This was my first picture, from the balcony of our hotel in Oakland the day before we were to fly to Armenia and Georgia…

for the 6000 year old wine caves.  But that comes later.

These are just a few snapshots I took to make sure I could even take pictures with my phone. (Lost a few…off somewhere in my phone..)  I just missed some young people sculling along the bay but to the left you can see the yacht club. Lovely view.

Although I didn’t take this picture, I needed it for the next one that I did take.

After 30 plus hours of  flying  time (3 planes), we arrived at our hotel around 9 pm.

And very fatigued. We were on the top floor, left corner.

A lovely  room with a balcony that ran around the corner and great views of the city.

Since we were staying for four days, they upgraded us. (I love things like that…and there were more to come.)

I was standing  at the corner of the 12^th floor balcony and, both below and ahead ran a large park.

Some of the squared buildings, on the right and left, were Soviet leftovers that were being  modified for Armenia businesses.

This location was great for walking tours. And we did.

There are 3 shots from this fantastic balcony  overlooking most of the city of Tbilisi, Georgia.

This one showed the city/mountain view directly in front of the balcony.

Same area, at night. It’s even more resplendent

with the twinkling lights of

the city and nearby music.

This is a south view (afternoon) looking at the Old Town.  What looks to me like a large, green slug is a bridge crossing the river.  This is a very vibrant city containing both old and new in harmony. (Look down and you can see the edge of the balcony.)

It was raining but I shot this from the edge of our balcony anyway. You can see the raindrops on my camera lens. The mountains are topped with fog but the umbrellas are still optimistically open on the patio below and the Gorge rumbles with water. A gorgeous hotel but the potholed roads tend to kill tires…we lost 2 so far this trip…although the spectacular mountain roads are almost worth it.

London Novotel Blackfriars. I spent a bit more on this hotel because of its location. It was worth it. Our room was on the 12^th floor with a balcony and a view. This triangular, silver building directly across from the balcony is the “Shard” designed by Renzo Piano. Beautifully unique and the tallest building in Europe. The early evening made it appear silver while later, with only a few lights, it changed to lavender.

In contrast to the first picture, this shot was aimed toward the Thames River…

which is blocked by this  (may I say ugly?) structure.

And to the right there are several more “squares” going up. (sigh)

After 4 days walking the sights in London, time for a break. Bournemouth was a good choice.

The view from our balcony overlooked the 7 mile beach and the English Channel. Wonderful. We had checked into the 100 plus year old Carleton , originally an estate converted to a Hotel, which we found by driving by. (The advantages of independent travelling!) Reservations needed for dinner and assigned table for the duration.

A partial view of the pool and outdoor lounge area. Looking out at the Channel, Mike reminded me that Generals Eisenhower and Montgomery stayed here while discussing options for the invasion of Normandy Beach on D-Day. I went down to the bar and got a glass of wine to toast them and for us to celebrate the end of WWII!