Awake

Pink Flamingos at Jungle Gardens, Sarasota, Florida

A Pedestrian Street In Old Town Nice, France

The Old Town area of Nice, France is a charming place to visit. I really enjoyed walking down the narrow pedestrian streets seeing the colorful buildings with many shutters, balconies, and flower pots. They were full of character. This area is near the base of Castle Hill. Nice is a beautiful city in the southeastern part of France, in the Cote d'Azur region, sitting on the Mediterranean Sea. It is near Monaco, Eze, and St. Paul de Vence. Nice is nicknamed, "Nice la Belle", which means "Nice the Beautiful". In the second half of the 18th century the beauty and mild Mediterranean climate attracted the upper class English who spent winters here. The main walkway along the coastline is called the Promenade des Anglais (Walkway of the English). The waters of the Mediterranean Sea are bright blue. The clear air and soft light of the region attracted artists like Marc Chagall, Henri Matisse, and others. Nice continues to draw many tourists. Some popular squares and pedestrian areas in the city are Place Messena, Place Garibaldi, Place Rossetti, Cours Saleya, and Place du Palais.

Monet's Waterlily Pond, Giverny, France

Claude Monet's garden and home in Giverny, France is about an hour west of Paris in the countryside near Normandy. In the late 1800's Monet discovered Giverny while riding by on a train. He fell in love with this quaint town and soon rented a home near the river. Later he purchased the home and spent over a decade designing and planting his famous garden. He diverted the nearby river to fill an area in the back for his waterlily pond and green Japanese bridge. Officials originally opposed his plans, but after finding out it was the famous artist they approved. Monet's garden is around 2 acres in size and the lush cottage garden near the pink and green home is filled with all kinds of paths, trellises, and flowers, smelling heavenly. The center of the garden is focused on a wide path lined with rows of rose-covered arbors. Monet spent much time outdoors painting in his impressionist style, especially scenes of his garden. Monet lived around 40 years in his home. This image is also available in black and white. To read about our adventure in Europe, please see my husband's book, "Vagabonds in France" by Michael A.Barry on Amazon.

Sunset at Casperson Beach, Florida

At the southernmost coastline of Venice, Florida is Casperson Beach. It is a beautiful park of walking trails and a beach dotted with green mossy rocks. It's a lovely place to watch the sunset over the Gulf of Mexico. In this photo the sun shines brightly over the water and casts light onto the green mossy rocks on the shoreline. Tiny shells can be found in the sand. Pink and purple clouds are rolling in. Venice, Florida is one of the few cities in Florida where there is no barrier island at the beach. Venice beaches are known for being a place to find fossilized sharks teeth. Venice is south of Sarasota and Bradenton on the west coast of Florida.

Venice Beach Lifeguard Stand, Florida

Venice is an amazing city in Florida. It sits on the Gulf of Mexico on the west coast and has a beautiful beach, jetty, and pier. You have a couple places at the coast to watch beautiful sunsets each night. Venice is just south of Sarasota and is near Englewood, Nokomis, and North Port. This photo was taken at Venice Beach. It portrays the quiet peacefulness you feel on the beach at sunset. As the sun goes down the sky lights up with beautiful colors, and an aqua lifeguard stand catches some of the light. A sailboat sails off into the distance, silhouetted against the bright warm colors of the sky.

Downtown Sarasota, Florida Sunset Panorama

This is an image of a pond reflection at the One Sarasota Tower (a 12-story glass building) in Sarasota, Florida at sunset. It is a prominent landmark in the city because of its central downtown location and proximity to the harbor and beaches. The glass exterior creates beautiful reflections of the colorful sky as the sun goes down. The One Sarasota Tower houses businesses like Chase, Raymond James, Gates Construction, Blalock Walters, Todd R. Stern, Baird, and others. There are incredible views of Sarasota Bay, the Ringling Bridge, and the harbor from this building. Across the street is a high rise hotel, the Westin, which has a rooftop bar view of the city, the Ritz Carlton Hotel, and the famous "Unconditional Surrender" kissing statue. The One Sarasota Tower was built in 1988. This photo is a panorama made by stitching 6 photos together. The image is 11586 x 7100 pixels.

