Homes From Around The World

The architectural styles of homes unique to a particular region or city are often travel icons. 

The decadent Victorian homes referred to as Painted Ladies say San Francisco as much as the Golden Gate Bridge.

Though in the same country the adobe homes of New Mexico and other parts of the Southwestern United States couldn’t be any more different than the Victorian beauties of San Francisco. Their architectural roots are Native American and the material used to build them suited to dry, hot climates. 

More than a few colonial Mexican cities have been named UNESCO World Heritage sites due in large part to their stunning architecture. This colorful casita in Guanajuato may look small from the outside but don’t be fooled. Homes of this genre regularly feature an outdoor central courtyard and are long and spacious.   

Like the casitas of Mexico, Hutong homes found in Beijing, China also appear small from the outside and feature a courtyard lifestyle.

What style home is unique to the part of the world you live in?

The Canals of Los Angeles California

I wonder how many tourists strolling the boardwalk in Venice Beach, Los Angeles realize that the area is named for the canals built by a tobacco magnate at the turn of the last century?

Less than a five minute walk from the counter culture malcontents, tourists, surfers, street performers and homeless along the beach and boardwalk the pedestrian paths of the Venice Canals make for a nice stroll. They provide ample opportunity to appreciate the eclectic architecture of the homes that line them. It’s not uncommon to wonder what it would be like to live here. To start, you’ll need a few million dollars to purchase a home.

Abbot Kinney and his partner as part of a resort town they founded complete with amusement park, known as Venice of America, built the man made canals. Venice, its namesake of course the original in Italy, fell on hard times in the 1920s in part due to prohibition and politics. Its decline continued through the 1970s when urban blight was at its height. In the 1980s Venice began its ascent and was reborn again as a tourist mecca aided by its pedestrian friendly nature, a rarity in LA, and was touted as a unique attraction during the 1984 Summer Olympics. 

If you find yourself in Venice brunch along the aptly named Abbot Kinney Boulevard at Hals Bar and Grill. Or if you prefer a ringside view along the boardwalk check out Figtree’s Café and Grill. I can recommend the huevos rancheros and the coffee is good.

Los Angeles Bound

I’m flying to Los Angeles, California later today. This trip, the first of the year, involves visiting good friends, curing the winter blahs and photography of course. This time of year can yield some of the bluest, smog free skies in LA.  

How do you cure the winter blahs? Does it involve travel?

Pictured above: Venice Beach

Street Scenes: Puebla, Mexico

A blank wall can present itself as a canvas waiting to be filled. 

The man on the bicycle rode into this canvas in the historic center of Puebla, Mexico a UNESCO World Heritage site famous for its colonial architecture.

If this photograph were in black and white you might think it was vintage based on the look of the bike, the newspapers stacked high on the back and the lack of corporate logos that soil most streetscapes in this day and age. 

2011 Travels In Photographs: What Makes You Want To Go?

The aim of travel photographers is to capture a destination in a way that instantly takes you there and makes you want to go. Beautiful scenery is an easy way to achieve this but travel photography is also about what makes a culture unique. Below I chose a single photograph from each place I traveled to in 2011 that defined my experience. Easier said than done.

In March I traveled to Mexico City, Oaxaca and Puebla. The above photograph was taken in a food market in Oaxaca. To me it defines the artistry seen throughout Mexico in many contexts. Here everyday food items in plastic bins are arranged in a way that makes them look like vivid art. Note the absence of commercial logos.

The Golden Gate bridge would have been easy to illustrate San Francisco. But I would never want to bore you. Pictured here is a photograph taken in April of a mural in the Mission District. It is a memorial to a San Francisco rap artist.

This was taken in Cozumel, Mexico in the off season in July. There is a reason why a beautiful empty beach with white sands and azure water never goes out of style.

Idyllic and insular these Victorian gingerbread cottages are on the grounds of the Camp Meeting Association in Oak Bluffs, Martha’s Vineyard. Methodists who every summer would camp and worship here originally occupied the grounds in the 19th century. The cottages, privately owned by camping descendents and members of the Camp Meeting Association, eventually replaced the tents of the original worshippers.

