Beautiful & Pristine Norway

I was looking through my photos the other day, actually I was meant to be culling them to clear up some space on my computer but as usual got distracted with some of our old travels.

I came across our photos from Norway and remembered what an awesome trip that was. Norway has some really beautiful scenery. Everything looks serene, calm and pristine. Like an untouched land. The houses are cute and very 'Scandinavian' and of course the fjords are amazing! Wide open waterways surrounding many mountains and little towns with scatterings of colourful wooden homes. Totally picturesque!

While we were travelling we got alot of buses from town to town and noticed the cute little mail boxes of the homes in that town. The homes were often spread far apart from each other so I guess it only made sense to have everyones post boxes together in one spot for the postie to drop the mail off! As with the home of Norway each mailbox was painted in fun bright colours - I wonder if they matched their homes??

We also saw on a few stops along way an 'honour' system second hand book shop (or atleast we thing that was what it was) on the side of the street. You can see in the photo collage above all the books were displayed with a little box on the side I assume to put your money in. Very cute and gave the whole town a nice little vibe to it - something about town life that you just can't seem to find in the city.

And that last picture there was a little stall selling deer and whale meat. Which I guess may be common place in some countries but I thought it was a bit unusual!!

We visited many of the areas of the fjord lands but I think my fav was Balestrand. Not sure why, maybe because it was so quiet and felt like we were in our own little place strolling along the water. The Kviknes Hotel was especially picturesque against the pretty backdrop of the water (see pic above).

The photos above were taken of Bergen. The town we flew into and where our Norway trip started. We stayed in the basement of somebodies home and it was nice staying in an actual 'home' rather than a motel or hotel. It was lovely to roam the little lanes and alleys of residential Bergen and squeal with delight over how uber cute all the homes were painted in such pretty colours!

Now, I really mustn't get any more distracted and get back to clearing out some space on my computer instead of day dreaming I was on holidays again!!

Shadow Shot Sunday - Souks of Marrakesh

I've been absent from the Shadow Shot Sunday meme for some time, but this week I'm making sure I get in in time. The picture i've selected for my re-entry into Hey Harriets SSS is a photo taken in the Souks of Marrakesh, Morocco (above). I love this one as the entire frame lies in a shadow except for the beautiful rays of light coming through the roof highlighting the daily activities of those working the souks.

I couldn't resist adding a few more photos of the souks in a little collage just above. I love the whole souk vibe in Marrakesh. Colourful and lively just like the folks who live there. You can probably gather from the photos that the souks are a bit of a shop-a-holics paradise, and yes I was in Paradise (don't know about my poor hubby though!).

Just outside the souks lie the famous Djemma el Fna. As dusk falls it seems all of Marrakesh gather in this square for some story telling, and good meal. The whole place gets a little smoky as the food stalls start up. It's hard not follow your nose and pick a stall to eat at.

Above are a couple of the food stalls that people plonk themselves at for a good meal! We followed suit and did the same - it was a yummy meal and very inexpensive too! Afterwards we walked around getting completely lost into the atmosphere that is Djemma el Fna.

Scenic Sunday - Misty Haze

I love this photo and i've actually got this one printed out at home and it looks even better when printed out. The light purple haze is so pretty and you can see in the distance a lovely golden sunkissed mist - it is so pretty.

I took this photo at Richmond Park in London UK. We got up really really early one morning to get a 1hr bus out there just before sunrise so we could spend a morning taking photos. We got some really beautiful pretty photos from there and this is one of my favs!

Happy Scenic Sunday everyone!

Scenic Sunday - Okavango Delta

Another last minute rush post job just in time for Scenic Sunday (hopefully)!

One of the most serene places i've been too is the Okavango Delta. So beautiful, so quiet - very reflective (after you get over initial fear of being chomped on by hippos and crocs!)

A definite highlight from my Africa trip - i'm glad we added it on to our trip plans last minute - well worth it! I just wish I had extra long arms so we could have taken better pictures of ourselves in our mokoros. Instead I have zillions of photos of lots of other people who I don't really know - oh well!

