tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9170983171452926682024-03-12T21:11:19.977-07:00Hugh and Diana's Excellent AdventuresHugh and Dianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12286182738305577142noreply@blogger.comBlogger37125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-917098317145292668.post-2683401704718892172012-10-21T03:36:00.003-07:002012-10-21T03:36:48.420-07:00A Tale of Three Cities<span lang="EN"><div align="CENTER">
<strong><em>With deference to Charles Dickens</em></strong></div>
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We have a rental car today after making reservations yesterday. We took the Metro to <br />
Gare d’Lyons and picked it up at Hertz where a very nice lady served us. From the station we began the tale. It was the best of times and the worst of times.<br />
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To leave the City one should take the Periphique. This is the highway that circles Paris and let’s you get out. Uh huh. Anyone who has driven LA or NYC freeways knows that it’s an absolute necessity to have a pretty good idea of where you are going first. Diana, as usual, is driving. She has two navigators today; myself and Peggy in the backseat. We are looking for signs that point us to the A1 and the A16.<br />
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Getting out of town is a mixture of uncertainty, fear and hope. Peggy has nicknamed the Periphique the “Circle of Doom.” After a few lessons in compass points, we did get out of Paris and headed off to our first Village northwest of the City, LaRoche Guyon . From there we have the entire day to drive to the other two; Lyons-La-Foret and Gerberoy which are in fairly close proximity to each other. <br />
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As we drove we kept waiting on the expected sun and 70 degrees predicted by the weather channel on our computers. It never arrived.<br />
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We finally made it to LaRoche Guyon after several leg stretching stops and I must say the Village is well worth the visit. As you drive into the center of the village you are presented with what, in my mind, is typically French. Now understand I have no experience in what a typical French Village is but this is it. <br />
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La Roche Guyon is so quaint (and there is no other word for it) that, except for the modern cars including a pink Fiat, you would think you were in a Victor Hugo novel. It is quiet, picturesque and simple.<br />
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We found a Café (La Cancalaise) that serves Crepes and we all decided to try La Fleur de France. <br />
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Oh. My. God. </div>
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A banana sliced length wise inside a perfect crepe. This doused in shaved cocoa and chocolate. Topped off with rosettes of whipped cream. These are to die for. </div>
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The coffee was the best we have had so far in France. </div>
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I told the chef and waitress in my best broken French which is very broken that the crepes and coffee was the best in France and they seemed to understand that. The three of us headed to the huge centerpiece of LaRoche Guyon which is the castle. We passed a fruit and vegetable stand that had the most beautiful collection of local produce imaginable.<br />
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We were simply amazed not only by the structure but where and how it was built. It almost grows out of the pure white limestone. The homes also have built storage and garages directly out of the pure rock. (That makes them the first rock Jacques), Ha.<br />
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As we strolled through the main square, we made a detour to the back of one building where two men were renovating a home that is (we later found out) about 400 years old.<br />
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After quick introductions, the gentleman asked if we wanted to see his home. Up three flights of windy stairs, we arrived in an obviously gutted out room with a view of the square. Diana remarked about the tiles and he gave her one as a souvenir. She prizes this little piece of 17<sup>th</sup> Century France.<br />
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We hopped back in the car and headed off to Lyons de Foret. “Do we want the D-13 or the N-1?”<br />
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“Someone look for a sign.” <br />
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“Let’s pull over.”<br />
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“Let’s look at the map…again.”<br />
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And as the adventure continued, we happened upon a Chateau that Peggy has dibbed for her wedding. Another couple of “Oh my God’s.” In Paris, the trees are still mostly green with a few shades of yellows here and there. In the countryside the trees are exploding with fall color. Even with the dull overcast sky it is tres magnifique.<br />
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This area is obviously farm country and so many of the towns appear deserted. Deserted but tranquil and beautiful. We remarked that it’s as if their only worries here is if a cat strays into someone’s backyard.<br />
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It took most of the daylight to find de Foret. But, Diana being slightly obsessive determined we would get to Gerberoy and after a “few” “anyone see a sign?” we entered another quiet little town.<br />
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I should mention that the reason Diana chose these Villages is it seems a writer from the early 20<sup>th</sup> Century (Les plus beaux villages de France…the most beautiful villages in France) wrote about what he considered the “must see” villages of France and the 3 Diana chose were on his list with La Roche Guyon was his top pick. <br />
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The French government designated these little towns as particular areas to visit. The book, written by Charles Ceyrac, mayor of Collonges la-Rouge, was written to protect what was close to his heart, the beautiful towns of France. <br />
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As the light died around 6 p.m. we had to head back to Paris.<br />
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“Do we want the A1 or A6?”<br />
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“I think we should get off here.”<br />
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We finally found the Parking Garage for Hertz…so we thought, but ended up in the Avis garage. Now there is no way to describe lost in these underground parking centers that are not marked well <i>at all</i>.<br />
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We went back to Le Petit Pont for dinner (lamb chops pour la Femme and lamb tangine pour mois). We were absolutely worn out. Peggy remarked that we should have buns of steel by now. Mais oui!<br />
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We are soooo ready to crash for tomorrow.<br />
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Hugh and Dianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12286182738305577142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-917098317145292668.post-56176349065132751342012-10-21T02:28:00.000-07:002012-10-21T02:28:50.497-07:00The Three Musketeers<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Our good friend and “partner in craziness” Peggy Sprague arrived this morning for a few days of mischief in Paris. We have known Peggy as long as we have been in San Diego which is more than ten years. We have done some humanitarian work together but Peggy is the real deal when it comes to her work with the under privileged.
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We were to meet her at CDG airport at 8 a.m., but we got off at the wrong terminal and were delayed a bit. Just as we were leaving for the Metro, we met a young lady from NYC who followed us to the Metro as she was unfamiliar with Paris. Turns out she is a new screen writer for the show <i>Boardwalk Empire.</i><br />
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We arrived at the apartment without much to report although Peggy managed to count the stairs to our apartment…97 to be exact. Now to put this into perspective for you, the tower to the top of Notre Dame is 387 steps. That puts our apartment about 1/3<sup>rd</sup> the height of the Notre Dame! And we have no gargoyles.<br />
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Diana had planned a visit to the manicurist, something she rarely does, and (are you ready for this) she wanted to experience a fish salon. I mean they put your hands and feet in with some Turkish fish that eat the dead skin. Ewwwwwwww. <br />
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So while Diana is fishing (or being fished) Peggy and I grabbed a bite. The flight was finally taking its toll as Peggy was barely keeping awake. We got Diana and brought Peggy back for some much needed rest.<br />
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Once Peggy was recharged, we all went for dinner with Bob, went back to the apartment and crashed for the evening.<br />
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Now it gets really good, The next day, we decided to rent a car and get out of “Dodge.” Since Diana had reconnoitered the area, she took us on a walk to find a car rental. More like a trek. I opted to go inside a local hotel (Hotel Saint Louis en L’Isle) and ask directions. <br />
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The person at the quaint desk immediately saw my Fuji camera and got up to examine it promptly and politely telling me it needed cleaning and we began a long discussion about his Leica M9, past Hasselblad 1000f, Alpas, etc. Photography is an international language. After all, the French invented it and still are passionate about it. <br />
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I told him how much I appreciated the discussion and he politely bowed and directed us to an car rental at the Gard d’Lyon “a 20 minute walk.” Then corrected himself “Perhaps 22 minutes.” What a nice pleasant gentleman.<br />
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After much meandering, we decided on the Metro. We were all rapidly deteriorating. We couldn’t rent a car without a reservation so we made a reservation for tomorrow. At this point Diana thought she would like to try a fast train for fun....<span lang="EN">Uh huh. </span><br />
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We found out that that thought might have to wait since a round trip ticket to the closest city was 140 Euro per person!<br />
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We opted for a short ride back to the apartment to rest up for the journey to three Cities in the Northwest outskirts of Paris. <br />
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More of that in the next blog. </div>
Hugh and Dianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12286182738305577142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-917098317145292668.post-86651447793903787712012-10-21T01:35:00.001-07:002012-10-21T01:35:14.939-07:00Paris, the Easy Way, Beauty and the Beast(s)<span lang="EN"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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We were out of the apartment by 9 a.m. and the weather is incredibly clear. Diana discovered a great way to travel Paris namely L’Open Tour. This from her previous visits to Paris.<br />
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L’Open Tour is a bus system that costs 34 Euro per person for two days. You can get on and off at any stopping point and you are supplied with a set of ear phones that give you a brief history of each area in which you travel. Our first destination? The Arch d’ Triomphe on the Champs d’Elysee.<br />
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We passed through the single highest cost neighborhood in Paris not only according to our “guide” in our headsets, but it is obvious from the stores and hotels. <br />
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When you arrive at the Arch you are greeted with a huge round about that is full of traffic with no apparent way across the round about. Ah. Clearly marked are underground tunnels that take you beneath the traffic directly to the Arch. Paris again solves her overcrowding by going underground.<br />
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It is, like most of the architecture in Paris, impossible to describe even if you have seen a thousand pictures. It is simply breathtaking. I will let the pictures speak for themselves. (Didn’t I just tell you, pictures do not do it justice?).<br />
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As we made our way across the Champs d’ Elysee, our first “beast” of the day reared his head. As we stood photographing, a young man stepped in front of us and “found” a “gold” ring” which, after many attempts realized it wouldn’t fit his hand. He handed it to us and then asked for a few Euro. (Does this smell already?). It was all we could do to get rid of him.<br />
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Off to Montmartre on L’Open Tour. It is a short ride but takes us through the Place Pigalle past the Moulin Rouge, through a series of sex shops and clubs, and lands us finally in Montmartre. As we begin our way up the narrow street to the Sacre Coeur, we encounter more “beasts” in the form of the shell game…again. Diana had fun watching and guessing and winning but refusing to be sucked into the game.<br />
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At the top of the street the entirety of the Sacre Coeur comes into full view. Beautiful, beckoning and, like the beautiful spiritual lady she is, very tall, slim and elegant. We climbed the hundreds of steps (passing up the cable car) to the sanctuary and entered in. You are not allowed to photograph inside the cathedral so the photographs you see at the bottom are illusions of someone else’s camera. <br />
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Of course, there are beggars and hucksters here, as well. The hucksters sell miniature replicas of La Dame de Fer and beggars beckon right up to the door of the sanctuary.<br />
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The view of Paris from this point is astounding especially in this very clear weather.<br />
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As we left Diana’s “favorite all time church” she led the way behind the cathedral to the center of Montmartre.<br />
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Behind the Sacre Coeur, you emerge immediately in the center of hundreds of artists, painting behind their displays, portraitists trying to draw your face and some of the most beautiful paintings you will ever see.<br />
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We sat next to one and when I told him we didn’t have room, he answered “Put it in the bank. It will be worth a lot after I die.” <br />
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After a few hours strolling about, we headed back to L’Open Tour deciding to end the day with a quick visit to the Louvre. <br />
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Obviously, one cannot just give the Louvre a quick once over, but it was nearing 6 and the Panini only dampened our appetites. <br />
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(The Fujis had also consumed all of our batteries…all 6) so it appeared that all three of us needed feeding, as well.<br />
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We had spotted a bridge a few days ago and we came upon it again. Almost every inch is covered with locks inscribed with the names of lovers. Apparently, it is tradition to place the lock on the bridge and throw the key in the Seine. (We have to buy a lock tomorrow.)<br />
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Finally, by 6 p.m. we ended up at La Gentilehommiere, again. We greeted Bob who immediately not only recognized us, but brought us a plate of olives and cheese French bread. We both ordered burgundy beef and whiped out the plate tout suite. <br />
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We told Bob again how great the food was and that we would be back and he introduced us to his “Boss, John.” What a pleasant way to end an already successful day. The Beasts of the Citie and the beauty of a new friend, fine food and amazing architecture.<br />
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</span>Hugh and Dianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12286182738305577142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-917098317145292668.post-19536799148858332012-10-16T01:33:00.000-07:002012-10-16T01:33:32.048-07:00Rain in Paris.....All Day!...., Paris 3.1.5<span lang="EN"></span><br />
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It rained. <i>All day</i>!<br />
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We stayed inside. Went to the Petite Pont Café below for lunch. I had a wonderful beef stew. Diana had an omelette. It continued to rain, but the café was loaded with people. Since this was definitely not a day for shooting, we decided to simply take it easy. After all, we have been running pretty much full tilt for 3 weeks. <br />
