I have still the flu, I'm walking around with pill for headache, watery nose and cough, but today, when I woke up, there was a slightly promise of blue sky and so I really couldn't stay inside my room. I went out like the Michelin man, all covered in different layers of dresses, and took the subway to the city centre... obviously, as soon as I was out of the Metro, it was raining :-( Well, I thought, I'm here, I'm covered, and I want to see the city, and so, I continue my walk, under a rain that was never, fortunately, too heavy to bother me too much. And strange thing, the sky was actually blue, when I could see it behind the clouds! Anyway, I walked for more or less 4 hours, I skipped lunch since the light hours are so few that I wanted to profit of all of them. Today was probably the better day for picture, I did a lot, but I chose to post only 6: I will save the others for my next pic spam appointments ;-)



( more pics )

No, I wasn't particularly interested in the Starsbuck Coffee, I first noticed the building behind and the nice effect of the windows with the blue sky. I was particurarly interested in the style of the building, even if it seems modern, I have the feeling that it's not, if I didn't know that it is quite impossible, I would say that it's a '60 or '70 building. Anyway, I'm like that, I notice the strangest things, and sometime my pictures have no reason if not to save in my memories the passing impression of a nice color, or of tree branches with red berry in front of a pink wall...

As expected I didn't have much time to visit around, during the week I stay at work till 9 p.m. and when we are back at the hotel we need to do a recap of the day. So more or less my time is all spent inside an office or at the bar of the hotel. And the hotel is outside the center of Moscow so, even if we would like to take a walk, we are pretty much stuck inside it. Plus I have a bad flu and so I'm not really in the mood to go out. But this morning I forced myself to at least go to see a near park, a former hunting reserve for the Zars with a small artificial island in the middle and a cathedral in the centre. It was a nice place, with maybe a bit the feeling of an abandoned place, but still, it was worth the visit. After that I went to a near craft market: I suppose people made me pay much for the little gifts I bought, but well, it was all the same a good experience and the market was a crazy place. Pity the time is not good and so in the end, I decided to come back to the hotel.



( more pics )

The second picture is the view from my hotel room, the morning I woke up with the snow... and yes, that is morning light ;-)

So here is the reason why you will not see me much for the following month. I'm in Moscow for work, and I'm busy all the working days till late at night. Plus I have limited internet connection. But I still managed to visit a bit Saturday morning: here are some pictures. And this morning, when I awoke, there was also the snow... hope it will remain till next weekend when maybe I will time to visit again.



( more pics )

You can't go up the Empire State Building and don't take a picture of the Flatiron Building. I think that, from above is how you can really appreciated this building, you haven't to choose a particular side, its strange form is enough to be the basis of a nice picture. Maybe the only "special" effect here is the light: I chose to go up the Empire at almost closing hour, when the sunset was starting and so I obtained that golden light you see.

 
by Elisa, Flatiron Building, New York City, 2000
http://www.elisarolle.com/travel/2000NewYork.htm

This picture was taken in 2000, my first time in NYC. This last September I did less tourist things, and so I didn't stay in line to go up again the Empire, but I did take another picture of the Flatiron, this time from below:

 
by Elisa, Flatiron Building, New York City, 2009
http://www.elisarolle.com/travel/2009EastCoastUSA.htm

( Flatiron Building )

Do you know that pictures when you haven't to do anything if not click? When the colors are perfect, when Nature did it all, a perfect blue sky, the clouds, the deep green of the grass, the light that comes out just in time... you haven't to do anything if not click.

 
by Elisa, Orchardton Tower, Scotland, 2004
http://www.elisarolle.com/travel/2004Scozia.htm

Orchardton Tower is nothing special, really, just a cilinder in the middle of nowhere. It's also in a part of Scotland that people really don't visit, I was there since I wanted to spend a night at Kirkcudbright, a fisherman village that became artist colony and that now is a little jewel, again, in the middle of nowhere. It's so small that most of the same Scottish I talked with didn't know it exist. But those colors in the picture, those colors will always remain with me and I will never forget that day.

