Venezia, Italia - The Maze to Piazza San Marco

This I believe is my all-time favorite photo that I took.  It was a slightly drizzly fall day in Venice, and I was going around in a maze trying to find Piazza San Marco.  The map I bought at the railway station didn't help any even if it cost me €11 or €18 (whispers:  pretty souvenir though, with a high quality plastic packet/cover, hehe!).  But losing my way was still worth it 'cause I ended up exploring other areas and streets in Venice and came across the scene above.

It was of two people walking ahead of me.  They were in coats and hats.  And given the gloominess of the day, the aesthetics of Venice, and some dark underpinnings in the atmosphere of the scene, I had to capture this very Venice but not touristy scene (with a cellphone cam, alas, 'cause it was faster to just flip it out and shoot); before the two people walking ahead of me totally disappear from view.

I just love this photo and the characteristic Venice scene I feel it was able to evoke.  Glad the shot made it in time. And yeah, I made it to Piazza San Marco eventually.  :P

See my other Venice trip photos here and here.

Venezia, Italia - The Surreal Train Ride

After a Eurostar Trenitalia train ride from Florence, the scene above was what greeted me as I stepped out of the railway station in Venice.

Railway stations are of course similar wherever I went in Europe.  But on this Venice trip, I was really unprepared and quite stunned to behold the scene I captured above once out of the station.  Really unexpected, unique, and beautiful I just had to photograph it.  Hehe!

However, I must also say, there was one other moment I wish I had thought to photograph on this Venice trip. Like railway stations, a train ride is just about like any other train ride, except this one I took to Venice.  Because in the train on the way, as it got nearer to the station, there was an absolutely surreal scene.  So surreal and rather incredible that it just totally failed to enter my mind to photograph it.  It was like a scene off Hayao Miyazaki's Spirited Away...the train ride over the sea, minus the characters of course, hehe.  My train was seemingly gliding over the waters off Venice.  And I saw some gondolas and Venice structures afar.  Incredible.  I was really awed, so awed I failed to photograph it.  Lol!  Worth a return trip one day though, if only to record that train scene.  Perhaps next time.

Firenze, Italia - Of Whimsy, Cafe Bars and Gelato

Below are some of my favorite Florence, Italy trip pics.

I arrived in Florence on a rainy October night, after a long bus ride from Avignon, France.  I must say that my Florence trip is among my favorites.

The place is full of character.  Even the pension I stayed in used to be a religious property, along Via dei Seragli.  It's situated just across one of the old bridges spanning the Arno River.  And along the way, you get to walk past a few antique and design galleries with pieces I think you'd only find in Florence.  Very interesting indeed.

I like this photo 'cause it's a bit whimsical.  The Duomo is behind me and amid the gloom, there comes this burst of color and even more character from a lady's umbrella behind me; an umbrella with clouds against a sky blue background.  It's colors broke the gloominess of the photo's color theme as a consequence of the day's rainy fall weather -- a clean pop of white and blue against this gloomy backdrop.  Pretty fun seeing it.  Only in Florence I guess.  Lol.

2.  My cafe bar breakfast

Villeneuve Lez Avignon, France - A Recollection

Below is a collection of favorite photos I took while exploring the old part of the little town of Villeneuve Lez Avignon in France.  It's just across the River Rhone from the city of Avignon.  Avignon is actually the first city I went to on my first trip to France during the fall of 2005.  Not Paris.  So it has quite a memorable hold on me.  It also wasn't very touristy around that time I arrived, as compared with Italy, or Paris itself.  I was the lone tourist exploring the place, except for 3 Swiss visitors at Fort St. André.  Hehe!

 me and my map in hand, at the portal to Fort St.  André

1.  What seems to be an old church

Above is a bit of an arresting site.  I had to stop in my tracks and take a shot.  It seemed to be an old structure that was probably a church some long time ago, given the presence of a belfry at its top.  Or maybe it was actually still a church.  Add to that the structure of a low stone well in the foreground and I just had to photograph it.  hehe.


2.  Perspective of two schoolgirls walking

Two French schoolgirls probably walking home.  I like this scene and perspective when I chanced upon it.


3.  Old provincial French street

France on My Mind

These photos, taken in the fall of 2005 with my cellphone camera, were of my arrival and first trip to France. 

After bidding my Barcelona host thank you and farewell at the Barcelona Sants transport hub with kisses on each others' cheeks and some hugs, I took an overnight bus from Barcelona, and arrived in Avignon before sunrise. 

 exploring old Avignon on arrival

All the shops were closed. Not much cars and people on the streets. Everyone was still in bed. The night and the streets were quiet. I didn't know really where I was going and there was no one around really to ask. It seemed like I had everywhere to go and everything to see. But that I just had to have patience and wait an hour or two for daybreak before I can fully enjoy this freedom with more degree of equanimity.

