Craters of the Moon National Monument, Idaho

January 25, 2022

A road trip across southern and central Idaho took me to many beautiful places, including Craters of the Moon National Monument (and Preserve!). You know how Idaho potatoes are famous? Well you can thank the volcanic soil and the fine water from the massive aquifers that lie beneath Craters of the Moon. By the way, the name is perfect for this park. There are expansive plains of exposed lava rock that make it feel exactly like the surface of the moon. Or rather, how I imagine the surface of the moon would feel. I’ve never actually been to the moon.

Anywho, I actually drove through the park at sunset because my campground was a few miles further (farther?) down the road outside of Arco, Idaho. Speaking of which, that is a fantastic place to camp. The lights from Arco are mostly off at night, and anyway it’s a small town. This means that the night skies are absolutely incredible. And I would be completely remiss if I didn’t mention Pickle’s Place in Arco. Great burgers, cheap beer, and open much later than I ever would’ve expected given the remote location. So yeah, go to Pickle’s Place.

*Lava Lake, Craters of the Moon, Idaho. June 2018.*

Many more pictures from CotM to come, I have wayyyy more to go through.

Recap and Recommendations:

Craters of the Moon National Monument - Hikes, caves, and climbing the giant cinder cone. There’s a nice long driving loop too, if you are feeling lazy and out-of-touch with nature.
Craters of the Moon / Arco KOA - A solid campground close to Pickle’s Place
Pickle’s Place - I don’t know if there are other restaurant bars within a hundred miles of Arco, but it doesn’t matter because you should just go here.

Questions? Comments? Favorite menu items at Pickle’s Place? Friends with Pickle himself? Let me know below…

*Half Moon Over Marseille Harbour. September 2021.*

Marseille, France

January 23, 2022

Having just finished the 53 hour long audiobook version of “The Count of Monte Cristo” and after watching Anthony Bourdain’s Parts Unknown “Marseille” episode for at least the fifth time, I decided it was high time to visit myself. Marseille happened to fit perfectly in my plan for a two week Mediterranean vacation that included southern France, central Italy, and Croatia. After spending a few days lying on a beach in Nice and paying a visit to Monaco, we drove down the beautiful Côte d'Azur and checked in to the beautiful Hôtel La Residence Du Vieux Port, right on the harbour. The evening view of the harbour lights was incredible.

Driving into the city is an interesting experience in itself. This city is huge, especially when compared to some of the other coastal cities and towns I have visited. And as Bourdain says, it is definitely a little rough around the edges. If you walk a few blocks away from the harbour in any direction, you will most certainly notice. But that’s not a bad thing. In fact, I think that’s part of what makes Marseille unique.

La Samaritaine

Notre-Dame and the Moon

Virgin Mary atop Notre-Dame

View from la Bonne Mère

Marseille from Above

Looking Glass

le Boat

Old Harbour

*Église Saint-Ferréol les Augustins at Dusk. Marseille, September 2021.*

Marseille harbour is pretty typical for the French Riviera. Combination Hotels/Restaurants line the outside edges, each with their own outdoor spaces and overpriced drinks. But I’m a tourist after all, so this is exactly what I wanted after a long day of driving and exploring the coast.

*Fort Saint-Jean, Marseille. September 2021.*

A Day Spent Wandering.

The first landmark you notice is the Basilique Notre-Dame de la Garde, perched on the area’s largest hilltop. Climbing the hill didn’t seem like much fun at the time, so we chickened out and caught the bus that ran from the harbour all the way to the top. This was easily justified by saying “We will definitely walk back down.”

If you are going to Marseille and you’ve read about it anywhere else, I’m sure you already know that Notre-Dame is a must see. Not even so much for the basilica itself, but for the commanding view of the entire city. From here, you can see just how expansive (and beautiful) Marseille actually is. So I’ll add my recommendation on top of all the others that you probably have seen by this point: Be sure to go check out the city views from la Bonne Mère.

Palais du Pharo

Marseille Harbour Entrance

Fort Saint-Jean

Repost

Marseille Fish

Saint-Laurent

Tour du Fanal

Inside the Fort

Mucem

Taking in the view from the cathedral was great, because it gave me ideas for where to wander next. A very imposing fort guards the harbour entrance, so that seemed like the next logical choice. On the way there was a beautiful palace, and an amazing lunch at Le Chalet du Pharo, where you can sit and stare at the fort as boats go by. Also, you can take a little path down to the water and swim in the blue-green waters. One of the forts was closed, but Fort Saint-Jean was open to wandering (and free!) as was the Musée des civilisations de l'Europe et de la Méditerranée (also free!)

*Basilique Notre-Dame de la Garde from Fort Saint-Jean. September 2021.*

Bridge to the Museum

Tower

Tour du Fanal BW

Crane Exhibit

Pink

Mini Me

Its a pretty natural progression of a walk to go from the fort to the museum to the major cathedral. And I recommend all of them! There was even a giant (and friendly!) orange bear! And everything was free, which is a huge bonus in my book. It does seem like the whole harbour area is undergoing a refurbishing, with several things closed and scaffolding on a few of the attractions. I can’t wait to go back and visit again in a few years and see what has changed.