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We both miss family and friends. My daughter Justice and son in law Brian have been holding the fort and tackling the monstrous job of taking care of business…TCB! We miss you guys. Maybe we will be in Ireland together soon rather than Alaska! Alaska? Brian, we love you, but have you been there? Yikes. Temperatures get cold enough to break axe heads.<br />
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Tomorrow we are taking the tour bus. Now if that sounds way too touristy, let me explain that the L’ Open Tour buses make a huge circuit around Paris. One buys a two day pass for 29.00 Euro per person and can get on and off as they please. Actually, pretty cool. It’s actually cheaper and more convenient than the Metro. A 5 day pass on the Metro is 59.00 Euro per person but you have to know where you going and that can be a hazard as one trip we took Friday landed us (as I mentioned) in a rather seedy area of Paris. <br />
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Cameras are ready for tomorrow, batteries charged, SDHC cards are formatted and all is ready to go.<br />
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As a sidebar, I was doing some very cursory counting over the last few days and was amazed at the number of DSLR’s hanging around necks. More Canons than Nikons…probably twice as many. (Most were pretty high end). There were plenty of mirrorless cameras such as Olympus and a few Sonys. Oddly, I did not see any Fujis. I did see a very few Leica M9 cameras, as well. (One guy with an M9 was staring at our Fujis trying to grasp what exactly we had. The Fujis do have a very retro <i>film </i>look). <br />
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There was a time when I would have loved to own an M2 or M3 but back in those days, it was still hugely priced around, if memory serves, $1500! Today, an M9 (which only shoots black and white) sells for somewhere in the high end neighborhood of $7900 for a body alone! A lens can set you back as much as another 7 grand. My opinion (and that is all it is since I am the guy who back 1972 predicted no one would ever produce an auto focus camera and in 1999 predicted digital would never replace film!). <br />
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All of that being said, our Fujifilm X-100’s do not have interchangeable lenses (sporting the equivalent of a 35mm lens on a 35mm camera) but has served us well. So well, in fact, I believe that the landscape work we will produce from these excellent little cameras, should astound even the uninitiated. One thing Fuji did right was change the digital pattern and removed the anti aliasing filter (AAF) from the sensor thus producing remarkable images of superb quality even at ISO ratings of 6400! For street shooting, it is also nice to have a choice of 3 frames per second or 5 fps. You don’t miss much if you have to shoot fast. (I used the 3fps shooting our Czech friends at the Eifel Tower the other day). My biggest complaint with the Fuji is it eats batteries like a madman coming off a 2 week fast. <br />
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I didn’t mean to turn this into a discussion of cameras but it’s raining and I didn’t have any new travel tips for you. Hence. Camera talk.<br />
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I will include some “off subject” photographs for you in this blog so all is not lost. When we return, we will be publishing a book of Ireland and France. We will also be printing several pieces (from 11x14 to 16x24) and framing these for exhibit and sale.<br />
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Many of our pieces are already available at
<a href="http://fineartamerica.com/art/all/hugh+smith/all" target="_blank"> Fine Art America</a> </span>as canvas, metal and postcards plus framed prints and these are very reasonably priced. We will be printing our brains out after we get home. If anyone is interested in our books, please let us know. <br />
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Hugh and Dianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12286182738305577142noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-917098317145292668.post-73700318801747602952012-10-15T11:47:00.000-07:002012-10-15T11:47:17.228-07:00Paris 3.0<span lang="EN"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Is this starting to sound like a Windows update or what? In some ways it is…an update. We kind of have a handle on the Metro using it a lot. The 5 day pass for two is about 100 Euro and well worth it if you plan on seeing a lot of Paris. <br />
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Anyway, we were trying to get to the Sacre Coeur but missed that and opted to return to the Citie and go inside a musee for a drier venue. We went to the Musee d’Orlay. Entrance fee was 12 Euro each. This is an incredible display of artists from every form from pointillism to impressionism. The sculpture alone was worth the cost.<br />
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From our view the students sitting and drawing was worth it. Where did Paul Gaugin get <i>his </i>inspiration? I also did not know that Gaugin sculpted. One of the things that struck me was the pointilists. They were copying film which of course, did not exist then. Hm. Some of the works were at least 4 feet wide. The paintings are almost as if someone enlarged color film to the point that film appears when under exposed and over enlarged. (For the non photographic types, believe me this looks exactly the same).<br />
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Outside, we took the Metro home and enjoyed a quiet evening. <br />
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By the way, for the photographers amongst us, all of the images were captured with the Fuji X100 and, as we do not have any photo software along with us, all are uncorrected jpegs straight out of the camera. ISO ranges run from 200 to 6400. The camera has performed very well under about every circumstance you can imagine. <br />
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One thing that many photographers complain about is its slow focus and auto exposure. While this is not an issue with landscapes, it can be unnerving shooting on the street. A cool little trick is to put the camera in manual focus, use the AF setting and prefocus on a spot say 10 feet, and let your subjects come into range. Shades of film days! Speeds up the little Fuji’s ability to shoot on the street. Fast and rarely miss a shot.<br />
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Another thing I appreciate is the built in ND filter. (The waterfalls in Ireland were shot in this way). It slows your shutter speed from say 1/60<sup>th</sup> of a second to a nice water blurring 1/5<sup>th</sup> of a second. <br />
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Tomorrow portends sunshine. Diana wants to get out in the country. It has been said that Paris is not France. God, I hope so.</span>Hugh and Dianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12286182738305577142noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-917098317145292668.post-27804401193142961092012-10-13T14:27:00.002-07:002012-10-13T14:27:25.484-07:00Paris 2.5.....Day 2 <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Inside Shakespeare & Company</td></tr>
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We are now two days in Paris and tired from just a bit of wandering about the city. Since I combined some thoughts from day 1 and 2 in the previous post, I entitled this one 2.5. I may have done it for eclectic reasons. I may have done simply to be accurate or just to be cute.
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We strolled along and watched street artists draw portraits</td></tr>
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We decided to dress up and have dinner out. We wandered down la rue St. Michel and happened upon La Gentilehommiere. It is a little café/bistro/restaurant/Bar/Brasserie on Place St. Andre des Arts.
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bob?....Yes, thats Bob!</td></tr>
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We sat down amongst at least 30 others and quickly noticed that there was one and only one waiter. I mean it was busy and this one waiter was taking quite good care of everyone (now including us).
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He was helpful and polite, speaking better English than our poor French. Not only was he the only waiter, he even stepped out for a cigarette for a moment never once missing a customer.
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We ordered. I had Coq au vin and Diana the beef bourguignon. She the salad and I the onion soup as starters. All Formule was very good. We skipped dessert. Duh.
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We found our waiter’s name is Bob. Bob? Again, I am surprised at the Parisian courtesy which defies all reputation to the contrary. We had an amiable walk back to our apartment taking photos along the way.
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We even stopped in at the Shakespeare and Company (still open at 9:00) and looked around briefly while taking prohibited pictures. (They do not allow photographs inside but turned their heads as we clicked away).
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Paris may well be over rated and it has many shortcomings like any large city. But, truthfully I can think of none except the crowds…make that hordes of people. But, the friendliness of the people and the ambience cannot be explained but only experienced.
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What we have planned for tomorrow I cannot say. The weather forecast for the next 10 days is cloudy with showers. From a light standpoint and photographically, Ireland rules. So I think we will wander and take people pictures. But, as Bogart said to Bergman, “ We’ll always have Paris.”
Hugh and Dianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12286182738305577142noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-917098317145292668.post-5083555591860881782012-10-12T11:38:00.000-07:002012-10-12T11:38:38.481-07:00Paris 1.0 .....1st Day<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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We arrived at Charles D’gaulle airport about 3:00 Paris time. It was quiet and not very busy which was welcomed considering the reorientation we are experiencing. The trains are well marked and we took a train to La Rue St. Michel. It took about 30 minutes and we arrived within a block of our apartment at 41 la rue de la Boucherie. <br />
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We had no cell phone and pay phones are non-existent here. We stopped for coffee as Diana decided she was going to walk to the office to finalize our apartment. At the Petite le Pont restaurant (next door to our apartment) the waiter kindly dialed the number and within about ½ hour we were greeted by Megan who showed us around the apartment. This was after a 5 floor climb up very winding stairs.
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I begin this edition with this incident because obviously the reputation for French poor manners did not hold up with us. We were in Paris less than 15 minutes when a stranger helped us not only by offering to make the call but doing so in English!
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Then our “hostess” Megan kindly showed us around the apartment, gave us some local tips and filled us in on the neighborhood which is obviously a touristy area.
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our stairwell to the apartment (well....at least part of it)</td></tr>
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After finally settling in, hanging our clothes for the first time, we decided to shop for some necessities such as eggs, milk, laundry soap, etc. Now let me explain that shopping in this the City of Light at 7:00 p.m. is not easy. First, the streets are full of people. This at 7:00 p.m.!
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There are restaurants and bars everywhere. I mean everywhere. We thought Galway was crowded. Galway is deserted by Paris standards. Traffic increases steadily through the night with horns blaring. Frenetic is an understatement.
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We did take a quick bite. There were several gyro restaurants about and we thought we would give one a try. We were not disappointed. We couldn’t finish the entire gyro.<br />
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We then stopped at the little bar below our apartment for a glass of wine and just stared at the people on the streets. Now I am from Philadelphia originally and busy does not bother me. This bothers me. It is beautifully crazy.
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Our apartment is about 750 square feet (about average for Europe). I asked Megan how much one of these would sell for and (hold on to your wallet) “About 2,000,000 Euro!” Holy Euro Batman! The prices in Ireland are bargains in comparison. A 2400 sq foot house in Ireland ranges from 185,000 Euro to 435,000 Euro. A bargain in comparison.
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As I write, it is raining (an Irish drizzle actually) and party barges are powering down the Seine past Notre Dame. The city is still bustling but calming somewhat.
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It is easy to see why such great photographers as Doisneau, Bresson, Clergue, ad infinitum made their reputations here. If you can’t get great pictures here you aren’t trying… or don’t have a camera.
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I leave you with great expectations of tomorrow which we will share in this first segment from Paris. We are going about the city to get acquainted with this beautiful and perhaps, tainted, lady. What fun.
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Orientation
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We slept in a bit and awoke to an Irish drizzle…again. Around noon we walked about 1/½ miles to du Pont Neuf then north for a few blocks to Le Pompidou. We stalked subjects most of the way and shot touristy stuff and lots of people.
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We had an espresso and cappucino (which no one has made to Diana’s standards as yet), photographed more people and buildings and by 3:00 had made a circle back to Notre Dame. The lines were huge. Rather than buck the queue we decided to do a Seine tour on one of the boats. It gave us a different viewpoint of Paris.
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Some of the pictures you see here were taken from the boat.
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We got home around 5 and decided to clean up and go out for dinner. Don’t make coffee stops in Paris. Every stop is a 10 Euro rest. At that rate, it’s easy to go through 50 Euro in coffee. We have opted for coffee at home.
Hugh and Dianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12286182738305577142noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-917098317145292668.post-74445206229897335802012-10-09T13:44:00.000-07:002012-10-09T13:44:03.837-07:00Our last days in Ireland<span lang="EN"></span><br />
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<em>“Are you goin' away with no word of farewell?<br />
Will there be not a trace left behind?</em></div>
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<em>I could have loved you better, didn't mean to be unkind;<br />
Oh, you know that was the last thing on my mind.”</em> <strong>Tom Paxton</strong></div>
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Well, we finished the day with a bang in Kenmare. The sky was a cloudless clear blue. We sauntered around town until about half 2 and headed west for a sundown. We took pictures of course from Allihies to Dursey and back at 9:00 p.m. just in time for dinner at O’Donnabhain’s Bar.<br />
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Again, by the way, the food was superb. We were treated to an upbeat Irish duo and the last song they sang was from the 60’s (my era) by Tom Paxton. We thought it apropos for a farewell song. If you’ve never heard it, may I suggest you download it and listen to some incredible lyrics.<br />
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We cannot tell you how gracious the Irish have been. They are truly a blessed people and given the things they have historically endured, we are truly amazed and so happy to have been welcomed with their smiles and hospitality. Thank you Ireland. Erin go bragh (and that is our complete vocabulary).<br />
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Rather than bore you with long details regarding our stalking light today, let me simply finish by offering some photographs of our farewell to Ireland. We are going to Dublin Monday for our short flight to Paris and two and half weeks in the City of Light. We will bring you more pictures and our experiences in this the most visited of European cities.<br />
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May the road rise to greet you and may you be in heaven an hour before the devil knows you’re dead. <br />
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Rossacroo na loo Wood, Oct 7th</h2>
We were up until 1:00 a.m. yesterday, writing the blog, having a last dinner at our favorite restaurant and generally enjoying our last few days here in Kenmare. Diana and I feel as though we have seen what most of us would consider Ireland. While Ireland, like any country, is its people it is also a simple state of mind.
