Arc de Triomphe

So it is super cliched I know, but I absolutely love Paris!  The energy, the people, the language, everything.  I took this photo a couple years back on a warm summer evening.  We were out exploring the sights and I couldn't resist taking a night photo of the Arc de Triomphe all lit up and beautiful.  

A Crisp Vancouver Evening!

This evening I took my still busted leg out for a long walk around the seawall.  The thing I love most about Vancouver is that no matter how long I have lived here or how many times I have walked the same route, I am still in awe of how beautiful the city is.  I woke up this morning to an amazingly sunny day and knew that I had to get out into it.  By the time I got around to taking photos the sun was setting so I don't have any photos for you all of the gorgeous sunshine but I do have some to share of the dusky sky.

Hope everyone had a fantastic weekend!  

R

Viva Las Vegas

I have to admit that unlike most people my age I never really had a big desire to go to Vegas.  I know, I know, it's kind of weird.  Most of my friends started going to Vegas on a semi-regular basis as soon as they turned 21 but to me it was just never on the list (sidebar: the list I refer to is my super lengthy list of places I must visit).  It wasn't that I didn't think it would be fun (it was) or that I didn't think I would have a good time (I did), I just wasn't into it.  All that changed a couple of years ago when booking a trip to Palm Springs with my cousins and aunt.  The "kids" all decided that we should fly into Palm Springs, spend a week there, drive to Vegas, spend a couple of days in Vegas, and then fly home.  I figured that since we were going to be in the area anyways I may as well pack a couple of party dresses and go with the flow.  I have to admit, I had more fun than I thought I would and it wasn't all centered around blackjack, shopping, and dollar margaritas (though some of it surely was - especially the shopping part).  I found Vegas to be overwhelming and yet still uniquely beautiful.  So, without further adieu, some of my pics from my trip:

  

Vancouver 2010 Olympics Revisited

February 12th marks the one year anniversary of the start of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics.  The Olympics were an absolutely amazing experience, especially given that my apartment is right downtown - in the heart of the action.  This Saturday (the 12th) there will be a huge event happening on Granville from Smithe to Dunsmuir from 12-9pm to celebrate the one year anniversary of the games.  Check out updates here.

I've been feeling reminiscent about the experience and started flipping through my photos.  Here are some of my faves!

The Olympic Cauldron in the lovely Vancouver sunshine.

 The Olympic Cauldron at night

I was lucky enough to get to go to one of the very first medal ceremonies of the games.  The whole night was great but my favourite moment happened before the event even started.  As people were filing in and finding their seats word started to spread through the stadium that Alexandre Bilodeau had won Canada's first gold medal of the games.  Soon enough everyone was screaming with excitement.  When they announced over the load speaker at the beginning of the ceremony that Canada had its first gold the whole place erupted with cheers all over again.  Such a great night! 

The Olympic rings - loved seeing the colour change to gold every time we won a gold medal :)

One night while out with friends we got a text from one of our friends telling us to come up to Granville because he and some other guys had started a pick up game of hockey.  By the time we paid our bill and made our way up there a huge crowd had gathered.  It was so fun to watch a game of street hockey in the middle of Granville St. 

From one hockey game to another... This photo was taken after the Canadian Men's Hockey team took home their gold medal in a nail biting game against the Americans.  The moment Sidney Crosby scored that "golden goal" all of downtown went nuts - people were spilling out of buildings to celebrate on the street with everyone else.  I honestly have never screamed so loud in my life!  The joy was palpable that day with everyone coming together to celebrate what was really an amazing Olympic games!

New York, New York

This week I booked a fall trip to New York.  I am so excited to go back.  A couple of summers ago my sister and I took a long weekend and did New York sister style.  The weather was spectacular (some might say too hot but to be honest I just love the heat) and all in all it was a fantastic sisters trip.  During my trip planning I happened across some photos from our trip and thought I would share with all of you.

Enjoy!

So it occurred to me as I was posting this picture that I really have a weird thing about framing buildings between trees... I should really work on my range!

Central Park in the sunshine

Again with the use of trees as a framing device... 

Lady Liberty herself

When I was in high school I bought a photography book that had a photo of the Chrysler Building by Tom Baril in it.  The moment I saw that picture for the first time I fell in love with the Chrysler Building. I cannot tell you how excited I was to see it in person!  For your enjoyment, the Tom Baril picture is below.  Such an amazing shot!

Tom Baril, Chrysler Building, NYC, 1995