PoPTPoP

We returned Tuesday from an extended weekend in Philadelphia, one of the easiest and most pleasant trips we've taken. We got upgraded to first class both ways, and our Bank of America VISA card got us free admission to a couple of expensive museums. Our hotel, Loews, was across the street from the SEPTA station: it only took us 35 minutes to check out, walk to Reading Terminal, hop a train to the airport, and get through TSA security to our departure gate. (The TSA PreChk program is the greatest thing to happen to air travel since 9/11.)

Most of our time was spent at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and the Barnes Foundation. We were particularly interested in the Barnes, as this was our first visit since they moved the collection from Merion to central Philadelphia. There was a lot of controversy about the move but I think they did the right thing; the new building is well done, duplicating Barnes' arrangement exactly, and it's much more accessible to the public.

I've posted a few snaps from the trip on Flickr and you can see them here.

Click on the image for a larger view on Flickr and more details.

On Saturday, while we were at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, I realized how much I enjoy taking snaps of other people, complete strangers, posing for photos. The east steps of the museum, made famous by the Rocky movies, are a favorite place for wedding parties and quinceañera celebrations, so of course I took a lot of photos of people taking photos.

I've created a new album on Flickr, PoPTPoP (Photos of People Taking Photos of People). It also includes PoPTP (Photos of People Taking Photos) and PoPPfP (Photos of People Posing for Photos). I'm sure I'll be adding to this album soon.

No more traveling, at least for a few weeks.

Return and Departure

Last week, we returned from our month in Buenos Aires, our seventh trip there but our first since 2011. Because of inflation and 'unofficial' currency exchange this may have been our least expensive trip yet. We found some new good restaurants, saw a tango show and a couple of concerts at Teatro Colon, caught Mikhail Baryshnikov and Willem Dafoe in Robert Wilson's "The Old Woman," and enjoyed going back to some of our favorite places.

I even managed to snap some photos to add to the hundreds I've already taken in the city. Here's my Flickr album from the trip and as always there's a slideshow version.

A few days after we got back to Texas we were off to Austin, to celebrate Terri's 50th birthday at her parents. We ate some great food and saw some interesting birds, including a golden-fronted woodpecker, a first for me. Unfortunately, Lake Travis is still very low as the drought in Texas continues.

Click on the image for a larger view on Flickr and more details.

Now that we're back from Austin and have had enough time to check the mail and do laundry, it's time to leave again. Tomorrow morning we head to Philadelphia. The last time we were there, in 2009, I hadn't yet started my blog and my cameras were not nearly as nifty, so maybe I'll find some words and images to share.

We have other trips planned later in the year, enough to once again go from Gold to Platinum at American Airlines, but more about those later.