7 Wonders of the World

(Updated List - October 2013)

There are so many wonders of the world, indeed there are multiple definitions of what are these magic 7. I wrote this BLOG entry as I was leaving for a holiday to Machu Pinchu and the Amazon.

The much heard saying that: "Not how many breaths you take but how many moments take your breath away". I truly subscribe to this philosophy and while it is no guarantee that you will be left breathless the Wonders of the World are indeed a good place to start.

So I would invite you to join with me in your own analysis of how many of these you have seen:

Seven Wonders of the Ancient World (2 \ 7)

1. Great Pyramid of Giza
2. Temple of Artemis at Ephesus
3. Hanging Gardens of Babylon
4. Statue of Zeus at Olympia
5. Mausoleum of Maussollos at Halicarnassus
6. Colossus of Rhodes
7. Lighthouse of Alexandria

Wonders of the Medieval World (first 5 \ 7)

1. Great Wall of China
2. Colosseum
3. Hagia Sophia
4. Leaning Tower of Pisa
5. Porcelain Tower of Nanjing
6. Catacombs of Kom el Shoqafa
7. Stonehenge

New 7 Wonders Foundation's seven wonders of the world (first 5 / 8)

1. Great Wall of China
2. Petra
3. Machu Picchu
4. Roman Colosseum
5. Taj Mahal
6. Great Pyramid (Honorary Candidate)
7. Christ the Redeemer
8. Chichen Itza

USA Today's New Seven Wonders (5 \ 8)

1. Potala Palace
2. Old City of Jerusalem
3. Internet
4. Grand Canyon (viewer-chosen eighth wonder)
5. Polar ice caps
6. Maya ruins
7. Great Migration of Serengeti and Masai Mara
8. Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument

Man-made travel wonders (10 \ 10)

1. Giza pyramid complex
2. Great Wall of China
3. Taj Mahal
4. Machu Picchu
5. Bali
6. Angkor Wat
7. Forbidden City
8. Bagan Temples & Pagodas
9. Karnak Temple
10. Teotihuacán

Natural travel wonders (5 \ 9)

1. Galápagos Islands *
2. Grand Canyon
3. Amazon Rainforest
4. Great Barrier Reef
5. Iguazu Falls
6. Ngorongoro Crater
7. Victoria Falls
8. Bora Bora
9. Cappadocia

Remember I noted earlier that as I wrote this story we were on route to Maachu Pinchu to join our friends who had decided to help celebrate Anna's 50th birthday in Peru. So in the spirit of 'wonderful' let me list a personal Wonders of the World for which I am

Wonderful of Wonders (7 \7)

1. Anna
2. Nathan
3. Amber
4. Jeremy
5. Sabrina
6. Sam
7. Virginia

Wonders of Wonders (7 \7)

1. Greg
2. Kathryn
3. Mike Davis
4. Laurie
5. Tom
6. Alfredo
7. Mike Cross

Thank you all for being 'Wonderful' I'm glad that we all met and our path crossed, it is truly amazing that our normal life and travel schedules allowed us to share this moment to be in this place and see this together.

Piano MEN

Last evening we were treated to the duelling piano play of Elton John and Billy Joel. It is ironic to think that these two artists on the same stage were mortal enemies in the early 80's. I recall attending a concert by Billy Joel at the Sydney Opera House in 1976 and a few years hearing Elton John accusing Billy of plagiarising his songs. From memory Sir Elton thought that 'Big Shot' was a copy of 'Bennie & the Jets' . It was amusing to see them both singing Bennie together on stage

Billy with his 18 albums was in my view overshadowed by Elton with his 29 albums. I've seen them both on stage many times - Elton 5 times and Billy at least 4 times, they were not to disappoint. A little more weight on the body and somewhat of a link or a waddle. But their music was magnificent !

Elton clearly was a class above Billy. He always had an amazing voice and what a repertoire! While Billy was more the showman and affable person that talked with the crowd. His work with his band was 'tight' and they were worked well together.

In the end the audience got two great artists for the same price. I particularly enjoyed their joint rendition of Back to the USSR - a Beatles Classic. I'm sure John L would have approved.

WolframAlpha.com

If you have not heard of or tried this then you must ! I'm not sure exactly how this works but this search engine is amazing !!!

I remember feeling the same way the first time I saw Yahoo then AskJeeves then Google. Just try some questions and see how this interprets and throws data and analysis back to you. If you don't feel awestruck by this I'm not sure what will ?

http://www66.wolframalpha.com/

You've got a friend !

James Taylor I've been waiting for more than twenty years to hear and see you in concert. Indeed you've got a friend ! When I think about the greatest songs it is hard to go past 'Fire and Rain', How Sweet it is, Carolina on my mind and many other Taylormade classics.

From his early work through to his latest album (Covers) James has always been a poetic songwriter with a ever so open soul. As a 'consumer' of his music you feel that he is an 'old friend' and that you have a personal relationship with him. On stage James told a small story for just about every song as he introduced the number. He was surprisingly jovial and talked to the audience in a natural friendly style.

As he sang my mind and senses focused and a invisible channel between singer and listener was created. James Taylor is the master of ballads and does cross over between country, popular and soul.

In a morbid moment I even thought if you had to choose a song it would likely be a James Taylor number. When I think about what I'd like to have played at my funeral it would be a tough choice as you wanted to be remembered for who you are and also not be too sad to make it all that more difficult for your loved ones.

Our tickets were not great (Balcony C and Row X), acoustics were OK and there were some members of the audience near us that were drunk and rowdy . But I'm glad I went to see his smiling face !

Meet the Obama's

Today we were in Washington DC for the weekend and in deciding where to go first we decided to ventured over to the White House to see the Obama's.

As we approached the North Lawn there was a tour of china tourists speaking mandarin and saying "over there is the White House". A passing American said to his friend: "What they just said is that by next year we will own that". I thought that was an interesting observation from this unidentified american person.

We wandered around to the South Lawn which is where most press photos are shot and did our obligatory photos. We were spotting the Secret Security police hiding on the rooftop and in the garden, it became a game to see who could spot the missing one. Then without warning we were all asked to move out of this area. A sure sign that the Obama's were coming and heard that the Gee's were in town. From our vantage point on the other side of the road with five (5) fences inbetween us....I could spot Barrack, Michelle, the girls and Bo ! All playing on the lawn, as I told Anna others heard me and of course were disbelieving. We then watched the private moment of Barrack hosing Bo down with a hose and then the girls running around the lawn with him. (See in the distance behind 5 fences - can you see them?)

Later we went over to the Lincoln Memorial, as we are aware Abe is Obama's role model and I've grown to respect Abe Lincoln for his humility and for his leadership. (In the photo you will see Anna checking my wallet after walking past FDIC)