Moon Over Sharky's, Venice, Florida

Venice is an amazing city in Florida. It sits on the Gulf of Mexico on the west coast and has a beautiful beach, jetty, and pier. You have a couple places at the coast to watch beautiful sunsets each night. This is a view of two restaurants at the pier: Fins and Sharky's. Fins (on the left) is elegant dining with a view of the Gulf of Mexico. Sharky's (on the right) is a casual restaurant with live music at night, a tiki bar, and second floor terrace with an amazing view of the pier as the sun sets. This is a popular place with tourists and locals especially on the weekends and in the winter. The pier was renovated in the summer of 2019 to repair damage from a past hurricane. It extends hundreds of feet out into the Gulf of Mexico and sits very high above the water. It's a popular place for fishing. Venice is known for its wonderful main street area and love of the arts. Venice is just south of Sarasota and is near Englewood, Nokomis, and North Port. A slight oil paint effect has been added to this photo to bring out details. Natural setting (uncropped) is recommended for printing this photo.

Under the Fishing Pier in Venice, Florida

The fishing pier in Venice, Florida is a great place to watch the sunset at the end of the day. The sun was setting to the side of the pier. The pier extends 700 feet out into the blue waters of the Gulf of Mexico, and is very tall. It is located in Brohard Park at the southern end of the island of Venice. There is a restaurant called Sharky's on the end of the pier. Caspersen Beach is just down the road where fossilized sharks teeth can be found. This is one of the most popular landmarks in Venice. I did a long exposure to soften the water movement in the photo.

Ethereal Sunset at Caspersen Beach, Venice, Florida

As the waves push onto the green mossy rocks a long exposure photo smooths out the force creating a peaceful and calm mood. The sun is setting behind purple clouds, beaming out light rays above and below. It is getting closer to the horizon. The sky is turning orange and purple, the water is an ethereal blue. Two lines of rocks stretch out towards the sun in the far distance looking like a mysterious creature lurking in the water. I am alone on the beach and have this beautiful moment all to myself. It's very tranquil. This is Caspersen Beach, a beautiful beach at the southern tip of the coastal town of Venice, Florida. People often walk along the sandy beach searching for fossilized sharks' teeth. Just north of here is the large Venice fishing pier and Sharky's Restaurant, overlooking the Gulf of Mexico. Venice is just south of Sarasota in Sarasota County in southwest Florida. Nearby towns are Englewood, North Port, Port Charlotte and Osprey.

Skyline of Sarasota, Florida

This is a view of the Sarasota, Florida skyline from Lido Key. The water of the bay is very calm creating a glassy reflection of the sky and city. The Ringling Bridge connects Lido Key, Bird Key, and Longboat Key to Sarasota. The views from the bridge are amazing as you cross the water. The sun is setting in the west creating a warm glow over the city during golden hour. This photo is in a 16 x 9 dimension to create a panorama look.

Moon Over Sarasota, Florida Skyline

This is a large panorama made by stitching 7 images together. I took this long exposure photo of the Sarasota, Florida skyline at blue hour from Bayfront Park. You can see the marina surrounding Marina Jack's restaurant. The glass building in the center is One Sarasota Tower which houses businesses like Raymond James and Morgan Stanley. The moon shines over the glassy water of the bay which glows with the reflection of the city. The lights of the city are on showing the vibrant life of the city at night. The nearby Ringling Bridge connects Lido Key, Bird Key, and Longboat Key to Sarasota. The views from the bridge are amazing as you cross the water. Sarasota is a beautiful and vibrant city on the Gulf of Mexico, just south of Bradenton and north of Venice.

The Most Amazing Sunset at the Pier in Venice, Florida

The fishing pier in Venice, Florida is a great place to watch the sunset at the end of the day. The pier extends 700 feet out into the blue waters of the Gulf of Mexico, and is very tall. It is located in Brohard Park at the southern end of the island of Venice. There is a restaurant called Sharky's on the end of the pier. Caspersen Beach is just down the road where fossilized sharks teeth can be found. This is one of the most popular landmarks in Venice. On this night the clouds hung low enough to the horizon that when the sun came down below them the color burst into very bright colors.

