Good-by to the Winter Olympics 2026

All around this blog you will see photos of locations for the Winter Olympics. The photo below is of the location of the closing ceremony on Verona, The picture above is of the Dolomites that hosted so may events. I took this from atop a mountain pass near Cortina.

 

Reserves in Africa

If you are looking for a safari in Africa and put it off for some reason. And that reason is safety.The reason is not likely valid. When having a good guide and keeping to reserves, you see the best with confidence. This photo is of a road leading up to a lodge in Botswana.

The animals pictured are bronze sculpted by locals.

 

Amsterdam on two wheels

We took a tour of the canals in a small boat run by Them Dam Boat Guys.

It was much better than riding a tourist boat with canned comments.

We also went where larger boats could not go.

This photo is of a bridge over a canal and shows that almost

everyone in Amsterdam has at least one bike.

The total is estimated at 800,000 bikes; more than one for everyone.

 

Verona Italy: Colosseum

There are many posts on Facebook right now on Verona.

I have long said that with its walkability and interesting places, it should not be missed. This photo is one of the Colosseum. Which is still in use today for plays and opera. This theatre is in the middle of own.

 

Inchcolm Abbey in the Firth of Forth, Scotland

Ever surprised by places I knew nothing about. We took a powerboat trip in the Firth of Forth in Scotland near Edinburgh. Leaving from under the old railroad bridge we went passed the sailboats and the many harbor seals. In the middle of the firth is the ancient abbey. The boat can dock and you can take a walk around the tiny island. Beautiful.

 

Cortina, Italy - - Site of the Winter Olympics

In the summerr of 2012 we spent a long time in the Dolomites.

It was on my bucket list and was everything I had hope for.

Several years before Cortinia had been the Winter Olympics

and there were still signs that it had been there.

I took this photo of a hotel in the heart of the city,

but the star wass the mountain behind.

 

Folks in the Vatican are just like us.

A good thing about traveling is not just seeing how different people are from you.

It is good to realize that they are pretty much the same.

If you wish to romanticize the people in the Vatican

remember this photo of their garbage truck.

 

David

I know most everyone has seen Michealangelo’s David in photo or for real. but my favorite is Donotello's. (About six feet tall.) Both in Florence.

 

The Tower Bridge, London

People have heard of The London Bridge, and many confuse it with the Tower Bridge. The Tower Bridge is at the Tower of London. It is obviously easier to spot. The old London Bridge is now in Arizona - go figur

Florence Italy Swordfight

This is the giant light fixture at a tourist center in Florence. After the meal an entertainer come out and chose two men to dress as knights and find the prize among the ladies present. One knight was a physicist from New Mexico and the other was me.

I did well, but he won. He and I, with our wives, 

visited various sites together after that.

Nothing like battle to bond you.

 

Florence Italy

There are reasons that Florence is a center of activity in Tuscany.

Art and beauty.

This photo was taken from the Ponte Vecchio over the Arno River.

 

European Riverboats

 

This is a longboat on the Danube River.

We have also been on one in the Seine.

You likely have seen advertisements for very big boats.

The reason why we have enjoyed the smaller ones is that there are fewer

people traveling and thus we also get to know the staff better.

This particular "Select" boat only had two groups touring on it.

Note: Our boat in this photo is docked in Slovakia.

Motorcycles in European Cities

    The streets are often narrow in European cities. And even if you can navigate the oneway traffic you are stuck with finding a place to park. I have seen whole streets packed with motorcycles as it is a popular mode of travel. This photo shows a few parked, but look closely, there is a car at the end - middle frame.

Close up and far away

From far away these looked like giant musrooms.

With a longer lens it turns out to be hippos in South African Reserve.

 

Hiking in the Dolomites: WInter Olympics

 

Photo of my wife taking a photo of me along a path in the Dolomites.

The building is a warming hut and we were in one of the passes.

Note the mountain in back.

Sirmione, Lake Garda, Italy

On our way from Lecco to Verona our guidebook suggested a stop at Sirmione which is north and east of Milan.

Lake Garda is the largest of the three major lakes in northern Italy.

Sirmione is a fortress and community on spit out in the lake.

I had never heard of it, but that is what guidebooks are for.

This is a worthwhile stop.

 

Winter Olympics: Lake Como

If you are going to the Winter Olympics in Milan you are not far from one of the most beautiful lakes in Europe. I might say the world but I have not seen them all and I have spent lots of time at Lake Tahoe on the California-Nevada border in the United States. Yet Como is a great visit as you see Bellagio and all of the small villages clinging to the mountains around it.

 

 

Winter Olympics

You can also get into the Dolomites via Innsbruck.

