Parisian cafe
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Breakfast in Paris

My favorite time of the day is morning and there is no better way to start your day at one of the many outdoor cafés in lovely Paris. Cafe culture has been an essential part of Parisian life for centuries and I can see why. What could be better than sitting outside sipping a dark, strong cafe au lait, munching a buttery, hot fresh croissant and watching the world go by? Not much in my book.

During a late April trip to France, I enjoyed my breakfast in Paris even if the weather was a tad bit cold. It brought me back to over twenty years before when I lived in Paris as a student at the Sorbonne and embraced the cafe culture with all my heart. Now, I’m lucky if I get a real french coffee and normally just enjoy my regular cup of joe.

Ah, c’était ça la vie!

Parisian cafe

A votre service!

Parisian cafe

Parisian cafe

Parisian cafe

Parisian cafe

Parisian cafe

Parisian cafe

Parisian cafe

Parisian cafe

No I didn’t have this for breakfast but they were making fresh tiramisu that morning! I was very tempted to eat it for breakfast!

This post was inspired by the weekly photo challenge: Good Morning! To see more entries, click here.

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Minnesota Fall Leaves
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Minnesota’s Spectrum of Color

Fall has always been my absolute favorite time of year. As the days and nights grow shorter and the sun shines her glorious luminous light, the leaves ever so slowly begin to change. This year, fall has been coming at a snail’s pace given our Indian Summer. Yet during the last few days the leaves have begun to turn into their magical tapestry of colors. Hues from pumpkin oranges, to scarlet reds and golden yellows delight the eyes. It is nature’s way of rewarding us with beauty and preparing us for the long, colorless winter ahead.

“One of the secrets of a happy life is continuous small treats”.  – Iris Murdoch

Minnesota Fall Leaves

Minnesota Fall Leaves

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Lake Harriet Rose Garden Minneapolis
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A Look Inside Minneapolis: The Lake Harriet Rose Garden

One of my favorite places to savor the change of the seasons in my hometown is the Lake Harriet Rose Garden. Located just a short block off my favorite urban lake, The Lake Harriet Rose Garden always inspires no matter what time of year.

Lake Harriet Rose Garden Minneapolis

My two favorite seasons to capture the color inside the Rose Garden are Spring and Fall. Different perennials pop up each month and it is always exciting to see what I will find. After a hot couple of weeks, today finally felt a bit more like fall. The brilliant blue September sky cast its luminous glow across Minneapolis and I knew I’d have to go take some photos of the beautiful fall flowers at the Lake Harriet Rose Garden. Here is a peak at what I found. Enjoy!

Lake Harriet Rose Garden Minneapolis

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Lotus Temple Delhi India
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A Unique Visit to Delhi’s Lotus Temple

Any trip to Delhi requires a stop at the spectacular Lotus Temple. Built in 1986 of pure white marble from the Penteli mountain in Greece, the Lotus Temple is a Bahá’í House of Worship where people of any religions can come to pray.  What makes this temple so incredibly unique and awe-inspiring is its shape and form.

Inspired by India’s sacred lotus flower, the temple is composed of 27 free-standing marble “petals” arranged in groups of three to form nine sides forming a lotus flower. It is fitting that the temple is designed to look like India’s treasured lotus flower as the lotus symbolizes many important things in Indian culture: Long life, honor, and good forturne. Images of lotus flowers can be seen throughout India as engravings on temples, buildings and in art.

Lotus Temple Delhi

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Myrdalsjökull Glacier
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A Sea of Ice: Iceland’s Myrdalsjökull Glacier

“A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.” – Sir Winston Churchill

Perhaps one of my most memorable adventure travel experiences thus far has been my hike across a real live sea of ice. There is nothing quite like strapping on a pair of crampons and moving at a snail’s pace straight into unimaginable winds and icy cold rain across one of the world’s most beautiful and magical glaciers. Sure I’ve done plenty of amazing hikes around the world ranging to such far off places as Peru, Patagonia, The French Alps and Nepal. Yet nothing was quite like walking across a wide, moving sea of ice.

Myrdalsjökull Glacier

First steps onto the massive Myrdalsjökull Glacier. Unfortunately there was no way possible to show the enormity of it all. This is just the beginning.

