DESKTOP 3325 - DIAMOND VALLEY VIEW

Diamond Valley is an outer suburb of Melbourne. Far enough from the City to be like being in the countryside, yet near enough to be near all the big city amenities, conveniences and services.

This post is part of the My Sunday Best meme

DESKTOP 3265 - BIRDHOUSE

This post is part of the Wordless Wednesday meme,
and also part of the My Corner of the World meme,
and also part of the Nature Notes meme.

DESKTOP 3156 - DAISY

"Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness." - Desmond Tutu

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme

DESKTOP 2741 - OLD HOUSE

Melbourne is a wonderful place to go hunting for vintage objects, see old homes, explore historic neighbourhoods and do the rounds of the antique shops. We are lucky to have quite a lot of recent historical objects, heritage collections, Victoriana and interesting museums and galleries. However, in some neighbourhoods, one just needs to take a walk, look at the old homes and imagine what life was like then...

This post is part of the Mosaic Monday meme,
and also part of the Blue Monday meme,
and also part of the Seasons meme.

DESKTOP 2568 - HOUSE

A house in suburban Melbourne, visible from the Darebin Parklands.

This post is part of the Wordless Wednesday meme,
and also part of the My Corner of the World meme,
and also part of the Nature Notes meme.

DEKTOP 1848 - GRANADA

Granada is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada mountains, at the confluence of four rivers, the Beiro, the Darro, the Genil and the Monachil. It sits at an average elevation of 738 metres above sea level, yet is only one hour by car from the Mediterranean coast, the Costa Tropical. Nearby is the Sierra Nevada Ski Station, where the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 1996 were held.

In the 2005 national census, the population of the city of Granada proper was 236,982, and the population of the entire urban area was estimated to be 472,638, ranking as the 13th-largest urban area of Spain. About 3.3% of the population did not hold Spanish citizenship, the largest number of these people (31%; or 1% of the total population) coming from South America. Its nearest airport is Federico García Lorca Granada-Jaén Airport.

This post is part of the Wordless Wednesday meme,

and also part of the ABC Wednesday meme,

and also part of the Nature Notes meme.

DESKTOP 1764 - UNLEY PARK

Unley Park is a southern suburb of Adelaide in the City of Unley. Its postcode is 5061. It is located on the north side of Cross Road and east of the Belair railway line. Access via public transport is from the Unley Park railway station and the Unley Road "Go Zone". It features Victoria Avenue—Adelaide's wealthiest street, containing many large and luxurious houses built between the two World Wars. Here is one of the stately mansions on Victoria Avenue.

This post is part of the Wordless Wednesday meme,

and also part of the ABC Wednesday meme.

DESKTOP 1491 - XANTHI, GREECE

Xanthi (Greek: Ξάνθη); is a city in Thrace, northeastern Greece. It is the capital of the Xanthi regional unit of the region of East Macedonia and Thrace. Amphitheatrically built on the foot of Rhodope mountain chain, the city is divided by the Kosynthos River, into the west part, where the old and the modern town are located, and the east part that boasts a rich natural environment.

The Old Town of Xanthi is known throughout Greece for its distinctive architecture, combining many Byzantine Greek churches with neoclassical mansions of Greek merchants from the 18th and 19th centuries and Ottoman-era mosques. Other landmarks in Xanthi include the Archaeological Museum of Abdera and the Greek Folk Art Museum.

Xanthi is famous throughout Greece (especially Northern Greece) for its annual spring carnival (Greek: καρναβάλι) which has a significant role in the city's economy. Over 40 cultural associations from around Greece participate in the carnival program. The festivities which take place during the period include concerts, theatre plays, music and dance nights, exhibitions, a cycling event, games on the streets, and re-enactments of old customs.

This post is part of the Our World Tuesday meme,
and also part of the Ruby Tuesday meme,
and also part of the Travel Tuesday meme,
and also part of the Wordless Wednesday meme.

DESKTOP 1450 - BRIGHTON

Brighton is an affluent beach-side suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 11 km south-east of Melbourne's central business district. Its local government area is the City of Bayside. At the 2011 Census, Brighton had a population of 21,257. Brighton is named after Brighton in England. Brighton houses some of the wealthiest citizens in Melbourne with grand homes, and the development of large residential blocks of land. As of June 2016, Brighton has a median house price of AU$ 2,287,500.

