tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26794995091652404672024-03-05T07:00:57.095-08:00Catsholiday travel blogAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18038682798869523621noreply@blogger.comBlogger24125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2679499509165240467.post-5347185129746258192014-08-03T09:33:00.000-07:002014-08-03T13:16:53.276-07:00New 7Wonders - The Easter Island Statues<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This is my fifth post listing the twenty one finalists that went to vote to become one of the New 7Wonders.<br />
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First was the Acropolis which I have not visited.<br />
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Second was the ALHAMBRA Spain which I have blogged about:<br />
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ANGKOR WAT in Cambodia was third on the list and my post about this is on my blog too<br />
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Fourth is the COLOSSEUM in Italy which again I have yet to see. My husband went to Rome for his first Honeymoon so it isn't high on his list at the present time.<br />
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The fifth on the list which is done alphabetically is the CORCOVADO (CHRIST THE REDEEMER) in Rio, Brazil.<br />
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No 6 which is the Eiffel tower in Paris, France.<br />
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So now we come to the Easter Island Statues as number 7<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #3e454c; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 27.200000762939453px; text-align: start;">We visited Easter Island only last year 2013 and they are as splendid as you imagine them to be from the photos.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguxtJw6tZV8dm1lq0LHi3M7YTeQgjup5stUfLXUm92zPryxgczAibxzPU4ofIEce9oD8AqFQ_XAuFIpEQfkiuaIDdskKDOziiMt6cvV1LtZYDNQpDo-VH3F3-xbaZzctWMlDOkKTA751Gs/s1600/DSC03384.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguxtJw6tZV8dm1lq0LHi3M7YTeQgjup5stUfLXUm92zPryxgczAibxzPU4ofIEce9oD8AqFQ_XAuFIpEQfkiuaIDdskKDOziiMt6cvV1LtZYDNQpDo-VH3F3-xbaZzctWMlDOkKTA751Gs/s1600/DSC03384.JPG" height="214" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #3e454c; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 27.200000762939453px; text-align: start;">And now we have reached No7 but post number five for me and that is the statues on Easter Island.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBqek4tXOuJArBQFsw2zlThp9qhqsCGQpYoflB12r9z4P7Fvm1J0lr6lXzMAgJ2VZgTlrcirOUuf0p6y1nTZFqbZle6TEdn-ZZqZKSEfdPc1nDVjyEdkLH2Xpk4F_8kOs1IvZWPpB2priP/s1600/DSCF7475.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBqek4tXOuJArBQFsw2zlThp9qhqsCGQpYoflB12r9z4P7Fvm1J0lr6lXzMAgJ2VZgTlrcirOUuf0p6y1nTZFqbZle6TEdn-ZZqZKSEfdPc1nDVjyEdkLH2Xpk4F_8kOs1IvZWPpB2priP/s1600/DSCF7475.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #3e454c; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 27.200000762939453px;" /><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #3e454c; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 27.200000762939453px;" /><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #3e454c; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 27.200000762939453px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #3e454c; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 27.200000762939453px;">We spent four days on Easter Island visiting the various sites with these fabulous heads .Until our visit I hadn't realised that no heads were left standing and that those now standing had been restored to that position in this last century. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4VSt0meq9cqeK8LPySbtsVz44xASzHomHRLm-mThOb3J9FteZKofqeMq4vFAW_eGsderPWNCPuG5d56nmI2ijaj6FfUnjd4lyX1AuCb926uU-2_28IIgHhva4Pt-X6dhGir2LcclbQnea/s1600/DSCF7624.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4VSt0meq9cqeK8LPySbtsVz44xASzHomHRLm-mThOb3J9FteZKofqeMq4vFAW_eGsderPWNCPuG5d56nmI2ijaj6FfUnjd4lyX1AuCb926uU-2_28IIgHhva4Pt-X6dhGir2LcclbQnea/s1600/DSCF7624.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #3e454c; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 27.200000762939453px;" /><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #3e454c; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 27.200000762939453px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #3e454c; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 27.200000762939453px;">The heads are called Moai while the platform they stand on is known as the Ahu and the hats or hair on some of the Moai are the Pakao. These particular Moai were restored and replaced on their Ahu specifically for the Rapa Nui film and of course for encouraging tourists to visit the island.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja8LtYp5hnv4SEF_6iHAdWK_PeKQKJd1Q6T-Jx2xBAfxDuRxEJRNc2lvE3f0UVul1QkXjEB5VKBzlVUD9JYVNUFXSNtOaLg250VKQj3PErqDwySRRtQfsL5Qz7TlwyP9HWk72usnEPXUcZ/s1600/DSCF7481.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja8LtYp5hnv4SEF_6iHAdWK_PeKQKJd1Q6T-Jx2xBAfxDuRxEJRNc2lvE3f0UVul1QkXjEB5VKBzlVUD9JYVNUFXSNtOaLg250VKQj3PErqDwySRRtQfsL5Qz7TlwyP9HWk72usnEPXUcZ/s1600/DSCF7481.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #3e454c; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 27.200000762939453px; text-align: start;">Ahu Tongariki is the largest restored Ahu with fifteen Moai and one of them is the largest Moai ever erected on the island. In the quarry behind this Ahu there is an even larger Moai half buried and unfinished. The largest Moai on the Ahu at Tongariki weighs 86 tonnes. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbICiL8kTiv3AZkBt3xs6nq0B0LPFYmouKDukO9vnljlXDGU7IuxmkwQ6fjduw1LHIhkLyvyHQjqb6y4T85x7o31LnamnnU3YNTycLYu93lCCr_L50nooaipYvgdq0-pV34jpIZbSyFDN8/s1600/DSCF7525.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbICiL8kTiv3AZkBt3xs6nq0B0LPFYmouKDukO9vnljlXDGU7IuxmkwQ6fjduw1LHIhkLyvyHQjqb6y4T85x7o31LnamnnU3YNTycLYu93lCCr_L50nooaipYvgdq0-pV34jpIZbSyFDN8/s1600/DSCF7525.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
<br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #3e454c; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 27.200000762939453px;" /><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #3e454c; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 27.200000762939453px;" /><br /><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #3e454c; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 27.200000762939453px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #3e454c; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 27.200000762939453px;">I struggle to picture how the islanders with their limited lifting equipment moved and erected even the smaller Moai and some were taken quite some distance across the island.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKvXDhtE-Qti3B2cScmh-KpyQb34hAw3N24-0EZmW2yyZ4yadjOMVAOJzyrZzgAtLeAXCrZqJtrpICK5t15m3QPfZ-dnY3BBCOH3V2Yj5Qor7pPDR1yE69jgp8rsIy7NKaRxmwdaz5h75I/s1600/DSCF7529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKvXDhtE-Qti3B2cScmh-KpyQb34hAw3N24-0EZmW2yyZ4yadjOMVAOJzyrZzgAtLeAXCrZqJtrpICK5t15m3QPfZ-dnY3BBCOH3V2Yj5Qor7pPDR1yE69jgp8rsIy7NKaRxmwdaz5h75I/s1600/DSCF7529.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #3e454c; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 27.200000762939453px; text-align: start;">No one is really certain why the islanders began to build the Moai but it began when the resources on the island began to become scarce. The statues are sometimes thought to be representing gods or deceased chiefs. It is thought that when a chief died they carved and erected the Moai and once it was erected the eyes were carved and the coral put in. Once the eyes were in place the Rapa Nui people believed that power and prosperity was sent through the moai’s eyes to the villagers still living there.</span></div>
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<br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #3e454c; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 27.200000762939453px;" /><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #3e454c; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 27.200000762939453px;" /><br /><br /><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #3e454c; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 27.200000762939453px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #3e454c; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 27.200000762939453px;">These are in the final 21 but didn't make it to the last seven so far only the Colosseum in Rome and the Christ the Redeemer in Rio have made it to the last seven of the list alphabetically. </span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #3e454c; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 27.200000762939453px;" />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18038682798869523621noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2679499509165240467.post-67820053007594267122014-07-12T12:59:00.000-07:002014-08-03T09:35:05.264-07:00Eiffel tower in Paris, France.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This is my fourth post listing the twenty one finalists that went to vote to become one of the New 7Wonders.<br />
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First was the Acropolis which I have not visited<br />
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Second was the ALHAMBRA Spain which I wrote a post about.<br />
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ANGKOR WAT in Cambodia was third on the list and my post about this is on here too.<br />
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Fourth is the COLOSSEUM in Italy which again I have yet to see. My husband went to Rome for his first Honeymoon so it isn't high on his list at the present time.<br />
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The fifth on the list which is done alphabetically is the CORCOVADO (CHRIST THE REDEEMER) in Rio, Brazil.<br />
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Now we come to No 6 which is the Eiffel tower in Paris, France.<br />
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I first visited this famous tower when on A french exchange when I was about 14 years old. I remember we took the lift up and walked down. Even then when I was young and a lot fitter my legs had gone to jelly by the time we got to the bottom.<br />
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The tower is named after the man Gustave Eiffel whose company designed and built the iron tower.<br />
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The tower was built to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the French Revolution in the 1889 Exposition Universell.<br />
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These days over 7 million visitors, pay to go up the tower every year. 75% of the visitors are foreigners. The tower is apparently the most visited attraction in the world that you have to pay to visit.<br />
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There are 1665 steps to the top of the tower which is 324 metres tall.<br />
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It was originally only a temporary building but after twenty years there was a petition to keep it standing. It has become a symbol of Paris recognised the world over and has been seen by over 250 million people since it was first opened.<br />
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Famous world wide and one of the twenty one finalists but NOT one of the New 7Wonders.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18038682798869523621noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2679499509165240467.post-37214290007656692192014-07-12T12:40:00.000-07:002014-07-12T12:40:12.874-07:00CORCOVADO - Christ the Redeemer Statue, Rio de Janeiro <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="color: #2c2c2c; font-family: Calibri, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18.19999885559082px;">This is my third post listing the twenty one finalists that went to vote to become one of the New 7Wonders.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #2c2c2c; font-family: Calibri, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18.19999885559082px;">First was the Acropolis which I have not visited</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #2c2c2c; font-family: Calibri, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18.19999885559082px;">Second was the ALHAMBRA Spain which I wrote a post about</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #2c2c2c; font-family: Calibri, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18.19999885559082px;">ANGKOR WAT in Cambodia was third on the list and my post about this is on here too.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #2c2c2c; font-family: Calibri, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18.19999885559082px;">Fourth is the COLOSSEUM in Italy which again I have yet to see. My husband went to Rome for his first Honeymoon so it isn't high on his list at the present time.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #2c2c2c; font-family: Calibri, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18.19999885559082px;">The post here is about no 5 which is as alphabetically listed the CORCOVADO (CHRIST THE REDEEMER)in Rio, Brazil.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #2c2c2c; font-family: Calibri, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18.19999885559082px;">The Corcovado is actually the hill the statue stands on. It is one of many in and around Rio, the Sugarloaf mountain is another famous landmark in the city. Corcovado means hunchback in Portuguese.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #2c2c2c; font-family: Calibri, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18.19999885559082px;">On top of this 710-metre high hill stands the famous statue of Christ the redeemer. The statue stands a huge 38 metres high and is impressive from both near to and from a distance as well.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #2c2c2c; font-family: Calibri, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18.19999885559082px;">We went up to the statue on the railway which takes you through the Tijuca Forest which is a rainforest which is a huge 32 sq km National Park within the city of Rio. This railway was first built in 1884 but was refurbished in 1980 and it is a pretty good ride through the forest upwards.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #2c2c2c; font-family: Calibri, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18.19999885559082px;">It was planted in the mid 19th Century as it was believed that the deforestation was affecting the water supply in Rio and the soil erosion as well.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #2c2c2c; font-family: Calibri, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18.19999885559082px;">once at the top platform you still have 223 steps to climb or you can if you don't mind queuing wait for the lift. There is also an escalator which is how we went up but we did walk down again using the steps.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #2c2c2c; font-family: Calibri, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18.19999885559082px;">The size of the statue can only really be appreciated close up but aside from exploring the statue from this hill top the views you get over Rio are pretty impressive.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #2c2c2c; font-family: Calibri, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18.19999885559082px;">This huge statue gets over 300,000 visitors per year and at times it is pretty crowded up around the statue. Luckily we went up early one morning not on a week end so the crowds were minimal.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #2c2c2c; font-family: Calibri, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18.19999885559082px;">THIS STATUE IS THE FIRST OF MY TWENTY ONE TO BE A NEW 7 WONDER - This is the first of the final New 7Wonders.</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimKzp0ZUMvWMQf8yqSExEDKRwZk3TJJKoN6v8FO4FY0XSeIM9nTK1JEakJ0hqn3J61QKyjdXN2fD-IBcE3IoUIdJ6sjdVVWoHxJvK7EKkSfOYx7rW-R6eL2Fy7XUAkArJdQQ6Jt0KEDZvq/s1600/Corcavado.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimKzp0ZUMvWMQf8yqSExEDKRwZk3TJJKoN6v8FO4FY0XSeIM9nTK1JEakJ0hqn3J61QKyjdXN2fD-IBcE3IoUIdJ6sjdVVWoHxJvK7EKkSfOYx7rW-R6eL2Fy7XUAkArJdQQ6Jt0KEDZvq/s1600/Corcavado.jpg" height="320" width="214" /></a></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18038682798869523621noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2679499509165240467.post-17879343193977321512014-07-12T11:35:00.000-07:002014-07-12T11:35:42.959-07:00Angkor Wat Cambodia<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFqegkoHVXsVIG1rrluaeYOrWXuGVmr6y7QbPc1biQQiLRE2X4ieq8LdIn-lbIYfgxwqJ7UjiAd5Kp1dFqXnZ6-7vGSAVIdwCacYGBp4dY50hrOEO_ZtisICpxuMuBcCaZSraC0z9b8n7a/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFqegkoHVXsVIG1rrluaeYOrWXuGVmr6y7QbPc1biQQiLRE2X4ieq8LdIn-lbIYfgxwqJ7UjiAd5Kp1dFqXnZ6-7vGSAVIdwCacYGBp4dY50hrOEO_ZtisICpxuMuBcCaZSraC0z9b8n7a/s1600/1.jpg" height="219" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #2c2c2c; font-family: Calibri, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18.19999885559082px;">Continuing my series based on the website The New 7Wonders where I am looking at those of the twenty one shortlisted finalists that I have visited .</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #2c2c2c; font-family: Calibri, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18.19999885559082px;">The next on the list is Angkor Wat. This is not one Wat or temple but rather a series of temples in</span></span><span style="color: #2c2c2c; font-family: Calibri, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18.19999885559082px;"></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #2c2c2c; font-family: Calibri, Arial, sans-serif;"></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhifGUxMnV7w-BJaZ77w1FCLf8T7jvI9g3vc4pJr938e6kvNR7FJ2MZMsKBZwq454y7yH-dLnDu0YlUYX3IIxTNc97WRFdmNTDImajn8wdANHFSSy0A_BBAhZwZg9lBsh1xckvzlTDJ2u9z/s1600/5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhifGUxMnV7w-BJaZ77w1FCLf8T7jvI9g3vc4pJr938e6kvNR7FJ2MZMsKBZwq454y7yH-dLnDu0YlUYX3IIxTNc97WRFdmNTDImajn8wdANHFSSy0A_BBAhZwZg9lBsh1xckvzlTDJ2u9z/s1600/5.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