( Orchardton Tower )

This is not a perfect picture, I did it by night, without stand with a reflex camera, meaning that I had to take the camera firmly in hand and silently count how many second I wanted the lens to stay open... When I do photos like this one the result is always a surprise, the lesser fault ruins completely the picture... I like how this one came out, in a way the fuzzyness is even more nice, it gives a soft tone to the pictures.

 
by Elisa, Victory Park, Moscow, 2001
http://www.elisarolle.com/travel/2001Russia.htm

( Victory Park )

I often say, Portugal was a travel I love to remember since it was all a discovery. We avoided the most touristic places to search the abandoned medieval castles or the small farm village. Like Castelo Mendo: it's nothing more than a bunch of houses atop a small hill. It's not easy to reach, at least not 10 years ago, since it's not even signed as exit from the main street. When we arrived there, we realized that it was all encircled by walls and our car didn't pass through the only entrance. So we left the car outside and walked for the deserted narrow streets of the village. We heard people inside the houses but no one was outside. After our visit we returned to the car and had a surprise: a group of men was there, blocking our car; we feared the worst to then realize that they wanted only to chat, one of them was Italian and it was years he didn't have the chance to speak with fellow Italians and he recognized our language while we were walking in front of his house.

 
by Elisa, Castelo Mendo, Portugal, 2002
http://www.elisarolle.com/travel/2002Portogallo.htm

( Centro, Portugal )

My hotel at the time was very near to the "commercial" district of Granada, and with commercial I don't mean the new sparkling shops, but the old Arab Bazar. I took this picture very early in the morning, we had to stay in line to gain a very coveted entry ticket to the Alhambra, and the line point was near this place. It was so early that all the shops were still closed.


by Elisa, Alcaicería of Granada, Andalusia, 2000
http://www.elisarolle.com/travel/2000Andalusia.htm

Again, I didn't modify the colors, they were really like that. Stunning to see, I still have a memory of all my travel in Andalusia of warm colors and deep blue.

( Bib-Rambla )

My little travel in Umbria is finished. This morning I visited Montone: it's a little medieval town, once property of Braccio da Montone (literally Ram Arms), a captain of fortune, mercenary troops, probably the most famous of his time. Him and Francesco Sforza (Strain Frances...) are remembered like two men who did themself. Montone still held a "palio", where they simulate the way of fight of that time (so it's explained all the flags, they are the symbol of the different neighborhoods).

 
by Elisa, Montone, Italy, 2009
http://www.elisarolle.com/travel/2009UmbriaToscana.htm

( more pics )

After Montone I tried to visit Rocca D'Aries (rocca means stronghold and "aries" is the latin word for Montone, that means ram); it's another property of Braccio da Montone, but you can reach it only through a mountain narrow path without asphalt... I tried, I really tried, but my car was not up to the task. So I contented myself with a pictures from the foot of the mountain :-(

( Montone )

This morning I went to visit first a little medieval stronghold, looking over a lake, Passignano; it was almost empty, all the tourists were at the feet of the town, near the lake. The I went to Cortona... it's a nice medieval town, but too full of tourist, I almost ran away. Finally the nice discovery of the day, those discoveries that make a whole trip worth the travel: Monte Santa Maria Tiberina. It's basically an old castle, XI century, a renaissance palace and an old church. Those three building are on top of a mountain and around them there is the village, made of little narrow steps street, where you can wander up and down only by foot.

 
by Elisa, Monte Santa Maria Tiberina, Italy, 2009
http://www.elisarolle.com/travel/2009UmbriaToscana.htm 

( more pics )

My mother can't walk, and so she remained near the car, at the main entrance of the castle. While she was there, she started to talk with a lady on a window, and when I came back also the husband of the lady started to talk. In the end they told me to come up, since they wanted to show me a painted ceiling: their home was originally part of the castle, and in their ceiling there was still the coat of arms of the mister of the castle.

