All I want in 2018 . . .

is this bright yellow vintage 2CV—and I don't even drive!
(And yet, the road is still mine—go figure.)   
In case you missed it, I recently retired.  That means 
I have more time to travel and I plan to do just 
that.  Which means that I need to back off this blog a bit.  
I've been doing it for nine and a half years now and it's 
been a total labor of love.  But I think we're all 
a bit "blogged out" at this point.  So for now I'll blog 
when I have something to blog about and
I hope you'll come by from time to time ( please do!).

{Meanwhile, I'll also be around on Instagram—
can't lie, I'm a bit addicted.  Find me
@brooklynalexa, and on Facebook as well.}

And Happy New Year to all of my wonderful blog pals!

[Today I'm linking back to Shadow Shot Sunday.]

The Weekend in Black and White

Downtown buildings are reflected in
the outer walls of the "oculus"—part PATH
station and part high-end shopping mall.

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

Skywatch Friday

Came up out of the subway on Christmas
Eve (annual pilgrimage to Zabar's
on the Upper West Side for
overpriced but delicious holiday treats)
and saw this fluffy sky.  Anyone
know if there's a name for these clouds?

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

Make mine neon

Part of the vast Fulton Street transit
station,  where you have access to
—count 'em—11 different subway lines
(except that the 2 & 3 and the
4 & 5 are mostly the same thing).

[Linking back to signs, signs.]

ABC Wednesday—Y is for "yellow ornament"

And also for "yuletide."  Happy holidays to
the ABC team and all its contributors!

[To see more ABC posts, go here.]

Happy Boxing Day!

. . . to everyone celebrating today.

[Linking back to Our World Tuesday.]

A very Merry Christmas . . .

from the heart of Times Square!

[Linking back to Blue Monday
at Magical Mystery Teacher.]

inSPIREd Sunday

This is St. Patrick's Cathedral
in midtown Manhattan—
and the statue of Atlas directly
across the street.

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

mwah!

Christmas kisses to all from this boutique
in Buenos Aires' über-hip Palermo
neighborhood—can't wait to be back there
some day very soon (I hope).

[Linking back to Pink Saturday
at How Sweet the Sound.]

Antarctic skies . . .

are SO dramatic—like pretty much
every part of this incredible
corner of the world.

[Linking back to Skywatch Friday and
The Weekend in Black and White.]

seems like good advice

Actually, this is Hen Quarter, a "bourbon bar"
(46 different kinds—who even knew there 
were that many?) in Old Town, Alexandria.  I went
for the good food—but, yes, I did have
one of the 46 different kinds (and still kept calm).

[Linking back to signs, signs.] 

ABC Wednesday—X is for "Xmas"

I love to walk around my "brownstone
Brooklyn" neighborhood and see
how people have decorated for the holidays.
I like all the white lights on this house
(and even the random leftover pumpkin)!

[To see more ABC posts, go here.]

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.]

Home for the Holidays

The mood is festive at Penn Station in New York, 
as the decorations welcome visitors 
(and those of us returning home) to the 
city during the holiday season.

[Linking back to Blue Monday 
 at Magical Mystery Teacher.]

Antarctic shadows

This is Half Moon Bay, on the Antarctic Peninsula.
The thing we're all so fascinated with
out there in the snow . . .

is the only leopard seal we spotted
on the whole trip.  Looks like it's smiling
doesn't it?  (It's not.)

[Linking back to Shadow Shot Sunday.]

The Weekend in Black and White

I spent this past week in the 'burbs of
northern Virginia, helping to take
care of a couple of toddlers.  I took this
picture one morning when they
woke me up with hugs at 6:30. Toddler hugs 
are so worth getting up early for.

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

Weekend Reflections

This one is on the island of South Georgia,
in a place I was very lucky to visit
—because the seas around it are usually
too rough to allow a landing.
More than half a million king penguins
live here; you can see some in
the background (and their feathers
littering the foreground).

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

their hero

The people of Buenos Aires are justifiably
proud of their former archbishop.

This is a part of the cathedral
that was his "home" church
(and where that sign is found).

[Linking back to signs, signs.]

ABC Wednesday—W is for "waterfall"

This is Shackleton Falls, on South Georgia.
It's named for Sir Ernest Shackleton,
the Antarctic explorer.  He came
over this mountain to the whaling station
of Strömness and was able to rescue
his entire crew after they had to abandon
their ship when it was trapped in (and
ultimately destroyed by) pack ice.

[To see more ABC posts, go here.]

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.]

angel on my shoulder

Buenos Aires is full of fabulous
murals like this one.

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

inSPIREd Sunday

This is the Whaler's Church, in Grytviken,
in South Georgia.  Grytviken was
a whaling station that has now been shut
down.  There's a museum here, but,
really, the whole town is a museum.  

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

The Weekend in Black and White

This king penguin was actually one of many
I saw on a stretch of beach in
South Georgia, the Antarctic Islands due east
of the Antarctic Peninsula.  There were
also fur seals—but those we avoided (pretty
nasty and faster than you'd think).

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

Skywatch Friday

Everything was over-the-top in South Georgia:
the landscape, the wildlife, even the clouds.

[To see more Skywatch pics, go here.]

Don't even think about it

This is the old whaling station of 
Strömness, on South Georgia.

Even the penguins have enough sense to 
keep (relatively) clear of this place.

[Linking back to signs, signs.]

ABC Wednesday—V is for "vain"

This proud chinstrap penguin seems to be
saying, "look at me. Look at me."
Actually, I think that's exactly what this
behavior means—he's lookin' for
love in all the right places.

[To see more ABC posts, go here.]

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.]

West Point

This West Point is the northernmost island of
the Falklands, home to some cattle,
a rookery filled with nesting albatross and
rockhopper penguins, and one
adventurous family who love living there.

[Linking back to Blue Monday.]

inSPIREd Sunday

Here's a detail from Christ Church Cathedral,
in Port Stanley, capital of the Falklands.

And those huge white things
outside the church are
the jawbones of a couple
of very large whales.
(BTW, now that they're
protected the whales are
starting to come back
in the Southern Ocean.)

[To see more churches
(with or without whalebones)
from around the world,
go here.]

The Weekend in Black and White

This enormous rubber tree—20m (65 feet)
high and  50m (164 feet) wide;
impossible to photograph the whole thing and
many branches are supported—was planted near
what is now the Recoleta Cemetery, in
Buenos Aires, in 1800.

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

Weekend Reflections

All decked out in special cold-weather
gear to enjoy the beauty of Orne 
Harbor, in Antarctica.

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