The Los Poblanos Historic Inn & Organic Farm is a bed and breakfast and farm with 25 acres of lavender fields, cottonwood trees and gardens.
India: Delhi: Red Fort
Delhi’s Red Fort
India: Delhi: Lotus Temple
The perfect time to visit the Lotus Temple was at sunset, a sight beautiful to see.
It is open to all visitors, of all religions, which is the basis of Bahai faith, making it simply a house of worship; a place of prayer and meditation.
The temple is made of marble, cemet and sand and was finished in 1986, designed by Persian architect Fariborz Sahba, and took 800 engineers and artisans and 10 years to complete.
Shoes have to be taken off and photography is not allowed inside the temple, but there is enough beauty in it's incredible structure and surroundings to take in.
India: Delhi: Qutab Minar
One of the first stops of sites seen was the Qutab Minar, a 72.5 meter tall tower, made in 1192 of sandstone and marble. A World Heritage Site having survived lightning storms and the test of time, the Qutab Minar has remained an impressive structure of unique and beautiful Islamic design.
They no longer allow people to climb up it and it's already begining to lean, but I'm not the first to notice, apparently, it started to lean shortly after it was built.
Here is a journey through the Qutab complex....in all its ancient Mughal glory.
This is London, Day 2: The Changing of the Guard
An addendum to this post is: The Changing of the Guard and Not Being Able to See the Changing of the Guard.
Thus photographs of what I was able to see.
This is London, Day 1
A lot of people are considering shifting away from Instagram in light of their new terms of service and I have to admit, I just started using the new Flickr app, which I think is quite robust.
Still, while in London, I Instagrammed a lot and enjoyed how easy it was to share my adventures, but then I realized, there are also these...the real photographs.
This is London. Day 1.
May: Art to Inspiration
YES! It's time for another installment of Art to Inpsiration, folks!
This month, we're looking at Echoes of Fragrant Voice by Jo Howe
What an interesting piece of work! Abstract and minimalist, with just two shades, light and dark. Which is very much what I look for in subject matter, as a photographer. Lightness and darkness together creating shape, and you need one shape to highlight the other.
In breaking this beautiful work into basic shapes of light and dark, I was then inspired by my own minimalist photograph taken in Santorini. Light and dark working in harmony.
Past A2I posts: Feb, March, April
Want to join Art to Inspiration? Just click here!
Greece: Santorini, A Gander
Literally within seconds of putting our luggage down at our hotel, we were off to explore the island that is Santorini. Here's what we found along the way.
Greece: Santorini, Sunny Villas
What's it like living in a cave, you ask?
I was dying to stay at Sunny Villas after my endless research on hotels in Santorini. The idea of staying in a CAVE was appealing. In real life, it was a difficult hotel to get to, but I imagine many of the hotels on Santorini to be the case, as the town is built on the side of a volcanic caldera, not to be confused with a crater. And it's STEEP, y'all! Hotel Sunny Villas had incredible caldera and sunset views from the terrace, but the actual cave-like habitat was rather claustophobic, for us. Still, it was incredible to be situated right in front of the Skaros rock, which used to be a medieval fortress, that we hiked on the last day of our trip (more on that later). For now, this.
Greece: Mykonos, The Wind Mills
Oh, the famed Wind Mills of Mykonos.
As we turned around a narrow and crowded corner, this was our first glimpse of the wind mills. The timing couldn't have been better; with the sun just starting to drop it created the most gorgeous light.
Most of the cafes facing the water boasted the "best sun set view", but expensive cocktails at over crowded cafes like Scarpa didn't make sense, especially when the sun set could be viewed from anywhere. So, this is what we did, instead.
Breathtaking, to say the least. See how these windmills compare to Zaans Shans, in Amsterdam.
Greece: Mykonos, The Town
The next day we took the shuttle bus into downtown Mykonos. What an incredibly stunning place Mykonos is. Would love to go back, it's absolutely gorgeous. Blue and white paint? Check. Churches? Check. Narrow cobblestone walkways? Check. But who knew about the stray cats? So cute!
Greece: Athens: Fallen
I don't remember the name of this particular historic site, but it was, as all the other ancient architecture in Athens, magnificent. One of the pillars lay there, fallen, in a domino effect, and we wondered when and why it had fallen. But like a lot of ancient history, it's shrouded in mystery.
Dusk was falling, and the light was just perfect for this last day in Athens. Tomorrow, off to Mykonos!
Greece: Athens, Odd
Here are some odd shots from around Athens. Just 'cause.
Greece: Acropolis: The Parthenon
We made it! I apologize, the next set of shots are going to be only of the Parthenon and it's surroundings. My super comfortable Pumas were put to the test (on the sometimes slippery rocky surface). Which is likely why the original steps leading up to the top has been covered with wooden planks, like at the Taj Mahal.
It was hotter than hot and part of the Parthenon was being restored, but words cannot describe how mind-blowing it was to see in person and photographs don't do any justice.
P.S. The sleeping dogs were a surprise.
Greece: Athens, The Acropolis Museum
And so it begins. At the Acropolis Museum.
Sitting atop an archaeological site, which can be seen through glass floors, the museum opened in 2009. Designed by a NY City based architect, the museum houses 5 floors worth of ancient artifacts and excavated historic treasures. One of the highlights is its direct view of the Parthenon. Photography was not allowed inside the museum. Nor were chocolate bars. Museum entrance fee, 5 euros. Snickers bar, likely 5 euros. Eating a Snickers bar whilst looking up at the Parthenon? Priceless.
