if you are in north beach, make the stop at caffe trieste, the closest thing to time travel san francisco has.
in 1947, istria stopped being italy. the peninsula was handed to communist yugoslavia, italian homes were nationalized, and 300,000 italians packed up and left. giovanni giotta, a fisherman from rovigno, was one of them.
he ended up in san francisco - the one city in america where an italian fisherman wasn't a stranger. north beach spoke italian, the wharf was full of italian fishing boats, and saints peter and paul church took his family in.
later on giovanni washed windows for a living, and sang opera while he worked. they called him "the singing window washer." in 1956 he opened caffe trieste, named for the port city of the coast he'd lost. it was the first espresso bar on the west coast. their jukebox still plays opera, and they still accept cash only.
then the world came to him. coppola wrote the godfather at the back table. kerouac, ginsberg, ferlinghetti were regulars. every saturday since 1971 the family hosts a free three-hour concert. the nobel poet joseph brodsky wrote about it: "nothing has changed here. neither the furniture nor the weather." 70 years on, that was always the point.
trieste on 35mm, i've shot last year:
This couple was checking out this house and took their own tour after they got the keys. It’s spacious and very modern, the only thing is the bedroom is very questionable in her own mind. No rails and a late night sleepy water run could be her last. Would you stay in a place like this? I have stayed in a place like this, I ended up refusing to use the bed. With my luck I would stumble in the middle of the night and fall off a ledge.
Another questionable sleeping arrangement for me was a room I rented and it only had a fold out bed. When I tried to lay on it, the spring that it pulled out from the wall seemed to always want to pull the bed back up even when I was in it. I only ended up sleeping on it for a few hours and ended up laying on the couch in the adjacent room. Then bed seemed to be touchy when I laid on my side. I didn’t want to be pulled into the wall with my luck.
But it turned out it was user error. After I pull the bed down, there is a latch that locks it in place that’s on the hinge near the walk. I didn’t know about it and the hotel didn’t tell me about it either when I first got the keys. I had to find out about it when the cleaning lady came by to check the room, she showed me how to do it. After that I didn’t have that issue anymore and the bed was actually quite nice, way better than the bed on a ledge.
He sat down on the curb with the three boys and stayed in the huddle like his name was already on the list.
They're talking.
He's right there in the circle.
Nobody moves him.
Watch it long enough and you stop counting three kids.
She came all the way from Jacksonville, Florida to finally see Noah’s Ark for herself.
Stephanie had dreamed of visiting the Durupınar site for years. When she finally made it, she spent the day taking photos, exploring the site, and eventually sat down to pray.
That’s when she noticed something at her feet.
She picked up what she thought was an ordinary rock and used an app on her phone to identify it. The app identified it as petrified wood.
We haven’t had the object scientifically tested, so we’re not claiming it came from the Ark. But hearing Stephanie describe that moment, praying with her hand resting on something that might be wood, gives you a glimpse of what makes this place so extraordinary.
And you can experience it for yourself.
You can travel to eastern Turkey, walk the Durupınar formation, stand where we believe Noah’s Ark came to rest, meet the researchers working on the site, and see the investigation happening firsthand.
For people who have spent their whole lives reading the story of Noah, there’s something completely different about standing in the landscape yourself.
Come see the site for yourself.
The Ark investigation is happening now.
I made a song about my life changing trip around America 🇺🇸
If you followed the trip, you might recognise a few moments in the lyrics
And no, that’s not me singing 😂
First day review of Nashville.
Downtown is hectic but fun. So much music all day.
Bars are clean, creative and well-maintained. Nothing felt seedy or cheap.
People are very nice anywhere you go. Have to be careful which part of town you are in. Some homeless but not as bad as many large cities.
City is larger with more big buildings than I expected.
It gets HOT here.
Tons to do.
Franklin area is very nice and clean. Will explore more tomorrow.
As far as apartments go you get a lot for the money, especially for a major city. Large and well-appointed. Downtown they charge quite a bit extra for parking - not included in rent.
Noticed approaching Nashville quite a bit of trash along the sides of the freeway. Very different than rest of TN. I assume that's due to the liberal leadership here. I mean, how hard is it to clean the freeways?
I hear Nashville is liberal but everyone I met was all MAGA.
Renting an Airbnb in another country can always be risky, these young men were excited to stay in Paris. But they wanted to get their rooms first and the scary thing was that these rooms were not cheap. What made it dangerous for them is how high they are in the building. Heat rises and it’s already 100 degrees outside, to make matters worst there is no AC. When visiting my mom’s cousin in Paris when I was around 12 years old I too was excited until I got to their apartment.
The room was very spacious but the deal breaker for me was how many of the places I visited or stayed at shekel there didn’t have AC at all. I wasn’t used to not having AC, remember when I told you all I had asthma as a kid. When it gets hot like that I can’t breathe well and I start to panic at times. It truly was a miserable experience. I did find a few restaurants that had AC but they wouldn’t let me just sit there with a drink, I had to order food and when I was done it seemed like they wanted me out.
Another thing I wasn’t used to was the old wiring for the electricity. Some of these old apartment buildings were notorious for having bad wiring. Anybody who knows me knows I’m a tech person. So I had my Gameboy and a Walkman as well as other devices with me. While they aren’t exactly power hungry with the electricity, the old wiring at these places can’t handle many things plugged in at once especially at night when people are all trying to use it. Looking back I would almost rather stay in the room with the bed on a ledge, at least they had AC.
Good morning, Wanderers! ☕🌎
Today we’re exploring a tiny world built one incredible piece at a time.
Ave Maria Grotto in Alabama is filled with miniature churches, castles, cities, and landmarks created over decades by Brother Joseph Zoettl.
Come wander with us. 🧭
#WanderboundTravelAgency #AveMariaGrotto #HiddenAmerica
A woman in Osaka, Japan shows what it’s like to walk outside by yourself in the middle of the night
She shows what the streets look like, the people, different things that are open and the risk level being a single woman alone in the middle of the night
Now compare this to America…..
For reference
- Japan is a conservative country
- Japan has extremely strict immigration laws with no open borders
- Osaka city is 93% Japanese
- Osaka prefecture is 96% Japanese
- Japan has a 99.8% conviction rate of criminals who are charged with a crime
Good Thursday morning friends.
Coffee tastes a little different from the top of a skyscraper.
Today we’re starting high above the city with a glass floor beneath us, breakfast on the table, Bandit nearby, and apparently it’s high heel day too.
Here’s to looking at life from a whole new perspective.
#GoodThursdayMorning #NationalSkyscraperDay