Isla Mujeres - Miles Away from the Masses

Just a short ferry ride from Cancun lies the tiny island of Isla Mujeres. Cancun may be within sight but it feels 1,000 miles away... you see, Isla Mujeres hasn't been overrun by massive resorts, Hooter's and malls. The island still has a small town feel and in the main town, you can walk safely day or night, get to know locals and eat at many beachside establishments. Minino's, for example, offers great seafood served at tables on the sand. You can kick back, enjoy a Sol beer and listen to these two brothers play some marimba music while you thank God you picked Isla over Cancun.

You know you're in Argentina...

Where else but Argentina can you go to the local zoo and find a hot water dispenser specifically made for mate drinkers? Just bring your thermos, yerba and mate and for a few pesos, you can get some hot water. Just pour, sip and enjoy and you look at the llamas and carpinchos!

Of course, if you're little ones aren't drinking mate yet, why not go to a store in Palermo Viejo and pick up their first little mate set? Comes complete with yerba, bombilla and fun pink or blue mate.

Bright Lights...

It may not get more touristy than Times Square but there's just something about the lights and sounds of that big, bright mess that draws people like moths to a flame. You can't visit New York without taking in the lights of Times Square.

Baked capesante for dinner?

Fresh capesante or scallops for sale in Venice, Italy

Back road finds...

You never know what you'll find on a back road. This 1960s Oldsmobile was parked next to a shack of a house at about 11,000 ft. near Breckenridge, Colorado.

Two reasons to visit El Preferido

There are many reasons to visit El Preferido de Palermo in Palermo Soho. Here are two - an ice cold chopp of Quilmes and a picada.

The Majesty of Palms

We love palm trees... their tall gracious look, the way they rustle in the breeze and, most of all, where one finds them - typically in gorgeous tropical locales. So, here are some photos showing off these gorgeous plants...

Near the beach at Las Brisas in Huatulco, Mexico

Close up of a palm frond in Maspalomas, Gran Canaria

The city beach in Isla Mujeres, Mexico

By the boardwalk in Ft. Lauderdale, FL

Sunset in Tamarindo, Costa Rica

The pool at the Desert Star in Palm Springs, California

Great blog on food and travel

I somehow stumbled upon the Ms. Adventures in Italy blog in Italy and boy am I glad I did. If you look food and you like travel, this is a great blog. Lots of interesting stories on locations in Italy and other must-see spots like Turkey... you'll see that this person takes the types of photos I like to take... photos of food! I love the shot she took of the halva.

I'll pitch in with my own food photograph, just for kicks... a simply delicious rabbit dish from a restaurant in Las Palmas, Gran Canaria.

Treasure Trove of Travel Photos

By now, you've probably heard the news that Google is hosting the Life Magazine photo archive online... over ten million images of every historic subject you can imagine. It's fascinating stuff and a terrible time waster if you want to really dig.

Give then purpose of this site, I thought it would be cool to post some tourist and travel related images.

TWA Stewardess in 1933

American tourist and his guide in Paris, 1957

Cafe patrons in Buenos Aires in 1961

Tourists visiting ancient ruins in Greece in 1959

Musicians entertain travelers in Mexico City Airport in 1958

Hello Kirchner

Seems to me like porteños have elevated the use of stencils for graffiti to a whole new level. From still-scarred areas of the microcentro to the buzzing streets of Palermo Viejo, you're likely to come across all kinds of random stencils. Many, if not most, are of a political nature, while others are just odd or amusing. This stencil plays Hello Kitty off nicely with (at the time) Nestor Kirchner. Turned out to be a relatively timeless design now that pension-hungry Kristina is in power. The other stencil was located on a bank building in the microcentro - site of some of the fiercest rioting during the Argentine crisis.

Italy - Always a Cell Phone at Hand

This scene cracked me up when I fist saw it because it was so Italian. That is, in Italy, everyone has a fascination with cell phones... the country has one incidence of cell phone usage on the globe with articles even noting that adolescents often have multiple cell phones. As early as 1999, there were more cell phones in use in Italy than landlines... similar to cell-phone crazed Finland. It could be because landlines are ridiculously expensive in Italy. When I call my aunt in Rome, she's always in a rush to get off since calls are metered, like traditional cell phone plans. Anyway, watching this scene unfold in Villa Celimontana in April 2008 had us laughing. So normal to Italians but so typical, too. Certainly the children and the pony are unfazed.

