News & Updates from Silvia Griffin · Page 7
This past august I was on a trip to Rome.
The Vatican is a sight to see and is also guarded by the Pontifical Swiss Guard.The Pontifical Swiss Guard (also Papal Swiss Guard, or just Swiss Guard; Latin: Pontificia Cohors Helvetica or Cohors Pedestris Helvetiorum a Sacra Custodia Pontificis;It is a small force maintained by the Holy See, it is responsible for the safety of the Pope, including the security of the Apostolic Palace.
The Swiss Guard serves as the de facto military of Vatican City. Established in 1506 under Pope Julius II, the Pontifical Swiss Guard is among the oldest military units in continuous operation.The dress uniform is of blue, red, orange and yellow with a distinctly Renaissance appearance.
The modern guard has the role of bodyguard of the Pope. The Swiss Guard is equipped with traditional weapons, such as the halberd, as well as with modern firearms.
Since the assassination attempt on Pope John Paul II in 1981, a much stronger emphasis has been placed on the guards non-ceremonial roles, and has seen enhanced training in unarmed combat and small arms.Recruits to the guards must be unmarried Swiss Catholic males between 19 and 30 years of age who have completed basic training with the Swiss Armed Forces.
What a lovely stop on our last Caribbean Cruise. Curaçao architecture blends Dutch and Spanish colonial styles.
The wide range of historic buildings in and around Willemstad has resulted in the capital being designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.The dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles came into effect on 10 October 2010.
Curaçao became a country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, with the Kingdom retaining responsibility for defense and foreign policy.
When the Dutch arrived in 1634, they built forts at key points around the island to protect themselves from foreign powers, privateers, and pirates.
Six of the best preserved forts can still be seen today,The government of Curaçao takes place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic country.
The Prime Minister is the head of government. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and parliament.
Just returned from a lovely cruise to the Panama Canal.The Panama Canal is an artificial 48-mile waterway in Panama that connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean.
The canal cuts across the Isthmus of Panama and is a key conduit for international maritime trade.There are locks at each end to lift ships up to Gatun Lake, an artificial lake created to reduce the amount of excavation work required for the canal, 26 metres (85 ft) above sea level, and then lower the ships at the other end.
The original locks are 33.5 metres (110 ft) wide. A third, wider lane of locks was constructed between September 2007 and May 2016. The expanded canal began commercial operation on June 26, 2016.
The new locks allow transit of larger, Post-Panamax ships, capable of handling more cargo.France began work on the canal in 1881 but stopped due to engineering problems and a high worker mortality rate.
The United States took over the project in 1904 and opened the canal on August 15, 1914.
One of the largest and most difficult engineering projects ever undertaken, the Panama Canal shortcut greatly reduced the time for ships to travel between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, enabling them to avoid the lengthy, hazardous Cape Horn route around the southernmost tip of South America via the Drake Passage or Strait of Magellan.Colombia, France, and later the United States controlled the territory surrounding the canal during construction.
The US continued to control the canal and surrounding Panama Canal Zone until the 1977 Torrijos–Carter Treaties provided for handover to Panama.
After a period of joint American–Panamanian control, in 1999 the canal was taken over by the Panamanian government and is now managed and operated by the government-owned Panama Canal Authority.Annual traffic has risen from about 1,000 ships in 1914, when the canal opened, to 14,702 vessels in 2008, for a total of 333.7 million Panama Canal/Universal Measurement System (PC/UMS) tons.
By 2012, more than 815,000 vessels had passed through the canal.[2] It takes six to eight hours to pass through the Panama Canal.
The American Society of Civil Engineers has called the Panama Canal one of the seven wonders of the modern world.
Over 2 Million Visitors a Year!Quartzsite, Arizona, barely 18 miles east of the Colorado river, on I-10, may be the RV boondocking capital of the world.
Quartzsite has become a mecca to visitors and exhibitors for rocks, gems, mineral specimens and fossils during the towns famous two-month-long gem show and swap meet every January and February.
From its humble beginnings the now-massive Quartzsite show has grown to RV-epic proportions with vendors offering everything under the Quartzsite sun.This is a inside picture of a Motorhome- Camper we looked at which cost over 300000 Dollars!!!
I personally cannot see the value of it but each his own.
There is a gourd festival in Casa Grande AZ. Over 100 Gourd Artists & Vendors.Dried and excavated gourd shell used as a bottle, dipper, flask, etc.a gourd-shaped, small-necked bottle or flask. 4 Days of Reserved Classes,Non-Stop Live Musical Entertainment and Thousands of Dried Gourds for Sale!
Loving in a RV / Camper unfortunately sets a damper on my shopping but I still enjoyed it very much.
