Mark’s main interest in life is food. He is a big-time foodie, spending nearly every evening watching cooking videos, thumbing through cookbooks, and perusing cooking blogs. When we go into a bookstore, he visits one section and one section only: the cookbooks. There is a travel video blogger named Mark Wiens who makes videos which are a perfect mix of…
Mombasa is the second largest city in Kenya after Nairobi, and it’s on the coast. There’s city stuff to do, and beach stuff to do. In all of the guidebooks that I had read, they recommended staying at a beach hotel and NOT in the city proper, as there are potential safety issues for tourists. Diani Beach was the recommended…
An oral history of Jethro Tull, put together by Ian Anderson, with commentary from the dozens of band members who have come and gone over the years. The book is in coffee table format, with big, excellent photos throughout. It’s a chronological account, with lots of artifacts from the early days. Jethro Tull was my favorite band in high school. …
Our first full day in Nairobi was a memorable one. We woke up early, grabbed breakfast at the hotel, and then Uber’ed it to another hotel, the Kenya Comfort Suites, in downtown Nairobi. It was the meeting point for our tour. On tap this day was a tour of the Giraffe Center, followed by the David Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage. About seven…
Our departure day finally arrived. Our visas were in order (I had taken care of that online, through the e-visa program), our bags were all packed, Mittens was safely nestled into her hospital cage (see the last post), and we were ready to go. It’s a very long flight to Nairobi: 14½ hours. I had selected our seats for the…
I’m in Amsterdam, up to my neck in Dutch vocabulary, learning the language. Although free time this trip isn’t plentiful, I did manage to slide in several engagements. Stopped by the Poezenboot today after class to say hi to my feline (and human) friends. Took some nice pics of the kitties and sent them over. SEE ALSO: ALL ABOARD THE…
I love the summer, especially in New York. During a heatwave, when temps soar above 90 degrees and everyone starts whining, I’m in my glory. Perhaps I wouldn’t feel this way if I was still working and I had to descend into the steaming, crowded pit of commuter filth (i.e. the subway) every day, but as a retiree, summer in…
My cats, Mittens and Glitter, are the perfect models when it comes to testing out my new iPhone 11 Pro camera.
More reasons to love Puerto Vallarta
40 years ago tonight, this photo was taken at The Clash concert at the Palladium. I was at this concert with my friend Neil. Sam & Dave, and the Undertones, were the opening act. It was Yom Kippur and my mother was not pleased. What a show! Here’s the full show bootlegged and preserved:
Oosterpark, Amsterdam – Photos
Ah, home sweet second home. I arrived in Amsterdam, to spend the last few days of this long winter trip. The weather forecast for the second Amsterdam leg of the trip did not look promising. As is typical in Amsterdam, it was rain, rain, and more rain. I would have liked sunny weather, but I didn’t really care. In my…
I had no pre-set plans for my last day in Chiang Mai. I knew that there was a huge Sunday market, and I planned on going there. I suspected it was an all-day affair, but the woman at the front desk of the hotel told me that it began at 5:00 p.m. I didn’t really want to travel 45 minutes…
My new Chiang Mai hotel, the Green Tiger Hotel, was a charming little place in the heart of the old town. My room was standard, but very nice. Attached to the hotel is a popular vegan restaurant, Reform Kafe. There’s a cute koi pond in the restaurant lobby, and a small swimming pool on the main floor of the hotel. …