Natalie the Explorer

Five Good Things

April 3, 2026April 5, 2026Natalie58 Comments

I am sharing five good things that I enjoyed on Monday this week, in no particular order.

1. Friendships

I enjoyed a coffee catch-up with a longtime friend. We met at the Royal York hotel and admired the Spring displays in the lobby. I have two more coffee dates coming up with two other friends next week. We all have fulfilling lives and/ or travel often. What’s beautiful is that we are committed to meet up as soon as we can.

Spring displays at the Fairmont Royal York hotel

2. Bike Ride

Monday was a beautiful sunny day with daytime high temperature 19C (66F). I biked on the Waterfront Trail and stopped for a quick break by Toronto Harbour. No ice or snow in sight and the lake was so calm.

3. Spring Flowers

I also took a walk in the Toronto Music Garden. The change of season from winter to spring is definitely underway. I spotted crocus flowers, hellebores, dwarf irises and snow drops.

4. Public Art

It was a delight to see the cool Sister Cities mural at 20 Charles Street East when I didn’t expect it. The wall where the mural is painted is part of a parking garage.

The mural was conceptualized and painted in just six days by German artist Justus Becker who is from Frankfurt, working alongside local artists Alexander Bacon, Quentin Rockford, Christina Mazzulla, and Kyla Buium. It features cityscapes of Frankfurt and Toronto appearing in the reflection of a pair of glasses, illustrating the twinned status the cities have shared for over 30 years.

5. Free Exhibition

My friend and I visited the Toronto Reference Library for the free and interesting Loops, Swoops & Curlicues: A Legacy of Handwritten History exhibition.

Some of the highlights include Toronto Public Library’s oldest item, a cuneiform tablet from around 2000 BCE, handwritten pieces by authors Ray Bradbury and Arthur Conan Doyle, travel writing desk and writing tools belonging to Robert Baldwin, co-leader of Canada’s first responsible government.

Aside from the free exhibitions at the library, I have been reading at a good pace, averaging 16 books per month, thanks to the steady flow of e-books that I requested and received from the Toronto Public Library. I feel so fortunate to have free access to so many books and educational exhibitions.

What good things can you share today?

All are welcome to join the Weekend Coffee Share link-up by leaving me a comment with the URL to your coffee share or public art blog post. Have a great weekend!

March 2026 Highlights

March 31, 2026April 1, 2026Natalie57 Comments

Hello and welcome to the March Monthly Wrap-Up blog link-up of 2026! If you write monthly recaps, tracking progress or taking stock posts, I hope you will join in by leaving a comment on my post with the URL to your post.

February Roundup

My sincere thanks to the following blogger friends who participated in the February Monthly Wrap-Up link-up. I listed the links in the order that I received them on my February 2026 Highlights post. I invite you to visit each other and meet new and old friends along the way.

Sarah visited Sri Lanka
Gail had a good month
Joanne shared four somethings
Brian photographed nature’s beauty
Carol Anne had a trying month
Bernie focused on family and fun
Brenda shared dumplings, chocolate and the wind
Melissa shared February over a cuppa
Ganga wrote about her icy February
Astrid’s February was a mixed bag
Deb played with silliness
Anabel continued Glasgow gallivanting
YingLan enjoyed a refreshing solo day trip
Ju-Lyn had a month of contrasts
Jo shared her lovely medley

March in a Nutshell

In March I was one-third in Catalonia in northeastern Spain and two-thirds at home. I enjoyed exploring Catalonia and visiting Andorra, a new-to-me country. As a result, I increased my total countries visited count to 60.

After returning home, I resumed my wellness routine and social outings with friends. Spring has arrived and there are many cultural events in the city to explore. We enjoyed coffee chats, three concerts, two films and a few indoor and outdoor art exhibitions.

I wrote four blog posts and read several books that I borrowed from the library. My year-to-date finished book count is 50. I crossed a few items off my life admin to do list and did some travel planning.

Catalonia Adventure

I said Yes to more adventures and took a ten-day solo trip to explore Catalonia in northeastern Spain (see blue circled area below). I stayed in a centrally-located hotel in Girona, explored Girona on foot and made day trips by bus to Barcelona, Cadaqués, Figueres, Besalú and Rupit. I did a lot of walking at each location.

