I completed a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela two years ago but this journey was so important that the more time passes the more it influences my life. Recently, I got asked about the essentials, that is, what a pilgrim should bring to the Camino. I thought this is a really good opportunity to go back in time and refresh my memories. We’ll be soon flooded by articles of the New Year’s Resolutions and walking the Camino might be one of them. 5 Essentials… obvious things to bring The following five essentials is a must to all who undertake any long or short distance walk Comfortable shoes, Small and light backpack, Container for water, Hat, Waterproof jacket. The Camino taught me one basic thing: never bring a new pair of shoes! Use the old ones that your feet are used to. I learned it hard way: bought the new shoes two weeks before walking the Camino and paid the price. The blisters were killing me for the most of the time. Now, I am an experienced trekker and I never do such things but this time I clearly underestimated the challenge. I thought that after walking the King’s Trail (120km) and completing two marathons I should be just fine. So again: NO NEW SHOES! Have mercy on your feet! My backpack was only 55 litres and at all times, it weighed less than 10 kg. This is a basic rule if you want to enjoy the journey. This will guarantee comfort and will allow you to focus on more important things. I saved a lot of space by using clothes made of merino wool. They are odour free and it allowed me to limit my clothes significantly. A hat was extremely useful out of the obvious reasons but I was very happy I brought it because the heat totally surprised me. I thought that the end of September should be calm and cold but on the contrary, it was horribly warm. I suffered for the most part of the walk and the next time I walk the Camino, I’ll do it in late October. 5 less obvious things to bring The following five things made my walk more enjoyable. Sleeping bag, Sunglasses, Guidebook, Mp3 player, Flipflops. A very light sleeping bag (600g) ensured comfort during the nights in shelters. Some of them provide a disposable sheet and pillowcase but not all. Besides it’s always nice to lie down, relax and sleep in something that belongs to you. Mp3 player helped me in a few cases. First, a calm music that I listened to after reaching the shelter helped me to relax and sleep in the afternoon when people around were making noise. Second, when I was crossing the mountains with painfully blistered feet I was listening to the relaxation music that helped me arriving the shelter. There is a great bonus that comes with it: even today I still find this piece of music deeply relaxing. When I feel overstressed I can always listen to it and calm down by remembering my walk. Flipflops will allow your feet to relax after you reach the shelter and also will keep your feet safe while taking a shower in a shared bathroom. One more thing to bring A proper mindset is everything. After walking the Camino, quite naturally, I listened to other people who walked it. I read a few books and talked to some pilgrims. People tend to underestimate the Camino is what I’ve learned. The fact it leads through the cities, little towns and generally civilised areas make people think it is easy. Many of the pilgrims admitted that they have not expected hardship nor problems but in most cases, they were faced with the sudden difficulties. Therefore, prepare yourself! Do your research, check the details, plan your trip. Proper preparations are of great importance. At the end of the day, I wonder whether the hardship of this walk is what the pilgrimage is all about? Maybe all pilgrims need to face the difficulties to experience their vulnerability, community with others and learn about their own weakness? Share your opinion in comments. Do you have plans to walk the Camino in 2017?  

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Read the previous post. Astrophotography is amazing. The photos of the stars catch the attention of people around the world. There is something really special about it and just recently I’ve experienced how wonderful it is. I’m not a photography expert, therefore, all I’m writing in this post is for non-professionals. If you have always wanted to photograph the night sky this post is for you! A month ago I had no idea how to do it and today, here I am, showing you the pictures brought from Sardinia. Thus, here are a couple of tips and tricks on how to photograph night sky.  There is more! In this post, I am going to share practical info and tips on how to photograph a night sky. The picture you see above  has been featured by Lonely Planet, and here is why this picture has been selected: Why we like it: How could you not? The brilliant night sky, the glowing embers of light at the bottom of the frame, the romantic silhouette of the couple (who, expertly aren’t dead centre, but slightly positioned to the right of the frame). A winning combination, especially considering how hard it can be to shoot a crisp image with such low light. The time You need a lot of time. Seriously, it took me and two of my friends at least three nights before we were happy about the results. Thus, the patience is everything. The pictures you see are the final result of hours spent at the beach of Capo Pecora and in front of the computer. There is the good news too: when you finally catch the idea it goes smoothly. It is crucial to check information about the visibility of the Milky Way. The beginners should focus on Milky Way as this seems to be the easiest object to be photographed. In Europe, August in a very good month to begin with. Last but not least: observe the moon and pick up the darkest day of the month. Full moon makes the night sky photo incredibly difficult. The Place It is important to go to a very dark place, far from the human activity areas. The darkest, the better. Obviously, professionals photograph the night sky in the cities but this is much more complicated so start from the easiest part. It will bring you a satisfaction and will encourage you to continue rather than discourage you from the very beginning. Sardinia was just perfect. There are many sites with no artificial light that spoils the effect so it was very easy to experiment with night sky photography a couple of nights in a row. Also, the weather was great so there were no clouds and the visibility was fantastic. New moon with no clouds is perfect. The Gear All pictures you see were taken with Canon EOS 60D with ordinary lens 18 – 35 mm and a simple tripod. As you can see, the part of the sky photographed is limited. If you wish to photograph large part of the sky you should have a wide field lens, like a fisheye lens. Also, the bigger the aperture (smaller the number) the better (2.8 is OK but 1.6 is even better). The Composition You might think the composition does not matter in the case of night photography. On the contrary: it matters a lot. We took dozens of pictures of stars with no earth in it and the effect was horrible. It’s much better to have a tree or a mountain in the view. The pictures with people are brilliant. The only thing is they should stay still for at least 25 seconds. The Camera Settings There is a simple rule that all professional and non- professional photographers are familiar with. So called the 600 Rule. You need to do some math here: divide 600 by your lens’ number (i.e. 24 mm), and the result is the exposure time, in this case  it’s 25 seconds. If you keep the rule and these settings it guarantees that the photo will not be blurred, even though the Earth is moving. In 25 seconds the Earth will move about 0.1 degrees but the setting will keep the stars sharp. ISO should be high. Check with your camera and chose the highest one that will still keep the picture sharp. In the case of the pictures you see here, ISO was 3600 but each number above 3200 should do the trick. At the beginning, I’ve noticed that our pictures were blurred and we couldn’t figure out what was wrong with them for a couple of days. Eventually, we set the macro not to the fullest (infinity) but slightly lower than the infinity and it improved the quality of the picture significantly. The Postproduction This is probably the most important element of the whole process. Here is a short clip with basics of postproduction tips for the night sky. Ans last but not least, I’m going back to Italy soon. I’ll be participating in a series of events organized by Alessandra from Settimana del Buonvivere. I can’t wait to taste the delicious food of Romagna, visit the historical sites and enjoy some of the most interesting trekking paths in the area. Stay tuned! More is coming!    

