A view from within

Here's a picture from within the Grand Canyon from our 5.5 hour hike on Tuesday. We're headed to Scottsdale today to see Frank Lloyd Wright's Taliesin West.

 

Night on the Echo Cliffs

We stopped off on our way back to Flagstaff from Page to take a few photos of the Echo Cliffs as the sun set.

 

Antelope Canyon

We left the Grand Canyon this morning to head north to Page, Arizona to see Antelope Canyon. The canyon, formed by millions of years of water, twists and turns, often looking like a corkscrew. The guide pointed out different parts of the canyon that look like animals and people (Jay Leno, Abraham Lincoln, the Sphinx, George Washington).
 

Day One of Arizona Adventure

Erik and I spent our first full day in Arizona in Sedona. Known for its red rocks and stunning geological formations, Sedona is an interesting little town. Sedona is home to a Frank Lloyd-designed church, new age/mystical fanatics and southwestern artists (as well as meth addicts and stuck-up wealthy people, according to our new friend Betty Davis, aged 74, who works at an art store in Uptown Sedona.) The picture below is from Cathedral Rock. We climbed for about an hour to some spectacular, panoramic heights. Tonight we're in Flagstaff as a pit stop on our way to the Grand Canyon tomorrow.

 

Last day in Paris

As further torture, there was sunlight in Paris while I was stuck inside. (I snapped the photo below during a meeting break). I can't wait to go back to Paris for vacation and have more time to walk around and explore. I'm back in New York now and about to start packing for vacation. I'm so excited to see the Grand Canyon!!

 

One more pic before bed

Despite the chilly weather, there are some signs of spring in Paris. Here are some trees surrounding Notre Dame:
 

Sacre Coeur

 

Long Day, fun Night

I had a long day of work. Well . . . it felt long because we were inside when there was FINALLY some sun in Paris. We were all hungry at 11:30 because the hotel had a very small breakfast (I guess that is why it is called "petit dejeuner" ("small lunch" in English). Because we were starving, we got some typical French foods to go--quiche, baguettes with brie, etc.-- and ate while we worked. Instead of having a proper lunch break, my coworkers wanted a coffee break because we were stuffed from our snacks. I took the opportunity to snap some pictures of a church by the office. The style of the church, complete with flying buttresses, was similar to Notre Dame. After work, my coworkers and I walked to REAL Notre Dame and then, because our boss was still doing some work, we went to Montmarte to see the Sacre Coeur (photos above). There was a group of musicians singing "Spanish" songs (aka the two or three songs in Spanish that Americans know like La Bamba). It was a beautiful site--Montmarte is, I think, the highest point in Paris where you can see the whole city. This is the spot, according to Wikipedia, where it is believed the Jesuits were founded. Below is a photo of me in front of Notre Dame:

 

Paris, a nuit

 

Ok, I Lied

Need to be in bed, but here is one photo from my Eiffel Tower journey:

 

Last Crepe of the Day

We had a long dinner tonight, as is customary when dinning with Spaniards. I had to hightail it to the Eiffel Tower (stopping for random photos along the way). I made it to the Eiffel Tower at 11:50 and got the last crepe du chocolat!!! Here you can see me pigging out. I'm tired and off to bed!!

 

Shops of Paris

I spent today with my co-workers visiting the Camper Paris shops (below is a photo inside the one on the street Cherche-Midi). It was a bit cold and cloudy, but it was nice to have a day to walk around Paris. I hope to take some photos of the Eiffel Tower tonight.

 

Magenta Louvre

Paris feels much warmer tonight than London did today. I decided to not let my broken camera lens get me down, so I headed out for a moderately chilly evening at the Louvre, The Seine, and the Pompidou Center. There was some special event at the Louvre, which is why the Louvre had a magenta hue.

 

Happy Photo Boy

I couldn't let the previous post stand alone! I offered to take a photo of two girls outside the Louvre today on my scenic route to check into my hotel. They were from New York City (Upper East Side, but not "Upper East Siders", as they informed me) and the one girl is obsessed with Camper (minutes before our encounter, they were at the Camper store where my meetings are going to be for the rest of the week). To repay me for snapping their photo, they kindly took this of me:
 

Sad Photo Boy

Well, I'm in Paris, and this is how I felt when I was in London:
 
Why, you ask? Oh yeah, I DROPPED MY TELEPHOTO LENS IN LONDON. The protective glass broke (which isn't a big deal, but looked pretty bad) and now it won't work!!! The worst part is not only am I out a lens for Paris, but I won't have one for Arizona next week. I guess things could be worse, at least I'm
in Paris! This picture is from the gardens in front of the Louvre. I can't believe I stood in that same spot and took that same picture seven years ago. I'm happy to be back, despite my clumsiness.

Side Note:

The current title image for my blog is from the Tate Modern when I was in London in December

Modern London

With the cold weather and limited time I haven't had the opportunity to see more parts of London. The limited time has kept me to the areas where my company shops are located. I did take a detour on the way back to the hotel tonight. I got off the tube by the British Museum and walked around the Bloomsbury area. From there I walked back to my hotel. I got to snap a few photos of some modern buildings near the British Telecom Tower. Oh, did I mention that its freakin' cold?

 

Cold London, Tired Nick

I arrived in London this morning. Before I passed out on the plane (with the help of Tylenol PM), I had grand visions of my free day in London. Well, when I arrived, London was covered in snow!! I made it to my hotel, wishing I would have brought my warmer coat. I got room service and decided to take a little nap. Well, it's now about six hours later and I'm trying to get motivated to head out for a bit. The snow stopped, but its still cold and cloudy. I just couldn't get out of bed, knowing how miserable the weather was outside. I can't wait to visit London in the summer!! Here's me looking very cold waiting at Paddington Station for my train to the hotel.
 

I'm F***king Obama

In keeping with the hilarity of the Silverman and Kimmel videos, someone has come up with this one:

Hillary, thanks!

So I've got two YouTube videos which have helped me to regain some of the respect I've lost over the last month for Senator Clinton. I think, as we wind down the end of this campaign, that she is going to be doing more and more to bring the Democrats together.

First, on a serious note, she has a new campaign video. The video mirrors her 3 A.M. video which I criticized on my blog. The previous video tried to scare Americans regarding national security and was the culmination of fear mongering among Clinton and her aides regarding Barack Obama. I thought it was a horrible ad on several fronts. First, we've had seven years of fear mongering by Bush and the Republicans regarding national security (aka: vote for me or your children die!!!). Second, I thought it was bad for BOTH Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama: John McCain could have used the same ad against them both! Well, she's listened to many democrats' complaints and used her new ad to attack John McCain:



Bravo Hillary!!

Her second video is an attempt at humor for April Fools Day. I hope she realizes that the "funny" arguments she is making in the video are just as ridiculous as some of her real arguments against Obama. Either way, we need a bit more of this type of humor in the campaign.

Great weather, great sunset

Yesterday was a bit of a teaser for summer. The mercury got past 65 near the end of the day. I got this picture when I was walking to the subway stop.
 

Graffiti of the day

Some images of American politicians we don't need running our government: