Saturday, December 22, 2018
Lunch on the Seine
After arriving in Paris on the Eurostar we took a taxi to our reserved boat ride and lunch tour on the Seine River. Arriving somewhat early at Bateaux Parisiens, we walked up the steps to view the Eiffel Tower. Right at the base of the tower were concessions and I bought Sandy a cup of hot chocolate from two Sengalese pirates . The chocolate was three and one half Euros with another one fifty for whipped crème on top. That's about six dollars for a small hot chocolate, but it was cold and I'm not in Paris every day so I bought the drink. We soon boarded our cruise boat and headed down the river for sight seeing and lunch. Sandy had bought the tickets a couple months ago on the web , and we really didn't know what to expect. We were given menus with options for starters , entrees , and deserts. I opted out on the starters because I'm not much on potato soup or pickled prawns, but everyone else ate theirs and gave them a thumbs up. I ordered oven baked chicken and brussels sprouts. The chicken was ok , somewhat smoky flavored and Sandy ate my brussels sprouts. Since I'm a teetotaler for alcohol , the first wine offering in my glass was consumed by Sandy, as well as her own. The drinkers relished the first wine which was blackberry wine mixed with champagne. The rest of the meal was many rounds of rose wine and white wine, which my brother in law drank for me. The waiter must have taken me for a heavy wino because my glass was always empty! T
he final drink was a thimble sized cup of bitter coffee , which old Tim drank for me as well. The beauty of this tour was a living history of Paris and the architecture of Paris along the Seine, which is why Paris grew to be here in the first place. We went by Royal Palaces, The Louvre, Notre Dame , The national Library, The Eiffel Tower, A replica Statue of Liberty given by American Citizens in Paris, and the Island with Cathedrals and palaces.Along the way we passed boat traffic and house boats that a lucky few can reside in. I expected to see Jason Bourne fly across the Pont de Neuf, but he was out of town that morning. The Pont de Neuf connects to the Ile de la Cite, which is the center of the city and where Paris actually began.An interesting note is that the Pont des Arts is a pedestrian bridge crossing the Seine over to the Louvre, and became the traditional site for lovers to place padlocks on the chainlink guard rails . They would place locks with their initials painted on as a momento. Unfortunately there grew so many locks on the bridge that it became likely to collapse. Engineers estimated 45 tons of locks were on the railings when they replaced them with plywood panels in 2015. All too soon we hailed a cab to take us to the Gare du Nord to catch our London bound Eurostar. Our cabbie was a native Frenchman who spoke little English and crammed four of us in the back seat of his BMW. He spoke little and asked me if I was Buffalo Bill. How do you answer that? His blue tooth radio kept ringing and it was someone named Catherine that he kept hanging up on. I told him Catherine was going to be pissed , but he just shrugged. He was middle aged and could have been an assassin looking for Jason Bourne.Who Knows? We finally got back to the station and caught our train back to London. I don't know if our cabbie ever connected with Catherine.
London Weekend
This year we decided to take a long weekend to London and Paris instead of our yearly weekend in December in New York. Sandy and I have been going to NYC in December for the past twenty years to celebrate our anniversary, and to celebrate Christmas in the Big Apple. This year while checking airfare and hotel rates Sandy found we could go to London for 4 nights at the same price as 2 nights in NYC. We actually had been wanting to see London and Paris during the Christmas season so we booked the flights and left Lexington to Atlanta and then on to Heathrow. The only negative is the flight is 8 1/2 hours in a crowded airplane with child size seats for adults. Our plane finally landed at around 8 am and our trip to the hotel lasted 1 1/2 hours. The traffic toward the airport was backed up for probably 20 miles due to a horrible wreck involving a large BMW sedan that had been made into a convertible by rescue workers. I doubt there was a happy ending to that wreck. We finally made it to our hotel which was across the Thames in south London . The trip was very picturesque as part was along the busy river side with modern buildings and old traditional landmarks as well. The Shard was there as usual, as well as the London City Hall, affectionately known as The Onion or the Biscuit due to its strange bulbous shape. You could see the Eye rotating across from Parliament, and you could see the ancient Tower of London on the North Bank. It was becoming evident London doesn't have the love of Christmas as does the USA. The most common element of the highways of London was the countless Black Cabs . There were hundreds of them everywhere you looked, some with advertising like on New York Taxis, some without. Everyone we asked said to take Uber because of the cost, but we are skeptical about Uber from American reports. The Black Cabs hold 3 people in the rear seat and have 2 jump seats facing the rear. When designed, the cabs were given a tall interior that accommodates tall formal hats on gentlemen, something we didn't test as we had left our Bowler hats at home this trip.Our hotel was a Hilton Doubletree at Excel and on the banks of the Thames, close to the London City Airport. It was interesting to watch large British Air and Swiss Air jets coming in to land as their approach path is directly over the river The hotel had two Christmas trees and holiday music playing,but nothing like New York. It cost around 40 pounds one way to get to Trafalgar Square or Piccadilly Circus but that was better than hitch hiking. The story is that Lord Admiral Nelson defeated the French and Spanish navies at Trafalgar off the Spanish coast , but was killed in the battle. Being the hero that he was , his officers placed his body in a keg of rum to preserve it for a proper burial back in England. The sailors on the ship sneaked around at night and drank all the rum, leaving his body without preservation. The sailors said afterwards they were"having a drink with Nelson". London in mid December is chilly and often raining, but we had the first day with sunshine. Our plans were to catch the Eurostar at St Pancras Station and travel to Paris . Now the trip costs around $80 American round trip and takes two hours and 15 minutes to arrive at Paris. St Pancras is a Victorian Station that was nearly demolished but saved and today is a main hub for trains leaving London to France and then to all destinations in Europe. The Eurostar is an engineering marvel traveling at 185 miles per hour in smooth ultra quit comfort. Each train carries up to 900 passengers. Our train was filled coming and going with mainly business commuters. The tunnel under the English Channel was completed in 1994 with two trains meeting midpoint under the Channel, one carrying Queen Elizabeth II and the other with French Prime Minister Francois Mitterand. The tunnel is 31 miles long and 250 feet deep at the lowest point. All you see for 15 or twenty minutes are green lights hurling by at 185 mph, then you suddenly are propelled into bright sunshine and French countryside.The trip to Paris is a continual flash by of cultivated farms and villages every ten minutes or so. Each village has cathedrals towering over the houses and businesses. Occasionally there will appear wind farms with alien towers generating electricity. The train hurls itself into Paris and the Gare Du Nord station, one of the busiest in Europe. The name means the North Gate. From there we catch a taxi to Batteau Parisienne for a scheduled lunch cruise on the Seine. The boats are moored on the Seine River with The Eiffel Tower only 100 yards away. The tower is closed on this day as the threat of protesting workers wearing yellow vests loom ahead. As
it turns out the Lunch cruise became one of our most memorable times in Paris.
