Vacation Retrospective

Confessions of a traveler!

As I selected Retrospective for this week’s TPC theme, I thought it would be nice to look back at countries visited during the 2010s! So here it goes!

Austria

Love atop the Stephanskirche!

Looking down from the shorter tower of the Stephanskirche provides an incredible view across all of Vienna!

Canada

Walking among the treetops!

In Vancouver, BC, I got to walk among the treetops, high up above the canyon floor (below…)

Scotland

Skye is simply stunning!

On the Isle of Skye, I got to see some of the most incredible landscapes, such as here, where I’m a ways up in the Quiraing range. I could sit here forever and watch the clouds change the landscape!

Israel

Apollonia National Park

I got some time in Israel to explore the Apollonia National Park in Herzliya; this amazing Roman settlement was a wonder to behold!

Italy

Looking across Massa Maritima

Our Italian trip was filled with amazing towns (idea for some posts…), such as Massa Maritima; the hill towns in Tuscany are just stunning! And the food was awesome too!

Netherlands

Centraal Station, Rotterdam

As can be expected, there have been numerous trips to the Netherlands, and Rotterdam is still among my favorite cities in this world!

Iceland

The Herring Era

Iceland is filled with amazing vistas, and I spent way too little time there (4 days) to scratch the surface. One of my discoveries was the Herring Era museum in Siglufjördur! It brought one back to a different time!

Czech Republic

Looking up in Prague!

Sometimes, travel doesn’t go as planned, and you get to spend an additional 24 hours in a location. This happened in Prague, which is not a bad place to find yourself in!

Ukraine

A view in Kharkiv

My visit to Ukraine was fantastic, as the hospitality was amazing and I got to see some of the sights, such as the view here!

England

Albert Docks at Night

Liverpool, England, was an impromptu visit that gave me the opportunity to see my favorite Premier League team play at Anfield, their home ground! A fantastic city too!

In less than 2 weeks, I will be in India, so the adventure continues!!

Tuesday Photo Challenge – Roll

Welcome to week 154 of the Tuesday Photo Challenge!

Of course, after a week of Rocking entries, you fully expected that we’d Roll into this week! Yes, I gave into the tempation of using Rock and Roll in consecutive weeks. As Roll can take a number of meanings, you can roll the dice to select the one you want to use. Whether a bread roll, a bed roll, or a ball rolling down the hill, I look forward to see what wonderful ideas come rolling in this week!

Please remember to have some fun with this week’s theme!

When the tide rolls out…

The Tide Rolled Out

As I’ve used this image a number of times for various purposes, my commitment for this week is to shoot something new to roll into this week’s round up… I have some ideas!

The full rules of this challenge are in TPC Guidelines, but here’s the tl;dr:

  • Write a post with an image for this week’s topic
  • Please tag your post with fpj-photo-challenge (if you’re not sure about how tags work, please check out this WordPress article about tagging posts)
  • Create a pingback link to this post, so that I can create a post showing all of the submissions over the week (note: pingbacks may not appear immediately, as my site is set up to require approval for linking to it; helps against previous bad experiences with spamming)
  • Have fun creating something new (or sharing something old)!!

Go ahead and roll with it, and let the good times roll!

Tuesday Photo Challenge – Round Up 145

Rising to the occasion!

Welcome to the 145th round up of the Tuesday Photo Challenge!

Why am I not surprised that the theme of Rose caused the cream of your creativity to rise to the top? This was a big week of contributions with tons of roses and some things that rose to the occasion! The rose sky is alos tryly amazing! Thank you very much for providing me with another week of wonderful reading, which I enjoyed immensely!

I hope that you enjoy all these great posts!

Here’s the view of the Bay of Fundy, before the water rose….

Bay of Fundy

This shot goes way back and is one of my favorite locations in the world: Nova Scotia! Together with its Old World namesake, it makes for great photography.

