Large Island off the coast of Norway

The ship was gliding along and the word went out that we would want to see something off the starboard bow.

A giant rock island sat before us and we noticed the hole in it and heard the myth of how it happened to be.

A natural wonder rather than being manmade. 

 

Sutter Buttes, California

One of the world's smallest mountain ranges, the Sutter Buttes rise out of the Sacramento Valley. You cannot hike them alone because they are on private land. They are volcanic in origin.  There is a company that leads tours.

This photo, taken from the window of an Alaska Airline jet, does not show how high and imposing the Buttes are.

 

Rome review

 

St. Peter's and the Vatican 

The conversation with a person just back from Rome concluded that they would never visit again. I tend to agree. There are some magical sights and great history. 

But, it is a long way between special things to see. From the Forum it is way across the city to the Vatican. Most of the places are good one or two time visits.

However, you must deal with crowds and noise and everyone in a hurry.

I suppose this is true with any big city, but I think more pronounced in Rome.

I remember a long cab ride in Vienna when I could actually see things as opposed to a cab ride in Rome that made it necessary to keep my eyes closed and pray.

Travel History: save it for your children

 

The Chain Bridge Budapest 

Let's explore why people, especially me, like to travel. I was born in the Midwest and raised to the age of 14 when we moved to California. From Illinois my family took many trips primarily to the East coast as a preteen. We went to New York several times, plus Boston and Washington D.C.. Each winter we would spend a week in Hot Springs, Arkansas. A vivid memory was a trip out to the National Parks in Colorado. I liked traveling except for the fact it was always me in the backseat feeling car sick. Lots of shorts trips in California is easy.

When we got married we both were in college working as apartment managers to pay the rent.  Travel was visiting our parents. Then came two girls to the family and we started taking road trips with them in the back seat feeling car sick. And, other trips to the East Coast. 

We made a list in those days. If we ever had the money we would go to____.  After forty years of work we had enough to travel and we packed up and went. First it was Scotland renting a car and covering much of the country.  We  have taken road trips through seven countries. Then we had a new style. Before going it alone we began booking tours. The tour helped us get a little of the language and the "vibe" and then we drove.

Then one day I had an idea -good or bad - we would take our four grandchildren anywhere they wanted to go  as a twelfth birthday gift. That was a dangerous gift. The first one took us to Paris and Normandy. The second brought us to five counties in Southern Africa on safari.  Number three chose Scotland and, as her sister had been to Paris, so was she.  Number four chose Tuscany and you guessed it - Paris. They gave us way more than they got.

Interspaced with their trips we took our own to Europe, just because. We traded our pensions for plane tickets. Given mobility problems we may be done, although we spent three weeks in Norway last month and I am in a wheelchair. Maybe not completely  done.

The Louvre: Winged Victory

So you have seen photos in textbooks or in National Geographic, but thought you would never see it. This may be Monet's "Water Lilies" (Orangerie, Paris) or "The Birth of Venus" (The Uffizi in Florence) or "Guernica" (The Prado in Madrid) (None of which are in  the Louvre.)

You stroll in and turn a corner that there it is! You would not have seen it if you had not gone to the museum.

Visit the museums.

 

Have you ever been in Denmark?

There was a discussion of what countries we have been in. I list them above with the exception of Norway which I need to add. Now, our flight to Norway included a for a long planned layover in Copenhagen. We never left the airport. Can we claim Denmark? We booked the flight on purpose and visited the lounge and toured the airport (beautiful). Hmmmm. While we almost always fly non-stop, I had a short layover in Detroit returning from Paris once but I don't claim Detroit for a number of reasons. We had a layover in Atlanta on or way to Spain. I have been to Atlanta several times on other trips. Can I count that one? 

Some say that I cannot count Denmark. I say the six hours is enough to count it. We had a good time even if it was only in the airport.

 

St. Canice Kilkenny, Ireland: Is President Obama Irish?

St. Canice is a  cathedral in Kilkenny Ireland. It has a old safety tower and is surrounded by a cemetery. It is historic and the church balances the budget by having tours. It is high on a hill, but not a bad walk from the center of the city.

NOW, the other reason to visit. There is lots of talk about President Obama being a child of an African father, but little mention of his Irish mother, Ann Dunham. 

Family members of his are buried at Canice and they are pointed out on the tour.