LIGHT READING / LULA DOT

I can't help but cringe a little. This piece spawns the same feeling I get when I see people reading Kindles on the train.

Almost as a period to the general acceptance that BOOKS AS WE KNOW THEM are becoming extinct, Lula Dot (the design studio of Lucy Norman) has created Light Reading, a light fixture made from recycled books. However, as sad as it makes me that the art form of book design is fading (I'm as much of a book lover as I am an art lover), I simply can't deny the beauty of this piece.

Perhaps this is a way of putting THE BOOK on a pedastal...a way of honoring it. I can imagine the pages fluttering gently when a fan is placed nearby, or when a window is opened. Lovely.

What are your thoughts on Light Reading?

(P.S. Kindles save trees. I know, I know...)

MACHU PICCHU

...and how could I talk about Peru without mentioning Machu Picchu??

The morning my travel partner and I trekked to this mountain-top treasure, the mist got the best of us. Unfortunately, we weren't able to view the sun rise over the mountains from Inti Punku (Sun Gate), as the entire area was engulfed in white fog and we were lucky we could even see the trail!

As we made our way back down, however, the mist began to clear, revealing terrace upon terrace upon terrace of 600 year old structures, mysterious stone sculptures and grazing llamas (or alpacas? Still can't tell the difference). 

What is Machu Picchu? Well, to this day, it remains a mystery. Some believe it was a hacienda built for the Incan king Pachacuti. Others believe it to be a place where the ancient Quecha people would observe and worship the sun and stars. Another theory is that it was some type of mountain-top citadel.

I was c-o-m-p-l-e-t-e-l-y floored. Its immensity alone will take your breath away. 

If you haven't yet seen it with your own eyes, consider it a MUST. And while you're in the country, check these out.

Read more about it here.

SIDEWALK FINDINGS: CUSCO, AREQUIPA, LAKE TITICACA AND COLCA CANYON, PERU

I'm baa-aack. And with lots and lots to share.

It's impossible to sum up my journey to Peru in one concise blog post, but I'll try my darndest. I think this calls for list format: 

1. Arequipa, dubbed the "White City", is chock-full of buildings made of volcanic ash. What's volcanic ash architecture good for? It's ability to withstand earthquakes, for one. Two, for it's ability to be carved into. Arequipeños create wonderfully chiseled type and ornaments on building facades, much to my delight.

2. Cusco, with its narrow and hilly winding streets is a wonder at night. A photographer's heaven.

3. Colca Canyon...immense and picturesque! The incredible hues of blue and green left me salivating.

4. The people? Probably some of the most warm, selfless, humble, yet PROUD that I've come across in all of my travels. 

5. Color, color everywhere.

6. Pisco, pisco everywhere.

7. Little old me. In awe.

In Peru! Will have lots to share when I return. Hasta luego!