Photography | The Travel Lady In Her Shoes

Thursday Doors: Prague

Prague, The Czech Republic

Prague is an architect’s dream! You can’t just take a picture of a door here without getting the scope of the entire building! What beauty! It is quite the tourist destination so many photos will also feature Tourists! I took these photos before I got into the habit of getting up early to take photos before the tourists arrived!

Prague, The Czech Republic

Prague is a blend of old and new. This pink building is a motorcycle shop!

Prague, The Czech Republic

Prague is a place of many doorways to another doorway! And I love all the cobbled, tiny streets! This was the way to our hotel…….

Prague, The Czech Republic

And this was the door to the hotel!

Prague, The Czech Republic

And there is a door on the famous Prague Astronomical Clock!

The Astonomical Clock, Prague, Czech Republic

The Astronomical Clock, Prague, Czech Republic

The medieval astronomical clock can be found in Old Town Square. Legend says Hanus, the clockmaker, made the clock that was so admired by everyone, but he refused to show anyone how it was made. When he decided to build an even better clock the city officials became jealous and blinded him so he could not finish the clock. He then damaged the astronomical clock in revenge, and no-one was able to repair it.

The Real history of the clock is this. In 1961 an old document was found which described the clock and said it was made by Mikulas of Kadan in 1410. It was repaired and improved over the centuries, but eventually it was so faulty, it was mostly not working at all, and by 1780 it stopped working altogether. In 1865 major repairs were made to the clock and in 1945 the clock was damaged heavily during the war. After the war the clock was repaired and the striking of the clock was changed from Old Czech Time to the Central European Time.

The wooden figures of the apostles appear in the windows every hour and some of the other sculptures move. Death holds an hourglass, vanity is a man with a mirror, Miserliness is a man with a moneybag. There is also an astronomer, chronicler, philosopher and angel. When the apostles finish their journey, the golden rooster crows and flaps his wings, the bell rings, and the clock strikes the hour.

The Astronomical Dial shows the medieval perception of the Universe: the Earth is the center. The blue part of the dial represents the sky above the horizon, the brown part the sky below it.

There are three circles on the dial showing different times. The outer circle shows Italian time and the inner circle shows “Babylonian Time,” the length of an hour differs there according to season……longer in summer and shorter in winter. This clock is the only one in the world that measures it. The little star by the zodiac ring shows the fixed stars.

The newest part of the clock is the Calendar Dial. There is the Prague Old Town symbol in the centre. The rotary outer circle describes every single day of the year, and the current date is indicated at the top. There are also medallions with zodiac signs and pictures depicting every month. Wow, this is quite the clock!

This is just one of many photos in the Thursday Door Collection featured by Norm2.0! Won’t you join in or take a peak at all the doors?

I Had to Come Back to Sissinghurst!

A Cottage at Sissinghurst Garden, Cranbrook, UK

To me, no garden tour in the UK would be complete without a visit to Sissinghurst, the home and gardens of Vita Sackville-West. I made my way back again this year to make sure they had not changed anything on me!. It is still one of the most beautiful gardens! So without further ado I present another National Trust property that you will never forget! If you are not familiar with Vita Sackville-West, you might want to start with this story, Here.

There are several smaller cottages on the Sissinghurst property, well not so small exactly! I think I could handle living in one of them! There are multiple gardens in addition to the main property.

This is the entrance to the featured gardens. We try to be one of the first there, because it gets crowded very quickly. The entrance is still closed.

Sissinghurst, Cranbrook, UK

When the entrance is opened, that leads to another entry through the Prospect Tower. This photo is looking back at the Main Entry from the garden.

Sissinghurst Garden, Cranbrook, UK

The Back of the Main House, Sissinghurst, UK

The Back of the Main House, Sissinghurst, Cranbrook, UK

A little secret…….the head gardener leaves free packets of seeds from the Sissinghurst Garden on the narrow ledge in the alcove below the stairs to Vita’s writing retreat. They are gone in the first 15 minutes! Hurry!

The Priests are still guarding and giving their blessing!

Sissinghurst Garden, UK

Remember the Sissinghurst Garden is made up of several outdoor garden rooms all featuring a different color that fades into the next gardening room. My favorite is the White Garden so I always go there first.

The White Garden at Sissinghurst Gardens, Cranbrook, UK

My absolute favorite are the silvery-grey flowers and leaved plants!

The White Garden at Sissinghurst Gardens, Cranbrook, UK

The White Garden at Sissinghurst Garden, UK

The White Garden at Sissinghurst Garden, Cranbrook, UK

Next we go into the garden of lavenders and purple flowers.

The Purple Garden at Sissinghurst, Cranbrook, UK

From there we go into the Pink Gardens………..

