Archive for the ‘Photo Galleries’ category

Hola NOLA!

January 4th, 2013

I haven’t been blogging from the road recently, as I’ve settled down for a little bit in one of my favorite places on Earth, the city of New Orleans. It occurs to me that I should treat my adopted home town as any other place I love, and take a zillion pictures and write stories about it. New Orleans is the birthplace of a million stories and those will come, (oh … they will come) but for now here are some photos I’ve snapped in and around New Orleans in the past couple months.

Feel free to follow me on Instagram, y’all: I’m @thefabulouseileen.

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: The French Quarter at night at Christmastime.

: Monthly music calendar at the Blue Nile, Frenchmen Street

: Glitter fleur-de-lis on the sidewalk, French Quarter

: St. Anthony’s Garden behind St. Louis Cathedral

: French Quarter during Christmastime

: Staircase inside the Old U.S. Mint

: Wine bottle chandelier, Serendipity restaurant, Mid-City

: St. Louis Cathedral on a cold night

: Seventh Ward along Claiborne Avenue

: Louisiana swamps from above

: Ogden After Hours music performance, Ogden Museum of Southern Art

: Corner on Conti Street, French Quarter

: Steamboat Natchez, Port of New Orleans

: Monument to the Immigrant, Woldenberg Riverfront Park

: Steamboat Natchez paddlewheel, Port of New Orleans

: Christmas tree and St. Louis Cathedral

: Christmas tree at Canal Place

: I’ve had it with this Family B/S! Oak Street, Uptown

: Outside Vaso music club on Frenchmen Street

: Cafe du Monde

: Pere Antoine Alley, Jackson Square

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Posted in New Orleans, Photo Galleries, USA: Louisiana

Tags: christmas French Quarter new orleans NOLA photos USA: Louisiana

A Dirty Truck is a Happy Truck: Off-Road Adventures in Peru

April 13th, 2012

Here are some snaps from an excellent weekend on the central Peruvian coast with Alta Ruta 4×4, a Lima-based motorsports company that organizes 5-star off-road adventure trips and expeditions around South America.

This excursion involved about 30 badass off-road vehicles driving through the desert from Ica to Playa Barlovento — a remote, wild and gorgeous beach that really can only be accessed with a badass off-road vehicle.

The caravan gathers, and drivers get their trucks ready to abandon pavement for a few days ….

And off we go on a bouncy, speedy ride — over sandy flats; up, down and through picturesque dunes.

Whee! Speed limits? What are those?

We drive about two hours until we get to Playa Barlovento.

Here, organizers have set up the deluxe camping accommodations that characterize Alta Ruta trips. There is a main tent, outdoor bathrooms, and staffed kitchen, where we will be fed glorious meals throughout the weekend. As per Alta Ruta standards, it is all very swank.

There is even a massage therapist on hand to work out the knots and kinks that a person can get bumping along in a badass 4×4.

Everyone unpacks their individual tents and shelters, and gets ready for serious relaxation at a truly unspoiled beach, where there is absolutely no sign of development, and few to no other humans in sight.

One of Alta Ruta’s sponsors, Can-Am ATV, provided a fierce little Commander 1000 for us to check out during the weekend. A spin around the sand in a zippy dune buggy, driven by a cute boy? DON’T MIND IF I DO.

This coastal area was home to a ton of wildlife, most notably, several different species of birds …

(this was one of my favorites, the snowy egret)

… and here is a baby sea lion and a curious pelican who hung out at the campsite for an entire morning.

The sunsets are nothing short of astonishing.

We had plenty of time to jump back into the 4×4 and explore more of the coastline a bit farther south.

If you are in South America and have a badass off-road vehicle, I urge you to jump in on an Alta Ruta 4×4 trip … it is a great way to experience natural spots that few people get to see.

If you do not have access to a badass vehicle, Alta Ruta can hook you up. For instance, you can combine a stay in this super dreamy oceanfront spa resort, Hotel Paracas, with an Alta Ruta excursion. Both the hotel and Alta Ruta staff (like so many people in and around Lima) are very proficient in English.

Here is the Alta Ruta 4×4 site translated into English. Besides organizing off-road excursions, the company provides four-wheel-driving and safety classes, and is a race team in the world-famous Dakar Rally, which begins in Lima next year.

… and here is their Facebook photo album of the trip.

¡ARRIBA!

Dirty trucks are the best.