Scenic Sunday - Cassis

I missed out on Scenic Sunday last week, so I made sure I would remember this week to post something up!!

Here are my photos - they are a photo of the very pretty town of Cassis in France. Gorgeous and cute, with beautiful water views especially the crystal clear water of the massive white cliffs known as the Calanques, which you can see in the picture below. Only silly me forgot my swimmers that day and could only do with admiring it from a boat rather than jumping right in for a swim!

Scenic Sunday - Monument Valley

A little rush post to get my Scenic Sunday photo in. This week i've picked my photo of Monument Valley. As we drove along flat empty roads for ages it was very exciting to finally start to see Monument Valley in front of us!! We could see it far off in the distance, and ofcourse it still took us a awhile to get up close to enjoy it even more but it was very cool and was just like in all the movies!

50% OFF SALE ON PHOTOS!

I've got a massive clearance on now in my shop. Many of my photos are 50% off and are at or below cost price!! Please help me clear my shop as I have lots of new photos that I would like to list but need to clear some stock first!

Just check out the 50% OFF SALE SECTION of my shop. Here are a few of my goodies to entice you ;)

SET OF 3 4X6 PRINTS WAS $12 NOW $6

WAS $15 NOW $7.50

WAS $10 NOW $5

WAS $10 NOW $5

WAS $25 NOW $12.50


WAS $25 NOW $12.50

Scenic Sunday - Iceland

Rainbow over Iceland

Here is another entry into the Scenic Sunday blog. This time here are few of my photos from Iceland. We visited this beautiful country just before it collapsed financially so when we went everything was still super expensive (including our speeding fine - £265 after a pay immediately discount!), but we enjoyed our scenic drives and sightseeing while eating rye bread and salmon that we picked up from the supermarket for almost every meal.

Scenery in Iceland doesn't disappoint. Even though it rained abit and was at times bitterly cold we still saw the beauty of Iceland. I love landscapes and nature so was a happy little snapper while travelling in and around Rekyjavik. Have a little look at what we experienced!

Jokulsarlon - Iceberg Lagoon.
It was a long drive out but totally worth it.
The first time i've seen icebergs in the flesh.

Iceland is covered in this greeny moss - very soft and spongy.
It looked like we were on another planet


A cute Icelandic Church we drove by on top of a hill

Seljalandsfoss - Massive Waterfall!
Iceland has many waterfalls and this was one of our favs.


The Blue Lagoon
How could we go to Rekyjavik and not take a dip?

Scenic Sunday - Plitvice Lakes, Croatia

Here's my first entry to the Scenic Sunday blog. I took this photo while travelling around Croatia. One of the places I desperately wanted to see while in Croatia was the beautiful (and scenic!) Plitvice Lakes. I had seen so many amazing photographs of it and was dying to go there! Not to mention I love waterfalls and this place had a lot of them.

So when planning our trip we decided to fly into Zagreb, hire a car and stop off at Plitvice Lakes before driving down to the Dalmatian Coast. The day we were there it was a little gloomy, overcast and wet but even with all that grey, mist and rain it still managed to look beautiful. In fact all that mist made it seem a little mystical too.

If you ever get a chance to visit Croatia, I highly recommend visiting Plitvice Lakes - the water is crystal clear and an amazing bluey/green colour (actually the water in Croatia is the clearest I think I have ever seen!).

Below are just a couple more photos I took while at Plitvice Lakes, and a few more can be found in my shop.

Shadow Shot Sunday & Koh Samui

I almost forgot about this weeks Shadow Shot for Hey Harriets Blog! This week I'm posting this pool photo taken in Thailand at Koh Samui. I took it just after breakfast before we stepped out for a bit of snorkelling out at the crystal clear waters of Nangyuan Island (below).

