Photographer Extraodinaire ....

So as some of you are aware a few months ago I actually joined a local photography club and one of the benefits of the club is that each month you submit 3 photo's which a critiqued and judged by a different expert.

If they are good enough they can even receive an award either gold, silver or bronze.

Gold = A Terrific Photo - excellent composition - sharp, well defined, technically correct and worthy of entering into a competition.

Silver = A Great Photo - most aspects of technical correction - with small effort(s) would make a competition image.

Bronze = A Good Photo - worthy of a mention and artistically interesting. Some aspects could be improved, but you are on the right track!

I submitted 3 photo's this month and of those two won silver awards. Apparently these two are great photo's. I'm quite chuffed because out of all the "novice's" (those who have been with the club for under 6 months) my two were the top two judged with one coming in behind me in Bronze.

So big pat on the back to Miss V for the win ... now I'm already pouring through my other pictures trying to find that next BIG picture!

Media Room Wall Mural - Sydney Harbour Bridge

So for the past two years you have had to listen to me harp on about the amazing image I found in the NSW archives of the Sydney Harbour Bridge being built.

I am happy to say at very long last my dreams of a wall mural are now a reality. The mural is up, the final details are almost complete and the room is starting to look finished.

New cushions, new sliding side tables and some lovely blown glass bottles help make this room special.

Dont get me wrong, there is still skirting and the DVD cabinets to go but to be honest it finally feels like things are getting done.

What do you think? Did this room turn out like you though it would??? Do you like it or is it a little bit too "out there?"

Final Pics of Prague

My mother complained last night that I didn't give you enough detail when it came to our favorite city Prague.

Obviously with all the other excitement I had moved on however in the eyes of my fellow travellers a little bit too soon so today I plan to remedy this situation and give you a final taste of Prague before we move back to the house.

Obviously this city is amazing and I have rounded up my favorite photos that show Prague in the best light possible.

A New Addition to The Vintage Family ....

So perhaps I have been keeping a secret .... a very exciting secret about a new member of our family.

The time has come to spill said secret and I am very happy to introduce you all to the newest member of the Vintage family.... Tilly.

Tilly is an 8 week old black and silver minature schnauzer from Queensland and is the new playmate of our current puppy Lacey.

Together these two are bound to cause havock and mayhem where ever they go (my house mostly) so obviously we are very excited for the crazy to begin.

Right now we are battling with toilet training but im sure very soon we will be on the road to recovery - I am extremely happy with our floors as they are holding up well under the copious amounts of spray and wipe we are needing to use!

Jet Lagged But Back

My apologies for the disapearance however Prague was insanely, crazily busy and then travelling and jet lag mean the last week has been more of a blur than a week but I have plenty to tell you and share however today seemed the perfect oportunity to backtrack and show you some of my favorite city.

Prague is fairytale for me, where are Luzern is perfectly organised, pretty and sweet there is something gritty and interesting about Prague that just keeps it at the top of my list of beautiful places. It has a personality you just cant help but love and although slightly less enchanting during new years with all the young drunken Russian tourists it has "something" special every time I come back.

So ladies and gentleman .... a quick photo tour of Prague ....

Lucerne .... Almost Perfect

What can I say about Lucerne that hasn't already been said ... beautiful, orderly and tranquil, Lucerne is so picturesque you cant really say anything bad about it. 

We were lucky enough to stay in a lovely hotel on the lake and were rewarded with beautiful views the minute we stepped outside. Every street is ever so beautiful, I didn't see any graffiti, rubbish was absent from all the usual places and even the pollution you would normally find on old buildings in the form of  a black coating is absent. 

To put it simply Lucerne is heaven in a perfectly elegant Channel suit. Now here is the kicker ... it also costs as much as a Channel suit. The prices that we saw were expensive ... poor Mr V lashed out on a late night snack at the golden arches and a medium meal cost him $20 Swiss Franks!!! Saying that a dinner out would cost the same as in Perth, Australia so while its expensive its not "oh my god I'm going to have to sell a kidney for a steak expensive" just the usual ... my wallet hurts slightly. 

So we didn't really get much time to explore Lucerne, we only had a few hours before our flight out but even that was drama filled. Waiting in the lobby for the pickup I belatedly realised looking at the paperwork that our driver was waiting for us in the sister hotel in Zurich not Lucerne where we were currently sitting. A slight oversight on my behalf .... (yes its true, I am not perfect) which meant desperately trying to organise an alternative 1 hour and 15 minutes away with a very limited time window! Our poor driver reached speeds of up to 160 km's an hour to get us there on time. So leave Switzerland we did .... headed to our last destination for the trip and my personal favourite ... Prague!

So much excitement for our last destination but also coming home .... we actually miss home and while the trip has been fantastic our bed is really starting to feel like an oasis .... however still two more days to live to the fullest before back to the grindstone until the next holiday.

Top of Europe - Jungfraujoch

 

At 3454 meters above sea level Jungfraujoch is Europe's highest altitude railways stations and the highlight of our visit to Switzerland.

A series of small, super cute cog wheel trains shuttle visitors up the mountain starting down at Grindelwald (even the village names are like something out of a fairytale) the train travels at a leisurely pace past small towns nestled beneath the mountains, ski resorts and spectacular views. You reach another cute little ski resort at the base of three large mountain peaks, Eiger, Junfrau and Monch where you change trains for your journey through the mountain.

Now before we go into the mountain let me give you a bit of a spiel on this particular Mountain and whats so special. The Jungfrau is one of the main summits in the Bernese Alps. The  Jungfraujoch railway was constructed 100 years ago this year 1912 which is a feat of engineering in itself. The iconic Sphinx - an research observation base is one of the most recognisable in the world and I think (but don't quote me) that it was actually featured in a James Bond Movie!!! You may just be able to seethe little bump in the center of my picture.... the second one.

Ok now back to the experience itself. You wind your way up through the inside of the mountain, photo stops along the way giving you a look at all the original blasted out walls and views that seem to go on forever before finally arriving at top. Your poor ears have popped and you are breathing heavily after having been warned to move very slowly as lack of oxygen can be an issue, further compounded by a young Japanese girl passing out nearby. Im not going to name names but one of our group got particularly dizzy while up here ... he he he. 

There is a lot of stuff to see up here but for us the two main ones were the sphinx and the ice palace. So Ice Palace first .... this is a chance to walk THROUGH a glacier .... you can see here mum issuing poor missing dad a challenge - she has completed something else that he hasn't .... 

Bucket list item 87 - walk through a glacier - tick!

 

So back to the ice palace - eery shades of blue and white bath the place in a weird kind of glow, you slide softly forward excited at where you are but nervous as to staying on your feet. There are small little tunnels, carvings and photo opportunities and for a few minutes you get that excited ... "I just can't wait" feeling you used to get when you were little.

Finally the Sphinx. A elevator takes you out of the bowels of the Earth to the research station ... the problem, white out meaning everyone gets back into the elevator to spend more time at the palace. But not us crazy Australians .... of course we go out in the sub arctic temperatures and pose for stupid photos while frost bite starts attacking our extremities.

Overall today was so great - we did something totally different, saw something we mind blowing and had fun in the process. May tomorrow hold the same wonders!