Sunday, 20 November 2011

What I Did On My Summer Vacation

Yesterday was my birthday, which explains the NaNo-fail this weekend.

Way back when, Michael at In Time hosted a What I Did On My Summer Vacation blogfest. I didn't get a chance to play then, but since it's finally starting to snow around here, I'm thinking back to heat and sunshine.

There were a couple of weddings, the Bleu Lavande lavender fields, a concert or two and the Cirque du Soleil... Then came the trip to England and Turkey:

England from the sky

Dorothy Sayers' house in Witham, Essex

Windsor Castle, looking across from Datchet village

Kadınlar Denizi Beach

Kuşadası Marina

The water. Ah, the water

Sunset

Olive trees

A kervansaray, or Ottoman inn

A 14th Century mosque

Kystros, a river god

A road in the ancient town of Ephesus

A statue of Artemis

Istanbul, looking across the Golden Horn toward Topkapı Palace

The Maiden's Tower (or Leander's Tower) in the distance.

What do you remember from your summer vacation?

18 comments:

Claire said...

Oh, those are gorgeous photos of Turkey. <3 Funnily enough one of my tourmates from Egypt just finally uploaded some pictures, and she got some great shots of us as an entire group. Brought those memories right back! And Your pictures of Ephesus brought back Turkey, too...I can't remember if we were tormenting our poor hungover tour guide there too, but we did have some good times in Ephesus. I got stalked by cats, for starters...

Carole Anne Carr said...

Whoops, wish I had such lovely memories, all I remember is trying to see Ireland through a sheet of rain and not succeeding...

Old Kitty said...

How many more months to summer next year?!?! LOL!! Oh wow! You went to Witham in Essex!! Yay!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

And thank you for sharing these beautiful pics of your summer - sounds and looks amazing - yes even Witham!

Take care
x

Romance Reader said...

Thank you for sharing such lovely photos.

Happy Belated Birthday!

Nas Dean said...

Happy Birthday!

Turkey looks so beautiful, thanks for sharing!

Nas Dean said...

Happy Birthday!

Turkey looks so beautiful, thanks for sharing!

Trisha said...

I loved Turkey when I visited. But I didn't get to explore the "other side" (which I believe was the side you took that pic of the palace from).

Missed Periods said...

I don't want to remember my summer vacation. I want your summer vacation!

Joshua said...

I am jealous of every one of those pictures. Wow! Happy Birthday!!

alberta ross said...

happy birthday - I liked your UK pics:) of course but also memories flooding back from the Turkish pics - happy days - hope you feel good and ready to go

all the best

Lynda R Young said...

happy belated birthday!!!!

Those photos are gorgeous. You are making me want to travel again!!

Len Lambert said...

Belated happy Birthday, Deniz! So nice to see photos above! Next time you are in England, please give me a shout on FB or email...I would love to meet a blogger-friend like you! :)

Madeleine said...

Oh wow Deniz, Fabulous! I'm so jealous! :O)

Deniz Bevan said...

Ooh, Claire, I'd forgotten about the cats in Ephesus! I made friends with a German couple who were sharing water from their bottle with a few cats. But my camera was out of batteries by then...

That sounds like my last trip to Wales, Carole Anne...

Thanks Kitty!! I wish it was summer again, too.

Thank you Romance Reader and Nas!

I was trying hard to make the photo look older, Trisha - zooming in as much as possible on the palace, so I could pretend I was looking at it through my character's eyes...

Aww shucks, Missed. We should hold a writers' retreat there someday!

Thanks Joshua, alberta, Lynda and Madeleine!

Will do, Len! I can't wait to go back to London.

Michael Di Gesu said...

Happy belated birthday! I hope you did something awesome.

Thanks for finally posting this... It was SO worth waiting for!
The pics are gorgesimous!

What I remember? Visiting my future home.... I fell in love with Montreal and would love to move there. Yes, I am serious.

If all goes well maybe in 2013.... I will see you next summer just to make sure I still feel the magic...

Michael Di Gesu said...

Happy belated birthday! I am so glad you finally posted. This was SO worth waiting for!

The pics are Gorgesimous!

What I remember from last summer? The thrill I g
Had when I visited my future home... I fell in love with Montreal! I hope to move there soon... Yes I am serious. By 2013 if all goes well. I will return this summer to meet you and make sure the magic is still there... I know it will be.

Deniz Bevan said...

Yay, so glad you saw this post Michael. Maybe I'll have a chance to visit Chicago before 2013??

Joy said...

Yes, beautiful Kuşadası sunset photo too! =)

