http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/Kenneth-Alford/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Kenneth Alford en-us Thu, 10 Dec 2009 21:21:33 +0000 Thu, 10 Dec 2009 21:21:33 +0000 Forgive me as I close out Paris by quoting Noel Coward an EnglishmanI went to a marvelous partyWith Nounou and Nada and NellIt was in the fresh airAnd we went as we wereAnd we stayed as we wereWhich was Hell.Poor Grace started singing at midnightAnd didn't stop singing till fourWe knew the excitement was bound to beginWhen Laura got blind on Dubonnet and ginAnd scratched her veneer with a Cart http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/France/Ile-de-France/Paris/blog-350428.html Georges Seurat the leading force behind neoimpressionist painting died in Paris in 1891 at the age of 32. The cause of his death is in dispute but it's likely to have been diphtheria.His final major work Cirque remained unfinished. It hangs today in the Musee d'Orsay in Paris quite possibly the most beautiful and emotionally moving art museum ever built.Actually built is a bit misleading http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/France/Ile-de-France/Paris/blog-349824.html Or how Paris stole my heart when I didn't see it comin'.Oh Paris you sly coquette. Take me. I'm yours.I know. It took years just to get me across your threshold. Or border. Same difference.But did you let that stop you No. Of course not. You're a lady who knows what she wants and you wanted my undying affection. Demanded it really. Called to me from across the Atlantic with your Edith Piaf http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/France/Ile-de-France/Paris/blog-349671.html ... dog poop mostly from what I can tell. Granted I'm not out now that the sun's fully down to see how it lives up to the City of Lights moniker. But honestly even if the whole place shone brighter than the noon sun after dusk the dog poop thing would still give it a run for the money.Not that I'm complaining. Yet. Actually I'm loving the trip so far. It was supes easy getting over here and we http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/France/Ile-de-France/Paris/blog-349390.html Well. Here we go again.Off to Paris for a few days during Thanksgiving. And one of the main questions probably because you're being polite ... or nonchalantly fearful ... is if I'm dusting off the infamous travel blog.And to both of you I say of course I am.So here's your chance to bail out before you're faced with stories of me apprenticing at a worldclass fromagerie. Oh who are we kidding http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/France/Ile-de-France/Paris/blog-348600.html Dear Frankfurt Airport You are a pit. I swear to Jesus. If I had any calf muscles left after walking the last 17 miles to get from one gate to the other ... not to mention now being able to qualify for Social Security benefits because I waited in two different security lines for so long that if I had children I would have missed their formative years ... I'd march the hell out of here and find http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Germany/Hessen/Frankfurt/blog-180833.html Sitting in the airport in Kirkenes Norway. Practically the end of the earth ... or at least it looks like it. We're waaaaaay up on the planet. Roughly a thousand miles from the North Pole which from here is only reachable if you get on an ice breaker. There's a good ice breaker joke in there somewhere but I didn't sleep well last night and am too tired to work for it. And as fun as that may so http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Norway/Nord-Norge/Kirkenes/blog-180329.html In this episode Rusty borrows internet and uploads pictures for Kenneth.Rusty the official blogtographer of the Kenneth Rusty travel blog has been working his index finger to the bone getting images for Kenneth to be pithy about. Here are some of his latest favorites. http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Norway/Trondelag/Trondheim/blog-178703.html See what happens Instead of coming back to the hotel to diligently blog about the last day in Amsterdam I went out and entertained myself. So now I'm a day behind and jamming stuff together. Last day in Amsterdam and aside from Anne Frank we went running around trying to see the last of the highlights. Had much fun at the Albert Cuypmarkt which is this amazingly long openair market where y http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Netherlands/North-Holland/Amsterdam/blog-177365.html Spent the day making the most of our newfound metro tram navigation skills and went back and forth all over the place. This included our return to the Anne Frank house where a crowd of people still stood around the corner waiting to get in while we walked to the front of the line showed our prepaid tickets and walked right in. I have no idea why people haven't picked up on securing reservati