to Sorrento and the Amalfi Coast, but the volcanic ash put a stop to that and now we will have to wait until September. So in the mean time I took out my camcorder and here is some video I took while on a walk from Howth Summit to the Harbour and back. As you see the weather got steadilly worse as I went along, but a nice walk all the same.
Howth Summit from Shay Farrelly on Vimeo.
Panasonic TM700
I got my Panasonic TM700 a couple of weeks ago, thank you Sheldon. I haven't taken any serious video with it yet, I was hoping to get to use it on the Amalfi Coast and Sorrento this week, but our plans fell through when our flight was cancelled due to volcanic ash. I took a few minutes with it last Sunday on my way home along Sandymount Strand and by the Liffey. The weather was poor but what I really wanted to do was see the quality of the HD video and then try editing it with Premiere Pro CS4.
The highest quality setting on the TM700 is 1920 x 1080, 50p fps. However this takes up a lot of space and gives only over an hour of video. It's also very intensive on editing and my current TV can't show it. So I settled for a lower VBR of around 13mb per second and this allows about 5 and a half plus hours which would be fine for a couple of weeks on holiday.
My next problem was to be able to edit it on Premiere Pro. So I tried a few tracks of video with titles and tricky transitions to see how it managed. Happily I was able to preview the results particularly when I result to automatic quality. So I was able to edit it now would it render correctly, create small enough files and play back sharply, smoothly and without artifacts. This is when my trouble started. The playback was juddery and not smooth and some renditions create huge files. After many hours of experimentations and permutations I finally found settings that met all my requirements: small files, sharp clear video with clean transitions, no artifacts and smooth video.
Now all I need to go is create some masterpieces!
Volcanic Troubles
This week I should be blogging about our great trip to the Amalfi coast and Sorrento but instead we are stuck here at home. Three weeks ago Sharon and her tennis buddies were scheduled to go to Marbella for a long weekend but she too missed out due to the whims of the unpronounceable volcano in Iceland and the wind and weather blowing the erupting ash in our direction.
So us lads have rescheduled our trip to the Amalfi to next September and decided on a consolation few days in Marbella at the end of May. The cost of the flights in September were more expensive but since we were able to change our booking at no extra cost we saved a few euro. Sharon heads off to Marbella next week, volcano and weather permitting. Hopefully the weather will be good as it's been a pretty abismal winter and spring so far in Spain.
iPhone
Last Christmas Sharon bought me a great surprise an Apple iTouch and it's been a great tool. But carrying around a mobile and an itouch is a bit of a hassle. I have the Nokia E71 which is a great little phone but the iPhone sounded like a much better idea. My phone, music, audio books, videos, photos, email and web browser all in one neat package. However it meant having to discontinue with my current provider 3 which I feel provide the best packages.
So I did my research and looked at what Vodafone and O2 were providing and decided to head over to the 3 store to tell them I was disappointed to have to leave them to get an iPhone. But what a bit of luck I did. The guy said hold on and ring 3 customer service as I might be lucky. So I did and, indeed, I was offered a new 32gb iPhone at cheaper prices than the other providers. I got an increased discount on my package, double minutes and texts for six months, 1gb or data download and one month free line rental. I got the phone cheaper than the others were offering it for and my calls are costing me on average 6c as opposed to 22c with the others. So here I am blogging on my new iPhone. 3 are only offering iPhones to existing customers as upgrades but I believe they will have them in store from the summer on. I think the phones come from Italy where 3 also issue iPhones. Hopefully this will shake up the market a bit.
I have a feeling though the battery power is going to be a problem as I use email and WiFi extensively on my iPhone. I also have the Bluetooth on all the time for use in the car. I was concerned that the Phone may not work too well with my built in Bluetooth in my car but so far no problems. But I think I may get the iPhone adapter in my new car so I can keep it charged.
But, so far, a great phone with a really good interface but I look forward to the new OS 4 which will give extra functionality like multitasking, hopefully without further deteriorating the battery life.
