The Abundancetrek Travel Blog

ENGLAND 2011 -- 10

2011-09-18T16:40:00.006-04:00

+ updated at 5:34pm ESDT on Sunday, September 18, 2011

+ Our hosts in Bristol from August 18 to 21 offered us hospitality second to none. How about tea and coffee in bed each morning followed by breakfast? And they treated us to dinners at their home and at a couple of great restaurants, one in the Cotswolds -- The Gumstool at Calcot Manor, Tetbury -- and one on the Bristol riverfront -- River Station. They live within a ten minute walk of the bridge I wanted to see so much, the famous Clifton Suspension Bridge. So, I got a chance to take many photos of the bridge and Avon River Gorge which it spans.

SCOTLAND 2011 -- 10

2011-09-16T13:03:00.002-04:00

+ updated at 5:04pm ESDT on Sunday, September 18, 2011

+ On 6 September I went on a bus and boat tour of the Caledonian Canal, Loch Ness and the ruins of Urquhart Castle on Loch Ness. I got to see a beautiful rainbow over the loch and castle ruins. On the boat ride, I saw Nessie but nobody believes me! People who went out on the bow deck got wet as big waves splashed over the bow. After a couple of dousings, I didn't see anybody on that deck for the duration.

For more photos, go to the Facebook Album, Loch Ness and Urquhart Castle Ruins September 2011.

SCOTLAND 2011 -- 9

2011-09-15T15:42:00.002-04:00

+ updated at 5:12pm ESDT on Sunday, September 18, 2011

+ Here's a history of Kyleakin, the Isle of Skye village where we stayed On September 3 and 4.

+ Here are some photos I took of Kyleakin and the Trotternish Peninsula and of the Bridge and from the bridge over the Kyle of Lochalsh.

SCOTLAND 2011 -- 8

2011-09-14T08:23:00.013-04:00

+ updated at 11:20am ESDT on Wednesday, September 21, 2011

+ Here is a link to photos of the beautiful sunset we saw over the Isle of Skye from the Skye Bridge on 4 September. We timed this just right. We ate a delicious dinner at the Waverly Restaurant in the village of Kyle of Lochalsh and then walked over the bridge to our wonderful bed and breakfast, the White Heather Hotel. It was two and a half miles but worth every step as you will see if you look at the photos.

SCOTLAND 2011 -- 7

2011-09-07T10:10:00.002-04:00

+ Today is our last full day in Scotland. We are on another great train ride from Inverness to Glasgow. Seeing more of the wonderful Highlands.

SCOTLAND 2011 -- 6

2011-09-07T03:10:00.004-04:00

+ Tuesday, September 6, 2011 -- It is so frustrating to write several paragraphs and then make a simple keystroke error and lose it all. It nust happened. I wrote during and just after the boat and bus tour I just finished. Gone forever.

+ Tuesday, September 6, 2011 -- But the photos are not lost. Wind. Rain. Sunshine. Big waves. Rainbow. Going through a lock on the Caledonian Canal. Great Castle setting. Interesting ruins. Good film and exhibits.

+ Tuesday, September 6, 2011 -- Dinner tonight at the Contrast Brasserie which is situated right on the river, the River Ness. 2005 Bordeaux. Chateau Le Peyrat.

SCOTLAND 2011 -- 5

2011-09-06T12:23:00.008-04:00

+ It is Day 27 of 30 (Tuesday, Sepotember 6). The 3 of us are going our separate ways today in Inverness. We will meet at a riverside restaurant for our last dinner with our great traveling companion, John, since he is taking the Caledonian Sleeper to London tomorrow while Mary and I spend the night at the flat of our new friend in Glasgow, Maggi.

My plan for today is to go on a three hour Loch Ness tour by bus and boat including a one hour stop at the ruins of Urquhart Castle with its fine viewsof the loch. Maybe I will spot Nessie, the Loch Ness monster!

+ Yesterday we took the fabulous train ride from Kyle of Lochalsh to Inverness. We thoroughly enjoyed our stay at the White Heather Hotel which is a great bed and breakfast recommended by Rick Steves. It is in Kyleakin just over the only bridge to Skye which means Clouds in Old Norse. There are always plenty of clouds. We were fortunate enough to see plenty of sunshine during our two day stay. Did I already say that the scenery was out of this world? Or something like that!

+ There are of course pluses and minuses regarding a stay of this length away from home. On the plus side some real cultural immersion can happen. The UK is as close as any to US culture but the differences are still many. English is spoken differently here especially in Scotland. Ssometimes I just give up and enjoy the brogue without understanding much. I may have more to say about ourcultural similarities and diferences as I reflect some more.

SCOTLAND 2011 -- 4

2011-09-05T11:13:00.009-04:00

+ Monday, Sept 5 -- Yesterday's travel was as scenic and memorable as any day I can remember. The Isle of Skye is truly amazing. We were in a tour on a van lasting 5 hours. Rain and fog were replaced with sunshine early in the afternoon. It was beautiful during the most scenic and interesting part of the trek. It was a wild ride especially on a single track road in the higher elevations.

+ Monday, Sept 5 -- Heather is everywhere in the Highlands. Beautiful purple blanket stretched out up and.down and all around. Today we are on one of Scotland's most scenic rail routes: Kyle of Lochalsh to Inverness.

+ Monday, Sept 5 -- Last night our timing was perfect. We finished the tour of Skye in Kyle of Lochalsh. This town is on the mainland acoss the kyle from Kyleakin. First a pint of ale, then I got a taxi rideto see the Eilean Donan castle. Then a delicious dinner. The best was yet to come. We decided to walk back to Kyleakin. Two miles. But spectacular. We saw a supurb sunset as we walked over the kyle on the bridge built in 1995.

+ Monday, Sept 5 -- The immersion in the Gaelic culture at a venue known as Skipinnish Ceilidh House on Friday night was wonderful. Go to www.skipinnish.com

SCOTLAND 2011 -- 3

2011-09-02T14:15:00.011-04:00

+ updated at 11:05am on Sunday, September 4, 2011 (6:05am ESDT)

+ Friday, September 1 -- Our Highlands adventure has begun. Great train ride from Glasgow to Oban along the Clyde and then along lochs including the famous Loch Lomond. Waterfalls. Sheep. 3500 foot peaks.

+ Friday, September 1 -- Yesterday I went to Kirkintillich where my great great great grandmother Jean Stirling was born and presumably raised by William and Margaret Stirling. A helpfull librarian got me the microfilm which included the written record of her birth. I saw it and took a picture of it.

+ Friday, September 1 -- At Cuan Mor Restaurant enjoying Ravens Wood Zinfandel 2008 celebrating our traveling companion's upcoming 66th birthday and the start of our Highlands portion of the trip which will be our concluding week of our UK 4 week stay.

+ Friday, September 1 -- We are hoping to enjoy some immersion in the Gaelic culture at a venue known as Skipinnish Ceilidh House. It has rained a lot since we got to this absolutely gorgous harbor town of Oban. You can join us. Go to www.skipinnish.com

ENGLAND 2011 -- 9

2011-08-31T13:41:00.003-04:00

+ It is 10:00am in London as I write today (Saturday August 27). Our friend John has arrived and we should be aboard the same train headed for Edinburgh leaving Kings Cross at 1130. I have been a little concerned since we have been out of touch since he left Richfield Springs on Thursday.

+ It was a great day in London yesterday for both Mary and bill me. We went our separate ways during the day and then ate at Saint James Tavern before we went to a show: 39 STEPS, a comedy based on an old Alfred Hitchcock movie about an unlikely English spy and a romance.

ENGLAND 2011 -- 8

2011-08-31T13:36:00.002-04:00

+ I wrote the following last Thursday, August 25:

+ We are on our way to London from Southampton as we move into the second half of our journey. We have 2 weeks to go. Our friend John will be joining us in 2 days We are staying in Glasgow for the first 6 days beginning Saturday, August 27. I am working on a revised itinerary for our last week because we decided to travel by train and bus rather than a rental car. Driving in the UK is quite a challenge. I think it is wo25rth it but Mary finds it very VERY nerve racking.

+ I would still like to get into the English country side a bit more. But I did get to see a lot from the car we rented. I think a few days on a bicycle in the Cotswolds would be delightful. Maybe some day. I was planning to do some hiking near Winchester but I simply ran out of time.

+ Bristol is off of the radar for Rick Steves but we found it fascinating. Two very impressive Anglican churches. A historical and picturesque suspension bridge over the Avon gorge. An inviting harbor. The oldest Methodist Church on the planet.

+ Southampton is also off of Rick's radar. It is somewhat more of an acquired taste than Bristol but I definitely acquired it! Ferry to the Isle of Wight. Remnants of the old wall.

ENGLAND 2011 -- 7

2011-08-24T09:28:00.005-04:00

+ updated at 1634 on Wednesday, August 24 (11:34 ESDT)

+ I am aboard a ferry from Southampton to Isle of Wight. One hour over. 1 hour on island. 1 hour back. Approx 1 hour on bus back to flat. I am looking East toward Portsmouth. I can't believe that it was easy to go online on ferry.

+ Going back to Southampton now. Coffee. I think I will go up to the upper deck and enjoy the fresh air. Cheers!

ENGLAND 2011 -- 6

2011-08-21T04:16:00.002-04:00

+ The adventure continues. More later. Flat tire in downtown Bristol.

