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51 viewsYou never know what kind of creature could be lurking in the forest!
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51 views
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51 viewsThese are a couple of boys from the village. I'm always amazed at how they can sit like this for such a long time.
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51 viewsWell, obviously, I wasn't really using the urinal. However, what was surprising was that for the women to get to their bathroom, they had to pass through the men's part! Now that's odd!
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50 viewsWe didn't have that long in Helsinki, so we headed over to the famous market place.
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50 viewsWe have finally been tied up to the pier.
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50 viewsTallinn is surprisingly beautiful and is one of the Baltic's greatest surprises. It is proud of being one of Northern Europe's best preserved medieval towns.
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50 viewsReady to go inside the castle for our big evening.
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50 viewsLook out! I'm gonna show you how to drive this sucker!
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49 viewsI had fun taking this picture. The red coat inside the guard house is used when it rains.
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49 viewsThe boat didn't look this big when it started out from under the bridge. That's a lot of people.
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49 viewsWow........those steps were steep! As you can see we had been poured on, but we were still having so much fun.
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49 viewsEven the windows were pretty. I would imagine in the spring, the flower boxes would be beautiful.
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49 viewsSome of the band kids just chilin' in this huge rock that was shaped like a big bean bag.
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49 viewsEtched into the stone is one of the games the Roman soldiers played.
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48 viewsThis little guy followed me down to the shore.
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48 viewsThe Royal Guard is an elite force of the Danish army, and their main responsibility is to protect the Queen of Denmark.
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48 viewsEach guard has a two hour duty.
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48 viewsAfter watching the boats for awhile, we decided we wanted to take a ride on one of them.
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48 viewsLots of stacking dolls, also called Matrushka dolls. I bought one that was of Bill Clinton. Really funny.
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48 viewsSome of the buildings looked like they were from a fairy tale.
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48 viewsOkay.........here we go! He has just told me to sit down, hold on tight, and turn UPSIDE DOWN! You've got to be kidding me!
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48 viewsOne of the parts of a castle I've always been fascinated with are the arrow slits, also called loopholes. As you can see, this is a vertical opening in the defensive wall. It allowed arrows or crossbow bolts to be fired on their attackers. The narrow slit was intended to protect the defender by providing a small target.
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48 views"Harry, I think you are enjoying this a little bit too much!'
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48 viewsI sat there the longest time just relaxing and basking in the beautiful scenery, and watching all of the boats go by.
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47 viewsThis guard was biting his lip trying not to laugh.
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47 viewsJust another beautiful evening on board ship.
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47 viewsWe noticed there were many large plazas like this but with very few people in them.
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47 viewsThis canal goes by the Church of our Saviour.
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47 viewsErica had her picture taken with the same girl.
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47 viewsWe had our photo taken with the Lakes of Killarney in the background.
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47 viewsThey were working up a sweat getting all of this stuff on the boat.
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46 viewsThis place is so beautiful from every side.
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Near Princeville Kauai 46 views
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The underside of a stingray46 views
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46 viewsA pretty little gal serving us bread.
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46 viewsMedieval dining etiquette...........either sip it out of the bowl..................
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46 viewsEven Ireland has it's traffic tie-ups.
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46 viewsArrived at the Dan Akkadia Hotel in Herzlyia right on the Mediterranean Sea.
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46 viewsPassports please
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46 viewsFlying over the Mekong Delta as we left Ho Chi Mihn City for home.
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45 viewsThere was a small band there to welcome us.
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45 views This shows a close-up of the spires. So amazing!
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45 viewsThis is the gilded coach used by Catherine the Great. It was unbelievable!
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45 viewsThis was the orchestra.
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45 viewsAs the day ended, and the boat headed back to Manilla, there was much to think about and remember. Thank you to all of you who served our country!
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A visit from my niece Annie45 views
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Lunch with friends45 views
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45 views
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45 viewsThis castle was built in the 17th century. It is one of the few castle hotels that can trace its ownership back through history to Gaelic Irish families of royal heritage.
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45 viewsBunratty Castle is a large tower house in County Clare. It lies in the center of Bunratty village. Built in 1425, it is the most complete and authentic medieval fortress in Ireland.
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45 viewsHaving a delicious lunch overlooking the bay in Kona.
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45 viewsI'll have to say that this was probably the nicest room I stayed in on the whole trip. The room was large, it had a pretty balcony, and you could look out over Lake Lucern.
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45 viewsCover photo for vietnam
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44 viewsI thought these looked like two bald eagles.