Brighton is also well known for its Dendy Street Beach with its 82 colourful beach boxes. Built well over a century ago in response to very Victorian ideas of morality and seaside bathing, the bathing boxes remain almost unchanged. All retain classic Victorian architectural features with timber framing, weatherboards and corrugated iron roofs, though they also bear the hallmarks of individual licencees' artistic and colourful embellishments. 

Thanks to these distinctive decorations, the boxes turn the Brighton seaside into an immediately recognisable, iconic beachscape that can transform by the hour according to season, light and colour. Although these are nothing more than glorified change rooms, they are very much sought after and can fetch prices close to AU$ 300,000.

This post is part of the ABC Wednesday meme,
and also part of the Outdoor Wednesday meme,
and also part of the Wordless Wednesday meme.

DESKTOP 1393 - WHITE CLIFFS OF DOVER

The White Cliffs of Dover are cliffs that form part of the English coastline facing the Strait of Dover and France. The cliffs are part of the North Downs formation. The cliff face, which reaches up to 110 m, owes its striking appearance to its composition of chalk accented by streaks of black flint. The cliffs stretch along the coastline for 13 km, spreading east and west from the town of Dover in the county of Kent, an ancient and still important English port.

The cliffs have great symbolic value in Britain because they face towards continental Europe across the narrowest part of the English Channel, where invasions have historically threatened and against which the cliffs form a symbolic guard. The National Trust calls the cliffs "an icon of Britain", with "the white chalk face a symbol of home and war time defence." Because crossing at Dover was the primary route to the continent before the advent of air travel, the white line of cliffs also formed the first or last sight of Britain for travellers. In World War II, thousands of allied troops on the little ships in the Dunkirk evacuation saw the welcoming sight of the cliffs.

This post is part of the  Our World Tuesday meme,
and also part of the Travel Tuesday meme,
and also part of the Wordless Wednesday meme.

And one cannot forget the classic Vera Lynn song in this context:

DESKTOP 1345 - MYKONOS, GREECE

Mykonos (Greek: Μύκονος) is a Greek island, part of the Cyclades, lying amongst Tinos, Syros, Paros and Naxos. The island spans an area of 85.5 square kilometres and rises to an elevation of 341 metres at its highest point. There are 10,134 inhabitants (2011 census), most of whom live in the largest town, Mykonos, which lies on the west coast. The town is also known as Chora (i.e. the Town in Greek, following the common practice in Greece when the name of the island itself is the same as the name of the principal town). Mykonos' nickname is 'The island of the winds'. Tourism is a major industry and Mykonos is well known for its vibrant nightlife.

This post is part of the Wednesday Waters meme,
and also part of the Outdoor Wednesday meme,
and also part of the Wordless Wednesday meme,
and also part of the ABC Wednesday meme,
and also part of the Travel Tuesday meme.

DESKTOP 1324 - JERSEY

Jersey (officially the Bailiwick of Jersey), is a Crown dependency of the United Kingdom, ruled by the Crown in right of Jersey, off the coast of Normandy, France. Jersey was part of the Duchy of Normandy, whose dukes went on to become kings of England from 1066. After Normandy was lost by the kings of England in the 13th century, and the ducal title surrendered to France, Jersey and the other Channel Islands remained attached to the English crown. Jersey is a self-governing parliamentary democracy under a constitutional monarchy, with its own financial, legal and judicial systems, and the power of self-determination.

The Lieutenant Governor on the island is the personal representative of the Queen. British cultural influence on the island can also be seen with the main language being English, British pound currency, driving on the left, BBC and ITV regions, school curriculum following that of England, and the popularity of British sports, including football, cricket and rugby. The bailiwick consists of the island of Jersey, along with surrounding uninhabited islands and rocks collectively named Les Dirouilles, Les Écréhous, Les Minquiers, Les Pierres de Lecq, and other reefs. The island of Jersey is the largest of the Channel Islands.

This post is part of the Outdoor Wednesday meme,
and also part of the Wordless Wednesday meme,
and also part of the ABC Wednesday meme,
and also part of the Wednesday Waters meme,
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DESKTOP 1197 - LEROS, GREECE

Leros (Greek: Λέρος) is a Greek island and municipality in the Dodecanese in the southern Aegean Sea. It lies 317 kilometres (171 nautical miles) from Athens's port of Piraeus, from which it can be reached by an 8.5-hour ferry ride (or by a 45-minute flight from Athens). Leros is part of the Kalymnos regional unit. The island has been also called in Italian: Lèro and in Turkish: İleriye.

