ESCAPADE IN SWEDEN

After visiting Stockholm, I can say that it’s definitely one of the most beautiful cities in Europe.  

The city is just has a spectacular natural setting, set on hundreds of islands in a lagoon.  Stockholm’s old town, the Gamla Stan, is where you can find the most beautiful architecture, characterized by its yellow buildings and cobblestones.

Though I was visiting the city for 4 days, I spent as much time as I could exploring the beauty of it.

What surprised me most about Stockholm was its cultural diversity. Through my 5-months experience in Copenhagen, I got used to a certain way of living I could call "Scandinavian". 

Well, Stockholm was the antithesis of the social coldness I could feel in Denmark. People, from everywhere in the world (you could barely find a foreigner in some neighbourhoods in Copenhagen) were everywhere in the street, playing music, gossiping, dancing. The city is alive, and you feel it's moving everywhere. It made me think a bit of New York City.

Here are some of the shots I took there :

How a selfie could illustrate the multicultural diversity :

"Oh baby! Let's marry in the park!"

We also say Stockholm is the Venice of Scandinavia :

Berlin

Berlin combines the culture of New York, the traffic system of Tokyo, the nature of Seattle, and the historical treasures of, well, Berlin. (Hiroshi Motomura)

First crush, Berlin. What of a city!

If I have one word to say about it after having visited the city for four intensive days, I would say that Berlin is... crazy. And to be honest, I wasn't expecting Berlin to be such an alive, huge and overwhelming city. It feels that place is a magnet for creativity, especially when it comes to the  paintings on the Berlin Wall. 

That was the first destination of some kind of Euro-trip I did with three girlfriends of mine. I cannot remember everything that we've done, but we saw "a lot" (and walked, oh my, so much).  We walked by the Holocaust memorial, checked the Checkpoint Charlie, admired the Brandenburg gate, get ahead of the Reichstag, had a great spanish meal around Potsdamer Platz, visited the Hamburger Bahnhof museum for contemporary art, and so on... Berlin is definitely a gigantic city, and it's impossible to see everything in a week. For sure, I'll be back there.

I also took some time in the train to draw a little something coming from what inspired me the city. A german looking guy walking by the Berlin Wall. Incomplete, but still, I feel good to have drawn something. Is has been a long time!

Little escapade to Istanbul

"I talk about the color of cypress, the forest in the valleys, the wooden houses abandoned, the rusty boats in a poor condition, about the poetry of the ships and about the villas on the Straits that only those who have spent their lives on the shores can understand."

... according to the words of Turkish writer and literature Nobel prize Ohran Pamuk in his famous book Istanbul, describing his hometown with great intensity.

I love Istanbul. When I went there 4 years ago, I fell in love with the contrasts between the occidental and oriental worlds. Seeing the blue blue mosque while walking down an european-style street is one of the little things that make this city so unique. 

I went there about two weeks ago for a whole week. The purpose of my stay wasn't much to visit the famous spots of the city (I already did that once in 2010), but to live a different experience of the Turkish way of life. I've been brought to some amazing beautiful places as the Prince's islands, where we biked in the mountains and enjoyed the outstanding sea view, and some other unknown treasures as a secret little village where we could enjoy a typical Turkish brunch (cheese, olives, sliced tomatoes and cucumber, jam/honey and chai tea) and contemplate the sea side from some kind of abandoned Ottoman ruins. My week was amazing, and I left the city with a heart full of love and gratefulness to experience such a beautiful country. 

I'm now back to Copenhagen, and am really eager to travel to some other places in Europe in a few weeks. Berlin, Prague and Amsterdam, I'm coming!

On my way to the Prince's islands :-)

Here it is, an adorable typical village :

The secret place far from the city center :

Another typical thing to do, eat a fish sandwich (balik ekmek) by the Galata bridge! I'm not a fan though, but everyone loves it ;-)

One Step Ahead

Here I am again with a new drawing. I though I had lost inspiration, but I guess the summer had something to do with that. Indeed, I spent the summer in the US, living for a month in the Connecticut, then went to see Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Washington DC, Newport in Rhodes Island and some other fabulous places. Here are some photos of my magical trip ! (Thanks Instagram)

Me voilà de retour avec un nouveau dessin. Moi qui croyais avoir perdu l'inspiration, je pense que l'été y a été pour quelque chose. Effectivement, je viens de passer un été aux Etats-Unis : un mois dans le Connecticut avant d'entamer un périple à travers Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Washington DC, Newport dans le Rhodes Island ainsi que d'autres endroits magnifiques. Voici quelques photos du voyage ! (Merci Instagram)

At the top of the Rockefeller center - NY

Louis Vuitton HUGE store - NY

Crazy energy - Times Square, NY

Smaller than I thought! - NY

A sketch for Sam, a dear friend I met in the US - Connecticut

Times Square's favorite ice cream - NY

Lost rabbit - University of Connecticut

Some crazy friends of mine - Newport