Now and then, it’s great to shake things up, so that’s what we did. Curious? Let’s get into it.

North is home, but South was sweet.

I’ve always felt the pull of the north — to endless white landscapes, crisp winters, deep green forests, and endless summer days, … The south, with its heat and crowds, has always felt like someone else’s story. I’ve been curious, but I’m not the target audience to join the Benidorm Bastards, and both sunbathing and all-in hotels with towel queues to reserve a spot by the pool sound like hell on earth. Only this pink outer layer prevents me from melting like a snowman every summer.

But then an opportunity came along, and this spring we headed to Portugal to wander and explore, walk the dogs, and read in a hammock under orange trees. We briefly visited Porto and Lisbon by train, and spent the rest of the time in the countryside. We had the most amazing and welcoming hosts, had the best tomatoes ever, and found stunning beaches.
Perhaps the only thing we didn’t anticipate was the number of free-roaming dogs. Most of them have owners (they all had collars), but they can just go for a walk. With one reactive dog, this was sometimes stressful. But well, I prefer seeing them happily going to the beach instead of being chained up all day, like we saw way too often.

This pack walked to the beach on their own, one hung out with me for a while.

A treat from our wonderful host, it’s some kind of pie, very good!

I loved how cool the houses were, even on warm days.

One week, I went on an art retreat, and it also came with dogs!

You might not believe me if you ever saw me packing for a trip before, but I didn’t bring all my camera gear, just the Fuji with a disposable lens, and a disposable camera. That was no small decision! I thought I’d miss the control, the crispness. I wondered if I’d regret not capturing every lovely moment in full colour. But I didn’t. If anything, it was freeing.  And I took more time to draw. Too often, I want to keep moving, seeing everything and chasing the light. But with a sketchbook and some markers, you get the chance to explore at a different pace.

Portugal gently disrupted my rhythm — not with big revelations, but with blue sky sunny days while we were still letting go of winter (there was still ice on the lakes when we left), and explosions of colour and taste. I enjoyed breakfast and sketching under the orange trees, napping with the dogs in the shade after a beach walk. A sweet scented breeze, …and giant Aloe Vera plants! And of course, I should mention the incredible tiles everywhere! So much fresh inspiration to take home!

These days, I’m leaning more into drawing than photography. I’ve never been the tech-obsessed kind of photographer; it’s always been about the dogs, the places, and the experiences. Lately, I’ve felt annoyed and even overwhelmed by the stream of ultra-sharp and artificial images. Everywhere I go, things are documented in HD and at Duracell-bunny speed. Why would I still feel the need to take an average photo of a stunning and well-documented place like the train station of Porto? If I were to take a picture of the stunning entrance filled with hundreds of people with their phones pointed in all directions, including themselves… would I care about that photo? Is there a need to document that I quickly walked through the place to catch the train?

Now that I’m back home, going through my photographs, I’m quite happy with the results and the imperfections that make my images already look like memories. I’m sure that poor Lizzie would bring the sun and palm trees as souvenirs if she could. The evening we arrived in Sweden, she ran to the sauna to check if it was warm – but luckily, she is visibly happy to be out again on her favourite trails and to nap in all her favourite places at home and the studio. Summer is on its way here too, so that’s nice for the dogs. Lizzie and Oona will be snoozing in the sun, and Mogwai can’t wait to go swimming. Fingers crossed that the inflammation in Mo’s knee will be resolved soon. She was limping last week, so we went to the vet, and she is on medication now (so we have to take it a bit slower too). She doesn’t like the medication, but trying to keep her calm is the biggest challenge. Yesterday, she started throwing around toys at 00h30 at night, so that energy has to be released somehow.

So, that’s it for now. Time for a walk with the dogs!
Seeya!