Kinsale, Ireland

Out the window of our bed and breakfast looking toward the bay and Fort Charles, Kinsale is rated one of the prettiest small towns in the world. It is a great place to vacation. On the southern coast of Ireland, the weather is mild for the island nation.

Dante in Verona Italy

You can see by the date that this was several years ago. I was taken by this statue in a lovely plaza in Verona. The reason, I think, is that I read Dante's "Inferno" in High School. On our honeymoon trip I went beyond our budget to purchase a volume of it in a rare bookstore in Victoria British Columbia. It had special impact on me. Many books have done that. There is no more wonderful place for me than Poet's Corner in Westminster Abbey, London.

Hiking Outside Sedona Arizona

     This is a view from a trail near Sedona which goes up to early American cave paintings. The road there is not very good, but worth the drive. Once there you will need a walking stick for the hike. They provide them if you do not have one. If you are like us, we carry walking sticks in our suitcase everywhere we go.

A School in Zambia

     When we were in Zambia last year, we stopped at a school to bring schools supplies and books we had brought from the United States. Primarily, the students study in the national language of English. They seemed delighted. We spent some time getting to know some of them and letting the students get to know us. My wife is a educator and saw little difference in things. One difference I saw was that the older students were three to a computer. There just was not enough equipment to go around.

     We had come to Zambia to learn, and learn we did. 

Castle (Manor House) Window, Scotland

What a pleasant window - in a manor house in the north of Scotland - a place to sit, 

have tea, and look at the garden.

The other view: Eiffel Tower

Instead of looking down from the Eiffel Tower, this is looking up from the base. 

Not the Colosseum in Rome

     This is not the Colosseum in Rome. That one is bigger and not as well preserved. This the Arena in Verona. It is still a working place for events and operas. While I enjoy Rome, I must admit that Verona has almost all of the same features on a smaller, more tourist friendly scale. I love Verona, Italy.

     It is full of art and easy to get around. But, do not go to Juliet's House. The balcony is not that old, and it is a made up location. Same holds for Juliet's grave. Juliet was a fictional figure (although possibly based on a  real person.) It is crowded and you can spend time better at the museum across from the Arena. It is filled with real objects of interest.

Met some Scottish Relatives (distant)

Met all sorts of relatives (distant and otherwise) in Edinburgh in July. Here are a couple in the Edinburgh Zoo. This place is very well done and worth a visit. There are pandas and a large penguin area. Really well done. There is also a good deal of monkey business going on. The zoo is on a rather steep hill, so you will wish to plan ahead. I suggest taking the tram to the top and walking slowly back to the exit. As always, wear comfortable shoes. The UK is no place for fancy high heels.

Get a good pair of trainers.

Mount Hamilton, California

View of the observatory at Mount Hamilton, California near our home.

Portland, Oregon

     Here you see the submarine (you can sleep on it with reservations) at the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry, Portland. In the background is the Willamette River and the Interstate Five Bridge. Obviously, on this first day of Fall, I am looking forward to the beginning of Winter. It has been a very hot year in all our travels.

Belgian Lace

Window of a lace shop in central Brussels.

Travel Blog

So, a friend said the other day that someone had a travel blog. I said, "Wait, I have a travel blog too."
Here is a photo of Brussels Belgium. The Boy is about 18 inches tall.

Napoleon's Tomb, Paris

     These two photos, one by my granddaughter, Sarah, and one by me, show the dome and tomb of Napoleon in Paris. It is part of an old military hospital and armory. It is impressive. One has to also realize the lives lost to support the man who would be emperor. 

     Some interesting tidbits. Napoleon was not short. He was of average height. Those pictures with his hand in his coat - same as pictures of American generals during the same period. Simply tradition, not hiding anything. 

     Want a tomb like this?  Try (and fail) to take over the world.

Musee d'Orsay, Paris

     Just across from the Tuileries Gardens in central Paris, the Musée d’Orsay is a very patron friendly museum. Specializing in impressionism, it is located in a old railway station. You can use your museum pass. The picture here is taken from a walkway high above the central floor near the cafe. The cafe, by the way, is a good place to dine. If you are overwhelmed by the Louvre, you will find this museum more friendly.

Google Earth Pro

      Using Google Earth Pro to map where you have been is not only easy, it gives you a visual travel history.  As well, I use Google Earth to travel before I go. An example is of a trip we made to the Republic of Ireland. We were going to drive from Dublin around the country and back. I had planned the trip and, for the most part, driven the roads using the program. We found ourselves late on one leg as we had stopped to see some things we had not planned to see. We found ourselves in Lismore somewhat short of our goal of Cobh. No problem. I had "visited" Lismore and knew a couple of bed and breakfasts, I could drive right to one as I had "already" been there. Good stay.

Favorite Photos

Traveling companion at the abbey at Holyrood Palace ... 

not much left of the  abbey, but interesting, at that.

A word of gratitude

     You can see by the date that this was taken just a couple of months ago. We are very fortunate to be able to travel to distant places and have new experiences on a regular basis. When we were first married, over a half century ago, we had very little. We were, however, in school and working and we learned to live modestly. We had what we needed and that made us well off.
     As the years passed we did not think about it, but we just kept living modestly and saved a little here and there.  We were (I don't like the word) lucky.  We had our education. We had jobs. We had one another. After both of us faced major illnesses, we got better. Insurance had paid the bills, and there we were with our savings. We were not exactly sure how to spend money, having not tried too hard to do it before, but we decided that seeing the world, meeting new people, and trying to be good citizens of the world sounded like something we would like to do.
     There will come a day when we will not be able to do these things, but for now we go with a sense of real gratitude that we have been blessed with the traveling itch and the ability to scratch it.