( Monte Santa Maria Tiberina )

This is the first day of my little vacation time in Italy. I spent most of the day driving, to reach Perugia, a town famous abroad to have quite an important Foreign Languages college. It's a mix of medieval and reinassance town, with narrow streets and very tall palaces. The main plaza is wonderful. The time was perfect, the light stunning, late afternoon. Pity it was so full of tourist that sometime it was impossible to take the right picture.

 
by Elisa, Perugia, Italy, 2009
http://www.elisarolle.com/travel/2009UmbriaToscana.htm

( more pics ) 

Sometime to find beauty you have to look up...

( Perugia )

Varano Castle is actually only a ruined castle near Camerino. The Da Varano was a very ancient and noble family, and this is one of their property. The castle itself is nothing special, it's impressive since it is on the bridge of a cliff and you can see it from afar. What I found more interesting is the village soon at the foot of the castle. From the street you took a path that is narrow and full of turns. The village is around this path and it was totally abandoned, but someone it was restoring it, probably to create some poshy residence hotel.


by Elisa, Varano, Italy, 2008:
http://www.elisarolle.com/travel/2008MarcheUmbria.htm

I think it would be interesting to see what it will be of this village in the next years.

( Da Varano )

Santa Barbara is a strange seatown village; it's almost divided in two, the Mission and the Town. The Mission overlook the town and the sea from a slightly high hill and inside it the atmosphere is peaceful and serene, almost poor; even the graveyard is old and abandoned. But as soon as you exit the little compoud of the old Mission, barely a cloister with a church and a graveyard, the color and sun and wealthiness of modern California punch you full front. Even the new lodgings for the monks are new and tiled in color. And just in front of the Mission there is a neighborhood of expensive mansion and a deep green park where people jogging, take the sun (quite naked) and do a full of other things.

 
by Elisa, Mission Santa Barbara, California, 2008:
 http://www.elisarolle.com/travel/2008California.htm

But, truth be told, it was a nice experience. Santa Barbara was a little town full of life, obviously upper class, but nevertheless nice. I think it should be nice to live there.

( Mission Santa Barbara )

The Vulture is a mountain area in the South of Italy; here is famous thanks to its water, bottled and sold as a very heatly type of water that takes you younger, there is a ad in television showing young people around 20 who play the role of over sixty. And when I went there, truth be told, I have to say that for real the people seemed more beautiful.


by Elisa, Vulture, Italy, 2007:
http://www.elisarolle.com/travel/2007BasilicataPuglia.htm

There are two main lakes, and one of them is famous for its green water and for the white monastery that mirrors its image in the water. I went in late September, so the place was almost empty, but there are some camping areas around the lakes, so I bet that during the summer it's full of people. What I liked most was that the feeling was still of a place of 20/30 years ago, like those places where you went to spend the weekend with the family.

( Vulture area )

Scotland was one of those travel that I really wanted to do. And again it was a travel that left me with a lot of wonder. We left almost immediately the "big" cities, like Glasgow and Edinburgh and spent most of our time in the north, the Highland, the Western Ross, even the Orkney Island. Our first approach with the north was the Glen Coe: we had a bed and breakfast lost in the middle of the Glen, far from the street, and the path toward it was a gravel road.


by Elisa, Glen Coe, Scotland, 2004
http://www.elisarolle.com/travel/2004Scozia.htm

It was a rainy day and the Glen was a deep green, the sky a mix of grey and blue...

