In Rome, once again, we enjoyed Italian cuisine (carbonara, mi amore!), wine, gelato, architecture, history, and watching people (tourists and locals alike). It seems like those are reason ENOUGH to go to Roma! Nothing like Rome to appreciate cultural diversity and food delights!
When I travel with friends, I don’t just travel with anyone. I travel with folks who love wine, food, exploring, and chilling – like me. One of my friend’s is a personal chef and she and her husband are big foodies (and so will be their baby one day!). Before the trip, they looked for opportunities to sample food beyond lunch/dinner. They found an awesome food tour in the Testaccio area of Rome, an area I had not explored or had even heard of before. The tour is organized by Eating Italy Food Tours, founded by a native from Philly. Domenico, also from Philly, was our tour guide that day and he was definitely the right guy to show us around! (Check them out at http://www.eatingitalyfoodtours.com/ .)
We arrived to the Testaccio area after passing a pyramid by a cemetery. Rome’s city walls seem to have been built around it. I had no idea there was a pyramid in Rome! It is called the Pyramid of Cestius as it was built as a tomb for a guy with that name. What was incredible to me is that it was built 10-20 yrs BEFORE Christ. It is incredible!
The food tour took us to the cemetery on the side of the pyramid which used to be where foreigners were interred in Rome in the not so distant past. It is referred to as the Protestants’ or the Englishmen’s cemetery. One of its most famous “eternal residents” is the poet Keats who died very young (I did learn something, see??). You must be wondering when am I getting to the food. So am I. So let me get back on track.
The route and targets of the tour
We started at the old local market which is marked for demolition in the very near future as they have built a brand new place for these folks. Sounded wonderful until our tour guide told us the vendors’ rent will be doubled which will likely put a few of them out of business. Yes, the old market wasn’t a beacon of perfection but it definitely had charm! Among the things we sampled was real mozzarella di bufala made by a lady named Lina - now I know how real mozzarella di bufala is supposed to taste like!! Here are some of the sights at the market:
This fish guy has been there for decades and his son and grandson now work with him.
Whose legs are those? It’s rude to put your feet out the window!
All sorts of goodness! (Where’s the chocolate??)
Carne Equina – an interesting stand…
After the local market, we meandered towards Volpetti which, as soon as I saw the sign, I recognized from an Anthony Bourdain episode I had recently watched! Volpetti is this piece of heaven on Via Marmorata, near the Pyramid. All sorts of cheeses, balsamic vinergars, cured and dried meats like prosciutto, etc. We got to sample (as we did everywhere in this tour) and my favorite was the San Daniele prosciutto (vs. Parma prosciutto – which was still good!). The San Daniele had a certain tinge of sweetness that I enjoyed. Needless to say, we loaded up on some goodies for that evening’s dinner (we decided there were too many good things not to devote one dinner in the apartment to them!). Prosciutto is worth reading about and sampling – here is a quick overview of this delicious piece of ham: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prosciutto. An another that covers the difference between pancetta (bacon) and prosciutto (ham): http://italianalmanac.org/06may/ham.htm
Goodness at Volpetti
Right after Volpetti and further down Marmorata, we stopped at Barberini’s were the pastries all were calling my name, winking at me. Not being a cultural chauvinist, I understood they were tempting me. Of course I accepted the morsels we were given to sample including tiramisu in a tiny cup made of chocolate (modeled here by my friend Chris):
A nice array of pastries at Barberini
On our way to further destinations in the tour, we passed a hill called Monte Testaccio. If you don’t know any better, you walk right past it. It has vegetation and was behind a fence when we hit upon it. However, our tour guide stopped to tell us about it. Folks, it is not a real hill that mother nature (or Mother Nature, lest lightning strike me) created. In the old days, and I mean, the OLD days, people used amphoras to store and carry things. However, when they were used for olive oil, the amphoras were not really re-usable for long. So, they would break them up and pile them on what became a hill over time. Vegetation grew and the hill – someone discovered – would offer in its innards a great place to store wine at the perfect temperature! So in old days (not OLD days), small caves were built for this purpose. It no longer seems to be used for this but remains a great witness to how the old Romans did things. The area has become trendy with nightclubs while still hosting traditional trades like butchers.
