Tag Archives: Architecture

My Favorite Photos of France – Part 5

The Arc de Triomphe
The Arc de Triomphe

In my previous 4 posts, I have shown 71 photos from the first 9 ½ days on the French Waterways vacation that we went on last July. This post will show 20 more photos that were taken over the next 3 ½ days. All of these photos were taken within the city of Paris.

We arrived in Paris aboard the high speed train; the Train à Grande Vitesse (TGV). It was Saturday, July 26th, which was the day before the Tour de France bicycle ride would end near the Arc de Triomphe on the Champs-Élysées.

The opening photo was taken at that location The bicycle riders in my photo are not the racers, but are some of the bicycling enthusiasts that pay for the privilege of riding the entire distance of 3,664 km (2276 miles) of the course – one day ahead of the real racers.

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Barb and I walked from our hotel the 10 blocks or so to the Arc de Triomphe (with 2 other ladies who had signed up for the 3 day extension in Paris). This monument was completed in 1836, and its size is truly astonishing! It stands 164 feet high (50m), and the large vault is 95.8 feet high (29m).

At the Arc de Triomphe
At the Arc de Triomphe

After dinner that same evening, others in our Vantage Travel group thought it would be fun to strike out on our own to see if we could get to the Eiffel Tower and go on a river boat ride in the “City of Light”. That would involve using a subway system in a land where we didn’t know the language very well….

The Eiffel Tower at dusk
The Eiffel Tower at dusk

As we waited to board the boat, I managed to get a couple of photos during twilight.

The Eiffel Tower at dusk
The Eiffel Tower at dusk

Darkness quickly came upon us as we started up the Seine River.

Boat ride on the Seine River through downtown Paris
Boat ride on the Seine River through downtown Paris

The Palais Bourbon is where the French National Assembly sits, and is illuminated at night to look like the French Tricolor (flag of France).

Boat ride on the Seine River through downtown Paris
Boat ride on the Seine River through downtown Paris

I carried my tripod that evening. After the boat ride, I put it to good use.

The Eiffel Tower at night
The Eiffel Tower at night

It was late – very late – when we finally made our way back through the subway system to our hotel that night. We were up early the next morning, and on the bus for a City Tour of Paris.

The Eiffel Tower in the morning.
The Eiffel Tower in the morning.

We were let off the bus on the Champ de Mars for about 15 minutes to get some great photos of the Eiffel Tower.

The Eiffel Tower in the morning.
The Eiffel Tower in the morning.

About an hour later we were walking toward the Notre-Dame de Paris, and this was our view of it from across the Seine River (we were on the south shore).

Notre-Dame de Paris
Notre-Dame de Paris

Note the flying buttresses and those two large round stained glass windows. The bottom one is the south “rose window”.

We crossed the bridge over the Seine, and waited to enter the church from the west (left side in the photo above). This is some of the elaborate stone work above the entrance on the west side.

Notre-Dame de Paris
Notre-Dame de Paris

And here is a view of that south “rose window” that you saw earlier from the outside.

Notre-Dame de Paris
Notre-Dame de Paris

Since it was late Sunday morning, there was an actual Catholic church service going on while we were inside this spectacular building. (Our tour guide whispered into his microphone that we listened to over our radio receivers.)

Notre-Dame de Paris
Notre-Dame de Paris

Afterwards, as we waited outside, I took this photo of the archway above one of the two main entrances on the west side of the church.

Notre-Dame de Paris
Notre-Dame de Paris

About 3 hours later, we were walking around in the Montmartre area when I found this colorful display of cooking aprons that were for sale.

Walking and eating in the Montmartre area.
Walking and eating in the Montmartre area.

Montmartre is a hill in the north of Paris, primarily known for the white-domed Sacré-Cœur Basilica (Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Paris) on its summit and as a nightclub district.

The Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Paris
The Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Paris

From virtually the same location that I took that photo, I turned around and took this mini-panorama photo of Paris. (The Eiffel Tower is located further to the right.)

View of Paris from the base of  Sacré-Cœur Basilica
View of Paris from the base of Sacré-Cœur Basilica

The next day, we joined about 20,000 of our fellow man and went on a tour of the Musée du Louvre (Louvre Museum). There were so many people in that building, that the only photos that you could get without people in them were photos of the ceiling.

Artwork on the walls and ceiling at the Musée du Louvre
Artwork on the walls and ceiling at the Musée du Louvre

Fortunately, it was a beautiful ceiling!