Winter Song

I'm liking this music and video.. hehe! Winter Song by Sara Bareilles and Ingrid Michaelson. Animation by Crush Design.

Winter Songs from Crush Design on Vimeo.

Bum bum bum bum bum bum bum bum

Bum bum bum bum bum bum

Bum bum bum bum bum bum

This is my winter song to you.

The storm is coming soon,

It rolls in from the sea

My voice; a beacon in the night.

My words will be your light,

To carry you to me.

Is love alive?

Is love alive?

Is love

They say that things just cannot grow

Beneath the winter snow,

Or so I have been told.

They say were buried far,

Just like a distant star

I simply cannot hold.

Is love alive?

Is love alive?

Is love alive?

This is my winter song.

December never felt so wrong,

Cause you’re not where you belong;

Inside my arms.

Bum bum bum bum bum bum bum bum

Bum bum bum bum bum bum

Bum bum bum bum bum bum

I still believe in summer days.

The seasons always change

And life will find a way.

I’ll be your harvester of light

And send it out tonight

So we can start again.

Is love alive?

Is love alive?

Is love alive?

This is my winter song.

December never felt so wrong,

Cause you’re not where you belong;

Inside my arms.

This is my winter song to you.

The storm is coming soon

It rolls in from the sea.

My love a beacon in the night.

My words will be your light

To carry you to me.

Is love alive?

Is love alive?

Is love alive?

Is love alive?

Is love alive?

Is love alive?

Is love alive?

Is love alive?

Is love alive?

Is love alive?

Is love alive?

Is love alive?

Is love alive?

Is love alive?

Is love alive?

Is love alive?

Is love alive?

Dehydration

Turns out I've been dehydrated for several weeks already.  Exacerbated by travelling, and flights and not drinking enough water. No wonder then.  'Cause even I was wondering why I seemed to lack energy while on the road exploring, and was slow in movements until this week when things seemed to have gotten worse.  It's like you have the flu but you don't have the fever.   And the coughing was really strange and painful.

So I went to see a doctor yesterday and dehydration was the verdict + allergies.  It's just soooo hot lately that the doctor says these days make it even more imperative to drink plenty of water and he means mineral water in my case; not juice, sugary liquids, distilled water or any other derivative.

So after the doctor's visit we went to buy the meds he prescribed and get me some mineral water.  But which mineral water does my companion end up bringing to the car as we waited in the parking lot for her to return from the grocery?  Evian mineral water. "Natural mineral water from the French Alps" so the label says.  Waaaah!  The few 1.5L bottles she got of those cost about as much as what we pay for our water utility bill.  Lol!  Or we could have gotten about two to three times more of the one- to two-liter bottles of mineral water from local brands with the amount we shelled out for these Evian ones.  *sigh*

Good thing it doesn't seem to make me feel bloated, unlike most water I drink, especially cold ones (that's why I seldom drink plenty).  Oh well.  I'm a bit better now though.  No more painful and hard coughing.  Just have to drink that for a week more I guess. 

* photo from globalpackagegallery.com

Yellow Brick Road and KCRW

I'm currently liking hearing this song from indie artist duo Angus and Julia Stone called Yellow Brick Road.

I first heard it being played in the car stereo while I was on the road in L.A. a few weeks ago.  I liked the melody and it also had some words pertaining to California plus some pretty good guitar riffs that I thought "how apt" and made sure to research on it online.  Lol!

The radio station playing it was 89.9 KCRW.  It has since become one of my favorite radio stations.

screenshot of kcrw.com

They broadcast not just interesting music programs (like KCRW Eclectic24) but also cultural/arts review programs (deejays discussing/critiquing books, etc.) and news from NPR.

Polaroid Pogo

testing my Pogo: the 2" x 3" pics produced by the
device and the device printing my pic of the Eiffel Tower

I just bought a new toy called Polaroid Pogo. It's an ultra-portable photo printer which prints out 2" x 3" pics from a bluetooth enabled device (such as a cellphone or computer) or from a digital camera via USB.

I kind of had a few misgivings about buying one 'cause of a review I read by a photography person in the creative industry. But he was comparing it with a Fujifilm mobile printer which isn't available for sale anywhere except in Japan or eBay.

Poladroid!

the Poladroid app opened and processing a
photo I dragged and dropped to it, background is
the Firefox browser app with websites opened

I was searching for leads re where to find a Fujifilm mobile photo printer I've been wanting to buy and came across this application called Poladroid.

