image in air

2010-08-11T18:31:00.001+02:00

MONGOLIA

2010-06-23T18:54:00.001+02:00

Native American

Meskwaki Nation

Thank you to Mo-Na-Ka and his son Jessup

2009-10-18T13:09:00.002+02:00

Himalayan Portraits

2009-10-07T07:02:00.007+02:00

Himalayan Portraits

2009-09-09T18:13:00.005+02:00

Exposition Paris

Du 17 Septembre au 17 Octobre 2009

Vernissage le 17 Septembre de 16h à 22h

Galerie Le Pictorium

12 rue du Moulin Joly

75011 Paris

2009-09-02T18:30:00.045+02:00

Tibet Portraits

2009-09-01T16:19:00.034+02:00

TIBET

A Journey to Ireland

2008-05-26T23:52:00.010+02:00

A Journey to Ireland

2008-05-11T11:01:00.005+02:00

"Nothing endures...

My grandmothers

...but personal qualities. "

Walt Whitman

2008-04-29T21:54:00.026+02:00

Noirmoutier en l' Ile

The Bench on the Beach

The fishermen's cemetery

Out of the Harbour

Fishing boat at dawn

Way to the Ocean

La Luzeronde

Le Bois de la Chaise

Jean Bodin, alias Hercule, Farmer

Fredo, The Oyster Farmer

The Harbour, L' Herbaudiere

My bicycle on the "Plage des Lutins"

The Swamp land

The seagull dance

2008-04-04T22:08:00.003+02:00

Les mots dans l'eau

2008-04-04T20:59:00.003+02:00

A flying Kite ....

a flying heart ....

2008-02-04T11:26:00.000+01:00

Flying Away

2007-12-28T10:08:00.004+01:00

Paris, Paris

2007-10-01T06:07:00.003+02:00

Kathmandu

City of Peace and Hell

2007-10-01T05:59:00.001+02:00

Babas Of Nepal

2007-09-02T23:17:00.004+02:00

Scenery of Ladakh

2007-08-20T18:55:00.003+02:00

People of Ladakh

2007-08-20T18:50:00.000+02:00

Look Inside Yourself

2007-06-13T23:09:00.000+02:00

La Maison des Songes

2007-04-21T20:20:00.000+02:00

La Nature en Echo

2007-04-21T16:30:00.000+02:00

HOPE

"Hope is the Thing with feathers that perches in the soul and sings the tunes without the words-and never stops at all."

Emily Dickinson

2007-03-08T18:44:00.000+01:00

Dans mon jardin, un arbre pleure...

2007-03-08T18:20:00.000+01:00

Couleurs d'Italie

2007-03-07T20:42:00.001+01:00

Promenade en Toscane

2007-02-08T07:01:00.000+01:00

Soledad

2007-01-05T13:28:00.000+01:00

Petite Nostalgique...

2007-01-05T11:46:00.000+01:00

Chevaux

"Sans mors, sans éperon, sans bride, partons à cheval sur le vin pour un ciel féerique et divin!

Nouis fuirons sans repos, ni trève, vers le Paradis de mes rêves..."

Charles Baudelaire

2006-08-31T19:16:00.000+02:00

Looking Up

Reaching High

2006-08-30T20:19:00.000+02:00

Happy Thought of the Day

If we can hold the Sun in our hands, then there is nothing impossible in this world.

All we have to do is dream, dream far, far away without focusing on the results because what matters after all is our intention.... :)

2006-08-19T11:12:00.000+02:00

Spirituality

2006-08-16T15:44:00.000+02:00

Buddhist Children of Jorpati

2006-08-16T09:51:00.000+02:00

Nepal

Portraits

2006-08-14T15:20:00.000+02:00

Nepal

Colour

2006-08-14T15:11:00.000+02:00

Nepal

Monsoon

2006-08-12T09:49:00.000+02:00

Diary of a trip to Nepal.

July,4th 2006 : Departure and Arrival in Kathmandu

After a night in the sky, out of space and time, I woke up enlightened by the vast desert of Qatar on our landing to Doha. This was already another world.

From the window, you could see particular vehicules picking up the white-dressed emirs coming out of the plane. It was only 6 AM and the heat was suffocating. I tried to take a glimpse of this city built in the sand :surrounding the airport only some tiny yellowish buildings and the poles of the minarets pointing towards the sky. Doha airport is a tiny complex where the Duty Free reigns. Here most people are on stop-over to Manilla, Dubai, Karachi,the Maldive islands...I was desperately looking for some faces that could be from Nepal but all I could see were Filipino people and women in black burkas around me. Sitting at the restaurant I was drinking a tasteless coffee in a paper cup that cost 19 QR or about 5.50€ after conversion. I thought that everything around here, even "sock's juice" (tasteless coffee)must have an "oil" value

On the second flight,for hundreds of miles before arriving to Nepal, coming from Dehli, you could already perceive the snowy peaks of the Himalaya wrapped in a cotton-wool thickness of white clouds.The descent to Kathmandu was the most beautiful I have experienced.

