But, if we do find ourselves on the Hemingway trail, I will photograph the highlights and post them here because that is what I do, make notes along the way, whether they are about the birds in the Bird Park or the bar where Hemingway drank. But, speaking of birds, it was cool this morning watching the river of swallows swirling above the dome of the old cathedral down the alley and rushing through the narrow corridors of buildings in our neighborhood in search of breakfast. We are on the fifth (top) floor and the windows are always open. It is very hot and the apartment has no air conditioning, or screens for that matter. But today we are headed out to the museum. We are in Madrid for the museums, especially the Prado. Not only did Hemingway frequent the place, Picasso was the head curator for some time. This was before the museum realized what shitty administrators artists make.
08/06/2015
Hemingway was here
But, if we do find ourselves on the Hemingway trail, I will photograph the highlights and post them here because that is what I do, make notes along the way, whether they are about the birds in the Bird Park or the bar where Hemingway drank. But, speaking of birds, it was cool this morning watching the river of swallows swirling above the dome of the old cathedral down the alley and rushing through the narrow corridors of buildings in our neighborhood in search of breakfast. We are on the fifth (top) floor and the windows are always open. It is very hot and the apartment has no air conditioning, or screens for that matter. But today we are headed out to the museum. We are in Madrid for the museums, especially the Prado. Not only did Hemingway frequent the place, Picasso was the head curator for some time. This was before the museum realized what shitty administrators artists make.
Labels:
Spain,
travel notes
06/06/2015
Castles and their spiders
Walking in Sintra |
The inverted tower |
Duck pond from a cavern passageway |
Minerva at Quinta da Regaleira |
Swami on the balcony |
The Secret Buddha of Castelo dos Mouros |
Labels:
EU,
Lisbon,
travel notes
01/06/2015
Hilarious complaints to Thomas Cook Vacations
This list of complaints sent to "Thomas Cook Vacations" is making the rounds these days. I didn't take the time to hunt down the source link but they certainly match my neighbor's tone when he returned from his month long cruise around South America. He complained bitterly how offended he was that the people there spoke Spanish.
More here from the UK's Telegraph
1. "On my holiday to Goa in India, I was disgusted to find that almost every restaurant served curry. I don't like spicy food."
2. "They should not allow topless sunbathing on the beach. It was very distracting for my husband who just wanted to relax."
3. "We went on holiday to Spain and had a problem with the taxi drivers as they were all Spanish."
4. "We booked an excursion to a water park but no-one told us we had to bring our own swimsuits and towels. We assumed it would be included in the price."
5. "The beach was too sandy. We had to clean everything when we returned to our room."
6. "We found the sand was not like the sand in the brochure. Your brochure shows the sand as white but it was more yellow."
7. "It's lazy of the local shopkeepers in Puerto Vallartato close in the afternoons. I often needed to buy things during 'siesta' time -- this should be banned."
8. "No-one told us there would be fish in the water. The children were scared."
9. "Although the brochure said that there was a fully equipped kitchen, there was no egg-slicer in the drawers."
10. "I think it should be explained in the brochure that the local convenience store does not sell proper biscuits like custard creams or ginger nuts."
11. "The roads were uneven and bumpy, so we could not read the local guide book during the bus ride to the resort. Because of this, we were unaware of many things that would have made our holiday more fun."
12. "It took us nine hours to fly home from Jamaica to England. It took the Americans only three hours to get home. This seems unfair."
13. "I compared the size of our one-bedroom suite to our friends' three-bedroom and ours was significantly smaller."
14. "The brochure stated: 'No hairdressers at the resort.' We're trainee hairdressers and we think they knew and made us wait longer for service."
15. "When we were in Spain, there were too many Spanish people there. The receptionist spoke Spanish, the food was Spanish. No one told us that there would be so many foreigners."
16. "We had to line up outside to catch the boat and there was no air-conditioning."
17. "It is your duty as a tour operator to advise us of noisy or unruly guests before we travel."
18. "I was bitten by a mosquito. The brochure did not mention mosquitoes."
19. "My fiancée and I requested twin-beds when we booked, but instead we were placed in a room with a king bed. We now hold you responsible and want to be re-reimbursed for the fact that I became pregnant. This would not have happened if you had put us in the room that we booked."
More here from the UK's Telegraph
Labels:
humor,
travel notes
30/05/2015
Walking Lisbon
My main focus here in Lisbon is to get out of here without breaking my neck. Lisbon is the city of stairs, stairs and more stairs. Our apartment is four narrow, slippery flights up and the bedroom is yet another. Lisbon is a lovely town and, don't get me wrong, I enjoy exploring the medieval streets but good god. Okay. That's it for now. We're going to go out again and wander around. I'm going to wear my new orange sandals. Wish me luck.
