We arrived to cosmopolitan Brussels with 3 lost bags and 1 missing person. One suitcase went to Moscow but all caught up eventually. Janice and I are led a perfect size group of 39, not too big to get lost in or too small for comfort. Each July trip draws school teachers who have loyally followed me around the world and they do love Europe. We began with a light orientation tour in the historic heart of this capital, followed by a tour of the … [Read more...]
AFS December Christmas Markets Germany
We arrive in Munich and our guide makes it clear this is Bavaria. This trip Bavarians favor autonomy from Germany and even have their own language. I've been here many times but looking through sober eyes now, I find it more vibrant, clean and sophisticated. We spend 2 days with Nancy, an excellent guide who has already emailed me to remain in touch. I have a mini-group of just 26 so this is like a vacation for me. It's a first time abroad … [Read more...]
Los Angeles, CA – Presidential Libraries
The Los Angeles metro area is lucky to have not one but two Presidential Library and Museums: Richard Nixon (Orange County) and Ronald Reagan (Simi Valley). Richard Nixon Presidential Library & Museum is located at 18001 Yorba Linda Boulevard in Yorba Linda, Orange County about 20 minutes from Disneyland. This is just off of the 90 highway which is merely several miles from the great 91 freeway. As you pull into the parking lot take a moment … [Read more...]
The Pyramids of Giza
The Egyptian Pyramids! One of the Seven Ancient Wonders of the World! I had read about them in school. I had seen them on countless TV programs, and I had always wondered what it would be like to see them in person. And now, now, I was going to do just that - see the pyramids in person! The Lufthansa flight from Frankfurt, Germany to Cairo was, thankfully, not even half full. There was lots of elbow room for everybody, and since I'd been … [Read more...]
Bicycling Baja California
La Paz, Baja California Sur, Mexico January 06, 2003 Baja 1000 and more Finally!! The Tropic of Cancer (23.5 degrees north latitude, the start of the tropics) is almost upon us after a twelve hundred mile chase down the spine of Baja California, Mexico. From Orange County, California I joined my German pal Bernhard Koch, whom I had met while cycling in Alaska in 2001, to ride our bicycles down the 'Carreterra Transpeninsular', the Mexican … [Read more...]
Alaska & Canada Bicycle Trip Part III
Alaska and Canada Bicycle Trip First Leg -- Anchorage, Alaska July 3, 2001 I finally found a computer that I can use to send an update from Alaska. We just arrived in Anchorage after riding a four hundred mile loop through Alaska's Kenai Peninsula. So far, the riding has been absolutely epic with vast expanses of spruce and hemlock forest, fast flowing rivers, snowcapped mountains, hug ice fields, and glaciers. Surprisingly, the weather has … [Read more...]
Fjord Water isn’t Salty….Impressions of Scandanavia
I hadn't been in Sweden for one hour and I found myself sitting in the back of a police van, bicycle and all. Now, I am normally not that much of an outlaw but this time I had decided to buck all Swedish rules against riding on the freeway, when I got picked up by one of the cops. It turned out that Stockholm's international airport was a good forty five kilometers from the city itself, a perfect distance to put my airplane cramped legs to good … [Read more...]
Windhoek, Namibia
The last time I signed off, my brother Abdul and I had just arrived in Windhoek, the capital of Namibia by bus from South Africa. We decided to pony up some extra money and take a Greyhound type coach and survive the trip, as opposed to paying next to nothing on one of the ubiquitous minibuses but putting our lives into the hands of a crazed driver hell bent to make it to his destination in the shortest time possible. Our guidebook called … [Read more...]
Going Cal-ing in Ibiza
Every now and then, I'll combine English and Spanish words and come up with something that truly annoys my wife, who happens to be from Spain. These "Spanglish" concoctions are usually pretty cheesy, but I must say that I'm not the only one guilty of this. Spaniards themselves do it. For bungee jumping, for example, they've invented the word puenting combining the ing ending from English with the word "puente" (bridge) in Spanish to form a hybrid … [Read more...]
And That’s The Way It Is…
I am writing you from Chefchaouen Morocco. All the keys are reorganized on this computer so bear with me as it is very difficult to type. I am not looking at the screen just down at the keyboard. We arrived in Africa yesterday passing by the Rock of Gibraltar. Immediately as anticipated we were hounded by faux guides marketing to us with fear - telling us it was unsafe to travel in the afternoon because Moroccans become more dangerous in the … [Read more...]