Reykjavik: Skólavörðustígur

Skólavörðustígur Street

Reykjavik, Iceland

June 28, 2012

This street is one of the 'main drags' in Reykjavik. It features many art galleries and assorted shops as well as some neat cafes and restaurants.

It begins at Laugavegur, another main street and ends at the famous Hallgrímskirkja church, with its distinct and imposing concrete structure.

The colours on this street are fairly typical of what you see in Reykjavik. Many buildings are clad in coloured metal sheeting, similar to what Canadians would normally see used on a barn roof. Concrete is also a common building material, no doubt due to its resilience to the harsh Icelandic winters.

More shots from Iceland to follow, stay tuned!

Edinburgh: East Princes Street Gardens

East Princes Street Gardens

Edinburgh, Scotland

June 18, 2012

After wandering the Royal Mile for a spell, we made our way to the East Princes Street Gardens to rest our feet.  As we entered the gardens from the south-east corner, we were greeted with this splendid vista.  Without hesitation, I stopped, whipped out my trusty S95 and took this shot.  

The Balmoral Hotel can be seen in the distance in the center of the image.  As you can see, It was a sunny and splendid day!  We spent an enjoyable afternoon at the National Gallery of Scotland.  Turns out the gallery (and many other public museums) are free, funded by council tax.  Go figger.

Edinburgh: The Balmoral Hotel

Balmoral Hotel

Edinburgh, Scotland

June 18, 2012

Somehow I managed to snap a shot of this building without a view of its famous clock tower.  To be honest, I had to search online (thanks, gMaps) to figure out the name of this striking building.  

Our day trip to Edinburgh was one of the warmest days I experienced in Scotland.  Possibly the only day I wished I was wearing shorts.  We were en route to the royal mile tourist drag, as we crossed the bridge, I turned around and snapped this shot.  Hard to believe that was almost 3 months ago!