Have you ever been on a photowalk?

I first heard someone talking about one during a tech conference …. a bunch of photography enthusiasts who were also conference attendees went out exploring as a group for an hour or two, usually in the morning or evening for best light.

The walk was at CES (the Consumer Electronics Show) in Las Vegas, so the eye candy was all around.

In Los Angeles, the tourism office knows how important visuals are to the LA visitor experience, and their Los Angeles Photo of the Day blog is hugely popular. They also periodically host photowalks with local photographers.

One event used the standard hop-on, hop-off LA tourist bus tour – a great way to visit a lot of iconic, interesting places in a short period of time.

Enjoy the video below (direct link on YouTube) and see if your own local tourism office would like to host a photowalk.

They’ll probably want participants to sign over rights to the photos taken – so they can use them in marketing your town – but if you’re OK with that, it should be a fun experience.

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Eighty percent of people in the US who have a grandmother or great-grandmother have seen her bring out the Fiesta dinnerware to set the table.

OK, that’s completely untrue, but still….the colorful pottery launched in 1936 and it is still made today in Newell, West Virginia (where you can take a Fiesta factory tour.)

Update: Here’s a Midwest Guest blog post about visiting the factory – thanks to blog author Dominique for telling me about it!

It’s sturdy and homey, and you can find it at lots of flea markets like Renninger’s in Mount Dora, Florida, in addition to retail outlets.

My own grandmother did have a set, so whenever I see a Fiesta plate or butter dish or one of their swoopy, futuristic pitchers, I think of her tidy little house in Winnsboro, Texas.

The dining table would be set for supper with pimiento cheese sandwiches, chilled red onion slices and glasses of sweet tea.

Round Fiesta light green salt and pepper shakers sat in the middle of the table, colorful and nicely designed, but useful….very much like her.

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Travel inspiration is often very visual;  for those of us who are “of a certain age,” vacation slide shows hold some appeal even today.

Okay, here’s what a slide is and how it’s made.  Geesh.

That same tendency has moved online. The latest incarnation of what I call “social photography” is the digital display board website called Pinterest.

There are collaborative boards featuring UNESCO World Heritage sites.

There are boards featuring local events like Savannah, Georgia’s St Patrick’s Day bash (click through the screenshot photo above to see the full board.)

There are boards featuring Guatemala.

There are even boards featuring content from here on Perceptive Travel.  Rather meta, I know.

Do you have an interesting Pinterest Board related to your own travels? Tell us about it in the comments!

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Welcome to the Carnival of Cities blog carnival, where we tour the world in a single post, via submissions from a variety of different blogs, all about any aspect of one, single city or fair-sized town.

The previous Carnival edition was hosted on Sheila’s Guide, and you’ll find the next one (January 25, 2012) there as well.

If you would like to host a future Carnival edition on your blog, please contact me at Sheila “at” sheilascarborough “dot” com. Thanks!

Off we go….

Cities in Europe

London, England Tui Cameron presents Kensal Green: a Historic Victorian Graveyard in London posted at Mental Mosaic: Even Home is a Travel Destination, saying, “London’s Kensal Green Cemetery was the first of London’s for-profit cemeteries, a group which came to be known as the “Magnificent Seven.” This beautiful garden-style cemetery is a great spot for bird-watching and taking photos, so bring your binoculars as well as your camera. If you’re lucky, you might even see a fox!”

Lisbon, Portugal April D. Thompson presents A Tasty Tease in Lisbon posted at The Absolute Travel Addict.

Berlin, Germany Carole Terwilliger Meyers presents Good Eats: Hasenecke/Currywurst, Berlin, Germany posted at Travels With Carole.

Stockholm, Sweden Lola Akinmade Åkerström presents Christmas Market in Gamla stan, Stockholm, Sweden posted at The Swedish photo blog — blogs.sweden.se, saying, “I finally hit a couple of the Christmas markets (Julmarknader) around Stockholm this week and here are scenes from one of the more popular markets located within Stortorget in Gamla stan (Old town). Here, you can pick up a variety of porcelain ornaments, festive decorations and wooden gnomes as well as dig into gingerbread cookies (pepparkakor), mulled wine (glögg), candied almonds, jams, and deli meats.”

Rome, Italy Shelly Rivoli presents Rome’s tradition of the Befana… and her trouble-shooting small broom posted at Travels with Baby Tips by Shelly Rivoli, saying, “In Rome, Babbo Natale (Santa Claus) is not the only one to pay a call to children over the holidays. The beloved witch “Befana” may also bring treats Epiphany Eve in a Roman tradition that is centuries old.”

London, England Karen Bryan presents 7 of the Best London Museums posted at Europe A La Carte Blog, saying, “London has some great museums and most of them are free to visitors.”

