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A classical music journey to Great Britain
I recently came across ‘The Classical Music Map of Britain’ written by Richard Fawkes and originally published in 2010. In this book, Fawkes takes the reader on a classical music journey to Great Britain, visiting places with connections to classical music composers, both British and from abroad. The book is divided into five sections: England, London, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. Within each of these five sections, the author visits a great number of places (houses, churches, museums) in alphabetical order. This makes it rather difficult for the reader to follow in Fawkes’s footsteps. I would have personally preferred it if the journey followed a geographical, or even thematic, order…
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A musical journey to France
Bonjour! I am currently in Nantes, the sixth-largest city in France. I am here to attend a classical music festival known as La Folle Journée. Held annually since 1995, this year it is dedicated to Beethoven and celebrates the 250th anniversary of his birth. It takes place over five days between the 29th of January and the 2nd of February 2020, and the program features around 250 classical music concerts. I would now like to take the opportunity to take you on a musical journey to France, a country with a rich musical tradition, and the birthplace of some of my favorite composers: Hector Berlioz (born in the Isère department in southeastern France; 11…
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20 Festivals in London in 2020
A few weeks ago, Barack Obama shared his annual list of favorites — books, films, and music. The former US President reflected that ‘outlets like literature and art can enhance our day-to-day experiences’. As a Psychiatrist, I couldn’t agree more. In fact, one of the reasons why I love living in London is the number of music and film festivals, as well as other cultural events, available. Last year, I attended quite a few festivals and cultural events, and I subsequently published several posts about my favorite festivals in London. I particularly enjoyed the music festivals taking place in the summer, and the film festivals in the autumn. Here are…
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10 + 5 Music & Film Festivals in California in 2020
The Oscars 2020 nominations have just been announced and, as a film enthusiast, I’m already very excited about the 92nd Academy Awards ceremony, due on the 9th of February 2020. But, as much as I’d like to write about my favorite films this year, today I’m going to follow on from last week’s post and make a list of music, as well as of film, festivals due to take place in California in 2020. So, without further ado, here are my lists of upcoming music and film festivals in California: Music Festivals in California in 2020 Most of the music festivals on my list are outdoors. This comes as no…
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20 Music Festivals in Norway in 2020
It is no secret that Norway is one of my favorite countries, and that jazz is one of my favorite music genres. Last year, I decided to combine the two and I traveled to Trondheim for the JazzFest. This year, I hope I go back to Norway for a music festival. To help me decide, I have made a list of upcoming music festivals in Norway (mostly, but not exclusively, jazz). In chronological order, here are 20 upcoming music festivals in Norway: Nordlysfestivalen (Tromsø, from 23 January to 2 February 2020) Nordlysfestivalen (also known as the Northern Lights Music Festival) offers a perfect opportunity to listen to different genres, such…
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5 (+1) Japanese novels to read in 2020
Happy New Year! 2020 is the year that the Olympic Games are heading to Japan. Even though I have never been to the land of the rising sun, I’ve always been fascinated by the Japanese culture and pretty much anything else Japanese (including literature). In fact, in the last couple of years, I have read quite a few Japanese novels, and in 2020 I plan to read even more, as well as other books from Japan, or about Japan. A few days ago, Barack Obama shared his annual list of favorites — books, films, and music. The former US President reflected that ‘outlets like literature and art can enhance our…
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2019: A year of travel blogging and traveling
One year. 52 weeks. 365 days. 54 blog posts (55 including the one you’re reading at this very moment). Over 5,000 views from more than 100 countries all over the world (I’ve even had 4 views from Brunei). These are some of the stats for my blog. 9 trips abroad. 7 countries. 2 islands. 27 flights (I do like my stop-overs). It is not a secret that traveling is one of my favorite activities; in 2019 I have been fortunate enough to travel back to some of my favorite places (Vienna, Rome, Kos, and California), but also to visit new ones (Cortina, Trondheim, Isle of Man, and Tromsø). These travels…
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Keep Calm & Bake for Christmas
Travelling is one of my favorite activities. Baking is another. I generally prefer going on holidays in the summer, for this is the best time to visit the Greek islands and Scandinavia, my favorite holiday destinations. Come December, I tend to have used my annual leave, and I therefore spend Christmas at home. A perfect opportunity to bake. Once I have put the tree up and posted my greeting cards (with Christmas classics playing in the background), I am covered in flour (and not just for the snow effect) whilst my flat smells of all those lovely Christmas scents and spicy aromas: orange, clove, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and the list…
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Chasing the Northern Lights in Tromsø
In order to experience the Northern Lights first hand, I recently traveled to Tromsø. Also known as Aurora Borealis (named after the Roman goddess of dawn, not the Norwegian singer-songwriter), the Northern Lights is a spectacular natural phenomenon observed around the Arctic (the same phenomenon when observed around the Antarctic is called Southern Lights or Aurora Australis). In brief, the auroras are due to the interaction of the solar wind with the Earth’s magnetosphere. Simply put, they are the result of disturbances in the magnetosphere caused by the solar wind. The Northern Lights are visible from Tromsø, as well as other places in Northern Scandinavia, Russia, Canada and Alaska. Thanks…
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Keep Calm and Carry On & Secrets to Serenity
The iconic ‘Keep Calm and Carry On’ poster was originally produced by the British government in 1939 in preparation for World War II. However, it was little known until 2000, when a copy was rediscovered at Barter Books, a second-hand bookshop in the market town of Alnwick, in Northumberland, in North East England. It was not until the late noughties, nevertheless, when the famous phrase printed in sans serif font, in white letters against a red background, and topped with a crown, took the world by storm. Since then, it has been used as the decorative theme for a range of products, from mugs to coasters, and from T-shirts to…