Sailing among the clouds like a ship on the ocean : those soft, milky and opaque shapes designing an almost earthly landscape in a blue sky of light.
The plane was going down slowly and there it was ! Nepal with the Kathmandu valley circled with verdant hills and all around was pure peaceful beauty!I knew then I was on the other side of the world, far away from mine and in a deep ectasy feeling,I enjoyed that lucky life opportunity. My anxieties had suddenly vanished and my heart was beating fast like an impatient child.....

Sitting on the little terrace of my 6€ bedroom at the Peace Kathmandu Guesthouse, I couldn't realize I was there yet. I didn't even know what time it was, probably late afternoon and I wondered how our landmarks can be turned upside down just after a few hours spent on a plane.

On the right, some children in the courtyard were smiling at me.On a lower balcony, two old women with greyish hair and bare feet were chatting and weaving. On the left, the mucky road was flowed by the monsoon. The clouds coloured by the rain and the sunset on the hills enlightened those humble yet beautiful surroundings.

I'd just got back from a walk with Naibh, an Irish girl I met coming here. It was night time and we didn't know where to go. We simply walked straight forward on the Pajnakol road,passing by beautiful wooden doors and windows in the dark, stray dogs and goats' heads on the stalls of the butcher's shop . Our feet lead us to Durbar Square, the holy place of temples and prayers at night time. It was an unexpected discovery and we enjoyed the spiritual sight of the architecture lit by candlelights, the holy music and the smell of incense burning everywhere.

I feel physically very tired and don't know yet what to expect from this experience. I feel completely disconnected from my reality, my phone is not working and I worry about not being able to give and get news...

July, 8th 2006 : First day at the Orphanage.

I spent 3 days in Kathmandu at the Guest house for training. I met new friends also going to volunteer in Nepal, Bijen and Rabyn from Hope and Home organisation and took some intensive Nepali Lessons with Usina. The local people are so friendly that I feel secure.

On Saturday was my placement in Jorpati at the orphanage called the Buddhist Child Home.

Today I have just finished my first day working at the orphanage. I thought that coming back home in the evening I would cry but no tears have come. The only thing I have in mind is how I 'll make it in this environment for a month. What if I won't?

I think you don' t know what real poverty is unless you have seen it and lived among it.

The orphanage looks very poor and unsanitary. There are two girl dormitories inside and the boys sleep in another house outside which looks like an old stable. There is a classroom which is also the dining-room, a kitchen with a few pots and a small gas cooker laid on the ground. The boys work outside to build a new red-brick house, they are also a few corn crops, some hens and pet rats for the children.

The restrooms are very filthy (no toilet seats, no flush, no paper...)and everywhere I can smell like urine, dust and lack of hygiene. I don't know if my whole body, my eyes, my mouth could express the first feelings I had today.

Durga, the Chairwoman gathered all the children in the common room. They all introduced themselves in English and sang some songs for me, which was very touching.The end of the day seemed endless because I didn't really know what to do. I played with the youngest ones who wanted me to carry them all the time with their running nose and I had a chat with the oldest girls. Luckily, the children are great and I feel already close to them even if most of them don't speak English well. Here everybody calls me "Miss" and I have lots of "chorachori" now...

July, 10th 2006 : New habits

My second day in Jorpati was not easy either.

Day after day I have to get used to new habits here.

Day after day, I have to forget about my own and I know that appreciation will come later but now I am experiencing some type of "cultural shock".

I have to wake up at around 6 o'clock and have a cold shower in the smelly bathroom, the only place at home where I don't feel comfortable. Then I have breakfast- forget about the coffee, here with drink Chiya, which is a sweet milk tea . At 7 o'clock I go to the orphanage. The children are already awake and some of the boys are working on the building of the house. I still don't really know what to do so I go towards the "open- air bathroom", which is just a water tank and a tap outside. Cold water, a tiny piece of soap, no towels. I feel that if I can help on something here it will be about hygiene. It's somehow difficult to see those children dressed with dirty clothes, with their dirty faces, smelling like dust and urine and having to get ready for school. My nose and my eyes are not used to that.

This morning I feel a bit sick too. I have stomach cramps and hot flushes but I try not to focus on that . I am going to the "dining-room" where the children are eating the Dahl Bhat (national meal that Nepalese eat twice a day : white rice with lentil soup and vegetables). Here people eat with their right hand only, the left one being considered as juhto or "contaminated". Seeing this is also a new experience. The oldest girls help with the cooking and service, the youngest ones are sitting on the floor and try to eat as they can. The children are loud, they shout and eat at the same time, calling each other or asking for more food "Dahl, Didi, Dahl, Didi!". I get close to Sati, a two -year old tiny boy and try to help him eat his rice with the spoon. Now I can feel tears on my cheeks running down and I can't stop. All the tension I had in the last few days is coming out now and there is nothing I can do about it. I feel bad, scared and not at ease. I wonder why I have chosen to come here and face so much poverty. I realise I will need to be brave to do this for a month but at the same time, I know I'll never be as brave as those children who live this life everyday and will probably all their life...

