• Culture,  Traveling,  USA

    Music, film & wine: 12 days in California

    It all started in September when I went on a musical journey to California to attend the Kaaboo Del Mar festival. This is an annually held festival that takes place in Del Mar, a beach city near San Diego, in southern California. Getting there was easy; from LA, I took the train to San Diego and got off at Solana Beach (the journey took about two hours) where I stayed for the duration of the festival. After the festival, I returned to Los Angeles, and after spending a few days there, I rented a car and went on a road trip to California. My itinerary included Santa Barbara, Big Sur,…

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  • Culture,  Traveling,  USA

    Napa Valley: Wine, food & film

    Worldwide famous as a fine wine-producing region, Napa County (not to be confused with Ayia Napa, in Cyprus), along with the neighboring Sonoma County and the perhaps somewhat lesser-known Mendocino County, is part of the so-called Wine Country, in Northern California. Napa County is part of the San Francisco Bay Area, which also includes San Francisco, Oakland, San Jose and the Silicon Valley, Sonoma and other neighboring counties. Home to Michelin-starred restaurants and to the Napa Valley Film Festival taking place every November, Napa County is the perfect destination for foodies and wine fans with a love of the big screen. Even if you visit San Fran at a different…

  • Traveling,  USA

    I Left My Heart In San Francisco

    I left my heart in San Francisco High on a hill, it calls to me To be where little cable cars climb halfway to the stars The morning fog may chill the air, I don’t care Originally recorded by Tony Bennett, ‘I Left My Heart in San Francisco’ perfectly captures how I felt after my first visit to one of the most iconic American cities. Perhaps I am being a bit melodramatic, but few would argue with the charm of San Francisco. Despite the very large number of homeless people sleeping on the streets of this Californian city, San Fran is the highest rated American city on world liveability rankings.…

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  • Wellbeing

    World Mental Health Day 2019

    The World Health Organisation (WHO) recognises World Mental Health Day on 10 October every year. The objective is to raise awareness of mental health issues around the world and mobilize efforts in support of mental health.   World Mental Health Day 2019 & Suicide Prevention   This year, the focus of World Mental Health Day is on suicide prevention.   Mexican painter Frida Kahlo (1907-1954) is one of the most recognized figures in art history. It is lesser known, however, that she suffered from many physical and mental health problems, including spinal problems, pain, infections, syphilis, and depression following the death of her father in 1941. These problems continued throughout…