( Glen Coe )

I often told about my impromptu travel in Romania. The strange thing is that I'm not the most religious woman, but I spent most of my time in Romania visiting the Painted Churches in Bukovina and the various monasteries, most of them little walled citadels with an independent economy, able to survive without contacts with the external world.

 
by Elisa, Agapia Monastery, Romania, 2003
http://www.elisarolle.com/travel/2003Romania.htm

Sometime, like in the Agapia Monastery, a nuns monastery, the families who sent their daughters inside the walled "golden" prison, also paid for building a little cottage to host the daughter for the rest of her life. The one inside the walls are beautiful and finely decorated, but I found more interesting this one, just outside the main portal. Anyway all the Monastery has, still now, a very lively atmosphere, the nuns inside bake, embroider, bottle fruit... and all around the Monastery there are cattle and sown fields.

( Agapia Monastery )

When I went in Portugal I was in an enviable physical form and spent most of the time walking up and down the hills to find lost ruined castle. Pena, the National Palace just outside Sintra, the summer residence of the Kings of Portugal, it's not a ruined castle... it's the dream or the nightmare of a man. The king consort of one of the last queen of Portugal was a Saxonia Coburgo Gotha, of German origin, and he built this folly up on a hill: it can be viewed without problem from afar, and now it's reachable only by foot, up from a path inside the park surrounding the palace, or using one of the little bus of the park.

 
by Elisa, Pena National Palace, Portugal, 2002:
http://www.elisarolle.com/travel/2002Portogallo.htm

When you reach the palace, you don't know if it's real or a Disneyland reconstruction... but no, it's real, even with his yellow, pink and blue walls. As I said, the folly of a German king consort.

( Pena National Palace )

There are some photos of mine I like for the colors, some other for the subject, and some other for an unnatural effect I obtained with some lens. I usually use a normal lens, means that what I see is what I have on the picture, but I have also a special lens that allow me almost a 180° of landscape. When I went in London I just bought it, and so I amused myself using it a lot. Here is the result:

 
by Elisa, Piccadilly Circus, London, 2001:
http://www.elisarolle.com/travel/2001London.htm

As you can see, I obtained almost a "running toward horizon" effect. I like it.

( Piccadilly Circus )

The lasting impression I have of my travel in Russia is of a wonderful country, full of history, but with a sadness inside, I don't know, as a cloak of silence that covered everything. Then suddently, you turned a corner, or enter a street, and you had a sight of a burst of colors, of gold, and pink, and blue, all the color more deep and alive. And the contrast with the silence was even greater.

 
by Elisa, Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery, Russia, 2001
http://www.elisarolle.com/travel/2001Russia.htm

Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery is one of the oldest walled Monastery in all the Russia. It's now an open air museum, and the many churches inside the walls are deprived of their icons, that are conserved in a building at the entrance of the Monastery. When we arrived there, the group I was with decided to visit the building with the icons, I instead preferred to wonder among the fields and the abandoned churches. This is only one of the wonderful views that I found, and I swear, the colors were exactly like that deep pink and blue.

( Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery )

When I went in New York City almost 10 years ago, I planned to spend an entire day in Central Park. My friend and I spent the day lookinf for all those places made famous by the movie industry. One of those places is the Bethesda Terrace and Fountain, I believe that the angel of its fountain is one of the most famous angels of the movie imaginery.

 
by Elisa, Bethesda Terrace & Fountain, New York City, 2000:
http://www.elisarolle.com/travel/2000NewYork.htm

I took this picture since I liked the feeling of how the lines are running from the shadows toward the light and the Angel... it's quite symbolic, isn't it? I then discovered that almost the exact image was in a movie by Francis Ford Coppola (someone told me but I don't remember the movie).

( Bethesda Terrace & Fountain )

Seville (Siviglia) is a beautiful city, it has a little and full of life historical centre, and it's a joy to walk by night among its narrow road. I chose this picture since it proves you how "hot" Seville can be in August: they built a cover to create shadow in front of the Town Hall (Ayuntamento), due to the high temperature it reaches there in summer.

 
by Elisa, Ayuntamento de Siviglia, Andalusia, 2000:
http://www.elisarolle.com/travel/2000Andalusia.htm

The Town Hall, built in the 16th century in Plateresque style by Diego de Riaño. The Facade to Plaza Nueva was built in the 19th century in Neoclassical style.