After a little meandering, we next came to 00100 Pizza where we were in for a real treat: suppli – a cheesy fried rice ball that was a foodie’s dream.
Suppli
As our mouths continued to water, we made it to the place, Da Bucatino, where we would have a traditional Italian lunch centered around bucatini, a thick and hollow spaghetti-like pasta (not common here in the States) in amatriciana sauce (my favorite red sauce). I did my best to clean the plate though all the sampling along the way was competing for space in my stomach!
Finally, after the day of sampling great cheeses, meats, pasta, and the like we ended up at a neighborhood gelato place called Giolitti. It has been there since the early 20th century. A place where the gelato and the panna are all homemade – true artisans! What a difference a homemade makes.
So, a little more off the beaten path than the Rome that most tourists see (including me in my first 2 trips there), yet a stone’s throw away from all those places, the Testaccio area offers not only great food but a different scene with history and charm to along with it. Don’t miss it next time in Rome!
Other things I enjoyed in Rome:
What other lesser known areas of Rome have you seen and would you recommend them to others?
(Photos taken with Canon EOS Rebel T1I)
May 31st, 2012
Posted by
Raul |
Europe, Good Eats and Drinks, Italy |
6 comments
In my recent trip from Rome to Dubrovnik, I had to connect through the excellent Munich airport. I had chosen a 3+ hr layover so I wouldn’t be worried about a tight connection. It was the right airport choice for a 3 hr layover!
Munich, as other airports in Europe, has a lot more going on than the average U.S. airport. Munich is one of the airports in Europe with the best setup for connecting through it. They say you can easily make very short connections. Though coming from Italy and going to Croatia, I had to go through immigration which had a line so I am not sure I would risk a 45 min. connection!
Soon after arriving I spotted a massage place offering from manicures to full-body massages. I decided I would take a back and neck massage for 30 mins to help me relax from an early start to my day (woke up around 530 AM!) and also since I was still sick with a cold. I figured anything that helped my body was a good thing – and it was.
After the massage, I sat down for lunch at a place offering typical German fare. I enjoyed wursts, sauerkraut, a pretzel with mustard, and, of course, a beer! Mmm!
Num-num
Goodness…
Then, with still some time to kill, and with no real sense of purpose, I snapped a few odd shots with my mobile phone camera (which I admit is not the best). But I sort of like the shots as they do give a sense of the airport movement or activity . Looking at these, I wish I HAD taken them with the real camera! I love the reflections on the shiny floor!
May 29th, 2012
Posted by
Raul |
Europe, Germany, Good Eats and Drinks |
2 comments
I discovered a hidden gem in Chicago: The Palmer House! After the neat architecture boat tour of the city that my fellow travel bloggers and I did in our tweeetup, and after walking through Millenium Park admiring the Cloud Gate, the water statues (whatever they are called), etc., one of our local tweetuppers suggested that we headed to the Palmer House to give our legs a rest and have a drink in a unique place in Chicago.
Of course, that sounded good to all of us so we said yes not fully knowing what to expect (blessed ignorance!). We were in for a REAL treat. The Palmer House has one of the more elegant hotel lobbies I have seen in a while! Sitting there to have drinks (and people watch) was a nice break from the more visitor sightseeing we had done that day. It was elegant, magnificent, and alive – tons of people either for the wedding receiptions going on, guests of the hotel, or short-term visitors like us. It is the third reincarnation of the hotel originally built by someone rich for his bride-to-be. The first building burned down in the famous Chicago fire days after opening…
The ceiling of that lobby area is a delight to look at and, to me, the centerpiece of the place. It reminds me of the ceilings around the Vatican Museum or The Hermitage in St. Petersburg. I wish I knew where exactly the building’s architect/designer got their inspiration from. I felt a little inspired myself…
… so I ordered rye Old Fashioned. No, the drink is not on the ceiling but on a mirror-top table – it made for a great contrast with the ceiling as well as for some neat pix of the folks around the table.
