Travel Photo Mondays

It’s Monday morning, time to enjoy some gorgeous travel photography and inspiration from around the world. Let’s banish those Monday blues by sharing gorgeous imagery and story telling.

 

My Favorite travel images of 2013

 

The year has gone by so quickly and as I reflect on some of my travels locally and in far away places during the year.  I love to take the time to enjoy some of the beautiful images that bring up wonderful memories of the places that I visited on my travels from years past.

Here are some highlights of this years blog posts that stand out in terms of my personal experiences that truly show a sense of place and my own interpretation of these amazing and photogenic places around the world. They may not be the most stunning of my images, but more-so, they tell a personal side, imparting some of the joy and wonderful experiences I had visiting these special places, even where I live in East Hawaii on the Big Island. I hope you enjoy the tour of my 2013 year in travels!

 

I love visiting parades, it really shows you the community and all the unique and quirky aspects of each area. The local Xmas parade in East Hawaii, is just that strange, funny and truly one of a kind in Hawaii, here our local ukulele marchers really love to ham it up to the audience.

 

 

Visiting a fall harvest in Takayama Japan and trying various local street food is a feast for the eyes and tummy, it’s one of the most colorful harvest festivals in Japan to experience and worth making an effort to visiting durin the fall or even spring season when the festival occurs twice yearly.

 

 

Historic Kyoto is filled with so many amazing temples and national monuments that are Unesco world heritage sites.  One of my favorites is Ginkaku-ji – the temple of the silver pavilion in a gorgeous setting with a stunning temple, here is the temple presented in black and white.

 

 

The Queen Liliuokalani day festivities are held in the park that bears her name in Hilo, HI. It features many of the hula halau (hula schools) around the island that dance in unison for the official tribute along with many special performances during the day long celebration.

 

 

 

 

Spending any time on the water in Hawaii is magical especially during the twilight hours before sunset – it really is a wonderful experience to partake in if you visit any island in Hawaii.

 

 

 

 

In early December to February season, the wine country in Sonoma and Napa counties are filled with golden blooms of the mustard flowers and the scenic landscape is transformed from mostly green vineyards to this dazzling yellow landscape…the drive along Highway 12 through the Valley of the Moon to Sonoma is amazing to experience along with having a delicious lunch in the city of Sonoma, California.

 

 

Did you know that Russia once had settlements in Northern California during the Spanish rule of Alta California. One of the main trade centers is at Fort Ross along the rugged Sonoma coastline, the drive along wild and dramatic coast of the Pacific highway up to the fort is worth the drive alone, but do visit the fort to learn more about the Russian history in California.

 

 

 

Yosemite is one of my favorite places to visit on a regular basis when I go back to California. It changes with every season and shows so many different facets to the changing landscape and natural wonders. Early morning or dusk is my favorite time to explore and capture some gorgeous light and scenery like the view above of the entire valley with the first light hitting the rim of the canyon.

 

 

 

 

 

Barcelona is an amazing city, filled with colorful street life, architecture and food. Night scenes and just walking the streets is an eye-opening experience especially with magnificent buildings lit up like the Palau de la Musica in the historic district.

 

Gaudi’s work is everywhere in Barcelona and his spiritual masterpiece of La Sagrada Familia is an amazing experience both indoor and out. Here the altar of the basilica is so light and airy – as if you were being transformed and connecting directly to a spiritual presence which is exactly how Gaudi wanted you to experience this amazing space.

 

Morocco especially Marrakesh is an unexpected experience of not knowing what is just around the corner and experiencing things you’ve never had anywhere. It is a visual paradise for the photographer and I practically took pictures at every turn. I would have loved exploring more of the entre country if I had the time.

 

 

San Francisco, my second home, I love going back every time, especially for walks along the coastal trails and quiet parts of the city away from the maddening crowds – here it’s just you, nature and stunning views of the Golden Gate.

I hope that you enjoyed viewing some of my favorite images of 2013 with Travel Photo Discovery. Thanks for coming to visit and even comment regularly on the site – I truly appreciate it. Have a fantastic and wonderful New Years celebration and I hope the new year is a good one for you!

Please do visit some of these amazing bloggers and photographers sharing Travel Photo Monday around the world today.
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