Marseille is my favorite place in France so far. Uncharacteristically semi-nice people are occasionally less-than-reluctant to help you out if you need it, and I’m pretty sure one of the waiters almost smiled once. This is very different from my other French experiences. A quick fifteen minute drive to the airport and it’s time to pop across the water to The Eternal City. But before we go, here are a few recommendations:

Basilique Notre-Dame de la Garde. - It’s a giant church on a hill. The views are amazing

Fort Saint-Jean - Wander around an old stone fort with interesting exhibits and harbour views.

Cathédrale La Major - An inspiring stripey cathedral.
Hôtel La Residence Du Vieux Port - A wonderful boutique hotel, right on the harbour.
Le Caribou Marseille - Great drinks, and super friendly staff. Awesome staff shirts, hope they start a merch store soon!
Les Mets des Saintes - Creole/African spin on French food. Delicious and cozy atmosphere.
Little Temple Bar - I didn’t see any resemblance to the actual infamous Irish pub, but drinks were dirt cheap and the location was great.

Questions/Comments? Ask away in the comment section below!

Utrecht, Nederland at Night

January 18, 2022

Went wandering around town on a cloudy night with my tripod in tow to try out some night shots with the new Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 G2 lens. It did not disappoint!

*Utrecht, Nederland. Tivoli Vredenburg and Hoog Catharijne at Night. January 2022.*

*Utrecht Centraal Train and Bus Station. January 2022.*

Stadhuis Utrecht, January 2022. — *Stadhuis and Domtoren. Utrecht, January 2022.*

There’s no denying that Utrecht is easily one of the most beautiful cities in the Netherlands. And the Sony A7C/Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 G2 is a very solid combination for night photography. Feel free to leave any questions or suggestions about which Dutch Destinations I should visit next in the comments below!

*Oudegracht in Black and White. January 2022.*

Firenze, Italia

November 28, 2021

How to sum up one of my favorite cities in the world? Firenze was one of the first European cities I ever visited, taking the train up from Rome way back in June of 2017. I was on a solo backpack tour for two weeks, and fresh off of a few days of jet lag adjustment after flying from Los Angeles to Reykjavik to Dusseldorf to Rome. After spending hours and hours wandering around Roman streets, it was time for a change of scenery. I booked a train to Firenze and a low-key apartment a few blocks from Santa Maria del Fiore.

The train ride was a relatively short and incredibly beautiful ride through the Tuscan countryside. A quick 15 minute walk from Firenze Santa Maria Novella brought me to the small (but cheap!) room I was to stay in for the next two nights. Then it was time to see the city!

The Basilica Santa Maria del Fiore is one of the most iconic buildings in the world, and with good reason. To this day it (and its neighboring tower and baptistry) is probably the most impressive and beautiful building I have ever seen.

Duomo

Campanile de Giotto

The Basilica Santa Maria del Fiore, known more simply as the Duomo, is a great place to hang out. It is right in the center of the city and is surrounded by pizzerias, gelatterias, and even an Irish pub! Many of the places have outdoor seating so you can sit outside and admire the amazing pink and green marble while enjoying some of the most amazing food in the whole world! Also Peroni!

With a full belly and a nice buzz, it was time to wander around Firenze!

*Statua equestre di Cosimo I de' Medici facing the Duomo. June 2017.*

Vespa

Santa Maria Novella

Column in Piazza Santa Maria Novella

Stupid Tower

Concert in Piazza della Signoria

David in front of the Palazzo Vecchio

Ahh, the Palazzo Vecchio. Built by the wealthy Medici family, for some reason they couldn’t figure out how to center a tower on top of a building. So it is probably my least favorite building in the world. See how ridiculous it looks? Grrrr….

Moving on! to one of the more famous bridges in the world, the Ponte Vecchio. At Sunset! (see also the first image in this post above). For reference, “ponte” means “bridge” in Italian. and the bridges in Firenze span the River Arno.

*A Boat Ride in Front of Ponte Santa Trinta and Ponte Vecchio. June 2017.*

*Chiesa di San Frediano in Cestello, across the River Arno. June 2017.*

That’ll do it for the throwback to my first time in Florence. Many many more posts to come, because I just love going back! Ciao!

Lofoten, Norge

August 23, 2021

Lofoten is the Norwegian archipelago along the north-west coast of Norway. Here it is in mid-August:

*A Small Village in the Lofoten Archipelago. August 2021.*

The ferry ride from Bodø to Moskenesøya:

The village of Å:

*Hoárbma before Djupfjordbrua, Moskenes, Norway. August, 2021.*

Nøkkeløya on the Left. View from the Road out of Henningsvær. August, 2021.

*Early Morning View from the Hemmingodden Lodge, Ballstad, Vestvågøy, Norge. August, 2021.*

*Mosken and Værøy Islands, Lofoten Archipelago, Norway. August, 2021.*

Arches National Park, Utah, United States

August 16, 2021

We stopped by Arches National Park during a cross-country road trip from North Carolina to California, way back in 2015. I was new to DSLRs at the time, but my amazing photography professor let me borrow his Canon 7D for the duration of the trip. It was a learning experience, to be sure, but I did my best.

