Category Archives: Photography

A 3-Day Weekend in Buenos Aires, Part 1

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Stretch your travel legs a little bit further next long weekend by heading south to Buenos Aires.
I have admired the melancholic charm of Buenos Aires from the first time I set foot in the magnificent cemetery at Recoleta. In stark contrast to the vibrance of its neighbor Brazil, modern day Argentina seems to yearn for days gone by—days before the collapse of the peso and before striking graffiti and broken glass marred the pot-holed streets of the grand capital they once referred to as the Paris of the Americas.  The recent run to the World Cup final by the famed Albiceleste shifted a positive limelight back on to Argentina for the first time in a while on the global stage. The capital city also makes for a compelling setting for photography in the black-and-white mode.
It was the first new country that I visited on my round-the-world journey six years ago. Because it is in a similar time zone to the US and Canada and leaves the traveler from these areas less susceptible to jet lag, it is a viable location to visit on a long weekend, especially if you are able to sleep on flights and take advantage of the red-eye offerings in both directions.

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Around the World in 58 Days: An Intro to the Round-the-World Ticket

Driving through the Sacred Valley of Peru
Driving through the Sacred Valley of Peru

It was May of 2008. I zipped my plasticky waterproof shell up to my chin, leaned over the edge of the little zodiac boat, raised both arms in the air, and yelled at the top of my lungs while the waterfall plunged down on me with such force that my voice was inaudible, and my eyelids immovable. I felt so alive at that instant: it was a singular moment, not only in my traveling career, but in my life in general. And experiencing the majestic power and beauty of Iguazu Falls in Argentina was just the beginning of the life-changing experiences on my first solo round-the-world trip.

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Maine: beautiful setting, beautiful lobster

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One in two million: Rare blue lobster caught at Beal’s Lobster Pier, bound for an aquarium

When I think of Maine, with all due respect to its famous lighthouses and coastline, the first thing I think of is delicious, fresh lobster. I’ve loved it ever since I could remember and when I was growing up in Tokyo, Red Lobster was my favorite restaurant. If it was available, I would order it, even when I was young enough that my father had to read the menu to me aloud. In New York City, however, a lobster dinner would easily run you $50+ with no guarantees of freshness, so it was with great excitement that I found myself headed to Bar Harbor, Maine last August.

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Bar Harbor is a beautiful area located on Mount Desert Island on the coast of Maine, summer getaway for the Rockefellers and other famous families, home to Acadia National Park with its hiking trails galore, kayaking with porpoises, and stirring vistas of coastline and lighthouses. The town is quaint New England with colorful paint and porches, but drive a little ways out of town and you will see some magnificent mansions with wild, country Maine gardens.

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Fountain and flowers in the town square, Bar Harbor, Maine

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