Favorite photos of places we visited our second year

Although it has been a long time coming, I'm finally wrapping up my photos from our second year living abroad. You can see some of the previous posts from the links at the bottom. These are of places, not people, though a couple shots have folks in them. Also, shots of domestic and wild animals caught my fancy this year, so I've thrown in a few. (If only you knew how many photos of puffins I have . . . )

As always, I agonize over selecting my "favorites" when some of the nearly favorites woulda coulda shoulda been chosen instead. But I'm stuck now, so I need to stop whimpering and get on with it.

These photos aren't all from 2015, mind you. Rather, these are photos from June 2014 to June 2015. Yes, I'm that far behind. {shrug}

As a final word, I'll note that the places depicted aren't necessarily my favorites of the year. Instead, they're the favorite photos, not the favorite spots or buildings or vistas. That said, some of the places are pretty damn awesome.

Enjoy!

The Kelpies are the largest equine statues in the world. (Falkirk, Scotland)

Inverary Castle, the ancestral home of the Duke of Argyll (and a filming location for episodes of Downton Abbey). (Inverary, Scotland)

You'll find nowhere in the world with better access to puffins and other seabirds than the Isle of Lunga, part of the Treshnish Isles on the west coast of Scotland. (Lunga, Scotland)

One of those elusive pots of gold can be found in Castle Trim, Ireland. (Castle Trim, Ireland)

A fantastic hike of the Quiraing on the Isle of Skye ends with a view of the "Table." That's my bro-in-law, David, at top right. (Quiraing, Isle of Skye, Scotland)

I love the juxtaposition of tiny Jackson with the monumental Temple of Olympian Zeus. (Athens, Greece)

Another great hike on Skye is to the deserted Neist Point Lighthouse. (Isle of Skye, Scotland)

In nearly three years abroad, we've only returned to the U.S. once. We love the snow in Colorado, where Grammar and one of Kate's sisters live. (Mesa, Colorado, U.S.A.)

I try to snap a pic of the ceilings in all the churches, abbeys, and cathedrals we visit. Sometimes, the best ceiling is no ceiling at all. (Jedburgh Abbey, Scotland)

This exhibit, Floating Heads, greets visitors at the U.K.'s most visited museum outside of London, the Kelvingrove Museum. (Glasgow, Scotland)

The Jacobite steam train, also known as the Hogwarts Express, huffs and puffs across the Glenfinnan Viaduct. (Glenfinnan, Scotland)

People aren't the only ones who enjoy the beauty of the Crossraguel Abbey ruins. (Maybole, Scotland)

What can I say? I lurv me some ruins. This tower fragment stands in a village outside Dublin. (Trim, Ireland)

The most scenic lake in Scotland, as viewed from the summit of one of its islands, Inchcailloch. (Loch Lomond, Scotland)

Did you enjoy those? Here are more favorite pics of our second year in Scotland:


 

(Nearly) favorite photos of places we visited our second year in Scotland






Favorite family photos of our second year in Scotland







(Nearly) favorite photos of our second year in Scotland





Want to see more? Here are the favorites from our first year in Scotland:





Favorite photos of places we visited in our first year







(Nearly) favorite photos of places we visited our first year






Favorite family photos of our first year in Scotland






(Nearly) favorite family photos of our first year in Scotland

Monday Exposure: The Kelpies

The Kelpies were unveiled in April 2014 in Falkirk, Scotland. The statues bestride an intersection of the Forth & Clyde canal with a new canal extension reaching to the River Forth.

                    1          year of fabrication and assembly

                    2          Kelpie heads

                    8          years of planning by the artist

                    9          number of the motorway, the M9, which runs past the Kelpies

                  30          welder fabricators who assembled the internal structures

                  32          meters down for the piles into bedrock

                  90          days of assembly on-site

                  98          feet high

                300          weight of each Kelpie in tonnes (i.e., 661,286 pounds)

                990          unique stainless steel skin plates

             1,200          tons for the foundations

           18,000          components for each Kelpie

         350,000          expected visitors per year

      5,000,000          pounds sterling for total cost of design and construction

A "kelpie" is a mythical creature residing in Scottish lochs, often taking the shape of a horse. These kelpies are modeled on Clydesdales.

Created by Glaswegian artist Andy Scott, the statues are the largest art installation in Scotland and the largest equine statues in the world.