KOKO BLACK, MELBOURNE

Located in the Royal Arcade, Koko Black is a boutique containing handmade milk, dark and white chocolates. The shelves of its glass display case contain chocolate-coated clusters of hazelnuts, chocolate-dipped slices of candied oranges and a varied selection of perfectly formed shapes in the flavours of caramel, mint, rum and raisin, cherry, Baileys and much more. All are available by the piece or you can pick a presentation box and have it filled to your liking.

While there, it would be unthinkable to leave without sitting down to one of its steaming cups of hot chocolate. Made from ground Belgium chocolate, it's a taste superior to anything you're likely to have had before. Don't even think about asking for skinny milk, it's full-cream all the way! Perfect for a cold Winter's day...


This post is part of the Challenge Walk in the Street meme.

ROSEMARY FOR REMEMBRANCE...

Rosemary, Rosmarinus officinalis, is a woody, perennial herb with fragrant, evergreen, needle-like leaves and white, pink, purple or blue flowers, native to the Mediterranean region. It is a member of the mint family Lamiaceae, which includes many other herbs, and is one of two species in the genus Rosmarinus. The name "rosemary" derives from the Latin for "dew" (ros) and "sea" (marinus), or "dew of the sea" because in many locations it needs no water other than the humidity carried by the sea breeze to live. The plant is also sometimes called Anthos, from the ancient Greek word ἄνθος, meaning "flower".

Rosemary is used as a decorative plant in gardens and has many culinary and medical uses. The plant is said to improve the memory and is used as a symbol of remembrance, especially in Australia and New Zealand to commemorate ANZAC Day. The leaves are used to flavour various foods, like stuffings and roast meats. Rosemary contains the antioxidants carnosic acid and rosmarinic acid, and other bioactive compounds including camphor, caffeic acid, ursolic acid, betulinic acid, rosmaridiphenol, and rosmanol. Some of these may be useful in preventing or treating cancers, strokes, and Alzheimer's Disease.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

CANDLELIT PRAYERS

A row of white candles
A host of fervent prayers,
Warm hearts in May rain.

This post is part of Pat's Things in a Row meme.

CAPE SOUNION, GREECE

Cape Sounion is a promontory located 69 kilometres SSE of Athens, at the southernmost tip of the Attica peninsula in Greece. Cape Sounion is noted as the site of ruins of an ancient Greek temple of Poseidon, the god of the sea in classical mythology. The remains are perched on the headland, surrounded on three sides by the sea. The site is a popular day-excursion for tourists from Athens, with spectacular views of the sea and surrounding countryside. The wild thyme and beautiful wild flowers perfume the area.

Archaeological finds on the site date from as early as 700 BC. Herodotus tells us that in the sixth century BC, the Athenians celebrated a quadrennial festival at Sounion, which involved Athens' leaders sailing to the cape in a sacred boat. The original, Archaic Period temple of Poseidon on the site, which was built of tufa, was probably destroyed in 480 BC by Persian troops during shahanshah Xerxes I's invasion of Greece (the second Graeco-Persian War). Although there is no direct evidence for Sounion, Xerxes certainly had the temple of Athena, and everything else, on the Acropolis of Athens razed as punishment for the Athenians' defiance. After they defeated Xerxes in the naval Battle of Salamis, the Athenians placed an entire enemy trireme (warship with three banks of oars) at Sounion as a trophy dedicated to Poseidon. The later temple at Sounion, whose columns still stand today, was probably built in ca. 440 BC. This was during the ascendancy of Athenian statesman Pericles, who also rebuilt the Parthenon in Athens.

This post is part of Kim's Water World Wednesday meme,
and also part of Susan's Outdoor Wednesday meme,
and also part of Nature's Footstep Waters meme.

HA LONG BAY, VIETNAM

Ha Long Bay is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and a popular travel destination, located in Quang Ninh province, Vietnam. Administratively, the bay belongs to Hạ Long City, Cẩm Phả town, and part of Van Don district. The bay features thousands of limestone karsts and isles in various sizes and shapes.

Ha Long Bay has an area of around 1,553 km2, including 1,960–2,000 islets, most of which are limestone. The core of the bay has an area of 334 km2 with a high density of 775 islets. The limestone in this bay has gone through 500 million years of formation in different conditions and environments. The evolution of the karst in this bay has taken 20 million years under the impact of the tropical wet climate. The geo-diversity of the environment in the area has created biodiversity, including a tropical evergreen biosystem, oceanic and sea shore biosystem. Ha Long Bay is home to 14 endemic floral species and 60 endemic faunal species.

You can see more of my photos from Ha Long Bay here and from Hanoi here.

This post is part of the Our World Tuesday meme.

MIDNIGHT WALK

Walking back to the hotel late one night in Brisbane.

This post is part of the Mellow Yellow Monday meme.

RED CHURCH, CAPPADOCIA, TURKEY

Güzelyurt, formerly Gelveri, is a town and district of Aksaray Province in the Central Anatolia region of Turkey, at a distance of 45 km from the city of Aksaray. This is an area of great natural beauty and historical importance, part of the ancient region of Cappadocia, near the much-visited Ihlara Valley. Cappadocia has an important place in the history of Christianity and Gregory of Nazianzus lived in the area. A historically large Greek population existed in the area until the 1924 population exchange, when they were replaced with the Turks from Thessaloniki and Kavala.

The Red Church, "Kızıl Kilise" is a 6th/7th century church in the village of Sivrihisar. It is the only church from the 7th century built in Cappadocia still standing. It stands at 1700 meter at the bottom of a large basin, facing the mountains of Melendiz which are covered in snow in the winter, and at the edge of an ancient pilgrimage route to Jerusalem. It is considered to be built in honour of Saint Gregory of Nazianze, one of the three fathers of the Church of Cappadocia, and is named after the color of the volcanic stone it is constructed of.

Kızıl Kilise is one of the oldest churches known to have a cupola on a drum with windows that illuminate the interior, which is incredibly innovative for its time. The presence of horizontal vents that divert the immense weight of the lintels surmounted on the entrances also confirms the innovation and competence of its architect. It is a prestigious church, which with the exception of the narthex, which is most likely a posterior addition, Kızıl Kilise was never modified. The cupola and the drum are still present in their original state, albeit damaged by rain and snow where immediate protection from the next snowfall is needed.

This post is part of Psalm Sunday hosted by Robert, and by Louis
and also part of Charlotte's Spiritual Sunday meme,
and also part of Scenic Sunday meme.

The hymn below is a Greek Orthodox hymn to the Virgin Mary. This chant is by St. Nectarios of Aegina, and according to tradition, the melody was composed and sung  by angels and St Nectarios simply put the notes down as he heard them sung by the heavenly choir.

Happy Mother's Day to all mothers.

SUNSET REFLECTIONS

A group of apartment buildings in Southbank.

This post is part of James' Weekend Reflections meme.

SUNDAY MARKET, LATROBE UNIVERSITY

Kingsbury Drive Community Market is Diamond Valley Community Support's (SDVC) major fund raiser. Income from the market provides most of the money for the operational costs of DVCS and enables us to offer the local community various areas of support and a free, confidential and high quality information service.   The Kingsbury Drive Community Market is held every Sunday between 9.00am and 1.00pm on the car park grounds of Latrobe University. Stall Holders sell a large variety of crafts, take-away food, bric-a-brac, flowers, produce and plants.

This post is part of the Challenge Walk in the Street meme.

PRETTY FISHIES ALL IN A ROW

This post is part of Pat's Things in a Row meme,
and also part of Madge's Weekly Top Shot meme.