Berlin, Germany Nicole Blake presents Berlin State of Mind posted at nicole is the new black, saying, “A picture post about the strange things I see in Berlin.”

Cities in Asia

Singapore Alex presents Eating like the locals in Singapore posted at Hejorama.

Bangkok, Thailand Brian Spencer presents BKK Must Eats – Feasts at Jae On posted here at Perceptive Travel Blog.

Cities in the Americas

Rochester, New York, USA Koketso Ferreira (via Meg Colombo) presents Kwanzaa Family Day at the MAG (Memorial Art Gallery) posted at Rochester Arts.

Cuenca, Ecuador wandermom presents Family Friendly Activities in Cuenca Ecuador posted at WanderMom.

Asheville, North Carolina, USA Globetrottergirls presents Independence through Independents – Asheville, NC posted at Globetrottergirls.

Orlando, Florida, USA Eileen Ludwig presents SeaWorld Christmas Celebration Winter Wonderland Ice Skating posted at Freelance Tourist: Travel Tips.

Annapolis, Maryland, USA Jeremy Branham presents Annapolis welcomes me home posted at Budget Travel Adventures, saying, “Here’s an overview of Annapolis Maryland – a place that doesn’t get enough attention.”

Greenwood, Mississippi, USA I wrote Travel Post Friday: Peace and Quiet on the Tallahatchie River on Sheila’s Guide.

Fairbanks, Alaska, USA Nancy Brown presents Insider Tips on Things to See and Do in Fairbanks, Alaska posted at Nancy D Brown, saying, “I enjoyed visiting Fairbanks in the height of summer and the dead of winter. This is a unique Alaska city.”

Grapevine, Texas, USA Adam Groffman presents Hipster things to do in my hometown: Grapevine, Texas posted at Travels of Adam, saying, “Recently revisited my hometown and discovered it was actually pretty cool.”

Quito, Ecuador Tom Bartel presents Looking down on Quito – Andean Drift posted at Andean Drift.

Boulder City, Nevada, USA Kayla presents Hoover Dam posted at Adventures in Heritage, saying, “During a trip to the Grand Canyon and Vegas I stopped at the Hoover Dam, an amazing engineering feat.”

That concludes this Carnival edition, and thank you for visiting.

Please submit your (ONE, non-spammy) blog post to the next edition of the Carnival of Cities using our carnival submission form.

Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

If I could spend a day going all over the US, with instant transport from one place to another and an unlimited budget, here is where I’d go and what I’d do in 2012….some of these places I discovered in 2011, others I’ve known for a long time and one I’ve never visited….

Morning

Wake up at:

• The Down East perfection of the Pentagöet Inn, Castine, Maine or
• The homey Library Suite at the Prairie Moon Bed & Breakfast, Hutchinson, Kansas or
• A Southern grande dame, the King Edward Hotel, Jackson, Mississippi or
• A giant of literary history at the Algonquin Hotel, New York City

Breakfast at:

• Bah’s Bakehouse (muffins! scones!) near the Castine waterfront or
• Billy’s Downtown Diner (omelettes!) in downtown Bethlehem, Pennsylvania or
• The Homemade Cafe (pecan waffles! home fries!) in Berkeley, California

Spend the morning:

• Thinking and learning at the National World War I Museum, Kansas City, Missouri or
• Bodysurfing on the Na Pali Coast, Kauai or
• Marveling at musical craftsmanship at the American Banjo Museum, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma or
• Stepping back into the Revolution at Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia

Lunch

Feeling seafood-ish for my midday meal at:

• Paia Fish Market, Maui (or these other places to eat in Paia) or
• Pike Place Market, Seattle, Washington

Afternoon

Afternoon spent:

• Shopping in gracious Savannah, Georgia or
• Heating up in a mud bath at either Dr. Wilkinson’s in Calistoga, California or the Bath House in Jemez Springs, New Mexico or
• Taking a Chicago Architecture Foundation docent-led river cruise past incredible buildings in Chicago, Illinois or
• Going for a swim in Wekiwa Springs, Florida or Barton Springs in Austin, Texas or the spring-fed pool at Balmorhea State Park in western Texas (I’ve always wanted to see Balmorhea.)

Mid-afternoon snack:

• Garrett Popcorn in Chicago (The Chicago Mix flavor, of course) or
• A Ted Drewes frozen custard at the original stand on Route 66, St. Louis, Missouri

Evening

Sunset:

• Key West, Florida or
• Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, California

Dinner at:

• Brady Tavern, Tulsa, Oklahoma or
• The Old Lahaina Luau, Maui or
• Really, any BBQ joint in Memphis, Tennessee

Wrap it up with:

• WaterFire in Providence, Rhode Island or
• YOUR recommendation down in the comments! Give us some ideas, from anywhere in the US, for an evening activity.

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