Marbella
[singlepic id=348 w=320 h=240 mode=watermark float=right]Marbella is my favourite town on the Costa del Sol and we are fortunate to be only 8 kilometres down the road from the town, which means we can get there regularly and quickly. There is a lot to see in Marbella: the ports, the beaches, the squares and gardens, the shops, the restaurants and bars, the markets and my own favourite the Old Town.
The town itself is overlooked by the Sierra Blanca mountain range and gives Marbella a micro-climate meaning it's kept cooler in the summer and a bit warmer in the winters. The town was founded about 1600 BC by the Romans. The Muslims arrived in the area about 500AD and gave it its name Marbil-la. They built a fortress and a defensive wall to protect themselves from the Christians and their impact on the design of the town is still there to be seen in the Old Town. In the 16th Century the Christians finally managed to recapture Marbella and it started to grow slowly by developing the surrounding farmland for agricultural production. The San Luis fort was built in 1725 to defend itself from Mediterranean pirates. The town grew more rapidly in the 19th century and agriculture was the mainstay of the economy. In 1950 the port was completed. It was not until the 1940's after Prince Alfonso de Hohenlohe invested in hotels and apartment complexes that tourists started to come here in large numbers. It attracted the rich and famous who flocked to the town. So in the last 60 years Marbella has grown from a small fishing and farming village to one of the foremost international tourist resorts in the world.
Marbella though is not just a tourist attraction, it's a true Spanish town. The locals are friendly and helpful, particularly if you make an effort to speak a little bit of Spanish. As I said the Old Town (Ciudad Vieja) is my favourite place, I love to wander around the narrow streets looking at the houses, shops and looking for little tapas bars where mostly the locals only go. These are the places where you get the best food and the best prices. But there are also very good restaurants around Orange Square and the surrounding streets.
Some of my personal favourites: [singlepic id=347 w=320 h=240 mode=watermark float=right]
The Orange Tree just off Orange Square, it has wonderful food and very friendly service and it is owned by an Irish woman and her husband. They change their menu regularly and their early bird menu is good value.
Restaurante Messina. We were introduced to this gem by our neighbour and it's just that, a real gem, one of the best restaurants in Marbella. The food is truly outstanding and the attention to detail and presentation is amazing. A bit pricey but no-where as expensive as Dublin for anything similar, can't wait to get back!
For Tapas our favour bars are: La Venencia's and La Taberna Del Pinxto on Av Miguel Cano. In the Old Town is El Estrecho an award winning Tapas bar.
There is plenty of shops in the town itself and I like Baileys men's clothes shop. Just up the road is the really large mall La Canada which all my girls love as it has all the big shops and there are plenty of shops like FNAC that I can enjoy. On a Monday there is a large market. Normally I don't like markets but the one in Marbella is just big enough to have plenty in it but not so big that you can't get around it.
I just love to walk around the town, at any time of the day or night, and take in the atmosphere, to browse the shops or stop for a drink and to get a good meal. In fact if I had the chance I think I would love a place right in the middle of the Old Town. Just thinking about it makes me want to be there.
Nikon D300s HD Video
I have a Nikon D300 and I was thinking of getting a HD camcorder (see previous blog) so I was wondering would I be better getting a D300s that does HD video and the convenience of just having one camera or would I get the Panasonic TM700. A friend has the D300s so I got a loan of this to try it out. Although the video is quite good I feel there are a number of problems using a DSLR as a Camcorder so I decided to go for the TM700 which I've ordered and for which I am waiting.
One of the problems I noticed with the D300s (apart from not being able to edit in Adobe Premiere PRO CS4) is that the mike picks up the sound of the VR lens as it makes it adjustments but what I would do in future is turn off the VR. The attached is some of the video I took while experimenting.
Nikon D300s from Shay Farrelly on Vimeo.
Nikon D300s - Daytime from Shay Farrelly on Vimeo.
