Shadow Shot Sunday 200 - Nice

Something dramatic for my 200th shadow shot - late afternoon in May looking over the beach in Nice from La Promenade des Anglais.....I started contributing back in 2008 when I was living in Mexico City with this shot taken in the beautiful colonial town of San Miguel de Allende in Mexico....

Both are shadow paintings - painting in light and shadow....For more shadow shots this week, click HERE for Shadow Shot Sunday. Enjoy!

Shadow Shot Sunday 163 - Oaxaca

Where can you find this gloriously shadow-striped frame turning the view into the best of picture windows??

At the beautiful archaeological site of Monte Alban, close to Oaxaca, in Mexico...

Just look at the rest of the views from this "zebra" viewing platform!! Mexico has been on my mind this week as Day of the Dead approaches, and it will be the first time in eight years that I have not celebrated this unique Festival...

What are you missing this week?? Try checking out Shadow Shot Sunday for more windows on the world of light and shade......Enjoy!!

Shadow Shot Sunday 110 - Puerto Vallarta

I have just finished school here in Mexico, and am off to the beach for five days -not this one in Puerto Vallarta where the sting ray got me last Christmas, but Pie de la Cuesta a tiny place North of Acapulco....

I am looking forward to chilling out, swimming, and reading before preparing for the final departure from Mexico on Sunday 10th July...

For more shadow shots from around the world, check out Shadow Shot Sunday by clicking here. Enjoy!

Puerto Vallarta - boating down the backwaters....

The Mexican Pacific coastal resort of Puerto Vallarta is very well known to tourists from overseas, and visitors flock to its beautiful beaches, hotels, marinas, restaurants, shops and galleries on a very regular basis. But how many have ventured out into the backwaters by boat?? Those who do are rewarded by these gorgeous scenic views above. Keen twitchers can easily spot this great variety of birdlife - look at all the different types of herons that can be seen....

Not to mention these very flamboyant and ferocious looking iguanas who hug the branches and literally bristle and puff up at the sight of intruders into their territory....

Take another look at these perfect vistas - where the reflections are so symmetrical and synchronised they look like the unfolded ink blot drawings from the shrink's office....

Unfortunately this perfect day did not have quite the perfect ending, as it was Christmas Eve 2010 and a couple of hours later, I was hospitalised following a very nasty sting ray puncture wound right through the sole of the foot....but let's dwell on how the day began with these serene shots of the river and wildlife!!! For more global glimpses this week, check out My World Tuesday Postings by clicking here. Enjoy!!

Shadow Shot Sunday 105 - Durango

Here are some bold stripes in a secluded courtyard in the town of Durango, way up North in the desert and best known for its film set location where so many Westerns have been filmed in the sharp desert light and landscapes. The town of Durango itself, however, is far from being a frontier Wild West town.... There is a beautiful zocalo with an impressive cathedral, many churches, colonial buildings and a grand railway station....

Inside some of these colonial buildings such as the Government Palace, striking murals adorn the courtyard walls....

In addition to the cultural and architectural attractions, check out what attracted all the filmakers, that wonderful blue, blue sky, and sharp, crystal-clear desert light....

After drinking in all this blue, I will leave you with a few more shadow shots from around the town...

And a final few more of those opening bold stripes....


















For more shadow shots from around the world, check out Shadow Shot Sunday by clicking here. Enjoy!!

Food Cart Culture : From Veracruz to Portland....

Food carts and street stalls are a common sight in Mexico, and a vibrant part of the food scene in the towns and cities as shown by the rather delightful example in Veracruz City above. There are always International Food Fairs on Calle Reforma just round the corner where I live here in Mexico City, and indeed at the school where I work, where regularly I eat my way round the world from Argentina to Zambia. So it was with pleasureable recognition that I recently discovered the parking lot pods of food carts in Portland, Oregon.....

Clustered together in pods, you can choose from tasty dishes in just one parking lot from Bosnia to Ethiopia, Poland to Thailand, Hawaii to El Salvador, Germany to Japan, Greece to Korea - and even the UK is also represented in the form of The Frying Scotsman...

The main difference in such standup outdoor eating in Portland and Mexico is the sheer range and diversity in the Portland parking lots, plus of course the weather. Portland residents are tough, outdoor, hardy types and quite happily settled to eat outside in the pouring rain (and it certainly poured with rain - 72 hours non-stop) even sitting down at table and chairs....

Everyone has their favourite street stall to eat from here in Mexico City, and a common sight during the day pictures Professionals in smart suits crowding round the stalls to order their favourite tacos. These food carts below are typical examples of those wheeled around the streets of Mexico City...

Put them into sepia and you could be turning back the clock to a different century, a different era...one of the most charming aspects of time-warp Mexico City...

Check out other windows on the world by clicking here for My World Tuesday. Enjoy!

Azteca Soup!!

As departure date draws ever closer, (only 10 weeks away now ), I am beginning, inevitably to think more and more about what I will miss most about Mexico - oh so many, many things!! (which will come as no surprise to regular readers of this blog!!)

