One of the most lovely places we have seen

I often say that it is the surprises or products of getting lost seem to be the best.

We spent several day in Seville Spain.

We went off on a walking tour with no objective.

Plaza de Espana!!

 

Africa: one of the favorite photos

These Zebras were getting ready for a great migration.

When I finally looked closely at the photo, I realized  these guys were all looking at the funny two legged creature with a camera.

 

The Danube - - by long ship

We began our trip on land visiting Prague and then from Passu to Budapest we took a long ship (a small one). I am sorry to hear from several people that they were not about to complete the trip without having to change boats.

The water level in the Danube is currently very low. 

We did not discover that.

This photo from the stern shows one of the bridges and how blue the Danube looks. It is, however, not that blue everywhere.

Our trip ended in Bavaria -Munich- and thus we saw five capitols of Europe.

 

On the road to Jasper, Alberta, Canada

Canada is our longtime friend and partner. My first trip there was when I was around eight years old. Coming from Illinois I was taken by the mountains. And, as the Mississippi River is anything but blue, I saw bright blue water.

On a road trip in 2013 we drove through a national park in the U.S. and two in Canada. Rangers explained about the color of Canadian water. It often  full of dust from the glaciers. Beautiful.

Newgrange, Ireland

Newgrange is a prehistoric(ca. 3000 b.c.e.) mound in County Meath, Ireland.

It is a short way from Dublin. If you don't want to drive there are bus tours from the city with stops at other interesting sites.

Look closely at the right side of the mound. Those are people waiting to go in.

The mound has a narrow (very) tunnel going inside.

It sets in such away that the sunlight strikes the back on December 21 - the Summer Solstice - or the longest day of the year. It was built to celebrate "the Birthday of the Sun" and a change from cold to the time for new crops.

 

Large Island off the coast of Norway

The ship was gliding along and the word went out that we would want to see something off the starboard bow.

A giant rock island sat before us and we noticed the hole in it and heard the myth of how it happened to be.

A natural wonder rather than being manmade. 

 

Sutter Buttes, California

One of the world's smallest mountain ranges, the Sutter Buttes rise out of the Sacramento Valley. You cannot hike them alone because they are on private land. They are volcanic in origin.  There is a company that leads tours.

This photo, taken from the window of an Alaska Airline jet, does not show how high and imposing the Buttes are.