<span style="color: #2c2c2c; font-family: Calibri, Arial, sans-serif;"> one area some of which have been partially destroyed by human invaders while others are being taken over by the jungle that surrounds the temple area.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #2c2c2c; font-family: Calibri, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18.19999885559082px;">We had the sweetest guide who spent the few days we were here telling us all about his family. As you walk around the temples small children come up to you with bits they are trying to sell and chat to you. they have cleverly learned a few sentences and facts about each country which has tourists coming to Cambodia which they say to you as an opening line. they are so very sweet and I would happily have bought all they had but I knew that would only bring more running to tear at my heart strings.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #2c2c2c; font-family: Calibri, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18.19999885559082px;">Angkor Wat was originally a Hindu temple complex then became a Buddhist temple complex and there is evidence of some deliberate scrubbing out of Hindu images in some temples.Angkor Wat is the largest religious monument in the world.</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs7pKyvOZyH_U-Q7ixPhIp9xxszXd2JlxtgF2n_umQ3zjByob3stBvhNYiLiHScVjQFNP9LatmSE868_81ocigiCmMdt81XnMXzAGfZP9qSXU8IJRDUeH0mS_BIjR9K3mWjUknzBq2f4_a/s1600/4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs7pKyvOZyH_U-Q7ixPhIp9xxszXd2JlxtgF2n_umQ3zjByob3stBvhNYiLiHScVjQFNP9LatmSE868_81ocigiCmMdt81XnMXzAGfZP9qSXU8IJRDUeH0mS_BIjR9K3mWjUknzBq2f4_a/s1600/4.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #2c2c2c; font-family: Calibri, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18.19999885559082px;">Some temples have tall steps that you can climb up. they are steep and very narrow, some of those climbing with us were not happy and were clinging on to the ropes and edges for assistance. </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #2c2c2c; font-family: Calibri, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18.19999885559082px;">You could spend days around the temples, some like to get up before dawn to watch sunrise and again watch the sun setting over the temples. It can get quite crowded at times and it is VERY hot so take lots of bottled water, a hat and sunscreen.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #2c2c2c; font-family: Calibri, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18.19999885559082px;">My favourite temple was Ta Prohm which was used in the film 'Tomb Raider. This temple has been left pretty much as it was discovered in recent times. Trees have grown through the temple walls and arches and it looks like a scene from Indiana Jones. It was such fun taking photos and even though there were quite a few other people there we did manage to get some photos with extras in them.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #2c2c2c; font-family: Calibri, Arial, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhism1rjUYxdqt4s0NtCQzwaxs6Nz9oKg80-EWHEI3pl6YNMjc3ofUnqfr6NFLTeJRp-0mO_uF5m4derODpTsWAUKpVS_RHr20Xl9jyvf1vyegJqoJzJqJErSG-cAslABJm3pbhy8D_PbCb/s1600/9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhism1rjUYxdqt4s0NtCQzwaxs6Nz9oKg80-EWHEI3pl6YNMjc3ofUnqfr6NFLTeJRp-0mO_uF5m4derODpTsWAUKpVS_RHr20Xl9jyvf1vyegJqoJzJqJErSG-cAslABJm3pbhy8D_PbCb/s1600/9.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="color: #2c2c2c; font-family: Calibri, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18.19999885559082px;">I cannot really do justice to a site like this in a short post but this gives a taste of the magnificence that is Angkor Wat. To me this site richly deserves its place in the 21 finalists but despite getting my vote it was NOT one of the New 7Wonders.</span></span><br />
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<br style="background-color: #e7f2fa; color: #2c2c2c; font-family: Calibri, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.513513565063477px; line-height: 18.19999885559082px;" />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18038682798869523621noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2679499509165240467.post-5240554056652866782014-07-12T07:27:00.000-07:002014-07-12T07:30:49.219-07:00The New 7Wonders<span style="color: #2c2c2c; font-family: Calibri, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18.19999885559082px;">Not sure if anyone has heard of the site which has voted over several years for the New 7 Wonders.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #2c2c2c; font-family: Calibri, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18.19999885559082px;">http://www.new7wonders.com/</span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7K5l-AE5ITmc6dM6zHn9VHGKa6Q9vBmOQAGujwThD4n_WixOwZICpSvjIQxP11SaHW9e2XVEDqhRSghP_-0D1UYFUdbNP8axT85bWmtK8nolRAlNX3qMWy0OsG-Kjiy779O4Ftx_Nhc7k/s1600/7Wonders.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7K5l-AE5ITmc6dM6zHn9VHGKa6Q9vBmOQAGujwThD4n_WixOwZICpSvjIQxP11SaHW9e2XVEDqhRSghP_-0D1UYFUdbNP8axT85bWmtK8nolRAlNX3qMWy0OsG-Kjiy779O4Ftx_Nhc7k/s1600/7Wonders.jpg" height="187" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image from New 7Wonders site</td></tr>
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<span style="color: #2c2c2c; font-family: Calibri, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18.19999885559082px;">It started because there was always controversy over what the Seven Wonders of the World actually were.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #2c2c2c; font-family: Calibri, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18.19999885559082px;">Some talked of Ancient wonders, natural wonders and so on.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #2c2c2c; font-family: Calibri, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18.19999885559082px;">Some talked of Ancient wonders, natural wonders and so on.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #2c2c2c; font-family: Calibri, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18.19999885559082px;">This site allowed people to nominate their 'Wonder. These were collated and voted on.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #2c2c2c; font-family: Calibri, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18.19999885559082px;">They then reduced the list to the top 21 and once again anyone was invited to vote.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #2c2c2c; font-family: Calibri, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18.19999885559082px;">You could have a vote for every email address. We visited the Alhambra at the time of the voting and they had banks of computers where you could make your vote there and then.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #2c2c2c; font-family: Calibri, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18.19999885559082px;">The final New7Wonders were announced on 07. 07 2007</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #2c2c2c; font-family: Calibri, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18.19999885559082px;">The final twenty one on the list were:</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #2c2c2c; font-family: Calibri, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18.19999885559082px;">ACROPOLIS OF ATHENS Greece</span></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0koq9piEvshRoczEb8W4NraZvej1pdwJMu0EcCHIDr9KCzXzM2tBKoffhv4a3s3wxIjaD26vykY7wVExF5xzuyJz6aXtXmdmCql9u8OgZzoFYWl8AaOnuJ4fFrPo_MtaEDD9FmF7-2zPI/s1600/acropolis.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0koq9piEvshRoczEb8W4NraZvej1pdwJMu0EcCHIDr9KCzXzM2tBKoffhv4a3s3wxIjaD26vykY7wVExF5xzuyJz6aXtXmdmCql9u8OgZzoFYWl8AaOnuJ4fFrPo_MtaEDD9FmF7-2zPI/s1600/acropolis.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Courtesy of wikipedia</td></tr>
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<span style="color: #2c2c2c; font-family: Calibri, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18.19999885559082px;">ALHAMBRA Spain</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #2c2c2c; font-family: Calibri, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18.19999885559082px;">ANGKOR Cambodia</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #2c2c2c; font-family: Calibri, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18.19999885559082px;">COLOSSEUM Italy</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #2c2c2c; font-family: Calibri, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18.19999885559082px;">CORCOVADO (CHRIST THE REDEEMER) Brazil</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #2c2c2c; font-family: Calibri, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18.19999885559082px;">EIFFEL TOWER France</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #2c2c2c; font-family: Calibri, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18.19999885559082px;">EASTER ISLAND STATUES Chile</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #2c2c2c; font-family: Calibri, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18.19999885559082px;">GREAT WALL OF CHINA China</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #2c2c2c; font-family: Calibri, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18.19999885559082px;">HAGIA SOPHIA Turkey</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #2c2c2c; font-family: Calibri, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18.19999885559082px;">KIYOMIZU TEMPLE Japan</span></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghmIX4PjVbMXclzdLykqPhOAnINOAyrwqWqhxArWH9xTFfW_ZZHrbpMkzWCnCOXzo4avrvHQ1oTMblQm6KbyvG6_6q4a3Qv9n7zZxZOBijsvUYJXjv0MfZqINpJCYwh6DglsxMfXqTQ4cb/s1600/Kiyomizu+temple.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghmIX4PjVbMXclzdLykqPhOAnINOAyrwqWqhxArWH9xTFfW_ZZHrbpMkzWCnCOXzo4avrvHQ1oTMblQm6KbyvG6_6q4a3Qv9n7zZxZOBijsvUYJXjv0MfZqINpJCYwh6DglsxMfXqTQ4cb/s1600/Kiyomizu+temple.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Courtesy of Wikipedia</td></tr>
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<span style="color: #2c2c2c; font-family: Calibri, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18.19999885559082px;">KREMLIN and RED SQUARE Russia</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #2c2c2c; font-family: Calibri, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18.19999885559082px;">MACHU PICCHU Peru</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #2c2c2c; font-family: Calibri, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18.19999885559082px;">NEUSCHWANSTEIN Germany</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #2c2c2c; font-family: Calibri, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18.19999885559082px;">PETRA Jordan</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #2c2c2c; font-family: Calibri, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18.19999885559082px; text-align: center;"> PYRAMID AT CHICHEN ITZA Mexico</span><br />
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<span style="color: #2c2c2c; font-family: Calibri, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18.19999885559082px;">PYRAMIDS OF GIZA Egypt</span></div>
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<span style="color: #2c2c2c; font-family: Calibri, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18.19999885559082px;">STATUE OF LIBERTY USA</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #2c2c2c; font-family: Calibri, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18.19999885559082px;">STONEHENGE UK</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #2c2c2c; font-family: Calibri, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18.19999885559082px;">SYDNEY OPERA HOUSE Australia</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #2c2c2c; font-family: Calibri, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18.19999885559082px;">TAJ MAHAL India</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #2c2c2c; font-family: Calibri, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18.19999885559082px;">TIMBUCTOO Mali</span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvvuk66edUsWGRFOOWJgYe7L2BCirT20hhcm9fUHPfJEc5eIkB2Dn71yCMQQqQDOiqUsXHvrLkfJQy51U9VMUgW5zcWx1Uoj7M2-FGAVZP5Suqe5lXZicKPkY9mUdJoGof7JkaKLzOC_WM/s1600/timbuktoo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvvuk66edUsWGRFOOWJgYe7L2BCirT20hhcm9fUHPfJEc5eIkB2Dn71yCMQQqQDOiqUsXHvrLkfJQy51U9VMUgW5zcWx1Uoj7M2-FGAVZP5Suqe5lXZicKPkY9mUdJoGof7JkaKLzOC_WM/s1600/timbuktoo.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image courtesy of wikidedia</td></tr>
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<span style="color: #2c2c2c; font-family: Calibri, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18.19999885559082px;">My husband and I decided that we needed to make a bucket list and try and see all twenty one.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #2c2c2c; font-family: Calibri, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18.19999885559082px;">I fear we may not be able to see some . In my next post I will enlighten you as to which we have seen.</span></span><br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18038682798869523621noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2679499509165240467.post-23258318035618551342014-07-12T04:19:00.002-07:002014-07-12T04:22:13.725-07:00Gullfoss Waterfall - Iceland<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYYfZTSDAsJgqq_fSpRgL-B2cEvxk8HBn7FElCSilFm-tJQAg8e16uvM_iEfHfjGIs361ibZV2ydKGG_lrl6nUz8qBT0YW_x7f4I2kaVYJl_7-vJbLL8rQV1TSw2zpQKTGT0uxkjyPMH2m/s1600/DSC01882.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYYfZTSDAsJgqq_fSpRgL-B2cEvxk8HBn7FElCSilFm-tJQAg8e16uvM_iEfHfjGIs361ibZV2ydKGG_lrl6nUz8qBT0YW_x7f4I2kaVYJl_7-vJbLL8rQV1TSw2zpQKTGT0uxkjyPMH2m/s1600/DSC01882.JPG" height="214" width="320" /></a></div>
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One day when we were in Iceland we took the Golden Circle tour which was extremely interesting and we saw a lot in that day.<span id="goog_1824504978"></span><span id="goog_1824504979"></span><br />
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We stopped at this famous waterfall for our lunch. It was freezing cold and the wind was blowing strongly but we did struggle down to see the Gulfoss falls before heading back to have a bowl of lamb soup.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_9Ai8saA7PRS5dmchCrULoI0k1XjT6tabWXHEq2fZucasw3CwQxomTbQpKdjykjiDDaKFECRek1-QjF67oohkDfpKljgW5726ysm7HkxKkzVJrEstm5ljKPeoshyGTBsReXMgsJQYEyEO/s1600/DSC01880.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_9Ai8saA7PRS5dmchCrULoI0k1XjT6tabWXHEq2fZucasw3CwQxomTbQpKdjykjiDDaKFECRek1-QjF67oohkDfpKljgW5726ysm7HkxKkzVJrEstm5ljKPeoshyGTBsReXMgsJQYEyEO/s1600/DSC01880.JPG" height="214" width="320" /></a></div>
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The building at the Falls was enormous with many souvenir shops and a huge restaurant area . You couldn't see the falls from the building so you couldn't just say you had seen them without walking down a bit further down the paths.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglIVif0VP-MctwYncfcnsqMRjIY3bVYOsqDtqDRYR-57wflvnTVI-DWMYTLadYTaO7myhR3oEsIYWLybUAQkFrYhF3RDNh_vXqNadkBNkHh1NiUUtPyvbuvk3O7tLFgx9jV_5wUBUT7ear/s1600/DSC01885.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglIVif0VP-MctwYncfcnsqMRjIY3bVYOsqDtqDRYR-57wflvnTVI-DWMYTLadYTaO7myhR3oEsIYWLybUAQkFrYhF3RDNh_vXqNadkBNkHh1NiUUtPyvbuvk3O7tLFgx9jV_5wUBUT7ear/s1600/DSC01885.JPG" height="214" width="320" /></a></div>
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I suspect in summer it is very crowded but in winter the paths were pretty empty. We had to battle the wind to get down to the falls and then the wind pushed us back up again which was helpful!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOxGiDSIiMlu0wJeDVr_fA-iIxzjKcMgxKI_NPhfLhjJsAKOWvsMuAE6qCJlXuzjWJxe55bnhHfKrcyD9IN7yVGKCXk6ZaKnHkYb0E6IKN86n8lUV80GoBanQcNCc5_A37dBuQUx6MVCml/s1600/DSC01886.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOxGiDSIiMlu0wJeDVr_fA-iIxzjKcMgxKI_NPhfLhjJsAKOWvsMuAE6qCJlXuzjWJxe55bnhHfKrcyD9IN7yVGKCXk6ZaKnHkYb0E6IKN86n8lUV80GoBanQcNCc5_A37dBuQUx6MVCml/s1600/DSC01886.JPG" height="214" width="320" /></a></div>
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You can see in my photos that part of the falls are frozen.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAWhdxnkV0aPncGdqkF1fbgYWiSZTl8HSQElh9t21MRXYKff5Sq9gZrnga-jO8j6kyIpg09iFpABszf-6Vb_1oZUxZdkRi0wJl_uPeUwiILJ9N_i2zcKAVuMAx7Pkk9umu6FcsgRjRGjFG/s1600/DSC01887.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAWhdxnkV0aPncGdqkF1fbgYWiSZTl8HSQElh9t21MRXYKff5Sq9gZrnga-jO8j6kyIpg09iFpABszf-6Vb_1oZUxZdkRi0wJl_uPeUwiILJ9N_i2zcKAVuMAx7Pkk9umu6FcsgRjRGjFG/s1600/DSC01887.JPG" height="214" width="320" /></a></div>
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They are pretty spectacular even frozen and standing watching them in the bitter cold.</div>