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Millennium Park Chicago
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Chicago’s Millenium Park: A Masterpiece of Urban Architecture

There is no city in the Midwest like Chicago. Chicago shines with her hearty down-to-earth values while dazzles as one of the premier urban cities in America. Home to over 9.5 million souls in the metropolitan area, Chicago has an electric vibe like no other Midwestern city in what some refer to as “flyover land“, and is always on the cutting edge of architectural innovation and beauty.

During a long weekend in Chicago, I was able to rediscover her soul as well as foresee her future, all at Chicago’s ultramodern masterpiece Millennium Park. Built to celebrate the millennium, the park was opened in July of 2004 as an urban oasis in the heart of the city. Squeezed into a piece of land between Lake Michigan and Chicago’s business district known as “The Loop“, Millennium Park truly personifies what Chicago is all about:   Modern, gorgeous, innovative and fun.

A stroll through this fabulous park will prove how far Chicago has come to being a world-class, international city. Come take a stroll with me through some of my favorite views.

Jay Pritzker Pavilion

The centerpiece of Millennium Park is the Jay Pritzker Pavilion

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Marseille's Fish Market
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Marseille’s Marché aux Poissons

Anyone who has even been to Marseille knows about its beloved Marché aux Poissons (fish market). The oldest and second largest city in France, Marseille was founded in 600 BC by the Greeks and became one of the most important port towns along the Mediterranean Sea. Given its prime location and wonderful harbor came a long-held tradition of fishing. The Marché aux Poissons has been around for centuries and is the best place around for fish lovers to buy the freshest seafood in France.

Marseille's Fish Market

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The Companionship of Children around the World

Throughout my travels, I’ve always marveled at the beauty, innocence and hopeful smiles of children. I believe strongly that children are our future. What has amazed me so much is how similar children are despite their unimaginable differences in culture, economic resources and lifestyles. At the end of the day, all children want is to be loved. All children want to have enough food on the table, a roof over their head and books to read. All children want to be respected, cared for and offered the same opportunities in life.

Here are some of the world’s children and their friends who have captured my heart and have filled me with hope.

The girls of Honduras.

Here are the smiling faces of some of the girls I volunteered with in La Ceiba, Honduras.

The more one does and sees and feels, the more one is able to do, and the more genuine may be one’s appreciation of fundamental things like home, and love, and understanding companionship. – Amelia Earhart 

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The Colorful Curves of Jama Masjid

Within the chaotic narrow streets of Old Delhi lies the largest mosque in India, the Jama Masjid, whose enormous courtyard has the capacity to hold 25,000 devotees.  Built between 1644 and 1658, this sensational mosque was the last extravagnance commissioned by Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan, whose love for his wife resulted in the world-famous Taj Mahal in Agra and zest for beauty and power built the Red Fort of New Delhi.

The Jama Masjid’s spectacular beauty resides in her masterful architecture of various curving archways, gates, minarets, towers and decorative carvings. Jama Masjid’s brilliant red-hued sandstone juxtaposed against white marble is equally as impressive especially on a sunny, bright day. It took over 6,000 workers, mostly slaves, to build the mosque and today it remains one of India’s crown jewels and an important place of worship.

Jama Masjid

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Rooftops

This week’s photo challenge happens to be a favorite of mine: Pattern. I adore the patterns of the brilliant rusty orange-colored tiled rooftop found in homes throughout the world. Two places in particular have my favorite styles: Southern France and Antigua, Guatemala. Here is a sample of some of the dynamic patterned rooftops I’ve captured throughout my travels.

Antigua, Guatemala

P1010207

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The Culture of Paris

This week’s photo challenge, Culture, is quite fitting since I literally just got off the plane from Paris which is perhaps the culture capital of the world. Still jet-lagged and behind, I had a chance to upload my photos from my trip to France and have an astounding number to sort through: 1,400 taken in nine days flat! (I broke my record!).

I only went through the first set of photos this morning but feel they portray an excellent look into the immense, fantastic culture of lovely, worldly Paris. Here are a few to whet your appetite and prepare you for the weeks to come on my blog. Bon chance!!!

P1010057

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