Foto Friday: Vancouver 2010 Olympics- The Athlete’s Village

I’m in Chicago this weekend, but actually had time to write this post and schedule for another Foto Friday!

Here are some pictures of the Olympic Athlete’s Village in Vancouver.  The Village was closed to the public, but there were great views from the Cambie Street bridge.

You can see the Swiss flag, Russian, Fin, Australian and of course, Canadian flags!

These buildings have been/will be converted into condos and some buildings will be used for affordable housing.

 

THE famous Australian Boxing Kangaroo flag…this thing is HUGE!

There was a bit of controversy about this flag, since it’s not approved by the IOC.  But somehow, it survived.

The Canadian condos:

 

Happy Friday!

Ciao for now,

Technorati Tags: Vancouver 2010,Athlete's village,Boxing Kangaroo,A Paper Buffet,Foto Friday,Winter Olympics,Vancouver,British Columbia

Read More

In Concert: Marianas Trench - Massey Hall, Toronto

It’s been far too long since my last Foto Friday, so here’s a bit of a special edition.

Last week I went to Massey Hall in Toronto to see a  Marianas Trench concert.  As I’ve mentioned before, I’ve wanted to see them for a while, but missed their shows here in London last year.  I saw them perform at the Olympics, and snagged a ticket to their Massey Hall show went I got back.  I can safely say, I hope I don’t miss any future shows here in London.

(However, I will consider bringing earplugs…16 yr old girls scream in decibels which should only be created by dog whistles).

It was entirely refreshing to pay a reasonable amount for a ticket, (and I scored a 5th row seat) at an incredible venue to see an amazing performance.  No outrageous stage set, no costume changes; just music.

Great music.

I was  stoked about my seat near the stage and what I hoped was a great opportunity to take some really good concert pictures.  My photography class doesn’t start until April; I brushed up by re-reading my camera manual and making my setting adjustments to each mode ahead of time, so I wouldn’t have to spend a lot of fiddling at the concert. 

I’m thrilled! with how these shots turned out, so without further ado…

Lead singer: Josh Ramsay

 

One of the few colour shots I took; I was really feeling the black and white.

 

 

Bassist/Vocals Mike Ayley

  

 

Drummer/Vocals: Ian Casselman (he was hard to photograph; from my seat at least one cymbal was always in the way)

 

 

Guitarist/Vocals: Matt Webb

 

(I have a hard time choosing, but this one might be my favourite photo; I love the light and the shadows.)

 

 

 

 

It was hard to capture all of them in the same frame, because of the size of the stage, but I did manage to get one that I really like

 

I’ve seen 30+ different bands in concert; these guys are in my top 5, hands down.

If you haven’t checked out their latest album Masterpiece Theatre, go now.

Right now.

I mean it.

You can see the entire set of my Marianas Trench @ Massey Hall set on Flickr.

Happy Friday!

Ciao for now,

Technorati Tags: Marianas Trench,Josh Ramsay,Matt Webb,Mike Ayley,Ian Casselman,Massey Hall,Toronto,Canadian Music Week,concert,photography,music,live music

Read More

Caption Contest for Snapshot Saturday

This picture popped up on my screen saver and made me giggle,

This picture was taken at Fisherman’s Wharf during my trip to San Francisco in 2007.  The seals have been quite the attraction in the harbour and they are noisy! but so funny to watch and listen to.

I thought it’d be interesting to see what you would come up with as a caption for this picture.

Leave a comment below and let’s see what we can come up with!

Happy Saturday!

Ciao for now,

Technorati Tags: caption contest,Seals,San Fransisco,Fisherman's Wharf,Snapshot Saturday,A Paper Buffet

Read More

Snapshot Saturday: The Sound Of Music

**If you’re looking for The Character Cafe Blog hop, please scroll down to the next post**

For the summer my “Foto Friday” feature will move to Snapshot Saturday (or maybe the occasional Snapshot Sunday) as Fridays will now be Feature Fridays for The Character Cafe where all members of the Design Team will be sharing a new project each week using the awesome Character Cafe images.

