A Little Cold for Your Hot from Yellowstone National Park - Los Angeles Fine Art Photographer

What comes to mind when you hear these two words of the opposite nature? Conflict? Confrontation?

How about the idea of taking a hot spring bath in winter?

The day on which we arrived at the Mammoth Hot Springs in Yellowstone at sunset was the last day of the park was open for winter season. Everybody was supposed to leave the internal park. The temperatures were forecast to drop so low that the cars won’t start. The snowmobile did not take a chance and we left ahead of schedule. On the few stops for photographs, the engine kept on running. We couldn’t afford to have a stalled car in the middle of the park.

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It was in such a survival mode that we arrived at the edge of the park. Taking a risk that the road may be frozen over (which is disaster for us Southern Californians that can’t even drive in rain :-) ), we took a detour onto the Palette Spring. Getting out of the car takes courage. Seeing the steam from the geothermal feature, I drew closer and closer, picturing exactly the idea above - taking a hot spring bath in bone-chilling winter.

”That outfit looks familiar”, says someone that recognized the clothes from the company that we went to the Antarctica with.

”That’s right. And you know what? This cold beats Antarctica!” I replied.

I don’t know about you. We just survived an extended period of heat wave. I thought a little (visual) coldness will bring comfort to you. Me, on the other hand, enjoy the beauty brought out by the contrast of cold and hot.

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Looking in Darkness in Perugia, Italy (Part 2) - Los Angeles Travel Photographer

Continuing from the last post where I started a journey on foot, leaving my Assistante behind with the car in the parking lot, to look for our hotel on a dark and rainy night in Perugia, Italy:

The lady and I stopped at a structure at the corner of two major streets. Inside, it was really bright, a huge contrast from the thick and wet darkness that we came from. She explained something to a gentleman behind a glass counter and waved goodbye to me. It dawned on me that we were at a bus station and, with our language barrier, she had taken me somewhere I would get help in English.

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The conversation at the bus station with the gentleman was a blur and it essentially reduced down to what I jotted on paper:

- Line I from Piazzale Europa to Piazza Italia (near our reserved hotel per the gentleman)
- Line A or E from Piazzale Europa to Piazza dei Partigiani

Armed with info, I decided to get back to the parking lot where my Assistante had been waiting (meaning, without further delay from being lost). With a cell phone shot of the map that a passing tourists couple had in their hands and my GPS kind of sense of directions (akem…), I was eventually descending back down the same set of escalators, at the bottom of which stood my partner-in-crime, worried sick.

The next morning, looking down from the top of the hill where the historical center stood, we both felt relieved and triumphal at the same time. And I somehow knew that I would remember the lady that took me under her umbrella on that rainy night.

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Bonus:

I have some really smart people reading my blog. So I have a not-so-easy question for you: Where do you think we initially parked our car at? Remember, our plan was to park at Piazza dei Partigiani and take the escalator to go straight to our hotel.

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Looking in Darkness in Perugia, Italy - Los Angeles Travel Photographer

Have you tried looking for a place at night, in rain? A friend that I made on Instagram recently reminded me of my first impression of Perugia.

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It doesn’t always happen. But it had to be this day, when we were driving into Perugia after sunset, where it’s not just any Medieval town that’s perched on top of a hill. It’s a city whose historical center is perched wayyyyy up on the hill and the parking lots are wayyyy down. So, the trick was to find Piazza Partigiani, park the car there and take the escalator straight up to our reserved hotel.

When we pulled into the parking lot, I went out to find the way to the hotel, without the hindrance of the luggage or the car. As the seemingly endless sections of escalator took me further and further away from the car and my Assistante, I started getting worried. When the bottom of the escalator was finally out of my sight, I was staring into the darkness of the night. There’s no immediate structure within a reasonable stone’s throw.

Luckily, a lady came up behind me, the only one person that I met since getting out of the car. I quickly grabbed the opportunity and blurbed the hotel name to her. She took my arm and gestured that I could walk with her. I felt relieved.

Five minutes later, we were still walking, in darkness. I wanted to tell her that I still have a companion waiting for me behind. But my translation skill was not up to par. I looked at her and she pulled me closer to her under the umbrella. I couldn’t do anything but following such a nice lady. The only thing that I was worried about was how I would track my way back. After what felt like a really long time, we arrived at a central bus station and she handed me to a gentleman that speaks good English. My search for the hotel continues……

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Do you want to know what happens next? Let me know and I might have a follow-up post. :-)

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