The following were this week’s participants in the challenge with links to their posts:

  1. In A Day in the Life, we learn about the rose cultivation by her grandfather with wonderful photography!
  2. With another amazing post in Geriatri’X’ Fotogallery, we find out that a rose is a rose…or is it?
  3. Kammie shares a a variety of roses in her post in Nut House Central; which one of is your favorite?
  4. Shelley’s post in Quaint Revival shows how she rose above her loss of faith in tenants; it’s a post well worth reading!
  5. This week, pensivity101 shares her love of roses and their meaning in her life.
  6. With some stunning photos in Chateaux des Fleurs, we get treated to beautiful roses!
  7. Nicole has another stunning photograph in Une Photo, un Poéme; that white rose is amazing!
  8. With a great photo, as always, we get to see roses, as they age in theonlyD800inthehameau!
  9. In Don’t Hold Your Breath, we learn how the Umiam lake rose into being during the past century.
  10. Xenia takes us along for a walk with Eivor and Pearl in her blog WhippetWisdom, and the trail is wonderful, even after the storm!
  11. Na’ama’s poem in Na’ama Yehuda gives us the sense of what a rose might go through during aging…
  12. In Junk Boat Travels, Jackie provides an interesting collection of roses…had you thought of any of these?
  13. Cee’s photos of roses in her post in Cee’s Photography are absolutely stunning!
  14. Sarah’s photo in her post in By Sarah is another amazing one! That is a gorgeous rose!
  15. Mike truly created a gorgeous capture of a rose in his post in PhotographyOCD! A rose is a rose!
  16. In Bushboys World, Brian shares some amazing roses with us! They are beautiful!
  17. Jase’s post in Proscenium shows us the beautiful rose color of the sky, which is gorgeous!
  18. Irene’s photo in her post in Heaven’s Sunshine has an amazing rose, that looks like butter and is just as silky…
  19. In a wonderful post in La Vie en Rose, we get to enjoy the banks of the Seine with a stunning photo!
  20. Tracy’s blog may be called Reflections of an Untidy Mind, but her photos are very tidy and fantastic!!
  21. In Pictures without Film, Ken takes several approaches to the theme and they are a true joy!
  22. In another inspiring post in Heart to Heart, get to see a stunning rose!
  23. Debbie’s catches the wave in her post in Travel with Intent; that wave rose high and looks like a true work of art!
  24. Penny’s post in Penny Wilson Writes is a double winner with a gorgeous rose and a poem that goes deep!
  25. Yinglan captured something rather special in her post in This is Another Story; beautifully done!
  26. Woolly’s post in Woolly Muses reminds us not just of the beauty of the rose, but also of the importance of certain locations…
  27. Sandy lets us know that everything is rosy in her post in Out of my Write Mind, which applies for everything in her post!
  28. Liz’s contributes four posts this week; the first one in One Million Photographs has plenty of roses! The second in One Million Photographs finds more roses. The third entry in One Million Photographs has even more roses! The fourth entry in One Million Photographs has still more roses at the LA Flower Market!
  29. Maria captures a beautiful set of roses in her post in her blog KameraPromenader; those are gorgeous!
  30. Robert’s photography skill is on display again in his post in Photo Roberts Blog; these roses are amazing!
  31. In a great post in Another LQQK, we are treated to some amazing captures of roses!
  32. The rose in Jordy’s Streamings is an amazing example of photographic skill! The poem is awesome too!
  33. Hadd Hai Yaar brings us a gorgeous pink rose! Very well captured!
  34. Carol’s post in her blog Light Words takes the theme in two directions with a rose in her garden and a Rose who had a birthday!
  35. Another amazing photo is contributed in firehorseworld, with a stunning example of the flower!
  36. This week’s post in One letter UP – diary 2.0 not only has great roses, but also a wonderful memory!
  37. This week’s contribution in A Pause for Nature not only has gorgeous roses, but also tells a heart-touching story!
  38. Another enjoyable post from sgeoil brings us a rose which has a visitor!
  39. Olga plays with imperfection in her post in Stuff, and what if… to great effect!
  40. Ramya’s rose photos in her blog And miles to go before I sleep… are stunning!
  41. Amy shares her joy for the new photography toy that she is playing with in Photography Journal Blog; hipstamatic is fun!
  42. Susan goes with the theme in her Musin’ with Susan post with a rose that has a stunning color palette!
  43. Laura’s post in Finding My Own Way asks the question, if beauty ever dies…I agree with her answer!
  44. Ron’s photo in Progressing into Solitude is a stunner! That frosty rose is just special!!
  45. Khürt went outside to generate another amazing post in his blog Island in the Net; he also shares his best photo of the week in Island in the Net.

