The World Through Our Lens
Photography of landscape we have observed during our travels.
Of all the ancient ruins in Rome, Italy, for me it was The Colosseum that I most looked forward to seeing and exploring. We did not make straight there on our first full day in the city, but instead preferred to set the stage by checking out The Roman Forum just east of there which gave us a sneak peak of the iconic stadium from one vantage point. Read more
In August 2015, Bob and I celebrated our 40th wedding anniversary so we wanted to further mark the occasion with a memorable trip. Never having visited Italy, we figured that a jaunt to the city of Rome would be a good place to start our 3-week vacation. After all, it is considered amongst the top ten romantic cities in the world. Read more
After waking up to a damp and foggy morning, Bob and I postponed our plans to drive directly to the Giant’s Causeway, in Northern Ireland. On one headland of that inspirational coastline, we discovered the dramatic ruins of Dunluce Castle. Read more
From the Visitor Centre at the entrance to Mesa Verde National Park in Colorado, Bob and I ascended a sinuous and steep roadway to the Museum that is located near Spruce Tree House, one group of cliff dwellings open to the public. When we pulled into the parking lot, my attention was immediately captured by the most outstanding examples of wildflowers, Musk Thistle (Carduus nutans), that were bobbing atop tall stalks next to one of the adobe outbuildings. Read more
Bob and I arrived in Northern Ireland a day earlier under rainy skies that persisted into the following morning and dampened our hopes for a clear day to visit the Giant’s Causeway. In light of the inclement weather, we chose to tour the Bushmill’s Distillery en route as a means of killing a couple of hours, and lo and behold, by the time we drove a little further east to the UNESCO World Heritage Site, the rain had stopped. Read more
Two butterfly reserves down and one to go, so Bob and I decided to give it a break and check out the local pyramids. We were becoming quite familiar with Highway 15 being the main road in and out of Zitacuaro, and again we were headed northwest, this time in the direction of Tuxpan, Mexico. Our goal was the Pyramids of San Felipe de los Alzati just outside a small village of the same name. Long before we uncovered the secret trail to the pyramids, we saw them looming on a distant hill. Read more
Dun Aonghasa Fort was our first destination of the day when we awoke on Inishmore Island, one of the islands in the chain known as the Aran Islands in County Galway, Ireland. This prehistoric fort is the most famous of those found on the Aran Islands, and it is perched at the brink of a 100-metre (328 ft) precipice buffeted by the north Atlantic Ocean. Its location is spectacular. Read more
It was becoming a habit, it seemed, for Bob and me to wake up between 6-6:30 a.m., and the day following our hike on the Bright Angel Trail was no different. Because our leg muscles were way too spent for any other activity, our intentions were to drive across Arizona into Colorado to Mesa Verde National Park. Once there, we were absolutely in awe of the excellent examples of preserved and protected cliff dwellings once used by Pueblo people. Read more
It was a glorious sunny afternoon when Bob and I set off to discover Cong Abbey Ruins, which lies close to the main street of Cong in County Mayo. The impressive ruins of the Augustinian Abbey stood proud against a bright blue sky while Bob and I immersed ourselves in the intriguing past of this important historic site. Read more
After our initial exploration of The Burren, Bob and I continued to the peak of the limestone plateau in order to locate Poulnabrone Dolmen. There, 8 kilometres (5 miles) south of Ballyvaughan in County Clare, it rises majestically and sits conspicuously in the middle of a field. Poulnabrone Dolmen, and many others, still stand today as stone sentinels at the gates of our civilization’s history, history that is laid bare on The Burren. Read more
