travel theme: pathways

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Japan, Nepal, Oman, South Korea, travel theme, Turkey

Sunday, May 26:  Ailsa’s Travel Theme this week is Pathways.  I’ve seen many beautiful pathways in my travels around the world.

Path of Bamboo in Arashiyama, near Kyoto, Japan

path through Ihlara Canyon in Cappadocia, Turkey

path through Suncheon Bay Ecological Park in South Korea

snow-covered path through Gongju, South Korea

Many people use the aflaj in Oman as pathways. This one is at Wadi Bani Khalid in Oman.

Pathway of enlightenment ~ leading to a Buddhist temple in Pokhara, Nepal

a pathway along a farmer’s field in Pokhara, Nepal

pathway through Little Petra in Jordan

weekly photo challenge: color

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Japan, Nepal, Oman, postaweek2013, South Korea, Turkey, weekly photo challenge

Saturday, April 6: The WordPress Weekly Photo Challenge is Color. Splashed on the walls of cities, in batches of flowers in gardens, in the doodles of students, and on the palettes of artists, color is everywhere: it may represent our mood, and it can affect our mood. In photography, you can use a spectrum of colors to bring a place to life, or focus on a single shade to make a bold statement. Conversely, you can shoot in black-and-white or remove color in editing mode for a different effect.

In a new post created specifically for this challenge, share a picture in which color takes center stage.

Click on any of the pictures below for a full-sized slide show.

Paintings of Oman

Street art in Rethymno, Crete

the flower market in Istanbul, Turkey

Flowers in Crete, Greece

Paintings by Omani students

Yarn in Kathmandu, Nepal

colorful boats in Pokhara, Nepal

Colorful doors and bedding in Kathmandu, Nepal

Sweets in Istanbul, Turkey

Pokhara, Nepal

a colorful carriage buggy in Kathmandu, Nepal

Gloves in Kathmandu, Nepal

More paintings by Oman

Paper lanterns in Kathmandu, Nepal

delicate flowers on the University of Nizwa campus

colorful socks in Kyoto, Japan

more colorful boats in Pokhara, Nepal

lamps in Istanbul, Turkey

Flowers on the University of Nizwa campus

Finally, in honor of South Korea, which is having a few problems with its bellicose northern neighbor right now, here are some colorful lanterns from a lantern festival in Seoul.

colorful lanterns at a lantern festival in Seoul, South Korea

Let’s hope everyone takes a deep breath and tries to diplomatically solve the problems between North and South Korea.

share your world: cee’s life questions (week #15)

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Cappadocia, Greece, Istanbul, Santorini, share your world, Turkey

Here are Cee’s life questions for week #15.  This is a great way for bloggers to get to know each other; it also encourages us as bloggers to share stuff about ourselves with our readers that we might not otherwise write about.  Thanks again to Cee for Share Your World – Week 15!!

If you had to move to a state or country besides the one you currently live in, where would you move and why?

I would move to Turkey, preferably Istanbul.  I love the rolling hills and the colorful houses of Istanbul, and how the city straddles two continents across the Sea of Marmara and the Bosphorus.  It’s breathtaking, the way the city sits on the water, with the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia on the hill.  I also love the coast along the Aegean Sea and the inland area of Cappadocia.  Turkey is romantic and rich with history and the people are amazingly friendly.  Hands down, this would be my choice.

Istanbul ~ the view from Galata Tower to the Bosphorus

If you were a car or truck, what make, model, year and color would you be?

I would be a hunter green 1974 Jaguar XKE Convertible.  I had a friend in high school who owned one and we were able to cruise around in it looking and feeling oh-so-cool.  Honestly, I’ve never really cared much about cars; my only care is that the car be dependable and get me where I want to go without breaking down.  But, if I had to choose, this would be the one.  Oh yes.

What one thing have you not done that you really want to do?

There are hundreds of things I really want to do (see my recent blog post: things to do before i die ~ otherwise known as my “before-i-kick-the-bucket list”), but since I can only do one thing at a time, the thing I want to do next is to take a yacht or ferry around the Greek islands and explore mainland Greece.  My plan is to do that this summer.

Santorini, Greece: the stuff of dreams

As far as personal accomplishment goals, I’ve written the first draft of a novel, but for some reason I can’t seem to make myself revise it.  No one has ever seen it except me.  So, I guess the thing I really want to do is revise it and get it published.

Where do you eat breakfast? 

I usually eat breakfast in front of my computer in the morning, while catching up on emails and reading my favorite blogs and reading any comments on my own blog.  When I’m traveling, my favorite place to eat breakfast is on a rooftop overlooking some beautiful landscape.

a rooftop breakfast in Cappadocia, Turkey