Koicto

Today I went on a nice hike with my cousin's wife. This was welcomed exercise because I'm being stuffed like a pig at each of two big meals per day. Oh, mamma mia!... read more

Ooooohhhh...tonight I was told by la mia cugina Ari' that "stasera" I have finally arrived in Italia; mid-festa! I joined my cousin Arianna for a quick giro (tour) of the Piazza di Miracoli, which includes the "piu famoso" leaning tower of Pisa. Since our destination this evening was the birthday party of a friend of hers, I did not bring much more than my pocket camera, although I have plenty of time to revisit the site to take all the pictures I want...NONE of which, mind you, will be of me trying to hold up the towner from the foreground! ':~P I've included some pictures of some of what this looks like, and I'm pretty sure some of you may have partaken in the very same poses! After discovering that it would cost me nearly $100 ... read more

It seemed almost a waste of good ink to receive a passport stamp from the French customs officials for such a very short layover within the confines of Paris' Charles De Gaulle Airport (especially since I did not visit customs upon arrival in Italy; I want my stamp!). Although I couldn't recognize it in his completely serious tone, I think the agent was teasing me for having not visited New Caledonia, for some reason, when he recognized my previous trips to the former French colonials Vanuatu and French Tahiti, all of which came off as though he was quizzing me on my own record as a security measure. And I thought the Germans were supposed to be lacking in the Humor Department! The layover was quick and easy, although directions to the appropriate terminal and gate ... read more

After a night spent sharing a guest room bed with three cats and a dog (LOL) I made it onto my 07:35 flight from SFO bound for Atlanta, GA. One of the two books I brought with me, The Invention of Air by Steven Johnson is a quick and easy read about Joseph Priestly, the ordained minister, scientist, and author who was a contemporary of Ben Franklin, known for his works in electricity, chemistry, and other fields. He's credited for THE account of Franklin's "kite experiment", the invention of soda water, and origination of Coulomb's Law, and much more that I will soon read about... I enjoyed one passage for its particular contrast to my own travels across the country today, and on across the "pond" later tonight, which is offered to provide the context to ... read more

Packing This blogging platform doesn't come with much instruction, so here goes... Today marks the end of a two weeks of shopping to add to my camera equipment coming up to my May 8 departure. I now have my new lenses, carry-on bag, memory redundancy, and portable hard drive, and I still need to find my tripod. In addition to this, I've been working on scheduling all kinds of friends and colleagues to come by my place to care and socialize for my cat, "Lote". I'm devoting much of today to laundry, packing, and then eventually cleaning up my home. On Monday, I will depart Sacramento via the Amtrak Capital Corridor, transfer to BART in Richmond, bound for South San Francisco, where I will spend the night at my cousin Susan's house before my 7 a.m. ... read more