Inktober 2019, Day 24: Dizzy

Inktober 2019, Day 24, prompt word, "Dizzy." Dip pen and ink, 8 x 11 in. by Ciana Pullen [Image description: The picture plane is broken into several overlapping strips containing different images, like a collage. It's a black and white pen drawing. In the main center image a man and woman hold hands as the man leads her down a narrow outdoor stairway in an old city, much like a back alley. Under their hands and arms is another image strip of beer and wine bottles, and over them bisecting the drawing diagonally is a thin strip showing a winding tree-lined two-lane highway viewed from above with a car on it. On the right another image shows a fancy old apartment building with a domed roof and electrical wires with birds on them, and on the left is another image of shadows from blinds in a dark room. In a thin strip near the top is a hand and iPhone on a black background.]

Travel diary, Amalfi

Breakfast in Amalfi, Italy, by Ciana Pullen / St. Rhinocéros. It seems Italians don't "do breakfast" any more than a pastry and espresso. Which is the only reason we were drawn in by an ad for a "full English breakfast" obviously for tourists only. But when morning rolled around, it was nowhere to be found! We settled on a profoundly bad breakfast at this place, watching groups of English tourists carrying cottage-floral print umbrellas and complaining about small cultural differences, followed by German tour groups using sparkling new walking poles and wearing coordinating neon sport-raincoats, probably not intentionally. Luckily, we finally got our full English breakfast in England earlier this year.

Pedestrians in Front of a Window Display, Berlin, photo by Ciana Pullen

Pedestrians in Front of a Window Display, Berlin, photo by Ciana Pullen, 2014.

Christmas in Berlin, Kurfürstendamm

Christmas in Berlin, Kurfürstendamm, photo by Ciana Pullen, 2014.

Rooftop near Gare de Paris Saint-Lazare, photo by Ciana Pullen

Rooftop near Gare de Paris Saint-Lazare, photo by Ciana Pullen, 2014.

Chairs Stacked in a Restaurant Window, Paris, photograph by Ciana Pullen

Chairs Stacked in a Restaurant Window, Paris, photograph by Ciana Pullen, 2014

Graffiti in Paris, photo by Ciana Pullen

Graffiti in Paris, photo by Ciana Pullen 2014.

Storefront with an Elephant, Paris, photo by Ciana Pullen

Storefront with an Elephant Head, Paris, photo by Ciana Pullen, 2014.

A single man watching a couple toss away their key on the "Padlock Bridge," Paris, by Ciana Pullen

A single man watching a couple toss away their key on the "Padlock Bridge," Paris, by Ciana Pullen, 2014

There's been a tradition since about 2008 for lovers to attach a padlock to the railing of the Pont des Arts bridge in Paris, then toss the key into the Seine to symbolize eternal love. So many thousands upon thousands of padlocks hang off the railing in glittering clumps that authorities are removing the railing and replacing it with plexiglass in order to protect the bridge from undue weight, thus ending the tradition. As I was passing under the bridge I caught this man standing alone and watching a couple toss their key into the Seine.

Roofline in Paris, Canal Saint-Martin neighborhood, photo by Ciana Pullen

Roofline in Paris, Canal Saint-Martin neighborhood, photo by Ciana Pullen, 2014.

Boat Scene on the Canal Saint Martin, Paris, photo by Ciana Pullen

Boat Scene on the Canal Saint Martin, Paris. Photo by Ciana Pullen, 2014

While most tourists take boat tours down the Seine, a boat tour of the Canal St. Martin is a lesser known (and cheaper) but still very interesting thing to do in Paris. It will take you through the Seine and past the Île de la Cité and Île Saint-Louis, but turns off down the canal commissioned by Napoleon. You'll go through an incredible 19th century underground tunnel, a series of locks, and a beautiful neighborhood popular with more local Parisians than tourists. I took this near one of the locks to capture the perfect blue and black lines and shapes.

Sketch of a Man Crocheting Near Centre Pompidou, Paris, by Ciana Pullen

Sketch of a Man in Paris, by Ciana Pullen, 2014.

I sketched this man as he was crocheting quietly on bench near the Centre Pompidou.

Reeds in Water, photograph by Ciana Pullen

Reeds in Water, San Juan Islands, Washington. Photo by Ciana Pullen, 2009.

Reeds in Water, San Juan Islands, Washington State. Photo by Ciana Pullen. This camping and hiking island paradise neighbors the Orcas Islands. Simply take a ferry from Seattle through the Straight of San Juan. From the highest peak on the island you can easily see the islands of the Canadian border to one side and the Cascade Mountains of Washington State on the other. Summer is the best time to go.