While it was definitely great to discover a gem like this without any research (thanks Pola from @jettingaround!), it does highlight a couple of things:
1. Serendipity can lead to great experiences - not having hard plans for every hour of the afternoon, we allowed for opportunities like this to come based on the mood of the moment; or serendipity in other cases can be just simply meandering the lesser streets in a city and pop in to any establishment that catches your eye!
2. Locals can give you some of the best insights on those places off the beaten path!
I don’t know that we found this gem. I certainly didn’t find it. But it “found” me! If you ever go to Chicago, put this on your list of places to sit at and chill – and admire.
Read more about the good times we had in Chicago and how I got to high places.
Do you know other gems like this in Chicago? Please share!
May 24th, 2012
Posted by
Raul |
US & Canada |
2 comments
You cannot tell this sunset is happening in Copenhagen. But it is. This is from our hotel (the Marriott, an awesome property in the chain!) facing the Tivoli Gardens on a beautiful mid-June sunset.
And these two are some of the most important special people in the world to me: my nephew and my niece. No amount of money, of travel experiences, or anything tops having these two. I love this picture and I think will treasure it more as the years go by…
(Picture taken with Canon EOS Rebel T1I)
May 21st, 2012
Posted by
Raul |
Denmark, Europe, Picture of the Week |
8 comments
I have pondered may a-times how lucky I am that I can travel to places around the world mostly for personal reasons and sometimes even for business. I, like many others, are blessed with the opportunities possible in this day and age to make long distance travel possible. In 14 hrs I can be in Seoul should I choose. 50 yrs ago, maybe a lot less years ago, that trip would have taken much longer to do. And on and on I could go about how good we have it.
And then I realized that I can do these trips not only because the world is smaller and technology facilitates many things. I can travel because where I was born and where I live have afforded me opportunities to be in a good enough situation to travel, something many people in other less developed countries may never have. But I go further the more I think about it: even if I didn’t have the wherewithal to be able to travel, I still don’t have to worry about many basic things. Malaria is not a threat in my country. Water safety is not a concern (usually, anyway). There is good medicine accessible within a mile or so from where I live. Etc.
Many people in this world have to worry about such things. Forget about whether they would have the wherewithal to travel abroad – they have to worry about the basics that you and I, dear reader, more than likely will never have to worry about. Yes, we do have issues too but not at the scale of what a good portion of our fellow human beings have to worry about.
It is with that in mind that I decided to do a trek to help some folks who may have a lot less of the basics than most of us. A friend of mine founded an organization a few years ago that organizes treks in support of orphanages around the world. They have gone to base camp in Everest, to the top of Kilimanjaro, done the Camino in Spain, hiked to Machu Picchu, etc. This July they are organizing a “lite” trek in the mountains of Romania - the Transylvanian Alps - and I have decided to join them for the first time! The organization is called Trekking for Kids. The trek will begin and end in Brasov in central Romania, an area with well-known beauty and famous (or infamous as the case may be) for Bran’s Castle that inspired the Dracula story (I even hate to mention it but had to!).
Trekkers raise funds that directly fund the projects that will be done for the targeted orphanage (capital improvements, sustainability-oriented projects, etc.). Not only do we fundraise for the orphanage but we will pitch in with sweat equity while at the orphanage as well as just be with the children.
I am thrilled to be undertaking this challenge. It is a lite trek but that is 4 days in a row of hiking and I have not done more than one day ever… My longest hike was over 20 yrs ago… So I will share a little between now and July about preparations for the trek and then share with you the experience once the trek is done. I am hoping my troublesome knee will cooperate as it has been acting up the last 3 years. But I hope it all works out for the best first and foremost for the kids in that orphanage in Brasov, Romania!
