Escaping to the country

(Click on photographs to enlarge)

While some of my friends are very busy trying to find their inner French woman (???) I am striving to find my inner red-neck...



I don't know about you, but I'm a lot happier when I can break away from city life now and then. A matter of balance, I suppose?



So, a couple of weeks ago, I drove up with a friend to Chanslor Ranch, in Bodega Bay (about 1H15 to 1h30 north of San Francisco), where we had reservations for a guided horseback ride along the beach.



Marin County was nice and sunny (as usual) but the closer we got to Bodega Bay, the thicker the fog was.



They didn't allow anyone to take any kind of camera equipment during the ride, so I couldn't get you a shot of the spectacular view of the beach, but take my word for it, it was really pretty cool.



The horses were friendly and everything went pretty smoothly. We gave them tiny carrots and they really liked that.



My only regret is that we couldn't get the horses away from the beaten path but I guess the rules are pretty strict as to where they can or cannot go for a variety of reasons, including the fact that the trail goes through a State Park and they have limited access there to protect certain endangered species.



It was still a great deal of fun and I'd gladly do it again. Maybe next time, we can get the sun to show up! ;)

And Marie-Antoinette said "Let them skate!"

Ready? Set... Go!!


The kid went but the skate didn't follow!


THERE YOU GO!!! Well done!

From time to time, on Nob Hill, you'll see a bunch of young guys skateboarding behind the Academy of Art building. The hill is steep enough, for sure, and maybe for that reason, there is very little foot traffic on that particular sidewalk. A good thing, too, because we wouldn't want them to run into the Brown Twins of last week's post, whom I met only a couple of blocks below.

De temps en temps, vers Nob Hill, on peut voir un groupe de jeunes qui font du skateboard derriere le bâtiment de l'Academy of Art. La pente est assez raide et peut-être à cause de ça il y a très peu de pietons sur ce trottoir, alors les jeunes viennent s'y entrainer. Heureusement qu'il n'y a pas grand monde car on ne voudrait surtout pas les voir "rencontrer" les jumelles du billet dernier qui se promènaient, elles, seulement 2 rues plus bas.

Skateboarding is alive and well after, well, almost 50 years, according to this website. I DO admire these kids for being so tough and so driven(during the time it took me to get these 3 shots, the kid fell about 5 times!) but I always worry someone is going to get seriously hurt some day. Oh, well, I guess it's part of the culture.

Also see my photoblog

San Francisco Twins Marian and Vivian Brown

Photographed at the angle of Montgomery and Sutter, SF

San Francisco has always had its share of local, colorful characters. Let me introduce you today to the famous San Francisco Brown Twin Sisters.

I mentioned the twins before a couple of years ago on a previous post but since then, I did a little bit of research and found out who they were.

So the other day, when I saw them walking arm and arm on Mongtomery, I ran to them and asked if they'd let me get a shot or two... and they said yes!!! Pretty soon, a whole flock of tourists and locals alike were snapping pictures of the pair.



Marian (left), and Vivian (right) can sometimes be seen walking around their Nob Hill neighborhood... if you're lucky :)

More about the San Francisco twin sisters here and there.

Do you dream? Rêvez vous?

Credit for this entire post goes to blogger USElaine who always leaves clever comments and cool links (like this one) on some of the Daily City blogs.

L'idée pour ce post vient du blogger USElaine qui laise toujours des commentaires sympa et des liens intéressants (comme celui-ci) sur certains des Daily City blogs.


* * * * *

Do you ever dream? Your computer does.
Vous arrive-t'il de rêver? Votre ordinateur rêve.



If you wanted to know what a Tomate Farcie (stuffed tomato) looks like in virtual reality, go to this wonderful site called Dreamlines and have a look.

Si vous voulez savoir par exemple à quoi ressemble une tomate farcie dans les rêves d'un ordinateur, allez voir sur ce site merveilleux qui s'appelle Dreamlines.



Enter any word at all, wait a couple of minutes for your dream to load, and watch your computer screen morph into an modern art exhibit for the the next several minutes or so.

Tapez un mot, n'importe lequel, attendez une minute ou deux pour que le rêve se materialize et regardez votre écran d'ordi se transformer en une piece digne d'un musée d'art moderne pour les quelques minutes qui suivent.



This (photograph below) I assume, was a "kiss."
Cette photo (ci-dessous), était, j'imagine, un "baiser".

This Photograph: Cedric Thual

But don't take my word for it, and check out this flicker set where I "stole" that kiss...

Mais au fond, il vaut mieux allez vérifier ça vous-même sur cette série de photos sur flicker où j'y ai 'volé' ce baiser...


And this was part of the Eiffel Tower dream set (also USElaine's idea) However, I haven't tried to "dream" in French. Let me know how that works out for you. ;)

Et ceci fait partie d'un reve sur la Tour Eiffel (aussi une idée de USElaine). Je n'ai cependant pas essayé de "rêver" avec des mots en Français. Faites moi savoir si ça marche ! ;)


Ah, go on, go play!!! You know you want to!


Also check out my photoblog