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Audrey Hepburn used to say that Paris is always a good idea. And some people might still think so even though many years has passed. I am a bit hesitant if you asked me whether I love it or hate it. I know that few days in a city like Paris is not enough to fully appreciate its particularity but this is not my first time here and I see that some things has changed and in a way I don’t like. Paris. A Home for Artists The most impressive thing about Paris for me is its rich and outstanding history. There was time when Paris was an unquestionable capital of Europe. It was trendy – if not necessary – to speak French, to dress like French and to listen to French music and to reading French books. This time has long gone but Paris still wants to impress its visitors. Paris shows off with its houses: if you look at the details of windows, balustrades, balconies or even chimneys you will understand how hard it tries to impress the tourists. Landmarks Paris has more landmarks per square meter than an average European capital. Tour Eiffel, Sacré-Cœur, Louvre, Notre-Dame to name only few world wide known touristic spots. People know it by heart and they come here to see it with their own eyes. It makes Paris one of the most visited places in Europe and in the world. Bringing all problems typical for touristic destinations along. Art Is Everywhere The number of paintings, sculptures and drawings made by the most famous artists is impressive. Count also the museum focused on art or houses with small inscriptions: “The famous X lived here”. Even graveyards of Paris turned into a touristic attraction because artists were so in love with Paris that most of them decided to be buried here. So, yes, Paris is a city of art and I am pretty sure that this is a real paradise for art lovers. Poor Quality For High Price Tourists in Paris get scammed! Yes, they do and yes I did! In only few days spent here I paid unbelivible high price for drinks and food. Now, I know that tourists’ destinations tend to be expensive and logically is Paris is one of the busiest touristic places on earth than you cannot expect nothing else. But what I do mind is the poor quality of the products you get for exceptionally high price. If you think about famous French wines don’t come to Paris and don’t drink it here. I have no doubts that you can’t taste excellent wine for a reduced price in every cafe of restaurant. But it is hard to believe that wine for 6 EUR a glass is such a poor quality! Seriously? Paris, you could do better than this! I would simply like to enter a cafe and have a decent (not outstanding!) glass of wine. Just decent. Especially when France is SO proud of its wines. It is hard to understand why this country serves such a low quality stuff to people who come here to enjoy and appreciate it! Habits Maybe this is my fault and lack of preparations to this part of my around the world journey but I find it very difficult to understand the habits of the locals. First, they seemed to get scammed in cafes and restaurants they share with tourists. There are many of French people paying exaggerated amounts of money for poor quality stuff. Then, it was hard to find a place to have a breakfast on Sunday morning. Either there were gloomy and empty bars opened with no locals inside, or crowded pastries with fresh bread with long queues in front. So I realized that it is not their habit to have their Sunday breakfast in bars. Fair enough. I bought a fresh brioche and ate it and it was delicious. I though it will be similar on Monday but – surprise! surprise!-  no, it wasn’t. My mistake. Some bakeries opened on Sunday are closed on Mondays and those open ones serves brioches baked the previous day. Paris, I do like you but some things I really can’t figure out. So I think I will just need more time here. Travel Tip Here is my advice: if you want to try the French cuisine and don’t go bankrupt try this place. Auberge de la Reine Blanche. It is located on the island of St. Louis (30 Rue Saint-Louis en l’Île) and they serve very good food with decent wine. You can eat entree and first dish for less than 30 EUR. We went there in 4 and we shared a bottle of very good white Chardonnay. Highly recommended!   

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