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Posted in Adventure, Peru, Photo Galleries, South America

Tags: Adventure Alta Ruta 4x4 beach birds Lima nature! fun fun fun off roading pelican Peru Playa Barlovento sea lion snowy egret sunset

NYC: Xmas and the City, Part 3

January 4th, 2011

The last of my holiday 2010 snaps from New York City. The photos from this last installment were all taken Christmas night. The holidays may be over, but the decorations are still up. Which is nice, since the Big Apple is currently a giant dirty slush puddle from the blizzard that dumped two feet of snow onto the city the day after I took these shots.

: Empire State Building and street snowflake, Greenwich Village

: ESB, view from Bryant Park

: Bryant Park skating rink, tree, and Bank of America building in back

: Bryant Park marketplace. It’s always Christmas in NY! Except on this night, it actually *was* Christmas

: Bryant Park tree and ornaments, with American Radiator Building in back

: Tommy Hilfiger and Fendi storefronts, Fifth Ave

: Angels and tourists lead the way into Rockefeller Plaza

: Angels and snowflakes

: Rockefeller Center ice rink, starring Prometheus

: Skaters at Rockefeller Center, Christmas night

: Drummer dude

: Street vendor munchies: big pretzels and roasted chestnuts

Happy New Year, y’all!

NYC: Xmas and the City, Part 2 (eileenloh.com)
NYC: Xmas and the City (eileenloh.com)

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Posted in Photo Galleries, Travels, USA: New York City

Tags: christmas fun fun fun new york nyc photos USA: New York City

NYC: Xmas and the City, Part 2

December 30th, 2010

Here are a few more snaps taken in New York City on Christmas Eve and Christmas, 2010.

: Arthur’s, so deep into Christmas Eve that it’s Christmas morning

: Christmas brunch at The Cupping Room

: Dec. 25 news ticker, hot dog cart and red trees, Midtown

: Big-ass bulbs!

: Trump Tower

: Burberry New York

: Display window at Bergdorf Goodman

: Bedazzled trees, subdued foliage candy canes

: Nutcrackers!

: Front view of Radio City Music Hall

: Big toy train at “Rockefeller Station,” Sixth Ave

: GIANT BALLS

: 7th Ave approaching Times Square, Christmas night

: Times Square, Christmas night

: 42nd Street subway stop

: This band was ROCKING “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” inside the subway on Christmas

: West Village brownstone

: Cafe Cluny, West Village

: Random pretty window display, Greenwich Village

NYC: Xmas and the City (eileenloh.com)

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Posted in Photo Galleries, Travels, USA: New York City

Tags: christmas Christmas Eve fun fun fun new york nyc photos

NYC: Xmas and the City

December 19th, 2010

The Big Apple decked out for the holidays is always thrilling. There is a mixture of over-the-top showmanship, tasteful glamour and gritty neighborhood festivity that permeates the streets and sidewalks, along with the intoxicating warm smell of roasted chestnuts combined with steam pouring up from the street grates; the noise: horns honking, voices, music, people rushing past, Salvation Army Santas ringing bells, the bite in the air as the wind whips your scarf around. Christmastime is the essence of Manhattan: bold, loud, energetic, breathtaking, overwhelming and a giant rush to all the senses.

: Wicked Willy’s, Bleecker Street. Time flies when you’re having rum!

: NoHo Market

: Trees and wreaths for sale on the Lower East Side

: Washington Square Park arch and Christmas tree, with Empire State Building in the left background. View from inside the park facing north

: That same view at night

: View from the front, looking in toward the park. Okay, overkill; I like this park and arch

: Flags and skating rink at Rockefeller Center, all dwarfed by its mammoth Christmas tree

: Rockefeller Center tree!

: Saks Fifth Avenue puts on a cool “Snowflake and the Bubbles” laser light show beamed onto the building

: Atlas and wreaths

: Cartier. The red ribbon twinkles and sparkles like DIAMONDS and RUBIES

: For those about to Rockette … we salute you!

: Massive balls on Park Avenue

NYC: Xmas and the City, Part 2 (eileenloh.com)

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Posted in Photo Galleries, Travels, USA: New York City

Tags: christmas fun fun fun holidays new york nyc photos washington square park

My Stephen Colbert Photoshop Challenge entry

December 17th, 2010

One of my favorite people-I-don’t-know-in-real-life, Stephen Colbert, has issued a challenge to remaster his portrait and thus turn it into ART.

Here is my entry, “The Joy of Painting Stephen.”

A merging of two great men.

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I must give props where they are due: to my friends Robyn and Vicki who, in the past, have used this setting for fabulous creative endeavors of their own, and my friend Rich, who is obsessed with Bob Ross.