Labels:
DITL,
EU,
Lisbon,
travel notes
29/05/2015
Street music from Istanbul
I love these guys. Everybody did. Great fun. We came upon them in Katakoy which is across the Bosphorus Strait on the Asian side of Istanbul. Enjoy.
Labels:
Istanbul,
music,
travel notes,
videos
27/05/2015
Culbenkian and friend |
"Then said they unto him, Say now Shibboleth: and he said Sibboleth: for he could not frame to pronounce it right. Then they took him, and slew him." – Judges 12:6
Delightful elephant |
Labels:
art notes,
EU,
Lisbon,
museum crawl,
The Arts,
travel notes
26/05/2015
Conversation with myselves
Selfie in Istanbul |
I just can't keep up with myself, especially when we're traveling. For instance, after two weeks in Istanbul, I have thus far only managed to post something about Flat Thea.
Three women under an umbrella |
Much as I treasure Flat Thea, this doesn't even begin to touch on the experiences we had there and impressions I came away with. My Istanbul album at flickr has several more photos and many more to come. They do represent, at least, some visual record.
Shop outside the Grand Bazaar |
They may be as far as I get but they are important to me as, if nothing else, this blog is a conversation between my past and future selves.
Inexplicable |
Labels:
Istanbul,
travel notes
24/05/2015
Lisbon, first day
Our apartment in the Alfama district |
Cat on the ledge a view of the Alfama from our apartment |
Ok. Gotta go. It's time for a customary first day in a new country, make-do, shitty sandwich then a walk. If you want to read more about Lisbon, I recommend reading the Never Ending Voyage. They do a fine post on Lisbon. Though I travel a lo t these days, this isn't really a travel blog. And there's always my go-to site, Wikipedia, if you want to read more about Lisbon. Cheers.
Labels:
EU,
Lisbon,
travel notes
18/05/2015
Flat Thea, maps and computer glitches
Flat Thea and kitteh |
This is where the post about Flat Thea was supposed to be. But no. By whatever twist of fate, whatever ill wind, bad karma, goddamn computer glitch, blogger fuck up, some Sultan's cranky ghost or, nearly impossible to consider, but perhaps because of something I did, I don't know, but when I was nearly done I undid something, a totally ordinary action, and the post vanished. After that, try though I did, there was no way to retrieve it. Gone.
Flat Thea at the Topkapi Palace (Top-cop-ie) |
Flat Thea at Hagia Sophia (Eye-ya Sophia) |
Flat Thea in Istanbul |
12/05/2015
10/05/2015
Oh my god! It's Bad Mother's Day again!
source: http://www.condenaststore.com |
On the other hand, if you are the child of a bad mother and yet, in spite of that, are still such a generous and thoughtful person that even now you want to send your bad mother a gift, I am here to help. Here a few sure fire gift suggestions for you:
1) Buy something on sale at the dollar store or thrift shop. It will make yer mama proud seein how frugal you are. After all, it was she who taught you that a penny saved (by not spending it on you) was a penny earned (that she could spend on herself).
2) Can't take her out to dinner on The Big Day? Send her a box of instant mac n cheese. She'll be feasting in a matter of minutes. Plus you'll get credit for being thrifty. (see #1)
3) Send her a bouquet of dandelions. She never seemed to notice when you picked them for her when you were a kid. They're so beautiful and will go nicely with dinner. (see #2) And if you don't send her the mac n cheese (see #2 again), she can eat them.
Nothing says it better than dandelions source: http://sparkingsynapse.com |
Labels:
Bad Mother's Day
06/05/2015
LA, the beginning
While, officially, we "launched" a couple of weeks ago, LA really marks the beginning of the trip. Oregon is family. The airbnb place we're renting belongs to a woman in the movie business .... set design etc.. The decor here is a cross between 1930's thrift store chic and its dumpster out back. M. Lee, who is more kindly disposed to the display, describes it a prop warehouse. I'm sure he's right. Why else stuff some twenty dilapidated plaid suitcases of various bright colors under the bed? And the rooms are stuffed with everything from ancient phones, croquet sets, movie posters, animal skins, dishes, neon hotel signs, typewriters, cameras, antiquish bathroom scales, tennis racquets, spent bullets, rusty old coffee cans and lanterns to a wall of framed paint-by-numbers landscapes. In a word, crammed. Drives me not so quietly crazy which drives him crazy.
Our first day here, right off the plane, we took his mom to her favorite thrift store, a chain called Council Thrift. She found a white jacket she really liked and put it on to get M.'s opinion before buying it then went off to the cashier, still wearing it, and purchased her own coat, still in hand, for the grand price of five bucks. Later, realizing what she'd done, she was mortified. Luckily, she's a good sport because we're getting a lot of mileage out of it.
