An unknown family taking time out at the end of a day to relax with a walk on the beach.
Ailsa’s Travel Theme this week lends itself to so many interpretations, my contribution is just two of many ‘relaxing’ photos I found.
Inspired by a recent post on Travel with Kat and the comments that ensued I started thinking of all of the modes of transport that I’ve used during my travels. There have been the normal methods of getting from A to B – by plane, train, car and boat but then I started to think of the less conventional ways of travelling.
These are just a few that I’ve come up with, I’m sure there are many more that you’ve all experienced.
1. Pearl Lugger. A sunset cruise on an old Pearl Lugger just off Cable Beach, Broome. A glass of champers and a world famous sunset – what more could you ask for?
2. Camel – an iconic way of experiencing those world famous sunsets on Cable Beach is from the hump of a camel. It takes a bit of getting used to but definitely a fun way to go.
3. Monorail – This one at Beaulieu in Hampshire on the south coast of England is a mile long and gives you a birds eye view of all the attractions this place has to offer. The National Motor Museum, historic Beaulieu Abbey, Palace House and lots of fun for the whole family.
4. Tiger Moth – How about this yellow peril, my dad took a flight in this Tiger Moth for his birthday a few years ago. He had a ball!
5. Helicopter – I may be cheating slightly here as a helicopter is not really a unique way to travel but I’ve included this shot because of where it was. The flight in the helicopter took me 2,800 metres up into the Himalayan mountains and landed me at one of the world’s most dangerous airports – successfully!!
What are some of the unique ways that you have travelled?
Once again I’m drawn to the challenge set this week by Sue over at A word in Your Ear. When you start to look there are so many different shades of pink, many in the natural world.
This weeks Travel Theme set by Ailsa is Architecture. I don’t very often take part in these weekly challenges but just occasionally the subject jumps out at me and I jump in with my contribution.
The diversity of architecture through time and place is absolutely mind bogling. This is such a broad subject that to do it justice would take eons and far more blog posts than we could possibly dedicate to it in one week.
But here’s my look through time at a few magnificent architectural examples, all amazing in their own way.
The Minoan Palace at Knossos, Crete, that was abandoned around 1200BC.
Pompeii- destoyed in 79AD during the eruption of Mt Vesuvius.
The Colosseum – the Flavian amphitheatre in Rome that took 10 years to build between AD70 – AD80
The Louvre Palace, built in the late 12th century as a fortress seen through the modern glass pyramid erected in 1969.
The Duomo, Baptistry & Campanile built in Florence between 1296 – 1436.
The Radcliffe Camera, Oxford, built as a circular library in the mid 18th century.
Beehive Cottage, a thatched Cottage in Swan Green near Lyndhurst, Hampshire built around 1833.
La Tour Eiffel, built in Paris in 1889 for the World’s Fair.
Flinders St Station, Melbourne, the first railway station in an Australian city, built in 1909.
The Thyangboche Monastery, Nepal. Originally built in 1916 but rebuilt in 1989 after it was destroyed by fire.
Australia on Collins, an Art Deco style shopping precinct facing Collins St in Melbourne.
Every photo holds a myriad of colours. These few from my album are just so vibrant.
I dedicate this post to my online friends in the northern hemisphere who are currently in the grip of severely inclement weather, mainly in the form of snow, not just ordinary snow flurries but the heavy falls that manage to make international news.
As I sit in airconditioned comfort in my lounge room, with the weather gods threatening temperatures over 40 degrees celsius here for the next 3 days, I watch as the news bulletin broadcasts scenes of snow lashed Massachusetts.
Meanwhile, Blonde from BlondeBrunetteTravel bemoans the grim weather in her hometown of Boston on Facebook. The airport is closed and the news readers tell us that the authorities are threatening prosecution to anyone who ignores the severe weather warnings and ventures where they shouldn’t.
Here in Perth we just cook if we step outside.
Talk about extremes!
Is there anywhere in the world that is just right at the moment?
(The snow photo is courtesy of BlondeBrunetteTravel – please pop over and check out the antics of these sisters, trust me – it’s well worth a look see)
Cable Beach Broome
Once again, thanks to Sue for providing another A Word a Week photo challenge. This week’s word ’round’ can be applied to so many different things and already my fellow bloggers have provided a diverse group of photos. Here’s my contribution.
Jellyfish at AQWA
How can you resist?
A recent conversation with a work colleague prompted the question ‘but why don’t you want to travel?’ His response ‘but why do you want to?’
Those who travel can never understand why those who don’t wouldn’t want to, while those who don’t can never understand why those who do, do.
I had trouble formulating an answer for him. Why do I love to travel, why do I want to keep doing it and why am I constantly on the lookout for ways to escape my everyday life and travel the world?
I blame my father actually. While researching my family history I was discussing his teenage years with him and he was recounting his decision to join the army, it was 1945, he was 18 and WWII had ended but National Service had just been implemented. Dad was an apprentice boilermaker on the steelworks and, as it had been a reserved occupation during the war, he had the opportunity of deferring his National Service for three years. No way, he saw his chance to go overseas and, in his words, have a bit of an adventure.
Twenty years later and with a family in tow he then figured that there were better places to bring up a family than the industrial north of England with its smog and snow (I love England by the way and am one of those people who actually like the snow) and transported us to the sunny climes of Western Australia. We never looked back, although we’ve travelled back – innumerable times.
During my teenage years dad bought a tent, fishing gear and a small boat and he introduced us to the joys of travelling the state, camping and fishing. I could bait a hook with the best of them and I still love to visit those areas that we explored as a family.
When us kids were off their hands my parents travelled, well into their retirement, around Australia, the UK and Europe, Indonesia and Malaysia. Mum was not a ‘boat’ person and would get terribly seasick so the first trip dad took as a solo traveler after she passed away a few years ago was a cruise and, although he’s slowed down a bit now, at the age of 85 he travelled to Melbourne with me recently.
So, it’s in my genes.
What’s your excuse?
Sitting in the departure lounge yesterday waiting for our flight from Melbourne to Perth we were contemplating the odds of having one of the numerous children on the flight sitting close to us.
The little girl checking out the airport acoustics with her high pitched squeal, the baby who decided this was not a time for sleep but one of those moments when, for no apparent reason, he would prefer to grizzle instead or the toddler with an inability to stay in one place for more than three seconds at a time.
Once on the plane and settled in our seats we looked around and, sure enough, there was a young boy seated close by. His parents had obviously done a good job prepping him for the flight though and he understood about the need to be buckled in to his seat and the reason for the safety instructions.
But, when he came out with ‘have we blasted off yet?’ I did have to wonder where he thought we were going.
travelling bag 