My Kind of Selfie

If you know me you know that like most people I am kinda shy about being photographed. When I was in my 20’s or 30’s I didn’t mind it so much. It was before surgeries and hair growing out of unusual places. I am still kind of fit and flexible for my age but don’t like the camera on me much. So selfies are not my thing. I don’t mind the occasional selfie but tend to think I am just screwing up the view of what I want to share. I don’t mind the vanity of others and kind of find it amusing.

So here is a selfie of me in The Indiana Cafe in Paris at Guerre Montparnasse in 2011. It is actually a refection off of a table, I am the foreground blob, you can see the waitress talking to my wife and a man standing up to my left. This is my kind of self portrait. I have posted some others below.

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My Kind of Selfie

My Kind of Selfie

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Self Portrait

Self Portrait

Schwangau View of Neuschwanstein Castle

I have been editing old european images in preparation for my next visit to Europe in October. I have published a number of shots of Neuschwanstein but only the front,back and interiors of the castle and views from the castle. This is the side of the castle as seen from the village. It is undoubtedly this view that caught the imagination of Disney. This is the right side of the castle as seen from the main street in Schwangau.

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Schwanghau View

Schwanghau View

Claude Monet’s Jardin de l’eau

You could easily visit Giverny and miss the water garden. The house is a fun tour and the gardens are quite large. Then in the back of the gardens you will a little sign which reads Jardin de l’eau and a little tunnel that leads across a stream and to a path through the Water Garden.

Monet’s water garden in Giverny is located just outside of Vernon France. It is a short day trip from Paris and worth the train and bus ride. The house and gardens are unique and stunning and kept in the same way that they were during the time of Claude Monet. If you have the time it is worth spending a night since the entire area is really a tribute to nature and art.

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Jardin-de-leau

Jardin-de-leau

Jardins du Château de Versailles

I have only been to Versailles once and it was a very full day. Of course we spent a lot of time touring the Château and the gardens immediately surrounding the Mansion. Then we went down a garden path and were in another world. Louis XIII’s purchased the lands around Versailles in the 1630s and formal gardens were laid out west of the château. The garden was expanded to its present size of 800 hectares (1800 acres) by Louis XIV in the 1660s.

The good thing about visiting Versailles is when we return we will not have to tour the Château and can take a picnic in the garden. You have to have a ticket to visit the château but the gardens are free to the people. I can’t wait to return. This is a statue in a small garden pond.

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Jardins du Château de Versailles

Jardins du Château de Versailles

Statue of Giuseppe Garibaldi

Giuseppe Garibaldi was an Italian general and political figure and seen as one of the founding fathers of modern Italy. Garibaldi was a central figure in the Italian Risorgimento. He personally commanded and fought in many military campaigns that led eventually to the formation of a unified Italy. He was appointed general by the provisional government of Milan in 1848. The statue is opposite the Cathedral in the Plaza Il Duomo in Milan, Italy

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Statue of Giuseppe Garibaldi

Statue of Giuseppe Garibaldi

The Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II

The Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II is one of the first enclosed shopping malls in the world and is in Milan Italy.It was designed in 1861 and built by Giuseppe Mengoni between 1865 and 1877. It is in the center of Milan near the Cathedral Santa Maria Nascente commonly known as Il Duomo.
The mall was dedicated to Victor Emmanuel II, the first king of the Kingdom of Italy. It is a stunningly beautiful place if you can ignore the invasion of USA branded stores like McDonalds housed in the structure.

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 The Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II

The Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II

Mayan Ruins

Before I visited Chichén Itzá for the first time I thought there was just the one giant pyramid. I didn’t realize that there was a whole city of ruins. Since then I have visited other Mayan ruins in the Yucatan and Qunintana Roo. In fact there are many archaeological sites all through Mexico and they are not all Mayan. The Mayan people live primarily in The Yucatan and contrary to popular beliefs they are still here.

This ruin is a smaller pyramid in the jungle near the great pyramid of Chichen Itsa. The great pyramid is considered to be one of the seven wonders of the modern world. This one, not so much but it is still amazing to see it standing almost 2000 years after its construction.

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A Lesser Pyramid

A Lesser Pyramid

A Curator with a Sense of Humor

I am sure museum curators view themselves as special people and they should. They have to be extremely knowledgeable about a subject and love the minute details. They have to make difficult judgements which may impact people that are largely emotional and probably sometimes complete assholes. (artists) In addition they have to live the rest of their lives, raise families, go shopping and deal with mundane physical society in the same way that common folk do. I can see where this could dramatically impact a persons psyche and they could take themselves far too seriously.

Then there is the person that is the curator for the hall of architecture at the Carnegie Museum. This person is obviously a real human being with a sense of humor. I saw this and laughed and realized there is at least one curator in the world with a sense of humor. Thank you whoever you are.

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Curator with Sense of Humor

Curator with Sense of Humor

A Couple of Statues

We went to see the Ai Weiwei exhibit at the Pittsburgh Carnegie Museum of Natural History. The sculptures were quite magnificent and next week we plan to revisit the Warhol Museum to see the rest of his exhibit in Pittsburgh. He is an awe inspiring artist and if you live in Pittsburgh it is a must see. I don’t usually photograph art in museums but I was taken with how statue like the guard was. He was almost as still as the sculptures themselves. What a zen job.I hope Ai Weiwei will forgive me for photographing his art.

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A couple of statues

Reflections on a Hood

Everything looks different at sunset. I noticed the palm tree reflections in the afternoon as I walked up from the beach and thought, such a shiny car. At sunset I noticed the same car and thought, hmm I wonder if you could get a car painted like that, but of course you can.

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Reflections on a Hood

Reflections on a Hood