Sunday is Church Day - Notre Dame

Two views of Notre Dame in Paris where we went to two Sunday services there in July. It is difficult to hear well as it is open to tourists and it is also in Latin and French! We are not Roman Catholic, but highly ecumenical. I can worship in various languages and styles. (Had an excellent experience once on the Navajo Reservation outside of Winslow Arizona.) We suggest you go to worship to hear the organ and get a feel for the long history of religious faith at Notre Dame. Loads of incense. Bottom photo is of the gargoyles outside - they are rain spouts. 

TRAVEL NOTES

     I admit that I did not take or make this photo. I copied it from a travel website. I really like it and believe it is why travelers are different folks. My wife and I are planning two trips right now and just thinking about them broadens my mind - and tires it out. One is to Europe and the other is to the deserts of the Southwest in the U.S.A. My head is full of confirmation numbers. But, planning is exciting and nearly as much fun as going. However, both are risky. What if I find out that people in other places are just as smart, aware and clever as we are? I already have been subverted to believe that the Europeans are way ahead of us in providing health care. I also was amazed to discover that many Irishmen are sober... Anyway, thanks to Mark Twain.

Friday Favorites: Up the creek with a paddle

 From our hotel balcony on the Grand Canal, Venice

From our room at Apgar, Lake MacDonald, Glacier National Park, U.S.A.

 



Paris Skyline - well, part of it

     I like this picture I took in Paris last July. It is a very warm and humid day. It was overcast and the city was hard at work. But, this is only part of Paris. There is some that is high rise and chrome, brand new and looks like the Twenty-first century.

High speed rail

Italian High Speed Train

      In California there is an on-going argument about whether we should have high speed rail. I find it a silly debate. There is no question that I would rather take high speed rail from Sacramento to Los Angeles. We took it in Italy. A first class ticket was fairly inexpensive. We had a steward in First Class.  He served us wine (or beer) and snacks. We sat back and saw the area from Rome to Florence and from Florence to Venice.
     We took a slower train from Venice to Verona and it was very comfortable. The only difference was we did not have a steward. We saw the small towns along the way.
     Now, if I want to fly to Los Angeles I have to get to the airport (one hour away) at least two hours before the flight. The flight is roughly 1.5 hours or two hours with getting my luggage. Getting out of the airport is ... well, you guess is as good as mine (I really hate LAX). It is an hour to central LA. That is 6 hours. (I can drive it in 6 hours). The train is get on, ride, get off in less time.

Colle S. Lucia

The top of pass in the Dolomites, Sud Tyrol, Italy.

I loved driving up the passes in the Dolomites behind the wheel of a Mercedes B Class. Then, there were those who rode their bikes up and down and enjoyed it just as much.

 

Washington and Oregon, The Columbia River

Often, when we are in Portland, Oregon - which is about three months a year -we go out along the Columbia River to see the waterfalls, have lunch at the foot of Multnomah Falls, and sometimes visit the fisheries. The picture above is taken from an old, albeit beautiful, lookout at the crest of the southern hill. When in Portland or Vancouver, Washington, it is worth going east as well as west to Astoria.

Aboard the Ferry South of Shannon, Ireland The tweed jacket

I do not like posting pictures of myself, but this one has a reason. Forget me for a moment and look at the nice tweed jacket I am wearing. We are crossing the Shannon River and I was looking at where we are headed. I had figured that when in Ireland you should try to look Irish to blend in. I already look  Irish -sort of- but I was sure a tweed jacket would make me even less American looking. I bought the coat and it is a Pendleton Wool. I wear often now. However, as for stereotypes, I am sure that some Irishmen wear tweed jackets, but I did not see one. It is like buying a beret to wear to France or buying western boots to wear way-out-west in San Francisco. It was in Ireland that I decided to wear nice clothes, but make them my own. For, you see, in this big world Nike and Reebok are everywhere. In all my European travels I have yet to be mistaken for a European. 

View from the Altamont, California

The Altamont is a small "mountain" range that lies between the Central Valley of California and the Livermore Valley. It is around a half hour from our house.   We can easily see it. One of its claims to fame is that it is home to large windmill "farms" along Hwy 580.  The picture above is taken from a friend's ranch and looks back - through the valley haze - to Stockton California. Turning the other direction, one sees Mount Diablo. On a clear day, you can see across the valley to the Sierra Nevadas.

