Named after Frances Pulteney, heiress of Bathwich, the Pulteney Bridge was built in 1773 over the Avon River near Bath.
The river is mesmerizing, I could have watched it for hours.
Enjoy the views!
Travel Photo Thursday – Pulteney Bridge
Tag: Travel
The Top Ten Places I’d Like to Visit
There are so many places I’d like to visit that I get overwhelmed when I try to choose. Each place has something that appeals to me.
For example, although I’m not a good swimmer, I love water and places that have beautiful beaches call me. I discovered recently that I also love the mountains. Mountains capture my imagination and give me a sense of peace so any place that has both makes me happy.
I’ve always felt that I was born in the wrong era and the wrong place. I love looking at old buildings and visiting quaint villages that take me back in time. I’m also in awe of old stone monuments, Gothic cathedrals and the ruins of ancient civilizations.
Travel Photo Thursday – New York View
New York has a million faces. It just depends on where you are. Of course, the city looks very different when you’re not at ground level.
I took this from the Time Warner Building. Before the sun set, I could see directly to New Jersey. A few hours later, these clouds came into view and washed the buildings with an inky tint.
Those saucers are the light fixtures from inside the building. They just bounced off the window.
I love New York, New York!
Manhattan to Spain via the Bronx
I wanted to revisit Barcelona earlier this year. Had reserved a room at a hotel that’s located steps from the Ramblas. I was excited. For years since I left Barcelona, I had not felt the urge to return. My experience has so shaped me and my view about travel, I wanted to preserve the memories.
But quite unexpectedly, I started feeling that I needed to go. What would Barcelona look like since I was a student there 20 plus years ago? Would the images I’ve clutched to my heart look like anything I’d see? Would I recognize the street I used to live on?
All these questions flooded my brain as if the door behind which they had been stored had finally been opened. I was excited to find out.
Then life intervened and I returned to New York nursing my disappointment. It had been a perfect plan.
Things looked up late in May when I noticed an article in the New York Times about an exhibition that was set to open at the New York Botanical Gardens. Titled Spanish Paradise: Gardens of the Alhambra, it seemed an answer to my longing for Barcelona and Spain.
The Alhambra, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is a palace that was built in the 14th century by the Moorish leaders who ruled Southern Spain. Its gardens are beautiful and legendary. Although I had studied the history and architecture of the Alhambra, I had not seen it during my time in Spain. An exhibition was not Barcelona, but I knew it would satisfy my longing. So last weekend, my friend and I, cameras in tow, made a trip to the New York Botanical Gardens.
Located in the Bronx, the New York Botanical Gardens spreads approximately 250 acres. An oasis of tranquility and beauty, it houses plant laboratories, gardens, plant collections, old growth forest containing oak, beeches, cherry, birch, tulip and white ash trees, some more than 200 years old, a cascade waterfall and wetland area. It’s the perfect location for an exhibition of this nature.
The focus of the Spanish Paradise is the replica of a Spanish garden that takes over 15,000 square feet of the Haupt Conservatory. With the aroma of lavender, jasmine, sour orange and lime trees, olive, fig and saffron, you are transported immediately to Southern Spain.
It’s an exhibition that appeals to the senses. Poems about nature by the Spanish poet, Frederico Garcia Lorca, line the Poetry Walk while Flamenco dancers provide entertainment on Saturday and Sunday afternoons. Sangria and tapas are available in the cafe.
In the library, rare prints, 19-century photographs of some of the courtyards of the Alhambra, paintings and other artifacts can be viewed. The exhibition also pays tribute to American poet, Washington Irving, who lived at the Alhambra while he was writing his collection of essays and sketches, Tales of the Alhambra, which sparked renewed interest in the palace. The Alhambra is one of Spain’s major tourist attractions.
Spanish Paradise sated my appetite temporarily. Now, I want to see the real thing.
