Bryant Park

Here is a view of Bryant Park in New York City after a light rain has dampened the city.  It's such a beautiful little park right in the center of all the tall skyscrapers.  I wonder what that guy in the trench coat was up to?

Napa

Napa California is of course, well known for it's wines but, it is also a beautiful place to visit for the scenery.  Sprawling vineyards in every direction and many impressive wineries to tour and enjoy.

A glass of wine at the Opus One winery is not only treat for the taste buds but, it is also a treat for the eyes.  The facility is an architectural masterpiece.

Wonderful Architecture

This beautiful building in Buenos Aires Argentina was designed as a water pumping station in 1877.  It was designed by Swedish-Argentine architect Carols Nvstromer.  It occupies an entire city block and it still functions as a pumping station today.

It is described as a French Renaissance palace, covered with over 300,000 glazed, multi-colored terra cotta tiles imported from the British ceramics maker Royal Doulton.

Monsanto House of the Future

This photo goes way back in time.  It was taken in the late 1960's.  Does anyone else remember the Monsanto House of the Future at Disneyland as much as I do?  It was one of my favorite attractions back then when I was just a kid dreaming of a house of my own one day.  It was installed at Disneyland in 1957 and stayed there until 1967 and it was built to represent a house that would exist in 1986.  I remember this place so well; drapes that opened and closed electronically, kitchen cabinets that would glide up and down at the touch of a button, microwave oven, flat screen TV mounted on the wall, and a stove top that was built in to the countertop and almost invisible.  All things that are quite common today but were fodder for my young imagination back then.

I read on Wikipedia that the demolition and removal of the house from Disneyland was quite a project.  The reinforced polyester structure was so strong that the 1/2 inch steel bolts used in the foundation broke before the actual structure did.  Sounds like material that could be used in tornado alley and along the hurricane-prone coast lines.

Drinks with a view

Las Brisas is a Mexican Restaurant in Laguna Beach California that serves great Margaritas and food.

But, they might be most well known for their view.  Honest, this is the view from the patio of the restaurant.  That view makes it a very popular place.

Tango

A trip to Argentina wouldn't be complete without a night at a Tango Show.  

The White House

A night time shot of the white house taken during the Christmas Season.  I didn't have a tripod with me so I balanced the camera on a fence pole.  Boy was it cold!

Flatiron Building

Not the New York one but, the Arkansas one.  This building is in the busy little tourist town of Eureka Springs Arkansas.  The original building was built in 1880 but burned to the ground ten years later.  It was rebuilt but, that one burned down too.  Finally in 1987, this building was constructed all of concrete.  It now serves as a home to several businesses on the ground floor and hotel rooms upstairs.

Casa Rosada

Casa Rosada is the official executive mansion and office of the President of Argentina.  It is known officially as Casa de Gobierno or House of Government.  Many of us know it as the place where Eva Peron made speeches from the balcony.  Remember "Don't Cry for Me Argentina" from the musical "Evita"?

Cortona Italy

The city hall in Cortona Italy is decorated for a special ceremony that is about to begin.  We didn't know about the ceremony when we visited here last year, we just stumbled on it and loved every minute of the festivities.  Sometime in the future, I'll post some photos from that event.

Cortona is the city that became famous after Francis Mayes' book was published and later made into the movie "Under The Tuscan Sun".  In addition to that famous book, she has written several other books about Tuscany and her life there.  That fame has made Cortona a very popular place to visit while in Tuscany.

EPCOT

I was there for opening day ceremony at EPCOT part of the Walt Disney family of theme parks in Florida.  Since the opening day ceremony happened October 24, 1982, that will give you an idea of how old this photo is.  Pictured here is the building called Spaceship Earth.  The opening day ceremony was quite and event with young representatives from all over the world pouring traditional vessels of  water from the waters of their respective lands into one central fountain.  There were also dedication speeches, military fly overs and fireworks.  It was a very memorable day.

