Tuesday 25 December 2007

#15 Organise the CDs of photos from my overseas trip

Status: Reminiscing

Just days before I leave Australia's fair shores once again, here's a little pictorial update for you. Enjoy a bunch of my favourite snaps from my travels over the past two years, complete with pretentiously-written captions in which I bang on about all the lovely places I visited.

A little flutterby I snapped in Singapore.

The stunning view from my window at sunset in Passau, Germany; note the frost hanging from the roof.

The view from my desk in London. Overlooking the River Thames, the amazing panoramic north-facing view ran from Battersea and Pimlico in the west...

...to Westminster and Waterloo in the east. I'll simply never work somewhere with the same view again.

Pink (London) Eye! Hahaha... ahhh...

A tranquil sunset over a bay in Oslo, Norway...

...while the city never stops.

England's stunningly peaceful Lake District (picture taken immediately before two fighter jets flew overhead).

The corridors surrounding the courtyard of the 16th century Spanish monastery in which I taught English for a week.

The phenomenal beaches of Cádiz: southern Spain's hidden gem.

Wind turbines in action in the Spanish hillside.

There is nothing on Earth like European art.

The sun sets over Berlin's Reichstag building, the original - and current - home of the German parliament.

Home to the largest number of species in the world (and the adorable Knut), here's just one of the creatures at the Zoologischer Garten Berlin.

Not my most masculine hour, but Prague's botanical gardens really are something...

...as are the city's sunsets, which are much more manly. Just think of the millions of tonnes of gases burning furiously and mercilessly above our meager planet. Sure sucked the romance out of that, didn't I?

Pigeons overlook Prague's Vltava river.

Row upon row of terraces growing grapes for wine production in Austria's beautiful Wachau valley.

A bizarre spectacle of a surfer tackling the waves in an artificial stream in landlocked Munich, a phenomenon caused by a pumping mechanism.

Original barbed wire from the truly frightening Dachau concentration camp.

Venice. Says it all.

The striking paintwork of the Venetian island of Burano.

The beautiful, yet imposing architecture of St Peter's Basilica in Vatican City.

Rome's Colosseum is arguably more impressive lit up at night.

Dusk atop the Leaning Tower of Pisa (photo corrected for tilt).

The gorgeous and rare (for us east coast Aussies) sight of the sun setting over the ocean, as witnessed by Jackie and I on a Vancouver beach.

This one was taken not by me (obviously), but by my friend, John, as we, er, trespassed to abseil down to touch the Hollywood sign in Los Angeles (not pictured: legal activity).

And finally... the single greatest image I took while on my trip. Allow me to set the scene. While holidaying in Cádiz, I decided to take a day trip to Gibraltar, that big ol' British rock that lies in the south of Spain. While there's not a great deal there, aside from lane after lane of tacky tourist traps, the highlight is taking the cable car to the top of the rock for a phenomenal view of the Spanish coastline and, on a clear day, Morocco. Despite this amazing panorama, this was the view that truly captivated me.

Yes, Gibraltar is also famed for its colony of tailless monkeys, around 230 of which hop around the rock's peak, harassing tourists, picking each other's nits and generally looking exceptionally cute or ugly depending on how young or old they are respectively. Oh, and they love carbonated beverages.

6 comments:

  1. all i can say is. JEALOUS!

    i wanna go everywhere too!

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  2. oh my god. matt this has made me so jealous and excited about my travels! the frost in germany, the city in Norway, Rome and well yes Venice does say it all. That's an amazing shot!
    good luck on you're next big adventure, it will be even better with the one you love.
    ill miss you but something tells me I'll be distracted by something very soon.....hehe
    xxx

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  3. i'll third that... JEALOUS! i can't believe you took all these mesmerizing shots and went to all these amazing places. you are truly a lucky man and i hope you have a wonderous time in Canada (course i know you will).

    Take care and be aware!!

    xxxxx

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  4. amazing matt...just amazing. these memories will be yours for always. x

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  5. Yeah those are some sweet photos. It's funny how the monkey takes the cake though (or the 7up in this case).. the small things can sometimes be the most amusing.

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  6. You write very well.

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