Photo here is of the Ski Jump left from the Olympics there.

 

Winter Olympics: Cortina

A side benefit to the Winter Olympics in Cortina is that it is in the Dolomites.

The mountains of Northern Italy include the Alps and these wild

mountains that are rocky and amazing.

I imagine that there will be buses out of Trento or Bolzano as the

roads are narrow and drivers must focus on them.

This photo is of a windsurfer near Cortina taken in 2012.

We drove a Mercedes B Class outof Verona.

 

It's a small world after all

I remember when we flew into Atlanta, drove up to New England and then took a train across country back to California. It was an adventure. It was about that time that I embarrassed air travel. I am not sure how many miles we have spent in the air. We are not professional travelers, but we have been on the go. During Covid we cancelled trips to China, Costs Rica and Panama. Since then, we have gone back to the airport  willingly. If you like this, you too can make a map of your travels. This one is several years old, but every line brings back memories.

The Alhambra, Granada Spain

Granada is a great place to visit with the Alhambra or not. If you are planning on the Alhambra you need to research tickets before you go. On site, you will find that most tickets have been purchased by tour guides. To visit you may have to let them take you around. It is actually helpful to have an organized tour.

 

 

Agueduct; Segovia, Spain.

The Romans were everywhere and they built things to last.

When visiting Segovia, it is good to park near the aqueduct and walk up the hill to see the older part of the city. And, it is "up", but worth it.

 

A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood

We make this flight around six or eight times a year and are always

thrilled to see Mount Hood.

 

The Winter Olympics

We talked about Cortina and mentioned that the Olympics will also be held in 25 venues, especially Milan. If you are going all that way, you should do some additional visits. On the way from one venue to the next there is much to see. North of Milan you could, for example see Lake Como and visit Bellagio. Take the ferry and get bragging rights on all your friends.
 

The Winter Olympics

If you are going to the Winter Olympics you have an opportunity to visit

Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy.

Cortinia is a lovely city in the Dolomites and has been host to the Winter Olympics before. On the way there from Bolzano you will pass through an area like this. Certainly it will have snow, but the landscape is other-worldly.

It was number one on my "bucket list" since I saw a film on it.

As you can see this photo is from 2012 and part of a week stay in La Villa.

The games will be played across 25 venues.

 

Harry Potter

This is a pub which claims it was the site where J.K. Rowling wrote the bulk of "Harry Potter".

Let me warn you about pubs if you are from the United States.

There is always someone there, if they know where you're from,

who knows more about U.S. government than you do.

 

The Big Woman

We left our car at the airport garage in Verona Italy.

We were taking a flight to Paris.

The airport was not marked well - or at least in English.

I asked were the front door to the airport was.

"Right by the big woman," He said.

Confused we went out the door and there she was.

To see the scale of this sign note the man at lower lefft.

 

If you can't take good photos

Anyone with a cellphone can take passible photos.It is easy to download them. A small camera puts everything on a chip for your computer. If you are bad at it, you can come up to a display like this and photograph what a professional has done. Besides, they were there at just the right time to photograph it. You also don’t have to buy the placemat. 

You do have to crop out the rack marks

This is a shop on Mt Saint Michel France.

😊

 

European Signage

We have learned signs meaning certain things.

Europe has different signs with different meanings.

A circle with a line through it means "Do not enter" likely a one way street.

The one above in Verona's Arena confused me.

Does this have something to do with having an urgent need for a restroom.

Is the restroom for men only and the women get a door.

Alas, it is the sign for an emergeency exit.

With fun addition.

 

Storefront Munich Germany

They still sell Tyrolean Hats in Munich.

I wore one for years.

 

Follow up from yesterday

The water feature in the Madrid Park.

Not shown: people sitting along fence having beverages and tapas.

 

Botanical Gardens, Madrid Spain

I lovely park in the center of Madrid holds a botanical garden

well worth a visit and the whole park is too.

 

Saint Mark's Square, Venice -- ready for high tide

When Saint Mark's Square in Venice floods, the workers put out these

raised walkways. (The look like tables, but go end to end.) 

The Oceans are rising and at one time Saint Mark's did not flood at high tide.

The high water should not keep you away.

 

View of Barcelona

 

The "fortress" above Barcelona near the Olympic Village gives a

great view of the city and harbor. The tram takes you up.

We met a couple of charming Yanks on our trip up.

(We usually opt for locals.)

Safari driver/vehicle

Waiting for the driver on the Savana of Botswana.

They know where to go safely.

We did see some private cars attempting the paths/roads

but it was worthwhile to have a driver.

