Tag Archives: vendors

Photographs: Europe, Photographs: Night, Photographs: Spain, Photographs: Travel, Photographs: Urban/Street

Mercado de Navidad, Plaza Mayor

Image Leave a comment
Mercado de Navidad, Plaza Mayor, Madrid.
“Mercado de Navidad, Plaza Mayor” — Crowds at the Christmas market at Plaza Mayor, Madrid.

One of the great things about travel is that you get to enjoy being naive. No, really. When you go to new places, it is completely normal to not understand everything you see, every tradition, every experience, every norm. It happens in different ways, both major and minor. It happened on this late 2024 trip to parts of Germany, France, and Spain. We knew that we would visit German Christmas markets, but they we learned that Germany has no monopoly on these seasonal events, and they are popular everywhere.

The market in Madrid’s Plaza Mayor was one of the larger ones we encountered in that city. We intended to mostly avoid this tourist magnet, but we ended up there for several reasons after all. First, it seemed to us that we were seeing a lot of Spanish people there — not just international tourists. Second, it was quite impressive to see the place decked out in holiday lights.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist. His book, “California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Autumn in the Sierra” from Heyday Books, is available directly from G Dan Mitchell.

Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email
Articles | Sales | Sierra Nevada Fall Color | Contact Info

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others as indicated. Any use requires advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Photographs: England, Photographs: Travel, Photographs: Urban/Street

Borough Market

Image Leave a comment
Borough Market
“Borough Market” — Shoppers at London’s Borough Market.

Borough Market is located near the south end of London Bridge, which was not far from where we stayed in June this year. (We were near Blackfriars Bridge.) I recall the first time we visited the market on a previous visit, and I loved the bustling place, especially the old steel and glass roof above parts of it. My only regret is that there’s little reason for me to actually shop for many of the products there… when we don’t have access to a kitchen!

This time we walked there from our home base one morning, the plan being partly to get coffee and partly to just visit the market again. As we walked around I was reminded that two main subjects here are the structure sure itself and the crowds of people passing by. This photograph looks past a section of the market devoted to cheese vendors and toward a more brightly lit area open to the sky.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist. His book, “California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Autumn in the Sierra” is available from Heyday Books, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

Blog | About | Instagram | Flickr | Facebook | Threads | Post | Email

Links: Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Info.

Scroll down to share comments or questions. (Click post title first if viewing on the home page.)

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others as indicated. Any use requires advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Photographs: New York City, Photographs: Urban/Street

Strolling on Madison Avenue

Image Leave a comment
Strolling on Madison Avenue
Pedestrians stroll past street vendor stalls on Madison Avenue, Manhattan.

Strolling on Madison Avenue. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

Pedestrians stroll past street vendor stalls on Madison Avenue, Manhattan.

We did quite a bit of walking on our August Manhattan visit. We have a (perverse, according to New Yorkers) habit of visiting during August, something that dates back to the days of summer vacation from my teaching work. But August isn’t exactly the most pleasant time to be in New York City… unless you are a fan of hot weather and ridiculous humidity levels. As a Californian, where we deal with the temperatures but emphatically not the humidity, I’m not one of those fans. Fortunately for us, on this visit the weather was actually quite pleasant.

Our walk on this day took us down into midtown, where we first stopped for an outdoor breakfast along one of the thoroughfares. (Here I discovered something new to me: “All you can drink morning cocktails” — you pay a higher fee and get bottomless cocktails for 90 minutes. Uh, no. Just no. We did not do that!) We resumed out walk, looped over and past the UN Plaza and then heading back toward the center of town, eventually heading back uptown on Madison, which appeared to have been closed for some sort of street market or fair.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist. His book, “California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Autumn in the Sierra” is available from Heyday Books, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

Blog | About | Twitter | Flickr | Facebook | Email

Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

Scroll down to leave a comment or question. (Click this post’s title first if you are viewing on the home page.)

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others as indicated. Any use requires advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Photographs: Italy

Street Vendors Standing on Sidewalk

Leave a comment

Street Vendors Standing on Sidewalk
Street vendors stand and wait along a sidewalk next to the Arno in Florence, Italy.

Street Vendors Standing on Sidewalk. Florence, Italy. August 28, 2016. © Copyright 2016 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Street vendors stand and wait along a sidewalk next to the Arno in Florence, Italy.

I don’t completely understand the economics of these street vendors, but I do know that I’ve been seeing them all over Europe — at least where we’ve been and at least in big cities, and without fail in any locale that attracts lots of tourists. They were around in London. In Paris they seem to have perfected the art of evading the police while selling little Eiffel Tower trinkets, and here in Florence they sell odd little toys, selfie sticks, and “art.”

In Florence I mostly saw a small range of trinkets for sale: prints of somewhat gaudy paintings (more on that subject in another forthcoming photograph), the ubiquitous selfie sticks, some little balloon-like toy that they smash on the ground and allow to resume its original shape, and lighted toys to toss in the air. These guys can’t possibly be making a lot of money, and I don’t envy them having to make a living this way. This small group of them was standing and waiting in a shaded area right next to an area extremely crowded with tourists.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist. His book, “California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Autumn in the Sierra” is available from Heyday Books and Amazon.
Blog | About | Flickr | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | LinkedIn | Email

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others as indicated. Any use requires advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.