Planes, Trains, Cities, Ships!!!

Diamond Head Visible, QE Departs Honolulu

2012-02-09T21:24:00.000-07:00

Passengers Yuk It Up On QE In Honolulu

2012-02-09T16:57:00.001-07:00

QE Tied Up In Honolulu

2012-02-09T11:01:00.000-07:00

Land Ho, The Liz Pulling Into Honolulu This AM

2012-02-09T10:13:00.004-07:00

Late Afternoon On The Pacific, QE will Dock In Honolulu Tomorrow

2012-02-08T19:57:00.000-07:00

Meanwhile It's Full Moon In The Pacific Night For QE

2012-02-08T00:25:00.000-07:00

The Mary Tied Up Today At Freemantle, Port For Perth, Australia, After Ten Days At Sea

2012-02-08T00:13:00.000-07:00

I Measured 17 Inches In The Front Yard

2012-02-05T20:25:00.000-07:00

The builders of Mt Snow

Night Time Antics On Pennsylvania St, During The Big Storm

2012-02-05T20:19:00.000-07:00

And In San Francisco, Queen Elizabeth, Tied Up At Pier 35, With A View Of Coit Tower And The Transamerica Pyramid

2012-02-04T09:35:00.000-07:00

Still Snowing In Denver, The Neighbors Are Building A Gigantor Snow Fort

2012-02-03T14:57:00.002-07:00

Meanwhile In Denver It's A Snow Day, 13 Inches And Counting

2012-02-03T11:13:00.000-07:00

She Skipped Her Stop At Port Louis, And Heads East

2012-02-01T22:03:00.000-07:00

QM2 Rounding The Cape, Where The South Atlantic Meets The Indian Ocean

2012-01-27T21:45:00.000-07:00

And There She Is Heading Out To Sea, East Towards Australia

2012-01-26T21:12:00.003-07:00

High Winds Are To Blame For The Late Departure

She's about 10 hours behind schedule at this point, rather unusual.

QM2 Should Have Departed Cape Town Many Hours Ago, Yet There She Is

2012-01-26T20:28:00.007-07:00

There she goes, adios Cape Town

She's still there, someone blogged from on board they are waiting out high winds. Pretty picture, eh?

Meanwhile, Queen Elizabeth About To Enter The Last Of Six Locks, Westbound Tansit Of The Panama Canal

2012-01-26T14:10:00.001-07:00

And Now, Dawn In Cape Town

2012-01-25T20:54:00.000-07:00

Night View, Cape Town, SA, QM2 Bridge Cam

2012-01-25T20:17:00.000-07:00

Dawn Arrival At Cape Town, SA, QM2 Will Spend Two Nights There

2012-01-23T20:56:00.007-07:00

Dawn In The Waters Off The West Coast Of Africa, Today

2012-01-22T21:12:00.000-07:00

Meanwhile, The Concordia From Space, Yikes!

2012-01-22T14:59:00.000-07:00

QM2 Is Docked At Walvis Bay, Namibia, Today, Third Stop On Her World Cruise

2012-01-22T02:32:00.001-07:00

The View Today From The Bridge Cam Of Queen Elizabeth, Docked In Ft Lauderdale

2012-01-21T13:36:00.000-07:00

Quite a boatload o' ships, eh?

Christmas Carols From Occupy Denver, Escorted By DPD, On Christmas Eve, In Snowbound Denver

2011-12-24T17:01:00.000-07:00

Merry Christmas From Snowed In Denver, It's Guaranteed To Be A White One!

2011-12-22T11:09:00.000-07:00

December One In Denver Is A Snow Day

2011-12-01T16:37:00.001-07:00

Late Autumn, Denver Afternoon

2011-11-27T14:50:00.001-07:00

Denver Afternoon

2011-11-23T16:09:00.001-07:00

As For The Rest Of The Fleet, I Do Keep Track

2011-11-23T01:01:00.003-07:00

QM2 is due in Southampton tomorrow; dawn, in the Atlantic, on her regular NY run

And QV is tied up at Olympia Greece. I wanna go!!!

Though It's Morning In Gran Canaria, It's Night In Denver

2011-11-23T00:37:00.000-07:00

Nice shot,eh, from the bridge cam of QE

It's Nose In, Right In Front, For Queen Victoria Tonight In Trieste

2011-11-19T18:28:00.003-07:00

More Denver, Today The New Museum Opened

2011-11-18T17:46:00.002-07:00

Another Denver View

2011-11-18T00:25:00.000-07:00

Denver Today, In Shades Of Blue, Black, Bright And Grey

2011-11-17T21:22:00.008-07:00

It's Spooky Around Here Tonight

2011-10-31T19:15:00.000-06:00

Autumn Leaves, Two Views

2011-10-31T18:49:00.001-06:00

Happy Halloween From Denver

2011-10-31T18:22:00.000-06:00

Meanwhile, The Mary Docks At Dawn, Ocean Terminal, Southampton

2011-10-30T00:55:00.000-06:00

Dawn Arrival At Dubrovnik, Queen Victoria Does A 180, And Comes Alongside

2011-10-30T00:50:00.001-06:00

From her bridge cam, midnight in Denver.

I Just Entered An Icelandic Airlines Photo Contest, Celebrating Their New Denver-Reykjavik Flight

2011-10-28T16:54:00.000-06:00

Go to this link to see the entries, like me and I'll love you! Or enter yourself! http://www.icelandair.us/specials/pages/us/denver-photo-contest/vote/

Denver Art Museum, Night View

2011-10-25T18:31:00.000-06:00

Bacilica Of The Immaculate Conception. On East Colfax, Denver's Meanest Street, Two Views

2011-10-23T17:36:00.001-06:00

A Walk Past Denver Art Museum, And The Yet To Open Clyfford Still Museum On A Glorious Fall Day

2011-10-22T20:33:00.001-06:00

The Famous Bell Tower Of San Marco Is Seen From The Bridge Cam Of Queen Elizabeth As She Departs Venezia

2011-10-16T10:28:00.000-06:00

The Mary Made it Through The Big Storm And Will Depart From NYC Within The Hour, Heading Across The Atlantic To Southampton

2011-10-07T14:45:00.001-06:00

Shown here, view from her bridge cam, docked at Red Hook, New York Harbor

Moonrise On The English Channel From The Bridge Cam Of Queen Elizabeth

2011-10-06T18:54:00.000-06:00

On A Blustery Colorado Day, Occupy Denver--Aux Barricades!

