Ballooning Over Africa

by Mauverneen  

We almost didn’t go. The thought of getting up at dawn didn’t sound very appealing at the moment and my daughter and I debated whether it would really be worth it. We had scheduled an early morning balloon ride but we’d had a couple of very full days on our safari and now we were tired. We had seen so much – lions hunting, hippos bathing in the river right outside our tents, stately giraffes sauntering across the landscape, the wildebeest crossing – how much better could it get?  
My son-in-law convinced us not to wimp out. 

The early morning wake-up call; soft footsteps on the wooden deck outside my tent, a voice telling me it was four o’clock, the gentle clink of a pot of coffee being left on a tray outside my door.

London - In 24 hours

By Mauverneen Blevins

London has been getting a lot of attention recently – the wedding of Will and Kate, the Queen’s Jubilee, and the BIG EVENT – the Summer Olympics.  Lucky people who not only get to see history being made, but the hustling, bustling, beautiful city of London itself!

I had a 24 hour stopover in London and wondered exactly what I could see in that short a time. After doing enough walking to give myself blisters on the bottoms of my toes, I can tell you that with a little advance planning you can actually see quite a bit. 

Kensington Palace Gardens

  From Kensington to the London Eye, I detoured through some of the most famous of London’s beautiful Royal Parks, past two Palaces, a couple of well-known Cathedrals, Parliament, Big Ben, crossed the Thames and even managed to squeeze in some souvenir shopping here and there. And of course, I was shooting photos every step of the way.

Surrounded by lovely gardens and impeccably manicured lawns Kensington Palace housed the recent royal newlyweds for a time, was the official residence of Diana, Princess of Wales, and was the birthplace and childhood home of Queen Victoria.

Buckingham Palace Gate