My fourth book has just been published: Turkey and Greece Delights

Turkey and Gre… Istanbul, Cappadoc… By Denise Lau, Link Lee Book Preview I co-authored this one with my friend Link who may be the next Ansel Adams! This book also has an ebook version. Download it for free now. We will charge when we post it on iBookstore in future. Most of the contents of…

The biggest prayer wheel is in Shangrila, Yunnan.

Prayer Wheel in Shangrila, Yunnan, it is the biggest in the world, “turned” by groups of dedicated Buddhists. This is a short post in response to fellow blogger: Retireediary’s recent post. http://retireediary.wordpress.com/2014/04/23/weekly-photo-challenge-on-top-of-temple-roof-inner-mongolia/#comments

Buddha Faces at Angor Wat, Cambodia

Please read this post and my previous posts on Angkor Wat, if you are interested in this subject.

Weekly Photo Challenge: “Inside” – Inside the Marcipan Museum in Szentendre, Hungary

This post is in response to the Weekly Photo Challenge: Inside. These photos were taken inside the Marcipan Museum in Szentendre, Hungary.  We were on our way to Budapest, the capital city  of Hungary, and stopped by this little town which was quite attractive to tourists. Szentendre  is a riverside town in Pest county,Hungary, near the capital city Budapest. It…

My Three Books are now on iBookstore

I would like to introduce to my fellow bloggers and friends my three published books which are all on iBookstore. Two are free to download to your iPad , iPhone, iPod touch or Mac  Please click this link to check out my newest addition on my Eastern Europe trip. There is a link to see…

Inner Mongolia – How does it look like living in a yurt?

This post is in response to the readers of  Retireediary’s recent post Inner Mongolia and Shanxi .  His pictures of the Yurts have attracted many readers who are curious how the inside looks like.  I had visited Inner Mongolia few years ago.  My friend Link’s pictures are nice and include the inside look of the yurts where we…

My Eastern Europe trip #3 – Black Madonna of Czestochowa, Poland

The above picture is from the Wikimedia Commons When we left Warsaw on the way to Krakow, we went to Czestochowa, a place of worship visited by millions of tourists and worshipers every year.  The reason why it attracted so many visitors is because of the Black Madonna of Częstochowa (Polish: Czarna Madonna or Matka Boska Częstochowska,  also known as Our Lady of…

How David Hockney sees the world, with the use of technology

David Hockney, Bigger Trees Nearer Warter, Winter 2008. Oil on nine canvases (36 x 48 in. each) 108 x 144 in. http://hockney.famsf.org/exhibition-preview-and-ecards © 2013 David Hockney. Photo:  Richard Schmidt San Franciscans are indeed blessed with many opportunities of appreciating interesting art shows.  Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco  (de Young Museum) ‘s “David Hockney, a Bigger Exhibition”…

Weekly Photo Challenge: Window – “Along the Fifth Avenue, NYC”

This post is in responses to the Weekly Photo Challenge: Window This is my favorite subject!  I do have many choices in my collection of “windows”.  Remember I had some discussions with some of you about the windows of Belvedere Palace in Vienna?  Then everywhere I go, I always take pictures of windows which may be…

Highlights of my recent trip to Eastern Europe

Dear  family and friends: Happy New Year! To wish you all a happy new year, I created this video with highlights of some of my photos taken in Eastern Europe. I did not have much time to write about this trip on my blogs, but hope that you would like the video and the music…

I just published my second book: Angkor Wat, Cambodia

Angkor Wat, Cambodia by Denise | Make Your Own Book Dear friends: Please join me to appreciate the architectural wonder of Angkor Wat, and the beautiful art and culture of the Cambodian people. Sincerely, Denise

I just published my first cookbook! a real book!

Dear fellow bloggers and friends, As many of you know, I am a very curious person,  and cannot stop learning.  I just found out a book making site :  www.Blurb.com, when I was reading another blogger friend ‘s post and her publications.  I cannot wait but to embark on a new project immediately.    As…

Eastern Europe 2013 #2 – St. Mary’s Altar, Krakow, Poland

If you ask me what impressed me most during this trip, without hesitation, I would say ” St. Mary’s Altar.”   It is called Altarpiece of Veit Stoss, at St. Mary’s Basilica in Krakow, Poland.  The altarpiece was carved between 1477 and 1489 by the Bavarian sculptor Veit Stoss.   If you google this title, all you can see…

Weekly Photo Challenge: Infinite – Budapest by Night, My Eastern Europe Trip 2013 #1

This post is in response to the Weekly Photo Challenge: Infinite. This is also #1 post of my Eastern Europe Trip of 2013.  This trip was my second Eastern Europe Trip.  My first one in 2009 was a more adventurous one with my best friend.  We traveled by train and walked a lot.  This time I…

Picasso’s Three Paintings of Women in MOMA

Originally posted on falling in love….with arts:
This was my fourth visit to MOMA, on October 7, 2013.  I went with my family to Eastern Europe for two weeks and then ended in New York City where we stayed for a few days.  We shopped, ate (a lot) and visited the museums.  We only…

Shilin or “Stone Forest”: My Yunnan Trip #20

The final destination of our Yunnan Trip is Shilin, or Stone Forest.  It is one of the “must see” sites,  if you go to Yunnan.  See the video and the pictures I took, and you will agree with me. Here’s a short description of Shilin, from the Wikipedia: The Stone Forest or Shilin (Chinese: 石林;…

