Last October, I went on a five-week trip to Hawaii to visit my uncle and his wife, who moved there a few years ago and started a farm. Besides growing all sorts of delicious fruits and vegetables, they grow coffee, which was the primary reason for my visit. I made a few short videos about coffee processing and about their farm and a website for their coffee business. What’s more, I got to experience the whole process from tree to cup and learned a whole lot about the wonderful plant. They live in Kailua-Kona, on the west side of Hawaii’s Big Island.

Just like that, the new year has begun. Reason enough to look back on some of 2016’s highlights. A lot of travels, a lot of work, a very busy year. Yet, it was filled with great moments and produced good memories. So many things have happened and changed in my life and around it.

In September, Seraina and I went to New York City. It was my first trip there in a while and the first ever trip for Seraina, so I was super excited to take her to all the beautiful places and show her everything I love about this city. Or at least as much as we could fit in two weeks, which was quite a bit. And of course, we had to go and see Times Square, Brooklyn Bridge, Lady Liberty and all the other famous sights as well.

Back in August, my parents were kind enough to let me use their car for a few days so Seraina and I went on a 3-day trip to Italy, visiting four cities and one friend. First stop was the not so touristy but very beautiful city of Bologna, where we found a nice little room right next to the city center. The next day, we had lunch in Florence, before driving on to Siena to visit our dear friend Manuel at his parents’ wonderful country house. This place was magical.

I hadn’t been to New York City since September 2014. This September – two years later – I finally got to go back. Seraina and I bought a super cheap ticket and booked us a nice and cozy Airbnb in Bed-Stuy.
Luckily, we were able to schedule our trip so I could attend NYCWLK 2.0, a photo walk initiated by Johnny and Rebecca Patience. I didn’t attended the walk the previous year, neither have I been to LNDNWLK, so I didn’t really know what to expect. In addition to the walk, they offered a black & white photography and darkroom printing workshop, which I signed up for.