A couple of fun koindinks today. First, I landed on the ruins of the Echo Mountain Resort early enough to avoid the crowds, so I was able to enjoy a cup of chai and a morning read, in the spot where, a century ago, travelers partied, danced, gambled, and frolicked,  and I came across this Byron stanza, totally unplanned:

In Venice Tasso’s echoes are no more,

And silent rows the songless gondolier;

Her palaces are crumbling to the shore,

And music meets not always now the ear:

Those days are gone–but Beauty still is here;

States fall, arts fade–but Nature doth not die,

Nor yet forget how Venice once was dear,

The pleasant place of all festivity,

The revel of the earth, the masque of Italy!

from Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage, Canto IV, by Lord Byron

Second, I finished this early spring morning walk at Cafe de Leche, in Altadena. Now, any joint that’s going to have Joe Dassin’s “Champs Elysées” on their playlist is alright by me. I used to really dig this stuff as a kid, go figure. It’s really, really obscure, unless you’re a fifty-something francophone with questionable musical tastes.

Walking Project 118_unedited #01 – echo from chris worland on Vimeo.