In an attempt to make it a little trickier, I rotated the satellite and airplane views with south to the top. (because there is no north and south in space, right Jen?) If yesterday's airplane view left any ambiguity, this picture should clear it up.
It's probably apparent where we are now, but which landmark?
I thought I'd do one more guess the landmark puzzle. Here's your satellite view. If you need to zoom out a little farther to get your bearings, then click here.
Located on the Côte d'Azur in the tiny country of Monaco, the Monte Carlo Casino is probably the best known casino outside of Las Vegas. (There is a Monte Carlo Casino in Las Vegas, but it doesn't look anything like the original.) Like other cities along the Riviera, Monte Carlo is known for glamour, luxurious yachts, and sightings of famous people. It is also known for the annual Monaco Grand Prix, whose course runs right by the casino.
We visited the casino in May of 2006 on a day trip from Sanary that also included stops in St. Tropez, Cannes, and Nice. I lost a "few" Euro playing blackjack, but the experience was worth the price. One of my best memories of our Monte Carlo visit is the profiteroles we enjoyed at the outdoor cafe across from the casino.
If you've figured out the city, then you probably guessed this landmark building.
Here's the airplane view. There's probably lots of similar harbors on this coast. Can you tell where we are yet?
 | I was out of town on a cruise to Cabo San Lucas over the holiday weekend. It was a great trip with plenty of good weather, good food, good drinks, and good times with our friends the Binghams. |
| Consequently, I'm a little behind posting a new guess the landmark puzzle, but here it is. If you need help orienting yourself on the globe, click here for a higher view from space. We'll drop down to airplane height tomorrow. |   |
The target landmark is the London Eye located on the south bank of the River Thames in London, England. We were there in October of 2005 on our way back from Anna Szot's wedding in Warsaw. We didn't have much time in London, but we took in quite a few major landmarks. Can you name the following pair of landmarks we photographed from our nighttime ride on the London Eye?
Here's a closer look at our destination. Have you got it yet?
I think I cropped the satellite view too tightly to allow a reasonable chance at guessing the country and city. Click on the image below for an expanded satellite view.
It's amazing what views of the world are visible to us through satellite imaging technology available on Google maps and other such sites. You can start at a satellite view,
and zoom down to an airplane view,
then zoom even closer to a bird's eye view,
and finally all the way down to a street level view, without ever leaving your computer chair.
So with that capability at our fingertips, I decided to take you on a tour of some well known landmarks I've visited. See if you can guess where we're going as we descend closer and closer from high above.
Here's your first satellite view. Obviously too high to choose the landmark yet, but see if you can identify the country or even city. Tomorrow we'll take a look from an airplane level, and bird's eye level on Thursday. If you haven't guessed it by then, the answer will be up with the street view on Friday. Have fun.
I'm pretty sure that most everyone recognizes the outline below, and can name the country.
 | Perched on a hill high above the surrounding town, the Cathedral at Chartres, France appears to be floating over the fields of grain when viewed from a distance. |
| Along with the clue about flying buttresses, the first clue picture might have been mistaken for the spire over the crossing at Notre Dame de Paris, but the second clue picture clearly revealed the contrasting spires above the western facade of the Cathedral Notre Dame de Chartres. Paris' Notre Dame does not in fact, have any spires above the western facade towers. Both cathedrals are considered examples of the finest Gothic architecture in France. |  |
Notre Dame Chartres | Notre Dame Paris flickr © Peter Rivera |