The shadow shot pool photo I took was at our first hotel at Koh Samui. We stayed there for a few nights and was located in the main area of Chaweng street and on the beach. It was a great spot and a real bargain! But seeing as we were earning the ££ and all that when we went, we thought we'd splurge and treat ourselves to a fancy schmancy resort for our last 2 nights. We ended up staying at Sala Samui. I think it is the most luxurious place i've ever stayed at.

It has everything you could ask for in a romantic get away - private beach, two beautiful pools, yummy breakies, relaxing spa treatments, luxurious and earthy outdoor bathrooms and ofcourse totally comfy and spacious rooms complete with massive bed and lounge about day beds!

But what sold me was the private infinity pool in your own villa!! I had always dreamed of staying somewhere where you get your own pool and this place had it. I LOVED it! Ofcourse I had to go skinny dipping - I mean what good is a private pool otherwise :) Here are some piccies that I took of our private pool (our outdoor bathroom looked out on it)!

Cappadocia, Turkey

Highlight for me of our recent Turkey trip has got to be Cappadocia, and it's not just because of the super nice accommodation we stayed at (see this previous post). I loved it because it was quieter, more hassle free (compared to anywhere else in Turkey) and of course the scenery was crazy amazing! Not to mention I took my first ever Hot Air Balloon ride there!

It was a public holiday in Turkey the weekend we arrived so there were quite a few balloons up in the sky. Hot Air Ballooning is the thing to do when you go to Cappadocia it seems. It was a fantastic morning for it and a great start to our holiday. We soared high above the unusual rock formations - it was quite strange looking at it from above as you couldn't really tell how massive they were, except ofcourse when we seemed to sail right next to them (that was very cool) that we could almost touch them. You can see the pictures above are taken from our

In the photo above you can see the rock formation right on the left hand side looks a bit like a camel. This one of a handful of rock formations that looked like animals in the Derwent Valley. Isn't this place amazing!

These types of formations are known as 'fairy chimneys' and were formed as a result of erosion from wind, flood water etc. You can see how big they are compared to the people on the ground. Some of these ones there were hollows in and were used as dwellings. These ones we saw at Pasabagi.

This picture is of the Rose Valley. It reminded me of some of the formations we saw in The States.

And here you can see some of the old houses/dwellings carved into the rocks. This one was taken at Cavusin.

Loved Cappadocia - it was very different to anything else we saw in Turkey. It may have been a tiring journey to get there (about 24hours starting from Croatia - including hanging out at deserted airports at 1am, deserted bus stations at 3am and seriously long bus rides!) but definitely all worth it! Any one going to turkey it is worth the travel out there!!

Shadow Shot Sunday!

I have been very busy lately. Recently got my sewing machine fixed so have been going a little crazy doing lots of little projects. So crazy busy infact that I almost forgot to post my Shadow Shot Sunday photo. But luckily I remembered just in time (I hope!).

I really like this photo - the lighting is so pretty and it is a very cool room. It is actually a room inside a cave hotel! We stayed in this beautiful beautiful cave hotel called Elkep Evi in Cappadoccia, Turkey. I'll post more photos of this incredible and unusual place in the next post but for now check out the hotel here - it was amazing!

Pamukkale (& Shadow Shot Sunday)

I've been out of Hey Harriets Shadow Shot Sunday features lately but i'm hoping to get back into it starting with this photo:

It is a photo of my husband and I stopping to admire the view of the White Travertines of Pamukkale in Turkey. We had to take our shoes off to walk up so we wouldn't do any further damage to it. I was actually surprised we were able to walk on it. The white stuff you see everywhere is actually calcium build up and is really hard. You can see the blue pool of water just in front of us - natural thermal springs so nice and warm!

I have this old memory of photos of swimming in these thermal pools - i think maybe having seen photos of it a long time ago but now no swimming is allowed. It seems that alot of the travertines have been damaged due to lack of knowledge in the past and there not having been many rules and regulations of where tourists could visit and also possibly due to construction. If you go to this wiki page you'll see what I mean re the photo of tourists lounging in the pools. The sad bit is I actually saw those same travertines and they are completely dry now - no water in them what so ever. But atleast there are some bits with water still around that we can imagine what it must have been like back in the day.

