escape with this landscape

photo taken by a close friend in the fall of 2006 near quebec city. i am looking out over a fresh blend of greens and browns. noticing a theme in my photos and writing - they are not yet of my daily life. they are not even in the country of which i am a citizen. perhaps i think it's more enchanting to explore my escapes or exceptional adventures. regardless, this photo makes me happy. i love the way my unbrushed hair sort of appears as golden orangey-brown as the shades of the natured landscape. i remember feeling so refreshed and hopeful in this spot - just miles north of quebec city on the ile d'orleans. the island is about three miles in circumference. as one drives around the island - it is encouraged to stop at the various hard-cider and home-made chocolate shops. in the middle of late fall, when i visited, my friend and i had to ring the door bell to be let into the otherwise locked shops adjacent to the shopkeepers' homes. we were often the only patrons. the shop-owners spoke only french. i knew enough french to be polite or purchase goodies, and yet- was able to benefit from inexperience with the language that led to focusing on other aspects of the human experience beyond dialogue - dress, taste, and gesture. i loved this day, and the energy, colors, distance from english language and raw late fall air suited me - marvelously.

photo

photo on blog. me wondering through Linz, Germany. grandma's hometown before she left the place to save her jewish ass at age 18. she was the only surviving member of her southern german family. she had a cold personality but shared her heart and early life stories with me the year before she died. i was 12. she remains an important influence in my life. during my visit to Linz, close friends and i found the street on which my grandma grew up. an eight by eleven inch copper memorial now rests where once twelve small jewish family homes were situated. in jewish tradition, i left two stones that i had brought from my hometown in the usa. today, Linz is a well preserved, non-bombed tourist town on the Rhine. almost all the homes and buildings have been well kept (including the catholic school she attended)- except for trudi's home and neighbors'. she once told me that she survived as long as she did, and gained employment cause she 'didnt look jewish'. i think i inherited her eyes, nose, and melancholy mood.