The Pink Garden at Sissingurst Garden, UK

The Pink Garden at Sissingurst Garden, Cranbrook, UK

Sweetpeas in the Pink Garden, Sissinghurst, UK

Sweetpeas in the Pink Garden, Sissinghurst, Cranbrook, UK

The Pink Garden, Sissinghurst, Cranbrook, UK

The Pink Garden, Sissinghurst Garden, UK

The Pink Garden, Sissinghurst Garden, Cranbrook, UK

For another look at the Garden from last year look HERE!

On the way out I looked over the out buildings again………

Sissinghurst Garden, Cranbrook, UK

And the Old Barn where the gift shop and restaurant is now.

Sissinghurst Garden, Cranbrook, UK

The oasts are still there………so I am happy to say they are taking really good care of the grounds…… To learn about Oasts Look HERE!

Sissinghurst Garden, Cranbrook, UK

To keep up our energy we stopped at the Three Chimney’s Pub nearby….. AGAIN!!!

Yummy!

Another year complete with my Sissinghurst fix…..

PS For a really good read about Vita look HERE! See you tomorrow in the Garden!

October: A Month of Pumpkins; Day 26, And The Winner Is

The Clear Winner is Quebec City, Canada

No question about which is the biggest pumpkin here!

1 Elm Cottage at Windmill Hill

1 Elm Cottage

Doesn’t 1 Elm Cottage at Windmill Hill just seem like the perfect place to live? It does to me! It just rolls off the tongue,”I live at 1 Elm Cottage at Windmill Hill!” This is our last garden for the day and compared to our previous stops Windmill Hill is a metropolis! What a delight the gardens have been on the Herstmonceux Trail! They have all been very different and 1 Elm Cottage is no exception!

The garden was chosen because this gardener has physical handicaps and she wanted to show what can be done with a little space and ingenuity! She says her long-handled fork is her best friend! What a delight she was, as she welcomed everyone to her lovely garden!

The garden is set at the front of a long row of connected cottages on a very, very busy street. Her cottage sets back from the others, but is still a connected cottage and I wondered if at one time this might have been a business with a parking lot. It was unusual too, because I don’t remember seeing a garden in the front of the cottage. Most of the gardens are in the back. She said the front space was a wasteland when she took it over. It now is a stunning garden packed full of edible and flowering plants and a critter or two that I really liked! So let’s get a move on and tour this garden!

The Windmill in Windmill Hill

There really is a windmill at Windmill Hill!

1 Elm Cottage

She collects rainwater to recycle……

1 Elm Cottage

And has water for these little guys….. even though they don’t ever move!

1 Elm Cottage

1 Elm Cottage

This garden seems larger than it is because it’s layered with plantings and seating areas in different heights.

1 Elm Cottage

1 Elm Cottage

I LOVED these fellas, they don’t move either, but you had to look close to see that!

1 Elm Cottage

This tiny garden had three sitting areas!

1 Elms Cottage

And a greenhouse!

1 Elm Cottage

A lovely garden girl……..

1 Elm Cottage

And lots of watering cans!

1 Elm Cottage

The Gardener at 1 Elm Cottage!

I hope you enjoyed this garden as much as we did! Tomorrow, it’s Sissinghurst, AGAIN this year!!!! It is one of my favorite gardens! See You There!

October: A Month of Pumpkin; Day 25, Pumpkins in the Park

Pumpkins in the Park, Quebec City, Canada

OK, Let’s get a head count here! I say two hundred and fifty pumpkins easily! The pumpkins go on and on!

More of the Montana Garden

The Montana Garden

We are still absorbing the Montana Garden; the garden chock full of hidden and secret places, all with a different theme.

The Montana Garden

Towards the back of the property is a small setting of unusual trees and an arbor that draws you to that area to have a look see. There were quite a few guests photographing the palm on the right!

The Montana Garden

Notice all the twirling and enchanting features in the trees? Look up, look down, look everywhere! However, my eye was focused on this tree! I loved it! I could just sit on that bench and talk to that tree!

The Montana Garden

This secret garden is covered in shade and filled with many types of ferns. A garden oasis of lush!

The Montana Garden

I felt I was on Survivor, looking for the Immunity Idol! Ah! There it is! Now, if I can hide it before anyone sees me!

The Montana Garden

This arbor provides a very peaceful and restful area in the Serenity Garden.

The Montana Garden

And here is another!

The Montana Garden

Every garden could use a Pooh Shed too!

The Pooh Shed at Montana House

The Montana Garden

And a reading area that can be moved around!

The Montana Garden

This piece was an attention getter too!

The Montana Garden

Another tree to talk too! My daughter always called them the crying trees. You know the weeping willow?

The Montana Garden

With one last look at the garden we’ll say our goodbyes to the gardeners, since we have one more stop in another garden before the day is over. We’re headed for Windmill Hill next! See you there!

