Awesome Travel Photos

I keep all our travel photos in iPhoto and I occasionally take a nostalgic look at them, sort them for easy access, use them in home-made birthday cards, blog avatars and the like. Since I’ve started hubbing, I thought, “why not share some of them with the world?” Photos have an energy of their own that can inspire, invigorate and raise your spirits. Hence this hub. I’ve included brief commentary that I hope will keep you amused. All the photos are licensed on Flickr under a Creative Commons Share Alike license which means you’re free to use them for any purpose as long as hilmil1 gets a credit.

On a brilliant autumn day, we set out to explore the medieval Old Town in the city of Rhodes, off the cost of Greece. From out of nowhere, a friendly two-toned mongrel joined our constitutional and became our guide. He led us along the many winding cobble stoned streets and alleyways of this ancient city once famous for the colossal, 107 ft. statue (aptly named “Colossus”), that was envisioned to have straddled the harbor and fell to ruin in the earthquake of 226 BC. The old lady in the photo was not as friendly and, I’m quite sure had Brownie-Dog been able to speak, he would’ve had a good story to tell us about her.

You know how it is, you take a cruise, you get off at different Mediterranean city each day, you take a bunch of photos, and your trip itinerary gets tossed after your third move to a different residence. If you recognize the location, let me know!

Anyway, Italy was gorgeous.

A Lovely villa in Rome, taken through the window of the Lord Byron Hotel.

I did a lot of traveling around the US when I was producing for HGTV’s “A Gardener’s Diary”, but one of the most beautiful gardens was close to home, in Atlanta, Georgia. Garden Designer Louise Poer’s tiny courtyard was filled with paths, pots, and a multitude of perfect perennials. I couldn’t find a bad shot.

Another view of the same garden. Chinese fan palms do really well in zone 7 despite some frosty winter days.

A robin’s egg blue gate separates the shade garden from the main courtyard..

A view of Alaska on the Bering Sea taken in July, at about 11:30pm.

The calm waters, the granite cliffs and the cascading waterfalls are part of the this pristine American wonderland located 60 miles southeast of Juneau Alaska.

One of the most luxurious vacations we ever took was to back in the mid ninety’s. Located in a natural river gorge with 14 waterfalls, the resort also featured an awe-inspiring aviary filled with exotic birds and a seawater aquarium rotunda. This all-inclusive paradise offered private villas, complimentary massages, all meals, drinks, even cigarettes! (We smoked real cigarettes back then). Sadly, it’s been closed for years, but it’s reportedly up for sale again if you’re interested.

A glacier is actually a "river" of ice that flows much more slowly than a regular river. In this photo, the glacier looks more like an icy blue lake nestled between the majestic Alaskan mountains. There's a lot of controversy over global warming, but the fact remains; - the world's glaciers are melting at a faster rate than at any time in the past 150 years, according to the latest assessment by glaciologists. For the best show, I suggest you visit Alaska soon.

This photo was taken from a nearby luxury hotel during our visit in the early 90’s. I also went inside the pyramid, which was as fascinating as it was back breaking. The tunnels are only 3 feetby about 4 feet, so you have to hunch-walk 33 yards to the nearest chamber. It was worth it.

“A Gardener’s Diary” visits author and gardener Gordon Hayward’s glorious garden. A trellised pathway leads to the woodland garden.

These lovely camellias are from cultivator Bob Reese’s Jacksonville Florida garden. Bob is an American Camellia Society Show judge and has more than 200 varieties growing in his garden. There are over 8000 known varieties of camellia japonica in existence today.

No it's not a picture postcard, but these ladies pose for all the tourists for a few yuan.

I love all the tiny tourists hiking the wall. From what I'm told, some of the inclines are as steep as 70 degrees! The Great Wall was originally built to keep the nomadic xiongnu away from the farming villages on the Chinese boarder.

The Great Wall, close up and from afar. (yes that white line traversing the mountains is the wall). The wall is it is the only man made object that can be seen from space.

My Personal Favorite. AGD Host Erica Glasener visiting Jim Ford’s Japanese garden in Virginia.

The serene harbor at Dover

A beautiful but deadly Portugese man-‘o-war safely contained at the Atlanta Aquarium.

Remarkable what you can achieve with only a cell phone camera!

Ireland By Rail - (A lot better than traveling by bus where there are no toilets).

Take the gondola ride to the highest peak in Funchal, Madeira but skip the taxi ride back down to sea level. Opt for the thrilling Toboggan ride that whizzes you down through the narrow streets of the old city - artfully driven by two drivers who use only their weight and their wits to get you to the bottom!

We discovered this remarkable Ceiba speciosa - commonly called the Floss Silk Tree, in Malaga, Spain on the Costa del Sol

Christmas Lights of Funchal, Madeira, Portugal- At night, during the Christmas season, the main square in Funchal is illuminated with over head festive lights depicting, angels, ribbons, toys, ect.

This magnificent church, also located in Malaga, Spain on the Costa del Sol is an example of Isabelline Gothic architecture.

The smooth, sinewy bark and root system of this stunning specimen was shot in the port city of Cartagena, Spain. I haven't found a prettier picture of this type of ficus on-line.

All photos were taken with my Casio Exilim - model Z-600, unless I indicated it that the photo was taken by cell phone, in which case it was a Motorola V3 Razr.

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