2014 Review: Travel

This year we've traveled to some familiar places as well as a couple for the first time.  Mostly the trips have been for the FIA World Endurance Championship or the European Le Mans Series but we also too personal trips to Skye and the Outer Hebrides and also to Lake Como in Italy.

PARIS
The first trips of the year were to Paris for regular meetings at the main offices of Le Mans Endurance Management and the launch of the 2014 championship.  This gave me many opportunities to photograph the French capital, sometimes during the day but mainly at night. PARIS 1 :  PARIS 2 : PARIS 3 : PARIS 4 : PARIS 5

MARSEILLES
The next trip of note was for the official tests for the launch of the ELMS and WEC at the Circuit Paul Ricard in the South of France.  The was one day where we were able to take a trip to La Ciotat and to the harbour front in Marseilles.  LA CIOTAT : MARSEILLES

BRUSSELS
In April we visited the Autoworld Museum in the centre of Brussels to launch the WEC 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps which is located in the old quarter of the Belgian capital.  BRUSSELS

IMOLA
A few weeks later we were in Italy at the world famous circuit at Imola.  We managed to get one evening to explore the old part of the town centre.  IMOLA

LE MANS
My 50th birthday was spent at the official test weekend for the 24 Hours of Le Mans and we went down to the old part of the city for a meal. LE MANS 1 : LE MANS 2 

LONDON
After Le Mans we visited London for a family weekend in the capital and took in the sights of Greenwich and Canary Wharf.  LONDON 1: LONDON 2

AUSTRIA
After a trip to the Outer Hebrides, which will covered in a later review of 2014 on Scotland, the next trip was to the Styrian Alps in Austria.  The Red Bull Ring is located on the side of a mountain and an early walk before breakfast saw me walking through flower meadows as the sun appeared over the mountains. AUSTRIA

LAKE COMO
In August we took a family holiday on Lake Como in Italy.  We booked an apartment above the lake and spent the next seven days exploring this part of northern Italy which is right next door to the Swiss border.  LAKE COMO 1 : LAKE COMO 2 : LAKE COMO 3

AUSTIN
The next trip was the first of five long haul destinations, this was to Austin, Texas.  Because our hotel was located downtown is was fairly easy to walk up to the state capitol building and take some shots at night. AUSTIN

TOKYO
The next trip was to Fuji in Japan and we had planned to drive down to Kyoto to see the old capital city of Japan.  However a very strong typhoon swept across Japan on the day we arrived and this disrupted all travel plans, which meant we had to stay in Toyko for two nights.  This wasn't a major problem but hopefully next year we will be able to get to Kyoto.  TOKYO 1 : TOKYO 2 : TOKYO 3

SHANGHAI
Next stop was China but we never got see much of the country outside of the hotel or the race circuit because time was so short.  However we did get plenty of images in and around the circuit, which is one of the most architecturally striking tracks in the world. 
SHANGHAI 1 : SHANGHAI 2

BAHRAIN
Another country where we have no time to see anything but the circuit and the hotel. However both of these in Bahrain are very striking photographically speaking. BAHRAIN

SAO PAULO
Brazil hosted the final race of teh 2014 FIA World Endurance Championship and Sao Paulo is a city of contrasts.  On the way back to the airport we were taken through some of the districts we don't normally get to see and the slow traffic enabled me to shoot plenty of street scenes during the two hour journey. SAO PAULO

DOHA
Immediately after Sao Paulo we flew to Doha, the capital of Qatar for the FIA Awards Gala. The hotel where we were staying had a beach front that had a view across the bay to the shiny skyscrapers of Doha.  QATAR

LONDON
We then flew straight back to London for the Autosport Awards in Mayfair.  This gave us the opportunity to shoot the Christmas lights in the UKs capital, which were pretty impressive. LONDON CHRISTMAS

And that was the trips we took in 2014.  We traveled to four continents and visited eleven different countries outside of the UK - Belgium, Italy, France, Austria, USA, Portugal, Japan, China, Bahrain, Brazil and Qatar.

The next 2014 review will be closer to home with a look at the pictures we've taken in and around Scotland. 

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