October: A Month of Pumpkins; Day 23, The Fairytale Pumpkin

Fairytale Pumpkin

This is an old time pumpkin from France. It is deeply ribbed and has a very smooth hard surface. It is dark green in color when immature, and as it cures it turns a gorgeous deep mohagony. It is fine grained and well suited for pies. It’s true name is: Musque De Provence

The Montana Garden on the National Garden Scheme

The Montana Garden

The Montana Garden

The Montana Garden

People often ask me how I find the open gardens that I visit on the National Garden Scheme in the UK. There is a yearly book, Gardens To Visit on the National Garden Scheme, that I send for, that lists the gardens, the date they will be open and a small description of the garden with directions to get there. Then I look to see what gardens are in the vicinity to my lodgings on the dates that I will be there. Most gardens are open on Saturday and Sundays. There has always been more than one garden to see on the Saturdays and Sundays I was available. I LOVE the Group Openings! These are several gardens, in very close proximity that are featured together. Sometimes you may see seven or more gardens in a day depending on how much time you spend in each garden.

In the previous post I wrote about Cowbeech House, which was part of the Herstmonceux Parish Trail that featured four gardens. All gardens are well marked with several bright yellow balloons and a bright yellow sign as well. Most of the time you can tell you are close to a garden because of the number of cars parked in the lane. On this particular tour there were also balloons and signs posted at different turns on the narrow roads, because some of them looked more like farm lanes and could easily be missed, or as I often say, “are you sure we are on the right road, we are in the middle of nowhere!” But, the middle of nowhere has some very beautiful gardens!

After we left Cowbeech House we were yellow-balloon directed to a cottage called “Montana.” “Montana” wasn’t in my guide book as a garden on the Herstmonceux Parish Trail list of gardens. So here is the explanation why.

The gardeners at “Montana” travel a lot. For the National Garden Scheme, one must commit at least a year in advance to open their garden on a certain date. “Montana” had never opened their garden because they couldn’t commit so far in advance. This seemed like a real shame to one of their neighbors, because she felt their garden was a must-see. So when it came time for the garden tour and she realized the “Montana” gardeners would be home and available, she moved the sign from her garden to theirs!

So we are visiting “Montana” today and it is a first timer! Aren’t we lucky! Enjoy the garden!

The Montana Garden

The Montana Garden

The Montana Garden

The Montana Garden

The Montana Garden

The Montana Garden

These gardeners drew your eye up with many features hidden in trees and hanging on forlorn branches!

The Montana Garden

The Montana Garden

The Montana Garden

No garden is complete without a retreat! This garden was very deep and wide with many different gardens within the garden! There was so much to see at “Montana” I’ll show you more tomorrow!

Thursday Doors: More To See at Windsor Castle

Windsor Castle, Windsor, UK

The Grand Entrance to Windsor Castle, Windsor, UK

We’re still at Windsor, so here are more doors!

This is about as close as you can get to the castle! Even the Queen has gardening chores! It would be a bit of a challenge to get in here! It’s quite a walk up the Queen’s driveway too! You are not going to make a fast get away!

The Queen’s Driveway, Windsor Castle, UK

Another Door at Windsor Castle, Windsor UK

Always lots of police around!

Windsor Castle, Windsor, UK

In this picture you get an idea how big the doors actually are!

The Guards at Windsor Castle, Windsor, UK

The Learning Center at Windsor Castle, Windsor, UK

I wonder what you learn here? Maybe how to open those giant doors!

The #1 Door at Windsor Castle, Windsor, UK

I wonder who number one is? I am sure this is not the Queen’s entrance! Maybe the #1 Housekeeper! Or maybe the #1 Guard!

The Queens Gets Her Own Lamps Too, Windsor Castle, Windsor, UK

The Queen Gets Her Own Lamps Too, Windsor Castle, Windsor, UK

There is Windsor Castle and Windsor City! Let’s take a look over there!

Windsor City, UK

I hope that plug in the street can be lowered so the cars can get out or it is a long way to back up!

Windsor City, UK

The Sanctuary, Windsor, UK

There are the small cobbled streets and the big thoroughfare! And a PINK door!

Windsor City, UK

I hope you enjoyed our final walk around Windsor! See you next week!

This is just one of many photos in the Thursday Door Collection featured by Norm2.0! Won’t you join in or take a peak at all the doors?

JNW’S Halloween Challenge: Fall

Fall in Quebec, Canada

Have a spooktacular time with JNW’s Halloween Challenge! Enjoy!

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Posts tagged ‘Photography’

Thursday Doors: Prague

I Had to Come Back to Sissinghurst!

October: A Month of Pumpkins; Day 26, And The Winner Is

1 Elm Cottage at Windmill Hill

October: A Month of Pumpkin; Day 25, Pumpkins in the Park

More of the Montana Garden

October: A Month of Pumpkins; Day 23, The Fairytale Pumpkin

The Montana Garden on the National Garden Scheme

Thursday Doors: More To See at Windsor Castle

JNW’S Halloween Challenge: Fall

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