Tuesday Cuppa Tea Duchess Bouquet, Trip To Seattle

Hello and welcome to my meme Tuesday Cuppa Tea! Again, happy Canada Day to my Canadian blogger friends! Hope you had a great weekend!

Today's teacup is a lovely summer floral bouquet on white bone china by Duchess, England, which is named for the Duchess China Works site in Longton, Staffordshire, and dates 1947-1960. The handle certainly hearkens back to the art deco era. I love the various wild flowers in the bouquet. Summer is certainly here throughout much of the USA. For more on the teacup at Antiques And Teacups, click on the photos.

I want to extend my best thoughts and prayers to folks in Colorado and Utah battling wildfires and in Ohio and many parts of the East coast and miswest who have had such terrible weather.

Friday was my Honey's birthday, so we took the ferry into Seattle from Bainbridge Island. The Alaska cruise season is in full swing. This is the Celebrity Infinity at Pier 66. Also in port for the day at Pier 91 down the wy was the Royal Caribbean Rhapsody of the Seas and a Holland America ship, all bound for Alaska. We were concerned that the ferry would be packed, even though we were walk on passengers, because Friday was the delayed opening of the newest addition to the Seattle Waterfront, the Great Wheel.

The Great Wheel was built over the last 9 months and is sort of a smaller cousin of the London Eye. The Great Wheel also has climate controlled pods, but the wheel is 175 feet high where the London Eye is 474 feet high. The London Eye is pictured below from one of our rides on her:

Quite a bit smaller, but quite fun. We weren't able to ride it, we were in on the 9:45am ferry, and the Great Wheel didn't officially open until 4pm and was sold out for 6 days. It was supposed to have opened the 20th, but last minute touches were still being completed.

It was off to Seattle Center, home of the Space Needle and home of the 1962 world's Fair that created the complex which includes the Space needle. Pacific Science Center, Experience Music Experience, The monorail station to downtown Westlake Center, and many more fun things. But we were here for the King Tutankhamun Exhibit...on the way, one of the public..and huge...bigs of street art so popular in Seattle.

 We entered, saw an IMAX theater production called Egypt's Mummies, had lunch and headed to the exhibit.

 You were allowed to photograph, but not with flash, and these are the only photos that even semi turned out so I quit and just enjoyed the exhibit.

  
This was the sarcohagus to the cat of Thutmose I. If you look closely you can see it's votary statue and on the far right, the mummy case that the cat was entombed in in the sarcophagus. Cats were sacred in Egypt and believed to represent the goddess Bastet. If anyone has a cat, you know they certainly think so!

This is a reclining hawk covered with gold sheet that was beautiful. There was a tremendous lot of gold sheet jewelry as well as finely cast and inlaid pieces on display. The piece below...which is out of focus due to the amount of people and jostling...is a beautiful pendant example. 
 

 I found the following at the Cairo Museum site. These were items included in the exhibit that the photos weren't useable.

These photos are of artifacts of pharoah Psusennes I, who reigned 1007-1001 BC include his mask, a breastplate ornament and the coverings for his toes. The mummy was discovered in 1947.

Although the exhibit was titled King Tut, having seen the 1975 exhibit in San FRancisco, this exhibit didn't have the gold funerary mask that was so spectacular and actually had more items from other pharoahs. But it was beautifully laid out and nicely done.

Mu interest goes way back...I have a Master's degree in Physical Anthropology, and at one time had thought to go into Egyptology. My first job was working at an Egyptian antiquities store in San Carlos, Ca for a relative of the head of the Antiquities department in Cairo. I was 15 and learned to read hieroglyphics on my lunch breaks and when things were slow. Edward Mansoor was a great teacher, and his wife Nabila was like an adopted sister. I've forgotten it now, but it was an important part of my life for years.

 Afterwards we peeked through the railings at the Chihuly Garden Of Glass which finally opened last month, but that had to wait for another visit.

Then it was on to a performance of Les Miserables at the 5th Avenue theater, which was one of the best companies we have ever seen. We have seen it at least 6 times in London, and here a number of times at various theaters on the West Coast and in BC. It is our very favorite musical with it's themes of redemption and grace. Truly a spiritual experience...and I cry every time! So we had a wonderful time! After a short night's sleep, it was back on the ferry and home again. 

I hope you have a wonderful 4th of July! I thank God daily for our freedoms!

Please link up to Tuesday Cuppa Tea with the following linky and visit some of the blogs I am joining. Have a great day!

Common Ground ~ http://commonground-debrasvintagedesigns.blogspot.com

Monday Marketplace

Terri~  http://artfulaffirmations.blogspot.com/ 
Teacup Tuesday

Trisha~  http://sweetology101.blogspot.com/ 
Tea Party Tuesday

Sandi  ~  http://sandimyyellowdoor.blogspot.com

Teatime Tuesday

Kathy~  http://blissfulrhythm.blogspot.com
Victoria - A Return to Loveliness

Martha~  http://www.marthasfavorites.com/ 
Teacup Tuesday 

Ruth  ~ http://timewasantiquesfamily.blogspot.com

Tuesday Cuppa Tea

Angela  http://teawithfriends.blogspot.com/

Tea With Friends

Miss Kathy ~ http://thewritersreverie.blogspot.com/

Celia ~ http://attitudeivlife.blogspot.com/  Afternoon Tea

Wanda Lee ~ http://theplumedpen.blogspot.com/

 Tuesday Teatime 

Bernideen’s ~ http://bernideensteatimeblog.blogspot.com/

Friends Sharing Tea Wednesday

Ivy And Elephants ~http://ivyandelephants.blogspot.com/

What’s It Wednesday