RUN THIS CITY

EVOL created this miniature streetscape in Hamburg Germany. He calls it Rural City, and it was designed in only 8 days for the MS Dockville Music Festival. He even had his artist friends tag the mini buildings.

Trippy.

See more of his work here.

Photos courtesy of www.inhabitat.com and www.unurth.com

THE (NOT SO) SECRET GARDEN...

...that's just as magical and enchanting.

About a month ago, my parents came to visit me in my new city. The week was filled with non-stop sight-seeing. Golden Gate Bridge, check. Chinatown, check. The Cliff House, Lombard Street, Union Square, checkcheckcheck. Towards the end of their stay, we stumbled upon the Japanese Tea Garden, right next to the de Young Museum in Golden Gate Park, and were SOOO pleasantly surprised. It's quite the oasis, and it quickly shot up to the top of my running list of my favorite parts of the city. Serene pools of water...some areas hidden under a canopy of trees...other areas completely bathed in sunlight...narrow passageways....beautifully intricate gold and red pagodas...

Built it 1894, it's the oldest public Japanese Tea Garden in the US. Aaandd, it's FREE if you go before 10am on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. If you haven't been, it's certainly a sight to see.

See more here!

Just some sticks. That have been painted. Painted sticks. Painted sticks by Ginette Lapalme that I'm obsessed with at the moment.

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.

MANGA PLANTA

So, I'm nnnnot really sure what to make of this. Something about it is slightly unsettling to me. However, it is an interesting concept, so I thought I'd share.

Koshi Kawachi, a Tokyo-based artist, created these "planters" out of repurposed manga. The examples above are radish sprouts.

He calls it "Manga Farming". I call it weird.

BUT, in a world where we all need to learn to become a bit (lot) greener, this project is very inspiring. And there is something nice about how the delicate sprouts play on the surface of the super graphic black and white manga.

Check out his site here (and fall completely in love with his logo, as I have....SO cute.)

SIDEWALK FINDINGS:

BROOKLYN BOTANIC

GARDEN EDITION

Well, I suppose it was more of a "path" than a "sidewalk", but you get the point.

Last week, I found myself slightly (totally) overwhelmed. Work was extremely busy, and by Thursday afternoon, I desperately needed a break. I found an hour in my schedule to walk over to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, which I'm very lucky to live near.

It's still officially winter, so not much was in bloom. Grey and overcast skies were making it feel more like January than March. What I did happen upon were a few patches of these gloriously lavender-hued flowers, sprouting out of the ground in large numbers. The tiny purple specks against the muddy brown soil made for quite a startling scene.

The message? Spring is around the corner, my fellow New Yorkers....

if these brave little guys have anything to say about it.