in Arcachon

I like to think I'll get back here again,
to this charming town at one end 
of Cap Ferret, on the Bassin d'Arcachon,
west of Bordeaux.

[Linking back to Ruby Tuesday
and Our World Tuesday.]

teeny tiny

Can't tell you what kind of flower this is—
aside from saying it's very small.
I took this shot with a macro
lens on my phone.

[Linking back to Macro Monday
and Blue Monday Two (thanks,
Magical Mystical Teacher!)]

inSPIREd Sunday

This is Santa Maria Sopra Minerva, in Rome.
There's some fabulous art in this often
overlooked church—including frescoes by
Filippino Lippi and sculpture by Michelangelo.

[To see more churches from
around the world, go here.]

The Weekend in Black and White

We haven't gotten much of this so far,
and I can't say I'm sorry.
(We'll probably have a blizzard next week,
just because I said that.)

[To see more b/w images, visit
Dragonstar's meme.]

Rainy night at LGA

Earlier this month, I flew home from Virginia
through some very stormy skies (the
flight attendant told me we'd come this close to
being diverted to Philadelphia).
Needless to say, I was very glad to be back
home in NYC—and safe on the ground!

[Linking back to James's meme,
Weekend Reflections. To see more, go here.]

One more . . .

from this past weekend's Women's March
in New York.  I was so glad to be there
with my daughter Lila and a whole bunch of her 
friends.  I felt supportive and supported!

[Linking back to Signs, Signs and
to Thursday Photo Challenge: "group."]

ABC Wednesday—C is for "corner"

And also Carlton (Hotel, at the corner of Madison Ave.
and 29th Street).  I lived in this beautiful old
building for a month back in the '70s during a protracted
transit strike.  At the time it was a real fleabag and
a few of my fellow guests worked, um, by the hour, let's say.
But it was definitely affordable.
It's much nicer now, and a room the size of the one I
had costs more than I paid for the whole month.

[To see more ABC posts, go here.]

Those pink hats

So may pink pussy hats at the NYC
Women's March—worn by 
women and men! While I was marching,
some women started chanting
"Our bodies, our choice," and a group
of men (clearly not with them) picked
it up and responded, "Your bodies, your choice!"

[Linking back to Ruby Tuesday
and Our World Tuesday.]

The March

Some signs (and an inspiring book) at the
Women's March in New York this past
Saturday.  So uplifting, so much fun, SO many
wonderful people (about a half million)!

inSPIREd Sunday

This is the spire of the church of
Saint-Germain, in Paris—
built (and rebuilt) for the past
15 centuries.

[To see more churches from
around the world, go here.]

The Weekend in Black and White

Normally, I try not to do this—that is, repeat
a photo.  But a) hey, I like this photo a lot
and b) this is the starting point for NYC's
women's march, and where I'll be today at 1 p.m.,
when those of us with names beginning
with the letter A or B get to join the march,
which will end up eventually at Trump Tower.
Watch this space.

[To see more b/w shots, visit Dragonstar's meme.]

Tough Day

Each of us is entitled to our opinion, 
and this is mine.  Feel like
I need to put it out there (you know,
just in case anyone was wondering
how a born-and-bred New York liberal
would be feeling today).  Oy.

[Linking back to Orange You Glad It's Friday?]

Thursday Challenge—"best/favorite photo of 2016 (#2)"

Last week for this meme I posted what
I thought was my best photo
of 2016.  Still on the theme (and another
difficult choice), my favorite is
probably this one of a very rare young
clouded leopard that visited
my office back in July.

[To see more of the Thursday Photo
Challenge, visit Dragonstar's meme.]  

ABC Wednesday—B is for "books"

Somewhere in Paris, someone filled a
shop window with stacks and
stacks of books.  Good luck finding any
particular tome you're looking for,
but obviously that's not the point here—and
it does make kind of a nifty display.

[To see more ABC posts, go here.]

So long, Santa

It's finally (past) time to pack up all
the Christmas things.  This Santa
was handmade and hand-painted and
signed by someone named Fran (I think)
Deckel (I think), on Cape Cod.  Was
able to find precisely nothing on the Internet,
so suffice it to say that this makes me
very happy for a month or so each year
and I hate to put it away.

[Linking back to Ruby Tuesday
and Our World Tuesday.]

Macro Monday

Here's a closeup of one of my fave
pieces of art (which also
showed up here with its partner).
I'd love to tell you who painted
this colorful dragonfly—but I can't.
All I do know is that it came
from England.

[To see more macro shots, go here.]

inSPIREd Sunday

Another view of the Cathédrale Saint-André,
in Bordeaux—which I've shown
before, here and here. It's probably not
the last time, either, because I took
55 pictures while I was here (and all in the
space of 10 minutes; we arrived
just before it closed for a few hours).