July, 14th 2006 : Departure for Chitwan

I have lost all notions of time over here, not knowing which day or date we are. I feel so far away from home that I barely realize that today is Bastille's day, no big deal after all. In Nepal, we are in the year 2063 and it's funny to think we are 57 years ahead but still in the middle ages somehow. I do the same thing everyday and time flies. I start getting used to cold and stagnant water showers, poverty, and the nauseating smells of the place.

Jorpati is like a small village but for us, it could look like a "slum" area too. I live on a tiny dirt road, muckied for the last couple of days since the monsoon season has just started, with a few hours of torrential rain everyday.

Today, I have taken an extra day off to go to Chitwan National Park with my mother and her friend who are visiting Kathmandu on their way to India. I am happy to get away from the orphanage and see something different for a couple of days...

July, 18th 2006 : Getting involved.

I have been in Nepal for two weeks now. The last week has gone very fast since my relatives were here. I was going back and forth everyday from my little poor village to the luxury place of the Hyatt hotel. What a contradiction ! But in the end, it was great to be able to eat something else than Dahl Bhat. I think my stomach is getting sick of it. I have had stomach cramps every other day and I have already lost 2 kilos. Now I know how lucky we are to choose whatever we want to eat back home and enjoy a great variety of meals...

The two days spent in Chitwan were a gorgeous experience. We went on an elephant safari under the monsoon rain, went bathing with the elephants in the river, enjoyed a typical jungle lodge with no electricity, quiet dinners, good red wine, exciting private talks with our naturalist at night time, birds songs in the morning and not to mention the enraged mosquito bites!

Back to the orphanage, I decided to do something to help children with hygiene. I went to the store and bought 40 toothbrushes, toothpaste, soaps and shampoo. There were only 10 toothbrushes that they use a nail brush as well, all left on the dirty ground. I also brought two plastic pots so that they can keep them in a clean place. The children were very happy and excited to have shampoo to wash their hair and they seem to take their responsibility to keep everything clean. Every morning from now on, I will give them their share of shampoo, toothpaste, soap and cream. Now, what will happen when I go away? I have no idea...

Today a new volunteer woman came to the orphanage and she is going to stay with me at the host family. Her name is Christina, she is 47 years old and comes from Montana, US. I am happy to have some company over here.

July, 22nd 2006 Being sick.

I was supposed to go home in three days but I have extended my stay for another 10 days. I have been here for three weeks now. I spent the last 48 hours in bed, feeling very sick, with fever,shivers, stomach cramps and undercoastal pain. I got scared having to go to the hospital or going back home before the end of my stay. The night before, I hadn't slept. I could feel something wrong was going to happen. My legs were like frozen and I could hear the flute player, the barking dogs and my running clock with increased sounds. I was probably hallucinating with the fever.

Today I feel better but Christina is sick and has to rest.Saturday is my day off so I'm thinking about taking a tour to Patan by myself which I don't really feel like but I have to get out of the house. Eventually I took a taxi to the Hyatt Hotel to download my pictures and had a an expensive coffee on the terrace. Then I walked to Boddhanat, the Budhist Stupa. This is one of my favourite places around here and it is so peaceful. Today was a beautiful day with no rain. I walked around the Stupa several times like the budhists do for prayers and I had a chat with Birendra in his little shop. Nepalese people are very curious about foreigners and their way of life. One of the first questions they ask you is if you are married. Being 35 years old and not married is something they can't really understand. Therefore I usually say I have a boyfriend back home which tends to comfort them a little. I was trying to explain to him that people have their independence and don't have to live with their parents when they earn their living. This is also hard for them to understand . In Nepal, most marriages are arranged by parents, respecting religion and castes and the son has to stay with his parents to take care of them. Therefore the bride has to move with her in-laws. Birendra was very curious and also open-minded and we had an interesting chat together. Then I walked up the Stupa which becomes a ritual everyday I come here. I just sit there and enjoy the semi-circular view on the Tibetan houses and all the mutli-coloured prayers flying in the wind. I love watching the budhist monks or the tibetans refugees with their typical dresses walking around Boudha. All I can hear from there is the wind and the "Om Mani Padme Hum" incantations in the background.

Today I went inside the Monga (budhist temple) for the first time. There I met a Tibetan man who could barely speak English and almost no nepali. He greeted me with a white silen scarf, showed me the place and asked for medication to cure his sister with tuberculosis. All I had was a few roupies to give him.