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We meandered about, having several espressos and machiatos at Jam (our new coffee haunt. The Irish make terrible coffee and most restaurants and the hotel rooms use instant coffee…bleahg! Diana spent most her time here trying to explain to the locals how to make espresso the Italian way. Not gonna happen, I’m afraid.
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After a bit of a walk down the two main streets of Kenmare, we headed out of town about 20 km to an area dedicated to preserving Ireland’s forest in as pristine a manner as possible. The area is full of deep and dark moss covered trees and is enchanting. We spent several hours here just soaking it in (quite literally given the weather). <br />
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It is named Rossacroo na loo Wood or Wood of the Cattle.
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We drove back into town for dinner and a well deserved break. Again, we want to share some of the photos with you just to give you a taste of this area of Kerry County.
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Our last night is tomorrow and we can truthfully say this was an exciting time for us. We hope you enjoyed Ireland, as well.
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Tomorrow we drive to Dublin to catch our plane to Paris on the 9th of October.
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We will see you again in ParisHugh and Dianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12286182738305577142noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-917098317145292668.post-36622542259408282652012-10-07T04:48:00.000-07:002012-10-07T04:48:32.388-07:00Gleninchaquin Park<span lang="EN"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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After chatting with Eoghan ( pronounced; Owen) and his lovely wife and being absolutely stunned by <a href="http://www.skyline.ie/" target="_blank">his work</a> we decided to take his advice and head about 13 km our of town to the Guilinchquin Park. We drove up one very narrow road and stopped first at a trout cottage. The lake was beautiful with mountains in the background and reeds on the lake.<br />
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After finishing up here, we headed deeper inside the area and drove to a stone circle about 4,000 years old. (1 Euro each on the honor system). We walked to the top of a hill and in the center of the rise was a stone circle (in better shape than most we have encountered) but this time there were a number of ladies gathered about the circle holding hands and singing Amazing Grace. It was simply perfect. Their voices wafting like the Irish breeze across the heather.<br />
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We waited while they finished their little ceremony (photographing them all the while) and proceeded to take more photographs of the landscape. Wonderful.<br />
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We continued driving to Gleninchaquin Park and suddenly, as we turned a curve, in front of us was the most spectacular sight you could ever imagine. If this is not a setting for a fantasy movie then no one has discovered it. It makes the New Zealand scenery for The Hobbit pale in comparison.<br />
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First, the incredible chartreuse green grass and hills dotted with black face sheep with a waterfall behind about a mile that puts Yosemite Falls to shame. Streaming over the black volcanic rock is a multi streamed waterfall that is simply magical.<br />
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We were greeted by the owner’s wife, a lovely lady who showed us the little routes to take to enjoy their working farm.<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0VnFuIwfPRU/UHFpMY9fCpI/AAAAAAAAAhM/7awb7IWmwo4/s1600/_DSF2786.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0VnFuIwfPRU/UHFpMY9fCpI/AAAAAAAAAhM/7awb7IWmwo4/s320/_DSF2786.JPG" width="212" /></a>As we walked up a little 2 mile grade, we were greeted with more waterfalls, each one outdoing the other. The green inside this river walk is not to be believed and perhaps it was a dream we were in. But, if this is a dream, we will stay asleep never to awaken.<br />
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After getting back to the car we drove directly beneath the falls. The landscape here is pure fantasy. There is no way to describe it nor compare it nor do it justice in pictures. This is a seriously beautiful land of green and natural sounds of silence not to be believed.<br />
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If you come to the western part of Ireland and do not visit this place, it would be a serious loss. I did not see it on any maps. Thanks goodness for fellow photographer, Eoghan Kavanagh for his suggestion.<br />
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Again, Eoghan’s website is </span><a href="http://www.skyline.ie/"><u><span style="color: blue;"><span lang="EN">www.skyline.ie</span></span></u><span style="color: blue;"></span></a><span lang="EN">.</span><br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WxlU9dkYSJ4/UHFpXoEfawI/AAAAAAAAAhY/2OiK9Nmvkhs/s1600/_DSF2805.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WxlU9dkYSJ4/UHFpXoEfawI/AAAAAAAAAhY/2OiK9Nmvkhs/s320/_DSF2805.JPG" width="212" /></a>When we finally get home, we will put together another of our travel books. This one will be <b><i>Ireland. Stalking the light. </i></b><i></i>Because this place is so incredibly beautiful we are contemplating having an exclusive exhibition of some of our work from Ireland. Give us your thoughts and we will choose a venue. Perhaps, our studio but probably a gallery in San Diego. Trust me when I say that Ireland has enchanted us far more than even Italy. <br />
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One caveat however; Italians excel at espresso. The Irish do not. Wurra, wurra, wurra.Hugh and Dianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12286182738305577142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-917098317145292668.post-72834800522723504212012-10-06T06:33:00.000-07:002012-10-06T06:33:37.842-07:00The Ring Of Kerry<span lang="EN"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Everyone talks about the Ring of Kerry being the most beautiful destination in Ireland. I would humbly disagree. We left the Skellig Hotel in Dingle to drive the Ring of Kerry. Perhaps had we not been to Dingle, we would have been more impressed. But, it is a tour that has (yes) the Irish countryside but has none of the rugged beauty and diversity of Dingle.<br />
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We rode, it seems, for hours, finding none of the <i>WOW </i>factor of Dingle. After the hours long drive, we checked into the Kenmare Bay Hotel, inexpensive and well groomed, determined to find some redeeming quality. <br />
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This isn’t meant to detract from its beauty but it simply does not compare with the Ring of Dingle. Perhaps, I am just getting jaded, but I had to push to get photographs I would want to print.<br />
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We spent the night in a well appointed room (if one doesn’t factor in the hard beds) and awoke to sample another Irish breakfast. Kenmare Bay hosts a buffet that consists of eggs, sausages, bacon, black and white pudding, toast, (bad) coffee or tea, and fruits and cold cuts. One cannot fault the Irish for their food.<br />
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We then headed for the Kilarney (Cil Airne in Gaelic) National Forest. We were enchanted to say the least. Streams, mountains, landscapes, waterfalls, sheep and stopping for photo opportunities is a must. This area will more than make up for the shortcomings of the Ring. Continuing on the N71 will bring you directly into Kilarney.<br />
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Now just to settle a bit of a discussion regarding the existence of Leprechauns. Please note the sign “Leprechaun Crossing.” Why would there be a sign for a crossing if the little people didn’t exist? Plus, I inquired in the restaurant and the waitress confirmed that she has experienced their presence. Later that evening, another confirmed that you are more likely to see a Leprechaun after a few pints of Guiness. Regardless, I rest my case.<br />
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I will let you make the comparisons yourselves regarding the scenery and leave you for our next excursion back to Bearra Peninsula. From there, we will make our way back to Dublin and will fly to France and make our final destination in Paris on the Rue La Boucherie. <br />
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It is Paris where hope to meet up some of France’s best photographers such as Pete Turner, Ben Kanarek and perhaps (with luck) my spiritual mentor, Lucien Clergue.<br />
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See you tomorrow with news from the Bearra Ring.</span>Hugh and Dianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12286182738305577142noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-917098317145292668.post-60303501143965794232012-10-03T13:58:00.000-07:002012-10-03T13:58:07.517-07:00Ring of Dingle, Sept 30<span lang="EN"><span lang="EN"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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“<i>Allow me to begin with a flat statement: The Dingle Peninsula which stretches out 30 miles from the county Kerry coast in southwestern Ireland is the most beautiful place on earth.</i>”</div>
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- Boris Weintraub in the 1986 National Geographic “Traveler.”</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Skellig Hotel, Dingle Ireland</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KQaqeFwrDT0/UGyc8Ukcs4I/AAAAAAAAAds/3JU4DOkleKo/s1600/_DSF1874.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KQaqeFwrDT0/UGyc8Ukcs4I/AAAAAAAAAds/3JU4DOkleKo/s320/_DSF1874.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bay view from hotel</td></tr>
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While it doesn’t sound all that romantic, we drove to Dingle (a full day’s drive) and checked in late to the Skellig Hotel in Dingle. We knew we were on the right track as the hotel is situated right on Dingle Bay. The area is stunning and anyone visiting the west of Ireland must make this a requisite visit. Boris Weintraub was understating the beauty of Dingle. It was and is a fishing village. It is small and quaint. (Quaint may be defined as full of pubs). But, beyond that, the Dingle ring will simply take your breath away.<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Gj6gtIPmwuw/UGydtA1drLI/AAAAAAAAAd4/jdypnaBMz9Y/s1600/_DSF1898.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Gj6gtIPmwuw/UGydtA1drLI/AAAAAAAAAd4/jdypnaBMz9Y/s400/_DSF1898.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Beehive Huts inhabited from ancient times to 1200 AD</td></tr>
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We arose early and had an Irish breakfast. For those of you who are not aware, an Irish breakfast consists of one friend egg, two sausages, 2 “strips” of bacon, 1 fried tomato, and a scoop of baked beans. Toast and butter is on the side, thank you. but with that said, Diana did find herself a treat at the breakfast buffet; fresh pickled herring and smoked mackerel. <br />
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We hopped in the car and started driving the ring which runs the entire coast from Dingle and back again. It takes several hours, but the experience and landscapes are nothing less than magnificent.<br />
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Beautiful shorelines and mountains run the entire coast and one cannot imagine a more magical drive. We stopped everywhere possible to photograph churches, streams, castles, dilapidated and old ruins from before Christ to the 20<sup>th</sup> Century.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-aZbxIOpKjJY/UGyh_UvUEmI/AAAAAAAAAec/PR9r-O0AZWE/s1600/_DSF2115.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-aZbxIOpKjJY/UGyh_UvUEmI/AAAAAAAAAec/PR9r-O0AZWE/s320/_DSF2115.JPG" width="212" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kilmalkadar circa 600 AD</td></tr>
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We found one ruined church that predated Christ and was used by the ancient Celts before they converted to Christianity. Some of the markers are simple inscribed stones about 6 feet high with a hole drilled near the top.<br />
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Ireland is truly a feast for the eyes and soul (stomach notwithstanding) and Dingle is the main course. <br />
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We photographed sheep, peat bogs, churches, ruins, the Atlantic Ocean, landscapes and anything that got in our way. The light was incredible ranging from misty to rainy to sunshine and clouds. If you will pardon the plagiarism, it is a moveable feast. It is almost more than one can take in at any given time.<br />
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While the Dingle Ring is short by most Irish standards, it is indeed a magical excursion.<br />
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(As I write, we have just come off the more famous Ring of Kerry and I can tell you that Kerry cannot even come close to comparing with Dingle…not taking away from Kerry, but skip Kerry and go right for Dingle).<br />
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We were tired but uplifted and so far, Dingle has been the highlight of our Irish adventures. All I can say is let the pictures speak for themselves.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Where did that little leprechaun go?!</td></tr>
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Tune in tomorrow for the Ring of Kerry</span><br />
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Hugh and Dianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12286182738305577142noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-917098317145292668.post-50894103409866232932012-10-02T13:33:00.000-07:002012-10-02T13:33:05.406-07:00Arran Islands, Sept 28<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Yesterday, we decided that missing the Aran Islands would be a travesty since we are so close. We canceled our Dublin reservations and drove the 45 minutes from Galway to An Spiddel.
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Here we had coffee, served by a lovely ex-pat French lady in her little coffee/tea/sandwich shop. The weather she commented is “4 seasons in one day” and she is quite right. The weather shifted from bright and clear to rainy and misty in a few minutes.
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And we checked in to the lovely little hotel on the seaside, the An Cuiscin Lan hotel.
The owner John is a prime example of Irish hospitality. He went many yards out of his way to make us happy. Since we had scheduled the Aran Islands tour at 9 the next morning, John accommodated us by having coffee ready at 8. The pub below the hotel, also run by John is beautiful, well appointed and run by a congenial staff. We met Martin, our server for the evening. Martin was born in Spiddel but raised in London for 39 years. He moved back observing that “Every morning, his neighbor’s car alarm went off at 5:00 a.m. like clockwork.” Here in Spiddel, the neighbor’s jackass braes at 5:30 a.m. and he isn’t bothered at all.
