Well we had a bit of a muddle up this month in choosing our theme, so we ended up with Buildings and Statues and they both go well together.
This month is year end audit which is a crazy time of the year, needed to pull together all the documentation the the CPA needs. And in my spare time I am painting an underwater wall mural on Luka’s bedroom walls. I bit off more than I could chew. My original vision was one wall, but then Amy wanted all the walls done. Now she just wants them done. It’s taking a lot of time and a lot of detail needs to go into it.
So for this month I thought I would look back on some of my favorite buildings I have come across in our travels. I have to say I narrowed it down to too many, and culling is going to be hard. My focus was on buildings but as I worked I started adding in statues as well. So here we go….
This is my all time favorite image of buildings. Taken in Seattle at the Columbia building. The building is something like 76 stories and has 2 elevators systems to reach the top. You head up one that goes halfway and then it is on to the second set to get to the top. If I recall correctly you had to pay at the top, but I wanted a skyline view and so we headed up to almost the top. On the 40th floor there is a Starbucks and so we headed there for coffee and took in the skyline from the great big window. I will confess I was happier when I got back to solid ground. We did a day trip out to Bainbridge Island and got caught in the rain. This garden statue was at the entrance to the restaurant where we took shelter from the rain.Alcatraz, off San Francisco. If my memory serves me correctly this was the wardens house. This was a memorable trip but not for any good reason. It was raining at Alcatraz that day, and we were walking down a hill when I slipped on a metal grill and tore multiple ligaments in my right leg. It didn’t hurt that bad initially and so I did not report it, but 2 days later I could not walk. Messed up the San Francisco trip and has left me with pain in my right leg since 2012. We headed up to the Orca Islands from Seattle. I was determined to see a whale. Best I got was a bronze seal.Cumberland Island just off of St Mary’s in Georgie are the ruins of Dungeness. This was a historic home on the island that has now gone to ruins. It was super cool to see.I love walking though Japanese Gardens and this one in Phoenix is beautiful. Aside from the beautiful gardens, and the traditional statues, this fish really caught my attention. Richard was able to put his whole arm in its mouth. Another favorite was the beautiful church on the hillside of Ochrid. This is the Church of St John and is famous for it Byzantine architecture. This was the day to hike Ochrid, and it was a good 2 hour round trip, taking in the coast line, the church, up a steep hill to the Fort, then slowly back down past the amphitheater and back to the city. Definitely was a good decision even if I hate all the hill climbing. Frogs in the Arizona Center. Richard managed to somehow pick up pneumonia and was stuck in the hotel room. I tried my best to keep on the opposite side of the room, or outside of the room while we were there. One of the days I took a self walk around the Phoenix streets and landed up at the Arizona Center where I enjoyed a short top alongside the frog pools. This trip was off Marco Island. Since we were going out that way, I really wanted to see the domes. There is a long story that I shared once before about this particular structure. The home was built by an independently wealthy oil producer Bob Lee. Hurricane Andrew destroyed the interior of the home and the house was abandoned. Hurricane Wilma destabilized the home. In 2022 Hurricane Ian totally destroyed what you see here. I was grateful to be able to see them and to learn more about the history of the homeWhen I think of the Skopje in Macedonia, I think of statues. This is the central square in Skopje and the city’s largest statue featuring Alexander the Great on his loyal steed Bucephalus. Due to disputes between the Macedonians and the Greeks about Alexanders heritage, the statue goes by the Alias the Great Warrior. The statue stands 22m and it is really impressive to see. Another building favorite – Walking through downtown Denver in the snow. It was bitterly cold but I loved the city feel with the snow. On our trip to Maine, we decided to go whale watching. Off we headed to Portland. The whale watching was a bust. The boat was no sooner out of the harbor and it was covered in mist and we did not see a single thing for the next 2 hours. That said I got some great eerie images of boats passing by. Back on land we got to walk around Portland. Right at the harbor was this statue. It was apparently a piece of the Berlin Wall. I love that it is a reminder not to forget the history of this world. Another favorite was this stopover in Macedonia. When I started researching what to do and see in Macedonia the Sunken Church came up. It so happened that it was on our route to the monastery we were going to stay over at. So I was adamant that we drive down to the Sunken Church. I was not sure what to expect as some photo’s show water up to the roof and others not, but it was so impressive to walk inside this church and see not only what damage water can do but how nature has just taken over. Bases on what we could see around the premises it looks like people still go there to worship. Outside the State Theater in Denver. I’m still dancing yeah yeah yeah….I walked onto the snow to try and make a snowman but it was just powderImpressive buildings that top my list. The Sydney Opera house is fantastic and the history is rich on how it was built. I shared it in a previous blog, so look back for that information.This last image is of the Old City in Skopje. The old city is very different to the rest of Skopje. Not only does it have interesting buildings, narrow walkways, and coffee bars and restaurants, it also has a fair number of statues. You cross over from the new city to the old city via a bridge. Walking down into the Old Otterman Quarter the statue directly in front is a honoring of motherhood. Walking through this beautiful area, there is a buzz of laid back activity. We got to taste the traditional sausage, kolbasi, at our last lunch in the city.
Well I think I took you on a tour, but I have loved traveling around so many places. Eastern Europe is definitely on my bucket list, along with Ireland and I would love to visit the Highlands of Scotland again. New places are on my horizon and hopefully 2025 will bring some of them around.
This is a circle blog and as I mentioned, we have some very talented artists in the group. Take some time to follow the links and see what they have for you this month. My incredibly talented friend Katherine of Cobert Photography is up next. I can’t wait to see what she has to share. You can see more of her work by clicking on her Instagrampage.
sharleenstuart
sharleenstuart 
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