Sunday, June 26, 2011

Miasto Ceramiki

I dragged Brandon on a pottery shopping trip to Poland this weekend, and I secretly think he actually enjoyed it!  Not only is it always fun to visit a new place, but the pottery was beautiful and we were lucky enough to get a tour of one of the pottery factories and see how these gorgeous pieces are created. 

I seem to be oversharing a bit lately with posting so many photos, but I was so impressed with the whole pottery making process that I just had to share!

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Poland-16-1Getting ready to go into the kiln.

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The artists at work…

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Poland-63-1The finished product!

Saturday, June 18, 2011

Look kids, Big Ben…

Yes, I know that Big Ben is actually the bell inside the tower, but I just had to pull out a quote from Clark W. Griswold.  I normally love the look of blue skies and white billowy clouds, but for some reason the dark storm clouds make this shot more interesting for me. 

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Beautiful York!

I already posted several photos that were taken in London during our recent trip to England, but I haven’t posted the ones from the gorgeous city of York.  This was our first time visiting York and we are so glad that we decided to venture outside of London (our favorite city) and do some exploring.  The Shambles, an adorable street in the old city, and the surrounding area had such wonderful little shops and restaurants to wander around in. The walled city is beautiful in so many ways and one of the highlights was the York Minster, which was truly breathtaking.  

They also have a market within the old city that sells crafts and some of the most wonderful foods.  The smells were incredible and I am surprised at the amount of willpower I had when walking through there.  Everything smelled fabulous and I could have eaten my way through that entire market.  They had everything from chocolates and fudges to pasteries, potatoes and paella.  It was wonderful!  Unfortunately, I was too distracted by the food to pull out my camera and get some shots of the market, so you’ll have to go there and check it out on your own!

York-54-1The Shambles

York-37-1York Minster

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York-111-1Inside the Minster

York-64-1Clifford’s Tower

Different perspectives.

These photos are far from perfect and I still struggle with getting the reds and pinks to look right in my photos, but there is something that I really like about both of them.  They are of the same flower, just from different angles.  Sadly, I didn’t nail the focus on the second one, but I still like the photo so I had to post it because it’s my blog and I can do what I want! Winking smile

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      {A Photo} Challenge

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Reflection

The grounds at Schwetzingen Palace were so peaceful and offered so many incredible sites and views.  Besides the tons of flower macros, this was one of my favorite shots from the day.

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Tuesday, June 14, 2011

A little birthday celebration!

Brandon and I spent a few days in England visiting both York and London.  One of the highlights of our trip was watching the Trooping the Colour, the Queen’s birthday celebration.  Her real birthday is in April, but each year they celebrate it in June with a parade and inspection of the troops. 

Not only was it pretty cool to see the Queen and other members of the Royal family, but the British Soldiers looked amazing!  Looking sharp in their dress uniforms, it is easy to think of this as just a celebration for the Queen, however, it was wonderful to watch the troops, many of them Veterans who have returned from combat tours.  It was really an incredible event.

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London-107-2A Grenadier Guard calling out commands

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London-171-1 Prince Andrew and Prince Harry.

London-231-3Prince William and Prince Charles

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London-256-3Looking pretty good for 85!

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London-264-5Prince William, Prince Charles, the Duke of Kent, and Princess Anne behind them.

London-272-7 The Household Cavalry

London-285-6Princess Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall ride with Prince Harry and Prince Andrew

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London-353-8Headed back to Buckingham Palace after the Trooping the Colour.

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London-362-10Prince William with Princess Anne looking on.

London-364-11Princess Anne

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London-430-17Watching the fly pass from the balcony