Tuesday, November 27, 2018
Not what I thought
Last year we traveled to England with an excursion to Paris, which I wanted to visit , but with some reservations. I think I had listened to many stories about the aloofness and attitudes of the French and I had some trepidations . We had taken a large tour bus from London to Dover in preparation of crossing the English Channel. Now you can go under the channel in the famous Chunnel, float across as we did, or fly. Some people have actually swam across ,but not us. The motor trip from London took about two hours and we arrived at the famous seaside city of Dover. Historically Dover has been the sea side port of entry from France and is famous for the white chalk cliffs that are visible from sea. The white cliffs were often the landmarks of WW 2 bombers as they returned from missions against German targets. In like manner they were the first landmark of The German Luftwaffe as they attacked England. As we motored up to the Ferry terminals I was shocked to see monsterous ships of multiple decks taking traffic on board from 4 lanes of traffic. Our large bus was swallowed and we entered what appeared to be a modern parking garage. We got off the bus and took elevators 4 or 5 decks up to a mini shopping center with a gambling hall,shopping, and eating facilities. We all ate an English breakfast and watched the progress across the channel on a gray, chilly morning. The sea and the sky were both the same color of gray. About an hour later we entered the French port of Calais, which was large and full of container ships and huge cranes. At the time the ship conveyed many campers and cars of British origin crossing the channel for vacation in Europe, which is fascinating that you can motor all over Europe without restrictions due to the European Union. All money is in Euros and all European members enjoy a world rather easier than those of us with US passports. I do think Brexit will change a lot of this convenience for British Citizens. We started our journey toward Pari
s, which took about 4 or 5 hours through the vivid green country side. My first impression of Paris as we entered the outskirts was a sprawling metropolitan area befitting one of Europe's oldest cities of nearly nine million people. Modern Paris was a forest of construction cranes atop looming skyscrapers. The city, old and new, went for miles. The Charles De Galle Airport is about 45 minutes out of town as we were to learn on our later departure.The bus took us to our Hotel , the Novotel Paris Centre Eiffel Tower, which is considered a mid range value for around 300 Euros per night. It is a high rise building with about 900 rooms. Situated on the banks of the Seine, it is close to transportation and about 40 minutes from De Galle Airport. Rooms are small, but larger than New York . The breakfast buffet is good and beats British food by a lot, which isn't saying much. We took a night cruise on the Seine and it was raining and chilly, but the Eiffel Tower at night lives up to reputation with gold lighting like jewels, and the occasional flash of strobe lights. The only negative was an extended family of Indians was also touring with a pack of wild children who evidentally had consumed buckets of sugar and ran over people like young jackels the entire tour.An interesting note was the antique houseboats moored on the banks of the Seine which were grandfathered in from earlier times. There are only permits for 60 some boats, one of which is owned by the President of Cartier. There are many historic bridges over the river, most of which I had previously seen Jason Bourne cross in fast cars. We toured The Palace Of Versailles, the Biltmore of Louis the XIV. The Sun King certainly knew how to live.We toured the Louvre , the world's oldest and largest museum. Enhanced with the fairly new glass pyramid, by I M Pei, the Louvre lives up to its reputation. The crown jewel is of course the Mona Lisa. Da Vinci's masterpiece is small in reality compared to what you would imagine it to be. You are in extreme danger of being trampled any where in the Louvre by herds of rude, obnoxious Chinese tourists with every known variety of photographic equipment hanging around their necks. The Chinese will push you out of the way with hands and elbows, never thinking of manners. I honestly think they have to push people around because it is the way they live in China. I have noticed the same rude Chinese behavior in NYC and San Francisco.The French people are saints compared to the Chinese. The thoughts of the rude Chinese and Indians have worn me out, so I will talk about the nicer things in France in a later
post.
