photography by elisa sherman » europe

Last chapter: Call me, Missus Hazebrouck…Europe 2017 volume 8

elisa sherman — Wed, 09 May 2018 06:36:19 +0000

Sigh, this is the final blog of #WEeurovacay…

All good things must come to an end.

Upon our return from Venice, and before we headed back to Paris, Wade and I took a day trip via 2 trains – to the “family”(named) town: Hazebrouck…a little town in the north of France. Hazebrouck became Hasbrouck, perhaps as the family emigrated across the Atlantic. The town is…very French. This was the last new location we visited, before heading back to Paris.

En route, we missed our connecting train in Lille, France. Wade had to dust off his french, and vice versa the ticket agent his english…turned out, missing one train was not that big a deal. We eventually made it to Hazebrouck, however, it was a bit of a holiday, so much in the main square was not open. But, we found lunch in one of the little french restaurants before setting off on jaunt around town.

Pro tip, sausages in France seem to equal hotdogs, oscar meyer style. Interesting. And they like cheese, a lot of cheese. The lunch I ordered was a piece of bread and ham buried in a bowl of yellow cheese, with a hotdog and egg on top. It seemed like a croque madame gone wrong… I think I’ll stick with croissants when it comes to french fare…

Food aside, I say au revoir #WEeurovacay…Hazebrouck, out.

Venezia ~ Ciao Bella! Europe 2017 volume 7

elisa sherman — Wed, 09 May 2018 03:40:12 +0000

Venice, Venezia in Italian…The Floating City. To drive in Venice is to skipper a boat. Actually, a collection of islands and canals, you walk over water in every direction. This was my second time visiting, and I saw many of the same sights as I had previously. And they are just as spectacular, the gelato just as sweet. Much like Hawaii, where every direction is loved by the camera, Venice is candy for the eyes and the lens. Pasta & pizza to savor. From the golden tiled mosaics to the blown glass, from the lace to rainbow neighborhoods, from gondeliered canals to bridges of sighs…there is nowhere quite like Venice, the city that seems to be sinking inch by inch, but rises above: bellisima!

We attempted to be economical upon arrival awaiting, seemingly forever, a water bus. Splurging on a water taxi would have been well worth it. Alas, we made our way from airport to San Marco eventually. We had a lovely apartment reserved via Airbnb near Piazza San Marco, and it was awesome. It was associated with a hotel, so we had access to their services, wifi, and ability to make reservations for taxi when we had to leave in the wee hours.

Our Venice stop on #WEeurovacay consisted of roaming Piazza San Marco, a day trip to the islands of Murano, Burano and Torcello, and of course, a gondola ride. Mix in some pizza, pappardelle and a canoli or two…well, la dolce vita is realized. Photos abound.

First views in all direction of Piazza San Marco…

A pigeon or two…

San Marco itself…we could not shoot inside, but around, and from atop…

Endless waterways…

Grand Canal…

…and Gondolas…

…islands full of…glass, lace, rainbows, and ponderous statuary…

…There really is just endless visions…

…sigh, Ciao for now sweet Venezia, until I see you again…

Ghent ~ Castles and moats and chainmail, oh my! Europe 2017 volume 6

elisa sherman — Tue, 08 May 2018 07:29:43 +0000

On our way back to Brussels from Brugge, we stopped in Ghent, specically Gravensteen Castle, before heading into the town for dinner. Gravensteen is a castle from the middle ages, full of armour, and various…torture contraptions, and whatnot. Views abound. It is like stepping through time, as you climb through and around the castle grounds. Dark and dreary, yet also dreamy. You can almost see ghosts of knights past lurking through the dark dank stone halls. It’s hard to imagine a time when this was a lived in, working dwelling. What with tourists roaming about, through the halls, and down below and around it, feeding the ducks, and sitting on the grass aside the moat. Castles seem so “fairytale”, yet here we see, they are but history, as dark as it may have been…

En Brugge , Europe 2017 volume 5

elisa sherman — Tue, 08 May 2018 05:35:12 +0000

Brugge, Bruges…Venice of the north… One of the coolest north Belgium towns. If you don’t mind dark comedies, the film En Brugge, will take you there…on point scenery. If you are but a tourist, like, se moi, there is Photo Tour Brugge brought to you by Bruges’ best photographer, Andy McSweeney @andymcphoto. Andy was so great working with each of us at varying levels of skill and equipment, taking us to sights off the beaten path, and pointing out how to make unique compositions, etc. And he let me swap lenses with him as we were both shooting Fuji mirrorless this fine evening:)

We had headed up to Brugge from Brussels on the Saturday after returning from Berlin…walked around the main Place(plass) ourselves (Wade, his aunt, cousin and myself), and then met up with Andy for an evening private tour(scheduled in advance). From rapt statues, canals, reflections, architecture, odd signs, and windmills we got a taste of everything through sunset. What a great way to see Brugge! The next morning we walked around as the city awoke, and took our final clicks and then headed off to the next stop on #WEeurovacay…for now, let’s look back, En Brugge.