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We then cam back inside for our lamb soup . more like a stew and then we had a look around the many little shops in the huge building.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcbmYqWxPH078LzdDOPhZBObz5lI1n0IWBKaIjAJx12frh9WTYo5m5FYa4kZulbEoD6neyxU0zq5dh7igpaDy8atWpC8qQSauhHsWNFEf3xa2NyVDGDDWpGx5mY9_Nb8Wnug8zog2UzyfY/s1600/P1000191.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcbmYqWxPH078LzdDOPhZBObz5lI1n0IWBKaIjAJx12frh9WTYo5m5FYa4kZulbEoD6neyxU0zq5dh7igpaDy8atWpC8qQSauhHsWNFEf3xa2NyVDGDDWpGx5mY9_Nb8Wnug8zog2UzyfY/s1600/P1000191.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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The restaurant has plenty of seating as you can see.</div>
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soemthing<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIKP0Owt1wVNZQ7hfpn9zgZ5Ozyjtig9hJSjR1PWvBbYHOko6jUgesgHdnaG3dSEH7pn07Iz3Y3zfjMd8mpuYK_FLLqGBvSg6fvscMrXQLG7pA9Wqw5DbDDUxWWZGSj64DnPfLaeSIXz4U/s1600/P1000195.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIKP0Owt1wVNZQ7hfpn9zgZ5Ozyjtig9hJSjR1PWvBbYHOko6jUgesgHdnaG3dSEH7pn07Iz3Y3zfjMd8mpuYK_FLLqGBvSg6fvscMrXQLG7pA9Wqw5DbDDUxWWZGSj64DnPfLaeSIXz4U/s1600/P1000195.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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If you are feeling a bit cold you could have bought extra layers to wear in the e shops.</div>
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Or maybe bought a knitted souvenir!</div>
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There was something for everyone in the shop. the food was hot and tasty and the waterfall impressive if somewhat cold!</div>
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.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18038682798869523621noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2679499509165240467.post-3902601313433316442014-06-30T10:19:00.000-07:002014-07-12T04:07:25.108-07:00Alhambra - Granada Spain<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaaAcY0uacc1tfvcm7f-UJINxTs8ukLE0q5U4Roj0WSbhUf_tYnnqJ42EGPs8xY46AUwn8KY6CjqT9Gn-O_d7FYRZinGHPSkeQFNkze25ftK9TqHnttaCuDKLujnr1_7gZAhNCdUX8BaSi/s1600/6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaaAcY0uacc1tfvcm7f-UJINxTs8ukLE0q5U4Roj0WSbhUf_tYnnqJ42EGPs8xY46AUwn8KY6CjqT9Gn-O_d7FYRZinGHPSkeQFNkze25ftK9TqHnttaCuDKLujnr1_7gZAhNCdUX8BaSi/s1600/6.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #2c2c2c; font-family: Calibri, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18.19999885559082px;">There is a great site which has voted for and chosen the New7Wonders </span></span><span style="color: #2c2c2c; font-family: Calibri, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18.19999885559082px;">and my husband and I decided we would like to visit all twenty one of the shortlisted finalists.</span><br />
<span style="color: #2c2c2c; font-family: Calibri, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18.19999885559082px;">( http://world.new7wonders.com/new7wonders-of-the-world-page/new7wonders-of-the-world/) </span><br />
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<span style="color: #2c2c2c; font-family: Calibri, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18.19999885559082px;">First on the list alphabetically is the Acropolis Athens but I have only seen this from the air from a plane so that does not count. </span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRbTMpMLRc0RD9ZTtJCEeyxhNPauHFlzRrJew_tXTzmQvTV5ShrTUqdhBe0NnFpza4PbfF4_KTdfPCIYCKGhbfGQPeK-smCSJofgD97V9VExE6FYLpkOfcKkGlJ1p7b3CstouRpYRYLdaX/s1600/Alhambra+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRbTMpMLRc0RD9ZTtJCEeyxhNPauHFlzRrJew_tXTzmQvTV5ShrTUqdhBe0NnFpza4PbfF4_KTdfPCIYCKGhbfGQPeK-smCSJofgD97V9VExE6FYLpkOfcKkGlJ1p7b3CstouRpYRYLdaX/s1600/Alhambra+1.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #2c2c2c; font-family: Calibri, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18.19999885559082px;">The first for me that I have visited is therefore the Alhambra which is in Granada , Spain. We were staying near Fuengirola with my daughter and her partner and we drove to Granada for the day to visit this Moorish Palace.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9k4u3ibPZEVM7WF5DdFqxCVawvi85dcbTFl7AvmCTPAluUOEdL0kCl0WQG3DAZIr0UDOLHGbvHlvqZrDOfkpl5cB3lsXaKcF11yPx3YriOkdeupmMIb7Tbt8JHhkEd54m2-ACOZvInIng/s1600/Alhambra.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9k4u3ibPZEVM7WF5DdFqxCVawvi85dcbTFl7AvmCTPAluUOEdL0kCl0WQG3DAZIr0UDOLHGbvHlvqZrDOfkpl5cB3lsXaKcF11yPx3YriOkdeupmMIb7Tbt8JHhkEd54m2-ACOZvInIng/s1600/Alhambra.jpg" height="320" width="215" /></a></div>
<span style="color: #2c2c2c; font-family: Calibri, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18.19999885559082px;">This is a beautiful palace in a deep peach coloured brick which gives it a lovely warm look. It can be a bit overwhelming deciding where to go first when you get there as it is pretty big.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #2c2c2c; font-family: Calibri, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18.19999885559082px;">If you want to visit the Nasrid Palaces within the complex you need a special timed ticket as only 300 are allowed in every half hour. This can mean that you have to be careful where you go so as not to miss your slot. </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #2c2c2c; font-family: Calibri, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18.19999885559082px;">The entire complex is a sight for the senses. Everywhere you look you see little pieces of intricate carvings or lovely still pools, tiles of beautiful patterns and despite the crowds it still has a sense of peace and quiet.</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1tVyy0E7iW58GuUypG7_Lq-Q3WM4j2-yw-q_UxzMIrcL8lsBythdZJFIxiJpzi1ahKsQhK7PCNM-OO6PtC-WemxDxyAmqq2EXDaSRY-KvOALRoi0UqLsQGj1hkF0AAxYxMcWWnlJqbvrh/s1600/4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1tVyy0E7iW58GuUypG7_Lq-Q3WM4j2-yw-q_UxzMIrcL8lsBythdZJFIxiJpzi1ahKsQhK7PCNM-OO6PtC-WemxDxyAmqq2EXDaSRY-KvOALRoi0UqLsQGj1hkF0AAxYxMcWWnlJqbvrh/s1600/4.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #2c2c2c; font-family: Calibri, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18.19999885559082px;">Some parts of the Alhambra can be visited without tickets and these are the colonnaded courtyard of the late 15th-century Palacio de Carlos V, the church, bathhouse and the craft shops and hotels along the calle Real de la Alhambra.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #2c2c2c; font-family: Calibri, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18.19999885559082px;">I would say if in doubt book in advance as it is well worth paying for the tickets to see as much as your legs can cope with.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #2c2c2c; font-family: Calibri, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18.19999885559082px;">Inside the first area we explored was the the Generalife which was the Sultans' summer retreat and here you will see the water gardens with beautiful fountains. </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #2c2c2c; font-family: Calibri, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18.19999885559082px;">These gardens have a number of pavilions and patios with views of the landscapes beyond. I love arches and walkways in the shade when it is hot and there are many to explore as well as the reflecting pools and fountains and my favourite is the staircase where a stream of water comes down the banisters.</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnGhStVM9brzNzLrFtNNgQqSZxqf5hOvjIGogZavCBtRQFa7wK-Z3Aa-HbMBRhCZeNgD8d-36V8eBtAYucmLUkvcuJLyecV-uUPywkTBAx4AVSnlSQNwnm_S4lai12OnhjSqr1cnu-FEhB/s1600/3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnGhStVM9brzNzLrFtNNgQqSZxqf5hOvjIGogZavCBtRQFa7wK-Z3Aa-HbMBRhCZeNgD8d-36V8eBtAYucmLUkvcuJLyecV-uUPywkTBAx4AVSnlSQNwnm_S4lai12OnhjSqr1cnu-FEhB/s1600/3.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #2c2c2c; font-family: Calibri, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18.19999885559082px;">You then pass through the Torre del Agua gate into the Alhambra palace. Don't miss the Arab bathhouse with its lovely star-shaped openings in the roof. The oldest part is the Alcazaba citadel which dates back to the 9th century and from here you do get great views.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #2c2c2c; font-family: Calibri, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18.19999885559082px;">Finally you visit the Nasrid palaces, these are actually three interconnecting palaces built in the 14th century. The Nasrid kings were the last to rule over Spain. Keep your eyes open for the beautiful decorations, tiling and ceilings to die for. It is truly beautiful and stunning when you think of how old it all is.</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXErHFpd6K3Hxk3Z8e0unweEfeDvM17mTwxnQ0sAH6UtwSeEPCCH8xBFwI0u_U1co9gLACs3Pva9CiULEQ5A-TjDVC5eYS085UzW3UV4llXbL3naFCaa-6XR0N-52RHDWiAnan99XERZac/s1600/5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXErHFpd6K3Hxk3Z8e0unweEfeDvM17mTwxnQ0sAH6UtwSeEPCCH8xBFwI0u_U1co9gLACs3Pva9CiULEQ5A-TjDVC5eYS085UzW3UV4llXbL3naFCaa-6XR0N-52RHDWiAnan99XERZac/s1600/5.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #2c2c2c; font-family: Calibri, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18.19999885559082px;">It is a really lovely palace and worthy of its place in the final twenty one of the new7Wonders..</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #2c2c2c; font-family: Calibri, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18.19999885559082px;">It is NOT, however one of the New 7Wonders. I will reveal those as we go along</span></span><br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18038682798869523621noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2679499509165240467.post-68277783428537074512014-04-19T12:59:00.001-07:002014-04-19T12:59:28.966-07:00Geysir Hot Spring area - IcelandDid you know that all of the world's spouting hot springs are named after Geysir in Iceland.<br />
All around the world the word “geysir” or “geyser”is the name of a hot spouting volcanic spring. In Icelandic,however it refers most specifically to a single geyser. In fact there is only one real Geysir and that can be found in south-west Iceland.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT9UNzdVGahyphenhyphen41l35dZbmv0CBSib63k7l96fxvBQrju0IkCAJu-JNchz_yxlhICLqs0SCdKyvtmQTUZKnPH_Eouq2XCm3fQbLOLG9FvzV0_G8wZYnr6rblktHs5M6f1IGeYtXPx-MW8Yhn/s1600/DSC01896.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT9UNzdVGahyphenhyphen41l35dZbmv0CBSib63k7l96fxvBQrju0IkCAJu-JNchz_yxlhICLqs0SCdKyvtmQTUZKnPH_Eouq2XCm3fQbLOLG9FvzV0_G8wZYnr6rblktHs5M6f1IGeYtXPx-MW8Yhn/s1600/DSC01896.JPG" height="427" width="640" /></a></div>
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In winter the geysir area is pretty bleak as you can see.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4Sx68mwFJoWeG9OzduYQla-11c2tZIBPskrhFIiY5_lesUksfj5On1zw3zeJSuM-QWpm4vIEnCfqZqZwKi1sMJwD7PJsq9DaoBjHkrEgvfPRRirnbcljGA53_5n3ghHmaufJyalEFrzlk/s1600/DSC01903.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4Sx68mwFJoWeG9OzduYQla-11c2tZIBPskrhFIiY5_lesUksfj5On1zw3zeJSuM-QWpm4vIEnCfqZqZwKi1sMJwD7PJsq9DaoBjHkrEgvfPRRirnbcljGA53_5n3ghHmaufJyalEFrzlk/s1600/DSC01903.JPG" height="267" width="400" /></a></div>
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Geysirs steam for most of the time and then depending on the timing the hot water spouts out at different times. This Geysir geysir spouted quite frequently and we saw it spout a few times while we were walking around the geysir area.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjADkMLNbPG9bsnHf7o9_U8AjJUmU7kfBUmyoTugYvQ-7Vpllrhkd4n11fefF0xWG2mZcjnOVbs-rt2O3hh0PcG9GGNa6M8KXkFsPIGqqi2zBUs8nxYSqnRcKIlPzRufndPlVdPItjVdLv0/s1600/DSC01905.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjADkMLNbPG9bsnHf7o9_U8AjJUmU7kfBUmyoTugYvQ-7Vpllrhkd4n11fefF0xWG2mZcjnOVbs-rt2O3hh0PcG9GGNa6M8KXkFsPIGqqi2zBUs8nxYSqnRcKIlPzRufndPlVdPItjVdLv0/s1600/DSC01905.JPG" height="267" width="400" /></a></div>
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The steaming geysir , then it bubbled then spouted.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR5WSvrsUU_OAI2Nsun3chut63PK3LKtBAx2V9iL2I7GfZ68_tMLKBryWVGVuPl9qohoVu74tCAP_NruGK0-W8ESsq2K754NV9zRd8ejOY-sg16n5KcGt0ZAAzSvQxZVkyZ1WscE6uKDn5/s1600/DSC01913.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR5WSvrsUU_OAI2Nsun3chut63PK3LKtBAx2V9iL2I7GfZ68_tMLKBryWVGVuPl9qohoVu74tCAP_NruGK0-W8ESsq2K754NV9zRd8ejOY-sg16n5KcGt0ZAAzSvQxZVkyZ1WscE6uKDn5/s1600/DSC01913.JPG" height="267" width="400" /></a></div>
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I loved the steaming atmosphere and seeing the farmhouse through the thick geysir steam.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSa6QzYr-6M7k-egYB4IctYmxfoQvDOG_tYRdwQDWAi1RJnD_97xrOTmDT5upwGMHdclE8mDYhs9_O1l3ArFlUBwEH94UbgeYUqHFr07s_s2gCULOExGSvxgbQNW7ZnR-2bHeKuvktWUyX/s1600/DSC01923.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSa6QzYr-6M7k-egYB4IctYmxfoQvDOG_tYRdwQDWAi1RJnD_97xrOTmDT5upwGMHdclE8mDYhs9_O1l3ArFlUBwEH94UbgeYUqHFr07s_s2gCULOExGSvxgbQNW7ZnR-2bHeKuvktWUyX/s1600/DSC01923.JPG" height="267" width="400" /></a></div>
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Very atmospheric scene.</div>
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Three geysirs in the area with different names</div>
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It was a bit like a lunar landscape with steaming bubbling cauldrons around the area and I found it odd yet attractive in a weird sort of way.</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18038682798869523621noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2679499509165240467.post-25721734945715542452014-04-19T10:11:00.000-07:002014-04-19T10:11:28.521-07:00Hellisheiði Power Plant - Iceland<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrjCwG64uTxOcyeXar4ofI5iodw_XmI8rOFR09NCR4rUomPOGhNv-6MxJpdpZsV64JlCy5Zt_S_Ih6AFeW55QmQVtbVVyeA8kM9aQUyXm3BHkx_DOkVVHbZyvGFUYFWYi8YyvwdAW1Mc19/s1600/P1000155-Optimized.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrjCwG64uTxOcyeXar4ofI5iodw_XmI8rOFR09NCR4rUomPOGhNv-6MxJpdpZsV64JlCy5Zt_S_Ih6AFeW55QmQVtbVVyeA8kM9aQUyXm3BHkx_DOkVVHbZyvGFUYFWYi8YyvwdAW1Mc19/s1600/P1000155-Optimized.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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On our Golden Circle trip from Reykjavik our first stop was the Hellisheiði Power Plant which is just 20 minutes drive from Reykjavík on Route 1, towards Hveragerði.</div>
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The building looks like a state of the art gallery and in fact to some extent it is.</div>
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You can see there are some pretty impressive pieces of art work presented beautifully in huge galleries that we walked around.</div>
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The galleries not only had art work but also had informative displays and interactive screens telling about geothermal activity and how the power is harnessed at the centre.</div>
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There is a coffee shop and gift shop as well as a very informative gallery explaining about geothermal activity and how the Icelandic people have harnessed this for their heating.</div>
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There was a very informative film and then a guide told us a bit more and took us onto the viewing platforms to see the shiny clean machinery below us that collected and transformed the energy to be used.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9_0B9IWJJvhqt0WQuGk57Ynirh2Y5MmzDb0r4MnC59WK1d_ZcO1_mjEQIXe9Ug-Mx7eRmX_XENde6ePUsIT2ND3g9JfUUdYMsZGNcM4uHc6KMQ-5zPmCrfmAwsuAkptuiAFVwrInJXaA9/s1600/DSCF6086.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9_0B9IWJJvhqt0WQuGk57Ynirh2Y5MmzDb0r4MnC59WK1d_ZcO1_mjEQIXe9Ug-Mx7eRmX_XENde6ePUsIT2ND3g9JfUUdYMsZGNcM4uHc6KMQ-5zPmCrfmAwsuAkptuiAFVwrInJXaA9/s1600/DSCF6086.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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I don't think I have ever been to a power plant or factory that was as clean and quiet as this one was.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgmRftrHb-_vW7DH3UDdJgtfHbT0EDi_ERtXzTFijhbDIsS5evfXurxNCaymxg-OHBVYB8Rn2yGkdGiytbxBl1Z4-33__5ul8kvzr045uYh1LKi_F7fnPre6Gcap9E_jyFZ_-b7Dj5xZLx/s1600/P1000148-Optimized.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgmRftrHb-_vW7DH3UDdJgtfHbT0EDi_ERtXzTFijhbDIsS5evfXurxNCaymxg-OHBVYB8Rn2yGkdGiytbxBl1Z4-33__5ul8kvzr045uYh1LKi_F7fnPre6Gcap9E_jyFZ_-b7Dj5xZLx/s1600/P1000148-Optimized.JPG" height="320" width="213" /></a></div>
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This shows the fact that this facility utilizes the world's largest geothermal turbine rotor blade measuring 31.2 " and it was supplied by Toshiba from Japan.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjewSP6p5LHhkhkQKfD77VH_SEP1tJzeVCn7FC-0hs5xthKhpvur7shrmm9bq-h9Ye2zU8LmaWD_tvT-gsmm_oPkPV1s-wtWNpQB_hI9owNTRrjnJs7abk4YMYCtrOViW5k3kFkzIf0CFsc/s1600/P1000151-Optimized.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjewSP6p5LHhkhkQKfD77VH_SEP1tJzeVCn7FC-0hs5xthKhpvur7shrmm9bq-h9Ye2zU8LmaWD_tvT-gsmm_oPkPV1s-wtWNpQB_hI9owNTRrjnJs7abk4YMYCtrOViW5k3kFkzIf0CFsc/s1600/P1000151-Optimized.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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The Icelandic trolls. Gryla and Leppaludi. The Icelandic people are very superstitious about their fairy folk. Apparently Gryla liked too feast on naughty children.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEish2pxn2fI578T318wHoU9eBtmPOEnMAyXKG-VP9CHyhXwqBUVrvvzoYQ0szrU2exStAZi4feg61i1VXdvBkhNF2dElNlSwbob310GyKYwJ6egCQvM7wgttguVF2RlXycKZDeLtzVQPIf7/s1600/P1000154-Optimized.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEish2pxn2fI578T318wHoU9eBtmPOEnMAyXKG-VP9CHyhXwqBUVrvvzoYQ0szrU2exStAZi4feg61i1VXdvBkhNF2dElNlSwbob310GyKYwJ6egCQvM7wgttguVF2RlXycKZDeLtzVQPIf7/s1600/P1000154-Optimized.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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It was pretty cold when we visited and although inside the power plant was warm, outside had a a deep layer of snow and a lot of ice.<br />
