Patches

My backpack patches. Didn't buy them right away, but decided later I wanted them. Luckily my brother and his girlfriend were still traveling to help me get a France patch and he also bought the Europe patch with the Gold stars.

My pack.


Close-up shot of patches.

TA-DA...mission completed. On to the next adventure...

Charms

Every city or almost every city I decided to buy a charm representing them. I now have them in a shadow box and they each hold a memory. Here they are.

(click on image to make larger)
Top row: Madrid, Avila, Avila, Segovia, Segovia, Cordoba, Seville, Seville
2nd row: Granada, Toledo, Barcelona, Barcelona, Cannes, Rome, Pompeii, Pompeii
3rd row: Sorrento, Capri Island, Florence, Florence, Pisa, Cirque Terre, Milan, Verona
4th row: Venice, Venice, Paris, Paris, St. Malo and Dinan and Mont St. Michel, Mont St. Michel, London, London
5th row: London, Stonehenge, Bath, Bath, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Oban

Madrid couldn't find anything better

Avila a Saint of a Church I went into.

Avila a Saint of a Church I went into.

Segovia I visited a Castle.

Segovia I visited a Castle.

Cordoba I went to a Islamic Mosque/Church so I found a charm that had certain aspects.

Seville bullfighting was famous there, but I went to one in Madrid.

Seville a Madonna as in Virgin Mary.

Granada reminded me of windows in the Islamic grounds.

Toledo - this piece was the staple of what they do in Toledo. They take small pieces of metal string and tap it into other metal to make a design.

Barcelona found in Park Guell it was a pair of earrings.

Barcelona I got a deal so I got another one, it reminds me of the tile.

Cannes this is citrine the sunshine, light tan sand, the blond hair of stephanie's mom.

Rome the country of Italy.

Pompeii popular thing, but finally found a design I liked has stars in it.

Pompeii famous thing. They carve outside shells into faces.

Sorrento chili peppers are good luck.

Capri Island jumped off a boat of the island into the Mediterranean sea.

Florence famous bridge in florence called the ponto vechio

Florence this is the area that Pinocchio story was written.

Pisa leaning tower.

Cirque Terre saw 5 cities by boat which were connected by one road for hundred of years this sea shell remind me of it.

Milan found one...luckily.

Verona it say romeo and juliet in italian.

Venice gondola ride.

Venice the only thing I could afford of murano glass.

Paris from a pin.

Paris from a earring reminds me of the art I bought.

St. Malo and Dinan and Mont St. Michel saw 3 cities for this in the first one didn't think I would find one at the other cities.

Mont St. Michel I did find this one, which was the place I really wanted to see.

London first London theatre play I saw.

London double-decker buses. LOVE 'EM!
London crown because of the royals.

Stonehenge

Bath roman replicate coin found at gift shop at the roman baths.

Bath crest.

Edinburgh country flower the thistle.

Glasgow bagpipes.

Oban saw a ferry open in the front and ate delicious seafood.

One year from leaving

I took 10,176 photos from March 20 - June 8, 2011.

Here is the break down of the numbers.

Spain 3,112 -> 656 (-2,456)
France 1,962 -> 845 (-1,117)
Italy 2,898 -> 1,272 (-1,626)
England 930 -> 397 (-533)
Scotland 1,274 -> 421 (-853)

In total I cut my picture down to 3,591.

I do hope you have enjoyed my blogs, I am glad I got them done. I enjoyed my trip immensely and was well worth the ups and downs. No regrets.

I am now in a new job than the one I left before my trip. I enjoy it more, though still in retail. I am also starting school for some more education to be able to have the ability to find a career. I need to step out on my own, but my previous degree doesn't help. I am hopeful for the future.

I hope you all have enjoyed my blog with and without typing mistakes. The last two blogs are about my charms and patches.

Glencoe

It was on and off rainy. As you can tell it was also foggy or low cloud cover. It was a nice way to see the scenery, but wish it would have been better. I do look the shots I did take. Linda was the driver as I snapped my photos, it would have NOT been safe to put me in a driver seat. They drive on the wrong side for me and I tried a bike in London and I about killed myself. It was really confusing. Never again, but I tried. Enjoy the shots from drives near or around Glencoe.

Just around this corner.

A waterfall.

Linda and I.

Take 2, my just in case shot. I liked both which is why I am posting both.

Oban and Other

Driving from Val's house to Oban/Glencoe.

We made it Oban.

Ate some very good lunch. then watched the weirdest thing.

A ferry that opens from the front.

Ramp going down to let the cars out.

There they go. It was cool to see.

Also, I didn't know we own something in Oban, Scotland. My Uncle's name is David I am sure you can guess the last name. Interesting. It was a place you could by fish.

These shots I don't know where they fit. Unfortunately I took photos without names before so some were a little confusing and I took photos as I was driven around.

Amazing landscapes.

Loch Lomond and Val's

Linda was not feeling well so Pat and I headed to Lock Lomond by ourselves. I was a nice day. I did search the beach for sea glass, which I found and collected. It was a beautiful place and they run tours up and down the Loch (not lake).

There was a small town with a church. I snap this of Pat, I don't think she was expecting it.

There is sailboats, kayaks, motorboats all on this Loch.

I am on the boat.

I like this shot. I don't know who that is, but I the pictures I show I am trying not to show other people faces that I don't know, this one reminded me of what I was doing. It seemed to capture a moment.

Pat and I on the boat.

More shots of the Loch.

Then I was transferred to Val's care. Val is Bert and Pat's sister. She is 3rd cousin once removed. She was also nice enough to let me stay at her house. Linda was going to meet up somewhere to continue our trip to Glencoe and Oban.

I decided to walk downy o the beach to search for more seaglass.

It was a very rocky beach and I found some great sea glass pieces.

Unfortunately I somehow did take a picture of Val and her husband, which is disappointing. Maybe the next time.

Glasgow

I am 2nd generation on my dad's side. My grandfather came over on a boat when he was 9. It was a nice full circle moment. I went to the last place he lived at 11 Laurel Street.

I got to see where he was from and may have influenced his choices in his watercolor paintings. He is no longer alive, but it was closure moment for me.

At number 11. It is not the same, but it is close to what it may have looked like when my Papa was here.

Because I was big on theatre and my family decided to take me to Sound of Music.

The theatre it was in.

Me in front of the poster.

My 2nd cousin once removed, Linda, took me on a tour of Glasgow. We saw Kelvingrove Art Museum and Gallery. Building in the distance.

When my brother was on a real safari, I saw the stuffed safari. ;)

One of the Main shopping street in Glasgow. Quite busy as you see.

We also went the the University of Glasgow.

It had beautiful architecture.

Amazing.

Then as I walked around with Linda we came across something I found funny. I am part of the Buchanan clan. This is what I saw...I needed to document it.

Who knew. Ha.

I also was lucky enough to visit more family and they opened their home to me. I was glad to meet and visit family that are connected by my great-grandfather's brother.

Kind-of blurry photo, Right to Left Me, Shauna(4th cousin once removed), Linda(3rd cousin once removed).

Murdo, Me, Pat(3rd cousin once removed)

Poppy and me

Poppy, I enjoyed being with animals and she was very nice.