September has happily begun with not-too-distant summer memories of places visited and joyfully explored. Prior to my trip to Spain at the beginning of August, l discovered the exuberant map ‘Barcelona, Spain’ illustrated by Farida Zamanvia the web platform ‘They Draw & Travel‘. Syncroncity at its magical best! Especially since it was just a few days before my flight that l caught sight of this colourful city guide.

Founded in 2011, by brother & sister (design and illustration team, Studio SSS) , Nate Padavick & Salli S. Swindell, ‘They Draw & Travel‘ – younger sibling site to the delicious ‘ They Draw & Cook‘,  is a pure celebration of illustrative maps and travel.

l adore the concept of reflecting the places we love through the visual voice of map illustration. Inviting artists from around the world to illustrate their unique perception of the places they have visited or perhaps even places where they live, Nate and Salli have opened a new window for us to discover and explore, and above all, generated inspiration to record our own travels through map-making.

Having fell under the charms of the incomparable, yet equally compelling Barcelona, and southern region of Andalucia, (2012) the maps (Barcelona, Spain, Farida Zaman / Andalucia, Spain, Benjamin Bay) will long keep aglow the warmth of these places visited.

l warmly invite you to submit a hand-drawn map of your favourite places to the TDAT website, or perhaps have a simple browse as inspiration for your next port of call. l for one, feel inspired to continue drawing, traveling and cooking!