ENGLAND 2011 -- 5

2011-08-16T04:20:00.004-04:00

+ updated at 1:44pm here in England (8:44am ESDT) on Wednesday,August 17, 2011

+ I finally picked up a good Southampton guide at the airport where I rented a car yesterday. It suggested Romsey. While Mary heads to Bristol with Mandy, I am driving there leisurely. So, here I am in the historic market and abbey town of Romsey eating lunch at a Cafe Nero with a view of the town center and the abbey which I visited earlier. Good cafe americano! Very historic and well preserved abbey. I may insert a link here some day! And a photo. I am taking onefrom where I am sitting enjoying view and coffee and caramel chocolate shortbread after a tuna melt panini. Now I will try to log on here.

+ I must blog now that we have enjoyed the first 5 days of this adventure.

+ We are so glad we did not change our plans because of the threat of more riots in London. We joined tens of thousands of happy tourists and others visiting the popular attractions. We had already seen most of them so we decided to take the tube to Kew Gardens. I took at least 50 photos there. WOW! Because of construction on the tube we had to figure out an indirect route to get there from Paddington. Bakerloo and District instead of ... OH I Forget now! It was very hot inside the trains.

+ We saw WE WILL ROCK YOU at the Dominion Theater. Great! On Sunday we went to our home church whenever we are in London: St Martin in the Fields. The seron preached by Richard Carter was powerful. He had some very thoughtful, prophetic and compassionate remarks in the aftermath of the riots which broke out last week in London and other cities. We ate there at The Cafe in the Crypt. Then we took the tube up to the British Library which has an excellent display of many ancient and historic documents including the Magna Carta, a John.Milton notebook, the Codex Sinaiticus (earliest complete Christian Bible from the fourth century) and the Codex Alexandria. (I will edit this for spelling later and possibly add to it)

+ Our weekend in London included some frustrating moments and resulting stress for both of us. Our first room of 3 at the Hotel Indigo Padington was at the basement level. We didn't like the dungeon feel! Fortunately we didn't have to stay there. But I managed to trip a circuit breaker trying to get my European cell phone charged. The very pleasant staff moved us to a room on the second floor which was just painted. I have always dislikued the aroma of fresh paint and I quickly got a sore throat and headache. We had to stay there for one night. On Saturday the very pleasant staff moved us to a smaller room on the fourth floor which had a nice view. We really liked it. I tried one more time to charge my phone and tripped still another circuit breaker. Here in Southampton I found a very helpful man at amobile phone store who had the charger I needed. He also knew.how to get our second cell phone.going. It had a very dead battery.

I expected the GPS on my Galaxy tab to work here in the UK but it doesn't work. That is really frustrating since we will be renting a car for 2 weeks. Yesterday I bought a relatively inexpensive Navman GPS for Great Britain and Ireland at Halfords in Southampton. I had fun figuring out the train and bus routes. Soon (Tuesday afternoon) I will be taking the bus to the airport where I will pick up a car at Hertz.

ENGLAND 2011 -- 4

2011-08-11T13:50:00.006-04:00

+ updated at 2:11pm ESDT on Thursday, August 11, 2011

+ This is good!
Rick Steves blogs about the current mayhem in London.

We have begun our trip to England and Scotland. Blogging on Amtrak with a Galaxy Tab is a bit of a challenge.

But it can be done!

ENGLAND 2011 -- 3

2011-08-03T14:15:00.008-04:00

ENGLAND 2011 -- 2

2011-07-20T14:24:00.001-04:00

+ In 22 days, Mary and I fly to London which we will enjoy for a couple of days before Mary begins 3 weeks of research collaboration in Southampton, Bristol and Glasgow. I am looking for ideas for my travels in and near Southampton and Bristol as I will have a lot of time to enjoy Southern England. I have gotten some suggestions from fellow travellers on the Rick Steves Forum and hope to get more on the string which is entitled "Need Ideas for Southampton and Bristol and Vicinity". I am definitely considering walking for a ways on one of England's famous public paths and Linda from Bromley gave me plenty of links. Thanks Linda.

Oh, and I am still looking for ideas for London since we have seen many of the most popular sights in 2 previous trips. What show will we see?

+ Since I have been to England twice, I responded to some questions on the Rick Steves Forum. The strings are: "UK 14 days" and "7 day itinerary in England/Scotland".

WALES 2011 -- 1

2011-04-26T12:43:00.001-04:00

+ I think it is fitting that my first entry connected to our anticipated exploration of Wales this fall is a link to the Choirs of Cardiff.

+ 6/6/11 update: fall trip is no longer planned but we can spend a day or 2 in Wales in August or next February. Mary will be doing some of her Sabbatical research in Bristol which is not far from Cardiff.

SCOTLAND 2011 -- 2

2011-04-26T11:50:00.002-04:00

+ updated at 12:50pm ESDT on Tuesday, April 26, 2011

+ I just recently found a cyber-friend in Glasgow who repeatedly said she is one of "Jock Tampson's Bairns." So, I finally got curious enought to look it up. Wikipedia spells it "Jock Tamson's Bairns" and says that it means "we're all the same under the skin" and possibly "we are all God's children." Read the Wiki.

+ I went on to read a wiki on the Culture of Scotland.

+ A Glasgow newspaper, The Herald, might help me prepare for our time in Scotland this summer. A current article says that a tourist boom is expected because Prince William and his bride fell in love in Scotland. Read the article.

ENGLAND 2011 -- 1

2011-03-15T16:48:00.004-04:00

We will be staying near this famous bridge, the Clifton Bridge, later this year. It is North of the city of Bristol where Mary will be doing research along with colleagues for a couple of weeks as part of a sabbatical. The photo is available as a computer background at http://partners.livingsocial.com/cities/geo?do_not_redirect=1&gwo_id=0433631901&hdnv=true&ref=sojern_national&ver=954&was_geo=true

The little dots above the bridge are hot air balloons.

JAPAN -- 1

2011-03-15T13:46:00.001-04:00

+ We are planning to visit Japan and China in the fall of 2012. Mary has been invited to speak at Keio University by a colleague on the Nursing faculty who was a Visiting Professor at the University of Rochester 2009-2010. In an email she told her colleagues here that "Personally, we are so so OK, but it is not OK for our country, Japan."

+ Here are a few websites as I begin to contemplate traveling in Japan in the fall of 2012:
• Mt Fuji > http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2172.html
• Lonely Planet Guide > http://www.lonelyplanet.com/japan
• Guide to Odawara Area in Kanagawa Prefecture > http://www.kanagawa-kankou.or.jp/english/area/odawara.html
• Fuji-Hakone-Izu NP (Wikitravel) > http://wikitravel.org/en/Fuji-Hakone-Izu_National_Park
• Keio University > http://www.keio.ac.jp/english/about_keio/index.html
• Sacred Places > http://www.onmarkproductions.com/html/holy-mountains-sacred-shrines.html
• Japan Times > http://www.japantimes.co.jp/

SCOTLAND 2011 -- 1

2011-02-11T13:42:00.011-05:00

+ updated at 6:46pm ESDT on Tuesday, March 15, 2011

+ We are planning to be in Scotland late this summer. This post will probably be updated from time to time as I add links and other info.

+ LINKS as of March 15, 2011:

Rick Steves
BUS INFO: Citylink
CANALS: Visit Scotland
TRAINS: Scotrail
CASTLES: Rampant Scotland | Edinburgh Castle | Eilean Donan | Stirling | Glamis
DUNDEE: Dundee-Scotland.net | Wikipedia article
EDINBURGH: Edinburgh.org | Official Festivals Website
GLASGOW: See Glasgow | Lonely Planet
GREENOCK: Undiscovered Scotland
HISTORY: Historic Scotland
IONA COMMUNITY: http://www.iona.org.uk/
IONA ISLAND: Isle-of-Iona.com
STIRLING: VisitStirling.org
TRAIN STATIONS: http://www.scotland.com/train-stations/

BALTIMORE -- 1

2010-10-26T09:31:00.001-04:00

+ I got a chance to visit Baltimore last week. What a surprise! This is a city worth taking in. I particularly enjoyed riding on the Light Rail, The Baltimore and Ohio Museum, The Harbor, Fells Point, The Water Taxi, The Walters Museum and America's First Cathedral, the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

GERMANY 2010 -- 23

2010-07-15T18:06:00.003-04:00

+ updated at 7:33pm ESDT on Thursday, July 15, 2010

+ The 3 of us all bought new jackets at the Lands' End store before we left for Germany. We often referred to ourselves as The Wilde-Bartle Lands' End Travel Team with the hope, of course, that they would subsidize our trip! We do like our jackets.

Click here and see more pictures of the team.

GERMANY 2010 -- 22

2010-07-08T13:38:00.010-04:00

+ updated at 2:53pm ESDT on Thursday, July 8, 2010

+ The Semper Opera House in Dresden

+ I just uploaded 22 photos of Dresden on my Pbase site. Most of them are within the rebuilt Zwinger.

+ I am glad we went to Dresden. The "old town" was totally destroyed by Allied bombs in January 1945. Since it is located in what was Communist East Germany, the restoration did not get very far until recently. Now it is slowly but surely returning to its pre-war glory and is rapidly becoming a "must see" site.

We followed the walking tour in the Rick Steves guidebook. It began to rain after we got to the Frauenkirche and I stopped taking pictures. IgoUgo offers many Dresden photos including some of the riverfront with its famous terrace.

GERMANY 2010 -- 21

2010-07-07T11:39:00.009-04:00

+ updated at 2:20pm ESDT on Thursday, July 8, 2010

+ The fascinating new dome atop the restored Reichstag Building in Berlin

+ The restored Reichstag Building in Berlin

+ The Brandenburg Gate in Berlin

+ I just uploaded 33 Berlin photos on my Pbase site.

