My last stop in Europe is always Paris. Where I spend a week simply taking it all in, pretending to be a local. What I discovered recently was the following small town destinations in France, I heard about but have never seen. I added them to my list for a late Spring trip in 2017 with a good friend of mine:
One of the benefits of being a writer is that you spend a lot of time falling in love with wonderful places, and extraordinary lifestyles, and interesting people, which and that inspire to create a story-no matter the genre-stories come from the passion writer feel about something o someone. I do a lot of research online, as you may have already noticed from this fun place called RawSilk&Saffron, and when I stumble upon something that sparks an interest or is best suited for a whole or part of my storytelling, I, Bookmark it, the old-fashioned way, right into a folder on my computer, I set up for every novel I’ve published, and the ones I plan to write. So you can imagine my excitement when I stumbled upon these amazing photographs of a Seaside Cabin-I have no clue as to where it is-adding to a folder-for a wonderful story I have thus far drafted. The Seaside cabin is surely a scene I need to add OR, simply escape to if I can only figure out …
I welcome all visionaries who posses the skill to be forward thinkers – taking a risk to create something out of the norm, unique and unexpected. To leave their mark on society for decades to come. An example is the architect behind the San Francisco MoMA Museum which for the past 3 years has been going through a major renovation, one I have gladly monitored the progress for the past 36 months. I’m serious – I actually walked by the construction zone daily to see it taking shape. And now, the grand opening on May 14, which I am invited to attend. In the meantime, you can read all about MoMA here, and see the photographs I’ve taken (not the aerial) just in case you are as nuts about architecture as I am: I am also excited to report that since this marvel is complete, I am going to shift my focus on the renovation of the convention center/Moscone center just across the street from MoMa. {photo credit of aerial view}
I’ve paused all thoughts of travel lately because I’m very focused on novel 3 and all that go along with promoting my pride and joy. But once in a while, you know on a sunny beautiful day in San Francisco, I get the urge, to just plan – because I do know what I want to do this year for our big trip to Europe. But finding a few good suggestions never hurts anyone – especially this girl. So, buckle up and take a tour of what I found pretty interesting – in travel that is:
I love my dog to pieces like most dog-owners do. I consider him or rather he considers himself human, participating in our conversations, and dinner preps, and even expressions while watching a television program. He is the best at everything he does. My favorite when he snuggles against me the early morning hours, or while I sit up in bed early Saturday and Sunday mornings, typing away at my novels. You get my point. This man, took his love of his dog to a whole new level only the photographs below can explain 🙂 and then some:
There is a restaurant (La Central) in the corner of Grant and Bush in San Francisco, I haven’t been to for a while. Perhaps three years-unfortunately for me-because I had forgotten how wonderful the place is, not only because of the very French ambiance but for the food also. I normally take the same route to walk during my lunch break when I plan to shop near Union Square. But Tuesday last week, I decided to veer right, thinking I was going to go to Banana Republic to check out their clearance rack, instead I went in for lunch – dragging a good friend of mine with me.
The wine country is a place I can visit once a month. It’s a great day trip escape from a bustling city like San Francisco. On Sunday, the weather was unusually hot and a little muggy, so we decided to take our typical day trip: We parked on the Main Street in Sausalito to have breakfast, and I had to take these unusually wicked photographs. And I snapped more photos than I could imagine, wishing I could forego the rest of the plans and simply run through the fields. Why is it – fields of flowers bring out the kid in all of us. We had a picnic in V. Satui winery as we always do, napped under the trees, and then headed back home. Can you blame a girl 🙂
While I played volunteer host in San Francisco during Super Bowl week, I got many questions from tourists about the city. And although I did my best to debunk their notion of what it’s like to be from California, let alone San Francisco, I had a hard time getting my point across to those set in their ways. But I know better, and although this article offers up some great pointers to consider for all of the west coast, I am simply focusing on my neck of the woods, for some good old-fashioned trivia fun, or not depending on where you are from: 2. Not everyone is blonde Despite what The Real Housewives of Orange County would like to have you believe, not everyone on the West Coast has a year supply of Sun-In in their bathroom cabinet. And as far as natural blondes go? You’re way more likely to find a higher concentration of those in Minneapolis or North Dakota. 3. We don’t all surf We do have some of the best surf spots …
This morning I felt the need to share with you some of the Friday Favorites I pinned on Pinterest:
Thankfully, it’s been raining, in San Francisco. Finally everything is turning green and lush, and coming back to life. I can’t wait for spring this year, as the flowers will bloom perfectly, and the parks will be pure delight to walk through. But all of this got me thinking about flora and fauna and so the search began online for the most interesting finds a about this topic:
rawsilkandsaffron.com 