Weekend Reflections

That's about 30 reflections in one photo
(probably a record for me).  This
is a shop near the Opéra Garnier, in Paris.

[To see more Weekend Reflections, 
visit James's meme.]

Thursday Challenge—"sun"

In Bordeaux, runners along the 
Garonne River 
greet the rising sun.

[To see more of the Thursday Photo
Challenge, go here.]

ABC Wednesday—L is for "leopard"

Back in July, the nice folks from the
Columbus Zoo brought some
babies to our office—including a pair
of very rare one-month-old
clouded leopards (and I was just itching
to hold this sweet little girl!).

[To see more ABC posts, go here.]

Paris, 5 a.m.

Even when there's no traffic (clearly, the
"city that never sleeps" is the
one I currently live in, not the one
I just left), you still  have to stop
at all those red lights.

[Linking back to Ruby Tuesday and Our World Tuesday.]

The bird market

Every Sunday, on the Ile de la Cité . . .
you'll find the Marché aux Oiseaux.
Kids love it—and, honestly, adults do too.

[Linking back to Monday Mellow Yellows] 

inSPIREd Sunday

This is the church of St. Anthony, in Padua.
His remains are here, but you can
see his vocal cords, on display in a reliquary. 
(Why didn't they decay with the rest
of his body?  Supposedly because he was
such a great orator.)

[To see more churches from around
the world, go here.]

The Weekend in Black and White

An old boat that was washed up on the
beach at Skansbukta (bukta = bay in
Norwegian).  This is also the place where
some of us took a "polar plunge,"
which means what you think it does—and,
yes, that water was cold!

[To see more b/w images, visit Dragonstar's meme.]

Weekend Reflections

I hunkered down as low as I could get
in a Zodiak to capture this kittiwake coming 
in for a perfect two-point landing.

[To see more Weekend Reflections,
visit James's meme.]

Far, far away . . .

Longyearbyen doesn't just seem like the end 
—or I guess that would be the top—
of the world.  For a big-city (the one that's 
5,581 km away) girl like me, it
was both strange and wonderful, though I'd
probably go stir-crazy in 3 days.

[Linking back to signs, signs.]

ABC Wednesday—K is for "kangaroo"

This 5-month-old kangaroo was one of the
young animals brought to our office
last July by the nice folks from the Columbus Zoo.
They named her Mrs. Wolowitz (a character on TV?)
 and kept her safe and cozy inside her very own
fleece-lined denim pouch.  Sweet!

[To see more ABC posts, go here.]

Oslo Radhus

. . . the city hall, a fairly modern building
(only completed in 1950), but with some
interesting architectural doo-dads.
And this is where the Nobel Peace Prize
ceremony is held each year, on December 10.

[Linking back to Ruby Tuesday and Our World Tuesday.]

Let there be lights

These fixtures were in a hotel I stayed
in recently, in Oslo—a well-done example of  "more is more."  (It works for me.)

[Linking back to Monday Mellow Yellows.]

inSPIREd Sunday

The Svalbard Church is in Longyearbyen, on Spitsbergen,
and is the only church in The Svalbard Archipelago
of Norway.  (This wooden church was built in
1958 to replace the former one, which was destroyed
during WWII.)  Its real claim to fame is that at 78+°N latitude,
it is the northernmost church in the world.

* By the way, this is my 3,000th post (!) *

[To see more churches from around the world, go here.]

Downtown Oslo

Oslo is a beautiful city, very walkable
and very friendly, with lots of
gardens, fountains, and sculpture to
admire and enjoy. 

[Linking back to Pink Saturday at
How Sweet the Sound.]

Weekend Reflections

This is one of our guides on the Arctic expedition; 
she did most of her studies in Ecology and Environment
in the Himalayas.  When I took this shot of her goggles
(in a place where we hiked called Faksevagen), she said,
"Why does everyone want to take a picture of me like this?"
Maybe I wasn't the only Weekend Reflections 
maven on that trip.

[To see more Weekend Reflections, go here.]

Thursday Challenge—"hair"

I may not have a lot of hair (perpetual
pixie cut)—but my daughters definitely do
(thanks to those good Sicilian genes
from their father's side of the family, probably)!

