Sunday, December 27, 2009

Panorama of Buckingham Palace!

Here is a panorama shot I made of Buckingham Palace that was created using three photos.



Click on the photo above to view photo to see a larger version of the photo. Panorama photo was created using Microsoft Windows Live Photo Gallery. Enjoy!

Bear


 

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Thursday, December 24, 2009

Merry Christmas 2009!

Everyone here at the 6 Bears Farm wish a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to our family and friends !! May the best of 2009 be the worst the of 2010.

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Wednesday, December 23, 2009

UK Vacation Photos

thumbnailCAUKGOB3 After 2 weeks touring the UK we have accumulated quite a collection of photos. Some quite good others, well……

You be the judge, check out our UK Vacation Photo Album

Saturday, December 19, 2009

Scotland, Home Of The Brave And Winding Up Our Trip!

We stayed in Edinburgh, with the Edinburgh Castle in clear view. We had not even checked into our hotel and I had already purchased a new formal kilt outfit. Our first full day was spent touring Edinburgh Castle and checking out the shops on the Royal Mile. On day 2 we jumped on the train and traveled north through the snowy highlands to explore Inverness. Day 3 we jumped on the train and traveled to Stirling to see the city and tour Stirling Castle. We also had time, once we returned to Edinburgh, to enjoy a proper High Tea at the Sheraton Hotel. Very Nice!

Bear and Robin

PICT8623 Yeah, all that for just us……

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Before…..

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After!  (Oh, we had 2 pots of tea each, as well)

Then next day, we traveled back to London. That night,  at 1:34am the hotel alarm system awoke us and we grabbed our passports and exited the building out into the first snowfall of the season. Robin made a nice little snowman while we waited for the fire company to inspect the hotel. Thankfully, it was a false alarm.

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The London Fire Brigade and Robin’s Snowman!

We spent the next day seeing some of the sites that we had not had a chance to see before we left for York. These sites included Westminster Abbey, Westminster Cathedral, Victoria Station, Buckingham Palace, Saint Paul’s Cathedral and of course another visit to Harrods!

That night we were informed that our return flight to the states was cancelled due to a big east coast snowstorm…..

Here are the photos!

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Edinburgh Castle at night

PICT8412 Streets of Inverness Scotland

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Stirling Castle

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The London Tube at Christmas time is crazy…..

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Westminster Abbey

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Buckingham Palace

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Saint Paul’s Cathedral

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Harrods at night during  the Christmas season…..

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Our footsteps through the UK (Click on map)

Sunday, December 13, 2009

Check off York, now on to Scotland

We have enjoyed our visit to York and now it’s time to move north into Scotland. We arrived in Edinburgh Scotland  just after noon today!  Our last day in York was spent exploring the York Minster, Clifford’s Tower and the Fairfax House. Here are the photos…..

Bear and Robin

PICT8064 Inside the York Minster

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On my way to the top of the York Minster Tower

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View from the top of the York Minster Tower

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The walled City of York from the York Minster Tower

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Clifford’s Tower

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Skating Rink

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View of York Minster from top of Clifford’s Tower

Saturday, December 12, 2009

From New York to Old York……

We have  arrived in York, one of the oldest cities in Europe. York is a beautiful walled city with small cobblestone streets and alley ways full of shops, eaterys and pubs! Towering over the city is the York Minster, which is just an amazing gothic church. We attended an evening ‘Evensong’ service our first night, just an unreal experience to be there in such a historic building hearing the prayers sung by an all male choir.

The next day we boarded the train for a 20 minute ride to Malton. We hailed down a taxi and traveled to Castle Howard. About 10  minutes into the countryside, this mansion is beyond belief! It is 300 years old and is HUGE and screams of RICH.

After arriving back into the city, walking through the open market, stopping for some roasted chestnuts, we headed to the ‘Punch Bowl Pub’ for some tasty meat pies, ale and hot mulled wine.

Today we are checking out the local attractions in York. York Minster, Clifford’s Tower, Fairfax House and numerous shops and festivals. Tomorrow we board the train and head north to Edinburgh, Scotland. It is getting colder and the days are getting much shorter the farther north we go.

Robin & Bear

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York Minster

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York Minster Tower at Night

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Streets of York

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Castle Howard

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Interior of Castle Howard

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Waiting in the fog in Malton, for the train back to York…..

Thursday, December 10, 2009

A relaxing country drive to visit two castles.....

We took a nice relaxing drive out in the english countryside to visit two excellent examples of castles, Leeds and Bodium Castles.