Donald Trump debate in UK

          Yesterday members of the British Government debated whether or not to ban Donald Trump from entering their country. Tough words from the Prime Minister. I found the most interesting statements were from a MP who suggested that they should allow Mr. Trump into the UK so that they could show him a real democracy and then "send him home with his tail between his legs".
          What I have discovered in my travels around Europe is that their citizens understand and pay attention to WORLD politics far more than most U.S. citizens. They see the world as a whole rather than only seeing their nation in isolation. It was an interesting debate. Would our congress debate banning a single British citizen?

Venice balcony - I would never have seen it if I had kept my own rules

           Obvious this photo was taken on September 14, 2012.  We were in Venice in the middle of a trip to Italy. Now, I hate tourist attractions.I am not attracted to Disneyland or to "Santa's Village". When I go places, I want to visit with people and get to know everyday life. So, I make it a rule that is everyone does it, I don't - if I can help it.
          I have a picture on this blog of us in a gondola in Venice. I was not going to get in one. I had all sorts of notions about them. But, as you can see, I went out in one and I think the picture is pretty cool with the gondolier pushing off with his foot. We are not mad or tired in the picture, the sunlight was in our eyes.
          The point here, is that on the tour of the canals we came upon the building in the photo above. We would not have seen it unless we took the gondola. I love the colors - pinks and rose. The balcony is pretty and I wonder who lives there and how they got there. There is a story here and I want to know more. It is something that I am glad I did not miss.

Verona, Italy - close-up

 Her photo of lock

His photo of water droplet

Both of these photos are of parts of a large tomb built by a wealthy family 

right in the middle of central Verona , Italy.

Clouds

Scenic Photo Taken North of Banff, Alberta, Canada

     I love clouds. I was raised in Illinois (U.S.A.) and, as kids,  we would lie on our backs and see the images within the clouds. When we fly, I like to look out the window either at the clouds below or the ones we are flying through. They are there/not there. You can see them, but you cannot touch them or grab a handful. I now live in Central California. We don't have great clouds. O, once in a great while we have some nice ones, but where we are it is either sunny or overcast - or at least it seems.

     Since I don't see many grade A clouds, when I do I have to photograph them.

Home on the Seine

It was a hard sell to get me on a long riverboat down the Seine. I like to drive, even in foreign counties, because I think I see more. Driving certainly lets you keep your own schedule. But, I really did like the river cruise. It was just a fourth of our trip last July: Paris, the Seine, Normandy. Yet, as I was not driving, I had a glass of wine -well, one didn't last the whole five days- went up to the sundeck and actually saw things rather than the road. The photo above would not have been seen from the road in any case. What a pretty house! I still have no desire for a big ship, but a river cruise now and then seems nice.

Dessert at Lunch, Montmartre, Paris

This is the only time I have taken a photo of food. You can see it is from La Bonne Franquette a nice restaurant on Montmartre in Paris. Other than the name on the plate, I cannot remember why I took the photo. The food was good, but not that good.

The "Stones" in Temple Bar, Dublin

Cobblestones - that is. This is why you need comfortable shoes in Dublin, Ireland

Backstreet in Honfleur, Normandy, France

Favorite picture: A very nice entry into a walled garden.

Up, up and away

     I did not take this photo. It is either a stock photo or belongs to Air France. However it is a photo of an A380, a two story, 500+ passenger airplane that needs two gangways for passengers to get on and off. We flew in one to Paris last July and sat in Economy on the bottom floor. I describe it like it was a building because it is huge compared to anything I have ever flown in before.
     We have done all of the big planes starting long ago with the L-1011 and the DC-10. I've flown in plenty of small aircraft too. My assessment of all of them is that Economy stinks. I am too big for the seats. They are not meant for a guy over 6 feet tall. Most of the planes - and especially the Delta flight I took last - have little padding for my rear. I had to sit on my pillow and blanket. Yes, I know I was fortunate to even get a pillow and a blanket.
     I swore I would never fly coach again when I got back from Italy, but premium economy is not much bigger and I am too cheap for business class. It costs better than $2,000 more to fly business class and it is a 10 hour flight to, say, Amsterdam.  By flying coach I am making - or saving $200 an hour. That is $2,000 I can spend on other things (and I do). Yet, I am wondering when my body will stop the madness. I don't need a bed as I cannot sleep on a plane anyway. But, it would be nice to have blood-flow to my legs.
      By the way, Air France and Virgin Atlantic make these European trips more bearable than others I have flown.

