Tantallon Castle - the last of our Scottish adventures..

Finally, to our dismay, the last day of our Scottish adventures arrived. Since we were all a bit tired and the weather was getting rather uncertain we decided not to venture too far away from Edinburgh, but visit one of the close by castle ruins.  We have decided to go east of Edinburgh this time (since all our previous trips took us west) and visit Castle Tantallon located on the coast of Scotland close to North Berwick.  It was built in mid 14th century and survived undamaged for only 300 years or so, but the ruins that are still standing give us an idea of how grand it must have been in it's time.  Very tall walls and towers are still standing there surrounded by the sea from one side and vast countryside on the other.  While you approach it from the road you can see the wonderful Bass Rock sticking out of the sea providing a great background to the castle on the  near by cliff.

The first thing that struck me when we got to the ruins was  what time and sea breeze did to the walls. The textures and colours of the eroded material were great and caused me to take a very many pictures of them. Here is a few:

The second this was the size of the structure, still easily recognizable regardless of the damage. I was constantly lost somewhere and only thanks to my older son looking after me I was able to find my way and find the rest of my family ;D

All of those little specs on and around Bass Rock are sea birds that live on the rock.  There are thousands of them there!!

By the time we left the structure I was completely blown away by the wind (it was so strong that one had to hold on to the ropes hanged on the staircases otherwise one might fall down swept by it)...  On the grounds my attention was caught by the walls surrounding the castle and the wild flowers that were growing out of them, planted by the birds or wind...

Of course, I had to take a closer look ;D

And that was that!! Next day we had to fly home and return to the present.  I will always cherish my memories of this trip. It was absolutely wonderful!!!  I still have hundreds of pictures left from the flights and both Spain and Scotland and, perhaps, if time allows I will share some more of them with you. But for now the adventure is over... Hope you've enjoyed this holiday with us. Until the next time...

Kasia

The dinosaurs are alive!!! - part 3

It was a great day spent at the park.  I definitely recommend a visit, and a stroll back in time.  Enjoy.

The dinosaurs are alive!!! – part 2

The Jurassic Forest provides a lot of photo opportunities.  The position of these huge creatures in the forest, between the trees, makes it for a more real experience.  Here are some more shots from our trip.  Enjoy.

The dinosaurs are alive!!! - part 1

We just got back from an amazing trip back in time.  We visited a new park near Edmonton called the "Jurassic Forest" . It's located about 15 min north of Edmonton, and it's a 40 acre prehistoric preserve.  It's a wonderful place to visit.  The dinosaurs are full size and they are set in the forest, making for more natural experience.

There are two walking trails the South and North loop, which showcase the life of various dinosaurs found around Alberta.  It's actually quite cool to be walking down the trail and in a split second facing a row of sharp teeth and piercing eyes staring at you from between the trees.  At that moment you really hope,that  you have not traveled back in time!

People who work there are very friendly, and know their dinosaurs.  We had a tour guide, that told us all about the park, and the dinosaurs, and was really good with engaging the kids.  She was genuinely happy to walk around with us, and explain how the park was built, and how the dinosaurs came to live there.  I did manage to snap a picture of her, but I did not ask for her name.

The park I think is more designed for kids, than adults, although we had just as much fun as the kids.  Even the normal warning signs are done with a little humor, like this:

Overall it's a great place to visit.  Even have a little picnic.  There is a little store where you can buy food, but it's perfectly fine to bring your own and sit down and relax at a picnic table in a nice shaded area.

I have a few more photos to share from our trip, so they'll be posted a little later.  I think the coolest thing was, once we exited the car on the parking lot, we heard the roar of the dinosaurs in the distance.  Definitely will be coming back.

Memories in Colour

Continuing from the previous post, the above photo shows the amount of people that were at the Ukrainian Village that day.  Usually it would be just a picture of a sign..... and no one else.  The following series of pictures were taken at the Ukrainian Village, but this time I decided to leave the colour in.  Enjoy!

Memories of old Alberta

It was a lovely sunny, albeit cool and windy day. Few months ago, my good friend Art and me decided to visit a place where time stands still.  It is a place of memories.  Memories of how people lived and worked and loved this land.  Then you realize that, this was only about 100 years ago.  Not that long ago in the grand scheme of things. The place I'm taking about is the Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Village. It was the last day the Village is open during the year, and it was free admission, so I bet half of population of Canada was there.  This of course proved to be a challenge when trying to take pictures.  Bloody tourists everywhere.  Blind as well.  They would just walk and stand right in front of the camera, completely oblivious of the whole world around them.  Chose the wrong day to visit.  My fault.  Still people or no people it an amazing place to visit, and if you're ever around these parts I urge you to go back in time.