Peter the Great was designing the city as another Amsterdam & Venice with canals instead of streets. Initially, there were only about ten bridges constructed in the city, mainly across ditches and minor creeks. By Peters plans, in the summer months, the citizens were supposed to move around in boats, and in the winter months when the water froze to move in sledges. However, after Peters death, new Read on...
We were woken up by Frank at midnight after having a few hour long nap that was too short but thankfully pretty restful considering. The wind was howling and it was painfully cold making it hard to get started, but luckily it wasnt raining, which really was all I had hoped for. As much as we didnt want to get out of our warm sleeping bags the summit called. We quickly drank some coffee and ate som Read on...
Nadat Karen de auto gisteren heel zorgvuldig had ingeladen, was ze klaar om te vertrekken met Nore naar de stadscamping in Middelburg.
Op de koop toe was ons vader die dag zijn 500.000 uur alive and kicking gaan vieren met vrienden en familie, dus ook daar kon ik achter fluiten.
Karen en Nore waren in de namiddag samen met bobon en bompie alvast Middelburg gaan verkennen en al enkele koren gaan Read on...
Every human has four endowments; conscience, independent will and creative imagination. These give us the ultimate human freedom. the power to choose, to respond, to change. - Stephen Covey
Someone once said Every sunset is an opportunity to reset and if there is one critical step, we all need to take in these repetitive, exhausting times, it is the need to reset. Our minds have numbed as we st Read on...
Je ne vous apprendrais rien en vous disant que cette anne est et pour ce voyage jen fais le dur constat.
Habituellement pour ce premier blog je vous prsente le projet de voyage envisag. Me rendre au sud de lItalie en 3 semaines environ, traverser lAdriatique, pour lAlbanie ensuite la Grce et revenir, par ce que javais volontairement laiss de ct lan dernier, longer la cte Adriatique. Avec sur ma r Read on...
Today ends an era, and begins a new one. Scary, exciting, energizing and one I am looking forward doing as a next chapter in my professional life. Effective today, I have retired from the Deloitte US Firm and on July 21, will be joining the Deloitte Ireland Firm. Building new teams, engaging new and old clients is one of my favorite things, and I will get to do that and more in my new role.
Howev Read on...
Thuy and I have just spent four days on Phu Quoc Island. I knew it would be wet; I knew the sea would be unswimmable; I knew there would be little to do with the rain falling; but I needed a break from the monotony of city life. Phu Quoc would have fresh sea air, trees and flowers, no Russian or Chinese tourists (thanks to Covid); it would be a relaxing and therapeutic break after my labours of th Read on...
Gibbs Hill Lighthouse. Cast iron lighthouse built in1 1844. the lighthouse tower is 118 feet (36 m), though its location on the hill enables its light to be at 354 feet (108 m) above sea level. IMG_7299
Carnival Legend docked at Kings Wharf at the Royal Naval Dockyard early on Wednesday morning. Susan and watched the docking while having breakfast on the Lido Deck. A beautiful sunny morning. The Read on...
I exited the Xtrk at 6.45am on a very, very cold clear sky morning. I hadnt walked 2m before 6 kookaburras sitting together 5m on a tree branch about 30m from me began their laugh, and laugh they did, waking anyone who was still asleep at that stage, for a full 2 minutes It was sensational. I had heard kookaburras laugh before but not that many all at once for 2 minutes. Those brave enough to tes Read on...
One Friday evening in fall 2010, Susan and I had the pleasure of dinner with Valene L. Smith, a travel friend of mine.
Valene is a very remarkable woman and traveler. An anthropologist and geographer, she has had a career as a university professor, researcher in Pakistan, Alaska, and the Southwest, documentary film maker, museum founder, travel agent, and tour leader and courier. She is one of t Read on...