Sunday, April 10, 2011
Glamis Castle - Scotland
Glamis Castle is situated beside the village of Glamis in Angus, Scotland. It is the home of the Earl and Countess of Strathmore and Kinghorne, and is open to the public. Glamis Castle was the childhood home of Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, best known as the Queen Mother. Her second daughter, Princess Margaret, was born there. Since 1987 an illustration of the castle has featured on the reverse side of ten pound notes issued by the Royal Bank of Scotland.The castle features extensively in fiction and legend, and according to local legend has more dark secrets than any other castle in Scotland. The most famous legend connected with the castle is that of the Monster of Glamis, a hideously deformed child born to the family. In the story, the monster was kept in the castle all his life and his suite of rooms bricked up after his death.
Friday, April 8, 2011
Guggenheim Museum - Bilbao, Spain
The Guggenheim Museum Bilbao is a museum of modern and contemporary art designed by Canadian-American architect Frank Gehry, built by Ferrovial and located in Bilbao, Basque Country, Spain. It is built alongside the Nervion River, which runs through the city of Bilbao to the Atlantic Coast. The Guggenheim is one of several museums belonging to the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation. The museum features permanent and visiting exhibits of works by Spanish and international artists.
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Angel Falls - Venezuela
Angel Falls is one of Venezuela's top tourist attractions, but, even today, a trip to the falls is a complicated affair. The falls are located in an isolated jungle of Venezuela, and a flight from Puerto Ordaz or Ciudad Bolívar is required to reach Canaima camp, the starting point for river trips to the base of the falls.It is the world's highest waterfall, with a height of 979 m (3,212 ft) and a plunge of 807 m (2,648 ft). Angel Falls is also called Salto Ángel or indigenously Kerepakupai-merú. The indigenous name derived from the Pemón natives means "falls from the deepest place".
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Vasco da Gama Bridge - Longest Bridge in Europe
The Vasco da Gama Bridge in Portugal is the longest bridge in Europe (including viaducts) and 9th longest in the world. It has a total length of 17.2 km (10.7 miles), including 0.829 km (0.5 miles) for the main bridge, 11.5 km (7.1 miles) in viaducts, and 4.8 km (3.0 mi) in dedicated access roads.It is a cable-stayed bridge flanked by viaducts and roads that spans the Tagus River near Lisbon. Its purpose was to alleviate the congestion on Lisbon's other bridge (25 de Abril Bridge) and to join the previously unconnected motorways radiating from the Portuguese capital. The bridge carries six road lanes, with a speed limit of , the same as motorways, except on one section which is limited to . On windy, rainy, and foggy days, the speed limit is reduced to . The number of road lanes will be enlarged to eight when traffic reaches a daily average of 52,000.
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Pictures of Puebla - Mexico
In a broad, high valley about 60 miles southeast of Mexico City is a city known by many names over the years: City of Angels, City of Tiles, Heroic City of Zaragoza. Today we know it as simply Puebla.The city was founded in 1531 in an area called Cuetlaxcoapan which means “where serpents change their skin, in between of two of the main indigenous settlements at the time, Tlaxcala and Cholula.Although modern Puebla is highly industrialized, its historic downtown remains a Spanish-colonial treasure filled with elegant 17th and 18th century European architecture and art. When you add a temperate climate year-around, friendly and courteous residents (called poblanos) and delicious regional cuisine, Puebla becomes the ideal place to learn Spanish.
