Tag Archives: #AtoZChallenge

P is for Paris ~ 2018 #AtoZ Challenge

Paris

P is for Paris

2018 #AtoZ Challenge

 

 

Today we’re flying to Europe – France, specifically – for P is for Paris day on the #AtoZ Challenge tour.

What can I say about our destination? Other than

J’adore Paris. C’est Magnifique!

 

The City of Lights earned that moniker from the 56,000 gas lamps illuminating the streets and famous monuments.

Probably the most iconic of all is the Eiffel Tower built for the Paris Universal Exposition in 1889.

P is for Paris

In 2003, I was fortunate to get to the top of the Eiffel Tower. The views from that vantage point looking down over the city are amazing.

If you start walking the Avenue des Champs-Élysées at the Arc de Triomphe, by the time you reach Place de la Concorde, you will have walked 1.9 kilometres.

P is for Paris
Arc de Triomphe
P is for Paris
Obelisque in Place de la Concorde
P is for Paris
Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel

If you look through the centre arch of the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel (at the Louvre) above, you can see the gold at the top of the obelisque and beyond that, the Arc de Triomphe. All perfectly lined up.

Boat tours on the Seine take you past many landmark locations.

If you’re lucky enough, you might even get to climb the steeples at Notre Dame Cathedral and get up close and personal (sort of) with the chimeras gracing the building’s facade.

P is for Paris
Notre Dame Cathedral

When I returned to the City of Lights in 2014, my mobility was somewhat hampered. I tore my gastrocnemius muscle shortly before my trip. At least I had graduated from crutches to a cane by then.

 

 

 

O is for Ottawa ~ 2018 #AtoZ Challenge

Ottawa

O is for Ottawa

2018 #AtoZ Challenge

 

We’re back in Canada today in the nation’s capital for O is for Ottawa day of the #AtoZChallenge.

Today’s post ties in with K is for Kingston. It was in Kingston that the Prime Minister at the time, Sir John A. MacDonald is said to have consulted with the Witch of Plum Hollow (also known as Mother Barnes) regarding the location of the what would become our capital.

Below is the centre block of the Parliament Buildings during a changing of the guard ceremony.

O is for Ottawa
By Yann Fauché & Alma Mulalic [CC BY-SA 2.5 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-
In addition to being the capital city of Canada, Ottawa is well-known for the Rideau Canal. In the winter, it becomes the nation’s (if not the world’s) longest skating rink.

O is for Ottawa
By Originally uploaded by User:SimonP [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/)], from Wikimedia Commons
The city boasts two universities – Carleton and the University of Ottawa and some college campuses.

If you’re interested in the paranormal, Ottawa doesn’t disappoint. Some buildings in the city are reputed to be haunted.

The Bytown Museum is and one of the stops on the Haunted Walk of Ottawa tour.

And, if you want to stay in a place that’s haunted, there’s the former Ottawa jail.

There’s much more to say about Ottawa, but the best way to experience the place is to visit.

I have loads of pictures taken in the city, but they must be “pre-digital” camera and tucked away in photo boxes because when I searched the computer(s), I couldn’t find a one. *sniff*

 

N is for New Orleans ~ 2018 #AtoZ Challenge

New Orleans

N is for New Orleans

2018 #AtoZChallenge

We’re back in the US today, in the southern state of Louisiana for N is for New Orleans.

The city, nicknamed “The Big Easy”, is famous for its French Quarter, probably mostly for Mardi Gras and Bourbon Street.

Tourism promotes “Voodoo” although not many people are actual practitioners. Marie Laveau (1801-1881) was known as the “Voodoo Queen of New Orleans”.

Four active streetcar lines ply the streets of the city.

Because the city is below sea level, the graves in the cemeteries are above ground in elaborate mausoleums like these in Lafayette Cemetery No. 1.

N is for New Orleans
By No machine-readable author provided. Jan Kronsell assumed (based on copyright claims). [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html)], via Wikimedia Commons
Songs written about the city include Johnny Horton’s, Battle of New Orleans

and The Animals, House of the Rising Sun.

M is for Munich ~ 2018 #AtoZ Challenge

Munich

M is for Munich

2018 #AtoZChallenge

We’re back in Germany today on M is for Munich day in the 2018 #AtoZ challenge.

Munich is the capital of Bavaria and the third largest city in Germany. Berlin and Hamburg are one and two.

Famous for Oktoberfest celebrations, Munich is a city of amazing architecture, and hosts many museums, and universities.

