Thursday Challenge - WOODEN

Entry for this week's Thursday Challenge which is WOODEN (Furniture, Building, Craft, Trees etc).  

Wordless Wednesday - 15

"Eye" of London!

No matter how many things we share about London, there always seems to be something more that  comes new and fresh.  It's like "Akshaya pathram"(means inexhaustible vessel in Hindu mythology) - more you visit London, the the more comes out, the more you experience. There's always so many things to do do and see in London.  And one can see story in every street, every lane, every sculpture.  It's truly a global city!

One can get a great view of London from a few places.  Take a helicopter ride through London (London sightseeing flights / pleasure flights), climb up the Parliment hill to see the city's dashing skyline, or take a flight in London eye.  The last one seems the most easiest option for one time or many time tourists.  

London eye is considered as the tallest Ferris wheel in Europe. Ever since it's inception in 1999, the new year fireworks has been moved over from its traditional trafalgar square to grandeur Thames river on London eye with backdrops of big ben.  

One should definitely take the flight on the London eye. For people who get nausea while going on Ferris wheel, or who are generally scared of it, this does not rotate fast.  So you will actually enjoy the journey the way it moves inch by inch. Overall flight journey will be about 30 minutes.  

As it reaches the top, you can see the huge buildings that occupies its skyline. can see the micro people making macro moves on the roads, the hustle and bustle of this city that has zillion reasons for jubilation. 

 

 People who look like mosquitoes :)

A tip from "I've-seen-London-so-many-times" girl is that choose which part of the day you want to go on this London Eye's flight - day time, twilight or night. Each one is different and beautiful in it's own way!

The train that's leaving Victoria Train station

You can see the station, train, bridges, umpteen boats running their cruises, Westminster abbey and big ben, Canary Wharf, some notable buildings, some sky scrappers that altogether decorate the London city.  London Tower bridge is not visible from here (or so I think!). So don't waste your time searching for them like how I did!    

 Some infamous sky scrappers visible from the london eye

There are priority boarding/fast track tickets which comes about £30 (approx), because no matter how crappy the weather goes, there always seems to be heavy crowd and Q to get into this.  There are also Combo tickets available - London Eye + boat cruise, London eye + Madame Tussards + London Dungeons etc.  Opt for any of these combo tickets of your choice. You also get 10% discount if you book the tickets online.  

 Taken the co-flight passengers who were busy peeping through the window

There are 32 flight capsules in the London eye, which never stops while the wheel is under operation.  Which means you have to get in and get down while it is moving.  But as said, the movement is very slow.  While getting out of the flight, you may feel like you're asked to jump from the slow running bus or train!

So, I'll stop this post with one last picture taken during the twilight. It looks gorgeous during twilight and night time.  The lights actually dazzle on the Thames river.A perfect photographer's opportunity!  

To view other posts about London:-

Trafalgar Square

Statue of Bodicea 

Tower Bridge

Palace of Westminster

Emporer Trajan's Statue

Another picture of London Eye

What to do in Ilford, London

My first experience and sight seeing in London

Landscape along the road

Travelling gives us the option of gazing through various kind of landscapes - mountains, fields, sea, lake, tall buildings.  I love ogling through the window to see the lovely nature.  Sometimes, I find it difficult to choose which side of the window to see, because I encounter 2 different kinds of landscapes.  While travelling in train, I would always be jealous of the one who sits on the other side of the window, and keep staring at their side, because the scenery looks better on that side! 

And for some reason, when I drive the car, I cannot enjoy the scenery to the utmost.  I never wanted to lose out on my concentration.  But over years, I 've learnt to admire them even while driving. But I still prefer sitting alongside or at the back than as a driver. 

Driving in European country roads are so much fun for these reason- you don't know which side to see and enjoy.  And one of the most common sights are these rapeseed fields. Basking under the sun, the yellow carpet seems such a grandeur. They are so eye captivating scene that you hunt for your camera hidden inside your handbag and take so many pictures of these beautiful fields. To be able to see them or go inside the farm, you should be travelling along the country side. That's the easiest access. 