http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Netherlands/North-Holland/Amsterdam/blog-177342.html Well okay. They have names. But pronouncing every one of them sounds like an ostrich gargling glass shards. I can only picture what they have to say about pronouncing Mississippi. My apologies to John who's reading this blog and who speaks Dutch. I'm sure it's a lovely language once you get over the strep throat infection it takes to learn it. Kinda rainy on and off in a drown you instantl http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Netherlands/North-Holland/Amsterdam/blog-176482.html Okay. So we spent a day flying and what have you to get to Amsterdam via Frankfurt. And what can you say about such a thing except that even with being in business class that sort of thing still sucks. For the record I want it known that I did not threaten to open the hatch and toss that screaming child out into the ether. I would not however have stopped anyone if they had made the attempt. http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Netherlands/North-Holland/Amsterdam/blog-175948.html Hula In The Rain. Snacks In The Gas Station.So off we go to the Old Lahaina Luau. Several people had told us that this one was top notch as far as these tourist events go. And from the outset it seems like they're right. It's well organized beautiful and there's an open bar.We immediately try to make up for the 90 fee by stress testing the open bar concept. And we wind up corrupting the wo http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Hawaii/Maui/blog-107508.html Or Pass The Sunscreen. My Napili is Burning. So it took us a few days to roll ourselves off the lounge chairs and do something but we hit the ground running today and went snorkeling in Molokini.Molokini is a little crescent of rock off the coast of Maui that's actually the world's tallest mountain. Sadly for it only about 100 feet of it poke above the water's surface so it claims little of i http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Hawaii/Maui/blog-106858.html Sand. Surf. Rinse. Repeat.Ah. Maui. The condo rocks. And what a relief because you never really know ya know It's not like they put up pictures on the website showing the water damage in the bathroom ceiling. So it's always a crapshoot.But we scored big time on this go 'round thanks to Mr. Johnson's connections.And we kicked our first day off with a crazy schedule of ... well ... bobbing http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Hawaii/Maui/blog-106150.html Last year it was New Zealand. This year Hawaii. Maui actually. And Napili Bay to be more precise.So why not dust off the travel blog since it was such a hit the last timeThis year I cannot promise color commentary about dragging my mother through the outback as the old girl is setting up her new homestead in Arizona. But it's a pretty safe bet that at some point over the next 10 days I'll b http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/California/San-Francisco/blog-105193.html The Mark Of A True Lady Is Knowing When To Get Off StageI know I know ... I said it was all over. But since our Auckland hotel has broadband access I thought I'd post some pics from previous days that I didn't put on due to the slow dial up.These are mostly silly things. We're on a plane in less than 24 hours so we'll see ya soonEnjoy the photos. http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/North-Island/Auckland/blog-29164.html Winding Down and Heading HomeWe won't be leaving for a couple more days but tomorrow night will be hectic getting ready so this is going to be the last entry before you see us again.We went rafting through underground caves today so physically demanding we all came out the other end agreeing we'd loved it and hated it all at the same time then made our way across the North Island to the Bay http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/North-Island/Coromandel/Coromandel-Town/blog-29012.html Warm Water Large Sphere Grassy Knoll ... Rock RollThis is quite possibly the craziest thing I've ever done. And the most fun thing too.So you here's the deal You drive out to this field. The first clue that something is amiss is when they hand you clothes other than your own to change into.After you change and try to figure out what to do with your underwear you drive to the top of a hi http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/North-Island/Rotorua/blog-28892.html In Which We Say So Long to the South Hello to the North ... and It Turns Into WinterSpent several days leaving the South Island and getting positioned into the North Island where we could spend a couple of days to relax toward the end of the journey.Drove through the Alpine Pass took the train up the coast and rode the ferry into Wellington. Not much excitement to be had though it was nice to http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/North-Island/Rotorua/blog-28832.html