Mostly photos with a dash of travel stories.
From stunning murals to personalized tags, prolific street artists in Athens, Greece have covered nearly every surface with paint. Stroll through Plaka, Monastiraki, and Psiri, and you will find many businesses and abandoned homes covered in graffiti. It’s surreal to see once beautiful, traditional homes plastered with tags. From the looks of the places in…
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Upscale yet down to earth, Monemvasia offers visitors old world charm with the convenience of modern amenities. Step through the front and only entrance to the medieval fortress and find cobbled lanes, old stone buildings, and breathtaking views of the Myrtoan Sea. It’s easy to get lost in the maze of narrow paths carved into…
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Do you have a special local spot you gravitate towards when you need an escape from the bustle of daily life? For me, it’s the Spanish-influenced gardens and artisan shops at the Allied Arts Guild in Menlo Park. Every season brings different blooms and lush green vegetation thanks to our mild California climate.
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The only visible signs of life inside this house in Nafplio, Greece are vines of greenery in search of sunlight through empty transom window panes and the green door left ajar. What else lies hidden behind the crumbling facade, weathered paint, and rusted windows of this once vibrant home? Happy memories of a good life…
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No matter how often I visit Connecticut to see family and friends, I always find time to visit Collinsville for lunch at LaSalle’s Market & Deli and a stroll around the historic Collins Axe Company. The vibrant, red-hued buildings of the former Axe Factory house an antique shop, a variety of artisans, and other small,…
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Ah, Monemvasia, one of my many favorite places in Peloponnese, Greece. This medieval fortress is cat-friendly and home to a small community of docile cats. As I strolled the narrow, cobblestoned lanes, I came across a variety of cats lounging near doors. What I found amazing was their indifference to my presence making it easy for…
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The owners of Flamig Farm in West Simsbury, Connecticut have a mighty good sense of humor. They’ve got a backward EGGS sign prominently displayed on their large roadside barn. To top it off, they’ve decorated the front lawn with a rusty blue truck along with a trio of seasonal pumpkins artfully arranged near the truck’s…
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Some fresh air, a walk with the dog, and finding a few interesting doors to photograph was my motivation for a short excursion to a nearby horse stable yesterday. Buddy loves to be around the horses and they don’t seem to mind his calm presence.
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When traveling the back-roads of Greece, it’s fairly easy to lose your way, especially when you find yourself at a poorly marked crossroad. Somehow we always seem to choose the wrong road. But, we don’t worry, we’re on vacation, and often the “wrong” road leads us to an unforgettable adventure.
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No matter where you go in Greece, you will find some crusty old doors. It’s just how it is these days. The older generation has passed on, and the younger generation has moved away and doesn’t have the time or money to upkeep the old family home. These crusty old doors belong to buildings and…
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The fishing port village of Plitra (or Plytra) sits on a protected bay in the Laconia region of Peloponnese, Greece. It’s known for the ancient, sunken town of Asopos, as well as, a pristine Blue Flag beach. Filled with beach goers during the summer, the population of Plitra dwindles to less than a hundred local…
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Stroll the narrow streets of Nafplio, Greece and you will find historic houses and museums coexisting with current day cafés, tavernas, gelaterias, and boutique shops. Besides walking, you can explore the seaside town by bicycle, a favorite means of transport for both locals and visitors. When last in Nafplio, this green bicycle parked next to…
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This pretty pink motorbike in Nafplio, Greece was an eye-catcher. I was struck by how its cotton candy color coordinated perfectly with the blush pink house and aqua blue doors. It got my attention. Before long, I found myself noticing and photographing motorbikes parked on the street next to, in many cases, interesting doors. I…
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One of my go-to places to meet friends for lunch is downtown Pleasanton. It’s located about a half-hour north of San Jose when the highway isn’t clogged with work traffic. Main Street is lined with plenty of places to eat, cafés, and boutique shops. To walk down Main Street in Pleasanton is to take a walk…
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There can be an uneasy beauty in scenes of decay and crumbling structures. Places once teaming with life now abandoned and weathered by decades of sun, wind, rain, and neglect. Places we often pass by and ignore as they’ve become a fixture along our route to somewhere else. For me, that place was the former…
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Look closely and you will see a door camouflaged by street art. A plethora of street art and graffiti covers the Psyri neighborhood of Athens.
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Twenty years ago on my first trip to Greece with my husband, we visited the once flourishing Byzantine city of Mystras situated on the hillside of Mount Taygetos near ancient Sparta in the Peloponnese. Accompanied by my husband’s life-long Athenian friends, we had entered the fortified historic site via a narrow dirt path along a…
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I came across this unhinged door in the neighborhood of Plaka in Athens, Greece that’s in need of tender loving care. It’s hard to tell if the street art and graffiti were painted before or after the door’s demise. Needless to say, the entire place needs a bit of a face lift. For more doors…
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While visiting Connecticut in August, my sister suggested we venture out and explore the town of Cheshire in search of interesting doors. Along the way, we spied a neglected factory with a series of red garage doors, broken windows, aged brick, mottled paint, and a cracked cement driveway that once housed the Ball & Socket…
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Waterfront dining and interesting doors, my favorite recipe for a perfect afternoon. After a doctor’s appointment for my father in New Haven, we drove east along the Connecticut shore in search of waterside dining. As good fortune would have it, we happened across the Fresh Salt Restaurant at the Saybrook Inn & Spa. While the…
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