Stormy skies over Cirque du Soleil. This was last week in late afternoon. The early show crowd had mostly gone in and there were just a few late-comers heading up the steps.
They are running a special for Florida residents right now. Buy one ticket and get a second for just Twenty-five dollars. That is a very good deal.

Florida Residents Click Here and enter your zip code.

These two sculptures of found and recycled scraps loom outside one of the entrances to The House of Blues in Downtown Disney. When they have the big art show in the fall, they have a separate section in this area of "Outsider Art" which is one of my favorite parts of the show. Much originality and creativity using found and discarded items to create fun artful pieces.

Cirque du Soleil Gift shop window. Spotted this mannequin in the window last week. This isn't one of the costumes from La Nouba, the show we have here but seems to be special for celebrating Cirque du Soleil's Twentyfifth Anniversary. The Dream Continues!! I've only been to this Cirque show and have seen many of the others on television but it is an unforgettable experience. One day I'd like to go to Las Vegas to see the three that are performed there.

The Pizza maker at Wolfgang Puck's. They use a real brick oven to bake the tasty little pizzas. The mosaic work is all over the restaurant and is nicely done. Note the ceramic pizza slices over the opening of the oven. I like whimsey.

The House of Blues in Downtown Disney is just under this water tower. It has a large theatre that has featured some big name stars like B.B. King and others. It also has a restaurant and a clothing/gift shop. In the back there are some fun mosaic walls and arches which I featured last year.
Click Here to learn more about the water tower and who will be perfoming next.
*Five more weeks until I leave for Paris.

I met my inherited daughter and a friend for dinner at Downtown Disney last night. My favorite Virgin Megastore has been replaced with a Princess Diana Museum. They spent quite a bit of money redoing the building but it didn't seem to have many people paying the $14.50 to go inside to see the exhibits. According to reports, this is a temporary exhibit. Here's more.

Reflection. At the eye doctor's I found a parking space in front of the building. Large window relected my car. It was nice to be able to check to make sure my lights were working. I took this photo and just realized that it appears that my steering wheel and I are on the wrong side. A reversed self portrait of my car and me.

My red navel orange tree is loaded with green fruit so it looks like I will have a nice harvest this winter. I bought an ice cream/sorbet machine and orange sorbet will be on the menu later this year.

Since today is Sunday just follow the signs.

We now have a large bookstore in the Loop, our newest mall. I keep being drawn to the the travel section and checking to see if there are any books on Paris that I have missed. Don't think so. I think I have most, if not all, of them.

Skywatch Friday. This is the time of year for thunderstorms here in Florida and as pretty as these clouds are they can turn into wild and windy downpours. Florida is very flat so these clouds on the horizon are my Florida mountains.
To see the other Skywatch Friday photos: Click Here

This is Gracie, my garage cat. She moved into the garage many years ago after the previous garage cat died. She is Shadow's mother and although they don't look alike they are similar in personality. His litter was born in the garage and after adopting him and finding homes for his siblings, Gracie visited the Vet and was spayed. She goes outside in the morning and terrorizes the cats who hang out in my backyard. I think she does it for sport and to get a bit of exercise but she mostly just lays in the laundry basket and sleeps. I've lost track of how old she is but Shadow is over eight years old and she must be three or four years older but she has kept her looks and doesn't look a day over five.

I had my eye exam last week and yesterday my final fitting for new contact lenses. I haven't worn them in years but want to try again and I wanted to pick out new glasses while wearing them. Without my glasses I am blind as the proverbial bat so picking out new frames is quite a challenge. I can only see them from about 5 inches from the mirror and in the past have been unhappily surprised when the lenses are in and I can see.
So this lovely young Optician ordered my new contacts for me and helped me select new frames for my new prescription. Her name is Wendy. She is holding my new frames. We had a fun time laughing and exchanging stories.
Can I count her towards the Stranger challenge?

This is a photo of my cat, Shadow. He's a real character and likes to do his vulture pose. He hangs his head and paws over the edge of whatever he's on. This time he caught me and looked up.
Okay, I told you I'm desperate and running out of photos. I need to get out tomorrow and see what I can find. I promise.

