Hungry for color

After winter days of grey skies and bare foliage this shot take at the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival last year looks like a Technicolor miracle. It’s not too soon to start planning a day trip if you’re local, though if you’ve got cabin fever an overnight trip sure appeals. The festival runs through the month of April.

Fan Tan Alley

Today I’m sharing a couple of shots of Fan Tan Alley in Victoria, B.C. Located in Victoria’s Chinatown, it was once a gambling district with shops and opium dens. Although it widens in the middle, at its narrowest point it is only 35 inches (.9 metres) wide.

As we left the alley some young people were filming a movie.

2013 Encore: Three travel favorites

I’m wrapping up my 2013 encores with three shots I took away from home. The photo above is from a marsh at Ocean City State Park in southern Washington last September.

This shot was also taken at Ocean City State Park. The Washington State Parks website picked up my two Ocean City posts from last September and reposted them on their blog in November.

And, finally, “Guess where I went to celebrate my birthday.”

Cold welcome

We went to Victoria, B.C. late last week. They’re sharing our current cold weather with a notable exception: We’ve not (yet) had snow – they did, a good part of the day we arrived, Thursday. It was enough to thoroughly dust our Thursday night destination, Butchart Gardens, with a magical, seasonal white shroud. I’ll share some shots of our Victoria travels from time to time in the coming days.

Crepes and tats

Roissy was a wonderful discovery for our last night in France. I’d forgotten one thing on my “to eat” list: crepes. So we were tickled to find this restaurant specializing in crepes, warm and lively when we returned in the evening. A perfect last dinner.

As old and atmospheric as Roissy was it didn’t provide a full on escape from contemporary culture. I had a laugh as I discovered this shop in the center of Roissy: tattoos and piercings. Yeah. Much as I was tempted, I resisted a final souvenir, that “I (heart) Paris” tat. Maybe next time.