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44 viewsIt seemed that this was the way most people got around.
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44 viewsThis canal goes by the Church of our Saviour.
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44 viewsAdam and Erica in front of the church.
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44 viewsHe is dancing the Russian peasant dance.
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44 viewsHere we are in this 11th century town and we see a McDonalds umbrella!
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44 viewsThe doctors had brought along hand made bears to give out to the children. Most of the them had never seen a stuffed animal.
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Honolulu airport44 views
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Taking sugar cane to the mill44 views
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44 views
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44 viewsThe Muckross House is one of the finest manor houses in Europe.
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44 viewsWe decided to have a little snack before we tackled going up to see the cliffs. We were told it would be a long, cold, and windy walk.
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44 viewsCheers to an awesome evening.
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44 viewsIt's St. Patrick's Day and we are on our way to the parade.
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44 viewsI think this yellow one was my favorite.
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44 viewsIt's surprising how many people these zodiacs hold.
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44 viewsAnd one more sunset.
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44 viewsWe toasted each other on our last night of the trip.
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43 viewsThere are so many canals here in St. Petersburg. Like Venice, in a way.
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43 viewsAdam is peaking through at Erica as we head to the basement.
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43 viewsThese are the main steps that go up into the museum.
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Santa at the Mall43 views
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43 views
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43 viewsChristy's Pub seemed to be one of the more famous ones.
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43 viewsSo, after a nice dinner, we headed into the pub where we thought we would just finish out the day listening to some NICE Irish music. We sat in front of the fireplace, chatted about the day, and then listed to the little band play........ AMERICAN COUNTRY WESTERN music and HIP HOP music! WHAT!!!!!!! They eventually played Irish music, at our request. :O) Much better.
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43 viewsAnother view of one of the 10 bridges in Dublin.
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42 viewsThis is a photo of Rasputin and his family.
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42 viewsThe church in the background is called the Monastery Church of St. Petersburg.
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42 viewsThis was taken looking down one of the side streets.
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42 viewsGot a little snack at McDonalds before leaving on my flight.
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42 viewsBefore getting on the boat, I picked up a few shells as a reminder of my time here.
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Telling Santa what she wants for Christmas42 views
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42 viewsThese were our bus drivers. Their brogue was really strong and hard to understand. We had fun trying, though.
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42 viewsNow this sign was large and very obvious. However, I saw several kids going out to the edge and looking over. Their parents would have freaked!
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42 viewsOur place settings.........with only a knife.
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42 viewsBut then this one was pretty, too.
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42 viewsThis one was so pretty I wondered if it was ever used.
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42 viewsSo my friend Kristin and I decided to walk. It turned out to be a long walk along a dusty trail, called The Sig. The trail twists and turns and sometimes it's only 12 feet wide. The sandstone walls rise so high, around 650 feet, that it all but shuts out the sun. This is pretty exciting.
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42 viewsThe dancing was exquisite and so beautiful.
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42 viewsThis is called the Writer's Bar and is so rich in history. It was named after many of the writers that stayed in the hotel such as Noel Coward, Somerset Maugham, and Rudyard Kipling.
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41 viewsHere is Joanie, a nice Jewish girl from the Bronx, Joan, a nice Catholic girl from Queens, and me, a nice Protestant girl from Tulsa having our "dress-up night" photo taken before dinner.
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41 viewsWe still have some canals to go down before we arrive.
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41 viewsAdam is walking into one of the rooms.
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41 viewsAdam decided to buy this car when we were there! Nah! Not really!
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41 viewsThis was the hotel where not only John stayed with his family, but the "Dream Team" stayed here. Ohhhhhhhhhh no! Oh well. I did get to stay there for one night, and it was wonderful!
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41 viewsAfter a long night, without much sleep, we headed for the hills of Killarney. (The shower head broke and flooded our bathroom, so we were up a long time!) :O) Anyway, this is the road we took. I just loved all of these small and quaint roads.
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41 viewsAfter a few hours on the road, we finally came to the village of Bunratty.
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41 viewsHe is showing us how the disciples probably got their nets ready to fish.
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41 viewsThis cute little thing was my waiter.
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41 views
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41 viewsThe bathroom wasn't too shabby either! If a bath room can be gorgeous, this one was gorgeous!
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41 views We had overnight to rest up from jet lag, and then we got a tour of the city on these bikes.
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40 viewsI thought this window was photogenic.
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40 viewsWe are in the house of Rasputin. He was known as the Siberian mystic heealer.
