Saint Patrick’s Cathedral, Dublin, Ireland
Looking on from the church yard, Saint Patrick’s Cathedral, Dublin, Ireland
Text & Photo © JE Nilsson & CM Cordeiro 2019
Saint Patrick’s Cathedral in Dublin was founded in 1191. This was just after the Viking period (800 to 1066) and in parallel with the Chinese Song Dynasty era (960-1279). My system was trying to recover from this step through of a time warp from 2019 into an arena that was built about 1000 years ago, when not a few meters from entering the cathedral, I turned right and was accosted by a cast of the skull of writer and satirist Jonathan Swift, author of Gulliver’s Travels written in 1726.
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Liffey around Temple Bar, Dublin, Ireland
Coffee around River Liffey, in a sailing jacket and beach hat. Very Dublin.
Text & Photo © JE Nilsson & CM Cordeiro 2019
It was a typical tourist thing to do. Read up on the top ten things to do when in Dublin, Ireland, and then make a to-do list. Most reviews recommended pub crawling at Temple Bar. I’m personally drawn to waterways and the ocean, so walking along River Liffey was certainly on my list. That, in combination with some kind of Irish scone with raspberry jam and cream in hand, would’ve made an ideal evening activity. So it was mostly a matter of logistics of how to have scone in hand, tea or coffee in another, and stroll down River Liffey without knowing much about how to navigate Dublin. As the evening turned out, it was that the city navigated me. My antennas were out for something sweet, something rich, something… chocolate. And where I found that, would be the starting point of my evening’s activity. That happened to be Dollard House, along River Liffey, at Gratten Bridge.
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Baum und Pferdgarten
It’s Friday! In Baum und Pferdgarten.
Text & Photo © CM Cordeiro 2019
What first captured my attention about Baum und Pferdgarten designs was their combination of sweet flirty designs. The label is a Copenhagen-based fashion house founded in 1999 by creative duo Rikke Baumgarten and Helle Hestehave. It’s been a few years since I was last in Baum und Pferdgarten, more than a decade actually. It’s been more than a decade’s love affair – I still love their designs, even if I tend towards the Swedish flair for todos colores.
Cat in April sun, 2019
Some call him Twix, others have named him Bruno.
Text & Photo © JE Nilsson & CM Cordeiro 2019
Nice guy, this one. First summer as a young outdoor cat. Finding a sunny spot on a complementary coloured rug, he sits and waits patiently until someone opens the main door to let him into summer playtime.
Spanish orange almond cake to Easter, Styrsö, Sweden
Spanish orange almond cake, with orange crème anglaise, a variation of the Eurasian almond sugee cake. Topped with meringue.
Text & Photo © JE Nilsson & CM Cordeiro 2019
One of my favourite things to do when back in Sweden is to bake, and oddly enough, go back to cooking Straits Chinese / Peranakan dishes. Easter culinary traditions (as with Christmas, weddings etc.) however, are most often influenced from my Portuguese / Spanish heritage. This year, I thought to bake a variation of my father’s mother’s Eurasian sugee cake, a Spanish orange almond cake [1], layered with orange crème anglaise and topped with meringue. David Lebovitz has a brilliant recipe to orange crème anglaise to which anyone can refer/use [2].
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Lilla Askerön, Tjörn, Sweden
Browsing the grocery shelves at Pergolia Heavenly Italian, a boutique located at Lilla Askerön, Tjörn, along the Swedish west coast.
The boutique specialises in importing hand crafted Italian products, from accessories to food.
Text & Photo © JE Nilsson & CM Cordeiro 2019
It’s a spring/summer thing to do. To drive along the Swedish west coast. Sometimes we head north, sometimes we head south. Once, we headed south and kept going way past Germany to land in Rome, Italy. We walked around some, had an ice-cream at Vacanze Romane at Piazza Navona, and made an about turn back to Sweden again. This time, we thought to head towards Tjörn and Orust, twin islands that contain some of Bohuslän’s most beautiful summer sailing and bathing spots that’s only about an hour’s drive north of Gothenburg city. The intention was to scout for small local grocers and antique shops along the way.
Todos colores in Spring along the Swedish west coast 2019
Spring is in the air along the Swedish west coast, weather seems perfect leading up to the Easter weekend.
Text & Photo © JE Nilsson & CM Cordeiro 2019
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When in Gothenburg, Lilac
Back in Gothenburg, in grey-lilac, for the Easter holidays along the Swedish west coast, Sweden.
Text & Photo © JE Nilsson & CM Cordeiro 2019
A walk through scenic Kuanzhaixiangzi Alley, Chengdu, China 2019
At Kuanzhaixiangzi Alley, Chengdu, China.
Text & Photo © CM Cordeiro 2019
I was expecting a Yuyuan street experience like that of Shanghai 2011, when I thought to visit Kuanzhaixiangzi Alley in Chengdu, China. But this was a different adventure of sorts. Cozy yet vibrant, visitors are greeted with beautiful architecture throughout the alleys. Located in proximity to Tianfu Square and Renmin Park a taxi ride will take just about ten minutes to Kuanzhaixiangzi Alley and what I think is one of the more scenic (historic-) urban areas in Chengdu.
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