Daily Post Photo Challenge – Fun

Reflecting on something fun is always a good idea. Depending on whether you consider it to be graffiti or not, whimsical street art can definitely be a lot of fun. Perhaps because it is often found in some of the poorest of neighborhoods, these brightly colored images can put a smile on your face and speak to the optimism of the people who create them. Here are a few images from Cochabamba, Bolivia.

Happy Dinosaur
More Art
Rest of the View

 

Notre-Dame Cathedral – When Churches Were Beautiful

We’re not sure when places of worship went from being the most beautiful buildings in a town or city to being mega-churches that look more like warehouses than churches, but that has become the case in a lot of cities and towns here in the US.  Obviously you don’t need to be surrounded by ornate artwork, stained glass windows, or marble columns to express your faith, but it used to be an expression of the citizens to make sure that the church was more beautiful than any of the homes in town.  Notre-Dame de Paris is one of the most well-known churches in the world and its French gothic style is absolutely stunning.  It is definitely a shining example of how glorious a church can be when the citizens come together to create something that stands the tests of time and is as wonderful today as when it was first built.

Detailed Architecture
Artwork Inside of the Cathedral
Amazing Details

The intricate sculptures and gargoyles have made Notre-Dame the centerpiece of stories since it was built in the 14th century.  As gorgeous as it is to visit during the day, it is even more stunning at night when it is lit up to reveal all of the details of its architecture.  Taking one of the river tours that takes you around the cathedral is another great way to see Notre-Dame from another angle.  We wish that we would have had more than a couple of days to see Notre-Dame since there is truly so much to see.

Relief on the Wall
Memorial in Church
Notre-Dame de Paris

Although there is definitely a lot to see when visiting Paris, we highly recommend that you take the time to really enjoy the Notre-Dame Cathedral.  It is worth more than just stopping by for a couple of quick photos of its ornate façade, there is so much more to see.  It is one of those iconic locations that everyone knows about, but if you take your time when visiting it, you will enjoy all of the little details that make up the entire experience.

Looking Up at the Sculptures
Observing a Service – We Did Not Use a Flash

 

One Door Opens

It is amazing to see the different styles of intricately carved doors that exist around the world. There is a reason that doors are so often photographed and we’ve definitely enjoyed seeing so many of them being shared on the various sites that we follow. For Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge this week, the theme is Doors and Drawers, so we figured we would share these doors from the church in Copacabana, Bolivia.  We’re not sure that photographs truly give justice to how beautiful the carvings on these doors were, but we really enjoyed seeing them.

Right Door
Left Door