May 25, 2025

adventure, all part of life, beach, Bikram Yoga, health, hiking, landscapes, local, photoblog, photography, portrait, travel, videoblog, waterfalls

Revisiting Alamere falls after three years

Sundar Narayanan

May 25, 2025

adventure, all part of life, beach, Bikram Yoga, health, hiking, landscapes, local, photoblog, photography, portrait, travel, videoblog, waterfalls

Alamere falls near Point Reyes is an amazing waterfall that goes straight into the beach. Our first visit to this place was in 2021 in the middle of COVID. There was minimal socializing and we made the most of it.

In March we got a chance to go again. It is a long drive followed by a long hike. When you go with a group, both of those don’t seem long enough.

Given I have already described everything about this place, an updated set of photos and a video highlight reel!

Last time we went in November. This time we went in March.. the landscape on the hike was a lot greener, there were wildflowers that started coming out.. but it was windy and chilly both times.

It is now blog policy to open posts with a bench photo. Got a lot of yoga pose photos as well on this visit!

Had fun playing with the long exposure options in iPhone. Carrying the SLR up a 14 mile hike would have been an additional challenge.

went close to the falls and put the iPhone upside down on the sand to get this one.. had to crop it to a square shot. Water drops blurred part of the image.

When all surfaces are vibrant, had to stop and take pictures of small plants, lichens, buds… was slowing the group down a lot this time with the pictures..

The video highlights reel..

If all goes well, we will visit this place again in a few more years. The walk on the beach to the falls and the race against time is always interesting!

Sundar Narayanan

May 24, 2025

adventure, anniversary, all part of life, conversations, Europe, food, landscapes, photoblog, photography, portrait, travel, videoblog

Wrapping up a magical trip with a sunset over Lisbon

Sundar Narayanan

May 24, 2025

adventure, anniversary, all part of life, conversations, Europe, food, landscapes, photoblog, photography, portrait, travel, videoblog

The previous post in this series is here..

Our tourguide decided to drive through the Bangladeshi/Indian area of Lisbon before dropping us off in the Baixa square. The place had a ridiculous population density. Our guide told us that folks in this area live through a horror story but no one seems to be able to do anything about it!

We walked back towards our hotel area to the nicest Indian restaurant in Baixa, Swaagat. San made good on her promise. The food was just Amazing as was the ambience! It was not too expensive compared to the other places we tried either. Just fantastic!

After dinner, we decided to walk up the hill to see the sunset. There was a church which was part of the places to see in Lisbon that we missed the previous day. So off we went, walked to the Church, took pictures and found a spot among the crowed to take in the sunset. There is a timelapse video that is embedded within the video at the end of this post..

It was an evening to remember. Walking back (San ran back and as usual was catching up to her) chatting about the place, enjoying the tiled facades of every house on the hillside.. we packed up our stuff and got all set for our return early the following morning.

I have really enjoyed reliving this trip from last July over the entire year in bits and pieces. We covered so many places across Europe, had a fun time together and I got to watch my bride smile and dance and be a kid again after so many years. The whole thing was planned by her. All I had to do was follow and take pictures and videos. Happy wife, happy life! Also I lucked out big time with this girl. Some divine intervention got us together and for that I am forever grateful!

25 years has almost become 26 over the course of writing this blog series. In two weeks it will be yet another wedding anniversary! The last year has been a blur, but after writing this series of posts, I am really looking forward to the next many anniversaries.

A video highlights reel of our last evening in Lisbon to wrap up a fantastic trip!

On another note, the blog can now cover other things outside this trip..

Sundar Narayanan

April 27, 2025

adventure, all part of life, anniversary, celebration, Europe, photoblog, photography, portrait, travel, videoblog

Pena Palace and Cabo De Roca in Portugal

Sundar Narayanan

April 27, 2025

adventure, all part of life, anniversary, celebration, Europe, photoblog, photography, portrait, travel, videoblog

The previous post in this series is here..

After Sintra, we drove to the Pena Palace. This was a humongous palace. There was a garden on the way to the castle and we got to walk a bit through it with our guide.

The guy who built the palace for his wife did not get to enjoy it with his wife. A staggering amount of money went into building this in three different styles and connecting them. The artwork, the architecture (columns, staircases, ceilings, arches) are all very distinct and different in these three parts. This is a must see for any architecture fans and architecture students.. just fantastic!

This is one of my favorite photos from the entire trip. Had asked her to go and peek from that turret structure.. she came out with such a beautiful smile.. while this is all I got on camera, the rest is in my head.

Another favorite.. this was the closest to a “bench photo” for this trip!

These pictures and videos don’t do enough justice to this palace. If you are visiting Lisbon, do NOT miss a visit to this palace.

We met a couple from New York and another from New Zealand and had great conversations with them throughout this day trip. We also took photos for the other group. After the walk through the castle, we sat at the Palace souvenir shop and got some sweet popcorn. Then off we went back to the bus for a visit to Cabo de Roca.