Artwork on the walls and ceiling at the Musée du Louvre
Artwork on the walls and ceiling at the Musée du Louvre

On our last day of our 3 day stay in Paris, Barb and I went all by ourselves from our hotel, using the Paris Metro (subway), walking across the Tuileries Garden and over the Seine River to the Musée d’Orsay (Museum of Orsay). This art museum was originally a railway station.

The Musée d'Orsay behind the Grand Bassin Pond in the Tuileries Garden
The Musée d’Orsay behind the Grand Bassin Pond in the Tuileries Garden

We saw some incredible works of art at that museum, but unfortunately photography of the artwork was strictly prohibited.

OK, so now I’ve shared with you 91 of my favorite photos that I took while in France this past July. Although I showed them in chronological order, there are too many gaps between some of them to tell the full story. In my next blog post I intend to “fix that” for those who are interested in seeing a more complete story of this fabulous trip.

Thank you for visiting my blog.

My Favorite Photos of France – Part 4

Goat cheese factory in Chissey-lès-Mâcon, in the Burgundy region.
Goat cheese factory in Chissey-lès-Mâcon, in the Burgundy region.

In my previous 3 posts, I have shown 48 photos from the first 7 days on the French Waterways vacation that we went on last July. This post will show 23 more photos that were taken over the next 2 ½ days. Because of the large number of photos in this post, I will keep my comments to a minimum.

The opening photo was taken at a goat cheese factory in Chissey-lès-Mâcon, in the Burgundy wine region in eastern France. This was the first day in nearly a week that we were blessed with a clear, blue sky, and everyone’s spirits seemed to lift because of that.

Goat cheese factory in Chissey-lès-Mâcon, in the Burgundy region.
Goat cheese factory in Chissey-lès-Mâcon, in the Burgundy region.

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The goats were very friendly, they loved being petted, and goat cheese was delicious!

Goat cheese factory in Chissey-lès-Mâcon, in the Burgundy region.
Goat cheese factory in Chissey-lès-Mâcon, in the Burgundy region.

After we left the goat farm, we stopped for a short while in the very small village of Chapaize.

Chapaize, in the Burgundy region.
Chapaize, in the Burgundy region.

The blue sky was very welcome to us!

Chapaize, in the Burgundy region.
Chapaize, in the Burgundy region.

After Chapaize, we headed to Cluny.

Cluny, in the Burgundy region.
Cluny, in the Burgundy region.

We spent several hours in Cluny, and we started off by going on a fascinating tour of the remains of the Cluny Abbey.

Cluny Abbey was built in 3 sections, from the 10th to the early 12th centuries
Cluny Abbey was built in 3 sections, from the 10th to the early 12th centuries

The Cluny Abbey was built in the Romanesque style of architecture, with three churches built in succession from the 10th (910 AD) to the early 12th centuries.

Cluny Abbey was built in 3 sections, from the 10th to the early 12th centuries
Cluny Abbey was built in 3 sections, from the 10th to the early 12th centuries

In 1790 during the French Revolution the abbey was sacked and mostly destroyed, with only a small part of the Abbey surviving till today.

We then had about an hour to stroll around the small, but very busy town of Cluny. Barb bought a very nice casual dress, and I entertained myself with all sorts of photographic opportunities.

Found these lovely tomatoes while walking along Rue Lamartine in Cluny
Found these lovely tomatoes while walking along Rue Lamartine in Cluny

After a 30 minute bus ride through the beautiful Burgundy region, we stopped for lunch at a wonderful event facility in Chérizet.

Lunch at Chérizet, in the Burgundy region
Lunch at Chérizet, in the Burgundy region

That evening after dinner, several of our travel group went up to the top deck of the boat while we were docked in Mâcon. This was the 2nd time that I used my travel tripod on this trip.

Sunset view from the top of the boat in Mâcon
Sunset view from the top of the boat in Mâcon

The next morning, I poked my head out of the open window to our cabin on the boat, and took this photo while we cruised north up the Saône River.

Early morning cruising, north of Mâcon in the Burgundy region.
Early morning cruising, north of Mâcon in the Burgundy region.

We docked our boat shortly before noon in the town of Chalon-sur-Saône.

Cruising on the Saone, into the town of Chalon-sur-Saône
Cruising on the Saone, into the town of Chalon-sur-Saône

That afternoon we visited a wine cellar in Beaune.

Visiting a wine cellar in Beaune.
Visiting a wine cellar in Beaune.

In Beaune, we toured the Hôtel-Dieu de Beaune, which was a hospital for the poor and was founded in 1443.

Tour of the Hotel-Dieu, which was a hospital for the poor in Beaune.
Tour of the Hotel-Dieu, which was a hospital for the poor in Beaune.

This building is one of the finest examples of French fifteenth-century architecture, and is very well known for its polychrome roof.