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Although it looks like the middle of the night, it was in fact around 9,30 to 10.00 am when this photo was taken. It didn't really get light all day, more like dusk really. It was January so in summer they get light for nearly 24 hours instead.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18038682798869523621noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2679499509165240467.post-62979728785137150022014-04-14T14:22:00.001-07:002014-04-14T14:22:54.118-07:00A walk along the sea front in ReykjavikReykjavik is right on the sea and has a small harbour. We started our walk from the Hofdi House and walked back into the city at the Harpa Concert Hall<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hofdi house<br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">
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<span style="font-size: 13px;">We then walked along the front enjoying the views and interesting sights on the way.</span><br />
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The photo above shows the beautiful snow capped mountains across the bay from Reykjavik.<br />
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<span style="font-size: 13px;">Looking back at the city from the shore near the Hofdi House.</span><br />
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I am not sure if this was naturally here or a piece of volcanic rock brought to decorate the shoreline.</div>
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<span style="font-size: 13px;">Peeking through the volcanic rock towards the sea.</span><br />
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This stylized Viking ship skeleton sculpture looked perfect against the sea and the snow covered mountains in the background.</div>
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<span style="font-size: 13px;">Not quite sure what this sculpture represents but it looked interesting.</span><br />
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Our walk finished with a coffee in this beautiful glass covered concert hall - the Harpa Concert Hall.</div>
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It was a lovely walk, brisk chilly wind but with bright sunshine as well.</div>
<span style="font-size: 13px;"><br /></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18038682798869523621noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2679499509165240467.post-48978082673292182382014-04-12T13:56:00.000-07:002014-04-12T13:56:23.089-07:00Hotel Fron - ReykjavikWe stayed here three nights on our short break in Iceland and found it to be clean and very centrally located for all the sights in Reykjavik.<br />
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I was quite taken with the artwork in the Reception area.</div>
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The Reception area was a decent size with comfortable seats where we could wait for taxis or mini buses for trips.<br />
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Our room was a kind of suite with a kitchenette, and a seating area but it was all a bit dated and tired looking although it was very clean.</div>
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The seats were not that comfortable and the TV was small and an old fashioned CRT model. Luckily a lot of Icelandic TV is in English so when we did watch it we could understand it.</div>
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As you can see the decor is a but tired but the room was pretty big. the view was dull and all we could see was a very small car park.</div>
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The beds were actually two singles pushed together made up as two singles which were more comfortable than they looked.</div>
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We had breakfast included and it was a simple buffet with Icelandic yogurt called skyr which I liked, some fresh fruit , breads and some cheese and cold meats. It was not the best breakfast we had ever had but it was far from being the worst. It gave us a good start to the day.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18038682798869523621noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2679499509165240467.post-82338148923817032162014-04-12T12:37:00.000-07:002014-04-12T12:37:22.917-07:00The Blue LagoonOne of the things we wanted to do when we visited Iceland was to go to the Blue Lagoon.<br />
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We arrived just as it opened in the morning and being winter the sun had not yet come up. I believe it was around 10 am at least.<br />
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We enjoyed a coffee and snack in the cafe overlooking the lagoon before heading for the changing rooms.</div>
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The lagoon was gloriously warm but in order to get into the water you had to leave your wrap and shoes on a hanging clothes stand and walk speedily into the water before you got too cold.</div>
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The sun coming up and the steamy geyser in the centre sending up lots of steam.</div>
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Around the lagoon edges there were boxes full of salty slop which you could put on your face . It dried white and crisp and then you carefully washed it off trying not to get it in your eyes. It was meant to help your skin look great.z</div>
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The steam made the whole place slightly eerie looking. You had to swim splash free as the salty water would make your eyes sting but the salt kept you floating easily if you just wanted to lie back and float.</div>
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You had to be careful not to stay in too long as warm salty water is quite dehydrating. When we out out we had plenty of water to drink.</div>
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The changing rooms were sleek and clean</div>
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Looking out over the lagoon from the cafe where we had lots of water and something to eat.</div>
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Outside the Blue Lagoon there were thermal pools and beautiful blue water with salty crystals at the edges.</div>
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Thermal pools and volcanic scenery around the Blue Lagoon.</div>
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Snow crystals around the thermal pools.</div>
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Volcanic rocks surround the Blue Lagoon.</div>
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18038682798869523621noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2679499509165240467.post-44856915691802121722014-04-12T11:05:00.000-07:002014-04-12T11:05:10.844-07:00Harpa - The Concert Hall in ReykjavikThis modern building made of lots of glass windows reflects the sky and sea beautifully.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1pEtTUoM6e3nWirUxt7ZJDMZRcicRVaRwgx8bh6IJnHwfxeSqpqrGijvOzuusGG0xOPAKiLb_a7GPkM_FZur8p6RD8AwN9kCe_y_xxUvlZ7-PXAMTHXb7lNwbD5piCz1GKKJymJht3GHl/s1600/DSCF6019.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1pEtTUoM6e3nWirUxt7ZJDMZRcicRVaRwgx8bh6IJnHwfxeSqpqrGijvOzuusGG0xOPAKiLb_a7GPkM_FZur8p6RD8AwN9kCe_y_xxUvlZ7-PXAMTHXb7lNwbD5piCz1GKKJymJht3GHl/s1600/DSCF6019.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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This new building is right on the sea front not far from the Old Harbour and can be seen from some way away.<br />
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It is the home of the Icelandic Symphony Orchestra and the Icelandic Opera has hosted concerts from Bjork and many other modern musicians.</div>
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The design was influenced by Iceland's natural and dramatic scenery and the glass exterior was designed by Olafur Elisson who also designed the New York Harbour installation.</div>
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Whatever time we passed this building the colours changed. It looked great in all the lights. At night it was light up with multi colours while during the day it reflected what was going on around it.</div>
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This photo shows what the Harpa building looks like from across the harbour.</div>
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The concert Hall has four main halls and several smaller meeting rooms. The largest concert hall holds a huge 1,800 seated visitors.</div>
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The building is basically a steel frame covered with different coloured geometric glass panels which change colour as the light changes.</div>
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Inside was a dramatic as outside.</div>
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We had a cup of coffee at the cafe and thought about going on a tour but we were running short of time so decided not to bother. </div>
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A beautiful modern building that adds to rather than detracts from the other buildings around.</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18038682798869523621noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2679499509165240467.post-83587074076930743732014-04-12T08:38:00.000-07:002014-04-12T09:04:06.224-07:00Höfði House in Reykjavik <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We spent one morning walking along the sea front in Reykjavik. We made our way first of all the the Höfði House. This was originally the French Consul's residence and was built in 1909.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4O0aC0R-JeD03_lRfDS1sowYNjkuPodIiEJt8pC2PZ9TUSMlUkVaAJSrBg6YXR5TtdZXRbYJCeD2hT2lpO04AljLb_G-vnYjTOLmzgvkcftI-Ku-ddyRCmPsQOIcUBeOMqoLMjDkEXlYC/s1600/DSCF6003.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4O0aC0R-JeD03_lRfDS1sowYNjkuPodIiEJt8pC2PZ9TUSMlUkVaAJSrBg6YXR5TtdZXRbYJCeD2hT2lpO04AljLb_G-vnYjTOLmzgvkcftI-Ku-ddyRCmPsQOIcUBeOMqoLMjDkEXlYC/s1600/DSCF6003.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It is considered to be one of the most beautiful and historically significant buildings in the Reykjavík area but does have a resident ghost according to the local tales.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It’s best known as the location for the 1986 summit meeting of presidents Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbatsjov, a historical event that effectively marked the end of the Cold War. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Famous guests who have slept here include Queen Elizabeth II, Winston Churchilll and Marlene Dietrich.</span></div>
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It does look beautiful set against the snow capped mountains in the background you have to agree.</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18038682798869523621noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2679499509165240467.post-43139869088591570132014-04-12T08:05:00.000-07:002014-04-12T09:01:08.043-07:00Around Reykjavik part 1<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We spent a few days in Reykjavik in January 2013 and had a great time exploring the city and beyond.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixORHhQ6Ja9hbKNzrbfXjaPSg582XXJIvtWs8ladK0hOImublcOzTVZQli8KiGOLkXAP5hUib2axaqhh17t362qBgt7iF2rHYBgmEuyzqAc2DyCJzB5JE4lj1ZfulQIGPx6MAk6qRLxDdl/s1600/P1000039.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixORHhQ6Ja9hbKNzrbfXjaPSg582XXJIvtWs8ladK0hOImublcOzTVZQli8KiGOLkXAP5hUib2axaqhh17t362qBgt7iF2rHYBgmEuyzqAc2DyCJzB5JE4lj1ZfulQIGPx6MAk6qRLxDdl/s1600/P1000039.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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This is the Parliament House(Alpingishus) of Iceland in Reykjavik today. Iceland's ancient assembly (Althingi) met at Thingvellir from 930 AD until 1798 when it moved to Reykjavik and this building. There are no fences or security around the place and you can sit on the door step if you wanted to. This place was the scene of big riots when the Icelandic kroner collapsed some years back.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjL7H8eHa_UAs9585-ynpy8Kc6zD1imRRWckBxEbxBPILR1s7xw5IuBF5P8-_4o7gWPSfLvk5NOhPNplA5TyErhBWc5z79pBPzA-7nqMK-MSRLal72maUB7UCVgxN_SyICRTngBIf2yaUo/s1600/P1000040.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjL7H8eHa_UAs9585-ynpy8Kc6zD1imRRWckBxEbxBPILR1s7xw5IuBF5P8-_4o7gWPSfLvk5NOhPNplA5TyErhBWc5z79pBPzA-7nqMK-MSRLal72maUB7UCVgxN_SyICRTngBIf2yaUo/s1600/P1000040.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This statue was near the large lake and I have absolutely no idea what it it trying to say but just found it entertaining.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxu_8zBDgzNsfo_XyM4qZ1W5AW0lbGxWknYDaQHP_Zfzo27P_AdzYcIhUD2Bd-q4Y4oVKa-KR4LPpsqfF3XSn7pj1CvfiBmIHNHfkT1Ts1dKFfDUW_4wXHuIuookH15I1ZNoOaYWxd1eFf/s1600/P1000041.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxu_8zBDgzNsfo_XyM4qZ1W5AW0lbGxWknYDaQHP_Zfzo27P_AdzYcIhUD2Bd-q4Y4oVKa-KR4LPpsqfF3XSn7pj1CvfiBmIHNHfkT1Ts1dKFfDUW_4wXHuIuookH15I1ZNoOaYWxd1eFf/s1600/P1000041.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This large lake was in the middle of the city and made a lovely peaceful place to sit and watch the water birds. We walked pretty much all around it while we were there.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Such a pretty city as you ca see from these photos.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Of course Reykjavik is also a port and we enjoyed a wander around the harbour area. We thought of taking a whale watching trip but it looked rather too cold and rough for us.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The big church Hallgrímskirkja can be seen from pretty much all around the city as although it is not that high, everywhere else is very low in the city. there are no sky scrapers or high buildings at all.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Just a few photos to give you an idea of this pretty little, quiet yet welcoming city.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I will write another blog about the sea front of Reykjavik and the places along the sea front of the city as that was also very interesting and there were different things to see.</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18038682798869523621noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2679499509165240467.post-84014542009414771402014-03-24T13:30:00.000-07:002014-03-24T13:30:20.047-07:00The Lagoonarium - Tahiti<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI8h4iQoptOGckFIIOvnTIc94TQxLQpYz0CUU2As_YqEVI34Gq46eS0SKRyNr1ObrSK33ztU_xFmhr2QqOnQZ5yyDrjfdVKutH80tWT2OcUraeSAWr8cuauPYUSd8BhNH95Vf3G-7sYRgR/s1600/DSC04734.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI8h4iQoptOGckFIIOvnTIc94TQxLQpYz0CUU2As_YqEVI34Gq46eS0SKRyNr1ObrSK33ztU_xFmhr2QqOnQZ5yyDrjfdVKutH80tWT2OcUraeSAWr8cuauPYUSd8BhNH95Vf3G-7sYRgR/s1600/DSC04734.JPG" height="214" width="320" /></a></div>
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Listed as one of the places to visit and a highlight on our half day tour round the island (which cost 4500 Polynesian French Francs (CFP) or about £40 each) this rather tired and crumby looking place offered a chance to ‘experience under the sea without getting wet’! now if this hadn’t been a stop on our tour there is no way we would have bothered with this as ‘Sea life Centre’ it is not, but having been brought here as part of our half day tour we felt obliged to once again put our hands in our wallet and pay the extra 300 CFP or approx £3 each to go in as it would have looked rather churlish not too.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhneANoL5TMo3Rjo8AU1mbrG_0wM3uW1T94VTXxKBJo0Dma9RKqM7fneDj0kmY2fkdPl_ZPGAfX7rMTlUXNl7__ZAIVdt5H_t4urR6tnRoj84fPoopePIyLx1KmnoRx7b4YQZcCZYOf9wLg/s1600/lagoonarium+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhneANoL5TMo3Rjo8AU1mbrG_0wM3uW1T94VTXxKBJo0Dma9RKqM7fneDj0kmY2fkdPl_ZPGAfX7rMTlUXNl7__ZAIVdt5H_t4urR6tnRoj84fPoopePIyLx1KmnoRx7b4YQZcCZYOf9wLg/s1600/lagoonarium+2.jpg" height="214" width="320" /></a></div>
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The entrance to this site is through a restaurant called ‘captain Bligh’s’ which is a large coconut leaf roofed building with a stage and a bar. We were there at about 9.30 am so it was quite empty so I have no idea what the food or atmosphere is like but it did offer nice ocean views. We noticed that the price of a buffet here was even more than it was at our hotel so I’m not sure how many diners they pull in. Apparently the £3 entrance fee is waived if you eat a meal at this restaurant. Presumably only a lunch meal works as it would be very hard to see anything in the dark even if the inside is lit.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHNF13s6v0fu0L-YskMlBZVBXTEZ017CWSyauC_waNvymf50oyvMcwRINuL7Je8YCQjmpznorde-kzZhJPmE2Xq8-VGxt14Tj00pU1E-eGu7p6qhQ8L7VD6jjDiB2W4PS_PMQPHdbrParr/s1600/DSC04739.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHNF13s6v0fu0L-YskMlBZVBXTEZ017CWSyauC_waNvymf50oyvMcwRINuL7Je8YCQjmpznorde-kzZhJPmE2Xq8-VGxt14Tj00pU1E-eGu7p6qhQ8L7VD6jjDiB2W4PS_PMQPHdbrParr/s1600/DSC04739.JPG" height="320" width="214" /></a></div>