*Petrified Domes in Arches National Park, March, 2015.*

I really wish I had been shooting RAW instead of JPEGs. Oh, the horror! But I guess it was difficult to carry two weeks worth of RAW shots on a single 32GB SD card. But I guess it was better than lugging around a backpack full of film canisters.

Balanced Rock

Sentinel

Detail

*Tiny People Climbing on Double Arch. March 2015.*

Wild West

Rivers of Rock

Contrast

Ice and Dust

Getting the Perfect Shot

Bush

Gravel

Moab at Dusk

Twilight

Last Rays

After an evening in Moab enjoying 3% ABV beer and a day exploring the park by car and on foot, it was time to head to the next in a series of beautiful Utah parks. Queue “On the Road Again”.

*On the Road Again, Towards Capitol Reef National Park. March, 2015.*

Luleå, Sverige (Sweden)

August 13, 2021

My first time in Sweden outside of the Stockholm Arlanda Airport…

*Downtown Luleå from the Banks of the Lule River. August 2021.*

*A Yellow Sunset on the Lule River. August 2021.*

Walking Path Along the Lule, August 2021.

*Stone Fishing Pier on the River Lule. August 2021.*

Enjoy the long sunsets. More Sweden to come!

Vík, Ísland (Iceland)

July 31, 2021

I had an 18 hour layover in Iceland, so I took a 10 hour road trip along the southern coast.

Back in 2017 there was an ultra cheap Iceland-based airline called WOW Air. So cheap, in fact, that I scored a round-trip flight to Europe for around $250. And apparently so cheap that they are now out of business. But they got me to mainland Europe for the first time ever. RIP WOW Air.

*Volcanic Plains to the Southeast of the Keflavik Airport. June 2017.*

After a lengthy 10+ hour flight, I arrived in Keflavik with an eighteen hour layover ahead of me. I rented a car for $18 and set off to the southeast, heading for a black sand beach near Vík. I didn’t have much of a plan past that. Pro tip: Google Maps allows you to download maps to your phone just in case you don’t have signal where you are going. Somewhere like the middle of nowhere on a tiny island in the North Atlantic Sea.

Keflavik is bordered by large volcanic flatlands to the southeast. It is a volcanic island, after all. Note: Some volcanic rocks can be very very sharp. So try not to stumble and catch yourself on pointy boulders and bleed in your nice $18-a-day rental car.

Volcanic Flatlands

Cave!

Normal Rocks

SHARP ROCKS

Map?

Road Trip

*Seljalandsfoss, a Waterfall in Southern Iceland. June 2017.*

Seljalandsfoss is a beautiful waterfall that you can walk behind and is right off the southern Ring Road (Iceland has a single road - Route 1 - that goes all the way around the outside of the island in a giant ring. I’m not sure where the nickname comes from.) I dodged a bus full of tourists and donned my water-proof coat for what would be the only time in my whole two-and-a-half week trip. Man it was fun lugging that heavy coat around in Granada when it was 101 degrees outside. But that’s another story.

There are thousands of waterfalls across Iceland. I saw at least a few of them.

*Clouds Over Southern Iceland. June 2017.*

Alaskan Lupine

Drip

Barn?

Water Falls from a Cliff

Seljalandsfoss in Color

Skógafoss

*Reynisdrangar, the Black Beach Near Vik. June 2017.*

Made it to the black sand beach in Vík! Black pebble beach would be a better description. There was a cave! And geometric basalt columns! It was beautiful and cold. What may seem to be three large sea stacks out in the water are actually three trolls that were trying to drag a ship ashore and turned to stone at daybreak. So keep a wary eye on them.

A Natural Beach Arch

Geometric Basalt Columns

Beach Cave

Black "Sand"

Trolls

Rain in the Distance

*Black Sand Beach and Columnes Reynisfjara. June 2017.*

*Green Peaks in Southern Iceland, June 2017.*

When the Vikings discovered Iceland, they supposedly named it Iceland so nobody else would want to visit. Then they named Greenland. Vikings were the clear predecessors to internet trolls.

*Alaskan Lupine and a Snow-Capped Volcano. June 2017.*

Greenland?

Glacial Melt

Lavender and Grey

*A Small Village in Southern Iceland. June 2017.*

After all this driving I suddenly realized it was going on 1 am. This shocked me because the sun had barely even gone down. One of the reasons I was excited about visiting Iceland was the chance of seeing the auroras. Turns out you can’t really do that in the summer time and I am a big dummy.

I had a very, very late night (still light outside) beer and “dinner” in Reykjavik and wandered around the city. I saw groups of legitimate children running around and playing in the parks. They must want to enjoy the long days and short nights as much as possible during the summer. Either way it was strange and surreal.

In the end, I hope everyone gets a chance for an Icelandic layover on their way to/from the European mainland. WOW Air is no longer a thing, but I know you can easily add a 1/2/3 day layover in Iceland if you book with Icelandic Air. If you have any questions, comments, or likes feel free to leave them below. And give Iceland a shot! It is one of the most beautiful countries I have ever seen, and I barely scratched the surface. I did scratch my hand though.