July 13, 2017 at 9:57 pm (Artists and Writers, Books, Family, Flowers, Food and Drink, Links, Lists, Niece, Personal Bookshelf, Philippine History, postaday, Relatives)
Tags: art, California, exhibits, museums, postaday, postaweek, restaurants, Sacramento, San Francisco, Wordpress
What is a collage? In the words of Michelle Weber over at The Daily Post, it is “an assortment, a collection, a hodgepodge.”
Here are a couple of shots that show a collage:
- The printed dress. So fabulous. The wearer was self’s niece, Rina. We were having lunch at Boiling Crab:
Rina Villanueva, July 2017
- An assortment of reading matter: Everything from a Playbill to a book written by someone she used to know in college, Rick Manapat. The book, History of Negros, is about an island in the Philippines called Negros (The Spanish gave it the name, in the 16th century):
What Self Found in Son’s Room: July 2017
- A collection of roses on a hat at the recent exhibit “Degas, Impressionism and the Paris Millinery Trade” at the California Palace of the Legion of Honor:
Woman’s Hat, circa 1910: The artist went by the name “Madame George”
Stay tuned, dear blog readers. Stay tuned.
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July 5, 2017 at 9:43 pm (Artists and Writers, destinations, Family, Flowers, Niece, Places, postaday, Relatives, Surprises, Traveling)
Tags: Gardens, museums, Paris, postaday, postaweek, Wordpress
Think about the things, places, or people that connect us. What’s your take?
— Cheri Lucas Rowlands, The Daily Post
Below, a path through the gardens at Giverney. A path takes a person from one place to another. A path is therefore a bridge. Well, okay it’s more than a bridge. It’s a journey.
Giverney: June 2017
And here is the Eiffel Tower, a tight shot that shows the first level bridge (covered in glass) between the two spans:
The Eiffel Tower: May 2017
Finally, just a plain old bridge. It spans the Seine. On one bank are the Tuileries and the Place de la Concorde. On the other, just visible on the left, the Musée d’Orsay.
Walking from the Tuileries to the Musée d’Orsay: May 2017
The reason self got to Paris this year was all due to her niece (on her Dad’s side), Irene. She planned the trip, and made it fun. More fun than self usually has in her solitary wanderings. Thanks a bunch, Irene!
Stay tuned, dear blog readers. Stay tuned.
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May 31, 2017 at 5:37 pm (Artists and Writers, Family, Niece, Places, postaday, Relatives, Surprises, Traveling)
Tags: England, happiness, Paris, postaday, postaweek, Wordpress
Self’s favorite travel buddy: her niece! A week ago, at the Arc de Triomphe (lots of other people in the background, when self asked a stranger to snap the picture, he waited for the worst possible moment):
Self with her niece Irene: This was our second adventure. The first was Florence, November 2015.
And here the two of us are, on the bridge between the Tuileries and the Musée de Orsay, which is Irene’s favorite Paris museum:
Heading from the Tuileries towards the Musée d’Orsay, Irene’s favorite Paris Museum.
The last thing self expected to see in Bath, England was a teddy bear. But there it was, waiting for her in her room. Instant BFF!
Tasburgh House, Bath, England, May 2017
Stay tuned, dear blog readers. Stay tuned.
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May 28, 2017 at 1:06 pm (Artists and Writers, Books, destinations, Family, Holidays, Niece, Personal Bookshelf, Places, postaday, Relatives, Sundays, Traveling)
Tags: happiness, memories, novel, Paris, postaday, postaweek, Wordpress
Self with her usual gear: The book she’s reading is the novel THIS IS YOUR LIFE, HARRIET CHANCE!
A Woman stares out into the gardens of the Chateau de Vaux-le-Vicomte. Woman stood there so long that self got tired of waiting for her to move and made her a part of the picture.
Mementos of a Trip, Never To Be Forgotten: Paris, May 2017
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May 26, 2017 at 4:51 pm (destinations, Niece, Places, postaday, Recommended, Surprises, Traveling)
Tags: discoveries, Fridays, history, Paris, postaday, postaweek, Wordpress
Today self and her niece Irene went on a one-day tour to Chateau de Vaux-le-Vicomte and Chateau de Fontainebleau. The guide’s name was Laurence: she was great.
Chateau de Vaux-le-Vicomte came first. OMG, that estate is just fabulous. It’s privately owned. The main buildings are open to the public; no sign of the family that owns the place, but hey, imagine giving birthday parties there! Must be soooo fun!
At some time in its fabulous past, the estate was in the hands of the same family for eight generations. The last heir murdered his wife so he could be with his mistress, was convicted and imprisoned, and committed suicide in his cell, a year later. Payback’s a bitch!
His chef invented the praline.
A Photo Shoot Was Happening at the 17th Century Chateau de Vaux-le-Vicomte! Self was so woke!
Windows, Chateau de Vaux-le-Vicomte
More Windows at Chateau de Vaux-le-Vicomte: Self took so many pictures there that by the time the tour arrived at Fontainebleau, her camera battery was exhausted. Ugh!!!
Stay tuned, dear blog readers. Stay tuned.
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September 7, 2016 at 5:17 am (Artists and Writers, Books, Food and Drink, Links, Niece, Places, Relatives, Surprises, Traveling)
Tags: art, fast food, Florence, nonfiction
Anyone with a little bit of money can buy a Louis Vuitton handbag, of which thousands are manufactured each year. Very few people can buy the new Jeff Koons, even if they do have the tens of millions of dollars required.
