Gayle's Parting Pics!

So, you already know that I left our camera in America...our Christmas vacation was divided in two parts, the first half was with Jason's family in Indiana and the second half was with my family in Nevada. So my mom was sweet enough to send me some pictures she took with her camera! These are all taken right before we were heading to the airport to go back to London. Here, Chad's dog is doing something stupid and apparently very funny!!

Jason was sweet enough to take this "partial" family shot...only thing missing is my other brother Mark!

And look! A picture of Jason and I! How I love when we get pictures of the two of us together!!

I love Mexican food!

Because my family is so sweet, they were willing to submit to my constant cravings for Mexican food. As you can imagine, being roughly 6,000 miles away, Mexican culture and food hasn't really caught on here. Sure, there are 1000's of yummy ethnic restaurants throughout London...what's missing? Mexican. I can say, however, that we are lucky enough to live near two Mexican restaurants...some would argue the only two in London actually! And they are good..but nothing beats Mexican food back home! Even better is my brother Chad and Jason smiling for the camera!

A multi-generational shot! My mom, grandma and me!

So you've heard all about it...now here's the pictures! (Bad Gastein, Austria)

Straight off the airplane, we headed to our next mode of transportation -- a train! As I am standing outside the train station, we realised we just missed one train by five minutes, so we had a couple of hours to wait around for the next one!

Isn't this a lovely way to relax and wait for a couple of hours? Our first introduction to Austrian food and beer! Jason had beef goulash, whilst I had cheese pizza! (I am clearly not the daring one!)

Here's Jason standing outside the lovely cafe we had lunch in!

Austrian Trains (Bad Gastein, Austria)

The train ride from Salzburg to Bad Gastein takes about an hour and a half. It was by far one of the loveliest trains we have ever been on! Jason and I are sitting in our own compartment.

As you can see, we are carrying a lot of luggage! (Hey, we needed all our ski gear!) After all, we are expecting to see the snow soon!

Here is Jason standing on the platform in Bad Gastein! We are so thrilled to see the snow!

And finally...snow! (Bad Gastein, Austria)

Here is a picture of our hotel! Even though we had no idea, it was in the perfect location! Steps away from the gondola and right in the centre of the town!

And finally! Skiing!

Everyone has to eat! (Bad Gastein, Austria)

In Austria, the lunch spots are run by families and not the resorts! They all have large balconies with sun chairs on them! And of course, Austrian menus...lunch was a bit of a mystery, but overall, we ate very well!

And now, its time to reveal some truths. Say what you want about global warming, its happening in Austria. The snow is only high up...in fact everything I was reading about Lake Tahoe at the time and their snow woes, was happening here. Very little snow at the lower elevations, and the resorts are having a very slow season to say the least.

The lack of snow is more evident in this picture. Jason is actually standing in the fog line, but you can see the valley floor behind him, and guess what? Its totally brown. Hardly any snow in sight! (Doesn't Jason look happy anyway?)

After that yummy lunch! (Bad Gastein, Austria)

Time to head back out to the slopes!

Jason is ready to go!

And when the skiing ends? (Salzburg, Austria)

Look familiar? We are back at the train station, ready to head out for our next adventure! Salzburg! Home of Mozart and the Sacher Torte!

The Salzach river cuts through the heart of the city. We were totally surprised by Salzburg. Its known here in England for having gorgeous Christmas markets, but I must confess, its incredibly wonderful all year round.

Here, Jason is facing the opposite direction on the river from the picture of me. Our hotel was conveniently located on one side of the river, and all we had to do was a cross a bridge into the historic part of the city!

Two of Salzburg's main attractions. A Fortress on the hill and the Dom (on the right with the copper dome)...a gorgeous cathedral that Mozart used to perform in from time to time! Interesting to note, the Fortress is so well fortified that it has never been taken by force. Pretty incredible considering how many wars Austria has been involved. The Fortress was, however, surrendered to Napoleon!

A View From the Top (Salzburg, Austria)

We took a tram car to the top of the hill and entered the fortress. It was a bit of a fairy tale at the top! Sunny blue skies...standing on top of a castle...the most gorgeous views in all of Salzburg!

This is the view towards the river that cuts through the heart of Salzburg. In the area where the fortress is, the river divides the old city from the new. That large cathedral in foreground of the picture? That's the Dom, the largest cathedral in Salzburg.

What a gorgeous day!

More views from the top! (Salzburg, Austria)

Again, there's no real point here...except, a beautiful city, a gorgeous "spring" day and well, we are feeling a bit on top of the world.

Something for Jason! (Salzburg, Austria)

Jason took this picture with his very artsy camera eye. He likes the contrasts between all the church spires. Even though we are using the silly disposable camera, he is quite proud of this picture! I happen to like it a lot as well!

In the __________ Square... (Salzburg, Austria)

A note on blogging and picture taking in general: Try to keep to track of where you are taking the pictures, especially if you want to blog them. Take this picture for instance. I love it. Think Jason looks smashing. Its even good quality for being taken with a disposable camera. I do not, however, have a clue where it was taken, or why it was taken. So...dear readers. Enjoy the photo. Don't ask questions. :)

Just because it is the middle of winter and I am thinking about the sun! (London)

We happen to live near an incredible park! Hyde Park! Its a wonderful sprawling park that cuts through the center of London. Its home to the Serpentine and of course, Kensington Palace, the former home of Princess Diana. During the summer the park is filled to capacity with urban dwellers seeking some sun, grass and picnic snacks!

