Spain as seen from The Rock Hotel, Gibraltar

     From the Rock Hotel balcony, you can see Morocco Africa, Spain and Gibraltar itself. This photo is of the harbor. We brought back great memories from there. I have considered what we bring back from our trips as lasting reminders. The important things are not things at all. Yes, we discovered  a new favorite detergent in France, and a love of Haggis in Scotland, and an special meal in Austria, and a brief boxing match with a baboon in Zambia (he won). These are tastes, feelings and memories. We do have some odd objects we have brought home, but they take up little room. The memories fill our hearts and minds.

Sierra Railway, Jamestown, California USA

Come to the foothills of California on the way to Yosemite National Park.

Stop to walk the streets of Jamestown, have lunch at the hotel, and see historic trains.

Grand-daughter practices with broad sword outside Tulloch Castle, Scotland

Tulloch Castle is a bed and breakfast in the Scottish Highlands. West of Inverness, it is advertised as a haunted castle. It better described as a manor house, built on in such a way that that your first duty is to figure out how to go from your room to the sitting room, bar and dining area. The food was very good and the rooms comfortable. It is said that Prince William has been in residence.
This top photo is of Sarah Boehringer, our grand-daughter who is ready to do battle with any ghosts there happen to be.

The Louvre Is Closed, but...

Here are three pieces to ponder,

until it reopens.

Posted all around our village in Portland Oregon

     This is a photo I took, cropped and edited that was held during a parade in our community in Portland Oregon. It is a statement of purpose and belief. It is found all around us in store windows, on front  lawns, and even on the side of cars.

       The message gives meaning to the people and hope for those to whom it is addressed. It is decidedly liberal, and "liberal" is not a dirty word. Within the message is also a statement of willing dialogue with anyone who disagrees. People who think differently, think differently, they are not bad.

Michelangelo's Moses for Pope Julius II's Tomb, Rome

     Did you ever consider what your tomb, crypt or niche would look like after you are dead? I have. Michelangelo did. So did Pope Julius II, So have some famous others. First, they understood that they were going to die. Second, they wanted to know that even after death, they would have a public image. Now, Napoleon did it right. Huge tomb, huge casket and container, on site church were people could pray for his soul.
     The photo above is of Pope Julius II's tomb in Saint Peter In Chains church, Rome. Michelangelo's statue of Moses graces the space. Michelangelo's own tomb is of his own design in Florence.
     I do not want anymore than a brass plaque on a niche. Others I know do not want anything.
     Regardless, some of the great art in Italy, France and Spain are tombs and burial plots.

Little window on the upper floor of the British Museum

     I found this window the first time I was in the British Museum some years ago. There have been others who found it as I have seen pictures like this. I am not sure why the opening is there, but it is a great place to view the central area of the museum with its glass roof. Fun to people watch too. The circular area with the stairway around it is the library. If you go to the right around the corner you will find a place to get a bite to eat and a beer. This cafe area is not the only one and not as pretty as the cafe in the the Victoria and Albert Museum, but it allows you to see the scale of this place.

     Try and find the window as it is worth it.

On Safari in Botswana

NOTE: Regarding top photo... I was in the far back of the safari vehicle which put me behind the

rear wheels (vehicle is a converted four-wheel drive Toyota truck with the cab and windshield

cut down. We were being followed by another vehicle with another four or five in our party.

When we came to a stopping point, one of the young men in the second vehicle ran up and handed me my cellphone which had dropped out of my pocket and through the openings in the truck bed and landed in the road. They saw it, stopped and brought it to me. There are not

many places to replace a cell phone in the Kalahari of Botswana. In fact, almost none.

Overlooking the Seine, Paris

Notice the long flat boat (raft) in the foreground. I have no idea what it is.

Moonlight over the Willamette River, Portland, Oregon USA

Take at the Old Spaghetti Factory on the edge of the river.

