Aug 6 - Christ the Redeemer

Today's Seven Wonder comes to us from Brazil. This Christ the Redeemer statue is the "newest" Seven Wonder and was only built 80 years ago out of concrete. There was a huge campaign by both Catholic organization and Brazilian tourist organizations to get this statue on the list of Seven Wonders and it looks like it worked.

It's kind of the "oddball" of the list because it is so new and well.. small.. It's only 100 ft tall. Think of the others on the list, the Pyramids, the Great Wall, etc. Besides that, if you were to pick one statue on a list like this, wouldn't it be the Statue of Liberty? Or if you were picking a "modern" item to be put on the list, wouldn't it be the Eiffel Tower. I don't know if Americans and Europeans were just not interested in this competition or if this campaign effort was just that successful. Probably a little of both.

We did enjoy the statue, along with the rest of Brazil, it was packed up there that day due to a local holiday. It has beautiful views of the city, which I'm sure I'll post here in time. Enjoy your Thursday, Friday is almost here!

Aug 5 - Chichen Itza (Revisited)

So, I know you've seen Chichen Itza before and I just found a slightly different angle of it. Trying to get one without people in it again. We loved Chichen Itza and spent as much time as we could here. It's just so interesting to see how a completely different culture celebrated life and religion. Any time you walk through these sites (and we've done a few now) you wonder how life would be if they weren't killed off by the Europeans (in this case, the Spaniards).

It also makes you wonder about our "throw away" culture. We don't "like" buildings that are older than 70-100 years old and we tend to tear them down. Heck, we tear down our stadiums after 30 years (see previous post about the Coloseum, its been around almost 2000 years). When people come to visit whatever is America 500 years from now, what are they going to see, what are they going to know about our architecture if everything is torn down. Anyway, just a random thought.. Enjoy your Wednesday!

Aug 4 - Roman Coloseum

The Roman Coloseum is the first New Seven Wonder that I visited, although I visited it before it was voted on. I hope that means it still counts. Trying to see Rome in only two days is a big achievement and sacrifices had to be made, so in this case, we decided not to take a tour of the interior. If I knew it was going to become extra special, I might have made more of an effort, but Apryl and I both want to go to Rome again, so I'll make sure to put it on the list.

Another one of those tourist attractions that are hard to take without people in it, I tried to minimize them as best as possible, although having them helps give you an idea of the size of the Coloseum.

Tomorrow you'll see something I've already posted, but it goes with the series and I'll try to find a different angle.

Aug 3 - Giza, Egypt

As you probably know, the New 7 Wonders was voted on a few years ago. The big hubbub should be whether or not the Pyramids had to be voted since they are the last remaining of the Original 7 Wonders. First it was decided that they would be an automatic selection, then Egypt said they didn't want to be a part of it at all. So now it is the New Seven Wonders + Giza Pyramids or something like that.

So here are the Pyramids. The picture isn't the greatest and if I were home right now, I'd clean up the color, but instead you are lucky enough to see it how I saw it, or at least how my camera saw it.

For the rest of the week, I am in Colorado Springs, but you'll still get a post each day. They will be of the New Seven Wonders that I have been able to visit. Hopefully I'll eventually get to see the other three.

Juy 31 - Milford Sound Sunset

Woohoo.. Made it through the first month of Pic of the day! This photo comes to you from New Zealand in 2004. The sun was setting on a beautiful day in the Milford Sound. This is a lake completely surrounded by sheer rock faces that rise 4000 ft. Needless to say the water is VERY cold, but very clear and the Sound is so quiet and peaceful. We spent the night on a little cruise boat that had heaters and electric blankets.

This is the opening of Milford Sound into the Tasman Sea. I love how the sun was setting behind the mountain opening and colors wash across the sky. The other fun part of it is the moon can be seen in the upper part of the photo.

Enjoy your weekend!

July 30 - Vienna City Gardens

While in Europe, we landed in Vienna, Austria for my birthday. After having one of my favorite pork knuckles, enjoying good company at an Irish Pub and crashing in our amazing suite at the Le Meridien, we wandered around the city of Vienna. This is the city gardens and overlooks many of the government buildings of this beautiful capital.

PS, This is one of the many crazy locations I've had the pleasure of spending my birthday. This year, I'm spending it in my beautiful home with my beautiful wife. I couldn't be happier.

July 29 - Spirit of the Pacific

This beautiful boat was my home for 3 days while in Fiji. It's name is the Spirit of the Pacific. There wasn't much wind while I was there, so we actually moved via motor most of the trip, but one morning they hoisted up all the sails for us and took us out on a little boat so we could get photos. It is definitely a beautiful boat and makes taking a picture of it so easy. We didn't actually sleep on the boat, we were able to enjoy huts on an island with no electricity or hot water.

I don't have much more to say today, so enjoy.