Greece 2019 Part II


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Church of the Pantanassa, Monastiraki Square, Athens, Greece

Flea Market, Normanou, Athens, Greece

Normanou, 5, Athens, Greece

Derelict, Ermou, Athens, Greece

Street Lamp, Agiou Filippou , Athens, Greece

Archaeology, Agiou Filippou, Athens, Greece

Church of the Apostle Phillip, Adrianou, Athens, Greece

Archaeology, Adrianou, Athens, Greece

Adrianou Suites, Kinetou, Athens, Greece

Hotel 360 Degrees, Monastirakiou. Athens, Greece
[Where we stayed in Athens]

Orthodox Priest, Monastiraki Square, Athens, Greece

Tzisdarakis Mosque, Monastiraki Square, Athens, Greece.JPG
[Now the Museum of Greek Folk Art]

The Parthenon, Athens, Greece
[Taken from our hotel]

Tour Bus, Ermou, Athens, Greece

Church of Agia Kyriaki, Athinas, Athens, Greece

Fountain, Kotzia Square, Athinas, Athens, Greece

Statue Of Pericles. Athinas, Athens, Greece

Urban Art, Menandrou, Athens, Greece

Sculpture, Panagi Tsaldari , Athens, Greece

Derelict Building, Kallirrois, Athens, Greece

[Buildings like this were not an uncommon sight in Athens]

Sleeping Dogs, Rovertou Galli, Athens, Greece

Wandering Cat, Acropolis, Athens, Greece

[Cats and dogs wander every where in Greece – not domestic in the main but survive due to locals feeding them]

Odeon of Herodes Atticus, Dionysiou Areopagitou, Athens, Greece

[Located on on the slopes of the Acropolis – built by the Romans in 161 AD]

Gathering Clouds, Terminal Car Park, Piraeus, Greece

Our Bus Caught Fire, Vassilisi Amalias Avenue, Athens, Greece



 

Greece 2019 Part I

We arrived in Athens at night and went to our hotel (360 Degrees Hotel) which is situated in Monastiraki Square it has a rooftop bar providing a magnificent view of the Acropolis and Parthenon. The hotel features a brilliant retro decor theme.


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The Acropolis from the rooftop bar of 360 Degrees Hotel

The Parthenon is a marble temple built between 447 and 432 BC, during the height of the ancient Greek Empire. It was dedicated to the Greek goddess Athenais located atop a compound of temples known as the Acropolis of Athens.

Altar of Aphrodite of Urania

As seen from the rooftop bar. The Altar of Aphrodite is the best preserved monument in the north side of the Agora. It was constructed in the 5th cent. BC, but remained in its place serving the adjacent temple dedicated to the same goddess, which flourished mainly during the Roman period. Most of the altar still survives.


Greek White Wine



Some of the Retro Decor both in our room and the hotel common areas.


Iceland 2019 Part XI

The last of Iceland, next stop – GREECE!

Mountain Landscape, Gjábakkivegur, Laugarvayn, Iceland

Geothermal Activity, Haukadalsvegur, Geysir, Selfoss, Iceland

“Strokkur”, Haukadalsvegur, Geysir, Selfoss, Iceland

Hvítá River, Biskupstungnabraut, Geysir, Iceland (White River)

Old Farm Buildings, Biskupstungnabraut, Geysir, Iceland

Cloud Shrouded Snowcap, Tungufell, Iceland

Snowcapped Mountain Range, Tungufell, Iceland

Gullfoss, Ölfusá River, Tungufell, Iceland

Gullfoss means Golden Falls. It is on the Ölfusá River which is fed from Langjökull Glacier and has a drop of 32 metres in two stages.

Icelandic Countryside Transport, Gullfoss Car Park, Tungufell, Iceland

Vehicles like this are a common sight in Iceland and are needed to negotiate the Icelandic conditions in winter.

Port Arthur Penal Settlement, Tasmania, Australia September 2004

NOTE: Clicking on any image will now see it open in a new tab and not in the current page.

A break from more recent travels and a jump back to a 2004 trip to Tasmania and visit to the Port Arthur Penal Settlement.