Old Town Hall…

M is for Munich
By Pedelecs (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
New Town Hall…

M is for Munich
By Lukas Gerhold (own work, Original description page is/was here) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
There’s plenty to see and do in Munich, but I’ll leave you to look it up yourselves.

L is for Lima ~ 2018 #AtoZ Challenge

Lima

L is for Lima

2018 #AtoZ Challenge

We’re headed south today. South America, that is, and the country of Peru. Lima is the country’s capital and is one of the largest cities in this southern hemisphere’s continent.

The National University of San Marcos, founded in 1552,  is Lima’s oldest university and is the longest continuously running academic institution in all of the Americas.

Next year, 2019, Lima will host the Pan American Games.

L is for Lima
By David Bolsón, Uwebart, David Felipe Ruiz Hoyos, Avodrocc, Hector Becerra, Uighjot120 [CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

K is for Kingston ~ 2018 #AtoZ Challenge

Kingston

K is for Kingston

2018 #AtoZ Challenge

 

We’re back in Canada today, Eastern Ontario and the city of Kingston. Located on the north shore of Lake Ontario where it narrows into the St. Lawrence River, Kingston is a historic city.

At the eastern end of the city near the Cataraqui River stands Fort Henry, a stronghold built in the 1800s.

Kingston is also famous for the former Kingston Penitentiary (home to some notorious criminals before its closure) and the Prison for Women.

Sir John A. MacDonald, Canada’s first Prime Minister, lived in Kingston in Bellevue House. Rumour has it; he consulted with the Witch of Plum Hollow over the location of the nation’s capital.

 

J is for Jacksonville ~ 2018 #AtoZ Challenge

Jacksonville

J is for Jacksonville

2018 #AtoZ Challenge


We’re off to the sunny south today, well maybe not sunny, but Florida is known as “the Sunshine state.”

Just over the border is the city of Jacksonville.

In May 1901, what started as a kitchen fire ravaged the city.

J is for Jacksonville
By Mathew105601 (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

I is for Inverness ~ 2018 #AtoZ Challenge

Inverness

I is for Inverness

2018 #AtoZ Challenge

We’re back in Scotland today visiting the city of Inverness. Straddling the River Ness, this city lies at the mouth (Inver means mouth) of the river where it meets the Moray Firth.

In recent years, the Town House has been undergoing refurbishment. To hide the ugly scaffolding, they came up with this ingenious idea.

I is for Inverness

The shroud looks like curtains opening revealing the inside of this grand building. But better still, the curtains look like the front facade.

The building was recently unveiled and you can see the restored exterior at BBC.com.

H is for Halifax ~ 2018 #AtoZ Challenge

Halifax

H is for Halifax

2018 #AtoZ Challenge

We’re back in Canada today visiting the city of Halifax, located in the eastern province of Nova Scotia.

H is for Halifax
By Thorfinn Stainforth (Own work) [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html), CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/) or CC BY-SA 2.0 ca (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/ca/deed.en)], via Wikimedia Commons

The Pier 21 museum tells the story of immigration to Canada, including the Home Children in the 1860s-1930s, and more recent newcomers to Canada.

In 2003 Hurricane Juan caused a great deal of destruction in the city when he made landfall.

But before that, the Halifax explosion in 1917 decimated the city.

H is for Halifax
By Wallace R. MacAskill [Public domain or Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

 

G is for Glasgow ~ 2018 #AtoZ Challenge

G is for Glasgow

G is for Glasgow

2018 #AtoZ Challenge

 

We’re back in Scotland today visiting one of my favourite cities. Home to museums, universities and colleges, Glasgow also boasts many museums, heritage locations, and more.

The city’s Necropolis (even if you don’t care to wander through cemeteries is a place to visit. The architecture of some of the stones is amazing. Mausoleums and vaults dot the landscape in the city of the dead. This monument is modest compared to some.

G is for Glasgow

Do you remember the nursery rhyme ‘Wee Willie Winkie?’

G is for Glasgow

The Duke of Wellington Statue in front of the Gallery of Modern Art. And, no, you’re not seeing things. The statue is wearing a traffic cone on his head. Even the horse has been seen wearing a matching ‘chapeau.’

G is for Glasgow

The band Caledonia (a fitting name for a Scottish band, don’t you think?) playing on Buchanan Street.

Glasgow is also the setting for Caro Ramsay‘s Anderson and Costello crime series.

Shopping, pubs, museums. Glasgow has a little something for everyone. You can see why I like it so much.