Bucket List Check: Picasso's Goat

One of the things I have long wanted to see is Picasso's Goat in person.(Second floor, right  off the elevator in the Picasso museum in Paris) I have used this as an example in teaching art to Elementary School children. I first saw it in a slide in Art Appreciation as a Freshman in College. This along with Guernica in the Prado in Madrid became a must do. I have done. Here is the Goat, Guernica was not available for me to photograph. (Tough looking guards.)
What I say about this found object sculpture is that "Picasso's Goat looks more like a goat, than a goat looks like a goat." Some kids pick up on that immediately.

A Spanish Artist

     In Barcelona, there is a narrow walkway in the Gothic Section which separates two religious buildings. One of  them is the cathedral. A bridge or private walkway connects them above street level. We walked that area a number of times.
     Sitting quietly and almost unnoticed was an artist painting the scene. We stopped to talk and it turns out that he was a school teacher from the suburbs who came down into the old town to paint watercolor paintings of the important architecture. He had done some wonderful pieces of the area. Stacked along  wall were some finished works. We bent down to look. One of the paintings was of the very site where we stood.  We asked about it and learned that he wanted 25 Euros for it. As we were buying it, he folded up everything in a hurry explaining that the police allowed him to painting there, but not sell. The police were about to make their rounds.
     Suddenly he was gone and we had a matted painting.  The police did come by. Some folks we were with were envious of our purchase. We easily brought it home and it is now hanging in our bedroom area. Not only is it a nice work, but it reminds of of so much in Barcelona and a teacher who makes added income with this talent.

The Mad Man of Castle Gregory

     This is our rental car neatly parked at the bed and breakfast at Castle Gregory on the Dingle Peninsula on the Atlantic Coast of Ireland.
     Earlier, when we just pulled in, a rather jocular man, another guest - likely a member of Lions, Kiwanis or Rotary - came over and asked if we "had a permit to park here?"  I, being a long time scamp myself, reached into the glove box and produced our rental papers which I lied and declared were an "All Ireland Free Parking Pass".
     That started it. We bantered the whole time. His wife was embarrassed and my wife was amused.
     Time to leave and we said our good-byes and just as we were ready to leave the breakfast room, my wife with as straight a face as I have ever seen turned to the room and looking at our new friend said loudly, "And, thank you so much for picking up our bill, you are so kind." And out the door she went.
     Of course, we paid out own bill.
     We left and took the road up Conner Pass - the most narrow two lane road in the world with one side that is nothing but air. At the top of pass we had our photo taken by a Frenchwoman we asked for the favor by hand signals. At which time I found the key to the room at Castle Douglas in my pocket -- I do these things, read about my leaving our passports at the hotel at Lake Como, Italy. Thus, it was back down the scary road, hand off the key, and back up the scary road on the way to the town  of Dingle. Guess who is the mad man.

If Sherlock Holmes came by your place, would he know you travel?

     One look in my medicine cabinet or kitchen cupboard and you would sense that I travel. I do not try to bring everything with me as there is almost always a place to buy things in a pinch. Anyway, I like to go into grocery stores and drug stores and see the different products.
     For example, on the food front, we have rented flats in Paris a couple of times. These apartments are almost always in lack of kitchen space. Thus, you likely need to go to the corner market every day like every one else. In France, my experience is that eggs are mainly from free range chickens. The shells are very hard. You have to crack them with a knife (wack!). As well, if you like pepper on your eggs, it is likely you will not find black pepper like in the U.S. I actually have brought home two small shakers of white pepper and have to remember what the labels say in French.
     On a hot summer day in Florence Italy I bought a small can of medicated foot powder at a drug store near the Plazza Republica. I needed help as I speak only minimal Italian and I was looking for powder without aluminium which is usually added as a antiperspirant. I carry it now in my suitcase.
     I have antacids from Munich that look nothing like Tums.  I have a cough expectorant product from Bratislava, Slovakia. Italian dental floss is like fishing line.
     From Ireland I have what would pass for acetaminophen in the U.S. I also have a small blister pack of it from Verona Italy that takes a knife to open.
     I have a whole collection of tiny airplane tubes of toothpaste that comes in the swag-bags. Too there are the throw away toothbrushes that I do not seem to be able to throw away.
     I have lip-balm from England. There is a tube of anti-itch cream from Botswana southern Africa. By the way, other than bigger cities like Johannesburg and Livingstone in Zambia I did not see many places to shop for over-the-corner meds. My grandson and I   might have needed something after sharing a bag of dried caterpillars.
     There is lots more around the house to bring Holmes to the conclusions that we like to travel, or at least forget things.

