Weekly Photo Challenge: Renaissance Barcelona Rooftop Terrace

This week’s photo challenge is all about state of mind, so I thought I’d skip way ahead in my travel writing and give you a glimpse of my time in Spain. The Renaissance Barcelona Hotel has a stylish lookout point built into its 8th floor. It’s nice, quiet, and comfortable. If you’ve been walking around the city all day, this is the place to go; you can bring your dinner upstairs, relax on the beds, listen to the chill music (they were playing a remix of Diana Ross’s “Love Hangover” at the time), and get a decent view of downtown. That’s assuming, of course, that you’re a hotel guest; you need a room keycard to access the elevator. A larger version is viewable here.

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Weekly Photo Challenge: Red Moon Jelly

At the Academy of Sciences, there’s a cool exhibit that features a dozen or so Moon Jellies in a cylinder. There’s a light shining into the water that changes color every few seconds…and so do the moon jellies. Here’s a close shot of some in red. Larger version can be viewed here.

Weekly Photo Challenge: Ghirardelli Cable Cars

This week’s challenge calls for symbols, and here are two of the most prominent ones in San Francisco: Ghirardelli Chocolate and cable cars. Both have a rich and storied history in the city, and are two of the many things people associate with it. I’ll admit that the desserts are delicious, if overpriced due to brand recognition. As for cable cars, well…they’re over-hyped. They’re limited to very specific areas of the city, the tickets are expensive, and the lines are ridiculous. I’ve rode one only once from Aquatic Park to Powell Street, after which I realized it’d be faster for me to walk/hike the route instead of waiting. Once of my great uncles was an architect for Ghirardelli Square, so I find it somewhat interesting. This photo, however, was taken at the mini-store within the depths of the Westfield downtown. Large versions also available here and here.