The way to the hidden garden at the Scottish Castle

Built on many times, this manor house (labeled a castle) has a wonderful garden.

Favorite Photos from My Camera

In a courtyard, The Gothic area, Barcelona

Barcelona is full of tourists - for good reason.

To stay away from tourists try the Sahara. 

Swiss Cheese and the Rock of Gibraltar

     Two years ago we visited Gibraltar and it seemed important to us to visit the Rock. You can walk up, but only certified drivers can take the narrow roads. Honestly, walking up is not the way to go. We hired a driver and, as he had grown up in Gibraltar, he showed the tunnels and caves that riddle the Rock. The photo above shows a theater in one large cave, The lighting changes and in this case is blue. Huge.
     The Rock has been a fortress for years. Many of the tunnels date back to the Revolutionary War days when Britain was on the look out for colony sympathizers trying to over take it from France.
     We were in Gibraltar during a road trip around Spain and, well, it is there. It is full of the English getting out of the rain and fog. It is only 14 miles from Africa and from the rock Morocco is easy to see.

Bird Feeder

     Poking around in the garden of  castle near Loch Ness (Scotland), midst the beautiful plants and neatly trimmed bushes, I found the perfect bird feeder for our back yard. I knew my wife would love it. Now, the downside: not for sale, loved by the owner of the castle, cemented into the ground, would not fit in my suitcase or get through airport security.

Silly

 Granddaughter Sarah in Edinburgh Museum, Scotland

Grandson, Lucas in Mini Europe, Brussels, Belgium 

Giraffe Injures Mother and Child

             It is easy to be fooled by the lazy, mild manner of a giraffe. They appear to move slowly although they can gallop when necessary. Sharp hooves make for dangerous kicks. The giraffe that attacked the mother and child in South Africa was said to be protecting its young. When we were there last year we saw many such pairs and kept a distance. In one case the baby giraffe still had its umbilical cord attached and even then both parent and baby moved fast. I am not laying blame, but warn folks that these are wild animals. I took this photo in South Africa 2017.

Sarah's Photos

The Seine by granddaughter Sarah Boehringer

The World is Watching

     No matter where we go, the newspapers and television are full of news about the United States. No matter what language and especially of English broadcasts and printed material, our president and government is important to cover. The USA effects the whole world. They have opinions about us. They ask us questions face-to-face.  

Botswana Elephants killed in large numbers

This is how we shot elephants in Botswana  - in 35 mm.

In the wild: Cheetah

     Well, pretty close to in the wild. We toured a cheetah rehabilitation facility outside of Johannesburg and to encounter the animals we went through two locked gates into a area of many acres. The cheetahs roam at will. We were in a Land Rover and the only weapon I saw was a stick used by one of the men "riding shotgun".  The animals are relatively tame. 

     At one time, cheetahs were common all over Africa and southern Asia. Not so today. Many are killed by farmers protecting their livestock. 

      One thing that impressed me was that they really are camouflaged. I took the photo above with a point and shoot 35mm camera from around 15 feet away. At a greater distance they are hard to spot.  

Parliament of Scotland

Detail of the Parliament Building, Edinburgh, Scotland

The interior of the building

      The fact that this building stands just across the street from Holyrood House Palace (the Edinburgh home of the queen) is not lost on some of us. The modern and the old, the empire and the independent - in two buildings. Both stand at the end of the Royal Mile. The Scots are their own people and hold on to their choice to stay as part of the UK because  if they choose to be part, they can also choose to leave.  The past and the future on the corner.

It is not clutter it is memories

     If you came here for one of my (or my family's) wonderful photographs, you will be disappointed.  Maybe you are disappointed even in them. Today it is just different.

     We have two places we call home and by the fact we travel a good deal neither is home for very long. I have been looking around my environments and pondering somethings about some things.

     When we get back from a trip we will have accumulated objects either by intention or by whim. On the intentional side there is a beautiful wine glass from Murano Island in Venice. I have never used it. I love glass and yet this object has never been used for its intended purpose. I suspect I think it too lovely. On the intentional side is also a glass made in Spain. It is an everyday water glass and I use it for wine. Odd.

     On a trip to Florence, Italy I had problems with my leg braces. I wear leg braces due to the fact that I had polio as a child and my legs are weak and my knees unpredictable. You can, by the way, use this fact when arguing with someone who  thinks they cannot travel due to a physical limitation. It was warm and sweaty and my leg grew raw. I went into a drugstore and asked for body powder not containing aluminum as it also makes me break out. A well trained, and I might say lovely, young woman walked to a display and handed a container to me. I only used half the container and the remaining half is in our bathroom cabinet where it reminds me of Florence, of the pharmacist, and dealing with my limits. As I do not read Italian the contents of the container are used on faith alone.

     Unintentionally I bring home receipts.  While not planned, I save them as a reminder of places I have eaten or bought gasoline or found an intentional item to purchase. Not wanting to litter I often just stick these papers in my pockets and they come home with us. What was the name of that Lebanese restaurant  in Paris? Just a minute I have the receipt from dinner.

      If I look, I can find something of little monetary but great emotional value to me. I am surrounded by accidental and premeditated souvenirs, although I do not like that word. People say that souvenir shops opened up  thousand of years ago so that travelers would not take something of real value. If everyone took a piece of the Great Wall home, there would be nothing left. 

     On the other hand, we never return with something that was made as a souvenir on purpose. Better than a key-chain with the Eiffel Tower is the receipt for the elevator ride up or a coaster from the Jules Verne bar.

    So there you have it, more thoughts on why my suitcase is heavier on the way home tan on the way to our adventure.