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Having walked through the restaurant you venture out onto a wooden walkway across a coral reef. This is in my view the most interesting part of the site. The water was crystal clear and even though we were above on the walkway we could clearly see the wonderful corals of different shapes and sizes. We also spotted different coloured sea cucumbers which look most uninteresting, a bit like giant slugs. We watched with fascination as one tiny fish kept hiding in an anemone while its predator fish hung around waiting for it to emerge. The tiny fish kept coming out and looking around but the larger fish seemed blind as a bat and missed it each time it popped out.<br />
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Having paid our entrance fee we thought we might as well see what was underneath in the viewing area. We made our way through the rather tacky shark’s mouth down into the viewing area which was all cement. As we went down the stairs we passed simplified murals on the wall labelled intestine, pancreas etc. I am 100% sure these were totally inaccurate but children might have been impressed.<br />
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The actual viewing room had several rather grubby windows which were quite difficult to see through. The surrounding walls were all cement coloured and dotted around were shelved with shells. I think the idea was to make it a bit like the inside of a submarine but that is only my interpretation, my husband disagreed but could not offer a better suggestion.<br />
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Now, not only were the windows rather grubby but there were labels to say what was in each viewing window. There was an information poster, the kind that you get free in news papers sometimes with pictures of fish/birds/mammals and their names on one wall but no extra information at all.<br />
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The fish were in fenced off areas of the lagoon, so some, like the small sharks had a larger fenced in area while others had the equivalent to a large fish tank beside the window. The only slightly positive thing was that they were in the lagoon water and so had constant fresh water flowing through their fenced off areas.<br />
The fencing was all rather tatty and some of the metal had rusted. I think the underneath section took us about 5 minutes to walk through and a lot of that time we spent trying to identify some of the fish by using the poster but failed miserably. My husband was a keen scuba diver and studied marine biology at university and still we struggled so heaven knows a child would have no chance.<br />
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Having studied the small under sea viewing area we came up and took some silly photos of us in the shark’s mouth before we returned to the more interesting natural part of the lagoon that we could see from the board walk.<br />
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On our little tour we had a French couple and a Norwegian couple besides us and we all thought the same. A totally underwhelming experience which would have not entertained children for more than 15 minutes tops and that is being generous.<br />
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We made use of the toilet in the restaurant before leaving and they were clean and quite basic but in both the men’s and ladies’ wash basin area all along under the large mirror was a lovely lots of flowers just laid in a row which did brighten up a rather functional and tired wash room.<br />
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I did say in my first review that I would be adding other reviews on our Tahiti trip and from these it would become apparent why I am not really recommending Tahiti as an island destination as there are far nicer ones. This is one of four or five ‘sights’ that are considered highlights of Tahiti so there you are.<br />
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Would I recommend, well I think you can guess the answer, NO. A waste of time and the only thing going for it is that it was only about £3 but even that I consider expensive for what was offered. We were also a bit miffed that we had paid £40 odd for the trip and then had to pay again for this but that is Tahiti.<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18038682798869523621noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2679499509165240467.post-565682938874107442014-03-15T15:39:00.000-07:002014-03-15T15:39:13.671-07:00Musee Gauguin, Tahiti<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This was the most interesting ‘highlight’ on our half day tour around the island of Tahiti Nui and this was something I really wanted to see when visiting Tahiti as to me Gauguin paintings ARE Tahiti. His paintings are bright, naive and were my idea of a South Pacific island. Prior to going on our trip I caught a TV programme that was all about Gauguin and more specifically about his time in Tahiti so I had great hopes for this museum. I imagined something a bit like the Robert Louis Stevenson museum in Samoa but how wrong can you be?<br />
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Once again, the entrance to this was not included in the price of our half day round the island trip which cost us 4500 Polynesian French Francs (CFP) or about £40 each. The entrance to this museum was apparently 600CFP or about £6 roughly but we only paid 300CFP so not sure if there has been a total price reduction for all or if we got a reduction because we were on the tour. The museum is open from 9am to 5pm daily and it is totally self guided by reading the information boards around in the three different buildings.<br />
As you turn off the main road down the drive to the museum there is a really nice sign but unfortunately like so much of Tahiti the sign was covered in graffiti and so we didn’t bother taking a photo for our album. The drive way was really lovely with huge giant bamboos alongside a stream and lovely tropical plants on the other side so all looked good.<br />
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As we arrived we paid the lady behind a simple counter and then our guide pointed us in the direction of the main exhibition rooms and the toilets and off we went.<br />
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The museum was done in chronological order and so the first room was about his early life and his marriage to a Scandinavian woman called Mette, their life in France and the fact that he had two children and a fairly normal job and life. He travelled quite a bit as a younger man as he was a sailor, a huge map showed all the countries he had visited and he certainly saw a great deal of the world. He had been to the West Indies, round the Middle East as well as to the Pacific.<br />
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At about the age of 40 he decided to take up his art more seriously. He seemed to be quite friendly with several artists of the time and apparently bought quite a lot of art. He lived in Brittany then moved to the South of France to share a house with van Gogh which ended up with the argument when van Gogh cut off part of his ear!<br />
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The relationship with his wife seems to have broken down as she took the children back to Denmark. As he died of syphilis and leprosy in the end, you do wonder where he picked up the former, was it as a young sailor or in his later years in the pacific after he abandoned his wife?<br />
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Once he was living in Tahiti he seems to have become quite the party person, having orgies and drinking, taking drugs and generally being debauched. However his paintings produced were bright and colourful and extremely saleable back in France where he returned to put on his exhibitions.<br />
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He commented at the time that Tahiti was not the ‘savage’ and ‘primitive’ place he was hoping to capture in his paintings, it was more like France. Maybe even then, the Tahitians were losing their cultural identity as they certainly seem to have today.<br />
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On his return to Tahiti he lived on one of the other Polynesian islands. He built a large home and took a very young local wife with whom he had a child. He continued to live a rather bohemian existence, painting many of his works with his young wife as the central figure. He partied, drank and smoked and caused great offense to the local catholic priest who couldn’t abide him. Many of his paintings of this time had this poor young ‘wife’ of his as the central person and despite his ill health he continued painting.<br />
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The museum in Tahiti delicately states he died of a heart attack but he was pretty revolting towards the end of his life as the syphilis and leprosy were both eating away at him. You do wonder what happened to the poor girl who was married off to him at the young age of about 12 -14. No doubt she had a rather short life and had to put up with a ghastly old sick man, it really doesn’t bare thinking about.<br />
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One of the rooms in the museum had small versions of all his paintings and grouped them as to where in the world they were today. There were many in the various galleries in the USA, obviously in the French galleries as well as others in Europe but there are no originals in any of the British galleries. There were a huge number held in private collections, almost as many as were in the various galleries which surprised me.<br />
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Throughout the museum there were rather faded copies of his work at the time with explanations about where he was and how he was developing artistically at that time. It was quite a large museum spread over three different buildings and all the information was in both French and English In the last building there were paintings where he had been inspired by Japanese artists and interestingly there was some information in Japanese here but no anywhere else.<br />
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There museum was all fairly open and relied upon through breezes to keep it cool. The floors were cement and everywhere was very simple but it all also looked a bit dated, the pictures were quite faded and as part of the appeal of Gauguin’s work is the colour I found that disappointing.<br />
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I found it hard to decide what I thought. The information was all very interesting but not inspiring at all in its presentation. One thing that we did find quite stunning was a huge piece of French rock that for some reason he had shipped to Tahiti to remind him of France. You do have to ask why? Very strange, surely a painting would have done the same thing and been more attractive and far easier and cheaper to transport. They say there is a fine line between genius and madness and to me that was total madness! It wasn’t even a particularly beautiful rock, just a pale lump of rock with no interest to it at all.<br />
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The museum is set is lovely tropical gardens and within the gardens are a number of ancient stone tikis which were quite interesting but would have been more so with a bit more information. There was a little information with the first one about how they were important religious symbols but not really any great detail. Aside from the gardens the property has a sea front and so you can also look out and enjoy the sea views. I have since discovered in my research that there is some history in that tikis should not be moved and the people involved in the removal of the tikis to this site have all come to some misfortune, a bit like Tutankhamen’s tomb!<br />
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The souvenir shop had postcards at 100 CFP each (about £1) , fridge magnets, sarongs with Gauguinesque pictures for 2000CFP ( think 100 to the £1) and then some ornaments which were actually quite nice but they were stunningly pricey at about £230 each. We bought one postcard!!<br />
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As I said I don’t really know what to think as the museum was set in lovely grounds and was quite informative but just not terribly inspiring. If you are in Tahiti then yes you should go and visit this and really this is the highlight in the list of things to see on Tahiti Nui but if you are a fan of Gauguin ‘s paintings then I think you will be a bit disappointed. I was not expecting any originals but I did think that the copies would be as good as posters and not faded and tired looking.<br />
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There is supposedly a restaurant but it certainly wasn’t obvious and there was no cafe either as far as we could see. In fact the entire museum was rather half hearted and had an air of ‘can’t be bothered’ about it. The gift shop as I said had items for extortionate prices and they were not even really items that you would want anyway.<br />
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This museum sums up Tahiti generally for me; it is faded, past its best. The paintings of Gauguin’s bear no resemblance at all to the island we visited. There was nothing exotic or romantic or even traditional about the place and that was a big disappointment. I was not expecting things to be as Cook and others found them but I was expecting something a little more like Samoa and Fiji had been.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18038682798869523621noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2679499509165240467.post-78771483416249997612014-03-15T14:47:00.000-07:002014-03-15T14:47:45.942-07:00Radisson Plaza Resort Tahiti<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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ARRIVING:</div>
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We arrived in Pape ‘ete from Brisbane via Auckland at 1am local time the same day as we had left Brisbane about 14 hours earlier at 11.15am! We had two Oct 21st which was very strange as we crossed the International Date Line. It was however a very long day so we pleased to arrive at the hotel.</div>
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The pickup from Fa’aa airport went smoothly and we were greeted with a lovely scented flower lei and a group of local singers serenading us as we went through passport control and collected our bags. The lei incidentally still smelt lovely in our room on the day we left five days later so the Tahitian gardenia has a very powerful aroma.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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THE INITIAL WONDERMENT:</div>
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The hotel reception area was airy and open and the lady behind the desk was lovely. We were upgraded to a suite with an ocean view and asked if we needed help with our luggage which we declined and set off to find it. There were about 6 blocks of rooms and we were in the 6th on the top floor but luckily there was a lift otherwise the luggage would have been a problem up all the stairs.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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We opened the door to our suite and wow! Amazing! Downstairs was a sitting room with a desk and cupboards/wardrobes. There was a downstairs loo, a fridge and kettle with tea/coffee etc. A TV unit was in the wall, the floors were beautiful hardwood polished with cream walls and simple cane furniture with cream cushions. This floor had a large private balcony with two sun beds and two chairs and a table.</div>
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Up the lovely solid wooden stairs we went to discover our bedroom which was beautiful. There was an enormous bed facing the drawer unit which had a TV on it. As you came up the stairs there was a large wardrobe unit inside this was a safe with number code. To the left of the bed as you stood at the foot was a window that went to the floor and from this the view was ‘to die for’. We could lie in bed and see over the lovely free form pool out to the ocean through the trees. It really was the most beautiful bedroom view and each night we left the curtains open so we woke to this stunning view in the morning.</div>
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The bathroom had a really big shower with glass front, a sink with under shelf, toilet and bath too. There are not many places you can sit on the toilet and see the view of the ocean through a large floor to ceiling window!</div>
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Extras provided included a hair dryer in the bathroom and bathroom scales (who wants to weigh themselves on holiday?), an iron and ironing board, a folding suitcase stand. On our bed, when we arrived, was a personal welcoming letter and two lovely soaps from the spa which I was very touched with. In the bathroom was shampoo, conditioner, body lotion, shower gel, a shower cap and two different kinds of soap. Downstairs there were three kinds of tea, decaff and normal coffee but only vanilla flavoured coffee mate which were lovely in coffee but disgusting in tea. Luckily I had taken some mini UHT packs so they did for my tea. We were rather taken with the sugar packs which had Tahitian pictures on the back so we opened them carefully and made a small collection of those.</div>