Spanish Paradise: Gardens of the Alhambra will run until August 21, 2011 at the New York Botanical Gardens. 2900 Southern Blvd., New York. 718-817-8777.
Hours: 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. Tuesdays to Saturdays
Tickets: All Garden, $20. Grounds only, $5. The grounds are also free all day on Wednesdays and from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Saturdays.
The Botanical Gardens are accessible by car or public transportation. If you’re in the New York area or planning to visit, add it to your list.
Enjoy!
It’s Bastille Day
I just realized it’s July 14th!
Happy Bastille Day!
A Human Safari Park?
This disturbs me so much, I hardly know how to write about it. “Survival launches tourism boycott of “human safari park.”
What the hell is a human safari park? I had to read the headline several times before I got it. The more I read, the more my blood boiled. I can’t even find the words to express my disgust.
Here’s the entire text and a link to the article:
Tour Operators Oppose Human Safaris
“The Association of Tour Operators in India’s Andaman islands has come out in support of Survival’s call for tourists to stop using the illegal road that cuts through the forest of the recently contacted Jarawa tribe.
President of the Andaman Association of Tour Operators, Shri M Vinod, told Survival, ‘We don’t support ‘Jarawa tourism’. We have written to the administration asking for an alternative route so the tourists do not have to use the Andaman Trunk Road’.
Survival and local Andaman organization, Search, in June launched a tourist boycott of the illegal road, which takes thousands of tourists a month through the heart of the Jarawa’s land.
Tourists are risking the lives of the hunter-gatherer tribe, who have only had friendly contact with outsiders since 1998. The 365 Jarawa are likely to have little immunity to new diseases and could be devastated by an epidemic.
Last week, Sonia Gandhi, President of India’s ruling political party, discussed the Jarawa’s situation at a meeting of the powerful National Advisory Council. Mrs Gandhi is believed to be very concerned about the Jarawa. A recent report, commissioned by her, is said to emphasize the negative impact of the road and tourism.
Tourists treat the Jarawa like animals in a safari park by throwing biscuits and sweets for them. A number of Jarawa children have been hit by moving vehicles whilst trying to grab these treats. One tourist described his trip, ‘The journey through tribal reserve was like a safari ride as we were going amidst dense tropical rainforest and looking for wild animals, Jarawa tribals to be specific’.
Survival’s Director, Stephen Corry said today, ‘It’s great news that the tour operators want to avoid using the Andaman Trunk Road. With their support, there’s surely no obstacle to a complete ban on tourists traveling through the reserve. The authorities should take notice, and provide an alternative route as soon as possible.’”
We’re bigger and better than this. At least, we should be.
How Does Survival Help?
Since 1993 Survival has been urging the Indian government to close the road, protect the Jarawa’s land, and allow them to make their own decisions about their future.
In 1990 the local authorities announced that they intended to forcibly settle the Jarawa. Forced settlement was fatal for other tribes in the Andaman Islands, and has always been so for newly contacted tribal peoples worldwide. Following a vigorous campaign by Survival and local organisations, this plan was eventually abandoned.
In 2004 the authorities announced a radical new policy, stating that the Jarawa would be allowed to choose their own future, and that outside intervention in their lives would be kept to a minimum.
The Indian Supreme Court ordered the closure of the road through the Jarawa’s land in 2002 – yet it remains open, and poaching and exploitation are posing increasingly serious dangers.
Survival is campaigning to ensure that the road is closed and the policy of minimum intervention adhered to.
On the Great Lawn, That’s Where I’ll Be
It’s a beautiful day here in New York. Sunny, not too humid, with a gentle breeze. I can’t think of a better way to spend the day than on a blanket in Central Park.
I’m sure I won’t be the only one there so I’ll have to get there early and secure a nice spot on the Great Lawn.
The Great Lawn, one of the most famous lawns in the world, is located on 55 acres from 79th to 85th Streets.
The Great Lawn has been the venue for world class performances by the New York Philharmonic and the Metropolitan Opera.