2011-10-06T16:46:00.000-06:00

And Today, Heavy Seas For QM2 Crossing The Gulf Of St Lawrence, On Her Way Back To NYC

2011-10-05T10:14:00.001-06:00

Meanwhile, QM2 Is Alongside At Quebec City Today

2011-10-04T11:53:00.001-06:00

Webcam View From The Bridge Of Cunard Line's Queen Victoria, Dawn Arrival At The Port Of Napoli, Vesuvius Looming.

2011-10-04T10:19:00.002-06:00

I find this image startling re the perfect circle in the middle

This photo taken 17 minutes later

23 minutes later

Add seven minutes

Total time elapsed first to last picture one hour and ten minutes

Last night during Letterman I took a look at Queen Victoria's bridge cam and there was bad old Vesuvius, so I thought I'd watch her arrival. All those lucky passengers are probably exploring Pompeii today. The other large ship Is Holland America's Noordam.

Dinner On Board The Princess Maria

2011-08-29T14:22:00.002-06:00

It's served buffet style in the main dining room, there is also an a la carte restaurant available. The ferry operator, St Peterline, is Russian, as is naturally the food, with a Scandinavian slant. The cost of the buffet is 30 Euro, if you pay online in advance, about 50 USD, includes a glass of "champagne" and wine and dessert (really good), so I did that, and was happy.
St Peterline operates 2 ferries, the Princess Maria, running from St Petersburg to Helsinki and return, and her much larger sister, the Princess Anastasia. She runs from Stockholm, overnight to Tallinn, Estonia, then overnight to St P., only on Saturdays and Wednesdays from Stockholm. The fare on both of them is one of the great travel deals I've found, 52 Euro Stockholm to St P, oddly the fare St P to Helsinki is more, 68 Euro. That's for a berth in a shared, same sex 4 berth inside cabin. Which I know sound a bit crowded, but in practice turned out just great. Leaving St P there were three of us in the cabin, two friendly young guys from Slovakia and an equally nice guy from St Petersburg, and on the two nighter from Stockholm, just one roomie, another really nice guy from St P. No one snored and the contact with these nice people was a highlight of the trip.

The whole reason for taking a ferry or a ship to St Petersburg is that if you arrive thusly, and stay less than 72 hours, and leave thusly, and take a city tour, you do not need to have a Russian visa. So that's what I did! There were a couple of glitches along the way, which I'll get into later. Dinner was plentiful, the dining room is mostly empty in the photos because I ate at the end of the first seating, the maitre d' sort of yelled at me because I was staying too long as I went for dessert. Oh well! Having dinner prepaid like I did was really good because during the full day of sightseeing that I did in St P that day, I knew there was a big old dinner waiting on the ship.

Baltic Sunset Onboard Princess Maria, St Peterburg To Helsinki

2011-08-26T18:23:00.000-06:00

Le Deluge A Helsinki

2011-08-25T13:59:00.000-06:00

Helsinki Has A Monumental Central Train Station

2011-08-24T14:14:00.001-06:00

Subway entrance right in the station

A Walk About the Harbor Front Market, Helsinki, Before Le Deluge

2011-08-23T10:21:00.000-06:00

On The Road Out To The Blue Lagoon And Back

2011-08-20T11:22:00.000-06:00

A Few More Photos From Around Reykjavik

2011-08-18T09:34:00.000-06:00

In this tidy little city, there's a mini park for graffiti.

Harpa Is Reykjavik's Grand New Performance Hall And Conference Center

2011-08-14T10:43:00.003-06:00

It is visually stunning inside and out, not quite completed or fully furnished, I think the construction budget is stressed, at least I was told that. It's really a great building, right on the waterfront.

On The Waterfront, Reykjavik

2011-08-10T21:58:00.005-06:00

Swan Hellenic's Minerva was docked my first evening in town

Got that?

Church Of The Holy Rocket To Heaven Is Iceland's Tallest Building, Set On Reykjavik's Highest Hill, Two Views

2011-08-10T08:45:00.001-06:00

It's actually called Hallgrimskirkja

This photo taken at midnight, still light in the sky

In Contrast To The Black Volcanic Rock And Cool Grey Wet Sky, The Streets Of Reykjavik Are Quite Colorful

2011-08-08T13:41:00.003-06:00

Iceland was a great destination, I only saw the capitol, Reykjavik, and the Blue Lagoon. It would be great to go back and explore the countryside, fjords, glaciers, geysers, and yes, volcanoes. Everyone I spoke to who had done that said it was amazing. Icelandair's policy of allowing free stopovers to or from the US and Europe, combined with their reasonable fares, makes it easy to get there. Be prepared for high prices, though, and rainy cool weather. The airport is about 40 kilometers out of town, there's a great bus transport system that gets you to the front door of your hotel or guest house, a large bus takes you to the transit center in town, then vans bring the rest of the way through the narrow streets. It's about $30 round trip, and very efficient. I stayed at a little place called the Aurora Guesthouse that was just fine, about a hundred dollars a night, (bathroom spotlessly clean, down the hall), breakfast included- the fresh crusty bread was delicious( even the French guests, there were quite a few, approved) with cherry jam and local cheese and good hot coffee. I'm glad I had free breakie because every other meal was really expensive, although I did manage to eat well, just not a whole lot. Fish and chips one night for about $20 and lobster soup another for about $30 including a beer. It was a great big bowl of soup and is a local speciality, full of tiny little lobster tails. Mmm!

