Brown Motion

Trying something new is the spice of life.  Heck - no spice no life. So this weekend I got to explore a few new things.  And I must say I hit four for four on it. I like to take transit into the city to check out spots to take pictures. SF can offer that if you have the patience and temperament for it. China town in the heart of the city bordering the financial district gives an opportunity to photograph a civilization calling another continent their home.  One of the larger expat communities of Chinese, the SF locale is bustling with fruit and veg vendors along with smells of fresh dim sum.  This picture is of the edge of the financial district showing the now for sale Transamerica pyramid.  I traveled a new Muni Route and got rewarded for it. Sharp lines in the building hardware are broken by smiling 20 year old mural hiding in the shadows as I snapped it traveling down Stockton Street that runs south from North beach. Then it was back in my ho...

There is a lot to take in anytime you visit a new place that is marketed to have a variety of attractions.  And Italy is no different.  Depending on your taste and mood you might find a spot you absolutely fall in love with and just chill for a while.  Or you might want to feast all day on a buffet of sights and keep moving. We are the latter category.  Why not taste a bit of everything and then decide if you want to visit again?  So we covered a lot of territory - 2,800 km in 14 days and hitting about 12 cities from top to bottom. Most travel was on trains - the bullet train is called Frecciarossa reaching max sustained speed of 300 kph and then some with regional double decker trains that also do a good 150 kmph - India by comparison runs their fastest train at this speed. There was also boat and bus and taxi travel in certain locales. Here are some highlights - Meeting the Pope - at the Vatican - Wed is a papal audience - you are one of 50,000 atte...