In The Past......or Along The Bosphorous!

Yes, as predicted, I spent some time sorting out my bookshelf. And...there are many books I could re-read. A series some of which I found in Turkey but others I made a point of reading before our tour of Turkey.Yes I had read Orhan Pamuk, author of 'My Name Is Red' and winner of the Nobel Prize In Literature 2006. His book 'Istanbul...Memories And The City' left me perplexed. How can anyone feel that his city was enough for him? There was no need to travel anywhere. No need to explore the world. This I found hard to understand until I experienced Istanbul myself. Then, his constant yearning to be beside the river Bosphorous and to experience the old houses lining this huge expanse of water suddenly meant something to me too. The fact that he studied architecture and wrote poetry before he began to write novels...the creative man presented himself in total. No, not quite. His urge to write stories came to be a political duty... the creation of what Istanbul and Turkey was undergoing in its daily wrestling. I wonder what his next book will say?

The houses lining the great river as they were and as they exist now. Many sorts of restoration have allowed some to offer continual occupation. And it was in an old house like this that Ohran Pamuk's grandmother lived. Hence his childhood memories filled his yearning for these shores.

Some have been restored enough to offer the site as a  restaurant.









And Sundays are days when most people enjoy a walk along the Bosphorous or choose to dangle a line in the hope of catching some fish.

Most consider life beside the waters to be more than ideallic. A swim or two being the best way to make the most of the warm sun.




Or to live in the most charming environment offering consular advice and representing not only Germany but showing membership of NATO.







And never forgetting that the tourists are the paying customers. Is this a head to head ocean liner disagreement? Obviously the tug boat in the in the foreground is the winner. Who said size matters? Click on the photos to enlarge!

The World is....

A book and those who do not travel read only one page at a time--St. Augustine

Whenever you find yourself doubting how far you can go just remember how far you have come...remember everything you have faced...all the battles you have won and all the fears you have overcome.

It's bad manners to keep a VACATION waiting!

All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better.--Ralph Waldo Emerson

Maybe the journey isn't about becoming anything maybe it's about un-becoming everything that isn't really you so you can be who you were meant to be in the first place.

The New Year means nothing if you are still in love with your comfort zone.

AND LIFE: is available for a limited time only. A limit of one (1) per person. Subject to change without notice. Provided 'as is'. And...without any warranties. Non transferable it is the sole responsibility of the recipient. May incur damages arising from use or misuse. Additional parts sold separately. Your mileage may vary. Subject to all applicable fees and taxes. Terms and conditions apply. Other restrictions apply!

Don't let them be your fears!

Not all those who wander are lost.--J.R.R.Tolkien

More interesting thoughts at
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Wild Flower season

True, seeing we were driving to Perth from Toodyay and I was silently admiring the flowering trees and bushes, the wattles and the many 'black boys' or is it more acceptable to say 'grass trees', I was wondering why we weren't planning a trip to the north of WA? Oh I knew why... we had been there many times photographing the wild flowers. So why not find some photos of wild flowers in Jordan...a country we had visited not to see the flowers but to experience the ancient history. But my camera decided with a little help from myself that we could do both.
When the many POMS on the bus screaming and yelling in excitement...'Stop...stop! We want a photo of those black orchids!' I thought I hadn't heard correctly 'Black?' Orchids? I had to see this and stumbled out of the bus.

And so I ignored the long-haired sheep across the road and started to click...I found a bush with almost blossoming black orchids and then one full of orchids. WOW! What luck! This was in the area of south Jordan on the way to Petra and not far before the well known Jordan Valley.

Then I thought back to the wonderful sights of wild flowers amongst the many stones recognised as remnants of the ancient history we had come to witness. Of course expecting the Archeologists to comment on them or even see them was a little beyond their purpose as historians. So to appreciate the photos fully one must click on them to enlarge.

 Many are simply little yellow daisies...we are used to seeing those...or white daisies... but we are not used to seeing red poppies...in fact they were plentiful in Turkey and as you will recall they are flowers used in remembrance of the many souls killed at Gallipoli during the first world war.

 And so my limited wild flower experience has left me with not knowing the name of these mauve flowers...perhaps you can identify them...they don't seem as unusual to me as the black orchard but one never knows.

Listen up! Talking Balloons!!

 Yes I mean BALLOONS! No not those although some great artist in Turkey did decorate our hotel room like this. I laughed my head off not because the images were...ru.e but because the sizing of both characters was so correct.
So Iv'e left you wondering! But if you log on to http://www.northamnationals.com/ and attend the competition between August28-6Sept 2015 all will be revealed. And...and... you can leave as satisfied as these people I have photographed after our balloon trip in Cappadoccia Turkey some years ago.

 And you'll make some people happy!! More than I did when the dates were relayed to me. But our ballooning trips in Egypt and Turkey have left us more than fulfilled.
Northam from the air is a fantastic experience at this time of the year...so fly to it!!

High Excitement!

I can't believe it! I actually found some photos I thought Lightroom or I had lost. I do get into the clean-up mode every now and then. But these photos Lightroom had filed under a folder supposedly without .....I can't even think of the term however...why wouldn't I name such obvious ones of Russia ie: Moscow. Unbelieveable but...!




The first night we were offered wine from Margaret River and on another night it was beef from WA. Wow! We thought we hadn't left home after all.




And to get some shots of down-town Moscow and to avoid the rain I squeezed myself and my camera between a young couple in love...they were in nether land and didn't even notice me...but I was quite happy with the result.

 The colours were amazing in the afternoon sun and a storm brewing.









Our beer was soon gone and despite the inclement weather we couldn't resist going for a walk....and then for an evening cruise.

Wherever some re-construction was going on a huge print of the area would be secured so that passers-by could imagine the outcome.

Here we were at the Moscow Ritz right in the middle of and opposite the tourist area. So we were in the mood for a glass of wine....but not so! A bottle was amazingly expensive and even the cost of a glass of wine made us gape in astonishment. So a beer made sense...off to the roof top bar and within minutes the rain came down.

Delving into the archives.....A

And guess what?  We arrive at the Argentina/Brazil border and get washed away...well almost...but we see some incredible watery sights...use our legs alot...shoot some animals and insects (are butterflies insects) with our cameras and ignore the crowds.

 Can you see the boats carrying the tourists along to have a quick shower under the waterfalls? You may have to click on to enlarge the pictures.
But yes I thought I might drown but...we didn't...no one did and besides we left clasping a video of our experience. Needless to say the water pressure and noise was terrifying but...we survived and we loved it...after the event. I had convinced my guide to not bother booking me in for the ride...I am not going!!!...but then courage came from somewhere and...you know the story.
Before this experience we had walked through the watery scenes of the Parque Nacional Iguazu on the Argentinian side.

 So much stunning water noisily rushing down the steep cliffs but a scampering noise took our eyes from the water for a second to take a quick shot of some of the local animals.

But it  was
the ancient wheelchair which attracted me the most. As you can imagine I could envisage
using that just now...

then again it didn't look too comfortable...so may be I was giving in too early.






 And nature on the Brazilian side kept me busily clicking my camera...when I dried that is...after the many walks through the water falls. Yes the whole scene was well presented and quite safe...but moist to say the least. Click on the images to enlarge!