Windmill Sunrise, Holland, Michigan

There is an interesting story behind this windmill. It's named De Zwaan, which in Dutch means "The Swan" or "Graceful Bird". It was first built in Krommenie, the Netherlands, in 1761 and later moved to Vinkel, the Netherlands. In the United States, there is a town with many Dutch immigrants from the late 1800's. It's Holland, Michigan. Two residents of the town, Willand Wichers and Carter Brown, wanted to bring a Dutch windmill to Holland to pay homage to the city's Dutch heritage. But many windmills in the Netherlands were damaged in World War II, and the Dutch government put a ban on selling them outside of the Netherlands. But Wichers and Brown were able to get around that by purchasing a very heaviliy damaged windmill, the De Zwaan, which had an uncertain future. So the Dutch government sold it to Wichers for $2800, and it was the last windmill to leave the Netherlands. So in October 1964 the De Zwaan was transported by the Prins Willem van Oranje ship to the harbor of Muskegon, and then by truck to Windmill Island in Holland. It took around 6 months to reconstruct the mill, and in April 1965 it was dedicated. Windmill Island sits on 36 acres of reclaimed swampland on the eastern end of Lake Macatawa. De Zwaan is 125 feet tall and its blades are 80 feet long. It is still in use today. De Zwaan windmill is one of the prominent landmarks of Holland along with the Big Red Lighthouse which sits at the opposite end of Lake Macatawa at Lake Michigan.

Sunset at the Train Depot in Venice, Florida 2

The train depot in Venice, Florida opened in 1927 and sits at the southern end of the Legacy Trail. It is also known as the Venice Seaboard Air Line Depot. It was built in a Mediterranean Revival style with simple arches, yellow stucco surfaces and red tile roofs, which was very popular in Florida because of the warm climate and Spanish heritage. A 400 foot long platform was built quite large for the small new town of Venice hoping the town would grow. In the 1960's the Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey Circus used it for shipping their equipment around the United States after moving to Venice. When Amtrak formed passenger service to the Venice station stopped. In 1998 Sarasota County purchased the depot and restoration was done. Now the structure houses the Venice Area Historical Society Musuem, and the arcaded waiting area is used for bus service. In 1989 it was added to the National Register of Historic Places. I have another version of this photo that is cropped differently to fit a standard size frame.

Under The Eiffel Tower, Black and White

This photo was taken from underneath the Eiffel Tower looking up past the wide support legs towards the top of the tower and dramatic cloudy sky. The Eiffel Tower is the tallest structure in Paris and one of the most recognizable structures in the world. It was designed and built by the company of Gustave Eiffel, and completed in 1889 as the entrance to the 1889 World's Fair. It sits on the Champ de Mars and overlooks the Seine River across from the Trocodoro. In the beginning there was much criticism for the design of the Eiffel Tower, with concern that it would overshadow the other magnificent sights in Paris, but now it is the most visited paid monument in the world with 6.91 million visitors in 2015. The Eiffel Tower is 1,063 feet tall ( 324 metres); the top level's upper platform is 906 feet (276 metres) above ground, making it the highest observation deck for the public in the European Union. During construction pieces of the tower were riveted together in a nearby factory and arrived on site on horse-drawn carts. No drilling or shaping was done on site; if it didn't fit it was sent back for alteration. A total of 18,038 pieces were joined together using 2.5 million rivets. Names of 72 French scientists, engineers, and mathematicians were engraved on the Eiffel Tower to recognize their contributions to the building of the tower. The tower was painted in 3 shades of brown: lighter at the top and getting darker towards the bottom to complement the Parisian sky.

Storm Clouds Over the Louvre, Paris

This photo was taken during the week of continual rain before the June 2016 flood in Paris. On this day the rain had stopped briefly, the storm clouds hung over the Lourvre, and tourists walked on wet pavement in the courtyard. The Louvre (Louvre Museum) was my favorite place to visit in Paris. It's grand architecture is impressive. It is located on the the Right Bank of the Seine in the 1st arrondissement of the city. Nearly 35,000 objects from prehistory to the 21st century are exhibited at the Louvre. The Louvre was originally built as a fortress in the late 12th century under Philip II. You can see the remnants of the fortress in the basement. The Louvre was a palace and was extended many times. In 1682 Louis XIV left the Louvre and made Versailles his palace, making the Louvre a place to display the royal collection. In 1692 the Academie des Inscriptions et Belles Lettres and the Academie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture occupied the Louvre and held salons. The Academie remained at the Louvre for 100 years. During the French Revolution the Louvre became a museum to display the nation's masterpieces. Under Napoleon the collection was increased, but after his abdication some of his works seized by armies were returned to their original owners. The Museum has 3 wings: Sully, Denon, and Richelieu. Inbetween the Richelieu and Denon is the main court, the Cour Napoleon, which has a new main entrance under a glass pyramid built in 1988. From this courtyard you can see Napoleon's Arc du Carrousel, behind it the Tuileries Gardens, and in the distance the ferris wheel at the Place de la Concorde. From inside the Louvre upstairs you can see the Eiffel Tower in the distance.