On Monday, July 11th, opera lovers can attend a concert in the park. For details of the schedule, go here.
And for tickets and information on Shakespeare in the Park, check out their website.
I’ve packed the food, the blanket and my hat and I’m heading out to celebrate this beautiful day. Whatever you’re doing or plan to do, enjoy!
A Goodbye and a Quick Lookback at the Space Shuttle Program
Watching the launch of NASA’s Space Shuttle Atlantis this morning almost brought tears to my eyes. I cheered as the jets fired up and the shuttle, untethered from its moorings was propelled into space. I thought of the ingenuity, courage and vision it took to develop the program and maintain it for thirty years. And I was thankful.
As Atlantis blasted into space at speeds of up to 19,000 miles per hour, I recalled the first walk on the moon that Astronaut Neil Armstrong described as “a small step for man, a giant step for mankind.”
I recalled the time back in June, 1983, when I saw the Enterprise, the first Space Shuttle Orbiter, after it landed at Uplands Airport in Ottawa. It was exciting to see Enterprise up close.
I’ve watched many launches over the years and I remember exactly where I was on that January morning when the Challenger exploded.
Unfortunately, it’s only when accidents happen that we stop to think of the amount of work and skill each launch takes and the inherent danger that exists in space exploration. Even through these tragedies and the unfortunate loss of lives, NASA’s scientists and engineers were gaining the experience necessary to make the program the success that it’s been.
I stopped watching after that. So, today, as I watched, I said a small prayer of thanks when Atlantis took off safely.
Several years ago, I saw the Aurora 7, one of the earlier shuttles, at the Intrepid Air and Space Museum. I was shocked at how small it is inside. So small, I wondered how comfortable the astronauts were when they were riding in it.
When I think if it now, I feel badly for every time I’ve complained about the seat space on airlines.
But even with the size, I would have given a vital body part to be able to see the Earth from so high up. It would have been the ultimate travel experience. I hope that day will come during my lifetime.
It might seem as if the shuttle program has been of little benefits to us. On the contrary, space technology has been used in among other things, medicines and biotechnology to improve our health, and in communications.
I don’t understand why the program as we know it today is being shelved but I look forward to whatever new door opens us and hope that it’ll bring more of us closer to going into space.
So goodbye, Atlantis. I wish you a safe return to home base.
Travel Photo Thursday: Lunch at Makalolo Plains
I’m not what you’d call an animal lover so going on safari would not have been on my list of things to do on vacation. But when my friends and I decided to go to South Africa, we also decided we’d do everything on each other’s lists.
Since all three of us wanted to see Victoria Falls, our travel agent suggested we do our game-watching in Zimbabwe at Hwange National Park.
She also recommended a lovely safari camp, Makalolo Plains, which is located about 2 hours’ drive into the park. Even when she told us that Makalolo was not like the kind of camp we would have been exposed to, I still didn’t know what to expect. We were very pleasantly surprised.
They treated us to tasty lunches, sherry when we returned at nights from game drives and sumptuous dinners, including wines.
Since the camp is surrounded by animals – elephants, lions, buffalos, zebras, giraffes, etc., we were surprised to return from our morning game drive on our second day to find lunch would be served al fresco.
Looking at these photos brings back warm memories of the wonderful time we had at Makalolo Plains.
Treasure Beach – Where I Go to Escape
Treasure Beach is small community on Jamaica’s south western coast that prides itself with being friendly and very laid back.
A fishing community with six miles of beach, rocky coastline and private coves, Treasure Beach it is the perfect place to get away from it all.
I’ve been going to Treasure Beach for several years now, most times to attend Calabash, the international literary festival, which brings scores of lovers of the written and spoken word to this far off the beaten track place to listen to soak up world class literature.
I’ve also been to Treasure Beach when the festival is not in session. It’s a beautiful place. Here are a few of the reasons I keep going back.
Enjoy!
