117 photos from Barcelona
(Catalonia, Spain)

2006-08-17 - 2006-08-18

Barcelona is the capital and most populous city of the Autonomous Community of Catalonia and the second largest city in Spain, with a population of 1,615,908 in 2008, while the population of the Metropolitan Area was 3,161,081. We visited the Sagrada Familia, Park Güell, the Ramblas, and Camp Nou.

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161 photos from Durbuy
(Luxembourg, Belgium)

2017-10-13 - 2017-10-16

Durbuy is a Walloon city and municipality located in the Belgian province of Luxembourg. On 1 January 2007 the municipality had 10,633 inhabitants. The total area is 156.61 km2. In medieval times Durbuy was an important centre of commerce and industry. In 1331, the town was elevated to the rank of city by John I, Count of Luxemburg, and King of Bohemia. In 1628 Anthonie II Schetz obtains the Seigneurie of Durbuy, by permission of Felipe IV of Spain. One of the people connected to the city was the son of Lancelot II: Charles Hubert Augustin Schetz (1662-1726), Count of Durbuy. In 1756 the decendants of the House of Schetz obtain the Castle. Since then the House of Ursel resides in the Castle. The current castle was built in 1880. The Ourthe river flows through the municipality. Tourism and recreation are its main activities nowadays. Durbuy is often presented and promoted as `the smallest town of the world` - but it is not. The smallest town of the world is Hum, Croatia. We visited Durbuy in the autumn of 2017.

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215 photos from Houffalize
(Luxembourg, Belgium)

2020-07-20 - 2020-07-24

Houffalize is a Walloon municipality of Belgium in the province of Luxembourg with around 5,000 inhabitants. Houffalize was a strategic location during the Battle of the Bulge of World War II. Specifically, Generals Montgomery and Patton met up here, Montgomery coming from the north and Patton from the south, in their counter-attack against the German forces remaining in the area. The town was flattened on the night of 5–6 January 1945 by ninety RAF Lancasters of Bomber Command to block the key crossroads for German supply columns and the escape route for German forces. Patton was driven to writing a poem in his diary about the bombing. We staid in Houffalize for five days in the summer of 2020.

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237 photos from Antwerp
(Antwerp, Belgium)

2017-12-02

Another visit to the Antwerp Zoo, during the China Light festival.

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27 photos from Sagunto
(Valencia, Spain)

2006-08-21

Sagunto, formerly Murviedro, is an ancient city in Eastern Spain, in the modern fertile district of Camp de Morvedre in the province of Valencia. It is located in a hilly site, c. 30 km north of Valencia, close to the Costa del Azahar on the Mediterranean Sea. We visited the Roman theater and the Old Jewish Quarter.

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127 photos from Yongding
(Fujian, China)

2014-01-14

Yongding is a county under the jurisdiction of Longyan prefecture-level city, in the southwest of Fujian Province, People`s Republic of China. It is the home of many Hakka families. Yongding has a population of about 400,000, of which more than 99% are Hakka, the rest being Minnan people. We visited the Gaobei Tulou Cluster on a day trip from Xiamen.

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1078 photos from Malta
(Malta, Malta)

2023-12-22 - 2023-12-28

On our second trip to Malta, we visited Sliema, the Hypogeum, the Tarxien Temples, Popeye Village, Mdina and Valletta with the Grandmaster`s Palace, the Mysterium Fidei Monastery, the National Museum of Archaeology and more.

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125 photos from Bruges
(West Flanders, Belgium)

2015-05-30

On our second travel to Bruges, we visited the Church of Our Lady, the Markt square, the Burg square and several others places in the city center.

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178 photos from Cala d`Or
(Baleares, Spain)

2019-10-12 - 2019-10-20

Cala d`Or is a village on the east coast of Majorca, in the municipality of Santanyí, Balearic Islands, Spain, consisting of three principal areas: the town centre of Cala d`Or, Cala Egos and Cala Ferrera. It offers many small, fine sandy beaches including Cala Gran, Cala d`Or, Cala Egos, Cala Es Forti, Cala Serena and Cala Esmeralda. The town centre is very lively in the summer months but much more low key than the larger and more populated resorts in Majorca. The pedestrianised area offers a variety of shops, bars, and restaurants. Also popular is the marina area which welcomes yachts and chartered boats throughout the year, offering some of the best protection from storms in the whole of Majorca, although the entrance can be very tight for turning. The marina is also near restaurants and bars suiting most European cultures. We staid in Cala d`Or during our Mallorca holiday in the autumn of 2019.

