Shade and shadow

“I thought the most beautiful thing in the world must be shadow.”
― Sylvia Plath, The Bell Jar

This week is appropriately named since it’s been so hot the last few days in Los Angeles. At some point during the week, we’ve been experiencing temperature high s 106 degrees and it’s not officially summer time! Whenever it gets this hot time I daydream about hanging out somewhere coastal…or anywhere near water really…

Amalfi Coast, Italy

Lake Tahoe, CA

Somewhere in Ventura County

Lens-Artists Challenge #152 – Shades and Shadows

Some shades and shadows around the blogosphere:

• WordsVisual – a lovely collection of shade and shadows
• Murtagh’s Meadow – How my dog looks on hot days.
• Albatz’s Travel Adventure – A gorgeous sculpture producing the loveliest shadow.
• Photography in Pearls – These birds have the right idea.
• Tish Farrell – Shadows sculpted by sand…
• Tranature – Such a peaceful collection…

I miss looking out the window…

My husband and I went to Italy for two weeks and we spent the second half of our trip in a farmstay in Furore along the Amalfi Coast. We loved getting farm-to-table meals and wine during our stay. It was wonderful getting this view every day from our room. I thought that town were always looking over was a cute little corner point towards the Mediterranean.

Weekly Photo Challenge: Corner

Check out some of these submissions for their interpretation for “Corner“:

• Cabin Life; Mittened Hands
• The Real; J HARDY CARROLL
• Corners; Half a photograph
• WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE – CORNER; HX Report
• Corner Office; Your Work/Life Bliss
• Photo Challenge – Corner; Layue’s everyday photo blog
• LA ESQUINA, NEW YORK CITY; Ruth Eh
• At the Corner of Freshly Painted and Shabby Chic; Note to Traveler
• Corner; Nomad Online
• Around a corner, the oldest pub in Exeter; Une photo, un poème
• The Corners of My World; Growing Self
• Corner of history; Poetry in Pictures
• CORNERED AT STOKESAY; Restless Jo
• ABATTOIR; Eirik Jeistad
• Let’s Turn a Corner Already!; Searching for Elsewhere
• Black and White in Color: The Bike in the Corner; The Linda Life
• ANGLES, CORNERS AND INTERSECTIONS.; My Own Private Idaho
• Corners : Beginnings or Ends?; The Drifting Satellite
• Corner and Nook; TRAVEL387
• By the Sea; City Sonnet
• GIRAFFES IN HELSINKI; From My Horizon
• Queenstown; Painted in Words
• Hurricane “Harvey” is coming…; THE WORLD IS A BOOK…
• Corner; Lonely Travel Log
• MORGAN LIBRARY CORNERS; THE NEW 3 RS: RETIRE, RECHARGE, RECONNECT
• Rounded Corners; Flirting with Creativity
• Snapshot Saturday: a field, a drystone wall, a corner; From Pyrenees to Pennies

Week 10: Some of my many favorite adventures

Week 10: Best adventures while traveling

I am going to begin this post but going off-topic. My friend who I’ve known since my college years inquired about starting a blog. We met in LA and it’s funny how we kept in touch after all these years. I moved to San Diego, she moved to Monterey Bay. I moved back to LA, and she moved back to El Salvador. I think she should go for it :-).

It’s Travel Tuesday and I am halfway through the challenge. So far it’s been fun writing all about my adventures and an excuse to pull out some old photos. I am not sure how to organize this post, so why not just list down my many favorite adventures!

• Monteverde Cloud Forest Tour – This was from my Costa Rica trip last year. I loved how everything was so green and the fauna was so diverse!

• Ziplining – When you are in Costa Rica, you got to go zip-lining. It’s quite a unique 360 experience of the absorbing the rainforest around you.

• Going on a boat –– really any activity on a boat is fun. Unless you get seasick.

Me on a boat from Amalfi to Capri

• Taking public transit – I enjoy taking the train whether it’s Amtrak at home, the Trenitalia in Italy, or the subway in Paris.

• Hiking the Amalfi Coast, National Parks, cities — hike anywhere really… Just go outside!

Mt. Tre Cali at Amalfi Coast

Yosemite, CA

Sequoia, Kings Canyon, CA

Me wandering around Florence, Italy

• A lot of times, my adventures are local. I like going to quirky events like the Lego exhibit in Glendale, driving all the way down to San Pedro after work to see the large rubber duck, or taking the subway to downtown LA to see large inflatable bunnies.

Read more posts from the Travel Blogging Challenge:

Week 1: Your Favorite Travel Photo of You and Intro
Week 2: Little Known Travel Tips
Week 3: Funny Travel Story
Week 4: Travel Misadventures
Week 5: Top three cultural foods
Week 6: Unusual Travel Activities and Photos
Week 7: Inspiration for traveling
Week 8: 5 Favorite Blogs
Week 9: Gross/disgusting travel stories

Who else is doing the challenge?

• Journey Through the Trees – Victoria
• Wandering Outside the Box – Winta
• Trouvaille, Mon Cher – Aly
• Simply Emily – Emily
• Benjamin Lessard – Benjamin

Interested in participating in the Weekly Travel Blogging Challenge? Feel free to make your own today!

Land Urchins

When we were in the Amalfi Coast, I found these spiky-looking green ball around the ground. I’ve never seen them before and I jokingly called them land urchins. Later I learned these were called castagne, or chestnuts.

There you go…land urchins :-P.

Weekly Photo Challenge: Texture

Check out some of these submissions for their interpretation for texture:

On The Rocks: Weekly Photo Challenge – Textures; Right Steps & Poui Trees

WPC: Textures; snaphappi

The Texture of Mother Nature; Growing Self

WPC: Textures – Neighborhood In Corduroy; A Trivial Mind at Work

Weathered by the Sea; Note to Traveler

WPC: Cracked Plaster Wall in Rouen; Al Batz

History in the Rocks (WP Photo Challenge: Texture); Patchwork Ponderings

Textures: Needs A Rake; Photoessayist The Blog

Textures; The Traveling Book Club

Texture; Through the Lens
Low Tide; By Sarah
5pointz: Geisha; AlphaPRJCT
ADDING MORE TEXTURE TO MIXED-MEDIA PAINTINGS WITH TISSUE AND OTHER ‘FRAGILE’ PAPERS; Eliza Batz Gallery