The island is 74 square kilometres and has a coastline of 71 kilometres. The municipality includes the populated offshore island of Farmakonisi (pop. 10), as well as several uninhabited islets, including Levitha and Kinaros, and had a 2011 census population of 7,917, although this figure swells to over 15,000 during the summer peak. It is known for its imposing medieval castle of the Knights of Saint John possibly built on a Byzantine fortress.

Nearby islands are Patmos, Lipsi, Kalymnos, and the small islands of Agia Kyriaki and Farmakos. In ancient times it was considered the island of Parthenos Iokallis and linked to the Hellenistic and Roman literature on Meleager and the Meleagrides. The administrative centre and largest town is Agia Marina, with a population of 2,672 inhabitants. Other sizable towns are Lákki (pop. 1,990), Xirókampos (908), Kamára (573), and Álinda (542).

This post is part of the  Our World Tuesday meme,
and also part of the Ruby Tuesday meme,
and also part of the Travel Tuesday meme,
and also part of the Wordless Wednesday meme.

DESKTOP 1155 - PORTOFINO

Portofino is an Italian fishing village and vacation resort famous for its picturesque harbour and historical association with celebrity and artistic visitors. It is a comune located in the Metropolitan City of Genoa on the Italian Riviera. The town is clustered around its small harbour, and is known for the colourfully painted buildings that line the shore.

According to Pliny the Elder, Portofino was founded by the Romans and named Portus Delphini, or Port of the Dolphin, because of the large number of dolphins that inhabited the Tigullian Gulf. The village is mentioned in a diploma from 986 by Adelaide of Italy, which assigned it to the nearby Abbey of San Fruttoso di Capodimonte.

In 1171, together with the neighbouring Santa Margherita Ligure, it was included in Rapallo's commune jurisdiction. After 1229 it was part of the Republic of Genoa. The town's natural harbour supported a fleet of fishing boats, but was somewhat too cramped to provide more than a temporary safe haven for the growing merchant marine of the Republic of Genoa. In 1409 Portofino was sold to the Republic of Florence by Charles VI of France, but when the latter was ousted from Genoa the Florentines gave it back. In the 15th century it was a fief of families such as the Fieschi, Spinola, Adorno, and Doria.

In 1815 it became part of the Kingdom of Sardinia and, from 1861, of the unified Kingdom of Italy. In the late 19th century, first British, then other Northern European aristocratic tourists began to visit Portofino, which they reached by horse and cart from Santa Margherita Ligure. Aubrey Herbert and Elizabeth von Arnim were amongst the more famous English people to make the area fashionable. Eventually more expatriates built expensive vacation houses, and by 1950 tourism had supplanted fishing as the town's chief industry, and the waterfront was a continuous ring of restaurants and cafés.

This post is part of the Our World Tuesday meme,
and also part of the Ruby Tuesday meme,
and also part of the Travel Tuesday meme,
and also part of the Wordless Wednesday meme.

DESKTOP 1114 - FISKARDO, GREECE

Fiskardo (Greek: Φισκάρδο) is a village and a community on the Ionian island of Cephalonia, Greece. It is part of the municipal unit of Erisos. It is the northernmost port of Cephalonia, a short distance from Ithaca. Fiskardo has a small and diminishing fishing fleet. The coast around Fiskardo is mainly rocky with numerous pebble-beached coves. The port serves ferry routes to the ports of Frikes (Ithaca) and Lefkada. It is 5 km north of Vasilikades, 24 km north of Sami and 32 km north of Argostoli. Cephalonia International Airport is 61 km to the south, by road (about 1½ hours).

The community of Fiskardo consists of the villages Fiskardo, Evreti, Katsarata, Matsoukata and Tselentata.Fiskardo is also the name of the two kilometre long bay in which the port is located. Fiskardo and the dense forest in the surrounding area have been declared areas of great natural beauty and are protected under Greek law. In recent years a small tourist industry has developed, centred on luxury villas in the area around the village.

This post is part of the Travel Tuesday meme,
and also part of the Wednesday Waters meme,
and also part of the Waterworld Wednesday meme,
and also part of the Outdoor Wednesday meme,
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and also part of the ABC Wednesday meme.