+ One of our great finds in Berlin was an exhibit entitled Wege, Irrwege and Umwege which is loosely translated as the Paths and Detours on the way to German Parliamentary Democracy. It is in a museum located in The Deutscher Dom, a restored church building in Der Gendarmenmarkt. The exhibit is sponsored by the Bundestag, the German Parliament. The church has not been used as a church since its partial destruction in World War 2.

GERMANY 2010 -- 20

2010-06-23T18:30:00.000-04:00

+ It's good to be home but it was good to be in Germany and I will miss it. My blogging over there was pretty spotty because we were too busy seeing the sights and feasting on food and beer and culture ... and I didn't always have easy access to the internet. I'm jetlagged so it may take a few days before I do some serious blogging about the trip ... BUT I WILL!

GERMANY 2010 -- 19

2010-06-22T03:26:00.001-04:00

+ Today we head back to the USA after 2 delightful weeks exploring Germany, learning a lot, celebrating the huge impact of German culture, past and present. I will keep blogging about the trip and, of course, upload more photos and create slide shows.

+ Yesterday, our final full day, the three of us went our different ways. It didn't rain. I even saw a patch of blue. I enjoyed the Nymphenburg Palace, the English Garden, Frauenkirche (including the tower), Marienplatz, Hofgarten and more. We ate at the famous Hofbräuhaus but we were not able to get into the buffet and show upstairs. I'm ready for a meal without sausages but i have enjoyed trying several different kinds. Of course we all enjoyed the Bavarian beer, particularly the dark brew.

MUNICH'S HOTEL MONACO

2010-06-20T08:09:00.001-04:00

+ It's June 20 and we have arrived at Munich's Hotel Monaco. What a welcome. Coffee cake. Coffee and Tea. Info. Smiles all around. Adorable Breakfast Room (fruhstucke). I get a free breakfast if I bog about this wunderbar hotel. It's less than 2 blocks from the Bahnhof (central train station). We now have plenty of time to visit the famous art museums which are only a couple of stops away on the u-bahn as it is just after 1400 and the museums close at 1800.

GERMANY 2010 -- 18

2010-06-20T04:21:00.003-04:00

+ updated at 7:21am in Germany (1:21am ESDT) on Monday, June 21, 2010

+ Our Füssen suite at Mein lieber Schwan has been a haven for us as we have had to deal with endless rain and chilly weather here in the Bavarian Alps. We have fast internet, lots of satellite TV channels on a big screen, refrig, stove, oven, dishes, microwave, view, antiques, delightful host who invited us in for wine and conversation. Wow! Today we head for Munich, our final German destination.

GERMANY 2010 -- 17

2010-06-19T14:59:00.002-04:00

+ We got to the highest peak in Germany, Zugspitze, by bus, train and cable car (gondola). It was snowing up there at almost 2 miles High. But we did get some glimpses of the majestic mountains. We had to work hard to make the busses on time, the trains on time and the cable car (gondola) on time.

+ Mad Ludwig's castles are a little over the top but the setting is The Alps at its best.

GERMANY 2010 -- 16

2010-06-18T05:07:00.010-04:00

+ updated at 22:06 in Germany (4:06pm ESDT) on Friday, June 18, 2010

+ Today we visited the famous castle Ludwig II of Bavaria lived in -- Hohenschwangau Castle -- and the one he had built -- Neuschwanstein Castle. You can read about this fascinating man at http://www.german-way.com/ludwig.html

The setting of these impressive castles is magnificent. Hopefully I can upload photos soon. But I am now a little travel weary and the wine has been poured. 22:05 update: OK I did get a few in (above).

+ Sadly, Germany lost today. But the USA came from behind 2-0 and tied Slovenia for a huge morale builder. Follow the World Cup at FIFA.COM

+ I just discovered a good radar map of Europe showing that we may have better weather tomorrow. Today we have had plenty of rain but that did not dampen our spirits as we really enjoyed the castles.

+ I took a picture yesterday of Fussen's Reichenstrasse:

+ We are in Füssen which is in the Bavarian Alps only a mile or 2 from the Austrian border. Consistent cloudiness has prevented us from seeing the high peaks and this may continue until we leave the Alps. Nevertheless we are having a wunderbar time here enjoying the hospitality of our host in the gasthaus where we have a great apartment with a view. More mountains are visible this morning from our window. We are on levels 3 and 4 (2 and 3 in European designations) in the house. Great!

Füssen was once a great violin-making center. We are not far from Italy and Switzerland as well as Austria.

Today we head to the famous castles associated with Mad King Ludwig. Photos may soon appear on my blog and at Facebook but Pbase will probably have to wait until I'm back home.

Hope you are all enjoying the World Cup. Argentina seems to be the favorite but Germany is good too.

Hope you are all enjoying life as summer begins.

+ We took a break from sausages and potatoes and ate at an Italian Ristorante here in Füssen last night but we stuck with Bavarian beer.

GERMANY 2010 -- 15

2010-06-17T11:30:00.002-04:00

+ Here are some photos from Berlin. More photos of Berlin, Dresden, Nurnberg and Rothenburg can be found at my Facebook site. Photo 1 is the famous Brandenburg Gate. Photos 2 and 3 are of the Bundestag.

GERMANY 2010 -- 14

2010-06-17T02:43:00.005-04:00

+ updated at 2:55am ESDT (8:55am in Füssen) on Thursday, June 17, 2010.

+ We have hit some weather extremes in Germany. There was a heat wave when we were in Berlin. Then we got some very pleasant weather in Nürnberg and Rothenburg. Now we are in the Bavarian Alps dealing with some very chilly and rainy weather. I’m guessing we are not far from where it is snowing but the clouds are preventing us from seeing the mountains.

+ Every afternoon and evening we hear the steady noise of the crowds at stadiums in South Africa. The World Cup of Football (or Soccer as we Americans call it) is happening and Germans are watching. They celebrated a big victory over Australia on Sunday night. They play again tomorrow afternoon. But many Germans are watching other matches. The World Cup goes on for about 4 weeks. 3 weeks to go. I suppose that when we get back to the USA we may even forget that it’s happening.

+ I have uploaded some photos from Berlin, Dresden, Rothenberg and Nürnberg on Facebook. You don't have to be on Facebook for this link to work.

GERMANY 2012 -- 13

2010-06-15T04:37:00.003-04:00

+ updated at 5:35am ESDT on Wednesday, June 15, 2010 in Nurnberg

+ This is our eighth day of travel. Everything so far has been pretty close to our plan. Today, for the first time, the three of us are each going our own way in Nürnberg.

+ Did you know Germany won its first world cup füssball match against Australia? We certainly found out! Actually we watched the end of the match with Nurnberg locals having a wünderbar time out on the streets and plazas. Fortunately we weren't close to the horn blowing at our hotel.
+ Getting on the internet has not been easy for a variety of reasons. I will explain spater.

+ I have taken hundreds of photos and have uploaded many of them into the computer so they may be on Facebook soon. The wi-fi here in the Drei Raben Hotel is slow so it may not get done until Füssen or Munich or even back home.

+ One of the Drei Raben staff has been truly wonderful. Sebastian. He is an Art History student going for a third degree. He found a receptive audience in John, Mary and me. John Bartle knows a lot and I mean a lot6 about German history and German art.

+ Like Dresden, the old town Nürnberg zentrum, so medieval, was largely destroyed by allied by bombs in World War 2. Why? But, unlike Dresden, Nürnberg got a head start since it was in West Germany and there was a lot more money and support for rebuilding. So, Nürnberg begins to look old again while Dresden looks all too new. But Dresden is being rebuilt far more authentically which makes it a must see stop ona tour of Germany. Mary and I are grateful that Herr Bartle insisted on including Dresden in our itinereary. Actually, I found the government building built by the Communist regime with a huge mural one of the most interesting sites. Until I got to Berlin I had never been on any land once behind the Iron Curtain. The Iron Curtain came down in 1989 thru 1991 if my memory serves me right.

+ Yesterday we got on the train -- trains (zugen) -- and headed for the medieval wonderland of Rothenburg (Red Castle). The castle is gone but the old castle grounds are a real highlight as is the fully rebuilt city wall.

+ More spater (later). I want to explore more of Nürnberg now and take a few photos.

+ Bis balt.

+ I need these for editing: ä ö ü ß

GERMANY 2012 -- 12

2010-06-15T04:19:00.001-04:00

+ JOURNAL ENTRY ON SATURDAY, JUNE 12: The Wilde Bartle Lands End Traveling team is tired but exhilarated by our touring of Frankfurt, Berlin and Dresden. Tomorrow we head for Nürnberg. I am enjoying the capabilities of my new camera, particularly the telephoto lens. I have uploaded all my photos into my computer and maybe I will send some off on Facebook soon. We are getting better and better at dealing with the language and cultural barrier. Many people can speak English, some very well and others just a little. John Bartle knows some German and so do I now that I have been studying it for the past few months. It’s fun to try to speak it and we have been able to avoid some travelling problems because of our knowledge of a few key words.
Frankfurt was heavily damage in WW2 but now is very modern with few signs of this tragedy. Berlin was largely destroyed in WW2 and then was divided during the Cold War. The Western part was an enclave of the West and was rebuilt soon after the war. The heart of Berlin was in the Eastern part and its reconstruction was spotty until the reunification of Germany in 1990. Now it is coming back to its former glory.

Same with Dresden. WOW! The restoration of several impressive buildings and plazas and gardens is a sight to behold!

