View of the Columbia River

This is a view of the Columbia River from the Washington State side. It is summertime and the hills turn gold (or dried brown depending if you are on the Chamber of Commerce or not).

The Rose Window, Notre Dame, Paris

I see where you can buy a necklace that has a copy of this window.

Not sure that the proceeds go to restoring the church after the fire.

These are called Rose Windows, not for the shape, but because the first round

window like this (In Chartres Cathedral) was Rose colored.

WALKWAY PARK GUELL, BARCELONA

We saw the Lion King two years ago in South Africa

 My wife, grandson and I saw the Lion King close up two years ago while on safari vehicle in South Africa. Big guy with his harem. Photo on Samsung Smart Phone G7 by Mike McLellan.

Ready to fly to Europe and Asia

     In the next year we will be traveling to both Europe and Asia and we will not be traveling alone.  We will have to deal with President Trump at every stop. If we were only on a tour we could pretty well avoid him, but in our way of travel -to meet new people - we will get asked many questions and hear many comments. Our experience has been that others in our world are bewildered by him. And, they are bewildered by how he got where he is, how he stays, and how much damage he is doing in world politics. They ask us to justify his leadership. We cannot.  How about we talk about Global Warming. Everyone but the U.S. Republicans believe it and feel it. On this issue we are united around the world.

Out of window at The Alhambra, Granada Spain

The Alhambra in Granada is a fancy and well appointed series of buildings. Washington Irving stayed there and wrote a book of "Tales" that I read long ago. I took many photos of the elaborate work on the walls and ceiling, but this photo is out a window onto a small private courtyard which would be a lovely place to sit on a warm summer day -- and it was.

An Irish Crossroads

Fortunately you cannot drive fast on the narrow roads... but you still have to stop to find your way.

The Dolomites, Sud Tyrol, Italy

Could not have been imagined better even by Disney.

First day of three weeks in France

     Couple of years ago...actually our granddaughter is now four years older than she was then ... we went off to Paris, the Seine and Normandy Beaches. What a wonderful adventure to share with her. This is our first day. Our flat was a half block away from the Louvre and we went back again and again. She was interested in the art and we filled up on it on all of the galleries. Memories.

Ambassadors wherever you go

     This is the entry walk to Trinity College in the heart of Dublin Ireland.  The library there holds the Book of Kells. As well, many famous folks went to college there.
     As I walked in, a young man who was paid by the school to answer questions and provide directions (I did that while in university) approached me and noticed my Rotary International membership pin. (I often wear it overseas as I do in the U.S.). He want to talk about Rotary and was interested in our Scholars Programs. One program sends college students to other countries to work on their advanced degrees. The young man was interested in this international studies program.
     We talked about his plans and his future. I told him where he could get more information on Rotary. In the end, we had both made a new friend.
     This, it seems to me, is an important part of traveling.

George Washington in London

Statue of George Washington

in front of the National Gallery

London, England

Trip Countdown Items for overseas travel

Before you leave, you need to do some things:
Well in advance make sure your passport (if leaving the country) is valid for 6 months after leaving.
If flying nationally, make sure your ID is approved or take your passport.
A week before leaving call your credit card companies and tell them where you are going.
Cancel your mail.
Put a copy of your itinerary in your suitcase - if luggage is "lost" people will know where to find you. Your home address is not very helpful.
If you are taking a cell phone that is world capable, contact your carrier. If it is not compatible, know where to buy a new SIM card or throw away phone upon arrival.
If you have currency for the country to which you are flying, bring it. Otherwise know where an ATM will be upon arrival. Look for a matching logo on your card or ATM may be expensive.
Print out the addresses of the places you are staying so you can either hand it to the Uber driver or taxi driver -- in case you do not speak the language.
In addition to what you think you should pack (and then unpack 1/2 of it before leaving) toss in a small roll of duct tape. You will use it.
By the way: duct tape your phone/camera charger to your adapters (red is good) to remind you to take them with you. By the way. Do you know that almost every TV in the world today has a USB jack on the back?
More to come...

What to do with bad travel photos

     This is a photo of part of the Scottish railroad bridge featured in Harry Potter. When you have to explain it, it is not a good photo. I had a friend who traveled to the "Holy land" and covered the whole area in like four days and hardly got off the bus. He showed his slides (35mm in those days) and said with each one: "If this was better you could see the..." All of the shots were out the window of a moving bus. The photo above -mine- is just as guilty of that.
     We do not travel that way. We tend to go to a city or a venue and stay for a week. We get to know it and the people. Sometimes our visits have been much longer. Not many are short. Do we see as many sites? Not really, but the ones we see we know.

Casts in the newly reopened Rodin Gallery in Paris.