Tour of the Hotel-Dieu, which was a hospital for the poor in Beaune.
Tour of the Hotel-Dieu, which was a hospital for the poor in Beaune.

Within this fabulous building, I took this photo of one of the many stained glass windows.

Tour of the Hotel-Dieu, which was a hospital for the poor in Beaune.
Tour of the Hotel-Dieu, which was a hospital for the poor in Beaune.

Here is a photo that I took from our moving bus, while traveling through the beautiful Burgundy wine region.

Bus ride through the Burgundy wine region.
Bus ride through the Burgundy wine region.

The next morning, we said goodbye to our boat, rode on a bus to Dijon, where we had only a little over one hour to walk around the historic part of this old city before we got back onto our bus and head toward the train station.

Walking tour in historic part of downtown Dijon.
Walking tour in historic part of downtown Dijon.

Dijon has a very long history, which includes the Romans. The part of town that we walked through was built in the late middle ages and into the 18th century.

Walking tour in historic part of downtown Dijon.
Walking tour in historic part of downtown Dijon.

We eventually came into a large open area with fountains.

Walking tour in historic part of downtown Dijon.
Walking tour in historic part of downtown Dijon.

We were also directly across the street from the Dijon City Hall.

Walking tour in historic part of downtown Dijon.
Walking tour in historic part of downtown Dijon.

It took us nearly 30 minutes to get to the high speed train station; the Train à Grande Vitesse (TGV), which would take us to Paris. At times we were moving at close to 200 mph. Somewhere in the middle of farmland, another train appeared outside of the very thick window, and I was very lucky to get this photo of it while both trains were moving at a very high rate of speed.

Riding the Train à Grande Vitesse (TGV) from Dijon to Paris.
Riding the Train à Grande Vitesse (TGV) from Dijon to Paris.

It took us less than 90 minutes to get from Dijon to Paris a distance of 196 miles!

Thank you for visiting my blog.

My Favorite Photos of France – Part 2

Walking tour of the Medieval town of Viviers.
Walking tour of the Medieval town of Viviers.

In my previous post, I shared 19 photos of our first 3 days on the French Waterways vacation that we went on last July. This post will show 15 more photos that were taken over the next 2 days.

The opening photo and the next two were all taken after we hiked up from the Rhone River to the small walled city of Viviers.

Jana and Barb at scenic overlook in Viviers.
Jana and Barb at scenic overlook in Viviers.

This small town was built during the Medieval Ages. There were only one or two streets that a car could travel short distances on.

Rooftop of the buildings in the Medieval town of Viviers
Rooftop of the buildings in the Medieval town of Viviers

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Chandellier inside Medieval church in Viviers.
Chandellier inside Medieval church in Viviers.

The chandelier above was in the Viviers Cathedral, which construction was started on in the 11th century.

Nuclear power plants on the Rhone River, north of Viviers.
Nuclear power plants on the Rhone River, north of Viviers.

That afternoon, it drizzled and rained on us as we cruised further north up the Rhone River. About noon the next day we arrived in the city of Vienne.

From our docked river boat in Vienne.
From our docked river boat in Vienne.

While we were waiting to waiting to disembark on our walking tour of Vienne, I went up to the top of our boat. While I was there, this French gentleman cruised past us in his houseboat.

A houseboat passes by our docked river boat in Vienne.
A houseboat passes by our docked river boat in Vienne.

Now here is something that you just don’t see in the very often:

A Medieval house on the left, next to some Roman ruins in Vienne.
A Medieval house on the left, next to some Roman ruins in Vienne.

The house with the criss-cross timbers was built in the Medieval Ages, and they built it right next to the arched wall that the Romans had built!

We hiked up to the Chapelle Notre Dame de la Salette in the drizzle and light rain. It was worth the effort, as we were rewarded with this spectacular view of the Rhone River winding into town from the north.

Scenic view from above Vienne, France.
Scenic view from above Vienne, France.

While standing in the same place, but looking straight down, we had a great view of what remains of an ancient Roman amphitheater.

Roman amphitheatre in Vienne.
Roman amphitheatre in Vienne.

Since we had hiked up the hill to the Chapelle Notre Dame de la Salette, we went inside to get out of the rain.

Chapelle Notre Dame de la Salette, a medieval church above Vienne, France.
Chapelle Notre Dame de la Salette, a medieval church above Vienne, France.

If that looks somewhat odd, it is because it is a composite of two different exposures: one for the inside of the church, and one for the stained glass windows.

Jana and Barb on the walking tour of Vienne, France.
Jana and Barb on the walking tour of Vienne, France.

