Mighty Viking Heritage

Danny is part Norwegian.  He's always found this cool, and sometimes brags about being a Viking.

The Norway Pavilion in Epcot certainly solidified our thoughts that all Norwegians are probably proud of their Viking heritage.  I mean, not every race could be called "The Conquerors of the Seas!"  That i a fairly epic title, and probably, definitely deserved.

 

The above Viking is Erik the Red.  Well, really it's a wax dummy of Erik the Red.  In any case, he's the guy that discovered Greenland.  He named it Greenland despite its terrible, freezing tundra terrain so that people would settle it. Kind of like Iceland was thus named so that people wouldn't settle it, but vice versa.  His son Leif Eriksson was later the first European known to have set foot in the Americas, in 1000AD.  No, it wasn't Columbus.  It was the Vikings.

I don't know who this above Viking is supposed to be... but I do know that he looks really badass and strongly resembles Gimli from The Lord of the Rings movies.  Which makes him even cooler.

The other motif we found to be very popular in the Norway section was trolls. I had remembered this from going to Disney World as a kid, and the Scandinavian troll connection was strengthened in my mind when I went to Stockholm, Sweden last February.  There were trolls everywhere, there were even stores full of nothing but trolls.  It was nifty.  Rest assured, I did not leave Sweden without purchasing a small Viking troll statue.  It is on my bookshelf to this day, next to a William Shakespeare action figure Danny bought for me.  Anyway, there was a giant troll statue in the gift shop, who tried to get a little frisky with me.

Danny was impressed with his choice in women.

A bro handshake was necessary.

Disney World, Florida, USA

Etsy Things I Love

So, you may or may not know that I have an Etsy store! 

http://www.etsy.com/shop/Travelandtoile

^^^^^ That is it ^^^^^

However, there are a lot of other cool stores on Etsy, other than mine.  As a matter of fact, most of them are much cooler than mine.  They're just generally superior.  Anyways, here are some things I love from those other splendid stores!

Neat stuff, right? That's one of the reasons I love Etsy- everything you find is so unusual. For nerds like me, it's pretty much perfect.

In other news, please check it out in the next few days.  I'm still working on the snowglobes and such, but they are on their way!

Thanks everyone :)

Can Wishes Really Come True?

 

Can they?  It seemed that they were for many of the children in Disney World.  This little girl looked especially happy while meeting Belle in Epcot.  Even more... she was actually well behaved!  I saw so little of that while I was there.  I saw lots of kids screaming at their parents to buy them stuff or make lines go faster.  I saw even more kids running amok as their parents daydreamed. I didn't see that many behaving themselves.  Also, I saw very few skinny American children.  Most of them seemed a bit chubby, and many of them were far more than that...

But, Mary Poppins was lovely!!

Which brings me to my next point, my one gripe about Disney World.  It wasn't the ill-behaved children, I knew about that. 

My one and only gripe was their main message.  Basically the park was screaming at you:

IF YOU WISH HARD ENOUGH, ALL YOUR DREAMS WILL COME TRUE!

Alas, that's untrue.

If you work hard enough, some of your dreams might come true.  Maybe.  If you're really lucky.  I kind of felt like Disney World was trying to give a trophy to every kid who came in the door and tell them that they were special and entitled to automatic success just for existing, which is a beautiful idea, but absolutely, hilariously wrong.  I just wanted to hug the kids and tell them that they were being lied to, and that life was going to be hard, and that these illusions would just make them feel bad later when they realized that they would actually have to do something with themselves to achieve success.  I don't know, I just felt like Disney World was giving people false hopes and dreams, and setting children up for disappointment.

It sure felt nice while you were there though! Being told that your life is going to be perfect because you're unique and you deserve it definitely feels great, even if it's a total lie. So, I guess it's not all bad.  It's pretty hard to be negative about anything when you're talking about Disney World.  It's my only gripe and it's not even a bad one. 