I went to the Stupa View Restaurant where I had my first pizza in weeks! My stomach was still fragile and I could only eat a few pieces but I enjoyed that quiet moment staring at the Buddha eyes, the roofs, the monsoon clouds and the mountains in the background.

I am now back home, alone in my bedroom, after chatting for a while with Christina on the terrace. Well, alone is not really the right word since I have been sharing my room with different kinds of species such as : mosquitoes, bed bugs, spiders, cockroaches and even a little lizzard..

I know dinner time is coming soon with the usual Dahl baht... I have managed to avoid it for the last two days being sick... but no choice now, I have to eat something. I have lost 4 kilos.

July, 23rd 2006 : Frustration

Departure Day -7.

This morning I woke up feeling nauseous. After my dhud chiya and few salty biscuits, I'm on my way to the orphanage. I am not very motivated this morning and in the dark pathway coming out of the house, I almost stamped on a dead rat, which reminds me where I am at...

I think we eventually get used to everything, even the worst.

I arrive at the child home and I am puzzled to see that half of the children have been shaved because of lice. When I first saw them, some skinny, with their dirty clothes on and head shaved, the image of concentration camps came to my mind....

Two days before I had spent a full day trying to organize the storage room where they keep the children's clothes. I had sorted out the different garments in cardboard boxes so it would be easier to find everything. This morning, everything seems back to the usual mess and I can't find the boxes anymore. I feel angry and frustrated somehow that whatever action i try to take here seems useless. I guess people are used to their own disorganized life and they don't want to change their habits. After all, who am I here to try to transform this place? I'll be gone in a week and I know now that my efforts will not change the chaos of the place. I just have to accept it, accept the frustration and go with it.

This afternoon, Christina and I went to the internet café in our village. You only pay 10 roupies an hour but but it's worth for a very slow or impossible connection and today I couldn't even acces my mailbox. My feelings towards this country are somehow controversial. Sometimes, I feel so good here and I love the people, the culture and the place and sometimes I just abhore it and I all want is to go home.

Walking towards the Stupa is sometimes a terrible experience . You have to stand the suffocating heat, the dust that comes into your mouth, the loud never-ending traffic, the disgusting smells of gas mixed with the meat of goats freshly slaugtered, the rotten garbage left on the pavement, the dark smoke of corn cobs burning, and the sound of people scraping their throat to spit.

When the monsoon rains come, the air freshens a little and some of the smells vanish in the humidity. The water flows very soon in the streets and dirt roads and it becomes impossible to know where you are walking. Your feet bathe in a running muddy water carrying all you can find on the ground: rubbish, spits, human and animal dejections, dead animals...

I walk, not looking forward but staring at my feet, not knowing what's under the water but I have too keep on going...

July, 30th 2006 : Last day at the orphanage

Today is my last day at the buddhist child home. Tonight I am going back to the guest house and enjoy my last few days in Kathmandu. I feel sad to leave the children but on the other hand I feel relieved to experience something else. The last week went fast since I got sick again and had to go to the international clinic and had different medical check-ups. One day, Christina and I took six of the children to Bodhanath and invited them at the restaurant for a drink and pizzas. It was a great moment we shared together and they really enjoyed it. As days passed by, I got very attached to the kids. I enjoy being with them, playing, taking care of them. They greet me every morning with hugs and an enthusiastic "good morning Miss!". The morning ritual of shampoo and cleaning teeth is a moment I enjoy a lot. The youngest kids love to play with my hair and every morning I have a new hair style. Now they know how to sing a French songs, we play cards learning English words and just spend time together laughing and having fun. I am very attached to Sagun, a 6 year-old girl at the child home. We don't communicate much with words but there is something special happening between us. She has touched my heart deeply with her beautiful face, her discreet attitude, the way she hides her toothbrush under her bed and the determination and temper in her eyes. Everyday, she comes to me and kisses my hands and my forehead. I had never thought of adopting a child before but meeting Sagun has made me changed my mind. I know I will miss them all, but I will have special thoughts for her.

My last few hours there were intense in emotions. The children performed a small party for my departure with songs, dances and messages they wrote. I couldn't hold my tears for all the love they had given me and thinking I might never see them again.I was also sad to leave my host family, I think I was attached to them as well and they had always been very nice to me.

We said "good bye" with sadness and sweet words and the promise to keep in touch.

Last days in Kathmandu : Meeting Progress.

Last Friday, I had taken Christina to Pashupatinath, the holy place of temples and cremations. It was my third visit to the place and that's where I met Prajesh or Progress. I had told Christina we would be harassed with Nepalese people to guide us around and I told her just to ignore them because we wanted to be at peace and moreover I already knew the place . Progress was the first to come to us. I told himI was not interested in any guiding tour and after a few exchanges, he left us alone. A few moments later, we were sitting down in front of the ghats, watching the cremations and as Christina was talking to some stranger, Progress cane and sat down next to me and we started to talk again. We made friends and before leaving he took us for lunch in a dodgy restaurant where we had very spicy noodles.

