Babushka

So one of my favorite things about pretty much everywhere we went in the Eastern Block and the Balkans was the old women...the babushkas. Their home made clothes, stern demeanor, head scarves, fresh produce. I smile every time I think about them. In Croatia, there was this one old woman standing on her doorstep in these small back alleys. We were wandering looking for our hotel (a loose term I assure you) in this alley labyrinth. It was SO hot, we had just arrived, coming in on a hellish bus ride, and our packs seriously weighed like 40 pounds on our backs. As I passed by her she held a bag out to me. It was her trash.

This Turkish woman made crepes on a boat as her husband rowed her around to the tourists on their yachts. I don't think Melissa was happier the whole trip than when this woman told her in Turkish she would have been proud to have her as a daughter, after Melissa successfully made her own crepe.

I love this. You know she made their matching suits.

At one point we were in this little Czech town, Kutna Hora, waiting for a train to Prague. As we sat next to this old woman on the bench waiting for the train, this extremely annoying British couple came over. The woman was loud and sounded stupid. So when a train pulls up, she starts loudly asking no one in particular if this was her train. The train was on its way to Brno, another Czech city, and says Brno in the window. But this woman, reaches over us and taps the old woman on my right. With her bubble gum voice she asks the woman if the train is going to Prague. The woman, in one of my favorite memories, grunts. She actually grunted. Then she said slowly in her low voice "Brno" and folded her arms, and grunted again.

In Romania, the old women, if they're home in the day, lean out their windows. I loved this. Women, just leaning out the windows and watching, occasionally yelling to their neighbor also leaning out her window.

F-Stopping

I bought this watch off the street in London, 5 pounds. I love that city, maybe I can live there after I finish school.

Today

It's all about the textures.

National Gallery of Art

So, recently I've taken to spending as much free time as I can here. I just love being there. A friend and I have even started studying inside. Plus they show films every weekend through out the day -- Classics, Brit Noir, early Buster Keaton, etc -- and every Sunday evening a music concert, world renowned musicians, vocalists, orchestras, etc. It's really incredible. I'm jumping on the guided tour circuit today. Starting out with French Collection: Eighteenth and Nineteenth Century. I let you know how it is.

Did you know the East Building was designed by I.M. Pei? aka Pyramids of the Louvre, that huge Bank of China Tower in Hong Kong, about a million other really cool buildings. Learned that the other day.

Well, I suppose lastly in the spirit of my tour to come, let's give it up for Manet. I can't say he's my favorite Impressionist - though wow, maybe he is - but his painting of the barmaid on absinthe (the kind that made you depressed and hallucinate), who's possibly a high class prostitute, jumps more frequently to my mind than most other paintings. I can't wait to learn more.

Shutter Speed = My New Best Friend

One week in and I'm still completely enamored with my camera. This week I've spent a lot of time messing with shutter speed. Just as a natural inclination I tend to be more drawn toward slow speeds, displaying motion instead of freezing it...but hey I think that's a personal preference. Here's a comparison I did, slow speed in the first and fast in the second:

I suppose it's a subtle difference.

Nocturnes and A Nite Out

So I dressed up as Annie Hall for Halloween! It was a huge hit -- not. I could not believe how many people had no idea who she was, or even Woody Allen for that matter. How sad. No matter, her look is so cute that it didn't matter that the "Annie Hall" part passed completely over the head's of most people.

Oh yeah, I got a new camera!! This camera is so cooool!!! Canon XS Rebel DSLR; plus I got it at a steal of a deal. So my camera and I took a little trip to the Washington Monument.

Fall

Halfway through my first east coast fall: I love it. I've been completely floored at just how incredibly beautiful it is. Leaves literally fill the streets. And the colors! I'm finally truly seeing all those fall colors in full force. It is amazing walking through the city when a breeze blows that's followed by hundreds of leaves falling in front of your face. It feels like a movie or something. Too bad they'll all be gone in a week or so.