............Ah, luxury.
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We made reservations for 9:00 a.m. and we had to be there at 8half. (That’s 8:30 for you non Irish).
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We made the airport in time to fly to the Aran Islands. (Innis Moire Island to be precise).
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The plane is a six seat twin prop and the flight took probably 8 minutes. It appears that a resident in 1970 sent a letter to the Irish government complaining that there was not sufficient transportation to and from the Islands, so in the 1980’s a flight route was established and Aer Arran was born,
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Guiness Beef Stew...hhmmmm yummy</td></tr>
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We landed on Innis Moire and were met by a covered horse and trap. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our horse Jake. we had the only covered wagon and were glad we did!</td></tr>
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Our driver/guide was John and Jake. (Jake is his horse). For 50 Euro John showed us Innis Moire. Now let me warn you, John is not a collegiate nor historian, but his manner is typically Irish. I think he is genuinely concerned about our enjoyment of the tour. He constantly (I mean constantly) asked “What dya think?”
While I would have liked to tell John I thought that wet blue jays don’t fly at night, I could only reply that I thought it was beautiful.
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Truthfully, The island is awesome. There are 800 people living on this rocky crop of land 8.7 miles long. God only knows how they make a living here! John’s idea of a history lesson was :”What dya think?” and “No problem.”
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Everywhere, one sees literally hundreds of stone fences. It becomes apparent that the reason they built these fences (some dating before Christ) was this is how they "dispose of and store" all these rocks. I mean where would you put them all? According to John, some landowners own over two hundred of these little fenced plots.<br />
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Like North Idaho, they grow pretty much two things here; potatoes and rocks. One year you may clear the rocks and the next year you have more "sprouting up." The rocks literally pop up from the ground like a crop. Some of the fences are 7 feet wide.
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We did the tour in about two hours and as we had another two hours before our bus picked us up for the airport, we decided a pub was in order.
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Here was an impromptu group playing traditional Irish music. It consisted of two guitar players, an accordianist, fiddler, banjo player, and two others switching between a concertina and mandolin.<br />
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They had crammed into this little corner of the pub and their music was appreciated by all in the pub.<br />
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It was soon time for us to catch our flight back to the Aer Aaran airport and back to An Spiddle. We finished the evening with a traditional Irish dinner and bed.
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Tomorrow we are off to Dingle and a tour of the coastline.Hugh and Dianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12286182738305577142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-917098317145292668.post-40873436962999818422012-10-01T11:51:00.002-07:002012-10-01T11:51:47.469-07:00To hell or Connaught, Sept 27<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I’m sorry, but I like a soft bed. OK. I could do semi soft, but the Irish like most Europeans have a thing for hard beds. You awaken with a back ache. A sleep number bed would be a 50 (if they have these numbers then this would be it).
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Back in the middle ages when the English under Cromwell and Edward ruled Ireland and established the plantation system, it was often said when a man was exiled “To hell or Connaught.” This area is a beautiful desolation. It is rocks, grass and sheep. I can only imagine what it must have been like in those days to be banished here would have truly been hell on earth.
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We decided to drive the coast of the Connemara Ring back to Galway and this is truly a photographer’s dream. With the exceptionally cloudy and rainy skies, coastal landscapes, ruins from early Ireland and mountains, this is truly a beautiful area of Ireland.
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Evidently, there is an Atlantic storm coming in making for brisk air. To give some of you an idea how much we photographed, I finished an 8GB card before we had finished the Ring and, because it is so beautiful, I thought we would simply give you this day’s blog in pictures.
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We ended the excursion back in Galway City Center and checked into the Eyre Square Hotel (79 Euro a night including traditional breakfast) and we trekked the Eyre Square, had a dinner of oysters and Lamb cutlets). Brian, the gelato is pretty good here. Perhaps not quite as good as Bubby’s in Encinitas, but pretty good stuff, Maynard.
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Incidentally, the shower in the Eyre Square hotel is a bit like the Chinese water torture. I am serious when I tell you the water drips. A shower is a euphemism. It means you stand under the water and allow it to drip like a verrrrry slow mountain stream and hope you have enough to rinse the soap from your body. This could be the reason for the Irish complexion….all day in a shower with a bit of left over soap.
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The Eyre Square in downtown Galway boasts these narrow streets with bustling crowds, restaurants, pubs and street musicians. (Did I mention pubs?) This is something the Americans could learn. (Not the pubs). Each town should have a little area like this where all the fun stuff and people watching can be accomplished. Even dreary as the weather is, the activity here is just plain fun.
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Today is Arthur’s Day. This is the day the Irish celebrate the inventor of Guiness Ale, Arthur Guniess. The barmaid found it odd that we don’t celelbrate it in the States. She thought it was an international holiday!
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We went out around 11 p.m. and the streets were absolutely shoulder to shoulder with party goers and most of the girls were wearing either shorts or (very) mini dresses. My God, it’s freezing here and they are wearing summer clothes. The reveling was a mixture of yelling, overly exuberant drinkers. This is the first time we have seen any police presence. Here they are called Garda and they were out in force. As if the Irish need an excuse to drink, I suppose this is it.
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With that being said, we wanted to leave you with photographs we took traveling the Connemara Ring. Again, the desolation is beautiful if one can travel to and from it. We hope you will feel a bit of the Irish in the photographs.
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Enjoy the photographs folks.
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Tomorrow we are going to travel to the Aran Islands and savor the ancient history of Ireland.
Hugh and Dianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12286182738305577142noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-917098317145292668.post-39559559282503938392012-09-27T13:48:00.000-07:002012-09-27T13:48:26.609-07:00A Chance of Sun, Sept 25<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
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We decided to travel north from Galway to Cong. Cong is where the John Ford film “The Quiet Man” was filmed starring John Wayne, Maureen O’Hara and Victor McGlaughlin. We drove north on the back roads for about 40 km on the east side of Lough Corrib.
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Now I won’t say the roads are narrow, but given that we are driving on the left side of the road and the roads are sided with stone walls and vines, I was picking sticks from my teeth. Diana is doing an admirable job but she does constantly say under her breath, “Drive on the left. Drive on the left.”
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As we arrived at the entrance to Cong, we turned into the drive of Ashford Castle. The entrance fee is 5 Euro per person and is well worth it. If one wishes, you can stay at the castle as they have turned it into a hotel. The grounds of the castle are well groomed and covered in lush plants, flowers and trees. Ashford Castle is also home to a falconry school which was established in 1999.<br />
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We were most impressed with the view across the lough. It is dotted with small islands and, of course, is covered in mist.
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The highlight for me was the small village of Cong. To say that “The Quiet Man” may well be my favorite John Wayne film would be an understatement. I think this is perhaps John Wayne’s best film ever and he should have won an Academy Award for this film.
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Cong has turned the location into a cottage industry. As you exit Ashford Castle grounds, you immediately pass through the old Cong Abbey and into the main street of Cong. Turn right and find the Pat Cohan Bar (one of the first scenes from the Quiet Man. Across the street is the The Quiet Man house and Squire Dannegher’s Bar. Those of us who love the film will recognize the names.
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To the left is the Quiet Man museum with about every possible spin off from the film from calenders to post cards.
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The village is tiny but busy with tourists and we had espresso and yes, Diana found cappuchino at the Hungry Monk. We walked the old tombstones of the Abbey and the gardens behind the Abbey. A few hundred meters beyond is a beautiful river with the Monk Fish House situated on the bank of the river.
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One can almost see and hear Ward Bond (the priest in the film) and Maureen O’Hara having their Gaelic conversation. The Irish are justly proud of their ancient language and the signs everywhere are written in English with the Gael translation on top. They are preserving their national heritage with pride and honor.
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After a few hours in Cong, we headed west through Joyce’s Country, the Maumturk Mountains into Connemara and the edges of the North Atlantic. I thought the wind was gusty in Galway! The winds, rain and mist increased as we pulled into Kylemore Abbey.
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WvfgFclQx0U/UGS4-VQw-dI/AAAAAAAAAXA/Wk3wpU0E1j8/s1600/_DSF0913.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WvfgFclQx0U/UGS4-VQw-dI/AAAAAAAAAXA/Wk3wpU0E1j8/s320/_DSF0913.JPG" width="320" /></a>We proceeded to do the Connemara Ring a route that takes you around the coast through some of the most incredible scenery imaginable. Beautiful views of the coast and harbors, mountains and of course, sheep. Sheep are everywhere and cows? (Diana just loves cows. It must be a Dutch thing). The cows are huge.<br />
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We have never seen cows this huge.
We drove and photographed until about 5 and as the sky was darkening we found a nice little B&B (fluent French spoken) in Clifden. We holed up for the night in the B&B to prepare for another excursion in the Connemara Ring.
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-MEFStTPPs3o/UGS6SOd1IrI/AAAAAAAAAXQ/P9ZxA-AK4cU/s1600/_DSF0926.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-MEFStTPPs3o/UGS6SOd1IrI/AAAAAAAAAXQ/P9ZxA-AK4cU/s320/_DSF0926.JPG" width="320" /></a>Incidentally, the B&B’s are as ubiquitous as the grass. You can’t drive 50 meters without seeing signs for B&B’s. I would venture that staying in a B&B is a better bet than a hotel. They are more intimate and far less expensive than a hotel. We averaged 60 Euro a night whereas hotels range from 89 Euro to 150 Euro. The breakfasts are the same. Everyone serves the “traditional” breakfast which consists of “crisp” bacon (sliced ham really), black and white pudding (little cakes of, uh, uh pudding?), one fried egg, two sausages, toast, a fried tomato, baked beans, tea or coffee and very nice people and conversation.
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Tomorrow we will finish the Ring.