The Blue Lagoon

2011-07-31T19:54:00.003-06:00

The Blue Lagoon yesterday was wonderful, it's about an hour out of town just beyond the airport. If your departure or arrival schedule permits you can take a Fly Away Bus there either before or after, they will stow your luggage for you and I guarantee you you will have a most relaxing experience, before or after your flight. The waters of the hot spring are a milky turquoise color due to a white silica in the water, and the whole lagoon is surrounded by the black volcanic rock of Iceland. Quite dramatic. They have tubs of the concentrated silica around the edge of the pool, you scoop out a big blob and slather your face with it, let it fester for a few, then rinse; voila a new you! I'm serious!!! Today my skin feels so smooth. I wanted to buy jars of the silica for everyone, at the airport today, but they charge $40 a jar. Sorry.

In an uncomfortable experience last night at a bar having a beer, (early evening) in Reykjavik, I bumped into three guys (Icelandic) who invited me to sit with them, I did, and they turned out to be American hating, Jew hating mo fos- they were already on their way to gone, and one was absolutely huge! I did fine, however, I said I was Irish! The owner, a woman, came over and gave them a bunch of grief. She came over to me and said she had those boys in the palm of her hand. I said Oh la la, they are charmers. What was funny though, and why I tell this story, is that one of them for some reason guessed my age, the bozo guessed me a full ten years younger than I am! That silica from the lagoon worked wonders! It really did, go to bluelagoon.is and get yourself a jar!

On board Icelandair 613 now, JFK bound. I can't tell you how much I like this airline. Again two + two seating in the front of the plane. I found out why, if you are in what they call economy comfort, and they haven't sold all of their business class (Saga class) seats, they put you up front and sell the economy seats in back to fill the plane. Sort of what the cruise lines do to fill the cabins. They give you a card on boarding telling you that you have been upgraded. They give those who have actually paid for Saga Class the full deal (china, glass glasses, cloth napkins etc) and those in economy comfort free meals, and wine and beer, and these great big seats. I'm so happy! Sitting next to me is a lady from Romania on her way to Harrisburg Pa,, and across the aisle is a handsome young man from Guadalajara Mx., returning home from his first great European adventure. He says he visits Colorado from time to time. I gave him my email! The flight has just gotten quite bumpy, we are about two hours out now from New York. I got great photos as we passed over Greenland. Looking forward now to three days in New York City, am staying at the Chelsea Hostel, $70 a night for a single room, WC down the hall. I hope to go up the Hudson River to Kykuit, the estate of John Rockefeller, I've seen the palace of the Tsars of Russia now, might as well see the American equivalent.

Drying Out On Board Icelandair 1364

2011-07-29T04:14:00.001-06:00

We are over Norway at the moment, and it looks like we will fly right over a fjord (from the on screen route display), and indeed we are now. Icelandair's comfort economy is a great deal, access to lounges with food, drink and wifi, great big 2 + 2 leather seats with lots of leg room, two 60 lb checked bags, food and wine or beer on board, (I had Icelandic made sushi). All for very little more that regular coach, depending I think on the the day you travel, and the load factor that day.Today, there's all of eight passenger out of 22 seats. Not bad. All that and you can stop over in Iceland for no extra charge.

So the trip has played out really well. As I write we are approaching the coast of Iceland, the flight from Helsinki is only three hours. After seven days on the Atlantic on board the ms Rotterdam we had a day ashore in Cohb and Cork Ireland. Then another day at sea on our way up to Rotterdam, where they kicked me off the ship, much to my dismay. I made the best of it though, spending most of the day exploring the old ss Rotterdam, Holland America Lines former flagship ,which has been beautifully preserved as a hotel and attraction in its old home port. It is a mid century tour de force, design wise, so there will be lots of pix. Then on to Copenhagen, Stockholm, Tallinn, St. Petersburg. Helsinki, and now, Reykjavik. Sort of a "If it's what day, where am I?" kind of schedule. but for some reason I do enjoy running around like that! Seven cities in eleven days!

I've just now finished breakfast at the Aurora Guesthouse in rainy, cool, Reykjavik. After the heat of St Pete I'm enjoying the weather here. It was raining a deluge in Helsinki yesterday, hence the title of this piece. This is a great little place to stay. I highly recommend breakfast included wherever one might stay here as food is very expensive. Reyjavik is really a cute little city, with a lot of independent travelers from all over the world, and very friendly Viking descendants hosting.

Norwegian Fjord

Icelandic Landscape

Getting Ready to Party!

So the Blue Lagoon (hot springs) is on the agenda this am and this evening (the sun goes down late here at 66 degrees latitude north), whale watching. There"ll be pix! Cheers!

Greetings From Helsinki Vantaa Airport

2011-07-28T05:44:00.000-06:00

Well it has been a most wonderful trip to date. I'm waiting at the Helsinki airport for Icelandair to Reykjavek, in the Finnair business class lounge. This is the first chance since disembarking the Rotterdam last Thursday that I've been able to charge my laptop. I must have forgotten to pack my plug converters, or something, because I don't have them, so no computer to blog from. Sorry about that, I figure everyone thought either I was either in Oslo or Siberia! But no, no disasters, thank heavens. Only a crashing dollar! Time to board, so I'll be in touch from Iceland!

A Few Pix From Around The Ship

2011-07-19T10:35:00.000-06:00

Today, It's All Fog, All Day

2011-07-16T09:08:00.000-06:00

As if to underscore yesterday's post about the variable color of the Atlantic, today we have entered a dense fog, and everything is white, as white can be. The captain was present at a champagne brunch to which I was invited late this morning, in recognition of past passengers of Holland America Line. It was delicious and fun, as every meal has been. He said the fog bank formed because the wind had stopped, and that the sea and air temperature are similar, about 65 degrees F. He also said the reason we stopped yesterday was because a light went on, on the bridge, indicating a problem with one of the propellers, which proved to be a false alarm. He said that they did not reverse the propellers, but that the act of stopping them created the great shuddering that everyone felt. I'm glad I got to the bottom of that! We have sailed 1700 nautical miles from New York, with 1200 left to run to Cohb (pronounced cove, and indeed it means cove), Ireland. A nautical mile equals 1.15 land miles. Tonight is another formal night, with the big band, the Pasadena Roof Orchestra playing after dinner. More fun that a barrel of monkeys!

