Watch the Birdie!

I was in Dallas again today and seemed like I was being stalked by a pigeon. Everytime I turned around there he was. I gave him some of my lunch in exchange for a photograph and thought I was done with him ...... Until I got home and looked closely at this photo of The Adolphus hotel on the left and The Magnolia hotel with my friend flying in front of it.

Some might say that there are thousands of pigeons in Dallas and there is no way that's the same one. Maybe but I like my story better. :)

Whatever it is, it made for a cool picture.

Las Colinas

Las Colinas is a thriving metro are within Irving Texas. It's the home to many Fortune 500 companies,restaurants,condos, etc it even has a canal with gondola rides and a monorail tram sort of thing that takes people from building to building. It's sort of a interesting place to take pictures. So here's one of the statue of Ben H. Carpenter the man who's idea and ranch became Las Colinas. The glass building is called the Millennium building.

More from Dallas

View from Trinity park then some random downtown shots.

DFW

I'm moving to Newtown, Pa in mid May where I'll start my second blog called "Newtown Daily Photo." So I thought it would be nice to post some DFW photos while I'm still here.
Here is a cowboy statue eying a red pegasus in Dallas and a Texas longhorn checking out a saddle shop and some cactus in Fort Worth.

Dallas Arts District

Yesterday I spent a few hours walking around the Dallas arts district in the wind and drizzle. I ended up at the Nasher Sculpture Center, but Dallas has tons of free art all over the place. There are sculptures, murals, even the buildings are nice to look at. I couldn't help but notice how few people were on the streets and how clean and well kept it is in this part of city.

Gothic Skywatch Friday

Watching the sky from the park behind the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris France.

Click the link to see all the skywatch posts. Skywatch Friday Link.

Déjeuner in Rouen

While in Paris last month my wife and I took two day-trips: one to Brussels and the other to Rouen in the Haute-Normandie region a little over an hour away from Paris by high speed train. Rouen has beautiful cathedrals, hundreds of half-timbered houses and it's also famous for being the place where Joan of Arc was burned at the stake in 1431.

One of the highlights of our day in Rouen was lunch at La Couronne -"France's oldest inn, registered 1345 on the most ancient bill of sale found to this day, has been a legendary place... where Kings and Queens, heads of states, politicians, artists, stars, writers, sportsmen, came for lunch or dinner."

I was afraid it was going to be a tourist trap but I think we were the only tourists in the place. The food and service were excellent. The restaurant itself was like a museum of autographed photos from all of the celebrities and heads of state who dined there over the years.

-In the top photo La Couronne is the one on the left with the bush in front of the door.

-The second photo I think the old guys are playing boules in the courtyard of St. Ouen church.

-The final photo is looking up inside La Couronne.

I'm still trying to wrap my mind around the fact that the restaurant was already almost a hundred years old and people were eating in La Couronne the day Joan of Arc was killed in 1431.

On another day I'll post more pictures of the town and cathedrals of Rouen.

St-Gervais-et-St-Protais

The Saint Gervais church Located behind the Hotel de ville in 4th arrondissement "is one of oldest in Paris. Its existence is mentioned at this location starting from VIth century. Formerly the seat of a powerful brotherhood of the wine merchants, it took its present appearance starting from XVIth century. Its frontage was completed much later, about 1620, testifying to a perfect control of traditional esthetics. Sad anecdote, March 29, 1918, a German shell fell on the roof of the Church, killing a hundred people."

The photos are 1) a Nun who just left through the back door in a hurry 2) the back of the church 3)the front of the church.

I wonder where the nun was flying off to?

View of the Sacré Cœur

I took this photo from inside the Louvre on a cold and cloudy day. That's the Sacre Coeur Basilica off in the distance. I wish I would have caught the French flag as it opened up in the wind. Oh well can't have everything.

Palm Trees but no Oranges anymore

I took this picture in front of where my wife used to work in Irvine, CA. I hear these palm trees can cost over 20 thousand dollars each. If thats true maybe California can have a palm tree auction to help balance the budget. Maybe that's what happend to all the orange trees that used to be all around the county?

