I mentioned in a previous post about how Mark overpaid for a bowl in one of the souvenir shops. Mark doesn’t like to haggle, and neither do I. It’s demeaning to negotiate prices with someone, especially when you know this is how they make a living and you want to pay them a fair rate for their goods. And yet,…
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…
Every December, Mark and I try to take a big trip somewhere. Mark works for a huge international pharmaceutical company, and his company closes down the week of Christmas, and the week after. He will usually tack on a few extra days of vacation at the beginning of this stretch, giving us a little over two weeks to take a…
Last year, I had an amazing experience volunteering for Mission Rabies and participating in their vaccination drive in Goa. I blogged extensively about it (start here), allowing me to joyfully relive the experience as I went through all my photos from the trip. Traveling has always been one of my pleasures in life, and being retired has afforded me even…
More reasons to love Puerto Vallarta
I like to be busy, and my agenda is starting to look pretty full for the next few months. Tomorrow, we leave for Mexico, for five days. Puerto Vallarta. It’s my fifth time there, and Mark’s fourth time there. We’re going to be sharing an Airbnb with another couple. We’ve never really vacationed with another couple, so it’ll be interesting.…
Worldwide Veterinary Services International Training Centre by Dr. Arnold Plotnick – Catster.com
Monday was the last full day with all four of us, and it was really a terrific day. We saved the best museum, the Van Gogh, for last. There was a fascinating temporary exhibit about his painting, The Sunflowers. First we attended a short talk about the painting. Apparently, after he painted it, Van Gogh felt that the uppermost sunflower…
On Saturdays, there’s a nice farmer’s market called Noordemarkt, on the northern part of the Prinsengracht. The plan was to check it out, and since Udi lives close to the market, pop by his place, introduce the guys to him, and show them the joys of a canal-view apartment. The market was very nice, as usual. Lots of fresh fruits,…
Mark and I have decided (last night), for our December 2019 trip, to go to Kenya and Ethiopia. UPDATE: TRIP TO KENYA AND ETHIOPIA A few days in Nairobi, with a day trip to Mombassa and a few days in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia with a side trip to a cool place called Lalibela. All details and plans to come soon.
The bleary-eyed bunch woke up around 9:00 a.m. and began screaming for coffee. We pulled ourselves together and hit the street, on our way to Blue, a popular eatery that offers excellent brunch, with a great view of the city. Amsterdam is home to many fantastic museums, and the guys definitely wanted to see the big three: The Rijksmuseum, Stedelijk…
I woke up early, got dressed, and started walking toward Central Station. Plumeau and Rosen were due to arrive at Schipol Airport at 8:30 a.m. I grabbed the 7:30 train, got to the airport at 8:00, and looked at the arrivals board to see which arrival hall they would be coming through. I knew they had to go through passport control,…
Introduction: The Backstory In early 1978, as I was finishing up my freshman year of college at New York University (NYU), I realized that this wasn’t the collegiate experience that I was expecting or hoping for. I was still living at home, riding the subway into the city for my classes, and then coming back home to Brooklyn to try…