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40 viewsAfter that humiliating experience, I just wanted to find a place to sit down and relax. I found one next to this "not real" statue.
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Birthday in Hawaii40 views
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Chickens have taken over the island40 views
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Lydgate Beach park after the storm40 views
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40 viewsAnother place full of beautiful sweaters that I couldn't buy because I don't live in cold enough weather! :O(
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40 viewsIt was a long day.
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40 viewsSome more of the beautiful doors.
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40 viewsDuring one of our dinners at the Jury's Inn, we got to enjoy these cuties. Amazing dancers and definietly crowd pleasers.
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40 viewsArriving in Singapore.
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40 viewsTimes Square 2000
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39 viewsWe went past some beautiful scenery as we left Skagway and headed for Tracy Arm. I can't imagine living here in the winter, but I understand they do. Hardy people!
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39 viewsWe are waiting to get on the zodiac.
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39 viewsThis is John Tillman. He came to my classroom to visit me right before the school year was up for the year. He is actually sitting in the desk he sat in when he was in the 6th grade. At this time, I had no idea he would be in the coming summer Olympics.
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39 viewsOne of my closest friends, Bev, lives in Kannapolis, N.C. Her niece was a band member of the South Rowan High School, and they had been invited to march in the St. Patrick's parade in Dublin. So, knowing how much I loved to travel, I was invited to go along and help with the photography. It didn't take me long to pack!
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39 viewsHaving a delightful dinner with my three buddies.
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39 viewsWell, this is what we came for. It's time for the St. Paddy's Day parade to begin.
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39 viewsGo Ireland.
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39 views"I'll give you a tip, lady!" If you have already looked at the Ireland pictures, you might recognize my two friends, Beverly and Harry, on the left side of the photo.
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39 viewsEven the children were beautifully dressed.
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39 viewsThis was our guide peeling.......well, you probably don't want to know.
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38 viewsHere's my buddy Harry showing everybody what I had to do.
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38 viewsThe castle spans over 410 acres.
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38 viewsAfter their performance, they came out into the crowd and got us up and dancing. It didn't quite look like THEIR dancing, but it sure was fun.
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38 viewsThis magical scenery was all through the parade. So beautiful.
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38 viewsHere is the sign that tells who was executed at this site. Queen Anne Boleyn was Henry VIII second wife. She couldn't give him a son, so he had her imprisioned in the tower, and executed here at this site.
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38 viewsI had to have my photo taken with a "Beefeater." The official name is The Yeoman Warders of Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Tower. Originally, they were in charge of the prisoners in the Tower. Now they act as tour guides, and are a tourist attraction in their own right. One theory for the name is that they were rewarded for good service with a ration of beef, which would otherwise be hard to get.
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38 viewsWe travelled over Col Des Mosses Pass where we saw more scenes like this.
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38 viewsThis is a stilt house in Mai Chau. The cotton cloths are woven by the women of the village. They were so beautiful that I had a hard time deciding which ones I wanted to buy.
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38 viewsAfter visiting the caves, we had lunch on the boat. I think the guy next to me had too many of these drinks after lunch.
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38 viewsThis little piggy went to market.............
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37 viewsThe next morning we arrived in Skagway, known as the Gateway to the Klondike. It is a popular stop for cruise ships. The narrow gauge railway is part of the mining's past, but now is just for the tourists.
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37 viewsAnesthetizing the area for surgery.
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37 viewsThis seemed to me to be a nice memorial photograph from my experience on Corregidor.
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37 viewsOur next stop was the Muckross House.
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37 viewsSeveral of the kids took rides through the countryside.
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37 viewsOne thing I learned while I was in Ireland is that they love their front doors. They even have posters with just doors on them.
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37 viewsPeople were everywhere!
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37 viewsStilllllllllllll marching! It was a long parade route.
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37 viewsI finally got up the nerve to feed them. Their mouth felt icky!
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37 viewsSumo Wrestlers Performing a Japanese Blessing on the Games
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37 viewsAt the last moment, I decided to spend the Millennium in New York City, despite the terrorist scare. So I hopped a plane, and got a great room at the Marriott Marque Hotel in the middle of Times Square.
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37 viewsTaking a ride on the pedicab.
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37 viewsWe stopped at a park and I watched these people doing their morning tai chi.
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37 viewsThe people of the village fixed lunch for us. It was quite delicious even though I wasn't quite sure what some of the dishes were.
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37 viewsThe better to see you with, my dear.