A place of privilege the French Riviera is no place for bargains except for the public pedestrian scenic coastal path which stretches from Cap d’Ail to Monaco. It is lined with Belle Epoque villas perched in the mountains and along the Mediterranean. Early October, when I was there, was a perfect time to go. Beautiful weather and no crowds. The local wines are a bargain also. But you already knew that.

Puerto Rico brings to mind a proud heritage and the beauty to back it up. This photograph of the Paseo de La Princesa (Walkway of the Princess) and the Old City wall, a Unesco World heritage site in Old San Juan, was taken in November.


Wishing you a happy, healthy, prosperous 2012. Where will your travels take you in 2012?

Offbeat Eats From Around The World

Nothing can highlight a cultural divide more than food. One person’s delicacy can be another’s horror.

Chapulines, fried grasshoppers, have been on the menu for thousands of years in Mexico. 

These dried seahorses were on display in the fish market in Tai O Village in Hong Kong. Would you sprinkle them on a salad like sundried tomatoes? Or are they a standalone food?

No doubt great artistry and care went into making these donkey sausages, which were on sale in Marche Forville a market in Cannes, France. I wonder what wine you would pair with them and if they a bit stubborn to chew?

What are the strangest foods you have been brave enough to try when traveling?

Passports with Purpose – Building Libraries in Zambia

Passports with Purpose, the travel blogger’s annual fundraiser, is now underway. Now in its fourth year PwP has partnered with Room to Read in 2011 and the goal is to be to raise $80,000 to build two libraries in southern and eastern Zambia through Room to Read’s Reading Room program.

Funds raised will cover the costs of construction, library resources such as books and educational materials, teacher training and three years of support. After that, the library is handed over to the government school system.

Here is how you can participate: Each blogger has secured a prize for a raffle. I’m donating a $100 gift certificate to B&H Photo, which I will send anywhere in the U.S. Check out Passports with Purpose to participate, for more details and a full list of prizes. 

 Last year PwP raised nearly $65,000 through Friends of LAFTI. The funds are helping build 25 homes in a small village, Karunganni, in South India.

Travel bloggers Debbie Dubrow, Pam Mandel, Beth Whitman and Michelle Duffy founded Passports With Purpose in 2008 as a way to build community among travel bloggers and to give back to the places we, as travelers, visit.

Published Photographs: Dubai Edition

Each destination has its icons new and old. In Dubai both new and old include a fair amount of bling like the Burj Al Arab Hotel and gold souk pictured below.

Also pictured are the Bastakia Quarter, Spice Souk and Souk Madinat. These photographs have appeared in newspapers, books and advertising.

What are some of you favorite travel icons old and new?

Puerto Rico Bound

I’m flying to San Juan, Puerto Rico today for a short three-day trip. A cheap flight, the need to reach elite status on the Oneworld alliance and the destination of course prompted me to go.

Pictured above are sugar candy skulls photographed during Day of the Dead in Mexico. I always seem to fly on Halloween, leaving in the wee hours of the morning forgetting what day it is and wondering why I see out of the corner of my eye a random zombie or superhero wandering the airport.

In my absence I leave you with links to posts of Halloween’s past featuring Day of Dead celebrations in Mexico.

Cemetery Vigils
Day of the Dead Oaxaca
Day of the Dead Altar Mexico City




 

Shopping Like a Chef on the Cote D’Azur

France is the epicenter of Western cuisine and if you want to shop like a chef on the Cote D’Azur take a break from the region’s glitz and visit its local markets. The culinary artisans to whom food is a labor of love sell produce, meats, cheeses and regional specialties.

Most travelers to the region spend time in Nice. In the heart of the Old Town is Cours Saleya, pictured above. Past the flower market are stalls manned by local farmers selling herbs, spices and produce from Provence every day except Monday.

Best known for its glitz, glamour and film festival Cannes’ market is Marche Forville, located on the doorstep of La Suquet, the city’s old town.

West of Cannes you’ll find Antibes’s market, Cours Massena, in the old part of the city.

To truly shop like a chef it best to get to these markets in the early morning hours. Most open at 6 a.m. and by noon are closing down for the day. Taking a morning stroll through one of the region’s markets makes an excellent way to start a day of exploring.