— Brazillionaires, p. 29
Self’s question is: Why would anyone want to buy a Jeff Koons? A Koons was in front of the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence when self was there with her niece, Irene, last November. It was placed right next to a Michelangelo and it was ugly. Hope it was only a temporary installation.
(Side note: In Florence, on the road to the Santa Maria del Fiori, you will pass a McDonald’s. Which was always packed. Self just could not understand it. When all around were great, really great local restaurants. It must be the convenience.)
Stay tuned, dear blog readers. Stay tuned.
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August 21, 2016 at 2:35 am (Family, Links, Niece, Places, postaday, Surprises, Traveling)
Tags: discoveries, Florence, Italy, memories, postaday, postaweek, Saturdays, travel, Wordpress
Self is still looking for pictures to accord with the Daily Post Photo Challenge this week, RARE.
Back in November 2015, she got a surprise invitation from her niece Irene to go on a trip to Florence.
But of course! Self has decided that she will never say NO when it comes to travel. And she’d never been to Florence. All the pictures below are from that trip.
First, a picture taken in the Piazza Signoria. Self had spent the day at the Palazzo Vecchio, her niece had gone to the Uffizi. We met up at the square to have dinner. Self took the picture from one of the sidewalk cafés:
Piazza Signoria, Florence’s Iconic Square: November 2015
On our first morning in Florence, self and Irene were wending our way from our hotel to the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore when we passed a library. And though the library was not in any of our guidebooks, self never passed a library she didn’t wish to explore.
So here’s what was inside:
Self’s ever-curious soul led her to this library, on a street close to the Santa Maria del Fiore Cathedral.
It turned out to be a library made up entirely of opera librettos. And self thought that was the most fabulous thing.
The most rare and fabulous thing.
Stay tuned.
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August 1, 2016 at 10:07 pm (destinations, Family, Links, Niece, Places, postaday, Traveling)
Tags: Florence, Italy, memories, postaday, postaweek, Wordpress
When I think of a beautiful landscape, the image that usually comes to mind involves an open expanse: a mountain range, a windy meadow, the beach on a sunny (or stormy) afternoon. Every so often, though, I’m reminded of the magic of narrowness: how it forces the eye to focus on details and textures that would’ve been lost in a wide-open panorama.
— Ben Huberman, The Daily Post
Self accompanied her niece Irene on a short trip to Florence last November. Just eight days. Amazing how much you can see in eight days, especially when you’re traveling with someone as organized as Irene.
Irene found a one-day tour of Tuscan hill towns. San Gimignano, Pisa, Siena — self can’t remember the names of all the towns included in the tour.
It was great fun sorting through her picures from the trip, looking for the ones that matched this week’s photo challenge: NARROW
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July 26, 2016 at 3:46 pm (Family, Holidays, Links, Lists, Niece, postaday, Relatives, Traveling)
Tags: Calgary, Calgary Stampede, California, Canada, Events, memories, parades, postaday, postaweek, summer, Wordpress
This week’s Daily Post Photo Challenge is about:
The cherry on top.
The icing on the cake
“a desirable feature perceived as the finishing touch to something that is already very good.” (Oxford English Dictionary)
Here are three “cherry on top” pictures.
- Karina (The cherry on top is that she is so sweet. And likes wearing baseball caps. She lives in Calgary)
Karina is self’s guide to all things YA. Her latest book recommendation: Sarah J. Maas’s THRONE OF GLASS (Exciting read!)
- The Calgary Stampede is fabulous. The “cherry on top” is that everywhere you look, you see people wearing cowboy hats:
Don’t ask self what “Beaver Balls” are. She has no idea.
Self took this picture during the Annual Redwood City Fourth of July Parade. Look at the man’s fantastic sombrero! Definitely the “cherry on top.”
2016 Annual Redwood City Fourth of July Parade
Stay tuned, dear blog readers. Stay tuned.
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July 13, 2016 at 4:17 am (Books, Conversations, Family, Fan Fiction, Niece, Personal Bookshelf, Recommended, Relatives, Traveling, Women Writers)
Tags: book lists, Canada, Everlark, fantasy, indulgences, mysteries, novel, shopping
Here she is, in Calgary, and she doesn’t know what she should read next: Her niece Karina’s next book recommendation (She tore through Throne of Glass, by Sarah J. Maas, like white on rice!), Girl Waits With Gun by Amy Stewart (The title is pure nonsense; the book is much much better than that. There is NO girl waiting with a gun. Don’t hold your breath), or The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene. Of course, she is also drinking in Everlark fan fiction like crazy. A lot of stories that languished for months and months (even, years) finally updated in the last week: it’s been a veritable bonanza of good Everlark! (Take your pick: Pride and Prejudice Everlark; ballet world Everlark; Great Expectations Everlark; or vlogging Everlark)
Today, self went to Market Mall with her niece and of course we stopped by Sephora. And there was a brand self had never seen before: Tarte. And when her niece found out self’s current mascara was over three years old, her niece told her, in no uncertain terms: Throw it out, Tita. Honestly, you should be replacing your mascara every six months. (Oh. So that’s why self’s eyes were itching like crazy yesterday)
Stay tuned, dear blog readers. Stay tuned.
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