Yellow bike in Yorkshire

Curiously the Tour the France did not start in France this year, but from the beautiful English county of Yorkshire. And this was how the people received the cyclists: flowers, hanged bikes, jerseys sticked on the windows...About 1.5 million went to see their favorite cyclists, but if these were Froome, Cavendish or Wiggins, they were not very lucky...Froome crashed and retired, Cavendish as well, and Wiggins was not even selected for the team. Tough life for the English this year!

Maillot jaune

Today was the last day of the tour de France. Portuguese Rui Costa had to give up because of a bronchitis but the others (Tiago Costa, Nélson Oliveira, Sérgio Paulinho and José Mendes still arrived to the end). Last year I was in Paris watching the arrival of the tour and I was surprised by the speed they cycle. In fact, we can hardly recognise who is who - that's why this stage is for the sprinters! Before the cyclists, normal people like me, who previously registered for the event, can cycle the final lap and wear the yellow jersey. So, I can say my ridgeback already experimented the tour de France!

On a similar note, I have watched two great documentaries at the Belmont Filmhouse (Aberdeen) and another at the BBC that I recommend: One is about Marco Pantani (The accidental death of a cyclist) and the others about Lance Amstrong (The Amstrong Lie, Storyville: The Lance Amstrong Story). I was impressed with the size of the lie and I do often ask myself if big liars can be trusted back again. I deeply doubt it.

Colorful cubism of Amadeo Souza Cardozo

Besides working in interesting topics, meeting fascinating people, travelling and being learning all the time, working in academia gives what most of other jobs do not give us: flexibility! And with it I went to Portugal to celebrate my birthday with my parents, family and friends. I also took advantage to go to Lisbon and participate in the big festivities of the city (Santo Antonio), which are, obviously, on my birthday! And I even had time to be surprised as I went to visit the Berardo Collection Museum, considered one of the best free entry museums of Europe. No wonder! The collection is very complete in terms of modern art currents and I just managed one floor!! I definetly recommend it. The painting in the photo is from Portuguese cubist and futurist painter Amadeo Souza Cardoso (1987-1918).

Red rose at Kiasma

Recently I went back to Helsinki. It has been the third time in less than two years. I tought there was not much more to see anymore, but I knew I was wrong as soon as I had this thought. Helsinki has a taste of Eastern European city: its buildings, its light, its street markets, its music festivals...A visit to the nearby island proved worthwile as the sun was shinning and the sea was very blue. And as in the last 10 years my interest for contemporary art has been growing at the speed of light, I made sure I did not miss the museum of contemporary art of Helsinki, Kiasma. An interesting building with a curious collection. This red rose was made of candies and it was tempting not to steal one.

Brown stains on seabird eggs

Climbing in May allowed me to have a proper look at the diverse egg nests built on the top of sea cliffs and to face angry mothers wanting to protect them. Climbing in June allowed me to face "ugly" chicks and mothers telling me off to keep away from their chicks :-).

Orange beaks of cute puffins

Puffins (Fratercula arctica) are these cute little things that come to the Scottish sea cliffs during May and June to lay their eggs and bring up their chicks. They make a sound that resembles human voice to me. It is fascinating to observe them, flying from incredible heights and diving into the water to find fish for their offspring. These come every year to the bird reserve south of Aberdeen  (Fowlsheugh). Climbing in the cliffs is another way of observing their feeding activities, and I was fortunate to watch it some weeks ago.