Saturday, November 24, 2018
California
When I was in my youth everyone wanted to go to California , which was a land of great attraction with famous people and beautiful sunsets and beaches. All the movie and tv stars lived in this promised land. The Beach Boys and Jan and Dean sang about the girls and surfing , and everyone drove 55 T- Birds, Corvettes, and XKEs. A place on the beach in Malibu was everyone's dream. Over the years dream world has become tainted with too many people and a veritable Tower of Babel of everyone living in excess and corruption. Nowhere is this greed and corruption more apparent than in the entertainment business. The casting couches of the Harvey Weinsteins and his comrades have become legendary. Suddenly every starlet is telling of attempts on her integrity. The Me Too movement is in full swing. It seems that the core of California has become a rotted foundation waiting to collapse. The state is full of liberals wanting to give everything to migrants and expect the rest of the nation to follow suit. The entire state is a powder keg literally burning up in times of drought , and then sliding off the hillsides during the infrequent rains, to say nothing of the San Andreas Fault getting ready to dump the masses into the cold Pacific. When the Beach Boys were wishing they could all be California Girls somehow I don't think they were singing about Nancy Pelosi or Diane Feinstein. My vision of California Girls is stuck on Pamela Anderson running on the beach in that red bathing suit , or Farah Fawcett in that poster every male had in college in 1970.We see Glen Campbell leaving for Phoenix and that telephone just keeping on ringing. Nobody today even remembers ringing telephones. The California of Jimmy Webb and Linda Ronstadt is long gone , as well as 1967 and the summer of love. Jimi Hendrix hit the Monterrey Festival and Jefferson Airplane was on the radio. Music made sense in those days before Justin Bieber and Kanye. The Brady Bunch was replaced by the Kardashian Bunch. OJ quit running through airports and started chases on freeways.San Francisco changed from Haight- Ashbury to something else.You really do have to wear flowers in your hair if you're going to San Francisco. San Francisco would never tolerate Harry Callahan in today's society. Do you feel lucky Punk?I guess nothing remains the same , yet I still love the Pacific highway and Half Moon Bay, along with Napa and Sonoma. I just don't feel comfortable with the present California mind set. High tech and Tesla drive that state and if you're not Apple minded you need not apply.I guess I'm stuck in 1968 and need to move on. Besides , have you seen Pamela Anderson lately ?
Monday, November 19, 2018
What"s there to Say??
It's been a while since I posted , and somehow I felt I should have been writing about my political feelings of our country, but what remains to be said?This political mess we are living in has become so bitter and full of hatred that I really don't have anything to add. I guess I must give my State Of Union in lieu of any other subject that means nothing to me or anyone else.I've never been this old before and every day brings a new ache or pain.I still get a haircut every four months or so and pay for it with a bottle of Gray Goose vodka, because my hair babe will work me in for the booze. She's in no danger of addiction because 3 bottles a year doesn't make much of a buzz.I'm 6 months behind on my Blood Work , but I feel at my age I'm not producing as much red blood cells as a young man, and I want to keep all I've got. I was in Manchester today and went to the Mennonite bakery and bought a dozen bear claws from a young maiden with a unibrow that had somewhat of an attitude , but who cares? I'd have an attitude if I were a Mennonite, wouldn't you?The Bearclaws were delicious and that's another reason not to have bloodwork at the moment. Megyn Kelly went down in flames, and I thought that even I would have better control of myself for $23 mill a year. It took me 30 seconds to find that frigging dollar symbol.Poor Megyn . Where is she going to go?We went to Europe in February and I left my heart in Rome. I really felt I was going to want to stay in Barcelona, but it turned out to be my least favorite. I was intrigued by the Barcelona Worlds Fair and Mies van der Rohe"s Barcelona chair ,as well as the crazy architecture of Antoni Gaudi, but somehow I was disappointed by the city. We flew into Amsterdam ,and then into Barcelona, and didn't see anything in Amsterdam interesting other than cleaning ladies mopping around your feet while you were at the urinal, something that I 'm used to at home. Lots of pickpockets in Barcelona. Actually there are recognized gangs of pickpockets with young children all over Barcelona's tourist haunts.I really liked Marseille, France and we saw the harbor and drank really sweet Coca Colas in bottles in a little café on the square. I bought Sandy some kind of brownie with real , hot melted chocolate over it. It is impossible to beat French pastries.Merci Beaucoup.We went to Monte Carlo and I felt like James Bond. Most beautiful harbor and country in the world.We then went to Saint Tropez and saw Barbie talking to a priest outside of church on a Sunday Morning. I guess Ken was on some yacht in the harbor sleeping off a night of drunken debauchery.Went to Pisa and the Tower, with more pickpockets.Then we went to Rome and the Seven hills. I want to go back to Rome ASAP. It is that beautiful with all the millions of modern Romans riding their little Vespa scooters and tiny cars to work. My impression was that this vibrant population cares nothing about history and the Roman Empire, but has the same interests as middle income people the world over. Now I'm not much of a foodie but eating in a little restaurant in Rome is an experience . Romans know how to eat!We are going to London and Paris for a short week before Christmas, and I'm already dreading English food. If you ever eat an English breakfast you will realize why The Queen, Prince Phillip, and Charles look so angry.Pork and beans at every breakfast makes anyone anxious the rest of the day!We are taking the Eurostar to Paris for one day. Hop on that baby and 2 hours and 15 minutes later you are in Paris. Time flies at 185 miles an hour. We are taking a lunch tour on the Seine and all I'm eating is Dessert. The last time we were in Paris we attended the Moulin Rouge , which means"the red mill".It should mean 35 nearly naked ,nubile maidens on stage. At one point a Plexiglas pool of water rises on the stage with many 10 foot long anacondas swimming and trying to escape into the audience. At that moment a pretty ,almost naked maiden runs out and jumps in the pool with the serpents. Where I come from nobody jumps in water with snakes, naked or clothed.I digress, as is common lately, and wish to convey my gratitude that the mid term elections are over. I have forgotten my conversational French but I need to be able to order a baloney sandwich on white bread with a little Grey Poupon por favor.Imagine looking at old Gustave Eif
fel's trinket eating a baloney sandwich chased with a coconut macaroon. Life is good. As my buddy Donnie Sears says,'It's all Good."