Some highlights of my trip include:

Exploring Girona’s Old Town and walking along the ancient city walls for panoramic views of the city and surrounding landscapes. Girona Cathedral is a stunning Gothic cathedral with the widest nave in the world, featuring a Baroque façade. One of the bridges in Girona was designed by Gustav Eiffel, who is best known for the Eiffel Tower in Paris.
Revisiting Gaudi’s masterpiece, the Basilica Sagrada Familia, Park Güell (my favourite park in Barcelona) and Barcelona’s waterfront.
Discovering Cadaqués, an artistic and picture-perfect coastal town on the Costa Brava.
Visiting Figueres and touring the Dali Theatre-Museum, designed by Salvador Dalí.
Sampling fresh cheeses, bottle feeding baby lambs and watching a shepherd leading his sheep on a farm.
Strolling in the beautifully-preserved medieval villages of Besalú and Rupit.

The weather was mostly sunny and cool. Girona is a walkable city with plenty of shops and restaurants. One of the parks near my hotel had about seven thousand plane trees and was a beautiful green space to be in.

I included two image galleries in this post. To view captions, please click on the photos.

Andorra Adventure

From Girona, I took a day trip to visit Andorra, one of the smallest countries in the world. The bus ride was scenic with views of the snow-peaked Pyrenees, farmlands and medieval villages.

Andorra is headed by two co-princes: The Bishop of Urgell in Catalonia, Spain and the president of France. The capital Andorra La Vella, is the highest capital city in Europe, at an elevation of 1,023 metres (3,356 feet) above sea level.

It was a sunny, blue sky day, with daytime high temperature about 22C (72F) and cherry blossoms were in full bloom. It had snowed two days before my arrival so I really lucked out with the weather.

I explored Andorra La Vella’s old town, visited the Romanesque Sant Esteve Church from the 12th century (one of the most important buildings in the Catalan Romanesque style), the Casa de la Vall old parliament building and enjoyed Salvador Dalí’s “Nobility of Time” sculpture.

Although Andorra is known for its duty free shopping and modern Andorra la Vella is full of shops, I only bought one souvenir pin for me.

I love that March had a good mix of exciting adventures abroad and comfortable routines at home. I am grateful for a wonderful March. I look forward to what the next month will bring.

**********

What are your March highlights? I’d love for you to share in the comments. If you write a March recap, please share the URL to your blog post. Happy April!

Please join me again at the next Monthly Wrap-Up link-up on **April 30th**.

Winter Stations: Mirage

March 27, 2026March 25, 2026Natalie42 Comments

The free annual outdoor Winter Stations exhibition is on from February 16 to March 30, 2026 at Woodbine Beach in Toronto. This year’s theme is Mirage.

“Winter Stations is an international design competition held annually in Toronto, Canada. Since 2015, we’ve invited artists, architects, designers, and students to reimagine lifeguard stations as interactive public art installations, transforming city beaches into an open-air exhibition each winter.”

A friend and I chose a mild afternoon to bike to Woodbine Beach. We took a stroll to view the five winning installations created by talented international designers. Each installation has an information board that describes the designer’s creation. Click here or click on the design title below the image gallery for full descriptions.

Glaciate, Toronto Metropolitan University in collaboration with Ming Chuan University School of Design (2026).

Chimera, Denys Horodnyak & Enzo Zak Lux (2026).

From top left, clockwise:

Embrace, Will Cuthbert (Canada).
Crest, University of Waterloo, School of Architecture and the Department of Architectural Engineering (Canada).
Specularia, Tornado Soup: Andrew Clark (USA).
Chimera, Denys Horodnyak & Enzo Zak Lux (Germany & Ukraine).
Glaciate, Toronto Metropolitan University, Department of Architectural Science in collaboration with Ming Chuan University School of Design (Canada & Taiwan).

As we left Woodbine Beach, I found two fairly new murals painted by artist Emily Kewageshig.

Murals by Woodbine Beach, Emily Kewageshig (2025).

It felt great to bike outdoors and to walk on the beach. Discovering interesting architectural designs and murals was the cherry on top.

How was your week? Did you see any interesting public art?

All are welcome to join the Weekend Coffee Share link-up by leaving me a comment with the URL to your coffee share or public art blog post. Have a great weekend!

Visiting Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild

March 20, 2026March 8, 2026Natalie39 Comments

Last November during my stay in Nice, I took a day trip to Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat on the French Riviera. I visited the Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild, also called Villa Île-de-France, set amidst lush gardens overlooking the Mediterranean Sea.

