I m starting a new thread to know more about the world i live in.
Where do I live? In Kazakstan...
The Climate is different from Deserts to forests. I live in Nourth-East side. I love to go to our mountains - they are so huge and beautiful and huge.
Summer temprature +28+35C. Winter -7-20.
In my city is the most highlanded Skistadium in the World.
I live in Toronto, Canada's largest city and the 5th largest by population in North America.
We have a very photogenic skyline when seen from Lake Ontario (one of the 5 Great Lakes), the big "needle" (as some tourists like to call it) is the CN Tower which, until the construction of the Burj Dubai, held the record as the tallest freestanding tower in the world. Unlike other "space needles" in Seattle and elsewhere, the CN Tower is a communication mast first (VHF, UHF, Microwave, FM, AM) and a viewing platform second. On a clear day you can see all the way across the lake to the shore of New York State.
The white dome next to the CN Tower was once known as the Skydome but the local cable mogul bought the naming rights (and the MLB team who play there, the Blue Jays) and named it after himself naturally. It is still one of the only stadia in the world that has a solid fully retractable roof that can be open and closed in about 45 minutes.
To the right in the picture is Toronto's raison d'etre: the bank towers; for Toronto is the New York of Canada in the financial sense, and is home to the TSX, the Toronto Stock Exchange. Like most modern metropolises, Toronto no longer relies on manufacturing but on financial services and other "intellectual capital" instead.
Here's an interesting historical anecdote that our American friends may appreciate. In 1813, during an early (and failed) attempt to effect regime change in another country, US Marines landed on the shore of Lake Ontario and attacked Toronto (then known simply as York) and burned the public buildings, including the Parliament Buildings. Two years later, a British army sailed up the Chesapeake, marched on Washington, brushed aside the ineffectual resistance (Badgoat will be pleased to know that while the local militia ran away, a detachment of naval gunners brought the column to a standstill for quite some time before being overrun) and entered the city. The politicians wasted no time in running for their lives; when British officers entered the official residence of the President, they found dinner on the table, still warm. They promptly sat down and finished the meal. To the conqueror go the spoils.
After that, it was decided in revenge for the attack on York, the capital of the colony of Upper Canada, and the burning of its government buildings, that the President's official residence would meet the same fate. The building did not totally burn down but was there was extreme fire damage on the walls, making them look ugly and black. They whitewashed it with white paint, and so to this day the place is still known as, you guessed it, the White House.
I'll go next! I live in Rolla, Missouri. I'm originally from St. Louis so I'll talk about that. :)
STL is the home of the Gateway Arch, which many of you know. But, did you know that its the tallest monument in the world? Standing taller than the Statue of Liberty and the Washington Monument at 630 feet. The Arch is also as wide at the bottom as it is tall and you can ride to the very top and get a great view of either downtown STL or, on the other side, Illinios. The arch was built in 1965 and signifies "Westward Exspansion".
Now, my favorite thing to do in STL is to visit Forest Park, home of the 1904 World's Fair. Located in the park is the STL Zoo which was first created for the 1904 World's Fair. The Flight Cage still stands and is in working order today. :) The Zoo boasts over 700 species of animals on a 90 acre park and is completely FREE. You have to pay to ride the train and get into the petting zoo but other than that you can enter this park and spend all day looking at animals free of charge. The STL Zoo is one of the only Zoo's left in the US of its size that is free. Also in Forest Park is the Art Musuem.
It was also built in 1904 for the fair and still stands today. Like the Zoo it is completely free to go in and look at its three story collection of art of some of the most famous painters, sculpters, and even a section on midevil armory.
And as much as I could go on on about my favorite city in the world the last two stops are the Cathedral Basilica of STL. Built in 1907, this Cathedral has the largest mosaic collection in the world, created by 20 different artists. It covers 83,000 square feet with over 7,000 colors. It was begun in 1912 and was completed in 1988.
Last stop is Cardinals baseball! The Cardinals started in 1900 and have never left thier home city. They have won 10 World Championships making them one of the most winning teams in the history of baseball. A lot of people don't know that STL used to have two baseball teams. One called the St. Louis Browns which you might recognize today as the Baltimore Oriols. Our brand new stadium was built in 2006 which happend to be the last year the Cardinals won the World Series.
Well that's my home town. Hope you all enjoyed it! :)
This post was last modified: 01-21-2008 03:37 PM by Sanctia.
Ah canada...the land of beavers, poutine, free love, and free health care.
Formerly the largest city in Canada, it is now known as the second largest French-speaking city in the world.
Montreal is the cultural centre of Quebec, and of French-speaking North America as a whole. The city is Canada's centre for French language television productions, radio, theatre, film, multimedia and print publishing. The Quartier Latin is a neighbourhood crowded with cafés animated by this literary and musical activity. The local English-speaking artistic community nevertheless contributes dynamically to the culture of Montreal, and intense collaborations exist between all Montreal communities. The result is a dynamic musical scene, ignited by the presence of numerous musical festivals, that melds different musical styles and traditions.