Sunday, June 25, 2017
Around London
While in London we did the usual touristy things involving historical sight seeing. We toured the Tower Of London and saw the amazing Crown Jewels , as well as a fascinating armor collection going back to the Norman conquest in 1066.The stories and traditions are fascinating as you watch young soldiers standing guard in bright red uniform coats and traditional bear skin head covers.They are now carrying automatic British armaments of SA-80 designation which are unloaded during the day, but live ammo clips are very close at hand during emergencies. There are no such guards as "Ceremonial Guards", as all are in the regular British army and have been exemplary soldiers to be honored as Queen's guards or Tower Guards. The Beefeaters on the other hand are chosen from British Army ranks with at least 22 years active NCO service. Needless to say none of the guards are to be taken lightly.At one time the Tower of London hosted the Royal Menagerie , where over 60 exotic animals were kept for Royal Entertainment. Started in the 1200's by King John of Magna Charta fame, the zoo lasted for over 600 years. Polar bears ,lions , and tigers were kept as well as baboons which couldn't be confined due to their climbing skills. The only animals left are 6 Ravens ceremoniously kept for traditional purposes. All six wander the grounds at will, confined to the earth with clipped wings.There are wonderful life size animals on the site sculpted by Kendra Haste of wire. They look so real as to startle visitors.The legend of the Ravens says that the British Empire and the Tower of London will fall if the Ravens ever leave.The revelry of the Tower of London's past and historical significance is given a dose of reality as one can see the modern 41 story skyscraper named 30 St Mary Axe towering above the walls. Finished in 2003, the cylindrical tower looks like a space rocket towering over old London. Often called the Gherkin by Londoners, the building looked to many like a Pickle. It was featured in the Sharon Stone Thriller Basic Instinct 2.We
took a boat ride down the Thames at low tide and saw much of modern London's financial District.Standing starkly against the sky is the Shard,which at over 1000 feet is the tallest building in The United Kingdom.It looks like a monsterous piece of blue glass piercing the sky, hence "The Shard".Also dominating the London skyline is the London Eye, once the word's tallest Ferris Wheel at 443 feet tall. It was erected on the South Bank of the Thames to celebrate AD 2000. We rode the contraption for one of the best views of London. Each of the Glass enclosed cars holds about 25 riders and the thing never stops. It is moving as you walk on board and it is moving as you step off. A complete revolution takes about 30 minutes , and allows you a beautiful view of old London on the North shores of the Thames , as well as The Houses of Parliament and The Bell Tower, which is not "Big Ben". Big Ben is the clock inside the Tower. Later that night we went to see 42nd Street at the largest theater in London at Theatre Royal on Drury Lane. We had great seats and it was a lavish production. The truly weird thing about the theater experience was that everyone went up and paid 4 Pounds for little paper cups of Haagen Daz ice cream between acts, something unheard of in American theaters.Some of our group saw Sir Paul McCartney at the Savoy down the street from the theater. Paul probably wouldn't have known me.He's come a long way from Liverpool. Next day it was Dover and the English Channel.
Sunday, June 18, 2017
A Pile of Rocks
One of our scheduled trips out of London was to visit Bath and Stonehenge which were a couple of hours out of the city. Bath, which our guide Daisy pronounced Baaath was a Roman outpost whose claim to fame was the mineral springs where they built an elaborate bathhouse with plumbing and pools. The whole location of Bath suited the Romans as it was built on seven hills like Rome. The Romans settled in Bath in AD 60 and utilized the native limestone which is quarried under the city. Today Bath has around 90,000 inhabitants and 2 universities. It is situated on the Avon River of Shakespearean fame. The town today is primarily Georgian in style with construction of 4 or 5 stories of limestone. Daisy told us that inhabitants used to be taxed by number of windows and therefore you can see false windows of stone where tightwads valued English Pounds more than sunlight.Jane Austen lived in Bath if you are inclined to read fussy old maid literature. Jane hated Bath and only lived 2 years there, probably to the benefit of Bath . It was raining while we visited Bath but I was very impressed with the city and the architecture. Another Jane, the actress Jane Seymour lives on the outskirts of Bath. We also travelled west to Oxford, the home of Oxford University. What can you say about Oxford that hasn't been said in millions of words? One of the foremost colleges in the history of mankind.. Teaching started there in 1096 and it is the oldest English speaking university in the world; the 2nd oldest college in existence. Oxford as a city has around 170,000 inhabitants and is about 70 miles from London. 29 Prime Ministers of England attended Oxford.It is a beautiful city which makes me realize how young our country is. We then went to Salisbury Plains to view Stonehenge. Built between 3000 BC and 2000 BC by Bronze age inhabitants, the purpose is still argued. The circle of stones are up to 24 feet tall including the portions underground ,and weigh around 25 tons each. They were transported from around 18 miles away and some came from Wales, all by primitive Bronze age people. Arguments abound as to their purpose. Were the stones a burial ground? Yes. Were they a center of worship ? Yes. Were they a site of astronomy study?Yes. Just how all of this relates to each other is argued and unknown , which is the real beauty of Stonehenge. It is truly a magic place and perhaps the mystery should never be unveiled.The only thing I can add in my limited knowledge is that it is an awesome pile of rocks. Maybe Fred Flintstone and Barney Rubble were British.