Chestnuts roasting on a Roman fire

One of my most vivid memories of my childhood in Italy is the smell of vendors selling warm chestnuts during wintertime. I guess the old song about chestnuts roasting on an open fire still rings true in Italy. To this day, you can wander the chilly winter streets of cities like Rome and buy a rolled up paper cone of warm chestnuts - a great little snack on a wintry day. Here is a picture of my cousin getting his fill on a cold November day in 2005...

Scenic Vieux Montreal

To visit Montreal without visiting Vieux Montreal would be a crime. Here is a shot of a 18th century restaurant, one of the oldest in Montreal, located near the waterfront. We took this shot after a long day spent wandering this wonderful city.

Food... Looks good to me!

I've got this thing for taking pictures of food when we travel... heck, even at home (depending on what I just cooked). I figure... what a better way to keep track of the cuisine of different destinations and to refresh my taste buds' memory. Here are a few shots from various trips we've taken...

Paella in Maspalomas, Gran Canaria
Delicious shrimp spaghetti in Sperlonga, Italy

A tasty pizza in Montreal, Quebec

An Indian spread at La Porte des Indes on New Year's Eve in London
A traditional asado at La Estancia in Buenos Aires
Delicious grilled seafood in Tamarindo, Costa Rica
A beautiful spread of cheese and cured meats in Buenos Aires
Squid ink linguini in Venice, Italy
Tasty lomo in Buenos Aires
A huge platter of bresaola, rucula and parmigiano in Gorga, Italy

Hampton Court on Display

If you're in Houston, be sure to stop by the Starbucks at the corner of Voss and San Felipe on November 9th to see one of my photos displayed at a small local art show. Titled "Hampton Court Carousel", the photograph is a close-up of the horse depicted at the right. Given my love for travel photography, this is a small opportunity to show off a little bit of my work.

A local map will help you find the Starbucks where the show will be taking place.

I like Doors, I like Windows

I like doors, I like windows, I like doors and windows and people standing in front of doors, leaning out their windows, hanging out in the street by a door or the bicycle they used to get to that door. If it's a door, or a window or an interesting part of a door or window, it's a target for my camera.

An elegant knocker in Paris, France

The charm of Plaza Dorrego in Buenos Aires, Argentina

Detail of a lock in Las Palmas, Gran Canaria

Ice Cream Shop in San Jose Del Cabo, Mexico

Lottery Ticket Vendor in Las Palmas, Gran Canaria

18th Century Restaurant in Vieux Montreal, Canada

A watery front door in Venice, Italy

A Victorian Door Latch in Cardinal, Ontario

Scene from the old Jewish Ghetto in Rome, Italy

A colorful window off of Portobello Road in London, England

The decaying walls of Villa Torlonia in Rome, Italy

A San Telmo delivery made in Buenos Aires, Argentina

The late afternoon sun in Rome, Italy

The Story Behind the Shot:Tamarindo, Costa Rica

I love this shot because it just typifies what we saw every single night from our lounge chairs at the Tamarindo Diria in Tamarindo, Costa Rica. Each evening, we would pick a spot facing the beach and just relax with a drink in hand as the sun went down. Not bad, huh? A local told us that living there was like being stuck in a time warp. Save for the rainy season, every day was the same - beautiful weather, clear skies, gorgeous sunsets and relatively constant daylight hours due to its latitude.

Flights from Houston to Liberia in Costa Rica are about 2 1/2 hours long on Continental - convenient enough for a week-long trip or a weekend getaway. From Liberia, a car can take you to Tamarindo in about an hour. Tamarindo makes for a good introductory trip to Costa Rica.

Humorous Roman Signs

The next time you visit the Campidoglio in Rome and decide to wander over to the old Jewish ghetto, you might do well to keep your hands off of any plants you see along the way.

It's not too hard to find wry or humorous signs and sayings scattered across Rome. One one hand the reality is that graffiti is, sadly, pretty much ubiquitous. Then there are signs like this one on the left, pasted by a frustrated homeowner struggling to content with those who just won't keep their grubby mitts off their prized cactus (note the lovely "cactus-approved" Christmas decorations). Apparently someone kept taking cuttings from this cactus without the owner's permission. In response, the owner posted...

"Chi taglia queste piante devono sanguinare come loro"

Simply put, "Whoever cuts these plants needs to bleed like they do"

Yikes!

Less threatening but funnier than the first is this sign...


"Non e' un cesso per cani, zozzoni"

Loosely translated... "this isn't a bathroom for dogs, pigs!"

Keep your eyes peeled walking around Rome - if you don't read Italian, write down the sign and see if someone can translate it for you. You never know what you'll find...

"Ho deciso di mettermi a dieta!! ...ma ho person solo tanto tempo!!"

"I dediced to go on a diet!! ... but I only lost a lot of time!!"