If you follow me on Instagram, you may recall that we were in Vancouver a couple of weeks ago.
I had never been before, and had always heard how beautiful Vancouver is, how green, how lush, how the mountainsblahblah blah.
You guys, SHE IS A THING OF BEAUTY!!
MIND. BLOWN.
Here's a 2.5 hour walk to and from Stanley Park.
The Palomar is a Kimpton boutique hotel with the one in Chicago located in the heart of downtown. The Magnificent mile is a stone's throw away, as is the famed Billy Goat Tavern and Millenium Park. Everything you want to see is just around the corner. It was the perfect location to be for Rebecca Minkoff's #RMRoadtrip at Nordstrom.
Luxurious, contemporary and ecclectic in design with wonderful service and attention to detail, like the animal print bathrobes, perfect for wearing to the rooftop pool (also can I have those at home please?)
You know how you picture "skiing in the mountains" to be? Snow, skiis, hot chocolate, a log cabin, a fireplace and alpine sweaters?
That's exactly what Stowe Mountain Lodge is like! We even lucked out with maple taffy treats courtesy of Slopeside Syrup, scored a free gondola ride to the top and back, while having a great view of my hubby skiing down.
All in all a good ski weekend, I'd say!
If you're ever in Stowe over Easter weekend, like we were, where not a whole lot is open, and the town is quite deserted, you had better have booked a room at the Green Mountain Inn.
With all the cosiness and history of a charming lodge, all the ammenities you could ask for, all the luxury in the rooms (that you never want to leave!) and all the Green Mountain coffee you could drink, it's a wonderful place to stay.
I wasn't even paid to say so!
By show of hands..who has seen The Sound of Music? Everyone. Like, everywhere, right?
I'd always wanted to visit the Von Trapp Family home in Stowe, Vermont (read their story, here) and with Spring nearly upon us, the time was now! I'm not much of skiier but give me a good lodge and a fireplace and I'm all set.
With five of us in one car, a pair of skiis wedged between, and beautiful scenic views along the way, we took off to Stowe, Vermont.
Here, the Von Trapp Family home, and lunch and beer at the Von Trapp Deli Bakery and Brewery!
Ever since Toronto introduced the "Toronto Island Airport" I've been a fan. A city airport? What a great idea! First it was the convenience of it being in the heart of the city and the incredible Porter lounge, outfitted with MACs and a kitchen with Starbucks beverages, and all the snacks you could want.
Soon, the service and reliability of flying Porter became apparent and now, it's expanding! Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport will soon have a pedestrian tunnel between the mainland and the island. As it stands now, the ferry ride between the two may not make much logistic sense although it serves as a nice break for passengers to take in the gorgeous Toronto skyline.
When in Delhi, it is only fitting to visit Rajghat, the memorial site of Mahatma Gandhi.
The black marble slab marks the cremation site, while an eternal flame burns in a glass box and the words "Hai Ram" (Oh God) in Hindi are inscribed on the front. Words which are thought to have been Gandhi's last.
For both young and old, tourists and locals, it is a popular site of meditation, worship and respect.
Here's a jump shot from the Red Fort in Delhi to jump start your weekend!
Have a good one!
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.
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.
Happy 2013!
2012 FLEW by, didn't it? Thank you for following along with me on the blog as well as on Instagram and Twitter!
Cheers to a new year full of creating lasting memories and documenting them along the way...
Here's how 2012 panned out...
Most recently, I was honored to photograph this lil' girl. I visited Delhi and London and also photographed my fave family in Toronto.
There were many exciting journeys to Miami, Disney World, Block Island (which was the perfect backdrop for this), NYC, New Haven, Baltimore and Pennsylvania...
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.
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.
An ode to NYC and NJ after Hurricane Sandy.
Shot from the rooftop at the Hyatt Regency Jersey City, in September 2012.
While in NYC I took in Picasso's Black and White exhibit at The Guggenheim, a museum I hadn't been to in years, remember THIS throwback Monday?
The exhibit is expressive, robust and void of color, as Picasso claimed,
Color weakens.
Thus, I present my vision of the Guggenheim in black, white and shades of gray....(with a bit of Central Park thrown in for good measure).
Black and White runs until January 23, 2013
