Happy Boxing Day!

. . . to everyone celebrating today.

[Linking back to Our World Tuesday.]

trimming the tree

Finally got the tree up (thanks, Katie!) and
decorated with all my favorite ornaments.

{Also finally got this post up after
the Internet decided to disappear yesterday.
Too many people shopping online?
The end of net neutrality?
Who knows?}

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

He's making a list . . .

Did you think Santa was hard at work
at the North Pole?  Me, too—but
apparently he prefers to do his list-checking
(twice) at the local Starbucks, with a
venti latte by his side.

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

At the café

This colorful café is in the neighborhood
of San Telmo, in Buenos Aires—
where you'll also find lots of fun shops
(and a weekend open-air market)
and some very talented tango dancers.

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

uphill

I learned quite a few things while I was on my trip to
Antarctica (and I'm just posting this now due
to welcome-home computer issues).  One of the things
I learned is that you can go almost anywhere if 
you just have sticks—including to the top of a  
snowy, icy, very high hill (though going down that hill
was actually harder than going up).  

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

lady in red

I always try to visit the Louvre pyramids
at night when I'm in Paris.
Last time, I saw four or five Asian couples
posing there.  It was Paris Fashion Week—but
I think all of them were there strictly
for themselves.  Brides and grooms, probably.
At any rate, they all looked beautiful.

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

beep beep

Parking is an issue in the Jordaan neighborhood,
in Amsterdam—unless, of course, 
you happen to be driving one of these cute
cars, which fits on the sidewalk and
is barely bigger than a bike.

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

somewhere in Paris

This almost never happens: to spot a
beautiful, colorful, photogenic
door—without a car parked right in
front of it.

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

foodie street

This is rue Paul Bert, where you find the
famous bistrot.  I've never been there,
but I was passing by here on my way to one
of my fave Paris restaurants, where I'm
always the lone American among the (friendly)
locals—and I like it that way.

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

des gateaux rouges

I saw these colorful cakes at Bon Marche's
Grand Epicerie (elegant Paris
grocery—and more—store) last time I
was in Paris.  Am shopping there
again for a few days week and I wonder what
delights they'll have on display this time.

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

Saratoga En Pointe

Saratoga, N.Y., is the summer home of the
New York City Ballet.  Toe shoes like
this one (though most are more colorful)
were originally part of an exhibit
of the Museum of Dance and can be 
found all over town.  See a few more here.

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

and the winner is . . .

One more shot from the Saratoga Racetrack.
Lots of horses got scratched from
the races held this wet day, but the "mudders"
weren't bothered a bit by the weather.
I was betting mostly on the jockeys, but put my
money on Downtown Mama for this one,
just because I liked her name.

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

three chairs

Many times, I've seen three chairs lined 
up somewhere on the altar of
a church.  These were in the Frari 
(full name: Basilica di Santa
Maria Gloriosa dei Frari), in Venice.

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

red balloon

I tried to make up a story about this little
girl and her mom, and speculate
about where they were headed at 8:30 a.m.
last Thursday.  School hasn't started
here yet, but even so maybe they were going to
meet her new (kindergarten?) teacher.

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

in the wrong spot

Parisian pigeons on a wire that stretches 

across the rue Montmartre.

If they flew one street over to the right, to 

the market street of rue Montorgeuil, 

they'd find some yummy things including snails at

l'Escargot Montorgeuil (founded in 1832)

and the original baba au rum at Stohrer, Paris's

oldest patisserie (there since 1730).

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

No, no, no!

I'll go zip-lining above a 100-foot-deep
chasm in the South American cloud
forest and I'll ride the hairiest roller coaster
you can find.  But I will not roll around
Rome on one of these.  (Just being a
pedestrian is tough enough!)

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

la bicicletta

Marking the entrance to a Roman jewelry
shop with a French name—I've
lost count of the number of shops I've seen
around the world with a red bike
by their front door.  Well, it does grab
your attention.

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

life is just a bowl of . . .

yummy Rainier cherries. They're very expensive,
 and available here for a short time only each summer. 
What a beautiful splurge!

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

getting an early start

This horse and driver were ready for
all the tourists who will show
up here—but at not quite 8 a.m., they
weren't yet out and about.

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

Happy Birthday

This installation—thousands of pinwheels—
was created recently as part of the
celebration for the 150th anniversary of my
local park, Prospect Park, in Brooklyn.

[Linking back to Our World Tuesday.]