Kolkata

I must really be out of touch - I hadn't known that in 2001, the British name "Calcutta" was changed to Kolkata to reflect a less imperialist political heritage and a more Bengali pronunciation. (Of course, the natives remain "Calcuttans," so it seems a bit of a pyrrhic victory to me.) Kolkata served as the capital of the British Raj (1772-1912), and today is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal.Marble Palace
Kali TempleKolkata was known as the "City of Palaces," but has more recently been nicknamed "The City of Joy" and "The Football City." Archaeological evidence shows that the area has been inhabited for more than 2,000 years. It is home to the Indian Museum, the oldest museum in Asia (est. 1814), as well as the Victoria Memorial which is a major tourist attraction and museum in its own right.Indian Museum
Victoria MemorialThe city is spread along the banks of the River Hooghly. Much of the wetlands surrounding the area have been drained to make room for a burgeoning population, but lately parts of it have been designated as protected wetlands. The Howrah Bridge spans the Hooghly, providing a stunning visual display on this major river port.Howrah Bridge
Kolkata UniversityThe University of Calcutta is the oldest western-style university in Asia according to Wikipedia. This is a vibrant city, rich in the heritage of two cultures (Bengali and British) where Mosques and Temples, Museums and Schools stand together to reflect a pursuit of learning and growth and a preservation of diversity.Belur-Math

Jardin des Tuileries

Welcome to the central-most park in Paris! It was one of the first to open to the public (1667) and has served as an exemplar for gardens across Europe.
Catherine de Medicis, Queen of France, moved her household to the Louvre Palace after the death of her husband, Henry II. She decided to build a new palace for herself and her son (King Francois II), complete with a garden patterned after the gardens she'd known in her native Florence.The spot was home to tile workshops (tuileries), which is where the area, the palace, and the gardens got their names.Place de la ConcordeThe plants, the sculptures, the fountains and the monuments are scrupulously maintained, creating a beautiful spot in the heart of a big city.The Palace no longer stands, but the gardens do. Standing in the middle of them, one can see down the Champs Elysees to the Arc de Triomphe and La Bastille in the opposite direction.It makes me wish I spoke French!

Rottnest Island

As with many of the islands we've visited, "Rotto" as the locals call it has had more than one name in its history. The native Australian Aboriginies called it Wadjemup, meaning "place across the water." In 1681, the English "found" the island and christened it Maiden's Isle. The name didn't really catch on apparently and the island remained uninhabitated due largely to the lack of fresh surface water. The Dutch were the next to find the island in 1694. They gave it the name Rottnest-"Rat's Nest"-and that is how it has been known since.What the Dutch seem to have missed was that what they thought were rats were actually marsupials similar to miniature kangaroos. The rats nest was thickly populated with quokkas, not rats.
The Shingleback Lizard and Rock Parrot are just two examples of some of the wildlife native to this part of the world.
This antipodean holiday spot hosts a variety of exotic life, including the still-thriving quokka on its small land area. The island is only 11 km long by 4km wide at its broadest point. It has a total of 19 square km (that is just over 7 miles), so it's a very small space. It is absolutely auto-free and has very few permanent residents. It is a popular snorkeling spot featuring underwater plaques to tell you what you're seeing. There are incredibly poisonous snakes, legless lizards, and myriad birds. Humpback whales and bottlenose dolphins frolic in the water and skinks clamber over the beaches close to dozing fur seals. The place is thriving with life and a fresh water source has been found, making it that much more popular.Still, you can see why people would visit it. I'd go.

Oslo

The Grand Hotel in Oslo.
Nobody actually knows where the name Oslo came from. There are some theories, but no agreement. For a brief time, Oslo was Christiana, then Kristiana, Christiana again, and then it was back to Oslo. There is some talk of renaming at least a part of the city Christiana again.
Oslo's Port in March
Oslo is a capital marked by greenspace.Vigeland Park
Oslo Lighthouse
Interestingly, it is actually much warmer than one would expect. It is in the path of the Gulf Stream, which makes it not as cold in the winter as it should be.

It sure looks pretty to me.

Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness

The Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness is the second largest wilderness preserve in the lower 48 states. (Death Valley Wilderness in California is the biggest.)The Main and Middle Forks of the Salmon (the River of No Return for which this wilderness area is named) have carved a canyon here that is 6,300 feet from the river bottom. That is deeper than the Grand Canyon.It was named for Senator Frank Church, who played a key role in helping to get the Wilderness Act of 1964 passed.There are 296 maintained trails (approximately 2,616 miles of trail). There are 114 bridges over streams and rivers, 32 Forest Service Roads, 66 trailheads, and still there are 1.5 million trail-free acres. It is administered jointly by the Forest Service and BLM and hosts campers, hikers, packers, fishers, hunters, horsepackers, backpackers, skiers, picnickers, and day-trippers. The picture above is the statue in front of the Sacagawea Inerpretive Center located here.It is a dry country with as little as 10 inches of rainfall per year near the rivers, but as much as 50 inches of snow on the mountains. The Wilderness hosts eight big game animals and hundreds of other species.
I'm not much of a camper, but it sure looks gorgeous.

Ankara

The Ankara Atakule Tower looks out over the capitol of the Turkish Republic.This area has been inhabited since the Bronze Age: first the Hattis, and then the Hittites. After them the Phrygians, Lydians, and Persians came into power. Then the Galatians, after which it fell to the Romans, then the Byzantines, and then the Seljuks. After that, the Ottomans came in and controlled the area until the first World War. That's a lot of civilizations coming and going!Kugulu Park
It's a well-planned city, with parks and greenspace. The area enjoys hot and dry summers and cold, snowy winters.Segmenler Park
Ankara was a major stop for caravans traveling the trade routes. The word Ankara comes from the ancient Greek word for Anchor. This modern city has proved to have the holding power of an anchor.
Kocatepe Mosque

White Cliffs of Dover

According to the www.dover.gov.uk website, "The first recorded description of Dover describes the scene that Julius Caesar saw in 55 BC when, with two legions of soldiers, he arrived off Dover looking for a suitable landing place and 'saw the enemy's forces, armed, in position on all the hills there. At that point steep cliffs came down close to the sea in such a way that it is possible to hurl weapons from them right down to the shore. It seemed to me that the place was altogether unsuitable for landing.' (Caesar's Commentaries, Book IV.)"The chalk cliffs are quite a sight, rising out of the water nearly 300 feet in some places. UK's National Trust claims it is "one of this country's most spectacular natural features."

Rock SamphireIn Shakespeare's King Lear, it was the location of Act IV, Scene I where the Earl of Gloucester says "There is a cliff, whose high and bending head / looks fearfully in the confined deep." As he looks over the edge of the cliff, he sees "half way down / Hangs one that gathers samphire: dreadful trade!" Samphire is a plant native to the area which, according to some sources, tastes like asparagus. It was gathered by people who would lower themselves by a rope to the cliff face where it grew.From "Dover Beach" by Matthew Arnold (1867):
The sea is calm tonight
The tide is ful, the moon lies fair
Upon the straits: - on the French coast, the light
Gleams, and is gone: the cliffs of England stand,
Glimering and vast, out on the tranquil bay.