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37 viewsOn this tour, they took our group into the forest and asked us if we could spot the entrance to a tunnel. Eventually I was the one who found it, but it was very hard. Then they asked if we would like to try to get into one. Well, I couldn't get one leg in!
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37 viewsThis is the beginning of the finale. Some of these girls were quite young and so beautiful.
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36 viewsAt the very last minute, I headed to Barcelona for the Summer Olympic games. I had promised one of my former sixth grade students, that WHEN not IF he was in the Olympics, I would be there. I visited these fountains located in the Plaza Espanya. At the top is the National Museum of Catalunya.
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36 viewsTime to do the dishes.
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36 viewsIt was a mighty small shop, but it had a lot to sell.
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36 viewsIf there is a sand pile around, kids will find it!
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Ke'e Beach The Thorn Birds filmed here36 views
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36 views
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36 viewsThis is the Rock of Cashel. It is considered to be one of the most spectacular tourist attractions in Ireland. It was started as a fortress.
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36 viewsIt was a cold, windy day, but it sure didn't take away from all of the excitement.
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36 viewsEven the big "kids" were having a great time.
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36 viewsI love this picture. She was so sweet.
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36 viewsJust more happy people to photograph.
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36 viewsThis guy was hilarious. The wind was just holding him up like this! Unbelievable.
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36 viewsAll of our bikes are lined up like little ducks.
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36 viewsThis is Hanoi Hilton. It is where they kept America prisoners during the Vietnam War.
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36 viewsI'm in one of the cells used for the prisoners. This must have been so awful.
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36 viewsAs I watched these women work, I had to wonder if they had any back trouble. They do this for hours.
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36 viewsA common sight was seeing these washerwomen squatting along the shore.
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35 viewsHow nice was this. Enjoying the nice, crisp, COLD air with a doctor on the left, and a preacher on the right! :O)
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35 viewsOHMYGOSH! This is just so much fun!
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35 views"Ma, I'm hungry!" "Okay, go call your brother to come eat."
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35 viewsThe ship's photographers were taking us out for our "official" Antarctica photo
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35 viewsI was in Barcelona six days. The first four were spent walking around the city trying to locate someone who new my student, John. He didn't know I was coming, and I had no way of getting in touch with him to let him know I was there because there was so much security. On the fourth day, at around 5:00 in the afternoon, I saw a couple walking along and I ran over to them and asked if they knew John Tillman. THEY DID......so I was able to get a message to him. FINALLY!
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35 viewsThe next morning, I went to the main Olympic gate to wait for John. I came two hours early, and got to talking to a lot of the correspondents that were there. I told them my story about promising to be there when he was in the Olympics. They were so fascinated that they waited around for John to come out. FINALLY! After days of walking, sweat, tears of frustration, he came out of the gate. It was like in the movies...we ran to each other (in what seemed like slow motion) he grabbed me, twilled me around, set me down, and said, "Mrs. Smith, you are still crazy!" This is one of the journalist that wrote about the story.
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Men's bathroom at airport35 views
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35 viewsFor now, I'll just show you two. I'll have more doors later on, especially when we get back to Dublin.
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35 viewsThey put on such a great show.
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35 viewsNot only was I proud of the band marching in the parade, but I was so proud of the red, white and blue!
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35 viewsAs expected, there were lots of Garda (police) around, probably making sure somebody hadn't started drinking a little too early.
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35 viewsI have NO CLUE what they were supposed to be. It was colorful though.
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35 viewsOur first view of the Mediterranean.
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35 viewsA refreshingly beautiful sunset.
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35 viewsI just love the feel of the European towns.
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35 viewsThis shows what is called the hypogeum, which means underground or the part of the building that was built below ground.
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35 viewsThere were so many women carrying these heavy loads.
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35 viewsThis woman was hauling all of this with bare feet! And it was so hot!
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35 viewsWe also saw the cot, shoes and cell where John McCain was held for over five years.
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35 viewsThe countryside along the way was so beautiful.
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35 viewsI felt sorry for this little monkey because the metal around his neck was so tight.
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35 viewsAll of the huts were on stilts.
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35 viewsOkay.......not EVERY ONE was working so hard!
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35 viewsHere we are starting out on our cruise. The Yangtze River is the third largest in the world, after the Amazon and the Nile.
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35 viewsIt's about lunch time. This shot shows how they cook at the back of the boats.
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35 viewsMaybe you want a little cooked snake with your lunch?
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35 viewsWe are back on our bigger boat. This is one of the really sweet ladies I got to meet on the trip.
