Let’s put this in context. I’m going to introduce you to a perfect team: the combination of the ocean currents and the Jet Stream. But, what is that? The first is a stream that acts much like a conveyor belt transferring significant amounts of heat from the Earths’s equatorial areas to the poles, thus playing important roles in determining the climates of coastal regions. Without currents, regional temperatures would be more extreme—super hot at the equator and freezing toward the poles—and much less of Earth’s land would be habitable. And let’s say that the Jet Stream does more or less the same thing, but in the atmosphere, travelling from west to east.

So here’s the point. The Jet Stream transports the air from the poles to mid latitudes and back again, like an atmosphere highway. On the other hand, the Gulf current that starts in the Gulf of Mexico, ends up in the West coasts of Europe. Being a warm current, it causes this area’s water to be warmer than others. So, while a cold air mass travels through the icy lands of Canada and North USA (Tundra areas) until it reaches NYC, one that enters Europe travels through the Atlantic Ocean (way warmer thanks the factors mentioned above), warming it self under the influence of this current.

So basically, New York is influenced by Continental or land based temperatures, while Paris is influenced by the oceanic temperatures, following the premise that the weather system at their latitude in general moves from west to east.

Another consequence of these ocean streams is, for instance, the foggy aspect of San Francisco in summer. The warm air in this season over the city bumps into the cold air over the ocean due to the cold current of California, creating this awesome foggy image. In the Mediterranean Sea, there isn’t any current (cold or hot), so unfortunately this phenomenon doesn’t happen.

Finally, if you are stuck between  summer in Miami or the Canary Islands, I would recommend you the latter, in order to avoid dangerous (although beautiful) hurricanes. But why, being at the same latitude, there’s such a big difference in the weather of this areas? Mainly there are 2 reasons.

The first one is that hurricanes in the Northern hemisphere form at tropical and subtropical latitudes and then tend to move toward the West-Northwest. In the Atlantic, such a motion often brings the hurricane into the vicinity of the East Coast of the U.S.

The second factor is the difference in water temperatures between these two areas. Along the East Coast of the USA, the Gulf Stream provides a source of warmth ( 26.5 degrees Celsius waters), which helps to feed up the hurricane. In the Canary Islands, however, ocean-surface temperatures rarely rise above the low 20º C, even in the middle of summer. Such relatively cool temperatures do not provide enough thermal energy to sustain a hurricane’s strength.

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As we know, New York has been the inspiration for many songs and movies, witness of thousands of kisses and goodbyes… and also the city where all the best and craziest plans start. Musicals, open air activities, concerts, fruits meetings or private jazz concerts are an example of them. But what if I told you that there is a new and original way of watching a show and being part of it at the same time?

That’s what “Sleep no More” is about. Now you have two options: keep reading and discover the crazy world around this show or go and live it yourself (in this case, stop reading. It does contain spoilers)

So there we were, in front of an old and creepy building, made out of bricks. So far, no surprises. That’s the only information we had from the friend who recommended us this. There started the adventure. Right away we paid, a kind man gave us each an ordinary but spooky card (French deck) and went along with us until we got into a marvellous, oldie, stylish and cosy room. There, people, jazz and drinks mixed up in a 30s atmosphere.

3 of hearts! was shout out. It was my turn to leave. My friend stayed. I was given a mask, like the other 5 people that had had the same card. We got in an elevator. The adventure begins. Randomly, we were getting off in different floors of the hotel. I totally felt that I was in another time, in another place.

There were people with masks. Just like me. And some others without. Those were actually actors, performers. And these guys were, at some point, acting in front of us and the acting was sometimes wild! I remember watching sword fights, fake murders or even naked people having sex before my very eyes! And suddenly, just like a break in the story, the performers were running out of the room to carry on the story somewhere else: and most surprising fact: all of the ‘audience’ does just the same: follows the actors to know what’s coming next. It puts one in a very tricky position: as if we were kind of forced to watch the scenes behind our mask, just like perverse.

Having noticed that everyone was trying to follow whatever story was going on, I decided to do the same and create my own story : “If there’s a door, try to open it. If there’s a character passing by, follow him or her.” You go with it, not sure what to expect. You pass through dark hallways, find yourself in the middle of a lover’s quarrel, wander into hidden rooms, encounter a visibly disturbed naked woman shivering in a bathtub. It’s so believable, and the line between what is real and what is theatre is so blurred. It’s like an intricate acid trip, forcing you to suspend all disbelief without even realizing it.

