Category Photography

Italy – Florence… YES, a Starbucks!

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I was recently in Florence, Italy. My mother was born / raised there, so it feels like a second home. I was fortunate, there were not many tourists. I was able to walk the streets and actually “see” the buildings, etc.

And guess what I saw… YES, a Starbucks! Amazing how they are everywhere. You’d think in Italy, they have the best coffee, who would go to Starbucks? Obviously, people go. Same with McDonald’s which is by the train station, always packed with people.

I noticed that more cafes offer coffee to go. Years past, that was not an option.

Oh, and of course, I saw the Apple Store too.

Imagine walking by the Duomo and being able to walk right in, no long line. That hasn’t happened in years. I lit a candle, look how full, so many prayers.

It’s interesting, no matter how many times I go to Florence, I still take photos of the Duomo as if it is the very first time. I was thinking about that this trip when I took photos.

Did I need another photo of the Duomo? YES, of course!

Happy Traveling.

I’m BACK… Thank you AerLingus! ☘️

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AerLingus sends me promotional deals a few times a week. Normally, I delete them without even a glance. However, back in September, as my father had just passed… I thought, maybe it’s time to go “somewhere.”

One promotion was focused on reduced fares to Europe. I looked and I found a “good deal” to Munich, flying through Dublin. I really enjoy Munich, so I knew being there would lift my spirits.

I enjoy flying AerLingus, they are still clean and orderly when boarding and in flight. I don’t want to bash other airlines, but traveling is not fun anymore. It’s gotten so crazy and chaotic.

Oh, flying is a good time to catch up on movies we haven’t seen. Also, it makes the 7-8 hr flight go by very quickly. I enjoyed this movie, “Wicked Little Letters.” It’s a true story.

Another nice thing about AerLingus is that the flight goes through Dublin, we clear U.S. Customs / Immigration there. So, when we arrive in the U.S., we can immediately head home.

Oh, I smiled at this. When I was in the Munich airport, food choices were healthy sandwiches / big German pretzels. When I got to Dublin, no more sandwiches, instead, a pub and pre-packaged sandwiches (yuck!). The U.S. is the same, hard to find healthy food in an airport. Why is that?

Glad to be home! More to come…

Birds – The Morning Workday Huddle

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Walking can be boring, but not this particular morning. A friend sent me this photo.

Heading to work, it looked like the birds were also having the early morning workday huddle!

Discussion – How to tackle customer food donations that day! There has to be a BETTER way, they nod!

Happy Fall!

Chicago Skyline…

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When you need to get away, where do you go? For me, I love a large body of water.

In Indiana, on a clear day, you can see the Chicago skyline across Lake Michigan.

First photo, if you have an eagle eye, you can see the Chicago skyline at a distance. Second photo, I zoomed in, so you could see it better. What’s interesting is that in person, the sun was shinning on the building to far left, it was magical. Zoomed in, you can see what I saw in person.

Here’s to finding that special place that brings us peace, calmness and joy.

Have a nice day!

Cicada… the real deal!

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For those of you who follow me, you’ve seen the artistic cicadas I’ve posted. Now, it’s the end of August and the cicadas are in full force. We didn’t hear them in June or July, but now, they’re here.

I was at a friend’s house. I went to open the window and look what I saw… A CICADA.

I stared him straight in the eyes, I thought he might be scared off, but he wasn’t. He held on to the screen. Looking at him up close, I realized this would be a great picture to share with you.

From this photo, he (maybe a she) looks like a good friend stopping by.

Have a lovely day!

Lake Michigan, Fall weather – already?

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This weekend I was able to walk by Lake Michigan. We were having strange weather, it had gone from hot summer days earlier in the week to suddenly cooler temps like Fall. You can see a bit of the fury in the Lake.

Some people were swimming, it’s a bit dangerous with waves like this, the undertow is strong. As a child, I loved swimming in waves like this with my friends, it was scary and exciting at the same time. The undertow would suck us under tumbling us around in water and sand.

We held our breath forever hoping we’d get to the surface. Oh and when we did surface, hoped our bathing suit was still on properly. To give you a visual, imagine a dog with a soft play doll, violently shaking the doll in his mouth right and left. That’s how it feels to be in an undertow.

I really liked this photo. It was so windy, I took the photo quickly. I didn’t notice that there was a person in the picture; otherwise, it would have been perfect.

Most people don’t realize that Lake Michigan is really a large body of water. At first glance, you might think it is an ocean. It’s really quite vast.

Here’s to enjoying the last bit of summer. Labor Day is almost here.

Chicago – Blue Angels are in town!!

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The Chicago Air and Water show is in town this weekend. It’s always exciting.

I was sitting at my desk, hearing them zooming around. They’re loud, but you don’t always see them. It’s so frustrating. I was a swivel head looking for them.

I was in luck, my patience paid off. They flew by, but they were so fast, I just clicked, clicked, clicked the camera hoping I’d get a picture and I did! They really do fly so close together that takes practice.

For those of you, who have never seen the Blue Angels before, this is what they look like up close.

So, this weekend will be loud with lots of planes flying by. Good news, no rain forecasted and temps have cooled down to 75. Perfect summer weather.

Enjoy your weekend!