Dirty Laundry

Forget that this is a picture of me. What is important is that I am wearing the last clean clothes I had with me. I am standing at the door of Saint Stephen's Church in Verona, Italy. We had left all our dirty clothes to be washed by our kind Bed and Breakfast host. We usually can find a day laundry, but this time there was not one. Our new best friend took pity and washed and folded everything. After two weeks we were ragged. After intervention we were ready for another ten days in Verona and the Tyrolean Alps.

The joys of Italy are in th details

     Granted that taking a full frame picture of The Pantheon makes a great photo as does a panoramic of Rome's skyline at dusk, but I like to look at the small things, the details - like the bottom picture of the road through the Forum. In the midst of all the "wow" is where life is lived and real people walked and tied up their horses.

Statue of St. Patrick at the Hill of Tara, Ireland

While the Hill of Tara, near Newgrange, is a pagan, pre-Christian site, you will find a statue of St. Patrick and a Church there. This is another way that the Christian church latched on to pagan traditions. Not a criticism just a reflection.

Bird above the Dolomites

Bird above the Dolomites (Northern Italy) Photo by Mike McLellan

Every week or two I have to post a photo from our time in the Dolomites in the Sud Tyrol in Italy. It was high on my bucket list and it now a place where my mind retreats to ponder great things.

Evening in Venice

Some of us do not relax well. I, for one, am Type A and almost always ready to move on to the next thing. I raise this issue because someone asked, "Where have you felt most relaxed?. I thought and thought and suddenly recalled evening strolls in Venice. When the folks have all gone back to their cruise ships and evening falls, there is something special about Venice. Having dinner in the Ghetto, a gelato for dessert, a walk along the canals; the perfect time to unwind. Even the memory makes me mellow - and it is not just the wine. (Photo by my strolling partner, Marietta McLellan)

Bird Watching on the Dingle Peninsula

Near Castlegregory, on the Dingle Peninsula, is a road out to Brandon Point. It is a nice drive and when we were there, folks were even out on the beaches. At the point there is a sign telling visitors all of the birds that can be seen -and there are plenty. Brandon Point is on the north side of the peninsula.

Ballydehob, Ireland

   
     Ballydehob was an unexpected pleasure and the photo above is all I have to show for it. We were doing our usual "let's see where this road takes us" in Ireland when we saw a sign for a church rummage sale. We have stopped at these sales in a number of countries. When visiting them you learn about the area, what people think is trash or treasure, and almost always have a pleasant conversation. For a reason that takes too long to explain, I collect "church keys" or beer can and bottle openers. I have them from all over. The fun ones are for local breweries and at a church sale they cost about a quarter (US). Found three at this stop. They did, however, warn us on the outside of their building that they were keeping watch over us 24 hours a day. I found it amusing on a church.

Sacré-Cœur atop Montmartre, Paris

     
 Sacré-Cœur atop Montmartre                             View from Montmartre
                                Top: Montmartre as seen from Musee D'Orsay

Carousel Arch, Paris

The Carousel Arch in Paris is within the Louvre area and in a direct line with the pyramid.  There is a surprise as part of all of this. Under the Carousel Arch and stretching under the pyramid is a below ground mall with shops and restaurants.  Under the pyramid is the main entrance to the museum. (Use the Carousel entrance for a shorter line.) The mall is pretty and modern with "hip" shops. It came as a big surprise as I did not know it was there and have trouble figuring out how it got there without ruining the ground floor area.

Alberta, Canada

In case anyone forgets what green looks like - especially those of us in California 

who are just now getting rain.

Snow

 

Okay, there was not that much snow (picture from a couple of years ago) but we had a snowy, rainy, windy, and long trip from Portland , Oregon to Central California yesterday.

13 hours and we have car-lag big time.

Dome of the Galeries Lafayette, Paris

Wonderful stained glass.

The mall by St. Stephen's Green, Dubllin

One of my favorite places/photos was taken in the shopping mall near St. Stephan's Green in Dublin. It reminded me of the old (now gone) Sutro's Bathes in San Francisco. This is like shopping in a Victorian greenhouse. There is a cafe on the second floor that serves adequate food, but has a great view of the park.