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111 photos from Gozo
(Gozo and Comino, Malta)

2011-06-15

Gozo is a small island of the Maltese archipelago in the Mediterranean Sea. The island is part of the Southern European country of Malta; after the island of Malta itself, it is the second-largest island in the archipelago. Compared to its southeastern neighbour, Gozo is more rural and known for its scenic hills, which are featured on its coat of arms. The island of Gozo has long been identified as Ogygia, the domain of the nymph Calypso in Homer's Odyssey. Calypso, possessed of great supernatural powers, holds Odysseus captive for a number of years because of her love for him before releasing him to continue his journey home. The island itself has a population of around 31,000 people, and its inhabitants are known as Gozitans. It is rich in historical locations such as the Ggantija temples which, along with the Megalithic Temples of Malta, are the world`s oldest free-standing structures and also the world`s oldest religious structures. Tim and Miaomiao visited Gozo on a boat tour from Malta in June 2011.

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19 photos from Ravenna
(Emilia-Romagna, Italy)

2006-03-21

Ravenna is a city and comune in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy. The city is inland, but is connected to the Adriatic Sea by a canal. Ravenna was the capital city of the Western Roman Empire from 402 until 476. It was later the capital of the Kingdom of the Ostrogoths and the Exarchate of Ravenna until 751. From that year until the invasion of Franks, it was the seat of the king of the Lombards and equalled to Pavia by Aistulf. It is presently the capital of the Province of Ravenna. At 652.89 km2, Ravenna is the second-largest comune in land area in Italy, although it is only a little more than half the size of the largest, Rome. Miaomiao visited Ravenna in March 2006.

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154 photos from Badaling
(Beijing, China)

2017-08-11

Tim`s second visit to the Great Wall at Badaling, on a day trip from Beijing.

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492 photos from Reykjavik
(Capital Region, Iceland)

2018-07-05 - 2018-07-11

On our second trip to Reykjavik in the summer of 2018, we visited the Perlan museum, the Hallgrímskirkja church, the Whales of Iceland museum, the Fjölskyldu- og Húsdýragarðurinn zoo, and other spots in the city center.

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16 photos from Nafplion
(Peloponnese, Greece)

2009-03-10

Tim and Miaomiao visited the city of Nafplion as part of a day trip from Athens to the Argolis region of Greece, in March 2009. Nafplion, or Nauplion, is a seaport town in the Peloponnese in Greece that has expanded up the hillsides near the north end of the Argolic Gulf. The town was the first capital of modern Greece, from 1829 to 1834. Nafplion, with a population of 13,822 is the capital of the prefecture of Argolis and the province of Nafplion.

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49 photos from Arona
(Tenerife, Spain)

2019-01-01 - 2019-01-02

At the bottom of the table mountain Roque del Conde, at an altitude of 650 m, lies the beautiful town of Arona. It is a big municipal area with around 30000 people altogether. The popular holiday town of Los Cristianos is also part of it. The typical Canary village of Arona has a beautiful plaza in front of a parish church, a town hall and the church San Antonio Abad with many interesting art treasures in its interior. Due to the naturalness of the village, Arona is a popular holiday destination. We visited Arona on our way to the Teide volcano.

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117 photos from Phillip Island
(Victoria, Australia)

2014-09-11

Phillip Island is an island about 140 km south-southeast of Melbourne, Victoria. Named after Arthur Phillip, the first Governor of New South Wales, Phillip Island forms a natural breakwater for the shallow waters of Western Port. A 640 m concrete bridge connects the mainland town San Remo with the island town Newhaven. In the 2011 census the island`s permanent population was 9,406. During the summer, the population swells to 40,000. 60% of the island is farmland devoted to grazing of sheep and cattle. Phillip Island is a tourist destination visited by 3.5 million people annually. The Penguin Parade at Phillip Island Nature Park, in which Little Penguins come ashore in groups, attracts visitors from all over the world. They come to see one of the few areas where this species of penguin can be seen. The western tip of the island contains the Nobbies Centre, which offers a view on the The Nobbies and the Seal Rocks, home to Australia`s largest colony of fur seals. We visited the Phillip Island Chocolate Factory, the Nobbies Centre and the Penguin Parade.

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247 photos from Antwerp
(Antwerp, Belgium)

2021-12-24

On this thirteenth visit to Antwerp, we visited the Antwerp Zoo.

