St. Canice, Kilkenny Ireland

"Saint Canice's has been at the heart of worship in Kilkenny and Ireland for over 800 years." - reads their website. This is a photo of the altar. The leaders of the church give tours. Worth a visit, it is at one end of the main district and accessible. It has a tower and is located in the middle of an old cemetery.

Of interest to Americans -or at least for me - a crypt contains a relative of Barack Obama from his mother's side. Indeed, he is around fifty percent Irish.

Off the beaten tour

        We have a model that we follow on about half of our trips to Europe. We take a tour with a company like Road Scholar and then - having been introduced to food and customs - we rent a car and head out on our own. Even when on a tour, we have a list of places that they are not going to for us to visit during free time.

        The photo above of Florence Italy is one you would not have gotten on the tour. We took a cab over the bridge and up the hill to a monastery known from its Gregorian chants.  We experienced the chants and got a great view of the city from there. We missed out on shopping, then again we are not much on shopping. We brought home a memory rather than a souvenir. Surprising to me is that this photo was taken ten years ago. It seems like yesterday. 

MUNCHEN a beer

        Munich is an modern city. It has some excellent museums and areas of interest. The street market is fun. Lots of entertainment opportunities.  

        In this photo I have taken a picture of my wife over a beer in the leading bar/pub/beer garden. It is my beer and the low angle of the shot makes that stein look at least four times its real size. Cheers!
 

The Scottish Highlands

    One of our trips to the Scottish Highlands focused mainly on the small villages and towns. We had rented cars in two places and taken the train between them. In the cars we covered the narrow roads and stayed away from the modern motorways. For example, it is relatively easy to drive from Inverness to Edinburgh on those super highways in a day. It took us more like five days. We enjoy getting to know people. Thus, when you get to a small town early and just hang out, you meet some of the locals. The smaller places are less crowded with tourists. There is nothing wrong with the larger communities, we have done those as well. This is just to say that it is more fun for us off the main highways. 

 

Botswana Morning

    Here are couple of folks in Botswana discussing something important. He might be saying, "Don't look now, but there is a guy over there with a camera." Or, maybe they are just discussing who is behind on the flea count. These sorts were seen everywhere on our safaris. I was able, at the time, to tell a monkey from a baboon from a gibbon from an ape... oh my.
 

Honfleur France

Honfleur is one of France's most visited towns on the Normandy coast. Fun, lovely, interesting are just some words to describe it. The "big" tomato at a store in city center is just one surprise. If you are there July 14th Independence Day "Bastille Day" for fireworks over the jetty, it is a treat.

 

Swimming pool at a farm in Tuscany

 

    This last summer it was very hot in Europe. As the travel plan included Tuscany and Paris, it meant having to deal with the heat. The photo above is of an infinity pool located at a farm near Pisa. Absolutely refreshing before a leisurely dinner amongst the grapevines. 

Storm brewing in Central California

    I have spent most of my life in Central California's valley. This grand collection of medium-sized cities and farmland is the richest and most prolific valley in the world. Food crops here are sent to all of the continents.  It is hot in the summer and foggy in the winter, but boasts of both. The valley is defined on the East by the Sierra Nevada Mountains and on the West by the Coast Range.  Most cities in the valley are only a short drive to skiing or surfing. (I do neither.) At the top of the valley is Mount Shasta and at the bottom is the Grapevine snaking into the Los Angeles basin. At the middle and to the East is Yosemite National Park and Kings Canyon. People come from around the world to see what is offered here. 
 

Fall is coming: Mount Shasta California

        There are plenty of animals that roam through Mount Shasta, California USA. Here are some local deer checking on the food stores. We often stop in Mount Shasta as it is about halfway between Tracy California and Portland Oregon.
 

Napoleon's Tomb, Paris France

        In a former hospital, Napoleon's Tomb is in one part of the building while other parts contain a beautiful chapel and museum. It is not difficult to get to in its position on the Left Bank. It is a good visit with a small cafe located inside. Other folks are also buried there. One word of warning: the steps into the tomb are somewhat steep and slippery. Not a problem for most people. As you can see, while I have some mobility problems I got in and out without issues.
 

