Advaitin
Charles Griffin Joined: April 3rd 2009
Logged in: January 14th 2011
Logged in: January 14th 2011
Travel Blog Posts
Photo 2
Three once-upon-a-time Peace Corps volunteers, who lived in north India, Punjab specifically, during the mid-'60s, return to visit their old stations, see sights they remember from their earlier travels and see a few things they may have missed. That is essentially what this blog will relate: As we approach the terminal we see a heavy haze. After going through passport control, which seems more designed to slow the incoming passengers so that there isn't too big a crush at the baggage carousel. No matter, it becomes a crush anyway. Our driver, Ashoka Kumar, a Himalchal man he tells us, is waiting for us at 2 in the morning to take us to our hotel. Here's my immediate response to the family in a first E-mail: In the middle of the night, as we being driven in ... read more
The cliffs of Dover
Time to catch up. Time to finish this blog. Better late than never. The trip is over and we're finally home. What are my impressions and what are my favorite memories? Taking the train from Paris to Calais, seeing that many places remain as they have always been, somewhat quaint and worth a second look, if the opportunity ever arises to come this way again. It is an experience worth doing, no matter what the weather ( except for fog, of course), because you can see chalk cliffs as you are departing and again when you approach the English coast. Neither Calais, nor Dover have shed their traditional look for the new age. The great chalk cliffs of Dover still hold guard over the sea, as does a fortress above the town. After seeing London in ... read more
A better view
Paris is Paris But London was sunny Five days in Paris. One bad choice at lunch one day. Otherwise Paris was what we expect. Consistently good coffee, a wide choice of foods and great people watching or dog watching in some cases. Parisians love their dogs. And the dogs are welcome almost everywhere. Since the laws were changed regarding picking up after your dog, there is far less merde on the sidewalks, but it isn’t entirely merde-free—probably night-time walkers letting their pets go where they will. But the animals are so well-behaved and comfortable in their city life! We saw one trio of small pedigreed dogs who walked along with their human entirely free, but following voice commands as one. I wish I had thought to photograph it, but I started shooting the dogs after that ... read more
An Italian Lizard
24 May 2009 Time to do a little catch up. We are in Paris. Our hotel, the former Chateau Landon Mercure, is now the All Seasons Hotel. It overlooks the Gare de l’Est railway station. Last night we could see the Eiffel tower light up from our window and the dome and spire of Sacre Coeur on Montmartre. Unfortunately the bed was a queen-size and canoed, so we are waiting for another room with twin beds to open as I write. We may not have so nice a view this evening. Keeping a blog means setting time aside to write. Unforeseen pauses are the only times I don’t regret the task. Naples: The old city of Napoli was another day trip from Rome. We only ate lunch, just across the street from the metro museum exit ... read more
The most powerful place in the world--circa 79 BC
18 May 2009 If the bells of Roma are distinctive, the sirens of Rome may be said to be more representative of what one’s memory will be after visiting today. Between police and ambulances Rome sings a cacophonous lullaby far into the night—sometimes all night. A sound machine is the best money a long-term traveler can spend! Since last I wrote I’ve had a chance to walk the Appian Way—for a short distance. There are new ruts and old ruts in roads around the world, then there are truly ancient ruts, like those you find on the flat stones of Appia Antica (as it is called on the street signs). These stones have been there for about 2300 years—give or take—and they have been in use the whole time. As you wander down a stretch that ... read more
Tivoli--the temple of Diana
One thing about Rome is the noise. From earliest morning till late evening, Rome has a constant background of noise, heavy engines, rolling wheels, roaring mufflers and shifting gears. If there is one thing the city could benefit from it would be cutting off all motor traffic to the major areas of the city. We saw yesterday in Florence, much of the tourist district benefited from restricted traffic. In fact, a truck was making the rounds of the tourist district, collecting unattended bikes and motorscooters. Apparently, if a car went into the tourist zone without permission, it is fined about €100. What will the first time tourist see in Rome that he may not have seen elsewhere? For one thing, there'll be no clear distinction between government buildings and other buildings except for a couple of ... read more
The Hotel Saturnia
11 May 2009 It's a good thing this blog is obscure because I'm about to violate all the rules of travel writers with regard to Rome. From the moment I first came in contact with experienced travelers in Europe, and especially in the writings of Rick Steves, I'd been led to believe that Rome was to be the ultimate experience. Quoting Rick when he was commenting on Roman traffic, "Chaos, bella chaos." A smartly dressed young Roman gentleman once told me, while we were drinking coffee in a plaza in Barcelona, that everything was better in Roma, especially the coffee. Now, I'm going to give you the bad news. Rome ain't all that! Not only is it pricier than many other cities, but it gives you less for the money. Oh yes, you can get good ... read more
Ariadna and Gabriella
9 May 2009 It is 12—noon in Rome on Via Ruinaglia. The bells of Santa Maria Maggiore, just up the street from Hotel Saturnia, are ringing. This is Rome. So, what happened since the last blog. We landed without any major hangups in Barcelona, but not with walking distance of the public transport, so we took a taxi to our favorite spot, Anita’s Bed and Breakfast, high up the side of Mount Tibidabo above the city. Since our hostess, Adriana, had delivered a fine baby girl on Monday, we were met by Anna, the mother of Adriana and grandmother of little Anna (the “Anita” for whom the business is named) and the new arrival, Gabriella. After quickly settling in the same room we had in a previous visit, we took the bus down to the metro ... read more
Alhambra 1
29 April 2009 After so many sea days, with a whole day between Tenerife and Agadir, it was surprising how rushed we feel to have Malaga, Valencia and Barcelona fall on consecutive days. It was especially so because we had scheduled tour to the Alhambra palaces above Granada, Spain, which took the whole of the day while we were docked at Malaga. That meant that all we saw of the city of Malaga was what we could see from the bus. However, the trip to the Alhambra, which took two hours, was very interesting, showing us the fields and groves of the area. The Alhambra itself, was a bit disappointing for me. Having seen the red Fort of the Mogul Emperor, I expected the Alhambra to be more open to the air. While the fountains and ... read more
Football in Santa Cruz
27 April 2009 After two ports of call, Tenerife, in the Canary Islands and Agadir in Morocco and after days without good internet access, I’ll have to basically compare the two experiences. Santa Cruz city in Tenerife was a surprise. I had been expecting isolated islands to be more quaint and somewhat behind the times. Nothing could have been more unexpected than to find a modern cosmopolitan city with every convenience, including a state of the art tram system. This may be because the islands have become a popular destination for English and German tourists and expatriates (retirees who find sunny places to retire in foreign lands). The first sign of that was a daily paper in English. The Euro was the currency, since the islands are part of Spain, and the islands have fewer taxes ... read more
