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Basilica of Superga in Turin

Recently I visited (again) the Basilica of Superga in Turin. It is located at the top of the hill of Superga at the east part of the city of Turin in northern Italy.

The following are some of my pictures from this place. These pictures have been taken during Spring and Winter seasons so you will have a chance to enjoy two different perspectives of Superga and Turin in these particular seasons of the year.

In this picture we have some friends that visited us during Winter and we took them to the Superga square to see the city from above.

As you can see, winter weather is kind of raw and you cannot get to see the whole city properly.

This is the Superga square during spring. You can see immedately how trees changes the view. In the picture above I am with my mother who is visiting me for a while. Good excuse to take your mother up to the Superga hill to see the city from above (she didn’t get to go up the Basilica though, but otherwise I wouldn’t have gone to the square by myself again).

Oh my mother, she is so photogenic. Here you can see her with the Basilica in the background (sorry to point out the obvious).

This picture is from the passageway that takes you to the back of the Basilica. It was taken during the winter.

In the back of the Basilica you will find an altar raised in honor of the victims of the incident ocurred in 1949. It was a Wednesday 4 May 1949 when an airplane coming back from Lisbon, carrying almos the entire line up of soccer players from Torino A.C. football team, crashed against the hill.

The entire crew and tripulation of the airplane was lost. The accident has been clasified as caused by “low cloud weather, poor radio assist and errors in navigation”. Here are some pictures of the altar itself and of course, the team’s pictures.

Obviously you have to remember to every tourist (and also even local Italians) that in this place it is forbidden to smoke.

Well, done with history for the moment.

Here I am again with my mother in front of the Basilica of Superga.

If you pay a fee (around 5 EUR) you get access to the stairs that will take you half way on top of the Basilica’s cupula.

This is what awaits you if you go to the top! The city of Turin!!!

And a view of the Italian Alps.

Of course we took the opportunity to make some panoramic shots as well. Here you will see our visiting friends overlooking Turin.

And finally Sofia and Leo saying goodbye.

Have you ever been to Superga? If you haven’t we totally recommend this place during Spring or Summer. Cheers!

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Trust in your heart

Trusting in your heart will take you to places where everything else will never take you; of course there might be failures along the way, however, it is not a matter of winning or loosing, BUT LIVING! Anonymous

What are you doing there? Trust in your heart, get up and keep moving!

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Brace yourself, summer in antibes is coming!

Summer in Antibes is already here. Days are getting sunnier, the air is getting warmer and me, me I just want to go out to the beach and enjoy life!

To let the you get a grasp of what I am talking about let me show you some pictures of what summer in Antibes is like!

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Hanging around Amalfi and Positano

During summer holidays around Italy you should consider hanging around Amalfi and Positano located in the Gulf of Salerno.


Look what a gorgeous view you can get in the Gulf of Salerno, in South Italy, where this town, Positano, is located.


This is a small turistic site. You happen to see such amazing and beautiful little streets such as this one.




Final shot before leaving Positano (for now).

This is the town of Amalfi, close to Positano. Such an amazing Italian atmosphere can be felt all around you.





Oh baby Leo as always in my arms. (I miss those days).

A bride and groom hanging around taking some pictures in town for their wedding.


This is the picture we used for our article: Baby Postcards.


Amalfi IS the destination when you travel to Italy. Generally the area surrounding the Gulf of Salerno is just wonderful for some magical holidays.

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Via Garibaldi in Turin

During the summer if you happen to be near Turin, don’t loose the chance to visit one it’s most emblematic streets: Via Garibaldi in Turin.

This avenue is so large and practically based in the heart of Turin that you can find the most amazing spots for having lunch, a coffee with friends or perhaps some shopping.

Some of the buildings around share the same facade giving this avenue a nice Piedmont look.

This is a common spot for hanging around during the weekend.

While the weather allows it you can see many people around having fun and playing their instruments.

GROM is actually a real nice ice cream store. I particularly enjoy their caramel & ‘fior di latte’ ice cream.

Many stores to peek around.

I leave you finall with a shot of the Juventus store. You can find it in this street but I won’t be giving more details right now, perhaps later in another post.

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Street market in Porta Palazzo, Turin

Porta Palazzo is a vast area in Turin’s historic center. Leo and I went to discover Europe’s biggest open air street market in Porta Palazzo.

The zone around Porta Palazzo is well known for hosting may immigrants. It us common to see some protest messages around.

At least we know they speak several languages.

Since the Street market in Porta Palazzo, Turin is near the city center, you can access rather quickly through bus or tram.

My beautiful son Leo rides with me as my trusty co-pilot.

You can find amazing ways for transporting you goodies back home.

This market is really huge. Here you can see a Panorami picture of it.

Among the goodies you can find around Porta Palazzo are: clothes, shoes, house items and of course, fish, meat, fruit & vegetables.

Not even here is pollution free.

This is Porta Palazzo after the market has been removed.

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Paris panoramic photos

Last December 2011 we had the incredible opportunity to visit Paris, Allow us to share we you some Paris Panoramic Photos we took along our visit.

We start with some amazing shots from Place de la Concorde.

In this shot you can see the Louvre Museum in the right. Can you spot it?

Here is a view of the beautiful gardens. ‘Even though is winter’. Can you imagine how they are during Spring or Summer?

The is the exterior of the Mousée d’Orsay. This is another ‘must go’ visit in Paris.

In this shot you can see Notre Damme de Paris.

The Moulin Rouge of course.

A visit to Paris is incomplete without a visit to the Eiffel Tower.

These are some shots from the top of the Eiffel Tower. From here you can appreciate the whole city of Paris.