Day Three, Mid-Atlantic Already

2011-07-15T12:17:00.000-06:00

It always amazes me how the ocean looks different every day. Wednesday, our first day out, it was all a hazy shade of grey, both the sea, quite calm, and the sky. Yesterday, Thursday, was a bit stormy, the sea was the deepest shade of steel blue, slamming against the hull, creating waves with an undertone of the most beautiful shade of sapphire, as seen in the photo. Today it's whitecaps cresting out of a more turquoise Atlantic, the sun is out and the breeze is stiff but not stormy like yesterday. This ship handles the sea very well.

We have a cute little sparrow on board, hopping around the lido deck at the stern of the ship. I wonder if he's a New Yorker, or if he's been on since Rotterdam, making a back to back transatlantic. There are quite a number of Dutch on board doing just that, who were treated to a special Indonesian Reistaffl lunch today in the main dining room. It's fun to mingle with the Dutch, I'm constantly asking how to say this or that in their language. The food on board has been quite good, and the crew is friendly and helpful. Funny thing though, yesterday was Bastille Day and German food was featured on the dinner menu. Vive le sauerbraten!

Curiously today during lunch we ground to a very quick stop. The dining room is at the very stern of the ship, there was a great shuddering as the propellers must have gone into reverse (full astern matey!). I have no idea why yet, but I will get to the bottom of this. For a moment I was sure we had struck an iceberg, but then I remembered we are taking a southerly route, and besides, it's the wrong season!

The entertainment and lectures onboard have been outstanding. Bill Miller is a passenger liner historian with a great gift of gab, and has presented two lectures so far, Transatlantic Floating Palaces, and a history of Holland America Line. A fantastic Big Band called the Pasadena Roof Orchestra did music from the 20's and 30's last night after dinner, curiously they are not from Pasadena, but England. I must get to the bottom of that as well. Cheers for now!

And Now To Explain The Ferry To St Petersburg

2011-07-13T14:33:00.000-06:00

About six weeks ago Holland America Line reduced the price of a special Transatlantic crossing to quite a low price, in fact to a price that I found I was unable to resist. So my good friend in the travel business, Sue of Luxury Cruise and Travel hooked me up! The crossing is on board the MS Rotterdam from Manhattan's West side piers, across the Atlantic to Rotterdam, in nine nights, with a call at Cohb Ireland, the last port call of the Titanic The occasion is to commemorate the 40th year since HAL ceased regular Transatlantic service. I tend to look at a crossing the Atlantic by ship as simply the best way to get to Europe, so there's no way that I was going to just fly home! The ship continues on, after she will kick me off in Rotterdam, through the Baltic all the way to St Petersburg, Russia. I said to myself, you know Paul, I'll bet you can cook up your own Baltic Adventure, and indeed I have. This has turned into a 25 day extravaganza! I didn't mean for it to, it just happened. Honestly, I do wonder about myself!

I'm already on day five, am onboard the beautiful Rotterdam, steaming due East at 20 Knots (about 24 mph), out in the Atlantic maybe 400 miles from NYC. I flew from Denver to Washington's Reagan National Airport on Saturday July 9, having cashed in Frontier Airlines miles, with plans to spend the weekend in Philadelphia at the home of my housemate Dave's parents, who had invited me to visit. The great American ocean liner, the SS United States, the fastest passenger liner ever built, and indeed our Ship of State, is docked in South Philly in the Delaware River. I have always wanted to see her, peeling paint and all, and indeed I did. She's been docked there now for sixteen years, stripped of her interior fittings, fate up in the air, but as of February this year is owned by the SS United States Conservancy, whose goal is to restore her as a permanent hotel, retail and convention attraction in Philly, New York or Miami. It was absolutely thrilling to see her. While we were there, peering through the chain link, a woman came running up excitedly exclaiming that she had, at the age of nine, crossed the Atlantic on board and how wonderful the ship had been. I wish the Conservancy great luck in it's restoration efforts.

Dave's parent, Ed and Janice, are the most enthusiastic and gracious hosts ever! Besides the SSUS, we toured the great battleship, USS New Jersey, docked also in the Delaware across from Philly in Camden, NJ, ate Philly Cheesesteaks, saw the Liberty Bell, a new exhibit next to it that exposes George Washington's attitudes and practices concerning slavery (not particularily pc) a magnificent Tiffany favril glass mural in a downtown office building, the Italian Market in South Philly, the mansions of the Main Line, and the wonderful home in the woods of an early 20th century furniture maker, artist and architect, Wharton Esherick, (google that, it was amazing!). My hosts said I could rest on the ship! We had a great time, it was a wonderful weekend. They even drove me up to NYC yesterday morning to catch the ship at Pier 88 on Manhattan's West side. It was a great thrill sailing down the Hudson yesterday afternoon, the grand skyline glittering in the sun on our left, the Statue of Liberty on the right, then under the Verazano Narrows Bridge and out to sea!

Five days and there have been two rescues already: Saturday on Amtrak from DC to Philly the train in front of us lost all power and had to wait on the track for an hour till we came along to the rescue (conductor's words) Three hundred passengers plus crew crammed on board our train. Then last night on the Rotterdam there was a medical emergency, the ship made a u turn and the US Coast Guard sent out a copter to airlift the poor guy and his wife to shore. Hope he made it. The Captain this morning told us about the event at a meet and greet organized by Cruise Critic dot Com that I attended.

Tonight is the first of three formal nights, my tux shirt just came back from the on board laundry, I've been assigned to a table of eight at the 8:15 seating, so I'm set! Here's the upcoming itinerary: Cohb, Ireland; Rotterdam, Holland; Copenhagen, Stockholm, Tallinn, Estonia; St Petersburg, Helsinki, Reykjavik, Iceland; NYC, then home to Denver on August 2. Stay tuned!