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35 viewsWe passed a day boat going back to Beijing.
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35 viewsThis is absolutely amazing!
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35 viewsIt's easy to see why this is one of China's supreme tourist sights. You can't see from the photo, but behind the palms are the rice fields.
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35 viewsThis was one of my favorite photo, but, unfortunately, it came back with this light red line through it. But you can still see how beautiful and magnificent the scenery is.
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34 viewsWhile many of the tourists took the train ride, I just wondered around the town. This place really looks like an old mining town. Of course, where there is a bear, I have to have a photo. = )
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34 viewsThis is the sister ship of the Diamond Princess, the ship I am on. It was fun passing her. Both ships were blasting their horns at each other.
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34 viewsFlying from Buenos Aires to Ushuaia, which is the capital of the Argentine province of Tierra del Fuego. Ushuaia is also considered the southernmost city in the world.
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34 viewsNow we are going to an island that has the Gentoo penguins.
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34 viewsThese guys are bigger than the Chinstrap penguins.
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34 viewsAh, what a perfect little family.
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34 viewsThere were so many beautiful stairways around the city.
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34 viewsThis is the House of Grimaldi, that was also the home of Princess Grace.
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Lava Coastline34 views
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34 viewsThis is one of ten bridges that crosses Dublin's Liffey River.
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34 viewsAfter all of that excitement, we got back on the bus and headed to Killarney. (No, your eyesight isn't going, I tried to get this photo as the bus was turning a corner.
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34 viewsThere sure was a lot of traffic for being such a small town.
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34 viewsI think they look like Clydesdale feet.
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34 viewsAs you can imagine, we saw sheep everywhere.
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34 viewsAnd some are just a plain ol' challenge. First you have to squat, next you have to hold your dress/pant legs up, you need really good balance, and you hope you remembered to bring along your own toilet paper or some tissues!
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34 viewsOne of the many workers keeping the gazebo clean.
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34 viewsThe next day we started on a tour of the countryside.
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34 viewsThis bathroom was an experience. When you took a shower, the whole bathroom was flooded. It even ran into the other room! = ) I guess it happened all of the time.
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34 viewsI loved getting to see all of the children.
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34 viewsWe passed these guys on their rafts.
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34 viewsThe next day we headed to Halong Bay going through the Thai Binh province, a beautiful, traditional area off of the main tourist path. That evening we stopped at this beautiful hotel in Halong Bay.
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34 viewsThis little piggy has already been to the market!
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34 viewsThe cook....hoping he had washed his hands.
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34 viewsI had no idea what this was.
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34 viewsOld verses the new!
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34 viewsMy next adventure is cruising down the Yangtze River. This is when they were loading the boat with our food.
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34 viewsWe have come to Sandouping village to see the site of the new Three Gorges Dam project. It is known as the biggest hydropower-complex in the world.
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34 viewsBathroom break!
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34 viewsThis was a sampan on the other side of the river, and this kid was hauling food up to his little town.
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34 viewsSo often through the years I would see these beautiful Chinese paintings with these pointy hills on them. I wondered if they were real. They are. We are now heading to Guilin where I got to see this magnificent and stunning scenery!
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33 viewsThe beautiful little town of Ushuaia. It is a popular vacation spot for people from Buenos Aires.
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33 viewsAfter a wonderful afternoon of walking around the town, and spending the first night on the ship, the Marco Polo, we headed out the next morning for Antarctica. We are crossing the Beagle Strait, heading for Cape Horn.
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33 viewsOKAY......OKAY. I'M COMING!"
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33 viewsThis is Wat Phra Kaew, the temple the Emerald Buddha. Along with the Grand Palace, this is Bankok's greatest spectacle.
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33 viewsWe are on the Chao Phraya River, and it is full of these long-tailed colorful taxi boats.
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33 viewsEEEEEEEEEK! It's a good thing the trail turns here, or I would have been walking right into this thing!
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33 viewsWe've landed, gone through customs, and will now get on the bus and head to Dublin.
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33 viewsThe next morning, we headed toward Tipperary, one of the 32 counties of Ireland. And this photo shows "that it's a long road to Tipperary." :O) Anyone remember that song? It was a British marching song during WWI.
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33 viewsI wish you could hear the kids. They were having such a great time.
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33 viewsIf you like lots of green grass, tons of sheep, and delightful little towns, then you would love visiting Ireland.
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33 viewsSo many cute little characters in this shot.