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To continue with the good, internet was FREE and unlimited which was how I managed to read/rate a few reviews while away. You could either connect with wifi in the bar or Reception or connect via a cable to the connection near the phone in your room. I thought this was a real bonus and the best bargain in Tahiti!</div>
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AROUND THE RESORT</div>
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The pool below our room was lovely, a free form infinity pool with a very gradual increase in depth so you could walk in like on a beach. It was wonderfully relaxing and around the pool were plenty of trees and sun beds so there was never a problem getting a chair or finding shade. Pool towels were available from a man in a hut but most of the time he wasn’t there so we just helped ourselves. </div>
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Down from the wooden boardwalk around the pool you could get on to the black sandy beach. Unfortunately the sea shelved very quickly and the waves breaking at the edge threw sand and pebbles at you as you entered the sea. There were also quite strong riffs so after testing the water we decided the pool was a more pleasant option but it was nice to see and hear the sea.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The pool bar and main restaurant was beside the pool and the beach and the setting could not have been nicer. The staff were all delightful and tried to give you a table right at the front looking at the sea.</div>
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There was another a la carte restaurant that was next to the reception area but it was pricey and also only open on certain days. The Lafayette bar was also above the reception area but we didn’t explore that as we were content with the one by the pool. The other side of the reception area there were shops and there was also a spa with a sauna and steam room which we could use but we were not tempted as it was already quite warm and we preferred the sun to a steam room or sauna.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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NOT SO GOOD:</div>
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Tahiti is VERY expensive, quite shockingly so. Our breakfasts were not included and this was the only hotel where they were not included in all our island stays. The buffet breakfast cost about £18 a head which we felt was quite steep. The breakfasts were quite good, plenty of fresh fruit, yogurts and fruit salad, fruit juices (no Bucks fizz here!). There were cold meats, cheese and salad stuff, including black olives and gherkins which we made good use of and made a sandwich for our lunch too. The hot stuff included an egg station, scrambled eggs, bacon, hash browns, grilled tomatoes and French toast. Some days there were pancakes and maple syrup but I only had them once. The bread was limited to French bread, sliced bread and rolls and there were different pastries and things like banana bread which I took for my afternoon tea. It was quite a good breakfast but didn’t compare to the Hilton in Fiji which was a lot cheaper.</div>
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It was possible to have an a la carte breakfast but that worked out even more. An American couple next to us ordered a la carte and their exclamations about the prices showed they felt the same as we did. We had no choice but to eat in the hotel as it was miles out of Papeete so we made sure we got our money’s worth.</div>
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To add insult to injury on Sunday they called breakfast ‘Sunday Brunch’ and the price increased to about £24 each. The food offered was a little different in that it included a lot of the left overs from the buffet meal the night before!! I avoided those dishes as they included raw fish so really it was a bit of a cheek but it seemed that a lot of local Tahitian families came for this brunch and then stayed to use the hotel facilities on a Sunday.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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We ate two evening meals here. One was a la carte in the sea front restaurant. The food was okay, nothing special but well cooked and there was enough.. The second was the ‘Round the world’ buffet with Tahitian show on Saturday night which we paid over 12000 Pacific French francs about £100 for two – with about £10 tax added to the bill at the end. The salad stuff was very nice, fresh, tasty and included the raw fish salad and a few local things. My husband tried the hot choices and came back with the strangest selections of food – a rather tasteless chicken curry, a dry lamb dish, gnocchi with mussels and nachos that had no chilli at all. He was unimpressed. I enjoy the salad stuff so stuck with that and then explored the desserts. These were actually very nice. They looked good, there was a nice balanced selection and they tasted good too. There was a lovely almond pie, tiramisu, chocolate mousse and some others but not one had any hint of anything that could be even vaguely Tahitian about it which was a bit disappointing.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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WHAT DID WE THINK THEN?</div>
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All in all we felt five days was too long here, I will write a separate review on Tahiti itself and you will see why. The resort was lovely but there was really nothing to do there apart from swim and sunbathe or in my case catch up with my Ciao and Dooyoo reads! The room we had was probably one of the best we have stayed in but after a while the excitement of a nice room even with a lovely view begins to wear a bit thin if there is nothing to do or see. Our stay here cost us about £400 just for two evening meals and four breakfasts – that is a lot of money for some very ordinary meals.</div>
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According to our guide on the one trip we did this hotel is joining the Hilton and the Hyatt that have already closed in Tahiti so it may not be around much longer. Maybe tales of Tahiti’s outrageous prices have started to reach the travelling public and they are voting with their feet.</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18038682798869523621noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2679499509165240467.post-70786384419624852782014-03-15T13:21:00.000-07:002014-03-15T13:33:05.051-07:00Tahiti not the island Paradise I imagined<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Tahiti is the largest of the French Polynesian islands and is a volcanic island with black sand not the lovely white sand you imagine on a South sea island. The island is 45 km across at its widest point and covers an area of 1,045 km2 so it is not huge. We were staying on Tahiti Nui (big Tahiti) which is the bigger part of the island which has a thin bit about half way down the island. The smaller southern part is called Tahiti Iti or small Tahiti.<br />
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When we booked our trip to the South Sea islands we were both very keen to see Tahiti as this was the island the epitomised the South Seas through Gauguin’s beautiful paintings. His paintings were full of bright colours and exotic people and this is what I was expecting. I was hoping to see colourful tropical gardens and friendly smiling local people rather like we had seen in Samoa, Fiji and then later in the lovely Cook Islands. How wrong can you be?<br />
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Tahiti is miles from anywhere except the other French Polynesian islands and even these are often an hour or so flight away. To give you an idea Tahiti is 4,400 km to the south of Hawai'i, a whopping 7,900 km from Chile and a good six hour flight and 5,700 km from Australia.<br />
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We arrived at Faa’a airport which was quite tiny and were welcomed with singing and all the formalities like passport and collecting luggage went very smoothly. Once outside we found our name on the board for our meeting and the person took us to check in and gave us lovely fragrant leis to wear then we waited while they sorted out which car would take us tour hotel which was the Radisson this time. After about ten minutes sitting in the mini bus with another couple they finally decided to take us to our hotel. This was a bit disorganised and as we were quite tired from a night of travel we were a bit peeved at the wait as we had paid some decent amount for an airport transfer to save us fussing at the airport in the middle of the night. <br />
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As I said it was very late at night and we were feeling quite tired so I can’t say I noticed too much on the way to the hotel. We passed through or by Papeete (pop 131,695) which appeared to be quite a small town beside the sea and not a large capital city by most standards. The road pretty well followed the coast all the way to the hotel and we discovered later that this was because the middle of the island is not inhabited at all. It is quite hilly being a volcanic island and most of it is still overgrown vegetation. The majority of people live on the fringes of the island of Tahiti and very few live inland or on the southern blob of Tahiti Iti.<br />
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The entire population of the island is only about 180.000 so it is a very small island in so many ways.<br />
Tahiti is part of French Polynesia and the citizens and French; they have all the benefits of being French with none of the downs sides it seems but more of that later! They are part of France but not part of the EU. They have their own currency which if called the French Pacific Franc (CFP) and this is fixed to the Euro at 1 CFP = EUR .00838. The main language spoken by all is French and the Tahitian language is definitely a second language. During the 1960’s it was forbidden to teach Tahitian in schools but today it is taught once again. All this seems to have removed a lot of the feeling for a Tahitian culture from the people which I found quite sad. I felt that Tahiti was exactly that, France in the South pacific, the people have full political and civil rights of French citizens.<br />
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This is the part that we found staggering. They pay no income tax at all yet their education is free through to university. They pay only 20% of any medical costs and there is brand spanking new hospital just built in Papeete. Tahiti has its own assembly, president, budget and laws and the previous president of Tahiti was pushing for independence from France but obviously only about 20% of the population were supporting this. I am amazed that 20% supported it as France is keeping the country afloat. Franch money pays for the roads, the education and most of the health care of Tahitians. Presumably it must also pay for the assembly and the President as well as the police as the local people pay no tax so this is the only funding coming in. The only industry producing much income is tourism and that is mainly on the islands of Bora Bora and Moorea which is adjacent to Tahiti.<br />
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We looked in to spending a couple of nights on Bora Bora until we found that the cost of two nights and the flights was in the region of £3000 for the two of us. So this is a destination for the seriously wealthy as we found Tahiti itself expensive enough.<br />
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Once we were in Tahiti we enquired about getting to Moorea. It appears that there is a ferry between the islands which goes hourly but there were no trips organized from Tahiti to get to Moorea picking you up from your hotel. The shuttle from the hotel to Papeete only left at 9am or 1pm returning at 5pm so we would have had to catch a local bus and no-one was very helpful about times. Trips around Moorea could be arranged from the ferry port in Moorea but you had to get there. In the end it was going to be so complicated and also quite expensive as every time you did anything in Tahiti it was expensive so we decided not to bother.<br />
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I think considering how much the people rely on tourism as an industry it is appalling how poor it was. Nothing was easy and transport was also unreliable. We had a spent a morning on our island tour of Tahiti and been monumentally unimpressed so we were reluctant to spend more money getting to Moorea to find that it was another disappointment.<br />
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The other main industry in Tahiti or French Polynesia is the farming of black pearls and these were eye wateringly expensive. Most of the pearls are exported to Japan, Europe and the US. Tahiti also exports vanilla pods, fruits,( not sure which as we didn’t enjoy many fresh fruit while we were there) flowers, monoi, which is an infused oil made from soaking the petals of Tahitian gardenias (tiare) in coconut oil. fish, copra oil, and noni fruit which is supposed to have health benefits but tasted disgusting, a cross between molasses and vinegar.<br />
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We didn’t see much evidence of anything being farmed at all and a lot of food is imported from Australia and New Zealand. I am sure more could have been grown as the soil is fertile and the weather perfect for growing but I think the people have got used to being kept by France. They will have a big shock if France decided to give them independence and cut off their funds.<br />
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I was quite shocked that a nation could be allowed to sit back and just take with no encouragement for them to do something about their own up keep. This ‘handout’ receiving is not good for self esteem and the lack of pride was evident as we drove around. There was graffiti everywhere on every flat surface someone had scrawled untidy graffiti and it looked awful. All the houses had walls or corrugated iron fences so you could not see in and all that was visible were ugly scribbled on walls I various states of repair. This was not how I had imagined this tropical island was going to look, I was very disappointed.<br />
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Hope this has been of some interest to you and save you spending the money to find out for yourself how underwhelming this island is.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18038682798869523621noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2679499509165240467.post-31277740257569541432014-03-13T13:34:00.000-07:002014-03-15T10:29:10.370-07:00Iceland National Museum<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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We spent a day exploring Reykjavik and this was one of the places we visited in the afternoon after our lovely lunch in Café Loki. It is quite walk able from mot places in the capital but I believe buses do go out that way and of course you could always take a taxi. It isn’t terrifically well signed but as we managed to find it obviously it is possible to find.<br />
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It is a large modern, not terribly attractive building. I think it look more like a factory but inside is well laid out and there I plenty to see which makes it worth a visit.<br />
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TIMES AND PRICES<br />
Summer<br />
May 1st - September 15th:<br />
Daily 10-17<br />
Winter<br />
September 16th - April 30th:<br />
Tuesday - Sunday 11-17. Closed on Mondays.<br />
Adult: 1200 kr. About £7.00<br />
Senior citizens (67+) and students: 600 kr.<br />
Groups of 10+: 600 kr.<br />
Children under 18, ICOM, FISOS: Free<br />
Visa and Mastercard are both accepted<br />
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ACCESIBILTY AND OTHER PRACTICAL MATTERS<br />
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Most parts of the museum are easily accessible with automatic doors. There are folding prams for use of visitors with young children and wheelchairs as well if needed available from reception. There are lifts to the basement, where the cloakroom and toilets are situated, and there is also a lift between the floors of the exhibition room.<br />
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There are three toilets in the cloakroom below the entrance, one of them for disabled, and further toilets with door openers on the 2nd floor, one is suitable for disabled.<br />
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Information is available in Braille just ask at reception. There are audio guides in Icelandic, English, Danish, German, French, Swedish, Italian and Polish. Special audio guides for children are available in Icelandic and English.<br />
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The museum is all no smoking but there Is an area outside the café where wall mounted cigarette receptacles are available and people can smoke there .<br />
The café is on the ground floor not far from the reception area but as we didn’t use this I won’t comment on what is offered or prices.<br />
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The museum shop was neat and modern looking and sold a variety of locally produced goods and handicrafts ,a good selection of books, children´s toys ,most of which are replicas based on old toys were also sold but the price were pretty steep on the things we looked at.<br />
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THE MUSEUM DISPLAYS<br />
