Faces

One of my favourite things about travel is having time to "people watch" and take photos of faces that catch my eye. Of course, children are the easiest and most fun to photograph. We met the little guy above while we were having lunch in a wonderful restaurant near Avignon, France.

This one was taken as Husband and I disembarked from a whale-watching tour in Newfoundland last summer. Clearly, this sleepy girl didn't find the outing as entertaining as we did. 

The next one's quite out of focus but I love the look on the boy's face as the girl sashays past him. It was taken on a street in Avignon, as we wandered back to our apartment one afternoon. 

Of course, handsome young men often catch my eye. (I'm old, not dead, for goodness sake.) This Parisian book seller looked as if he's rather be somewhere else.

Ditto for this granddad on an outing with his wife and grandson in Caen, Normandy.

In going through my photos last week, I noticed that "men looking bored with children" is a recurring theme. I'm not sure why. Maybe because I find them so sad - kids growing up too quickly, dads and granddads miss out. 

I spotted these two gentlemen riding the carousel in Avignon's main square. 

This one was taken the same week on a riverbank as we waited for a ferry to take us across the Rhone River.  I'd love to know the couple's story...and who or what he was thinking about.

Of course, some faces are more interesting than others. This fellow piloted a water taxi we rode in Malta.  A man of few words, he still came across as warm and friendly.

This young man served us in a Parisian cafe one afternoon. Charming and good at this job, he drew the eyes of many customers, I expect. 

I spotted this man having leisurely lunch with colleagues at a restaurant in Provence and snapped a photo on the sly over husband's shoulder. A moment later, he looked up and caught me but he didn't seem to mind.

Some of my favourite faces are the ones you have to look hard to see.  Check out the little girl staring into my lense from the far side of a playground in Arles, France.

And the lurker peering from behind a palm tree in the gardens of the Palais de Luxembourg in Paris. 

And the young girl checking out the Venus Envy sign on a street corner in Halifax. 

Of course, the face I most like to photograph is Husband's (though our nieces and nephews come a close second.) I took this one in Avignon a couple of years ago. 

Are you a people-watcher too? What sorts of faces catch your eye? Whose face do you most like to photograph?

Race Report: Nova Scotia Half Marathon

The good news is Husband ran a strong 10k and I finished the Half, earning some pretty sweet bling in the process. The bad news is I felt miserable for much of the run and finished in a disappointing 2:16.

Realistically, I figured 2:10 was as fast as I could go in any case, given my current level of fitness (or lack thereof) but I made a couple of stupid mistakes that cost me at least 5 minutes.

Hazy, busy days of summer

Wow, it's been a busy few weeks. There's lots going on here with work, visitors and various summertime activities. 

To begin with, there was Canada Day - one of my favourite holidays. Husband and I started the day off right with a lovely 12k run to Shubie Park and back. En route, we passed massive banks of blooming salt water roses. Their scent was glorious!  (The photo above is a salt water rose in our garden last weekend.) 

Back home, we did a little gardening, then showered and cleaned up before heading downtown for a mellow lunch on a patio, where we spent a very pleasant couple of hours watching the crowds on the street below, then hopped the ferry to Halifax to check out Canada Day activities there. We ran into my lovely niece Sheena at the beer tent and Husband grabbed this pic of me on the way home. By the looks of it, I was feeling a little sleepy after all the beer, fresh air and exercise. LOL!