On the way to Sebastapol this weekend with a friend, I noticed all these cool outcroppings dotting the landscape. I've been to this corner of Northern California before, but don't recall these rocks. With the hillside so lush and green after our single winter rain (not good, global warming), the effect with these big stones gave the scene a distinctly Scottish highlands look-and-feel. Or, the way I imagine the Scottish highlands to look and/or feel.

Beautiful photograph. Beautiful country.

Your comments on this image are welcome, and encouraged! And a question for the photographer - nxtrFOTO - if s/he is so inclined: Is there anything special about this moment, day, trip, or place beyond what you've shared on Flickr that you'd like to add or comment on here? Along with other vivaca visitors, I would love to know more!

Location: Sonoma, California ★
Photo courtesy of nxtrFOTO

Thinking of Syria today and the future of children like these two lovely girls, and all of the people who have been senselessly killed there in recent days and months by their government. I hope peace and justice come swiftly.

Your comments on this image are welcome, and encouraged! And a question for the photographer - Free Syria - if s/he is so inclined: Is there anything special about this moment, day, trip, or place beyond what you've shared on Flickr that you'd like to add or comment on here? Along with other vivaca visitors, I would love to know more!

Location: Syria ★
Photo courtesy of Free Syria

To experience the finest Roman ruins in the modern Mediterranean, one has to get to Leptis Magna - an UNESCO World Heritage site - in Khoms, Libya. Yes, Libya.

"The city, which was constructed during the reign of Augustus and Tiberius but which was entirely remodelled along very ambitious lines under the Severan emperors, incorporates major monumental elements of that period. The forum, basilica and Severan arch rank among the foremost examples of a new Roman art, strongly influenced by African and Eastern traditions."

And judging from this single stunner of a snap, Leptis won't let you down. While I don't have the courage at present to get to Libya, I am thankful that others do so that I might enjoy sites like this through their eyes. And one day, surely, I'll get there and see these incredible ruins myself, sharing my pictorial memories with others who haven't been yet or may not ever go, themselves.

Your comments on this image are welcome, and encouraged! And a question for the photographer - David & Bonnie - if s/he is so inclined: Is there anything special about this moment, day, trip, or place beyond what you've shared on Flickr that you'd like to add or comment on here? Along with other vivaca visitors, I would love to know more!

Location: Leptis Magna, Libya ★
Photo courtesy of David & Bonnie

I'm missing the Côte d'Azur today, so here we are in Grasse. I had the pleasure of visiting Grasse for the first time last fall and fell full on for its gritty charm. It seems one of those cities on the cusp of being great again. Lots to renovate and spruce up, but bustling and beautiful despite the way many of its shady streets and buildings exude a neglectful decay. I really liked it. Particularly the charming old details like this period advertisement. Fantastique.

Your comments on this image are welcome, and encouraged! And a question for the photographer - Daria Angeli - if s/he is so inclined: Is there anything special about this moment, day, trip, or place beyond what you've shared on Flickr that you'd like to add or comment on here? Along with other vivaca visitors, I would love to know more!

Location: Grasse, France ★
Photo courtesy of Daria Angeli

"Coco always sat at table eleven and everyone at Angelina knew her. The establishment opened for business in 1903 under the name Rumpelmayer but Coco would've been too poor to go there then. It became her refuge late in life, in the 1950s, when a quiet cup of hot cocoa was a daily ritual."
- David Downie, Paris, Paris

Not only did I not know that Angelina's was one of Coco's haunts, I had no clue it opened under another name. Merci, David Downie! I did, however, know that it's a great hot chocolate spot. Yes, the last time I went I saw a mouse. And yes, I know it's not the *best* hot chocolate the city has to offer. But I don't care. I still love it, the chocolat chaud is damn thick and delicious, and I will always return. You can't stop me.

And how lovely is this portrait of the old girl, by the way. Right?

Your comments on this image are welcome, and encouraged! And a question for the photographer - Beryl Byrd - if s/he is so inclined: Is there anything special about this moment, day, trip, or place beyond what you've shared on Flickr that you'd like to add or comment on here? Along with other vivaca visitors, I would love to know more!

Location: Paris, France ★
Photo courtesy of Beryl Byrd

Happy Year of the Dragon!

I love this painterly dragon dance, "A blended image made from 9 separate still images taken in rapid succession with a handheld camera." Beautiful work.

Your comments on this image are welcome, and encouraged! And a question for the photographer - Tony Kemplen - if s/he is so inclined: Is there anything special about this moment, day, trip, or place beyond what you've shared on Flickr that you'd like to add or comment on here? Along with other vivaca visitors, I would love to know more!

Location: Sheffield, England ★
Photo courtesy of Tony Kemplen

I decided to go to Shenzhen today, because I wanted to see something of daily life in this sprawling Chinese metropolis that manufactures so much of what we in the West consume in the way of high tech treats. An important city that so few Westerners have heard of. Thanks today to Mr. Daisey, I now know Shenzhen and a little bit about what exactly goes on there in firms like Foxconn that makes iPods, iPhones, and other handmade products. Oh yes. Handmade. Apple *could* sell its wares on Etsy, or didn't you know?

Your comments on this image are welcome, and encouraged! And a question for the photographer - Rock_Reborn - if s/he is so inclined: Is there anything special about this moment, day, trip, or place beyond what you've shared on Flickr that you'd like to add or comment on here? Along with other vivaca visitors, I would love to know more!

Location: Shenzhen, China ★
Photo courtesy of Rock_Reborn

Hello, happy place! Can't wait to meet you, in person. What an incredible shot! I never thought I'd say this, because all the pretty pictures of Santorini feature solid blue skies, but here's hoping for at least one day of delicious clouds on my trip, this spring. Makes for an amazing mood, as this inspiring image demonstrates beautifully.

Your comments on this image are welcome, and encouraged! And a question for the photographer - Deborah Sandidge - if s/he is so inclined: Is there anything special about this moment, day, trip, or place beyond what you've shared on Flickr that you'd like to add or comment on here? Along with other vivaca visitors, I would love to know more!

Location: Oia, Santorini (Greece) ★
Photo courtesy of Deborah Sandidge

My 2011 trips to the Italian and French Rivieras have now come and gone (and I'm still in the process of processing all the pretty pictures; taking my time to prolong the pleasure). But now I have the most amazing of destinations to look forward to: Santorini! I've never been to Greece and have dreamed of seeing Oia and its famous sunsets with my own eyes since, well, since I saw my first snapshot of this fabled island. Trips do come true, and I can't wait for this one, this spring. While I pass the days in between, it's breathtaking pictures like this one that inspire me to be there, explore, and find my own timeless vantage points to immortalize via my Nikon.

Your comments on this image are welcome, and encouraged! And a question for the photographer - aleycla - if s/he is so inclined: Is there anything special about this moment, day, trip, or place beyond what you've shared on Flickr that you'd like to add or comment on here? Along with other vivaca visitors, I would love to know more!

Location: Fira, Santorini (Greece) ★
Photo courtesy of aleycla