We agreed to meet again in Thamel on Sunday at the New Orleans Café.

Progress was with me for my last days in Kathmandu and I can say he is probably the sweetest Nepalese person I have met over there. He has taken care of me with great respect , has guided me all around the city, invited me over at his house for typical Dhal Bhat dinner and helped me all the way to make my last days so special. On the departure day, he was there at 5 AM to take me to the airport with flowers.

Progress is only 23 years but for the last 10 years he has taken care of his relatives being the only son . He has the freshness and craziness of his young age and the maturity from going through life hardships . He has enlightened my days with some beautiful spiritual talks and a new vision of life. Besides all his human qualities, he is also a man wishing to perfect his good karma. If you ever visit Nepal, I could only recommand you to call him because he is surely the best cultural and spiritual guide you can find in Kathmandu. Progress is an adept of meditation, can take you trekking in the Himalaya and can speak Nepalese, English, French, German , Hindi and some Spanish.

Progress, if you ever read this, you know how thankful I am to you and I will never forget that precious loving time with you.

Back Home...

Coming back home after such an experience is not easy and I expected it somehow. I feel filled with beautiful memories, faces, landscapes, music and conversations.However I feel some type of emptiness inside and I think it is a normal reaction. After being disconnected from your life for a month, you can only come back disconnected again, not knowing where your landmarks have gone.

I have discovered a new country, a new culture and also I have learnt so much about life, the essence of life. As I believe that there is a reason for every step we take in our life, good actions as mistakes, I wonder now what personal lessons I have learnt and what I am going to do with this knowledge.

I would have probably not had that experience if I hadn't met a special person who made me realize that I need to see the reality of life and experience the dark side of the world. Shon, you probably didn't do that purposely but that is the inner message I heard from you. Probably my soul and heart were ready to listen back then.

Also, I wouldn't have had the chance to go to Nepal without the help and care of two very special people : Rabyn and Bijen from Hope and Home organisation. I am so grateful to you both for giving me that opportunity to get to know your beautiful country. I think you belong to the rare people I know who are dedicated, gentle, sweet, attentive and generous.

Thank you for your greatwork , for your help during bad times, for your presence and caring, for welcoming my family so nicely. I just wish you the best and I hope your organisation will grow and be prosperous to help all the people in need in your country. Danhyabad and Pheri Betaunla! Hope to come back one day....

To Rabyn and Bijen from Hope and Home,

Rudra and Durga, my host family,

All the children of the Buddhist Child home,

My sweet Sagun

Christina

Progress

Bikash from the Peace Kathmandu Guest House

my family and friends

and all the lovely people I have met in Nepal...

2006-08-07T12:04:00.000+02:00

Méditations sur les Désirs

Allez tranquillement parmi le vacarme et la hate

et souvenez vous de la paix qui peut exister dans le silence.

Sans aliénation, vivez autant que possible en bons termes avec toute personne.

Dites doucement et clairement votre vérité et écoutez les autres,

meme le simple d 'esprit et l' ignorant;

ils ont eux aussi leurs histoires.

Evitez les individus bruyants et agressifs,

ils sont une vexation de l 'esprit.

Ne vous comparez à personne : vous risqueriez de devenir vain ou vaniteux.

Il y a toujours plus grand et plus petit que vous.

Jouissez de vos projets aussi bien que de vos accomplissements.

Soyez toujours intéressé à votre carrière, si modeste soit elle;

c'est une véritable possession dans les prospérités changeantes du temps.

Soyez prudent dans vos affaires car le monde est plein de fourberies.

Mais ne soyez pas aveugle en ce qui concerne la vertu qui existe;

plusieurs individus recherchent les grands idéaux; et partout la vie est remplie d'héroisme.

Soyez vous-meme.

Surtout n'affectez pas l 'amitié.

Non plus ne soyez cynique en amour,

car il est en face de toute stérilité et de tout désenchantement aussi éternel que l'herbe.

Prenez avec bonté les conseils des années, en renonçant avec grace à votre jeunesse.

Fortifiez une puissance d'esprit pour vous protéger en cas de malheur soudain.

Mais ne vous chagrinez pas avec vos chimères.

De nombreuses peurs naissent de la fatigue et de la solitude.

Au dela d'une discipline saine, soyez doux avec vous meme.

Vous etes un enfant de l'univers;

pas moins que les arbres et les étoiles,

vous avez le droit d'etre ici.

Et qu'il vous soit clair ou non, l'univers se déroule sans doute comme il le devrait.

Soyez en paix avec Dieu, quelque soit votre conception de lui,

et quels que soient vos travaux et vos reves,

gardez dans le desarroi bryuant de la vie, la paix dans votre ame.

Aves toutes ses perfidies, ses besognes fastidieuses et ses reves brisés,

le monde est pourtant beau.

Prenez Attention. Tachez d'etre heureux.

