It’s not often that people pair churches with amusement parks. Maybe that is the way forward for religion though given numbers are dropping all over the place. Lure in the kids…
Speaking of Tibidabo it reminds me of Friends, which reminds me of my Russian friend Olya who learned a lot of her English (and cultural knowledge of America) from watching Friends back when she lived in Russia.
I was looking back through my photos from Milan recently and it served as a good reminder of just how much styles can change. Below you’ll find 2 images from my trips to Milan, one from 2006 and one from 2017. Ahhh… 2017, the good old days when travel was easy…
2006
2017
Just a bit different, eh?
Gaudi’s masterpiece here in Barcelona is probably the most stunning religious structure I’ve ever been inside. I was lucky and I was given special access to a few areas only the Pope gets to visit. He has like is own “Papal Balcony” where he can kind of lord over the congregation. I suppose if you’re the Pope, you just get anything you want. You’re like, hey, I want my own balcony, and then the church just kinda does it for you. This cathedral broke ground way back in 1882 and they are still working on it. It’s probably taking them a while to complete this amazing behemoth because the Spanish have four-hour lunches.
From the Worship collection on Foundation.
When things work out with travel in and out of NZ task 1 is get back to the US to see the family… task 2: Get to Japan. Assuming they are open!
I’m usually too busy in these cities to go for a swim, since I’m running around with my hair on fire taking photos. I often think, gee willickers, I should really have a swim and a relax. But I almost never do! If I have a little extra time, I try to hit the gym, which I enjoy more than swimming. Now that I think about it, I don’t really like swimming much at all. But I do like playing in the pool with my kids!
Here’s a clip from the recent Joe Rogan podcast with Michael Pollan about his new book called “The is Your Brain on Plants.” Back when I named the new company “Machine Elf” it was a super niche word only known to a few that have ever seen them or at least heard about them. Anyone out there know Rogan or Pollan? I’d love for them to see some of our Machine Elf creations at https://the-machine-elf.com/ Oh, and be sure to check out the full podcast on Spotify, it’s always a good watch/listen.
If you’re ever in Kyoto, be sure to come adventure around this gate area at night. It’s pretty busy during the day, but at night it’s almost empty. It’s also a great time to pick up Japanese girls, if you are into that. I’m not into that at all. They can be very distracting while you are trying to take photos.
I often walk over here around sunset to this little peaceful pond in Dalefield. You can’t tell from this angle, but it’s actually in the shape of a heart, which fits many of my Disney romantic fantasies. Speaking of which, I think Disney has messed up a lot of people! A friend came over about a week ago and she studied Women’s Issues or something in college… she went on a long diatribe about sexism and stuff. I mostly was tuning her out because she was a woman, but she did have a few good points.
While on the bus tour across Europe, we made a quick stop in Nice for breakfast and a beach walk. The beach is super popular, but the only bad thing is there is no sand. It’s one of those beaches with big rocks that makes walking a little challenging, and certainly not smooth enough to lay out a beach towel and relax. Maybe the French people have inflatable things to lay on out there. I don’t know… I don’t understand the French. 🙂
We were lucky to get a little bonus access to the Sagrada Familia and were able to get into the upper floors. These are quite hidden from the ground level and I never would have known they were there otherwise. I didn’t have to do anything special to get access, just a bit of planning ahead of time with their PR team.
If you ever make it to Portugal, but sure to go here to visit the Pina Palace. Planning ahead, you can reserve this whole place for a few hours of your own personal photography before the crowds come in. It’s not that touristy of a place anyway, but it is nice to take photos and be calm before all the muggles show up.