Jason was kind enough to let me take pictures of him in our little corner of the park! It is a natural park though, so you may notice that there isn't lush rolling green grass everywhere!
Here's why: "In 1536, King Henry VIII seized the manor from the monks. He sold some of the land but turned the rest into a vast hunting park that stretched from Kensington to Westminster." To this day, Hyde Park has retained these features As a hunting ground King Henry wanted the park to be very natural and not as manicured as the other parks in London. Because of this, it is very different looking from the other parks in central London!

But hey, who needs lawn when you have a trusty picnic blanket, the weekend newspapers and lunch!

(And shhhhh...maybe a beer or two as well!)

Tenerife: Home of a Large Plane Crash, a Giant Volcano and Black Sand Beaches! (Canary Islands)

Tenerife, largest of the Canary Islands, has an area of 2,057 sq km and a population of almost 750,000. Its situated 200 miles off the west coast of North West Africa at about 28 degrees latitude and 16.5 degrees longitude.

We needed some sun. (Tenerife, Canary Islands)

So here's how the trip started. Two pasty white people heading to the islands, because frankly, London was wintery and well, we wanted some beach time. So you see Jason, day one. Shorts, sunglasses and flip flops. Happy to be near the blue sea with the sun on our faces.

Everyone else looks a bit tanner than we are, but hey its only our first hour or two!

As it turns out there are two things unique to Tenerife. Lava and clouds. The entire island is made up of lava. No soil. Just lava and ground up lava. (By the way, ground up lava makes THE most beautiful black sand beaches!) The other unique thing to Tenerife is clouds. Tenerife averages something like 320 days of sun a year. No small feat considering that in the middle of the island is a giant volcano that is covered in snow throughout the winter months. If you live in the Bay Area in California, you are no stranger to micro-climates. Tenerife is the same. Its only constant is the sun. That is except for the week Jason and I chose to holiday there.

Black Sand (Tenerife, Canary Islands)

There really isn't a point to these two pictures, other than we were stunned by the colour of the sand. And let's be honest, most of the people on this beach were incredibly tan -- the reason why? As you can imagine, the sand is hot. A radiator really!

Here is the view from above the beach, looking out to the sea. This beach isn't near where we are staying and frankly silly us. We drove around the island on our first day, thinking every day would be this gorgeous. In retrospect, we should have ditched the car and hit the beach. We, like fools, had no idea that the clouds were coming!

And the return of Jason's feet. You saw them in Athens, now see them here! Aren't they just white enough to make the sand look incredibly black!

Here's what we were up against...(Tenerife, Canary Islands)

Gorgeous right? A beautiful church nestled against the sea. A scattering of clouds in the sky... Beautiful.

In the exact opposite direction. Originally, I liked this picture because of how quaint the street looked with the people and the lights. In retrospect, its the perfect picture to illustrate our time in Tenerife. Out to the ocean? Gorgeous. Surrounding the volcano? Well, let's just say it was brewing its own bit of nastiness on a daily basis.

Los Gigantes (Tenerife, Canary Islands)

Jason (the history and scenery guy) would like me to discuss Los Gigantes. Its nearly impossible to describe how impressive these cliffs are from this picture...but they are magnificent. Legend has it that the inhabitants of the island thought that the sheer size and drop of the cliffs meant that the world must have ended at these cliffs. This makes sense, given that if you were standing on the top of them, you would face the Atlantic Ocean and there isn't anything to be seen for hundreds, if not, thousands of miles. From the guide book:
“The Cliffs of the Giants (Acantilados de los Gigantes) are remarkably sheer rock walls that plunge into the ocean a quarter of the way down the west coast of Tenerife. Massive cliffs drop almost sheer into the sea from a height of 500m and 800m in some places.”

The scenery guy has something to add upon being presented with this post. Look at the crane. Follow the top of the crane to the edge over the ocean. Directly beneath the crane in the ocean, are two white spots. These are boats. Not just any boats -- large whale watching and deep sea fishing boats. (He would like you to see just how impressive the cliffs are.)

Liceo de Taoro (La Orotava, Tenerife)

In the middle of this beautiful island, is one building that looks, well, out of place. Built in the 19th century, it was once a school and now it is a private club and casino. It was highly recommended by the guidebook, and so we stopped in for lunch. We had a ball after eating sneaking in and out of the member's rooms. It was very easy to picture Tenerife society congregating there in the 1920s!

Maybe a Chinese lantern to set the mood? And you will notice, the amount of clothing I am wearing. In fact, on this side of the island (the rainy side), we were cold. We both rummaged through our luggage for everything warm. I am wearing all of it! And its still chilly!

Balconies. Who knew a country would be famous for them? (Tenerife, Canary Islands)

The locals began carving Canarian pine into balconies in the 16th and 17th centuries. If you were to think of something to dominate the architecture of the "older" parts of the island -- it is the balconies. They are everywhere, and are beautiful. They have become a show piece of every building.

Look closely. Jason's in there!

One more beauty shot. It really is an incredible demonstration of carving and workmanship!