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Hugh and Dianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12286182738305577142noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-917098317145292668.post-42886716642340496832012-09-25T14:03:00.000-07:002012-09-25T14:03:54.614-07:00On to Ireland! Sept 23-24<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ashford Castle Cong Ireland</td></tr>
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<span lang="EN">We left San Diego at 5:30 a.m. on Sunday morning. Of course, we didn’t sleep all that much anyway so the long anticipated journey finally began. Of course, Aer Lingus “owned” our tickets so check in was a bit of a pain through United Airlines and took about a half an hour to straighten out.</span><br />
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<span lang="EN">I want to get some of the passenger complaints out of the way first for anyone traveling on these airlines since much has changed in the year since we traveled last. I find it more than interesting that United advertises “…more leg room” because unless you are an leprechaun I surely did not see it. We felt it of course, because you feel like a mummy with your legs contorted.</span><br />
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<span lang="EN">What I really thought was a disaster is that United now has what they euphemistically call snacks on board. There were three, the Tapa, Classic and I can’t remember the third. I opted for the Tapas and Diana the Classic. They are $7.40 each and pretty much consist of prepackaged junk food. I now know how United is recovering from their economic woes. Be forewarned. Unless you <i>really </i>crave <b><i>really </i></b><i></i>bad food don’t even think about these snacks.</span><br />
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this position was unobtainable</td></tr>
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Aer Lingus on the other hand, had exceptionally good airline food but the leg room was equally short. Incidentally, a word to Aer Lingus and their partner United. If you are going to show the obligatory emergency procedures (which includes the “duck and cover crash landing” video) it would be incredibly thoughtful if there was actually room to bend over. I am serious, if the Airbus 330 went down, passengers would be stuck in the upright and locked position.<br />
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Ok. That all being said, we arrived in Dublin airport in the morning and guess what? Rain. Even the Irish consider this desperate weather. We rented a car and Diana drove us to our first destination, Galway on the left, of course.<br />
The rental rate is 17 Euro a day and insurance is 37 Euro a day! (Complimentary insurance from the credit card companies is non existent, we had called to verify.) So, if you plan on driving in Ireland, plan on high insurance rates. (Do the Irish drive that badly? Apparently.)<br />
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I must say getting used to the M50 N6, M6 designations are a bit unnerving but we soon found ourselves in Galway. There is a huge competition going on here, hurling games and the town is abuzz with sports fans. (As near as I can tell, hurling is something like Lacrosse).<br />
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JVTQ92ybVss/UGIUm3cRFWI/AAAAAAAAAVQ/-ZOvLB2b_sU/s1600/_DSF0543.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><br />
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JVTQ92ybVss/UGIUm3cRFWI/AAAAAAAAAVQ/-ZOvLB2b_sU/s1600/_DSF0543.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"> </a>The town is full of B&B’s and there are plenty of vacancies, but we wanted to be in the center of town so we checked into the Radisson. The Radisson is a very nicely appointed modern hotel and at 139 Euro a night quite nice quarters.<br />
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We napped for a few hours and then headed for the center of Galway around 8 in the evening. Galway’s city center is replete with pubs, restaurants, stores and people (even on this very rainy Monday evening) are strolling the area. Did I mention pubs? Some are stumbling already from one too many porters.<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ByNWQXbk1lk/UGIWNeqOdEI/AAAAAAAAAVk/BS__UpSVsZg/s1600/_DSF0741.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ByNWQXbk1lk/UGIWNeqOdEI/AAAAAAAAAVk/BS__UpSVsZg/s320/_DSF0741.JPG" width="212" /></a></div>
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JVTQ92ybVss/UGIUm3cRFWI/AAAAAAAAAVQ/-ZOvLB2b_sU/s1600/_DSF0543.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JVTQ92ybVss/UGIUm3cRFWI/AAAAAAAAAVQ/-ZOvLB2b_sU/s320/_DSF0543.JPG" width="320" /></a>We stopped in a local pub for dinner and decided a good start for our first Irish evening would be Shepherd’s Pie, a Guiness and (for Diana) a Heineken. Justice, it isn’t <i>our </i>Sheperd’s Pie but it was yummy. They grind the beef, put in green onions and peas and top with mashed potatoes and gravy with a side of chips.<br />
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-89KyATZVIQk/UGIYalo1UMI/AAAAAAAAAVs/kMnscncSeDY/s1600/_DSF0521.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-89KyATZVIQk/UGIYalo1UMI/AAAAAAAAAVs/kMnscncSeDY/s320/_DSF0521.JPG" width="320" /></a>The pub was hosting traditional Irish music complete with guitar, banjo (we will ignore the fact that the banjo is a distinctly America invention), bodhrun, dancers and wonderful Irish tunes. You can see the pictures we did of our first night here.<br />
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Tomorrow we are driving around Galway Bay and points north. Our first destination (which could change) is Connaught and Connemara (near the town of Cong where the John Wayne classic “The Quiet Man” was filmed. And our midnight Concierge, Michael, told us about a dirt road on the way to Connaught where thousands of Irish died during the potato famine and are buried there. Even the locals are unaware of the graves according to Michael as there are no markers or memorials as the Irsish do not wish to remember the deaths.<br />
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And by the way, rain is predicted for tomorrow. Imagine that!<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: x-small;">Incidentally, as a first night footnote, to connect to the hotel internet, one has to enter his room number and last name, After several failed attempts, I called the desk to find out that my registration is not Smith but O’Smith. Too funny.</span></b>Hugh and Dianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12286182738305577142noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-917098317145292668.post-85218994647032388052012-08-20T07:24:00.018-07:002012-09-21T11:35:58.924-07:00The Perfect Travel CameraNormally, Diana and I carry our Canon equipment with us. While wonderful, they are heavy and of course, expensive to replace should they be stolen (which is always a possibility). When were in the planning stages of our next adventure to Ireland and France, I was on the lookout for something that would produce high quality images, could shoot closeups (macro) and Raw and simultaneous JPG's.<br />
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At about that time a little over a year ago, Fuji announced their little X100. After a lot of research, I bought two of them. (One for myself and one for Diana. We are after all, a <em>pair</em> of shooters).<br />
This little camera shoots 12.4 mp images and gave us some nifty bonuses, as well.</div>
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It shoots bursts up to 5 frames per second which is great for street shooting, shoots RAW images as we do a lot of Photoshop, shoots JPGS, and macro images as well as video and panoramics.<br />
Now let me warn you. This thing is a maze of dials and working one's way through te menus can be exasperating...make that <strong><em>IS</em></strong> exasperating. After 6 months, I am still learning it's little foibles and there are a couple...but it is one heckuva camera producing images that are extraordinary even at 6400 ISO in the middle of the night.</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-25UXCv76b48/UDQiWzbYzdI/AAAAAAAAAUg/zlzz7AGAyAQ/s1600/_DSF0254.jpg" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" height="265" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5779281996980735442" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-25UXCv76b48/UDQiWzbYzdI/AAAAAAAAAUg/zlzz7AGAyAQ/s400/_DSF0254.jpg" style="float: left; height: 212px; margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; width: 320px;" width="400" /></a>The bonuses one gets with this little camera are well worth the 1200 bucks Fuji charges. The drawback for some is the fixed lens (equivalent to a 35mm on a full frame DSLR) but the images are superb! </div>
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I shot this test photo at 6400 ISO at 12:00 midnight and there is virtually no noise.Now that is pretty incredible. <br />Literally no noise and sharp even hand held.</div>
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You can see more about the Fuji X100 at Fujifilm's <a href="http://www.finepix-x100.com/">website here</a> . Or you can buy one (or two) of these nifty little guys <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Fujifilm-X100-Digital-Fujinon-2-8-Inch/dp/B0043RS864/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1345474903&sr=8-1&keywords=fuji+x100">here on Amazon</a>.<br />All of the images we will be posting on our European adventure will be shot with these little beauties and I think you'll understand why I bought 'em.</div>
Hugh and Dianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12286182738305577142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-917098317145292668.post-92204362168855905382012-08-18T10:02:00.014-07:002012-09-21T11:43:54.523-07:00Sequoia and the Kern River<div align="left" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">
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<strong><br /></strong>Anyone who knows us knows that we love fishing. To say that Diana is obsessive about her fishing is an understatement. In mid June, we traveled to the Kern River for some fly fishing. We stayed at the Durwood Lodge in Sequoia.</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ZFbVdpi3S5Y/UC_VBzFyu4I/AAAAAAAAAUM/xdFHlao6yAs/s1600/_DSF0306.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5778071073810725762" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ZFbVdpi3S5Y/UC_VBzFyu4I/AAAAAAAAAUM/xdFHlao6yAs/s320/_DSF0306.jpg" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; display: block; height: 212px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></a>The lodge is owned by Ralph and Diana and was previously owned by Claire Hemingway, Ernest Hemingway’s cousin. She lived there for 50 years and passed away at the age of 102.</div>
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We stayed in the one large cabin furnished with 1920’s appliances (yes, they still work) and the lodge is situated in the pines fronting on the South Fork of the Kern River<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wjcUUlm7xBk/UC_Sl9qSrSI/AAAAAAAAATo/t546xpcB6Cg/s1600/Cody0329.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5778068396588576034" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wjcUUlm7xBk/UC_Sl9qSrSI/AAAAAAAAATo/t546xpcB6Cg/s320/Cody0329.jpg" style="display: block; height: 300px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center; width: 240px;" /></a>We took some photographs of our host Ralph with his son Cody. Next to our cabin was a “pool hall” and bar. Take a look at the photos.</div>
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It was warm, but the fishing was pretty good. (See the insert of Diana and one of her <strong><em>very</em></strong> large trout).<br />
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I fly fished while Diana used her spinning outfit with rooster tails. Our first day’s expedition I did not expect much and while we made our way to the river, I left our net in the car. Diana let her lure float to the bottom and she immediately latched into a huge trout.</div>
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Now for those of you who do not river fish, 10 inches is a pretty average trout. Diana pulled this monster rainbow to the shoreline. It was at least 24 inches. I reached down to grab it (no net mind you) and he snapped the line. Diana immediately dove in for him…clothes and all. Sadly, he slipped away.</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Y7zyTyOcGoo/UC_UaToTYHI/AAAAAAAAAUA/5GoUEIEIiz8/s1600/Diana0374.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5778070395350638706" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Y7zyTyOcGoo/UC_UaToTYHI/AAAAAAAAAUA/5GoUEIEIiz8/s320/Diana0374.jpg" style="display: block; height: 300px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center; width: 240px;" /></a>But, as you can see, she redeemed herself and caught 2 more of these monster rainbows. The smallest was 24 inches and weighed in at 8 pounds. We broiled it over an open campfire and ate the whole thing! </div>
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By the way, all of the photographs were taken with our Fujifilm X100's. Pretty awesome travel camera which we will be using in Ireland and France.<br />
My point to this story is that Diana and I find fun things to do even it isn’t Europe. I mean LOOK AT THAT FISH!</div>
