Susan Solo – Photographer | Traveler | Adventurer

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Meet-the-Parents Photos

Do you remember the scene in the movie Meet the Parents where Greg and Pam arrive at Pam’s ex-fiance, Kevin’s, house for a pre-wedding barbeque? Greg finds all the old photos of Pam and Kevin together, doing amazing things like skydiving and snorkeling (still on display in the ex-fiance’s house – hilarious). Somehow that scene stuck with Chris and me, and every time we take a photo together doing something even slightly adventurous, we call it a “Meet-the-Parents” photo. Now that I’m explaining it, it sounds totally weird, but to us it’s silly and good fun. We’ve been collecting quite a few of these, and we’re hoping to add more to the series soon! Here we are doing things like kayaking, zip-lining, dog-sledding, hiking and snowboarding:

This year we’re planning to add a big one: scuba-diving! Truth? I’m pretty scared of trying it even though I love doing things (within reason) that put me well out of my comfort zone. I’m not interested in say, holding a spider, mind you. That’s light years outside of my comfort zone. But challenging myself to do things that are a little scary seems to broaden my horizon a bit each time. I learn about myself, about other people, and about the world, and I truly enjoy that part of it. So I’m expecting to learn quite a bit from getting PADI certified if I can get through the open water dives, which we plan to do in Grand Cayman!

I’m not actually too scared of the breathing under water part. I think that will be fun, and I’m glad we get to try it in a pool first. It’s the ocean-wide world of creatures that makes me nervous. How do I know which ones are friendly and which ones aren’t? And when I’m approached by one in the unfriendly camp, then what? What if I panic? I’m also someone who gets really (really really) excited about things. Big things, little things, plain things, amazing things. Ask Chris – we are often driving along somewhere when he hears me draw a sudden GASP that makes him worry he’s about to hit another car when nope, it’s just that I saw an interesting cloud/tree/house/random stranger. So I’m worried I won’t know how to properly “chill” while diving. But I’m willing to see how it goes, and hopefully I’ll have a Meet-the-Parents photo to post for you here!

February 5, 2014
Snowshoe 2014

I can’t even believe it’s February already! Chris and I went on out first trip of 2014 over the weekend – just a long weekend in Snowshoe, WV. We had great weather and conditions! And we love Snowshoe – the Village area is so fun with lots of good restaurants and shops. The first time we went in 2012, we stayed right in the heart of the Village. There was even a Starbucks on the first floor of our building, and we were steps away from everything. It was really (really really) noisy at night though, so the past two times we stayed at the far end of the resort where it’s definitely quieter at night. It’s still a ski-in-ski-out condo steps away from the lifts, but we did have to take a shuttle bus to get to most of the bars/restaurants.

The Village is super cute all lit up at night.

And yes, we skied again! Chris and I both wanted to give it a few times before deciding if we’ll take the plunge and buy our own ski equipment. We’re really enjoying it, so we’ll probably go ahead and do just that – rental boots are kind of icky if you think about it.

Check out my fancy moves! (Really, I was probably going at a snail’s pace here, so not that fancy at all.)

Annnnnnnd here’s the shot we always take. Someday we’ll have quite the collection of ski lift selfies!

February 4, 2014
Pop(pie)s of Color

Just another quick update to the guest bath for you! In my last post about the bathroom, I mentioned that I needed to add some color to the gray-green palate. I was inspired by this beautiful print on etsy, and decided that the red and pink poppies would add just the right amount of subtle color and interest to the room. So here’s where we started originally:

And then this is after my mini makeover, but right before I swapped out the art (the pear print is now behind the door) and the candles.

And here’s the room with new art, red candles, soap and washcloths. The cute little green stool was a really inexpensive find at Antiques Farmhouse. (The white rug with green stripes is still in there, it just didn’t show up in the photo. This room is so hard to photograph!)

I just love this happy little print! Kelly N. Photography has tons of gorgeous photos in her etsy shop. Definitely check it out!

January 28, 2014
Milan 2004

Sub-title: The time I spent a day wandering around Milan, Italy by myself.

As promised, I have a couple of photos to post from my day trip to Milan that I’ve finally scanned from film. While Chris and I were staying in Lugano, Switzerland, I signed up for a day-trip bus tour that went across the border to Italy. Chris had to work that day, but I figured it would be safe enough to go by myself since I’d also be accompanied by a bus full of tourists and a guide who could keep an eye on us. It was only about an hour-long ride into the heart of Milan, and the tour stops included Sforza Castle, the Monumental Cemetery, and the Duomo Cathedral. Oh, and when I say “tour,” I actually mean we were dropped off at each of these spots and given time to wander around on our own. So much for safety in numbers! But I did enjoy the freedom of seeing whatever I wanted at my own pace.