When you are walking around Epcot Center on a hot day and need some relief head to the Land pavillion. It used to be sponsored by Kraft but now it's Nestle but the one ride that is soothing and relaxing is still the same. It's almost a zen experience. It's a boat ride on a manmade stream that takes you backstage to a hydroponic garden that is incredible. There are also fish tanks for fish farming and some typical Disney music and eye candy but the garden is my favorite spot. They tell us that the food produced here is used in Disney restaurants. I always want to reach out and pluck a banana or tomato from the plant. It is forbidden so I don't.
Bottom photo was taken just before entering the garden area. Click on any photos to enlarge.

A manhole cover at downtown Celebration. Can you tell that I'm running out of ideas this week. I need to go out and scout out some interesting places to photograph. I've been running on empty lately and my mind is on my October trip to Paris but I will make time this week to take my camera out looking for adventure.

On sale this week. Bins and stacks of them in every supermarket and produce stand. They look good and I'll probably get one this weekend. I would rather have one of those lovely little ones they have in France but I'll settle for one of these for now.

I've not joined Skywatch Friday but since it's Friday and there's quite a bit of sky in this shot of two old palm trees, I thought I'd post it. I may add a link to the other SkyWatch Friday posts if I can find it.
Lois gave me the link so to see the other Skywatch Friday posts,
Click Here. Thanks, Lois.

This fountain and statue are in Winter Park. A nice town on the northeast side of Orlando. Upscale shopping and dining and a nice walkable city. I met an Il Divo friend there last week. We went to the Morse Museum to see the Tiffany works, went to the farmer's market, walked through the park and then had lunch at Le Bistro, a very nice restaurant that is in back of the regular stores in a little alley. It was a nice afternoon except that on my way there a line of cars exiting the interstate were pulled over by the police and given tickets for turning right on red. I was the last one pulled over. I've been driving for 50 years and this was my first moving violation.
I've been trying to pay my ticket by phone but the automatic answering system keeps messing up and it also keeps saying that because of budget cuts, the wait will be longer.. Hahahah.. hopefully with all the tickets the police have been writing, they will be fully funded soon.
I did finally get through to someone and my ticket hadn't been put into the system yet. So I get to keep my money just a few days more.
I don't think I'l be returning to or suggesting Winter Park to my friends again.

Waiting. This was the view from a chair I was in while waiting for the Dermatogist. The glass wall and the starkness of the room gave a feeling of being in a science fiction film. The waiting area is on the other side of the curved glass wall and it is somewhat space age in a Florida way, also. It was my first time here and found it interesting. Soft colors, soft lighting and nice soft spoken staff made it very pleasant.

The grocery store had masses of flowers for sale. The roses looked so fresh and nice. Below are some of the others on display.

Temptation! I'm trying to eat healthier and resisted the temptation of these pastries while at the store. They did look yummy but I bought berries and yogurt instead. I'm feeling very rightious today but tomorrow may be a different outcome.

From the safari ride at Busch Gardens we saw this Giraffe. Most of the animals seemed comfortable with the vehicles and there is even a special one you can take in the back of an open truck. They stop and the giraffes come to the truck to be fed. We didn't do that one but it looked like fun.

I love chandeliers. This one was hanging in an antique store in a nearby town.

Lamps for sale at the Moroccan Pavillion at the World Showcase at Epcot Center, Disney World.

A night shot of one of the many fountains at Epcot's World Showcase.

This little fellow was behind glass in his habitat but when he looked at me like that I just wanted to bring him home. Not sure how my cats would feel about it but he might just blend in and get them to exercise more and sleep less.
Whoops.. forgot to say that he is a Lemur and although you cannot see his tail, he is a Ringtailed Lemur and they are from Madagascar

The ride stops at this point so the riders can be totally frightened out of their wits. Being suspended from this height and facing straight down is not my idea of fun.

It then drops them at a high rate of speed and sends them off on another track to go slowly up and fast down. I would go on an old regular coaster and I've been on a the one at Sea World and once went on the Hulk at Universal but the ones at Busch Garden are insane.

This is the lake at downtown Celebration. None of these boats were in the lake and I don't know if they are for rent or not but the young fisherman seemed to be having fun.

These green turtles were just hanging out at one of the game booths at Busch Gardens.

The City Daily Photo Theme for August 1st is "Night." This was taken on July 5th at Epcot's World Showcase at Disney World. There was a beautiful full moon that night and the lights had been lowered all around the World Showcase Lake in preparation for the nightly fireworks.

Visit other Daily City Photo Blogs: Click here to view thumbnails for all participants