Trouvé dans une vieille église de Baltimore en 1692, auteur inconnu

2006-07-02T16:32:00.000+02:00

WHEN FRANCE WINS...

...French people know very well how to apply the three basic principles of our democracy : Liberty, Equality and Fraternity.

...People rejoice together, with friends or strangers...

The streets become an open "dance floor" and if there is major traffic where eveybody is stuck, after all it's not a big deal.... Rude Parisian drivers become suddenly patient and smiling...A miracle!!!

Children are not in bed and everybody is allowed to do whatever is usually forbidden... standing up on cars, sitting outisde the windows, driving too fast or too slow...

Rebels remain rebels but bitterness turns into Love and injustice into pride...

If a sport like football is able to make such changes in a society and individuals, then the ball must be some type of God with some magic power...

On a day like this, everybody forgets who they really are, everybody hopes and everybody dreams that everyhting is possible. On a day like this, everybody feels like a winner, even if it's just for one night...

But what if everyday was a winning day...?

Would the world be a better place to live for all??....

And do we really need a ball for that?

In the meantime... "Allez les Bleus!";-)

2006-07-02T14:09:00.000+02:00

Paris, Je t' Y...

2006-06-23T08:00:00.000+02:00

Flying Feet over the Canal St Martin

2006-06-04T17:16:00.000+02:00

IRELAND

Twelve Bens, Connemara

Kylemore Abbey, Connemara

Road to Clifden, Connemara

The Aran Sea

Aran Islands, Inishmore

Irish Communion, Bunratty

2006-05-14T18:18:00.000+02:00

INDIAN TEMPLES

Shiva

Ganesha

Mother India

2006-05-14T17:37:00.000+02:00

INDIAN PORTRAITS

Kochi/Kerala

Varanasi/ Benares

Bangalore

Bombay/Mumbai

2006-05-14T17:04:00.000+02:00

BOMBAY

2006-05-01T13:46:00.000+02:00

VARANASI OR THE VERTICAL JOURNEY

Indian Sadhus

Holy Cow

Ganges People, Holy people...

2006-03-17T21:05:00.000+01:00

INTO A HEART...

J'ai oublié l'heure et le jour de ce jour là, où mon coeur s'est arreté de battre.

En quelques secondes, courtes de leur temps mais longues de leur douleur.
Un silence froid a résonné au fin fond de mon ame comme un point de non retour.

Mon regard était fixe, mort, et mon corps lourd comme une statue de marbre assise, immobile et impénetrable.
Mon corps n'était plus qu'un coeur ouvert, gonflé, enflé d'un flux de sang violent et saumatre, il n'était plus qu'un écho : sourd à la poitrine, mais vibrant à la conscience. Il y eut un battement, puis rien, un battement, puis rien.. rien... rien...
Alors j'ai su, qu'à cet instant, mon coeur venait de se briser...

2006-03-04T17:11:00.000+01:00

TREES

The tree which moves some to tears of joy is in the eyes of others only a green thing that stands in the way. Some see Nature all ridicule and deformity, and some scarce see Nature at all.

But to the eyes of the man of imagination, Nature is Imagination itself.
William Blake, The Letters, 1799

2006-03-04T10:14:00.000+01:00

FLAMENCO

A Many, Lara, Pepe Luis y sus ninos, mis amigos de Granada.

A Federico Garcia Lorca.

Viva el Flamenco! Olé!!

2006-03-03T15:17:00.000+01:00

ON THE ROAD

2006-03-02T20:18:00.000+01:00

On a Trip to London
« How to feel a stranger in your own city? »

I was on my way again. I had arrived two days before from Andalucia and I could still feel the Spanish sun and the poems of Federico Garcia Lorca singing on my mind. This time I was going Northbound, to the « Great London » of Great Britain. Leaving my friends in Spain to meet my lover in England. I was sitting in the Eurostar enjoying the comfort of the business class like a child would be discovering a brand new game. I closed my eyes and the train was leaving slowly, pictures of the ugly northern Paris suburbs fading away. I grabbed a magazine, browsing the pages but my mind was somewhere else.
My lover and I had known each other for about three months. We had seen each other many times in Paris and we had always had a lovely time. However, I always found it confusing to feel like a stranger in my own city, sleeping in a hotel by the Eiffel Tower and speaking a foreign language in my homeland. Perhaps would I feel more comfortable there? I was about to enter his universe, or whatever he was ready to show me. I was going to open a new door and I just didn't know which one yet. I was wondering then if he was looking forward
to seeing me...

We were now passing under the sea and I was smiling. "There is always an end to a tunnel ", I thought. A French couple was talking besides me and I was not really listening to their conversation but the man suddenly said « les tunnels de nos jours.. ». Then I thought did he mean « tunnels nowadays »....or « the tunnels of our days »....? » I just didn't have a clue but I thought it was pretty and I would remember that. In front of me was an old man with a greyish beard and between two seats he kept on smiling at me. Any time he got the chance to catch my eyes, he would smile, his lips closed...

