It's the water

 

In an Italian café they will ask if you want water and if you do, do you want it fizzy or flat? Pellegrino bottled near Lake Como is the fizzy of choice although there are others. Pellegrino comes with a special cap so if it is opened and someone tries to reuse the bottle you can tell. In France it is Perrier and both are imported to the U.S. by Nestle. I prefer fizzy over flat.

Why do they seem to dislike Mel Gibson

It was interesting to us that, without starting the conversation, people of this town would mention that they did not like Mel Gibson. It was almost funny.  Not that I defended the man, but I guess he and his crew were not the best guests when they used this castle as a location for "Braveheart". You understand that the movie was about William Wallace and Robert the Bruce and the bloody war in Scotland. The locals claim it was not just the fact that this is Trim Castle in Ireland. There are some great castles that would work in Scotland, but maybe the crew would rather get the Irish mad at them. It remains a mystery even after having it explained to us.

Favorite Photos

 MacDonald Lake, Glacier National Park, Montana

Sometimes you need to be patient. Traveling cannot be rushed.

     The act of traveling is an art rather than a science. Science has plans and projects outcomes and, while art can do the same, it does not care. Traveling has some destinations, but the real joy is in the process, the going, the encountering of new sites.
      Art has missteps, as well. Real art is a exploration of possibilities which means that sometimes things do not work out as expected.  It is my contention that the unexpected is the very best part.
      Carlisle, England is a nice town but not very different from those around it. It was in Carlisle that we met a man and his dog who were, together, the archetype of English people who give directions.
      When you do not have a GPS and rely on intuition over maps, you have to ask total strangers for directions. You have to trust people you do not know.
     We stopped a gentleman who was walking his cocker spaniel along a busy street in Carlisle. When we rented the car near the train station, it was easy to get on the motorway toward south Scotland. Coming back into the town, the streets were one way and we got lost. The man with the spaniel was ever so English. He took forever to think about our question and then propose an answer. As we wondered if he knew how to get to the train station he looked up from his pondering and explained that he knew several ways to get there, but was considering which one would be the easiest and quickest for us to take. When he decided, he spit it out, we followed it, and got there just right.
      You do not need a GPS - there are men with cocker spaniels all over the world.

Sunday - Church Day - Presbyterians in Dublin

The steeple of the downtown Dublin Presbyterian Church - being restored. We went on a Sunday and they were closed as the whole congregation went out of the city on a retreat. We worshipped at the United Church of Ireland down the street.

The Road Less Traveled

When you just drive in the direction you want to go without a firm schedule, you can find surprises like this in central/south Ireland. It is a road that is called "The Vee" as it makes a "vee" as it cutting through the Knockmedown Range. Most people would not take it as it is narrow and time consuming. But, check these views near Lismore.

Half Moon Bay State Park Beach

Where our journey began: 07/24/1966

Our adventure together began 48 years ago at the

First Methodist Church of Redding, California, U.S.A.

Rick Steves' Europe - I've been there...

 

Last night on PBS we were watching Rick Steves' program on Rome. He was talking about just stopping by small churches that may not look like much on the outside but are grand inside. Here is one example. We were on our way to or from lunch - lots of eating in Italy - and stopped by this church which appeared to be nothing more than a door to something.  Inside are these 12th Century Mosaics. This is a wow. Can't judge a place by its doorway... not in Rome.

Favorite photo of the week

Marietta's photo of a canal in Venice at twilight, two years ago.

Flowers - The universal statement of renewal - Photos by Mike McLellan

Rock of Cashel, Ireland

St Stephan's Green, Dublin

 



                                  

Window box, London

Calgary, Alberta, Canada

Bolzano, Northern, Italy

Sunday: Church Day

Chapel at the Hill of Tara, Ireland

Bears in Waterton National Park, Canada

The Rhine River

 

 

 

The bank of "a river" between Liechtenstein and Switzerland.

That is the Rhine River just over the guardrail and the line of trees in the right side of this photo.

