From Bolivian musicians in Florence to the bushman of San Francisco, it is always exciting to come upon a street entertainer or troupe doing their thing. I can think of many that I thoroughly enjoyed, and gladly contributed to. My most memorial one, besides watching the bushman covered with camouflage hiding behind a few branches in his hand and scaring the willies out of unsuspecting people as they walk by, I have to say the one that reallllly got me was in Seattle. Standing at a busy intersection was a man in full Scottish regalia, playing his bagpipes. At first glance, [View Full Entry]

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I arrived after the train ride from hell. SIX of us in one train compartment, for TWELVE hours- from Salamanca. That's 12 hours of not stretching out to any great satisfaction. A few times I was tempted to get out at some stop along the way, but resigned myself to it, deciding that it was now or later. I climbed up the stairs and approached the desk where a stocky man around mid 60's sat with an 'official' air about him as if his job had some importance - the universal Javiux. Another man stood leaning against the desk. I started [View Full Entry]

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My first visit to Florence underscores the reason to read about where you are going before you go there. I was traveling by train from Venice to Siena, and decided to hop off the train ramble through Florence for a few hours, then take a later train on to Siena. I checked my backpack at the station, and with only my day pack in hand, I hit the street. I made my way to the great cathedral that I spotted from the train station literally dodging the swarms (yeah, that's the best way to describe it, swarms) of motor scooters that [View Full Entry]

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Visiting Marseilles was a dream come true for me. Just one of those places that held 'mystique', another reason because of my love for the book 'The Count of Monte Cristo.' I had visions of visiting the Chateau D'If. I had some trepidation though, going there since I had heard it was not 'tourist friendly'. I made the plunge though on my way from Barcelona to Aix en Province. Getting off the train in Marseilles, I took out of my back pack my essentials for spending one night somewhere, placed them in my little day pack, then stashed the larger backpack [View Full Entry]

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No way could I ever remember the name of the restaurant (much less pronounce it!) but never will I forget the experience. I walked all over Marseilles, from Notre Dame de la Garde to Palais Longchamps. Coming down from the cathedral, I passed a small restaurant/fish market, that had its seafood tantalizingly displayed outside in total artful form. I was booking it soo fast down the hill that the sight registered in my brain after I had passed it. I put my stride in reverse for a second look. The prawns were three feet long and a foot wide... well, maybe [View Full Entry]

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I spent one night in Cahors and while I was there met two pilgrims that were traveling El Camino Santiago de Compostela. They told me they had visited a little village called Saint Cirq Lapopie , and urged me not to miss it. So I take their advice and check out the bus schedule, and away I go. Winding down the Lot river, I am let off at a bus stop in the French countryside, nothing around but little farms. After a bit of Americano sign language, the driver points to a road that crosses the Lot River, and way off [View Full Entry]

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Some of the greatest memories I have as a child were my trips to Douglas, Arizona. My grandfather was stationed there during the first world war, as was my grandmother. He was a medical doctor, she a nurse. They met there, and never lived anywhere else. After the war, he practiced medicine at the Copper Queen Hospital in Douglas, and was later appointed Chief Surgeon. Later he had his own practice in Douglas. They are both buried within a stone's throw of the Mexican border. I remember traveling overnight to Tucson on the Santa Fe Railroad from Pasadena, California where we [View Full Entry]

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I have a claim to San Francisco. My mother's Danish grandfather worked as a carpenter at the Palace Hotel, I think right after the earthquake. I don't know much about him, but I have a desk and a mirror that he made. My father's mother moved there during WWII after her husband died of a heart attack while my dad was overseas in the Navy. She lived in a little studio apartment on the corner of Sutter and Jones until she died in 1974. Although she lived on a meager pension, she was one of those ladies that would never be [View Full Entry]

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I made a quick trip to Palazzo Adriano with a friend of mine from Catania. I really wanted to slow down and 'absorb', but it's so hard to when someone else is waiting, and wanting to hurry !!! I must go back. This is the village my grandfather's parents came from. I recall finding the town hall, where they have the vital statistics. I wanted so much to index my grandfather's name (Alessi ) and his mother's name (Grana) The place was closed, so we waited around for him to return.... finally we had to go, so I never got to [View Full Entry]

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looked up the definition of LIFE in the dictionary. I could list all twenty different definitions, but decided that was an overkill to the point I wish to make. Let me just make this point...... all twenty definitions could be done away with... and only one would be necessary to describe the essence of life. That is Paris...... on Sunday. It was a Sunday in October, 2000, my last day of a 3 week trip, five of which were spent in Paris. I hadn't visited the Louvre yet, and had planned to do that on this last day. But after an [View Full Entry]

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