Follow The Nomad II: The Snaps

domenica 11 marzo 2007

Photos!!!

I have started a new blog here for posting photos. I will run out of room soon on the other site...as I'm only allowed 100mb of pics...so I will put a link to this site for those of you interested in viewing pics. I am still working on editing...so they will come in waves...but I will try to keep up as best I can. I am going to post some of the "dark side" of Africa...as I promised...but I'm not certain how long I will keep them here. It is not the side of Africa I wish to remember...or to represent. It was a beautiful experience...and much of the country is beautiful...the culture is just about a century behind in their thought processes...and...the government is too corrupt to care. They are learning...and growing...but I'm not certain what effect it will have in my lifetime. It will take education...which is what so many of us who have been there...and those that will go in the future...will attempt to aid in giving them.

Peace

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When you visit Tuscany one day...you will see that all of the great cathedrals are accompanied by campaniles...or free-standing bell towers. In 1173 the construction of the campanile at the cathedral of Pisa was begun. Due to it's poor foundation...after only three floors were built...the tower began to lean. Over the next two hundred years construction started and stopped...but the tower was actually built with the lean already in place. If this tower did not lean...it would still be one of the most beautiful campaniles in Italy. The cathedral...baptistry...and campanile stand in what is referred to as Il Campo dei Miracoli...Field of Miracles. These emerald lawns are what make this compound so beautiful. After climbing the tower...we laid on the grass and watched it lean. It was a beautiful day.

In 1630...after having lost one-third of their population to the plague...the senate of Venice made an offer to God...that if he stopped the plague...they would build a church to honor the Virgin Mary. Either God came through...or the onset of cooler weather reduced the population of plague-ridden fleas. Nonetheless...the church was built...and stands at the mouth of the Grand Canal where it meets St. Mark's Basin. Prime real estate. Unfortunately...it is under repair...but beautiful just the same.

This bridge was built in the year 1600 to connect the inquisitor's rooms with the Doge's prison. By the time it was built...the days of inquisitions and summary executions were over. The residents of Venice were merchants...and were not romantic enough to have given this covered bridge the name it bears today. It was in the 19th century that the romantic poet Lord Byron...a resident at the time of Venice...gave it the name...signifying the sighs of the condemned prisoners as they were lead to execution. It is a romantic fantasy that gives us the "Bridge of Sighs"...not a romantic history.

The white cliffs of Dover get their color because they are composed of chalk or solid white lime...interlaced with black flint. They have been a great line of defense in war times...as well as a welcoming sign for sailors that they had arrived home. Behind the cliffs is a vast tunnel system built during the Middle Ages...with the tunnels being enlarged at a later date to become the Secret Wartime Tunnels beneath Dover Castle. At their highest point the cliffs are about 350 feet high...and they have their origin in the Cretaceous Period...about 136 million years ago when the area was submerged under deep tropical waters. Due to the great pressures of the sea...the skeletons of coral...sponges and other small sea creatures turned to sediment and began to accumulate on the ocean floor. There are other cliffs in the area of the Strait of Dover similar...but none as impressive as these.

I didn't take many photos in Paris. I was there for such a short time. It was my third trip...and I had seen everything of interest before. I did however...take a trip to the top of the Arc de Triomphe...which I had not done before...just to get these shots. It was a bonus too...when I went to purchase a ticket...she told me the first Sunday of the month was free. Mon bon chance. The sun was too bright behind the Tour Eiffel for a decent shot...but at least it's a shot. These are a few of the views from the top.

I will refer to this next section as "The Dark Side." I take no pride in the quality of the pictures...it is the content of which I wish you to take notice. As much as I want to only remember the incredible safari...gorgeous coral reefs...fish...and beaches...this is what I saw on a daily basis. Unfortunately...this is what is Kenya...more than the beauty that I have shown you up until now. I do not want to remember this side as vividly as these pictures allow...and I don't want to exude a negative side of a country I have grown to truly love. However...I must show you the truth...so here it is........

In Mlolongo...there is a truck weigh station...therefore...it has become a town full of bars...hotels and prostitutes...to keep the truckers busy...and happy...and well...eventually very ill. The government has decided to build a highway bypass through the area...making two lanes going in each direction north and south. They went to the property owners...and told them that they would have to move...that their properties would be torn down to accomodate the bypass. They do not buy the property...they just tear it down. So...the owners are trying to salvage and tear down only the front parts...and save the rest. They also do this by hand...as to save every piece of building material for re-use or resale. This is Mlolongo...

Shopping. Yes...there are malls...however...this is the more common of scenes for shopping in Kenya. You may notice in a few of the pics the nice homes behind the markets. They are pitched along the roads everywhere. People sell anything and everything in order to survive. Much is still handmade...including furniture...as you will see. The photos are not of high quality...as I was in a moving vehicle...and in a few the sun was bearing down on me straight ahead. I wasn't often in a car that I felt safe taking pictures from...so I took when I could.

Garbage!!! I questioned the fact that garbage is EVERYWHERE with a number of people. The kids are not taught any different...and the adults can't get the city to do their jobs. They are "supposed" to pick up the garbage at the children's home...but you never know if they will. You are allowed to burn...so I question why that is not done more. As I've mentioned so many times before...and will again...lack of education. They know no different. It's disgusting...and such contrast...in such an otherwise beautiful country. You've seen the pics.

domenica 11 marzo 2007

Photos!!!

Follow The Nomad II: The Snaps

Amsterdam

Prague

Budapest

Vienna

Danube River - Austria

Melk - Austria

Munich

Dachau - Germany

Fussen - Germany

Innsbruck

Florence

Cinque Terre - Italian Riviera

Chianti

Pisa

Venice

Siena

Paris

Dover - England

Calais - France

Kenya - Nairobi

Kenya - Masai Mara

Kenya - Diani Beach

London

LINKS

Archivio blog

The world as I see it...

Tuscan Style

Chef Maurizio

Chef ~~ Sarah ~~ Lindsay

Triplets

~~Makin' Pasta~~

Kim & Sarah

Deanne ~~ Christy ~~ Sarah

Mother & Daughter

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Just Rewards

THIS........IS........FIRENZE!!!!

Firenze - A view from Boboli Gardens - The Duomo & the Palazzo Vecchio

Campanile (Bell Tower) from top of the Duomo - Firenze

Looking out...from inside the dome

Palazza Vecchio

A fortified city

Streets (mine)...

Via Lambertesca - Outside my apartment

...and alleys

An alley apartment

A rooftop garden

Churches...

Santa Croce

Bridges...

Firenze - Ponte Vecchio (Old Bridge)

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Pisa, Italy ~~~ St. Patrick's Day, 2007

Santa Maria della Spina - Arno River - Pisa, Italy

Kim & Glenda - Pisa, Italy

Me & Kimbo - Top of Leaning Tower of Pisa (It's St. Patty's Day)

Glenda & Kim - Top of Leaning Tower of Pisa

From the top

Glenda - Top of LToP

Field of Miracles

Baptistery - Pisa

Altar - Pisa Cathedral

Nave - Pisa Cathedral

Ceiling of Pisa Cathedral - one of my faves

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VENEZIA, ITALIA ~~ The Basilica di San Marco...and Me...(and some Asian dude)

The door to the Basilica di San Marco

The magnificent mosaics of San Marco...

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Millions and millions of shards of glass...

The faux horses atop St. Mark's Cathedral

The real horses inside...(you are NOT allowed to take pictures of these horses...oops)

This was originally a mistake...but I like it

Doge's Palace on San Marco Basin

Chef Sarah Lindsay

Makin' Pasta

Deanne Christy Sarah