Walking Out
DESTINATIONS“Walking out” was one of the customary amusements of society life in Madrid… It’s also what we’re doing today. Last day of the last leg of Euro 2016. The pic above, a few steps from our hotel, is the Palacio Longoria, an Art Nouveau building that verges on Gaudi. It currently hosts the Spanish Society
It’s the Thought That Counts Uno, Dos, Tres
DESTINATIONSThis morning was lovely but Vancouver cold, around 14 degrees, I felt like a Parisian at Roland Garros; sunny skies with fair weather clouds and a wicked wind. But it did mild up as the wind died down. We walked through old Madrid to the Royal Palace. I was feeling sort of palace-d out, and
We Go Dendrochronological
DESTINATIONSYesterday 29 degrees, today 21; beautiful weather but mainly a wind of “mistral” proportions keeping it temperate. Pleasantville in the sun, coolish in the shade. We didn’t add on (or need, at this point) a hotel breakfast, so were two Nespresso’s ready to hit the road well before nine. We did what many, most, or
You Have to Experience This Experience
DESTINATIONSOur last day in Prague. We were packed, then down to breakfast, then running up the Fitbit steps before nine, to get to the Old Jewish graveyard. It was used for over 300 years, 1439-1787, but the land allotted to the Jewish community was never big enough. In fact, the area was so small it
Sound, Fair and of Marketable Quality
DESTINATIONSThis morning we picked up laundry. Sooner or later on vac you have to suss out a drop off laundromat. Then we headed out to the southwest of the city, to an area called Vinohrady. The weather was crazy: First it was mild with a breeze, then it got hot, up to 21, warmer in
Themes and Variations, Variations on a Theme, and a Really Good Meal, er Meals
DESTINATIONSThis morning started mild, but quickly turned hot and humid. We took a very long walk to the south; in fact, we exceeded 10,000 Fitbit steps well before noon. Along the way we walked through Wenceslas Square, the largest and most central and most commercial square of the city, replete with any number of
Do Not Hold Your Water, Nor Your Winds
DESTINATIONSThis morning dawned cool, under 20 degrees (!), with a light drizzle; not enough to get wet, but enough to irritate anyone who wears glasses. By noon it was dry and humid and by late afternoon back to summer, blue sky, warm. We were going to start our day with the Spanish Synagogue and
A Person Could Go Crazy in This Dump… 49,000 Acres of Nothin’ But Scenery and Statues
DESTINATIONSWe started our day as many tourists do, at the Prague castle (Prazsky Hrad). But unlike most, we walked there, which is mostly uphill and something of a trek from our hotel. There are ten different sites to see, you purchase “combo” tickets for a selection or go individually to whatever site hits your fancy.
I Smell Home Cooking. It’s Only the River, it’s Only the River
DESTINATIONSOur driver met us just before 10 a.m. in “CK” as he called it. He was an interesting guy, with two degrees, one in civil engineering and another in psychology. We had an unusually in-depth and considered conversation en route, considering the language issues, including Terence Malick, meditation, psychiatry and rural life. With nothing but
Wait Master, It Might Be Dangerous. You Go First.
DESTINATIONSCan you tell it was a beautiful day? Our pension put on a nice breakfast spread, toast, jam, fruit, yogurt, eggs, meats, cheese, cereal, coffee, tea, hot chocolate, crudités (?), salad and, for what reason I don’t know, dill pickles. On the way to CK I asked the driver (he turned out to be the