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If you’d like to support the orphanage projects via Trekking for Kids via my trek, go to their site, click on “Donate” on the top right, go to the “Select Trek or Fund” box and select “Romania 2012″, and then (don’t forget!), select me as the Trekker you are supporting! (If you prefer to pay by check, please email me so I can get the form to you which will also provide you with your tax receipt.)
May 20th, 2012
Posted by
Raul |
Europe, Romania |
3 comments
When my friends and I decided upon a trip to Italy focused on Rome, I was really pumped to go back, see some familiar places and get to check off some that, though very important, I had failed to visit in my 2 prior trips to Rome (to my credit, they had been like 3-day stays each).
Lodging in Rome
All of us had prior experience with renting apartments while abroad as a way to get much cheaper lodging with the perks of a real kitchen, washer/dryer, and living room space so we could hang out late at night. www.vrbo.com is my starting point for any search like this. We found an apartment in Prati but, unfortunately, soon after booking, the building had some sewer problems so the agency that VRBO had connected us to, contacted us to offer other options. We took another apartment, very close to the U.S. Embassy (not for that reason) and paid the differential since it was a better apartment though it was beyond what we had hoped to spend. However, getting close to the date of travel and with not as many options for 3-bedroom apartments that we had liked when we first searched, we went for it. The agency that arranged the rental in Rome was very professional and helpful along the way with special requests; check them out next time you are headed to Italy: www.italyperfect.com. Our apartment’s owner was a marquesa, if that impresses you at all!
Living/Dining room was very spaciousSo What Was the Plan?
Our individual goals in this vacations coincided a good bit. One set of friends had not been to Rome so they would have to cover some of the basics we already had. Pompeii and the Sistine Chapel were top of my list but more on those in other entries…
As soon as we decided on the trip, we “discovered” that there were 3 other basilicas outside of what is known as the Vatican. They are elsewhere in Rome but technically you are in the Vatican when you are in these basilicas. We decided that these would be a great item for our arrival day due to all the walking and metroing required to see them – hence, we would not be tempted by naps! We ended up leaving Sta. M. Maggiore for another day but we found these basilicas, though not as massive as St. Peter’s, impressive in their own right. The basilicas are:
- St. John Lateran (former home of the Popes until not long ago at all – who knew)
- St. Paul Outside the Walls (the clarification is needed: there is one INSIDE the walls; and yes, Rome still has segments of wall around it; again, who knew… oh, and St. Paul is buried here under the chains that held him captive)
- Santa Maria Maggiore (near the Termini station).
Rome has some fan-TAS-tic ceilings – check them out!
One of the main things for me to see in Rome (what an unfair thing to type… Rome has SO much that is a must-see!) was the Pantheon. Folks, it is a 100 years and change away from being TWO THOUSAND years old! Can you wrap your mind around that??? I can’t! And it is STILL the world’s largest un-reinforced concrete dome. I should have seen this on my first visit! Oh, and I had NO idea the hole at the top was open! Cleverly positioned and hidden drains take care of that water when it rains!
The oculus (giggle, giggle) “reflected” on the domeWe hit the Pantheon the day we went to the Papal Audience when we left the Vatican and started meandering streets. It was my 3rd Papal Audience with the last one having been WAY CLOSER to the Pope (check out my friend Chris’ account of that audience. As usual, the people watching sometimes is even better than the event itself!
Sweet looking but who knows if she is really a meanie!
Not sure who looks sillier but thanks for your service!In that meandering, we happened upon the Gelateria del Teatro, a well-known gelateria due to the quality and uniqueness of the flavors of the gelato. It was OUT OF THIS WORLD! Take a look at this!!
Spectacular gelato!!We also walked around Piazza Navona always full of life and tourists and peddlers… That area is even more interesting and full of locals in the evening. Meander the side streets and find restaurants and other gelaterias (when in Rome, you are required to have gelato no less than 2 times per day!). There is a lot in that area of town just around the corner on a side street!