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33 viewsThis is a photo of the Lord Mayor of Dublin and two ministers of Parliament.
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33 viewsHad this photo taken before I headed over to the London Eye.
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33 views
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33 viewsEventually they closed the doors so no one could go outside. Bummer!
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33 viewsWhat a cutie
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33 viewsOpening Ceremony
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33 viewsParade of Atheletes
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33 viewsThe next stop was pretty sad.
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33 viewsSeeing men working the rice paddies was a common sight.
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33 viewsThis is one of the sweet families that told us goodbye when we left. We left food and other goodies for them.
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33 viewsSo, here we are trying to look like we are on the Titanic! = )
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33 viewsWe are getting off of the boat to visit some caves full of stalactites and stalagmites, and this was how we got on and off. A little shaky!
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33 viewsAfter leaving Halong Bay, we returned to Hanoi stopping along the way to see farmers and water buffalo working in the rice fields.
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33 viewsOur first sunset on the Yangtze.
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33 viewsNow we are at the Gezhou Dam and have to go through the lock.
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33 viewsOne of the girls on our boat fixing the meal.
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33 viewsHe was hauling the fish he had caught back to his town.
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32 viewsFrom my hotel, I was able to get this picture of the harbor.
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32 viewsI am an avid fan of the TV show Deadliest Catch, so when I saw this pile of crab pots, I was so excited. There was one sitting on the ground, and I tried picking it up. I wanted to get a feel for how heavy they are. THEY'RE HEAVY! It made me appreciate even more how hard their job is. I miss Phil Harris. It just won't be the same without him on the show.
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32 viewsI was travelling alone, but I was lucky enough to meet these wild and crazy gals the first day.
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32 viewsAnother magnificent sunset in Antarctica.
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32 viewsWe passed by a colony of Gentoo penguins.
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32 viewsWe saw a lot more fur seals.
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32 viewsWe got to see a lot of whales.
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32 viewsThis is a photo of everyone that was on the ship.
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32 views"The rest of it is yours, sweetie."
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32 views"I've fallen, and I can't get up!" Literally! I had gotten stuck in the guano, and I had to have someone help me get up so I wouldn't fall over in it. It's some nasty stuff!
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32 views"Dress-up night" photo taken at our dinner table.
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32 viewsNow we are visiting the Chakri Maha Prasat Hall, known as the Grand Palace. What a spectacle it is. It has 100 brightly colored buildings, golden spires and glittering mosaics that date back to 1782, when Bangkok was founded.
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32 viewsNot only are the buildings unbelievable, the architecture of the trees is also amazing.
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32 viewsAfter a delicious lunch, we were back on the boat and finished up our river tour.
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32 viewsI spent the rest of the evening just doing a little sightseeing. This was some police car
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32 viewsAnother view of the harbor.
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32 viewsIt was such a fun day, but now we are back on the ship, just in time to see a beautiful sunset.
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Burning the sugar cane32 views
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Leaving Honolulu32 views
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32 viewsWe can already see that the city is all decked out for St. Patrick's Day.
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32 viewsWe arrive at the Jury's Inn, a beautiful new hotel, for the first night. For our first Irish dinner, we had Irish beef and Yorkshire Pudding. It tasted like some kind of pastry. It wasn't what I had expected.
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32 viewsNow we continue south to go to the harbor in County Cork.
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32 viewsSo, I'm supposed to turn upside down and kiss that black spot? (Supposedly the Blarney Stone.) And we are seven stories up!
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32 viewsI just wanted to hug them. So adorable.
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32 viewsHe sure had a great spot for watching the parade.
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32 viewsThis is the Russian Church of St. Mary Magdalene. With it's 7 onion-shaped spires, it is a good example of an old Moscovite church style.
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32 viewsThis is the Golden Gate.
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32 viewsThis photo just cracked me up.
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32 viewsTook the train up to Pisa, Italy.
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32 viewsMade it to the top after climbing 294 very tilted steps!
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32 viewsIt's creepy to think that all of these people were executed right here!
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32 viewsThis is a good view of the Tower Bridge.
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32 viewsThis is Kensington Palace, which has been in the Royal Family since the 17th century. It was also the home of Princess Diana from the time of her marriage until her death.
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32 viewsThis is St. George's Chapel, one of the most beautiful examples of medieval architecture in England. Within the chapel are tombs of ten monarchs, including Jane Seymour, the favorite wife of Henry VIII.
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32 viewsThis is the inside of St. George's Chapel.
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32 viewsI had to take a picture of these cute little boys sitting there without their shoes. They liked having their picture taken.
