Pictures from Other Places

[Jody]

iank 9 sure knows how to make a girl jealous!!!We spent a wonderful long week-end nr Bolton Abbey at the Devonshire Arms. As much as I love Paris my heart longs for the English countryside.

[sistereurope]

Thanks to all for the great photos - Anne (and Dep) the pics of Italy were just beautiful. I just spent 10 days with our dear friend who lives in Venice - after seeing those pics and talking to her I decided that really need to get back to Italy!!

Annette - thanks for sharing your vacation pics. Your family is lovely and those pics were just gorgeous (and thankfully you didn't get caught in a hurricane!)

And Ian...welcome back!!! Loved your pics of the beautiful countryside too, and of the girls...

But I have a question...are "dales" unique to the UK?? ;D

[sistereurope]

Oh, and I have to say that Demarais and Ian tie for having the best "tag lines" ;D

[Happygoin]

Gosh I can't imagine those friendly-looking pooches taking a bite out of anyone, Gitte. They're gorgeous, Ian! They even LOOK happy! Welcome back, Ian. I really enjoyed your pictures. I can see that I need to put the English countryside higher on my list of places that need to be visited. Annette, you're very lucky to have an adult family who enjoys vacations together.

[Shoesy]

Welcome back, ian ! You've been missed. All your pictures are outstanding, but of course my favorite is the one of your doggies.

[dep0515]

Ian....great pictures! I loved that one of the dog cloud...and of course the one of the real doggies!

[geordy]

Your photos are great Ian and your "girls" beauties! Sorry to hear one is not feeling so well.

[annettecinca]

shoesy said:

.....maybe we don't need to visit Paris anymore !!! Just kidding, of course. ;D

Good thing you're joking, otherwise you'd get banned from the board, Shoes!

Thanks for the compliments on my family--if they were funny lookin' I probably wouldn't post their pics! hehe And I do feel very fortunate to be able to travel with them all together at their "advanced" ages. Don't know how much longer it will work out, but it's sure fun while it lasts!

[annettecinca]

Ian--your photos are fab! You're giving Randy some competition! I think your "Dusk Across the Dale" and the shot of "the girls" belong on postcards!!! The countryside up there looks just gorgeous, and I'm glad you had a good trip. Thanks for sharing!

[Truffaut]

Annette,
I know this sounds really revolting, but I've actually got a cousin who has a condo in Honolulu and a "family compound" on Kauai. Have I been to Hawaii? No...... Sometimes, photos like yours make me really ashamed of not taking advantage of relatives!

[Becky (Berkeleytravelers)]

Truffaut - from where you are, it's a shorter trip to Paris! For you, going to Hawaii is comparable to Annette or me going to Paris - 10 hours minimum in the air, plus a change of planes with most flights! (Conversely, Hawaii is five hours from the West Coast, so very easy to visit more or less on a whim.)

But for you, you would have to really want to do it to put that much energy into just getting there. I can see why, with Paris being more convenient, it just isn't something that seems like a high priority. (Kauai, however, actually is something really special - just the place to go in the dreary winter months!)

[Shoesy]

There is something about Paris that makes me yearn for my next trip, and I know I'm not alone on this. I was in Italy less than 2 years ago, and I admit that the places we visited were absolutely breathtaking. We loved Rome, Venice, Tuscany......... but I haven't thought about going there again. Maybe I will one day, but it's not on my list of priorities. Paris, on the other hand seems to be calling my name, and no day goes by when I don't think about it.

As you know, my daughter spent her honeymoon in Paris, and yesterday I got an e-mail from my new SIL, who made it a point to write "now I can understand why Paris is your favorite city."

[annettecinca]

admin said:

Annette,
I know this sounds really revolting, but I've actually got a cousin who has a condo in Honolulu and a "family compound" on Kauai. Have I been to Hawaii? No...... Sometimes, photos like yours make me really ashamed of not taking advantage of relatives!

Revolting? Not at all! It's a no-brainer really--and like Becky said, if I had to choose between a 12 hour connecting flight to Hawaii, or a 6 hour jaunt to Paris, Paris is the hands down winner. Come to think of it, if I had to choose between a 12 hour connecting flight to Paris and a 6 hour flight to Hawaii, Paris would still be the hands down winner Hawaii is beautiful, but like Shoesy says (and you know this all too well!), with Paris there's just something that makes you yearn for your next trip. Maybe there's something wrong with me, but Hawaii doesn't do that for me! . Go and "impose" on your cousin one day, for the experience of it, but if an island getaway is really that tempting...talk someone into buying a place in the Caribbean! Or better yet Ibiza, or Capri, or...

[iank9]

Thanks for your comments everyone!

Gittek, Wallace & Grommit made the local Wensleydale Cheese famous. It is produced in the upper dale at a market town named Hawes.

Demarais, You lucky thing. The Devonshire Arms is a wonderful hotel and restaurant

Sister, A dale is a valley, usually associated with the river that runs through it- Swaledale, Wharfdale, Nidderdale etc.

For all we had a good time, with good meals, chatting to locals etc, we came back and agreed we had still missed France, and Paris of course in particular. (We always make time for a couple of days either near Chantilly, or the Bois de Boulogne on our summer trip). I agree Shoesy, there is something that just keeps tugging away at us. So planning now for October- can't wait!

[sistereurope]

Yes it's quite the dilema...I want to travel to other places too, but Paris keeps calling me. If only we all had all the time and money in the world to do it all!!!!

[Becky (Berkeleytravelers)]

Ian, I love the photos - makes me want to return to rural England!

[dep0515]

Here are some pictures from my trip to Alaska last year. This was some of the most breathtaking scenery I have ever seen and highly recommend a visit to anyone who enjoys nature.


Chena River in Fairbanks:


In Denali:


We were lucky enough to see Mt. McKinely:


You can't imagine the immense size of these glaciers:


Here's a glacier "calving". An amazing sight to witness:


This one is kind of fuzzy...but this is an eagle carrying dinner (a salmon) back to his nest:

[sistereurope]

Dep, your pictures are outstanding!!! Are you sure you're not a professional??! ;D

[annettecinca]

Oooooh, nice pics, Dep!

[Shoesy]

Fantastic photos! You're really a great photographer.

Poor little salmon.