Bear


Our Wheels


Leeds Castle


Front entrance of Leeds Castle


Bodium Castle

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

So this is a vacation......

Well we finally made it to the United Kingdom and we are having a ball. At some point it will hit us and we will sleep for 24 hrs, but until then we are just sticking to our insane schedule! No one to blame but myself for that. There is alot here to see in just 2 weeks...... Anyways, here are some photo's from Days 1-3 (London) and Day 4, our first day traveling the countryside where we visited Stonehenge and then a very rainy visit to the south shore to walk the pier in Brighton. Today we are going to visit some castles in the southeast countryside and tomorrow we board the train for York.

Bear


Harrods


Big Ben


London Eye


Tower of London


Tower Bridge


Christmas Market in Hyde Park


Tea at Kensington Palace


Piccadilly Circus at Night


Stonehenge


Brighton Pier

Friday, October 16, 2009

2009 First Snowfall………..October 16th!

Well it was a very short summer where the average mean temperature was a balmy 67 ºF and we only experienced 1 day above 90ºF  Now Old Man Winter has decided to get a early start. This morning we woke to a fresh blanket of snow. It’s going to be a long winter

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Saturday, September 26, 2009

It’s Marshmallow Harvesting Time in New York State

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If you have the hot cocoa , we have the Marshmallows up here in New York State. This years crop looks good!!

Sunday, September 20, 2009

Wamba Jamba Jam 2009

The weather started out the day looking like a monsoon but at high noon the skies cleared and the sun shined as the 20th Anniversary of Wamba Jamba Jam went in the record books as another classic!

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Saturday, August 15, 2009

A Little Squirreling Around

 

large_0814wmnspics Courtesy of Melissa Brandts

Minnesota residents Melissa Brandts and her husband, Jackson, set up their camera with a timer to take a picture of them by Lake Minnewanka in Banff National Park in Canada when nature intervened.

"We had our camera set up on some rocks and were getting ready when this curious little ground squirrel appeared, became intrigued with the sound of the focusing camera and popped right into our shot," Melissa Brandts writes. "It was a once in a lifetime moment -- we were laughing about this little guy for days!"

Sunday, August 9, 2009

3 Day Western New York Tour Idea

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Having company from out of town and need some ideas on what to do over a 3 day weekend in Western New York? Well here is what we ended up doing with Jena, our friend from Texas.

Day One: Buffalo and Niagara Falls !

What would a trip to Western New York be without a visit to see one of the seven wonders of the world, Niagara Falls! You really want to pick a day when the weather is nice so those photos your guest takes and shows to their friends and family back home  turn out nice enough to show case the  Falls.

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While visiting the Falls, the best way to experience the shear power is to take a tour of the falls on the Maid Of The Mist boat tour. You guest will always remember the feeling of standing on the boat surrounded by a wall of water hundreds of feet high with  mist in their face. The water from the falls moves past, rocking the boat yet you feel like your moving but the boat is still! Oh and if your in the mood for some ice cream, a stop at the Twist of the Mist Ice Cream Shop is recommended!

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Another stop either on the way to Niagara Falls or after is a trip to the Anchor Bar in Buffalo for lunch or dinner. This local hangout is the Mecca for anyone who savors the taste of Buffalo style chicken wings. This is the spot back in the early 1960’s where wings were discovered. yum yum yum.

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Day Two: Sterling Renaissance Festival

Another activity that would be best saved for a day of nice weather is a journey back to the year 1585 in England. Enjoy the many live theatrical performances, browse craft shops full of hand made items for sale and sample the various foods throughout this 35 acre village.

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Games like axe throwing, bow and arrows, tomato toss along with live jousting competition are sure to delight all. Listen to live musical performances playing Celtic songs and just get lost from the hustle and bustle  of your current life and escape back in time for a day…..

Day Three: The Corning Museum Of Glass

Well on day 3 the weather just did not agree with our original plans the visit the Genesee Country Village so an indoor activity was required. The Corning Museum Of Glass in Corning, New York fit the bill perfectly!

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You get to learn all about the world of glass and see the worlds best collection of glass. Then you can view live glass blowing demonstrations and even create your own glass masterpiece and will be shipped home to you guest after they make it.

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Of course, this is just one of many different collections of events that you can show your out of town guests. But these events are great for all ages, and should be considered towards the top of the list when trying to plan an outing that your guests are sure to remember and leave them with great memories of their visit to a place we call home, Western New York.