Taj Mahal Part III

This was my second time seeing the Taj Mahal.

The first time, I went with my Mom and there was a huge rain storm right before, where the water flooded up to our knees when we were standing in line. I was so disappointed that it rained even though it had been scorcing hot and sunny just a few hours before. In fact, I was complaining that seeing the Taj Mahal in the high noon would make for too sunny a photograph. Then it rained, and I stopped complaining. Luckily, it stopped pouring right as we got through and it was even more magnificent seeing the Taj Mahal glisten with rain and in the breaking sunlight.

This time around it didn't rain, it was scorching hot and it was around noon, but I didn't dare complain. I was ecstatic to be able to see it again with my husband. I couldn't get enough of the people with their reactions and their photo-taking. It really is an amazing wonder of the world.

Part I and Part II if you missed them.

Taj Mahal Part II

The majesty of the Taj Mahal is quite literally breath-taking, but it's also the little details like the intricate marble work that I couldn't get enough of and wanted to preserve in my memory and with photographpy. The first time I visited the Taj with my Mom, I noticed that the marble steps up to the top were quite worn in the centre from all the traffic and also slippery from the rain, and as they are quite steep, it's quite a dangerous climb for older visitors.

This time, the steps were covered with wooden planks. Much safer. Here are more details.

Taj Mahal Part I

I never quite finished my India posts, I'm slowly getting to those photos, now.

Here's our visit to the Taj Mahal, in Agra. Part I.

Paris: Rodin

No blog is complete without a Rodin post!  Okay, that's not true, but I have to share my Rodin experience.  We made it to the Rodin Museum 5 minutes before closing!  Oh the madness!  Here are some shots that were taken in those 5 minutes!  We loved the colourful stickers from the museum that were stuck on everything from the sidewalk to the posts outside the museum! The bicycle shot is for Hobography: welcome back!

Family Day Weekend

We went away this past long weekend, and stayed in a ranch house in La Peche, Quebec.  It was a cosy cabin and although there were fourteen of us, we were all well accommodated.  We played charades, made s'mores, watched movies and ate poutine.  For breakfast we made waffles using this recipe.  We also spent the day in Ottawa skating on the Rideau Canal (the world's largest skating rink).  It was fuh-reeeeeeezing, but the beavertails made it all worthwhile.

Hope your weekend is filled with all kinds of goodness!

Les Invalides, Paris

Built in 1679, Les Invalides (The National Residence of the Invalids) is an incredible piece of architecture.
The building houses the museum of the Army of France and is the burial site of Napoleon Bonaparte among other French war heroes.

Here are some shots.

Boston: Liberty Hotel

Was at the Liberty Hotel in Boston recently, and got to shoot a bit of one of their Fashionably Late fashion shows that took place that night. The designer was Kara Wickman ((www.karawickman.com).

The Liberty Hotel is one of the most beautiful and unique hotels I've ever seen, because of its amazing history. It used to be the Charles Street Jail! It reopened in 2007 as a luxury hotel but has retained most of the historic structure, gorgeously. The restaurant Clink (aptly named) outlines, in granite, the shape of the original cells (grey blocks, below). Also impressive, is the cupola which, had been reduced in size, and then removed altogether in 1949, but has now been rebuilt to the original architect's design.

Hanapepe Village

Meaning "Crushed Bay", this little town was quite littery crushed during the hurricane of '92.  On the South shore of Kaui'i, the town was started by Chinese rice farmers in the 1800s and mostly associated with bar brawls.  Films such as The Thorn Birds and Jurassic Park were filmed in the village or in the nearby Hanapepe Valley.  The Hanapepe Swinging Bridge is one of the tourist attractions of the village (rebulit after '92), but the town appears to be mostly deserted now, save for a few art galleries and gift shops.

When we arrived there on Dec 26, everything was still closed for Christmas. It seemed like  a ghost town.

Flash

Then it was off to see the Eiffel Tower at night! We had a reservation (which we booked online at the hotel) for 9:30pm. We still only got into the elevator past 10pm though, since the reservation line-up was long (certainly not as long as it would have been had we not made reservations)!

Needless to say, it was spectacular, particularly when the lights began to flash and dance.

Notre Dame

How could we have missed going to see this magnificent cathedral? We were too late for the tour, but it was still magical.

Bridges and Museums

Then it was a walk along the Seine and towards the Musée d'Orsay, which was simply gorgeous. No photography allowed, however :(

M-Lizzle

You knew it was coming!  Of course, a trip to the Louvre is mandatory!  We were excited to see the Mona Lisa, and surprised to find NO line-up at the Carousel Du Louvre entrance (at the inverted pyramid). I knew how small the painting really is so I wasn't shocked when I first saw it. In fact, I was more interested in the crowd around the M.Lis rather than the painting itself. And I was even more happy to discover other paintings at the Louvre I didn't expect to see.

Night

Night time in Paris is simply gorgeous. The sky seemed to remain a lovely blue and the Eiffel Tower all lit-up was breath-taking.

Sacré-Coeur Basilica

After seeing the Arc and walking around, our feet were sooooooooooooo sore (don't forget climbing up 117 steps each time to our room at the hotel) plus, we were both coming down with colds!

Good thing our Metro passes included the funicular up to Sacré-Coeur so that we didn't have to climb up! With such a gorgeous view, it was obviously worth it. And then we had dinner down below at the quaint Florenza Pizzeria.

Arc et al

After seeing the Eiffel Tower we had a nutella crepe at Crêpes King then walked back to our hotel (having to climb six flights because the elevator was broken and remaining so the entire time we stayed there - haha!) and unpacked while enjoying the view. After that we set off to see the beautiful Arc de Triomphe.