As you read this, I will be traveling on a train to Toronto to meet my sister, cousin and mom to see The Sound Of Music at The Princess of Wales Theatre.  I thought in honour of this trip, I will share some pictures of Austria from our European family trip last September when we took The Sound of Music tour.

The majority of the film took place in and around Salzburg, Austria.  The painted bull marks the start of the tour, where we hopped on our tour bus.

This palace was used as the exterior of the Von Trapp house, but is about a 30 minute drive outside of Salzburg.

The tree-lined road Maria walks up and sings the song “Confidence”.  It doesn’t lead to the house, but to another palace.

THE gazeebo!  it’s not in it’s movie location, but was moved here, near the tree lined roads to keep tourists away from the palace.  It was at one point open to the public, to walk in and out of…but they had to close it after an 82 yr old woman was recreating Liesel’s scene of jumping from one bench to another.  Can you see the big gap in between the bench on the left and the one in the front? Yes, the 82 yr old Liesel-wanna-be fell while trying to make that leap and hurt herself.  So they closed the gazeebo. 

This is the church in the town of Mondsee where the real Maria and Captain Von Trapp were married.

The Austrian Countryside:

The gardens where Maria and the children ran through in the movie, with the Salzburg Palace in the background.

 

I hope you enjoyed this little glimpse of the Sound of Music locations.

And now, you know it was all coming…

Feel free to sing along:

And yes, you sing along on the bus tour as well ;)

Happy Saturday!

Aufwiedersehen!

 

Technorati Tags: The Sound of Music,Salzburg,Austria,The Character Cafe Design Team,A Paper Buffet,Snapshot Saturday

Read More

Foto Friday #18; On the vine; Valdagno, Italy

 

My great aunt’s house in Valdagno, Italy.

 

Happy Friday!

Ciao for now,

Technorati Tags: Italy,Valdagno,grapes,pomegranate,A Paper Buffet

Read More

Foto Friday 16: The Berlin Wall

 

 

 

Happy Friday!

Ciao for now,

Technorati Tags: Friday,Foto Friday,Berlin,Berlin Wall,Germany

Read More

Foto Friday #15- “Light and Stone”- Royal Ontario Museum

Last month I visited my sister in Toronto to attend the Seal concert.  We spent an afternoon at the Royal Ontario Museum.  It’s one of our great museums and a wonderful way to spend an afternoon.

Our main reason for visiting the ROM was to see the “Light and Stone” exhibit, comprised of gems from the collection of Michael Scott, the first CEO of Apple.

Here are some highlights:

Rubies; my sister’s and my birthstone.

 

Can you imagine wearing the necklace on the right?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is my favourite picture from my set.

Happy Friday!

Ciao for now,

Technorati Tags: Royal Ontario Museum,ROM,Toronto,Jewels,Light and Stone,Gems,Gemstones

Read More

Foto Friday # 14: Moving day in a University Town

London is the home to The University of Western Ontario (my alma mater) and Fanshawe College.

UWO as it’s often referred to is situated in the North End of the city, whereas Fanshawe College is located in the Eastern part of London.

I live very close to the University, not too far from where I lived while attending UWO.

Living in a University town has it’s ups and downs; the downtown is very alive at night with all the students throughout the school year.  The downside is Moving Day, which occurs twice a year…the long weekend in September before school starts, and the mass exodus that is April 30th and May 1st. 

London’s population is roughly 350 000 people, and according to UWO 2005-2006 enrollment rates, 33 ooo students were enrolled in UWO on a full-time basis,.

April 30th typically marks the last day the students can be a tenant in their house or apartment, and if they’re returning to UWO, May 1st is when they can move into their new place.

For these two days, every U-Haul, Budget  or Discount moving truck within a 100 mile radius is on the road.

You do NOT want to be on any student housing side-street during moving days.

I had a physio appointment during my lunch hour today and I always cut through Campus.  BIG mistake.  I forgot about the May 1st-move-into-your-new-place traffic jams.