From 1833 until 1853, Port Arthur was the destination for the hardest of convicted British criminals, those who were secondary offenders having reoffended after their arrival in Australia. Rebellious personalities from other convict stations were also sent there. In addition, Port Arthur had some of the strictest security measures of the British penal system.  The World Heritage Committee of UNESCO inscribed the Port Arthur Historic Site onto the World Heritage Register on 31 July 2010, as part of the Australian Convict Sites World Heritage property. Port Arthur is one of Australia’s most visited historical sites, receiving over 250,000 visitors each year.


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<>Download a Port Arthur Guide Here!<>

The Guard Tower 1835

The Asylum

Junior Medical Officer’s House, Port Arthur Penal Settlement


The Penitentiarty

Lime Kiln & The Master Shipwrights House at the Dockyard

Isle of the Dead, Carnarvon Bay, Port Arthur

Isle of the Dead is a small Island adjacent to Port Arthur, Tasmania, Australia. The isle is historically significant as it retains: an Aboriginal coastal shell midden; one of the first recorded sea level benchmarks and one of the few preserved Australian convict period burial grounds.

Isle of the Dead forms part of the Port Arthur Historic Site. This site is part of Australian Convict Sites and is listed as a World Heritage Property, as it represents convictism in the time of British colonisation.

The Penitentiary

Price’s Kiln, Port Arthur

Built on land purchased in 1886 following the closure of the Port Arthur Penal Settlement by an English potter from Staffordshire, James Price. Following the death of Price, the kiln was used by local fisherman as storage until it in part collapsed. In 1982, it was fully restored but has never been put to use due to the fragility of the historic bricks.

Iceland 2019 Part X

We finished our visit to the glacial lagoons and on our last day in Iceland we began with a drive to the Thingvellir National Park, site of the original Icelandic Parliament and also where there is a meeting of the earth’s tectonic plates.

 

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(14 images stitched – Each image is 30,000 x 3,000 pixels – infrared filter applied in 2nd image)

View full size images – ColourInfrared

Glacial Lagoon, Jökulsárlón, Austurland, Iceland

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Breiðamerkursandur, Jökulsárlón, Austurland, Iceland

(Glacial outwash plain – ice floes and icebergs from the nearby glacier can drift through a channel and into the ocean)

Mountain View from Breiðamerkursandur, Jökulsárlón, Austurland, Iceland

Monument aux Morts, Sudurlandsvegur, Kögunarhóll, Iceland

Erected in 2006 The crosses represent the 52 individuals who have lost their lives on the road between Reykjavík and Selfoss since 1972.

(Geothermal activity can be seen in the background)

Panorama, Sudurlandsvegur, Kögunarhóll, Iceland

Snow Capped, Þingvallavegur, Mosfellsbær, Iceland

Misty Panorama, Þingvallavegur, Mosfellsbær, Iceland


Snow Capped behind Thingvellir Tourist Information Centre, Þingvallavegur, Thingvellir, Iceland

Misty Panorama, Thingvellir Tourist Information Centre, Þingvallavegur, Thingvellir, Iceland

Sunrise, Thingvellir Tourist Information Centre, Þingvallavegur, Thingvellir, Iceland

Sunrise, Þingvallavatn, Thingvellir, Iceland

Thingvalla Church & Prime Minister’s Summer Residence, Thingvallir, Selfoss, Iceland

Site of the Icelandic Parliament, Thingvellir National Park, Thingvellir, Selfoss, Iceland

“Þingvellir” means assembly fields and in the year 930 AD, Iceland’s historic democratic parliament – one of the first in the world – was founded here. It was the site of the annual parliament of Iceland from 930AD to 1798AD, when the parliament moved indoors to the Althing in Reykjavik. Most Icelandic people regard Þingvellir as a sacred place, a place of great beauty and an incredible stepping stone in their history. It is also the site of the declaration of Iceland’s peaceful conversion to Christianity in around the year 1000 AD by the great Law Speaker, Þorgeir Ljósvetningagoði Þorkelsson,. A unique compromise was arrived at which made Christianity the official religion of Iceland.

The geological feature behind is the meeting of the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates.