( Seville )

Ireland was my first real independent fly & drive travel, means that I spent months to prepare it, booked all by myself plane, car and places, and then enjoyed to tour all around Ireland, trying to avoid the most touristic places (that in Ireland is almost impossible, in August it's full of Tourist).

Achill Island is in the north west of Ireland, a bit far from all the most famous stops, like Connemara or Ring of Kerry, and so it's not so visited. When I went there, it was one of those rain on / rain off day, and we drove up and down the narrow roads, searching for nice overview.


by Elisa, 1999, Achill Island, Ireland:
 http://www.elisarolle.com/travel/1999Ireland.htm

Keem Bay is one of them, and I like the contrast with the sea, that seems a caraibian beach, with the sky that was full of rain.

( Achill Island )

I live in the second oldest University town in the world, Padua, a Roman Empire town whose University was founded in 1221, so sometime I tend to forget that in Italy there are other important University town, and some of them are really nice. Camerino is in the Marche county, and it's a beautiful Renaissance little town atop of an hill, and so it has wonderful view on the country around.

 
by Elisa, Camerino, Italy, 2008:
 http://www.elisarolle.com/travel/2008MarcheUmbria.htm

Camerino seems a town stopped in time, people are gently and the rush rush of modern life doesn't reach its walls. It's also a very convenient place to spend some days, the cost of life is cheaper than other part of Italy. The Ducal Palace, seat of the Faculty of Jurisprudence of the University, is one of the most important Renaissance edifices in central Italy. It was built in the late 15th century by Giulio Cesare Da Varano It has a portico, a wide panoramic balcony, loggias and frescoes halls.

( Camerino )

California was a travel that I didn't expect. I probably was convinced to find beautiful cities, like San Francisco, and modern overview... I wasn't expecting to be enthralled by the Nature. I traveled from South to North along the Pacific Highway, even when it's recommended to do a little detour since the road is to high traffic and narrow. And I found all those little sea villages and the Nature and its natural inhabitants who live free. One day I was of the idea to visit the Hearst Castle, but when I arrived at the beginning of the path, I saw all those touristic buses, all those people, and I don't like crowded places, and so I left. I read in the guide that there was a colony of Elephant Seals near the beach; when I arrived to the starting point of the fenced path, I didn't see anything, I was a bit disappointed. Then my friend told me, "come, come here to the opposite side", and there they were, basking and sleeping in the sun, and some of them, fighting as young teenagers...

 
by Elisa, Point Piedras Blancas, California, 2008:
http://www.elisarolle.com/travel/2008California.htm

I took this picture with my old reflex camera, but I didn't use a zoom, the seals were really near to me, just on the other side of the fence that protect them from the visitors.

( Piedras Blancas Light )

What would you do for a perfect picture? I booked a ferry months before from North of Scotland to the Orkney Island, to be sure to be on the ferry in front of a specific cliff at almost sunset, so that the natural light was such that the cliff seemed on fire. We were also lucky since it was the last ferry of the day and so we arrived at Orkney Island that it was already night and we had to search for our B&B driving for an unknown town... and when we arrived to the B&B it was a georgian mansion on a cliff, a quite decaying mansion overlooking a bay... it was almost scaring, but then, the morning after it was wonderful since we woke up to a fantastic view.

 
by Elisa, Orkney Islands, Scotland, 2004
http://www.elisarolle.com/travel/2004Scozia.htm

Anyway the cliff I wanted to take a picture of, is famous for that single stone, that seems a man looking at sea, and so it's called Old Man of Hoy. When the ferry approached the cliff, all people go to the same spot to look out, and so I spent almost all the travel on the deck (with wind and sometime rain), to be sure to have the perfect spot to click... I'm crazy sometime...

