Palermo, Sicily

This past May, I had the incredible opportunity to take a family trip to Sicily. With my mother being part Sicilian, visiting this beautiful corner of Italy had been a lifelong dream of hers, and it was such an honour to finally experience it together as a family.

After a long journey to the island (there are no direct flights from Toronto to Sicily), we arrived in Palermo, Sicily’s vibrant capital city. With a history spanning more than 2,700 years, Palermo is a true crossroads of cultures, and its rich past is beautifully reflected in the city’s stunning and diverse architecture.

Although we didn’t get to spend much time in Palermo, it was the perfect introduction to our Sicilian adventure. The city offered our first glimpse into the history, beauty, and culture that Sicily so special.

Next stop: Cefalù!

Amsterdam in 35mm

After Copenhagen, I hopped over to Amsterdam to meet up with my sister and best friend for Amsterdam Dance Event (ADE), a four-day-long electronic music networking event that brings artists and industry professionals from around the world to Amsterdam. Although I’ve been to Amsterdam a few times before, nothing prepared me for what was to come over the next few days. It was truly an incredible, once-in-a-lifetime experience.

As soon as we landed in Amsterdam, we started our night at the Hoxton in De 9 Straatjes and then journeyed all the way to the infamous Gashouder Westergasfabriek to watch Adam Beyer perform. Over the weekend we attended Mystic Garden, a magical music festival in Westpoort where we danced all day and all night. Despite the long nights, we made the most of our days by exploring all that Amsterdam has to offer. My friend and I took a canal tour through the city; admired Rembrandts and Vermeers at the Rijksmuseum, which was absolutely phenomenal; and my sister and I spent quality time with kitties at KattenKabinet, an art museum dedicated solely to cats. The three of us drank coffee at notable cafes such as Cafe Baskets, Locals, and Salvo Bakehouse, and ate way too many servings of the classic Dutch fries (with curry sauce, mayo, and chopped onions, of course!). We ate stroopwafels larger than our heads at Melly’s StroopWafels and went Miffy-crazy at de winkel van nijntje and HEMA. On our final day, we celebrated the beautiful October weather by wandering the iconic streets of Jordaan and enjoying a perfect last meal at Turbo, a mid-century-modern lover’s dream. It was so fun being back in Amsterdam and I can’t wait to plan another trip.

Photographs were taken with my Canon ELAN 7 using a combination of Kodak ColourPlus 200 and Kodak Ektar 100 films developed and scanned at Downtown Camera.