The Rodin Gallery is lovely. Near the Tomb of Napoleon it is a large house with extensive gardens. It is a good visit. For younger people, it might help them to study some about the artist before going. As for me, I have seen his work in various American cities, London and Paris.  This gallery is more complete with major works gathered together.

In Kilkenny Ireland it is no foul, no harm.

I took this photo a number of years ago and it still ranks up there as a favorite.

Looking out to Loch Ness from Fort Augustus Scotland

I have taken two photos of this part of Scotland some five years apart. It has not changed. To the right of the picture is an old religious site and behind me are locks to the canal.

Fort Augustus is one of my happy places.

We learn from our neighbors...

     When we travel, we find the TV commentators and newspapers a fun read. While we sometimes have no idea about what they are saying, we do get some idea of the politics and feelings of other countries. We have learned these last years that almost without exception the people of Europe feel sorry for us as we labor under an incompetent President. They question how we let it happen. They wonder why we let it continue. Many of them have forms of government that let them oust a bad leader immediately and not wait for an elections cycle. 

     What makes some of us sad and angry is that under President Obama we had returned to being a world leader morally and politically. Today we have alienated much of the world.

     The article above it just one day's posting in Edinburgh. They are kinder than many German and French newspapers. They do not attack and call names; they approach the subject intellectually and oft times with wit.

Fete Nationale (Happy Bastille Day)

Photo by Mike McLellan, Taken from boat of Seine River.

Mount Hood, Oregon from the air

This is what we see as we drop in to Portland (PDX) when flying from Sacramento. 

Turn around! Louvre Errors

Top view: people fighting to see The Mona Lisa at the Louvre.

Bottom view, a painting across the room that no one was looking at.

People took photo of Mona Lisa and ran to Venus and missed SO much.

Photos by Mike McLellan

Interior of Notre Dame, Paris

Mass concludes at Notre Dame in Paris. Photo by my granddaughter on our trip to Paris two months prior to fire.

Game Preserve, South Africa

Glad my grandson wanted to go to South Africa (Botswana, Zambia and Zimbabwe) lots of fun.

Pavellons Guell Barcelona, Spain

One the HopOnHopOff bus line. This is an uncrowded stop and nice place to sit is the shade.

There is a small admission charge.

Google Earth II - Airline reviews

     Another shot of Google Earth with emphasis this time on the Western Hemisphere. Looking closely, you can see that my home airports are SFO and SAC (San Francisco and Sacramento). We do use Oakland and San Jose from time to time, While you will note some flights out of LAX (Los Angeles) we are very willing to go anywhere else to fly out. It is not very pleasant. 

     Of airlines, we prefer Alaska Airlines for short haul (and now across country as they merged with Virgin America) and for overseas we prefer Air France. While we have flown a variety of others (Good marks to Jet Blue, Southwest, and Virgin Atlantic) we are not fond of United or Delta. WOW is out of business in Europe - and for good reason. One surprise was South African Airlines which did a fine job in and out of smaller airports in Zambia and Botswana. For the first years of flying, some fifty years ago, we were big fans of PSA (Pacific Southwest Airlines) which is no more.

     Coming up we can review Lufthansa which is a partner with Air France with a direct flight from SFO to Frankfort. 

     Low on our list, and maybe others as some are going out of business, are Aer Lingus and Alitalia.

     About planes, we like the 777-200 and the A-380. Not excited about the prop Horizon planes, but they seem to always get us there with free beer and wine.

     As a side note, since 1990 we have chosen to fly premium which makes a huge difference, although it costs about a thousand dollars more to Europe.  We find it worth it.

GOOGLE EARTH

Two continents and our travels in the last few years. Not including North America.

Chateau In Normandy

     We stopped for wine at this chateau on Normandy France and were surprised to see that they had converted a couple of rooms into a World War II museum.

Waiting for the fireworks

      As we wait for the fireworks to start in California on the Fourth of July, I am reminded of this day some 4 years ago when we were waiting for the fireworks on Bastille Day in Honfluer, France. The sky looked like rain there, but it did not. It was a joy to participate in their celebration.

How do you find your own boat in Barcelona?

Near the pier by the beach volleyball courts, Barcelona.

TRAVEL HINT...

     This is a picture of me at a Bed and Breakfast at Lake Como (across from Lecco, near Bellagio). We drove from here to Verona to fly out to Paris only to find that I had left our passports in the safe here. We had to go back and then re-drive to Verona. An airline employee suggests that you put a shoe in the safe along with the passport - you likely will remember the passport as you walk out with only one shoe!

A common picture

     Dingle(town), Ireland has become a major tourist stop since being featured by Rick Steves. We enjoyed several days there. We drove around, poked around, went to a concert, hiked out to the head of the harbor... On the main street, near the line of pubs, this old boat serves as a flower garden. I was immediately struck by it and took a photo. Later on, while surfing the net, I found a number of photos by others of this same boat. Other folks had found it interesting too.