DESKTOP 1015 - KAYSERBERG, FRANCE

Kaysersberg is a former commune in the Haut-Rhin department in Alsace in north-eastern France. On 1 January 2016, it was merged into the new commune Kaysersberg-Vignoble. The inhabitants are called Kaysersbergeois. The name means Emperor's Mountain in German.The high fortress that dominates the city serves as a reminder of both its strategic importance and its warlike past.

Together with the rest of Alsace-Lorraine, Kaysersberg was part of Germany during the period between the Franco-Prussian War and the First World War. Kaysersberg is one of the finest wine growing areas in Alsace. The first vines were brought here in the 16th century from Hungary, and wine production is still an important aspect of the town's economy today. Wine produced from the Pinot gris variety is a local specialty. Kaysersberg is the birthplace of Albert Schweitzer (1875–1965), theologian, musician, philosopher, and physician.

This post is part of the Our World Tuesday meme,
and also part of the Ruby Tuesday meme,
and also part of the Trees & Bushes meme,
and also part of the Travel Tuesday meme,
and also part of the Wordless Wednesday meme.

DESKTOP 980 - LANGADIA, GREECE

Langadia (Greek: Λαγκάδια) is a mountain village and a former municipality in Arcadia, Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Gortynia, of which it is a municipal unit. The seat of the municipality was the village Langadia.

The village Langadia is situated on a mountain slope, at about 1000 m elevation. It is 5 km east of Lefkochori, 10 km north of Dimitsana and 36 km northwest of Tripoli. The Greek National Road 74 (Pyrgos - Olympia - Tripoli) passes through the village. The village has a school, a church, a post office, and a square. It is known for its local weaving mill.

Langadia used to be famous in Greece mainly because of its builders (called pelekanoi), that made stone-built houses all over the Peloponnese peninsula, and especially in Mani. Kanellos Deligiannis, one of the many heroes of the Greek War of Independence against the Turks in 1821, was born here.

This post is part of the Our World Tuesday meme,
and also part of the Ruby Tuesday meme,
and also part of the Trees & Bushes meme,

and also part of the Travel Tuesday meme,
and also part of the Wordless Wednesday meme.

DESKTOP 917 - OLD ATHENS

This post is part of the Our World Tuesday meme,
and also part of the Ruby Tuesday meme,
and also part of the Trees & Bushes meme,
and also part of the Travel Tuesday meme,
and also part of the Wordless Wednesday meme.

DESKTOP 900 - OMINOUS SKY

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme,
and also part of Pippa's Week That Has Been Friday meme,
and also part of the Saturday Silhouettes meme.

DESKTOP 890 - ZURICH

Zürich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zürich. It is located in north-central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zürich. The municipality has approximately 400,028 inhabitants, the urban agglomeration 1.315 million, and the Zurich metropolitan area 1.83 million.

Zürich is a hub for railways, roads, and air traffic. Both Zürich Airport and railway station are the largest and busiest in the country. Permanently settled for around 2000 years, Zürich has a history that goes back to its founding by the Romans, who, in 15 BC, called it Turicum. However, early settlements have been found dating back more than 6400 years ago.

During the Middle Ages Zürich gained the independent and privileged status of imperial immediacy and, in 1519, became a primary centre of the Protestant Reformation in Europe under the leadership of Ulrich Zwingli. The official language of Zürich is (the Swiss variety of Standard) German, but the main spoken language is the local variant of the Alemannic Swiss German dialect.

Zürich is a leading global city and among the world's largest financial centres despite a relatively low population. The city is home to a large number of financial institutions and banking giants. Most of Switzerland's research and development centres are concentrated in Zürich and the low tax rates attract overseas companies to set up their headquarters there. Monocle's 2012 "Quality of Life Survey" ranked Zürich first on a list of the top 25 cities in the world "to make a base within". According to several surveys from 2006 to 2008, Zürich was named the city with the best quality of life in the world as well as the wealthiest city in Europe.

 Many museums and art galleries can be found in the city, including the Swiss National Museum and the Kunsthaus. Schauspielhaus Zürich is one of the most important theatres in the German-speaking world.

This post is part of the Travel Tuesday meme,
and also part of the Wednesday Waters meme,
and also part of the Waterworld Wednesday meme,
and also part of the Outdoor Wednesday meme,
and also part of the Wordless Wednesday meme 
and also part of the ABC Wednesday meme.