A Blur of Petals

I’ve been focusing too much on travel on my blog and too little on all that life happening in-between. So let’s leave Paris for a short while. Come away with me as I show you a bit of everyday goodness. 

     
I don’t have to go to another place to find beauty. Sometimes, even the most ordinary things can make me happy. A nice book on a cozy afternoon. A clear blue sky on my way to work. An unexpected letter in my mailbox. Yes, it’s the way we see things that make the ordinary into something special. 

     
What I find really special right now, but which has always been since the start of ages, is Spring. I had a lovely time at the park yesterday and Spring was showing off as it usually does this time of year. A flourish of yellow here, a dash of red there, and an abundance of green in every shade imaginable. But what really caught my attention are the pink blossoms that richly adorned the trees. It was a blur of pink petals that sent my heart all aflutter and my finger clicking madly on my camera. 

Just petals you say? Quite ordinary? Ah, I beg to differ! It was pretty special to me. 

Thank you for dropping by! 

A Stroll Down the Streets of Paris

When I travel I try not to be the perpetual tourist. I remind myself to walk the streets at a leisurely pace instead of rushing from one landmark to the other trying to reach it before closing time. I window shop. I sit on the steps of museums. I eat some good local street goodie while watching the life of the city go on in its usual way. I just want to breathe in the place. 

   
I took a stroll in the streets of Paris and the beauty of the city is captivating. There was such an effortless elegance that’s so unmistakably Paris.

     
These photos are quick snippets, stolen shots...captured moments. Those instances when a scene just moves you and makes you instantly raise your iPhone and snap! you’ve immortalized time in a frame. You’ve immortalized that feeling.To others these photos may mean little but to me, it transports me to that day, makes me feel that same way again...I relive moments. 

For more of the classic travel photos of Paris you might want to read this previous post. As for now, here’s my Paris, behind-the-scenes. 

Thanks for reading!

Lingering on the Brooklyn Bridge

One of the most memorable parts of my trip to NYC was the time I spent on the Brooklyn Bridge. Yes, I spent time on it. It wasn’t just a means to cross the river. It wasn’t just part of the journey...it was the journey itself. So, I did not look at it from afar. I walked on it. I did not walk briskly across the bridge. I lingered. I took in the moment in its entirety. The architecture was a riot of patterns − hypnotizing, quite mesmerizing. Then there were the details. Love locks. Rusted bolts. Trodden snow. Graffiti on rotting wood. Honking cars. The sky that day was like a sandy beach during low tide. Grooves formed by slivers of blue sky peering through a blanket of clouds mimicked the sandy grooves of the shore. I remember its smell. The smell of winter’s crisp frosty breath. And with camera in hand I tried to capture the moment as I felt it. 

        
There was the chill, there was the crowd...but ah, there was the sunset as well! I watched the sun descend behind the Statue of Liberty. It was like a defiant glow of light against the coolness of the day. There were birds too. A great many sea gulls soaring ahead. But I never heard them. I could see them cry out and I could imagine their shrill voices, but all was lost in the air. 

          
At the other side of the bridge, there was a park in Brooklyn. I sat on a bench and quietly watched the sun finally disappear beneath the waters. But the grand finale was yet to come. I waited as the shades of the sky turned darker. Then slowly, across the river, the lights of Manhattan shone ever brightly against the pressing night. And as the rest of the world fell asleep, Manhattan awakened in its shining glory. 

TIP: Walk an hour or so before sunset from Manhattan towards Brooklyn. By the time you reach the park on the other side, you can see the sun set behind the Statue of Liberty and take shots of the Manhattan skyline at dark. There are also benches on the Brooklyn Bridge, so you could also sit there and enjoy the view. 

Thanks for reading!

Live in the Moment

New York...New York...where do I start? I could tell you about its insane skyscrapers, about those classic NYC yellow cabs, maybe mention something about that pulsing rush that sweeps you up in the crowd. I could show you pictures of the Empire State building, the Statue of Liberty and all those other New York landmarks but no...not just yet.  Somehow I want you to see another side of New York. 

There are places you visit that leave a lasting impact on you. It’s not another vacation, not just another trip. It becomes a catalyst of change. New York was that to me. For the last years I’ve been living on the fast lane. Work hard. Play even harder. I was one of those millions caught up in a rat race. So when I went to New York and literally saw the fast pace of life in a grand scale it placed things into perspective.

Standing still in the middle of Grand Central station, I watched as people rushed by. A sea of faces. A blur of life. Just approaching and then already gone. While I just stood there in the midst of the crowd, New York taught me this lesson: take time to be still. It’s ironic, I know, but one of the busiest cities in the world taught me the value of being still. The importance of taking a breather. Life was never meant to be a rat race; it was meant to be enjoyed day by day, moment by moment. And that message resonated throughout my stay. 

I heard the message in that short dedication on a bench in Central Park. There it was again in a large mural seen from the Highline. To just stop and take in the moment. 

I particularly loved crossing the Brooklyn bridge and discovering that in all that hard metal construction there were love locks. I wouldn’t have been surprised to find love locks in European cities, but I didn’t expect a city like New York, in all its Wall Street toughness, to have them. 

I wanted a picture of a completely empty Bethesda Terrace but people that briskly walked in, slowed their pace to admire it, making it impossible for me to get my shot. But then I realized this wasn’t just about the terrace. This was about the message New York had given me. So when a woman stopped to take in the beauty of the place, I knew I had to capture it this way...with her just standing still and taking time to appreciate the beauty. So what do you say? Time out anyone? Let us pause to actually live in the moment. 

Here are a few of the classic travel photos I took. 

Thanks for reading! 

A Christmas Poem

'Unwrappable' Wishes

by Karline Kim G.

Santa used to ask me

“What do you wish, my dear?”

And I’ d get all excited

“Please lots of toys this year!”

Silently he’d chuckle

Then he’d say “Ho! Ho! Ho!”

He’d pick a package from behind

Wrapped nicely with a bow

But time has changed my wish

I’m older and wiser now

Yet my wishes have become

Impossible somehow

For how do you ask for joy

Wrapped in a ribboned gift

How could Santa ever take

The burdens you have to lift

How can you write a list

That to North Pole you’ll send

Wishing for peace on earth

For wars to have an end

How can Santa save a soul

With pieces all gone lost

How can his elves ever afford

To pay for a soul’s pricey cost

Can’t heal broken bodies

Put mended hearts under the tree

Santa can’t bestow forgiveness

Or set the captives free

If Santa asked me now

“What do you wish, my dear?”

I’ll give him a hug and say:

“I’d rather pray this year.”

Thanks for reading! Happy Holidays!