Ronda
[singlepic id=146 w=320 h=240 float=right]The ancient town of Ronda (750m above sea level) is about an hour inland from Marbella high up in the mountain range Sierrania de Ronda, hanging over a cliff and straddling a deep river gorge (called El Tajo) that divides the town. It is accessible by a winding road through the mountains of Sierra da las Nieves which today is well kept and although winding it has some marvellous views. Ronda is also serviced by rail from Malaga city for a more leisurely trip. It has a population of over 36,000 and the area is one of Andalucia's top tourst attractions. It is ideal for hiking, climbing, mountain biking and caving. The town also has a rich history stetching back many centuries that makes it a place that must be seen.
It's most outstanding natural feature is the 100m cliff on which the city is perched. This cliff is bisected by an equally deep gorge that runs for some 500m and which contains the River Guadalevin at its floor. Connecting the land either side of the gorge is Puente Nuevo (New Bridge) which is definitely Ronda's best known construction. It connects the town's oldest district, the original Roman and medieval neighbourhood and the barrio del Mercadillo (Mercadillo Neighbourhood) which is known as the new Ronda. The original bridge was opened in 1735 but only lasted six years when it collapsed killing 50 people. Construction of the New Bridge started in 1751 and was completed in 1793 and it is largely what we see today.
Probably the main tourist attraction of Ronda is the Plaza de Toros one of the oldest bullrings in Spain. Whatever your views on bullfighting the bullring is a beautiful piece of architecture. It is one of the few arena where the public area is covered keeping the audience protected from the sun. The two tiers of seating are supported by a circumference of arches graced with Tuscan style columns. Over the generations the bullring has attracted personalities such as Orson Welles and Ernest Hemmingway. Today the Plaza de Toros contains in addition to the bullring: a Museum with an exceptional collection of Ancient Fire Arms, a Riding School which maintains the Spanish tradition of classical equestrianism, and meeting rooms which are within its historic Library.
Around from the bullring is the Alameda-Promenade of the Gorge this is walkway through beautiful gardens and leading to the Parador Hotel and has marvellous views from the cliff side to the plains below and also of the gorge and the Puene Nuevo that spans the gorge.
[singlepic id=147 w=320 h=240 float=right]Other attractions include the Arabic Bathhouses - The Baños Arabe, which is situated in the ancient Jewish quarter and were built in the late 13th century. These were discovered again in 1935 and parts have been excavated when the land was taken over by the State. They are well worth a visit.
The Palacio de Mondragón (Mondragón palace), now holds the Museo de Ronda which has an ethnographic tour of Ronda’s history and landscape and a full illustrated map of the sierras, from the Neolithic Age to Iberian and Roman times. The Palace’s patios are remarkable. Not far away is the Peinado Museum which features a large collection of the work Peinado a close friend and follower of Picasso. There are plenty of other historical monuments, buildings and churches to keep you busy.
But Ronda is not just an historical town it is a lively place with plenty of shops, restaurants and tapas bars. However, every time we visited we never seem to get up early enough. We would arrive have a meal and then it was siesta time. By the time siesta was over we would have to start home again. So a couple of years ago we decided to stay over a couple of nights and I selected a restored Finca about 4km from Ronda that I had seen featured on a TV programme. The programme showed the complete restoration and I thought I would like to stay there. I eventually found it on the internet, Finca La Guzman. It's a secluded renovated farmhouse surrounded by 5 acres of working olive groves. It was a great relief that the kids were so impressed when we arrived that they asked could we stay there for the whole holiday. Though I think it was the assortment of dogs that they owned plus the swimming pool and the ice creams and drinks from the honesty bar that really attracted them. It was a very well restored farmhouse with nice size rooms and facilities with a lovely breakfast.
I would highly recommend a visit to Ronda and no better place to stay than the Finca La Guzman, which is only a short drive away from the town.
Some websites:
http://www.laguzmana.com/en/index.php http://www.rmcr.org/index_idiomas_ingles.html
What PC to buy?
As an early adopter I'm a technology companies dream, I always want the most up to date gadget be it a camera, TV, PC, mobile phone, camcorder, car, well anything really. But in my old age I'm getting a bit more savvy. I only bought a BluRay this year, well I think that was a measure of constraint and even then it was the WiFi features that sold me on it. Admittedly I was waiting for the war between HD and BluRay formats to be fought out. Now I've also decided it's time to look at a HD Camcorder. And the model I'm looking at is the Panasonic TM300 even though the new TM700 is due to go on sale, what self-control!
