Two weeks ago we were in Jaipur, India, during Holi, India’s festival of color that marks the beginning of spring. The day before we had attended the wonderful Elephant Festival and we had already bought a few bags of color from a street vendor, so on the morning of 14 March we headed into the city, each armed with bags of colored powder in our pockets. Ready for our first Holi.
The huge billboard at Leiden train station, that was erected in February, was destroyed by heavy wind yesterday. The billboard of 1100 square meters in size held an image of a huge bookshelf holding books with titles related to themes such as the celebration of Rembrandt’s 400th birthday this year. More »
In the month of Phalgun, a day before the festival of Holi, India’s festival of colors, the elephants of Jaipur gather in a show of pomp and pageantry recreating the royal splendour of a bygone area. There is a parade, polo match and tug of war. Here is our report of the Elephant Festival on 13 March. More »
Throughout Europe on 29 March 2006 a partial solar eclipse will be visible. In parts of Africa and Asia, plus a small part of the Mediterranean Sea between Crete and Cyprus, and parts of Turkey and Georgia, the eclipse will be total. More »
We have just published a new page in our travel photo album of our trip around Rajasthan, India, from 3 to 22 March 2006. We saw the Taj Mahal in Agra, bicycled around Keoladeo NP at Bharapthur, saw tigers at Ranthambore NP, played Holi in Jaipur and saw many forts and palaces. More »
A few years ago on a road trip of Normandy we visited the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Mont Saint Michel. More »
Here are some nice random photos of the city of Leiden in the Netherlands, where we live. Leiden is the birthplace of Rembrandt van Rijn and has the oldest university in the country. There are lots of canals, church spires, narrow alleys, and monumental buildings. More »
Here is the first part (of two) of my favorite things to do in the beautiful state of Colorado. This article features Mesa Verde National Park, Pikes Peak, Great Sand Dunes National Monument, Four Corners NM, and Aztec Ruins NM. The photos are from our roadtrip in 2004. More »
Today is Holi, India’s festival of colors. It is a Hindu festival but is widely celebrated all across India by people of all faiths. The festival marks the beginning of spring time and usually takes place at the end of March or early April, on the full moon of Purnima, according to the Hindu calendar. More »
Rembrandt van Rijn was born in Leiden in 1606. This year the city celebrates the 400th anniversary of Rembrandt’s birth with different museum exhibits, festival events and other special expositions. In February we walked a part of the Rembrandt City Tour, and followed in the footsteps of this young artist. More »