The Denver Art Museum

This whimsical art work sits just outside the entrance to the Denver Art Museum.

Here is another view of the museum's beautiful, modern building.  Yes, that is snow in the photo.  Even though I was there in the month of October, a winter storm plowed through and turned a beautiful 70 degree (21c) Saturday into a snow covered 30 degree (-1c) Sunday.

The weather in the mile-high city can change quickly.

Chicago Icon

There are four of these wonderful clocks, one on each corner of the former Marshall Field's department store in Chicago.  This huge store was so beautiful and my all time favorite place to shop when I was living in Chicago those two years in the 90's.  Marshall Field's was purchased by Macy's a couple of years ago and this beautiful place is simply not the same.

I was happy to see that they did leave the name plaques in place on the side of the building.

If any of you watched the PBS series "Mr. Selfridge", you my be interested to know that Harry Gordon Selfridge worked for Marshall Field's from 1887 to 1904 before moving to London and creating the fabulous Selfridge's in that city.

Vatican Museum

Anyone who visits Rome should plan a visit to the Vatican Museum, it really is the ultimate museum experience.  The crowds can be a bit overwhelming.  See those barricades to the left of the entrance?  That's where the crowds line up to get inside.  The best way to see the museum is to schedule a tour with a reputable guide.  That way you can bypass the line and you will get a fantastic tour of the museum with lots of explanation of what you are seeing.  Our guide met us and four other people at a restaurant directly across the street from this entrance and the six of us proceeded through the doors and on to a wonderful adventure inside this historic place.

Minute Man

The Minute Man National Historic Park near Concord Massachusetts commemorates the opening battles of the American Revolution on April 19, 1775.  It's a great place for a pleasant stroll especially in October when I visited many years ago.

You might even run into a character from history to help describe what life was like back then.

Colonia del Sacramento

The historic district of Colonia del Sacramento in Uruguay has been designated as a World Heritage site.  There you will find the Porton de Campo, the old city gate.

The city's history is a continuous back and forth battle between the Portuguese and Spanish from 1680 on.  In 1828 it became part of the independent country of Uruguay.  The city is a photographer's paradise with beautiful sites around every corner.  I'll show more photos from here in the future.  It was one of my favorite South American stops.

What light through yonder window breaks?

Down a narrow passage in the city of Verona Italy, one can imagine a scene from Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet while gazing upon this balcony that has been designated as the official Juliet balcony. It's located in a house that was once occupied by a real-life Capello family.  The place draws a huge number of tourists who come looking for a romantic tonic of one kind or another.

So much so, that in the same courtyard you can find this wall of colorful love-locks defining the eternal commitment of love-struck paramours from all over the world.

Verona has many genuine historic sights to see making it a wonderful place to visit even if you never wait in a line to get a peek at this tourist-packed fictional spectacle.

A Room with a View

Yesterday I posted an old photo from the mid 90's when I was working in St. Louis.  This photo is from a more recent trip to Missouri for pleasure this time.  I thought I'd show you the apartment building I lived in when yesterday's photo was taken.  It's the center of the three look-alike buildings along the edge of the park.  All three towers were identical.  The one furthest to the right was a senior living facility, the center one apartments, and the third one a Holiday Inn.  In the foreground is part of the lush green park that surrounds the Gateway Arch.

Missouri Fog

When I was working in St. Louis back in the mid 90's, the company I was working for arranged apartments for all the temporary help in a high-rise apartment building that overlooked the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial or as it's better known, the Gateway Arch.  I had a fabulous view out my apartment window of the arch and the Mississippi River and the park that surrounds the arch.  On this particular morning, there was a fog that covered the ground with just the arch peeking up through the clouds.  It was beautiful sight.

This is a scanned photo that has yellowed a little so it's not the best photo but it will have to do.  It's one I don't think I'll ever have an opportunity to re-take.

Tomorrow I'll show you a photo of the building I was living in at the time.

San Francisco Life

A row of beautiful house on a residential street in San Francisco.