It was a good thing that my camera and lens are pretty much weatherproof, as I didn’t have an umbrella like Jana and Barb did.

When we got back down to the city, we got to see a still-standing Roman temple; the early Imperial temple of Augustus.

Roman temple in Vienne.
Roman temple in Vienne.

We also went inside of the Cathedral of St. Maurice, which was built over a long period of time; between 1052 and 1533.

Medieval church in Vienne.
Medieval church in Vienne.

I should mention that I only took one camera to France; an Olympus OM-D E-M1. Although I did take 5 lenses with me, I only used two of them, and ALL of the photos that I will share in this 5 Part series were taken with one single lens; the Olympus 12-40mm f/2.8 PRO.

In addition, every photo that I have shared up to this point was taken while hand-holding the camera. This next photo is different, as I used my travel tripod and the self-timer on the camera.

Group photo of our travel mates on this trip
Group photo of our travel mates on this trip

This photo of our entire group was taken at 9:20 PM, and since it was getting dark pretty fast, I bumped up the ISO to 400, but even with the aperture wide-open at f/2.8, the shutter was open 1/20th of a second. After all of the wine that we had consumed at dinner, it’s amazing that nobody wobbled into a blurred state….

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The Old and The New on Congress Avenue

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A couple of weekends ago, we had a lot of rain here in Austin. We were all constrained to indoor activities on Friday, Saturday, through Sunday morning, June 2nd, 2013. Nobody complained, as we are always grateful when it rains in Austin, especially in the summer months.

When the rain stopped, and the clouds had parted, I decided to head out and take some photos. I was somewhat tired of the macro photos of the flowers in my neighborhood, so I decided to head to downtown Austin. It was almost 2:00 PM when I parked my CR-V on Willie Nelson Blvd (2nd Street), just east of Congress Avenue.

That put me just south of the construction site of the J. W. Marriot luxury hotel, and 1 block east of The Austonian (seen in the opening photo, which is currently the tallest building in the City of Austin at 56 stories – 683 feet (208 m) tall.

I was travelling light. I brought only my Olympus OM-D E-M5 camera, with the Olympus 12-50mm f/3.5-6.3 lens, and my WhiBal card. No camera bag, no tripod, not even a spare battery. Absentmindedly, I left my hat in the car.

I crossed Congress Avenue to get to the west side of the street and started heading north.

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Now I must mention here that the photo above isn’t really how my camera captured the image. I used the new Upright feature in Lightroom 5’s Develop Module to remove most of the perspective distortion that you get when looking up with a wide angle lens. Not bad for a one-click correction!

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I was pleased to see that the overcast sky had pretty much dissipated into the partially cloudy sky.

Here is a photo looking up the side of The Frost Bank Tower, which is 33 stories – 515 feet (157 m) tall.

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I always find it interesting how the new architecture and the old architecture co-exist within this relatively small area.

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But “old” in Austin, Texas isn’t really very old, as compared to most large cities. Even though Austin is now the 11th most populous city in the United States, it did not even exist before 1839.

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Even the iconic Littlefield Building (see with the American flag on top) didn’t start construction until 1910, and was completed in 1912. This 8 story building became the financial center of Austin, and was the height of opulence when it opened.

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Here is the out-of-focus One American Center building behind an interesting business sign.

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At 6th and Congress, I paused to take this photo looking south.

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This is the only other photo that “straightened-up” by using the new Upright feature in Lightroom 5.

I continued heading north until I reached 8th Street, and then I turned around. Between 7th and 8th Streets, the historic Paramount Theatre (1915) sits just to the south (right) of the Stateside Theater (1935).

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There isn’t very much traffic in downtown Austin during the middle of a Sunday afternoon.

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I crossed over to the west side of Congress Avenue when I got to 7th Street.

At the corner of 6th Street, at the base of the Littlefield building, I had a nice view of the Austonian, 4 blocks to the south.

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I was standing at the same corner with this iconic clock.

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Looking across the street, I thought that this view of the base of One American Center was interesting enough to spend a minute to capture a few photos of it.

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Here’s another one of those “old meets new” images that seem to be everywhere along this stretch of Congress Avenue.

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At the entrance to The Frost Bank Tower, I noticed three or four of these large succulent plants.

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Now I know that this is not a particularly pretty picture, but I included it just to give you some context for the setting of the next photo, which is part of the same plant, just from the opposite side.

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It was getting pretty darn warm, and I had forgotten to bring my hat. I was glad that it was only a 2 block walk back to my car. As I got to the construction site of the new J. W. Marriot hotel, I couldn’t help but look up and take this photo of the three cranes.

