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Dec 10, 2025 – Soufriere, St Lucia
Found a local guide, named Marlon Brando, who took me by boat snorkeling near two beaches near Soufriere. Saw lots of different kinds of fishes and corals. Had two snorkeling sessions and both seemed too short even though they really weren’t. Spent about 45 minutes for each. There was just a lot to see. Great…
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February 20, 2023 – Walk to Natural Well
This morning the dogs and I walked to Natural Well, a 186 foot pit that’s popular to rappel. I used to rappel it but haven’t in about ten years. There’s a bunch of fallen rock at the bottom and it’s drippy, especially with as much rain as we’ve had this winter. There’s passage at the…
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December 26, 2022 – Critters
I’ve had a trail camera set up in my yard periodically for a couple of years. I place it in different spots but it captures a more diverse bunch of critters when set up in the side yard. Here are some photos captured over the two years. The screech owl image was taken in a…
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December 14, 2022 – Paris, France
Took the Metro to a stop outside the Galleries Lafayette where I bought my new phone yesterday. I asked a sales guy if he could get my phone to send and receive calls. He said a SIM card was needed but they didn’t sell them. I walked past a tourist information booth in the store…
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December 13, 2022 – Paris, France
Can’t say this day was all that great. I was on the Metro going to Museum d’Orsey and got pickpocketed. My phone was stolen. I didn’t realize it until I was off the Metro and reached for my phone. Gone. Went to the museum anyway but the line was long and I decided that I…
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Foods tried in Helsinki, Tallinn, Stockholm and Paris
Here’s a photo log of some interesting food and drink I had on this trip.
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December 12, 2022 – Paris, France
Took the Metro most of the way to Sacre-Coeur Basilica from my AirBnB. Walked the last part in about 20 minutes. The Catholic church is on a hill, the highest point in Paris. It has a sweeping view to the south with Paris taking up the entire view. Pope John Paul II visited in the…
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December 11, 2022 – Paris, France
Visited The Louvre today. With over 35,000 pieces displayed I only saw a fraction in my two hours there. Great art in a great city. I may go back this week. The Louvre From The Louvre, walked to the Eiffel Tower and below it on the Seine, took a boat tour of part of Paris.…
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December 10, 2022 – Paris, France
Arrived in Paris after spending most of the day getting here. I flew from Stockholm to Helsinki then to Paris. Took a taxi from the airport because the train wasn’t running due to work on the rail line. It’s Saturday night and passenger traffic in the airport was light. Maybe that’s why they chose tonight…
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December 9, 2022 – Stockholm, Sweden
There are some boat tours in Stockholm and they’re a good way to see the city because Stockholm looks good from the water. If you like boats this is a good place to visit. The Nordiska Museet, The Nordic Museum in English, is in a fantastic building. It displayed items of Nordic living, even Arctic…
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December 8, 2022 – Stockholm, Sweden
Today, visited The Vasa Museum. The Vasa is a wooden sailing ship that was the pride and showpiece of the Swedish navy and especially the king. It was completed in 18 months which is less time than it took to build the model of the Vasa in the museum. Well, the Vasa sank within 20…
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December 7, 2022 – Stockholm, Sweden
Arrived in Stockholm yesterday. It’s a beautiful, cool city established as a trading post in the thirteenth century, built on 14 islands connected by 50 bridges. It’s December and temperatures are in the 20s. The Viking Museum How Viking men and women probably dressed Ferry from Viking Museum back to Sodermalm where I’m staying. Soder…
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December 5, 2022 – Tallinn, Estonia
More photos from my walk around the old town of Tallinn late this afternoon. Medieval stuff all over old town. The liquor was made in Tallinn and is 40% alcohol. It’s a sweet drink. I bought a shot of it at a little museum that used to be a Dominican monk convent established in 1246.…
