There is a house in...

Here are some NOLA photos I'd like to share with you! In the first photo, you'll see the top of the porch's underside has been painted sky blue. Apparently wasps think the blue is the sky and it disuades them from building nests on the porches. Sort of poetic, no?

Below is the famous house of famous actor famous Nick Cage. I think he was the only celebrity whose house I took a photo of. Who knows why?

There were beautiful flowers blooming everywhere!

One thing that really stands out architecturally, particularly in the French Quarter, is the ornate iron work framing the houses. Generally the more ornate work is cast iron, and the plainer, but more durable work is wrought iron.

The next two photos were the views from the courtyard of my favorite bar, The Napoleon House. So lovely and such yummy drinks. I am drinking a Ramos Gin Fizz (which they handily make at Southwark a block from my apartment in Philly!!!) It's lemon/lime juice, orange flower water, egg whites, cream, seltzer and gin. It's like a New York Egg Cream. YUM.

Some more pretty places in the city, below.

Stay tuned tomorrow for cemetary photos and other randomness...

This is how I roll...

I may look like a moron, but dang am I happy there! More to come later!

In Which Olivia Travels to New Orleans Without Any Sunscreen...

Ow.

Hello everyone! Oy vey am I sore right now. But nonetheless so content! I had the greatest weekend in New Orleans. I can't wait to share some photos. Until then, I would like to urge you that should the spirit move you, and you have a little extra money saved, get thee to New Orleans! Just a couple of days and I feel like a new person. Food, music, history... the infectious spirit of the city is incredible. I have never met so many kind people in all my life. They are so appreciative of guests to the city and are so eager to share their favorite recommendations. More to come later. Right now I'm headed for the sleep of the dead...

somewhere i have never traveled, gladly beyond

Saw these cool photos on a cool blog that got these photos off a cool blog, etc, etc. An abandoned amusement park--possibly in Japan because the original photos came from a Japanese site. (On a side note, I was obsessed with carousel horses as a kid. I remember driving to the Jersey shore every summer and passing an old rusted abandoned carousel...guess that's where it started. We used to pass so many intriguing sights/sites in rural NJ. The magazine "Weird NJ" is not for nothin. Someday I'm going to revisit all those old backroads we used to travel and go to every place I've always wanted to stop. Maybe even make it a blog post...Pine Tavern motel anyone?)

The Winter of Our Content

Here's a special treat for everyone enjoying this snow day. Maybe you are home like me (oh happy day!) or maybe you are stuck at work, but not under as many watchful eyes as usual.

Anyways, above are screenshots from the coolest game ever called "Samorost." The animation is so beautiful. The game will drive you nuts, but once you figure things out you will feel like a smarty. I can't really give more info than that. Just click around and figure out what to do. Here is the link for Samorost 1, but I think I played Samorost 2 first (you can find that link at the top of the page when you find the link).
http://amanita-design.net/samorost-1/
Some things you will figure out quickly, but other tasks take forever! Write me if you get stuck and crazy. I will give you encouraging words (and maybe a hint).

The Ghost In You, She Don't Fade

Part 2 of the series! Cutey cute.

Gas (1940)

I was reading Alain de Botton's book, "The Art of Travel" as I prepare for a small trip to NOLA this weekend (yay!). It's a great book--rambling and all over the place, but in an endearing way. It's full of little tangential gems. For instance, I really liked de Botton's take on Edward Hopper's paintings (and his lonely travelers, train cars, rest stops and wating areas) because he sees them as more than meditations on human isolation. The paintings are stark and lonely, true, but I've always found them to also be alluring and weirdly comforting, as does he. Below is his take on the painting Gas (1940).

Like Automat, painted thirteen years before it, Gas is a picture of isolation: a petrol station stands on its own in the impending darkness. But in Hopper's hands, the isolation is once again made poignant and enticing. The darkness that spreads like a fog from the right of the canvas, a harbinger of fear, contrasts with the security of the station itself. Against the backdrop of night and wild woods, in this last outpost of humanity, a sense of kinship may be easier to develop than in daylight in the city....At this last stop before the road enters the endless forest, what we have in common with others can loom larger than what separates us.