Map of Villa & Jardins Ephrussi de Rothschild

The Villa was built between 1907 and 1912 by Baroness Béatrice de Rothschild (1864-1934). The opulent Italian-style pink palazzo showcases the luxurious lifestyle of the Belle Époque era. Upon her death in 1934, the Baroness donated the property and its collections to the Académie des Beaux-Arts of the Institut de France. It is now open to the public.

View of Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild from its main garden

My visit was a self-guided audio tour with a handheld device. The audio tour started in the lobby of the palazzo and took me through the rooms.

Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild lobby and upper floor

The Baroness filled each room with priceless artworks, antique furniture, extensive collection of rare porcelain and ornate décor.

Three of the rooms and view from another room in Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild

Stepping out of the palazzo, I greatly enjoyed strolling through the villa’s nine gardens and took in panoramic views of the French Riviera coastline.

Views of the French Riviera coastline from Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild

The nine themed gardens include French garden, Spanish garden, Florentine garden, stone garden, Japanese garden, exotic garden, Provençal garden, rose garden and a garden of Sèvres (porcelain).

The French garden is the main garden. It is in the shape of a ship’s deck, decorated with waterfalls and ponds, with the Temple of Love at the bow and the sea visible on all sides. It was inspired by a voyage the Baroness made on the liner Île de France, and the Villa was given that name.

From top left clockwise: 1) The French garden, 2) Venus statue in the Temple of Love, 3) Fountains and ponds in the French garden 4) The horseshoe staircase in the Florentine garden and 5) White roses in the rose garden.

It was a wonderful visit to the Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild and its nine beautiful gardens. The next day I enjoyed a walk in captivating Monaco.

How was your week? All are welcome to join the Weekend Coffee Share link-up by leaving me a comment with the URL to your coffee share or public art blog post. Have a great weekend!

Lumière: The Art of Light

March 6, 2026March 4, 2026Natalie62 Comments

Please note that I will take a short blogging break next week. There is no Weekend Coffee Share link-up and no Public Art photo challenge on March 13. Please plan to join me again on March 20 when I will resume hosting.

The free annual outdoor Lumière: The Art of Light exhibition is on from February 16 to March 27, 2026 at Trillium Park in Toronto. This year’s theme is Rhythms of Light: Motion, Sound, and Time.

I chose a mild winter evening to bike to Trillium Park and took a stroll to view fourteen light-based exhibits created by talented Ontario-based artists. Each exhibit has an information board that describes the artist’s creation. Click here for full descriptions.

I am sharing nine of the exhibits here. Even though my photos don’t show how the exhibits change light colours with sounds and interactions, I hope you enjoy the gallery anyway. To view the title of the installation and artists’ names, please click on the photos.

switch/ grass by Nathan Fischer, Daniel Pechersky, Diana Tran, Liam Clarke and Joe Kinsella

Toronto's skyline at night — Bonus view: Toronto’s skyline at night with twinkling city lights.

My favourite is the switch/ grass exhibit. What’s your favourite exhibit?

All are welcome to join the Weekend Coffee Share link-up by leaving me a comment with the URL to your coffee share or public art blog post. Have a great week!

February 2026 Highlights

February 28, 2026February 28, 2026Natalie62 Comments

Hello and welcome to the February Monthly Wrap-Up blog link-up of 2026! If you write monthly recaps, tracking progress or taking stock posts, I hope you will join in by leaving a comment on my post with the URL to your post.

January Roundup

My sincere thanks to the following blogger friends who participated in the first Monthly Wrap-Up link-up. I listed the links in the order that I received your comments on my January 2026 Highlights post. I invite you to visit each other and meet new and old friends along the way.

Suzanne maintained a balanced January
Joanne shared four somethings
Gail noted the joys of January
Susanne enjoyed kittens, music and tech
Anabel continued Glasgow gallivanting
Barbara enjoyed simple pleasures
Astrid reviewed January
Deb gave herself permission to be silly
Brenda reflected on New Year
Joe had some ups and downs
Lydia shared her little loves
Jennifer had a hot and productive January
Ganga reflected on January
Ju-Lyn noticed the changing seasons
Jemima shared her best wins and more
Bernie wrote about her delusional January
Jo shared her beautiful medley

February in a Nutshell

In February I was two-thirds at home and one-third in southern Spain. While at home, I enjoyed doing my daily wellness routine, celebrating birthdays and Lunar New Year with family and meeting up with friends for two films, two concerts, a walk and a coffee catch-up.