[To see more of the Thursday Photo
Challenge, visit Dale's meme.]

ABC Wednesday—J is for "jellyfish"

This fairly large (+/- a foot across) flower-shaped 
jellyfish (can you see the clear "petals"?) 
must be one hardy specimen . . .

because this is the next picture I took.

[To see more ABC posts, go here.]

Akershus Castle

It's also a fortress, and has been successfully
protecting Oslo since sometime in the early 1300s.
 It's open to the public but is still a military area 
(don't when these cannons were last used though).

[Linking back to Ruby Tuesday and Our World Tuesday.]

crafty candelabra?

Last Sunday I showed you one of the spires of the  
17th-century Domkirke (the Oslo Cathedral).  Though 
I wasn't able to get inside the church, I did enjoy 
the very nice crafts fair going on in the churchyard—
all handmade items and and mostly ceramic
and glass. Very colorful!

[Linking back to Blue Monday at Backyard Neighbor.]

Engine 8 Ladder 2

Hard to believe it's been 15 years since the
firefighters at this midtown station
got called downtown to the Trade Towers.
Eight of the 343 firefighters killed that day came 
from this house, including their captain.

[Linking back to Monday Murals
at Oakland Daily Photo.]

The Weekend in Black and White

As it turned out, I didn't get to see a whole
lot of polar bears when I was up
in the Arctic—and the ones I did see were
pretty much a speck on the horizon,
even with a 600mm lens (well, you can't get
close to them anyway, unless your ship is 
equipped to deal with pack ice and you get lucky).
However, this big guy was there to greet
us when we got to the airport in Longyearbyen.

[To see more b/w pics, visit Dragonstar's meme.]

Up, up, and away (again)

I'm off tonight, this time to a slightly warmer
place.   Should have Internet, unlike
 in the Arctic, so I'll post ahead and hope 
you'll visit while I'm on the road.

[To see more Skywatch pics, go here.]

Thursday Challenge—"cheap"

Saw these for sale at a midweek street
fair near where I work in midtown Manhattan.
I think they definitely fit the category.

[To see more of the Thursday Photo
Challenge, visit Dale's meme.]

ABC Wednesday—I is for "ice"

This is Hansbreen (breen in Norwegian = glacier).

We hauled a piece of clear,
clean ice aboard our Zodiac . . .

and brought it to the ship's bartender,
who put it in our drinks later.
(I didn't wait.  I picked a piece of glacial
ice straight out of the water and ate it;
never tasted anything cleaner.)

[To see more ABC posts, go here.]

Beware the bears!

There wasn't actually a big risk of encountering
a polar bear just then, but we didn't
take any chances all the same.  We were headed
out of Ny-Alesund (now a research station)
to see the mast from which Amundsen launched the
airship that took him and two others
over the North Pole.
{And everyone on our expedition got one of
these nice warm red parkas to take home.}

[Linking back to Ruby Tuesday and Our World Tuesday.]

Blue Monday

Coming in to Longyearbyen (Spitsbergen) at the end of an
incredible journey.  This is about the point in the
year when the sun begins to set and the residents of this
northernmost Norwegian town enjoy the
"blue hour" 24/7 until the sun disappears altogether,
to reappear sometime in March.

[To see more Blue Monday posts,
visit Jeanne ay Backyard Neighbor.]
 

inSPIREd Sunday

This is one of the spires of the Domkirke, in Oslo.
I tried to get inside to take pictures twice
and never did manage to do it.
The first time there was a concert going on, the
second time it was a funeral.

[To see more churches from around the world, go here.]

The Weekend in Black and White

Am enjoying some major jet lag here and
still trying to get back on track.
Here's a curious Norwegian bird that
I found in Oslo.  Later I would see hundreds
of thousands while visiting the
Svalbard Archipelago.

[To see more b/w pics, visit Dragonstar's meme.]

Weekend Reflections

I'm back from my trip to the Arctic.  Not sure you
can appreciate that part of the planet
unless you've been there, but I can say that I
now get it.  Stunning, fascinating, challenging—and
full of beautiful reflections like this one.

[To see more Weekend Reflections, visit James's meme.]