Books I'm Reading and Finished Books

  • Sandman: Dream Country by Neil Gaiman
  • The Return of the Shadow - Book 6 in the History of Middle Earth series by Christopher Tolkien and J R R Tolkien (reread)
  • ***Reading At Intervals***
  • Stories in Words by C S Lewis
  • Poison by Bridget Zinn
  • Medieval Comic Tales (Folio Society edition)
  • Moby Dick by Herman Melville
  • Lessons for a Sunday Father by Claire Calman
  • Shadow Show (Anthology in Honour of Ray Bradbury, including Neil Gaiman!)
  • Looking Backward by Edward Bellamy
  • The Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan
  • Warriors (anthology) edited by George R. R. Martin and G. Dozois (featuring a new Lord John story by Diana Gabaldon)
  • The Jerusalem Bible
  • ***Finished Books***
  • Acquainted With the Night by Rober Frost (read by Amanda Palmer) (here: http://amandapalmer.net/blog/20120510/)
  • The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald (reread)
  • Star Trek Book of Opposites (board book)
  • Alligator Baby by Robert Munsch
  • Causeries: l'Etat Civil du Comte de Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas (essay)
  • Le Comte de Monte-Cristo par Alexandre Dumas
  • About the B'nai Bagels by E. L. Konigsburg
  • Parragon's Encyclopedia of Animals a Family Reference Guide (skimmed)
  • Throwing Shadows by E. L. Konigsburg
  • The Devil on the Staircase by Joe Hill (short story)
  • Horns by Joe Hill
  • Altogether One at a Time by E. L. Konigsburg
  • Orders From Berlin by Simon Tolkien
  • The King of Diamonds by Simon Tolkien
  • Quick Fix by Linda Grimes (arc!)
  • Jack Absolute by C. C. Humphreys
  • The Lost Road - Book 5 in the History of Middle Earth series by Christopher Tolkien and J R R Tolkien (reread)
  • The Roots of Betrayal by James Forrester
  • Leaf by Niggle by J. R. R. Tolkien (short story) (reread)
  • The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien (reread)
  • Sandman: Doll's House by Neil Gaiman
  • secret beta read!
  • An Easter Walk by Zan Marie Steadham (reread)
  • Celtic Myths and Legends by Mike Dixon-Kennedy (reread) (skimmed)
  • Rainy Days with Bear by Maureen Hull
  • Down to a Sunless Sea by Neil Gaiman (short story) (http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2013/mar/22/down-sunless-sea-neil-gaiman-short-story)
  • Sandman: Prologues and Nocturnes by Neil Gaiman
  • Uncle John's Bathroom Reader, the Music edition
  • The Circus by Emma Trevayne (short story) (http://the-cabinet-of-curiosities.blogspot.ca/2013/03/the-circus-by-emma-trevayne.html)
  • Ghost Stories of Canada (compilation) (read a few)
  • Red Shoes and Doll Parts by Claire Legrand (short story (available at: http://the-cabinet-of-curiosities.blogspot.ca/2013/02/red-shoes-and-doll-parts-by-claire.html)
  • In A Fix by Linda Grimes
  • A Calendar of Tales by Neil Gaiman
  • It Came from the Far Side by Gary Larson
  • Boy O'Boy by Brian Doyle
  • Mary Ann Alice by Brian Doyle (so sweet! I wish there was a sequel)
  • The Man Who Loved Flowers by Stephen King (short story) (reread)
  • Celtic Myths and Legends by (forgot) (skimmed)
  • Night Surf by Stephen King (short story) (reread)
  • On This Day I Complete My Thirty-sixth Year by Lord Byron (poem)
  • 11/22/63 by Stephen King (brilliant)
  • When Summer Comes by Brenda Novak
  • All My Life Before Me - the diary of C. S. Lewis (finally! after 15 years!)
  • The Franchise Affair by Josephine Tey
  • The Cake Made Out of Teeth by Claire Legrand (short story) (READ IT! Here: http://the-cabinet-of-curiosities.blogspot.ca/2013/01/the-cake-made-out-of-teeth-by-claire.html)
  • Brat Farrar by Josephine Tey (wonderful!)
  • Real Mermaids Don't Need High Heels by Helene Boudreau (ARC)
  • The Great Explorers (Folio Society edition) (skimmed)
  • The Shaping of Middle-Earth - Book 4 in the History of Middle Earth series by Christopher Tolkien and J R R Tolkien (reread)
  • Medieval Civilisation by Jacques le Goff (skimmed)
  • A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson (sooo many questions!)
  • Highland Moonlight by Teresa J. Reasor (skimmed very fast)
  • Not So Funny When It Happened (a travel humour anthology; I read a few of the essays, specifically by Douglas Adams, Dave Barry, Bill Bryson, Anne Lamott, etc.)
  • Over Sea, Under Stone by Susan Cooper (reread)
  • Greenwitch by Susan Cooper (reread)
  • The Magician's Nephew by C. S. Lewis (reread)
  • Emerson (bits and pieces of his essays on his travels through England and Scotland; read aloud to me)
  • The Long Dark Tea Time of the Soul by Douglas Adams
  • Old Man's War by John Scalzi
  • The Cove by Ron Rash
  • see the 2012 list and statistics here http://thegirdleofmelian.blogspot.ca/2012/12/the-hobbit-review-and-year-end-books.html
  • see the 2011 statistics on http://thegirdleofmelian.blogspot.ca/2012/01/books-read-in-2011-statistics-fourth.html
  • see the 2011 list at http://thegirdleofmelian.blogspot.ca/2012/01/books-read-in-2011.html
  • see the 2010 list at http://thegirdleofmelian.blogspot.com/2010/12/books-read-in-2010-listed-here.html
  • see the 2009 list at http://thegirdleofmelian.blogspot.com/2009/12/books-read-in-2009-part-ii.html
  • also in 2009 at http://thegirdleofmelian.blogspot.com/2009/12/books-read-in-2009-part-iv.html
  • see the 2008 list at http://thegirdleofmelian.blogspot.com/2008/12/books-read-in-2008-part-ii.html
  • also in 2008 at http://thegirdleofmelian.blogspot.com/2008/12/books-read-in-2008-part-vi.html
  • also in 2008 at http://thegirdleofmelian.blogspot.com/2008/12/books-read-in-2008-part-iv.html