I spent time organizing my photos, writing four blog posts, reading several books that I borrowed from the library, blogging, crossing a few items off my life admin to do list and travel planning. January flew by and February felt the same.

I included two image galleries below. To view captions, please click on the photos.

Winter Walks

One of my daily walks in February stood out for its rare beauty. February 1st was a cold, sunny day with clear blue sky and -10C (14F) temperature. A simply gorgeous winter day. I took pictures of the snow and ice-covered Toronto Harbour. The harbour is rarely completely frozen and when it is, you know it has been very cold for several days.

The extreme cold snap peaked on February 7 and 8 when it was sunny with a windchill of -25C (or -13F). Thankfully the temperatures have since returned to normal and the daylight time has continued to increase.

Southern Spain Adventure

I said Yes to more adventures and took a nine-day solo trip to the Costa del Sol area in southern Spain. I stayed near Marbella and made day excursions to Marbella, Mijas, Granada, Ronda, Malaga, Frigiliana and Nerja. I explored this part of Spain last year and wrote two posts about it here and here.

I love Marbella and Nerja for their seafront locations, Mijas and Frigiliana for the charming mountainside whitewashed villages, Malaga for its culture, Ronda for the dramatic cliffs and historic bullring, and Granada for the Alhambra, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The weather was pleasant, mostly sunny, with daytime high temperatures ranging from 16C and 20C, except some rain when I was in Granada. I enjoyed walking every day while taking in the sight and sounds of the Mediterranean Sea and the beautiful Spanish architecture and art around me. I savoured tapas, paellas, local wines and desserts.

I met two other solo travellers and we became fast friends. We walked up to the castle in Malaga for fantastic panoramic views and another walk uphill to St. Nicholas’ Lookout in Granada for panoramic views of the Alhambra.

I love that February had a good mix of comfortable routines at home and exciting adventures abroad. I look forward to what the next month will bring.

**********

What are your February highlights? I’d love for you to share in the comments. If you write a February recap, please share the URL to your blog post. Happy March!

Please join me again at the next Monthly Wrap-Up link-up on **March 31st**.

Art in Saint-Paul de Vence

February 27, 2026February 25, 2026Natalie42 Comments

Greetings! This post on Friday, February 27 is for the weekly Weekend Coffee Share link-up. The post tomorrow, Saturday, February 28, is for the Monthly Wrap-Up link-up. I have two posts back to back this weekend because I am hosting both link-ups and the last day of February falls on a Saturday.

Saint-Paul de Vence is a charming medieval town near Nice in southeastern France. The town has attracted many artists over the years. One of them, Marc Chagall, lived in Saint-Paul de Vence for 19 years and is buried in the local cemetery.

When I visited Saint-Paul de Vence last November, I took pictures of public art that I discovered during my walk. I am sharing some of them below.

Painting of the hilltop Saint-Paul de Vence village and its surrounding on a mailbox

Potted flowers on the cobblestone street in Saint-Paul de Vence

How was your week? Did you like any of the above artworks? All are welcome to join the Weekend Coffee Share link-up by leaving me a comment with the URL to your coffee share or public art blog post. Have a wonderful weekend!

Murals on Doors

February 20, 2026February 19, 2026Natalie54 Comments

Last weekend was a fun-filled long weekend with Valentine’s Day on February 14th, Family Day on February 16th and Lunar New Year’s Day on February 17th (the Year of the Horse). I enjoyed meeting up with family and friends to celebrate the holidays.

Today I’d like to share five murals on doors that I photographed when I was in southern Italy last month. They are my contribution to the Public Art and Thursday Doors photo challenges. I hope you enjoy the images.

From top left, clockwise:

Sewing Creations mural in Lecce
Snail mural in Lecce
Flower planter mural on white doors in Matera
Nun in black robe mural in Naples
Red Marrakech Kebab mural in Naples

How was your week? I’d love for you to share your week’s highlights. All are welcome to join the Weekend Coffee Share link-up by leaving me a comment with the URL to your coffee share or public art blog post. Comments with links are moderated so they may not appear right away.