Akron2Akron - North Hill: Culture & Concrete

After a brief hiatus the Akron2Akron neighborhood walking tours have returned. The first one focused on North Hill and was lead by John Ughrin, North Hill resident and head of the North Hill Neighborhood Group. It was a bit of a dreary day but there was still a great turnout. We started at the library then visited Family Grocery, The Exchange House, and The African Market. We ended with some music and drinks at Lynn's Pub.

Akron2Chattanooga

The Ohio & Erie Canalway Coalition and Knight Foundation sponsored a trip for community leaders and & activists to study what Chattanooga has done right to revitalize their community. The city is a similar size as Akron so it was enlightening and inspiring to see how bustling and full of local businesses and residential their downtown was. They still have certain neighborhoods that are struggling and they didn't try to gloss over that. But it seems that if the same efforts and planning that went into turning around their downtown the future in these parts of town is hopeful too. 

This is slideshow/video I put together of some of the photos I shot on the trip.

France Part 2: Paris-Roubaix

Erin and I had planned our trip to coincide with the most famous single day bike race in the world - Paris-Roubaix. So we left Montmarte and hopped on the TGV(high speed train) to the French/Belgian border in the city of Lille. From Lille we took the local train into the town of Roubaix. Roubaix had the vibe of a working-class English city. We stayed in a Air BnB house with a woman and her son and after we were settled decided to head back to Lille for some dinner and drinks. The vibe & architecture was quite Belgian and the town was busy and exciting. The cycling race was in the morning and we had a British bus tour arranged - more on all that below.

France Part 1: From Montmarte

Erin in I arrived in France at Charles de Gaulle Airport and took the train & subway into Paris and ultimately to our Airbnb on Montmarte - the tallest hill in the City of Light. Montmarte was originally a separate village with wineries and windmills and some famous artists as residents. The hill is topped with the church Sacré-Coeur(which can be seen from all over the city) and at the edge of the neighborhood is the red light district of Pigale which is where the legendary Moulin Rouge is. Our room had an amazing view of the Parisian skyline including the Eiffel Tower and Notre Dame- I stood at the window for a long time when we first arrived(above photo). So this was our home base for the first couple days in France and these are some of the photo I took during that period.

Adventure Time

So I am heading off on another adventure - and pretty much the first long one since I started this business. Its actually not a beach vacation at all - I just wanted to make that photo. I'm heading to the North of France to Photograph the most famous single day bicycle race in the world - Paris-Roubaix or "The Hell of the North" or "L'enfer du Nord" or "A Sunday in Hell" or "The Queen of the Classics" or "la Pascale".... you get the point, anything with this many nicknames has to be great. It is one of cycling's five monuments and also a "cobbled classic" - one of the races in the North of France or Belgium that partly takes place on ancient cobbled streets - miserable to ride/legendary to win. I will also be heading to Paris and Provence. I won't have my cell service turned on but I will still be responsive to emails and any other social media(all links are on the main website).