https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?ui...ba00&zw&atsh=1
https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?ui...ba00&zw&atsh=1
https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?ui...ba00&zw&atsh=1
Printable View
^^^ Those images just show up as ? marks Jester.
Morning Q-sters
Been fighting a cold most of the week...
Enjoy Caturday :-)
The temperature in Harbin reaches forty below zero, both Fahrenheit and centigrade, and stays below freezing nearly half the year. The city is actually further north than notoriously cold Vladivostok , Russia, just 300 miles away. So what does one do here every winter? Hold an outdoor festival, of course! Rather than suffer the cold, the residents of Harbin celebrate it, with an annual festival of snow and ice sculptures and competitions.
The Snow Festival:
Attachment 275159
Attachment 275160
Attachment 275161
Attachment 275162
Attachment 275163
The ice festival, a few miles away from the snow festival, is anything but dull and colorless. Crowds flocking to the entrance are greeted by dance music booming in the distance, as if at an outdoor pop concert. And bright neon colors shine everywhere, buried within huge blocks of ice forming structures as high as thirty meters, such as this huge structure beyond the entryway.
The Ice Festival:
Attachment 275164
The Great Wall doubles as a long ice slide; just sit and go. You can pick up some serious speed and wipe out spectacularly at the bottom if you're wearing a slick coat, but you won't go anywhere if you're wearing corduroy pants.
Attachment 275165
A view from atop that structure, looking back on a Russian-styled building and a mock Great Wall, both constructed out of ice. Making it to the top of this structure is an accomplishment in itself - imagine walking up a stairway of solid ice for two floors with no handrails. The yellow block wall on the right and the balcony work on the lower left are all ice, with no internal support structure - just lights.
Attachment 275166
An overview of the ice festival from atop the Great Wall of ice. It's like a Disney theme park, with multiple attractions and food hawkers and kids running around and people lined up for bathrooms. The only differences are that the temperature is about a hundred degrees colder than the typical Disney park, and all the structures are made out of ice rather than plastic - and slipping and falling here doesn't result in tremendous lawsuits.
Attachment 275167
An entire ship constructed of ice, with passengers onboard. Though it might not be seaworthy, the ship would certainly float - after all, it's made of ice. Hundreds of years ago during the Manchu days of ice lantern art, the sculptures were lit only by candles.
Attachment 275168
Attachment 275169
Attachment 275170
Attachment 275171
Attachment 275172
Attachment 275173
Attachment 275174
Attachment 275175
Stunning pictures Hicks. I enjoyed checking them out.
:) :) :) :)
Good Morning!!
Good morning, everyone. :)
The brats are behaving, the sun's pouring in, and I'm off to see Bryan Adams tonight. If it weren't for a car alarm shrieking non-stop for the last 10 minutes, I'd be convinced I'd died and gone to heaven. ;)
Better go blast Summer of 69 and get some chores done, so I can go out & play.
Hope everyone has a wonderful day! :)
Morning!
And yes, I do love waking up to sunshine - except my sky was white & gold. :smartass:
My four legged friend has decided I've spent too long being up close and personal with inanimate objects. Seems like a good day to explore the ravine up the street. Water, in all forms, is an Oggie magnet - hope the Humber is frozen enough to support his weight. Jeez - gotta be with these temps we've been having.
What will we have for lunch today; does anyone fancy some quiche & soup?
We can sit around the table & enjoy chatting with our little group,
Quiche is light & kind of nice if you're a person who likes having eggs instead,
Or maybe a cheese fondue to dip & enjoy with some nice fresh French Stick Bread,
I guess fondues were a seventies thing & a nice way to socialize with your guests,
How about a shuffle play CD kind of thing... I would be open to any requests,
I have asked the month of March to chase away our drab old winter skies,
Loocie is actually simmering beef stew, just for my rather terrific guys,
Another Saturday afternoon; at least you know that you won't be mowing the lawn,
I am liking listening to one of my Greatest Hit albums, just me & Elton John,
Take care & we'll talk soon as keeping in touch is the thing to do,
This has been another greeting from Old Lady Loocie to you...
:) :) :) :)
Thanks Kel
http://youtu.be/Ae23oi9sxYg
A priceless take on cheap flights:
https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v...478334&fref=nf