Lady Liberty of the Luxembourg Gardens

Mr.  Hunter has yet to visit the actual Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor, but he has posed with Auguste Bartholdi's original (and much smaller) bronze model of Lady Liberty, who holds her torch aloft in the marvelous Luxembourg Gardens of Paris.

About the statue in the Luxembourg Gardens.

Jardin du Luxembourg

Paris, France

May 2010

The Buckingham Palace Tour

When I found out I was going to London on a business trip, I realized that I would be there while the Buckingham Palace State Rooms were open to the public.  And in 2011, the tour also included an exhibition of Kate Middleton's wedding dress.  It was an entirely touristy thing to do, but I have to say that I enjoyed the tour even more than I expected.   

Your ticket to Buckingham Palace includes...
The Royal Wedding Dress
Royal Faberge Special Exhibition
A walk along the south side of the Palace garden
An audio tour of the State Rooms and special exhibitions

As you might expect, we weren't allowed to take photographs inside the palace, but if you visit the British Monarchy's Flickr stream, you can see some images of Queen Elizabeth II and the Duchess of Cambridge looking at the wedding dress exhibit.  Here's one of the pictures posted there:

A photo of the dress from the British Monarchy's Flickr photostream.
Visitors could walk all around the platform to see the dress from all sides.
The wedding cake was also on display!  A couple layers of the cake were replicas,
but apparently the rest of it was the real thing.  (Really?!?!)
You could even see the slice that William and Kate had made when the cut the cake.

A royal lamppost.

Notable snake detail.

An inviting bench.

A satisfied Mr. Hunter poses before
the back of Buckingham Palace, seen from the gardens.
(He was still glowing from a friendly encounter with one of the Queen's Guards.)
The white tents on the left cover a little cafe.

A glimpse of the palace through the trees.
Something Pemberley-like in the sight.

We finished the tour by taking a walk through the idyllic gardens.

A lovely tree in the Buckingham Palace gardens.

Buckingham Palace

London, England

September 2011

St. James's Park Views

After touring the Royal Mews, then hitting yet another Pret A Manger for lunch, we had about an hour before we needed to queue up for the Buckingham Palace tour, so we wandered around

 in nearby St. James's Park.

Mr. Hunter spies the London Eye in the distance.
The lake, by the way, is called St. James's Park Lake.

A curious squirrel strikes a cute pose.

St. James's Park Summer Wildlife Newsletter.

The wings of a Greylag Goose.

Barnacle Goose

I think this is a coot sitting on its nest.

Something magical about this view.

St. James's Park

London, England

September 2011

Ghetto Mr. Hunter Visits Tōshō-gū Shrine

The second half of Ghetto Mr. Hunter's inaugural journey with Teresa took them to Japan.  While visiting the Tōshō-gū Shrine in Tokyo's Ueno Park, 

Ghetto Mr. H. encountered this friendly fellow.

Nice to meet you, sir!

Ema prayer and wish plaques hanging in the foreground.

Ghetto Mr. Hunter and the shrine.

Ghetto Mr. Hunter and a Komainu.
Komainu (aka "lion dogs") act as guardians at shrines.

Among the features at Tōshō-gū Shrine

 is the Flame of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, a peace symbol 

which commemorates the atomic bomb attacks in Japan.

Those are colorful paper cranes
hanging alongside the Flame of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

About the Flame of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Thanks again to Teresa for letting a flat Mr. Hunter accompany her to Japan!

Tōshō-gū Shrine, Ueno Park

Tokyo, Japan

August 2008

Where in the world is Mr. Hunter? - the answer

Where was Mr. Hunter when he met this beer-bellied statue?

At a beer garden, of course!

On vacation back in 2007, Mr. Hunter and Co. hung out at the Seehaus Beer Garden, located on the shores of Kleinhesseloher See (Lake) in Munich's Englischer Garten.

Prost!

Beer garden necessity: big pretzel.

Lakeside dining means that swans and other waterfowl swim over
and ask you for some food.

Ducklings!

We had taken a walk beforehand.
Here's Seehaus seen from across the lake.

My brother took this photo of the Seehaus's naked guardian.

(A number of these photos were taken by my brother, actually.  

A fine photographer!)

Seehaus

Englischer Garten (English Gardens)

Munich, Germany

June 2007

The Mini Merlion

Before he posed with the main Merlion, Ghetto Mr. Hunter enjoyed hanging out with the mini Merlion at Mount Faber Park.  (The Merlion, which has the head of a lion and the body of a fish, is a mascot or symbol of Singapore.)

Faber Point
Mount Faber Park
Singapore
August 2008

Spider Lilies and Big Leaves

Ghetto Mr. Hunter enjoyed some of the tropical Singapore vegetation when he was exploring Mount Faber Park.

these white flowers are called Spider Lilies, or Hymenocallis
photo by Teresa

photo by Sharon

Mount Faber Park
Singapore

August 2008

Mount Faber Views

Sharon, Teresa, and Ghetto Mr. Hunter enjoy the views from Mount Faber Park.

looking toward Sentosa Island

looking toward Singapore City

Mount Faber Park

Singapore

August 2008

Friends in Singapore

Teresa and Ghetto Mr. Hunter were on a business trip, and while they were in Singapore, the elegant Sharon showed them around.  Here they are enjoying the views from Mount Faber Park.

Mount Faber Park

Singapore

August 2008

To be held by a statue: Dennis the Menace

There's a story about this statue of Dennis the Menace.  

A month after Mr. Hunter posed with him, the Dennis statue was stolen 

from the Monterey park where it lived!  

The city commissioned and installed a replica in 2007.

the Dennis the Menace Playground

El Estero Park

Monterey, California

September 2006