top row, from left, are: Steve Wood, Bob Wallace and Jim Lane;
second row, Bob O’Rear, Bob Greenberg, March McDonald and Gordon Letwin;
and front row, Bill Gates, Andrea Lewis, Marla Wood and Paul Allen.

Taken in 1978… the 11 founding members of Microsoft

The Adventures of Tintin and its lovable characters. I finally found this picture…

Characters includes:

• Tintin and his dog, Snowy

• Captain Haddock

• Nester, the butler

• Thomson and Thompson, the detectives

• Professor Calculus

• Bianca

And i finally found a list of the major castles in the Loire Valley, France:

• Château d’Amboise
• Château d’Angers
• Azay-le-Rideau
• Château de Beauregard
• Château de Blois
• Château de Brézé
• Château de Chambord
• Château de Chenonceau
• Chinon
• Château de Chaumont
• Château de Cheverny
• Château de Fougères-sur-Bièvre
• Château de Menars
• Château de Montgeoffroy
• Château de Valençay
• Château de Villandry
• Château de la Bourdaisière
• Château du Plessis-Bourré
• Château du Rivau
• Château de Clermont
• Château des Ducs de Bretagne
• Château de Langeais
• Château de Loches
• Château de Montsoreau
• Château de Saumur
• Château de Sully-sur-Loire
• Château de Talcy
• Château de Troussay
• Château d’Ussé
   

Place: Zaanse Schans beside river Zaan, North Netherlands
Famous: Windmills… there are still 6 working mills there
Best Time to go: anytime
How to go: some suggestions…

1. Amsterdam Central station to Koog-Zaankijk station
2. 15 min walk from the station by following the signs

or

1. Take bus 91 from Amsterdam Central station in 50 min

Cost: Round-trip in train costs about 7.5 Euro. Viewing the windmills is free.
Some links:

• link 1
• a blog entry
• some more related links

Place: Keukenhof, near Lisse, Netherlands
Famous: Flowers – tulips – flower garden of Europe… how can we forget Tulips when we are in Netherlands
Best Time to go: Mid March to Mid-May open only
How to go:

1. Rotterdam or Amsterdam Central Station to Leiden Station in 40 min
2. Connexxion Bus 54 (Keukenhof Express) in 30 min

Cost: Entry into Keukenhof and the bus journey if around 16 pounds

Some links:

• link 1
• link 2
• homepage in english

Some links on visa…

• UK Visa
• Schengen Visa for Europe countries
• US visa

Name: Grand Place
Object: Central Market place and Town Centre
Artist: Jacob van Thienen (probably)
Date of creation: 1402 to 1455 and more buildings are added on later
Style: combination of Gothic, Baroque and Louis XIV styles
Description: Centre of the city’s commercial activies
Where to find it: Brussels, Belgium

image source: wiki

Each day I live
I want to be
A day to give
The best of me
I’m only one
But not alone
My finest day
Is yet unknown

I broke my heart
Fought every gain
To taste the sweet
I face the pain
I rise and fall
Yet through it all
This much remains

I want one moment in time
When I’m more than I thought I could be
When all of my dreams are a heartbeat away
And the answers are all up to me
Give me one moment in time
When I’m racing with destiny
Then in that one moment of time
I will feel
I will feel eternity

I’ve lived to be
The very best
I want it all
No time for less
I’ve laid the plans
Now lay the chance
Here in my hands

Give me one moment in time
When I’m more than I thought I could be
When all of my dreams are a heartbeat away
And the answers are all up to me
Give me one moment in time
When I’m racing with destiny
Then in that one moment of time
I will feel
I will feel eternity

You’re a winner for a lifetime
If you seize that one moment in time
Make it shine

Give me one moment in time
When I’m more than I thought I could be
When all of my dreams are a heartbeat away
And the answers are all up to me
Give me one moment in time
When I’m racing with destiny
Then in that one moment of time
I will be
I will be
I will be free
I will be
I will be free

Name: La Chambre
Object: Painting
Artist: Vincent van Gogh
Dimension: 72 × 90 cm
Date of creation: 1888
Method: oil on Canvas
Description: Van Gogh’s Room at Arles
Where to find it: Musée d’Orsay, Paris, France

some examples that i can see… mainly in politics (but not all)

1. Indira Gandhi – Jawaharlal Nehru
2. Benazir Bhutto – Zulfikar Ali Bhutto
3. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo – Diosdado Macapagal
4. Megawati Sukarnoputri – Sukarno
5. Aung San Suu Kyi – Aung San
6. Laila Ali – Muhammad Ali
7. Sheikh Hasina – Mujibur Rahman
8. Irene Joliet-Curie – Pierre Curie