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On the Wing — Photo 39 — Project 365

On the Wing — Photo 39 — Project 365
For pictures alluding to open spaces and freedom, it’s hard to beat those taken from the air. The wingtip is a subtle way to add perspective and a reference point. For the curious, the river is the Seine, just north of Paris.

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The Orange Man and the Dog — Photo 38 — Project 365

The Orange Man and the Dog — Photo 38 — Project 365

Sometimes wandering around Iceland, the landscape reminded of nothing familiar and was closer to how I imagined Mars. The orange rainsuits they gave us when we went horseback riding didn’t help any in that regard, but it does make us jump out in this photo.

Again, I love the feeling of openness and adventure the image inspires.

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Icelandic Waterfall — Photo 37 — Project 365

Icelandic Waterfall — Photo 37 — Project 365
Iceland is the land of many things, including some amazing waterfalls. There were so many things to see in Iceland, I decided to bend my rule of only one photo per day. I think this is one of three from the one day of our Icelandic adventures :)

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Leif Erikson — Photo 35 — Project 365

Leif Erikson — Photo 35 — Project 365
Welcome to Iceland! In the foreground is Iceland’s most famous residents, Eric the Red Leif Eríkson (the statue is a gift given by the US to Iceland in 1930), and in the background is the tallest building in Iceland and one of Reykjavik best known landmarks, Hallgrimskirkja.

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Livingstone’s Birthplace (Postcard) — Photo 33 — Project 365

Livingstone’s Birthplace (Postcard) — Photo 33 — Project 365
Still with the Family History theme, I also came across this postcard sent to my 2nd Great-Grandfather by his sister. It speaks to a different era, when people had more connections to the home country and so would go for months to visit the country and family. The note on the back (“This is a real photograph”) speaks to the state of the art of photography — still complicated and expensive. The other thing that amazes me is how simple the address is. All in all, it’s an interesting peak into the past.

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The Lions of Normandy — Photo 42 — Project 365

The Lions of Normandy — Photo 42 — Project 365
During my travels through Normandy, I began to wonder how it was that Normandy and Britain ended up both with Lions for symbols. In Eu, on the Normandy coast where William the Conquerer was married, I found the link. I was told that the animals are no lions, but leopards, and England uses three, Normandy was given the right to use two by the English crown, and that Eu (a town on the Normandy coast that was the site of William’s marriage) was offered the right to use one by Normandy.

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The Origins of the Sinnamon Family — Photo 32 — Project 365

The Origins of the Sinnamon Family — Photo 32 — Project 365

When I was home to my parents’ last time, I was going through some old boxes and found this. The album must be nearly as old as I am. The writing is in my grandma’s own hand, which is fitting because it was her that carried Sinnamon as a maiden name. The passage reads:

The Sinnamons are descendants from the family of St. Amond who were Huguenots (French Protestants) in Europe. In the 16th and 17th century [sic] when the Huguenots were persecuted, some of them fled to the northern part of Ireland for refuge. At that time, the St. Amonds were illiterate. Later, when they learned to read and write, the name was written down as SINNAMON

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