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December 4, 2022 – Tallinn, Estonia
This is another post that’s late. I’m taking my posts from Facebook and copying them to this blog site. I’ve got a few more days left to post, all going back in time. Thanks for reading. Dec 4 — Another fine dinner tonight but in Tallinn instead of Helsinki. The restaurant was Rataskaevu 16 named…
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December 3, 2022 – Helsinki, Finland
Had dinner at Ravintolen Sea Horse, a ten minute walk from my AirBnB. Ravintolen is Finnish for restaurant. I’m teaching you Finnish. You’re welcome. Had a Finnish gin and tonic to start with. It was excellent. It had ligonberries and a sprig of dill. The waitress told me that rosemary was supposed to be used…
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December 2, 2022 – Helsinki, Finland
Arrived in Helsinki, Finland mid-afternoon today. It’s just below freezing but the wind sure makes it feel colder. There’s some snow in grassy areas. And, it’s 3:55 PM and it’s almost dark. Days are shorter at this latitude of 60 degrees north. Photos show the Central Train Station where I arrived on a train from…
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September 23, 2022 – Istanbul, Turkey
Took a ferry from near Galata Bridge to the Asian side of Istanbul. It’s a good, inexpensive way to see Istanbul from the water. I did a two hour boat tour of the Bosphorus waterway two days ago but I wanted to go to the Asian side by boat. There are lots of cargo ships,…
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September 22, 2022 – Istanbul, Turkey
This morning went to the Archeological Museum. It was loaded with statues, coins, parts of columns and some really interesting sarcophagus, including one once believed to have been prepared for Alexander the Great. That one is huge. It weighs 30 tons and is finely sculpted. Items in the museum were from many periods and peoples…
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September 21, 2022 – Istanbul, Turkey
Breakfast at the Marmara Guesthouse with a good view from the terrace of the south end of the Bosphorus Strait in Istanbul. Across the water is part of Istanbul in Asia. Walked to Basilica Cistern, an underground water storage facility as ornate as a cathedral. Istanbul has plenty of salt water all around but fresh…
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September 20, 2022 – Istanbul, Turkey
Flew from Dubrovnik, Croatia to Istanbul this morning. Staying at a family run Guesthouse not far from the Blue Mosque. The place has 15 rooms, a nice terrace, comes with breakfast and bottled water. I upgraded to a sea view room. I have a good view of the Sea of Marmara and the Asian side…
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September 19, 2022 – Dubrovnik, Croatia
This morning I walked the walls of old town Dubrovnik. Lots of people do this. You buy a ticket for about $15 and then you get to walk completely around the old city on the path at the top of the wall. There are lots of steps but the views are good. The walk is…
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September 18, 2022 – Sarajevo to Dubrovnik, Croatia
Took a day tour from Sarajevo to Dubrovnik, Croatia. It was a one way trip. It was a great way to see some of the countryside of Bosnia and Herzegovina and end up in Dubrovnik. The Croatian coast is beautiful. Photos show some of the sights along the way but most are of Mostar in…
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September 17, 2022 – Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
This morning it’s raining lightly. The clouds are low enough that the mountains are obscured. If I had taken the cable car today instead of yesterday there would be no view of the city from the top or even halfway up the mountain. Walked to the Bascarsija area. That’s the bazaar and where the video…
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September 16, 2022 – Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Took the cable car up Trebevic Peak south of Central Sarajevo. The views were good up there. The mountain was the site of the bobsled course in the 1984 Winter Olympics which was held in Sarajevo. The mountain was also used by the Croats and Serbs for shelling the city during the ugly war of…
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September 15, 2022 – Santorini to Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Last shots in Fira. I’m leaving this evening. Two days here is enough. Santorini is expensive and crowded with tourists. Of course, I’m a tourist so I guess I’m part of the problem. I think the story with the locks is that couples put them on to lock their dislike for each other to Santorini.…
