England 2012

September 24 - Oct 6, LaVelle Allen and I traveled to southern England where we enjoyed the large cities and many quaint villages. We saw most of the major city sights with the 

Hop-on-Hop-Off bus in London.

House of Parliament as seen from the London Eye.

The London Eye is the most popular attraction in London and tallest observation wheel in the world. Over 4 million people take the 1/2 hour trip annually.

St. Paul's Cathedral  is one of the most famous and most recognizable sights of London.  Five different churches were built at this site. The Cathedral was the site of a number of important historic events such as the funeral of Admiral Nelson in 1806 and the funeral of Winston Churchill in 1965. Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer married here in 1981.

Westminster Cathedral is the largest Catholic church in England.

 Tower Bridge, constructed in 1889

Buckingham Palace has 775 rooms. These include 19 state rooms, 52 royal and guest bedrooms, 188 staff bedrooms, 92 offices and 78 bathrooms.

Bath was named for the famous Roman Baths which were constructed  here in 60-70 A.D. This beautifully preserved bathing complex still flows with water from Britain's only hot spring. Long ago, one could have a massage, lift weights as well as enjoy the a cleansing soak in the warm waters. The bath house was a place where people went to socialize and do business as well as getting clean.

The 500 year old Bath Abbey is graced with beautiful fan vaulting and stained glass windows. Climbing the 212 narrow steps of the Abbey affords a beautiful view of the city.

The entire city is build with creamy warm-toned limestone called 'Bath stone'.

Spanning the river Avon, Pulteney Bridge with it's three arches is one of only four in the world that has shops across its structure on both sides.

Stonehenge is a prehistoric, mysterious circle of upright stones in southern England. Construction on the great monument began 5,000 years ago; the famous stones that still stand today were put in place about 4,000 years ago. The great age, massive scale and mysterious purpose of Stonehenge draws over 800,000 visitors per year and several thousand gather on the summer solstice to watch the sunrise at this ancient site.

 This Tetbury home proudly displays a decorative thatched roof. The 15 inch thick roof is made of bundled reeds and covered with screen to ward off birds and mice.

LaVelle Allen and Susan May at a Bed and Breakfast in Moreton-in-Marsh.

This 25 by 90 mile area is 80% farmland and crisscrossed with hedgerows, small villages and sprinkled with sheep. In the middle ages, the Cotswolds were well known throughout Europe as the source of some of the best wool.
We visited: Bilbury, Lacock, Stow-on-the-Wold, Tetbury, Chipping Campden, Stroud, Moreton-in-Marsh, Cirencester and Stafford-on-Avon.

   

     

 

Chicago May 2012

 

Flying into Chicago 

Chicago is the transportation hub of North America and the most important urban center in the interior of the United States. Yet, Chicago looks and feels like a coastal city with its position along the coast of Lake Michigan, one of the largest freshwater bodies in the world. Over 2.7 million people live in Chicago.

Trump Tower 89 floors, 1,362 feet high

The 23 million dollar, Cloud Gate, is a three story 

steel sculpture that has been dubbed 'The Bean'. 

Aqua Building 82 floors  

Each apartment has a unique balcony design. The tallest 

skyscraper in Chicago designed by a female architect.

Field Museum 

More than 20 million specimens plus Sue, the 12 foot high, 42 feet long, T-rex.

Navy Pier

In 1927 the pier was named Navy Pier in honor of World War I veterans.

Chicago waterfront

Wrigley Field

Built in 1914, the stadium, the 10th smallest actively used ballpark seats 41,000.

Willis Tower (formerly Sears Tower) 110 stories,1,451 feet high

 view from Willis Tower built in 1965-69

John Hancock Center includes 48 stories of apartments,
29 stories of offices, shops, a hotel, a swimming pool,
an ice rink,restaurant on top of the 1,127 foot tall building.

View of the city from the Hancock Center

Iceland March 2012

The geography of Iceland is absolutely amazing. Iceland’s interior is uninhabited; it is covered with glaciers, mountains and high plateaus which makes the support of any life impossible. Iceland is about the size of Ohio and populated by 293,577 people or 3 people per square mile.  Reykjavik is the capital and home for 80% of Icelanders.

Fishing and fish processing, aluminum smelting and tourism are the main economic activities in Iceland. 

During winter, pavements near Reykjavk and Akureyri are heated by geothermal steam.

Favorite Icelandic fast foods are the bacon wrapped lamb hot dog and lamb soup. The kronur, Iceland money, comes in 1, 5, 10, 50 and 

100 bills amounts along with numerous coins.

Great view of Reykjavik from this 12 story Lutheran Church. Below, typical apartments in the city.

The Icelandic breed of horses are treasured for their intelligence, strength and ability to learn five different kinds of gait. 

The oldest geysers have been active 10,000 years. The largest geyser erupts to heights of 70 feet every 4 minutes. 

Fault line between the North American and Eurasian. 

Beauty at every turn in Iceland! 

Blue Lagoon

Situated in the middle of a large lava field and created by geothermal sea water mixed with a high level of silica. The Blue Lagoon is one of the most visited attractions in Iceland. The water temperature is 92-104 F.

Glacier Hike      

Myrdalsjokull is the fourth largest glacier in Iceland and is located about 96miles southeast of Reykjavik. It rests on the very active volcano, Heka, which powerfully erupted in 1918.  Travelers on the glacier are warned to be extremely careful about crevasses. The blue ice formations are breath taking.

Northern Lights

The northern lights, also known as the aurora borealis, are a spectacle of colors that seem to dance across the arctic sky on clear Icelandic nights. Thousands of solar particle collisions occurring high up in the atmosphere, producing different colors depending on altitude. The result is a breathtaking, once in a lifetime experience.

                      

 View from the plane on the way home.

Final words... if you can read them!