These were my cats back home before I left for Italy....=( Kind of a bittersweet feeling...I wanted to go to Italy, but I didn't want to leave them.....My family still has the white one with the dalmation looking spots on her..lol but my gold one he ran off looking for me not too long after I had to move....I miss them sooo much but I'm glad I will get to see my cats again back home by the end of this year and introduce them to their new Italian mates....=) I'm toooo excited about spending a year back home after being away for 7....I'm already making plans to go on all these trips and everything and just things to do around my city.....It will sure beat being here, or stayin' here another year...=p It has done nothing but rain rain rain this whole entire holiday weekend.....Today it's kind of stopped, then it picks up again where it's enough to be annoying....Can't wait until this month is over with, cause next month marks our 6 months of being here, then it's all downhill from there...Just 6 months left and that is it for me over on this side of the world..At least over here in Asia after the nausiating experiences I have had while being here...Hope everyone is enjoying their time off....I will add more pics from years back I have them on here I just had to get through Australia first....=)

Check out this huge frog problem they had over in Greece all over the streets there...I could not even stand to be around any of this if I was there cause I can't stand frogs...I never know ever ever which way they are going to hop and I don't want them to hop on me...We had frogs over in Italy, and went to open the door one time and one started hopping right in the house to the bottom of our stairs....I wouldn't get anywhere near the door until my husband got that thing out and away...I'm the same way with bugs and spiders, and considering how I just got bit by one or the other doesn't make me like them anymore...Having to spend my whole entire evening sitting in a hospital room, isn't the way I like my evenings or my time off....Not so sure what types of bugs or spiders they have around here, but I am hoping with only 6 more months here, that this won't happen again, and with summer now well on it's way here, that camping is never brought up to me ever ever ever....I'm just not into the nature thing...I do much better in a hotel room....=)

We had another earthquake here in Okinawa about 2 hours ago...I am finally able to move after being so scared for a good part of my evening...My whole entire building was shaking and rumbling and it wouldn't stop.....It's all over FB with others who are here with me and it was over 6. something.....I"m still freaked out about it thinking it will happen again here when I"m alone in the middle of the night or early in the morning like the last one did....Not sure why that keeps happening, but I don't like being in a "hot spot" for earthquakes on this side of the world....I think I will be sitting up awhile still trying to calm down until I can finally sleep....I finally finished posting all my pics on here, so I hope everyone enjoys looking at them and what I did on my trip to AUSTRALIA....It was quite a time, and I loved it.....I'll go back and look for others I haven't put on here yet from years back, cause time goes so fast and everything becomes a blur, I can't remember what I do or don't do sometimes....I'm sure we are on the news all over and all over the Internet by now because of us having another earthquake here...Our last one happened in February this year and woke us up out of a sound sleep....I have no idea how many more times this year that is going to happen, but it seems to be more and more just weeks apart....good night everyone keep your fingers crossed that I still have everything here in one piece when I wake up in the morning...if I can even get to sleep tonight......=p

It's no wonder I adore this gorgeous fountain so much...I was born only a few days after the sculptor...still would have loved to have met him though..I took one look at that and knew right off it had something to do with Greek mythology because that's the kind of stuff I studied over in over in my Humanities classes, and I know that backwards and forwards without even being told first...I looked this fountain up, cause I couldn't remember anything, everything was a blur and went so fast, this is all I have to remember it by now are the pictures and the videos....That is called the Archibald Fountain...it stopped me dead in my tracks along the street whenever I first saw it...I didn't even know this was there, but I can't stress enough how grateful I am that I found it...The Cathedral is called St. Mary's Cathedral. I have never seen a Cathedral like that one ever. There were different ones in Italy whenever we were stationed there, but not that big. I really am so happy I got to see every bit of this, Hyde Park, the fountain, the cathedral, and just being in such a gorgeous park. I have never seen a park that size ever. It was so huge and went all the way across the street behind it and to the sides.....There was a long walkway lined with trees on both sides you could walk down the middle of it and end up in a different area and be facing a different street. We also stopped one day and were shown the stadium where the Olympics were held. They took everything down there, but that plaque is still there, and the stadium is there. We just saw the outside of it from the street, so don't know really what the inside of it looks like...I'm finally coming to the end of these pictures finally so hope everyone is enjoying them and the videos as well, whenever they decide to work...I finally got the other one from yesterday on here I went ice skating to...That is from the Opera Madame Butterfly, and also a movie based in New Zealand which is a true story called "Heavenly Creatures." These videos here one is of Hyde Park how is looks all around standing in one spot and turning, and the other is just of the Fountain. This was definately my favorite part of the trip since it was by accident, and I didn't expect to see any of this at all...wow do I feel lucky now that I did...=) good night all



