Travel

Photo of the Week: Notre Dame

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IMG_4331Montreal, Quebec

As you know, last week we took a family road trip to Quebec for Thanksgiving.  If you’ve ever been in a car  with 6 people plus countless luggage for an  eight hour drive, you’ll know it’s an effective torture method.  Aside from the  fact that my body was contorted into many weird positions, the trip was a success.  We had a little too much food, but that’s to be expected on a Nguyen get-together.  We also got to visit a few nice churches a long the way.

Notre-Dame is the famous basilica located in the heart of Old Montreal. The interior is filled with intricate wood carvings that would rival any European church.  The altar is back lit with a deep blue light, creating contrast and drama to the elaborate design.  The only drawback is that there is an admission fee of $5 to get in, which makes this feel less like a holy site and more like a tourist stop. 

Every week, I’ll share a photo with you from my adventures around the world and at home.  Most of my photos have little or no post processing.  If you would like to see more, please click the Follow button.

Photo of the Week: Watercolor

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Antalya (21)Antalya, Turkey

Towards the end of our whirlwind trip around Turkey seven years ago, we visited the coastal city of Antalya, situated on western Mediterranean shore. The ancient city wraps around the harbor of the Gulf of Antalya. When the sun sets over the hazy blue mountain, it creates a breathtaking silhouette.  I was lucky to be able to capture this special moment.  From the cliff-top, the view looks like a watercolor painting.

Every week, I’ll share a photo with you from my adventures around the world and at home.  Most of my photos have little or no post processing.  If you would like to see more, please click the Follow button.

Catching Up

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I can’t believe it’s fall already, where did the summer go?  I have learned to love the fall season in New York, with the brisk air and colorful leaves.  But with the change of season, comes the colder weather – which I am definitely not a fan of.  This weekend is Canadian Thanksgiving, so I wanted to take a few minutes to reflect on our year so far.  There are so many heartbreaking things going on in the world, and it makes me appreciate everything that I have and everyone in my life. Continue reading →

Photo of the Week: Hill Tribes

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IMG_2283Mae Hong Son, Thailand

This photo was taken on our trip around Thailand.  We visited the northern hill tribes near the northern city of Chiang Rai.  These indigenous people live the simple lives in remote villages where their livelihood revolves around farming and livestock. The tribes have been welcoming and hospitable to visitors, giving us the unique opportunity to see the ways of life which have been forgotten in the Western world. The tribes women are selling handmade crafts to help supplement their earning. This very happy lady was showing us her colorful bead work and insisted that I try on the traditional hat.

Every week, I’ll share a photo with you from my adventures around the world and at home.  Most of my photos have little or no post processing.  If you would like to see more, please click the Follow button.

Eating in Prague

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Many people are drawn to Prague for its incredible history, magnificent spires, and old-world charm, but you don’t often hear about Czech cuisine.   There are a lot of great eating options in this beautiful city: from traditional fares, to home-cooked staples, to tempting street food; there is a deep-rooted culinary tradition inspired by classic dishes from the nearby countries of Germany, Poland, and Austria.  Prague’s classic dish is usually a large platter of meat (did I mention that there are A LOT of meat?), bread, sauerkraut, and of course beer to wash it all down.  Luckily, their world-famous golden lager is usually cheaper than water. Whether you’re dining on the street or on a hill terrace, the food remains highly affordable by North American standards. Here are a few places to eat in Prague:

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Photo of the Week: Reptilian

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IMG_0618Playa Conchal, Costa Rica

We were sitting on our balcony in Costa Rica,  when we were surprised by some movement in the grass and saw this guy come out to sun himself.  Iguanas are indigenous to this region and they tend to congregate together.  Did you know that a group of iguanas are called a slaughter?  Me neither, had to look that one up.  Iguanas are cold-blooded lizards, so it’s not unusual to see them come out during the day to warm up under the blazing sun.  Sitting there with its green-hued scales and prickly spines, this one reminded me of a dragon.

Every week, I’ll share a photo with you from my adventures around the world and at home.  Most of my photos have little or no post processing.  If you would like to see more, please click the Follow button.

A Day in Dresden

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On our way to Prague, we took a small detour and spent a few hours in Dresden. Stepping out of the train, we could see that it was going to be a dreary day and we were clearly not dressed warm enough since the sky was overcast and threatening to rain. I was sick like a dog, fighting a cold that I had since our first day in Europe and couldn’t seem to shake off, so our first stop was the pharmacia to see if we could get some good ole German medication. Through some stilted communication on my part, the pharmacist suggested some lozenges which were supposed to help me sing. I don’t know about singing, I’d settle for just talking.

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Dresden was the capital of old Saxony.  It was home to many Saxon princes and kings for hundreds of years, the most famous of them being August der Starke (Augustus the Strong), whose kingdom included Poland. But it is best known for the controversial blitz attack by Allied forces in 1945 when the entire city center was razed to the ground, killing over 25,000 people.  Dresden had weathered the war, and since then many of the destroyed buildings have been painstakingly reconstructed and restored to their former glory: the Zwinger was rebuilt in 1964, the Semper Opera house in 1985, and most famous landmark of Dresden, the Frauenkirche was completed in 2005. Today, the city has regained much of its original charm, and hosts over 10 million tourists a year.

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Photo of the Week: Disappearing Act

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IMG_20130908_123840227_HDRSan Francisco, USA

This picture was taken a few years ago on a short trip to San Francisco.  By some mishap, I managed to leave my camera’s memory card at home.  So for the whole weekend, we had to make do with our cellphone camera. We decided to walk over to the Golden Gate bridge and take a few pictures, but as you can see, the whole bridge was covered in thick grey fog.  From this vantage point, it looks like the bridge is disappearing into thin air. 

Every week, I’ll share a photo with you from my adventures around the world and at home.  Most of my photos have little or no post processing.  If you would like to see more, please click the Follow button.

Day 4: On the Road in Rio

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It’s our last day in Rio and the sky is still overcast and ominous looking.  We were excited to go hang gliding on this trip, but due to unfavorable weather conditions, we had to reschedule 4 different times.  Today was our last chance, and after waiting around for 3 hours, we were finally given the all-clear to head up the mountain.  Unfortunately when we got there, the wind picked back up and it was too dangerous to take off.  This picture was as far as I got to becoming a bird.  It was not meant to be.

This trip had it’s fair share of bad luck for us, starting with the canceled flight to the crappy weather, to the hang gliding.  Ironically, this was the hottest winter in Brazil and it only rained 4 times throughout the whole season.  Lucky for us, it rained all 4 days we were here.  I am not complaining, we had a great time bad weather and all, and Rio can only get better from here.  Time to head back to New York. 

Day 3: On the Road in Rio

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Today we visited Rocinha, the largest favela in Rio de Janeiro built  on the side of a steep hill.  This small area of about one square kilometer holds over 80,000 people.  There are over 700 favelas of various sizes throughout Rio.  These shanty towns were made famous in the movie City of God, showing the rampant crime and drug activity festering in these close quarters.  Today, the government with the help of the military have attempted to overtake the area, drive down crime, and improve infrastructure.  Our visit was pretty safe, we walked through the alleyways while learning a bit about the history of favelas got a glimpse into the life of its inhabitants.