GERMANY 2010 -- 11

2010-06-07T10:06:00.000-04:00

+ It's the day before our trip. We are driving to JFK tomorrow and leaving on a British Airways flight in the evening. See previous posts, particularly post 10, for plenty of info about our plans.

+ Click here to see all of my GERMANY 2010 posts.

GERMANY 2010 -- 10

2010-06-03T12:21:00.019-04:00

+ updated at 11:39am ESDT on Saturday, June 5, 2010.

+ JUNE 5 UPDATE: I have been checking the British Airways Flight Status daily. Since we are now only 3 days from departure, I will check even more frequently especially since the cabin crew strike is still a factor. Latest check shows everything is OK.

+ I have Germany on my mind since the Wilde-Bartle team is headed to Germany next Tuesday for 2 weeks. We will be staying in Frankfurt (one night); Berlin (3 nights); Nuremberg (3 nights); Füssen (4 nights) and; Munich (2 nights). I will post from time to time at The Abundancetrek Travel Blog and my Facebook and Twitter pages.

We are planning day trips to Dresden, Rothenburg and the Zugspitze.

+ The base town for the Zugspitze, Germany's highest peak, is Garmisch-Partenkirchen. On a day toward the end of our trip we intend to take a bus and a train from Füssen to Garmisch-Partenkirchen and back. On another day in Füssen we will be visiting the nearby "fairytale castles."

+ Weather Info:

Frankfurt

Munich

Berlin

Nürnberg

Garmisch-Partenkirchen (Base town for Zugspitze, Germany's highest peak)

+ The strike at British Airways will still be going on when we head for Germany next Tuesday. But, as of now our flights are scheduled to take off on time. So, I am hopeful that we can arrive in Frankfurt on June 9 and leave on June 22 as planned.

+ Click here to see all of my GERMANY 2010 posts.

GERMANY 2010 -- 9

2010-05-13T12:52:00.001-04:00

+ I just found out that our flight plans may be disrupted due to an anticipated strike at British Airways. And, then there's that volcano. But I live in hope and I do hope that we can arrive in Frankfurt on June 9 and leave on June 22 as planned.

+ Click here to see all of my GERMANY 2010 posts.

GERMANY 2010 -- 8

2010-04-26T13:26:00.000-04:00

+ After a lot of research I decided we only need to buy a Germany Rail Pass for 4 days. Other days on trains will be covered by another type of pass which is good in Bavaria only. So, we now have that Germany Railpass and we have now booked lodging for all but 3 nights of our trip which begins June 8 and ends June 23. Those 3 nights are the last 3 nights: 2 in Munich (June 20-21) and 1 near JFK in New York City (June 22). We will drive home on June 23.

We will spend our first night on a jetplane. Our second night will be in Frankfurt. Then, 3 nights in Berlin, 3 in Nuremberg, 4 in Füssen, 2 in Munich and 1 in NYC.

+ Click here to see all of my GERMANY 2010 posts.

GERMANY 2010 -- 7

2010-03-30T16:44:00.008-04:00

I just found this photo of Füssen.

We will be staying in this town in the Bavarian Alps for 4 nights toward the end of our trip. The famous King's Castles are within walking distance. We may rent bicycles and ride around the beautiful lake nearby. We will definitely visit Zugspitze, the nearby high peak on the German-Austrian border accessible by cog railway and cable-car in Germany and by a Lift in Austria. I'm pretty sure a round trip can be accomplished which would allow us to see some of the Austrian Alps and the beautiful town of Reutte. This trip is mostly on bus with a segment on a train in Austria.

March 31 UPDATE: I am asking seasoned travelers about getting around this area and what to see and do. Go to "Bicycling from Fussen to Reutte and Other Questions" and see the responses pour in!

+ Click here to see all of my GERMANY 2010 posts.

GERMANY 2010 -- 6

2010-02-23T16:19:00.010-05:00

+ February 25 UPDATE 1: When in Berlin we will be sleeping at Hotel Pension Alexandra.

+ February 25 UPDATE 2: I asked about Berlin Priorities at The Rick Steves Travelers Helpline and I have received many suggestions. Go to "Berlin and Vicinity Top Sights".

+ Rick Steves' Germany 2010 says that five Berlin attractions are "must see": Reichstag, German History Museum, Museum of The Wall at Checkpoint Charlie, Jewish Museum Berlin and Gemäldegalerie. That will probably fill our day and a half in Berlin.

+ Rick Steves offers "One Big Berlin".

+ Click here to see all of my GERMANY 2010 posts.

GERMANY 2010 -- 5

2010-01-14T14:54:00.017-05:00

+ Updated at 4:52pm EST, Thursday, January 14, 2010.

+ Soon I will need to book our tours of The Neuschwanstein Castle and The Hohenschwangau Castle which are near Füssen.

+ The Alpine portion of our trip is now getting set in stone as I'm booking four nights at Villa Mein lieber Schwan in Füssen.

+ Rick Steves' Germany 2010 is now available and I'm pouring over it. A very preliminary plan has us staying 3 nights in Berlin, 3 nights in Nurnberg, 4 nights in Füssen, 1 night in Munich and 1 night in Frankfurt. I repeat: very preliminary.

+ Our flights are booked: JFK-Heathrow; Heathrow-Frankfurt; Frankfurt-Heathrow; Heathrow-JFK. We will be leaving JFK on Tuesday, June 8 and returning to JFK on June 22. We are using up all of our British Airways miles.

+ Previous Germany -- 2010 posts: 1 2 3 4

GERMANY 2010 -- 4

2009-11-17T16:46:00.007-05:00

+ Here are some useful tools for planning train or automobile trips:

Bahn (German Railroads) is a very useful website for train travel in Germany and all of Europe.

European Rail Guide offers informative maps featuring all of the the main routes.

Drive-Alive offers detailed and informative maps and travel directions for driving in Europe. Many hotels and attractions are included on the maps.

Previous Germany -- 2010 posts: 1 2 3

EXPLORING UPSTATE NEW YORK -- 2

2009-11-11T15:33:00.028-05:00

+ updated at 5:26pm EST, November 11, 2009

+ This is the second post on places near my home in upstate New York.

+ Once again I call your attention to a website devoted to upstate NY: Round The Bend's Upstate New York.

+ In EXPLORING UPSTATE NEW YORK -- 1, I said I will focus on my former hometown, Richfield Springs, also called Richfield Spa or just Richfield where I was the Pastor of The Church of Christ Uniting (Presbyterian & Mehodist) from 1988 to 1999. I will do that now simply by offering some links and related thoughts:

Richfield Springs Online

The Richfield Springs Mercury - When I lived in Richfield Springs, this newspaper was published as part of the weekly Cooperstown newspaper. It came back to life on its own some time after I left in1999. It began sometime in the nineteenth century.

US Route 20 - Route 20 crosses the USA from Boston, Massachusetts to Newport, Oregon on the Pacific.

The Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad - Richfield Springs was at the end of a branch line of this historic railroad. The Spa was a popular destination from the 1880s until the 1920s. Hotels with access to the mineral springs lined Main Street (Route 20).

Canadarago Lake - Beautiful and nearby. I had a sailboat docked each summer at the home of a member of my church. Lots of fun! A storm snapped my mast one night. The weather forecast did not include high winds but I knew I was in trouble when I heard the whistling of the winds that night. It was the remnants of Hurricane Hugo which had hit Charleston SC with a vengeance. I really enjoyed sailing on the lake when the leaves were changing in early October.

Map by Mapquest

Wikipedia Article

+++

Go to Top of Page + Go to Top of Post

GERMANY 2010 -- 3

2009-11-09T13:22:00.016-05:00

+ For the Alpine portion of our trip, Reutte is another town Rick Steves suggests. It is actually in Austria but not far from Füssen and the famous castles of Bavaria.

+ It's much too early to decide but I think we may stay half the time in or near Berlin and half the time in or near Munich.

WANDERING AROUND THE PLANET -- 3

2009-10-03T21:18:00.011-04:00

+ updated at 11:41pm ESDT

+ In WANDERING AROUND THE PLANET -- 2, I listed a few of the national parks I have visited in the USA & Canada inspired by Ken Burns' delightful and informative film: THE NATIONAL PARKS: AMERICA'S BEST IDEA which has been offered on PBS this past week for the first time. Here are four more parks I have visited:

GLACIER NATIONAL PARK (Montana)
In 1994, Mary & I and another couple took Amtrak's Empire Builder from Chicago to Whitefish, just beyond the park. Just as the view of the Rockies in this wonderful park got more and more spectacular we were enjoying a delicious dinner in the dining car. At the end of our trip we got back to Glacier and drove the incredible Going to the Sun Highway. But that was later. We got off the train in Whitefish and stayed there 1 night. Then we rented a minivan and drove West through Montana, Idaho and Washington to Seattle, then North to Vancouver Island and Vancouver in British Columbia, Canada. Then we took the Trans-Canada Highway East across BC going through beautiful mountains and perhaps as many as 4 different national parks before reaching ...

BANFF NATIONAL PARK and JASPER NATIONAL PARK (both in Alberta, Canada) Here we were treated to some of the world's greatest scenery including Lake Louise and a huge glacier. Banff is also famous for its hot springs. We then drove on to ...

WATERTON LAKES NATIONAL PARK (Alberta, Canada) where we took a boat tour on one of the most beautiful lakes in the world, half in Canada and half in the USA. We enjoyed amazing views of the Rockies. I couldn't stop clicking my camera. Waterton Lakes NP and Glacier NP share a common boundary. Together, the park is known as the Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park. It is now designated as a world heritage site by the United Nations.

