Yesterday, as I was leaving the taco shop, somebody spotted me in the rain and held their umbrella over my head until we reached the subway station. The whole time, I was like 🥺. I never got their name. Thank you, nameless kind stranger!
In the afternoon, I explored Midtown, visiting Grand Central and Bryant Park and the New York Public Library. The sun was out in full force. A pleasant surprise. The weather reports had anticipated rain for weeks. I was a little startled by how quickly everybody walked. People moved with extreme speed in Grand Central. Extreme. … More Afternoon in Midtown
After landing in NY, I ambled over to Times Square. I lollygagged in the crowds. I absorbed the effervescence. Lights, music, signs, taxis, tourism, shops, ads, people. All our energy playdoh’ed into one. There was a group of street performers in red tracksuits, and I stopped to watch them, but they were taking too long … More Effervescence
A few days before, I plugged in a Fujifilm recipe reminiscent of Kodak Tri-X 400 film stock. Black and white, heavy contrast, grainy. I went for a walk by the lake. I had walked this very path several years ago. I had brought along my iPad and read The Power of Now while sitting underneath … More Simulating Kodak Tri-X 400 on Fujifilm
Lately I’ve been taking my camera everywhere. Mundane places, too, like the coffeeshop or lake. I’ve been making an effort to shoot in black and white. A part of me misses the magic of B&W photography, especially the old filmy style. I’ve always been reluctant to embrace it, though – what about the colors? I … More Juxtapose
On this week’s edition of Silent Sondays, I share photos of my sons. For context, I am a doting mother of two pigs, who are adorable and intelligent and feisty. Despite being twins, each has his own distinct personality and set of strengths. While one is beautiful and docile (looks) the other is smart and … More Silent Sondays
Before visiting, I intuitively knew that I would like Italy. I didn’t know I would love Italy. But it’s settled: I love Italy. At night, the air smells like smoke and salami. I have tomatoes in every meal. There’s cappuccinos and pizzas and pastas a’plenty. Instead of planning anything, we took the ferry to Como … More Dreaming of Olives
We took the ferry to Cernobbio, a quiet town on Lake Como. Beforehand, we had a leisurely breakfast overlooking the lake. Every morning, our kind waitress set up the table with an obscene amount of food: fruits, bread, cereals, salami, cheese, croissants, cucumbers, and more. Because it was a small hotel, we felt guilty about … More A Day in Cernobbio, Italy
We almost went to Milan yesterday, but changed our mind after the train was late. Without anywhere in mind, we walked around Como, consuming pasta and chocolate and pizza and salad. I paired olive oil with fat Sicilian olives and promptly entered the gates of Italian cuisine heaven. After some frantic Googling, though, I was devastated to find that you cannot bring fresh olives through customs. Today we successfully visited Milan, taking the ferry and then the train. … More Daytrip to Milan
Lake Como, Italy, is quite possibly the most beautiful and magical place I’ve ever seen in my life. I have almost no words to describe it. The beauty. The food. The nature. The mountains, the lakes. The way the air smells. It smells familiar – it reminds me of China somehow. At night, the smell of firewood … More Amore, Italia!
With the two day Swiss Travel Pass, we decided to visit Mount Rigi. Located in the Alps, Mount Rigi “towers majestically between Lakes Lucerne, Zug and Lauerz.” It was a peaceful journey there and back. We took the boat from Lucerne to Vitznau, and then rode the cogwheel railway – Europe’s first mountain train – … More Queen of the Mountains
It was drizzling when we walked to the Lion Monument, a lion statue “nestled in a rocky grotto in a charming park setting in Lucerne. The ten-by-six-metre work was created in honour of the Swiss Guards who died in the Storming of the Tuileries in Paris in 1792.” Next door was the Glacier Garden, a … More Rainfall at Glacier Garden
As we sat in the pews of Church of St. Leodegar, a Roman Catholic church in Switzerland, the priests began to sing. Their voices were resonant, accompanied by the pipe organ. My eyes widened. We had just rolled into the pews when they set up the program. We were accidentally attending my first Mass – … More Christmas in Lucerne
On the train from France to Switzerland, we watched the sights pass by us – lakes, marshes, mountains, towns. The French countryside was lovely, living up to its dreamy depictions of old bucolic towns and vast green spaces. We had the entire carriage to ourselves. There were no lines or security or crowds, a stark … More Train to Switzerland
 We arrived in Lyon, a beautiful city in southeast France. Straddled between the RhĂ´ne and SaĂ´ne rivers, Lyon was a refreshing mix of new and old, industrial and nature. Looking across the river, I immediately felt lighter. Compared to Paris, there were fewer crowds and less smoke. Overall, it was slower and easier to … More Hills of Lyon are Alive
And there she was, Miss. Mona, small and elegant, watching hundreds of bodies clamoring to get close to her, a sea of iPhones raised in the air. “All this for that?” le beau captioned his Snapchat. When I looked up her significance, all it said was: she was a realistic painting by Da Vinci, and … More The Louvre
I stood on my tiptoes, observing tiny black floofs bobbing towards the gate. The Changing of the Guards was just now starting at Buckingham Palace. … More Touristy London Classics
“Do you think this is what being born feels like?” I peered around the pulsating globelike structure, which the escalator gently pushed us through. Seconds later, we were ushered into the Natural History Museum of South Kensington, London. It was filled with exhibits of rocks, fossils, gems, taxidermies, and dinosaurs. And tons of large schoolchildren. … More Natural History Museum
After taking the Tube to Monument station, we walked along the River Thames towards the Tower Bridge. Tower Bridge, with its castle-like arches, is commonly confused with London Bridge. Tower Bridge, however, is across from the new London Bridge – a relatively plain structure. The original London Bridge is somewhere in Arizona. The lyrics were … More Along the River Thames
Our first night in London, it snowed. There were still snowy patches lingering at Victoria Embankment Gardens. After dusting off our Krispy Kremes, we stumbled upon Covent Garden. A shopping and entertainment hub in London’s West End, Covent Garden [is] home to fashion stores, craft stalls at the Apple Market, and the … More London Snowfall
We set out on-foot for de Pijp. Nicknamed the Quartier Latin, de Pijp had started out as “an example of 19th century cheap revolution building” in response to population growth. Since then, it had become home to a diverse array of people: students, immigrants, artists. At the time, though, I didn’t know this – just … More Kaarting Our Way Through Amsterdam
Over omelets, fresh orange juice, coffee, salad, and bread, we enjoyed a slow, cozy morning at Pompa. With 1 hour left on the five day City Card, we brainstormed our final visit. We chose the van Loon museum home. Owned by the Van Loon merchant family, the home was a “magnificent double-sized canal house located … More Meowster van Loon
At Museum Square, we ate burgers and drank hot cocoa and people-watched. Children played tag. Dogs roamed free. A man played jazzy saxophone, which drifted across the square. Encircled by three major art museums, Museumplein was the perfect place to grab lunch before returning to the Rijksmuseum. “The Rijksmuseum is the national museum of the … More Reeling at The Rijksmuseum
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