I’m back in Arizona again and spring is in full force. The desert has come alive with flowering trees, cacti and plants. Whenever the wind stirs the air is full of heavenly fragrance and it is magical. Birds are abundant as they make their way north.
I’ve taken a few shots of the desert in bloom, my favorite season to be in Arizona as everything comes to life.
Havana is a phenomenal place for street photography. The once elegant mansions in various states of decay and renovation, the colorful people and attire, and the never-ending photo opportunities could leave you snapping shots all day long.
In fact, there are few places (besides Paris and Antigua, Guatemala) that I’ve found so incredibly photogenic as I did in Old Havana. I could have spent days there just walking the winding streets and taking pictures of every day life. To catch of glimpse of the colors, sounds and feel of Old Havana, check out this collection of street shots below. I hope you enjoy!
This has been a very long winter. It has been known as the coldest winter in 30 years with 50 days below zero degrees (our average is 20). Even our local weatherman Paul Douglas made fun of our unbearable winter with a badge we could wear that said “I survived the worst winter ever”. Although it is technically spring, sadly our winter is long from over.
Yesterday feeling the effects of a long, harsh winter on a whim I drove to downtown Minneapolis and headed to some much needed color and inspiration at the Macy’s Secret Garden Show. As I rode up the escalator to the eighth floor auditorium, I could smell the delicious fragrance of flowers that became happily overpowering as I headed to the entrance. I was entranced by that long forgotten smell.
As soon as I stepped inside The Secret Garden I was in heaven. My pure white world exploded into vibrant hues of pinks, reds, yellows and orange. Those long forgotten pleasures to the eyes that brought a smile to my tired soul.
Come, take a walk with me through Macy’s Secret Garden. Close your eyes after and inhale the sweet fragrance of a million flowers.
Cuba has never been known for its cuisine and we were warned to expect lots of beans and rice, and unexciting meals during our week-long trip to Cuba. I found it surprising that Cuban food in Cuba would be so bad as I have eaten at a local Cuban restaurant here in Minneapolis countless times and have always loved the flavor of my meals. I decided to remain optimistic and see for myself without passing judgment.
I was unexpectedly surprised that not only was most of the food I ate in Cuba delicious, like Cuba itself cuisine was in the midst of a revolution.
A delicious meal we had a a gastronomical school in Havana where servers, cooks and staff are honing their skills.
Despite Cuba’s archaic, exceedingly slow and pricey internet services I managed to share a few shots on Instagram of this gorgeous colorful country. Here are some of my favorites that live, breathe and feel the amazing photographic moments of a week in Cuba.
A morning walk in Old Havana
Author’s note: Many readers have asked lots of questions about Cuba and why the US continues to have an embargo after 50 years. America’s relationship with Cuba is a fascinating albeit complicated topic. My goal for this post is to briefly outline the complex history between Cuba and the United States. It is a daunting task and by no means am I an expert. All the information used to write this post was gained from my people-to-people visits, interviews with Cubans, and reading and research on Cuban-American relations. I feel it is hard to explain Cuba without explaining her long fight for freedom and revolutionary past. – thirdeyemom
I saw this man in Trinidad and he fit the bill of my image of a true Cuban.
Cuba is a place of perseverance, pride and frustration. In order to get an understanding of how today’s Cuba evolved, it is essential to dig back in time and examine Cuba’s turbulent past and struggle for independence after years of colonial rule.
Like many parts of the world, Cuba had an indigenous population who were living peacefully before Cuba was “discovered” by Christopher Columbus in 1492 during Columbus’ first expedition to the Americas.
The Four Voyages of Christopher Columbus from 1492-1500. Source: WIkipedia Free Commons
One of the true joys of going on a people-to-people tour in Cuba was the fascinating look inside the real life and culture of Cubans. Our first cultural visit occurred on the very day we arrived in Havana after a charter flight from Miami that morning. We were met at the airport by our fabulous, charismatic Cuban guide Abel, and taken to see the work and community art of Cuba’s most celebrated ceramic artist, José Rodriguez Fuster, at his outdoor ceramic fantasyland “Fusterlandia”.
A step inside “Fusterlandia” is like taking a walk inside a Disneyland of art. The entire community surrounding José Fuster’s studio and home is decorated in Fuster’s unique style of mixing painting and ceramic and it is utterly surreal.