On the food front, the main contender is Azteca Soup ( or Tortilla Soup ) first sampled in Patzcuaro, and pictured here at a more recent tasting in the zocalo, Oaxaca. It is a pre-hispanic recipe as far as I am aware, and the ultimate comfort food - full of tasty ingredients such as a rich tomato broth with avocado, tortilla strips, chipotle chile, chicharon, and panela cheese. I must learn how to make it before I leave, Does anyone have a really good recipe??

I am rather partial to guacamole and limonadas too!!

Shadow Shot 101 - Oaxaca

Another slice of typically vibrant Mexican colour from the beautiful city of Oaxaca which sports some of the most amazing colonial architecture in the country. I am returning from the States this week to start posting again.... In the meantime check out more global photography at Shadow Shot Sunday by clicking here....

Shadow Shot 100 - Oaxaca

A very typical Mexican shot for my hundreth contribution to Shadow Shot Sunday!! I am away travelling down the West Coast of the States right now from Seattle to San Francisco....More posts when I return, and look forward to catching up with all your blogs when I get back..... In the meantime check out Shadow Shot Sunday by clicking here.

Shadow Shot 99 - Oaxaca

I am a fan of folk art - especially Mexican folk art, and here from Oaxaca are the delightful alebrijes - animals often fantastical, carved from wood and painted in vivid bright colours.....Each year there is a parade of giant alebrijes down the streets of central Mexico City before they take up residence in Reforma for a week long exhibition....

For more shadow shots from around the world this week, check out Shadow Shot Sunday by clicking here...

Xochimilco - why stay on land??

It looks like a scene from Tarantino's Lord of the Flies or a ghastly reminder from Swine Flu and Face Mask Days, but in fact this is a welcome to one of the most fascinating markets in Mexico City - namely Xochimilco. Most people flock to this far southern barrio to buy plants at the numerous nurseries or go for boat trips on the extensive network of canals, but it is worth staying on land awhile to browse around these particular market stalls. One of my favourite areas is the dried goods with chillis, frijoles, mole, jamaica leaves and all sorts...

Of course it has all the expected glorious displays of fruit and vegetables...

And tasty dishes cooking in giant ceramic pots....

but it is also the market closest to truly wonderful ones in the city of Oaxaca seven hours away...

So if you do venture all the way south to Xochimilco, don't forget to stop awhile and look at the beautiful church and browse the market stalls here before heading to the embarcaderos for the boat trips...

Check out what is happening in the rest of the world this week by clicking here for My World Tuesday postings. Xochimilco is easily reachable by public transport with the tren ligero from Tasquena, but it is a 90 minute journey from the city centre.

Shadow Shot Sunday 98 - Oaxaca

Welcome to the beautiful world of Oaxaca this week the very heart and soul of Mexico....and the Acapulco Armchair which provides very welcome solace and relaxation on the shady patios of "Las Golondrinas" which happens to be my favourite place to stay in town....

Who could resist this friendly pension with grapefruit trees aptly overhanging the al fresco breakfast tables, and all those beautiful lush plants and flowers blooming so vibrantly in all the courtyards....

Why visit Oaxaca? - Look at the images below and there will be no question about it.....

Check out Shadow Shot Sunday for more global photography....

Taking in The Town of Tiles......Puebla!

Puebla, at only two hours east of Mexico City with a great route out via the volcanoes, is one of the most rewarding weekend retreats from the city. With some of the most beautiful architecture in the whole of Mexico, it is indeed the town of tiles.....

Nowhere in Mexico have I seen such beautiful tiled facades such as the Casa del Alfenique above, and a whole host of others. You can also buy the most gorgeous ceramics from plates to vases to tea-sets all under the name of talavera..

Puebla also possesses one of the most lovely zocalos full of shady trees and balloon sellers and flanked on one side by the imposing cathedral boasting fine architectural detail....

In addition, check out the Barrio de Artistas with a row of scenic studios and the antiques market at Plazuela de los Sapas bordered by some of the most colourful streets in the city..

Still having doubts about paying a visit?? Well the bright blue sky below framing the Theatre should be the clincher!!

Buses run to Puebla from TAPO bus station, and recommended hotels would include Hotel Colonial, Royalty Hotel and the Camino Real. Check out other global glimpses from around the world this week by clicking here for My World Tuesday. Enjoy!

Shadow Shot Sunday 97 - Puebla

Here is a pleasant shady corner in the city of Puebla where I sat last weekend sipping a limonada and watching the world go by......There are so many delightful spots like this throughout Mexico - beautiful plazas, squares, patios, courtyards, and zocalos where you can just sit and simply be delighted by the world around you with little effort. More about the pretty town of Puebla in the next post, and in the meantime check out the rest of the Shadow Shot Sunday postings by clicking here. Enjoy!

Shadow Shot Sunday 96 - Mexico City

Shadows fall on the latest architectural addition to Mexico City's skyline accentuating the sparkling curves and glittering planes of this striking building...

Want to know what this building is?? Want to see the building in its entirety?? Scroll down to the previous post and all will be revealed!!

In the meantime check out other shadow shots from around the world that constitute the weekly Shadow Shot Sunday...Enjoy!!