The Mega Trees Are Out (The Day After Thanksgiving in Saint Paul)

You can't tell here, but each of these trees is at least three stories high. Very impressive - especially in front of someone's house.

More Vertical Landscapes

The vertical gardens at the Musée du quai Branly were high on my list of things to see while we were in Paris.

I loved the way the gardens softened the sharp edges and bright colors of the building, although the gardens themselves appeared to be only marginally healthy at the time.

Still, they were really cool.

I'd like to see more of these and, apparently, there are more of them to see. Earlier this fall Wired Magazine featured more of Patrick Blanc's vertical gardens, including these beauties at the new Athenaeum hotel in London and covering a bridge in Pont Juvénal, in Aix-en-Provence.

http://www.wired.com/images/article/magazine/1709/pl_design_f.jpg

http://www.wired.com/images/article/magazine/1709/pl_design6_f.jpg

(Now THAT'S a green highway!)

Madagascar's Limestone Needles

National Geographic has a feature on a strange and stunning part of Madagascar that I know I will never see. (There doesn't seem to be a way to bring a sample here, so you'll have to go to their site to check it out.)

The world is just a weird and beautiful place.

More Vintage Posters

The Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum also has a collection of travel posters, a few of which are highlighted below.

Created by Helge, circa 1935-40

Created for Pan American Airways by Jean Carlu, circa 1957

Created for Transbrasil

Created for Pan American World Airways by Al Moore, circa 1957

(I love the pole - complete with insulators - intended, I assume, to assure you that you can enjoy the beauty of the Middle Ages, but with all the conveniences a modern travel might want.)

Feeling inspired yet?

Vintage Travel Posters

The folks at Grain Edit have posted a selection of travel posters from the 1950s - '60s.

Paris-Orly for Air France c1962- Design & Illustration by Jaques Nathan Garamond

Finland print for Finnair c1958 - Design by Erik Bruun

Turku Abo - Tourist poster for the Finnish town of Turku c1966?- Design by Marti Mykkanen

Hunting in Poland c1961 - Design by Wiktor Gorka

Check Grain Edit for more!

Berlin 20 Years After the Wall - Time to See It for Myself?

Twenty years ago today the wall dividing Berlin into East and West came down and a new era arrived. Today was a day of memory and celebration in Berlin - a city far different from the one of that time . . . and perhaps nearly unimaginable from the city my dad knew in the late 50s.

I think I am - finally - going to get to see it for myself next summer, escorting my dad to a reunion there and a visit with the Swedish cousins.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Post-Halloween Saint Paul

Cruising

After canceling September’s Italy photography trip and never getting around to booking a planned South America trip for November, we have finally booked a vacation.

We are taking a 26 day cruise from Tahiti to Fort Lauderdale (via the Panama Canal) this winter.

Yes, 26 days.

Lane thinks this will be a wonderful opportunity for me to chill out and relax, something that I really need. However, I am a little freaked - 26 days seems like a very long time!