Mona Lisa

 
Location: Paris, France
Address: Musée du Louvre, 75058
Date: Oct 2007
Website:  www.louvre.fr/

  The Mona Lisa is perhaps the best known painting in the world.  It was painted by Leonardo da Vinci in the very early 1500's.  The painting has been at the Louvre in Paris since the start of the 1800's.  It has left the Louvre on several occasions.  It was moved to protect it during wartime, it took a world tour in the early 1960's, and once it was stolen from the museum and missing for two whole years.  After a few attempts at vandalism, the Mona Lisa now resides behind bulletproof glass in order to keep her safe.  Since the value of the painting is estimated in the hundreds of millions of dollars, this was a wise decision.
  When we visited the Louvre, the Mona Lisa was one of the paintings we had on our must see list.  Our first impression was that it was much smaller than we expected.  Compared to some of the huge paintings in the gallery that cover entire walls, it looked like someone had printed her out on standard 8.5 by 11 paper.  In reality it is a bit larger than that at about 30 inches tall by 21 inches wide.
   The painting has been analyzed by many art critics over the years who discuss Da Vinci's choice of background, how the woman is seated, and of course the famous Mona Lisa smile.  We enjoyed the privilege of seeing the most famous painting in the world.  Since the Louvre is such an enormous place you can quickly find the Mona Lisa by going to the First Floor of the Denon Wing.  In the centre of that wing look on the wall between rooms 7 and 6. You may not be able to see her at first until you make your way through the crowd.

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Map of Our World
Mona Lisa

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Post # 21

The Roxy NYC

Location: New York, New York, USA
Address: 515 West 18th Street
Date: Sept 2013
Website:  www.yello.com

  Admittedly, when we were walking along the High Line we were just taking some pictures of the curvy building that caught our eye.  The High Line is a public park that was built on an elevated rail line on the west side of Manhattan.  It was only after our trip that we realized we had walked over The Roxy night club.
  The Roxy used to be a roller rink, but in the early 80's it was turned into a dance club.  Many big name performers and DJs have appeared at The Roxy, but the one that appealed to us the most was Yello.  They are the Swiss electronic duo of Deiter Meier and Boris Blank and performed at the club in December 1983.  We both appreciate their music, but one of us has been a huge fan since he discovered them in the mid 80's and ranks them up there as one of his all time favourite bands.  The significance of The Roxy to us is that this is the only place that Yello has performed live.  Ever.
We would like to thank that frosted looking, curvy building for getting our attention so that The Roxy could sneak into the shots.

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Map of Our World
The Roxy NYC

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Post # 20

Cheltenham Badlands

Location: Caledon, Ontario, Canada
Address: 1501-1901Olde Base Line Road
Date: Aug 2008
Website:  www.ontariotrails.on.ca

  You don't have to go to Alberta or Utah to get a taste of the badlands.  Less than an hour outside of Toronto is a smaller version created by the same process.  Badlands are created by wind or water erosion exposing the colourful layers of soil and giving the land a strange sloping look.  We had previously been to Alberta to see the badlands there.  When we heard about the smaller Ontario version we were intrigued.  Finally, one beautiful summer's day we headed out for a visit.  As we drove along Olde Base Line Road we suddenly saw the badlands appear on the south side of the road.  We pulled the car over to the side of the road and got out to take a closer look.  There are signs asking you to please stay off of the hills as they are getting damaged by too many people climbing and sliding down them.  Just stand at the top of the trail and let us all enjoy this unusual landscape for years to come.

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Map of Our World
Cheltenham Badlands

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Post # 19