Postcard from Florence

Of all the magnificient statues I've seen in Rome and Florence this week, I have to say this is one of the most impressive ones. The expressions on the faces are simply spectacular, as are the details of the muscle tones and arches of the bodies.

Entitled, Rape (Abduction) of the Sabine Women by Giovann Da Bologna, this statue sits on a pubic space in Piazza della Signora in Florence.

Postcard from Rome

I spent an entire morning at the Colosseum, the Roman Forum and the Palatine today. What an amazing site! Am heading to Florence tomorrow morning.

Am missing regular internet access. This is the first time in over a year that I am not online every couple of hours every day.

What about you?

Postcard from the Vatican City

This is one of many of statues in front of the St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican City, across the Tiber River from Rome. I took over 250 photos that day but most of them came out less than perfect.

I normally don't like the photos I take when I'm on vacation. I think I get too distracted by the interesting sites and sounds around me to focus on photography. Either that or the real image is always more beautiful than what turns out on the camera.

Does this happen to you?

Mona Lisa in SoHo

I saw this graffiti in SoHo last weekend and it reminded me of Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa, well sort of. It looks like a modern interpretation of the original art work.

So have you seen the Mona Lisa?

N.B.: I'm heading to Rome, Italy for a week long vacation this afternoon. I will try to post new photos from my trip whenever possible.

Brooklyn Directions

If you ever get lost in Brooklyn, this manhole cover will help you find your way home. It is located on the street level by the entrance to the Brooklyn Bridge.

So have you ever gotten lost?

Update: There were numerous questions on DUMBO in the comments so I'm posting the answer here. DUMBO is short for District Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass, which is a fancy word to say it's under the bridge, folks! It's a newly coined neighborhood on the Brooklyn waterfront. The word, I think, was created by real estate companies to create a buzz for an otherwise, unpleasant sounding part of town. Imagine telling a potential client, "I have a beautiful property under the Manhattan Bridge I would like to show you" vs. "I have a beautiful property in a hip new neighborhood in Brooklyn called, DUMBO!"

Other acronyms you will find in NYC are: SoHo (South of Houston Street), NoHo (North of Houston Street), TriBeCa (Triangle Below Canal Street), and NoLIta (North of Little Italy).

Broadway Shows

Here are some of the Broadway shows that are playing in New York City right now. Musicals appear to be more popular than dramas. Lately, there has been a lot of Disney-fication on Broadway with more and more movie-themed shows coming to town, like The Lion King, The Little Mermaid, Mary Poppins and Grease.

Recently, I was invited by a new friend from California to see South Pacific with her at the Lincoln Center. The production was spectacular and I really enjoyed it.

So what shows have you seen lately?

No Lines at TKTS

This is the line to the new TKTS booths that sell discounted Broadway tickets for same day shows only. The reason there was is no line here is because this photo was taken at about 10 AM in the morning and it was really, really cold.

So when was the last time you waited in a line to purchase something?

Angelika Film Center

This is the lobby/lounge/cafe area at the Angelika Film Center on Houston and Mercer Street in SoHo where I went to see the movie, I've Love You So Long (Il Y A Longtemps Que Je T'aime) recently. The movie was good but what was even more amazing was getting out of the cold (below freezing temperature these last couple of days) and spending a couple of hours inside a warm and toasty theater watching Kristin Scott Thomas speak French.

So what movie have you seen lately?

Another Snow Day

These two photos were taken less than a minute apart but at different camera settings. The first one (top) was taken at a lower ISO and shutter speed, thereby giving the snow a stringy-like effect. The second photo (bottom) was taken at a much higher ISO and shutter speed and that is why you can see the individual snow flakes.

So which photo do you prefer? The low speed effect or the high speed look?

Best Photo of the Year 2008

I chose this photo as the best of the year because (1) it was taken with my new camera, which I got last month, (2) it was a serendipitous scene when the woman walked into my line of view, and (3) it was snowing yesterday and this photo relays the scene outside my apartment.

This month, 151 bloggers participated in the theme photo: best photo of the year 2008. Click here to view thumbnails for all participants.

Village Cinema

Today is the last day of 2008. In less than 24 hours, it is estimated that over 1 million revelers will be congregating at Times Square to celebrate the arrival of the new year. I, on the other hand, will be going to the movies.

So what do you have planned for the evening?

45th Street & Broadway Avenue

This building is located on Broadway Avenue between 45th and 44th Street, right in the middle of Times Square. I was standing across the street in front of ABC-TV's studio when I looked up and saw the clock face on the top. I quickly took a few photos and moved on. It was only when I got home that I realized the colors in this photo are quite amazing.

So what is your favorite color?

A Bird in the Bush...

This photo would have been perfect for Christmas Day but it was taken yesterday morning. I was less than 3 feet (1.5 meters) away but the bird ignored me and continued eating red berries from the holly bush while I took over a half dozen photos of it. It was probably thinking, "How rude!"

So do you think it is rude to take photos of people (or animals) while they are eating?

M&M Statue of Liberty

Here are some souvenirs from the M&M Store on Times Square. It's a favorite among tourists, especially those under the age of 10.

So what kind of souvenirs do you usually buy when you are traveling out of town?

Greenwich Village Apartment

This apartment on 12th Street in the Greenwich Village has a little private garden and foot path to the front door, which are extremely rare in New York City. Most apartments have the main door located right on the street.

So what is special about your home?

Don't Use Cash!

The sign on this coffee shop window says: Don't Use Cash! Save 5% of all purchases using any form of payment (credit, debit) or Just Roasted Coffee Card. That is strange indeed as most stores prefer cash over credit or debit payments.

So do you think this is just another publicity stunt by the coffee shop OR do they really benefit from credit and debit purchases?

Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays

This Christmas tree was set up in the lobby of my apartment building. It belongs to everyone who lives here. So I'm going to share it with you all.

Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays

Flight 001

This interesting store, Flight 001 in Greenwich Village, sells some of the most interesting travel items. On Sunday, I went there to buy an adapter plug for Italian wall sockets for my laptop. Yeap, I'm heading to Rome in January for a little vacation. I guess that wish I made when I threw the 100 Lira coin (US$0.07) into the Trevi Fountain in 1980 might come true after all.

So have you ever made a wish and it came true?

Window at Dean & Deluca

This guy was checking his e-mail or text messages on his cell (mobile) phone while shopping at Dean & Deluca, a gourmet supermarket on Prince Street and Broadway Avenue in SoHo.

So how often do you check your e-mail?

Someone Was Here

I saw these paw prints on a fresh coat of snow this morning on my way to brunch. Notice the two dark spots on the lower right corner? I wonder if those spots are what I think they are. And no, there wasn't a tree nor fire hydrant near by.

So what do you think those spots are?