Photo Edition - Poses, Out Takes & Favorites

You can imagine that in 38 days in Europe there are a lot of photos taken.  And when you're by yourself you get pretty darn good at finding ways to take photos of yourself - balancing the camera on random walls or flat surfaces, using objects of all sorts to prop your camera up, even using the camera's wrist string to teather it to fences and gates and letting it dangle while snapping shots...it's truly an art form in itself.  With the photo-taking adventures I had, I figured it'd be appropriate to do a photo-recap post showing the various solo-photo poses, some out takes and my favorite shots of the trip.

PHOTO POSES - These are the standard poses one does when taking photos by themselvs, something I've perfected over the the past five weeks.

The Cross.

 

The Backside Ponder.

 

The Frontside Ponder.

 

The I-Don't-Know-Where-to-Put-My-Hands.

 

The Fake-Walk. If you actually walked by the camera the photo would come out blurry, so you have to just stand and pose like you're walking.

 

The Pretend-to-Laugh.

 

The Studier.

 

The Shadow.

 

And the always popular Self-Portrait.

 

 

 

OUT TAKES - As you can imagine there are a ton of out take photos over the course of a 38-day trip.  Here are just a few of my favorite ones.

 

Apparently I caught myself by surprise on this one.

When taking a photo with someone famous - in this case world famous chef Jose Andres - be sure the camera is setup properly. They don't like taking a redos. No joke, I had to do this photo six times.

I got into a helmet phase at some point...

...always use protection.

Imagine the process of asking someone to take this photo...awkward.

Don't mind me ladies...just trying to take a photo here.

I guess I was going for good posture on this one.

Missed it by that much.

It's never a good idea to take photos of yourself eating, they just never look good.

 

It's also not a good idea to take photos when you're dancing (and drinking), these also never look good.

I didn't quite make it to my spot on time.

 

A bit too close.

Just a bit off.

 

Is this thing on?

 

 

FAVORITES - There are so many photos to pick from and I could have selected several dozen as my favorites, but these I'd have to say are the best of the bunch. 

Stumbling upon the Notting Hill Festival in London was definitely a highlight, as were these two brothers who were whipping up some delicious jerk chicken.

It's not every day you get a private lesson from one of the best in their craft. I was lucky enough to get a one-on-one lesson from Chris Armstrong, one of the best bagpipe players in the world.

 

When walking the fields of Bannockburn, Scotland you got a sense of the history and bloodshed that took place there. 

 

The Celtic match was probably the best soccer game of the trip.

 

Maria, Rocio and I pre-gaming before the Real Madrid match.

Walking into the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, home to Real Madrid.

 

Running into Jose Andres in an elevator in Madrid, no doubt a top moment.

 

Taking in the beach views of San Sebastian.

 

This really sums up San Sebastian and Spain as a whole...endless plates of delicious tapas and small glasses of cold beer.

 

Vintage Vespa in Barcelona.

Barcelona courtyard and plaza.

 

The Funeral.

Breakfast at Villa Dianella.

 

One of my favorite photos of the whole trip - the view of the vineyards from my room at the Villa Dianella.

Lunch with Giuseppe, head farmer of the Dianella vineyards, and his family at their humble abode just behind Villa Dianella.

 

I ordered a dozen bottles of Dianella wine and had it shipped out to LA.

The Villa Dianella cooking class and making fresh pasta.

 

The entire SC Bastia match was amazing, but to be able to share it with a local (Sylvie) just made it that much more of a memorable experience.

Seeing the Eiffel Tower for the first time was definitely a highlight of the trip.

Sunset at the Louvre.

 

I was lucky enough to witness a rainbow over the Eiffel Tower.