Off to Disney Land |
Labels:
family,
Los Angeles,
travel notes
28/04/2015
24/04/2015
T plus 6 days
Blowing dandelions |
We're launched and, sadly, that means the Bird Park is closed. Of course, the house sitter keeps one seed tube filled for the little birds but it's too much to ask anyone to do what I do. Damn. Just when it was getting interesting. Maggie Magpie had become comfortable with me being out in the yard with her and Charlie the crow was dropping by mid-morning for his own, private snack. He selected a spot as far away from the main area in the Bird Park as possible, a section of fence under the trees right outside the kitchen window, and from there called until I came out and gave him his peanuts. If we were around more, no telling how this might develop. In summers past he'd perch on the fence opposite my office window, where the main area in Bird Park is located, and pitch his case. That bird can sweet talk. But now we're gone. I'm sure Maggie will keep an eye on things. She always shows up within a day of our return.
Pizza night |
But now we're on the road. Of course, as usual, we're starting our adventure in Portland. Gotta see the gkids. The other day four-year old Leo took us to Reed Canyon, a lovely little ravine on the campus of Reed College which is, to Reed's credit, still quiet enough to support nesting ducks and geese. As for Thea, she is currently learning about the universe in kindergarten science class and has "definitely decided, no doubt about it," that I am an alien.
Baby Chance |
Labels:
family,
Portland,
travel notes
11/04/2015
Breakfast with crows
Labels:
Bird Park,
DITL,
travel notes
10/04/2015
Remnant thumbnails
My old camera is haunted. Playback shows videos that aren't there. Today I turned the camera over to M. but he found nothing. Then okay. I must have downloaded them and then forgot I did. I'll go with his diagnosis ... remnant thumbnails, phantoms. So it goes. Like dreams that return to haunt you during the day. Strange memories connected to nothing. I've never gotten along with this particular camera anyway, a Sony Cyber-shot. It takes ok photos but I don't like the way it interacts with my computer and I hate the Sony PlayMemories Home software. Now, M. is taking it and I am getting a Lumix. I liked the Lumix I had before, the one I wore out. The Sony and I were just enemies from the start. Sometimes it's like that.
Labels:
photos
08/04/2015
04/04/2015
The probability of pumpkins
Finding the middle path...
Source |
....that is the goal.
He studies the photos, reads the reviews, google-walks the streets, checks access to public transportation, finds the supermarkets, farmer's markets, parks, museums etc. etc. We stay at least a month in some of these places so these things matter. It's hard on him but I will say this. He comes up with some kick ass plans. He began researching for this trip in January, right after we got home from Thailand. Thus far he claims to have studied over 3000 apartments. Once he does narrow it down to his top picks, he corresponds with the owners because, of course, we always have questions .... bed size, they never mention bed size, internet speeds, noise factor, kitchen, laundry and so on. What they do say is cozy. They all say cozy as though cozy says it all and is all anyone needs to know about anything. That word is now blacklisted around here. And don't sneak it into the conversation as acogedor, douillet or gemütlich. In any language, cozy is still very annoying.
And finally, after all that, we go over the best of picks together and settle on our favorites. Then, and only then, he makes an offer. Sometimes it's accepted, sometimes not. There may be more negotiation, if not, it's back to the list. Only Paris remains on the table but we won't be there until September so it can wait. I want to write, "Paris can wait". It's satisfying to be dismissive of Paris as Paris is so full of itself, but that would mean using the word Paris twice in the same sentence which, to my way of thinking, is somewhat clumsy and a bit obvious so I went with the word it which, perhaps, is even a bit more dismissive of Paris and, even though I like Paris (M. hates it), I like that because, like I said, Paris is full of itself. That sentence, you might notice, is an homage to my new favorite comedian Stewart Lee. But I digress. We leave in a month. The house sitter would be happy if we left tomorrow, but there is so very much to do between now and then.
In mathematics you don't understand things, you just get used to them."
- John von Neumann
- John von Neumann
Labels:
humor,
travel notes
01/04/2015
Rolling on
She ambles out on stage to a dark house and stands a moment gazing into the gloom. It is the night sky. It is the bottom of the sea. It is where lost dreams gather and discuss amongst themselves what could have been. She listens then turns and walks off stage. One light slowly comes up on the curtain. It parts.
Labels:
DITL,
Invisible Theatre
09/03/2015
Rest in peace, Sam
"I want medical experiments on animals stopped.
They don't do anything, and they don't work," ~ Sam Simon
Sad day. Sam Simon, co-creator and producer of "The Simpsons", died today at the age of 59. Of course, I love the Simpsons and thank him and cartoonist Matt Groening for that, but even more I love that Sam, who earned tens of millions annually from the show, donated his entire fortune to charity, including many foundations working to secure animal rights and welfare. Thank you, Sam. You will be missed.
