United Kingdom
Blog 229: Just Another Cathedral
13, 05 15, 20:27 Filed in: Travel | Photography
Portree
Heading north from Portree, we stopped by a small herd of sheep (mainly rams) standing by the side of the road. Only mildly curious, these handsome ruminants stared and occasionally posed for our lenses.
Our first planned stop was Dunvegan Castle and Gardens, a place for intrigue and several murders over the centuries. We toured inside the castle and strolled outside among the vibrant flowers cast upon the grays and browns of the setting. From there, another stop at St. Mary’s Church Graveyard, a place so old you couldn’t read the writing on many of the gravestones and markers.
After dinner we back-tracked our trail from a couple days earlier to revisit Eilean Dornan Castle at evening to see this castle lit up.
Our small group met at 3:35 a.m. for a hoped-for morning sunrise hike up to see the Old Man of the Storr. However, we postponed this trek until later because of the rain and probable slick conditions. However, mid-morning the rain stopped and the skies lightened, so we headed off to this local nature-made iconic structure. An hour up and an hour back changing 3,500 feet in elevation on a sometimes steep, sometimes slick, almost always windy path we trekked along watching our steps and bracing our backs from the wind-tunnel-like gusts of air. Here a couple shots.
Inverlochy Castle
Tuesday we had a marvelous lunch at Inverlochy Castle.
Glasgow Cathedral
I titled this blog entry “Just Another Cathedral” in jest. Check out the Glasgow Cathedral.
Conwy
We stayed at beautiful Conwy in Wales.
Dolgoth Falls
At the train station we met this handsome pup named Milo. Next we shot the narrow gauge train.
London
Jan and I split from the group and spent a fun day in London hitting many of the tourist spots, including a ride on the Eye.
Pups
Here are some pups from my Pup Reserve.
Old Sign
Here is one shot from the Old Sign Reserve.
Old Trucks
Not many old trucks in Scotland! Here are three from the Old Truck Reserve.
See you soon.
Blog 167: Quick Trips to Madrid and London
23, 09 13, 08:54 Filed in: Travel | Photography
Sunday: Day One of the European Tour
Sunday morning I arrived in Madrid after a mechanical problem and a little re-routing early in the journey. All in all, things ended up fine, just a few hours later than planned. I took a nap, enjoyed a tub, then went to an outdoor plaza to walk around and have a light evening meal. As continued the entire time in Madrid, the weather was awesome, the people were friendly. When I stopped for dinner, I had the best tuna I had ever tasted--seared, marinated in a special sauce, and the fried egg on the top added color and variety to the presentation.
Monday-Tuesday
I facilitated (in English) an intensive two-day session for my client’s Spanish and French teams. All smart, interested, and interesting people, all wanting to learn. Since the groups were split 50-50, everyone had a chance to better understand their colleagues from another country. Monday night we all went to Old Town for a traditional meal built upon tapas, and then I stayed out late (for me) with the crazy Frenchmen.
Wednesday
Wednesday was a travel day, as I moved on to the town of Reading, 30 minutes west of central London. Once again, I was fortunate to have a deep soaking tub in my room that I took advantage of every one of the four days I stayed there. Since we don’t have a tub (at least not yet) in our motor coach, I appreciate having one all the more while traveling.
Thursday-Friday
On these days I facilitated the same type of session as I did while in Madrid for my client’s UK office. Another great group.
Saturday
After contemplating several options, I decided to take the train to Portsmouth to see the old British war ships. Here are a couple of photos taken from the train.
They had repaired/refurbished/rebuilt Admiral Nelson’s old flagship, “Victory,” to its original specifications. This is the ship he died on--they show you the spot on the deck where a French sharpshooter fatally wounded him in his victory at Trafalgar. It was just awesome! Also, I toured the first iron-hulled warship, “Warrior,” and saw it as it exactly was, as this ship never saw battle.
Later I walked to the town center and stopped by this park.
Old Signs
Here are a couple old signs from our Old Sign Reserve.
Old Trucks
Try as I could, I saw no old trucks in Madrid or London this week. Here are three from my Old Truck Reserve.
See you next week from Germany and Sweden.
Sunday morning I arrived in Madrid after a mechanical problem and a little re-routing early in the journey. All in all, things ended up fine, just a few hours later than planned. I took a nap, enjoyed a tub, then went to an outdoor plaza to walk around and have a light evening meal. As continued the entire time in Madrid, the weather was awesome, the people were friendly. When I stopped for dinner, I had the best tuna I had ever tasted--seared, marinated in a special sauce, and the fried egg on the top added color and variety to the presentation.
Monday-Tuesday
I facilitated (in English) an intensive two-day session for my client’s Spanish and French teams. All smart, interested, and interesting people, all wanting to learn. Since the groups were split 50-50, everyone had a chance to better understand their colleagues from another country. Monday night we all went to Old Town for a traditional meal built upon tapas, and then I stayed out late (for me) with the crazy Frenchmen.
Wednesday
Wednesday was a travel day, as I moved on to the town of Reading, 30 minutes west of central London. Once again, I was fortunate to have a deep soaking tub in my room that I took advantage of every one of the four days I stayed there. Since we don’t have a tub (at least not yet) in our motor coach, I appreciate having one all the more while traveling.
Thursday-Friday
On these days I facilitated the same type of session as I did while in Madrid for my client’s UK office. Another great group.
Saturday
After contemplating several options, I decided to take the train to Portsmouth to see the old British war ships. Here are a couple of photos taken from the train.
They had repaired/refurbished/rebuilt Admiral Nelson’s old flagship, “Victory,” to its original specifications. This is the ship he died on--they show you the spot on the deck where a French sharpshooter fatally wounded him in his victory at Trafalgar. It was just awesome! Also, I toured the first iron-hulled warship, “Warrior,” and saw it as it exactly was, as this ship never saw battle.
Later I walked to the town center and stopped by this park.
Old Signs
Here are a couple old signs from our Old Sign Reserve.
Old Trucks
Try as I could, I saw no old trucks in Madrid or London this week. Here are three from my Old Truck Reserve.
See you next week from Germany and Sweden.