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316 photos from Sanya
(Hainan, China)

2016-07-18 - 2016-07-21

On this third trip to Sanya, we visited resorts in Sanya Bay and Haitang Bay.

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621 photos from Melbourne
(Victoria, Australia)

2014-09-10 - 2014-09-18

Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia, with a population of 4.35 million. It has been ranked the world`s most livable city since 2011. Founded on 30 August 1835, it was declared a city by Queen Victoria in 1847, before becoming the capital city of the newly created Colony of Victoria in 1851. During the Victorian gold rush of the 1850s, it was transformed into one of the world`s largest and wealthiest cities. After the federation of Australia in 1901, Melbourne served as the interim seat of government for the newly created nation of Australia until 1927. An international centre for performing and visual arts, Melbourne is often referred to as Australia`s cultural capital. It is home to many of Australia`s largest and oldest cultural institutions such as the Australian Centre for the Moving Image, the Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne Museum, Melbourne Zoo, the National Gallery of Victoria and the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Royal Exhibition Building. We visited Melbourne in September 2014.

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357 photos from Barcelona
(Catalonia, Spain)

2011-10-20 - 2011-10-23

After Miaomiao`s conference in Sant Feliu de Guíxols, we went together to Barcelona for the second time. We visited the Ramblas, La Pedrera, the Sagrada Familia, Park Güell and more, and went to the football match FC Barcelona - Sevilla FC at Camp Nou.

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65 photos from Gordes
(Provence-Alpes-Côte d`Azur, France)

2014-08-18

Gordes is a commune in the Vaucluse département in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d`Azur region in southeastern France. The residents are known as Gordiens. The nearest big city is Avignon; smaller cities nearby include Cavaillon, L`Isle-sur-la-Sorgue and Apt. We visited the town and the nearby Sénanque Abbey on a day tour from Avignon in the summer of 2014.

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8 photos from Phoenix
(Arizona, USA)

2003-11-14 - 2003-11-21

A SC 2003 Conference visit of Tim to the desert state of Arizona, in the southwest of the USA. Phoenix is the fifth largest city of the United States with a population of 1.5 million.

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265 photos from Avignon
(Provence-Alpes-Côte d`Azur, France)

2007-08-02 - 2007-08-06

Avignon is a commune in the Vaucluse département in southeastern France with a population of 90,000 in the city itself and a population of 290,000 in the metropolitan area. The city is well known for its Palais des Papes, where several popes and antipopes lived from the early 14th to early 15th centuries. We visited the Notre Dame des Doms, the Palais des Papes, the Pont d`Avignon, and much more in and around the city center.

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56 photos from Chengmai
(Hainan, China)

2013-12-30

Chengmai is an administrative district in Hainan, the People`s Republic of China. It is one of four counties of Hainan. We visited the Yongqing Temple and the Fushan Town Center of Coffee Culture and Customs in Chengmai on a day trip from Haikou in 2013.

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674 photos from Venice
(Veneto, Italy)

2012-05-17 - 2012-05-22

Venice is a city in northeast Italy sited on a group of 118 small islands separated by canals and linked by bridges. It is located in the marshy Venetian Lagoon which stretches along the shoreline between the mouths of the Po and the Piave Rivers. Venice is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. The city in its entirety is listed as World Heritage Site, along with its lagoon. The name is derived from the ancient Veneti people who inhabited the region by the 10th century B.C.. The city historically was the capital of the Venetian Republic. Venice has been known as the `La Dominante`, `Serenissima`, `Queen of the Adriatic`, `City of Water`, `City of Masks`, `City of Bridges`, `The Floating City`, and `City of Canals`. Luigi Barzini described it in The New York Times as `undoubtedly the most beautiful city built by man`. We visited Venice in the spring of 2012.

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290 photos from Haikou
(Hainan, China)

2016-07-08 - 2016-07-25

On the sixth trip to Haikou, we visited Miaomiao`s family and celebrated Max' first birthday.

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25 photos from Antwerp
(Antwerp, Belgium)

2015-05-30 - 2015-05-31

During our third trip to Antwerp, we visited the we visited the diamond neighbourhood, the area around the Antwerp Central Railway Station, and the Chinatown.

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219 photos from San Francisco
(California, USA)

2009-06-06 - 2009-06-13

San Francisco is the fourth most populous city in California and the 12th most populous city in the United States, with a 2008 estimated population of 808,976. It is the second most densely populated major city in the U.S. and is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the larger San Francisco Bay Area, a region of more than seven million people. Miaomiao visited the city in the summer of 2009.

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