"Veganism is an answer for almost every problem
facing the world in terms of hunger and climate change.
~ Sam Simon
Labels:
compassion,
obituaries,
vegetarian
05/03/2015
Sap Moon
Source: Four Mile Lab |
There are many names for it among Native Americans, Sap Moon, Little Spring Moon, Snow Crust Moon. Earthsky.org calls it micro-moon and mini-moon. In any case, tonight's full moon (exact at 4:05 p.m. PST /18:05 UTC) is the smallest full moon of the year because today is also the lunar apogee – which means the moon is at it's farthest point from earth. Today it is 30,000 miles (48280 km)farther away from Earth than the full supermoon and the Northern Hemisphere’s Harvest Moon which both happen later this year.
So, enjoy the Sap Moon. The bees are. Today, finally, they showed up. I was very concerned that spring had come too early because the pussy willow tree are blooming and, unlike years past, no bees have come to harvest its abundant pollen and enjoy its delicious, rich sap. But today, on Sap Moon, they arrived and the tree is filled with their buzzing.
Source: Condesign and Pixabay |
Labels:
DITL
04/03/2015
News at 08:21
Ok. Time to crank the wheel and roll this page down. The world has given Mr. Spock a loving, sad farewell and now it's time to move on.
So.... as for today.... not a lot going on here in Nevada, at least outside my window. A grackle is currently strolling through the Bird Park. A covey of quail are out nibbling seed, along with the new resident doves. A few red wing black birds are on the feeders. The lovely flicker pair are gobbling the apples along with several starlings. And, as always, finches are hopping around. They are the first to arrive and the last to go.
And, of course, Maggie Magpie is keeping an eye on things. At the moment she is perched in the now dead aspen tree I planted several a few years ago. Big mistake. Runners started popping up everywhere. I've since read that the aspen holds the world's record for largest living organism on earth. Yes. That lovely, whispering forest, which in autumn turns the mountain side brilliant gold, is one tree. One. Learn from my mistake. Don't plant one in your front yard. You will be mowing it forever.
But my little grove of three, that's right, I planted three, my little grove of three died. Guess I got lucky. It's kind of ugly but I had them topped and left their trunks standing so the birds could perch in them. Sooner or later I will remove them because it looks stupid but, for now, they stand and Maggie is sitting in one.
So. Have a good day or at least a day.
So.... as for today.... not a lot going on here in Nevada, at least outside my window. A grackle is currently strolling through the Bird Park. A covey of quail are out nibbling seed, along with the new resident doves. A few red wing black birds are on the feeders. The lovely flicker pair are gobbling the apples along with several starlings. And, as always, finches are hopping around. They are the first to arrive and the last to go.
And, of course, Maggie Magpie is keeping an eye on things. At the moment she is perched in the now dead aspen tree I planted several a few years ago. Big mistake. Runners started popping up everywhere. I've since read that the aspen holds the world's record for largest living organism on earth. Yes. That lovely, whispering forest, which in autumn turns the mountain side brilliant gold, is one tree. One. Learn from my mistake. Don't plant one in your front yard. You will be mowing it forever.
But my little grove of three, that's right, I planted three, my little grove of three died. Guess I got lucky. It's kind of ugly but I had them topped and left their trunks standing so the birds could perch in them. Sooner or later I will remove them because it looks stupid but, for now, they stand and Maggie is sitting in one.
So. Have a good day or at least a day.
27/02/2015
Whatever alternate universe you travel, be well Mr. Spock
Back in the acid days, I held out hope that Mr. Spock
would beam me up so I could apprentice with him.
Who knows? Perhaps he will yet.
Photo source: Emmy TV Legends |
would beam me up so I could apprentice with him.
Who knows? Perhaps he will yet.
Labels:
obituaries
25/02/2015
Remember Sunder?
If you love happy endings, you're going to love this one.
If you were one of the thousands of people who signed the petitions and/or donated to Sunder's legal expenses.... thank you, thank you. He is now free and lives in India's first ever free-roaming, forested, elephant sanctuary established by PETA India, Bannerghata Biological Park. Petitions work. Keep caring. Keep signing!
If you were one of the thousands of people who signed the petitions and/or donated to Sunder's legal expenses.... thank you, thank you. He is now free and lives in India's first ever free-roaming, forested, elephant sanctuary established by PETA India, Bannerghata Biological Park. Petitions work. Keep caring. Keep signing!
23/02/2015
Me and Dali
They say the camera doesn't lie....
but does it?
MOCA (Museum of Modern Art), Bangkok
but does it?
MOCA (Museum of Modern Art), Bangkok
Labels:
alternate realities,
art notes,
humor,
photos,
SE Asia,
Thailand,
The Arts,
travel notes,
WTF
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