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September 14, 2022 – Santorini, Greece
Walked around Fira and enjoyed the views. There are so many tourists, a bunch from at least four cruise ships. One of the photos is of natural sponges and blocks of pumice for sale along a main tourist clogged sidewalk. Mighty fine thick juice from a nectarine, banana, and orange. Had it by the pool.…
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September 13, 2022 – Santorini, Greece
Took a ferry from Heraklion, Crete to the island of Santorini about 30 miles north. It took two hours and I had a great front window seat. I’ve arrived too early to check in but I can sit by the pool and I can take a walk to kill time until the 3 PM check…
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September 12, 2022 – Heraklion, Crete, Greece
Today, a taxi driver I met yesterday drove me to the south coast of Crete about 60-70 miles south of Heraklion. The driver’s name is George. I couldn’t find a bus that had a route where I wanted to go and since George offered the service yesterday, I called him this morning. I wanted to…
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September 11, 2022 – Heraklion, Crete, Greece
Visited the ancient Minoan site of Knossos near Heraklion. There was a great palace here about 2000 BC and later. There’s been some restoration. This is the most visited site on Crete for good reason. Went to the old fort on the sea. It’s called Koules Fortress and it has very stout walls. It was…
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September 10, 2022 – Heraklion, Crete, Greece
Flew from Athens to Heraklion, Crete early this afternoon. Flight was about 40 minutes. Taking a ferry would have taken at least 8 hours. Crete is Greece’s largest island and where the Greek god Zeus, the head honcho, was said to have been born. Visited the Heraklion Archeological Museum which features stuff from the Minoan…
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September 9, 2022 – Meteora to Athens, Greece
The two day tour I was on went to the monasteries at Meteora in central Greece. The monasteries are pretty incredible. They’re built on top of rock pinnacles hundreds of feet above the surrounding valley. They were built there in the early days of Christianity first to protect themselves from the Romans and after 400…
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September 8, 2022 – Athens to Meteora, Greece
Today, joined a small tour group to go to Delphi, about 100 miles NW from Athens. Ancient Delphi was where the Oracle spouted vague answers to questions brought before her. Some of the questioners were very notable people. I believe, Hadrian, the emperor of the Roman Empire was one. Alexander the Great was another. One…
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September 7, 2022 – Athens, Greece
Visited The National Archeological Museum early this afternoon. It was one of those museums where you go into information overload. It was the history of Greece told mainly by pottery. I could certainly tell how the pieces became more and more sophisticated with time. There was even some Egyptian stuff. It was a good visit.…
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September 6, 2022 – Athens, Greece
Walked from my Airbnb to the Acropolis Museum, two minutes away. The museum holds the real stuff from the Parthenon and Acropolis. Copies occupy the original places but there’s a lot more in the museum. Many original items from the Acropolis are in other museums all over the world. The British took a lot of…
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September 5, 2022 – Athens, Greece
Visited the Acropolis early this afternoon. Temples, sanctuaries, two amphitheaters, alters, and more buildings. What great history was made in this area. I’ve done some reading to review what the ancient Greeks accomplished but I need to do more. One great thing Americans have done is add arms to statues. Okay, it might not have…
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September 4, 2022 – Athens, Greece
Just arrived in Athens, Greece. A few photos: view of Parthenon, olives, Hadrian’s Arch, flag of Greece, and could someone tell me what the sign is about? I’m sure that the cat in the photo is the same one as on the sign.
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June 1, 2022
Made it home from Portland, Oregon and reclaimed my dogs. They’re back in their natural habitat as you can see. Glad I visited Portland and Mt Rainier NationaI Park. That park is one of my favorites. It’s a hiker’s dream. Thanks for reading.
