Thursday, August 31, 2006

Confederation Bridge

The Confederation Bridge is between New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island. According to wikipedia, it is over 8 miles long and up to 200 feet above the water. Before the bridge was completed in 1997, the only way to and from PEI was by ferry.

Tuesday, August 29, 2006

Halifax Citadel

Similar to Quebec City, Halifax has a star-shaped citadel. The Public Gardens are just to the southwest (you can see the red gazebo). Here's where my pictures of the gardens start.

Saturday, August 26, 2006

Quebec Citadelle

There's a huge citadel at the end of Terrasse Dufferin in Quebec City. wikipedia has several articles on it and here's one of them. Here's my picture of one of the members of the Royal 22nd Regiment stationed there.

Thursday, August 24, 2006

Chateau Frontenac

In Quebec City, there is a magnificent hotel - Chateau Frontenac. The Google Maps image doesn't begin to do it justice so here's my photo of it. Here's their web site. It's too expensive for me to stay there. The closest I can come in buying ice cream in the lobby.

Tuesday, August 22, 2006

Montmorency Falls, Quebec

Just outside of Quebec City is Montmorency Falls. The first time we went, we went to the observation point below the falls and got drenched. The next time, we went up to the top and walked across the bridge. There was a standing rainbow from the spray. Both times, we ate lunch in the park's restaurant at the top of the falls. Here's their web site. wikipedia says the falls are almost 100 ft. higher than Niagara Falls.

Sunday, August 20, 2006

Niagara Falls

I've been to Niagara Falls a couple of times. The most impressive was in the winter when the river was frozen. I was kinda disappointed in Google Maps and Windows Live Local. I thought they could have had much better images of the falls. Here's Windows Live Local's bird's eye view.

Friday, August 18, 2006

Whakarewarewa, Rotorua, NZ

My friend from Auckland led us down from Auckland to Rotorua to see the Whakarewarewa Thermal Valley. It's a geothermal site with mud pools, steam vents, and a geyser! Here's their web site. My pictures are here. Here's a preview.

Tirua and the sheepdog were on the way.

Wednesday, August 16, 2006

Roman Amphitheatre, Vienne, France

We went to a jazz concert in the Roman amphitheatre in Vienne, France. It is HUGE seating over 13,000. Think how old this place is! Not even wikipedia has much on it. All I remember was that it was hot and so was the beer.

Tuesday, August 15, 2006

Hampton Court Maze

On our trip to Europe in 1991, we visited Hampton Court and put the kids in the maze. It took them about 45 minutes to get through it! Here's what wikipedia says about it.

When we were there, I wondered if this was the maze in one of the old Laurel and Hardy shows. Turns out that it isn't. That was shot in the maze of the gardens of the Blenheim Palace. I haven't been there.

Monday, August 14, 2006

Sheepdog in Tirua, New Zealand

We drove from Auckland down to Rotorua. Mid-way is a litte town called Tirua. There's what we would call a country store there that is shaped like a sheepdog!

Sunday, August 13, 2006

Customs House, Auckland

I was in Auckland in 2000. The waterfront is beautiful. I took a picture of the old Customs House.

I found this on answers.com:
Former Custom House, 1888. Thomas Mahoney architect, 22 Custom St. This handsome building displays the mansard roofs typical of the French Second Empire Style. Prior to the construction of the Town hall in 1911 several departments of the Auckland City Council were located here. In 1909 an addition was built to the south [now demolished]. The Custom House has been recently renovated for retail use.

High Wycombe Roundabouts

In the early 1990s, I was in England for the first time. I got brave and rented a car. I found myself in High Wycombe and encountered this series of roundabouts. There are 5 roundabouts in this exchange. Almost 15 years later, I still have nightmares about it.

Friday, August 11, 2006

Tower of London

We went to the Tower of London in 1991. After taking the obligatory tour during the day, we returned that night to the Ceremony of the Keys - scary stuff. Here's my picture of one of the ravens. Notice the Tower Bridge in the background.

Zoom all the way in and you can count the people in the yard.

Thursday, August 10, 2006

Tower of Pisa

In 1991, we went to the Tower of Pisa in the Campo dei Miracoli (field of Miracles). Here's their web site and here's the wikipedia article.

There are two other structures (the cathederal and the baptistry) in this area and they all lean to varying extents.

Wednesday, August 09, 2006

Tower 42, London

While we were in London in 2003, we had hors d'ourves at Vertigo 42 on top of Tower 42, the tallest building in the City of London. Their web site is here and the wikipedia article is here. It was originally the NatWest Tower and was bombed by the IRA in 1993, after which NatWest vacated it.

Tuesday, August 08, 2006

Space Needle, Seattle

Here's the Space Needle in Seattle. While I haven't eaten dinner here, I did go to a reception at the top. Here's what wikipedia says about it. Being in Seattle, you knew Microsoft Local Live would have a good bird's eye view.


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Monday, August 07, 2006

Sky Tower, Auckland

On my trip to New Zealand in 2000, we ate dinner one night at the top of the Sky Tower. According to wikipedia, it is the tallest free-standing structure in the Southern Hemisphere. Here's my picture.

Sunday, August 06, 2006

CN Tower, Toronto

Here's the CN Tower on the riverfront in Toronto. wikipedia says it is the world's tallest freestanding structure on land. We ate dinner in the revolving restaurant at the top. Rogers Centre with the retractable roof is next door.

The Grove, Ole Miss

Here's the Grove at Ole Miss. Too bad it wasn't taken on a game day!

Saturday, August 05, 2006

Old South Wharf, Nantucket

In 2005, we stayed at the Cottages at the Boat Basin on Old South Wharf in Nantucket. Windows Live Local has an awesome birdseye view of it here. Pictures of our cottage start here.

Tintern Abbey

We went to Tintern Abbey while we were in Wales in 2003. The wikipedia article is here and a quick Google search is here. My pictures of it start here.