We were now out of the tunnel and here was a new country: England. There were teardrops on the window, maybe from a recent English rain on that train's last trip. I thought England is a country that cries a lot...
Finally arriving in London with an hour delay, my lover was there waiting for me .My heart was beating fast and I could feel the most pleasant feeling in the world: feeling at home in a strange land ....

July,2005.

2006-03-02T19:56:00.000+01:00

Merry-Go-round or Merry not?
I make myself pretty, pretty
For the man I die to see
Black on my eyelashes to shine
And on my lips, a ruddy red line
But my lover's eyes just see
What doesnt' look right on me...

As I always feel tender, tender
A delicate kiss to him I offer,
But my lover's hand just tries
From his cheek, my buss to wipe.

I hear myself loving, loving,
But my heart 's silently crying
For of all sweet words it whispers
Only bitterness he remembers.

Merry-go-round or merry not?
Forget me with forget-me-nots...
Merry 's my heart but marry it not!

Merry-go-round where is your way?
To your wild horse I once was bound..
Are all carrousels just here to play
With soft foolish hearts around ?

2006-02-22T19:16:00.000+01:00

TRIBUTE TO DANIEL

Have you ever met someone absolutely special?

Someone you think is very unique because he doesn't behave like anyone else in this world?
There are some crazy, different, rebellious, eccentric, alternative or very uncommon people and Daniel was one of them.
He lived in his own world, regardless of what people could think and never took himself seriously.
When you were in his company, you had to be ready for a roller-coaster ride!!!

You always knew in advance it would be so fun and exciting, unexpected and also risky...

He had his own ways to turn the conventions upside down and like Merlin, he was somehow a magician and an alchemist to turn life into a fantasy world .

Daniel would treat everybody the same. He could be friend to rich men as to homeless people. He was never scared to do something completely nuts!
He turned any animals or insects into human beings.

He would make oysters yawn, pigs laugh and beetles fight fot the Egyptian Army...
He could pretend to order a hamburger at the stamp-machine inside the post office in front a crowd of serious people waiting in line, he could dress up with women clothes inside a store, do the rain dance outside his house at night, act as a Vietnam war soldier in the middle of his living-room, and he knew Angels exist and could speak to them...
He was also a handsome and bighearted man.

He was generous with his friends and relatives and was taking care of elderly people, reading them stories and giving them affection.
He loved his home, his family, his pets and spending hours listening to music.

He was the one in my teenage years who made me feel special and has given me taste for good music and somehow foreign cultures .
Even though his outside world was full of beautiful colours, enchanted sounds and funny jokes, his mind was tormented by pain.

Like most human beings, what we show to the world is not what we really are deep inside.

We are all actors in the play of our life but his was a comedy that enlightened everybody who has been lucky to know him.

Daniel was my uncle and he left us ten days ago at the age of 49 years old after fighting so hard for four months against a brain cancer .
We all miss him so much because our life will never be the same without him, but I know that he is where he has always wanted to be and I know he is at peace now.

Fly high, Daniel, and may you bring to heavens all the joy you have given us down here.
I love you forever...

« Daniel.... Do you still feel the pain of the scars that won't heal?

Your eyes have died, but you see more than I, Daniel, you're a star in the face of the sky.... »

Elton John « Daniel »

2006-02-21T18:26:00.000+01:00

WHEN ANGELS COME THROUGH THE RAIN...

Today I was feeling blue, like we all can feel at times in our life. I had this feeling that everything turns out the wrong way, that nothing works the way it should and that the more it rains outside, the more sad events it brings to my life.
I lost a beloved relative last week, my mother is going through hard moments with her cancers and last weekend I had a serious argument with someone I love, which brought a definitve end to our relationship.
I've been feeling miserable inside, feeling my self-esteem at its lowest and my hopes reduced to ashes.
Am I somehow responsible for all those misfortunes?
Can I be a bad person at times?
Was I wrong to expect things to happen?
Deep inside my heart, I don't feel perfect but I don't think totally wrong either...
When it's time for doubts and questions, sorrow and pain, we should always keep an eye open to what is good in our life.
Whereas I was in the expectation for something to happen , life has taught me today that unexcepted events occur to give us hope and cheer us up when we most need it.
Even if our days are cloudy, there will always be sunshine or an Angel coming out.
Today was a blessing because this morning my best friend from Italy called me to ask me to be the Godmother of her son.
Today was a blessing because when I opened my casebook at school this afternoon a letter fell out, a sweet birthday card from one of my students.
Today was a blessing because I received a mail from an Irish friend I had lost contact with for more than 12 years.
Today was a blessing because someone I don't know and who lives in Nepal, where I will be volunteering this Summer, remembered my birthday and sent me a card.
Everyday is a blessing because I have a wonderful family , some beloved friends, some sweet students and lots of wonderful people who have crossed or will one day cross my path.
Sometimes we make mistakes, sometimes we don't do the right thing or say the right word, but life will always remember who you really are and there is always an Angel somewhere to look after you.