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32 viewsOne of my favorite items on display would be the grand royal chariot in the center of the museum. It was barricaded off from the public, but I was able to get it in the background of this photo. It was incredible.
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32 viewsBesides eating, you could play volleyball, snorkel, or just lay out and sun bathe.
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32 viewsWatching the Luge
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32 viewsWild celebration
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Monkey and Me32 views
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32 viewsAs you can see, there are a lot of bikes.
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32 viewsSomebody in the group gave this girl some licorice. She wasn't crazy about it!
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32 viewsI'm getting ready to take an exciting paddle boat trip through Tam Coc Grotto.
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32 viewsThis is the beautiful view looking at the bay from the hotel.
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32 viewsNow THIS was creepy!
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32 viewsWe were supposed to go to Hue the next day, but because of the worst floods in two hundred years, we had to alter the plans. So we headed north.
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32 viewsEven through the rain, you could see that was a very unusual village. In the first place, the clothes were so different, probably because it was so cold there.
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32 viewsParts of this tunnel network has been enlarged and upgraded and this entrance takes you down into the medical center.
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32 viewsThe waters of the Yangtze originate at the "top of the world" on the Tibet Plateau. It flows for 3,900 miles through China and empties into the South China Sea.
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32 viewsThe dam is being built for flood control, irrigation and electricity.
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32 viewsUnfortunately, building the dam came with some major problems. The dam covers a lot of historic sites, and has caused 1.24 million people to lose their homes under rising water. New cities are being built above the downtown areas.
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32 viewsWe passed several other sampans going the other direction.
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32 viewsThis is what our sampan looked like. Notice the plank on the left side of the boat. That is how we got on and off!
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32 viewsHere is one taking a swim.
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32 viewsJust beautiful!
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31 viewsFlying on my way to Seattle.
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31 viewsThis is the Diamond Princess, the ship I will be taking to Alaska.
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31 viewsAs well as eagles, we saw seals just relaxing on the larger shelves of ice. They didn't seem worried by the ship. I guess they are used to it.
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31 viewsWe had several opportunities to see ice calving, which is when a large chunk of ice breaks away from a glacier.
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31 viewsLanding in Ushuaia.
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31 viewsWe got splashed quite a bit on the way back, and boy.....was that water COLD!
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31 viewsMaybe it doesn't look like it, but this man was actually smiling at me. When I started to take the photo, his wife just grinned and turned away. She was quite shy.
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31 viewsThis guy was really pretty, but he sure had an attitude!
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31 viewsSurgery has begun. (If you are at all squeamish, I would suggest you skip the next few photos.)
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31 viewsAs we head back to Cannes to board our ship, we saw many beautiful beaches. The only problem I have with the beaches is that they have stones instead of sand. Ouch!
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31 viewsWow! Between the heat and humidity, and the spray from the falls, I'm already soaked!
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31 viewsThese falls and taller and wider than Niagara Falls. It's spread in a horseshoe. It's the result of a volcanic eruption which left this large crack in the earth.
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31 views
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31 viewsHeading to Ireland in the pretty little green plane.
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31 viewsGetting our first glimpses of Ireland.
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31 viewsIt was rather daunting to think of all those people walking around here knowing what their fate would be.
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31 viewsWe drove on to Cork where we spent two hours shopping at the Blarney Woollen Mills. All of the sweaters were so beautiful. It was hard not to buy a bunch. I didn't because I don't live in cold enough weather. I did get a scarf!
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31 viewsThis turned out to be one of my favorite parts of the manor................it's where the bathrooms were!
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31 viewsYou could tell this was a tourist town.
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31 viewsTime for lunch. Them are some big ol' legs!
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31 viewsJust look at this adorable little face.
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31 viewsNow we are taking a walk through the Kidron Valley. The valley separates the Mt. Of Olives from the City of Jerusalem. It is said that Jesus crossed this valley many times, either going to the Temple through the Golden Gate or going up to Bethany where he would spend the night with his friend Lazarus.
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31 viewsThis is Bet She'an. It's now a National Park and people come here to see the ancient city that was excavated a long time ago. It forms the best preserved Roman-Byzantine city in the land.
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31 viewsA very close-up photo of the Goat Guard! = )
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31 viewsHere are the kids again going along the main promenade on the castle grounds.
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31 viewsThe guards at Windsor Castle.
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31 viewsAnd I got them going the other direction.
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31 viewsThere were lots and lots of these little shops.
