Tag Archives: travel

Rebuilding With a Shell

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We spent a long weekend in Victoria BC recently. A block from our hotel was an old building undergoing a complete rebuild. This is something that I have seen done a lot in London and I like the idea. Rather than flatten the building, the exterior structure is retained. The interior is completely removed and a new building is created within. This allows the city to maintain the look and feel of the old buildings with the authentic finishes while providing a modern building interior that will continue to be useful for current needs. The structure to hold up the exterior while work is underway is impressive on its own. I look forward to seeing what the finished building is like on some future visit.

Rotunda

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The provincial legilsature’s parliament building in Victoria is open to the public. The large dome, visible from outside, covers a rotunda beneath. You can see up from the first floor through an opening and then the second floor has a wider space under the dome. This area was filled by a tour party while we were there and they seemed to take an inordinately long time to move on. The process was extended as the tour guide told their stories and this was then translated for the benefit of the group. The only reason I mention it is that it meant I struggled to get a shot without some of them in it!

If we had hung around the party, we would, no doubt, have learned a lot of the symbolism of the artwork included in the building. It appeared to be a lot of the work that had been involved in developing British Columbia but I could be wrong. Directly under the rotunda was a boat that had been carved by a previous Premier and a First Nations representative. It was a neat piece of carving but I felt it could have been displayed in a way that would have shown off the work better.

Plenty of 200ERs But the 300ERs Avoid Me

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While I enjoyed my visit to Haneda earlier this year, I was a little frustrated by one thing.  Regular readers will know of my interest in trying to capture the articulated gear feature of the 777-300ER.  Haneda provided a great opportunity to photograph this as the departing planes were rotating almost directly in front of me.  It is also an airport that gets plenty of 777s.  Unfortunately, all of the ones that came my way were 200ERs.  There were 300ERs departing too but they all went off the parallel runway on the opposite side of the terminal to me.  I could only see them once airborne and backlit.  Someone in air traffic must have been trying to thwart me!

More New Airlines for Me

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My second trip to Japan of the year provided an opportunity to see more airlines that I don’t normally come across.  I had a few hours at Narita waiting for my flight home and these shots are some of those I was not too familiar with.  No details here about the airlines.  Just a gratuitous posting of airliner shots.

Radio Mast In Tokyo

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While I was staying in the same hotel as last time during my recent visit to Tokyo, I was on the opposite side of the hotel.  This gave me a view across to a large radio mast a couple of kilometers north of Minato.  In the early evening, the mast picked up the setting sun quite well.  Once things had got dark, it was well illuminated and hard to miss!

Starflyer

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Have you ever heard of an airline called Starflyer before?  If you have, you are one up on me.  I saw these guys at Haneda in Tokyo.  I didn’t know anything about them but the black livery they apply to their A320s does make them stand out from the crowd.  A few of the planes came in and out while I was there.  I guess now I know!

Soviet Looking Tower Architecture

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There are a number of high towers in Tokyo.  I saw one as I was walking to Shinjuku that seemed rather out of keeping.  Most have either a futuristic look or just look like a radio tower.  This one was a very large, square, concrete structure.  It looked like the sort of thing you might expect to see in Soviet era Moscow rather than Tokyo.  A strange looking building.

Palace Sightseeing is No Fun When It’s Hot

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On my first visit to Tokyo, a few years ago, I made a brief visit to the park around the Imperial Palace.  I decided to take another look during my first visit this year.  However, while I knew it was going to be hot (it had been incredibly hot and humid all week) but the exposed area around the palace combined with the beating sun meant it was pretty uncomfortable.  There were still plenty of tourists though.

I walked along one side of the palace grounds near the main entrance and then along the moat to some of the more famous viewing locations.  I got a few shots as I walked along but it is fair to say I was not totally in to it.  After I had got a bit further on, the heat was really getting to me and the desire to be back in the shade overtook any desire to explore further.  There was a running club finishing their run which seemed amazing to me as I could hardly handle walking.  Time to retreat.

Got My Eye on You

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I have been in downtown Dallas a couple of times recently for work.  One of the places we have had dinner is across the road from a small park area that has a sculpture of a giant eyeball at one end.  It is a bit creepy to be honest.  I photographed it on my way to dinner when the sun was still going down.  When we came out, it was fully dark so I figured I would get another shot.