High Line

We had a chance to visit the High Line in New York December 2011. The city reused abandoned raised railroad tracks and turned them into a 1.5 mile trail and public park that over looks the streets of West Manhattan.
Our visit was a very cold day and we walked the path as the sun set. I can only imagine the joy that new yorkers get when they use this path during the fall and spring. What a fantastic reuse of city property!

Ice skating rink below the high line and The Standard hotel.

High Line above a restaurant

Cherry blossoms on the High Line

Looking down from the High Line

Window to look down at the street.

Cool reflection in the window.

Art installation in the trail.

Apartments along the trail.It is very easy to look into people’s apartments.

You can look down at a gymnastics facility.

Future areas on the trail.

Empire State building off in the distance.

Mykonos

In May 2009 we celebrated our honeymoon in beautiful Greece. Our trip started in the beautiful white washed island of Mykonos. Mykonos (also called Hora) is known for not only its white buildings but also for its windmills and party like atmosphere. May is the off season so the island wasn’t packed with clubbers and it was a bit too cold to hang out at the beach. Despite the cold weather it was still a fun and relaxing vacation.

Our hotel San Marco was beautiful and relaxing. While we dined at the hotel they were filming there for a tv show. We never did look for that show. My only complaint is that the hotel was not in walking distance to the center of Mykonos and we relied on a hotel shuttle that had limited pickups, probably due to it being off season.

We received a bottle of wine upon arrival. I spent one evening with the wine while reading and watching the sunset.

Famous Windmills

Octopuses hanging to dry. We frequently saw fishermen tenderizing tentacles against rocks.

Our first Greece sunset…

One night after seeing squid on the menu we decided to order squid. I normally like squid but this squid was huge and a bit hard to eat. We ended up sharing this squid with the stray cats that were staring at us all night.

Little Venice

Church of Panagia Paraportiani

Agios Nikolakis

Chateau De Versailles

In August 2010, my husband and I had a lovely trip to the Palace of Versailles. It is a very easy day trip by train from Paris. I tried visiting the palace once before in 1995 but had a terrible flu. July heat and unbearable crowded made it a very unpleasant day for me. My August visit was much more enjoyable. We were even able to see the musical fountains which were amazing. Looking over the photos reminded me that Rick Steves had some bad advice on how to buy tickets in his 2010 book. I have been meaning to email him about that. Ha!
Here are some photos of that day.

St Remy

Wednesday farmers market in the French village of St.-Rémy-de-Provence in August 2010.

After the market I enjoyed a provençal salad and a bottle of dry rosé.

East End Market

One of the things I love to do when traveling is to visit the local markets. I have fallen in love with markets in Spain and Provence. In the last week my city of Orlando got a market of its own. The East End Market opened up in Audubon Park. We were lucky to visit on a rainy day before the crowds arrived. It was delightful. I can tell I will be spending much more time here.