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May 28, 2022 – Portland, Oregon
Went to the Portland Japanese Garden again this morning because my Airbnb host could get both of us in for free and because the garden is so well done that I wanted to go again. So, some of these photos will look like the ones I posted from my visit on Monday. If you come…
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May 27, 2022 – Mt Rainier National Park
Took a walk around the Longmire area where some of the park employees live. It’s an historic section of the area with rustic buildings and a wooden trestle supporting a bridge across the river. Later, drove back to Portland today but before leaving the park, walked an hour on Kautz Creek Trail. Hate to leave…
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May 25, 2022 – Mt Rainier National Park
Drove 12 miles up to the Paradise area of Mt Rainier NationaI Park. At 5400 feet elevation it was snowy. It’s another 9000 ft to the top of Mt Rainier. I had intended to hike but couldn’t make much progress in just hiking shoes. The top of Mt Rainier was buried in clouds and snow.…
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May 24, 2022 – Mt Rainier National Park
Drove to Mt Rainier National Park this morning. Staying at the National Park Inn in the Longmire area. Did two short hikes, one on the Wonderland Trail. The woods here are gorgeous. There are tall, old conifers, moss everywhere, the whitewater of Nisqually River, and where the clouds break, a view of the snowy lower…
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May 23, 2022 – Portland, Oregon
Went to the Portland Japanese Garden this morning. A Japanese ambassador once said it’s the finest Japanese garden outside of Japan. I believe it and it’s going to be tough to make my property as nice. This Japanese garden is a masterpiece. More photos from my visit to the Portland Japanese Garden this morning. I…
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May 22, 2022 – Portland, Oregon
One reason to come to Portland is because I’m a fan of a guy here who learned bread making in France and pizza making in Italy. He’s Ken Forkish and he has a bakery and a separate pizza place in Portland. His book Flour, Water, Salt, Yeast won a big award and I use that…
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May 21, 2022 – Portland, Oregon
Flew to Portland, Oregon today. 7:15 AM departures are no fun. But, made it. Driving in Portland is challenging because I don’t know the roads. Google maps is great but I couldn’t take my eyes off the road. If I did I probably would have hit one of the homeless downtown. Staying at this AirBnB…
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Dec 20, 2025 – Foods, Dishes of Southeastern Caribbean
The Caribbean is full of flavorful food and dishes. The seafood is fresh and tasty with some fishes available never seen in the US, like barracuda and kingfish. At least, I’ve never seen those in the US.
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Dec 16, 2025 – Roseau to Douglas-Charles Airport, Dominica
The taxi driver I’ve used in Roseau drove me to the Douglas-Charles Airport on the other side (eastern) of the island this morning. It’s about an hour and forty minutes on twisting mountain roads. Today I leave to return to Miami. On the way Rene, the driver, added comments about the areas we drove through.…
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Dec 15, 2025 – Roseau to Scotts Head, Dominica
Used the taxi driver I used yesterday to drive to Scotts Head at the southern end of Dominica. Scotts Head is a peninsula with a hill at the end. There was a British fort there at one time but today there’s one canon for show. I walked to the top of the hill. On one…
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Dec 14, 2025 – Roseau, Dominica
Went out whale and dolphin watching with a local tour boat company. Saw a lot of dolphins. The guide said there were about 200 in the pods. Saw two of the four species here, Fraser and Spotted dolphins. The two species were together hunting for small fishes, including flying fish, which were seen today. The…
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Dec 13, 2025 – Roseau, Dominica
Dominica is known as the Nature Island in the Caribbean. It’s has nine volcanoes, multiple hot springs and waterfalls and cloaked in dense forests. It’s so rugged the colonial powers, Britain and France couldn’t make it productive as far as growing any crop like sugar cane. But, that didn’t stop the two from fighting over…
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Dec 12, 2025 – Soufriere to Castries, St Lucia
Took a small, open boat along with a dozen other tourists from Soufriere to Castries to the north. Taking the boat was preferable to taking the bus (really just mini vans) or a taxi to Castries. The roads are narrow and very curvy so not fun to take. Tonight I catch a flight to the…
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Dec 11, 2025 – Soufriere, St Lucia
It rained off and on this morning, adding to the humidity and great for where I was going when it let up, the botanical garden with Diamond Waterfall. It’s an easy walk from my Airbnb, about a mile. Went mainly for the waterfall but the garden was very lush and had plants I hadn’t seen…
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Dec 9, 2025 – Soufriere, St Lucia
Today was a grind, a supposedly short trip from Kingstown, St Vincent to St Lucia. The two eastern Caribbean islands are less than 100 miles apart. My flight with InterCaribbean Airlines was supposed to take 45 minutes. That’s not what happened. So, at checkin I am given a boarding pass to Barbados and another from…
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Dec 8, 2025 – Kingstown, St Vincent and the Grenadines
There’s a ferry system in St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) running between islands. It’s a good way to way to get around and these islands are well worth a visit if you like the Caribbean with its beaches, laid back style, beautiful water, good food and people. Took a ferry nine miles south to…
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