+ When I get around to WANDERING AROUND THE PLANET -- 4, I will continue our imaginary journey to all kinds of places on the planet, mostly places I have never visited but would love to visit some day. Where do you want to go?

+ Go to WANDERING AROUND THE PLANET -- 1

+ Go to WANDERING AROUND THE PLANET -- 2

+ Go to the top of The Abundancetrek Travel Blog.

GERMANY 2010 -- 2

2009-10-03T10:48:00.034-04:00

+ updated at 11:57am ESDT, October 3, 2009

+ Of course I will buy the Germany 2010 tourbook by Rick Steves when it appears. In the mean time, the Rick Steves website offers Rick's Favorite 3-week itinerary. I like the map. We don't plan to stay quite that long but ideas for our travel are always welcome and nobody does it better than Rick Steves and his team of travel experts.

+ In Rick's Favorite 3-week itinerary, there is a list of sightseeing priorities:
3 days: Munich, Bavarian castles

5 days, add: Rhine Valley, Rothenburg

7 days, add: More of Bavaria and Tirol, side-trip to Salzburg

10 days, add: Berlin

14 days, add: Baden-Baden, Black Forest, Dresden

17 days, add: Nürnberg, Mosel Valley, Trier

21 days, add: Würzburg, and slow down

More time: Choose among Frankfurt, Köln, and Görlitz

+ Last night I enjoyed looking at some photos of Bavaria offered by Trip Advisor.

+ A Bavarian town Rick Steves recommends is Füssen which is described by Germany: The Travel Destination as "a truly romantic town."

+ Mary & I and the kids were in Germany very briefly in 1990. We took the train from Oslo, Norway to the Baltic ferry and then through Germany to Heidelberg with a short stop in Cologne which has a famous cathedral. Heidelberg has a lot of history and was not bombed in WW2. The castle overlooking the city was mostly destroyed in the 30 years war (1618-1648).

+ Your experiences and suggestions are welcome as our planning continues.

GERMANY 2010 -- 1

2009-10-02T09:04:00.032-04:00

+ updated at 10:42am ESDT on October 3, 2009

+ Our friend John and Mary & I are planning to visit Germany next summer. So, let the planning begin. Here are some websites:

+ Germany Tourism
+ Wikipedia article on Germany
+ Rick Steves' Germany Pages
+ Wickipedia article on Berlin
+ Wickipedia article on Dresden
+ Wickipedia article on Munich
+ Wickipedia article on Nuremberg
+ Wickipedia article on The Nuremberg castle
+ Nuremberg Public Transportation
+ Castle Road Info
+ Castles Info
+ Wikipedia article on Neuschwanstein Castle
+ Wikipedia article on Hohenschwangau Castle
+ Hohenschwangau Castle Info
+ Hohenschwangau Ticket Center

+ Here's a blurb about Berlin found at Germany Tourism: As exciting, sexy and multi-cultural as New York, Germany's capital is one of the hottest cities in the world right now. Its architecture, culture and fashion encapsulate a buzzing atmosphere that is unique to Berlin. The nightlife is especially great and there are restaurants to suit all tastes. Berlin is a city which keeps you coming back for more, a city of glamour and distinction, a city full of experiences.
+ Suggestions are welcome. Go to Germany 2010 - 2.

WANDERING AROUND THE PLANET -- 2

2009-10-01T21:11:00.024-04:00

+ updated at 12:14am ESDT, October 4, 2009

+ Let's explore some National Parks. I'm posting this as I watch Epidode 4 of Ken Burns' inspirational and informative film: THE NATIONAL PARKS: AMERICA'S BEST IDEA. Let's begin at parks I've been fortunate enough to visit here in the USA and in Canada.

SHENANDOAH NATIONAL PARK (Virginia)
I camped here on a trip with my parents and sisters in 1960.

ACADIA NATIONAL PARK (Maine)
Mary & I camped here on 2 occasions in the early 70s and then once with our children in 1991.

FUNDY NATIONAL PARK (New Brunswick, Canada)
On our way to Nova Scotia in 1972, we camped here and learned about the highest tides in the world.

CAPE BRETON HIGHLANDS NATIONAL PARK (Nova Scotia, Canada)
We reached our goal. It's a scenic gem on the Atlantic Coast of Nova Scotia.

YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK (California)
We spent a couple of nights in a cabin in the incredible valley in 1976. Sharon was 22 months old.

YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK (Mostly in Wyoming)
We camped in this amazing park in a 1981 trip which also brought us to ...

GRAND TETON NATIONAL PARK (Wyoming)
So close to Yellowstone and so different.

ROCKY MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK (Colorado)
This is a mountain paradise which was the climax of our 1981 trip.

GRAND CANYON NATIONAL PARK (Arizona) We bought a minivan in 1988 and headed West. No photo does justice to The Grand Canyon. Wow!

ZION NATIONAL PARK (Utah)
After seeing the Grand Canyon, we went up to this beautiful park.

+ Thanks for joining me on this imaginary journey. Where do you want to go?

+ Go to WANDERING AROUND THE PLANET -- 1

+ Go to WANDERING AROUND THE PLANET -- 3

+ Go to the top of The Abundancetrek Travel Blog.

WANDERING AROUND THE PLANET -- 1

2009-10-01T18:22:00.040-04:00

+ This is an imaginary trip to anywhere and everywhere.

+ updated at 11:34pm ESDT, October 3, 2009

+ For some reason, I have decided to begin this trip at Red Square, Moscow. Let's go!

+ What a fascinating history. And what a cathedral! St. Basil's. But I wonder why it is a museum and not used as a cathedral or church now? I can understand that the Communists would turn it into a museum. But the Orthodox Church has been returned to a cherished status in Russia. So, why not use St. Basil's as a major center of the Orthodox Church as it once was? I will have to ask my friend, Father Igor.

Here are some more Red Square links offered by moscow.info:

+ I have a feeling that moscow.info does not offer us the final word on this famous square. Let's see what else we can find.

+ As usual, Rick Steves does not disappoint. One of his associates, Cameron Hewitt, wrote the follwing about Red square in his "Russian Impressions": ... despite its aggravations, Moscow is a glorious city. And there's no better place to begin than on Red Square. Moscow's cobbled main square is grandiose and monumental, lined with strikingly ornamented buildings and crowned by the otherworldly onion domes of St. Basil's Cathedral. One side of Red Square is defined by G.U.M., a massive, yet genteel, Soviet-era shopping gallery topped by a cheery glass canopy. Across the square is one wall of the immense Kremlin complex — each guard tower still topped by a proud peachy-red star. And butting up against the bottom of the square is the hulking Rossiya Hotel — a brooding communist-era eyesore that has a date with the wrecking ball.

+ The photo of the famous onion domes of St. Basil's Cathedral at the top of the post is found at Trek Earth where you can find great photos of many great sights on our planet.

+ This new series of posts could take us anywhere. Any suggestions for this cybertrip? I hope you have enjoyed exploring Red Square with me.

+ Go to WANDERING AROUND THE PLANET -- 2

+ Go to the top of The Abundancetrek Travel Blog.

EXPLORING UPSTATE NEW YORK -- 1

2009-09-27T16:45:00.030-04:00

+ Updated at 10:01am ESDT, Friday, October 2, 2009 -- A lot of additions since I began this post Sunday.

+ This is the first post on places near my home in upstate New York. Some say "Upstate" begins at the Bronx-Yonkers line! Since I don't live in or near Yonkers, my upstate region explorations will probably not cover the Hudson Valley or The Catskills or The Bear Mountain region as much as places closer to home. Anything North or West of Albany will get my attention. Let me name regions or cities I will be exploring here:

Central New York
Utica
The Mohawk Valley
The Erie Canal
Oneonta
Cooperstown
The Adirondacks
The North Country
Syracuse
Western New York
The Finger Lakes
Rochester
Buffalo
Niagara Falls

Eventually I may offer a separate post (or posts) on each of these places. But, for now, I plan to offer numbered posts on Exploring Upstate New York. I will let you know when I'm finished updating a post and moving on to the next one. I plan to keep updating this one for a few days or even weeks.

I have lived in Central New York (which includes Utica & Syracuse) for 18 of the last 21 years. From 1988 to 1999 I lived in Richfield Springs on Route 20 & Route 28 and Route 167, 13 miles North of Cooperstown on Route 28 and 13 miles South of Mohawk & Herkimer & Ilion, also on Route 28. Little Falls is 17 miles South on Route 167. The last 4 named places are on the Mohawk River and also the Erie Canal.

From 1999 to 2002, I lived in Syracuse. Since 2005, I have lived in Whitesboro & Rochester.

My Aunt lived in Oneonta from around 1958 to around 1995. My Norwegian-born Grandmother lived with her until her death in 1978 at the age of 97. So, let's begin this exploration in the Susquehanna city of Oneonta where I collected a lot of baseball cards in 1959. I still have them and they might be worth a couple thousdand dollars. My Aunt was a Professor of Health Education at the state college in Oneonta, now called SUNY Oneonta.

Oneonta, Cooperstown and Richfield Springs are located witin a region designated by Travel publicists as The Leatherstocking Region or Central New York. Here's an excerpt from a website I just discovered on The Central Leatherstocking Region: "Being surrounded by interstate highways makes this region one that's convenient to travel to and from. Of course, once you're here, you may not be quite so interested in travelling "from"!"

I'm glad I discovered that last link because it led me to a website devoted to upstate NY, Round The Bend's Upstate New York.