Just a warning- I'm probably going to be posting Florida photos for about forever, as it's freezing here, the photographs are sunny, and they help me take my mind off of the cold darkness.  Not to mention that I took like two thousand photographs.  It has nothing to do with that...

Walt Disney World, Florida, USA

O Canada- Oh, Hi!

No, we didn't really go to Canada.

(I was there once)

But we DID go to the Canada Pavilion in Epcot!

 While at this pavilion, we took silly photographs wearing totem pole style masks.  Because, well, that's just the kind of thing we do, like the mature adults we are.

You know, when I started this post, I thought that I had taken a lot more photographs in Epcot Canada, but it seems that I only took three.  However, I am way too invested in this now to turn back, so please, enjoy the third and last (and not paticularly good) photograph of faux Canada.  Hopefully I'll go back to the real one soon!

  Last time I was there, I spent a day in Whistler, and less than a day in Vancouver.  It's amazing just how much there still is to see of that country... and it's right next door.  The next place I want to go is Montreal- but not until I get better at French!  And, seeing as I have made no strides towards that goal whatsoever in the past nine monthes or so, that's probably a bit off.  Well, maybe I'll get off of my arse on that and a lot of other things and accomplish some of these goals I keep setting for myself. 

Actually, I've been doing rather well at accomplishing these goals the past few days.  Before that I was slacking and getting  a bit depressed about my lack of doing, but it's getting better.  I've been sticking to my healthy diet, and though I haven't been tracking it as carefully as I should, have been very careful.  My results have been amazing- I lost four pounds in the first week, which is far more than I could have possibly expected.  I can actually tell that I'm thinner.  I've been doing yoga- I did some this morning, as a matter of fact.  I've been going to auditions, I've been reading books, and I've been allowing myself to have some relaxation time.  All's well in the world. 

Walt Disney World, Florida, USA

Just a note:  all photographs of me are generally taken by Daniel Garrison.

Something to Get Excited About

The Epcot ball!!

THERE IT IS.

We were both able to see it.  And, point at it.

 

There it is again. With a cloudy gray sky, since it rained the day we went to Epcot.

 

That one shows it in a surprise burst of sunlight!

 

That is how it was lit at nighttime.  Pretty pretty.

 

Here it is from across the lake.  Also, at night time.  If you couldn't tell...

 

Last but not least, here it is with the sun just breaking through the clouds.  After this point, it didn't rain again!

Walt Disney World, Florida, USA

Just a little mention- http://littleluxuriesofmackinac.blogspot.com, a very nice blog, featured my photograph "Window Shopping".  

Thank you Nicole!

Seeking Sunlight

The past few days I have been trying to not be on the computer as much- it's amazing how technology so easily allows us to forget "real life."  Getting sucked into the world of the virtual is surprisingly easy.  Blogger, Tumblr, Facebook, Email, Etsy, Computer games... they can just slurp your life away if you aren't careful.  And my queued blog posts haven't been posting, so there isn't even a great post here to show my efforts! Ah well, you all get this lovely one instead.  

 

There's a big bright beautiful world out there, and it's so easy to sit and stare at a screen instead of the sunlight. Even though it's freezing here, it's still sunny out most of the time.  In Florida, it was sunny and warm... I want to go back!  Get me away from this frigid land!  (Just kidding.  I love it here.  It's just cold).

So, in celebration of the day here in New York City that started out at 1 degree Farenheit, enjoy some more of my summery Florida photographs.

Haha, just wait til I get to the Disney World stuff!  (It's coming soon).

Miami, Florida, USA

Also coming soon: more photographer features and more shop updates!!

Here now:  A new little thing on the bottom. 
You can tell me if you like a post, love it, or want me to sell the photographs from it!
Nifty, huh?

Inspiration Fridays: Keep Calm

Keep Calm and Carry On... 

that famous saying with the equally famous poster.

Lately, in this age of memes about everything, new and much more entertaining versions of this theme have been coming out.  Some meme websites are just idiotic, and unfunny, whereas others are fantastic.  The people who like Keep Calm and Carry On have been a bit creative.  Some that you find out there are totally dumb, but there are some good ones if you sort through the innocuous fluff.

