Where are you going?

Strange travel posters

 Albert Brenet for Air France, 1949

French West Africa may not be for everyone.

Delta Airlines, 1961

Tampa - Ahoy, matey!

 Continental Airlines, 1960

Didn't you know? KC is famous for barbecue.

 Air-India, c. 1960s

Sumo. You know you want to.

Otto Nielsen for Scandinavian Airlines System, 1958

Unless you were dropped off in rural Montana, 

this poster is a bit misleading...even for 1958.

Splash of pink

The Hutt Lagoon, a naturally pink salt lake in Western Australia

Pigments

Another reason to visit Venice, Italy:

Arcobaleno

3457 San Marco

Venezia

Pigments for artists

I wonder, what is the price for a jar of cobalt blue?

Or a heaping spoonful of alizarin crimson?

Please do it

Good manners, good times.

Artist Bunpei Yorifuji's snappy posters for subway etiquette.

By train

The first time I visited Machu Picchu, it was so beautiful I swore I'd return. The second time I visited, I was especially glad I did, spending a week in the Sacred Valley which was in a word, magical. 

On both occasions, I took the 4-hour long train to Aguas Calientes, followed by a rumbly bus ride up through the brutal switchbacks that lead to the amazing ruins. 

The government of Peru announced plans for a new airport, closer to Machu Picchu, noting that its remoteness, and the long train ride are so inconvenient that only 3000 people visit a day. 

The journey is the destination. Hear, hear!

(I'd go back in a heartbeat)

Burning down the house

In February 2008, a fire raged through Deyrolle, the incredible 170-year old taxidermy shop on Rue du Bac in Paris. The beloved cabinet of curiosities, a mainstay for Parisians, lost close to 90% of its inventory to the smoke and flames. Thanks to generous donations, reconstruction began almost immediately. In the small window before construction began, photographer Laurent Bochet documented the beautiful and sad remains of the shop's exotic denizens. 

1000°C Deyrolle is available here.

Pyramids

The Great Pyramids of Giza, still on my bucket list.

Vintage postcard give-away from NYC merchant Arnstein & Bonne

Maira Kalman

Dovima, Great Pyraminds of Giza, Egypt ( 1951 ) by Richard Avedon

Creative room

Commissioning some of Holland's top interior designers to create unique rooms, the Chateau Bethlehem was renovated transformed into the Teaching Hotel, an enchanting training environment for students of hotel management.

Elephant

The elephant's a gentleman, the battery-mule's a mule;

—Rudyard Kipling, Oonts

The Elephant Nature Park is an elephant rescue and rehabilitation center located near Chiang Mai in northern Thailand. Volunteers can work one, two or four weeks.

Night light

Lantern floating is an Asian tradition that poignantly symbolizes 

hope and healing for all beings.

Lantern Floating Ceremony, Honolulu, Hawaii

Yi Peng Festival, Thailand

Peace Ceremony, Hiroshima, Japan

I'd like to attend one of these festivals, the soft glowing light 

enveloped in inky evening colors is just magical.

Solo traveler

 American Girl in Italy, 1951 Ruth Orkin

The reaction to the iconic photo of a young girl making her way through what seems a sea of leering men is visceral; the anxiety is palpable, the contempt for their brutish behavior is instantaneous. Photographer Ruth Orkin's photo American Girl in Italy is her best known image. The model, 23-year old Ninalee Craig, was traveling solo in Italy when she met the 29-year old Orkin. The two adventurous women shared stories with one another about their travels when Orkin suggested they'd create images of what it was really like to travel alone as a young single woman. Orkin shot photos of Craig for several hours, asking for directions, shopping, flirting and sightseeing. "We were literally horsing around," Craig said. "It's not a symbol of harassment. It's a symbol of a woman having an absolutely wonderful time!"

(photos, Ruth Orkin)

Slow cooked

K. and I pawed through acres of collectibles at the Round Top Flea Market. In the September heat of Texas. Without a shopping cart. Without a clue. When we stopped for a well-deserved lunch break, it was at the crowded Legal Tender Saloon in Warrenton. Ordering at the counter was a lot like the long ago Saturday Night Live Weekend Update for the hearing impaired:

One pulled pork sandwich, please.


W-HUNNN PULLED PORK SANDWICHHHHH!


Oh, um...a cucumber salad, and I guess, one lemon bar.


W-HUNNN CUCUMBER SALADDDDD! W-HUNNN LEMON BARRRR!


Really tasty. Almost worth the hours of staggering around in the relentless heat! After returning to Chicago, I made pulled pork using tenderloin, cooked slowly (3 hours) with apple cider vinegar and red pepper flakes.

Yes—you—bet

A few images from my trip to Texas.

Love is a many-splendored thing.

Learn

3 guys, 44 days, 11 countries = a trip of a lifetime

LEARN from Rick Mereki on Vimeo.

(L. I know leaving for college is scary and intimidating. 

Be mindful that you will learn as much, 

maybe more, from your friendships and adventures!

Stay open, stay joyful!)

Replica

Foamhenge is a full-size styrofoam replica of the prehistoric English monument, Stonehenge. Located in the lovely Blue Ridge mountains of Virginia, Foamhenge is more photo-friendly: there are guards posted around the entire perimeter of Stonehenge to prevent any tourist from approaching the massive stones. In Virginia, visitors can have their Kodak moment leaning against or climbing upon the sacred foam.

Street art

Drainspotting documents the phenomenon of Japan's custom designed manhole cover art.