Tectonic Geological Feature, Thingvellir National Park, Thingvellir, Selfoss, Iceland

Þingvallavatn , Thingvellir National Park, Thingvellir, Selfoss, Iceland

Snowcaps, Thingvellir National Park, Thingvellir, Selfoss, Iceland

Reflections, Þingvallavatn, Thingvellir,Selfoss, Iceland

Iceland 2019 Part IX

Continuing the drive Eastward beyond Vik we reached the glacial lake / lagoon Fjallsárlón which is at the south end of the Icelandic glacier Vatnajökull. Fjallsjökull which is part of the bigger glacier reaches down to the water of the lake and some icebergs are drifting by on its surface. We were lucky to be able to take a ride around the lagoon in a rubber Zodiac!

 

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Iceland 2019 Part VII

Continuing the drive along the coastal road eastward toward the town of Vik and beyond.

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Dyrhólaey Lighthouse, Dyrhólaey, Vik, Iceland

Ocean View, Dyrhólaey, Vik, Iceland

Rock Bridge, Dyrhólaey, Vik, Iceland

Panorama, Vík í Mýrdal, Vik, Iceland

Vík í Mýrdal Church, Sunnubraut, Vík í Mýrdal, Vik, Iceland

Hillsides, Sunnubraut, Vík í Mýrdal, Vik, Iceland

Glacier, Þjóðvegur, Vík í Mýrdal, Vik, Suðurland, Iceland

Road Ahead, Þjóðvegur, Vík í Mýrdal, Vik, Suðurland, Iceland

Cloud Shrouded Mountains, Þjóðvegur, Laufskálavarða, Iceland

Road Bridge, Skaftártunguvegur, Katla Geopark, Suðurland, Iceland

Geirlandsvegur, Skaftárhreppur, Iceland

Rock Formation, Geirland, Kirkjubæjarklaustri, Iceland

“Church Floor”, Geirland, Kirkjubæjarklaustur, Iceland

“Church Floor” is a natural pavement of basalt. These are basalt columns in the earth, but only the tops can be seen, and as the name suggests, they have the appearance of a paved church floor. This lava formation has similar origins to the Giant’s Causeway in Ireland.

Snowcaps, Geirland, Kirkjubæjarklaustri, Iceland

Rocky Peak, Þjóðvegur, Hörgsland, Iceland

Small Waterfall, Þjóðvegur, Hörgsland, Iceland

Abandoned Hut, Þjóðvegur, Hörgsland, Iceland

Rocky Range, Þjóðvegur, Hörgsland, Iceland

Frozen Waterfalls, Þjóðvegur, Hörgsland, Iceland

Escarpment, Foss á Síðu, Þjóðvegur, Iceland

Triptychs

I decided to try my hand at something different….. this is the result!

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Fimiston Open Pit, Fimiston, Kalgoorlie-Boulder, Western Australia

The pit is oblong in plan view and is approximately 3.5 kilometres long, 1.5 kilometres wide and over 600 metres deep. Until 2016 it was Australia’s largest open cut gold mine now surpassed by Newmont’s Boddington gold mine also in Western Australia.

“The Swilkie”, Pentland Firth, Orkney Islands, Scotland UK

‘The Swilkie’ is the most dangerous whirlpool in the Pentland Firth. It is occasioned by the meeting of four or five contrary tides. According to Icelandic legend, the Swilkie is the place where the salt which maintains the saltiness of the oceans is ground in a giant quern, stolen from King Frodi by a sea-king named Mysing. When Mysing’s longship sank off Stroma under the weight of it, he still continued to grind away with it 15 fathoms down and to this day the sea can still be heard roaring through it.

‘The Swilkie” is off the northern coast of the Island of Stroma.

Bungee Jumper, Korintos Isthmus Bridge, Corinth Canal, Loutraki, Greece

Submersible Bridge (Isthmia Bridge), Corinth Canal, Isthmus of Corinth, Greece

The bridge at the Isthmia end of the canal submerges into the water to allow ships to enter or leave the canal.

Imerovigli, Santorini, Greece

The unit we stayed in for a few days is in the foreground – the first half-wall in the top right square.

Stadium, Ithoni, Ancient Messene, Greece

View Across Messian Gulf, Koroni, Greece

This is the view from the house where we stayed.

Panorama, Via del Voltone, San Marino, San Marino

Old Royal Naval College, Greenwich Peninsula, Greenwich, London, England UK