But a HD camcorder causes some terrible problems, it's the knock on effects. To watch HD you need an HD TV, well I've got one, it's a lovely Pioneer plasma but it's also 6 years old and I can hear a Samsung 46 inch Series 8 LED calling me. I'll need a BluyRay player well that's okay I've got a new shiny LG, but I'll also need to be able to write to BluRay so I'll need one of them to put in my PC. But luckily since I've waited it out I have other options like I could instead write my productions to a hard drive that I can connect to my BluRay player by USB so that will save me there. But the real trouble comes with editing and creating these marvellous productions. Well I have Premier and After Effect CS4 and because I've waited it out and the standard format for HD recordings in AVCHD I should be okay with Premier, so that's sorted (I hope). The problem is the power required in a PC to be able to process HD video. My PC is about 2 years old, a Dell HPS720, with quad processors and 8gb of RAM. I've updated the Windows XP pro to Vista 64bit and also Windows 7 professional 64bit, but will this be enough, I suspect not. Last year I bought my wife an Apple Mac which has iMovie 09 so maybe that can do the job. I hear so many with HD video saying they use Macs.
But I fear that, no, it may be time to have to look at a new PC. Something with the new Intel Core i7 Processor, Windows 7 64 bit, plenty of RAM and loads of fast HDD. My last few PCs have all been Dells, so naturally I've looked at the XPS 8100 with the Intel Core i7 Processor 870 or do I need to look at the Dell Alienware (what an ugly machine) with an Intel Core i7 950 processor? But that looks very expensive. Maybe I should look at something else, a friend in the technology business suggested the best PCs are the HP models but which one? Maybe I should contact some of the companies selling Adobe and video editing solutions for a suggestion?
On the other hand it might be easier not to bother with an HD camcorder! I doubt though I have that much self control!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=luQubVABroQ
Sony Vaio Laptop
Three years ago I bought a new laptop the Sony Vaio SZ3XWP/C, this has an Intel Core 2 Duo Processor with 2 gb of Ram and 100gb of HDD. I selected this machine because I wanted a light portable machine that is easy to travel with but yet powerful enough to run applications like Photoshop and Premier. Broadly I've been very happy with it, as at the time I had CS2. But now I have CS4 and Lightroom and I have to say that its beginning to struggle. The 100gb is a limitation and of course Vista doesn't help, and the battery life is not the best.
So now I'm looking again and of course the Vaio is catching my eye again. The most up to date version is the Z series which appears to have taken over from the SZ. The spec of the VPCZ11Z9E/B looks very impressive: An Intel Core i7-620m processor, Windows 7 Professional (64-bit), NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 330M GPU + Intel® HD Graphics, LED 1920x1080 display, 6gb of DDR3 SDRAM and 256gb Quad SSD (RAID 0). But will it run Photoshop CS4 and in particular Premier with HD video?
Anyone out there with any answers or suggestions with other light weight machines that can do the job? Plus CS5 is due in a few months and so is USB3! But then there's always something new just around the corner to buy.
Malaga City
Malaga city at first doesn't look like a great city to visit and in fact it took us quite a while to decide to go there and have a look. It's a big city that has quite an industrial look and has a population of over half a million. It stretches for about 12 kilometres, has a major port and it is surrounded by mountains, but it also has an Old Town that's a real treasure. In this historical district practically all the notable monuments and tourist attractions are concentrated.
A Brief History
Malaga, or Malaka as it was originally called, was founded by the Phoenicians who arrived along the Andalusian coast around 800 B.C. It was mostly a trading post based around the port. Over the centuries it was occupied by the Greeks, the Carthaginians and then overcome by the Romans in the third century BC. Under the rule of the Romans the city thrived and its exports grew consisting mostly of fish sauce, olives and wine. Also a number of important buildings had been built at this time including the theatre, which has been preserved and can be seen at the base of the slopes of La Alcazaba. Over the following centuries the city passed into the hands of many different invaders including the Silingos, Vandals, Visigoths, the Emirate and Caliphate of Cordoba, the Hammudi Berbers, the Ziries of Granada, the Almoravids, the Almohads and the Nazarites.