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Posted in Photo Galleries, Pontifications

Tags: art bob ross fun fun fun photos stephen colbert

Canada – North Vancouver: Capilano Suspension Bridge

December 10th, 2010

While visiting British Columbia last month, I had the chance to check out the stunning Capilano Suspension Bridge in North Vancouver. The bridge is a simple 136-m. suspension bridge dangling over the rushing Capilano River, 70 meters below. It was originally built in 1889 by wealthy landowners wanting access to the miles and miles of pristine, forested mountains that lay on the other side of the steep Capilano River gorge. Originally built from hemp and cedar, the bridge was rebuilt with steel cables. It has retained its original simple construction.

The area around the bridge has become a cultural center devoted to the aboriginal people of British Columbia, and the early pioneers who settled there and made the first modern efforts to live and work in those rugged, majestic and humbling environs.

Here are some snaps taken from an autumn 2010 visit to one of British Columbia’s most popular tourist attractions:

: The Capilano Suspension Bridge, 450 feet long

: … and 230 feet above the water

: Its adjacent cultural center has one of the largest collections of native totems in Canada

: The guide called them “story poles,” because of their role within the aboriginal cultures

: I became a bit fascinated by them …

: … obviously …

: There are smaller suspension bridges threaded through the canopy treetops in the natural park surrounding the bridge

: Treetop platforms. Very fun to traverse, notsomuch if you have the heightfear

: If you think this leaf is big, you should see the tree it fell off!

: Pretty North Vancouver

: Steep gorge down to the Capilano River

: The river takes its name from the Squamish term Kai’pilano, meaning “beautiful river”

: C’est moi! Though the bridge is allegedly very secure, it sure did swing and bounce around a lot

: Very old checkerboard and wooden pieces at the visitors’ center

: Another totem

: Autumn colors and colorful art

: Autumn in North Van

: Not all totems are poles!

: *insert rushing water sound here*

: Another view of the suspension bridge hanging high in the air.

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Posted in Canada, North America, Photo Galleries, Travels, Vancouver

Tags: Canada capilano suspension bridge fun fun fun nature! photos Travels vancouver

Photogenic Montréal

December 5th, 2010

Here is a photo tour from a recent trip to the fabulous Montréal, Québec! Wish I could have stayed longer … I’ll definitely be back.

: U.S.-Canada border between New York and Québec

: Welcome to Québec! Just a quick drive to Montréal, maybe about an hour

: Montréal – Metro station at Berri-UQAM

: Lots of cool sights to see along the fabulous Rue St.-Denis

: Hôtel du Manoir St-Denis

: A bookstore and a great wall mural

: You don’t see many stores like these in the States – not so overt, anyway

: Cappuccino in a charming café

: Funky stores and colorful old buildings along Rue St.-Denis

: Shoe store bodhisattva. (shoeless.)

: PUT YO HANDS WHERE WE CAN SEE EM

: Another, more conventional kind of herb store

: A hair salon and a fuzzy orange tree

: The giant sock puppet on the bus stop, talking on the phone, is of course advertising milk. Duh

: More urgent milk-related sock-puppetry discussions on bus stops all over town

: The Sauvegarde Building … sounds so much nicer in French …

: Park crop circles?

: Public market. What, your public market doesn’t look like this?

: Montréal is filled with fabulous churches, and cobblestone streets

: View from Champs de Mars bridge

: View of public market from Rue St-Paul

: Christmas trees and fleurs-de-lis

: Holiday lights at the market

: Shit, it’s raining!

: Narrow cobblestone streets all decked out for the holidays

: They must be *starving* artistes

: Lots of flags = Pub!

: This was in no way a tourist-oriented shop

: Science and Technology Centre

: Really cool little streets perfect for strolling and shopping

: Another church next to a fabulous hotel

: There were lots of small but interesting buildings in this part of town

: A peaceful place

: Centre d’histoire de Montréal, the city museum, housed in an old fire station

: Back end of the museum/ vintage fire station

: Art gallery. open Open OPEN

: Design studio with one red room

: I love all the old copper roofs around town

: Copper roof and dome

: Old Montréal Stock Exchange building, now the Centaur Theatre

: Basilique Notre-Dame de Montréal

: Carriage horse and Nutcrackers

: Gossipy statues and holiday decorations

: Vertebra chair. Hee! Want

: Taxidermy all over town … including these bird head trophies in a pub. Eeeeeeek

: Dieu de Ciel’s fantastic IPA

: Another fabulous church, ho hum

: It’s dragtastic!