Friday, June 16, 2017
Across The Pond
This past month of May we had scheduled a trip across the Atlantic to visit England and France. I don't normally dread flying but anything over 4 hours fills me with dread of confinement . This particular flight to London Heathrow was scheduled for a little over 6 hours but was a red eye leaving Boston Logan at around 9 pm. Being that London is 5 hours ahead of the US we would fly all night and get there in the morning. The flight at 30000 feet and 500mph was smooth and uneventful, and the British customs people were very cheerful and nice, quite the opposite of the surly and rude TSA officials here in the USA. Our travel agency , Trafalgar, had a young gentleman waiting at the baggage area to take us to the Cumberland Hotel which is about 45 minutes from the airport.It was quite a change from Stanford ,Kentucky as we entered the London metropolitan area of 8 and one half million people. The first thing we noticed was how green the country side is.Kentucky is green, but not the vivid emerald green of England, and later France. I guess it's because of the moderate island climate and abundant rainfall, which it was doing upon arrival. It is also obvious that England is a virtual melting pot of nationalities and ethnic groups. Our guides told us London is the most expensive city in the world. It is in somewhat of a turmoil due to the exit from the European Union, and subsequent elections left a dilemma to Teresa May and her party, which leaves Great Britain in a divided state much like the USA. Our hotel was only a block from the Marble Arch which used to be the entrance to Buckingham Palace but was moved by order of Queen Victoria to its present location in Hyde Park. Hyde Park is one of four major parks , and at 350 acres is the largest. It was established in 1536 by Henry VIII as a hunting area. Like our own Central Park, which is nearly 900 acres, Hyde Park has been used for many things ,including rock concerts. Pink Floyd, The Rolling Stones and Queen have given concerts there. Also of note is a podium in Hyde Park where anyone can address issues to whoever will listen. Appropriately enough this area is Speaker's Corner. There were people speaking every time we went by.Speaker's Corner has been in constant use since 1872.The area of food was also a great education. We were prepared for "Bangers and Mash"every morning for breakfast but they never appeared at the hotel. Bangers are sausage which are called that because they popped and banged in the skillet as they were fried. Mash is mashed potatoes. Breakfast was usually a buffet with normal eggs and toast, but with the addition of cooked tomatoes and pork and beans. There is no such drink as iced tea to be found in the British Isles. They don't believe in ice either. I did grow to like scones which is like a crumbly sweet biscuit, usually with a jam spread on it. The Brits are heavily into marmalade.We were anticipating the infamous "Spotted Dick"which is supposedly a pastry with raisins or currants which gave it the Spotted description. Nobody could tell us the "Dick " origin. It never appeared on the menu , much to everyone's relief. Fish and Chips were good and one night we ate at a pub called "The Grazing Goat".Some of our group had beef which they said was good. I again had fish and chips which is rumored to be haddock. Chips are French fries. Our hotel had 1000 rooms and was very well situated in central London. It is a 20 minute walk to Buckingham Palace, which we saw but the Queen wasn't in. We were hoping for an audience but she was at Windsor. You know that because her flag is flying if she is in town. We were also within 5 minutes of Selfridge's Department store which we walked through because Sandy has watched a series about it on Public Television. We didn't buy anything because we had spent all our money getting there.We watched the Queen's Guard change at the Palace, and it was impressive. I actually liked Freddy Mercury playing the Queen at Wembley Stadium better than the actual Queen but I suppose I would warm up to her if we met.Freddy played for over 400,000 fans at the old Wembley Stadium in 1986 over a series of nights. That Wembley Stadium was torn down and replaced with a new one in 2007 , mainly for football, which is British for soccer. Soccer is a European game played and liked by females as well as men. Kind of a boring and sissy game by American standards. Like I said previously London is a Virtual Tower of Babel with many nationalities in evidence. Many Arabic and Moslem citizens, mostly driving Rolls Royce and Bentley automobiles. In five days of Great Britain I only saw 2 American cars. The rest were European or a very few Japanese.T
hat was a surprise. I was looking forward to Stonehenge and Bath, but that's a future story.
Sunday, November 06, 2016
A Little Ditty About Jack And Diane
On October 26 we went over to Richmond to EKU's regional arts center to see John Mellencamp in concert. Like many in my generation I am a fairly recent convert to Mellencamp. I remember him early on as John Cougar , country boy from Seymour, Indiana. He was slow to catch on to the Rock and Roll scene and changed his name to Mellencamp, which is his given name. I've grown to like his somewhat unique style of rock which includes an electric violin and an accordion, which are both pronounced on some of his bigger hits. The opening act for the concert was Carlene Carter, the step daughter of June Carter Cash and Johnny Cash. Her father is the traditional country singer Carl Smith. She sang about eight songs by herself with most accompanied by her guitar and one on an electric piano. One of her stories was when as a child she was out in the yard of the Johnny Cash estate one Saturday morning when an Army Huey Helicopter landed in the back yard and a young soldier jumped out and went to the back door wanting to see Johnny Cash. As it turned out it was Kris Kristofferson, a member of the Tennessee Air Guard who had piloted the chopper in to deliver a song he had written , that he hoped Johnny Cash would sing. It happened to be "Sunday Morning Coming Down" , and the rest is history. Carlene said she was 61 years old, but was a very pleasant surprise. After she played the opening act John Mellencamp came out with a terrific Rock and Roll band and played most of his hits from 30some years. Sandy told me John was in some kind of relationship with Billy Joel's ex , Christy Brinkley. Seems the old girl likes aging rockers. I think that she was the inspiration for "Uptown Girl".I also don't know how Sandy knew about John and Christie, but women just know some things. The concert progressed and he sang the little ditty about Jack and Diane by himself. Actually theaudience sang most of the song with him and did a great job. The audience really got in the swing of things when he sang, "I fought Authority and Authority Always Wins".It seems that the mostly late middle-aged audience had done their share of fighting authority.Perhaps the low point of the concert was when the middle-aged white women started dancing, a spectacle that is always depressing. White women of that age have no rhythm and make complete asses of themselves. It's always fueled by $6 beer.Then the same group wanted to take endless selfies of themselves and their drunken best girl friends with smart phones as big as I-Pads. They lit up everyone 4 rows behind them, oblivious to the anger and threats from the aggravated spectators .I saw the same foolish white women at a Seeger concert. What is it about middle aged white women and alcohol??The Concert ended with "Cherry Bomb". I give the Concert a B+. I like some of Mellencamp's music a lot more after seeing the concert. I give the drunken white women dancers an F for totally abject behavior.Their dancing is irredeemably bad and a burden on the whole Caucasian race. By the way, what is Beyoncé doing on the CMA awards, with the foul mouthed Dixie Chicks? The Dixie Chicks have way overdone their welcome in the country music genre. They have talent but no one cares about their opinions. They are from Texas, not California.It's almost Election Day. Could it be that this Horrendous period of time is just about over in two days? Either way we lose, but maybe it will end.
