From San Francisco to New York

 

My first submissions to Paint Party Friday. The top one shows a small section of a church, and the bottom one was drawn on a sunny day by the water. Both were completed in San Francisco.

For Weekend Reflections, let’s go to New York. I caught with some friends over dinner, and they took me Queens so that we could look at the Manhattan skyline from there. The above structure is in Queens, and my friends said most people point their cameras in the opposite direction…. see next 2 photos.

And a bridge for Sunday Bridges. The photos are not exactly sharp since I only had my point and shoot with me then., but I like them anyway. Hope you are not getting crossed-eyed!

The view was breathtaking, but my photos are not very good. I hope you enjoy them anyway. 

Have a nice weekend.

Homemade

I posted the photo on the left of a breakfast in San Francisco, in my previous post.

Today, I tried to make it. I had to alter it a little, since I could find neither thick chunky bread nor figs.

My version (top photo) is fresh strawberries and walnut on mascarpone cheese on toasted bread, drizzled with honey.

My husband and I enjoyed it, but we both agree that it would be better with chunky bread on a griddle with olive oil, rather than toasted slices.

Oh, by the way, if you do try it, use lots of mascarpone cheese and honey! And I’d love to hear about what you think if you do try it.

More San Francisco photos

A marina in San Francisco on a lovely day.

Alcatraz  Island is seen in the background.

Watery Wednesday  : please click the link for more posts.

Changing direction slightly… here’s a yummy breakfast I had the other day. Delicious yet simple to make – fresh figs, walnuts and mascarpone cheese on top of toasted chunky bread, drizzled with honey.

Dinner one night was pulled pork in a roll, with coleslaw on the side. It was very enjoyable but strongly flavoured. All my taste buds were stimulated!

Bought the pull pork roll from this shop – I love the  funky decor.

Lastly, have you tried Vietnamese coffee?

In the above photo, a metal container sits on top of a sieve, which are both placed on top of a glass on the left. Grounded coffee is placed in the metal container, and hot water is poured over the top. The coffee slowly drips into the glass which has sweetened condensed milk.  When all the coffee has dripped into the glass, give it a stir, and it’s ready. It’s different from the usual regular coffee or lattes, but extremely delicious.

Hope you are all having a nice week.

A few people – sketches on the go

This artist was sketching outside a coffee shop right in front of us – perfect for me, since I thought that he was going to be there for a while. But he was just finishing up, or maybe he didn’t want me to sketch him, and left quite quickly. If it was the latter, I’m sorry, Mr Artist, to have been a nuisance. I love your beret, by the way.

We took a little trip from San Francisco to San Diego again. Many flights (including ours) were delayed… So there was more sketching time. Airports are good for people sketches I think. This guy stayed in the same position for quite long.

I enjoyed sketching this man. He was obviously very tired, and had a little snooze while waiting.

Sketching at lunch in Sausalito, which is located north of San Francisco. We went there on a ferry, and had a lovely afternoon. Photos later!

Have a nice week.

Looking out

 

Staircases outside of apartment buildings always remind me of the US. In fact, I have not seen them anywhere else. I love them, as well as the many old buildings that I see in San Francisco. Our rented unit in San Francisco is in an street where there are many old buildings. This is a building across the road.

The origami crane reminds me of my Mom. When I was little (maybe about 5 years old), she taught me how to turn a flat piece of paper into a lovely 3 dimensional bird.

Botanical Garden. San Francisco

I visited the San Francisco Botanical Garden some weeks ago. I hope that you will enjoy these photos.

I brought my sketchbook to draw. But I did not get around to drawing. I was having too much fun taking photos.

The shapes and the different shades of green makes the leaves interesting.

Love the stone lantern – wish I could have one when I have a garden.

I am not sure what this squirrel was looking at.

Weirdo!

Can you read my writing?

If not, scroll down, I have enlarged the speech/thought bubbles below.

A true encounter during the day, on a street where there were other people… so it wasn’t scary, but still a rather strange incident.

Happy Weekend!

A few more – San Francisco Sketchbook

When I saw a carousel, I was transported back to my childhood. I just had to stop to paint this.  

I love the details of this building…

One of the piers along the Embarcadero

Hope you are having a nice week.

Unconditional Surrender

A 25 feet sculpture in San Diego.

If you were kissed by a total stranger -  a sailor in this case – in the midst of a momentous celebration, what would you do?  Read about it here.

I saw a few couples in the same pose, kissing in front of the statue, while being photographed.

I drew this while sitting on the green grass under a tree.

It seemed like a very popular sculpture. A few people were curious and came to have a look at my drawing, and to chat. Someone took a photo of my hand drawing…

Half an hour later, and 500 feet away, someone approached me. He said he saw me drawing the statue, and was curious how it turned out on paper. I showed him. He smiled, and nodded. I think he approved.

A few more sketches

Coolness…. some people look nice no matter what they wear.

 

I had to complete this before we landed. A rush job, but it still took me about an hour. I guess it was a good way to spend time during a flight.

 

The kitchen of our rented unit. The colours are not actually these, but all white. I decided to have some fun.