Culture
Cultural facts, history, traditions, events, festivals, foods and more from a location.
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Culture: A Cure for Reverse Culture Shock- Become a Tourist in Your Own Town
There’s a bus that trundles through my neighborhood several times a day. I’m not sure where it stops or where it’s going, but I’m going to get on it. I’m craving an adventure. I’ve just returned from my longest trip (so far) and am reeling in the monotony of getting back to reality. Any seasoned traveler can empathize, I have a bad case of reverse culture shock and I need a cure! My home just can’t compare to Paris, Venice or Istanbul, a few of the cities I have just explored. There is something so exciting about arriving in a new city, hopping on the local subway and navigating to…
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On Location: The Berthillon Ice Cream Experience – Très Français!
When I read things like, “the best ice cream in all of France,” “the grand dame of ice cream, ” and “world-renowned ice cream”, you bet it will make it to the top of my list of places to go when traveling, especially in sweltering hot Paris in July! The glacier (ice cream maker) that holds these illustrious proclamations is Berthillon, and I’m here to say, it’s worth a visit! After wading through the summer crowds at Notre Dame and exiting out the back gardens, I was looking forward to crossing over the small bridge (Pont Saint-Louis) that connects Île de la Cité with Île Saint-Louis. I had read wonderful…
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Palette+Place: Fireworks over Lake Tahoe
There’s nothing like a fireworks show up close and personal! I’ve been lucky to be able to watch many firework shows with an unobstructed view in beautiful Lake Tahoe, California. Lake Tahoe hosts at least 4 different firework displays, so for the past several years, the community has decided to divide up the shows between July 3rd and July 4th. The display closest to my family’s cabin just happens to always fall on July 3rd. Although it’s not actually Independence Day, I find it a great way to kick off a long weekend or holiday the next day. Below are some photos I took from this year’s show. Enjoy, and…
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On Location: Seattle’s Gum Wall – Abstract Art or Janitor’s Worst Nightmare?
After a wonderful walk through lively Pike’s Place Market, my nieces were eager to show my family and I more Seattle sites. Outside the market place we went, and onto adjacent Post Alley. I see the dutiful graffiti and bills posted for this concert and that political message. It doesn’t take long though to get past the typical “alley” graffiti and come face to face with a janitor’s nightmare. Gum. Loads and loads of gum. Gum smeared inches deep in some parts. Plastered on the wall for all to enjoy. My daughter’s expression sums up my initial feeling of Gum Alley as it is affectionately named. Eeeewww. To think how…
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Palette+Place: The Colorful Mission District, San Francisco
Even on a foggy day, the Mission District in San Francisco shines with color. The streets and alleys of this hip and trendy neighborhood are filled with murals and street art reflecting the artistic and diverse population that reside here. Although I lived in the city for over 10 years, and have spent many-a-night out at the bars and restaurants in this neighborhood, I had yet to photograph the amazing street art during the day. What a treat I was in for. There are 2 alleys in “the Mission” that are most popular for the murals and street art, Clarion Alley and Balmy Alley. Most of these photos below are…
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Time+Place: Wild West Horseback Riding in Utah
It was a gorgeous summer afternoon in Southern Utah. The rusted reds in the sandstone cliffs reverberated against the cerulean blue skies. We got on our horses, left the stables of the resort, and slowly moseyed up the mountain side away from the mighty Colorado River. Within minutes the only sounds we could hear were the hoofs of our horses trundling up the rocky trail. With each step, it felt like we were heading back in time– straight into an old western movie. There is nothing like the landscape of the American Southwest. The sandstone buttes jutting out from the desert landscape is an iconic scene in almost any Western…
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Type+Place: Bar Time!
It’s 5:00pm on a Friday, it must be bar time! I took this shot while hanging out in the Mission District of San Francisco. I couldn’t resist these marquee letters. Weathered, rusty, and red, they are quite trendy to have as decoration in your living room these days! After taking a few shots, I got a little bummed out that I wouldn’t be able to see them light up– it was only 12:30 in the afternoon. In comes the magic of photo post-production. With a few modifications, and using a very low-tech animation technique in Photoshop, I got my sign to light up. Now that it’s on, it’s time for…
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Culture: Cooking Class in Cusco – The Versatile Aji Amarillo Sauce
My mom has always been a wonderful cook. She’s a lot like me in that she loves to cook delicious dinners with rich sauces, spices and flavors, but is not much of a baker. She’s also been a huge proponent of eating various ethnic foods. Before she and my dad would head off on a big adventure, she’d always come home with what seemed to be very exotic ingredients (exotic ingredients to a pre-teen, that is!) She’d whip up various dishes typical to the place she was traveling. Of course, we kids would complain. She’d just inform us that if we didn’t try it, then we just weren’t up for…
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Pattern+Place: The Graphic Tudor Timber Framing of Shrewsbury
I learned at the ripe old age of 8 what Tudor style or timber framed architecture was. Seems pretty young to be studying architecture, huh? Well, really I wasn’t studying it, it just happened to be the style of house we moved into. This is the same house my parents still live in today, many, many years later. My childhood home is in California, not really the place you’d expect a lot of Tudor architecture. Our home is rather old by California standards (it was built in the 1930’s), but by European standards, it’s just a baby. So, when I traveled to Shrewsbury, England, I was so excited to see…
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Type+Place: Type Inspired by India
Like many designers, I have a font fetish! I just love type. In my studio, I have a bookcase full of books about type. There’s something so elegant, yet simple about fonts… it’s amazing what a few lines, brush strokes and curves can do to give characters personality. Because I have this font obsession, and, of course, I love travel– I thought I’d start a series of posts dedicated to exploring typefaces that are reminiscent about a location. Here’s the first to kick it off, type inspired by India. In looking for font inspiration that reminded me of India, I looked for types that had some ethnic flair as well…