Piazza NavonaAs we headed back to the apartment, we decided to take a short detour and go to the Trevi Fountain so one set of friends could see it for the first time but, more importantly, so we could throw our coin to ensure a return to Roma! Again, the people watching is superb. I loved taking a couple of pictures of this couple as they examined the fountain.
After recovering from all that walking, we headed to Hostaria Il Mozzicone in Via Borgo Pio right outside the Vatican, a place I had visited in my two prior trips. As usual the food was awesome (the carbonara is their specialty and the ONLY thing I eat there) and the service cold – but never mind the service; as long as you go in up front not expecting friendly, you will be OK. Below my carbonara!
Food has AWESOME food and a food tour is a great way to discover. We did a great food tour and highlight recommend that.
Finally, to help us walk off some of the food coma, we walked over to St. Peter’s for a great night time view of this majestic place, something I had not done before (the go at night part!). A great way to cap our day!
In this trip, I also discovered why Rome IS the eternal city -> http://ilivetotravel.me/2012/04/22/why-rome-is-the-eternal-city/
May 16th, 2012
Posted by
Raul |
Europe, Good Eats and Drinks, Italy |
6 comments
Pink macaron has Angelina Jolie lips. The purple macaron has macaron-envy. The pink macaron sticks its tongue out. Instigator. The wine glass stays out of it – so Switzerland.
From the Sofitel Water Tower in Chicago during the Windy City Tweetup.
May 15th, 2012
Posted by
Raul |
Good Eats and Drinks, Picture of the Week, US & Canada |
7 comments
We can all talk about Chicago food, help write the next guidebook on what to see, its architecture, or just muse about the city’s history (be it the city’s founding, Ferris Bueller, the mafia wars, or the baseball wars). But Chicago is a great “canvas for curiosities” (fun little stories or curious sights); what with its size, multitude of places to go & hang out, and colorful locals/visitors alike there can be no shortage of curiosities or good times!
Don’t get me wrong, it isn’t that other places can’t provide perfect backdrops for good stories (New Orleans certainly is! I could tell you stories… if I remembered them), but Chicago offers such a variety of possibilities, that it is inevitable to leave the place with good stories or good pictures.
A group of folks passionate about the experience of travels (who also share an interest in meeting like-minded folks) got together in Chicago for the Windy City tweetup in May 2012. There will be/are blog entries here and in their blogs (check them out – links below!) written about the weekend but I thought I’d devote one to the curiosities and/or the good times of the weekend as captured with my camera…
Plenty of Odd Birds
People watching doesn’t get much better than in this city with the sheer number of people out and about (OK, it does in some places but not by much more). But this strange bird caught my eye as he was sitting perfectly still in-air 
Or was he just watching tourists play at The Bean?
We Didn’t Start the Fire (No, Not THAT Chicago Fire)
No matter what anyone claims, we did NOT cause this mishap in Michigan Ave. Some other group of marauders must have done it. (Notice that the city kindly placed an orange cone to protect pedestrians!)
We Think We Are Having a Good Time until We Look at the Photo Days Later…
Our group enjoyed standing in front of The Bean while we all shot pictures at ourselves – we thought that was a cool idea. But the real action was taking place right next to us. Now THEY were having a good time!
Warning – Don’t Make Me Smite You Guys (or Is It “Youse” Guys?)
Well, early on, a warning seemed to have been delivered to us to NOT have too much of a wild time while at The Pump Room on our first night enjoying drinks, dinner, and the ambience. I want to say we were not affected by it but some had an odd glow all weekend. Oh, wait that could have been the boa…
The Angels Are in Town – and not the Baseball Team
Friday night, as we walked the streets in the Water Tower district, a local realized that Charlie’s Angels were in town. I took a look around me, and, oh dear, I was Charlie. Better than Bosley for sure. So, we decided that the Angels needed to do their thing. And here it is:
Good times.