Happy Fourth Of July, From Denver

2011-07-03T22:27:00.001-06:00

The Exuberant Tumble Of Stainless Steel That Is The Walt Disney Concert Hall Is A Must See In LA

2011-06-27T13:34:00.001-06:00

A fountain in the shape of a rose, made of smashed delft porcelain is a gift from architect Frank Gehry to Lily Disney, it's lovely.

Next Up, LA! There's Some Great Architecture There

2011-06-21T09:43:00.002-06:00

Starting with the quite imposing, and great Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, looming over the Hollywood Freeway as it slices through downtown LA. The building was designed by Spanish architect Raphael Moneo, and built in this century. Perhaps its most notable feature is the alabaster used for the windows, which bathes the interior in a soft warm light. I find it to be one of the most profoundly moving buildings I've seen anywhere. It's just an awesome structure.

For Some Reason I Don't Seem To Want Leave New Orleans

2011-05-19T11:03:00.001-06:00

A Few More Photos From The Lower Ninth

2011-05-18T15:24:00.000-06:00

Along The North Edge Of The French Quarter, The Rampart St Bus Will Take You To A Much Different Neighborhood, The Still Devastated Lower Ninth Ward

2011-05-16T11:31:00.001-06:00

Fortified by a delicious lunch of red beans and rice, I took the bus down to the Lower Ninth Ward, to see for myself the devastation. Some progress has been made, most notably the homes constructed through the efforts of Brad Pitt and his buddies, but scars run deep here, and as the bus driver noted, the next storm will top the same levees. There are so many abandoned homes and weed covered vacant lots, the poverty so evident, that I don't see how it can ever recover. It would be one thing if it were just the Ninth Ward that was so impacted, but from the bus on the way back downtown I saw neighborhood after neighborhood of abandoned and distressed properties. A very sad afternoon in contrast to the incessant gaiety of the French Quarter.

Walgreens, Canal St., Two Views

2011-04-24T12:35:00.002-06:00

Dinner At Deanie's Seafood

2011-04-07T19:02:00.004-06:00

Note the fork pattern is that used in Britannia Dining Room , Queen Mary 2

Deanie's is a block off Bourbon St, and a much more affordable option to the White Table Cloth Restaurants of the Quarter. I wandered by around 7 pm, it was packed, but I noticed a counter so I thought Oh I'll bet it will be quite accessible in an hour or so. After a scotch or two in a nearby bar and a few more early evening photos I went back and enjoyed a great dinner, salad, stuffed filet of flounder, and a beer. It turned out that the beer cost more than I thought it would, so I didn't have the proper tip for the waitress (the gal in motion in the the photo), so told her I would fork over the next day, which of course I did. A word of advice in New Orleans, don't wander around with a bunch of money at night, but never ever stiff the staff.

More French Quarter Photos

2011-03-30T09:31:00.002-06:00

Bourbon Street, New Orleans, Where They Smoke Inside And Drink Outside

2011-03-27T11:24:00.001-06:00

Boy goes wild!

As The Sun Sets Over The Mississippi, The Nightly Descent Into Debauchery Begins On Bourbon St

2011-03-20T12:41:00.001-06:00

The Canal St Streetcar Line Goes Down Canal, Americas Widest Boulevard, To The Cemetery District

2011-03-19T11:19:00.002-06:00

Bury me please at the corner of Myrtle and Magnolia.

The streetcars are a great way to get around New Orleans. Five dollars for a day pass that's good till four am the next day. Three days for $12 or five for $20, good on the bus system as well.

A Mardi Gras Parade, For A Film Crew, Three Weeks Ahead Of Schedule

2011-03-17T10:36:00.000-06:00

Multicolored barricades at the ready

Along St. Charles Ave.

2011-03-15T12:25:00.001-06:00

On the way into the station on the train I overheard someone talking about where she was staying in New Orleans: The Marquette House, for $20 per night. My ears perked right up, as I had no idea where I was going to stay. She told me it's a hostel in the Garden District, on the St Charles Ave streetcar line with lots of cafes nearby. We walked there together, they had plenty of room (don't try this during Mardi Gras), I forked over $100 and I was set for five nights! Turned out to be a great place to stay, clean, friendly, a little quirky-just the ticket. The weeks leading up to Mardi Gras are a fun time to be there, the crowds have yet to arrive, but the city is already decorated and in a party mood (well I guess it's always that) and the weather is comfortable. I had a great stay, I'd love to return, I took a ton of photos, so there will be several posts. Enjoy the Big Easy!

This is not the Marquette House, but its nearly identical next door neighbor.

New Orleans Is A City Of Great Contrasts

2011-03-13T19:02:00.004-06:00

Arriving there after two weeks in Mexico, I felt almost as though I was visiting yet another country- not returning to the US. At times I was momentarily surprised to pull American money out of my pocket. As for money, I found New Orleans to be quite reasonable. I took the train there from Houston, crossing high over the mighty Mississippi on the Huey P Long Bridge, a 1934 structure named for Louisiana's quite corrupt, yet very popular (he was a bit of a Robin Hood) governor and Senator who was assassinated inside the Louisiana State Capitol in 1935. It's a cool old bridge, serving both railroad and auto traffic. Arriving in New Orleans a few minutes later, the first view is of the refurbished Superdome, and the second is of an abandoned skyscraper.

The Beautiful Hotel Geneve, In The Zona Rosa Is A Great, And Not Too Expensive Place To Stay In Mexico City

2011-03-10T12:47:00.001-07:00

Pedestrian Only Geneve St is just around the corner, and lined with cafes and nightlife.

I so wanted to nick this pillow, took a photo instead.