Montreal is known for contrast between old and new architecture. Architecture and cobbled streets in Old Montreal have been maintained or restored to keep the look of the city in its earliest days as a settlement, and horse-drawn calèches help maintain that image. Old Montreal is accessible from the downtown core via the underground city and is served by several STM bus routes and metro stations, ferries to the South Shore and a network of bicycle paths.
During the period of Prohibition in the United States, Montreal became well-known as one of North America's "sin cities" with unparalleled nightlife, a reputation it still holds today. In part, its bustling nightlife is attributed to its relatively late "last call" (3 a.m.), and its many restaurants and after hours clubs that stay open well on into the morning.
Xonk on PvP: NUBS ARE SO BAD THEY MAKE ME WANT TO PUNCH THEM IN THE FACE Dream Bright
Procrastination isn't the problem, it's the solution. So procrastinate now, don't put it off.
~ Ellen DeGeneres
I've travelled around quite a lot, but my family roots (and my current location) are all from a small county on the east coast of England, called Norfolk. The county capital is a city called Norwich - pronounced Norritch (or Norridge if you're a real dyed-in-the-wool local yokel).
We've a lot of history - Norwich is believed to be the 3rd roman settlement in Britain, only following London and Colchester.
Being built on a river that feeds directly to the North sea linking us to Europe, Norwich has been a thriving trade community since the late 8th century and we're featured in the Domesday book from 1086, which indicates that the population was between 5 to 10, 000.
We have two cathedrals - Norwich Cathedral dating from 1096 and St John's Roman Catholic Cathedral from the mid 19th century.
We have an imposing "Motte and Bailey" castle, built from 1067, under which there is now an underground shopping mall. The stone used to build both the Cathedral (underlying structure in the local flint) and the Castle originates from Caen in France, rather than the local flint that most of the mediaeval churches are made from. William the Conqueror ruled from Norwich Castle for three days. From the 14th century onwards, it was used as a prison until the mid 19th century.
Norwich is the only city in the UK that can boast a church for every Sunday (most of them mediaeval) and a pub for every day of the year (although a huge proportion are now dilapidated wrecks or remodelled into the ubiquitous luxury apartments). The oldest pub, The Adam & Eve, dates from the late 14th Century and is still very well frequented, being next to the new Law Courts. ;)
We have several Coach Inns dating from the 14th Century - many of them still operating as hotels with some of the original "suites" available as honeymoon suites (with appropriate modernised bathrooms!).
It's also barely 10 miles from the "Norfolk Broads" - a man-made waterway cut from the peat and reed bogs, which is incredibly popular with sailors and tourists alike.
Home to Colman's mustard (I know you can get in the US, I've seen it and had it while there), Norwich Union Insurance group and the forerunner of today's modern Barclays Bank (the Gurney family originally began it in 1775).
Norwich boasts the UK's largest covered market, which has "trade days" with our European twin cities in France and Holland, where their traders come and open stalls showing wares from their own countries.
University of East Anglia is based in Norwich, and is a Maths-specialty uni and host to the art collection at the Sainsburys Center.
Perhaps the most interesting fact, for me anyway, is that Norwich's castle, cathedral and City Hall are all linked by underground tunnels and the city originally had a flint wall around it's border.
Today, Norwich is a thriving business community and the nightlife is crazy with every kind of restaurant, bar, nightclub and live music venue.
Anyway, history lesson over - let's see the pictures!
EDIT: For anyone sufficiently interested, here's a link to a live webcam over Norwich Market, looking towards the Cathedral and Wikipedia has a lot of information on Norwich in general. Information on the remaining 36 mediaeval churches can be found here.
Meaning Saint James in Spanish, though named for Saint Didacus of Alcalá. Fittingly, the first church in California and also the first of the California missions (which began El Camino Real), is named the Mission Basilica San Diego de Alcala. Seperation of church and state, anyone? :)
Somewhere around 2,000,000 people live in San Diego County, about half in city limits. It is the sixth largest city in the United States. San Diego is within two hours driving distance of deserts (The Mojave), mountains/forests (Laguna and San Bernadino), and water (Pacific Ocean and Gulf of California).
Moonlight Beach (This is like, 3 blocks from my apartment... and I never, ever go...)
The World Famous San Diego Zoo is located downtown - Home to panda cub Hua Mei and state-wide condor conservation efforts.
San Diego also boasts the largest metropolitan airport in the US, Lindbergh Field, where Charles Lindbergh's plane, The Spirit of St. Louis, was built. It's kind of crazy... Flying in to the city, the plane is literally 100 feet from the roofs of buildings.
This is seriously what it looks like:
Tijuana, and the Mexican border, are approximately 30 minutes from the city's center.
Tourism (YAY!) and military are the primary draws to San Diego. The Chargers (who are definitely NOT going to the Super Bowl) and the Padres are from San Diego... Though on most years, many San Diegan's won't admit that. It is also well-known in the computer sciences and biotech fields - Sony, DivX, Peregrine, Amylin, and the Salk Institute are headquartered here.
Most recently, San Diego was in the news for pretty much burning down. Almost anywhere you go, there is a sign of it... Either missing homes, burned land and trees, or signs thanking the firemen and police.
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