Thursday, October 06, 2016
Subjected to Insanity
Sometimes I think the United States is unwittingly being used as mass participants in a cruel game of how much the citizens can take in this Presidential Election.Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. This has to be the most bizarre game in the history of mankind. What kind of system has evolved in American politics that would allow two such unlikable, rude people to face off as our leader?Our country has had its share of scandalous citizens running and winning public offices, but never have we had such a pair of disliked and untrustworthy contenders. It seems like having no morals and a lack of respect for the citizens is now a prerequisite for running for office. Our country was founded upon freedom and pride in our government. All we are hearing is about Trump's tax returns and lack of respect for women, Hispanics, blacks, and Muslims. All we are hearing about Hillary are how half the country are deplorables and about her 33,000 E mails on her private server. Haven't we as a country had about enough of this insane barbs at each other?Neither has the first clue as to how to get our country back as the leader of the free world. The real problem is that the earlier contenders in both parties were no better. Bernie Sanders ,I think is probably the most sincere and likable of all the candidates. Liked by all young voters, he nonetheless wanted to give everything away to the masses. He is a Socialist with a Robin Hood complex. I feel I Like Bernie,yet he is a Don Quixote fighting windmills.I just wouldn't have felt the Burn enough to pull the lever.Cervantes would have felt a comradeship toward Bernie. "Little Marco" Rubio felt he had a lot to offer the country ,but found little support other than Nikki Haley , the 42 year old governor of South Carolina, who incidentally took the place of the philandering ex- governor who inexplicitly would disappear to Argentina at times. Chris Christie seemed to have taken pleasure in clogs in traffic at bridges, and now holds Trump's hand. Rand Paul didn't even score in the game and dropped out. Mitt flirted with the idea but never dropped in. Ted gave it his all but sulled up and went home, a poor loser.He sulked his way back to Texas. Carly Fiorina gave it her all but Trump steamrolled over her and she went to be Ted's running mate,to no avail.Carly is certainly no slouch as a MIT graduate and first female CEO of a Top 20 Company. She is also the first woman to fire 30,000 employees while leading Hewlett-Packard. She took her millions and went home. Jeb Bush had dreams of becoming the third in his family but lost steam and took Brother George's support with him. Paul Ryan, while not a candidate hovered around the peripheries like a little Diva. McConnell did the same, while sputtering around like an old grandmother ,both impotent to stop Trump.This sets the stage where every American is a loser regardless of who wins the election. Hillary promises 4 more years of Obama , which really gives us all something to wait with bated breath .Should Trump win, it's like "What's Behind Door Number 3?"We are about to enter the World's Biggest Reality Show, where there are no winners. There is no precedent for such an important event being hijacked by the two most inept and disliked people in the free world.This is going to be the beginning of an era in American History that could very well effect the entire world's population.I hope that our country can navigate through the next four years ,and that some sensible, caring,and patriotic people will come forward to lead our country. It has been said that cream rises to the top, but in this case other things have floated from the bottom, and they are not cream, if you catch the gist of what I'm saying.The Fifth Estate fawns over Hillary, as well as the Trailer Trash of Hollywood. The rednecks and working class are behind Trump. I will vote come Election Day, but I resent the fact that we have become a part of the world's most cruel reality show.
Friday, September 30, 2016
Santiago
The final stop on our Cuban tour was to be Santiago, the second largest city on the island. Located on the south eastern end of Cuba, Santiago is 542 miles east of Havana and has over 500000 residents. We entered the channel toward the harbor early on Friday morning and was immediately aware of the mountainous terrain surrounding the harbor. In the distance were beautiful rugged mountains covered with tropical forests, and the same cloudless blue sky. Guarding the channel on the steep mountain side was the 16th century Spanish fort, and on the opposite side a stione lighthouse. The ship continued toward the harbor in a tight zig zag course that gradually widened into Santiago Harbor. Again the shore ,like Havana was a scene of power plants and some type of refinery. The burning odors were here as well, and the vintage cars were waiting on shore for photo opportunities. After finally getting docked and secure , the disembarkation process began again . More customs and money changing, and more new Chinese buses awaiting the wide eyed Gringoes.We started out on a walking tour and were shown where Fidel had started his Revolution. The revolution started during Carnival in July,which our guide Jorge told us was the oldest and biggest Carnival in the Americas. He didn't seem, to respect Rio's carnival.Jorge seemed to think there was no finer drinking and time of debauchery than Santiago's Carnival. We were taken on a tour of a drug store and what is a government owned department store, where you can buy anything a household needs, as long as you don't care that there is a waiting time and little options for colors or styles. I think it would be similar to Russian held countries during the height of the Soviet empire.Again the streets were clogged with people standing and talking with little obvious purpose like work. The neighborhoods were primitive in areas away from the port, with mules and horses pulling shaky looking carts. Some of the streets were mainly dust and gravel. Beautiful old 3 and 4 story colonial masonary buildings are all in a state of decay or dilapidation. All have ornate wrought iron grills and gates to keep people out and protect belongings. The upper stories are festooned with flapping clothes hung out like banners to dry. Many of the buildings have tropical colors painted on details to give an intense mixture of blues and pinks and yellows. It is Shabby Chics poster city.We ate lunch in a wonderful private little pizza parlor owned by an Italian who had married a Cuban woman, one of the only ways to gain Cuban citizenship. For our lunch they served Cuban cuisine, again chicken, pork, and beans and rice. Like Havana the waiters and waitresses wore black presses slacks and snow white starched shirts. They also had a lady