Running through the five floors of the hotel and with enough time, you could see the interactions between the different characters and what was happening. Some of them caught me and told me secrets, gave me tea and cookies..everything was weird. I definitely knew that something big was happening around me. A story. And that probably I was being the witness of it. And that’s how it was. Throughout the course of three hours, you begin to morph into an actor. I won’t tell you the writer nor the piece which I became a character of 4 hours long . I will just tell you that you will feel lucky to be part of one the most played pieces in history of one of the best writers of all times.

Now is time for you to enjoy it, for being part of it and to sleep no more.

The post Sleep No More. A Surreal Dive Into Immersive Theater appeared first on Brussels Express.

To start we are going to visit the coldest place. And no, it isn’t  Antarctica, and yes, people live there. The name is Oymyakon, located in Russia and it holds the world record of lowest temperature: -71.2 ºC ! By the way, right now Oymyakon is still experiencing temperatures below zero degrees. Not bad. Schools are (obviously?) open until it reaches -50 ºC. Unfortunately, there are no heating pipes because obviously those would freeze when this low temperature breaks in.

Then, we have to travel to India to see the rainiest place in the world: Mawsynram. There is rarely a day that precipitation doesn’t occur, with the majority of rain driven by lengthy monsoon seasons where constant rain for 24 hours is normal, particularly in the Bay of Bengal. Actually this town is near a mountain named ‘The abode of clouds’ because its annual rainfall is 11,871 liters per square meter. This is a town where its stone paths rapidly turn into waterfalls.

If we want to get to know the opposite to this last place,  we have to take a plane and go to the region of Yungay, in the Atacamas desert. You get chills when you read that it has been 400 years since this place has even smelled one single drop of rain. Interestingly, the level of relative humidity of its earth is comparable to some places in Mars, as it was proved by the last data given by the Curiosity Rover.

Finally, in the so-called Death Valley (USA), we find the hottest place on Earth. It reached 56.7ºC in 1913!  The depth and shape of Death Valley influences its summer temperatures when heat radiates back from the rocks and soil then becomes trapped in the valley’s depths.

As you can see, sometimes the extremes are beautiful, wonderful and different. Necessary qualities to make them your next trip.

Which one would you dare to go to?

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Today is Saturday and I am certainly not cloistering myself home on a Saturday! But when I look throughout the window, I see some dark and thick clouds looming on the horizon: they are nimbostratus clouds. I identified them in a blink because they are quite wide and look as if they are illuminated from within. They are carrying rain, that’s for sure. But the bad thing about this kind of clouds is that they can act for a long time normally with soft rain. Just as a note, these clouds tend to form ahead of a warm front. It seems like I may not be grabbing my coffee out on a terrace but I am definitely not letting this poor weather ruin my day.

Malasaña, one of my favourite neighbourhoods of Madrid. It literally starts one street away from my apartment. I lose myself through the streets: Calle La Palma, Calle Espiritu Santo, Calle Pez and consider the countless coffee shops on my way: La Lolina, Toma Café, Café Sansejo but I actually know precisely where I am going. I am heading to the Café de la Luz. It is that one place I love the most to sit back on a rainy day and I’d recommend it to anybody willing chill for a little while.

Small café but such a cosy place! Very nicely decorated and they serve delicious coffee.

Everything about this place makes it warm and welcoming, starting with the furniture: the wooden tables, comfortable chairs and sofas  make you feel like you are in a cocoon and what’s not to be missed, of course, is the well thought out lighting which probably owes the Café its name: one feels discretely surrounded by a mixture of styles going from a beautiful Victorian lampshade with fringe to Bauhaus pendant lights that give you a glimpse of the Roaring Twenties.

Also, the atmosphere of the café is quite unique. Having lived in some major busy European capital cities, I have always struggled finding quiet places to write, read or work on my computer. I mean, I am not talking about getting to the first Starbucks I come across, come one guys, let’s be a bit more authentic!

I can tell you I spent many afternoons in the Café de la luz with or without company. It’s not silent there, but it is not loud and agitated either! Just the perfect balance! This is the kind of place you want to bring your romantic date to or meet up with that old friend of yours you haven’t seen in months!

By the way, It rained. Actually a lot, but… let just Fall be Fall.

To be noticed: the café offers a variety of double-flavoured fruit smoothies that are absolutely divine! My favourite one: the banana-strawberry smoothie.

The address: Calle Puebla, 8, 28004 Madrid, Spain. Metro Gran Via –

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The Netherlands can be proud, for instance, of being home to more bikes than people, or for being the lowest country in Europe.  60% of its population lives 5 meters below sea level. Also, why not, of having the tallest man in the world or being the first country to legalize gay marriage. But if something is really worth highlighting in The Netherlands it is the magical atmosphere created around their canals, and not only Amsterdam takes center stage, Utrecht also plays its part.