François-Léon Sicard (April 21, 1862-1934) is considered one of the more talented yet most elusive sculptors of the late 19th and early 20th century. His credits include work on the adornments of the Louvre, and numerous sculptures around the world. Sicard was born in Tours, studied with Barrias, and is known for his lithography and his fiercely patriotic original works of art. Despite the prolific populace of noted works throughout Europe, surprisingly little is known about Sicard himself. His work is very similar to that of Gustave Adolphe Grauk (1827-1920) and Antoine-Augustin Préault (1809-1879), and he may have worked in collaboration with Grauk on some of his sculptures during the early 20th century. Some of his noted sculptures include Le Bon Samaritain (The Good Samaritan), Oedipe et le Sphinx (Oedipus and the Sphinx) and the Archibald Fountain in Sydney's Hyde Park. Archibald Fountain The Archibald Fountain, properly called the J.F. Archibald Memorial Fountain, widely regarded as the finest public fountain in Australia, is located in Hyde Park, in central Sydney, New South Wales. It is named after J.F. Archibald, owner and editor of The Bulletin magazine, who bequeathed funds to have it built. Archibald specified that it must be designed by a French artist, both because of his great love of French culture and to commemorate the association of Australia and France in World War I. He imagined its civic design and ornamentation developing to rival his dream city Paris. The artist chosen was Francois Sicard. The fountain was unveiled on 14 March 1932 by the Lord Mayor of Sydney, Samuel Walder. Sicard was one of the foremost sculptors of his day, a classically educated artist, whose inspiration was derived, at least in part, from his study of classical Greek and Roman art and literature. In submitting his proposal for the design of the sculptural groups, Sicard wrote: "Apollo represents the Arts (Beauty and Light). Apollo holds out his right arm as a sign of protection, and spreads his benefits over all Nature, whilst he holds the Lyre in his left hand. Apollo is the warmth which vivifies, giving life to all Nature. At the touch of his rays, men awake, trees and fields become green, the animals go out into the fields, and men go to work at dawn. "The ancient Pliny adored the sun, symbol of Life. It is on this account that I wished this figure to be the chief one in the memorial. "At Apollo's feet the star of day is indicated by a semicircle, of which the rays spread out in jets of light (the rising sun). The horses' heads represent the horses of Apollo's chariot. Out of their nostrils the water will fall into the first basin, to fall from there into the second, and run away into the large basin. "The large basin is divided into three groups. One represents Diana, goddess of purity, of peaceful nights, symbol of charity; the ideal which watches over mortals - all that stands for poetry and harmony. The second group symbolises the good things of the earth - it is the young god of the fields and pastures, of the pleasure of the countryside. The third group represents sacrifice for the public good. Theseus, vanquisher of the Minotaur. The spirit triumphs over bestiality. Theseus delivers his country from the ransom which it had to pay to this monster. It is the sacrifice of himself for the good of humanity. Between these groups tortoises throw jets of water. The fountain is electrically illuminated and floodlighted at night. "It depicts Apollo, representing beauty and the arts, on a central column holding out his right arm as a sign of protection over all nature. On the three plinths radiating from the central column there are figures representing Diana, the goddess of purity; a group representing the good things of the earth; Theseus slaying a Minotaur, representing the sacrifice for the good of humanity." Interestingly, Sicard quotes Pliny as one of the ancient Roman sources for the modern understanding of the qualities supposedly represented by the gods. Rather than merely using the visual examples of works such as those by Pheidias, the iconic sculptor of classical Athens, whose free standing and frieze statuary represent the acme of the classical depiction of the human form in larger-than life bronze or marble, Sicard used literary sources to explain the symbology behind the form. The figure with the ram and goat is possibly Aristaeus. His choice of classical figures was in keeping with the European tradition of the sculpture and architecture of the precinct of Hyde Park. There is no indication in the writings of Sicard, or indeed, in the appraisal of his work, that there was any intention to link the figures in the sculptural groups with any religious or sexual themes. Over the years the Archibald Fountain has been a chosen spot for photos, buskers, political rallies and just as a meeting place. Park benches are provided nearby, making it a popular location for city workers at lunchtime. Critical Mass The Archibald Fountain in Hyde Park is the commencement point for Sydney's Critical Mass bicycle rides. Sydney's Critical Mass gathers from 17:30 on the last Friday of every month. For some years the Archibald Fountain was the centre of a gay men's cruising area. According to the veteran Sydney gay activist and journalist Bob Hay, the various figures from Greek mythology, such as Apollo and Poseidon were interpreted as symbols of the "homosexual Golden Age of Ancient Greece". According to this interpretation, Apollo was the eromenos, or youth who is the beloved while Poseidon was often the model of the erastes, the "lover", the older, bearded man. According to Hay, in the 1930s and 1940s, the Archibald and the [nearby] "Sacrifice of War" at the War Memorial were the only nude male sculptures on public view.

