CAPRI ITALY – A doubly grim morning: a rare few hours of overcast, and we’re returning form Italy today. We did a walk around before getting on the aliscafo back to Naples. All taken with my Leica M9.
On this day one year ago: Lillis Funeral Home in New Milford Connecticut.
CAPRI ITALY – Here we are on the Fourth of July. There used to be fireworks and a big party in the Piazetta on the Fourth of July – the fireworks are alas gone – they were sponsored by a local Jeweler, Alberto y Lina, and the word on the street is they stopped doing it after Lina died.
We spent the day at a different place where large rocks meet the water, Bagna di Tiberio. Don’t let the picture in the link fool you – that isn’t sand that you’re seeing. Anyway this with my Leica M9 and a 50 mm Summicron lens.
Here we are on the funicular that connects marina grande to the piazzetta.
On this day last year: a dull Fourth of July.
CAPRI ITALY – What a difference a day makes. After a rushed set of connections (New York-Paris; Paris-Naples with exactly 25 minutes to make the connection; meet Maria, Alexander, Francesca and Laura at the Naples airport; taxis to port; aliscafo to Capri; madhouse disembarking) we finally made it to our hotel and Maria and Francesca made it to the pool. Caught with my Leica M9 and a 90 mm lens. The calm of the setting bears no relation to the chaos of getting here. I made the connection in Paris but my bag didn’t. I now hate Air France. When I made the reservation they swore that there was plenty of time for the connection. As it is I’m stuck on Capri in the jeans and two-day polo shirt that I wore on the flight while my bag tries to find me. No swimsuit. This is why I’m not at the pool.
When I added this post I found out that I didn’t have an “Italy” tag – we haven’t been to Italy in the past 20 months which is unusual for us. We go to Italy almost annually, often to Capri or the Amalfi Coast.
On this day last year: sunrise outside the farmacia.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – I’ve gotten behind posting. Today’s picture is in the Air France lounge at JFK, where I’m waiting to board a flight to Paris with a connection to Naples, where I’m meeting Maria and our children to go to Capri to attend a family wedding. You’ll see a lot of this in the following days.
I’m way behind in my postings because right after returning from Italy I came down with a nasty flu (which might have been the coxsackievirus as there has been an outbreak of it around here). The English refer to unspecified disorders as the “dreaded lurgy” so I guess I could say that I had a lurgy. I did manage to photograph my way though it, though.
Anyway, back to the Air France lounge. I caught this less-than-magic moment with my Leica M9 and a 50mm Summilux lens. As I’ve noted before travel days are not my best days for photography.
On this day one year ago: A very odd mask –
BREWSTER, NEW YORK – We drove up to Connecticut tonight (a Thursday!), something that we almost never to. Here’w a rest stop on 684 in Brewster New York, captures with my Leica M9 and 28mm Summicron lens. Three frames stitched.
On this day one year ago: Sunrise over Boston Harbor.
BEIJING – On the way back to New York. Leica M9 and a 24mm Summilux lens.
On this day last year: A spring day.
BEIJING – We visited the Forbidden City this morning in heavy rain. This monumental collection of parks and buildings was built in the early 15th Century as the “home” of the Emperors. It is remarkably crowded with Chinese tourists there to soak up their national heritage. Go early. We started at the North Gate at opening time (most people start at the South Gate on Tiananmen Square) and moved South through the complex, giving us a few hours of relative peace until we ran into the the throngs that started at the same time that we did, but at the South gate. This is a standard view of the North Gate from Jingshan Park which abuts the Forbidden City to the North. Taken with my Leica M9 and a 90mm lens, two frames stitched.
Here we are at the South Gate five hours later. The South Gate faces Tiananmen Square, the giant square that is the heart of official China. Tianamen Square is accessible only through subterranean passages with security checks; there are security cameras everywhere; sentries march prescribed routes through the square.
South of Tiananmen Square is the new Qianmen Walking Street. This had been a vibrant shopping street in the 1950s. The street and the area to the East of it were recently demolished – the walking street consists of new storefronts built in traditional style. The impression is that some Disney virus infected the urban planners who put this here. To the West of it is still a dynamic area old side streets and alleys. Here’s Maria trying to get unlost. Taken with my Leica M9 and a 50mm Summicron.
On this day one year ago: fundraiser at Gustavinos.