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There was such a lot to see that really you needed to visit more than once. I find it hard to take in too much information at one time so we tend to choose a few things that interest u and spend time there and leave the rest as otherwise I get ‘information overload’.<br />
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We looked at the exhibitions that told the story of the Icelandic nation from the beginnings to the present day. Even that was actually too much to take it all in.<br />
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‘Making of a Nation’ – tells the story of the Icelandic people through ‘about 2,000 objects, dating from the Settlement Age to the present, as well as about 1,000 photographs from the 20th century.’<br />
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The exhibition starts with the ship in which medieval settlers crossed the ocean to the island mainly from Norway and takes the visitor through the years to the final exhibition which is the airport which is Iceland’s gateway to the world today.<br />
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Although there were many older exhibits the ones that grabbed my attention were those of the twentieth century which were collected into decades and sadly I remembered a lot of the things from the sixties onwards but it was funny to see them in a museum.<br />
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Another interesting section was the time between 1400 and 1600 when the Dane ruled Iceland and the Danish King forced them to become Lutheran Christians but being pragmatic they took on board the religion and happily adapted this into their former pagan beliefs.<br />
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One of the museum’s most important pieces and one of the oldest is a sitting bronze figure that some think is Thor while others wonder whether it is a sitting Christ. The human figure has been dated to around 1000 AD. The figure is holding an object which could either be Thor’s hammer, but look remarkably similar to the Christian cross.<br />
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The museum’s exhibits are collected and displayed in chronologic order but then there are also obvious themes which include Work and Way of Life,, Homes and Settlement Patterns, Arts and Crafts and finally Social Culture and Language<br />
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There are quite a few multi media displays with interactive touch screens . These allow you to choose how much you want to learn about different things and we spent some time on a couple of these but as they were in Icelandic we didn’t get a lot out of the wording! One of these interactive exhibitions was a telephone which allowed visitors to talk to people from the past which we watched some youngsters enjoying. There were also different videos on digital screens.<br />
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As I said there was a huge amount of information with so many exhibits that you really needed to visit a few times to get full value from the place. It was beautifully set out with a mixture of high tech and traditional exhibits or artifacts. The explanations were in Icelandic and English which was handy for us.<br />
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Once we reached the twentieth century there were a huge number of photographs which again were interesting but there I a limit to how much visual information you can take in so we looked at a few which grabbed out attention but as there were well over 600 it would take some time to do them justice but it was an impressive collection.<br />
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The main exhibition,’ Reflections of a Century’, takes you year by year through the century tracing the history of Iceland and its people . Every year I represented by about half a dozen photographs.<br />
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We were beginning to be a bit foot weary and as we find there is a limit to how much we can take in we spent about an hour and a half in the museum before we felt we had had enough and needed to get back to the hotel for a bit of a feet p before our trip to see the Northern Lights.<br />
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RECOMMENDED?<br />
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It is not a ‘must see’ place but if you are interested in finding out a bit more about Iceland and its history it is well worth a visit. It is well set out and there I plenty of variety so something will appeal to everyone I would think.<br />
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This is the cultural museum in Reykjavik but if you fancy something very different you can skip this and visit the Phallus museum see http://www.phallus.is/phallus/.” The Icelandic Phallological Museum is probably the only museum in the world to contain a collection of phallic specimens belonging to all the various types of mammal found in a single country.”<br />
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I just wish we had known about it sooner but sadly we didn’t have time to visit while we were there!<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18038682798869523621noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2679499509165240467.post-63716720512788760142014-03-11T02:55:00.000-07:002014-03-11T02:55:50.059-07:00Hallgrímskirkja - Reykjavik <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This church can be seen from almost anywhere in Reykjavik city and as you are approaching the city. This is not because the church is exceptionally high but more because everything else in the city is actually quite low rise so that the church which is on a bit of a hill does actually stand well above the other buildings. It is the sixth tallest building in the country so not surprising that it can be seen from all over Reykjavik.<br />
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Strangely the church actually looks bigger from further away than it does when you are up close. Once inside the main church part it is not anywhere near as big as some of our cathedrals and more like a decent sized town’s church. However it is the largest church in all of Iceland.<br />
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The church was designed by Gudjon Samuelson who was the former state architect. Samuelson is supposed to have taken his inspiration from the volcanic basalt rock formations found in so many parts of Iceland. The church took an amazing 38 years to build as construction work began in 1945 and ended in 1986 which seems an incredibly long time to me and I am not sure why it did take so long as it really isn’t as huge or complex as many other modern buildings which have been built is far less time.<br />
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The tower stands over 73 metres high and is certainly an impressive sight. It is not highly decorated or colourful nor are there any fine stone carved decorations but still it is impressive in its simplicity. It does indeed look like a rock edifice but beautifully symmetrical.<br />
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The church is open daily from 9.00 to 20.00 and is free to look around the church on ground level. If however you want to go up the tower in the lift then there of around 350ISK for adults, a discount for senior citizens and children from 6 to 12 are 50ISK.<br />
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Outside the church centrally located perfectly is a huge statue of the Icelandic explorer who actually discovered America, Leifur Eiriksson. He sailed to America in 1000 AD but this is largely forgotten in favour of Columbus’s 1492 voyage of discovery maybe because of a lack of documentation at the time.<br />
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If you do visit I highly recommend paying to go up in the lift which takes you to the first level where the clocks can be seen from the outside. You can look through windows in the clocks and get fabulous views of Reykjavik from all four sides. I got some great photos taken through these windows which are parts of a circle so a curved shape which made a great frame.<br />
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Once at this level you can climb a stair case to the top and from here you can see from higher up and without glass obstructions but you do have to endure the icy winds so I went up felt as though I was being blown away and frozen so I retreated down to the next level again.<br />
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Downstairs in the church it is all very simple with few decorations. Some of the windows had stained glass pictures and there was a lot of modern polished wood around the altar area.. The church also is very proud of its organ which is the biggest in Iceland. It did indeed look pretty impressive from below and we were told It is 15 metres tall and weighs 25 tons!!<br />
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The church was opened in 1986 and its name comes from an Iceland priest and hymn writer named Hallgrimur Petursson. I have to admit not someone I had ever heard of before visiting this church.<br />
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The churches in Iceland tend to be Lutheran, as this is hence the simplicity and lack of decoration both outside and inside. Personally I loved the clean lies and simple stained glass modern designs and the tall simple windows making the area with the altar a bit like a ship in shape. The pulpit was ultra modern and very simple which again I found attractive in comparison to the ornate carved ones so often found in old churches, it was a refreshing change.<br />
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The church is really a must visit place in Reykjavik if only for the wonderful views over the colourful rooftops of Reykjavik. The bells were pretty impressive too if you looked up instead of out of the clock windows. They didn’t ring while we were there so not sure how noisy they would be if you are in the tower when they are rung.<br />
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This is a very different church both from the outside and the inside and well worth spending around an hour exploring. After you have been to the church you should visit Cafe Loki and sample some Icelandic specialities as they offer some great taster plates. They also have a great display of photos of the church taken in all different lights which is pretty impressive. Sitting in the café you can enjoy views of the church and see if from another angle too.<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18038682798869523621noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2679499509165240467.post-80464463934487157582014-03-10T14:36:00.001-07:002014-03-10T14:41:13.930-07:00Cafe Paris - Reykjavik <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Cafe Paris,<br />
14, 101 Reykjavik, Iceland<br />
When we first passed this restaurant we walked on as we were keen to eat local and thought this would be a French restaurant rather than an Icelandic one. However on our second evening we decided that the restaurant we had wanted to go to was a bit more expensive than we wanted to pay so as this one served Minke whale steaks we thought we would give it a try.<br />
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My husband did a lot research about eating whale as we are not about to eat an animal that is endangered but apparently these are plentiful and often eaten in Iceland. The Icelandic people also eat Puffin but it was not offered here and only available at the expensive restaurant so sadly my husband had to forget trying that!<br />
The bonus about this restaurant was that it was not far from our hotel and very close to the tour company head office where we left for our Northern Lights tour so very convenient for us.<br />
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This is a very casual sort of dining place and bar. As you enter the bar area which has a wooden floor and is fairly large and empty with few tables around. You are greeted here and shown to your table and at this stage then walk through a door way to the main part of the restaurant which still has the same casual feel with a book case in the centre of the room and as there is free wifi there were several people just enjoying a drink and playing on their laptops. It had an air of Paris bar about the place which was quite pleasant and not at all formal dining.<br />
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We were able to sit at our table and either people watch the rest of the drinkers and diners or look outside into the Square where the Parliament House was and the lights around the Square. There were windows all around the restaurant so during the daylight you could sit and look out on four sides but in the dark which is was quite early in Iceland in January all you could see were lights and people walking close by.<br />
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The menu was pretty wide ranging and varied. Options included many starters, sandwiches and snacks, a number of starters and several main meals. We were not that hungry so chose a main meal only each and no starters.<br />
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My husband ordered his griiled Minke whale pepper steak with pan fried vegetables, chips and Madagascar pepper sauce which cost 3690 krona which is about £20. I chose Garlic roasted lobster tails With bread and garlic butter which was an appetizer but quite big enough and cost 3390 krona which is about £18.<br />
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We ordered our drinks and they came promptly and by the time we had our food brought to us we were ready for a second drink too which was brought quickly too. The food must have been freshly prepared and cooked as it did take some time to come to us but when it did arrive it was well presented and looked fresh.<br />
My husband's whale and chips looked pretty much like a steak and chips and indeed I did try the whale and it was more like ostrich, very tender and not at all fishy. The chips were quite chunky and nicely cooked and the sauce was also very tasty sort of creamy and peppery. My husband liked this meal so much that when we went back to the restaurant again he ordered the same meal.<br />
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My garlic lobster tails appetizer was delicious with at least six lobster tails and plenty of bread and a bit of salad too as well as lots of garlic I bet I was pleasant to be around the next day. I certainly could not have eaten any more as it was quite rich.<br />
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The second time we ate here as we found it more reasonable than the other places around and my husband had the same meal while I varied mine a little and ordered the Lobster Salad "à la Café Paris" with arugula, peppers, feta cheese, sweet red onions, cous-cous and garlic which was 3290 krona about £17.50. This was less rich than the previous lobster tail meal but just as tasty and the salad made it a much fresher meal. Their cous cous was much bigger than ours, more like sago sized which was interesting but tasty.<br />
As you can clearly see by these prices food was quite expensive and this was one of the cheaper places we found hence our return for a second meal. One restaurant we had been recommended would have been about £75 a person so we looked at the menu and walked on.<br />
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<br />
We found the food was really tasty and well cooked and the service was both efficient and friendly on both occasions. The drinks were pretty reasonable, sort of London prices and what my husband was really happy about was that it is not considered necessary or even desirable to tip in Iceland as it is considered an insult so what you pay is the amount it costs no adding 10% or more to the bill.<br />
<br />
We felt this place had a lovely relaxed ambience and obviously we were not alone in this as on both nights the cafe was pretty busy. It was not packed but most tables were full and the music playing was recognisable English stuff usually. It never ceases to amaze us how our music is known around the world by everyone and it was nice to hear things we recognised. The music was loud enough that we could hear it without straining but not so loud that we couldn't hear each other in conversation.<br />
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<br />
The toilets were clean and accessible as was the rest of the restaurant as it was on ground level throughout the parts we saw anyway.<br />
<br />
If you are heading for Reykjavik I would certainly recommend this as the food was good and the prices far more reasonable than many other places we stopped and inspected the menu of. There were plenty of vegetarian options too and sandwiches and the like if you wanted something smaller.<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18038682798869523621noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2679499509165240467.post-68102029138260718972014-02-16T14:00:00.000-08:002014-02-16T14:00:59.438-08:00BAEJARINS BETZU PLYSUR - the best hotdogs in Iceland<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIk9dQCrqZpN8l2Du-hlmWm4NfblGe_Re2MK515nmiVqlZRbm0ZIP6MmqXsZZ9UiDdDlST4O5DtTIQgCaZULkM1Ys3uUekSpFij1pJy4r7Q9owJlM-ZljGjT5yuYlrQFcnplcHvN0HhRsm/s1600/P1000352.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIk9dQCrqZpN8l2Du-hlmWm4NfblGe_Re2MK515nmiVqlZRbm0ZIP6MmqXsZZ9UiDdDlST4O5DtTIQgCaZULkM1Ys3uUekSpFij1pJy4r7Q9owJlM-ZljGjT5yuYlrQFcnplcHvN0HhRsm/s1600/P1000352.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">Apparently this rather unusual place is
supposed to be a must visit eatery in Reykjavik so of course we had to find it
and try their fare.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">Bæjarins beztu pylsur in English means ‘
The best hot dog in town’ and in Iceland is now known as “Bæjarins beztu”.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: 7.5pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">According to their website it is 27592 days
since the first hotdog was served at Bæjarins beztu and presumably they update
this daily. According to my calculations that means they have been serving hotdogs
there for 76 years which seems amazing. In fact it opened in 1937 so indeed a
good long time before we in the UK had ever heard of hotdogs I would hazard a
bet.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">In August 2006, ‘The Guardian’ put Bæjarins
beztu as the best hot dog stand in Europe. They claim to be the best in Iceland
but I am not sure that there is a lot of competition as they own all the hotdog
stands in the city of Reykjavik anyway I think . If you manage to miss them in
the city then they do also have one in Keflavik Airport too. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmrvnrnDlqxXOj4Cb2m_uJaEtvVzguO1dtLTvdhsCR6DRrL08vX6wAX3qt7U_FiS8sAUMq3fpaOIwuCLlmsGPPdiZBa7J04vOPsv1PIYDswB8Oztln-YJcWWbqnoJJOoiU8GQgx1J_JfvH/s1600/P1000350.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmrvnrnDlqxXOj4Cb2m_uJaEtvVzguO1dtLTvdhsCR6DRrL08vX6wAX3qt7U_FiS8sAUMq3fpaOIwuCLlmsGPPdiZBa7J04vOPsv1PIYDswB8Oztln-YJcWWbqnoJJOoiU8GQgx1J_JfvH/s1600/P1000350.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">It is said that most Icelandic people have
eaten at Bæjarins beztu. The one we went to was in a car park near the harbour
and was certainly not really a place w would have eaten at had we not been told
it was a place to check out in Reykjavik . It was rather insalubrious and yet
in the queue there were men in suits and well dressed folk as well as some
sitting in cars enjoying their purchased dogs. It looks like a basic caravan or
hut type hot dog stand with red and white logo.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">Icelanders are rather proud of their hotdog
and stand and foreign tourists are brought here to sample the wonderful hot
dogs, which some refer to as “the Icelandic national food.” It isn’t just your
average visitor who eats here as the stand proudly shows on their board that
President Clinton, when president of the United States was brought here and
apparently James Hetfield from Metallica has also eaten a hot dog from here.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 18pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;"></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioTZ3PkEBXRERNd6pb2ovTKd3sCljIAmmWWbNbz9kqf3kN4NZxgMjb7vyAo859hbyWwBeCujdzfIc-FhyOP5_HcAAOJJR8gMZi5PbGvCEiXLBL8Ui2kEKf5bIJ0IH4yLLrbmk8rrPy2dmI/s1600/P1000354.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioTZ3PkEBXRERNd6pb2ovTKd3sCljIAmmWWbNbz9kqf3kN4NZxgMjb7vyAo859hbyWwBeCujdzfIc-FhyOP5_HcAAOJJR8gMZi5PbGvCEiXLBL8Ui2kEKf5bIJ0IH4yLLrbmk8rrPy2dmI/s1600/P1000354.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">WHAT MAKES THEIR DOGS SO SPECIAL?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">Well it looked pretty much like any other
hotdog if I am honest but it was pretty tasty. It is a good meaty sausage and I
was told that they not only have beef and pork but also lamb meat in their
sausages so that is an essential difference. The sausages are also supposed to be cooked in
beer to add to the flavour. The bread roll is a white roll that is soft and
quite light and shaped as any other hotdog roll is.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: 7.5pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">Their sauces and extras that are
specialities include a ketchup which if Icelandic is a bit sweeter and used to
have apple sauce in it but now is more like
the usual US style one we know.</span><span style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Then they add
mustard is the Icelandic<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>Pylsusinnep</i><span class="apple-converted-space"> or </span>“hot dog mustard” which is brown and not too hot or strong or it may be
the sweet yellow hot dog mustard. They
also must have </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">both crispy fried onion and
raw onion and finally the remolaði, which is a mayonnaise-based sauce with
sweet relish. If you want their specialty then you can either just point or ask
in English as everyone speaks perfect English , for a hotdog with “the works,” or if you are feeling brave try
the Icelandic which is “eina með öllu”.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE_pa7RtVExcM98ciTJYw-aCcBygwrhyphenhyphentM6_iTTvB4rHslrOZih3SUfd0zXlqG33sRob7s82EF3xcaIVla2km6_b55XGeYlboNV9s9w9bNKrm_kEP8iHGStSCWN2SQGiYgi1o6XyNN3LlZ/s1600/P1000351.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE_pa7RtVExcM98ciTJYw-aCcBygwrhyphenhyphentM6_iTTvB4rHslrOZih3SUfd0zXlqG33sRob7s82EF3xcaIVla2km6_b55XGeYlboNV9s9w9bNKrm_kEP8iHGStSCWN2SQGiYgi1o6XyNN3LlZ/s1600/P1000351.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">WHERE CAN I ENJOY MY HOTDOG?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: 7.5pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 18pt;">Can I sit and relax with a lovely view over
the harbour? Well no. You either sit at the rather grubby looking wooden picnic
style table or stand and eat you hotdog trying not to squirt any of the juicy
contents over yourself while so doing.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 18pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 18pt;">The table is grubby and covered with evidence of visiting birds and
there is no way I would have put my hotdog in the wooden stand on the
table!</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 18pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 18pt;">So you sort of stand around in
the car park with other ‘diners’ enjoying your hotdog or you could walk a bit
further away towards the harbour. As it was negative temperatures when we were
there we didn’t walk away as our hotdog would have got cold before we had a
chance to eat it.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiebr4rA6ifJjAtDjxesv8RjC46nbu02ZTm8QCdUGnQpYhKjArG7lqDKYgRCzPMZMyTslcl23yfFvfhIUmVfCaRy0ilF3u6vVkUegdFDDc4a1vxRquhvpQjRdr-5do95E0V_YRS2W0GJZyz/s1600/P1000353.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiebr4rA6ifJjAtDjxesv8RjC46nbu02ZTm8QCdUGnQpYhKjArG7lqDKYgRCzPMZMyTslcl23yfFvfhIUmVfCaRy0ilF3u6vVkUegdFDDc4a1vxRquhvpQjRdr-5do95E0V_YRS2W0GJZyz/s1600/P1000353.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">IF YOU CAN’T GET TO REYKJAVIK THEN TRY THIS<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: 7.5pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 18pt;">I found this recipe in Huffington post in
an article by Victoria Haschka and thought it would be interesting to try:</span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 15.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 10pt;">6 hot dog
buns<br />
6 pylsur sausages -(you can order them<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>http://nammi.is/ss-hot-dogs-500-gr-p-390.html)<br />
4 tablespoons of Icelandic hot dog mustard
-http://nammi.is/hot-dog-mustard-200-gr-p-407.html)<br />
4 tablespoons of ketchup<br />
4 tablespoons of remoulade <br />
6 tablespoons of crispy deep fried onion <br />
6 tablespoons of diced mild onions <br />
beer to cook the sausages in -Icelandic Viking or Gull are both Icelandic
beers, but I am sure any lager will do
the job.<br />
<b><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0cm; padding: 0cm;"><br />
</span></b><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0cm; padding: 0cm;">Cook the sausages in the beer . While
they are heating split and toast the bread rolls. Fill the rolls in this order,
raw onion and one sausage then add a squirt of mustard, </span>remoulade and ketchup along each
sausage and finally top then with the lovely crispy fried onions.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 15.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 15.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 10pt;">The
remoulade is a kind of mayonnaise made using:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 15.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 10pt;">3/4 cup of
neutral tasting oil ,1 egg yolk ,1 teaspoon of Dijon mustard, 1 tablespoon of
white wine vinegar, 2 teaspoons of chopped gherkin, 2 teaspoons of chopped
capers, 1 tablespoon of chopped chervil. Make as you would a fresh mayonnaise
then add the chopped gherkin, capers and chervil.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 15.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
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<br />
<div style="background: white; line-height: 15.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 10pt;">The sausages
are certainly worth sourcing as they were much more tasty and meaty than the
ones we have and a lot firmer too. The other parts you can easily re create so
have a try.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 15.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="background: white; line-height: 15.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 10pt;">In Reykjavik
we paid about £2 for our hotdogs so not too bad for a unique experience. If you
are heading for Reykjavik then if you are not a vegetarian do take a stroll
down towards the harbour and join the queue for one of Iceland’s specialties. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18038682798869523621noreply@blogger.com0Iceland64.963051 -19.02083500000003464.963051 -19.020835000000034 64.963051 -19.020835000000034tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2679499509165240467.post-33925596231929048992014-02-16T09:24:00.000-08:002014-02-16T14:05:03.593-08:00Cafe Loki Reykavik<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhij9r7VeX22LJix9iLgTIhtHEYDG-mIQl171xFdBJyWr75UYwBLso6Ndk51ln84VJCJ1vAF-KDjngrKqsYTNucJ7GuM8x_66xqBH8PCqyS7L5oMX6N3IjDMPTbG-zE7sidCRqbok_ykLux/s1600/cafe-loki.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhij9r7VeX22LJix9iLgTIhtHEYDG-mIQl171xFdBJyWr75UYwBLso6Ndk51ln84VJCJ1vAF-KDjngrKqsYTNucJ7GuM8x_66xqBH8PCqyS7L5oMX6N3IjDMPTbG-zE7sidCRqbok_ykLux/s1600/cafe-loki.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cafe Loki</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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My husband and I really enjoy trying different foods and when we travel we always try to eat or at least taste some of the local food. This does mean we have eaten some very strange things from deep fried locust in Beijing through to satay frog’s legs and an odd eel dish in Vietnam but along the way we have eaten some great dishes too.</div>
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We tried to taste Icelandic food on our first night in the Iceland bar but they no longer did their tasters in small jars so the next day we made our way to Cafe Loki for lunch as they were supposed to offer Icelandic food. The cafe is open Mon-Sat. from 9.00-21.00 & on Sundays from 11.00-21.00</div>
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Cafe Loki is just across the road from the lovely Hallgrimskirkja church which dominates Reykjavik and so the view from the cafe is of the church which makes a great backdrop. We tried the front door but it was closed, luckily we noticed a sign saying use the side door so we tried that.</div>
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Into a small hall with a stair case leading upwards and on the left was a display of about thirty views of the Hallgrimskirkja church opposite which were beautiful and taken over the past 15 years in variable weather and light. You could buy placemats of these if you wanted a souvenir which I thought was a nicer one than many souvenirs.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small; text-align: start;">Hallgrimskirkja</span></td></tr>
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Once we arrived upstairs in the restaurant we were welcomed in and shown to a table. We were handed two menus and asked if we wanted to order a drink but we just asked for tap water which was brought very quickly and we then noticed that there was a jug on a table in the corner where we could help ourselves to more should we need to.</div>
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The restaurant was more like a cafe with basic pine furniture and bench seats in a small cosy room with about a dozen tables and windows overlooking Hallgrimskirkja church so we had a good view and could also people watch as different visitors came towards the church and posed in front of it.</div>
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At the same time as our water was brought to us the waitress asked if we wanted to ask anything about the menu. We asked a couple of questions about specific dishes and then made our decision.</div>
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We ordered two Icelandic platters and a Brennivin between us to share. The Brennivin is a kind of clear snapps made from potato and flavoured with caraway, cumin, angelica and others and served in a shot glass. The idea is we were told, that you take a sip after you have eaten a chunk of the fermented shark to take the taste away!!</div>
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The platters came beautifully arranged with tasters of five Icelandic specialities. We each had two slices of rye bread which was much softer and sweeter than rye bread i have eaten before, almost like malt loaf but more bread like. On one of these was mashed fish, I think it was cod in a sort of creamy rich sauce and on the other was smoked trout which was very like smoked salmon.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The taster plate</td></tr>
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We also had a piece of flatbread which to me was more like rye bread that I have eaten before and on this we had slices of smoked lamb which was very tasty and tender.</div>
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In a small pot we had some butter and then a piece of dried fish. I tried to break up the dried fish but it was too tough so I put the whole piece in my mouth and chewed it until it sogged enough. It was like boerwors or biltong only with fish rather than dried meat . I can’t say I’d rush to eat that again but it was interesting to taste and now I have tried it and ticked that one off.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho3lc4KjNSHEdydI1mG2M0X5YB9tux9dVY5PdtBoSCuka1sZ8mTD_lyJlvbShIcGNfGPsP_FawH-vNwpcNUWiKSnX_ClnU804e3-axBXsgRrvMQOeAP9wMA-Tb1QZuiBBjzXLR-OF2YvVj/s1600/P1000101.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho3lc4KjNSHEdydI1mG2M0X5YB9tux9dVY5PdtBoSCuka1sZ8mTD_lyJlvbShIcGNfGPsP_FawH-vNwpcNUWiKSnX_ClnU804e3-axBXsgRrvMQOeAP9wMA-Tb1QZuiBBjzXLR-OF2YvVj/s1600/P1000101.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The dried fish with butter</td></tr>
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Finally we had a small bowl with three sugar lump sized pieces of fermented shark. I made my husband try it first and he said it was quite nice but he thought the Brennivin was disgusting. So I tried a piece. It tasted like the very strongest strong blue cheese rind but with a softer chewy texture. It was revolting but I was happy with the one piece and donated my other two pieces to my husband and I drank the Brennivin instead!</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiESXMLKhBr4sDiXyTKqSCDefGyrc3tWx-AqLnCaqBNjLUI-aWgViyh1hjIUqXL0ZhRR9VixYRYF9ATG0uKX4ThryOF1G9T_EwGKiNJU2MiGVSuSlKyzlj6gAxD-Hrl_MnPQxFsKJoE24Qn/s1600/P1000102.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiESXMLKhBr4sDiXyTKqSCDefGyrc3tWx-AqLnCaqBNjLUI-aWgViyh1hjIUqXL0ZhRR9VixYRYF9ATG0uKX4ThryOF1G9T_EwGKiNJU2MiGVSuSlKyzlj6gAxD-Hrl_MnPQxFsKJoE24Qn/s1600/P1000102.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The fermented shark</td></tr>
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I popped over to the table near the register and serving bar and helped myself to two more glasses of iced tap water. I was very tempted with a dessert but my husband was not interested and I am always aware that maybe I shouldn’t!! There were some very interesting Icelandic desserts such as rye bread ice-cream which I thought might be worth trying but my hips were pleased that my husband didn’t fancy anything.</div>
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Before we left we both made use of the very clean and unisex toilets as we planned a lot more walking around Reykjavik in the afternoon.</div>
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We paid by credit card and there was no problem taking that although we did discover that my card has begun charging for using it overseas so will be changing that.</div>
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All in all we thought the food was excellent and very well presented, a great way to sample the Icelandic specialities without being over faced with something you might not like. The waitress was helpful and spoke brilliant English and guided us through the choices when we needed help.</div>
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The cafe was not crowded but there were about four tables in use altogether. I would thoroughly recommend this cafe if you want the opportunity to try the unusual Icelandic foods in pleasant surroundings with friendly and helpful service.</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18038682798869523621noreply@blogger.com1Iceland64.963051 -19.02083500000003461.51098249999999 -29.347983500000034 68.415119499999989 -8.6936865000000338