I hope that you enjoy these posts and let the authors know!

Tuesday Photo Challenge – Round Up 128

Superduper, awesome big!

Welcome to the 128th round up of the Tuesday Photo Challenge!  For the geeks among you: Round Up 0x80 or 0b10000000.

You really did Go Big in all your posts this week with lots of supersized items, many of which were captured with a sense of humor!  Your creativity showed through with the variety of your interpretations, as some were small, but dreamt big, while others were just insanely large!!

Thank you for producing all this pleasure to read and peruse!  It was a lot of fun!

Here’s something else that is really big…

bay-of-fundy_p2p8943_tonemapped-16x20
Bay of Fundy at Low Tide

The Bay of Fundy is known for its gargantuan tidal variations, as you can see in this image taken at low tide.  The tides vary as much as 15m (50′) and create some truly amazing effects, such as reversing rapids and rivers changing flow direction.

The following were this week’s participants in the challenge with links to their posts:

  1. In Don’t Hold Your Breath, we not only go big, but we also go fish!  Of course, we all know the story of that really big fish…
  2. With a fantastic photo in Land of Images takes us to one of my favorite locations in Scotland: Skye! An amazing big vista!
  3. Shelley goes really big in Quaint Revival, as she reaches for the sky in her post with wonderful images and text!
  4. Nicole found a wonderful example of a supersized world in her photo in Une Photo, Un Poéme, as she caught a crown princess!
  5. We get a super view of the moon in pensivity101‘s blog post, as she captured a super moon and its effect on the tides.
  6. Petra goes super tall in her post in Photoworld vol. 3, which is achieved with an incredibly impressive wind turbine of 170m!
  7. Xenia’s post in whippetwisdom treats us to the big skies and golden hills with winding paths, along which Eivor and Pearl love to walk.  In a second post in Tranature, we see how big those cygnets have grown with a wonderful haiku!
  8. Ramya’s post in her lovely blog And Miles to go before I sleep… takes us to Bhuleshwar Temple and examines its beauty and size!
  9. Stella shares some really big human creations in Giggles & Tales, which range from the Martin Luther King memorial in Washington, D.C., to the Sacre Coeur in Paris.
  10. In a lovely post in mytravelcsp we get treated to some of the biggest, which include the Burj Khalifa and the Grand Canyon!
  11. A truly interesting photo in Chateaux des Fleurs provides us with a rather oversized mask that makes me wonder how big the wearer would be.
  12. In another great post in her blog Heaven’s Sunshine, Irene takes us into the desert for a look at the big background!
  13. In VegasGreatAttractions we get introduced to a Guinness Book of World Records certified biggest: the Bellagio Chocolate Fountain!
  14. Kammie’s post in The Nut House has some interesting big items, each of which may just put a smile on your face!
  15. The Buddha in Na’ama Yehuda‘s post is truly as big as the sky, and her poem lets you know more about this wonder!
  16. In Q’s Place, we end up in London and find a rather big clock, and an even bigger ferris wheel!
  17. Jason is spot on in his post in Proscenium, as that is all bark and no bite! I’m trying to figure out how they got it inside the house!
  18. Marie takes us to a place I want to visit in her post in the New 3Rs: Retire, Recharge, Reconnect: Karnak is truly magnificent!!
  19. The entrance is sure grand and big in theOnlyD800intheHameau‘s post! I’d love to see what the interior looks like!
  20. With hands like that, boccia becomes interesting, as you see in Geriatri’X’ Fotogallery, which is a bit of an odd ball!
  21. Deb’s photo in Twenty Four captures an epic wave, which I’m sure requires an epic surfer!
  22. In a beautifully photographed post in Out of my Write Mind, Sandy brings us a set of natural yardstick to measure big!
  23. Cee finds some interesting big items in her post in Cee’s Photography; which one do you like best?
  24. This week’s post in One letter UP – diary 2.0 focuses on something that you’d prefer not to see big…
  25. Maria finds a spot in her post in KameraPromenader that looks like a great diving off point…too high for me!
  26. Susan takes us to Strassbourg in her post in Musin’ with Susan, and she’s right that it dwarfs the city around it!
