Qin Shi Huang, the first Emperor of China, would be pleased to see this photo taken at the Chinese Lantern Festival in Philadelphia. The handmade lanterns represent soldiers in his impressive and imposing Terracotta Army, platoons of clay soldiers constructed to protect him in the afterlife. They are just a handful of the hundreds of lanterns illuminating…
Classic cars, many from the 1950s, are everywhere in Cuba—and they’re fun to photograph and to ride in. You spot them as soon as you exit the airport, and it’s likely that your taxi to your ‘casa particular’ (private room in someone’s home) will be one. I found myself oohing and ahhing when I saw them,…
Ready to play Trippy Travel Photo Game #38 and possibly win a mention/link back to your site? It’s easy! Just… 1. Look at the Photo/Study the Details
I had the pleasure of trying Takoyaki (“octopus balls”), a popular Japanese street food, yesterday at the Mitsuwa Summer Festival in Edgewater, New Jersey. The festival, an Asian food lover’s delight, featured many foods I enjoy and some I had never heard of, including this truly delicious one. Crispy on the outside and soft and…
Visiting Wawayanda State Park–located in Sussex County, New Jersey–almost always makes me happy (except for when I spot a bear or two). The hiking/mountain biking trails are great and offer something for everyone regardless of ability, and the park is simply gorgeous. There are wetlands, as seen in this photo, and a lovely lake that I’ve…
This photo of a Kronosaurus skeleton was taken at Museo El Fósil (a fossil museum) in Villa de Lleyva, Colombia. The short-necked plesiosaur from the Cretaceous period, related to the crocodile, was discovered in 1977. It is is a large fossil–around 20 feet long–and it’s approximately 115 million years (give or take a few mill) old. The museum…
The Gold Museum (Museo del Oro) in Bogotá, Colombia, has numerous displays of gorgeous pre-Colombian gold. This is just one of them. This display is in a special vault, where visitors are treated to an experiential journey back to pre-Hispanic Colombia. The lights spin around the room while music, combined with ancient ceremonial prayers, plays….
I visited Castillo San Felipe de Barajas, the Spanish fortress in Cartagena, Colombia, during a day tour–and I really enjoyed my time there. It was a fascinating place to visit and photograph. After the tour, as I was walking away, I noticed how the Colombian flag was blowing in the wind over the castle and it…
Clay and Doritos? No, a Tejo game box, used in the traditional Colombian game (a national sport), which I played at Cali’s Club Social Los Amigos. Different, right? The game has specific rules, usually involves liquor and is a whole lot of fun. More information and the winner of this game found below. The winner…
Join me for a tour of Cabo de la Vela and Punta Gallinas, in Colombia’s La Guajira in the north–a region that looks and feels like another world. Traveling through the arid peninsula recently–with its rust-colored sand, meteor-like rocks and ever-changing, not-exactly turquoise water–I felt like I was dreaming. A Few Thousand Miles Away or…
