They say a man’s home is his castle but it is rare that a home really is a castle. We generally think of European royalty, but there is a distinctive group of wealthy industrialists who built homes that resembled castles. The Hearst Castle in San Simeon, California is one notable example. Another is the Boldt…
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Craigdarroch Castle Photo Gallery
Here are some additional photos of our visit to Craigdarroch Castle. And that concludes our tour of this unique piece of Canadiana. If you have the opportunity, do visit. It’s a beautiful piece of our heritage. xx
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The Other Antigua
When we think of Antigua, we usually think of the Caribbean island, but there are in fact three others. Two of them are small towns, one in Australia and one in the Canary Islands. The subject of today’s tour is the ancient city of Antigua in Guatemala. Founded in 1543 as Santiago de los Caballeros,…
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Photo Gallery: Guatemala
Some additional photos of Guatemala.
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Our Panama Canal Cruise
One of the things on our bucket list was to take a cruise through the Panama Canal. On Nov. 15 we did just that. It was a sixteen day cruise that left from Fort Lauderdale, traversed the Panama Canal, and ended up in Los Angeles. There were six ports-of-call along the way. Our ship was…
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Remembering Notre Dame
Follow us on Facebook! Janis and I had the pleasure of spending a week in Paris in 2011 to mark our thirtieth anniversary and we loved it. One of the truly fabulous cities in the world. I’ve written about a number of our experiences there but never got around to writing about Notre Dame. We visited…
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Photo Gallery: Notre Dame Cathedral
Follow us on Facebook! Here are some additional photos of Notre Dame. The imposing front facade of Notre Dame with its twin bell towers. One wall of Notre Dame. Note the gargoyle drain spouts. A strix on the west facade. The massive stained glass window at the rear of the cathedral. From the back of the…
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Perth’s Playground
Follow us on Facebook! Back in 1984, Perth businessman Dallas Dempster had a smart idea. Let’s get rid of this dump! Burswood Island, an island in the Swan River just a couple of kilometres from Perth’s city center, was the site of a large landfill. Dempster suggested to the Western Australian government that the site could…
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The Dragonfly Festival
Follow us on Facebook! There is a certain charm about small towns and small town festivals. If they are an agricultural community, the celebration will often center on the predominant crop. Pitt Meadows, British Columbia, where I used to live, has its annual Blueberry Festival. Others may celebrate their heritage with Pioneer Days. Many tie their…
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Photo Gallery: Regina’s Wascana Centre and More
Here are some additional photos around and about Regina. One of the notable attractions is the RCMP Heritage Centre which I will cover in a separate post. The photo above is a panoramic view of Wascana Lake stretching from the north-west corner to the legislature. A gazebo in the park The Saskatchewan Legislature from the…
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