R. Doug Wicker's Blog, page 126

54 Days at Sea — April 10, Saint-Tropez

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Saint-Tropez, France

The morning after leaving Barcelona we anchored off the coast of Saint-Tropez, France. Here, Ursula and I would walk the streets of Saint-Tropez and take a quick boat ride west to visit Port Grimaud, which you’ll see on Wednesday.

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MS Prinsendam anchored off Saint-Tropez

Saint-Tropez is a wonderful little town with a lot of color and charm just waiting for your camera.

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Saint-Tropez panoramic

The streets hold many beautiful scenes:

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Saint-Tropez, France

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Saint-Tropez, France

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Fun Firearm Friday — Ruger 10/22 “M1 Carbine” tribute

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Ruger 10/22 “M1 Carbine”

Quick. What’s that rifle above? Any guesses?

If you took a quick glance before answering, you probably said, “That’s a .30 M1 Carbine.” You’d be wrong. I placed that rifle atop an M1 Carbine magazine just to throw you off. Here’s that same rifle, with the sling lowered to reveal an accessory rail, next to Inland’s new .30 M1 Carbine (see: Firing Review — The new Inland .30 M1 Carbine):

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Ruger 10/22 “M1 Carbine”

This is a Ruger 10/22 Carbine, which is a standard 10/22 r...

Western Wednesday — American Western Arms Peacekeeper

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American Western Arms “Peacekeeper”

I’ve done a couple of articles on clones of the 1873 Colt ‘Single Action Army’/’Peacemaker’ line of guns:

Six Shooter Week — Uberti El Patrón Competition U.S. Fire Arms Mfg. Co. — A Look at the Premier “Colt” Model 1873 Single Action

But today I’m going to present something even more rare than the USFA listed above. The original American Western Arms (AWA) began importing single-action pistol parts from Italy around 1998-1999. They then finished assembly...

Military Monday — Swiss K31 “Straight-Pull” Bolt Action Rifle

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Swiss K31 Rifle

I’ll be returning to my “54 Days at Sea” series next week. Until then, this week is dedicated my most viewed subject — firearms. And today I present an extraordinary one, a Swiss K31 bolt action rifle.

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Swiss K31 Rifle

The K31 was the primary weapon of the Swiss Army from 1933 until 1958. So, if that’s the case, why is it called the K31? Because the first rifles were delivered to the Swiss Army for testing in 1931. The K31 is often called a “Schmidt-Rubin” K31, but this isn’t t...

Fun Photo Friday — 54 Days at Sea, Barcelona and Park Güell Favorites

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Shutters and Shadow

Here is today’s Fun Photo Friday gallery and slide show:

54 Days at Sea — Visiting Park Güell, Barcelona

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Park Güell

This week and last I’ve been presenting to you images of a very distinct architectural style. It’s known as Catalan Modernism, and it is characterized by a very fluid, organic look. One of the most important practitioners and proponents of this style was Antoni Gaudí.

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Park Güell

And the best place to go to see Antoni Gaudí’s work is a park on the western edge of Barcelona. Today’s photos were taken at Barcelona’s Park Güell, which was designed by Antoni Gaudí and built during the f...

54 Days at Sea — April 9, Another day in Barcelona

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Catedral de la Santa Cruz y Santa Eulalia (Cathedral of the Holy Cross and Saint Eulalia)

MS Prinsendam overnighted in Barcelona, affording us on the next day more time to spend exploring the city, and with much sunnier skies than we’d experienced the day before. So, we took advantage of the weather and, with our friends Bill and Joelle Travis who accompanied us to Montserrat Abbey the day before, we headed out and about. Here is our little group in front of a very Gaudí -like building, the P...

Fun Photo Friday — 54 Days at Sea, Barcelona Favorites

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Street Lights

Here is today’s Fun Photo Friday favorites of Barcelona from this trip:

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Ursula on a gaudy Gaudí bench

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Parasols and Fans

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Ticket Booth

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A Dragon, a Fan, and an Umbrella

54 Days at Sea — Walking around Barcelona

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Casa Batlló, Barcelona, Spain

As you can see above, la Sagrada Familía and Casa Milà are hardly the only Antoni Gaudí works here in Barcelona. There are many, many others you’ll find as you walk around the streets. There is also rather unique statue of a submarine, which pays tribute to Narcis Monturiol, inventor of the air-independent/combustion-engine submersible:

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Narcís Monturiol tribute, Barcelona, Spain

Other sights you’ll find on your walking tour include:

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Barcelona, Spain

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Barcelona, Sp...

54 Days at Sea — April 8, La Sagrada Familia and Casa Milà

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La Sagrada Familía

I’ve done past blog articles on Antoni Gaudí and his magnificent creation la Sagrada Família. I’ll link to those past articles below as well as repost some of the photos from them.

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La Sagrada Familía “Passion Façade” by Josep Maria Subirachs

If that style of sculpture above looks familiar, it’s because last week I showed you this artist’s work at another site — the Montserrat Abbey. The artist was Josep Maria Subirachs, and here is more of his work from the Passion Façade o...