Monday 8th December:

Bonjour!

So - the conference here in Lausanne went well. It was all about travel so ... it was interesting to me ... and hopefully interesting to the press and delegates.

Once again - I had very little sleep last night. I have not had a full night's sleep for over 6 weeks. I have recurring dreams of owning & playing with a pocket beagle called Flo (Florence) and also scuba diving in a deep blue sea - Indian Ocean I think. I have tried to find out what these dreams mean and why I am always waking up between 3 and 4 a.m.  - the so-called witching hour - SPECIFICALLY - any ideas?

I have tried all the obvious remedies to sleep. Hot milk, cold milk, red - white - green - blue - yellow - black - brown - decaf and normal tea, decaf coffee, "munching" on Middle Eastern Advil, watching horse racing (yawn), counting sheep and/or llamas, hot bath, hot shower, cold shower, cold bath, jogging, walking, tennis, yoga ... and doing "nothing" ... to no avail - any ideas (back rubs!)? 

This past few weeks has had many highlights but a couple that spring to mind are visiting the "waterfall of poppies" at The Tower of London - "celebrating" the heroes who have given their lives in the quest for peace - which was an amazing and moving sight ... and a restaurant in London that has a "press for champagne" button at every table - flippant but fun!

So - back tomorrow home - then off to the lovely city of Bath before the packing starts for Cambodia and Vietnam!

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Songs of the Day from George Harrison

Something - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UKAp-jRUp2o

My Sweet Lord - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=viuWOo811Qo

I've Got My Mind Set on You - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZGYYDvZnpg (fabulous canine cameo)

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When we two parted, 
In silence and tears,
Half broken-hearted,
To sever for years,
Pale grew thy cheek and cold,
Colder thy kiss;
Truly that hour foretold
Sorrow to this.

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Photos:
1) The event - in Hong Kong via Lausanne (!)
2) At the Beach (West Bay - "Broadchurch" country)
3) Monaco
4) THE button!

[ VOUS AUSSI VOTEZ ] Jazz in Marciac concourt aux European Festival Awards dans la catégorie "Meilleur grand festival". On compte sur vous : http://www.festivals-awards.fr/votes

Pour que le vote soit pris en compte, il est nécessaire de voter pour toutes les catégories des Festivals Awards.

#JazzInMarciac #TourismeMidiPy #TourismeGers #Marciac #France #Festival #FestivalAwards

Christmas in NYC: 5 dos and don'ts: http://bit.ly/NYCXmasLP

#USA  
#MondayFunday  
#GIFs  
#buddytheelf  

The beautiful city of Venice, Italy. Full of canals, plazas, and gorgeous historical buildings.

Image pinned on Pinterest by: http://buff.ly/1vzgYYK #travel #Italy

The iconic Sydney Harbour Bridge in Sydney Australia. It is quite a popular attraction for people who love to climb structures. Would you dare to climb it?

Image tweeted by @fourtrippers
#travel #sydney

Monday 15th December

Today has been ... quite ... different.

It started off in the bright and hot sunshine that bathed The Royal Palace. I was quite lucky as my "guides" were Prince Tasso and Princess Sita - both members of the current Royal Family. We were given access to some of the buildings closed-off to the public ... like the Cambodian Ballet Hall. There are amazing frescoes on the ceiling of the main hall depicting traditional Cambodian dance. An interesting fact about the Cambodian Royal family is that there is no succession and that the next king will be "voted" in by a panel of spiritual and governmental leaders ...

From there I visited S21 - the "genocide museum". I am finding it hard to explain just how distressing and moving this place is. I am not sure today is a good one to write about my experience there so will leave that for tomorrow when I leave Phnom Penh.

My day ended quite wonderfully. I was granted an audience with Samdech Tep Vong - the leader of the Buddhist faith here in Cambodia. 95% of Cambodia is Buddhist ... around 14 million people. He could tell that my soul was a wee troubled by my visit to Tuol Sleng. He spent 30 minutes talking to me about soothing "stuff". 

Not a long diary today ... I need a swim, a large sherry, a good cigar and a quiet corner.

Memories of today will stay with me forever.

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Mad World - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4N3N1MlvVc4

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La recette de la fouace de Mamie Paulette
http://bit.ly/Fouace-de-Mamie-Paulette

#Aveyron #AveyronVivreVrai  

December 2014 in London

http://blog.londonbridgehotel.com/december-2014-in-london/

Photo © Peter Trimming

The Forest for the Trees

It’s easy to get lost in the grandeur of a gigantic waterfall, especially one as ornate as Big Spring Creek Falls is. From top to bottom, there are three gorgeous, cascading tiers of water creating all sorts of dizzying patterns. From the base, you can capture the waterfall in its entirety, which is quite beautiful. However, as is the case with most waterfalls, the real personality and charm is found in its details. It’s why I’ve started almost exclusively using telephoto zoom lenses during my waterfall shoots. I’m training my eye to look for the smaller building blocks that make up the character of each waterfall and even though I may return to the same waterfall many times, I invariably find something that I missed before.

I took this photo with my +Sony a7R and Sony 70-400mm f/4-5.6 super telephoto lens. I had a 3-stop ND filter by +Formatt-Hitech, which allowed me to drag the shutter despite it being sunny and bright. I probably wouldn’t have been able to get this particular photo if it wasn’t for the crazy long legs of my +Really Right Stuff TVC-34L/BH-55 tripod. Those sticks have saved my bacon many times. Finally, I stylized the photo using a custom built preset in Lightroom.

Source with more info & links: http://brians.photos/1t0ysGH

#longexposure, #SonyAlpha, #waterfalls, #Nature, #SonyA7r, #Washington