Panoramic picture of these fields

That's how we stopped our car in the parkway, and walked all the way on the narrow stretch of road to see these beautiful rapeseed field.  The landscape was so mesmerizing. Whenever I see these yellow fields, all that comes to my mind is "Thuje dekha tho..." song.  Ofcourse they are mustard fields from our own Punjab. Both these flowers belong to same family.  So why bother.  
Are you able to relate these fields to DDLJ? I'm sure 9/10 people would do!  

Blueberry & honey yogurt

Fruits are always a healthy choice irrespective of the fact if you need to add some weight or shed some.  They make a great choice for smoothies or fresh flavored yogurts or simply to bite and eat them.  Berries are my favourite lot, and my weekly grocery shopping is never complete without berries.  I buy and stock atleast 2 variety of berries in fridge.   


Blueberry & honey flavored yogurt


Ingredients:
Blueberries - handful of them (say about 10)
Honey - 3 tsp (can be replaced with 2 tsp sugar)
Yogurt - 1 cup
broken nuts - 1 spoon  (I used almond & cashew)  


Procedure:
Whisk yogurt nicely adding 2 tsp of honey.  
Add blueberries (either whole or chopped or ground) into the yogurt
Mix them gently 
Top them with 1 more tsp of honey and scatter some nuts
Preparation time: 5 minutes


The mentioned quantity can be served for 1 person, and can be consumed as a snack anytime of the day.  It's healthy and extremely tasty.  
Blueberries can be replaced by strawberries / raspberries / cherry / banana  - or any fruit of your choice.  You can also use chocolate powders or choco chips into them to give a different taste.  I once tried banana yogurt with Boost (chocolate drink).  Trust me - they tasted great.

Callander Village and Highland cow

Scotland is known for its highlands. They are both culturally and geographically distinguishable from the lowlands (cities) - which are usually populated than the highlands.  They are a large stretch of mountain ranges  dotted with "lochs" - the lakes. Travelling in Scotland is incomplete without hitting the highlands.


Callander is a small town in the region of Stirling in Scotland situated on the River Teith. The town serves as the eastern gateway to the Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park, the first National Park in Scotland.  Due to its location it is often referred to as the "Gateway to the Highlands".   So people stop by here for break whichever direction they enter the highlands.  Its a beautiful little town with nice traditional candy shops, icecream parlors, and you get some of the best Scottish wollen stuff and souvenirs from the shops.  

River Teith in Callander with Trossachs Mountains at the backdrop

There's a little highland farm in Callander which is a must visit if you are around here.  They raise a few highland cow there. The breed is developed in the Scottish Highlands and Western Isles of Scotland.   Highland cattle or kyloe are a Scottish breed of cattle with long horns and long wavy hair that covers their eyes, which usually help them sustain harsh winters.  

Hamish lazing around in the farm and posing 

Some of the highland cows were exported to other countries to be protected and bred in their zoo.  Scottish cow souvenirs (Postcards, wall hangings, key chains, and soft toys) are very famous.   See the another type of highland cow here (one without horns).  Aren't they cute? 

Thursday Challenge - HOT

TC this week is Hot as in fire, burner, candle, day, hot springs, hot air balloon.  Wasn't sure if I could post pictures of HOT models ;)
Hence safely posted the candles for this week's Thursday Challenge.  These are the decorations during the Karthikai Deepam (literally means festival of lights), that falls usually occurs in the month of December (Karthika month).  Celebrated similar to diwali by lighting diyas and bursting crackers.  

Wordless Wednesday - 14

Katy Perry's "Part of Me"

I don't want to start every music post by saying I love music.  Sometimes, along with the singer's voice, the picturisation should also be equally good.  Otherwise the efforts of the singer and music director goes vein.  And there gets buried the beautiful lyrics too.  Going in that order, there are very few songs that touch our heart with the voice, lyrics and picturisation.  Whilst there are some songs that you can just listen needless of how crappy the visualization can go.  

I'll leave that point and let you decide if this below video is a good one or not.  Katy Perry's song "Part of me" - ofcourse it's a gripping song that you'll hymn once you get the notes.  

Malta houses and Architecture

Malta, although one of the smallest in size , it is a densely populated country,  and is a renowned tourist destination all through the year.  Malta has a combination of British and Italian cultural influence.  British because they ruled Malta until 1964, and Italy is the nearest country.











