Paris 2013

A favorite moment from our trip to Paris came while walking the grounds of Versailles. On an afternoon in the middle of the week, we walked behind a grandfather holding the hand of his granddaughter. We were all near The Queen’s House and the Tour de Malborough Hameau de la reine in the park at Versailles. Seeing a modern French family in peaceful harmony and active engagement. Lovely.

Hotel

Our stay at the wonderful Hotel Emile on 2 Rue Malher offered great views of the Marius section. See the Open Street Map of Marius.

View from our room’s balcony southward toward the church across the street, Eglise Saint-Paul-Saint-Louis. From our bed, we enjoyed watching the morning sun paint the church shades of yellow and gold.

View from hotel window westward down Rue de Rivoli.

Signs

Street Plaques de bouche d’incendie help firefighters find hydrants, showing position to the right in meters.

Metro

Varsailles

Gardens

Hall of Mirrors

Hall of Light bezel on window causing optical effect. No photo manipulation.

Buildings

Effel Tower in the distance from top of Arc de Triomphe.

Courtyard

Detail on roof line.

Flowers in courtyard

Museums

Centre Georges Pompidou

The Crypt at Panthéon.

Panthéon windows in hall leading to the Interior Dome.

Street Views

Faces in window

Paris is the world headquarters for fashion

Fashion, dresses on display in an alley

Shoes in silver outside Stiletto on 92 Rue Saint-Antoine map.

Salvador Dali graffi outside Centre Pompidou

More outside Centre Pompidou

Face on the street

Street art from LeMouvement.eu

Classy knives in a store window

Protection on the top of the Arc de Triomphe de l’Étoile

Street cleaning rules apply

Champaign bottles with anti-theft devices in the Monoprix store on Champs-Élysées.

Aruba 2014

Our resort the Amsterdam Manor.

“Hostess Meeting Place” at the resort

Sunset cruises are popular – another Catamaran was racing us along Eagle beach.

Catamaran on the horizon at sunset

Pre-historic beachcombers – this cyan lizard was keeping a keen eye on us while we went snorkeling off the beach.

Baby Beach

View from beach

Sunset dining

Dinner on the beach after sunset

Firecrackers on the dessert

Compact florescent bulbs hint at the high cost of electricity. There are ten wind turbines on the eastern shores producing 20% of their power. There is a plan to double the capacity soon with the goal of 100% wind power by 2020.

Starry sky. Find Orion’s belt.

Market closed

Market

Dutch influence on storefront

Lighthouse

Tour of caves in the national park

Sunrise

Clouds

Morning walks on the beach

 

Resort pools

Valero Energy advertisement on a trash can. The message encourages all of us to “Keep Aruba Clean”. Our guide told us the local Valero refinery closed in September 2012 impacting 500 jobs. There are talks to reopen the facility.

This sunset reminded me of a common Southern California tee-shirt design from the 1970’s.

Map of Aruba from Open Street Maps.

Stockholm 2013

In December 2013, I had the honor and pleasure of visiting Stockholm, Sweden.

At the airport, packed and ready to go!

GoKart racing at the pub.

Changing of the guard at the royal palace.  Member of Swedish military in uniform.

The streets of the city felt safe at any time of day.

Art and culture on display for all ages.

Stadsteatern is a hub for stage theater productions.  Several eating options are available inside including an indoor map of the city with model buildings:

Model 3D map of the city.

One of my favorite spots.  A place to relax with a view at the Bibliotek Film & Musik.

After the race, relaxing with my co-workers.

Raven on display in a store window.

The comic book stores in Gamla stan were impressive.

The city was beautiful at night.

Nobel Week was in full swing during my stay.  See city hall in the distance. Candles everywhere at the doorsteps of most stores and ringing the base of city hall for the Nobel banquet event.

Cobblestone streets of the old section of the city, Gamla stan.

City at night

Entrance to the office

View from inside one of the buildings.  Plenty of natural light near the desks made for a pleasant work environment.

Modern architecture.

History of communication from past to present.

Some public street art was modern.

In December at high a high latitiude of 59 degress, the days were short, only six hours in duration.  The sun would set before 15.00 (3:00 PM CET) and rise around 8.45 (8:45 AM CET).  The timing allowed me to see both the sunrise and the sunset from the office. On many days the skyline was lovely with many colors.

Seal used to indicate a Royal appointment by the King.

Regeringskansliet is a Swedish national administrative authority.  My translation of a quoting from Wikipedia in Swedish: “The Authority is a politically driven organization, where the government determines direction of the work and the questions that should be prioritized. The officials in government offices, most of which are non-political, working to investigate various issues, control authorities and provide data to the government’s decision.”

One title from the local library, I translated as the “Register of Cases from the Courts of Appeals 1986-1990″. A slim volume which suggests the legal system operates smoothly and efficiently.

One of many nice royal emblems outside the palace.

Nordic glass mugs displayed a distinctive style.

Nordic glassware from Finland.

Cafeteria food was amazing: fresh, healthy and delicious.  The freshly baked bread was a treat. Glasses of fresh water easy to find.

I did not read the label closely.  Expecting a vitamin water, I ended up with a caffeine drink.  Since my diet is caffeine-free, this small drink kept me up all night long. Lesson learned.  Watch out for “koffein”.  I’ll read more labels next time.

The sidwalks were covered with sand, not salt.  A bit icy and slippery to walk, but another reminder of the Swedish concern for the environment.

I look forward to another trip to see even more of the city and to expand my understanding of Swedish culture. See more pictures from my trip.

Map of Gamla stan, Stockholm from Open Street Maps