You Really Had To Be There
There is always music and color when Indian religion is in the air. I’ve struggled to make order out of everything we’ve seen, smelled, and experienced, but I’m afraid that’s well beyond my capability. Two weeks is a short time and India is a big, complex piece of geography, history and humanity. The best I can do is to share some of the impressions we take with us. They are presented here in absolute random order. That is to say I’m writing them down as I think of them which may, or may not, have anything to do with how or when they occured. I’m writting this as we’re on the way from Paris to Houston, a 10 hour daylight flight after a 9 hour night time...It’s a Road Trip
The Great American Road Trip. Some do it out of necessity. Some do it for fun. We did it because, well, I think…..to tell the truth, I don’t really know why we did it. We had to get to Santa Fe to visit our dear friends, enjoy the cooler air and to eat and drink for free. Plus I’d had an itch for some time to visit Larry McMurtry’s eclectic group of used book stores in Archer City, Texas, and it was kind of (not really) on the way, so the car/road trip thing seemed to fit. That was before I got out the AAA and plotted out the route and mileage. I ignored the reality of a long trip through uninteresting topography and went with the fantasy of a...Darwin’s Galapagos
S. and I announced our intention to take a trip with each of our eight grandchildren without considering the considerable consequences. Chief among these consequences is the curious choice of places on this planet that would be suitable for a multi-generational ten day outing and selected to visit. It’s now lost in the mists of my declining memory whether our darling granddaughter Annabel suggested the Galapagos Islands or if I suggested that she might want to suggest the Galapagos. In any case, in April of 2010 we found ourselves breathing the lofty airs of Quito, Ecuador and frolicking in the not so warm waters of the Humboldt Current surrounding the...How to See Europe on Only $2000 a Day
Those of us of a certain age will recall the popular travel guides of some years ago that touted “See Europe on $$$$ per Day”. The fill in the blank number that I remember ranged from $20.00 to $200.00. These books were largely responsible for the flood of American tourists that roamed through Europe from the 60’s onward seeking to immerse themselves in European culture. The reality is that most of those that followed the proscriptions of such “How To” books became acquainted with small dingy hotel rooms, wine that tasted like paint thinner, and that particular brand of European body odor, but, nevertheless, returned home happy and knowing more than when...What They Don’t Tell You About Venice
Ok, I’ll admit it. When S. made her desire known to go to Venice on our European jaunt, my first reaction was a giant groan. First of all, I’ve been there, done that, and secondly, it’s really a white bread kind of place to go. At best, a really old European Disneyland for adults. Gimme a break….gondolas. Tourists coming out of the old wazoo. What a way to spend a few precious days when we could have been in Slovenia or some place really interesting. But I was wrong. Well, not completely wrong. It is, more or less, a Disneyland for adults, but a very fine one, and one with significant history and culture. Don’t worry, I’m not going to give you a...