Paleis Het Loo*

Opulent, lavish–
Versailles of the Netherlands,
The House of Orange
Paleis Het Loo

*Located in Apeldoorn, Netherlands, Paleis Het Loo was built in 1686, commissioned by Stadtholder Willem III and his wife, Mary Stuart. Their descendants through the 20th Century–Queen Wilhelmina and Queen Juliana, had resided here during the summer.

©2015 Karina Pinella

Kröller-Müller Museum*

Modern masters’ home:
Van Gogh, Monet, Picasso,
And Piet Mondriaan

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*Located in Otterlo, Netherlands, the museum is set in the middle of De Hoge Veluwe National Park.

©2015 Karina Pinella

To Your Health: A Faux “Piña Colada”

For a refreshing, light, and delicious thirst quencher, here’s a healthy mix I came up on my own. Mix ¼ cup of 100% apple juice with ¾ cup of Trader Joe’s Coconut Milk Unsweetened Beverage. Put in as little of apple juice and as much coconut milk as you wish, depending which flavor you want to win out. I happened to have both beverages in my refrigerator and I was thirsty, but I also wanted something a little sweet. Because apple juice, and other juices for that matter, tend to be very sweet, I thought I’d cut the sweetness by putting in unsweetened coconut milk to give it body and additional vitamins.

Give it a try. It tastes a little like Piña Colada. No alcohol required.

Drink

A Collage of Falls

Waterfall collage

Iceland has nearly 40,0000 waterfalls. The waterfalls featured here:
Seljalandsfoss – you can walk around this waterfall
Skógafoss – the one with the rainbow in front of it
Gullfoss – the largest waterfall in Europe
Öxarárfoss – the small waterfall in Thingvellir National Park



©2015 Karina Pinella

Strokkur and Litli Geysir*

Strokkur gushes so majestically and the Litli Geysir squirts



*Both the big geyser Strokkur and Litli Geysir are located in the geothermally active valley of Haukadalur in Iceland.

©2015 Karina Pinella

Gullfoss*

Borne from glaciers
Reigns like a queen that she is
Gullfoss waterfall

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*Gullfoss is considered the queen of Icelandic waterfalls and the largest in Europe.

©2015 Karina Pinella

Thingvellir National Park*

Magma turned basalt
Forming gorges for haunting
By the White Walkers

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*Thingvellir National Park is northeast of Reykjavik and is where the Mid-Atlantic ridge surfaces on land for all to see, splitting North America and Eurasia. White Walkers are from the series, Game of Thrones, which used this park as the setting for some episodes.

©2015 Karina Pinella

Hallgrimskirkja*

Loving Reykjavik
Risen from volcanic ash
Snaps from church tower

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*Hallgrimskirkja is the largest church in Iceland, standing tall at 240 ft. Its highest point is a tower with windows overlooking different views of the colorful rooftops of Iceland’s capital, Reykjavik. The focal point of the interior is an organ with 5,000 pipes.

©2015 Karina Pinella

©2015 Karina Pinella

Republican Debate Take Two

A spirited debate like we saw last night at the Reagan Library goes a long way toward the White House. At times contentious, sometimes petty, and even outrageous – it was all part of the mix. Now for some select talking points as the candidates weighed in:

Rand Paul is for legalizing medicinal marijuana, Mike Huckabee makes a point about accommodating U.S. citizen Kim Davis on her free will to discriminate, Marco Rubio sounds off about making sure we vote for a president who can start the ground running on day 1, Ted Cruz is firm about ripping up the Iran deal as soon as he takes the oath, Ben Carson says there is no scientific ground to connect vaccines with autism, Donald Trump continues to trumpet the same spiel of making America respected again, Jeb Bush reminds us how he was able to get Florida’s economy to thrive, Carly Fiorina demonstrates her problem solving skills by providing specific ideas on how to deal with Putin and other foreign leaders, (as well as domestic concerns), Scott Walker asserts his ability on being able to address our runaway deficit, John Kasich tells us that he has worked in the business sector at one time and how he is a much better candidate for having such experience in addition to his current public service role, and Chris Christie implies that as New Jersey’s governor, his daily dealings with a mostly Democratic state has sharpened his diplomatic skills.

Have you picked your favorite candidate yet?