Wolfsburg: Das Auto! Europe 2017 volume 4

elisa sherman — Mon, 07 May 2018 04:02:32 +0000

So our trek to Germany was born of desire to go see the birthplace of Wade’s 1967 Beetle…So we planned it as a day trip from our stay in Berlin on our #WEeurovacay. We planned poorly and didn’t get reservations to visit the factory, but after a brief stroll through the Autostadt. we realized the real place to see was the museum where all the old Volkswagens were… So we hopped in a taxi and went to this little building in town. Undertated from the outside, but all the goodies were inside. So we got to see all the new tech at Autostadt, and all the old cuteness at the museum – win win I have to admit, I prefer the classics, they have very expressive faces if you will. I am not as much a fan of the boxier styles of the 80’s etc… But it was fun to see everything over the years.

So I give you Wolfsburg, Volkswagen – ad infinitum…

next up, En Brugge…

Ich bin ein Berliner! Europe 2017 volume 3

elisa sherman — Sat, 05 May 2018 19:49:34 +0000

Jelly doughnuts not included…lol, j/k, that’s not what that means. So Berlin…the third city we landed in. So much history. I am a child of the cold war, and almost nowhere is more symbolic than Berlin, where remnants of the Wall still stand. We actually stayed in what would have been East Berlin. Walking just down the street to what was Checkpoint Charlie, or taking an Uber further east to the Wall Museum, with the tour through the museum narrated by Mikhail Gorbachev, the history permeates the air. Berlin was actually my favorite city to visit…it was full of history, the people were so nice, the food good, and the price was right. Easily the best deal on #WEeurovacay, the beer and brats were much more afordable than the Parisian croque madames
Our favorite pub , Augustiner, was the one down the street by Gendarmenmarkt.

Cheers Berlin!

Brandenburg Gate greets you…

The cathedrals at Gendermenmarkt candy to the eyes…

…and the Wall, so dark in it’s history, now stands in part as monument, in part as art making us think about the future and past…

And never fear, Starbucks is here…and smarter coffee too…pick your kaffee

And so much more interest to the eyes, as you stroll and wander through the city…I would love to go back and see more than our brief stay allowed for…

Sprout to be… Bruxelles! Europe 2017 volume 2

elisa sherman — Tue, 01 May 2018 03:03:40 +0000

Brussels, or as the French say – Bruxelles (it basically sounds the same but with an accent)…was our home base for our #WEeurovacay adventure – much love to Cathy for allowing us to visit. We whisked our way there Monday evening from Paris via high speed train – and apparently First class – I highly recommend. Brussels…is a brilliant city, a Grand Place(pronounced plass) with a Starbucks & a Hard Rock…did I mention, we’re American?! Anyways, we actually left the next day for Berlin, but technically it was our second stop, so volume 2 it is! When we did return from Germany, we got to hang out a bit, and again when we returned later from Venice. We rode the subway here, as we did in Paris…to navigate in from the Train station, and back to Grand Place. Drank beer(as I did in Berlin as well – Volume 3 or 4?! lol) thanks to some Monks come brewers…La Trappe ~ Trappist…

…and well, ate chocolate…because, Belgium…

…missed Brussels Pride (we went to Brugge that weekend…it’s early there I guess?)…it would have been fun…but great to see an international city getting ready…

And, of course…Grand Place…

…and did I mention Starbucks?! yes…there was Cafe Americano…

…and chocolate sculptures and chocolate elephants…

…and well, it’s Europe…so really cool architecture, courtyards, fountains & churches…

Brussels was really cool, even if we only got to visit a small part…the people were all wonderful, and everything was so fun, just to walk down the street…until we see you again…to Bruxelles with love, xoxo…

Paris, a room with a view…Europe 2017 volume 1

elisa sherman — Mon, 30 Apr 2018 04:27:38 +0000

Ah, Paris! City of Love…served as bookends for our 2017 European adventure: #WEeurovacay.