This is the interior of the Louvre Museum.

So many sarcophagus in the Egiptian area of the museum. Would you like to take care of this place at night!?

This is Paris as seen from the ‘Palais Garnier’.

We also had the chance to visit the Palace of Versailles.

Inside of the Palace of Versailles you can see this gallery, it has wall size paintings that describe the whole French history.

Of course we couldn’t miss the family picture, this time in the gardens of Versailles.

Have you ever been to Paris? Would you like to be? Send us your comments.

Did you like the photos? Go and see the original in my Flickr Gallery: Paris Panorama 12/2011. In there you can get even the original files in HD RESOLUTION.

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Climbing the Cupula of Saint Peter’s Basilica

Last May 14, I went into a one day trip to Rome. One of my objectives for the trip: climb the 320 steps to the top of the cupula of Saint Peter’s Basilica.

I arrived at Rome at 6 a.m. The day was clear and sunny already so my first step was to board Rome’s subway and get from the train station to Ottaviano’s stop next to Vatican City. Once in there I just got this wonderful sight of the cupula of Saint Peter’s Basilica.

In one of Saint Peter’s square I found this duck just sitting there taking a shower.

I have been several times to Vaitcan City but this is the first time I see a duck in there so I took a video of it taking his morning shower.

I took a picture similiar to the next one a couple of years ago. You can see it in my article Saint Peter’s dress code

Michelangelo’s sculpture ‘La pietà’ is my favorite sculpture in the whole world.

Before climbing to the top of the cupula I decided to take some shots from the interior.

Have you seen the movie ‘Angels and Demons?’. Well this is the area in the center of the Basilica where Camerlengo Ventresca takes his own life.

Finally, here we go. The momenth of truth! The cupula of Saint Peter’s Basilica is just 320 steps away from me and I will start my way to the top.

The view from the top is fantastic. I already did some photo experimentation in my post ‘Mock-up effect in Rome’

To the west side of the cupula you can see the internal Vatican gardens.

To the east you get a nice view from Saint Peter’s Square.

You can also see the Vatican Museums.

The building from the center of this picture is the Sixtine Chappel.

Once you go down you can stay for a while in this ‘patio’. From here you can have a cup of coffe, buy some souvenirs (yes, that’s right) or take some pictures for this nice religious statues.

Of course I couldn’t come to Vatican City without taking at least a picture of the Swiss guard.

Have you ever been to Vatican City? Would you like to visit? I recommend you to come and climb yourself the cupula of Saint Peter’s Basilica, that way you will have the best sight of Rome.

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Classic Fiat 500

Turin is the home of Fiat 500. The car designed by Dante Giacosa in the 50′s was first produced in 1957 and is still an Italian institution.

Last week Sofia and I had the opportunity to see some Fiat 500 cars from 500′s Golden Age.

These cars were designed to be cheap to build, sold at economic prices and practical. They were one of the first cars to be created with the concept of ‘city car’ in mind.

I am a fan of Hayao Miyazaki’s movies. In the film ‘Castle of Cagliostro (1979)’ Hayao Miyazaki depicted his main character Arsène Lupin III as a man who drives a Yellow Fiat 500. Here is one of my favorite scenes of the movie.

The fact that Lupin removes the cover from the motor of his car is due to the fact that the Fiat 500 was an ‘air cooled’ car.

Another popular reference of a Classic Fiat 500 car is ‘Luigi’, the character of PIXAR’s movie Cars.
This is the scene when ‘Luigi’ has the most glorious day of his life as he meets Shumacher in the form of a Ferrari car.

Talking about Yellow Fiat 500s, we found ourselves one but could only take some seconds of video.

We had a great time that day. Luckily for Sofia she found a pink Fiat 500

This is Leo and me posing next to a White Fiat 500. These cars are not only small in length but also in height.

Do you like classic cars? Have you seen the new model for Fiat 500? Did you know that all the production of new Fiat 500′s models for America are built in Mexico? Please leave us your comments below.

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Torino Jazz Festival 2012

The Torino Jazz Festival 2012 was an international event that took place in Turin from April 27th to May 1st. We had the opportunity to listen to some of the best jazz performers from all around the world.

The event was offered for free in several spots from all around the city. Our first stop was on Piazzale Valdo Fusi on Sunday 28th at 18:00.

A lot of people was already gathered along the Piazzale.

We had the opportunity to listen some pieces by Ahmad Jamal.

In the next photo you can see Ahmad Jamal playing the piano. He is one of the most innovative and influential American Jazz pianists and composers.

This is Ahmad Jamal presenting his band. I could only recognize his bassist James Cammack.

We recorder a small video for you to enjoy.

The next stop that same evening (Sunday 28th at 21:00) was at Palazzo Madama.

In here we had the chance to listen to Dionne Warwick.

Dionne Warwick is an american singer, actress and TV show host. Her voice is just so seet, romantic and melodic. Listening to her was a good way to close up the day.

Here you go, this is just a little piece of Dionne Warwick singing ‘What the world needs now.’

On Monday 29th we went back to Piazzale Valdo Fussi to listen to Ray Gelato.

Ray Gelato is an American Jazz singer and saxofoist. He is son form Napoletan (Italian) immigrants to the USA.

In the following video you can listen to Gelato’s style and judge by yourself. In particular, I enjoyed his music since it allowed me to dance with Sofia.

Here is another Ray Gelato’s video.

Unfortunatedly for us that was the end of the festival.

Do you like Jazz? Have you ever been to a Jazz festival? Would you like to be? Who is your favorite Jazz band/musician?
Please leave your comments.

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