Hugh and Dianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12286182738305577142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-917098317145292668.post-38207449159941710002012-08-17T11:28:00.004-07:002012-08-17T23:43:27.911-07:00New Adventures coming in SeptemberHey gang!<br />We have new adventures (Europe) coming soon.<br />Sept. 23 we leave for Dublin and Galway where we expect to take some great photographs and meet some incredible people.<br />Then, once we leave Galway, we head for Paris.<br />On Diana's bucket list was dinner in the Eiffel Tower and we have dinner reservations for the Jules Verne restaurant on the day before we leave.<br />Our apartment is just across the Seine from Notre Dame and we are three floors above Shakespeare and Company. (For those of you who are Hemingway afficionados, you will recognize that. Others who may have seen Midnight in Paris with Owen Wilson, may recognize a couple of scenes shot there.<br />We decided this time to limit our camera equipment to a tad less than 50 pounds with our Canons and lenses. We bought 2 FujiFilm X100's. These little gems sport 12 mp images and we've been practicing, practicing, practicing!<br />So hold on to your britches, this will be an incredible adventure.<br />(And yes, we are practicing our Francaise).<br />So to prepare everyone for this excellent upcoming adventure, I will be posting about our last trip to the Kern River soon.<br /><br />Hugh and Dianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12286182738305577142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-917098317145292668.post-55550794537510443712011-05-13T01:46:00.000-07:002011-05-17T02:52:35.947-07:00Hanging on the Cliffs of the Amalfi coast<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GwHsuUBH_SQ/TdI3OasEauI/AAAAAAAAASQ/Db7yv6LlwtY/s1600/IMG_2043.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5607605206851545826" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GwHsuUBH_SQ/TdI3OasEauI/AAAAAAAAASQ/Db7yv6LlwtY/s320/IMG_2043.JPG" /></a>Diana went to the store this morning about 7:00 a.m. to shop for essentials. This is long before I awoke. She had her cappucino and got her shopping done and managed to come home with eggs and pizza. The kind and generous lady at the store gave them to her no charge. They are so sweet.<br /><br />After breakfast, we drove into ValleGrande for (you guessed it, cappucino and caffe) and discussed the days outing with our new local friend.<br /><br />Around 10:00 we headed for Salerno about two hours away. This area is so totally different from what we are used to. The urban sprawl and poverty is incredible. It reminds us of Tijuana. In fact, at the ticket gate for the A1 Autostrade there were two guys selling whatever at the ticket gate. Peggy, we would have cried laughing. It was just like TJ when we came back from Encinada.<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VOsqkRxr1gE/TdI3taNvnII/AAAAAAAAASY/nExuNuYb6-w/s1600/IMG_2046.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5607605739300297858" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VOsqkRxr1gE/TdI3taNvnII/AAAAAAAAASY/nExuNuYb6-w/s320/IMG_2046.JPG" /></a><br /><br />We arrived in Salerno around noonish and were not impressed. My Dad used to come here in the maritime and he was not impressed in the 50’s. I am not impressed in the 2011’s. Bologna and Florence's overcrowding is pale by comparison.<br /><br />Diana, trooper that she is, drove down the coast to Amalfi. (I was opting for going back to the casa).<br /><br />Oh my god! Bond. James Bond. This is simply straight out of a James Bond movie!<br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jKDmRuzkfv4/TdI6xi42DAI/AAAAAAAAASg/5MvvFVG3E7U/s1600/IMG_2152.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5607609108882918402" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jKDmRuzkfv4/TdI6xi42DAI/AAAAAAAAASg/5MvvFVG3E7U/s320/IMG_2152.JPG" /></a>We stopped for lunch at a ristorante, Torne Normanna, that is built from a castle in the sea off the Amalfi Coast.(yes, to the left is a picture of the restaurant) The view is breathtaking. We are off the Amalfi coast and it is easy to see why the jet setters come here. Allora. The view is stunning. While we only had secondi and wine, lunch was 89 Euro. But, the service, food and view was well worth it. If you come to Italy and miss the Amalfi coast,then you miss it all.<br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-E1rZ5-gWRLw/TdI8FHuj5kI/AAAAAAAAASo/C67I3VkIXEk/s1600/_MG_5264.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 214px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5607610544701040194" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-E1rZ5-gWRLw/TdI8FHuj5kI/AAAAAAAAASo/C67I3VkIXEk/s320/_MG_5264.JPG" /></a><br />The food was outstanding. The service was completely perfect. The waiters are dressed in silk coats and very attentive. The view is …well, breathtaking. The Amalfi coast is what one would expect of Italy, You have to come here! Where is Auric Goldfinger?<br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zkdvHy7rr68/TdI9-VnI3XI/AAAAAAAAASw/vwWTtOspfjs/s1600/_MG_5481.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 214px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5607612627192175986" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zkdvHy7rr68/TdI9-VnI3XI/AAAAAAAAASw/vwWTtOspfjs/s320/_MG_5481.JPG" /></a>This is incredible. We stopped for the night at a local hotel (Grand Hotel Tritone) and I am writing from a terrace overlooking the Mediterranean in a hotel hewn from the rock cliffs. The sea is so blue it defies description. We are overlooking the town cliffs of the Amalfi and all we can hear is birds, waves and a few cars passing on the cliffs.<br /><br />The hotel seems an outgrowth of the rock cliffs. We had to descend to the hotel lobby via elevator about 100 feet and then descend two more floors through the rock and traverse hallways that seem to be caves in the walls of the mountain to our room. All the while the church bells chime in the distance about two miles across the sea. This is really hard to believe.<br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wDhB1pX_Mss/TdI_hWTpx9I/AAAAAAAAAS4/peKPCGyhDHQ/s1600/_MG_5604.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 214px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5607614328185931730" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wDhB1pX_Mss/TdI_hWTpx9I/AAAAAAAAAS4/peKPCGyhDHQ/s320/_MG_5604.JPG" /></a>We had a few glasses of wine on the terrace while Diana shot two cards of photos of the incredibly pink and grey clouds over the Med. It just got better and better. Oh my Lord. If this is Italy, I’ll take it. (Brian. Still no cannollis). But, the food, atmosphere and sounds are beautiful. I am so happy to be able to spend time on such a beautiful seascape with my best friend, Diana. This place will make you fall in love all over again.<br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vK60Ft9tncY/TdJAZ5GsoNI/AAAAAAAAATA/62NQ48K1ha8/s1600/_MG_5541.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 214px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5607615299599507666" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vK60Ft9tncY/TdJAZ5GsoNI/AAAAAAAAATA/62NQ48K1ha8/s320/_MG_5541.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Below us (about 1,000 feet) is a 3 masted schooner and a cruise ship. One can feel the myths rise from the sea. I can understand (Harold and Joanie) how the sea grabbed your life. This is beyond description. We are on the terrace watching the clouds disappear in the night as the sun drops discussing Alexander, Caesar, Napoleon and the great men of history. We are wondering how and what made them do it. We are also wondering what separated the benevolent dictators of history from the sociopaths that have plaqued history.<br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-miDxOCJyod8/TdJCIMnCCqI/AAAAAAAAATI/NPjbJ-cYmYY/s1600/_MG_0070.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 214px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5607617194621012642" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-miDxOCJyod8/TdJCIMnCCqI/AAAAAAAAATI/NPjbJ-cYmYY/s320/_MG_0070.JPG" /></a>We are about a thousand feet above the Med’ just north of the little town of Praiano. I do not have any idea how these people built these homes on this desolate rock. But, we can gear the sounds of a church bell sounding time and the music of a disco. Now imagine the chimes of the church bells from the duomo 2 miles across the Med’ and KC and the Sunshine Band. What a mix. There isn’t a parking place to be had; a lot to build on; a silent place to move, but they live here on these rocks and thrive.<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-aSl1XSMw6xM/TdJDGA19aYI/AAAAAAAAATQ/mIfsvv2Y-cs/s1600/IMG_2141.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5607618256614287746" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-aSl1XSMw6xM/TdJDGA19aYI/AAAAAAAAATQ/mIfsvv2Y-cs/s320/IMG_2141.JPG" /></a>As we gaze out on the Med’ all I can think of is that no one can take this from us. No one can steal this memory. No one can steal this from our hearts and this is a life changing experience. I have been so fortunate to have my sweetheart Diana to share all of this with and I cannot ever tell how much this journey has meant to me.Hugh and Dianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12286182738305577142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-917098317145292668.post-34346254361026503502011-05-12T01:36:00.000-07:002011-05-17T02:46:57.603-07:00Vacation from vacation.....Allora.<br /><br />We crashed today. We slept in and generally just relaxed. Diana has been driving this entire trip and she is pooped. Me too.<br /><br />About 6:00 p.m. we decided to go into ValleGrande (the town just below) and look around some more. On the advice of Alan we stopped in at Floyd’s Ristorante. Floyd is a Scots transplant and speaks English as well as Italian. He owns the local bar which sports a complete menu of English dishes from hamburgers to fish and chips.<br /><br />Considering that we haven’t had any real hardcore food since we arrived, we split a fish and chips and hamburger with patatine (fries). We couldn’t finish them but damn they were good. No pork tonight.<br /><br />Not only does Floyd serve Angle food, but he has a dart board. Now Diana and I love darts so much that we have professional darts that cost us about $75.00. (We don’t shoot any better but we feel like we do). We have shot darts since Sacramento and, upon moving to San Diego, we haven’t found but one place with a dart board. Imagine. We had to travel 13,000 miles to find a dart board! And did we shoot darts.<br /><br />We have also been blessed with a wonderful couple at the local food store/bar/tratorria that take care of us with a graciousness that defies explanation. Rosella gave us eggs from her own home (located across the street) because they had run out at the store and didn't even charge for them. We must have looked hungry so she also gave us two huge slices of her homemade pizza!<br /><br />We are heading out to Amalfi tomorrow.<br /><br />Buono Notte.Hugh and Dianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12286182738305577142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-917098317145292668.post-55553812175017590822011-05-11T11:47:00.000-07:002011-05-16T12:41:29.841-07:00Casa Bella Vista<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RLlEm9pR77I/TdF0naqh0uI/AAAAAAAAARY/LzNeY7lWNV8/s1600/_MG_5081.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 214px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5607391231574397666" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RLlEm9pR77I/TdF0naqh0uI/AAAAAAAAARY/LzNeY7lWNV8/s320/_MG_5081.JPG" /></a>Allora. We awoke this morning ready for our trip to Atina. We headed for (what else) coffee at a local bar. We then hit the Bancomat for some cash. We went back to check out of the hotel and lo and behold, we found my reading glasses right where we had looked the night before. Leprechauns. There is some serious stuff going on here.<br /><br />As we drove about 10 minutes out of town into the Italian National Park, I realized that we had forgotten our passports! Yikes. The Leprechauns struck again! Something seriously amiss in this hotel.<br /><br />We drove deeper into the national forest, we were again struck by the seemingly unending expanse of mountains, snow and trees. Land of superlatives!<br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gOCx4e6lwo8/TdF1zeklPUI/AAAAAAAAARg/L_ZyLfFyzrk/s1600/IMG_1896.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5607392538293255490" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gOCx4e6lwo8/TdF1zeklPUI/AAAAAAAAARg/L_ZyLfFyzrk/s320/IMG_1896.JPG" /></a>We moved on into Ortona dei Marsi, a steep cliff of a town. Again there is no way to describe these towns. They are breathtaking. We then decided it was lunch time. I can’t do these Italian breaksfasts! Justice, my daughter, always warned waitresses “Please don’t mess up my Daddy’s breakfast. It will ruin his (read “our”) day. Well, sweetie, they do and it doesn’t.<br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-yIvWd8rAniU/TdF2j-5PEUI/AAAAAAAAARo/vd0K8wrIwdU/s1600/IMG_1924.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 240px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5607393371603538242" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-yIvWd8rAniU/TdF2j-5PEUI/AAAAAAAAARo/vd0K8wrIwdU/s320/IMG_1924.JPG" /></a><br />We ascended and descended the mountains. It is so high in these spots that it causes vertigo. I am serious. These people had to be mountain goats. The town is Cocullo. How do they do this? I got dizzy just photographing it. It is literally hanging on the mountainside.<br />Just parking the Fiat is a dangerous proposition.<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-pctdJ8X8mhk/TdF5SzsLLCI/AAAAAAAAARw/PcxS1qkSvcM/s1600/IMG_1962.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5607396375073074210" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-pctdJ8X8mhk/TdF5SzsLLCI/AAAAAAAAARw/PcxS1qkSvcM/s320/IMG_1962.JPG" /></a>We had lunch on the Lago d‘ Scanno. It’s a beautiful little lake resort and possibly the most elegant little restaurant of our Italian tour. The service isn’t great but the ambience is brilliant and the food above average.<br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dUX3VXBenew/TdF7ACBKptI/AAAAAAAAAR4/O3e5Xkb4x3M/s1600/IMG_2032.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 240px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5607398251524957906" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dUX3VXBenew/TdF7ACBKptI/AAAAAAAAAR4/O3e5Xkb4x3M/s320/IMG_2032.JPG" /></a>We arrived at the Casa Bella Vista at about 6:00 p.m. and Diana is dead tired. She has driven every hour and day of the trip with nary a complaint.<br /><br />I must tell you that Alan and his wife Carole (our gracious hosts) have outdone themselves. The house has indeed a “beautiful view.” The appointments are first rate and the rooms are huge. This is indeed a great way to finish our Italian holiday. They have obviously put a huge amount of work and love into this place and are justly proud of their home.<br /><br />By the way (and this is important) the shower would fit 6 people unlike every European shower we have experienced so far. This is heaven. Thank you Alan and Carole.<br /><br />Alan called and gave us a brief history of the place. It seems that the Italians in the 1600’s used this as an outpost for attacking Greeks across the Aegean. The tower was used as a lookout and when the Greeks attacked the Italians lighted warning fires here.<br /><br />I can tell you that the casa is something no one should miss. It is beautiful. If you come to Atina (just east of Rome about an hour) you must make time to stay here. Of course, by the time we managed to get unpacked it was 7:00 p.m. We needed supplies for morning so we shopped (kind of) at a local store and the people were, as usual, just as nice as you can imagine.<br /><br />I can tell you, we bought the last 6 eggs in the place. Eggs for breakfast! Hurray. No sweets! No sweets!<br /><br />So we are now sitting on the terrace enjoying the sunset and a view to die for. We are overlooking the valley toward Antina.(pictures will follow)<br />It’s a tiny bit chilly, but still no way to dampen our spirits. We keep looking at each other and saying “Hey, We’re still in Italy.” Another week and we head home, but this is an incredibly exciting trip.<br />Allora.<br />Now for some technical stuff for those of you deciding to tour Italy.<br />We decided to purchase a Toshiba netbook as our laptops are too bulky to take with us. I bought the best they offer. When we first purchased it, it made 157 updates. (Yes. I am serious). It has crashed more times than I can count and it is the most frustrating piece of crap I have ever purchased. It has gotten us by for downloading but I would never recommend a Toshiba netbook to anyone.