Geo: 37.7792, -122.42I have visited many a national park -- love them. But never Yosemite. So the opportunity to visit in winter -- maybe even in the snow -- was very appealing.We arrived San Francisco (has it really been 16 years since our last visit?) mid-afternoon, checked into the St. Regis Hotel near Third and Mission, about 2 blocks from Union Square. I grabbed my camera and went out for a quick trot around the block, picking up a few photos and getting a feel for the neighborhood. The stragglers from the "Santa-Con" parade of young drunks dressed up in Santa costumes made for some good photos.At 4 pm, there was an opening talk by Corey Keller, Photography Curator for the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. She had a portfolio of photos of the 1906 ... read more

Geo: -22.9035, -43.2096Day 16 – November 6Homeward Bound!This was somewhat of an odd day in terms of travel. The tour is over but most of us are ticketed out of Rio about 10 pm tonight. So it's a leisure day. We did breakfast in the hotel, I worked on my blog and we packed. Check out was at noon.Murray had given us a list of things to see and do that we hadn't already covered. The Botanical Garden (Marti and Candace checked that out). The H Stern factory tour (not at ALL something Patrick was inclined to do). The natural history museum. The contemporary art museum. Beaching it at the Caesar Park section of Ipanema.The five St. Louis ladies left Patrick behind and headed out on a short shopping excursion to SOBRAL. It was a store ... read more

Geo: -22.9035, -43.2096Day 14 – November 4We had breakfast at the restaurant on top of the Caesar Park, which offered sweeping views of Ipanema Beach, Sugarloaf and much of Rio. What a way to start the day!Our first destination was as it should be: the 125-foot Christ The Redeemer, one of the modern Seven Wonders of the World. The statue, inaugurated in 1931, is 2400 feet in the air … dominating the skyline from almost every vantage point. We reached the top with a combination of cable car, elevator and escalator. The monument was the idea of Emperor Peter II, who was part of the monarchy when Brazil declared itself independent from Portugal. We took architectural photos and all the cheesy tourist photos too.Next up: Saint Sebastian Cathedral built in 1967, which can hold 20,000 SRO. ... read more

Geo: -25.6836, -54.4757Upon seeing Iguazu Falls for the first time, First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt supposedly exclaimed, "Poor Niagara!"Iguazu (EE-gwa--SOO) is often compared to Victoria Falls in Southern Africa. Iguazu is the widest, at 1.25 miles. Mist rises 100-500 ft. from Iguazu's Devil's Throat. The Falls offer spectacular vistas and sturdy walkways. At one point you are surrounded by 260 degrees of waterfalls. Iguazu Falls ("big waters") are located where the Iguazu River tumbles over the edge of the Paraná Plateau. The number of waterfalls fluctuates from 150 to 300, depending on the water level. Some 400,000 gallons drop per second ... on a normal day. Millions per second was the rate 9 weeks ago when there were record-setting rains. The Falls are located in a humid subtropical climate with abundant precipitation and high temperatures ... read more

Geo: -34.6118, -58.4173Day 10 - October 31Buenos Aires is considered "The Paris of the South", and for good reason. It looks like a European capital and it is magnificently beautiful. Broad streets lined with stately buildings are the norm. I love visiting here. 9 de Julio Avenue, the main "drag", is the widest avenue in the world. Its name honors Argentina's Independence Day, July 9, 1816. It has up to seven lanes in each direction, is flanked by parallel streets and there are two wide medians laced with beautiful, purple flowering Jacaranda trees. The downtown area has many trees ... the Ceibo, with its beautiful red spring blooms, is the national tree; and the Kapoc tree, shaped more like a vase, which holds water. All make for a scenic city drive.BackgroundBuenos Aires as a city arrived ... read more