Almost done.... and almosttt thereeeeeee.....just a few more lines to go....wow and won't I be happy then....I can't believe it's taken me a solid month to put up pics just for ONE trip I went on....I said that I loved it there...some of these kinda sorta got mixed up, but yes, even on my last day there, I went back to the Opera House...I really honestly couldn't stay away...I wanted to go there one last time before I left, since I would never ever see this place again, except in the huge print I bought of the Opera House at night, and in the rest of my pics....perhaps in a few books, on here of course...but not anymore in person cause I didn't plan on coming back there....And of course the next to the last day that I was there and going around to places aching like crazy cause I couldn't take it with me, there was a bad overcast in the sky...It looked like it was going to rain, but didn't, then it did, then stopped but was still dark looking like that....so much for getting the gorgeous sunset behind the Opera House....=( I got a huge print that takes up half the wall and probably even more whenever I get it framed, so I will get to look at it all the time then...I'll just add it to the prints I got from the Vatican when I was in Rome of my favorite paintings there...I will put them all on here whenever I get it to looking presentable...Right now it's still rolled up in the tube thing it came in....Anyways...they have artists there drawing/painting the Opera House exactly as it looks, I could never do that, but I of course never see that here ever...There were the rest of the ones from Hyde Park, and me when I went there for part of my day one day to just sit there in the park...We just don't have parks like that here at all, and I couldn't even speak when I saw that one....I really have never in my entire life seen such a gorgeous park like Hyde Park ever....We don't even have parks like that back in the states....I just happened to run into it one day when I got lost, and ended up staying for the rest of the afternoon until I finally decided I should find my way back from downtown before it got dark and I had no idea which way anything was then....I went and worked on my ice skating today, and the song I was ice skating to will not come up at all now....>=( It's tooo busy on the net right now, esp. being on a nothing island crammed with people trying to do all the same things at once...maybe in the middle of the night here perhaps I will finally be able to get something done. It is tooo hot here and felt soooooo good to be in a freezing cold environment after such a long time. I am never around that either, and didn't even feel cold....I was in a short sleeved t shirt only and it felt great...I hope to go every month for the rest of the time we are here....When I get done with my pics from Australia, I still have others I haven't ever gotten to of other things I can go back to...artwork I finished and can't put up, or places I went to, and I can't remember really...Just a few more days and I will be done on here but then I have to continue with these same pics for other things...so maybe by the end of the summer....The piano player came at nights to my hotel and played for the whole entire evening.... Really beautiful and I loved it...I wished that it wasn't only in the evening times but the whole day long..... =) Good night everyone have a good week for the last week of this month....=)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cpqpvGSR3Bg