The Apple iPad and Why I'm Not Getting One, Yet

1. 64gb max capacity
- My 80gb Apple iPod Video 5.5 gen has less than 15gb available capacity now after all the multimedia items I archive to it. Do the math: 80gb total minus 15 free = 65gb used. 64gb? I might be the only one who thinks it but it just seems rather outdated.

I Just Like This Song

"So bizarre, yet so cliche

That every day is a new day

And all those candles can't
make me stay the same
Since I was born yesterday"

I first heard this on an episode of the TV series Felicity: Born Yesterday by indie artist Mike Schmid. I just like it. You can also find it here.

My Travel Habits and Essentials

For some reason, am more of a backpacker than anything else, even when I don't want to. It just makes things easier for me, especially since I bring tons of stuff with a carryon. No little purses for me when travelling. 

If you have a possible better suggestion regarding my carryon bag, please let me know. I'd really like to know how others can get by with a strolling bag or a bag you can't really store underneath a plane, bus, or train seat? 'Cause I don't have the build nor the frame to be able to carry such a bag over me and store in a plane or train's overhead bin without assistance. And I'd hate to inconvenience a fellow passenger/stranger by asking them to store it for me. Hehe!

Anyhoo, apart from the obvious, here are my travel must haves (or not) and one or two habits whenever I travel:




1. Travel documents
I have photocopies of travel docs in my check in luggage, soft copies with my email. Having shots of the docs in one's digital camera is quite a good idea I read in a forum.

2. Footwear
I always never forget to bring a pair of my super versatile Teva Olowahu model sandals. It's verrrry comfy even if you walk with it the whole day and through the night over sand and paved or cobblestoned streets... beats wearing my Diesel sneakers when I was in Europe.

my beat up Teva sandals in Germany

I use the same slippers in the hotel and bathroom/toilets. Hehe! If I can collect one in every color I will. Lol! Though of course you can't wear this in winter conditions outside. It's not sold in Manila anymore, to my dismay. Got my first pair at Bratpack 5 years ago (they don't sell Teva shoes anymore). And bought some more of this model on a U.S. trip last year.

3. No laptop
Yeah. Right. Easier said than done.

Nada mas...

Musings good enough to tweet but am blogging 'em here instead... :P

1. would like Christian Dior, IKEA, and H&M to open stores in Manila

2. Some people are lucky to have had Paul Krugman as their professor.

3. I admire Ben Bernanke, whatever happens.. hehe!

4. The U.S. (and possibly the rest of the world) is lucky to have a Paul Krugman, and a Ben Bernanke in the right place at the right time. Lol! See this.

5. Wish there were more iMax theaters around so I won't have to endure the stress and the crowds of Metro Manila congregating in one location (one reason I don't want to go to SM Mall of Asia or its cinema to see a movie on a weekend... Spare me puhlease... Gaah!) just so I can watch Avatar.

New Cellphone

Sony Ericsson T707

I just got myself a new cellphone. Replaced my old Sony Ericsson w800i Walkman phone with another Sony Ericsson, a T707 in lucid blue. My old SE still works except the camera's autofocus doesn't work as fast anymore, and I just got tired of it. Plus its casing has come a bit loose from its screws after I've dropped it more than a dozen times already (and it still works). It's been my phone for more than the past 4 years.

I've been hankering for a clamshell phone again and it's great that SE released a new set of clamshell design phones last year. I used to have a Sony Ericsson Z600 clamshell phone with striped casing design.

Z600 in stripes

Fishies

I have new pets... Hehe!

my little fishies

Someone gave me a couple of pet fishes as a gift last Wednesday when I got home and was shown them. One of them is a Siamese fighting fish or betta splendens fish which I've been looking around forever to buy whenever I'm in a mall; and always find that the pet stores are out of stock or not selling them. So I was pleasantly surprised to come home and find I was given one. Got one at last!

Harry, my betta fish

Betta or betta splenden fishes are supposed to be among the lowest maintenance type of pet fishes around. They are suitable for beginner fish pet owners. I wasn't sure at first if it was a male or female betta. Now I find it is male, so I name it Harry. If it were female, I'd name it Desdemona. Lol!




Harry, typical of betta splenden fishes, reacts whenever I put a mirror in front of him. It's funny. His fins flare out, as do some kind of dark gill/s under his jaws... And his tiny little side fins begin flapping really fast. Lol!

Finally got to use the little betta aquarium kit (made of plastic) I bought in Vancouver. It's pretty easy to carry around and locate somewhere else in the house. But because the fishes came to me unexpectedly, the small aquarium was hastily made. No plants, just some smooth little pebbles. Maybe I'd change them to some colored stones another time. Will definitely add a little plant soon so Harry can have his little hidey hole. Hehe!