I have dreamed of going to Cuba ever since I was a teenager standing at the edge of Mallory Square in Key West, Florida. There near the end of the square lies a certain landmark that boosts we are at the southernmost part of the continental United States and that Cuba lingers only 90 miles away.
For five years straight in the early 90s, I traveled with my family to the Florida Keys over the Christmas holidays to escape the long and brutal winter in Minnesota. We spent every New Year’s Eve in Key West, a town known for its margaritas, Jimmy Buffett and the end of the road before Cuba. I always wondered what this forbidden island was like.
Landmark in Key West Florida. Photo courtesy of Wikipedia Free Commons.
Sadly, American tourists have been unable to travel freely to Cuba ever since the US-imposed embargo that severed Cuba from the United States in 1960. Deemed by many as an absolute failure, it is surprising that the blockade or bloqueo as the Cubans call it continues. But that is an entirely different issue in itself.
After a recent trip to Cuba, I discovered that Cuban life is all a matter of perspective. As I mentioned in my last post “A Taste of Cuba“, the country is perhaps one of the most fascinating places I’ve been given its eclectic mix of history, culture and politics. What makes Cuba so incredibly interesting is that almost everything has been magically frozen in time since the Cuban Revolution over half a century ago.
One of the most prevalent examples of this reality can be seen in Cuba’s architecture. Once gorgeous buildings and mansions of a rather decadent era are today in various states of decay as time leaves her mark. Some have been beautifully restored to their previous grandeur while others are slowly but surely being regentrified. For me, it is all a matter of perspective as to whether there still remains beauty in the peeling paint, the crumbling facades and the deteriorating walls of Cuba’s phenomenal past.
Here is an old Spanish Colonial mansion found in Old Havana and typical of the 18th century, in the process of restoration. Let’s take a look and judge for yourself.
The remains of a once glorious past.
The stairs to the top.
A trip to Cuba is possibly one of the most fascinating travel experiences ever. Landing in Havana is like taking a step back in time to the 1950s where everything remains frozen in time yet in various states of decay. I instantly fell in love with Cuba the moment I got off the chartered plane and saw my first 1950s retro-fitted American car. The history, culture, and people of Cuba are utterly invigorating and Havana has an energy that swept through my veins and left me craving for more.
Over the past eight days in Cuba, I took well over 1,200 photos and 50 pages of notes on all the various historical, cultural and social facts about this unique country. I learned a great deal and am so excited to share my insight into Cuba over the next several months on my blog.
As an American being required to enter Cuba on a special visa for a “people-to-people” trip (one of the only ways Americans can enter legally as a tourist) allowed me to gain firsthand knowledge and insight into the ins and outs of Cuban life, history and culture. Although I’d rather travel there freely, being on such a tour felt like taking a university class. I learned so incredibly much in so little time.
It will take me a few days to unwind and digest my trip to Cuba. In the meantime, I wanted to give you a quick taste of some of the highlights of this wonderful, captivating place, a country that stole my heart. Below are some selected unedited photos to give you a delightful taste of Cuba.
Vintage American cars from the 1950s dot the landscape of Cuba sweeping you back into a different era.
Cubans love their music and street musicians are everywhere.
Believe it or not, Arizona produces wine. In fact, Southeastern Arizona is home to 19 family-owned vineyards some which have been in business for over 25 years. As a true wine-lover I must admit I was a bit skeptical about Arizona wines. But an afternoon spent wine tasting in lovely Sonoita proved my early convictions wrong. Not only is this straw-colored, rugged landscape lovely, the mix of quirky to elegant vineyards are definitely worth a visit.
This golden yellow landscape sits at roughly 5,000 feet.
“In the depth of winter I finally learned that there was in me an invincible summer.” – Albert Camus
Anyone who lives in the Midwest or who has ever traveled to the northern quarters of the country, know for a fact that winter in Minnesota can be brutal. It is often a test of endurance, patience, humor, semi-hibernation and mental strength to survive it especially when it happens to be a winter like we are having this year. Countless days well below zero, dangerously cold, bone-chilling wind. Snow. Black ice on the roads. Days upon end where it never even reaches freezing. This has been one heck of a winter so far and it isn’t even half way over.
Winter can be stunningly beautiful after a big snowstorm. Lake Harriet.
So how on earth do we survive it? With skill, perseverance and conquering the power of the mind. That is how. Here are my top ten tips to surviving an extreme winter (Warning: Over 20 degrees farenheit for a low doesn’t count. We’re talking endless days below zero!).