The Susquehanna begins at Cooperstown on Lake Otsego. Cooperstown is famous for the Baseball Hall of Fame and some other less important attractions! Since I retired I've had the opportunity to lead worship at Cooperstown's Presbyterian Church several times. But I'm getting ahead of myself. Let's find out why Oneonta is such an important Upstate town. Here is an excerpt from the Wikipedia article on Oneonta: "When the Delaware and Hudson Railroad reached Oneonta, the village began a growth spurt due to its role as a railroad center and its growing industries. Oneonta was once home to the largest locomotive roundhouse in the world."

+ A Baseball aside about 1959: The New York Yankees (Bronx Bombers) won every American league pennant from 1949 to 1964 except 2. In 1954, The Cleveland Indians won an amazing 111 games to finish 8 games ahead of the Yankees. Then they went on to get swept in the World Series by the New York Giants. In 1959, the Chicago White Sox won the pennant but went on to lose the World Series to the Los Angeles Dodgers. I loved the 1959 White Sox. Luis Aparicio, Nellie Fox, Billy Pierce, Sherm Lollar and Minnie Minoso come to mind. My wife lived in the Chicago area until 1959 and was also a White Sox fan.

+ Now, let's go to another part of upstate where my family has a lot of history, The North Country. My mom, my sister and my daughter all went to the state college in Potsdam, now called SUNY Potsdam. My Son-in-law went to Clarkson University which is also in Potsdam. A cousin also went to SUNY Potsdam and married a Clarkson graduate.

+ When I close this post and begin EXPLORING UPSTATE NEW YORK -- 2, I will focus on my former hometown, Richfield Springs, also called Richfield Spa or just Richfield. I was the Pastor of The Church of Christ Uniting (Presbyterian & Mehodist) from 1988 to 1999.

CELEBRATING OUR 40th ANNIVERSARY IN NYC

2009-07-08T14:20:00.025-04:00

+ Last update: 10:29am ESDTJuly 15.

+ Post Trip Update: Mary & I had a wonderful time in Manhattan including seeing The Lion King, worshipping at Judson Memorial Church on Washington Square, dining at The Tavern on the Green on the day of our 40th wedding anniversary, seeing New York from the "The Top of the Rock" (the viewing area at the top of the skyscraper in Rockefeller Center), enjoying a free concert in Central Park where we heard Los Soneros de Oriente -- a great band playing Cuban music. We were quite happy with the accomodations at the Hotel Wolcott on 31st Street & Fifth Avenue.

THE FOLLOWING ENTRIES WERE POSTED BEFORE OUR TRIP:

+ The Central Park Conservancy offers information on free events including the Harlem Meer Performance Festival with Sunday afternoon concerts during the summer at The Charles A. Dana Discovery Center.

+ We found 2 seats at a more or less reasonable price for The Lion King this Saturday night.

+ This post is open for more sharing. Your comments are welcome and could be added. Do you have any good NYC links or ideas for us?

+ Sticker Shock is our response to Broadway Theater tickets so we are looking for other ideas for fun this weekend in New York City. In March, we were blessed with the opportunity to see 2 great shows in London at much more reasonable prices. We saw Jersey Boys & Billy Elliott. But I haven't totally ruled out paying the big bucks to see Wicked on Broadway.

+ TripCart offers some ideas for fun in NYC.

+ ManhattanBars offers a list of comedy clubs in Manhattan & wine bars & other fun spots.

+ But maybe we should be educated or culturally or spiritually enriched. A great church we could attend is Judson Memorial.

+ LonelyPlanet loves New York!

WANDERING AROUND THE ALPS -- 1

2009-05-28T12:16:00.006-04:00

+ I don't know when I will get back to the Alps but I thought I would do some reminiscing and some thinking about a possible future trip.

+ I first saw the Alps from Heidelberg in 1990. But maybe I was seeing other mountains (Jura Mountains?) and just thought they were the Alps. We had planned to get to Switzerland in that trip but time ran out as we went spent too much time in Norway. No, not really. How could one ever spend too much time in Norway? Some one said that if Norway was placed in the USA, the whole country would be designated a National Park. Well, the same could surely be said of Switzerland.

+ I got to see the Alps from the air on a trip to the Holy Land in 1992. They are very impressive from above.

+ In 2004, we (Mary & I) finally got to the Alps. Our first sighting of these majestic mountains happened in Geneva. A better view came when we took a train up into the Jura Mountains North of Lake Geneva. It's a famous narrow gauge line. We were on as many children chattered and laughed and cheered because they were going home on the last day of school. We could see many of the high peaks including Mont Blanc in the French Alps from a viewpoint just a short hike from the St-Cergue station. Nyon on the lake offers another great viewpoint. Of course, there are so many more.

+ We went South to Monaco & Italy before returning to Switzerland where are destination was Interlaken. We took a train through the beautiful Italian foothills and then the Italian Alps.

+ If you love trains, you must visit Switzerland.

MY BEST PHOTOS OF ST IVES & BIBURY NOW UPLOADED

2009-04-01T09:57:00.024-04:00

+ Bibury is famous for the Arlington Row which is considered to be one of the best examples of the buildings of the Cotswolds built very early (1380) in the era when the Cotswolds region was the premier wool growing area of the world. The UK National Trust owns Arlington Row and is preserving it as a national treasure. It is one of the most photographed places in the Cotswolds.
+ St. Ives is on the North side of the Penwith Peninsula, the extreme Southwest corner of Cornwall. We really enjoyed the Tate Gallery which is on the Porthmeor Beach which is popular with surfers. Even in early March, we saw many surfers. We ate some delicious Cornish Pasties on the way to the Tate. We stopped at another great museum in town as we made our way to the Tate where we saw some of the great sculpture of Barbara Hepworth.

Go to Bibury Photos
Go to St. Ives Photos

I AM ACTIVE ON THE RICK STEVES HELPLINE TODAY

2009-03-17T11:22:00.005-04:00

You can find several posts of mine at http://www.ricksteves.com/graffiti/helpline/index.cfm/rurl/wall/to-the-north/index.html

In one post, I mentioned the difficulties we encountered with train travel on a Sunday when track work is being done. Week end train and tube travel can be a problem.

We are coming home

2009-03-14T04:24:00.001-04:00

+ Such a great trip.

+ JERSEY BOYS is a great show. It is much better than the Changing of the Guard!

YES I DID SEE THE DOVER CASTLE

2009-03-12T06:59:00.005-04:00

+ On a bright, sunshiny day, I took the train from Canterbury to Dover Priory and walked up the hill to the Castle. I met a father and son from New Jersey and we shared our experience with some great conversation.

+ Train travel in England is very convenient. By booking ahead we got great deals.

+ Pubs are closing all over England. The Three Tuns in Canterbury which is recommended by Rick Steves is boarded up and unrecognizable. Some one told me that It had never closed for 500 years but it went bankrupt last month. He also told me it has new owners.

+ The Tate Gallery in St. Ives, Cornwall is not to be missed if you get to that part of England. Supurb architecture. However, it often closes between exhibits so check ahead.

+ Our wonderful trip will soon end but I will have all these great memories and plenty of photos.

+ Getting and using a mobile phone (cell phone) is easy and cheap.

ENGLAND IS WONDERFUL AND THE RICK STEVES BOOK IS GREAT

2009-03-06T16:13:00.003-05:00

+ This is the third time we have used a Rick Steves book for travel, Spain in 2006, France last year, and now England. Every trip gets better as we use his wisdom and knowledge. He helps with so many little things as well as the really big things.

+ The Mad Max tours have been delightful. The tour guides are knowledgeable and fun. We have made new friends from all over the planet.

+ Badminton was invented in Badminton!

+ Stonehenge needs Avebury to be fully appreciated. Avebury needs Stonehenge. The energy of these holy places is something to behold.

+ Many English trains run on time.

+ Bath deserves its designation as a world heritage site.

+ The tour guide for the Bath walking tour stuck with us on a chilly, breezy and rainy day. It's a free walk and we learned a lot. The Roman Bath is a great experience.

+ This has been the first time I have been on the internet since leaving home last Saturday. I may have time soon to offer some more thoughts about the trip.

DOVER IS A POSSIBLE DESTINATION

2009-02-12T14:26:00.002-05:00

The Dover Castle is one of the largest castles in Europe. Will I get there?

+++++++

Dover is on the English Channel. It is about 20 miles East of Canterbury and about 80 miles East of London.

WE HAVE BOOKED B&B IN BATH MARCH 3,4,5

2009-02-03T17:03:00.006-05:00

This is the River Avon flowing through Bath.

While staying in Bath, we plan to take both of the Mad Max tours taking us to Stonehenge, Avebury, the Cotswalds, and some quaint villages.

SAMANTHA BROWN ON TRAVEL CHANNEL TONIGHT REMINDS ME OF PAST TRIPS

2009-01-29T23:10:00.011-05:00

I enjoyed a Travel Channel show tonight. Samantha Brown took a Mediterranean cruise and visited Barcelona, Nice, Pisa, Florence, Naples, Venice, Dubrovnik, Corfu, Rome and more. I’ve been in Nice, Pisa & Florence. I would love to see the beautiful Greek island of Corfu.

I did see another beautiful Greek Island, Aegina, in 1992 when I spent 3 days in Greece after a week in the Holy Land. In early February, 3 of us took a train from Athens to the Port of Piraeus and then a hydrofoil to Aegina. The distant mountains on the mainland were snow-covered. But the weather on the Saronic Gulf was quite comfortable. We enjoyed 3 exceptionally clear days in Greece. I took some great photos of the Acropolis and other places in Athens as well as on Aegina and in Corinth.