Through all this time and even with these constant changes the city continued it commercial activity mainly due to the protection afforded by its strong walls and the lookout provided from the Gibralfaro castle. In 1487 the city finally surrendered to the Christians and this lead to slavery and exile for many of its citizens. With its conversion to Christianity Malaga began to change, it grew outside the limits of its protective walls and many churches and convents were built. But it still suffered from a number of disturbances: the Moors in the in the sixteenth century who were finally repelled in 1614. The flooding of the River Guadalmedina river and subsequent epidemics that spread through the city in the 17th century as well as incursions from pirates, Berbers and the attacks of the French and British fleets.
During the next century Malaga had a period of greater stability and its economy began to grow mainly due to agricultural exports. In the nineteenth century the city suffered from the Napoleonic invasion but towards the middle of this century the city experienced an industrialisation based on textile and steel industries that served the city well. However, a new economic crisis was approaching, the flourishing industry began to falter and the phylloxera pest destroyed wine production, which had traditionally been one of the pillars of the province’s wealth. In more modern history the economy of Málaga took off again, when during the 1960’s mass tourism to the Costa del Sol became a much sought after destination.
Sharon and Aislinn at the Alcazaba Malaga
Places to see.
The great thing about Malaga city is that most of the sights worth seeing are in a small area called the Old Town or historical district. There are plenty of car parks and it is also possible to take the coastal train from Fuengirola which takes you close to this district. Along the port is a beautiful park or perhaps better described as a botanical garden and close by are a number of beaches where you can enjoy a meal at the beach restaurants (chiringuitos). Shopping is close by on the wide street of Calle Larios and the street around here. The Museo Picasso is well worth a visit and not just to see the works of the great Picasso but for the beautiful building that hosts this museum. Like any good Andalusian city or town there is a fabulous Bullring
From a more historical perspective there are numerous great sites. The most ancient of which is the Teatro Romano 100bc. This is at the base of the yet another marvellous sight and my personal favourite, the Alcazaba which dates from the early 11th century. In the middle of this century King Badis of the Taifa kingdom of Granada turned it into one of the most important fortresses of the time. It is well worth a visit and it reminds me of Alhambra but on a smaller scale. Connected to the Alcazaba by a corridor and sitting on the crest of the mountain sits the Castillo de Gibrafaro with great views over the city. This fortress was built in the 8th century by the Emirate of Adberraman.[singlepic id=133 w=320 h=240 float=left]
Back into the city is the Malaga Cathedral known locally as "La Manquita" the "one armed one" as the south tower was never completed. A beautiful building constructed on the same site as the mosque of previous generations. There are also many other churches in the area.
There are plenty of bars and cafes where you can get Tapas and the famous local sweet wine. There are also plenty of restaurants where you can savour the local cuisine. One of the things that we learned through travelling to Malaga is not to go in too early, the shops close for siesta and open again around 5pm. We also found that places to drink and eat were only opening up when we were heading back to our car about 8pm, so try to arrange to get there for the evening when things are livelier and you can enjoy the bards, tapas and restaurants.
D Day Tour Normandy
In May 2009 the four lads annual trip took us to Normandy and a World War II D-Day guided tour itinerary. I must admit it would not have been my first choice of a tour as I don't have a very deep interest in wars, armies and the likes. But a few friends who had been recently on the trip recommended it so I happy to go along. It was a 4 day trip organised by GTI (Group Travel International) and we had a guide, Les, who certainly knew his World War & political history, and he made a trip a great success and I definitely learned a lot.
Our trip started in Paris with a half day tour by coach and after this we were taken to our accommodation in Caen a very nice hotel that proved very central for our tour. We visited the landing beaches of Normandy including Sword, Juno, Gold Utah and Omah. Along the way there were a number of different memorials and war museums which provided plenty of interesting information and insights into the war and in particular the landings.
