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Dancing is part of the welcome festivities for new students at the Delft University of Technology.
"On with the dance! let joy be unconfined;
No sleep till morn, when Youth and Pleasure meet
To chase the glowing hours with flying feet."
~ Lord Byron, Childe Harold's Pilgrimage
Scroll down the page for more images from the University of Technology's Welcome Day in Delft's Market Square.
In Delft, the Netherlands, the Nieuwe Kerk church tower is reflected in a large directional compass in the center of Market Square.
If you saw the film Girl with a Pearl Earring, you may remember that Griet - the character played by American actress Scarlett Johannson - paused for a moment on this spot, then walked in the direction of the Nieuwe Kerk. Dutch artist Johannes Vermeer's home was on the street opposite the church.
The church's tower was restored, after a lightning strike on May 3rd, 1536. The resulting blaze destroyed the tower, organ, bells and stained glass windows. Wind spread flames to hundreds of timber homes and businesses west of the church. On October 12th, 1654 a gunpowder explosion razed parts of the city.
The ornate Town Hall, also seen in Girl with a Pearl Earring's opening moments. The film was based on a book by Tracy Chevalier. The original Girl with a Pearl Earring painting (1665) is at Koninklijk Kabinet van Schilderijen Mauritshuis, The Hague.
The Town Hall at dusk.
This building is on the Oude Langedijk, directly across the street from the church. It stands on the site of Johannes Vermeer's home. Vermeer lived and worked in Delft all his life (1632 - 1675). His paintings often depicted people going about their daily lives. An image of one of my favourites, The Little Street, is part of the online Google Art Project.
The church tower is reflected in the windows of the same building.
The church tower at night.
Across the market square is Vermeer Centrum, a museum dedicated to Johannes Vermeer's life and work. The building is on the site of the Guild of Saint Luke, a trade association for painters, of which Vermeer was a member. Curiously, not a single original Vermeer painting remains in Delft, although several are displayed at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.
A stone plaque marking Johannes Vermeer's final resting place in the Protestant Oude Kerk. Built in 1240, it is the oldest church in Delft.
The church's design features raditional arches and 27 stained-glass windows, as well as the sculpted pulpit from 1548.
Detail of a 19th-century hand-carved walnut pulpit, featuring the acanthus leaf.
Joep Nicolas made 25 of the church's 27 historical windows. After his death, a relative completed the last two vitrines.
While many windows depict stories from the Bible, some show reflect Dutch history and key figures of the House of Orange.
The church's brick exterior.
An arched passage.
Oude Kerk's leaning bell tower.
The leaning tower long has been the subject of debate among Delft residents, concerned about its structural engineering and stability.
An ancient wing of Reales Alcázares de Sevilla, a palace that once was a Moorish fort.
I can't stay away. At every opportunity, I return to this magical city, where I am dazzled by its beauty, its art and architecture and its rich history. I am enamored of Sevilla's arch-filled palaces, lush green gardens and airy tiled courtyards.
In a city full of night owls, I am completely at home. Even with my limited Spanish, I can order a variety of tapas, smoky Iberico ham and chilled dry fino. I can walk along the Guadalquivir River and over the bridge to Triana, the working-class home to flamenco and handmade tiles. I can bicycle or ride the tramway to Plaza de Espana, where water once again fills its "moats." I can listen to the plaintive wail of Spanish guitars drifting down narrow alleyways in the moonlight.
Beginning next month, I'll briefly be in Sevilla for a photo project. In early November, I'll be back in Sevilla, collaborating on a project with a Spanish photographer. Later my husband will join me for a working holiday in Cordoba, El Rocio and other areas of Andalucia. My mother would say I'm "wishing my life away," but I can't wait to return to Spain!
An open-air balcony overlooking landscaped gardens and tall palms.
A dark tiled passageway at Alcazar Palace.
Marble pillars and floors, along with elaborate stucco-relief and tiled walls and ceilings at Alcazar. Such magnificent Moorish architecture is one of the myriad reasons I adore visiting Spain.
In Spain's machismo culture, a handful of female matadors are making their mark. Veronica Rodriguez, 23, is pictured during a bullfight at Plaza de Toros de Sevilla, July, 2010. Click photos to enlarge.
Veronica Rodriguez watches another young bullfighter in the ring.
Have you traveled to Spain? What's your favourite city or place to visit? While I am fond of Madrid and Barcelona, Sevilla holds a special place in my heart.
Cool temperatures, blustery winds, grey skies and scattered showers, interspersed with bouts of sunshine...that's the Dutch summer!
Molens van Kinderdijk, the Netherlands. Nineteen windmills built in 1740 remain. The mills drain excess water from the Alblasserwaard polders - which are below sea-level - and divert the water into the Lek River.
Reeds blowing in the wind at Kinderdijk. While Kinderdijk is a UNESCO World Heritage site, the mills and surrounding land are maintained by the Dutch foundation Wereld Erfgoed Kinderdijk.
The same windmill viewed from different angles. As always, click images to view detail.
A blue rowboat is docked next to this working windmill.
I'm looking forward to visiting Kinderdijk in the winter, when ice skaters take to the frozen surface.
The windmills of Kinderdijk at twilight.
If you visit the Netherlands, don't miss the opportunity to see Kinderdijk!
Sunflowers in a shop window in the French quarter, New Orleans.
"Turn your face to the sun and the shadows fall behind you."
- Maori Proverb
Sunflowers needed, real or virtual. Today I saw a little Dutch boy struggling to carry a cheery bouquet of sunflowers taller than he was. The determined look on his face gave me hope...
Out of the dark, something beautiful emerges... Rain-spattered lily pads, the Netherlands. Click photo to enlarge.
"My faith did not start with a leap, but rather a series of staggers from what seemed like one safe place to another. Like lily pads, round and green, these places summoned and then held me up while I grew. Each prepared me for the next leaf on which I would land and in this way I moved across the swamp of doubt and fear." - Anne Lamott, Traveling Mercies
Lavender blue flowers for the weekend, inspired by the ever-creative Suzanne Cummings...
...plus three new pots of orchids.
One of the neighbourhood storks spent over an hour perched on this chimney (if only I had a better telephoto lens!)
A bird and hot air balloon fly overhead (click photo to view detail).
At sunset, a bird flies over an historic church...
...and the sky, clouds and trees are reflected in a canal.
Neglected house that retains its charm, French quarter, New Orleans.
Ever feel practically invisible, as if nobody is paying attention? Somebody sees. Somebody notices. Someone cares.