Malta cannot be concluded as a beach destination.  It has various other recreational activities, historical monuments - 9 of which is UNESCO Heritage Site.  That also includes the Megalithic temples - which are said to be the oldest free standing temples in the world. 







What attracted me the most in Malta are these unique architecture.  Malta is nothing but a lump of limestone in the Mediterranean, so its these stones that you see everywhere.  Limestone houses with colored windows and doors make a beautiful combination along with the tranquil blue mediterranean waters.  

It isn't uncommon to see the water pipes and electrical wires all around the exteriors of the house.  There are some modern architectures / apartments, but Maltese have managed quite well to maintain the tradition of building limestone houses. 


Click here to read other posts on Malta.

Granite City

3rd most populous city in Scotland, Aberdeen is also known as "Granite city", "Silver city with the golden sands"and "Oil/Energy capital of Europe".  No prize for guessing, Aberdeen has a lovely coast line. Situated North East of Scotland, Granite, oil & gas are some of the main industries.  It is also an important port in Scotland. Probably because of their North sea oil industry, Aberdeen has always been a prosperous city with least unemployment and crime rates. 

Because of its high mica content in the granite, the buildings actually sparkles when its sunny!  The city is dotted with grand and ornate granite buildings around.  The above clock tower is a part of local town house and county hall located near to city centre. 

Since Aberdeen is far up North, it does not attract as many tourists.  But this is a great place to see / stop by.  Dunnottor Castle in Stonehaven is about 15 miles away from Aberdeen.   

Thursday Challenge - BIG

Olympic Torch Relay

The Olympic Torch has made it's visit to Scotland, has went across all the highlands and islands, and finally reached Edinburgh today.  When S told that it's on a weekday I lost all my hope until this morning,when I checked the website that its this evening between 5.45 to 6.15 it passes through my area.  I was all excited, left work sharp on time, and came home, refreshed myself, and took my gear to take photos.  
The whole area was flooded with localities that were all cheering...It is such an iconic moment for something like this can never happen again....And being part and witness it was so much fun.  

Anne Frank's Birthday

Today is Anne Frank's birthday.  This day marks as what would have been her 83rd birthday.  All that I knew of Anne Frank from school days were through an English prose chapter "Ode to my fountain pen" - that was it.  After marriage, when we planned to make a visit to Netherlands, I came across Anne Frankhuis, and started to read articles about her.  Then  I grabbed a local copy of the book "The Diary of a Young Girl" and completed with tears rolling through my eyes!  Such an immense and inspiring story - well a true story. And then when I visited Anne Frank house in a week's time after reading, the whole book flashed like a movie in front of me.  It was such an emotional moment then.  Anne Frank House & Museum in Amsterdam is a must visit whether you know or not about world history.  It was the hiding place for Anne Frank when she wrote her diary during the Second World War.  We saw what was once their bed room, hiding place, office room etc.  


Tourist info is that this is always a crowded spot, so book the tickets online to avoid the que.  I waited for about 2 hours (longer than my Tirupati Darshan) to get in.  I can't describe the experience in words.  It's a place that's quite, respectful, moving, full of history and inspiring!  
Happy Birthday to you Anne Frank!


PS: If you don't know about Anne Frank, click here.  
  

Song for today

When it comes to music, there is no language bar according to me!  I can enjoy any kind of music - from heavy guitar, to ear tearing drums, to melody - Any sound that is rhythmic - the chirping of bird, even when seagulls screech!  I remember how much fun we used to have tapping the bench for our favourite music during school days.  Although I like broad genre of songs, I choose what song I want to hear on that given part of the day.  That depends on where I am and what I am doing, and who is along with me!  At the blue hour of the day, my choice is always a classical melody.  


"Aaraanu Nee" is a beautiful such malayalam song sung by Swetha Mohan.  Honestly, I don't know any of Malayalam, or the meaning of its lyrics, but what I can assure you is that it puts you to a peaceful sleep! 

Back from AWOL!!

After being AWOL for quite sometime  I am now back to blogging, back to normal life, back to work, back to cooking and cleaning!  Had an amazing 2 week break with friends around.  Had met with some friends whom I haven't seen for about 10 years.  There were lot of travelling, driving, and photographs.  Hope all is well with you all.  It's now time for me to catch up with those myriad unread posts. 
For now I'll leave this space with a beautiful sunset picture captured from my window.