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!

The Valley of Hell (Tenerife, Canary Islands)

How can something so gorgeous be called "Barranco del Infierno" or the Valley of Hell? As it turns out Barranco del Infierno was the site of numerous executions during the Civil War. Its easy to see why...the path into the Valley is narrow and high and there are numerous caves and secluded areas through out.

At the beginning...I am standing at the entrance to the Valley. Unbeknownst to us, its quite a privilege to hike in there. Not wanting to harm the environment of the Valley, the government limits the number of hikers who can hike each day. It was pure luck that Jason and I were able to secure the remaining two tickets for the day!

Still at the beginning...Jason is standing in the opposite direction. He is looking at the Valley behind me taking this picture. Behind him, is Costa Adeje, the town we were staying in.

Its shady and cool in here! (Tenerife, Canary Islands)

The hike took a little over 4 hours there and back. Throughout it all -- we climbed over the hills, around the rocks, through the streams and under the waterfalls. All to reach a glorious pool of crystal water under an icy waterfall.

In the middle of journey, Jason begins to eyeball the streams for a quick dip!

The "little" waterfall towards the end. We actually thought this waterfall was beautiful enough to be the end! Nope! As it turns out, its the "little" waterfall, something to keep you motivated to the end! Seeing this one alone was worth every second of the hike!

A little satisfaction! (Tenerife, Canary Islands)

Back at the point of entry -- Jason is looking very satisfied indeed! (Just in time too! It was just about to rain!)

Pictures of Ben and George (London)

Maybe you were getting the feeling that we don't actually live in London. You know because it might look as though all we do is travel. Oh no! And to prove it? Pictures of Big Ben and George (Jason's Dad)!

George is standing at the gate to Parliament. The Houses of Parliament are connected to Big Ben. On the other side of Parliament? The Thames, of course! Its a beautiful sight if you are lucky enough to be cruising on the river!

Here's a picture of the boys in front of Westminster Abbey. The most famous of all Abbeys in the United Kingdom. I could show you pictures of the inside, however, you likely have seen inside if you saw either tapes of the Queen's Coronation or Princess Diana's funeral. (It was also closed when we got there, so we didn't actually take pictures on that day!)

Westminster Abbey (London)

So we talked a very short tourist into taking our picture in front of the Abbey. If you look closely, you will notice that I am wearing a bright pink (that's not the look closely part) scarf with a blue emblem. That emblem is the symbol of our local football team -- Chelsea! Jason and I are pretty religious about watching the matches on television and in fact Jason has even gone to one in person!

Remember the small emblem on the scarf? (London)

As you can imagine football is a pretty big deal in England. As it turns out we happen to live in the neighbourhood with the current team champions. Unlike America, where there is one team per city, in London there are dozens of football clubs. In order to show their appreciation to their fans, when they win the Premiership (which means they have won the whole season) they have a massive parade through the neighbourhood where their club is located. It just so happens Jason's dad was here that day, so we thought it would be a fitting welcome to England. Jason's dad is a major sports fan, so we were thrilled to take him to the parade. And he was sweet and had a good time, regardless of the fact that he had no idea who the players were or what they had done in the season to win it all!

The team rides on the top of an open-top double decker bus. They are holding the trophy for all the fans to see!

Jason's flat, if you can believe it, is just around the corner from the parade route. Which meant it was nice to get to see the parade so close to home, it was not so nice having all these fans in our little neighbourhood!

The Packers? (London)

See how happy they look? Okay, really Jason looks thrilled. Jason's dad did insist on wearing the colours of another team that day...yup! The Green Bay Packers. His favourite team!

Hong Kong: People, Neon and Excitement!

Its difficult to describe Hong Kong. Its foreign and exotic. And huge and tiny all in the same sentence.

This is a tiny part of this island. Its incredible to see that where there is such a lack of space, there is no lack of space to the sky. And that's just what Hong Kong has done. Build to the sky. The tallest building you can see in this picture is International Finance Centre (Tower Two). Its a stunning 1,362 feet tall, with 88 stories. It is easily the tallest building in Hong Kong, and is the 6th tallest building in the world.

Continuing with the lay of the land (Hong Kong)

Hong Kong is a contrast in cultures. Pedestrians, cars, tunnels, bridges...you name it, Hong Kong has it.

New drug stores, ancient Chinese herbalists. Rickshaws, buses and a subway system.

Remnants of colonisation, all nestled in a back drop of the most modern skyscrapers in the world.

We love neon! (Hong Kong)

If you can believe it...we are standing on a bridge over the street that leads to the subway station. Here's the kicker...its air conditioned! Amazing!

This is Hong Kong's version of Times Square in New York! Its even called Times Square. The funny thing is with so much neon throughout the city, its hard to make this Times Square stand out!

Escalator Heaven (Hong Kong)

The people in Hong Kong are obsessed with convenience! So much so that there are escalators and air conditioning everywhere. In fact, the people of Hong Kong couldn't be bothered to develop a road around the island to the other side, so instead, they blew a hole through the mountain and put the road straight through!

This is an escalator that allows commuters to travel to work. Hailed as the longest escalator in the world, it is actually a series of escalators. The Central-Mid-Levels escalator is the world's longest outdoor escalator system, at a total length of 800 m. It goes only one way at a time; the direction reverses depending on rush hour traffic direction.

Subways, Subways... (Hong Kong)

C'mon...how can you resist this? Look at this advert! A local specialty!

(Jason hates when I make him take these pictures!) As you can tell, we are at the stop for Times Square!

Can you tell where we are heading? (I'll tell you a little secret...it switches back and forth from English!)

What else do you expect to see in China? (Hong Kong)

PANDAS!!!

These aren't my best work...but c'mon, they're pandas!

A little bit of Buddhism (Hong Kong)

Jason is standing at the base of Tian Tan, the "world's tallest, outdoor, seated bronze Buddha." The statue is located near Po Lin Monastery and symbolizes the harmonious relationship between man and nature, people and religion.

The Buddha is 34 metres high and there are 268 steps to the top!I'm standing in front of the Po Lin Monastery. It is major centre of Buddhism just outside of Hong Kong.