This is a Toyota four-wheel drive truck with special box at back.

 

Favorite places and adventures

 Favorite Museums: The Borgesi in Rome, Victoria and Albert London, The Modern Art Gallery in Prague, The Prado in Madrid.

Favorite Castles: Stirling in Scotland, Balmoral in Scotland.

Favorite tours: Cars and Drivers in Paris, Brussels and Gibraltar, and Peter in Botswana.

Favorite: Water; Research vessel on Loch Ness, 19-foot whale watching boat off of Roch Harbor Canada, Lake Louise and Peto Lake Alberta, Victoria Falls Zambia, Lake Como Italy.

Favorite extended visit: Dolomites, Verona, Kenmare Ireland, French Quarter LA,, Lancaster PA, Sedona AZ, Yosemite CA., Amsterdam, Munich Germany.

Favorite event: Hurling Championships in Dublin, Romantic dinner in Feldkirch Austria.

Most striking memorials: Shoes in Budapest, American Cemetery in Normandy, Jewish Cemetery in Prague.

Favorite Church visits: St. Marin in the Fields London, The Wooden church in Honfluer France, Sainte-Chapelle Paris., Dexter Avenue-King Memorial in Montgomery AL.

Take your telephone to Europe

The streets of Lucca Italy

    Your phone likely will give you Facetime from Europe. In some cases, the GPS will work. However, if you want a full-service phone do the following: Call your provider and tell them where you are going, Second, they will likely send you a new SIM card. Three, this card must be installed BEFORE you go not once you have landed. Our phones are set to use T-Mobile, which has towers all over Europe. In the USA we use Consumers Cellular, which uses several different towers. The SIM card puts you on T-Mobile. It is important to ask your cellular carrier.

 

Lake Como Italy: View across to Lecco

Those of us who live near Lake Tahoe at the California-Nevada border

USA get some great views of water and mountains.

Too, Lake Como has the same allure. 

We met and stayed with a very caring family across from Lecco.

 

Prague: The city of spires

This is the church in the Old Town where we went to a concert. Lovely in the evening and excellent.

It has spires. It is said that the city of Prague has a hundred spires pointing to the sky. I have not counted them, but from the palace you can see way more than that.

 

Add on trips

We were on our way to the cruise down the Danube, but we first stopped in New England to see the beginnings of the Fall colors. Then we got to Prague three days before the trip and afterward we spend three days in Munich.    On a trip to Africa, we added on three days on Brussels on the way and three days in Amsterdam on the way back.

    Two reasons: the flights are long, you to have to account for jetlag and the cost of getting there means you should stay as long as possible.

    

 

The red roof tiles of Budapest

The city is known for many wonderful things. We are enamored with Budapest. The city's skyline is filled with wonderful buildings may of which have elaborate roof tiles in a red.

Tracy California Transit Station

To give some background.

I live in Tracy, California a 100,000 pop. city East of San Francisco

and South of Sacramento.

This is the traffic circle in the middle of downtown.

It is a great place to live.

 

Just monkeying around

Met this little guy in the savanna of Botswana.

 

Looking up in Innsbruck Austria

This is a look up from the pedestrian mall in Innsbruck.

Austria is one of my favorite places to visit.

 

Looking at the city of Gibraltor From The Rock

The Rock is not solid. It has many caves and passageways. 

This photo is from a passage that has bars so you don't fall out.

Just above the center of the photo is the runway of the airport.

When a plane is coming or going they close the road as it is the access to Gibrator.

 

Florence Italy

It was getting dark when  group of us went out to dinner 

at a special spot in Florence.

It was down a narrow street and we were loud.

I looked up and saw a couple wondering what was going on.

I apologize for putting their photo on the web.

 

Art along the streets of Europe

The United States is now catching up with Europe in public art. In Europe there are different forms of art everywhere.The sculptures in Bratislava or Brussels, for example are wonderful. Murals decorate buildings in Prague. Art is expected. Increasingly communities in the U.S. are funding community art and it is appreciated. 

Photo above is part of a building in Brussels.

 

 

Morocco, North Africa as seen from the balcony of The Rock Hotel, Gibraltar

As dusk come over, with a glass of wine and a perch on the balcony of our hotel

we looked across the Straits toward  Africa.

Gibraltar is a very interesting and worthwhile visit.

Note the ship in the distance.

 

The Beach and Monte Gordo Portugal

While we lived in Long Beach for seven years and I am used to the sunny beach scene, I was taken by the huge beach at Monte Gordo. 

On a weekday there was hardly anyone there.

We had a nice lunch in one of cabanas. 

It is a short drive from Seville, Spain.