[To see more churches from around the world, go here.]

The Weekend in Black and White

Haven't been out and about with my camera
nearly enough lately.  Here's a shot
taken back in September:  Buren's lovely
columns in the Palais Royal.
It's like they're asking to be shot in
black-and-white.

[To see more b/w images, visit Dragonstar's meme.]

Weekend Reflections

Closing the show at last night's celebration
for the opening of the brand new
Museum of African-American History, in
Washington, D.C.:  Stevie Wonder!

[To see more Weekend Reflections,
visit James's meme.]

Thursday Challenge—"best of 2016"

Not easy to pick the best picture from
among hundreds (thousands?)
taken over the course of the year—and
in lots of (very) different places,
from my Brooklyn neighborhood to not
 that far from the North Pole.
If I have to choose one, it has to be this photo
taken as the sun was rising (and so was
the mist) over the Garonne River
in Bordeaux this past September.  More luck
than skill, but I do love this image.  

[To see more of the Thursday Photo
Challenge, visit Dale's meme.] 

ABC Wednesday—A is for "abeille"

Which is French for bee, of course.  This one
is in the floor of a shop on rue Vignon,
in Paris.  It's called La Maison du Miel and is
filled with honey and also lots of wonderful
things made with honey (soap, candies,
cookies, jam, vinegar, you name it. 

[To see more ABC posts (and I can't
believe this is the last round!), go here.]

red bowl

A couple of days before Christmas, I met up with
my friend Conrad (aka Ming the Merciless,
former NYC blogger who now lives up in Maine
where he has learned to live at a much
saner pace).  It was great to catch up with him
while strolling around Dumbo and
Brooklyn Heights (where we enjoyed a yummy bowl
of café (and more) at Le Pain Quotidien.

[Linking back to Ruby Tuesday
and Our World Tuesday.]

Platform Diving

I've shown this image once before, along with
a couple other examples of subway art,
but at the time I knew nothing about it (and
was apparently too lazy to find out).
Now I can say that it's one of seven mosaic-tile
murals by Deborah Brown at the
Houston Street subway station.  The name of the
whole installation is "Platform Diving"
(clever—and I love the way she imagines the
station under water).

[Linking back to Monday Mural at Oakland Daily Photo.]

inSPIREd Sunday

View from the roof of the Printemps 
department store in Paris:
Sainte-Trinité and Sacré Coeur.

[To see more churches from
around the world, go here.]

The Weekend in Black and White

I've featured this barn on my blog before.
Whenever I go down to visit my
cousins in Virginia, I like to go by here
and see what kind of shape it's in.
(P.S. It's getting more and more picturesque—
i.e., rundown, wabi sabi, shabby chic.)

[To see more b/w images, visit Dragonstar's meme.]

Skywatch / Reflections

I spent the New Year weekend down in
Virginia.  When I flew home a
couple of days ago, bad weather around the
country meant that my 2 p.m. flight
finally took off after 5.  On the other hand,
the late-afternoon light gave me
this subtle sunset and cloudy reflection.

[Linking back to Skywatch Friday
and Weekend Reflections.]

Thursday Challenge—"celebration" (#2)

To celebrate the holidays, every year La De Da,
a unique clothing (and more) store
in Roanoke, Va., features a handmade and
one-of-a-kind candy/couture creation
(and how about those garlands?).  Here's this
year's offering (and here's last year's).

And the whole thing is edible!

[To see more of the Thursday Photo
Challenge, visit Dale's meme.]

ABC Wednesday—Z is for "zodiac"

Fellow travelers in one of the zodiacs on
our August Arctic expedition.  This 
was well into the trip—when we were comfy
enough in these shallow rubber craft to 
stand up in them (not the case at first!) and
to get in and out of them in choppy seas.

[To see more ABC posts, go here.]

Crazy for Christmas

As we open presents and drink eggnog
(and eventually, wine!), sooner
or later someone (or several someones)
wind up decorated with ribbon
from the packages.  Don't be mad at me for 
posting this, Lila—you look cute! 

[Linking back to Ruby Tuesday 
and Our World Tuesday.]

Looming

I pass by this construction site often on my 
way to work, though I have to admit that I usually 
speed up to get past this monster crane.  
These things make me nervous!  

[Linking back to Monday Mellow Yellows.]                                                                                                                                                                           

inSPIREd Sunday

This is Cathédrale Saint-André, in Bordeaux,
which I also featured here.

Happy first day of 2017.  I'm hopeful that this
year will bring some positive changes
(along with the ones that I'm, frankly, way 
less than thrilled about).

[To see more churches from around
the world, go here.]