The cathedral was certainly one of the most impressive parts of the tour. The architecture is just mesmerizing. I made my way to the top and took one of my most favorite photos ever by holding my camera up high and over the ledge into the street below, and hoping for the best. There was no LCD on my 35mm film camera! 🙂

The piazza was fantastic for people-watching. I had some fun interactions with the locals using my broken Level 1 Italian, and also some not-so-fun moments. See all of the pigeons in the photos below? Apparently some tourists think it’s super fun to have their photo taken with the birds, so there are vendors (?) milling about who give you corn to feed the birds and then volunteer to take a photo for you in return for a small tip. I had no interest in a pigeon photo, but this guy kept insisting (in Italian) that I must have one. He grabbed my hand and put corn in it, while also trying to take my camera out of my other hand. Thankfully I had the neck strap over my head like a ~~true tourist~~ safety-conscious photographer and he was not able to get the camera away from me. He probably meant well and just wanted a few Euros in exchange for the photo op, but I couldn’t be too sure. And I don’t easily separate from my camera! So I shared some polite/nervous laughter and politely refused the photo. Oh, and did I mention I had about two-dozen pigeons on my arms and shoulders and surrounding my feet at this point? Yeah. Pigeons like corn. A lot. So there were quite a few birds that accosted me, and there was quite a bit of arm-flailing on my part, all while trying not to let a random Italian dude take my camera from me. Rather than a photo, I wish I had video of that whole scene because I’m sure it’s pretty hilarious.

In order to calm my nerves after the Pigeon Incident of 2004, I walked around some of the streets of Milan surrounding Piazza del Duomo. There were some amazing couture boutiques as well as really cute street vendor carts. I didn’t buy anything except for lunch in a nearby cafe, but I always just enjoy my photos as souvenirs. (Okay, actually I do regret not buying some designer shoes or a handbag – come on, it’s MILAN.)

One of the last stops of the day was the Sforza Castle, where I had the privilege of seeing Michelangelo’s Rondanini Pietà, the last sculpture that he worked on in the last days of his life. We weren’t really supposed to take photos (I’m not sure if this rule is still current or not?) but I did snap one careful image when no one else was around. Side note: I’m assuming light from the flash is the main reason photos aren’t allowed, so I’ll just mention that I took a very quick photo without flash and without interrupting anyone else’s viewing experience.

Milan was absolutely stunning, but I know it’s just a small slice of Italy, so I can’t wait to go back some day and travel the whole country. And with Chris this time of course!

January 24, 2014
Switzerland 2004

Yes, that title is correct! These images are from a trip to Switzerland nearly ten years ago. I’m only just now posting them because they were all taken on 35mm film, and I just never got around to scanning the images. (And as a side note, the scans are from the 4×6 prints, so the quality might not be the best.) But since this blog is somewhat of a photo diary for me, I’d be remiss to leave out some of my favorite trips. My side-trip to Italy and a separate adventure to England are next up to get scanned.

Chris and I went to Lugano, Switzerland back when he used to travel a lot for work. He was scheduled to work at a conference for the week, so I mostly toured the country (and Italy!) on my own. We flew into Zurich and took an incredibly beautiful train ride into the southern/Italian part of Switzerland. We stayed at the super cute Hotel Lugano Dante, which was central to a lot of restaurants and shops. I spent a lot of time wandering the area by foot and sometimes by bus once I figured out the system. I knew how to ask for directions in Italian well enough that the answer was returned to me in Italian, which I couldn’t make heads or tails from, but yay that my Italian was passable!

When Chris was able to take some time off, we took a train ride into Luzern so that we could see the spectacular views from Mt. Pilatus and also to see the Chapel Bridge in town. We rode a funicular all the way to the top of the mountain only to find out that it was completely foggy that day with zero visibility! But after riding a cable car back down, we did get to see the bridge. And it was really fun to visit the German-speaking part of the country. Neither of us speak a word of German, but we enjoyed trying.

One of the highlights of my visit was an overnight trip to a tiny Swiss Alps town called Gimmelwald. Another conference significant other, Tammi, and I took a train to Interlaken and then a bus to a really amazing site called Trümmelbach Falls. It’s a series of waterfalls inside of a mountain that you get to by tunnels and paths along the falls. I’ll never forget how loud and beautiful they were! If you get the chance to go, it’s an amazing site to see and hear.

After seeing the falls, we made our way to Gimmelwald, which is only accessible by cable car. The population of the most adorable town in the world is just over a hundred people! We stayed at Mountain Hostel, my only hostel experience to-date, and it was absolutely amazing. Our sleeping arrangements were dorm-room style and fairly comfy, but I didn’t get even a minute of sleep. Instead, I stayed up all night and well into the morning talking with other travelers, laughing, trading stories and photos, and playing silly card games.

And then the next morning, before anyone else was awake, I grabbed my camera and set off to go hiking. I got to see the sunrise over the Alps, found some authentic Swiss cows, and ate a picnic breakfast in probably the most peaceful, majestic setting I’ll ever experience. Looking back on it, it’s one of my most favorite travel memories, but I also get a little spooked at thinking how dumb it probably was to go wandering around by myself in the mountains without telling anyone. Oops! Obviously it worked out, but I wouldn’t do that now. 🙂

Sigh! I can’t wait to go back someday. Oh, did you notice there aren’t any photos of Chris or me on this trip? Sadly, I think we only took one or two of each other and NONE together! There’s one horrible photo of me in the dorm room at Mountain Hostel after a night of no sleep, so please forgive me for not posting that one. And I can’t find the other one of me from the trip. It’s funny how many “selfies” we take now that we have digital cameras/phones, but for some reason we just didn’t do that as much on the film cameras. So for that reason, I guess we’ll just need to go back!

Up next (after I get the images scanned), my solo-trip across the Switzerland/Italy border to see Milan.

Update: I did find another picture of me! Here I am standing in front of a fountain in Lugano:

January 18, 2014