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Views of how I see the world when I leave my everyday life behind to travel and seek adventure.
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Finally, my favorite city in the whole world: Paris! I was here for a week 2 years previous and fell in love. This trip was much too short but I managed to fit in all my favorite spots and eat the most divine food! My favorite sketching site ended up being near the carousal in Montmarte where I watched as children played and their mommies visited and kept close watch.
The trip was over 18 days after we started from California, USA to London and back. It was so much fun to capture these vignettes of the places I was most privileged to visit.
I imagine Venice to be a truly magical city but all I saw was a billion people and the humidity just draining. After wandering the streets shoulder to shoulder I decided to wander alone and away from the crowds. I kept walking and soon realized I was probably never going to find my way back to St. Mark's Square. Then I came into a big piazza where old women were sitting under shady trees on park benches, kids were playing soccer in front of the church and mamas were fanning their babies. I sat under a tree as well, another old woman, and began sketching. I had found the Venice I was looking for.
In Rome my new friend Preeti and I decided to explore the city on foot. After visiting the Forum, Colosseum, and the Pantheon we found this fountain on a side street and joyfully splashed and cooled our sore puppies in the cool water. While there I asked her to model for me and included her in my sketch. From here we went to the piazza Navona, then shopping, finishing off at the Spanish Steps for dinner. What a great day it was in Rome!
The following day we travel through Germany via our motor coach with a stop at in a small village for lunch and to board a ferry for a scenic ride down the Rhine where we passed little hamlets and fairy castles in the air.
After a night in Germany with some beer sampling with dinner we left early the next morning passing the blue Danube River (which really was blue) and crossed into Austria where the hills were really alive with the sound of music! A short shopping stop in Innsbruck where a quick summer shower cooled us off. The rest of the drive took us through the Dolmites into Cortina, Italy where I finally got to practice my Italian with two fine gentlemen who engaged me in conversation and bought me a cup of cafe. I knew I was going to enjoy the next 10 days in Italy!
In London I spent the day at the National Gallery in Trafalgar Square. After feasting on the wonderful paintings there I walked toward Big Ben and Parliment where I found a nice spot on the Thames to rest and sketch the London Eye.