A different interpretation of sound, noise and music in the making of videos

The first video includes two short clips of the Mendelsohn Falls.   Do you like the way that I piled these two video clips together using an app called “video frame”?  I found that app on my iPad and tried to see how it performed.  These two videos that I took during my Alaska trip…

The Ganges River – a Place of Life and Death

Thanks to my friend Rebecca’s recent post on  The River Goddess, I remember I did some exploration on the Ganges River a year ago.  I was helping my sister in organizing her pictures in Shutterfly, and could not resist from going into an exploratory mood…to find out the importance of the Ganges River to the…

Sharing with you my recent Learning Experience in Publishing an e-book

  A blogger friend Michael Lai in response to my last post My third e-book: An Unforgettable Trip: Angkor Wat, Cambodia on this Blog, asked if I could share my learning experience in writing an e-book.  I am thrilled with this request, as Michael’s traveled everywhere around the world and his blog is always filled with high quality professional…

My third e-book: An Unforgettable Trip: Angkor Wat, Cambodia

I am happy to present to you a complete e-book this time, instead of one chapter only as in my two previous post.  The pictures and contents of this e-book have been published on this blog . You may say, that is easy then.  Unfortunately this is not the case.   As this includes 5…

My second e-book: My South America Trip: Torres del Paine – Pantagonian Chile

Thanks to my blogger friend Janet Williams‘ creation and posting of an e-book format, and her suggestions, and thanks to another blogger friend Clanmother‘s encouragement,  I have my second e-book ready for your view.  It is actually only a chapter.  I am not sure if I have time to work on the rest.  I hope you…

Istanbul Attractions – Chapter 1 of my new e-book (coming soon) Exploring Turkey and Greece

After reading a fellow blogger Janet Williams’ post and her subsequent explanation to me how she published her e-book When Janet Met Tilly, I would like to give it a try. I have been successful up to this stage:  converted a word document to a PDF format, and uploaded to Speaker Deck.  Here it is:…

Weekly Photo Challenge – the world through your eyes – My Yunnan Trip #19 – Lijiang Old Town

This post is in response to the Weekly Photo Challenge: the World through your eyes. I wanted to visit Yunnan for a very long time. In April this year, my wish came true.  I was hoping to visit a place with lots of  ethnic arts and traditions, with women wearing ethnic clothes everywhere.  Did I see them?…

Weekly Photo Challenge: Fleeting – My Yunnan Trip # 18 –Tiger Leaping Gorge

This is in response to the Weekly Photo Challenge: Fleeting. The above two pictures were taken inside the bus on our way from Lijiang to the Tiger Leaping Gorge,  The views were gorgeous.  Seeing and hearing the thunderous rushing waters slam into sharp, large rocks, I could feel the power of nature.  While some travelers felt very…

Weekly Photo Challenge: The Sign Says – My Yunnan Trip # 17 – The Ancient Writing or Drawing on the Walls of the Lijiang Old Town

This is in response to the Weekly Photo Challenge: the Sign Says In my Yunnan Trip series, I mentioned about the city Lijiang, which is the most impressive one.   I do have fsome interesting things to share with you in my future posts.  What I am posting today are a few ancient writing symbols written…

The Naxi Minority in Yunnan – My Yunnan Trip # 16

As I mentioned in my post “My Yunnan Trip #1”, there are many minorities in Yunnan. I am particularly interested in the Naxi or Nakhi minority, because of their matriarch family structure, which is very different from the Han’s family structure in China. The Naxi people mostly live in the Naxi Autonomous County in Lijiang, Yunnan…

Happy Anniversary to my “Initiation” into the Blogging World – my 100th post on “My Notebook”, and my 259th post on my 6 Blogs

Happy Anniversary! Today, there are reasons to celebrate.  It is the first anniversary of my first blog which is from “curiosita to…” As I was new to blogging, I went around to experiment on different themes.  Writing is not really my best attribute, but I love to learn new things, and love challenges.  As traveling…

Weekly Photo Challenge: In the Background – Daguan Park, Kunming – My Yunnan Trip # 14

         Daguan Park, Kunming, Yunnan, China This post is in response to the Weekly Photo Challenge: in the background The  picture was taken in Daguan Park in Kunming, Yunnan in April, 2013.    This is a wishing tank. If you throw coins into the tank and hit the hole  of one of the…

The Longest Couplets in the World – Daguan Park, Kunming, My Yunnan Trip #15

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daguan Park “Daguan Park, located in the southwestern suburb of Kunming City, is a lakeside park. Today many locals come to sit, drink tea, fly kites, and go boating. Among shady walks and pools, Daguan’s focal point is Daguan Ge, a square, three-storeyed pavilion built to better Kangxi‘s enjoyment of the distant Western Hills and now a storehouse of calligraphy extolling the area’s…

Weekly Photo Challenge: Pattern (2) – Colorful Transportation in Yunnan – My Yunnan Trip # 13

This is my second post  in response to the Weekly Photo Challenge – Pattern What are these colorful patterns?  They are patterns on the colorful fabrics which mount the “chairs” for travelers who cannot do the hiking themselves in places like Shangrila’s Tiger Leaping Gorge.  These chairs would be carried by two strong men who would…