To all the people in my life, past, present or future and to my Angel I just want to say

"Thank You!!"

2006-02-19T16:09:00.000+01:00

TURNING 35.

Yesterday I turned 35 years old. It sounds like a serious age and some people call it the age of maturity and completeness. Strangely I don't feel as such. First I thought that maybe I am reaching the first half of my life but honestly speaking I know that this is not relevant. The older we get and the closer we are to death, we understand that life is never granted and can be taken from us anytime, anywhere and in anyway.What matters is the present day and the experiences we've had in the past that makes us who we really are.

Maybe the right question is : "Who am I?" But do we ever know or understand ourselves fully?
I am thinking of some life experiences I've had, what does it tell you, and what does it tell me?

Births: 2

The first one 35 years ago in France in an English hospital (by chance...) and the second time when visiting a church in Bergamo, Italy, 5 years ago.

Sisters and brothers: 2

Two twin sisters Naomi and Ludivine (I love you so!!!)

Jobs : about 7

6 summer jobs and 1 permanent : English teacher for the last 10 years (time flies...)

Years abroad : 2

1 in Dublin as an Au pair and 1 in Cork as a university student.

Students I've taught : an average of 1,900 (mmm... no, I don't remember all their names....)
Copies I've corrected: about 30 000! (how many red pens does that make???)
Activities practised: racing, horseriding, rowing, archery, playing the guitar, singing in a Gospel choir, Flamenco dancing, painting, photography, blogging...
Countries visited: 22 countries and 16 American States.
Marriage experience : None...
Children: None...
Living with someone: besides my family and students in Ireland, No one!!
Times I quit smoking : 7 (and 4 times in the last 4 months, any good advice welcome....)
People I killed : None! (except a spider by accident... sorry Dear...)
Languages studied : 9 but I can only speak 3....
Photo exhibition : 1 in July 2005 in Granada Spain.
Craziest experiences : Besides the normal routine.... 4!

a) sustaining a long-distance destructive relationship for 5 years, b) flying to San Francisco just to say good bye to some memories, c) spending 4 days in a California desert with a man I didn't know, d) Jumping out of a chairlift 4 meters high...

Missed planes : 1 (going to Finland)
Planes that never arrived to destination : 1 (going to Dublin...)
Cars owned: 6 ( 5 old ones and 1 unlucky new one...)
Car accident : 1 ( the unlucky one...)
Relationships that really mattered: 4
Passionate relationship :1
Unconventional relationships : 2
Long-distance relationships: 3 (are they related to the ones above? I would say yes...)
Experience of male cowardice : 3 (or more...)
Total regrets so far: I'm afraid NONE.... ;-)

2006-02-19T14:07:00.000+01:00

A MEMORY OF LOVE

I sit and I watch my clock running
Silent seconds of my heart beating
I tell my mind to stop thinking
Please be quiet... can't you hear him now?

I sit and I watch but my eyes can't reach
Over the skyline where my love should be
I tell my mind to stop searching
Please stand still.... can't you see him now?

I sit and I watch the memories of love
The first embrace and the sun above
I tell my mind to stop dreaming
Please stay awake.... can't you feel him now?

I sit and I watch the moon's shadows
Wondering where the precious time goes
I tell my mind to speak at last
Please, my love, can't you be here now?

To Shon.

2006-02-19T13:59:00.000+01:00

BOULEVARD DE LA MER

2006-02-19T12:45:00.000+01:00

BOULEVARD DE LA MER
The day is breaking and here I stand alone,surrounded all over by the deep blue sea.
In front of me spread stillness and infinity of skies, waves and far away stones.

How can't I feel more humble,as a human being, facing the creation of God?
What artist can excel such a beautiful lively painting where shapes and colours mingle and change constantly?
What contemplated masterpiece has more power to enlighten our sight and awaken our soul to a sense of greater freedom?

The day is breaking one more time with dark skies and a rainbow diving into the deep green.
Here I am watching through the large open window some stolen moments of life that don't belong to me: on the beach some lovers are cuddling to keep themselves warm, old couples in their duffled coats looking for seashells in the sand, families with children running around in their bright-coloured bonnets, and a lonely man is walking with his funny dog.
My body is still, powerless and only my soul can wander through the mysteries of the ocean kept under. At night, the roughness of the sea and the starry skies keep me awake and the waves dying on the rocks, on a permanent flow, sound like a never-ending pouring rain on the roof.
Time has stopped for a moment in my contemplation of life . What is out there is inside me. I belong to this world and this world belongs to me. My passing life, constant changes,vision of beauty and pain, my turmoils, all lies here on a small piece of earth called the" Boulevard de la Mer".