Evolving Transit Options In Mexico City

2011-03-01T12:25:00.001-07:00

El Metro

Bus Rapid Transit

Bike Share With Lots Of Bikes

Bike Lanes

Walking

Old Reliable

Skyscrapers Line The Elegant Paseo De La Reforma

2011-02-27T12:11:00.002-07:00

More Images Of Mexico City

2011-02-26T11:37:00.000-07:00

An Afternoon Stroll In Mexico City

2011-02-24T17:14:00.000-07:00

As previously mentioned I had a seven hour layover in Mexico City, I planned it that way. This was actually my third time there. The first time was in 1952 when my parents flew down in a DC3, my mother was pregnant with me, so I don't remember much of the trip, except that we stayed at the Hotel Geneve. Second time, four more children later, in 1970 or so, we all flew down on a family vacation, staying again at the Geneve. I remembered it a being quite a city, and indeed it is.

There's a shuttle bus at the airport connecting with the subway that will take you to downtown for nine pesos, or 75 cents. (I continue to be irritated that Denver's public bus costs 12 dollars for a circuitous route into downtown on a bus that isn't even marked downtown). People at the airport were very helpful directing me to said shuttle, but without my basic espanol it would have been dificil. The subway system is modeled after that of Paris, with rubber tired trains, and is very crowded, but fast and efficient. I got off near the national cathedral, with the intent of seeing that and then finding La Reforma- Mexico's grand boulevard and on down to the Zona Rosa where I knew a margarita awaited me at the Hotel Geneva- if it was still there, and if I found it!

Well I had a really nice walk through the city, sunny and in the 70's I suppose.

The national cathedral of Mexico is sinking, this pendulum somehow keeps track of that.

The city is both old and new, skyscrapers line La Reforma, trees as well, and Hotel Geneve is still there. It's more beautiful than ever, and rooms are about $100 a night. Its namesake street, Geneve has been made pedestrian only, lined with cafes and nightspots, the subway to the aeropuerto is two blocks away, it's definitely a great place to stay in Mexico City. I had two margaritas in the bar off the lobby, one for my mother and one for my dad. Cheers! Then off to the subway and the aeropuerto for Aeromexico to Houston

"Hate California, It's Cold And It's Damp"

2011-02-21T12:30:00.005-07:00

Bridge Across the River Pecos

Don't hate it at all, but it is cold and and it is damp, in the winter anyway. Warm dry San Miguel de Allende, Mexico it's not. But the sun is shining, the flowers are blooming and the grass is green, that counts for a lot. The rest of the 1995 miles across the southwest went well, we pulled into LA's grand Union Station an hour ahead of schedule, which is pretty good considering we were 5 1/2 hours late into Houston. People there were hopping mad at the delay, the station attendant had told them that a freight train had hit a truck, no one was hurt, and that the Sunset Ltd was stuck behind that. All lies of course, but maybe she really didn't know, and just made up a story. I say she because I spent three hours there last week waiting for the eastbound on my way to New Orleans. Houston used to have a grand station of it's own, built of limestone in a streamline style, torn down in 1971 and replaced with the current dreadful little building, a so called Amhut.

The Sunset Limited is America's oldest continually operating named train, in service since 1893. It's unique in that it originated in the west, all others, save the Coast Starlight, began in the east. Amtrak does a really good job with it, in terms of equipment and customer service. The sleeper that I was in had just been refurbished (with stimulus funds, I was told), it's attendant was an on the ball Philipino-American named Efron. I thought I was on a ship! Food in the dining car was uniformly excellent (delicious crabcakes the second night and really good tiramisu twice) with cheerful stewards, although I did find the chief steward a bit pompous.

By the way, someone else the same night as the mooning incident (which occurred on the full moon, BTW) tried to mess with Amtrak and lost. This time it was a coach passenger who ordered a drink and tried to pay for it with a debit card. He was informed that only cash or credit cards are accepted on board, and not to try to use that card again; he had no money, but they let him keep the drink. Well a little later he went to the dining car, ordered and ate dinner, presented the card, whereupon the steward called the conductor, who called the dispatcher, who called the police in the next tiny Texas town. The conductor was told to stop the train in front of the Safeway, where the police would be waiting. And so they were, and off the train the perpetrator was. Do not mess with Amtrak!

Station stop at Beaumont on the eastbound last week

Texas view from the dining car

When I got to my brother's house in Tustin, in Orange Co, Ca I googled train death Beaumont Tx, and found an interesting story on the accident. The Beaumont Enterprise reported that Frank Bridgwater, 31 of Beaumont died of massive trauma after being struck by a train. "Witnesses told law enforcement officials that the man was looking for wild dogs that had attacked puppies at his residence. The man was standing on the tracks when the train hit him." Hmmm. There were five comments posted to the article, ranging from caustic and skeptical to the shame on you for speaking ill of the dead. I added my two cents worth, expressing my sorrow and how badly people on the train felt. I didn't mention the full moons, but did mention that the engineer reported two men on the track, who for whatever reason shouldn't have been there. It's proved to be a conversation killer, no one has commented since. I wonder why?

On Board Train Number One, The Sunset Limited

2011-02-18T11:27:00.004-07:00

The east Texas sky is lead grey this morning, the land is flat, dull brown with dormant scrub this and scrub that, prickly pear and mesquite trees that might be about to leaf out. Hawks or maybe eagles soar above, looking for their breakfast. I just had mine, a bowl of grits, yogurt, half a grapefruit, cranberry juice, hot coffee, and don't forget the bacon. I guess I was hungry. Amtrak does a real good job in the dining car, and all the food is included if you are in a sleeper. It can be a really good deal if you reserve in advance, especially off season.

