TRAVEL THE WORLD - TROODOS MOUNTAINS, CYPRUS

As you can see from the second photo taken in 2006, the Troodos mountains are beautiful. We stayed a couple of days at a lovely village called Kakopetria. The first photo is of Archbishop Mykarios' mausoleum which is located in these mountains. Even today, many years after the partition of the island, there is in Cyprus a strong dislike and even fear of Turkey, feelings that were initially promoted by Mykarios and which continue to make it impossible to achieve an accommodation between the two peoples of the island. Recently, the Muslims of the north voted decisively to unite with Cyprus in order to become a member of the EU. However, they were spurned, and, as a result, must continue to rely on the support of Turkey and to suffer from a lack of investment and development.

TRAVEL THE WORLD - ANNECY FRANCE

Annecy is a beautiful town in the French Alps. In 2008 we spent an entire day there, enjoying the peacefulness and beauty of the place, and promising ourselves to return when we would be able to stay longer.

TRAVEL THE WORLD - LAKE LOUISE, CANADA

This 2003 vacation was the first time I had visited the Rocky Mountains in the spring. We had gorgeous weather, sunny with temperatures in the mid-20's Centigrade - unusual for Alberta in May. There was a lot of snow on the mountains, and there was ice on Lake Louise as you can see in the third photo. We enjoyed walking along the lake with Chateau Lake Louise in the background. Being surrounded by snow and ice gave a crispness to the air which, combined with the warmth of the sun, made for a wonderful feeling of well-being.

TRAVEL THE WORLD - BANFF, CANADA

One of the advantages of growing up in Alberta is the proximity of the Rocky mountains and the town of Banff. This photo was taken in 2003 when Paul and I had a holiday in a rented motor home which we drove through Alberta and British Columbia. Being in Banff was a pleasure as it brought back many memories of previous visits.

TRAVEL THE WORLD - BRIANCON, FRANCE

Briancon is an old fortified town in the Alps not far from the Italian border. As you can see from the photo taken in 2008, the mountains near Briancon are truly spectacular.

TRAVEL THE WORLD - ALBERTA, CANADA

We enjoyed warmer than normal weather on this vacation in the Rocky Mountains in May of 2003. Paul had a great game of golf at this wonderful mountain golf course, Mount Lorette, near Kananaskis, Alberta.

TRAVEL THE WORLD - TROODOS MOUNTAINS, CYPRUS

The Troodos mountains form a small but attractive part of Cyprus. In 2006 we drove through the area and stayed for a couple of days at a small village called Kakopetria. Because the main street of the village is very narrow and the buildings are set almost on top of each other in the hills, we had to haul our suitcases the length of the village from the parking lot to the hotel. The village is very scenic and the hotel was lovely. Our room was furnished in an old fashioned style with a large four poster bed. The place was noted for its good food and was one of the most expensive hotels of this vacation.

We looked forward to Kakopetria with eager anticipation after having spent four days at Paphos, a city filled with British pubs and fish and ship shops, and lacking in Mediterranean culture. Prior to that we had a night in Larnaca in a less than adequate hotel with an air conditioner that worked sporadically and made very loud gurgling noises, and with a toilet located in a small clothes closet with a sliding door. Unfortunately, however, because we had eaten something that didn't agree with us, we had begun to feel pretty awful by the time we arrived in Kakopetria. The food looked wonderful, but unfortunately all we could do was look at it!