All these years later it is still quite an amazing spot to visit in a tiny town!

The Way It Should Be Part II - Amalfi Coast

I'm way behind in my blogging as i've been doing our last few stints of travel as we make our way home from London, UK to Sydney, Australia. I'm happy to say we have arrived safe and sound back to our hometown of Sydney where we are enjoying the sunny weather, yummy food and loving the company of our family and friends.

But before I blog anymore about us moving home and what we did on our way back I thought I'd better finish off my 'The Way It Should Be' Posts. My last post was giving you a little bit of insight into the wonderful relaxing two weeks we spent in France and Italy while my brother-in-laws came to visit us in Europe. You can see all the fun we had here in the French Riviera!

But, I thought i'd better finish off the trip with this post and our time in the beautiful Amalfi Coast in Italy!

Positano

Before making our way to the Amalfi Coast we thought we'd spend a day in Rome as my brothers-in-laws had never been there before. Ok, I know, one day in Rome is insane - last time my husband and I went we spent 5 days in Rome alone and there was so much to see but we were on a tight time frame and basking on the beach was high on the agenda! Rome was just as I remembered - bustling with so much wonderful history and culture (plus gelati shops at every corner - mmmmm.....). We did the usual sights and managed to pack in quite a lot into one day but unfortunately with only one day there, shopping was put on hold and I didn't get to peruse all the lovely Italian shops. This time round I managed to get a few lovely night shots of some of the best known sights in Rome, before heading to Naples and Pompei.

Trevi Fountain at Night - Rome

After stopping at Naples (best Pizza ever) we made our our way further South and stopped in Sorrento for a few days. I wasn't expecting much as the Lonely Planet warns about pretty disappointing beaches. But instead we found it quite cute looking down onto the these lounge chairs set up on all the rocks and piers with the crystal clear water surrounding it. It was so hot but that water was sooo refreshing!!

Sorrento

After spending a few days in Sorrento and doing little day trips out (Pompei was fantastic!) we took the bus along the amazingly gorgeous amalfi coast to plonk ourselves at Positano for a few days of more R&R. How gorgeous is this place with the buildings stacked up on the mountain side overlooking a beautiful coast. Swimming, sun baking and feasting on yummy italian cuisine - it really can't get much better than this!!

View from our balcony - Positano

It had been a few years since we did a lovely relaxing beachy holiday like this and I loved every single bit of it!!

Enjoying the beach at Positano

The Way It Should Be Part I - Cote d'Azur

I recently spent a glorious 2 weeks in France & Italy. My husbands brothers decided to make one more stop to Europe before we headed back to Australia so they joined us on our sun and beach break to *try* and forget about the miserable English weather.

Colourful Windows of Provence

The first week we spent our time driving along the Cote d'Azur. We first picked up our car in Marseille and then did lots of little side trips as we made out way through parts of Provence before hitting the coastal towns and ending our trip in Nice.

Cassis Town

The big names of St Tropez, Cannes and Monaco (unfortunately no celebs spotted) are always on the tip of everyones tongue when you think of the Cote d'Azur (French Riviera) but there are lots of little towns along the way which are just as gorgeous with their sparkling clear blue waters!

Beach on the way to Monaco

We also got to visit so many quaint, cute and very french little villages and stayed in some lovely french guest houses. Staying in the guest houses meant we were privvy to some great local knowledge and checked out Gorges Du Verdon (the Grand Canyon of France) and this beautiful lake Lac St Croix where we found lots of holiday makers out on paddle boats.

Lac St Croix

There is something about France that I never tire of. Each region is very different and the food is to die for, infact i'm yet to have a bad meal over there. I was surprised to realise that this trip to the Cote d'Azur was our 6th visit to France in our 3 years of living in London!! It is actually the country we have most revisited during our time in Europe.

Delicious Berries at the Nice Markets

What did we do while there?? - lots of walking, lots of swimming and lots of eating! This type of living is the way it should be!!

Cute Pottery Store at Gourdon