Juan Convers

As I mentioned in my last post, a couple of weeks ago I had the opportunity to visit the Valencian city of Alicante. One of the most interesting experiences during this trip was spending a day on Tabarca Island, located just an hour's ferry ride from Alicante (the journey can tak only 20 minutes from the town of Santa Pola).

The island is tiny but incredibly beautiful. It has been declared a marine reserve due to its diverse aquatic life and is surrounded by stunning, crystal-clear blue waters. One of the activities I enjoyed during this visit was walking from the port through the small town to the end of the main street, which leads to "Porta de la Trancada" (Trancada Gate).

There, I stored my clothes, put on my goggles, and easily spent an hour exploring the various fish species that can be observed, as well as swimming to the "Ilot de la Cantera" (Quarry Islet) where, at that moment, there was absolutely no one else around. I have a beautiful memory of being in this amazing place, enveloped by total peace.

Later in the day, I wandered through the town, crisscrossing its narrow streets until I stumbled upon a truly authentic restaurant. There, I enjoyed the 'Menu del Día,' which included a fresh salad, crispy fried sardines and shrimp, followed by an authentic Valencian paella. The meal was so satisfying, it kept me full for the rest of the day!

Frankly, I'm very eager to return there someday.

The Castle of Santa Bárbara in Alicante is a historic fortress located on Mount Benacantil, a hill overlooking the city and the Mediterranean Sea. Today, it is one of Alicante’s most prominent landmarks and a popular tourist destination.

A couple of days ago, I had the opportunity to visit this interesting place. There are different ways to reach the castle, including taking an elevator, but I decided to walk all the way up. I passed through the beautiful ancient neighborhood of Santa Cruz, with its picturesque houses, then crossed the Parc de l'Ereta, and finally reached the castle. This huge complex is quite fascinating, offering plenty of information about its origins, significance, and successive renovations, destruction, and restoration. I spent a couple of hours exploring the castle, and it was totally worth it.

AnimeGAN is a deep learning model designed to convert real-world images or videos into anime-style artwork. Using this model, it's possible to transform photos into nice anime-style images that look like they were taken a Japanese animation.

A couple of weeks ago I passed by this place early in the morning I was able to capture a nice photo of the beach. I decided to use the Tenorflow.js version of this AnimeGAN model to convert the photo into an anime-style image. The result is quite interesting as you can observe in the image above.

One of my favorite plans is to jump on a train and head to Geneva. I always walk along Quai Gustave-Ador to the Jet d'Eau, enjoying the nice path along Lake Geneva.

A couple of days ago, I did this again. After passing the Jet d'Eau, I looked back and noticed the setting sun creating a beautiful backlight behind the fountain. It was a view that I tought it was worth a picture, so I quickly captured the moment with my camera.

This unexpected photo turned out to be one of my favorites on that spot, so I'm sharing it here with you.

I have been fortunate enough to visit the Republic of Poland on several occasions, allowing me to explore fascinating cities such as Gdańsk, Warsaw, Poznań, and Kraków. On this particular trip, however, I had the opportunity to discover a new destination: Lublin, a city that is clearly underrated and boasts some truly remarkable sights.

One of the most impressive features is the beautiful castle perched atop a high hill, which can be clearly seen from the ruins at Plac Po Farze. This square, whose name translates to 'Former Parish Square,' contains the remnants of the old parish church. Although the church no longer stands in its entirety, the site provides a perfect vantage point to admire the panoramic view of the city and the castle. Reaching the hill where the castle sits is relatively easy, and we were are rewarded with a stunning view of the inner courtyard. There, one can find comfortable seating areas where you can replenish your energy with a small snack and some refreshing water. En route, we paused beneath the iconic Grodzka Gate, to get some amazing sorbets.

This castle holds great significance in Polish history, as it was here that the Union of Lublin treaty between the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania was signed in 1569. This momentous event led to the creation of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, one of the largest and most influential states in 16th-century Europe.

Lublin's rich history, combined with its architectural beauty and cultural importance, makes it a city well worth exploring. After experiencing its charm, I'm determined to return if possible, to discover more of what this nice Polish city has to offer.

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