I’m a bad tourist

I’m a bad tourist

Posted by eve on Jul 7, 2011 | No Comments

We did what we were supposed to do and visited Tian’an men and the Forbidden City.  It was 98 degrees in the sun.  I won’t tell you about Tian’an men and the Forbidden City.  You can look them up in wikipedia.  Suffice to say that is was vey very hot, and there were many many tourists, along with plenty of water and ice cream vendors.

beijing growth

beijing growth

Posted by eve on Jun 30, 2011 | No Comments

Beijing has grown in quite an organized manner.    It was when I travelled the fourth ring road, about 10 miles out from the center of the city center, that I began to understand the scale of this city.

breakfast in beijing

breakfast in beijing

Posted by eve on Jun 29, 2011 | 2 Comments

Truth be told, I hate chinese breakfasts.   Morning has me yearning for a cappuccino.  China hasn’t caught on to coffee yet, and most local cafes only open late, at 10 or 11 am.   That leaves only one option while I’m in Beijing.  Starbucks.

beijing market day

beijing market day

Posted by eve on Jun 28, 2011 | One Comment

Market day.  I make a point of visiting a local market in every city I visit.   Vibrant and down to earth, they provide a small snapshot into local life. My favorite in Beijing so far is the Panjiayuan weekend market, known for its arts, crafts and memorabilia.

beijing arrival

beijing arrival

Posted by eve on Jun 27, 2011 | No Comments

We arrived in Beijing twenty-four hours after we left Pittsburgh and twelve hours ahead of Pittsburgh time. Tsinghua University, just north of Beijing’s core, is our home for the week. The campus is green, the supermarket is full of Chinese food and the spicy chicken and dumplings are delicious.

sit on this art

sit on this art

Posted by eve on Jun 13, 2011 | No Comments

These benches were spotted in Melbourne Australia.   Different and gorgeous.  Art to sit on.

misery

misery

Posted by eve on Apr 17, 2011 | No Comments

If gas prices go up you are bound to be miserable.  If the home you live in drops in value, that doubles your woes.  And if you can’t get a job you are really blue.

hang your bike

hang your bike

Posted by eve on Apr 13, 2011 | No Comments

Here’s a proposal for an efficient transportation solution – enormous bike ferris wheels, tucked into forgotten spaces between downtown buildings.

coffee

coffee

Posted by eve on Mar 28, 2011 | One Comment

The panic is setting in.  Just two more days in Italy.  Four more cappuccinos.

vent or bench?

vent or bench?

Posted by eve on Mar 22, 2011 | No Comments

I love these benches built to cover air vents in Queens, New York. 

what’s wrong with this picture? (#3)
what’s wrong with this picture? (#2)

what’s wrong with this picture? (#2)

Posted by eve on Mar 10, 2011 | No Comments

Lago di Como, Italia.

evening

evening

Posted by eve on Mar 8, 2011 | No Comments

Evening, from my window.   Do I deserve to be here?

market day

market day

Posted by eve on Mar 7, 2011 | No Comments

Saturday is market day in Como.  The only ferry from Bellagio to Como leaves early, at 8:13 am, too early for breakfast at the villa.  Fresh eggs, fresh yoghurt, fresh fruit and fresh cappuccino will have to wait until tomorrow.  Market day is just once a week.  Today, with bread rolls in hand,  we catch the ferry and arrive in Como by 9 am.

fog

fog

Posted by eve on Mar 6, 2011 | No Comments

Foggy brain.  Foggy landscape.  I have finally shed the fog of jet lag, and I see outside, through the window of my study,  that the mountains in the distance have shed their fog as well.  Time for work to begin.

foreign

foreign

Posted by eve on Mar 6, 2011 | No Comments

On Monday I arrived in Italia and on Tuesday in Bellagio.  In the days that followed I unpacked, set up my work space, met fellow residents and became familiar with the pattern of breakfast, lunch, presentations and dinner.

what’s wrong with this picture?

what’s wrong with this picture?

Posted by eve on Mar 4, 2011 | 2 Comments

Como, Italia

urban is hip now

urban is hip now

Posted by eve on Dec 13, 2010 | No Comments

Now this is worth writing about.  Today the WSJ reports that there are signs of recovery in the office space market.  Great news.  Perhaps the miserable economy is finally righting itself.

creativity + bureaucracy

creativity + bureaucracy

Posted by eve on Sep 22, 2010 | No Comments

On Wednesday night Czech architects Mjölk architekti made their presentation at the Pecha Kucha Night in Prague. They did not stop at the slide show.  On Thursday morning they presented a gift to the city of Liberic.   Eight hours of laboring produced a perfect little public sauna on an abandoned concrete platform near the local swimming hole.

bike hero

bike hero

Posted by eve on Apr 14, 2010 | No Comments

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, a weekend bicyclist, “might consider keeping his head down and his helmet on” suggests the Huffington Post this morning.  ”A backlash is brewing over his new bicycling policy.”

things to learn from Paris #4

things to learn from Paris #4

Posted by eve on Mar 18, 2010 | No Comments

Black is de rigeur in Paris

things to learn from Paris #3

things to learn from Paris #3

Posted by eve on Mar 12, 2010 | One Comment

Remember this story?   Mon dieu!  You don’t have to spend $1010 on a trash can.


things to learn from Paris #1

things to learn from Paris #1

Posted by eve on Mar 12, 2010 | One Comment

Paris is a dense city.  There is not much space here.   Streets are narrow and crammed with cars.

A typical parking space in Pittsburgh measures twenty feet long by eight and a half feet wide.   This smart car fits into a space just nine feet long.  I measured it.   Fill a city with tiny cars and there’ll be twice as many parking spaces.

paris (not illinois)

paris (not illinois)

Posted by eve on Mar 12, 2010 | No Comments

I’ve been sleeping through the winter.  Paris has woken me up.

dreaming red

dreaming red

Posted by eve on Mar 1, 2010 | No Comments

We sold our Lake House a couple of years ago.   It had become a burdensome retreat, large and a lot to care for.   Most days we’d sit in the tiniest room just off the kitchen, reading and looking at the gorgeous lake view.