View from the airport in Sedona, Arizona

In the "Red Rock" area of Arizona

Amazing vistas.

 

No Garbage Trucks in Venice

    When my grandson was little he was fascinated with garbage trucks. In my travels I took photos of them and showed him the garbage trucks from many countries in Europe. It actually was fun to take the photos. When I took this picture he was seven-years-old and starting not to care as much. Even at that I was hooked on taking those photos and here is how they pick up garbage in Venice Italy. By boat, what else?
 

Tapas for Two

    I like the idea of afternoon tea such as I have had in England and Scotland. In Spain it is Tapas, small plates and wine (or beer ) in the afternoon. Americans may have a coffee break, but it is not the same. The picture here is of one of several small plates at an outdoor café in Barcelona Spain. 

    This last week we were in Grants Pass Oregon on a road trip from the San Francisco Bay Area to Portland Oregon where we discovered an Asian tapas restaurant. I know it is a funny fusion, but it was lovely and delicious.  
 

Take a trip to Calgary-Banff-Jasper Canada

    A great trip for us was flying into Calgary to spend a few days and then using a rental car to travel to Baff, Lake Louise, and Jasper. The road is beautiful as are the lakes and following the river. Banff is a lovely town and Lake Louise is wonderful. The waters are glacial and blue-green. The glaciers are interesting. This is a photo of Peyto Lake named after a Forest Ranger. The glacier is in the upper left. Where glacier activity has cut the valleys rather than flowing water, the valleys are "U" shaped rather than "V" shaped.
 

Looking down at the altar: the Baptistry, Florence Italy

    Ten years ago we visited Florence while on a Road Scholar tour of three cities in Italy. While we eventually drove around for two weeks by car, we enjoyed locals showing us around. In Florence we were fortunate to have a special tour of the upper gallery of the Baptistry. As the name indicates, it is a separate building from the main church or Duomo. These galleries were at one time where the women could watch the baptism ceremony. People were not admitted to the Cathedral until they were baptized. 

    The gallery turns a circle high above the round sanctuary. The view of the gold and colored ceiling tiles is worth the climb. There is something special too about going "behind the scenes". 

    You may have seen the golden doors of the baptistry which are so famous. The ones currently on the front of the church are reproductions for safety and the real ones are behind the Duomo in a wonderful small, but amazing museum. They have several sculptures by Michelangelo (Pieta) and Donatello (Mary Magdalene.) I personally feel that Donatello's David and Mary Magdalene are the best sculptures I have ever seen.
 

Do you flect before you reflect. Here is my first flect.

Looking over the Tyrolian Alps from atop a pass

    I have posted nearly four thousand times on this blog. My hope has been, and will continue to be, that readers will get the "travel bug".

    It is my sincere belief that many of the world's problems lie in not knowing nor understanding other cultures and people. When you travel you learn that folks in other countries are generally like us and they also have things to teach us. My family has been changed for the better by travel. 

    A number of years ago, my wife and I decided to take each of our grandchildren on a trip.  We wanted to get to know them better, bond, and have them show us new things through their fresh perspective. While we left the trips up to them, we were surprised at the choices and of the amount of homework each did.

    Our oldest granddaughter at 12 years-of-age chose to go to Paris for a week and then down the Seine by riverboat to Normandy and the visiting of D-day sites. She read up on artists she might see in Paris and we visited a bunch of galleries and museums.

    Our grandson was next, When he turned twelve he took us to Brussels, Amsterdam and on safari in South Africa, Botswana, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.   Not in that exact order, We went places and shared experiences that we would not have if it were not for him choosing to go. We spent about four days in each place.

    The middle granddaughter took us back to places where we had spent a good deal of time: Paris and Scotland. While we did some of the same things, we did others as well. In Scotland we went boating on Loch Ness, shearing sheep, staying in a haunted castle and lots more. We did a long stay in Edinburgh with a boat trip on the Firth of Forth. 

     Because of Covid-19 our youngest granddaughter had to wait until fourteen to go. We cancelled trips to China and Costa Rica in the process. Her choice was to visit an area of Italy that we had not explored. She took a trip to Tuscany with a final week in Paris. As an artist she made a point to visit Montmartre and paint a picture of the city. 

