a kaleidescope of winter (?!) color

we’ve been having such beautiful weather in santa barbara lately, it eerily feels a little too similar to summer.  i keep reading reports about wild snow storms that have taken over the streets of new york, but i’ll be damned if i don’t have to check my calendar every day to make sure that it is indeed january.

so here are some colors that remind me of a beach ball, in hopes that maybe it will help spread some sunshine.

…i’m sorry that sounded so cheery, i think the sun has started to melt my brain.

 

images with thanks to gene davis, anthropologie, audree lapierre, alyson fox, brian ferry and unknown.

ze czech republic

prague is undeniably a beautiful city.  the old town is bathed in pastels, spires  and… tourists.  once you are able to block out the latter, you really start to appreciate just how beautiful it all is.  it hits you right about the time when the moon is hanging right above the castle, lighting up the charles bridge and everything it connects.

prague is full of character too…  everyone and everything from the people to the marionettes.

deutschland

from copenhagen we headed to berlin, a city that i’ve learned so much about, and yet had no pre-conceived notions about what it would be like.  since it’s only been twenty years since the berlin wall has come down, it felt very much like a relatively young city trying to figure out who it wanted to be, which lent itself to many great neighborhoods to explore.  i must admit that i didn’t expect to like germany as much as i did, but in both berlin and munich, we had such a great time.

here are a few pictures from the east side gallery, the part of the berlin wall that has since been painted by various artists from around the world:

there are memorials found all around the city, some not as obvious as others, as is the case with the used book sale which happens every day, rain or shine, in front of humboldt university… the site of the book burning during world war two.

and then, there’s the hotel where michael jackson held blanket out the window… which of course i had to get a picture of.

we then headed to münchen (munich) in the south, where we set our clocks by the glockenspiel, watched the deutschland world cup game at the chinese beer garden in the park, and ate sausage, saurkraut and pretzels to our hearts delight.

baby eends (ducks) + amsterdam

amsterdam is crazy. when you arrive at the central train station you are dropped off into the midst of trams and trains and canals and bicycles.  oh, the bicycles!

it’s a beautiful town to wander around and get lost in, but it was nice at the end of the day to actually leave the craziness for the calm relaxation of the lake right outside of the city where we were staying.

the city and the surrounding area (and pretty much the whole country) is made up of an intricate system of canals, which we enjoyed on a three hour boat tour into and around the city.  here are a few pictures of our adventures in amsterdam.

we also met some of the most interesting and nicest people in amsterdam.  it really is a city that is aware of, and celebrates, their eccentricities… which was very refreshing.

photos from myself and my traveling companion, katie.

a few things about bruges

there are a few things that come to mind when i think of bruges, belgium.

-waffles
-beer
-windmills
-frites

…and we tried them all.

i highly recommend renting a bicycle, finding your way to the farmers market in the central square and getting a fresh waffle with powdered sugar (they blew all the others we tried right out of the water).  once you are finished debating whether or not to get another one, buy some things for a picnic, strap them to the back of your bike and head out towards damme, a beautiful little town not too far away from bruges.

stained glass windows

so i’m finally back from my european travels!

the past two months have been a whirlwind of moving, seeing, eating and exploring.  i‘m just now digesting all that i have done and am in the process of trying to filter it down in order to share with you.

for my first post, it seems only appropriate to talk about something that was intricately woven throughout the countries i visited.  stained glass windows!! i now consider myself an expert on the subject.  there are bright, abstract, geometric, pastel, large, small, iconographic and decorative windows…. but all interesting in their own right.

here are just a few that i saw along my way:

toute la france

i probably should have picked up a copy of peter mayle’s a year in provence, seeing as today commences my seventeen day journey driving around france.

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heirloom tomatoes

this is the place where i talk about a recipe for heirloom tomatoes etc etc…  but really, i could just eat them like an apple.  just sprinkle a little sea salt on them, and you are good to go.

i can’t wait to visit the farmer’s market in santa barbara when i get home… they always have such a wide and delicious variety.

that’s really all i wanted to say about heirloom tomatoes.

picture from cannelle et vanille

more summer colors

sometimes i can’t help but group some photos because i like the colors that day…
so please excuse my random color palette posts.

images from peace and industry, united thread, edizioni and all the mountains.

off on an adventure

today i leave paris and begin my two month trip around france and the rest of europe.

i have some posts scheduled for you, as well as on natural history

and i will have plenty to share when i get back…

…so stay tuned.