If It Was Today...

Sunday in the Park

Posted on November 21, 2016 by If It Was Today

Perhaps I should provide a bit more context than I did in my last post. Canadian Thanksgiving is in early October. Where I live, late November is known for only one thing – the arrival of winter. But I work for an American company, and I’ve discovered that Thanksgiving week (American Thanksgiving week that is) tends to be quiet. Very quiet. The few months leading up to Thanksgiving, on the other hand, seem to be the busiest time of the year, so about now, I’m ready to relax. Last year we headed to Mexico for a week on the beach. This year we opted for Barcelona. It isn’t quite as slow as a week reading a book in the sun, but it’s close – at least the way we do it. We plan to spend our time just wandering around the city with no particular objective other than to soak up the local ambience. A Thanksgiving get-away isn’t quite a tradition (yet) but it’s well on its way to becoming one.

And before you say anything, I rather enjoy posting these musings while enjoying a glass of wine at the end of the day, or a cup of coffee at the start. This is an important part of relaxing for me.

All of which brings us to today. It was a sunny Sunday, and we went for a walk. Along with many local families enjoying a warm November afternoon.

Blowing bubbles seems to be a big thing in the parks. The children clearly love it.

I have to admit I was pretty fascinated by it myself.

The adults have their own entertainment, with a number of people dancing the swing.

The Arc De Triomf anchors one end of the park. It was busy enough to be interesting, but not to the point of being crowded. Just about perfect.

Our major activity for the day was a self-guided walk through the Gothic district. It includes remnants of the city wall dating back to Roman times and columns from a temple to Augustus. And of course, the cathedral.

I took many more pictures of the cathedral from the main square, but they all tend to look like run of the mill pictures of yet another impressive cathedral with a bunch of people standing around taking pictures of yet another impressive cathedral. What I find far more interesting are pictures of the ordinary and the unusual – often combined in the same picture. Like the plant growing at the feet of the gargoyle (technically a “grotesque” in this case, I believe), half way up the cathedral wall.

It was a warm sunny day, so we ate lunch outside on an elevated patio overlooking a street in the Gothic district. Interesting architectural details are almost everywhere, like this picture taken from our table.

Or these ornate doors, spotted while traffic waited for a garbage truck to finish collecting.

A very elaborate and ornate bell and weather vane. This was near the cathedral, but it wasn’t clear if it is the main bell. I suspect not.

And finally, two pictures taken at the beginning and the end of the day. First, an interesting architectural detail on an apartment building built in 1892. I like the plastic pink flamingo on the balcony, second from the left. Don’t you find yourself wondering what they were thinking…?

And finally this apartment building with colourful detail on the roof.

Posted in Photography, Travel | Tagged Barcelona, Photography, Spain, Travel | 2 Comments

Barcelona

Posted on November 20, 2016 by If It Was Today

We decided to stay in an apartment rather than a hotel. The idea was to have room to relax while still being close to all the major sites. We were not disappointed.

While planning this trip, whenever we mentioned we were going to Barcelona everyone raved about it being such a beautiful city. After an overnight flight, the idea of sight seeing on our first day held little appeal. We just wanted to settle in and get our bearings. And yet, we couldn’t help but be impressed. Within 20 minutes of arriving in the city center, I took these pictures.

This was all on the walk to our apartment. It was not a long walk.

The apartment was comfortable, well equipped, and clean. Perfect for ten days relaxing and getting to know the area. As I write this, I’m overlooking the courtyard – it definitely has a wonderful local feel.

We checked in, unpacked, and found a place for lunch, followed by a little exploring. You know – the important stuff, like scouting for a nearby grocery store and wine shop. Fortunately, they are one and the same. Along the way we found more interesting things to see. Everything from an ornate church (though not nearly important enough to make it into any of the tourist guides)…

… to a simple tile roof on the neighbourhood market.

Jet lag was catching up with us, so we really didn’t have the energy to go out for dinner. We decided to get some cheese, baguette, olives stuffed with fines herbes (truly a wonderful discovery) and of course a little Rioja for a quiet dinner in.

Posted in Photography, Travel | Tagged Barcelona, Photography, Spain, Travel | 7 Comments

Dallas

Posted on November 17, 2016 by If It Was Today

Dallas is an interesting city of contrasts – at least the tiny little corner I managed to see on this trip. We ate dinner on an outdoor patio overlooking a small park … in the middle of a freeway. Strange as this sounds, it actually worked. And then there is the architecture. The buildings downtown are illuminated with lights, built into the building facade, creating an effect that is far more interesting than the pattern of windows typical of modern office buildings.

In some cases, the building design is almost reminiscent of the orient, evoking images of buildings within buildings.

The contrasting styles can be almost jarring at times, and yet somehow it works, with buildings, reflections, and contrasting styles competing for attention.