Here are some of my personal favourites.

Most of these were lovingly ripped from http://keep-calm-and.tumblr.com and Google Images.

Trying Not to Get the Munchies

So, if you've been reading my posts lately, you'll know that I am embarking on a lifestyle change (diet).  This lifestyle change (diet) has been going pretty well thus far.  I haven't been exercising enough, true, but I've been eating well (dieting).  

I've been eating lots of yummy vegetables, beans, eggs, fruits and such (diet foods).  I haven't even been eating lean meat, I've been getting my proteins from other sources (diet foods).  

Honestly, I haven't even really been craving dessert foods (lies).  Okay, it's a lie.  When I don't see them, I'm not too excited about them, and I don't crave them.  But, when I see them, I really want them.  

Like this:

om nom nom nom...

No!  I must eat vegetables!  (With the occassional little indulgence on the side...)

You can follow my lifestyle change (diet) progess here:

http://www.sparkpeople.com/mypage_tracker.asp?id=M3GRAC3&dte=1%2F20%2F2011

In other news, here's a nice photo of Danny I took while in that glorious pastry shop in Little Havana (where I indulged in a glorious guava turnover).

Miami, Florida, USA

Store Update!

If you didn't know already, Travel and Toile also has a store!  

It can be found here: http://www.etsy.com/shop/Travelandtoile

I listed some new items last night, and I thought I'd let you all know about them!  They are prints of many of the more popular photographs from this blog.  There are more to come, but if there is a print you really want, please, email me at travelandtoile@gmail.com and I will make it available to you.

Three Sisters 5x7 Print

From Travelandtoile

$4.00

This is one 5"x7" print of the photograph "Three Sisters". This photograph of a beautiful set of flowers growing in the Shakespeare Garden in Central Park was originally seen on my blog, http://travelandtoile.blogspot.com.

This print comes unframed, and will be shipped in a padded envelope if sold alone or with other prints, and in a box if shipped with other items as well. The print will be signed on the back.

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Window Shopping 5x7 Print

From Travelandtoile

$4.00

This is one 5"x7" print of the photograph "Window Shopping". This photograph of a store window in an arcade in Brussels, Belgium, was originally seen on my blog, http://travelandtoile.blogspot.com.

This print comes unframed, and will be shipped in a padded envelope if sold alone or with other prints, and in a box if shipped with other items as well. The print will be signed on the back.

 

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My Art Is Many Pieces Put Together 5x7 Print

From Travelandtoile

$4.00

This is one 5"x7" print of the photograph "My Art Is Many Pieces Put Together". This photograph of a beautiful mosaic under a bridge in Austin, Texas, was originally seen on my blog, http://travelandtoile.blogspot.com.

This print comes unframed, and will be shipped in a padded envelope if sold alone or with other prints, and in a box if shipped with other items as well. The print will be signed on the back.

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Beautiful Disaster 5x7 Print

From Travelandtoile

$4.00

This is one 5"x7" print of the photograph "Beatiful Disaster". This photograph of a destroyed wedding dress was originally seen on my blog, http://travelandtoile.blogspot.com.

Only two of these will be printed. So, if you have been wanting to get your hands on this beautiful photograph, order now!

This print comes unframed, and will be shipped in a padded envelope if sold alone or with other prints, and in a box if shipped with other items as well. The print will be signed on the back.

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And the Living Is Easy 5x7 Print

From Travelandtoile

$4.00

This is one 5"x7" print of the photograph "And the Living Is Easy". This photograph of some stunning flowers nested among the grass in Gordon Square, London, was originally seen on my blog, http://travelandtoile.blogspot.com.

This print comes unframed, and will be shipped in a padded envelope if sold alone or with other prints, and in a box if shipped with other items as well. The print will be signed on the back.

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I hope everyone likes the new products!  I'm sure excited about them.

Next up: magnets and snowglobes :)

Get ready for it.