Spread ‘Em, Lady
Chicago,of course, can provide a rather large playground for bachelor and bachelorette parties – ALL sorts of good times. We believe that was what we ran into as we went to the Cloud Gate (or The Bean) at Millenium Park as a group of ladies kept hoisting one of their lot up in various poses… One of our guys was “had” as he heard the words of legs being spread…
And Just When You Think You Have Had a Good Time…
… the BOA enters the picture. Then all bets are off. What you thought had been fun so far, becomes childplay-fun only. We don’t know where the boa originally came from. I can’t tell you much else about it - the moment it enters the picture, the fun begins and the time for chit chat is not gonna happen… You see, the boa has a mind of its own, it wraps you within its feathers, and then… well, this is the point where I have to use that old and wise adage and give it a local twist: “What happens in Chicago, stays in Chicago… or else the ghost of Mr. Capone will make me regret it!”
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Check out these folks with a great point of view and travel stories to tell!
http://lolastravels.com
http://leahtravels.com
www.jettingaround.com
www.elatlboy.com
www.travelingted.tv
http://theworkingmomstravels.com/
May 15th, 2012
Posted by
Raul |
US & Canada |
7 comments
These well-traveled eyes have seen a lot of great cities and still have others left to discover. But they can say that they have seen truly one of the most interesting and enjoyable cities in the U.S. – as long as it is not winter, of course! (OK, it still can be fun in winter as my visits many moons ago can attest though my memory cannot fully recollect…)
Chicago is vibrant, day or night. It is not the 200+ yr old charm that Philly has (Chicago burnt deep and well in the famous fire). It is not the capital of everything that NY is. It is not the power center that DC is. But it is a city that has everything that an urban area should have: unique neighborhoods, a vibrant center, a body of water (or two) running through it, great food, great hotels, diversity of entertainment options (blues clubs, skyscraper-top bars, mafia lore, shopping, people watching, and on and on), and a strong business community. Of course, it also has that required element of large cities: corrupt (or dubious) power brokers – but I digress.
But one thing it that tood out to me as if I had never been here before was the architecture. Not sure if it was the scale (as in the Hancock and ex-Sears Towers or as in the Merchandise Mart), or the contrasts between ”old” and new, or just the fact that I got see it on foot, on boat, and on a bus.
View from the Wrigley Building to the “south side” of the river
If you have any interest in learning about the city’s architecture (and you most definitely do not need to be an architect for that!), the boat tour is a great option. The boat tour we took was offered was by Wendella Boats (http://www.wendellaboats.com/ (right by the Wrigley Building on Michigan Ave.). They provide an excellent narration of the architecture of the city by cruising the river – and they help you learn why the river no longer flows into Lake Michigan… I won’t spoil it for you. They also offer you a free drink (and you can pay for more) – the Honker’s Ale was very nice. And I digress again.
Here are examples of the architecture of Chicago (more pictures on my Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/ILiveToTravel):
The building on the left was inspired by a champagne bottle
The real and reflected skyline (at The Bean in Millenium Park)
Other stories from our tweetup:
May 14th, 2012
Posted by
Raul |
US & Canada |
11 comments
In the first tweetup, the one in Austin, I found myself flight-delayed for the Friday night events AND also quite sick. While I greatly enjoyed the Saturday outings, I felt I had not gotten all that I had expected out of that tweetup. So the Windy City Tweetup was redemption for fate…
Getting There
The journey to Chicago started, as many journeys lately for me, with Atlanta’s Hartsfield airport. Having just flown in to Atlanta the night before, I was less than excited to be doing the routine in reverse within 24 hours of landing in Atlanta… But, and it is a big but, this was for much more fun than a work trip. It was time for the long-awaited Windy City Tweetup.
Delta nicely was able to complimentarily upgrade me (both ways!) days ahead of the flights so I would avoid wondering at the gate “Will I make it?”. Thanks!
Three of us flying in were planning to meet upon arrival at ORD so I was hoping we would all be on time. Being the one to land first (by schedule, anyway), I was to make my way to the last person’s baggage claim area (of course, we ALL were flying different airlines to make it more complicated…) and also call up the car we had booked for a nice ride into town. Miraculously – the Tweetup gods must have been smiling upon us – we all landed within minutes of each other.
