Oh-so civilized ...

... that's business class .... which is normally seen from this angle by the 'masses' who travel in 'cattle class' .. but my hubby, like most business people, travel business class .. so they arrive refreshed after a good nights sleep, or a pleasant days journey ... ready for work !

He left over the weekend on another business trip and .. once again ... experienced the comfort of this way of travel ...

I have been very very fortunate to have experienced it too .. twice !!! Using voyager miles he has accumulated over the years enabled us to upgrade our tickets for our overseas flights so that I too could 'travel in comfort' ... ahhhh .. what a pleasure !!!!

Look, hubby says ... a place for your shoes !!! And those little cubbie holes are for the toiletry bags provided by the airline

.... comfy little cushion awaits ... with water and the menu for the flight ... :)

.. little night lights ....

... a chilled glass of bubbly before the flight gets underway ...

... 'comfort buttons' !!! ... for the already comfortable .. large ... chair ... like a little space module !!! Especially when the foot rest goes up and the back rest goes down !! .... and the duvet is unfolded and handed to you from a smiley air hostess !!!!

Flight under way ... and orders are taken from the menu .. by another smiley cabin chappie/steward !!!

.. and just look at that ... little table cloth ... WHITE and crisp linen !!! ... equally white, crisp linen napkin in serviette ring (a paper one, but they are forgiven for that!) ... real knives and forks are folded inside the said napkin ... and this is only the starter !!!!


... munch .. munch ... food on little trays attached to your own chair .. not the seat in front ... and legroom .. enough to 'swing a cat' !!! That little round tube looking thing near the water bottle and my yummy glass of wine is the TV screen which slides up and around ... which I didn't take out at all .. so busy watching what everyone else was doing !!! well .. and I had a book !!!

OOoooh yessss !!!

Cheers ... to more travels ... more comfort travels would be good too !!!

Weekly Winners : 27 Dec - 2 Jan

A new year .... let's hope the road ahead ...

.. with all it's twists and turns ... (spot the giraffe !)

... is not going to be tough going ...

... it could be challenging ..

... but not tough enough to be 'suited up in armour' ...

.. with helping hands ...

A party ... or two ... with giant cupcakes !

.... and giant cherries on top !!!!

Summer evenings ...

... quiet, peaceful ...

.. and calm ...

Hubby and I took a drive out to Hartbeespoort Dam on New Year's Eve - these 'Big Five' floor tiles caught my eye in a curio/African art shop called 'Just Africa' ..

For more Weekly Winners go to Lotus' sarcasticmom.com

Through my hubby's eyes ..

... who attended the wedding of Mr T and P in Bogota over the weekend, once all the business 'stuff' was complete (which is why he went in the first place !)

... and who was amongst a few friends and family at the Andres Carne de Res restaurant which is well-known for it's superb beef .. and Latino beat ... and which seats around 1 000 people!!

.... where the decor is all made from recycled material ...

... and if you're special ... especially extra special like the future Mr and Mrs T ... then you are a King and Queen for the night ... !!!

View of Bogota from the wedding venue ...

.. where the civil ceremony was held ...

.. and a happy groom with his Mum, who came, with Mr T's brothers and sister, from Australia ... I must say she looks very well having broken her arm days before ...

Saying their vows ... (and look at her stunning dress - sooo elegant!)

Mr T's Mum saying her speech in Spanish!! It just goes to show you .. you are never too old to learn something new!!! She went for 'secret' lessons so that she could surprise them! Well done, Mr T's Mum !!!! :) Just before we move onto the next beautiful photo .... look at the wedding cake!!! Sunflowers and chocolate !!! Oooh yumm!!

A stunning bride sharing a moment with her new brother-in-law ...

... a beautiful bride ...

The first dance/salsa!! ... and may they dance forever ... together ...

Then the party began ....

Goodies which hubby brought back included napkin rings which were on the tables (those grass rings with tiny hats, baskets, shoes etc attached - cute!) ... a little bag given to guests on leaving ...


... and out popped a kangaroo and Colombian keyring hat ...

... and the wedding invitation with a tiny Colombian hat and boomerang ... inside had these words ...

We wish you a lifetime of happiness together!

Note to Mrs T ... hope we meet one day .... soon !

We are there ....

... we have reached the main chamber of the Catedral de Sal (Salt Cathedral of Zipaquira, near Bogota, Colombia)

This photo is taken on the same balcony as the statue of the salt angel. Note the salt at the foot of the photo. If you look carefully, just above the salt and below the 'circle' you can see the front pews ..


.. 'Creation of Adam' by Michelangelo in that circle ...


A Nativity scene against one of the side walls .. (all statues are again, made from salt)

Salt deposits on the walls ...

Ooops .. sorry .. can't remember what this is and looking up websites hasn't helped me either! I think it's the altar .. need hubby to confirm

... and the last photo is taken from the front looking back over the pews. Look carefully (again!) .... you will people standing between the pews .. and further back in the blue lit area is the balcony on which the salt angel is situated to the right-hand side

I 'googled' it and found many websites and couldn't decide which to use for a link. The Wikipedia one is factual and so is the one HERE. There is a short video on the National Geographical website and can be seen if you 'google' "salt cathedral colombia" then go down to the "National Geographic video.

Isn't it just the most amazing place!!! I would absolutely love to see it for myself - maybe one day ... not likely .. but I can always hope ... and dream ... and wish ...... ..... ...... !!

Let's keep walking ..

... down the tunnel that leads to the Catedral de Sal de Zipaquira ...

... passing deposits of salt on the walls ....



Not sure what these are for ... these large dome shapes which reflect blue light ... I think hubby said that that is what they are for .. to reflect light ... but I could be wrong

Still quite a way to go ... the cross at the end is HUGE ... there is Mr T in the red T-shirt ...

Statues are built from salt pillars ...

A chamber dedicated to the miners who lost their lives ...

One of several smaller chambers leading off the main tunnel ...

.. looking back into the tunnels ....

Tomorrow ... we will be in the main Cathedral ....