About [bt] Photography:

We are a Calgary based photographing duo who loves to capture the moments, the kiss, the gentle embraces, the spontaneity and surprise, the laugh, the fun and joys of life. Let us document the joys and love for you so it can serve as a constant reminder and heirloom for years to come.

Not in Calgary, we have suitcases that [LOVE] to travel and so do [WE]!!

  • Archive: June, 2009



    London, England

    Tuesday, June 16th, 2009
    Buckingham Palace
    20090527 8001 London, England Big Ben
    20090528 40D 4241 London, England
    Tower Bridge
    20090529 8504 London, England
    After many days without a hitch, we wouldn’t have predicted London to be the biggest challenge on our trip.

    After a lovely 6 hour delay at Madrid airport due to the inability to close the airplane’s door, we found ourselves arriving into London after midnight instead of 6pm. That wasn’t too much of an issue. The big problem was my bag did not arrive with me. Instead of heading over to Cory’s place, we ended up sleeping in the airport for a night. A long story short, my bag was found three days later and my reunion with my bag was when I went back to the airport to fly back to Madrid.

    The first day in London was chilly. Having only a t-shirt and a pair of shorts, London gave us their typical welcome with the gloomy skies and rain. The good thing was the next two day offered better weather and was bearable in my one and only outfit.

    With the exchange rate between the pound and the dollar at 1 pound to 1.7 CDN, it was better than the last time I was here, which was at least 1pound to 2.5CDN.

    Despite english food not being the best type of cuisine, we craved the fish n chips, Shepherd’s pie, and bangers and mash. I’d say it’s quite the comfort food and it was a welcomed change from what we’ve been eating in Spain.

    London exhibits a lot of unique buildings and by walking along the Thame river, you’ll hit majority of the sites from Tower bridge all the way to the House of Parliament. We walked the Thame many times as Cory’s swanky place was near minutes to the river. Thanks Cory for letting us stay.

    London Day One: Buckingham Palace and Trafalgar Square.

    London Day Two: Big Ben, the London Eye, Westminister Abbey, and the British Museum.

    London Day Three: St. Paul’s Cathedral and Tower Bridge.

    Madrid, Spain

    Tuesday, June 16th, 2009
    Royal Palace of Madrid

    20090525 7761 Madrid, Spain
    We technically spent four days in Madrid, but it didn’t feel like we spent that many days here because we flew in and out of London from here and we left for Paris on an overnight train as well.

    Madrid seems to be popular for it’s museums. It isn’t as grand as the Louvre, but of the three major museums there, the Prado is worth going to of the bunch.

    The Retiro park, near the Prado is worth a visit. It’s huge and there are many surprises in the park. The one that threw me off was a playground for adults. There were lots of people working out too.

    We found some good food in Madrid and i’d say it’s a great hub if you want to fly to other countries and back since the metro takes you straight to the airport while many of the other airports you fly to on a budget airline are usually outside of the city.

    Madrid album: Our four days in Madrid packed into one album.

    Seville, Spain

    Tuesday, June 16th, 2009
    Alcazar
    20090523 6812 Seville, Spain Bull Fight
    20090524 7385 Seville, Spain

    Taking the train from Granada to Seville, we encountered a lot of rain. Luckily when we got to Seville, the rain clouds didn’t follow.

    Saturday is a popular day for weddings here as each church we walked passed seemed to have a wedding ceremony happening.

    Seville, like Granada, seems like a very peaceful city. Seville seems to be a tad more happening as there were more street performers here, like the Flamingo dancer near the Cathedral. This may be a bad assumption as we were in Granada during the weekdays and in Seville for the weekend.

    Seville is a beautiful city and it photographs very nicely. Like the other two cities we visited, there are an abundance of plazas and unique architecture around.

    Since we were in Seville on a Sunday, we were able to catch a bullfighting event. The matadors performing were new. One of the three matadors was amazing and he put on a great performance while the other two had troubles controlling the bull, but the bull wasn’t completely out of control that anyone got really severely hurt.

    The bull fight was a different experience. It was almost like watching a live slaughter and the first bull that did get put down really gave an eerie feeling throughout the crowd as I assume most were tourist and really didn’t know what to think about it as the locals clapped and cheered.

    Seville album: A walk around the town.

    Bull Fighting album

    Granada, Spain

    Monday, June 15th, 2009
    La Alhambra

    20090522 6341 Granada, Spain

    Random Plaza in Granada

    20090521 5839 Granada, Spain

    Our next stop after Barcelona was the peaceful city of Granada.

    We didn’t notice it much in Barcelona, but siestas seem to be a very popular here. Many department stores and restaurants don’t open until 11am and then they are closed from 2pm to 6pm for a siesta, or a short nap.

    This made planning the rest of trip in Spain a task as we wanted to ensure we’d find a place to eat when we needed to.

    The main attraction of Granada is the La Alhambra. This is a palace and fortress used by the Moorish rulers back in the day. This palace’s Islamic architecture with 16th century Christian influences makes this a must see attraction in Granada. It is worth the visit and there seems to be a potential photograph around every corner.

    Granada Day One album: The cathedral and town.

    Granada Day Two album: La Alhambra

    Barcelona, Spain

    Monday, June 15th, 2009
    Sagrada Famalia
    20090518 4568 Barcelona, Spain
    Columbus Monument

    20090519 40D 2329 Barcelona, Spain

    Olympic Area

    20090520 5559 Barcelona, Spain

    Finally some sunshine and it took about 72 hours from the day we left before we found it.

    Barcelona is a lovely place which has something to do for everyone. There are must see places like the Sagrada Famalia for the tourist and then there is tonnes of shopping and beaches for the lazy days.

    Barcelona Day One album: Sagrada Famalia and Park Guell.

    Barcelona Day Two album: Barri Gotic, the Cathedral, and La Ramblas.

    Barcelona Day Three album: Olympic Area and La Ramblas.