Dates!

Near Palm Springs California and around the community of Mecca are numerous date farms.

You can drive the farm roads around this area and see miles and miles of date palms carrying their long strands of sweet fruit.  The farmers cover the clusters of dates with cloth or plastic bags to protect them from insects while they grow to maturity.  

Walking on a glacier

During the summer of 1989 I took a trip to Canada traveling with my parents in their brand new motorhome.  One of the stops we made was at the Athabasca Glacier which is part of the Columbia Icefields in the Canadian Rockies.  These giant "Terra Buses" take passenger up onto the glacier where you can get out and walk on that ancient ice.  That's my mom and dad in the photo above.

According to Wikipedia, in 2005 this place had the largest fleet of these snow coaches with only 2 others operating in Antarctica.

I occurred to me as I was writing this that back in 1989, Wikipedia didn't exist.  Now there is something to think about.

Time for some beach activity

Three friends enjoying the waves on the Langosta beach in Costa Rica.  

Life is good!

Napoleon

Napoleon stands guard over the Hotel des Invalides in Paris.

And that seems only fitting since his bones are entombed there inside in one of the grandest sarcophaguses I've ever seen.

The top of the world

Yesterday I said nothing beats driving the country roads of Colorado but, I'd have to say that taking a cable car to the top of Sass Pordoi in the Dolomites of Italy comes very, very close.  The cable car climbs 2,625 feet (800 meters) to the top with no support pillars in between.  It was an exhilarating ride.

At the top you are 9,678 feet (2950 meters) high and you really do feel like you have arrived at the top of the world.  In the top photo you see the cable car station somewhere about half way on the trip up and the photo just above shows the spectacular view in the direction we've just come.

The views in all directions were breathtaking!

Those country roads...

Nothing beats driving the country roads of Colorado.  Discoveries appear around every curve in the road and the scenery is inspirational.  This is near Telluride Colorado.

Cabot's Pueblo

Cabot's Pueblo is located in Desert Hot Springs California and is the work of Cabot Yerxa, a man described with many adjectives among them visionary, artist, writer, collector, adventurer, and idealist.  After traveling the world and studying in Paris, he homesteaded 160 acres of land in what is now Desert Hot Springs California.  He was 30 years old at that time.  Desperate for water, he hand dug a well using a pick and shovel and discovered the now famous hot springs that endowed the future city with its name.

In 1941 he began building his Hopi-inspired Pueblo using re-purposed materials most of which he found discarded in the surrounding desert.

He continued working on this project until his death in 1965 at the age of 81.  A remarkable man, he was an activist with a special concern for the legal rights and cultural issues facing Native Americans.

Cabot's Pueblo is now a museum honoring the man and his vision and is open for exploration and tours.  I visited in August, not the best time to visit Desert Hot Springs as I'm pretty sure it was even hotter there than it was in Phoenix.  In spite of that, I enjoyed the visit and found the place very interesting.  I have a lot of admiration for these men and women who came before us and have left legacies that inspire wonderment and delight.

New Shoes

When I travel I always keep my eye open to new sights and new experiences and I never pass up a shoe store without at least a peek in the window.  When I was in Italy last year, I passed this shoe store in the city of Parma and these whimsical shoes stopped me in my tracks.  I wasn't tempted to buy them but I couldn't resist a photo!

Skyline

Yesterday I featured the Statue of Liberty so today it seemed only fitting to show you what you see on the boat ride out to Liberty Island.  The clouds on this day were perfect to enhance the New York city skyline.

Lovely Lady

The Statue of Liberty is another one of the those landmarks that will be recognized by people all over the world.  When I visited, the statue itself was still closed to tourists but the museum at the base was open and you could still walk all around this magnificent statue on Liberty Island.  It really is an amazing sight.

State Capitol

The capitol building of the state of Montana in the city of Helena.  I was just passing through on my way to Canada and couldn't resist a photo of this handsome building.