Do you know the theory that when something goes really wrong there has usually been a cascade of events? Our departure from beautiful New Orleans was exactly on time, at 11:55 am. In the compartment next to me was a New Orleans native, going home to Houston, after having spent three weeks caring for her 94 year old mother. She was exhausted but funny and very chatty, and clearly anxious to get home to her husband, a Houston surgeon. They live around the corner from George and Barbara Bush (very, very nice people, just like you and me). She was on the train due to a long string of bad incidents flying, that had induced in her extreme fear. I'm not talking tarmac delays or skirmishes regarding space in the overhead bin. Think more landing gear that refused to deploy, or turbulence so violent that the plane had to circle JFK for 45 minutes, seated next to a Texan yelling yippee at every plunge till the winds calmed down enough to land; and my favorite, a gun wielding man disturbed by something, someone or perhaps just disturbed, running up and down the aisle, threatening to kill everyone on board. The flight was on Continental from Newark to Houston, pre 9/11. She said the gun came out early in the flight, unbelievably the pilots did not divert, but soldiered on to Houston, where police boarded and subdued the man. No shots were fired, but Good Lord, can you imagine the fear?

Fast forward (backward?) to last night. We were to arrive Beaumont at 6:43 pm, the first scheduled Texas stop on our 1,000 mile trek across its vast breadth. Shortly before arrival at Beaumont the train ground to a halt, eventually an announcement was made, Union Pacific track crew working late on the road bed ahead, we'll be cleared by 7:30, which came and went. At 8:30 an announcement that the repair equipment had broken down, and it would be who knows how long till they could clear it, but it would get cleared. Dinner was very good, tender NY cut steak, baked potato and vegetables, time passed fairly quickly. I ate with my new friend from Houston and a talkative Amtrak veteran traveller from San Diego. He and I were both fine with the delay, we're on all the way to LA, plenty of time to make up a bit of time. The lady from Houston was so near yet so far from the home front that she was practically in tears, on and off the phone with her husband, !0 pm arrival, no 11, who knows when. For all her worries and fears she did stay in good humor.

The conductors and engineers timed out at 10 pm but fortunately the fresh crew was waiting in Beaumont, and fortunately (for us anyway) there was a road nearby, so the replacements were brought to the train, the track cleared and we did get underway about 10:30 pm. We all knocked on wood that would be it. On into Beaumont where I stepped off the train, to see the station. It's so sad, there was a station, but they tore it down and left the concrete pad, surrounded by gravel, the headlights of two parked cars illuminating the sorry scene. Not even a bench was there. I do have a Beaumont story from long ago, by the way, remind me and I'll get to it.

Here's where the story gets bad. Two very stupid young men either saw the train coming, or maybe raced it out of town, got out of their vehicle, and on to the track to moon (yes moon-on the track) the oncoming train. One of the young men dove off in time, the other did not; we hit him at 70 miles per hour. At that speed it takes a fair bit to stop and the engineer wasn't even sure that he hit anyone. The Amtrak staff was quite forthcoming with details, if asked, as they became known. Most on the train were already sleeping, the man from San Diego and I were in the lounge car at the time and saw it all unfold. It was just very sad, watching all the flashing lights, waiting for the coroner and all that. As a matter of course they brought in a new engine crew from Houston, an hour and a half to the west. Again, it was just very sad. We were there for three hours. I keep thinking of the burden the kid who made it off the track will carry forward, the grief of the families involved, still ignorant of their tragedy. You know... The lady from Houston was inconsolable for a while. I watched her as she got off in Houston, into the arms of her husband, finally at 2 am, their only child is a 23 year old son. She just kept saying those stupid stupid boys. In spite of all this I did sleep well last night. When I awoke in San Antonio this morning there was that feeling of waking from a bad dream, but of course this was not the case. That lead grey sky seemed just right.

Flying Down To La Ciudad De Mexico

2011-02-15T09:23:00.002-07:00

A Brazilian built Embraer 145, 36 minutes in the air, the pilots left the cockpit door open till well after takeoff, cool view forward, your choice of tomato or apple juice.

Popcataptl and Itzacciuatl, decidely not dormant, loom 40 miles east of the city.

Paseo de la Reforma is a grand boulevard, the Zona Rosa is the hotel and entertainment district, lower center on the right side of the Paseo.

Terminal 2 at Benito Juarez Internacional is all perforated walls, simple, beautiful and brand new.

At El Aeropuerto Internacional De Guanajuato

2011-02-14T09:22:00.005-07:00

Leon has a shiny new airport, located about an hour and a half and 27 USD via shuttle from San Miguel. My two weeks are up, till now I've avoided mentioning the current horrific violence that is afflicting this peaceful, happy and relatively prosperous nation. Few in the US probably realize that Mexico is the world's 14th largest economy, and has been a stable democracy since 1917. There are around one hundred million citizens, the vast majority have nothing to do with the drug cartels and hate the violence that has erupted. As long as we are talking about difficult subjects why not bring up immigration. Do you really think that Mexicans dream of a life picking lettuce in California's Central Valley?

In thinking about the situation, I've realized the two issues are really one and the same: American demand. A pipe line has developed and it's lubricated by the US Dollar. A certain segment of our population likes and /or is addicted to drugs, We The People have criminalized that. How would that not require criminal behavior? All Americans are addicted to cheap food. California has a terrible unemployment, problem, why not kick out foreign labor and put the dot com brats to work picking said lettuce? (OK, that was mean and shallow, and I didn't mean it, it just slipped out). A more productive question could be why don't we have a well administered guest worker program? What I really mean to say here is that I don't think that we are intelligently identifying, analyzing, discussing and ultimately dealing with all this. I don't hold out much hope that we can, given the sorry level of what passes for political discourse is the USA these days.

Just look at health care, it's a purely internal issue, we are a country of vast wealth, every other industrialized has figured it out, yet we simply won't. Another tough subject is guns, what country do you suppose is where the drug cartel's weapons come from? Did you know that Mexico has exactly one gun store? It's on a military base in Mexico city, and only la policia and the military can shop there. Say what you want about the second amendment, but I don't think anyone could argue the point that it's resulted in an enormous amount of firepower out there.

