London Buildings

I fell in love with London as I mentioned in my previous post. Don't get me wrong, I'm a New Yorker at heart and love my city...but it was pretty amazing to feel a strong connection to another city. There were parts of London that reminded me of New York, and there were other parts that truly defined the unique character of the city--setting it apart from anything I had every known.

The architecture was truly impressive so I'm going to dedicate this post to some of the beautiful buildings we saw during our long walks.

At Buckingham Palace the flag was flying and we saw smoke rising from the chimney...which means the Queen was in residence. So cool!
Big Ben did not disappoint and glowed in the unexpected sunshine.
We walked across the Westminster Bridge, stood on the other side of the River Thames and looked at the beautiful architecture of the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben. I pictured Monet, sitting in the same spot in 1905, working on his painted interpretation as 'Houses of Parliament, London'
We were very lucky to have gorgeous weather on Sunday. And with that, I bring you the Houses of Parliament with a burst of sunshine. I love how this photo makes me feel all warm inside :)
Westminster Abbey was bigger than I expected and full of intricate details.
One of my favorite historical experiences was seeing the Tower of London. I had just finished reading about Anne Boleyn and Elizabeth I of England and seeing the place where they were both imprisoned first hand was a bit surreal. The characteristics of the architecture were simple, understated and yet, very powerful.
And on to things a bit more modern...we spent a cold, rainy afternoon on Saturday at the Tate Modern. The museum's collection was really interesting, but I found the architecture of the building itself artistic in its own right.
Next post I'll be bringing you the bridges of the River Thames. Until then...

Cheers!

a whole new world

Sometimes you're lucky enough to pick up a book and it isn't *just* a book...it's a world you visit that becomes as real as any reality you've ever known...and in some very special cases, the characters in the book aren't really characters, but friends.
I haven't had this happen many times in my life. And as we all know, I read. A lot. So when a book this special comes along, I like to cherish it and even share it.

'Anne of Green Gables' is one of those worlds that I still love to visit to this day. I can close my eyes and see Anne (with an 'e') and Diana and Gilbert, Matthew and Marilla.
'Atlas Shrugged' is another world - different but equally precious. I can't tell you how many times I've wished someone would come and whisk me away to Galt's Gulch.
And just recently I spent a few days in post-WWII London and the island of Guernsey with a group of people who I completely fell head over heals in love with. 'The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society' is a beautiful book, written as a collection of letters between different characters. It was simple and clear and honest and the relationships that developed were tender and true. I wasn't expecting to feel this way, but I did.

Which, if you think about it, truly supports the old adage "don't judge a book by its cover."

Whomping Willow

For those Harry Potter fans out there, I wanted to share the photo I took of my very own whomping willow while I was walking around Kensington in London.

I even checked the trunk to see if it was hiding a secret passage way to the Shrieking Shack. No luck there, but it was fun to gaze up at its glorious spider-like branches.

UK . Part I

I took a lot of pictures in the UK -- I was super excited to be there. And it's really hard to just pick a few to share, so this is probably going to be a 3 part series (one for each day we were there).

The first few days I was in Brighton for work and in order to stay awake the first afternoon I went for a long walk outside. It was freezing and completely did the trick. I was able to see part of Brighton with my camera, which is a beautiful, vibrant city.

One of my favorite parts of the city is the oceanfront boardwalk. It had been snowing for awhile so there was a beautiful, light, white dusting on the beach.
The Brighton Pier was a lot of fun to photograph as it was completely empty. It was eerily quiet and I did let my imagination get the best of me, worrying that something out of a Stephen King novel was going to happen. But I took a deep breath, focused on my camera and thankfully it made for really beautiful pictures.
Not only was the pier empty, but so was the beach.
This particular signage made me laugh so I had to take a photo...not only do their cars drive on different sides of the road, but their bikes do too. I almost got run over a few times and realized the best way to handle the situation would be to always look both ways when crossing a street (and in this case a sidewalk pier) *smile*
Thankfully in London they let you know which way to look. I wonder how many lives this saved?
Brighton was a lot of fun and I was really lucky to have the chance to experience such a beautiful city. I was even more excited to have the chance to spend the weekend in London, exploring a city that I have wanted to visit for years. I fell in love with the sites, but more specifically the words. I was enamored by the unique phrases that you don't hear in the US and I found myself sitting in pubs and cafes just so I could listen to people talk. And I had a lot of fun finding examples in everyday signage while walking around.

land of Shakespeare and Harry Potter

You could say I'm super excited. Really really excited. I'm on my way to the UK next week for work and have embraced the chance to spend a few days as a tourist in the land of Shakespeare and Harry Potter. I plan to go to museums, see as many historic sites as I can, and have afternoon tea. I don't usually drink tea (or any hot beverage for that matter), but as they say 'when in Rome...'

If you have any 'must-sees' please send them my way. I love an adventure.

And in the spirit of my home for the next week, I thought I would recount some Shakespeare out of my dusty memory. If I ever had the inclination to act, my dream would have been to play Puck from 'A Midsummer Night's Dream.'

If only to read his epilogue...

'If we shadows have offended,
Think but this, and all is mended,
That you have but slumber'd here
While these visions did appear.
And this weak and idle theme,
No more yielding but a dream,
Gentles, do not reprehend:
if you pardon, we will mend:
And, as I am an honest Puck,
If we have unearned luck
Now to 'scape the serpent's tongue,
We will make amends ere long;
Else the Puck a liar call;
So, good night unto you all.
Give me your hands, if we be friends,
And Robin shall restore amends.'

Cheers!

a few of my favorite things

raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens...
bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens...
these are a few of my favorite things :)

In addition to my photography, I thought it would be fun in 2010 to use this blog to also share some other parts of my life. To start things off, examples of a few of my favorite things...
All images are from www.sundancecatalog.com

Most weekends you'll find me in a soft, flowy dress or shirt. I love lilac. And layers.I am a huge fan of jewelry--especially when it is hand made by artisans. Jewelry is such an intricate artform and my favorite part is that when you're done creating, you have something beautiful to wear and accent your outfits.
How delicate and elegant...

Shine and shimmer...next to green amethysts I think white sapphires might be one of my favorite stones.
And crochet...oh how fun the patterns are. I could probably spend all of the money I make at Sundance. For now, it's a fun place I go for inspiration and an occasional splurge.

rest & relaxation

Sometimes you just have to get away. Because even if you're relaxing at home, you always find 'stuff' to do like laundry and dishes and cleaning...and to truly get away from it all, you just have to take yourself out of the normal every day surroundings and explore some place new.
And that's exactly what we did right before New Years this year.
Our time away in Vermont was complete with a 12 inch snow storm, an epic scrabble game, a roaring fire, a tennis game, a spa treatment to rock your world, and a 2 hour nap. Yummy food and lots of 'just us' time also made an appearance. It was perfect and exactly what I needed.

And now, our quick r&r trip as seen through my lens.