The other fishes in the small tank are a another type of betta fish called a penang betta (grows up to 9 or 12 cms only), and a sucker fish or plecostomus -- an algae eater that helps clean the tank.

I remember we used to have a big aquarium with different kinds of fish when I was small -- it had goldfishes, angel fishes, guppies, a plecostomus, tetra fishes and other fish. All decorative. My eldest brother was basically their owner, and us youngest of the siblings the onlookers. Lol!

The sucker fish might prove to be a problem later though, when it gets larger. Might give it away to another fish pet owner with a bigger tank. Maybe I'd get a couple of neon tetra fishes next time. Hehe!

It’s That Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Christmas shmismas…

my shot of a parol or lantern being sold on the road

I’m liking this Christmas. My dad and I, with some help, have put up lights around the house, gates, garage, garden, roof. We got us some parols too… plain and with lights… made of plastic/paper and of capiz. We did a pretty good job of it I think.

I am wondering what if I lived overseas, will we still be able to put up the kind of lights we get to put up here? Will definitely miss that if not.

Google Wave Preview

Some thoughts on my Google Wave preview:

First off, I had some expectations of what I wanted Google Wave to be. But so far, it hasn't met them yet. Therefore, I'm not too active nor frequently visit my Google Wave after the first few tries, unlike Facebook. Not all my friends or family have Google accounts (hence they have no access to Wave). And I haven't added any Wave Extension I like nor find useful (for me) yet either.

My primary expectations/Google Wave wishlist:

• integration with my blog/s (blogger.com, multiply.com) whereby I can post my blogs via Google Wave
• integration with my online photo albums whereby I can provide links to and -- even better -- allow fellow Wavers to view within Google Wave photos I posted to another online photo album
  

It is fun though doing collaborative activities in Wave. I see my friends and fellow Wavers typing in their responses to a specific wave in real time as I know they've also seen mine and it's like we're all just in the same room but we just don't happen to see each other.

For now, I see Wave being better used by groups/members pursuing a project together, or doing collaborative research (i.e. the scientific community) where up to the minute results and posts to be shared to multiple relevant Wavers is of the essence.

As for me I'll probably only be more active in Wave if my most frequent online activities are integrated with it quite seamlessly (blogging and uploading photos to share). Until then, I still love multiply.com for photo albums sharing within a blog. hehe!

My First New Year's Resolution for 2010

the three photo albums of my first Europe trip

Recently, I went through the 3 photo albums I made more than a year ago, of my first trip to Europe. When I was creating them at that time, I was detached and too tired to appreciate the end result, like it was just another thing in my to-do list to cross out. Probably because I got tired of editing and seeing the same photos when I was choosing them for print, and when I was doing the layout for each album page.

the Spain album, opened

Surprisingly, when I checked them out again last week, I actually liked what I saw. I wrote my captions for many of the photos, no scrapbook decors you buy in the store but the trip mementos attached (museum tickets, metro tickets, bus tickets, train tickets, restaurant napkins with words in the respective country's language written on them, cards, receipts, etc.).

the Portugal and southern France album with
my Eurolines bus ticket attached to the page divider on the left

the Vatican pages with a ticket to
the Musei Vaticani attached on the right depicting
Adam and God from Michelangelo's work in the Sistine Chapel

Florence, Italy photos and the Trenitalia train ticket to
Venice attached on the right

I've decided that in the course of the next many months, I must slowly but steadily create a few new photo albums again for photos from my succeeding trips, as well as family pics; all of them shot from 2007 onwards. I find I have tons digital photos from travels and with family/relatives that I haven't printed and posted to photo albums (not the online kind) or put in photo frames/holders.

This year I have several family and relatives from overseas who've come and will come to holiday in the Philippines/Asia. So that would add significantly to the photos I need to have printed out. As you might have guessed already, my family live overseas, and a lot of my relatives aren't Philippine citizens or residents.

I've also already bought some Ikea frames from my last trip to Canada, and I hope to get in November (rubbing my palms together here.. Lol!) a starburst metal picture holder you hang on the wall (from Ikea again) which I saw but failed to buy last time in Vancouver.

I know it's kinda early, but since I have tons of pictures to go through, I already know my first new year's resolution and I look forward to fulfilling it. Hehe!

Adorable!

Came across this video in Youtube.com of this sweet tired persian cat. It's quite funny...



Now if only the kitten totally fell off backwards, then talagang super funny na sana sya.. Lol!