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Walk on Congress Avenue

Last Sunday, April 7, 2013, was an overcast day, but I was tired of being in the house. I needed to get out and walk around with my camera. I needed to go somewhere where a gray sky wouldn’t affect me and my photography too negatively. I decided to go somewhere that I seldom go – downtown Austin. During my 25 minute drive to get downtown, I noticed that the overcast sky was beginning to break up into a partly cloudy sky.

I was travelling light. I brought only my Olympus OM-D E-M5 camera, with the Olympus 12-50mm f/3.5-6.3 lens, and my X-Rite ColorChecker Passport. No camera bag, no tripod, not even a spare battery or a hat.

I drove up and down Congress Avenue, and even at 2:45 PM on a Sunday afternoon, there are no parking spaces available. I ended up parking three blocks east of Congress Avenue, on Trinity Street between and East 8th and East 9th Streets.

I thought that I would head towards the Texas State Capitol Building, which is located at 11th and Congress. As I walked west on East 10th Street, just west of San Jacinto Blvd., I noticed this building with reflections of both a Catholic Church and the Texas State Capitol building.

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At the corner of Brazos St. and East 10th, I just looked up at the Texas Department of Transportation building and took this simple photo.

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I was pleased to see that the overcast sky had pretty much dissipated into the partially cloudy sky.

This next photo was taken while standing in the center of the crosswalk on Congress Avenue at 10th St.

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I really didn’t have a plan, other than to just walk south on Congress all the way to 1st or 2nd Street and then come back up Congress Avenue on the other side of the road.

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There are many, many building along Congress Avenue that have been designated as historical landmarks. It makes for a very interesting mixture of old buildings and modern buildings.

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Just south of 7th Street, on the west side of Congress Avenue is this interesting statue of Angelina Eberly.

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The plaque at the base of this statue tells this fascinating story: “In 1842 Texas was an independent nation, and Austin was its capital. Sam Houston, the president of the Republic of Texas, regarded Austin as a vulnerable and unsuitable location for the seat of the government and waged an unsuccessful campaign to have it moved to his namesake city (Houston). As a last resort, the President sent a military detachment to Austin to remove the government archives. When an innkeeper named Angelina Eberly discovered the men loading their wagons, she rushed to the corner of what is now Sixth and Congress and fired the town cannon, blowing a hole in the Land Office building and rousing the populace. The citizens chased down Houston’s men, recovered the archives, and gave them to Mrs. Eberly for safekeeping. This statue honors a bold woman whose vigilance and short temper preserved Austin as the capital of Texas. It was presented to the citizens of Austin on September 26, 2004, by Capital Area Statues, Inc.”

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There’s no doubt where I took this next photo from. 🙂

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I’ve seen Kirk Tuck show this same photo on his blog before, so I thought I’d just put my blatant copy here on my blog….

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Looking southeast, one sees the Frost Bank Tower, which is located between 4th and 5th Streets, on the east side of Congress Avenue.

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At 422 Congress Avenue is Shiner’s Saloon. I’ve never been there, but I like their sign our front!

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We are now down to 3rd Street.

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Just north of 2nd Street sits The Austonian, which is a residential building. A t 683 feet (208 m) tall with 56 floors, this is the tallest building in Austin.

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At the base of the Austonian, is the little coffee shop Caffé Medici.

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I thought that I would get myself a cup of coffee and do stake out a place for some relaxed people watching, but as I poked my head inside, I was surprised at how small, and crowded this place was. I guess it must be very good, because there were at least 15 people in line there to get coffee at 3:30 PM on a Sunday afternoon. Someday I’d like to give it a try, though.

So I crossed Congress at 2nd Street, and took a few photos of one of the Austin GuitarTown guitars, named Twinkle Twinkle Lonestar.

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Back in 2007, there were 32 of these guitars scattered around Austin for public display before being auctioned off to help a charity. Dad and I located all of them, and photographed them wherever they happened to be located. You can see them all here. It’s hard to believe that was 6 years ago…

Just north of 2nd Street, there is huge construction site, with three very large cranes. This is future site of the 1000 room J.W. Marriot Hotel.

As I passed that construction site, here’s an interesting view of both old and new buildings in downtown Austin.

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Out front of the Frost Bank Tower, sits one of my favorite Austin GuitarTown guitars, named Vibrancy. I guess just like colorful things, and this one uses it very creatively!

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A couple blocks north, I turned east on the semi-famous East 6th Street. The photos that I took there will be the subject of my next blog post.

So, the day started out being what I considered pretty crappy for going out and making photographs, but it certainly didn’t turn out that way. It just goes to show you that sometimes you just need to get out there, and make the best of what you’re dealt.

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