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Photo Hunt 2018 No. 52 - Favorite 2018 Travel Photo

Kathy (Trekcapri)

100+ Posts
This week’s Photo Hunt No. Photo Hunt No. 52 – Favorite 2018 Travel Photo (Post your favorite 2018 Travel photo)

I really enjoyed seeing everyone’s photos and reading your descriptions about why these places are so special to you. Thank you everyone for sharing.

Photo Hunt 2019 (New Upcoming Themes to come)​

This year I was fortunate to travel to Tokyo, Japan for the first time. It was amazing and I really enjoyed learning about the culture, seeing their many temples, doing a day trip to see Mt. Fuji and sampling their delicious cuisine. This is a photo of the beautiful Sensoji Temple.


And here's one more. :)


Thank you everyone, it’s been a fun year and I want to wish you and your families a very safe, healthy and happy New Year!
 
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Standing on the Louvre grounds in Paris, looking through the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel, then the ferris wheel, to the most famous, Arc de Triomphe de l'étoile.

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We spent ten days in October divided up between Bologna and the area around Verona. But actually a small-town piece of environmental art made a special impression on us.

On the drive leaving Bologna in the direction of Verona, we stopped at the annual Rice Festival held in Isola della Scala, which is about 30 minutes to the south of Verona. This is a huge event, indeed the major annual rice event in the Veneto. About half a million attended in 2017.

Well, the event was a bit of a let-down for us, but ambling along the outdoor avenues of the festival led us to the outskirts of Isola, and to a charming point where a narrow river, or wide trench, crossed under a bridge. Opposite us was the following scene, which we thought was simply a lovely sculpture that was thoughtfully placed in what was probably a mundane surrounding for anyone living there. But we were very impressed, and it rather transformed the spot into something completely different :

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Anyone who had ever frolicked in a creek as a child could immediately connect with this. And indeed, many people who crossed stopped to take notice.

I thought that this was a permanent sculpture, and I remember thinking how lucky the residents were that they could have such a charming sculpture in their neighborhood. But researching this at home revealed the story behind it : it was prepared as part of the Rice Festival, one of a series of artworks by a local artist, on the theme of water, water being crucial to development of rice. The artist's point was to emphasize how important it was to maintain clean water, as trenches like these used to be places where people could swim, and now they are probably polluted.
The name of the artist is Alessandro Mutto, and here is the story in a bit more detail (turn on Translate).
The following is how the spot appears in Google Street view, without the sculpture.

Good health to all in 2019!

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A partially capsized boat - Pellestrina, near Venice. We rented bikes on the Lido and rode to the ferry to cross to Pellestrina and then rode to the far end of the island where we had a delicious lunch that included probably the best seafood risotto I've ever had.
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This is more an experience than a place...I went to the family to the Isle of Man this summer. This is Heaven to Grandson 1 who lives and breathes steam engines and managed to talk his way onto any footplate he could.

The Groudle Glen Railway is a short narrow gauge line that was built to take Victorian visitors to see sea lions and polar bears kept in a small enclosure at the base of the cliffs. The line closed in the 1960s but has been reopened and now runs trains on Sundays and Wednesday evenings in the summer. It is operated by enthusuiastic volunteers and Number 1 soon realised if he talked to them he'd get taken into the loco and carriage sheds and allowed on the footplate. This picture was taken on a Wednesday evening as dusk was falling. Number I was on the footplate talking to the loco crew when the guard waved his flag and blew the whistle. The driver grinned, looked at him and said 'It looks as if you are here for the ride'. That was one very happy boy - and a lot of very envious passengers!

The pictures were taken on my mobile phone, on a jerky ride, hence the poor quality but are the only record we have of what was the highlight of his holiday.

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So once again, I must return to St John, USVI for my favorite travel photo. I apologize to any of the Euro purist on the board that I have once again left the continent we so enjoy on Slow Europe to the blue water of the Caribbean. My favorite travel photo of this year is not great photograph. However, it speaks volumes to my wife and I about our special place.

We returned to St John in April, which was about 6 months after Hurricane Irma. We found the island still a little sideways.

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The fury of the storm was still visible all over the island.

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One day we decided to help by pitching in to reestablish one of the hiking trails with others on island vacationing

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Of course, there were signs of rebuilding across the island

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And the water was as blue as ever

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My sweetie was able once again to do what she enjoys like no other – Open Ocean Swimming.

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It was nice to be back.

So now with a slight modification to a Van Morrison classic as the caption, I post my favorite travel photo of 2018. It was taken from the deck of our studio in Cruz Bay, St John.

…we'll walk down the beach again
And we'll sing all the songs from way back when
And we'll walk down the beach again and the healing has begun
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"This is more an experience than a place...I went to the family to the Isle of Man this summer. This is Heaven to Grandson 1 who lives and breathes steam engines and managed to talk his way onto any footplate he could."


Oh I know he had to be over the top! Both my grandsons would have been so excited to have that opportunity.
 
He was. number 2 was in floods of tears as "nothing like that ever happens to me". The guard came to the rescue and had him blowing the whistle and waving the flag. They both had to help uncouple and couple up the loco at the end of the run.
 
I only had one quick trip this year, to Scotland and London.
These are The Kelpies; giant steel sculptures at Falkirk just near Edinburgh.
They represent mythical water-horses from ancient tales.
They are lit from within at night.


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15 days in the Peloponnese:

1. Voidokillia beach
2, Ancient Messene
3. The abandoned village of Vathia in the Deep Mani
4. Kardamyli
5. Monemvasia

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