The photo above is a view from a hilltop overlooking the Aghia Marina on Aegina, one of many photos of Aegina found at Trip Advsor.

PHOTOS FROM OUR 2003 TRIP TO ENGLAND

2009-01-29T19:27:00.004-05:00

+ Above is a picture of the Tower Bridge I took in October 2003. More photos from that trip can be found at Abundancetrek Photos.

BEGINNING TO DISCOVER BATH AND VICINITY

2009-01-27T17:58:00.013-05:00

+ Bath.co.uk offers a Virtual Tour.

+ Rick Steves recommends Mad Max Tours of Stonehenge and Avebury and the Cotswolds and other places near Bath.

+ Rick Steves describes nearby Glastonbury as a town which "gurgles with history and mystery." He says that it is "located on England's most powerful line of prehistoric sites (called a 'ley line')." Major sights are the Abbey and the Tor. The town is full of New Age shops and eateries.

+ Rick Steves does not cover the nearby city of Bristol in his book on England so I wonder if it is worth seeing. The University of Bristol certainly thinks it is. Their web page on the city informs us that John Betjeman, former poet laureate, describes Bristol as "the most beautiful, interesting and distinguished city in England." Hmmm. I definitely would like to see the Clifton Suspension Bridge completed in 1864. Photo above.

+ Another nearby city is Wells which is included in the Rick Steves book. He says Wells is "wonderfully preserved" with "more medieval uildings still doing what they were originally built to do than any town you'll visit. He says that the cathedral is "the highlight of the city" and is "England's first completely Gothic cathedral (dating from about 1200)." He devotes more than two pages to a description of the cathedral and the nearby buildings and grounds.

A VERY TENTATIVE ITINERARY FOR UPCOMING TRIP TO ENGLAND

2009-01-26T11:09:00.013-05:00

+ It is chilly today in Whitestown. Brrrr.

+ A Very Tentative Itinerary:

February 28

We drive to Syracuse & then fly to London via Chicago on United Airlines.

March 1

We nap in a London Hotel after taking the tube from Heathrow.
We see sights in London.
We spend first hotel night in London.

March 2

We see more sights in London.
We spend second hotel night in London.

March 3

We take train to Bath.
We see sights.
We spend first night in a Bath B&B.

March 4

We take a Mad Max tour covering Stonehenge and Avebury.
We spend second night in a Bath B&B.

March 5

We take a Mad Max tour of the Cotswolds.
We spend third night in a Bath B&B.

March 6

We take train to Penzance.
We see Cornwall sights.
We spend first night in a Penzance B&B.

March 7

We see more Cornwall sights.
We spend second night in a Penzance B&B.

March 8

We take train to West Dulwich. We spend first night in Rosendale Guest House in West Dulwich. Dulwich is the section of London where Mary's Nursing Research colleague, Mandy, lives.

March 9

Mary has meetings in London.
John visits more sights in London.
We spend second night in Rosendale Guest House.

March 10

Mary has meetings in Southampton.
John takes train to Canterbury and sees SE England sights.
Mary spends night in a Southampton hotel.
John spends night in a Canterbury hotel.

March 11

Mary's meetings are back in London.
John visits sights in SE England
John takes train to Brighton.
Mary spends night at Rosendale Guest House.
John spends night in a Brighton hotel.

March 12

Mary's meetings are in Bristol.
John takes train to Bristol.
John sees sights in Bristol.
We take train to Bath.
We spend night in a Bath hotel.

March 13

We see sights in Bath.
We take train to Heathrow.
We spend night at hotel near Heathrow.

March 14

We fly from London to Syracuse via Chicago on United Airlines.
We drive home from Syracuse.

FINDING COTSWOLDS INFORMATION

2009-01-26T09:09:00.016-05:00

+ The Cotswolds might be a destination either for both of us or just for me while Mary meets colleagues during our second week.

+ Rick Steves devotes several pages to the Cotswolds in his travel book on England. He says the Cotswolds are "dotted with enchanted villages" and "an an absolute delight by car and, with patience, enjoyable even without a car." He recommends Moreton-in-Marsh as a base for a two-day stay.

+ According to Wikipedia, "The Cotswolds is a range of hills in west-central England, sometimes called the "Heart of England", an area 25 miles (40 km) across and 90 miles (145 km) long. The area has been designated as the Cotswold Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The highest point in the Cotswolds range is Cleeve Hill at 1,083 ft (330 m), 2.5 miles (4 km) to the north of Cheltenham."

+ I got distracted and googled some places near Shrewsbury where I enjoyed a day of driving around in October 2003. A highlight was Harthill in Cheshire. I really liked the little church there (All Saints) and took this photo.

A nineteenth century History of Cheshire by George Ormerod describes Harthill in Cheshire as "eminently picturesque and beautiful." That's definitely what I saw when I happened upon that quaint little hamlet about 25 miles N of Shropshire and just a few miles SE of Chester. I have often spelled it wrong in previous blogging especially since I now live on Harts Hill in Whitestown, NY.

+ The Chipping Norton Music Festival is an annual event in March. I will see if this can fit into our schedule.

MY 2003 ENGLAND BLOG

2009-01-24T15:08:00.004-05:00

+ Go to England Blog 2003 to see my blogging before, during and after our trip in 2003. Of course, we saw plenty of London. While Mary went to meetings, I got to explore Shrewsbury, Salisbury, Malpas and a little hamlet named Harthill in Cheshire. Little did I know then that we would move to Harts Hill in Whitestown NY in 2005.

FOCUSING ON CORNWALL & OTHER SW ENGLAND DESTINATIONS

2009-01-24T10:48:00.011-05:00

+ Places we are now considering include Penzance, St. Ives, St. Michael's Mount, Tintagel, Plymouth, Bristol, Bath, Exeter, Wells, Glastonbury and Stonehenge. We plan to travel by train and by automobile. We will probably purchase Britrail England flexipasses: 4 days out of 8.

+ We will be flying on United from Syracuse to Chicago to London and back the same way. Best deal we could find.

PLANNING A TRIP TO ENGLAND IN MARCH

2009-01-09T09:05:00.005-05:00

+ Mary's nursing research is taking us to England for the second time. She will be meeting with colleagues for 4 days in London, Southampton and Bristol. We are adding about 8 days for touring. We have yet to decide whether we will travel by car or train or bus or all three. The possibility of going to Scotland remains in my head but we may save that for another day. So, where will we go in England? We are thinking about the Cotswolds, York, Liverpool, the Lake District, Cornwall, Dover, Canterbury and Brighton. We are reading the 2009 edition of Rick Steves' England.

+ But first, let's make a flight reservation.

JET LAG REPORT

2008-07-16T17:26:00.003-04:00

We're back. What a fantastic trip! I will share the best of about 600 photos when I get a chance.

Standing in a queu for an hour and a half at Charles DeGaulle airport yesterday was not pleasing to say the least. The line was not for security or customs but for getting a boarding pass and baggage checked. I will complain to Northwest Airlines. The security and customs lines were not too long. The lines in Detroit were not too long either.

I know I said the food was expensive in France last week but I have reconsidered. The quality of the cuisine is excellent and similar quality here in the USA would cost a similar amount of dollars as we paid in France. Hotel costs were not unreasonable either even when measured in dollars rather than euros.

And it's simply wonderful being in France!

So, it was totally worth the cost.

The drive from the airport in Syracuse to our home (about 50 miles) was challenging since it was at 11 to 12pm in New York and 5am to 6am in Paris. I had to work at keeping my eyes open and staying focused on driving.

I had a good night's sleep. Maybe I will be lucky and not feel too much more fatigue. The trip was exhilarating. It's good to be home, re-united with family and friends and our poodle.

REPORTING FROM PARIS (2)

2008-07-08T05:29:00.001-04:00

I heard a clarinet solo on one metro ride and a violin solo on another ride!

My search for the world's best parkbench continues. I found a great one near the Seine with a view of a statue of a Greek God or something like that, the river, a nice garden, and the Eifel Tower. I took several photos there. I walked along the river and took way too many photos of le tour Eifel. I also took photos of l'arc de triomphe and the vista from Sacre Cour Church on Mont Martre.

It is a little cool in Paris.

Food is very expensive.

Mary is getting a lot of work done at conference which ends today. Now she can relax and enjoy Aquitaine and Paris for next 6 days.

Today, very soon, we will take TGV to Bordeaux. Tomorrow, I attempt to drive in Aquitaine! We will be there for 3 days. Then we will be back in Paris for our 39th anniversary July 12 and for Bastille Day July 14.

Last night I figured out how to use an International Calling Card. We called Sharon when we returned from the gala conference dinner. It was 1 am here and 7pm in NY when we reached her.

The Parisians don't have dinner until 9 or 10 pm.

REPORTING FROM PARIS (1)

2008-07-07T03:32:00.004-04:00

Bon Jour

It just took me 15 minutes of my one hour for 2 euros to figure out how to use this keyboard!

You have to use shift for numbers and you have to use the alt gr key and the 0 key for the @ symbol which is required for Yahoo! signing in here in Paris.

I went to Chartres yesterday. The catheral definitely lives up to its reputation. WOW! I took photos of some of the famous stained glass windows. The cathedral was built in the 13th century after a fire took down an earlier cathedral. The town is quaint. It is an easy one hour train ride from Gare Montparnasse. Allez retour second class cost 26 euros. Even though it was not hot outside, the train was a lttle too hot for this Norwegian-American!