Our destination, the Sofitel Water Tower Hotel in Chicago we had booked a few months in advance. Sofitels are clearly nice hotels and it had been a while since I had stayed in one so I was thrilled to experience their service after a few years of experiencing others’ service.
Home Base in Chicago’s Water Tower District: My High Place
Even before the tweetup, the Sofitel Water Tower engaged with us via Twitter (@SofitelChicago). Two things: one, if you are a business and you will have a Twitter presence, it can’t be a one-way push of information. That is so 1999 web. You HAVE to engage. The Sofitel clearly knew this. That was a good sign for us that we had made a great choice.
I found out I had been placed at the 30th floor which gave me a nice view of the Hancock Tower straight ahead and Lake Michigan behind it. The room was very comfortable and inviting. A very nice spot in a high place in Chicago indeed!
The view from my high perch in Chicago – the Hancock Tower
Also, a nice treat awaited in the room: macarons! Check out the story about macaron envy…
My macaron-based welcome made me feel like a high-flyer!
We also had made plans to gather at the hotel’s bar “Le Bar“, where the hotel, once again, offered us a sampling of their appetizers of which the mini-burgers and the artichoke croquettes were my favorite. I also got to be the first customer to try their new signature drink named “Wrigleyville” which had peanut butter fluff & vodka and was served with a side dish of Cracker Jacks. I was not sure about a peanut butter flavored drink but it was actually outstanding. Kudos to the bar for the clever design!
The Wrigleyville drink and Cracker Jacks
After meeting up at the Sofitel with one of our local tweeps, we headed for The Pump Room at the Public Hotel Chicago. Though ground-level cleary a high place in terms of history, ambience and scene. A famous locale throughout the decades, I admit to only having discovered it as the tweetup was being planned. We enjoyed drinks and dinner there enjoyed the well-designed space. The bar areas were hopping with a great crowd – clearly a place to come and meet with friends in the Windy City.
The Pump Room at Public Hotel Chicago
So ended our first few hours in the Windy City Tweetup. It was a great start to the weekend and many thanks to the Sofitel Water Tower and The Pump Room for setting the right tone!
May 13th, 2012
Posted by
Raul |
Good Eats and Drinks, US & Canada |
10 comments
These pictures are not going to enter any contest nor get used for wallpaper anywhere (including my own laptop). But they are very significant. At least to me. See, they represent the first time I got a used camera from someone to use and likely the first pictures I ever took as a 7-8 yr old.
The choice of B&W was not intentional. I don’t recall if my Mom went to buy me the film. I think it is more likely the film was with the unused camera and I just took the film that was there. Color photography had existed FOR YEARS, for the record, when I took these pix 
The pictures are of what seemed the world to me at that time, before I realized I would live to travel (or even that there was much of anything outside of MY world). The pitures are from the world around my home. I lived in this house (in Jardines de Caparra, for those of you who know PR) probably 3 or 4 yrs, about 6 houses away from my grandparents and one of my aunts/uncles. And in the same neighborhood as 3 other aunts/uncles (if I recall correctly).
So, they are not going to do anything special in this world. They only have real value to me (maybe my sister or Mom if they remind them of something from long ago). But they show my first steps of discovery and wonderment at the world out there – worth capturing with an old camera…
Looking to the right of the front porch towards where Skippy, the dog, lived
Of course, I wanted a picture of the sun across the street from (us facing west and towards the river in front of the house). I didn’t know a ring would show on the pic!
A picture of the back of Skippy’s house, notice the bars on windows that have been ever present in the Puerto Rico I knew…
I believe this is the house 4-5 houses down from us towards the corner where one of my buddies lived.
The front of our house. Not sure why I didn’t do the whole facade!
The other neighbor’s house with the “sauce llorón” (weeping willow, I think). Where Meiling lived (she was not Chinese, not sure why the parents chose the name).
May 1st, 2012
Posted by
Raul |
Picture of the Week |
no comments
