Blogs from Alexandria, Virginia, United States, North America

Sunday 11th June A leisurely start to the day - late light breakfast as we are due for lunch in Georgian old Alexandria on the Potomac riverside My hostess Rene - and husband Bill took me down to Old Town Alexandria VA Lunch is in an old warehouse dockside - at Chadwicks on Strand Street. http://www.chadwicksrestaurants.com I went healthy - honest Carol! Had Kale & Roasted Beet - Crumbled feta, dried cranberries, spiced walnuts, lemon vinaigrette and salmon - see picOur waitress is not long back from living in the UK, turns out to be of Irish descent (snap Rene) - and looking for a job to do with international border security (or something like that, I'm a virgin on this one!) maybe in the intelligence community. Lucky for her Bill is ex C*A and able ... read more

Last year I wrote of the visit of the replica 18th century French sailing ship Hermione to Alexandria, Virginia. This year. it was Spain's turn. El Galeón docked at Alexandria from November 9 to 14. Susan and I visited it on Sunday. El Galeón is a 170-foot, 495-ton (52 m, 449 ton) wooden replica of a Spanish galleon of the 16th-17th centuries. It is meant to represent the ships used in the West Indies Treasure Fleet (Flota de Indias) transporting gold and goods from the Americas to Spain.The ship is operated by the Nao Victoria Foundation of Seville. The ship calls at ports around the world. There were tours aboard the ship, but the line was long, snaking around Founder's Park. We decided to just admire the ship from dockside. The shipbuilders have done a beautiful ... read more

During summer 2015, a replica of the 18th century French frigate L'Hermione sailed into several ports along the Eastern seaboard. In 1780, the original L'Hermione brought the Marquis de Lafayette to Boston to give the Continentals news that France would provide military support to the Revolution. Construction of the replica began in 1997."La frégate de la liberté" sailed from La Rochelle, France, on April 18, 2015. After crossing the the Atlantic under sail and calling at Las Palmas, the tall ship arrived at Yorktown, Virginia on June 5, its first North American port of call. Hermione next called at Alexandria, Virginia, where the ship was on display on June 10-12. I went to see the ship on Friday. The ship docked at the Alexandria City Marina on the Potomac River. A large throng of people had ... read more

When we travel it seems there is always so much to do, so much to remember and so many things that can go wrong especially for a sometimes absent minded person. Tuesday afternoon I sat down at last to organize my passport and travel paperwork. What a shock when I reached in my small pouch I use to carry my passport. There was NO PASSPORT! The flight was less than 48 hours. Of course, immediately the mind starts running in circles—Where?? When?? What?? The first idea that popped in head was that I’d photocopied my Bolivia visa in the morning at Kinkos hours ago. I phoned them, but the man I spoke with was out and would return shortly. I jumped in the car and drove to Kinkos. No one had seen a passport. They looked ... read more

I can see that my time left here is getting short. My last day working will be Friday, July 29th. Several weeks ago I started working at the Brabo Tasting Room in Old Town Alexandria via a recommendation from Alma, a good friend and co-worker from my previous job at Cap City. This is the kind of job I wish I would have found a long time ago, and unfortunately I found it just before I leave. I will miss the people I work with there, even our time together will have been so short. Dan and I just ordered the last parts for our bikes, and they should arrive by Tuesday. I have a center stand on my bike already, this will help when taking off a wheel, an oil change, or chain lubing. Dan ... read more