troubadour singing during our meal. She was a Cuban version of Tracy Chapman and had cds for sale. After the meal the staff opened up an impromptu bar on the terrace and gave out generous shots of rum. Most of our group wanted to stay with the rum and congenial staff, but Jorge had a schedule and the tour went on. We visited San Juan Hill where Teddy Roosevelt, Leonard Wood , and the Buffalo soldiers kicked some Spanish Ass. Jorge called it the Cuban Spanish War, and gave us a little credit for whipping the Spaniards, but in reality it was Major Parker and 4 Gatling guns that decimated the Spanish army . We whipped the Spanish in Cuba and the Philippines and gave them their freedom. Along the way the USS Maine mysteriously sank in Havana Harbor in July 1898, losing over 260- American soldiers. The Yellow press took up the cause and Admiral Dewey did the rest, with Spain never again regaining its world leadership.San Juan Hill is somewhat under whelming with a bunch of Cuban monuments that are confusing.We then went up to the Spanish fort guarding the harbor entrance and it was perhaps the most amazing piece of architecture and construction on the whole island.The Castillo de San Pedro de la Roca was designed to defend against the original Pirates of the Caribbean , but took two centuries to construct . It is probably the most beautiful Spanish fort ever constructed, partly due to its architecture, and partly due to its location overlooking the approach to Santiago Bay.The final stop on the Santiago tour was a stop at a dance club-bar with a very professional Cuban band. They called themselves the Retirees since the leader was 82 years old. There was dancing , Mojita drinking, and a great time. Jorge danced with the ladies in the tour group
and we headed back to the boat. Santiago became our favorite site on the tour. Like San Francisco, we left our hearts in Santiago.Jorge told us on the end that we should all vote for Hillary Clinton so as to continue the progress between the US and Cuba.That was the only sour note of the whole trip to Cuba.
Tuesday, September 27, 2016
Cienfuegos
The second stop on our Cuban tour was to be a Southern port named Cienfuegos , which means "A Hundred Fires". The nickname of the city is "The Pearl Of The South", and like Santiago, is one of the busiest ports on the Cuba -South American trade routes. The city itself is much smaller than Havana and has about One hundred and Fifty thousand people. Our guides told us that it is only a three hour trip from Havana to Cienfuegos by bus or car, but it took our ship over a days sailing to reach the southern port because we had to sail west and round the western tip of Cuba and then sail East about 250 miles. The Island of Cuba is around 700 miles long and is 100 or so miles wide. An interesting fact is that Cienfuegos is primarily agricultural and raises sugar cane and tobacco in very fertile soil. Much of the Sugar cane eventually turns into Cuban Rum distilled in the original Bacardi rum distilleries that were socialized by Castro after the Revolution.During the height of colonialism in Cuba there were over 700000 slaves working the huge plantations for the Spaniards. That is more slaves than the United States had previous to the Emancipation Proclamation. The city of Cienfuegos was very much less cosmopolitan than Havana, yet still had very beautiful colonial architecture of Spanish and French influence. It was attacked briefly during the Revolution because there was a Pro-Castro movement against Batista. The morning we were there was very hot with a cloudless blue sky.After walking around the town square the tour guides took us to the town's Opera House for a concert of the town singers, which are funded by the Socialist Government, as are the other artists of Cuba. We were led into the Four story theater and found the performance was already started. the only lighting in the large open theater was spotlights on the stage , and the rest of the theater was so dark you could almost feel it. Along with the blackness was a pervasive heat of at least 120 degrees. our guide told us to go up steps invisible in darkness and find seats we could not see. We finally stumbled up a flight of unlit stairs and felt for empty seats. After falling all over each other and finding the seats we sat in tropical darkness and listened to a talented group of singers sing in Spanish of traditional and contemporary Cuban songs which would have been very entertaining had we not been in a dark sauna sweating our lives away. They sang"Guatanamara", which was very pretty, yet we finally found our way downstairs thanks to Sandy having a small LED light in her purse. It reminds me of pretty women singing in the pits of Hell to captured souls.We stumbled outside to the bright tropical sunlight ,and gratefully entered our air conditioned Chinese Bus like the spoiled, pampered,complaining asses that we are. We then drove around the city and went down to their beach and waterfront area where the guide told us the city inhabitants go in the evenings to cool off , drink, and socialize. There was a beautiful hotel there that is very expensive overlooking the water.There were also a couple of beautiful turn of the 19th century mansions that were taken by Castro in the revolution when their wealthy owners fled to Miami.After a half day tour of the city our bus took us back to the port where we filed past the Custom men and women and boarded our home away from home to start our next leg of the journey to Santiago. A very interesting ritual at sea is the boarding of Cuban pilots who must be aboard your ship as it enters the channels into the ports and who must take you out of the harbor until you are safely on the open seas. There is an international law that all ships entering a harbor of any nation in the world must have a licensed pilot, to guide the ship in and out of the country. This applies to military ships as well as commercial ones and the law is very strictly enforced and the pilot commands the entire ship as long as he or she is on the bridge. That's why there are very few ship incidents while in the channels entering the world's busy harbors.Once past the channel an official orange runabout reading"PILOT"picks him up and goes back to the harbor. The open sea is gorgeous with deep blue waters full of silver flying fish
gliding above the waves.The setting sun at sea is indescribably beautiful with golds and reds above the blue.Words cannot describe,nor can cameras capture the beauty. I thought that Santiago cannot top what we have seen so far, but I was wrong.
gliding above the waves.The setting sun at sea is indescribably beautiful with golds and reds above the blue.Words cannot describe,nor can cameras capture the beauty. I thought that Santiago cannot top what we have seen so far, but I was wrong.
