We made three trips to France in 2018/2019 before moving on to Hawaii. the photos, and this blog is mostly Provence (south of France) and the next one will be Provence to Paris and back to Switzerland.
As I said before, I love driving small backroads - the curvier, the better. And there are quite a few curvy roads in France. We try to get a small car, so Pete can usually, easily turn around and w Read on...
A great person once said Not all vaccines are created equally...or at least I think they said that, Im not sure, but someone probably said it sometime somewhere. As weve moved through this pandemic, its certainly clear that not everyone agrees with the sentiment that the best vaccine is the one that is provided to your first, despite the quotes from medical professionals. Case in point is the coun Read on...
Gosh, I realised its been ages since I updated my seven wonders of the world series. Yes, some hiccups here and there causing the delay and busy is not the word I like to use even if this is the case.
BALI... This beautiful island holds a special place in my heart, not because of my Indonesian heritage, but its really unbelievable. The best place to relax from my recent trips to 3 counties withi Read on...
Sunday: After a very rainy and dreary arrival Saturday afternoon Sunday I woke up to gorgeous sunshine and incredible views from the airbnb. Being a carriage house (living space above the garage) a couple miles out of town leads to some amazing views out of some large windows. Good weather and a new location meant that it was time to check out the borough (nothing in PA is a town). Ebensburg has a Read on...
Yesterday was so much excitement with taking food to the outside of Yaurisque that Im exhausted today. After nine weeks of sitting on the couch, getting up early to go to the equivalent of Sams Club or Costco, then driving with the mayor of Yaurisque almost two hours from Cusco, then giving out food to over 200 families, all the way back to Cusco, was way more action than Ive had in nine It was im Read on...
Rather than explore all of the wines and regions of Portugal, I will focus on the Douro Valley, home of the most famous Portuguese wine, port, and more recently some enticing red wines. In fact, my trip up to Porto from Lisob is designed to do just that. Focus on ports and red wine. Do not be alarmed if you know very little or nothing about Portuguese wine. I was the same way back in 2001 on my fi Read on...
Lockdown is lifting and the hottest day of the year (by that point), it was a good day to be outside. My walk along the Thames started at Southwark Bridge. The bridge was opened in 1921. I really like its green colour. I headed over the bridge from the north to the South Bank, taking in the view of the Thames and the buildings that lined the northside of the river. I mainly looked west as last tim Read on...
It was good to see Becka back doing tours in Okinawa. A knowledgable guide and explaining how Okinawa consists of 160 large and small islands including 47 inhabited islands.
During the Pacific War, Okinawa was the site of the only land battle in Japan that involved civilians. After the war, Okinawa was placed under the administration of the United States. In 1972, Okinawa was returned to Japanese Read on...
I have jumped from Monday to Thursday, as Ken spent exploring Nice, Villafranche and just wandering the wonderful area. By the time I got here he had had an average of 20k steps per day! I was going to have a nice dinner with Ken once I arrived at 9p on Thursday, but due to delays due to air traffic, so by the time I exited it was 1020p, so it was a bit of a slow start to my part of the trip.
On Read on...
The Polica Nacional de Per still has the main square in Cusco cordoned off. Many public places are still closed, even six months after Perus quarantine/lockdown started.
In some parts of Peru, this is the last day of full day Sunday curfew. In Cusco, the current outbreak is so bad that none of the restrictions will be lifted here. We still have an 8pm curfew and are not allowed to leave the house Read on...