Here is today’s photo, taken with my cell phone:

If you click on the picture to enlarge it, you will see the GIANT U-haul trying to fit between the parked cars and the southbound traffic.  What you can’t see behind the parked cars is the row of 10 student houses with people buzzing like worker bees to haul stuff in and out of the houses.  Also, behind the U-Haul is a line up of 5 cars.  Behind me, is another 10 cars.  The U-Haul squeaked by me and my Subaru, with me whispering and muttering under my breath Italian threats if he so much as breaths on my car the wrong way.

Also, Moving Day brings the traditional Curb Couch.  Leftover couches and furniture that didn’t fit in the U-Haul, or was just too disgusting to take to the next place are placed on the curb.  Most of them never see the trash bin, because May 2nd is FREE CURB FURNITURE DAY in a University Town.

(this picture was borrowed, I couldn’t pull over to take pictures of the Curb Couches…but you get the idea)

Happy Friday!

Ciao for now,

 

Technorati Tags: moving day,University,University town,London Ontario,UWO

Read More

Foto Friday # 14: Modern Art at the Chateau du Versailles, Paris, France

Happy Friday!

On our last full day in Paris in September, we travelled to the Chateau du Versailles. It’s roughly a 40 minute train ride outside of Paris.  My dad was adamant that he did not want to see yet another castle.  But I knew the Chateau du Versailles is the castle of ALL castles, and decided I would go with or without my parents.  My dad decided he had nothing better to do, and didn’t want to wonder around without me and my mom, who did want to visit Versailles, so the three of us hopped on the train and away we went.

I’m going to keep this photo Friday specific to the modern art that was on display at the Chateau du Versailles while we were there, and save the overall pictures of Versailles for another edition.

How odd!! would you agree? My mom and I kept thinking it was a joke! The juxtaposition between this giant balloon animal and the grandness and beauty of the Chateau  itself and the art belonging to that era is incredible.

 

To be honest, these are the only two pictures I took; I didn’t really enjoy the exhibition, I think it took away from the beauty of the castle, and to some point, made a mockery of it.  I did think the Heart pictured above was beautiful, just not in the right place.

I’m going to take advantage of some summer weather we’re having (sunny and 22 degrees Celsius); I’ll be working on some more cards and another special project this weekend and on Sunday, my Godson Ethan will be Christened.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Ciao for now,

 

PS- my Dad LOVED Versailles and can’t stop talking about it ;)

Read More

Foto Friday- the Saturday Edition

So sorry I missed yesterday's Foto Friday...but with the long weekend, visiting friends and family, time is just flying by!

Our six hour drive home was uneventful (just the way I like it) and the new car made the trip up like a champ.

I've got just a few moments before we head out visiting again, and I'm hoping you are enjoying your holiday weekend.

Here are some pics I snapped just now in my mom's front garden, some sure signs of spring.






This is the front yard of a neighbor down the street... it signifies to me a summer long buried, but anxious to return...




Happy Easter!

Ciao for now,

Read More

Foto Friday # 11- a Calgary Thunderstorm

TGIF!!

I know I may say that every week, but today I really mean it…and you can tell because usually this post is up at 8am, but I didn’t even have time to write it earlier in the week and schedule it!

I was looking through my photos and found these from my trip out west last summer.  Alberta is famous for thunderstorms, they move in VERY quickly.

Although I LOVE thunderstorms, I was out there for 5 days, and witnessed 3 storms.  The first day I got there I had to drive through one,  on the way to a meeting…that wasn’t so much fun.  The second one I experienced from my hotel window, which is where these pics are from.  I had just returned from an evening of exploring the Foothills, and got back just in time!  (The 3rd storm I had to drive through again, on my way to Banff, that one was scary!)

So, here we go:

These first two, there’s a reflection of the lights from the hotel room, but I wanted you to see how light it still was at this point:

This is 2 minutes later:

another minute or so later:

Can you see the thunderhead clouds?

I was able to catch some lightning strikes on video, then took the still pics from the video, so it’s a bit grainy:

 

Happy Friday!!

Ciao for now,

Read More