<br />I am not familiar with the other brands, but this one sucks. It works for downloading our files and writing the blog. (barely)<br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-G4CdsOgJ_ww/TdF83Hu1qAI/AAAAAAAAASI/N2kAm9BHe7k/s1600/_MG_5205.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 214px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5607400297463130114" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-G4CdsOgJ_ww/TdF83Hu1qAI/AAAAAAAAASI/N2kAm9BHe7k/s320/_MG_5205.JPG" /></a><br />Google announced their netbook today and my guess is, it is more reliable. If you need a netbook look around first. (Understand that we use Toshiba’s for our daily work, but the netbooks are pure close to useless garbage.)<br /><br />I also bought an Ectaco Italian translator to help with (duh) translation while here. It was an expensive ($379.00) “dictionary” that works when it feels like it. It is a pain to use and the teaching section is useless other than single words. I much prefer talking to the Italians we have met to learn Italian. It barely translates when needed and is certainly not the unit I expected. Please consult an Ectaco owner before buying. (Could just be me). It advertises speech translation which it really does not do. It has been in our glove box since the beginning of the trip. For single word translation, it works fairly well. The only Mechanical thing that has worked for us so far has been the Fiat….go figure….Hugh and Dianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12286182738305577142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-917098317145292668.post-6020203464253835532011-05-10T09:04:00.000-07:002011-05-16T06:57:56.213-07:00Leaving the Adriatic<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-sy6qbLDVdMg/TdEixCMH9FI/AAAAAAAAAPw/3zq1KqIItAk/s1600/IMG_1884.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5607301236849636434" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-sy6qbLDVdMg/TdEixCMH9FI/AAAAAAAAAPw/3zq1KqIItAk/s320/IMG_1884.JPG" /></a>The hostelier apologized this morning for the weather. It is still unsettled. (That is a definite euphemism as the Adriatic is rearing her angrier side). We had breakfast at the Il Pinquino. Breakfast consisted of several cappuchino’s (noticing a pattern here?) and caffe Americano’s. We passed on the croissants on sweet rolls. (We will return for gelatos later).<br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-egsmkKYKUNI/TdEm3OyTDeI/AAAAAAAAAQQ/iDLbzs_j_SQ/s1600/_MG_4873.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 214px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5607305741356699106" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-egsmkKYKUNI/TdEm3OyTDeI/AAAAAAAAAQQ/iDLbzs_j_SQ/s320/_MG_4873.JPG" /></a><br />We inched back to the hotel to download the previous days shooting and videos. We feel a bit naked without PhotoShop but we have so much raw material for our upcoming exhibit in LA with Peter Max and Kornel Schorle. We also have made many friends here that we hope to see again sometime soon. (Oh, Brian. No cannolli’s here either. Carla says the best cannolli’s are in Sicily).<br /><br />OK. (By the way, “OK” is universal lingo. Everybody says OK. Another catch phrase used as much as OK is “allora.” It’s used everywhere and means, loosely translated “OK.” Go figure.) We headed for the Gran Sasso this morning having no clue what it looks like. Of course, it took 3 hours to drive 15 kilometers. Well, maybe not 15 but we seemed to be going in huge circles trying to find our way to a <a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RqCYjNOlYPw/TdEnkDrWu1I/AAAAAAAAAQY/l7QlPlhqrSY/s1600/_MG_9773.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 214px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5607306511468903250" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RqCYjNOlYPw/TdEnkDrWu1I/AAAAAAAAAQY/l7QlPlhqrSY/s320/_MG_9773.JPG" /></a>huge mountain staring us in the face.<br />We finally found a sign that pointed to Pietracamela and we took it (or more correctly…them) and ended up driving into the most incredible views you can imagine. (Have you noticed that hyperboles really seem to permeate my description(s) of Italy? This really is an incredible landscape. The Gran Sasso looks like the Matterhorn and is part of the Italian National Park System.<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XofS2U8YdEc/TdEpYtkUy6I/AAAAAAAAAQg/8uFG0LU3LYk/s1600/_MG_4971.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 214px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5607308515578530722" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XofS2U8YdEc/TdEpYtkUy6I/AAAAAAAAAQg/8uFG0LU3LYk/s320/_MG_4971.JPG" /></a><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Mo0KN9I33pM/TdEr3o8BkoI/AAAAAAAAAQ4/L4MjdUBDusc/s1600/IMG_1885.JPG"></a>We drove (and drove) up switchbacks to a tiny village and were awestruck by the scenery and the little town that presented itself at the end of our journey. (I still have no idea what a Pietracamela is, but it looks suspiciously like a llama with horns. We didn’t see any, by the way).<br /><br />This tiny town is, like most Italian towns, perched atop a mountain. (How did they get these towns up here?) Allora. The little town is a ski mecca for Italians and Germans. Of course, since they get very few Americans (make that two this spring…Diana and myself) they speak no…I mean NO English. Sign language comes in very handy. So, if you are of Italian extraction, that presents no problem. It’s genetic.<br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KG4Rm2RWcZI/TdEqVJlUTPI/AAAAAAAAAQo/8Ruh7G02IKE/s1600/_MG_9839.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 214px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5607309553891036402" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KG4Rm2RWcZI/TdEqVJlUTPI/AAAAAAAAAQo/8Ruh7G02IKE/s320/_MG_9839.JPG" /></a>We photographed the town and I, of course, got waylaid by a local. (Do I look Italian?)<br />He began to explain to me the disaster that overcame the village in 1935.…huge avalanches and rocks destroying the town. I, of course, just kept nodding and saying “Io capito.”<br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zMiXFS2zW8s/TdEqxi0LyVI/AAAAAAAAAQw/R_FTgVE9-QY/s1600/_MG_9845.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 214px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5607310041700616530" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zMiXFS2zW8s/TdEqxi0LyVI/AAAAAAAAAQw/R_FTgVE9-QY/s320/_MG_9845.JPG" /></a> Since his ristorante was the only one open for lunch (it was, after all, 2:00) we were invited in and had a wonderful lunch of lamb, veggies!, and the ever present cappuchino.<br />The local wine (rossa della casa) was thick as blood, fragrant and just perfect. It appears that the locals do not produce enough grapes to bottle the wine so the merchants buy the wines and serve them in their ristorantes. Bella!<br /><br />We would definitely suggest trying out the local fare here presented by the Matucci(?) Brothers who own the restaurant. They are very picky. The one brother who waited on us spent much time inspecting the water and wine glasses, making sure the table cloths were just so and the chairs placed perfectly. The restaurant is a gem and must be tried. Allora.<br /><br />We drove from there to L’Aquila. This is the town that was devastated in 2009 by a 5.8 earthquake and left hundreds dead and thousands homeless. It is still undergoing renovation and the after effects are still apparent. Buildings are being reconstructed, homes show huge cracks and holes yet the people seem very resilient. Diana wanted to stay here the night, but (wimp that I am) I opted for Pescina…a bit out of the earthquake zone. (Allora. We live in California, but earthquakes make me nervous).<br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Mo0KN9I33pM/TdEr3o8BkoI/AAAAAAAAAQ4/L4MjdUBDusc/s1600/IMG_1885.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5607311245934957186" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Mo0KN9I33pM/TdEr3o8BkoI/AAAAAAAAAQ4/L4MjdUBDusc/s320/IMG_1885.JPG" /></a>Tonight we are in a hotel on the edge of Pescina. They are still recovering from the 2009 quake, but the hotel has soft beds, a beautiful little dining room, great food and clear view of the valley from our room. (The shower is, as usual, a typical, Italian [read tiny] stall. It is, I swear, 18” x 18”! I am hoping the casa in Antina has a nice shower considering it is owned by an English couple.<br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tJN3WYUDP6E/TdEtAGo7NqI/AAAAAAAAARA/61XAGkW68BE/s1600/IMG_1906.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 240px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5607312490858493602" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tJN3WYUDP6E/TdEtAGo7NqI/AAAAAAAAARA/61XAGkW68BE/s320/IMG_1906.JPG" /></a>While on the subject, Alan (our casa host in Antina) called yesterday and e-mailed this a.m. giving us some helpful insights into the area in which we will be staying. That included; who speaks English, which restaurants to visit and various places not to miss. He has been a very helpful and courteous host so far. We look forward to the casa.<br /><br />Allora. Somewhere between the hotel front desk and the room, I lost my reading glasses. We have scoured high and low for them to no avail. Tomorrow I will have to track down a new pair. We also lost our charger for the European cell phone.Hugh and Dianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12286182738305577142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-917098317145292668.post-15614362078816967152011-05-08T08:37:00.000-07:002011-05-15T09:03:10.473-07:00Milano Mare on the Adriatic Sea<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-djYXkPl5Abg/Tc_1FQA60_I/AAAAAAAAAPQ/rfL5-wKMhFI/s1600/_MG_9721.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 214px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5606969531646530546" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-djYXkPl5Abg/Tc_1FQA60_I/AAAAAAAAAPQ/rfL5-wKMhFI/s320/_MG_9721.JPG" /></a>We followed Carla for the hour drive to the Adriatic seaside in a beautiful resort town of Milano Mare. We walked the beaches for a while and stopped for lunch in Ristorante.<br />It was very relaxing and so much fun just to relax.<br /><br />After saying our short goodbyes (we all were a bit teary eyed), Diana and I headed down the Adriatic coast toward Pascara where we will head inland for our Casa situated inland between Rome and Naples at the edge of an Italian National Park. This will be our final destination before leaving this beautiful country. The coastal area here is so beautiful we decided to spend a night at one of the hotels in the resort area of San Benedetto del Trento.<br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RuX5vmfD5xU/Tc_10VwvEQI/AAAAAAAAAPY/MPLCA808xnE/s1600/IMG_1874.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 240px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5606970340643115266" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RuX5vmfD5xU/Tc_10VwvEQI/AAAAAAAAAPY/MPLCA808xnE/s320/IMG_1874.JPG" /></a><br />It is off season here, but the place is filled with people walking the strands and enjoying the beautiful weather and sea breeze. We can now say we have stayed on the Mediterranean and the Adriatic!<br />We are staying the night at the Hotel Mocambo and the room rate is 60.00 Euro! While the room is small (European style) it is definitely the best hotel we have stayed in on our visit and one we highly recommend. Not only is the staff very nice and courteous, but the room is comfortable and well appointed. Unlike every bed we have slept in in Italy this one is actually soft and comfy. I swear a mattress company and chiropractor could make a fortune here. (Not a complaint, just saying).<br /><br />The Mocambo is so nice, Diana wants to stay an extra day or so. Alan, our host for the Casa near Atina called to let us know that the casa will not be available early so the extra 3 days here is perfectly timed.<br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Kru8kmQ84kg/Tc_31FFuYPI/AAAAAAAAAPg/FnRX_ibuCfA/s1600/_MG_4812.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 214px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5606972552370872562" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Kru8kmQ84kg/Tc_31FFuYPI/AAAAAAAAAPg/FnRX_ibuCfA/s320/_MG_4812.JPG" /></a>We sat at an outdoor table on the Adriatic and had dinner at a little ristorante (The Americano) staring at the sea and the breakers while rowers and beachcombers passed the horizon about 100 yards from our table. I thought to myself how some of the grains of sand may have been here when Ulysses sailed his way home from the Trojan wars. It isn’t hard to imagine since this land is steeped in so much history and mythology. Only a few hundred kilometers to the east across the Adriatic is Yugoslavia (now Croatia and Serbia). Bella Italia!<br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hXSnv-vYBfY/Tc_4mSb_lXI/AAAAAAAAAPo/huWxqtrie2I/s1600/_MG_4873.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 213px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 325px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5606973397767525746" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hXSnv-vYBfY/Tc_4mSb_lXI/AAAAAAAAAPo/huWxqtrie2I/s320/_MG_4873.JPG" /></a>Our dinner was not tipici Umbrian. I have stared at and eaten enough pork that we had filet mignon, salad, patatine (French fries) and our appetizer has to be sampled to be believed. They were lightly breaded olives, stuffed with a spiced hamburger and deep fried. I know. I couldn’t believe it either, but these things are awesome! It is a local specialty and they would certainly be a hit in the U.S.! (Remind me to tell my restaurant friends, John and Lisa Mangini, in the states. I have never tasted anything like these.<br /><br />The breeze kicked up about 7:00 p.m.. Make that a hurricane. When the sun drops the wind comes in and blows like you cannot imagine. It literally blew us back to our room for shelter. What a land of dichotomies. Calm and serene. Blustery and rainy in a moment.<br /><br />Tomorrow is another day of exploration.Hugh and Dianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12286182738305577142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-917098317145292668.post-8681443489056991702011-05-07T07:11:00.000-07:002011-05-09T13:37:49.829-07:00Round-a-bout Bologna<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7CdU-2xUIuM/TchIPnbUC2I/AAAAAAAAAOI/9HxDvGoRikY/s1600/_MG_4445.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 214px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5604809169381362530" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7CdU-2xUIuM/TchIPnbUC2I/AAAAAAAAAOI/9HxDvGoRikY/s320/_MG_4445.JPG" /></a> Bologna is much like most large Italian cities…..busy with little parking. It took us several more hours than we planned to get here (Incidenti on the A1...of course).