Wrigley Building

The Wrigley Building is an iconic Chicago landmark built with French Renaissance details and a “wedding-cake” like tower on top.  It’s one of the few business locations in the world where no other address than the name is needed.  It sits in a prime location on Michigan Avenue right on the Chicago River.  At night the building is lit with flood lights that light up its façade in the most dramatic and inviting way.  The building was completed between 1921 and 1924 as the headquarters for the Wrigley Chewing Gum Company and was one of the very first business buildings to be located north of the Chicago River.  The building achieved another Chicago ‘first’ being the first office building to be air conditioned in the city.

When I was working in Chicago, I lived just one block from the beautiful landmark and I enjoyed seeing it every day that I was there.

Floris Generica

Floris Generica is the name of a huge steel and aluminum sculpture in the city of Buenos Aires Argentina.  It sits in a park above a reflecting pool in the Plaza de las Naciones Unidas.  It was a gift to the city from Argentine architect Eduardo Catalano who is quoted as saying his flower “ is a synthesis of all flowers and is a hope that is reborn every day to open”.  It was created in 2002.  The sculpture was designed to close its petals at night and reopen every morning when the sun shines although, currently the mechanism to control this movement is disabled. 

It certainly is a beautiful piece that I enjoyed photographing from every angle.

Puente de la Mujer

Puente de la Mujer translates to "Bridge of the Woman" and it is a pedestrian bridge located in the Puerto Madero district of Buenos Aires Argentina.  The bridge was designed by Santiago Calatreva and is probably one of the most recognized sights in this area of the city.  The thing I found most interesting is that it is supposed to symbolize a couple dancing the tango.  I didn't get that when I was photographing it.

A Proper Parliament Building

The Parliament building in Edmonton Alberta, Canada is a grand structure worthy of a government building.  It's located on a promontory overlooking the North Saskatchewan River valley and on the former location of Fort Edmonton.  That fountains in the plaza add to it's distinguished look.

Arizona Mining Town

Main street in Superior Arizona looks a bit ramshackle and deserted but you can't disregard that dramatic mountain backdrop.  Superior is a mining town with copper mines just a few miles away.  The town itself is a little run down but there are still quite a lot of residents to keep things going.

The La Mina bar is still open for business.

In spite of the town's downtrodden look, I still found some large and dramatic homes within the city.  The one above has a huge balcony and an artistic mural painted along the front.

Sinalunga

While driving around in Tuscany, I spotted one of those picturesque hilltop towns in the distance and we decided to take a look at it.  We arrived at the Piazza Garibaldi right in front of the Collegiate Church of St. Martin, a Renaissance-Baroque style church pictured above.  The church was dedicated in 1588 and restored in 2010.

We walked the sleepy streets and found lots of very old buildings lovingly maintained like the one above.  The town dates back to the 12th century and up until 1864 it was known as Asinalunga.

We spent close to two hours there walking the hilly and twisting streets looking at the doorways and courtyards of the old buildings.  It was so peaceful and quiet, it was a pleasure to enjoy the architecture and views.