Inside the Catedral de Guadalajara

The walls, ceilings and columns of this beautiful cathedral are made from white marble. The church is enormous and richly decorated. It is one of dozens of churches in downtown Guadalajara. A different church is easily visible from just about every vantage point. 

Guadalajara Cathedral

The twin spires of the Basilica of Guadalajara. 

The Market in Guadalajara Plaza

Hundreds of colourful candies and confections for sale in an indoor market where anything from shoes to clothing to every kind of fruit and vegetable imaginable can be purchased. 

Handicrafts on Display

Sidewalk vendors offer their art for sale in Guadalajara Plaza. 

Museo Regional

One of many museums displaying the art and history of Mexico. 

Teatro Degollado

One of the many historical sites in Guadalajara Plaza. 

Guadalajara, Mexico

I arrived in Guadalajara on Sunday, December 11. Guadalajara is one of the largest cities in Mexico, with a population of over 6 million people. The weather was great all week with mid-day temperatures in the 28C region and cloudless blue skies.

Napoleon Says Hi from Cherbourg

I know! What's with the palm trees!!

Cherbourg, France

Arrived in Paris today and drove directly to Cherbourg, arriving about 2:00pm. A beautiful sunny day with temperatures about 8C. Cherbourg is a port town and large ferries from just across the Channel in Ireland and the UK dock close to my hotel. This picture was taken from my third floor window.

Mocking Gerry Adams, Belfast, Northern Ireland

This mural on the Shankill road depicts Adams in a business suit, as he usually presents himself to the media, and as an armed terrorist. 

Mural Paying Homage to Queen Elizabeth

One of many murals on the Shankill Road supporting the Queen and the Monarchy.

Monument to Catholic Dead

This monument on the Falls Road is a tribute to those on the Republic side who died during the Troubles. 

Shankill Road Mural

This mural promoting the Ulster Young Militants is one of many promoting an armed response to the conflict in Northern Ireland. 

Bobby Sands - Falls Road

This mural of hunger striker Bobby Sands who died in prison is a dominant feature on the Falls Road in the Catholic section of Belfast. 

Belfast, Northern Ireland

This is the Prince Albert Clock Tower near the Lagan River in the shipbuilding part of town. It looks like my picture is crooked, but it's actually the clock which is leaning 5 feet off center at the top. The yellow crane that you can see to the lower right of the tower is called Goliath and is one of two massive cranes imported from Germany for the construction of the Titanic.

I arrived in Belfast on Saturday and took this picture the following day during a tour of the city. 

Harmony

This sculpture in the Aurajoki River is called Harmony by Achim Kuhn.

Turku Castle, Finland

Built in the 1280s, Turku Castle has been preserved as a prime example of Finland's heritage.

Turku, Finland

Today I drove to Turku, about 50 km. west of Salo. Turku is the oldest city in Finland, and one of the largest. A river runs through Turku as well. In this picture we see the pharmacy museum, a building that dates back to 1700.

Salo, Finland

Yesterday, I flew from Jonkoping to Copenhagen to Helsinki and drove about 100 km west to Salo. A pretty town with a small river running through it; right in front of my hotel actually.

Grenna, Sweden

Grenna is a beautiful small town close to Jonkoping in Sweden. They claim to have invented the candy cane. In 1859 a widow started making "peppermint rocks" to support herself. However, these striped red and white sticks have no hook at the end...so I don't know...

Jonkoping, Sweden

I've been in Jonkoping all week, but of course didn't get around to taking any pictures until the weather changed from beautiful to crappy. Here we see the edge of downtown as viewed from the pier on the lake.

I Kid You Not!

You need to know your fractions in Turtle Lake! How else are you going to know if 2 7/8 Street is before or after 2 1/2!! (Yes there is a 2 1/2 and also a 2 1/4.)

Turtle Lake, WI

Turtle Lake, Wisconsin is a small town an hour and a half north east of Minneapolis. People here like the outdoors, and hunt and fish in the summer, drive dirt bikes and ATVs, and ice fish and ride snowmobiles in the winter. The town is dominated by a huge casino. I did visit the casino, but only because the two best restaurants in town are inside it!

St. Peter's Church

A very old Catholic church in Jaffa.

Ramses II's Gate Garden

This is the reconstructed gateway to a building from the time of Egyptian ruler Ramses II (1400-1200 BCE). A portion of the jamb, inscribed with hieroglyphics, was discovered by an Israeli archeologist in the late 1950s.

The Mediterranean in Jaffa

Some newer construction close to the port in old Jaffa.

Tel Aviv Seen From Jaffa

Tel Aviv, as seen from the hill in old Jaffa.

Old Jaffa, Israel

On Friday before leaving, I spent a couple of hours exploring old Jaffa, which is located just south of Tel Aviv along the Mediteranean Sea.

Mini Israel

On Wednesday night, my friend from the Lod plant, Asaf, took me to visit Mini Israel. The Park is located in Latrun, just off the main highway from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and only a few minutes from Ben Gurion Airport. It contains scale models in incredible detail of the main attractions from all over Israel laid out so as to correspond to where they are geographically. I didn't have my camera so I can't show you pictures. The following link will take you to pictures and more information. Afterwards, we had supper back in Tel Aviv at an outdoor restaurant overlooking the beach. http://www.minisrael.co.il/

A More Colourful Sunset

Tried agin Tuesday night to get better sunset photo from the balcony. This one's not too bad.

Sunset on Sunday

I have access to the executive lounge which has a balcony overlooking the beach. It got a bit cloudy on the horizon and kind of messed up my planned sunset shot, but it still looks pretty good. People still swimming even after dark. The water is warm but there are stinging jellyfish which are impossible to spot in the dark! It's a tough life.

Mini Vacation

So much clean white sand and great surf right across the street from my hotel. It's like a mini one-day dream vacation in paradise. I gotta come back here!

Tel Aviv, Israel

I arrived early Sunday morning at 3:30 am. Got up at noon later Sunday, looked out the window and found myself in paridise. This shot of the beach doesn't do it justice. It was well above 30C and humid, but there was a breeze. Went swimming in the sea and the water is so warm. Great waves too.

The Lanchid Across the Danube in Budapest

The Lanchid, or chain bridge, links Buda and Pest across the Danube. Built by Adam Clark, a Scot, in 1849, this major landmark is closed to vehicular traffic every Saturday in the summer and open to pedestrians. Kiosks for souvenirs and food are set up at each end of the bridge and bands play at both ends while throngs of people walk back and forth.

Diosgyor Castle

Diosgyor Castle in Miskolc was built in the mid 1200s and for a time was home to the King of Hungary. The Turks held the castle and the country for about a century and a half starting in 1544. The Austrians overcame the Turks and for a time the castle was a mint and treasury. A Hungarian revolt in 1706 led to the destruction of the town and the gradual decay of the castle.

Miskolc, Hungary

I left Montreal Sunday night and arrived in Budapest Monday morning and drove to Miskolc. It was a beautiful warm, sunny day for a drive. To avoid the traffic in Budapest, at the suggestion of the car rental agent, I drove through a number of small towns, and picked up the highway to Miskolc east of Budapest. The drive took about 2 1/2 hours.

Today (Thursday, July 21) I drove to Lillafüred, about 20 km. from Miskolc to eat dinner in a castle!

Waterfall in Lillafüred

This is the highest waterfall in Hungary. There are also caves in the rock where hundred thousand year old flint implements were found.