Death Valley has numerous really great drives. There's Artist Palette (top photo), Twenty-mule Team Canyon (middle image), and the ride up to Dante's View (third photo).

- Sandy Noto

Finally made it to Death Valley. Mostly went to see the temporary lake that had formed at the Badwater Basin.

- Sandy Noto

The snuggle is still real. Kuma and Nugget are still pretty obsessed with each other.

- Sandy Noto

The snuggle is real. 

I've been taking advantage of the slower winter days to finally make some portfolio updates. Added the top image from El Calafate in Argentina.

- Sandy Noto

2023 has been an exceptionally good year for work and travel. I returned to freelancing after a long in-house and agency stint that started during the pandemic. I ended up much busier than I expected so I have yet to really organize my photos from the year. These photos are from a Palm Springs trip in November.

- Sandy Noto

The Empire Polo Club over in Indio, perhaps better known as "where Coachella happens", turns into a giant holiday-themed light show during this time of year.

- Sandy Noto

Photo taken from the ferry on the way to the Channel Islands of California.

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Finally, I'm back home after a long stretch of travel. Spent the last four days in Palm Springs.

- Sandy Noto

It took me a surprisingly long time to learn that it's worthwhile to stay near whatever you are traveling to see. Partially, when I started traveling, it was often just too expensive to stay at whatever hotel was nicest/closest. Staying nearby means you can stay longer and catch the early and late moments when crowds thin out. The image is from Igazu Falls first thing in the morning.

- Sandy Noto

My other favorite hotel to start or end a Tokyo trip is the Ascott Marunouchi. It's a quick skip from the Tokyo station, so it's an easy location to or from the airport. At the start of a trip, it's easy to get to and there's enough to see for jetlag mornings. For the end of a trip, it's a nice winddown but it's also close to the Imperial Palace and Ginza for last-minute tourist activities. It's also a good area for end-of-trip gift buying.

- Sandy Noto

Just returned from NYC, where I was reminded that the city is full of photography cheat codes. Also, lots of incredible food. I went to my favorite bbq pork bun spot, this bakery that has a great cheese stick (unfortunately, it now sells out early, so plan accordingly) and had some biang biang noodles.

- Sandy Noto

All my good intentions to keep and share good notes from trips are falling apart. I'm still slowly photo-editing Ireland images between projects but am heading to New York City tomorrow, so before I completely forget everything, here are some notes.

For hotels, we stayed at The Alex for the first night in Dublin. The bed was wildly comfortable, which I particularly appreciated in my jetlag state. After Dublin, we headed north to see the Giant's Causeway but somewhat foolishly didn't spend a night up there and drove directly back south to Doolin, where we stayed at the Elfin Cottage. We stumbled across the cottage on tiktok and it was as cute as advertised but also very cold. After Doolin, we spent two days in Kenmare at Sheen Falls Lodge. They organized a falconry session for us, and it was an excellent location for doing the Ring of Kerry drive, though I'd suggest skipping their onsite restaurants. Next up and pictured above was Cashel Palace Hotel, which was by far my favorite hotel of the trip. Lastly, to make the morning commute to the airport smooth, we headed back to Dublin and stayed at The Merrion.

For meals, lots of folks said to have low expectations, but Ireland just has a tight greatest-hits list for meals. If you like chowder and fish and chips, you'll probably be happy enough. We had an exceptionally great dinner in Dublin at Spitalfields and a great meal at the Cashel Hotel's restaurant, The Bishop's Buttery.

- Sandy Noto

It was easy to understand why there are so many golf courses around Ireland. The grass is perfect everywhere you look. I loved the texture of it.

- Sandy Noto

We drove a complete loop around Ireland. On this day, we went to visit the Cliffs of Moher. Strangely, half the fun was watching the wind whip everyone around. Also, the funny juxtaposition of epic scenery with lots of tourists next to farmland with cows lazing about.

- Sandy Noto

I'm finally getting organized and trying to jot down my favorite hotels. Over the years, I've had some success with hotel recommendations from Wallpaper*. Their suggestions are often architecturally lovely, with minimal pitfalls. I found K5 in Tokyo on Wallpaper*. It's a great hotel, especially for the start of a Tokyo visit. The bed is in the center of the room, but they use these dip-dyed curtains to create separation between the room and the bed.

- Sandy Noto

It can be oddly difficult to decide on where to eat when traveling. There are lots of lists of recommended spots for every major city but it's difficult to parse out what's hype or pay-to-play versus genuine. With hotels and restaurants, I usually pull together an initial list, sort out what's logistically possible, and then sort through reviews. Personally, I love spots that take a strong perspective on food and run with it. Photos are from Cabane d’à Côté in Montreal, where you meander through a farm and then have dinner. It's casual, wonderful and weirdly reminds me of summers with my family in Poland where we'd piece together dinner every night based on what was good in the garden.

From my travels, I've also really loved Expendio de Maíz in Mexico City and Septime in Paris.

- Sandy Noto

Currently in Ireland. So far, I've covered the Causeway Coast in the North, the Cliffs of Moher and the Cliffs of Kerry. The photo from my favorite of the three: Cliffs of Kerry.

- Sandy Noto