No images on this post, simply because the following experience was a moment to savour, and stare in awe at the ostentatious grandeur of the Vienna Mozart Orchestra.

Having met another Canadian here in Vienna (Anne-Marie) who had the excellent idea to check out the Mozart Orchestra we (Fraser, current traveling partner) readily agreed.
Hoping to get standing room tickets, Anne-Marie went early. Much to our disappointment, no standing room was allowed. So the cheapest option was apparently 15 Euros. Of course it turns out that they cost 19 Euros. Yet for some inexplicable reason the cashier took pity on Anne-Marie and sold her 39 Euro tickets for 19. Feeling that we had done well, we went out for a quick bite at a typically Viennese high class establishment, the trusted Gyros stand. Somehow in the midst of our excitement of buying a mouth watering, over cooked chicken pita, I lost my ticket. Feeling like an idiot, we returned to the Opera house and explained the story. Instead of being told to buy another ticket, the same cashier upgraded all three of us two more sections to front row seats. There is nothing like seeing the blood coursing through a violinists hand as the Chef Orchestra winks at his French horn player. All surrounded by buxom golden statues and frescoed ceilings as the beauty of Mozart and Strauss drifted to our ears. Wow.

A moment.

A wonderful day here in Utrecht, it was time to get out and wander the alley ways and streets of the city starting to bloom. The beer flows on patios as a boat floats along the canal. Captained by a young man that has perhaps consumed one too many beers to safely navigate the serpentine waterways, his boat floats under a tree full of vibrant pink blossoms and the rays of the setting sun fulfill the requirements of a Kodak moment.

I don’t shoot film…… but it was a beautiful day for walking the dog.

Selected images from market hopping whilst in Indonesia. Enjoy

I have always been attracted to odd signs on my travels. Here are two of the recent ones. The first was found in eastern Holland. Truth be told, I am still trying to figure it out. ‘Yield for Crushed Smart Cars’ might be a good guess. Your opinions are welcome.

The second happens to be one of my favourites. J’ai trouvé ça sur le Pointe du Raz dans l’ouest de Bretagne. Notice how speakers of Breton are more intelligent then English or French speakers.

Whilst exploring early morning in Lombok, Indonesia, I came across this young boy. He was dutifully picking rocks and snails from the young rice patch. The rice cultivation system in Indonesia has been perfected over the Millenia. Each growth stage of rice requires a different amount of flooding in the field. How this works, especially in the terraced fields of Bali is an incredible example of community cooperation, (and it makes for some excellent travel photography).

Site of the world famous film festival, Cannes is surprisingly quiet when the festival isn’t in town. It is a pleasant little town and has all the trappings of a town struggling to maintain an identity as a upscale town. Around the train station lies a very multicultural neighbourhood and has the typical ‘around the train station’ feel. There is one glitzy shopping street that doesn’t resemble the outlying streets. Nonetheless, the conference centre and the harbour are beautiful. I can just imagine this town transforming into quite a party.

Believe it not, it is Holland. The Hoge Veluwe National Park.

A new image from recent travels in France. This Foozball table was found in a parc nestled into the center of Rennes.

It has been a few months since the incredible gathering of passionate and empowered youth from around the world met in Bali, Indonesia. I was a member of the Canadian Youth Delegation to Bali and took the opportunity to document the inspiring efforts of the international youth at COP 13. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change took place during December 1 – 14 of 2007. A Bali roadmap was agreed upon and hopes remain high that the growing movement for action against climate change will indeed create profound changes in this world. We are quite possibly facing the greatest threat to mankind this earth has seen. Climate change is real and it is here, it is affecting the populations of Kiribati and the Arctic, it is affecting the world and will affect everyone one of us in the future. The youth are gathering and acting now, join us. See the slideshow on youth action at the UNFCCC. I also encourage you to take a look at the It’s Getting Hot in Here, dispatches from the Youth Climate Movement.