Sometimes the modern buildings dominate, while other times, the light can highlight the traditional buildings, in spite of everything around them.

At other times, simple modern towers can create a striking image.

This was the view from the sculpture garden, hidden in the middle of the city. It is well worth a visit, especially on a warm November afternoon. Here is a sampling of the sculptures on display.

It was definitely an oasis in the middle of the city.

Two final sculptures. The first was an everyday object, but oversized to disrupt the sense of the ordinary. Unfortunately, timing is everything. When the sculpture was created in 1976, typewriter erasers were instantly recognized by most viewers. Not so today.

And perhaps my favorite – for no particular reason – the “quantum cloud”.

And finally, another shot of the super moon.

Posted in Photography, Travel | Tagged Dallas, Photography, Travel, USA | Leave a comment

The Day After

Posted on November 15, 2016 by If It Was Today

I am a Canadian, so this really isn’t my issue. But I visit the USA often, I work for an American company, and – I hesitate to say this – I have a NAFTA visa. This blog most certainly is NOT about politics. It is about photographs. But no matter what side of the fence you are on, it’s hard to deny we are witnessing history of similar magnitude to things you studied in school. So I cannot resist the urge to record my impressions from time to time. I will do my best to simply record in a neutral tone, though no doubt I will fail more often than I will succeed.

I flew into Dallas today, and took a taxi into the city. The driver was a Jamaican immigrant, and he asked what I thought of the President elect. I deflected, and asked what he thought. It turns out he was a fan, which was definitely not what I expected. He liked the idea of deporting illegal immigrants with criminal records. As a hard working immigrant himself (I asked, rather than assume) he resented people who jumped the queue. When I inquired if there were other policies of the President that could concern him, he had nothing to offer – just the fact that it was completely reasonable to deport criminal illegal immigrants. The thought that kept running through my mind was “first they came for the socialists…”. I pray that I am wrong.

Speaking of prayers, Dallas is interesting in so many ways. Between two restaurants, on an average street, we found … St Jude’s Chapel.

This was strange enough, but the reflection on the building behind it, echoing the neon cross, took things to a whole new level.

And just when you think you’ve seen it all…

Hopefully not a metaphor for things to come.

Walking back to the hotel after dinner, we investigated a gathering in the local park. Turns out it was a demonstration against he-who-must-not-be-named.

To be fair, it was a rather small gathering, though they assured us it had been much larger on the weekend. But the thing to keep in mind is that this was Dallas. In this neck of the woods, two people protesting against republicans would be called a crowd, and three could be considered a riot.

And finally, tonight was the super moon. On the drive into town I had a perfect view of the full moon with the Dallas skyscrapers as a backdrop. But asking the driver to stop on the freeway seemed like a bad idea. Walking back for the picture seemed even worse. So I had to settle for this.

Not bad for a hand-held point and shoot camera.

Posted in Photography, Travel | Tagged Dallas, Photography, Travel, USA | 1 Comment

Surreal

Posted on November 8, 2016 by If It Was Today

November 7th, Washington D.C. on election eve. As a Canadian, this is not something you expect to experience. If you want a sense of how Canadians experience America, google “Trudeau elephant”. I’ll leave it as an exercise for the reader.

The flight was uneventful. Baltimore looked very much like Baltimore at night tends to look.

And when I went out to dinner,the restaurant was dead. It was almost as if it was a Monday night. Oh, wait, it was a Monday night. At least I was able to visit one of my favourite D.C. spots – Pi Pizza, with an excellent selection of pizza, and an even better selection of micro brews.

I spent the evening sitting at the bar, working on my computer with my headphones in, listening to music and pretty much ignoring everyone. Not exactly what people associate with travel, but … what can I say. I sometimes worry I’m being anti-social, but of course, not enough to stop doing it.

When the cheque arrived, I noticed that one beer was missing from the total, so I pointed it out to the bartender. Not that I was complaining of course, but I felt obliged to point out the error. He informed me that one beer was on him, because … wait for it … I’d been such a pleasure to serve. It turns out that quietly minding your own business while clearly enjoying the food and beer just makes you a good customer. Who knew?

Then it was a short walk back to my hotel, past some of the local art.

All the while, walking down deserted streets. It definitely felt like an ordinary Monday evening, even though it was anything but ordinary.

We’ll have to see what tomorrow looks like…

Posted in Travel | 2 Comments

Driving In The Country

Posted on September 22, 2016 by If It Was Today

I grew up in a rural area. It was a long time ago. A very long time ago. A lot has changed since then. I had no idea.

The trip began innocently enough. A sunny autumn day, driving through the countryside. Typical rural scenes…

Trees, meadows, sky. Memories – nostalgia…

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It looks like “nature” but it’s pretty easy to see signs of man. Fences, fields…

And of course, where there are fields, there are cows.