We flew roundtrip to Paris, hitting the classics the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, Latin Quarter, and Arc de Triomphe.

We partook all – croissants & a cafe au lait, to croque madame (or monsieur if you prefer). Not to mention eight Euro Coca Cola’s – yes, Paris may be the city of love – at a premium price. Well, noone will ever mistake it for a bargain city, that is for sure. Nonetheless, it is spectacular. I will have to make it back sometime, and expand beyond the classics.

Anywho, we started at the Le Derby Alma Hotel where we had this lovely room with a view of Le Tour Eiffel (aka The Eiffel Tower). After our long flight we walked around the neighborhood before we could check in…later followed by a nice nap.

After our nap it was time to take a ride…to the top, Le Tour! We had 5pm reservations – and it was a gorgeous day. Views were far and wide. From the modern city skyline, to the pander for future Olympiad, to the River Siene.

…Later in the evening, we continued to enjoy the view from the ground…

The next evening, we took the high speed train to Brussels. Before that, we squeezed in Notre Dame, and a stroll through the Latin Quarter…

…Fast forward through the rest of #WEeurovacay, and we are back in Paris, this time just off the Champs-Élysées by the Arc de Triomphe…so much we have soaked in thus far (in blogs to come)…but Paris, is the perfect end to a perfect trip…innovation, fashion, culture, croissants…and really big traffic circles…

Au revoir Paris…le sigh…

Europe 2008: From Tuscany to Paris via Venezia!

elisa — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 17:24:27 +0000

Venezia – that would be Venice:) In late Spring 2008, a 9 day stay at a Villa above Montecatini, spent touring the countryside of Tuscany with days spent at historic towns of Siena, San Gimignano, Vinci, Lucca, and much celebration at our family friends wedding. The trip continued with a drive across from Montecatini to Venice – we stopped at Bologna and Padua along the way. And Venice – the town amongst canals…A cruise trip to minor isles – Murano, Burano, and Torcello, midnight run to the the Venice ER, gorgeous food(yep!), and vistas from atop San Marco’s. I would love to go back for more than a few days… And jetted back for a long weekend in Paris – the Eiffel Tower, a cruise along the Seine, tour of the night lights of Paris, the Notre Dame…so much so little time. First our stay in Tuscany – the views from our villa were SPECTACULAR… One of the most memorable things about this trip – is how gorgeous the skies were – I mean, why do they have prettier clouds than us? I mean whether scary or scattered – the skies were gorgeous… The historic towns – beyond…so rich in time… Even the trees are prettier in Tuscany…sigh… There is probably nothing more impressive than the views from above – and I sent my brother in law, Brett up the towers at San Gimignano to take some spectacular shots – thansk Brett! And well there was just so much to see – just in Tuscany… One cannot of course, be in Italia without imbibing – alas, we got to attend our friends wedding where bottles were atop every table – as is custom at any meal here… Beyond the gorgeousness that was so obviously Tuscany – the drive across was very cool – on a train we never would have stopped at the towns of Bologna or Padua… Upon arrival to Venice – the visions of city on the water were simply inescapable…the Grand Canal – the little canals…the flowers hanging off the balconies, San Marco’s, Gondolas…the food ~ bella! " src="http://www.photoshelter.com/img-get/I0000gM_LgY11qjo/s/600/930/Europe-Italy-Venice-IMG-7865.jpg" border="0" alt="title='Piazza San Marco ~ Venice, Italy ~ Photo By: Elisa Sherman' alt='Venice, Italy (Elisa Sherman)' width='600'>" width="600" height="932" /> " src="http://www.photoshelter.com/img-get/I0000FXFaVLasDt4/s/600/400/Venice-Europe-IMG-7115.jpg" border="0" alt="title='Piazza San Marco ~ Venice, Italy ~ Photo By: Elisa Sherman' alt='Venice, Italy (Elisa Sherman)' width='600'>" width="600" height="400" /> " src="http://www.photoshelter.com/img-get/I0000ItFHEMYRDo0/s/600/900/Venice-Europe-IMG-7168.jpg" border="0" alt="title='Piazza San Marco ~ Venice, Italy ~ Photo By: Elisa Sherman' alt='Venice, Italy (Elisa Sherman)' width='600'>" width="600" height="900" /> And, voila – Paris… Full Archive ~ (none flash version CLICK HERE) Europe 2008 – Images by Elisa Sherman Europe 2008: From Tuscany to Paris via Venezia!