( Old Man of Hoy )

Loire is a beautiful French country, green and with those little jewel of castles that peppered the view. But truth be told, I didn't enjoy so much this travel, since I went with a guided tour and felt constraint by the rules of travel on group... guess I'm more a lone wolf when I'm around for my travel.

 
by Elisa, Villandry, Loire, 2003:
http://www.elisarolle.com/travel/2003Loira.htm

The Château de Villandry is a castle-palace located in Villandry, in the département of Indre-et-Loire, France.
 
( Château de Villandry )

I already said in the past that my travel in Romania was an impromptu one, my aunt was planning to go and I bought a travel guide for her, and browsing the guide I was enthralled by all the possibilities and things to see. I went in winter, and spent 2 week all around the country, and we had to "run away" since we was with our own car and it was starting a real worrying snowstorm.

 
by Elisa, Sighisoara, Romania, 2003
http://www.elisarolle.com/travel/2003Romania.htm

Sighisoara was the last town we saw before leaving the country; it's the native town of Vlad Dracul, the future Dracula, and it's a really fascinating town, small but with some wonderful views.

( Sighişoara )

There is a nice tale behind our travel to visit the Alcobaca Monastery; usually I plan my travels months before, and if I manage to book a place in the city centre I'm more than happy. But most of the time I have no idea of where the place I booked is, and so often we arrive in this small town and looked around to find the place. This time I arrived in this small town in Portugal, where its main attraction was exactly in the main plaza, an huge Monastery where King Pedro is buried beside his mistress and wife Ines de Castro (there is a quite gothic story behind, Pedro's father ordered the murder of Ines not knowing that his son married his mistress, and than Pedro took vengeance on his father and took the dead body of his mistress on parade with him when he was crowned, since she was his queen). Anyway, we arrived in this plaza and I can't find the hotel; at the end I asked to the tourist office, where a very cute boy looked at me as I was crazy; when he realized that I was not joking he told me to turn around and look out of the office: the hotel was right there, with an huge sign... speaking of an embarassing situation...

 
by Elisa, Alcobaca Monastery, Portugal, 2002:
http://www.elisarolle.com/travel/2002Portogallo.htm

Is not necessary to point out again that I love cloister, isn't it?

( Alcobaça Monastery )

I went to Matera to follow a romance convention and instead spent almost all the time walking around the town, among those "Sassi" (in English "stones") that are the old historical centre, but very old, more than 9.000 years of history.

Matera is often used by director to be the set of religious movie, for example The Passion by Mel Gibson, but even before Pier Paolo Pasolini. When you are among the Sassi you can't avoid to breath history.

 
by Elisa, Sasso Barisano, Italy, 2007:
http://www.elisarolle.com/travel/2007BasilicataPuglia.htm

This is not a "classic" example of an house in Matera, they are more cave than palace, but I like the contrast with the sky.

( Matera )

When I'm walking around a city, I like to discover little place more than famous landmarks. Usually I avoid museum or must-seen tourist trap, and go in search of those little places that made the history and that now are almost forgotten, at least from the tourist path.

Queen's Elm Square is a Tudor private court and it's famous only since a legend said tha Queen Elizabeth I found shelter under the Elm that it's still in the center of the court. For this reason, even if it's a private court and so not open to visit, it's listed to the London Inventory of Historic Green Spaces.


by Elisa, Queen's Elm Square, London, 2001:
http://www.elisarolle.com/travel/2001London.htm

It's between Chelsea and Kensington, and really, it's no more than an half circle of green, but the joy I felt while searching for it was enough to leave me a beautiful memory. The photo is taken from behind the fence, so it's nothing special, only a way to fix the memory.