April 15th - Not just Tax Day - Cobh, Ireland

     Cobh, Ireland is on the south coast. It is a major stop for large ships either going around the nation or the last stop before crossing the Atlantic. Cruise ships stop there today.
     Cobh also was a rescue station for many ships lost during World War I and II. Rescue boats went out from there to take on passengers. Several ships went down with a history coupled with Cobh. One was the Titanic. The Titanic sunk on April 15th - tax day for the United States when some of sink in a different way,
    At top is a city street just above the docks. The middle photo shows one of the early day ships. The bottom photo is of a plaque regarding the April 12, 1847 sinking of an American Ship, The USS Jamestown.

California, Interstate 5, Looking East North of Woodland

 I tried taking a photo out of a moving car - it worked pretty well!

Bratislava, City of statues

Wedgewood Blue Church, Bratislava the Capital of Slovakia.

Marietta had to take a series of photos of this church as it was up a hill and I

was stuck in the boat on the Danube with a sore leg.

This is a tourist spot in Bratislava.

To dream the impossible dream...

So, we were driving from Seville to Madrid and off in the distance we see windmills! Not for pumping water, these are for grinding grain. So, why were we surprised?  Not sure, but worth the trip off the road. A castle there besides.

Rose Window, Notre Dame, Paris. Closed today due to fire.

Good Friday 2020

Small and large on trip to Scotland and France

 The chapel in the Edinburgh Castle 

Close up of candle holder at Notre Dame, Paris

FOR YOU IN HOLY WEEK

MAUNDY THURSDAY 2020

South Africa, North of Johannesburg

I enjoy this photo. It is of a mother giraffe and two children (a year apart). The two zebras were watching them, but when they realized we were behind them, they turned to look. This one photo with some photo-shopping can turn into at least three very good ones. My wife and grandson and I visited four  countries and when on two safaris while on or near the Kalahari.

Arc de Triomphe Paris France

The Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile is a famous monument in Paris, France. It stands at the western end of the Champs-Élysées at the Place Charles de Gaulle, formerly named Place de l'Étoile—the étoile or "star" of the juncture formed by its twelve radiating avenues radiating out. This photo taken by Sara Boehringer (my granddaughter) with a long lens from the top of the Eiffel Tower.

Travel In Central Europe Is Not Only About Food

It is also about drink

Favorite spots: A pass in the Italian Alps

     There is something going around on the Internet asking for folks to post photos of favorite places. I have been doing that a long time. For me the answer has not changed. Although I have a good many places that I love, return to, and recommend, The Dolomites of the Sud Tyrol in the Italian Alps is my happy place. It is just different. The people are super (they speak Italian and German and some English) and warm. The regional food is good. The mountains are remarkable (and this is from a guy who lives close to Yosemite National Park, USA). This is the home of Pinot Grigio wine (my wife's favorite).
     I tell a story about this photo. We are at the top of a pass at a roadhouse. People from all over stop in the sun and have a drink (which I did not think smart as the road is narrow and winding).
     Usually, when we want to have our photo taken, I look around for someone that looks like I can communicate with them. They almost always are French. No matter where we are I tend to pick a Frenchman/woman. So, I ask this man with words and hand signals to take our photo. Alas, he and his wife were touring by motorcycle with an Irish guide. The couple was from the southern part of the USA (we could sort of communicate) and as nice as they could be. I could even talk to the Irish Guide and compared favorite notes on the Atlantic Coast of Ireland.
     We made three friends we likely will never see again. Maybe. But, this is why we travel. We collect friends.

October in Bavaria

Colors just starting to change.

INSIDE FAMOUS PLACES

 Mont Saint-Michele, Brittainy France

 Monet's Garden, Giverny FRance

 The Tower of London, UK

 The Alhambra, Granada Spain

St. Canice, Kilkenny, Ireland

Hillside near our place in Portland. Oregon

Seasons are changing.