What really brings home the enormity of the war are the cemeteries, to see all those that died and how young these soldiers were some hardly more than boys. The cemeteries are beautifully kept and a fitting way to remember those that fell. We visited the English, American and German cemeteries. The American Cemetery at Colleville-sur-Mer is the best known where nearly 10,000 men are buried and where all their headstones face west for home. The setting is a wide manicured lawn peppered with pine trees which looks out over the sea. Thee is a also a visitor centre which opened in 2007 and was designed to complment the cemertery and to relate the significance of the operation Overlord to world peace. The style of the English cemeteries in contrast are designed as English gardens with roses, marigold and thyme, in a sence to represent bringing the fallen soldiers home. Finally, and my favourite is the Geman Cemetery which I felt was understated. Over 21,000 German soldiers are buried here, and there is also an information centre which was established the mid 1990's. It's plan simplicity is what I found so beautiful about it. I must say that after being somewhat sceptical about this trip at first I thoroughly enjoyed it and due in part to the quality of our guide.
Here are some of my photographs:
Benahavís
The village of Benahavís is one of my favourite pueblos along the Costa, it is about 8 kms inland between Peurto Banus and Estepona. It is about 160m above sea level and nestled in the foothills of one of the most mountainous areas of the Western Costa. The landscape is diverse and shaped by three rivers each forming their own valleys. The village is overlooked by the ruins of the Castillo de Montemayor and the narrow streets wind their way up the slopes of a valley. It is home to about 4,000 residents. When you enter the village you are best to park at the many free parking spaces that have been provided along the fairly long drive up to the village, as the streets get narrower and more difficult to negotiate in your car particularly in the summer when the streets are full of visitors. It is a lovely village to roam around. Nearly every trip we take to the Costa we try to get to visit Benahavís. The only disappointment for me is that over the years there has been more and more development which threatens to ruin the charm of this small village. Two things will hopefully save Benahavís from over-development, the recession and the fact that 70 percent of the municipality has been declared an “Environmentally Significant Mountain Complex”, which hopefully will protect the surrounding area from too much development.
One of the attractions of Benahavís is the number and quality of good restaurants from which it gets its nickname "The dining room of that Costa del Sol". In this regard it reminds me of Kinsale with it's "Good Food Circle". There are a number of good bars for that before dinner Gin & Tonic (the last one we went to it was more like a bucket than a glass). The restaurant staff are friendly, the food is usually excellent and they are good value. It's always a good night out in Benahavís but off season tends to be a little less packed.
Last year I ventured up during the day on my own as I had heard that there are a number of rivers that run though the valleys. The landscape is lush and therefore unlike the more usually barren surroundings of Spain so I thought I would explore a bit more to see if I could find these rivers. As you get close to Benahavís the road narrows into a steep valley before you turn the corner and the village reveals itself. It was just here I found a few cars parked by the side of the road and decided to explore. Right below the road side I found a stretch of the Guadalmina river and a number of large rock pools. There were a small number of families that had set up a picnic and the kids were having great fun jumping into and swimming in the clear and cool pools. A couple of days later I brought along my wife and two youngest children and they had a great afternoon splashing around in the pools. The locals, who were also using the pool, were very friendly and although we couldn't communicate they didn't seem to mind that we had invaded their little rock pool. I understand that there are a number of companies that offer adventure sports life rafting or descending down the Guadalmina river but I expect that this must be further up the river. For us this was just a perfects afternoon's enjoyment followed by Tapas in the village.
Spain
[singlepic id=131 w=250 h=150 float=right]I love Spain, so we bought an apartment there in 2002 and go there as much as we possibly can. I love the sun, the people, the lifestyle, the food, the little villages and I love to explore as much of it as I can. There are some great cities like: Granada, Jerez, Ronda, Cadiz, my personal favourite Seville and the old town of Malaga is a gem. But close to us is Marbella and I love just to wonder around the streets of the old town, drop in to Tapas bars and the little cafes and just watch life go by. We were fortunate to have bought on such a lovely spot along the Costa Del Sol called Elviria about 8 kilometres from Marbella. I have to thank Ger, with whom I worked, who put us on to this little village. Although I'm not a great beach lover, I have to admit we have the nicest beach along the coast. The beach is wide and gently sloping with lovely fine sand, good Chiringuitos (bars/restaurants on the beach) and right beside us we have the famous Nikki Beach Club, where the very rich and famous strut their stuff.
