An Update

Hola!

Thanks for visiting my blog and reading about my European travels. I know, it’s been a long while since anything new happened here.

Well guess what? Now that I’ve left Spain and relocated to the eastern part of the world, I’ve decided to start a new blog.  

Here it is - Stardust In Asia.

See you at my new site!

Happy New Year 2012 & Hello to New Beginnings!

Firstly, I have a confession to make.

As I write this post, I’m no longer living in Madrid but in fact, just relocated to a place far away and strikingly different. Things just seem to happen at the opportune moment and it’s now time for us to change the course of life yet again, and steer it towards a different direction.

The past 3+ years spent living and constantly wandering around Spain and the region had been absolutely fabulous and the experience was more than what I’d have ever expected. The exposure to the European culture, lifestyle and cuisine had certainly fuelled my love for travel & photography in a huge way. Not forgetting the friendships that I’ve built - something that I’ll cherish forever.

I won’t deny there’s a part of me wishing I could stay longer and I’m sure that I’ll be missing life in Madrid a lot. Perhaps one day I’ll be back in Spain taking a trip down memory lane, but for now, I’m actually really excited about what my future holds. I’ll be looking forward to every day with the same enthusiasm I had when I first got to Madrid. I’m really thankful for being able to truly live life wherever I go and I count my blessings every day.

Last but not least, as I begin a new chapter of my life, here’s wishing everyone a very Happy New Year ahead. May 2012 be a year for challenges to turn into opportunities, and for dreams to turn into reality.

Signing off from Shanghai!
xoxo, The Wandering Stardust

Amsterdam, the Netherlands

On the way back home from Madrid to Singapore for the festive season recently, we squeezed in a brief stop-over at Amsterdam, making it the last city that we’d visit for this year.

With its intriguing concentric network of canals encircling the city, Amsterdam is sometimes referred to as the Venice of the North and its canal ring area was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List just last year.

Having only a full day to spare, we were all over the place from the city center to the countryside, checking out everything from cheeses to clogs, canals to “coffee shops”, Christmas lights to the red light district. All that, plus surviving the death trap of a staircase at our hotel!

Here’re some of my favourite photos…

Ancient Sites of Ephesus, Turkey

Finally, in the home stretch of my journey, I visited some of the most ancient historic sites that Turkey has to offer. First up, we went to visit Mount Solmissos, where the supposed ‘House of the Virgin Mary’ is located.

The site was apparently discovered in the 19th century based on the reported series of visions of a German nun. It is believed that Mary was brought here by Saint John in fulfillment of his promise to Jesus to protect her, and this was where she spent her final days.



The simple stone house stands on a mountain overlooking the Aegean Sea and the ancient ruins of Ephesus. Near the house stands a wall where pilgrims leave their prayers as well as a source of spring water.





Next, we went to Ephesus, the ancient Greco-Roman ruined city. Here, the most impressive remains is that of the Library of Celcus.
















Last but not least, we went to one of the two last remaining Wonders of the Ancient World (though it's barely there!) - The Temple of Artemis. You really have to use your imagination here!