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31 viewsOf course, I just had to have my photo taken on the stairs. However, it turns out, NO ONE is to step foot on the stairs. Ooops!
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31 viewsThese are Payong Berwarna umbrellas used in the Sultan's coronation.
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31 viewsAthletes Lining up to Come into Stadium
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31 viewsLanding in Hanoi.
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31 viewsThis young girl stopped so we could get a picture of her carrying the rice.
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31 viewsWe went to a village to see the traditional straw huts.
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31 viewsHere we have...........the toilet.
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31 viewsThe grotto has breath-taking scenery and rock formations that jut out into the rice paddies.
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31 viewsThis blind lady was part of the Buddhist group.
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31 viewsAfter a wonderful night at the hotel in Saigon, we leave to explore the infamous Cu Chi Tunnels. These tunnels were the Vietcong's underground tunnel system that at one time stretched as far as the Cambodian border. Several of the parts of the tunnels were several stories deep.
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31 viewsThere were trapdoors, specially constructed living areas, storage facilities, weapons factories, field hospitals, command centers and kitchens - all underground. This soldier is showing how the Vietcong would pop up and kill American soldiers. This was a good example of how horrible it must have been for our GI's.
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31 viewsThe next day, we drove to the Mekong Delta. There we took a boat ride on the Mekong.
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31 viewsThis is the famous Majestic Hotel in Saigon, or Ho Chi Minh, as it is called now.
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31 viewsThis cultural show was a nice way to end our stay in Xian.
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31 viewsWe've worked our way into the lock. That's a working boat next to us.
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31 viewsWe saw lots of buffalo ambling down to the banks for a dip.
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31 viewsIt's time to go home. Even the baby followed.........ahhhhhhhh!
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31 viewsWe are leaving the Guilin area and heading to the market town of Yangshuo.
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30 viewsI came to Seattle a day early, so I got to go visit the Space Needle. There sure was an awesome view from the top.
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30 viewsLooking the other direction you can see downtown, and Quest Field, home of the Seattle Seahawk. I was fortunate that I had such a clear day when I was there.
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30 viewsThis area around the Space Needle is a park. It's like a mini fair. Lots of rides, cotton candy, and video games.
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30 viewsWe are heading into the strait of Juan de Fuca. Most of the people watched from the windows, but not me. Like I said, I love this kind of weather. It's so invigorating.
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30 viewsHere is the main street of Juneau. From the crowds along the street, the rain didn't seem to be bothering anyone.
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30 viewsIt was another beautiful evening as we sailed toward Tracy Arm.
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30 viewsI felt it getting colder. I looked out from the cabin balcony and saw that we were in the glacial fjord. Now we are finally seeing ice.
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30 viewsAfter resting from the wonderful day, where did we go? To the ice cream parlor! Yummy!
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30 viewsThe next morning, we head out for another island
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30 viewsWhen they said that the penguins lived in colonies, they weren't kidding.
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30 viewsThe males are about 19 pounds and are around 32 inches tall. They are also the fastest underwater swimmers of all the penguins.
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30 views"Reach up a little farther."
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30 views"I am sooooooo full!"
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30 viewsSome of the other zodiacs heading back to the ship.
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30 viewsOur last trip in one of the zodiacs. Cold and wet, but still a fun ride!
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30 viewsAnd on further review...........not so much! He seemed to be getting a little agitated. Ok.....have photo.....need to go now. Bye, bye.
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30 viewsI always like to take pictures of signs in different cities.
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30 viewsWe docked here to have a wonderful lunch at the Rose Garden Restaurant.
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30 viewsOn my last day in Bangkok, I was able to walk around and just get a feel for the locals.
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30 viewsThey just love their hats.
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30 viewsI just loved the children. They were all so sweet.
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30 viewsThe Galeria was divided into many stalls with all kinds of things to buy.
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30 viewsNext to the delicious smelling pineapples were these big, juicy watermelons.
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30 viewsHere they come again!
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30 views
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30 viewsThey were right when they told us it's a quaint little town. So pretty.
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30 viewsHe was a nice old gentleman. I so love the accent.
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30 viewsJust another beautiful scene in Ireland.
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30 viewsOn our way, we passed THE KNESSET, the Israeli Parliament.
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30 viewsWhile we were walking through the valley, I stopped to get a photo with one of the many camels we saw. This one was all dressed up for the tourists.
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30 viewsThe boat ride was so quiet and peaceful.
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30 viewsThere were always fun little shops around to lure the tourists.
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