: A Québecois tradition, poutine … fries, smoky gravy, cheese curds … fabulous

: Montreal Olympics stadium – it’s like a 1960s interpretation of a space dock, covered in pointy boobs

: Oratorie St-Joseph, under the moonlight, the serious moonlight

: At Juliette et Chocolat … Profiteroles, just as delicious as they look

: Thick liquid chocolate mixed with your choice of coffee bean, selected from a vast menu

: Rue St-Laurent at night

: Urban glam camel

: Mean-lookin vintage car

: Fabulous street art and old buildings, all over town

: Rad mural on the side of a building, making adjacent murals look tiny

: Church steeple and contrasting oh-so-70s building

: Musée d’Art Contemporain de Montréal

: Old church, new skyscrapers along Rue Ste-Catherine

: Blobby headless nude, Christmas tree, Mont Real in the back

: Sculpture outside Ste-Catherine Metro station

: CGI Building and the cutout tower of the Hotel le Crystal

: Sculptures and dome atop the Cathédrale Marie Reine du Monde

: St. James the Apostle Church

: Downtown denizens

: Your friendly neighborhood anti-capitalist food store

: Rue Ste-Catherine – the more adventurous side of it – with eye-popping art

: The End!

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Posted in Canada, Montréal, Photo Galleries, Travels

Tags: Canada fun fun fun Montréal photos québec Travels

San Francisco Snapshots

November 30th, 2010

Here are some snaps of my favorite things about San Francisco. On a cold, gray and rainy day in New York, it’s easy to catch oneself California dreamin’.

: Vintage trolley car downtown

: Transatlantic Pyramid building

: Bay Bridge, fireboat, blimp

: A colorful window in the Inner Sunset, and its occupant

: Sculpture on Market Street

: Cop petting corgis at the Ferry Building. Corgi on the ground does not like sharing the attention

: Met him in Panhandle Park: the Panhandle King! Turns out he could hula-hoop in his royal regalia. Not surprised

: Hibachi grill

: “Green technology” bus shelters – solar powered lighting, disability access, ergometric seats, recycled materials, all sorts of good hippie shit

: Downtown, Ferry Plaza

: Parking lot Lady Liberty

: City Hall at dusk

: And now for some snaps of the beautiful San Francisco Bay

: Seabird with Treasure Island and Bay Bridge behind

: Ferry Building and downtown, view from the bay

: San Francisco skyline

: Alcatraz and the Golden Gate Bridge

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Posted in Photo Galleries, San Francisco, Travels, USA: California

Tags: alcatraz ferry building ferry plaza photos san francisco san francisco bay Travels USA: California

NYC: Quidditch World Cup 2010

November 27th, 2010

Anyone who shares my Harry Potter geekery knows that Quidditch is a magical game played on flying broomsticks. What you may not know (unless you also share my Harry Potter über-geekery) is that a Muggle version of Quidditch exists; it’s played at college and high-school levels, and for the past four years they’ve held a championship tournament — the Quidditch World Cup. Click here for the Muggle Quidditch rules: the game is a blend of dodgeball, volleyball, flag football and tag. Oh, and you run around with magical broomsticks between your legs (insert sophomoric but probably funny joke here).

This year, Quidditch teams gathered in NYC to compete for highest honor in all of fake sportdom, with the championship game played between Tufts and Middlebury. Though the title ultimately went to Middlebury, I gotta say that Tufts had arguably the best team name and cheer (see video). The crowd consisted mostly of college students who have a strong vein of geekery, little kids with their parents, and really anyone wanting to indulge their inner kid. Good times.

Here are some photos and videos of the championship game of the Quidditch World Cup tournament held in New York City between Middlebury and Tufts, and from the awards ceremony that followed:

: Quidditch World Cup championship game 2010 – Tufts vs. Middlebury

: Long shot of the field, Tufts vs. Middlebury for first place

: I call this a fake sport, but they do run really fast.

: Some of the fans dressed as Muggles; others, notsomuch

: Goalpost and broomstick-straddlin’ Middlebury player

: Middlebury Keeper

: Middlebury’s goal

: The players have to keep the broomsticks between their legs at all times

: Goal hoop, broomstick and fans on the field, post-game

: The equipment.

: Middlebury College accepting the first-place trophy

And the video:

Game footage between Middlebury and Tufts, Quidditch World Cup 2010. Part One:

Game footage between Middlebury and Tufts, Quidditch World Cup 2010. Part Two:

McGill University accepts the sportsmanship award. Drunken American frat boys attempt to sing Canadian national anthem along with them, nearly causing international incident:

Pitt accepts third-place award, gets all Neil Diamondy: