ABC V is for Valley

I had decided on VALLEY for my V word and startede gathering pictures that woud illustrate the idea. And then...

Yosemite Valley

What more can I say?

ABC Wednesday

What I learned while traveling this weekend

Do not refill your 32 oz. iced tea and head off on a road that doesn't have any rest stops for miles and miles and miles and miles and...

ABC...Z the end of the round

I had to think through what I might use from our trip last summer to conclude with the theme I have used for nearly all of this round. We didn't visist any countries starting with Z such as Zimbabwe or Zaire or New Zealand. We weren't in Italy, so we didn't eat any zabaliogne or zitti. We didn't go on safari or visit a zoo, so we didn't see any zebras or zebus.

But there were some specific zones we visited.




For example, this Central Controlled Zone is around the Scottish Parliament Building. (I'm not sure what is controlled, maybe it is vehicle traffic. It's not girls in shorts.)








Near our hotel in the outskirts of London, the Pedestrian Zone may end, but it still stands. The Construction Zone in the area, however, ought to be ended by now.

I may pull out images from our UK trip for other blog entries in the future, but for this round, this is the zzzzzz, the end. So I will leave the ZZZZZZZs with my husband resting his eyes as we traveled through the Highlands back to Edinburgh after our week of hiking.

ABC Wednesday -- the end of Round Seven.

See you next week as we begin Round Eight.

Y is for...

Yeomen of the Queen's Bodyguard



Originated in 1485 to guard the new king Henry VII, the yeomen's duties have change in modern times. Still devoted to the monarch, these colorful gents act as guides to the Tower of London, regaling us with its fascinating history and entertaining along the way.


All are veterans of the military services, and experts on their subject matter.

For the history of the Yeoman Warders, Yeoman Archers--other versions of their title--visit their website.


The Tower of London



Reaching the letter Y means we will soon be leaving ABC Wednesday's Round 7. But don't worry, we'll be back for Round 8 immediately following.

W is for...

Wales

I could have chosen several topics from our UK trip for the letter W, but when I started thinking about my selection, there was no doubt in my mind what I would post when I thought of Wales. We so enjoyed the Welsh countryside...

We so enjoyed our Welsh hosts, blogger Liz, her husband Mike, and of course, George.

We had fun when George led us on our walk to Wormshead.

Of course, George wouldn't even think of worrying the sheep.

We saw a bit of history -- both ancient---and modern,

and a chance to contrast rural Wales

and urban..

Wishing our Welsh friends a blessed Christmas. Their plans for the holidays, as have ours, have been influenced by heavy snowfalls. We had a lovely card of a snow-covered Wormshead. May all who read here find the Christmas season brings special blessings.

ABC Wednesday--here in it's seventh season.

V is for Village

The common dictionary definition of a village is:

1.a small community or group of houses in a rural area, larger than a hamlet and usually smaller than a town, and sometimes (as in parts of the U.S.) incorporated as a municipality. 

2.the inhabitants of such a community collectively.

Our visit to the Northwest Highlands of Scotland this summer brought us to Torridon Village.

 We stayed int he village of Kinlochewe, and hiked through the village of Gairloch.

This leads one to wonder what constitutes a hamlet and what a town. Those definitions are suitably vague, though it appears that a hamlet, at least in Great Britain, does not have its own church and a village does.

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 If you've read my blog on any kind of regular basis, you probably have figured out that I am blessed (or cursed) with wanderlust. So, though I've featured sites and sights from our trip to the UK for this round of ABCs, I've had some previous experiences with villages by all definitions.

In India ten years ago, we made several evening visits to nearby villages. We visited in the evening because we were busy working during the day  on the roof of the boys' home where we were volunteering. We met with them to learn about their life

 and the projects through which they were improving conditions for themselves and their families.

The question we were asked at each village we visited was "How are your marriages arranged?"

We visited some villages in Siberia when we were there. On this Sunday afternoon we traveled with the priest for Mass in the village of Krasny Pochara. This is the little church there and some of the congregation. Most of the village (definition 2) were out harvesting wild mushrooms, an important part of their diet.





Rural would be the part of the definition that applied to the village of Kargasok, because it was much larger than any other place I have heard called a village. It was one of a number of villages on the Ob River traveling north from Novosibirsk--maybe the largest. The trip by boat was fifteen hours, and we spent two days visiting with internet friends.


Maybe isolated is a better word than rural. But since the cows greeted us in the yard of the hotel in the morning, I guess "rural" works, too.

After we were home from Siberia that year, I compared photos with my friend who had spent her summer in some Alaskan villages. The scenes were remarkably similar.

So these are some of my village memories for ABC Wednesday, round 7.



Wednesday--U is for...

U is for Ullapool.

This is the lochside street where our Bed and Breakfast in Ullapool in the northwest of Scotland was located. A row of compact houses facing the port, most of them on this street were B&Bs.

Ullapool is a small port town with a rich history. Our friend in Edinburgh told us it is where the settlers of Nova Scotia embarked from. Unusual for a village in the Highlands, Ullapool is laid out in a grid, having been rebuilt after a fire. Most Highlands towns grew in a more haphazard arrangement.

You can see that the location on the water is vital to the economy and lives of the people here. Tourism, fishing, and transportation are very important. These boys were having fun skipping rocks. 

An important link to the Outer Isles, the ferry comes in several times a day (and at some wee hour of the night as well.)

ABC Wednesday--thank you Denise for a continuing run, and thank you to the team who help her keep it going.

My World--My view of the Grand Canyon.

Other entries for My World Tuesday can be found here.

For a real view of the Grand Canyon, visit Geogypsy, who hiked to the bottom a week or so ago.

My world will get back to normal when we get home later today.

T is for

Continuing our visit to the UK, while in London we visited the

Tower of London

 London is a city with a lot of contrasts. You can see above  the Tower of London, with some of the modern architecture of recent years in the background. Within the Tower compound itself, there is also contrast between portions of the castle built in different centuries--the earliest construction begun in 1080. In the apartments in this Tudor portion of the structure that Lady Jane Grey resided until her execution.

Our guide to the history of the Tower was this most delightful and colorful member of the Yeomen Warders who thoroughly enjoyed what he was doing.

 There is always restoration and preservation going on


















at a site as old as this. This is one of the oldest walls.

 If we make a return trip to London in future years, we will give the city more time. Then perhaps we will be able to attend some of the demonstrations that take place in the Tower precincts. Previously in this round of ABCs I showed you part of the Royal Armory for R, and mentioned that the Tower is included as one of the Royal Palaces while we were "searching" for the Queen in Q. The Tower is also home of the Crown Jewels.

 As we cruised the River Thames we passed under the Tower Bridge, which has only it proximity to the Tower of London to thank for its name.

Look for other examples for the letter T at the ABC Wednesday homesite. We are in the seventh rouind (my sixth) and it is amazing what we can find each week to illustrate the theme letter.

ABC Wednesday--S is for

For today's letter we will proceed to the finest of literature. As I have drawn this round's alphabet from our visit to the UK, I present to you, words from Shakespeare:

...from a poster at the Globe Theatre. If you didn't think you knew any Shakespeare, just glance at a few of the phrases you may have used yourself. The picture is pieced together from three shots, and I am afraid that I lost the bottom in the piecing.

.

But what is this, shall we travel on the subway or should we go by hansom cab? Because we do have to head on up to 221B Baker Street

so that we can sit in the sitting room of the renowned private detective, Sherlock Holmes.

I was designated as Sherlock, whilst hubby played the part of Dr. Watson.

Literary fun--both--as we continued to wander London.

ABC Wednesday--what next?

A treat while waiting in my world

If you have come early to the airport to get through security, and the airport is not particularly busy so security takes about half a minute, and your flight is one hour delayed, it could be boring.

As we were waiting, a group of puppy raisers for Guide Dogs of America came in to give their trainees some experience of the sights and sounds of an airport. There were eight beautiful young dogs and eight enthusiastic puppy raisers. Puppy raisers very generously raise these dogs to give them up, giving them their initial training in behavior and socialization, familiarizing them with situations in public places, teaching them to remain calm no mater what as facilitators assess them for the needed temperament. This group gather for outings such as this one on a fairly regular basis.

That calm no matter what part seems to be working well.

After spending a half hour or more in the terminal waiting area, this dedicated group went on their way to their next learning adventure.

That's what happenend to liven up My World this afternoon. To see what's happening in other parts of the world, visit the My World site.

ABC Wednesday--Q is for...

Q is for Queen.


So, while we were in the UK we could have gone looking for the queen. Officially, the Great Hall here at the Edinburgh Castle is hers for entertaining.

But she wasn't there.

She wasn't at Holyrood Palace at the other end of the Royal Mile, either.
















When we got to London, we could have seen the queen, too.

We went right up to her gate.

Be she wasn't home.

There are many places where the queen has the privilege of residence. Even here:

But I will save that for T.



ABC Wednesday,
Round Seven,
Found here.

Amazing Race!!

 Do you watch the Amazing Race? Tonight they were in St. Petersburg, Russia, and their activities reminded me of some of the beautiful sights we saw when we were there twelve years ago.

After a visit to the circus, the teams were sent to the Banks Bridge--somewhat behind us from this view of the Cathedral of the Resurrection, known as the Church of Our Savior on Spilled Blood because it was built at the site of the assassination of Czar Alexander II. The church was their next destination after finding the clue in a tower nearby.

There's something about Russian cathedrals--this one and St. Basil's in Moscow especially. I feel like Christmas--I want to eat the gingerbread. Hmm. Maybe I will make a gingerbread cathedral this December.

Now, the teams didn't actually go to St. Isaac's Cathedral, unless I missed it and I must admit I came in late from class at church so I could have. They did have a moment of facts about the locations which told us how much gold went into the making of the dome of St. Isaac's.


We climbed to the top of the dome. Yes--me, too! And I wonder that my mother managed to climb Half Dome--is it any different? The view is amazing.

 Oh, my, look how young we look. Well, actually my husband looks just the same--a little more jowly and his moustache is gray now, but his hair is still just like it is here. We didn't have to rush to the next stop, but there it is in the distance--Peter and Paul Fortress. The teams had to figure it out by finding out where Peter the Great was buried.

The spire is very distinctive, and here is a statue of Peter the Great himself. I think this is Peter, anyway. I remember that this is a fascinating statue. Look at his head.

So that was our amazing race--I'm glad we weren't competing with any other teams. It was much more fun that way.