Sagrada Familia, Barcelona, Spain

The Pope came and declared the cathedral finished.

When we were there, it was awe inspiring.

But it will likely never be "done".

My photo here is looking through the nave to the chancel.

The gold round in the lower middle is Christ on the Cross over the altar. 

Granada Spain

This photo was taken in the Alhambra above Granada Spain.  It was a long-time goal. Later in the day we were visiting places in the city. Granada is a place visitors ought to go if they have time. We had three days.

While walking along I spied a shirt in the window of a man's shop.

I decided that I had to have it.

Inside the clerks let me try on various sizes. Something unlikely at home.

I was taking my time and realized that the clerks were pressuring me to hurry.

It seemed a little rude.

When I finally purchase the shirt they hurried us out and locked the door.

They were not being rude - I was.

It was Siesta and time for their break.

I ought to have remembered that I was in Spain.

 

Excuse Me Do You Know The Way To Zambia?

When the herd heard me they tuned to see who was taking their photo. Just me in a South African reserve. It is almost time for the great zebra migration.    
 

Not meant to be souvenirs

Photo has nothing to do with text. I just like it.

            We are not big shoppers on our trips. We do not come for objects to remember places by. It just sometimes happens. I put the paper coasters from drinks in my pocket and have a large number of them. They cost nothing and were just a part of a meal. In France each of our Airbnbs were furnished with everything but pepper. We have two small containers of it in the cupboard here at home. I have two boxes of OTC medicines I got in Slovakia but I cannot read the writing and I am not sure what they are for. We did buy a pretty wineglass in Murano but it is hardly used. As I walk around our house looking for things we brought back from overseas it appears that has been brought back is mostly great memories.

 

Ireland road sign

On a cliff near Dingle they express that they want you back.

Lying-man island in the rear.

 

Every village is a new adventure

We often rent a car and do a road trip.

No need to do it along the Danube.

This is the tower of a small church near the river.

The blue church (St. Elizabeth) of Bratislava, Slovakia

 

You should have gone to Benny's

So, you come home from a trip of a lifetime. You are sharing

some of your adventures in Spain. You visited four cities in a month on your trip. 

Someone who spent a day in each city says:

"But, did you eat at Benny's in the Plaza"

like you wasted your time because you missed "the best

salad I have ever had."

Murder is a crime in Spain as it is in the U.S. Don't do it.

Some more things to bring along that may help

Over Greenland which is white - Iceland is usually closer to green.

        There are a few more items to pack in my opinion: small Swiss Army knife: mine have always been the smallest that a finger nail file, a knife and scissors (wife carries a nail clipper). Just remember that the knife stays in you checked luggage. It carry it on it will disappear. (I am on my third.)  Plus I take a small roll of duct tape. It fixes everything from a ripped  suitcase to a loose hem. Next are three things for the plane: gum (take off and landing), ginger candy (if you get the least bit airsick (On Alaska they serve ginger ale.) and a small package of Wet Ones (Walgreens sell small packs) you use them to clean your set, tray and seatbelt because the plane service rarely clean them. The load above is smaller than a large candy bar - which are free to take if you choose,

 

Getting ready

Air France Terminal at CDG Airport, Paris

         Before you go let us look at what you need to pack: 1. copies of your passport which you keep nowhere near your passport; 2) copies of your itinerary (which I email to myself to access it from any phone): 3) hard copies of plane and lodging information; 4) list of medications <take 1 week more than you need>; 5) Emergency phone numbers <I make sure they are in my phone, bur phones get lost; 6) phone number on the back of your credit card so you can call if it is lost; 7) trip issuance copies; 8) phone number for airline emergency: 9) ______ anything else you cannot do without <I take ginger candy and nasal spray and aspirin in my pocket>. 10) I always buy a New Yorker Magazine to read if I get bored.

 

Buy a beer, stay for the waitresses and their entertainment. How many glasses at once?

Trite: Beer and Pretzels In Hofbraeuhaus, Munich 

 

The OHSU Gondola

On the top of a major hill there stands Oregon Health And Science University.

It is in Portland, Oregon.

There are actually a number of hospitals under the same umbrella.

When the top of the hill became too crowded they opened the waterfront.

To link the top with the river, they build this tram system.

I was hospitalized up atop.

My wife had brain surgery on the lower building.

As always, this is a teaching hospital and they learned a lot from us.

 

The late night concerts around Europe

A concert at the old church on the plaza, Old Town Prague.

        We often have looked for concerts in the places we have been staying. There was a great group of fiddlers and horn player in the church up the hill from the sea wall in Dingle Ireland. There was a remarkable violist at the castle in Prague. I will always remember the  symphony with ballet in Vienna. The organ concert in Saint Martins in London shows off amazing skill. There are monks chanting everywhere in France and Italy. The flamenco with strings in Madrid brings life to an old building. Those are just a few. At check-in it is worth asking. 

A thought from a sign in Portland

I have been lucky enough to see (and touch in those days) the Liberty Bell. I have stood in Independence Hall and Old North Church. I climbed stairs inside the Statue of Liberty and looked at Plymouth Rock. Walked the garden at Mount Vernon and visited Lincoln’s home in Springfield. I have stood in the dim of the memorial, reciting the Gettysburg Address for my young children.

These things have changed me. But of greater importance to my education were visits to the slave quarters at Mount Vernon. There is Ford’s Theater where Lincoln was shot for believing in equality. I have seen the steps that the young black children walked to integrate Montgomery’s schools. I have stood in the pulpit of Martin Luther King at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church from which he saw Rosa Parks who had seated herself in the “wrong” seat on a bus. I have dug gold in the same places that the Chinese dug to make their master’s rich. There are the Japanese concentration camps in the desert. I have been to Watts.

Tomorrow is Independence Day. We beat the British, we are still to address ourselves.

 

The Straits of Gibratar

Looks like ten years ago we were standing on our balcony at the Rock Hotel and looking across the strait at Morocco. This is where Europe and Africa meet.

 

Saint Stephan's Church, Verona Italy - A surprise

View of the Church and monastery. 

Hidden back courtyard to the church.

        Where you stay is often more important than everything else on your trip. We have fond memories of  BNB's and small hotels where we met charming people. This photo is of St, Stephan's Church as seen from across Ponte Pietra (bridge). The monastery had been sold to a young couple to make into a BNB. The owner was a delight. Indeed, it is an old building, but it has a modern vibe. They are very helpful and we enjoyed knowing them. You don't get this in a hotel.