Esther's photos

Although generally considered a weed, the cornflower was once cultivated and sports numerous flowers that are a lovely shade of blue. It got its name because it was often found growing in fields of corn and other crops. For more interesting information about the cornflower, see www.answers.com/topic/cornflower . AIMG_0303

Boston, Massachusetts, as seen from the harbor. AIMG_1432

Sailing outside of Boston Harbor on a grey day AIMG_1442

The present Boston Light which is located on Little Brewster Island in the Boston Harbor was built in 1783, although a lighthouse has stood at this spot since1716. The tower was raised to 89 feet tall in 1859 and a second order Fresnel lens was installed. An interesting history of the lighthouse can be found at en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston_Light . AIMG_1449

There is something very challenging about getting a person with a machine gun or automatic rifle to smile for the camera. In the US, they tend to be rather cranky about it. In Italy, they were only too happy to do so if requested. In China, it was strickly forbidden, although when the errant tourist did so, most guards at the major tourist sites merely ignored them. In India, some police were sufficiently scarey in the conduct of their duties to avoid even approaching. This man seemed friendly and very professional as he guarded the Taj Mahal and a smile from me while pointing to my camera got a pose and a smile back. AIMG_6105

The view from the Taj Mahal looking across the Yamuna River. AIMG_6106

There are many domes and arches at the Taj Mahal AIMG_6118

The Taj Mahal complex consists of a number of buildings including the iconic white masoleum. One of these buildings is the jawab (answer) which served as an architectural balance to the similarly designed mosque on the western side of the complex and may also have been used as a guest house. The walls are composed mostly of red sandstone with inlaid white marble. AIMG_6099

Inlaid stone decorates the Taj Mahal in Agra, India AIMG_6086