My cousin John says for their part, the Mexicans need to improve surveillance (they don't have the equivalent of an FBI), establish a system of anonymous tip lines, and move towards community policing (an American concept that works). The police are corrupt in Mexico, and that needs to end, how I don't know. In my own experience the last two weeks south of the border I at no time felt in any danger. The cops are a little scary, they patrol in small trucks, two officers inside and two outside in back hanging onto a roll bar, sporting machine guns. Crossing the border from Laredo, Tx to Nuevo Laredo, Mx gave no hint of any need for a bribe to get my 180 day visa. Just down the street from the border I did see on the sidewalk a small bunker made of stacked sand bags, manned by police with machine guns. Still the violence afflicting Mexico is horrific and undeniable. In my short stay, two brothers, 15 and 16, were murdered in Nuevo Laredo, and five bodies were found burned beyond recognition in Monterrey, a sprawling city about five hours to the south, which I also passed through on the bus. It is important to note that to date no tourist has been caught in any crossfire. I would certainly not spend time wandering the border towns after dark, and the usual precautions about being alert to avoid trouble certainly apply.

My goodness that was quite a rant, it took two days! I'm currently on Amtrak's Sunset Limited, about two hours west of New Orleans. The flights went really well, from Leon down to Mexico City, where I had an eight hour layover, then to Houston where I arrived at 11 pm, I like Aero Mexico, one free checked bag, with free drinks and food on board. The long layover meant I could head into town for a look see. Mexico City is a vast metropolis, 17 million residents, some 7,000 ft in elevation, overlooked by two 17,000 ft high volcanoes (dormant?). A network of subway lines makes it easy to get around, even though the trains come every few minutes they are extremely crowed, with cd vendors on board, music blasting, working the crowds. The fare to anywhere is 9 pesos, 75 cents US. The ride from Benito Juarez International to el centro takes about half an hour. Upcoming next on the blog, photos of Mexico City. Cheers!

A Few More Views Of San Miguel De Allende

2011-02-13T10:46:00.000-07:00

A Most Magnificent Mexican Sunset From La Casa, And A Restaurant Ceiling In Dolores Hildago To Match

2011-02-12T10:24:00.000-07:00

At The Tuesday Market-El Mercado De Martes

2011-02-12T10:08:00.001-07:00

Check out the size of the bowls of salsa

A gordito con chile negro, muy bueno

And Last Sunday, El Super Bowl En Espanol!

2011-02-09T14:21:00.004-07:00

Not that I really care about the Blooper Bowl, but it was fun, hearing the commentary in Spanish. fortunately all the snow had (apparently) melted in Dallas, We had a fun day, here in beautiful Mexico. Like every day, since I arrived ten days ago, the weather was sunny, breezy and in the very comfortable upper 60's, or lower 70's. It gets chilly at night, but a sweater makes it right.

My cousin Michele and her husband John live about 20 miles outside of San Miguel, and about 10 miles from Dolores Hildago, a somewhat larger and less touristic town with a wonderful market and beautiful churches. Mexico has just celebrated its bicentennial (1810-2010) and marked the occasion by investing in infrastructure (wisely in my opinion). The investment here took the form of a complete rebuilding of the roadway from San Miguel to Dolores, and what a great job they did! It's absolutely smooth, with wide shoulders, reflectors in the middle, on the edges, great big guard rails with more reflectors, lots of signage, pedestrian overpasses, and the best busses (reclining seats, drapes, Air Force One is the current film playing on drop down flat screens, the courteous drivers make change) you've ever been on ply the route between the two towns. In short, I'm impressed.

Life here at the house is peaceful and happy. The house overlooks a broad valley, flocks of birds ply the sky, egrets, blackbirds, scarlett something or others, woodpeckers, a pair of hawks.
My aunt Margie has been here since October, it's fun spending time with her. She's my mother's younger, and equally pretty sister. I was lucky to spend a year in New Delhi, India when I was 15, living with her, my uncle (who had a long and successful career with Esso-Exxon) and their seven children, so I've always called her my second mom. Her sense of humor, as well as her skill at cribbage, has only improve with age. I am not kidding, she has won 12 of the last 15 games. We play every night after dinner, and its great fun, who knew you can have so much fun losing!

View From La Casa

Morning brings a flood of light to the to the guest wing, and at nine o'clock each day, the arrival of Blanca, to help Margie up and then prepare fresh fruit and strong coffee. Blanca is a warm and caring woman, and is just right for my aunt, it's an ideal situation. I'm going to miss things here when I'm gone, the two weeks here have passed very quickly, I fly down to Mexico City tomorrow. I don't want to leave, maybe i'll find a little apartment in town next winter!

Isn't This Bell Great?

2011-02-07T13:05:00.000-07:00

The Bull Ring Is In The Heart Town, A Big Match Is On Feb 12, I'll be Gone, Darn It

2011-02-07T13:01:00.000-07:00

They Stenciled This On Backwords So The Arrow Would Point The Way To Safety

Greetings From San Miguel De Allende, Mx

2011-02-01T11:50:00.000-07:00

What a great spot on our blue planet this is! The bus ride down from San Antonio turned out just fine. Before I left Denver a friend of mine (Jill) said she'd be praying for me, I thanked her and requested that besides for my safety etc. she pray that I have a seat on the bus ride by myself. Well, prayers were answered beyond my wildest dreams, the bus had only five passengers the entire 18 hour ride! The border crossing went well, no bribes required, no drug war violence seen, and we pulled into San Miguel just about on time. Busses in Mexico are a good way to go. They are modern, clean, spacious, comfortable and show movies!
San Miguel is a lovely town of around 130,000, set on a hillside, cobblestones streets line with beautifully colored stucco buildings, dotted with deeply shaded plazas, churches, markets, galleries, cafes, and a corner Starbucks, where I am now to hop on the net to make this post. Lest you thinks its full of other gringo chain outlets its not, just this one Starbucks.

La Casa, Michele on the Front Porch

My cousin Michele and her husband John have been coming down here from St Paul, Mn for more than 20 years, gradually building a home here on a peaceful bit of acreage about 20 miles outside of town. It's finished now and my aunt and I are now lucky to be roommates in the guest quarters. She and I are sitting here together so I won't go on too long with this post, not wishing to be rude. So enjoy the photos, there's a lot to photograph here!