As the veins of this city, the canals nourish the heart of Utrecht, well known for its students population, coffee shops, wonderful restaurants and sure, its booming nightlife.

So would it be possible to enjoy said nightlife via Utrecht’s canals? Whilst shaking our bodies at the same time?

Yes it is, and I’m totally in! Even if it seems crazy, it’s possible without having a drink in hand. I’m talking about doing a canoe tour along the Utrecht roots and it’s so beyond belief. This unique plan under the moonlight (only enjoyable if you travel to the city from May to October), brings you to secret corners and gives you another perspective of the city, as I said, from the inside. Delight in the colors, its lights, its history… and appreciate the beauty of nature present in the city center. Along the way you can also stop for a break in a pub with a well-deserved Trappist beer. This adventure normally lasts around 3 hours; time enough to absorb all the beauty of your surroundings. But take note! Even in the driest month of May, don not forget to bring thick jackets, the sun can be out there but the cold goes along with it the whole year. As for any other time of year remember: Lightweights with rainwear for summer, waterproof and warmer clothing for winter. An umbrella and a sweater are necessary almost any time of year.

And now you are prepared for any weather eventuality, it’s time to lose yourself in the canals of time. Immerse yourself. Be part of it.

Travel with it.

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But what if I told you that all of this happened to me and a group of five friends in Khao Sok (Thailand)? What If I told you that Khao Sok is a national park with a big lake in the middle of the country where some natives still live in some floating wooden apartments? Well, maybe that feeling would immediately turn into something big and grateful.

Yes. There we were. Consciously lost in the middle of nowhere. A beautiful nowhere full of water, mountains and super high and tiny trees, as if they wanted to reach the sky. And us. And them. A native family that kindly hosted us, making us live one of the best experiences of our lives.

Eating the marinated fish that we were swimming with a few minutes before (delicious, by the way). Recollecting mushrooms in that jungle, where the silence is mixed up with the noisy tweet of birds. A jungle where the most poisonous snake of Thailand freely spends its days. We were lucky, obviously, not to have the pleasure of seeing it.

We spent the evenings kayaking around the lake, as if we were trying to know every nook and cranny of it. Breathing pure oxygen. And the best part: that haunted sunset seen from our floating apartment. Being there was just an incredible experience, not payable with money. Simply crazy.

But even crazier was the journey there. First, a random car took us to the middle of a random forest. From there, we got a random but colorful bus that drove us to a random edge of the lake. With improvised sign language, and after coffees and hours, we got the chance to meet someone who took us to that floating village.

Two words: magical and green. Magical because honestly, that boat trip seemed to be the genuine inspiration of the movie Avatar, with those sharp hillocks coming from the water with force as trying to meet the clouds. It was so much like that. Breathtaking. Green because the climate of Thailand is warm, wet and moody. The warm sea that surrounds the country plus its location (the so-called Intertropical Convergence Zone), make this an area of ascending air which turns into heavy rainfall during the wet season (from May until September).

As you can see, sometimes being lost in the middle of nowhere can be exactly the place you want to be.

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But don’t worry, because absolutely everything in Iceland is wonderful to discover under any conditions. Actually, there’s one natural wonder that touched me above all, no matter if it’s rainy, sunny or stormy: I’m talking about waterfalls here! And even more precisely, the falls of the southern part of the island.

I will start by saying this: even if the biggest (and most popular, touristic) one is the renowned Gulfoss Waterfall and you surely need to see it, I was most impressed by three other ones that were bolder, wilder and truly operating magic!

The first of them is the Seljalandsfoss waterfall. It is pure majesty, 65 meters high (213 ft) and tons of water flowing. So there I was, standing like an idiot, slack-jawed with wonder. Artwork. Mother Nature really nailed it. Couldn’t take my eyes off it. And you couldn’t either!

But if you did, just for a minute, you would also notice a muddy path going all the way around the fall, leading you right into the wild, as if you were part of Earth. Special feature of the waterfall, the narrow path takes you behind the scenes, backstage, on the other side of a huge theatre water curtain, safe and sound … watch your steps though, it’s slippery!

The second fall is actually less than 10 minutes away by walk, but it is so hidden and unknown that you have to know how to get there.

Back to Seljalandsfoss, when you’re facing this first waterfall, take a left and walk across the fields. At some point, you’ll get to a river filled with stones. This is where the adventure begins.

Pluck up all the courage you have, put on your most resistant shoes and start migrating upstream jumping skilfully from one rock to the next until you reach the high cave and discover the treasure: a giant cascade falling from a bright hole. You have arrived to Gljúfrabúi, take your time. Feel it. Live it.

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