[singlepic id=129 w=250 h=150 float=left]Our apartment is a pleasant 3 bedroom with 2 swimming pools right next to the Santa Maria Golf Course. We have made some very good friends with the other owners. We also have friends from home who spend time on the coast, so together with these and family and friends that visit there is always company to enjoy the good life that Spain and the Costa has to offer. As my wife Sharon always says it's the best decision we ever made.
Here are some holiday snaps I took this year when we were in Spain for 6 weeks.
[nggallery id=5]
Istanbul
The 2008 World Federation of Haemophilia (WFH) Congress was held in Istanbul in May 2008, a fairly large delegation attended from Ireland and we had a great trip. I found the people of Istanbul were very friendly and helpful, the food was lovely and the city itself, situated on the border of Europe and Asia, has plenty to engage and excite any visitor. There are mosques, mansions, monuments and markets to visit and savour. The massive Bosphorus divides the city and is a bustling and busy river. There are many great sights to see: in old Istanbul the Sultanahmet, with the beautiful Aya Sofia and Blue Mosque, the Topkapi Palace, and in the newer area to the north Takim Square and the surrounding streets. Of course a visit to the huge Grand Bazarr is a must, there are thousands of stalls and one stall owner told me that more than 15,000 people work there. A city well worth seeing.
Web Site
It is about two weeks now since I set up my web sites, and after a few early hitches I have to say I'm happy with them, but I'm always interested in feedback. I started looking into what was involved in setting up a new web site during November/December. I got some tips from a few friends, but after having looked into it for a month or so I took the plunge. I wanted two URLs one for a blog and the other just for Galleries for my images.
For the blog site (this one) I settled on Wordpress (http://wordpress.org/) as the tool to use and I must say it was very simple to set up. First of all I wanted to set it up locally on my PC so I needed a web server to run on my PC and told about WAMP by a friend (see here: http://www.wampserver.com/en/). This meant I could play around with Wordpress and finalise my design on my PC without involving a hosting site. Wordpress requires databases to hold all the blog and other information but their is minimal set up involved and you don't need to know anything really about how it operates, it all happens in the background. Maybe if it breaks down on me I'll feel different about that. There are literally hundreds of different designs (called themes) available that have been developed by developers all over the world. I settled on one called Atahualpa as I felt it gave me a great level of customisation as to how my site looks. It's just a matter of changing the configuration otions to get the look and feel you want. The instructions around the options setting make it very easy to understand what effects the changes will have. But the great thing is that if you come across a completely different design/theme you like you can download and install that instead but all your content remains the same and takes on the appearance of the new theme. But you don't need to know any html, mysql or java code to do any of this, though I'm sure it would help to customise your site even more. So once I was happy with my design I then went to my hosting site and they already offered Wordpress as a blog package which was very easy to set up.
For my gallery web site (LensFlare) I bought a package Serif WebPlus X2 to set up the main pages and at the moment I use Adobe Lightroom to set up the photo galleries. Although I could use Bridge in Photoshop CS4 to do the same thing, but I feel you have more control with Lightroom. Finally I needed someone to host the web site that would give me two domain names and I settled on Blacknight after hearing good things about them and I must say I have found them very helpful for the few teething problems I had.
So I have a few more fixes to do to the gallery site, when I work out how to do them.
Happy New Year.
Jessie Kalishers Photography Tips
Recently the following Youtube Video was posted on our clubs web-site by a member and to quote him: "Every now and again you come across someone or something that makes a lot of sense to you and sometimes brings you right back to basics, well this is one of those moments for me, i would encourage everyone in the club to look at this short video there is something in it for everyone and a lot for most." I must agree, what do you think? There are more videos from Jessie on Youtube.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=70iXd9Nux1s