<br /><br />Believe it or not, everything and everybody is moving in this photograph and everybody seems to understand where the other is going.... traffic is very frenetic at the least!<br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5YUfiLZ3uX0/TchKLPftF6I/AAAAAAAAAOQ/28AbQ1GJ75o/s1600/IMG_1706.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5604811293261109154" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5YUfiLZ3uX0/TchKLPftF6I/AAAAAAAAAOQ/28AbQ1GJ75o/s320/IMG_1706.JPG" /></a>We found our hotel, the Atlantic, on one of the many side streets in Bologna. Parking is a huge problem and at the hotel we had to purchase a ticket for parking (within the blue areas). We did manage to find one right in front of the hotel. (The Fiat is staying there until we check out!) We dare not move.<br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-A46M7tY6Orc/TchLFxLlhNI/AAAAAAAAAOY/TnJjfOdwZXA/s1600/_MG_4398.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 214px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5604812298735944914" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-A46M7tY6Orc/TchLFxLlhNI/AAAAAAAAAOY/TnJjfOdwZXA/s320/_MG_4398.JPG" /></a><br />Carla’s lab is an amazing bustle of people. She does live cell of course, but also allergies. We have had an amazing three days so far discussing our individual approaches to health.<br />We have had lunch and dinners at several wonderful little trattorias.<br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-UjRefi3hTiA/TchMDmWBW-I/AAAAAAAAAOg/C1v0mE-FDDM/s1600/_MG_9599.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 214px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5604813360978811874" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-UjRefi3hTiA/TchMDmWBW-I/AAAAAAAAAOg/C1v0mE-FDDM/s320/_MG_9599.JPG" /></a><br />Last night we had dinner at the oldest trattoria in Bologna. We finished dinner off with a gelato and walked through a shopping mall filled with Gucci, Vuitton, Fermi, etc. (A purse here averages 1200 Euro! Yikes.) We had dinner with Carla’s accountant who confirmed that Italy is in financial trouble since the Euro. Tax rates here are over 60%. Add to that the bureaucracy of permits, licensing and a plethora of other charges, it is no wonder this country is in trouble.<br /><br />Another problem seems to be the decrease in tourism dollars and the Euro problems as well as outsourcing with which no Italian can compete. A car that costs about $20,000 in the States is over $35,000 here! We may have problems in the U.S., but it is nothing compared to Italy.<br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dFqkPl0cNj8/TchNh_PIURI/AAAAAAAAAOo/BI6_ZeJ3Rro/s1600/_MG_9645.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dFqkPl0cNj8/TchNh_PIURI/AAAAAAAAAOo/BI6_ZeJ3Rro/s320/_MG_9645.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5604814982568497426" /></a>The city is a maze of porticos and churches. We climbed one cathedral of 999 steps only to find it closed. Whew! The view overlooking the city will take your breath away. Trust me, after 999 steps, you have no breath! The difficulty taking photos here is that you have to drive to so many places due to the sheer size of Bologna and we are not driving and losing our parking place!<br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cjyGReHaIq8/TchOCwOFZqI/AAAAAAAAAOw/OVGXg_MEKdE/s1600/_MG_4362.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cjyGReHaIq8/TchOCwOFZqI/AAAAAAAAAOw/OVGXg_MEKdE/s320/_MG_4362.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5604815545473263266" /></a>Today is a general strike in Italy preceding upcoming elections so all public services are shut down. We are going into the streets to shoot. We are having dinner again with Carla after working in her lab today. We’ll report later.<br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1P-j4bbLvx8/TchPIRjUaoI/AAAAAAAAAO4/V7UgNVLWEjM/s1600/IMG_1748.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1P-j4bbLvx8/TchPIRjUaoI/AAAAAAAAAO4/V7UgNVLWEjM/s320/IMG_1748.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5604816739831671426" /></a><br />Today, we met with several of Carla’s staff and doctors. One gentleman in particular, a doctor of urology Dr. Daniele Grassi, was a particular joy to meet. It is always a breath of fresh air to meet an M.D. who truly cares about his patients and does not refuse to believe what is front of him. In many ways, Daniele reminds me of my good friend, Dr. McClelland, in San Diego in that he actually thinks out of the box. It is so refreshing to have a conversation with open minded and intellectually hungry medical doctors.<br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Q-yigiJFFNM/TchPvHjMV6I/AAAAAAAAAPA/xZZ4PHqLrXI/s1600/_MG_4483.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Q-yigiJFFNM/TchPvHjMV6I/AAAAAAAAAPA/xZZ4PHqLrXI/s320/_MG_4483.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5604817407161685922" /></a>We spent many hours sharing information on our independent research and worked out a brief outline of our proposed joint book re: parasites and their importance in chronic illnesses. This is going to be fun…and important. We plan on writing two versions; one for the lay person and one for doctors.<br /><br />Carla gave us a card for her write in as a candidate for office in Italy. We began calling her Il Duce Marzetti. She thinks she may get 10 votes. Too funny. But, given Italy’s low usage of the internet per person, (they are a good 10 years behind us) the individual power exerted by the information explosion will eventually be found and Italy will (in my opinion) take a huge leap forward in their political issues.Hugh and Dianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12286182738305577142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-917098317145292668.post-54701230777865593372011-05-03T02:39:00.000-07:002011-05-09T06:47:04.811-07:00The Mediterranean<span style="font-size:130%;"><strong>Wednesday, May 2</strong></span><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oPwz1zlWtt4/TcfP0mmfovI/AAAAAAAAANI/MsDn35Dk7po/s1600/_MG_9385.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 214px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5604676763908023026" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oPwz1zlWtt4/TcfP0mmfovI/AAAAAAAAANI/MsDn35Dk7po/s320/_MG_9385.JPG" /></a>Today we decided it was time to take a “side trip” to the coast of Italy. We drove southwest to Orbetello, a roughly 4 hour trip. I must tell you that as we are used to the rolling landscapes and ancient architecture of middle Tuscany, the fishing and beach towns of this particular part of Umbria was unimpressive.<br /><br />We took many side roads ended up in Urbatello and then decided to head north to Livorno just south of Pisa. Since we had pretty well expended our day, we decided to find a hotel for the night.<br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--UJCFfFumvM/TcfN5d539hI/AAAAAAAAAM4/FQxxYkOsgfw/s1600/ilromito.gif"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 321px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 212px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5604674648449480210" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--UJCFfFumvM/TcfN5d539hI/AAAAAAAAAM4/FQxxYkOsgfw/s320/ilromito.gif" /></a><br />We just happened upon Romito a hotel and Ristorante literally on the cliffs over the Mediterranean. Our room was 70 Euro for the night and you can hear the sea from our open window.<br /><br />Out the window, through the evening haze we can see the island of Capraia and barely make<br />out Corsica in the distance.<br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qnoamHIm-HI/TcfQs3MxB7I/AAAAAAAAANQ/7DdtbHWwMDc/s1600/deck.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 213px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5604677730436188082" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qnoamHIm-HI/TcfQs3MxB7I/AAAAAAAAANQ/7DdtbHWwMDc/s320/deck.jpg" /></a>We arrived at 6:00 and dinner, of course, is not until 7:00. Diana is getting her caffee withdrawals again. Another hour with no cappucino and she may be unbearable.<br /><br />We had a wonderful waitress and we ate fried Gembari (shrimp), insalata, with wine from Rossa della casa (Rossa Toscana). And finished off with a variety of desserts. They do not fry as we do in the states. They sauté with a light bit of spices. Mama mia! It was so good.<br /><br />We checked with the concierge about check out time. His answer? “After nine.” Hmmm. Not by nine or 12, but after 9. That’s handy. Considering that we are probably the only guests in the hotel may have had something to do with it.<br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XSDOFrHdsOE/TcfRdtl5wTI/AAAAAAAAANY/JwACdJgxLvA/s1600/_MG_4105.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 214px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5604678569670852914" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XSDOFrHdsOE/TcfRdtl5wTI/AAAAAAAAANY/JwACdJgxLvA/s320/_MG_4105.JPG" /></a>We went to our room and stood side by side staring out the wide open window onto the Mediterranean Sea. We watched as the small waves lapped at the rocky coast and marveled that we were actually here. We are on the Med’!<br /><br />Ok. I have a complaint. The shower, like the shower in Fiorentino, is barely big enough (make that teensy enough) to turn around in. You actually have more room on the bidet to shower than the shower. But, after that drive, we didn’t much care. We fell asleep with the sound of the Med’ singing us to sleep.<br /><br />Ok. Make that two complaints. Proscuito, ginghali, salami, lardo, no matter what you call it, it is still pig! If I have to eat another pancini with ham and cheese for breakfast, I’m going to scream. Can I get one meal with a veggie and maybe even two?! You can’t get eggs at the ristorante here either!<br /><br />We found out why we did not have to check out until at least 9:00 am, there was nobody there!! Diana was getting a serious caffeine withdrawal fit after being up from 7:30 am but finally at 9am we were allowed into the Ristorante, our breakfast was included: A café and a packaged "donut-like” sweet cake. Hmmm and somewhere along the way the taste of the café had changed. We were not impressed. But……we can now say we slept on the Mediterranean.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><strong>Tuesday, May 3</strong></span><br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vc_yefPW3mE/TcfWf6jzWII/AAAAAAAAANg/MgbswGWmebM/s1600/road-sign-1.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 213px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5604684105069582466" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vc_yefPW3mE/TcfWf6jzWII/AAAAAAAAANg/MgbswGWmebM/s320/road-sign-1.jpg" /></a>We are heading to Pisa, perhaps 25 kilometers north of here. But after Diana noticed a beautiful painting of Livorno on one of the walls of the ristorante we wanted to go there first. Well, after 45 minutes of trying to drive the 5 kilometers to Livorno and asking everyone how to get to Livorno, we gave up on that one. By now, all we cared about was getting to Pisa.<br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qWhUOduHzU4/TcfXaJoIgxI/AAAAAAAAANo/I1O8zsjBea0/s1600/_MG_9460.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 214px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5604685105546691346" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qWhUOduHzU4/TcfXaJoIgxI/AAAAAAAAANo/I1O8zsjBea0/s320/_MG_9460.JPG" /></a><br />Roads are well marked but difficult to understand. We tried following the signs “Pisa” and “Centro” then we found a sign directing us to “Torre di Pendente” which then totally disappeared. We later found a sign that read GalileiGallileo. Pisa was not an easy trip since the markings for the tower just seemed to keep changing. “Uh-oh. Turn here,...No turn there.... It said left. But this one said right....” . It literally took us 45 minutes to drive 5 kilometers! Not including all the back-tracking.<br /><br />After finding parking for the torre di pendante, we walked barely 200 circuitous yards and We were stunned by what confronted us. First, I (Hugh) always thought it was just the tower (as if that isn’t enough). But, there is an entire Basilica and church inside the ancient walls. It was less busy than I expected and we were pleasantly surprised at how light the traffic was.<br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8vjDdVHaFRo/TcfYIW5AIUI/AAAAAAAAANw/B82iYyfIRlM/s1600/_MG_9489.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 214px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5604685899381088578" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8vjDdVHaFRo/TcfYIW5AIUI/AAAAAAAAANw/B82iYyfIRlM/s320/_MG_9489.JPG" /></a>The tower is again, stunning. It is (in my mind) overshadowed by the Basilica. And again, it is another beautiful example of Renaissance architecture. Not only does one see the huge granite and lime structure and carvings, but the large carved bronze doors. I am judging these doors to be at 40 feet tall. The columns, carvings and building methods just take your breath away.<br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-UFH0M8weWz8/TcfaiD-0KeI/AAAAAAAAAN4/IFQgB9QbLAY/s1600/_MG_4265.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 214px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5604688540005050850" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-UFH0M8weWz8/TcfaiD-0KeI/AAAAAAAAAN4/IFQgB9QbLAY/s320/_MG_4265.JPG" /></a>The light was nearly perfect. Diana has been shooting HDR (High Dynamic Range) for nearly the whole trip and rightly so. We have really only had a few perfect days of light. This particular day, the light was matching the contrast of the tower and Basilica. It really has taken us several days just to get used to the light. This day, I think we have probably outdone ourselves.<br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4xByxGio4_k/TcfbK6AMhJI/AAAAAAAAAOA/Wpzpf0yJ0zo/s1600/_MG_4190.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 214px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5604689241701123218" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4xByxGio4_k/TcfbK6AMhJI/AAAAAAAAAOA/Wpzpf0yJ0zo/s320/_MG_4190.JPG" /></a>By two o’clock, we decided to head back to Fiorentino since tonight is our last night in the Castilion before setting out for Bologna. As we made our way inland, we of course had to stop for Diana’s Cappachino fix. We found the café getting better as we got closer to home. Hooray! I got my Diana back!<br /><br />Tomorrow we meet and spend time with Dr. Marzetti to discuss our mutual project. Carla has the same passion for parasitic infections as we do and we hope to break some new ground together and publish our research.<br /><br />Carla’s English has improved far more than my Italian! When we last met, neither of us could communicate very well except through our research. Now we can really rock and roll and collaborate for real. I am so looking forward to making some serious inroads into modern perceptions of disease causing agents.Hugh and Dianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12286182738305577142noreply@blogger.com0