Have you ever wondered when the modern Shopping Centers are born? and where? probably the answer will be in recent time: how many time we listen to the little shops owners lamenting that this big shopping centers killed their business; and if we think to the place, well probably it will be some place in the west part of the world. And so you can imagine my stupor when I entered the GUM, or Main Department Store of Moscow, a huge complex of shops developed in two floors and made of glass and metal. It's almost unbelievable when you are inside to think that this complex is more than 100 years old since it's exactly like some modern shopping centers I see still now.

 
by Elisa, Moscow GUM, Russia, 2001
http://www.elisarolle.com/travel/2001Russia.htm

A side note, I visited Moscow in 2001 and unfortunately I found a country that was still struggling with a very difficult economic situation. Outside Moscow the situation was very worrying, and only Moscow gave me a bit of hope, but inside the GUM the real situation was pretty clear, almost all the shops were empty or under-stocked. I really hope that now the situation is different.

( Moscow GUM )

Bruno Gmunder has just released the Spartacus International Gay Guide (arrived to its 38th edition) to travel well informed and safe.

http://www.brunogmuender.com/products/details/id/4428_Spartacus_International_Gay_Guide_2009/

Press release: A must for the gay traveller! up-to-date and international.

Whether you are looking for a pleasant hotel, the most popular gay bar or the beach – here you will find them all. Spartacus International Gay Guide has all informations about gay traveling covering more than 160 countries worldwide. The following characteristics make this guide practical and easy to use:

• Easy to find address listings with help of a clearly structured and organized listing system
• distinct and colorful country and city maps assist rapid orientation
• The important country information texts stand out in color

The ultimate international guide for the gay community. Listing all bars, clubs, discos * baths, beaches * cruising areas * hotels, apartments * cafés, restaurants * bookshops, gay stores …

It has also the following map that enlights the legal situation worldwide for male homosexuality:



I have noticed that the purple zones are contiguous (with exception of South Africa)... is this something that spread by contact? I hope so, since Italy is very near to the free purple zones ;-)

Andalusia county is a little treasure in the south of Spain. It has an huge Moors influence, and most of its ancient buildings are like lace and satin, lace from the stucco and satin from the colorful tiles. Siviglia, Granada, Cordoba, but also little town like Ubeda and Baeza, all of this cities and town are wonderful, and everywhere there is a joy of life.

 
by Elisa, Siviglia, Andalusia, 2000:
http://www.elisarolle.com/travel/2000Andalusia.htm

If I remember well, Moors' religion forbade them to represent their God and so they use complex geometrical design to worship him. This is a stucco in the Alcazaba of Siviglia.

( Mudéjar style )

I love ancient ruin, but sometime I love also modern architecture, and what I absolutely love is a good mix of modern and ancient (or simil ancient) together. New York have some very beautiful example of this mix, and this nineteen century terminal lost among skyscrapers is a jewel. Fortunately Hollywood made it famous, and so now it's a no missing stop in your walk tour.

 
by Elisa, Grand Central Terminal, New York City, 2000:
http://www.elisarolle.com/travel/2000NewYork.htm

Pity that I had no flashlight with me, and so I only took an outside picture. BTW New York was a wonderful city to visit by foot, I spent almost all the time outside, with my nose in the air looking around.

( Grand Central Terminal )

With all the "excitement" of this day and the fact that I went out to a movie, I almost forgot my appointment of today with you. The photo of today is nothing special, really, it's more interesting what is behind: this is the house in wich Mozart lived with his family in Salzburg when he was only a child. Probably I wouldn't have visited it if it was not a rainy day, and it would has been a shame, since the building, apart Mozart, is a really good example of commoner house in the eighteen-nineteen century. The center of the building is empty, and all the apartments face an internal court, and you can pass from an apartment to the other without apparently leaving one.

 
by Elisa, Salzburg, 1998

Anyway if you love history and music, this is a really interesting place to visit, much more than the other "Mozart" house in Salzburg, the one where they lived when Mozart started to be famous.