  27. In a lovely post in Heart to Heart, we find a fantastic Buddha at Thimpu, which is truly big!
  28. Debbie’s humor comes through loud and clear in Travel with Intent, as she’s capture an enlarging recipe that can save you from kidnap!
  29. Brian’s photos not only capture the big, but also present humor, as we can see in Bushboy’s World; now to get on that motorcycle!!
  30. In Life Amazing there are not not only some fatanstically big landmarks, but also has something that is just too large for one’s wrist!
  31. Hammad’s post in the Blog of Hammad Rais might not feature the biggest item, but it can dream!
  32. The post in Junkboat Travels finds something junky that is unbelievably big! Who drank that soda?
  33. Olga can’t be outdone on Earth in her choice of big in her post in Stuff and what if…; the Pacific Ocean!
  34. Sonia’s post in Sonia’s Musings takes us to Athirapally falls, which are not only stunning, but also bring back memories!
  35. A wonderful post in Photography Journal Blog features one of the the places that I’d like to visit: the Alhambra!
  36. Maria takes us to stunning location in CitySonnet, where birds rule and use up every inch of space and then some!
  37. Stunning architecture is supersized in Hadd Hai Yaar‘s post, which also has this rather interesting robot…
  38. In a fantastic post in A Pause for Nature, we meet up with a big lady who welcomes your tired, your poor, your huddled masses to breathe free!
  39. In Pragun’s Panchtattwa, we find that a bangle that might just be a little large to put on one’s wrist….
  40. In Pictures without Film, we find a post that introduces us to the Drumtroddan Stones, which are definitely too big to lift!
  41. In a great post in This is Another Story, Yinglan takes us to Nature for some rather big features!
  42. Tatiana captures some supersized boats in her post in TravelArtPix, as the are in port in Cozumel!  In a second post in TravelArtPix by Eduardo José Accorinti, we get treated to Patagonian raspberries!
  43. In sgeoil‘s post, we are treated to a beautifully shot photograph that features the big sky that looms!
  44. In a really cool post in A Day in the Life, we are introduced to a cousin, who is a bit taller…
  45. Khürt finds the big M in his photo in Island in the Net, as the teams have left the field and only Khürt (and the janitors) remain!
  46. Ju-Lyn’s post in All Things Bright and Beautiful shows some lily pads that look big enough for me to take a nap on!
  47. Miriam takes us Out an’ About to the Portland Dunes and the coastal area, as we learn about driving in the dunes (tall pole with flag required). A great travel post that makes me want to visit!
  48. In a wonderful post in A Thousand Miles, Ilka comes across a bug of significant size (huge, she says) in the forest…what do you think about it?
  49. In Woolly Muses‘s post, we get to see a rather large pumpkin in Hobbiton…it makes me wonder, if big is smaller there! That soda will quench a lot of thirsts, though!
  50. And, in Trash Panda Steph‘s post, we go to the hills, really big hills that look truly stunning!!

I hope that you enjoy these posts and let the authors know!

A View of Vancouver

The higher view

This year, I have been traveling quite a bit for business with locations including Israel, Istanbul, Vienna, Brno, Kharkiv and, recently, Vancouver.

A lot of business travel is time spent in meetings, often starting early and running late into dinner and beyond. Occasionally, there is time to break away from the meetings and see something of the city that you’re visiting.  In Vancouver,  during a great OpenStack Summit, I had a couple of opportunities, as there were some great things to do close to the convention center; the convention center is an amazing facility and has wonderful architecture.

The first thing that I got to do is go on a seaplane ride, which provided a great view of Vancouver, the bay and surrounding area.

2018-05-22 17.16.34
Vancouver, Stanley Park and Coal Harbour

The view here is of the city of Vancouver, Stanley Park and Coal Harbour, as seen from the seaplane.  If you look carefully in the middle left-hand side of the image, you see the grass roof of the Vancouver Convention Centre, where OpenStack Summit was held.

More images to come soon!  Have a wonderful day!

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