 

      We just watched "Jeopardy!" and one of their questions was "What river divides Switzerland from Liechtenstein?" Be darned if I knew. Then they said it was the "Rhine" or in German the "Rhein". What? We followed this crummy little river from Liechtenstein along the passes in Switzerland until we turned off to go to Lake Como and Bellagio. So, that was the Rhine? Sure have heard a good deal about it, but in the rain and near where it starts it isn't much. We didn't know that we had crossed it several times. It is a famous river. Wish I would have looked harder.  

Ferrari Stores all over Italy, but...

...I did not see one Ferrari.

Traveling is getting close up

Lobby lamp at Deer Lodge, Lake Louise

Grill of Red Bus, Glacier National Park

Flowers, Marble Canyon, Alberta

 

Re-post from Fodor's Travel - With personal comments on Traveling Style

We meet a good many fellow travelers (although we try to meet mostly locals) and one group always bothers me. These are the comparison visitors. They compare the food to home, the hotels to home, the language to home, the culture to home... in general they like home best.

I like home too, but a person sounds like an idiot getting angry in an Edinburgh tea shop because they do not have ranch dressing for the cucumber salad. (Actually witnessed that one.) If you don't like seafood you just work around it in Venice, you don't complain. You will find Coor's Beer is expensive in Austria because it is an import. Do you complain about the added cost of Stella in the U.S.? (Maybe you do.)

When you go into a Catholic Church in Italy you need to respect their dress code. You may be able to attend the Baptist Church in California in a tank top, shorts and sandals, but you are not in California when in Rome.

Travel is to experience "someplace else".

The best times to see a city: early morning and late evening

Carousel, Piazza Replublica, Florence, Italy

Packed with tourists during the day and nearly empty in the evening.

Sunday: Church Day - Chapel, Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland

On the Willamette River

 

From a boat on the Willamette River in Portland, Oregon.

Taken last month by RMM.

Beautiful buildings

The Kelingrove in Glasgow

 

Glasgow is not the prettiest city in the U.K. but is filled with great architecture. There are schools of architecture there that make for a real awareness of what buildings can look like.

The central city is a mixture of old and new. The Museum of Modern Art - located in an older building - has wonderful displays.

Above the Cascade Range

The Cascades had a good snow pack and there has been lots of rain in Washington and Oregon.  California, on the other hand can be seen from the air as having little snow pack and great areas of dry land. While it may not seem fair, it is natural. It is the way things have been. There is no way to get Pacific Northwest water to California and why would there need to be?

Austria: old castles and...

 ...glass and steel shopping malls. (Innsbruck).

Favorite Photos

 

Watching them parasailing in the Dolomites. These men and women were taking off of the side of a mountain at about 9,000 feet and going many miles before landing. I have parasailed over water and it is fun, but this is free jumping - there is no net...

 

 

I used this as a sermon illustration yesterday

The Rev. Dr. R. Michael McLellan giving an address at Speaker's Corner, Hyde Park, London on a Sunday afternoon. The address was his email address.

SUNDAY IS CHURCH DAY

 

The Pantheon in Rome was  at first a place of Pagan worship

and today is considered a Christian Church.

Photo: Marietta McLellan, 2012

So get the English dictionary

At the restaurant we found in Feldkirch  Austria - which we consider one of the best meals we have ever had - was made possible by pigeon-German and a waiter who went and got an English/German dictionary to explain the sauces. They we very patient with us and we rewarded them with the best review I have ever given on Trip Advisor (I am a Top Contributor there). We were rewarded by a wonderful memory. The city is on the Liechtenstein border and we are not likely to be back, but we would if we could!

The U.K. does not celebrate the Fourth of July.

It was the Fourth of July and we found ourselves in a Bed and Breakfast in Crail, Scotland. The independence of the United States is not a big deal there, you might guess. We found another Yank, a student from San Diego State and we celebrated in our own way.

It is a hardwre store. What did you think...

Dublin, Ireland

A few posts left in Kensington

 

While walking in Kensington Gardens we came to this barrier in the lake- I suspect it was to limit rowboat travel - and nearly every post was occupied by a bird. It just seemed to be an interesting sight. London, while being a very busy urban city, has plenty of parks and green space.