TRAVEL AND LIFESTYLE DIARIES

“Silves” in the early times used to be the principal city of Algarve which was under the command of the Moors. It was then called “Xelb” and its inhabitants spoke Arabic and were known to be regal in their ways and elegant . Nowadays, Silves is famous for its citrus crops and cork factories, as well as for its castle that is visited by thousands of visitors each year. On the hilltop of the town stands the ancient Moorish Silves Castle that can be traced back to 1000 B.C.—huh, so old! The castle taken from a short distance. The steps leading to a garden cafe and eventually to the castle seated on the hilltop, and moi posing with the former king of the castle.  The floor plan drawing of the castle. Portuguese flag flying proudly. Beside the castle is an old Gothic-Baroque Cathedral called 'Se Velha' dating back to the 15th century. Just by the entrance to the castle with an unattended cafe terrace. Travel Period: June 2005 Destinati...

The weekend flew so quickly out of the window! Why is it that the clock ticks so fast when we are enjoying? :- Well, we’ve explored a few of the amazing and beautiful villages of the North Holland province. For the unsuspecting, Holland is actually a province here in the Netherlands --- so to clarify this Holland vs. Netherlands confusion check this old entry: Netherlands and Holland explained Where in the Netherlands is Noord Holland [North Holland]? First map: Netherlands showing where the North Holland province is. Second map: details of North Holland. Bloemendaal aan Zee (beach) To reach Bloemendaal beach, one must go through a few kilometers long of zigzagged road flanked by huge mounds of dunes. Dutchman explained to me that these “duinen” were specifically deposited there to protect the Bloemendaal municipality from the strong surge of the sea. As many of us know already, the Netherlands is a low land very vulnerable to water. During high tide, the surrounding water levels in...