And where there are cows, there are farms. But this is where things took a turn for the unexpected. Things have changed from when I was a lad. Now, when you drive in the countryside, you see 100 year old barns alongside … solar panels.

And in some places, you see giant solar farms, mixed in among the more traditional “farms”.

And then you begin to notice the large, very expensive houses in the otherwise traditional rural environment.

And somewhere around here is the point where I begin to feel rather curmudgeonly and … sigh… very old.

Posted in Travel | 2 Comments

Pioneer Days

Posted on September 11, 2016 by If It Was Today

Sigh. So much for trying to post more often…

I spent this weekend driving around a corner of southern Ontario just north of Lake Ontario. We lived here for a few years at the other end of my working life, so I was curious to see how much it had changed in nearly 40 years. I was equally curious to see if I could remember enough detail to accurately assess just how much it had changed. Spoiler alert – forty years is a long time.

In spite of my fading memory, I had a great day driving through the rolling countryside of the Trent Hills, even if I couldn’t spot the changes. But the highlight of the day was an almost accidental visit to a pioneer museum – one that I don’t think had opened yet when we lived here. This post focuses on pictures from that museum. It includes several pictures I like, for no particular reason, and one story of the amazing ingenuity people have displayed in all ages.

First the pictures. Here is a detail from a horse drawn wagon. Ken pointed out the heavy cast iron pieces joining the front wheels to the body of the wagon. I just love the picture.

In many ways, this is an excellent setup for a pioneer museum in general. Yes, they had iron, but it was coarse, heavy, and attached to much larger pieces of wood. Not surprisingly, wood played a much more prominent role in daily life then. Everything from fences…

… to log cabins. A log cabin with an upstairs loft, if I am not mistaken. Well ahead of the times, it would appear.

But to be honest, I often find the close up detail rather more interesting.

And of course, there were many living trees around the grounds as well, creating fascinating, tortured patterns as always.

And then, this – a pruned cedar branch.

But enough pictures – I promised a story. One of the buildings was called the “Honey House”, and one wall was blocked off with yellow warning tape, even though there was no obvious sign of danger. In fact, there was no sign of anything, other than a newly mowed lawn … and this.

Which looked strange, but innocent enough, until I looked a little closer. (Note: this is where a telephoto lens comes in very handy.)

And following the hose down to the point where it entered the building, it was clear the bees were delivering the honey directly into the Honey House, without any need to go out and collect it.

I’m pretty sure clear vinyl tubing was in short supply in pioneer days, but I have to assume this is an modern version of an earlier innovation. Unfortunately, the museum was closed, and we could only walk around the outside of the buildings. I think I’ll need to make a return trip to get the full story.

Posted in Photography, Travel | Tagged Canada, Ontario, Photography, Pioneer, Prince Edward County, Travel | Leave a comment

White on Blue

Posted on July 14, 2016 by If It Was Today

It has been far too long since my last post.What can I say – things have been busy.

I eventually want to provide an update from our trip to Austin, as well as my upcoming trip to Monroe (perhaps) but first I’d like to wrap up a few posts from our trip to the Okanagan in April.

I was so intent on getting pictures of the grape vines budding out, the trees in blossom, and the flowers, that I almost missed the sky – the white clouds perfectly echoing the apple blossoms.

And looking closer…

Meanwhile, just below the trees, more flowers.

Of course, now that we are into July, everything is green here too. But when these pictures were taken, everything was still brown and dead here. It isn’t fair…

Posted in Travel | 2 Comments

Twisted

Posted on May 11, 2016 by If It Was Today

I find it fascinating to see how plants can twist themselves into the most amazing shapes simply by following the light, year after year. Sometimes the effect is fairly modest, such as this tree that clearly had to grow at an angle to find an open space where it could “reach for the sky”.

Sometimes the situation calls for more extreme measures.

And sometimes you need to reverse course, ending up back where you started.

Sometimes, in spite of our best efforts, the search leads back to the earth, where it all began. (Metaphors for life, anyone?)

But just when you think you’ve seen it all, you come across this.

No doubt there is a fascinating story behind the shape of this tree, but I really cannot imagine what it might be.

Hope you enjoy the images.

Posted in Photography, Travel | Tagged Canada, Photography, Travel, Vancouver | 9 Comments

The Sky Smiled

Posted on May 9, 2016 by If It Was Today

We were sitting on the deck, enjoying the lovely weather (and a glass of wine) on our recent trip to Vancouver. I looked up, and noticed a most unusual cloud formation. So of course, I took a picture.

And then, I noticed a faint rainbow…

This was unusual in two ways. First of all, it was very high in the sky – almost straight overhead. And I’d never really thought of it before, but a rainbow always makes an arc, highest in the center and pointing down at both ends. But this was the opposite. The ends pointed upward, making it look like a smile. Rather a lovely omen, don’t you think?