Howdy Y'all

Even Cowboys and girls have to look for a parking place at the Fort Worth Stockyards. -I said something funny then snapped the picture just as they started to laugh. --aren't they cute? :-)

This is a pretty neat part of Fort Worth. I need to go there a few more times before I leave Texas. They do cattle drives through the streets sometimes, Rodeos, lots of people shopping and sight seeing with their kids, some get liquered up and see bands play at Billy Bob's. The stockyards area is nice place to have lunch after the Kimball art museum.

Oh, and the chili burgers at Booger Red's Saloon are delicious!

Blowin' in the Wind

Cloudy, windy day in Huntington Beach with just a hint of blue sky. A good day for kite surfing or just getting blown around like the waves or this poor seagull that was getting tossed head over tail.

I was suprised to find out that there are seagulls in North Texas. I'm not exactly sure where the closest beach is, but I am sure it's hundreds of miles away. Go figure?

Some Red in Orange County

I took this photo in Laguna Beach, CA.

Thanks to Jilly at Menton Daily Photo I found out that the red plants are aloe in bloom.

If you look closely you can see the two surfers waiting for a good wave.

Even though I grew up in Orange County,CA and spent lots of time at the beaches, I only tried to surf once and that was in Hawaii. I'll just say it's harder than it looks.

Shaka Brah!

Dans le Jardin des Tuileries

While strolling around the Tuileries Gardens I saw this little girl practicing Tai Chi or maybe she was just terrorizing the birds. At anyrate she was having a lot of fun and so was I.

I'll say it again I LOVE PARIS!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

I took this picture on the corner of 50th st. and 5th ave in NYC. The spotlight shining down on St. Patrick's Cathedral is from the hotel I was staying at. As you can see from the flags it was windy, it was also very cold. I think St. Patrick's is a beautiful Cathedral and I LOVE NY!

Visual History Lesson in a Sign?

About 11 or 12 days ago, I was in Philadelphia. The first couple of days were really cold so I sometimes I didn't pay close attention to what I was taking pictures of. In fact, I don't remember taking this one. I think it's pretty cool that there is so much going on in it. All I know about it is it's in Philadelphia connected to a building and a pole, probably near City Hall.

It has a tiger, a snake, a bear, a fish, a boat, a flag, a water pump, several people and more.

Anybody know what it is?

Paradise Lost?

I remember when my wife and I told people that we were moving to Texas. Almost everybody was confused and wondered why we would want to leave the paradise that is Orange County, CA.

We both were born and raised in O.C. It has the best weather year round, natural beauty, plenty to do and see. We said leaving was a way of saving money since all the amenities came at a high price. Well, that was part of it. Another reason we left, besides the fact that O.C. has become very different from what we remember growing up, is because we wanted to, and had the oppourtunity to see and experience other places. San Francisco (in the late 80's) was the first stop. Texas is the second stop. Pennsylvania is next, but ultimately we plan on returning home where I can stand on a pier in January and photograph the beach, palm trees and snow-covered mountains while wearing shorts.

I'm not in a hurry, though. There's so much that I want to see around the country and the world.

Free Art

I really enjoy going to museums. It's also fun to see the free art of all kinds around different cities. I can't remember exactly where I took this picture in Dallas, but it's a gigantic mural and a parking structure. I wonder if they pump in classical music?

Ice Cold

It's cold in Irving today, but not as cold as it was when I sighted and snapped this pic in Philadelphia last week. Oh, and it's no where near as cold as it was when I was in Chartres France. That was about as cold as I can remember being. That said, the only time I've been in sub zero temperatures was when I was in the Navy working in a walk-in freezer.

Is it warm anywhere today?

California Dreaming

Sometimes I really miss the walks along the beach at dusk with my wife. Too bad the smell and sound of the ocean can't be bottled up and shipped to North Texas. It's nice to have pictures to stir up good memories.