( Mozarts Geburtshaus )

The visit at Bective Abbey it was the classical example of how I am when I'm travelling. It was late afternoon, and we were heading for our stay that night, but I wanted to visit this abandoned abbey as my last thing of the day. I was sure that it was around but it was not easy to find. And it was raining; then along the road I saw a signal and the only possible entry to the ruin of the abbey was an hole in an high wall... yes an hole! My friend said no way she was passing through a narrow hole under the rain in a deserted road, and so me, with my camera an hand, went through the hole alone. The abbet was there, behind the hole, with its fashinating ruined walls under the dark storming sky. It was wonderful. Pity that I had only the time to take some pictures before having to return to my friend that was waiting me in the car.

 
by Elisa, Bective Abbey, Ireland, 1999:
http://www.elisarolle.com/travel/1999Ireland.htm

I like the play of dark and pink on the sky and the deep green of the grass. This is something you can only find in that places, thanks to the abunding rains... at least there is something good in the rain!

( Bective Abbey )

Pecs is not a very big city, when I went there in 1996 there wasn't either a main road to reach it from Budapest, you have to travel for hours in a second road full of commercial traffic. But Pecs is a very ancient city, one of the oldest University in the world, and it's main center, even if very small, is quite fascinating. It has also a very important pottery factory, famous for a type of pottery that has a light green color, almost traslucent. And one of the thing I like most of the city were the remains of his ottoman past: around the city there were big or small mosque, most of them converted in Christian churches, but with an outside that remain in all for all the typical exterior of a real mosque.


by Elisa, Jakovali Hassan Mosque Museum, Pecs, Hungary, 1996:
 http://www.elisarolle.com/travel/1996Budapest.htm

( Pécs )

California was one of my recent travel and you had plenty of photos too see during it since I posted a day to day journal. But I have some photos I didn't post since I took with me two different camera, a digital camera and a reflex camera. The reflex camera is very old, a 1971 Nikkormat that I love dearly since it was of my late father. I still believe that some pics and colors I can only reach with it.

 
by Elisa, Pismo Beach, California, 2008:
http://www.elisarolle.com/travel/2008California.htm

See? The pic is nothing special, but I like how I "built" it, with the different levels of color (the two of the sand, then the sea and the sky), how the limit betweem earth and sea is exactly in the middle, and how the man is positioned in the corner. All right, probably with a good digital camera (mine was not) I could reach the same result, but I like my old one.

Side note: the same surfer you see there, when he came ashore, took a shower probably few feet away from me... but I hadn't the courage to click! Pismo Beach is a really nice beach village and the pier is really nice, with family, lovers and surfers all around the beach.

( Pismo Beach, California )

My travel in Romania was all a discovery. I had a very good travel guide, the Rough Guide, but it was not enough to prepare me to what I would find; most of the time I had to go by instinct, searching my treasure as an old fashioned explorer. Like for this fortress near Targu Neamt; it was not properly signed, there was only a small sign at the beginning of a mountain path. It was winter and I hadn't the right shoes to venture on a mountain path covered by snow, but nevertheless I did, and more I walked on the path, more I was questioning the wiseness of my actions. But then the fortress appeared, big and wonderful at the very top of the hill, overlooking the country beneath... It was a wonderful experience.

 
by Elisa, Targu Neamt, Romania, 2003
http://www.elisarolle.com/travel/2003Romania.htm

( Târgu Neamţ )

Usually when you travel, even if you use Metro, you don't specifically turn the "visit" of the Metro as part of your travel experience (unless you are in San Fracisco and take the cable car...). Instead in Moscow there are special tour to visit the old Metro stations: they are not normal station, they are almost artworks, full of marbles, gold leaf, crystal chandelier. It's also probably one of the last place in Moscow where you can still find the old depicts of the Soviet, both in the walls but also in all the opera since it's an example of Socialist Realist Art.


by Elisa, Moscow, Russia, 2001
http://www.elisarolle.com/travel/2001Russia.htm

This is probably the most "elegant" of the stations with almost an Nineteen century Old Europe Style, but there are also stations inspired by the flower style of the 20's and the severity of the 30's... jumping from station to station and exit from the car is a whole experience.

( Komsomolskaya-Koltsevaya )