    One thing we helped design was the places to  add. By this I mean it is expensive and tiring to fly somewhere like Europe or Africa and not spend as much time as possible. Say you are going to Scotland. Why not add a week in Paris and fly in and out of there? When we take a trip, we usually go for a minimum of three weeks and take our time. 

    We think it is unpleasant to see a bunch of interesting places in a short amount of time. The photo above is taken while in the Dolomites of northern Italy for almost a week. We had already been to Rome, Florence, Venice by then. When we left Venice we went to Verona and rented a car to drive to Austria, Germany, Liechtenstein, Switzerland and back to Verona. The latter part of our trip convinced us to limit our visit to longer stays. I admit that we are retired and have the time and money to do this. Actually we choose to set aside the time and money to do it. 

    We have traveled the USA in much the same way. It is more fun for us to focus on one place for a couple of days or a week than rush to the next place.

    I am now getting to a physical condition from childhood polio that I am not going to places that require walking.  Yet, I still can go many places plus I have a huge reserve of memories to count on.

    Hit the road. Fly the sky. Hike out back. Get on the go.

 

The Ferry Building, San Francisco, California USA

    Not far from where we have our primary home stands the Ferry Building on the San Francisco Bay. We often end up there for dinner or for a ferry ride.  It is especially nice in the evening. (And, on the ferry you see city lights reflected on the water.) If you are visiting San Francisco in the summer, take a jacket or sweatshirt. It is cool, especially in the evenings. Winters are mild, as well, but you should bring an umbrella just in case.
 

Gathering for dinner under the Tuscan shade

    A wonderful farm house out in the rural area of Tuscany. It was a warm day but they had a pool, a lovely garden and plenty of shade. This is a group dining outside in the evening. It reminds one of Napa California which is near our home. We too live in the midst of grape vineyards, but there is something special about dinner in Italy.
 

A "bush" school in Zambia

    One highlight of a trip to Africa is the chance to meet people. While in Zambia we delivered books and school supplies to a K-8 school. My grandson and others had exchanged letters with kids there. This photo is of some school children , teaching our western youngster some African games before they all went out a played basketball.
 

Munich Germany and the Black Forest

    While strolling Munich I was taken by this beautiful terrace garden on the balcony ledges. Munich is a great place to visit, but outside of the markets it seems to be in terms of gray, The color like this pops. 
 

Central City Seville, A Walking tour

    The old city center of Seville Spain is easy to get around. A trolley or tram runs the whole area and it is very walkable. We spent a few days exploring. It was warm and we appreciated the many trees and places to stop. The photo above is of a lovely with a water feature in front. 
 

The Train to Brussels

We had a simple plan and it worked well. We landed at CDG airport outside of Paris.

We went downstairs to the rail station and took the train to Brussels.

Great way to travel.

We also did similar thing when going to Amsterdam. 

 

African Elephant, South Africa

    This elephant was not exactly tame, but then again it was not exactly wild. He had been around humans for a few years.  We encountered him during a safari in South Africa and he agreed to pose.
 

New Preston Connecticut USA

A lovely lake with a grand hotel and winery at New Preston Connecticut.

The photo was taken in October just as the seasons were changing.

 

Park Guel, Barcelona Spain

Just one of the fun buildings in Park Guel atop the hill (one of them) overlooking Barcelona. You need reservations for the park.  (Make reservations on their website.) You can take a bus to the base of the hill and walk up or you can get a cab. Still, there is lots of walking up and down hill in the park. Designed by Gaudi, it is lovely.  One has to remember that these places are designed by a man born in 1852 and who died in 1926 nearly 100 years ago. It is design and art way before his time.

 

Photos, like all the rest, by McLellan

The view FROM the Rock of Gibraltar

The trip up to the top of The Rock is a thrill ride.  We had hired a driver for the day

and he was not only a good driver but also a superior tour guide.

From The Rock you can see the major transportation issue for Gibraltar.

We drove in along the road from Spain and had to stop for airplanes on the

runway. The road and runway allow people to visit, but they have to cooperate.