I have walked around the city a lot. Mary is quite busy at the conference until tomorrow noon.

Galleries Lafayette is quite an impressive department store. Mary found a nice raincoat on sale.

WHAT WILL WE DO IN PARIS (1)

2008-07-02T18:03:00.002-04:00

+ On Monday the seventh of July we will be at the gala dinner of the International Consultation on Incontinence at Le Pavillon Dauphine in Paris.

+ On Monday the fourteenth of July we will be back in Paris after a few says in Aquitaine. 14 July is Bastille Day, The big French national day.

WHAT WILL WE DO IN AQUITAINE (1)

2008-07-01T14:15:00.002-04:00

+ Maybe we will go to a recommended Restaurant in Bordeaux: le Bistro du 20.
+ Maybe we will go canoeing on the Dordogne.
+ Maybe we will vist St. Emilion, a famous wine capital.
+ I'm sure we will visit Sarlat.
+ I'm sure we will visit the Beynac Chateau

WHAT WILL I DO IN PARIS (3)

2008-07-01T12:12:00.005-04:00

+ Maybe I will walk through the Square des Bastignolles near our hotel in the seventeenth arrondisement.

+ The Tour de France will be happening during our stay in France. But we probably won't get close enough to the route to see it.

PARIS BUS ROUTES

2008-06-28T15:53:00.011-04:00

5 days to go so I'm now on a steep learning curve. I found maps of all of the Paris bus routes. Busses stopping at the Louvre are 21,24,27,39,48,68,69,72,81 and 95. 69 is one of the most popular since it goes near the Seine, the Eiffel Tower, Musee D'Orsay, Notre Dame and more. Just change the number in the URL to see other bus routes.

It's a little later now and I'm adding to this post the bus routes which go to L'Opera: 20,21,22,27,29,42,52,53,66,68,81,95. I now know we can get a bus from Charles DeGaulle Aiport (CDG) to L'Opera at a reasonable price thanks to Tom's Guide to Paris. From L'Opera, we can take a bus or metro or taxi to our hotel on our arrival day, this Friday, July 4.

I also found an interactive map of the Paris Metro and an interactive map of the Paris Bus System.

WHAT WILL I DO IN PARIS? (1)

2008-06-26T22:12:00.003-04:00

I will have some time to roam around Paris while Mary is busy at a conference. July 4-8. So, I'm looking for lots of ideas. Here are some websites I'm exploring:

http://www.bugeurope.com/paris/info.html

http://www.understandfrance.org/Paris/AmericanCommunity.html

http://www.paris-anglo.com/

http://troi.cc.rochester.edu/~tdip/tomsguidetoparis.htm

RAIL TRAVEL IN FRANCE (1)

2008-05-28T10:52:00.003-04:00

One of the seasoned travelers posting on the Rick Steves Helpline forum introduced me to a comprehensive Beginners Guide to Train Travel in France which has been quite helpful.

BUYING TRAIN TICKETS IN FRANCE

2008-05-22T17:50:00.003-04:00

In the past I have always bought a Eurail pass and thought I saved lots of money. That was definitely the case years ago. Thanks to some expert travellers on the Rick Steves Travel Forum, I now know that this is no longer the case. The way to buy tickets for French trains and save money is to go directly to the French Railway website and keep it in French. Fortunately, I know a little French and my daughter who lives nearby knows a lot of French. And an online French-English dictionary can help. So, I'm almost ready to purchase tickets for 3 train trips in July: Paris-Bordeaux on July 8; Bordeaux-Libourne on July 9; Libourne-Paris on July 12. I intend to rent a car in Libourne and drive to Beynac from there. We are staying in beautiful Beynac for 3 nights.

GEIRANGERFJORD PHOTOS

2008-05-06T18:36:00.010-04:00

I finally have uploaded some photos I took during our brief stay on the Geirangerfjord in June 2006. Let me know which photos you think are the best.

We stayed at the Grand Fjord Hotel which is just outside of the village of Geiranger which lies at the end of the famous fjord, a world heritage site. We had hoped to take a bus back to Åndalsnes over the famous Trollstigen but we were exactly one day too early! So we had to take an early morning bus and get back to Åndalsnes by a roundabout route. That route was spectacular too. I will upload photos from that portion of our trip one day soon. I need to consult a map so I can name the fjords we saw that day as well as the day before. Norway has some great bus rides ... and ferry rides ... and train rides. We did all three. The Rauma line (Raumabanen) from Dombås to Åndalsnes is one of the world's best train rides. I will upload photos from our train rides one day soon, too.

Andalsnes was destroyed in World War 2 and the replacement buildings are not very aesthetic compared especially to towns like Alesund. But ... what a fantastic location! We hiked up the mountain which you can see in photos of Åndalsnes and vicinity. A nearby mountain is the Trollvegen which is world famous for mountain climbers but has possibly seen its better days since it could be falling apart.

Here's a blurb about it from trollveggen.net:

Trollvegen (TrollWall) is the highest vertical mountain wall in Europe . It is 5950 feet from the valley to the top of the wall. Out of this, 3300 feet are vertical together with a 150 feet overhang.

Somebody said the whole nation of Norway would be declared a National Park if it were located here in the USA.

Go to Geirangerfjord photos

WHAT WE DID IN BROOKLYN

2008-05-05T10:57:00.009-04:00

+ As anticipated, some of us men went to the New York Transit Museum in an abandoned sunway station during the baby shower at the nearby Marriott Brooklyn Bridge. I never found out why the transit sysytem abandoned that particular station, the original Court Street station.

The NYC natives introduced my brother-in-law from Tennessee and me to Junior's on Flatbush Avenue. That's about 6 short blocks West of the Marriott and the Transit Museum. Junior's is an NYC institution specializing in wonderful cheesecakes. Mine was delicious ... with cherries.

Soon after that, twelve of us ate at an Italian restaurant in the trendy Park Slope neighborhood. It was quite chilly yesterday at dawn so we decided against a walk over the East River on the Brooklyn Bridge or a Coney Island excursion. We opted instead for that stroll through Prospect Park. But the Brooklyn Botanic Garden which is right across the street from Prospect Park got our attention.

We happened upon the annual Cherry Blossom Festival with the blossoms in full bloom. What a treat. Emily, our 4-year old granddaughter loved it as did Mary & Sharon and me. We saw and heard some great Japanese style drumming. A volunteer guide led us on an intersting walk through the beautiful Japanese garden which has been a part of the BBG since 1915.

GOING TO BROOKLYN TOMORROW

2008-05-02T15:29:00.011-04:00

While the females, including my wife and my daughter and my granddaughter, give my neice a baby shower at the Marriott Brooklyn Bridge, the males connected with those females plan to visit the New York Transit Museum which is found in an old subway station in Brooklyn. I wonder why they abandoned that particular station. Maybe I will find out tomorrow.

It will take about 5 hours to drive from Utica to Brooklyn. Some stormy weather is on the way so we might not get to walk over the East River on the Brooklyn Bridge or stroll through Prospect Park.

It will be nice to see some of the family. We will be dining out together after the shower. We will be coming back on Sunday.

TRAIN TRIP CANCELLED

2008-04-29T13:26:00.003-04:00

+ We decided it would be better for me to come along and drive to Brooklyn rather than take the train. It is a great train ride from Utica to NYC. Maybe we can do it some time in the future when we are not carrying gifts to a shower on a tight schedule.

BABY SHOWER IN BROOKLYN

2008-04-28T13:47:00.003-04:00

+ My wife and daughter and granddaughter are going to Brooklyn this weekend by train from Utica. I made their reservations at amtrak.com. The train goes along the Mohawk River and then along the East bank of the Hudson River before arriving at Penn Station. It takes about 4 and one-half hours if all goes well. I have taken that train a couple of times and it is beautiful to ride along the river for about 150 miles. The views of the Catskills and then the Appalachians as the train passes under the Bear Mountain Bridge are wonderful.

I know they will have a great train ride (round trip) and a great time with our neice and family and friends at the shower.

PHOTOS BY GRETHE FROM BERGEN

2008-04-23T23:09:00.002-04:00

+ Grethe recently visited Egypt. I don't know Grethe. I have been surfing at TripAdvisor. Go to: http://www.tripadvisor.com/members/grethe. Be patient. It takes a little while to download about 600 thumbnails.

GEIRANGERFJORD

2008-04-23T15:00:00.005-04:00

+ Mary & I have enjoyed several trips to Europe in recent years. You can find the pertinent blogs on the side bar. On the sidebar, I just posted a thumbnail of one of many photos I took of the Geirangerfjord, mostly from the bus as we descended over 11 hairpin turns. This fjord is considered by many to be one of the most beautiful places on the planet and is an officially designated World Heritage Sight. Ocean vessels troll the waters of several fjords for many miles as they make their way to and from Geiranger. We got to see a ship depart from Geiranger just after we arrived at our hotel in June 2006.

Wikipedia offers a list of World Heritage Sights in Europe with many photos.

SHOULD I GO BICYCLING IN PARIS?

2008-04-18T09:24:00.003-04:00

I met another travel blogger at a Presbyterian Seminary Support Network meeting named Dana. Check out The Traveling McMahons. I responded to a post she wrote recently: Paris on two wheels. I need to get into better shape so I can do what she did if it is offered on a day when Mary is attending a Nursing Research Conference this July.

WE'RE GOING TO FRANCE IN JULY

2008-04-17T16:17:00.001-04:00

I am in the process of switching from one blog format to another. You can find posts and many links and photos related to this trip at http://www.abundancetrek.com/travelblog2008.