Sunday, September 25, 2016
CUBA
In early spring I noticed an advertisement for an educational cruise to Cuba.This was after Obama's historic softening of the freeze in diplomatic relations between the US and Cuba since Castro's seizure in 1959. I have always been fascinated with Cuban history and its relationship with the USA and we talked some friends into signing up with us for the 7 day tour. It is sponsored by Carnival Cruises, but leaves Miami on the ADONIA, which is a much smaller ship of only 700 passengers and 300 crew members. I had always vowed to never take a cruise but this was the best way to see Cuba because you stay onboard at night and tour Cuba during the day.I had read that you don't want to stay in Cuban hotels at this stage because they are still pretty crude compared to American standards , and I personally saw some of the best they offered during the tours and it was Holiday INN circa 1959. The Russians certainly didn't do much to modernize Cuba in the 30 years or so of their r
elationship. The average Cuban is paid $20 a month by the Socialist government and Professionals like Doctors and scientists are paid $40. All medicine and medical care is free, as well as college. You must work for the country for 2 years or your college degree is revoked. A lot of teachers and professionals are quitting their $20 a month jobs to become tour guides and bus drivers because the is a lot of tourist tips coming their way from American tourists. Its amazing that your tour group gets off the ship each day and goes through customs and then boards new red ,white , and blue air conditioned buses imported and partially owned by China. The premise of being allowed to tour Cuba at this stage hinges on it being either as an educational group, or as a commercial venture rarely sanctioned by the US. It was just a couple of weeks ago that the first US airlines were starting to be allowed to land in Cuba. It is somewhat of a surprise as your ship enters Havana Harbor as it looks totally like a modern city with tall buildings and an air of modernism. That quickly fades as the ship winds its way through the channel to the dock and you get closer to the city and realize that it is Miami in maybe 1940. The old cars are there as promised, but there are already yellow taxis picking up tourists. Havana is changing even as we watch. The harbor is surrounded by refineries and utility power plants as well as medium tankers loading and off loading petroleum products. There is a smog haze in the air befitting a city of 2 1/2 million people as well as a constant smell of burning paper or wood. As the ship threads its way to the dock, both sides are lined with Cubans waving and taking photos with their I-phones, yelling"Viva America!"They seem happy to see us.The water in the harbor is probably the dirtiest I have ever seen in the Caribbean, much like they described at the Rio Olympics. Everybody on shore seems happy except the Customs people who stamp your Passport and sign your Visa. It's interesting that half the Customs officials are Men and half are attractive young women wearing mini skirt uniforms with black hose like from Victoria's Secret. There are medical people who scan your forehead with infra red thermometers . If you have a temp you get further evaluations.Once on shore you get on your bus with a Cuban guide who speaks English and takes you through Havana on a bus tour, as well as assorted walking tours. Havana has 4 major town squares with many historic government and cultural buildings , mostly explained in terms of Fidel Castro and Che Guevara ouster of Fulgencio Batista and the American Mafia in 1959. The bus takes you to Revolution Square where classic cars are parked and you pose in 1955 pink Bel Air Chevy convertibles with the Cuban Driver. You pay him maybe $1 or 2pesos CUC which is Cuban currency for tourists.The guide tells you to only buy Cuban Cigars from licensed stores, because otherwise you will probably buy banana leaves wrapped in tobacco. Americans are allowed to buy $400 worth of cigars and rum. That's all . American currency must be exchanged for Cuban dollars as you exit customs. You are charged 10% for a fee. The dollar is about equal to a peso in value but becomes 90 cents after the exchange.American credit cards are not allowed so leave them on board the ship. Your cell phones won't work on land so turn them off when you leave Miami or you will receive enormous roaming charges while you're on board the ship. The ship has WIFI at an exorbitant rate, but what the hell, you're in Cuba living like the USA in 1959.Get used to no cell phone. We survived. Mass transit in Havana are 1950 vintage Ford and Chevrolet flat bed trucks with benches.There are thousands of these coming into Havana every day with workers, but I saw very few people working , mostly standing on street corners talking. I didn't see any loose cats, but there were many flea bitten dogs running loose at will, scratching their mangy hides. The tour took us to two different restaurants in Havana the two days we toured the City. The first was a private restaurant on the upper patio up about 50 steps . The meal was Cuba Cuisine of rice and beans , lobster, sautéed vegetables and chicken or pork. Desert is always some sort of ice cream. It was a very pleasant meal with a Cuban band playing Cuban Music. Those who ate the lobster said it was too salty , an observation of everyone who ate lobster on shore the whole trip. The second day in Havana we ate on the 31st floor of an office building . The food was again about the same. Usually they serve a Sangria which brought mixed reviews.It was interesting that we watched Cuban vultures soaring below us as we ate on the top floor in the restaurant. I felt very safe in Havana, and actually we felt more secure in Havana than in Miami. The Cubans were all very friendly and nice to the Invading Americans. There were the usual scammers wanting to sell you artists' renderings , and Attractive Cuba woman dressed in bright tropical clothing wanted to kiss American men for Pesos but I resisted. I might add that the Cuban women as a group are knock outs. I kept hearing The Black Eyed Peas singing "Latin Girls"in my mind. We went to the Art Museum , which had a lot of Egyptian and Roman Artifacts. It was interesting that in the American Section there was a life sized Portrait of Henry Clay and one of George Washington. There weren't many Cubans partaking of the art work. It was a Beautiful Museum of marble and Beaux Arts design. After two days in Havana the ship loaded up and sailed around the western tip and headed to the second city on the tour which is a different story.
Monday, February 15, 2016
Snow
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