Come away with the raggle taggle gypsy-o
What a difficult challenge! After all what is unusual to me in England is commonplace to lots of you. Most of the people who visit Lucid Gypsy are in the USA so I think this may be unusual for you, it’s a forest of Dishtrees with the Atlas mountains in the background 🙂
I just love it and you seem to quite like it too!
That’s Winchester for now, if I get a chance I’ll go back in summer when the water meadow looks lovely and hope for some blue sky!
Lots to see in Winchester but I’ve tried to find some less obvious shots!
Lots of delights to be found, history on every corner, lovely water meadows in summer, unusual shops and best of all the choccy shop!
I’ve decided it’s time to post more about where I live, a really beautiful part of the world, so these are a few photos of the river that runs through my home town. It begins north of here in the depths of the countryside but I’m beginning just down the road and ending ten miles away at the estuary.
So first of all, Exeter’s historic quay
Trew’s weir, a mile down river
Of course there are always mute swans
Kriz’s photo here http://kardzbykris.wordpress.com/2012/02/21/leap-year-additional-february-day-21-2/ inspired this post, because it reminded me of one of my favourite paths, along the mill leat that begins just after the weir.
The leat rejoins the river
The old mill
Looking up river, with the canal on the left .
Another lovely path
Reed beds
The canal, one of the oldest in the country, begins at the quay and runs about five miles to the Turf lock and parallel to the river. This is about half way down.
Topsham quay, the river’s half way point between Exeter and Exmouth
Topsham, looking down river.
Lympstone, eight miles down and the river is quite wide
and finally, the estuary looking west towards Dawlish Warren.
I hope you enjoyed your brief meander down stream!
I really like this weeks challenge but will restrain myself to just a few pics!
Looking beyond the Petronas Towers to a whole load of tiny sky scraping buildings!
He made it ‘down’ low enough.
Looking ‘down’ from the top of the Eiffel Tower.
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So here is my entry for the theme ‘Expression’
Do I look a bit of a goof in this?
No, no, you look very handsome, you must buy!
This photo is about much more than regret but I won’t intrude on any feelings you may have. I felt it appropriate especially as many of my blogging friends are from Australia and New Zealand. It was taken at Anzac Cove, Gallipoli.
and this is to show a little more for those who may never have the opportunity to visit.
Last year, soon after I began blogging, I wrote this poem and posted it with another photo. https://lucidgypsy.wordpress.com/2011/06/21/anzac-cove/
I’m a travelaholic and I’m always posting photos and anecdotes from places around the world but for once I’m going to sing the praises about my own city. Beautiful Exeter in the south west of England is 2000 years old and has something for everyone. Here are just a few pics I took last summer when I spent just an hour in town. 
A fund raising event
A shiny band
A veterans parade (and above)
Restored Tudor buildings
A recent mural
The 900 year old St Peter’s cathedral
Some of the flock!
Mols coffee house
A ruined church
A friendly labradoodle
Silver man
A catwalk show in Princesshay shopping centre
The blue boy relocated from the old Princesshay
I hope you like this quick insight into a summer day in Exeter.There is always something to see and do, we get lots of tourists and the coast is just ten miles away.
. . . that George can fix it again!
The road to Mole was long and hot and this wasn’t the only break down on that day. We made it of course, thanks to George’s skill – an awesome driver and mechanic!
Jaisalmer
To safeguard the fort at Jaisalmer, places to stay are few and as much as the romanticism is appealing we stayed in a hotel outside the walls. I think comfortably, because I remember nothing about the first night there. We threw a spanner in the works of Magan Singh by saying that we wanted to go on a camel safari but bless him, a couple of calls and it was planned, so we stowed our bags at reception and set off for an overnight adventure fuelled by masala omelette, coffee and lassi. By nine we were pedal-boating around Gadisar Lake.
In India a lake is quite often a tank, a masonry lined reservoir for irrigation, and Gadisar is one of the most beautiful. The lake was full of fish, a bit like sterlets, large catfish and in the centre an island inhabited by cranes, herons and cormorants.
At points around the edge there were shrines and little summerhouses built for wives and courtesans of princes past. We spent an hour there and never have we been so thankful for our dupattas. We would have had sunstroke without them as the sun boiled us like potatoes in the water.
In town we had one of the few problems of the trip – we had been advised to take travellers cheques – a mistake! We went to cash some and the first bank told us they didn’t do travellers cheques, so we went to the Bank of Jaisalmer and Bikaner, with a really grumpy cashier, where we were told to go to the Bank of Baroda, the first one! This was probably what had given Jaisalmer a reputation of not always being welcoming to travellers. Magan to the rescue, with a bureau de change that had a good rate and free bottled water. A ten year old boy charming a cobra from a basket blocked our way; do they have their nasty stuff milked? But it was worth battling past to reach Natraj, a rooftop restaurant beneath the fort where lunch and lassi (yes I was addicted and I’ll leave it to you to wonder if it was Bang lassi) for 200 rupees.
Off to the desert, so this sand-as-far-as you- can-see sauna is not desert? stopping on the way at an ancient deserted village, Khuldera, where 400 years ago the entire population upped sticks overnight, never to return again. The legend says that a dignitary from Jaisalmer coveted a young girl, the jewel of the village, and wanted to whisk her away to his harem. They thwarted his plans by leaving. Khuldera was in quite good condition, with well built homes and temples, as silent as the grave and you could just imagine them, camels laden and disappearing into the night.
I still haven’t told you very much about Jaisalmer, but you will have to wait until after the camel safari.
Lucid Gypsy 