Puebla is renowned for one of the most notable battles in Mexico, which took place on May 5, 1862 against the French. 6,000 French soldiers sent by Napoleon III to Mexico City were defeated by 2,000 poorly armed Mexicans. Today, Cinco de Mayo is an important holiday celebrating the victory at Puebla.
Following an earthquake in Puebla in September 2017, many of the citys most famous attractions h Read on...
I meant the Livermore Valley, and wine tasting in the Livermore AVA. A small group of us are wine tasting and cycling* here in Livermore this weekend. Wine grapes have been cultivated here since 1882 with the founding of Cresta Blanca Winery. In fact, its first vintage (1884) won the Grand Prix at the 1889 Paris Exposition, the first California wine to win in France. In the 1960s, Livermore had as Read on...
We had a super early morning, a cab was to pick us up at 5:20 am as we had to be at Stonehenge at 6:30 am. Normally, it is a ride, but at 5:20 a.m. it was only a ride. So, we arrived a little early.
The reason for our early arrival was because we had tickets to enter the circle of stones before the site opened to the public. The circle was open to 15 people with a guide from the park service. W Read on...
Time to depart cold, grey Illinois for warm, sunny Dominican Republic. I booked this trip on a whim after seeing a deal for a 3 night stay in a junior suite with free upgrade to a rooftop terrace. Kind of hard to turn that down when the price includes everything! And it was perfect timing to get a break from the rough start to 2022.
My departure time was 10 am from OHare and I arrived early, as u Read on...
Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more, so that we may fear less. – Marie Curie
Way back in mid 1926, the camp fire blazed and flickered and lit up the immediate surrounds with its golden light. Deck chairs were positioned as close to the fire as possible and those hardy soles were probably the first to visit the Kruger National Park, es Read on...
Terror is like a liquid...beyond anticipation...beyond fear...helpless...nothing more I can do here...resigned to my fate.
Uzbekistan flight to Moscow to catch our 11:55pm plane home...our double entry Russian visa expiring 5 minutes later at 12 midnight.
Train travellers from Russia to Ukraine caught as their train delayed before the border...detained by boarding police as their visas expired d Read on...
I am not sure it is possible to see everything of interest in London. We skipped the art museums, the Shakespeare and Dickens and Sherlock Holmes sites, and many other worthwhile attractions. But we did feel we had at least picked the fruit, and so on Monday morning we went out to Heathrow, rented our car, and drove off to tour southern England. Our first stop was to be Chartwell, Winston Churchi Read on...
Our bus left the hotel in Seville at 9am and we were on our way to Granada. On the bus, Vera passed out dark chocolate covered figs to tease us about the sweets at our next stop. She told us that bus drivers, by law, must stop at least every 2 hours. Therefore we had frequent bathroom and refreshment breaks. We stopped at an Autogrill in a pleasantly rural farmland region where Vera suggested we p Read on...
Turn off of route 16 at Deer Haven and drive to the very end of the road, near the Ten Creek campground, and park at the overnight area. Fill out the form at the trailhead and take the carbon copy with you. There is no fee.
My buddy Dan and I hiked the Lost Twin Lakes Trail and camped in the backcountry on July 4th and 5th, soon after the snowmelt on the trail, paving the way for an unbelievable Read on...
After a great dinner last night of either steak, salmon or a vegi dish, we had one additional nightcap and called it a night. We had left for the airport at 430a, so we were both ready for a good nights sleep.
We had entered Glacier Bay National Park, which is the least visited National Park in the country. When we saw how big and vast it was, it is quite understandable as there is no way to get Read on...