Back in Boston

L to R: Rabbit sculpture, Working teapot

Dave and I were in Boston many years ago, basically wandering about on our own. This time we had two days of guided tours. The first was generic while the second focused on Harvard and the Freedom Trail. We learned some new things and took quite a lot of pictures. We didn’t actually get into the park to photograph the Make Way for Ducklings statues in Boston Public Garden, but we had seen them previously. The statues are a homage to the children’s book written and illustrated by Robert McCloskey (published in 1941). The story focuses on a pair of mallards who raise their family on an island in the park’s lagoon.

Meeting in Montréal

So we were off on an adventure to see the autumn leaves. Our journey

Fall foliage 

took us from Montréal up through the Saint Lawrence River, out into the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, around Nova Scotia, and down the east coast of the U.S., into New York. In some ways it was what we expected – being coddled by Viking, seeing things we hadn’t seen before, and meeting interesting people. What was a bit disappointing was the quality of the shore excursions; we’re not tickled about spending lots of hours on a tour bus. The next few blogs will chronicle our exploration of cities in Canada, and revisiting Boston, and New York City.

Staying in the B&B: Brussels and Bruges

Everyone rides the train in Europe and few understand that folks from the US are mostly

Live news report

clueless about how to use this sort of transportation. So with the help of a few kindhearted souls we made our way from Maastricht to the interesting city of Brussels.  Being near the border of France, the city is officially bilingual; and English is very common, as well since there are so many tourists. Historically a Dutch-speaking city, Brussels has seen a major shift to French since Belgian independence in 1830. Founded by a descendant of Charlemagne in the, 10^th century Brussels has grown from a fortress town to a fair-sized city and, in effect, the capital of the European Union (EU) as well as headquarters for NATO. While we were there, a great debate was occurring about whether Greece was going to adopt the austerity measures set out by the EU or whether they were going to go ahead as usual.

Pausing in Paris

Bridge over Seine River

Paris is one of my all-time favorite cities! Perhaps the only thing I don’t like is the number of tourists. As we wandered the streets, renewing old acquaintances with landmarks and eateries, it dawned on me that I’ve never been to Paris without a jacket and without needing a raincoat. This trip was no exception; we got damp and chilly, but it didn’t dull our enthusiasm. I was surprised, however, at the increase in the number of people who spoke to us in English. This doesn’t mean that you don’t need any French to travel in France. Having a few phrases (please, thank you, where is, I would like, what does it cost, etc.) are always helpful, particularly if the person with whom you are dealing has the same level of English as you do of French. And being polite goes a long way toward getting folks to communicate with you. Although the French have a reputation for being surly and rude, I have not found this to be the case; rude people are everywhere and there are no more in France than in the US. As a population, they are more likely to speak more than one language and are much more tolerant of poorly spoken French than Americans are of poorly spoken English.

The Vog and other Scenic Events

Diamond Head in the Vog

Out and about in the morning, we were surprised at the amount of fog that was covering the mountains. We were also surprised that our eyes itched and noses burned. It’s not the fog but the vog. Vog is a form of air pollution that results when sunlight hits a mixture of oxygen, moisture, and the effluvia, namely sulfur dioxide, other gases and particles from an erupting volcano. The culprit in this case is Kīlauea on the Island of Hawaiʻi, with the prevailing winds sending vog across to O’hau. We shouldn’t have been too surprised that we would get some interactions since the Hawaiian Islands are continuously formed from volcanic activity at a hotspot. As the Pacific Plate moves to the northwest, the hotspot remains stationary, slowly creating new volcanoes; the only active volcanoes are located around the southern half of the Island of Hawai’i. The newest volcano, Lōʻihi Seamount, is near the south coast.

Hopping to Perth

Top to Bottom: Kangaroo with joey in pouch,
Child and joey, Cynthia feeding kangaroo

Caversham Wildlife Park is great fun simply because you hand-feed the kangaroos and wallabies, whisper in the ears of the dozing koalas, and chirp with the birds in the aviaries. This is a well maintained park with lots of area for the animals to roam. Many of the birds are housed in aviaries, but some are still maintained in cages. My favorite part is feeding the kangaroos and wallabies. There are signs that warn you not to touch the joeys in their mothers’ pouches, but in nearly every case, the joeys are happy to come hopping up to you reaching for a mouthful of food from your hand.  As with years past, there were several mamas with babies in their pouches; sometimes all you could see of the joey was a foot or a tail. The grass is really green where the kangaroos and wallabies are, and our shoes really needed scraping once we were finished in the enclosure. There is also a 'farm animal' exhibit that we had to experience. We got chewed on by kids (they particularly liked Dave’s shoelaces), rubbed on by the nannies, and ignored by the chickens. I did get to scratch some rabbits, but the park personnel wouldn't let me in

Top L to R: Bustard, Dave and kid
Bottom L to R: Barking owl, Koala and Dave

the stalls with them. It seems you have to be no older than five to actually get in the pens. The birds in the aviaries weren’t too thrilled about being visited, particularly since it is spring. The males were downright hostile and the females were grumpy. As we walked through one area, we heard a dog barking. We followed the ‘woof, woof’ and found that it was not a dog at all, but a barking owl. And if that wasn’t strange enough, the lion’s roar we thought we heard was actually a bustard. Caversham hasn’t changed substantially I visited about 15 years ago, but Whiteman Park, which surrounds it, has added a several other things to do, including a train ride and a place to eat.

King's Park and Botanic Gardens is a great place to while away a day. In the spring the  

flowers are gorgeous and the temperature isn’t too so warm as to keep you from walking

L to R: Banksia, Yellow flowers,
Kangaroo paws

through the entire park. The first place to go is to the Visitor’s Center for a good map and to find out if there are any areas that are restricted. This year there were all sorts of areas, both parking and touring, blocked off because two celebrities were visiting. England’s Prince Edward had come to Perth, as had Katy Perry; it was hard to tell just who park visitors were trying to spot. Such excitement and all we wanted to see were some native plants! The park has added a ‘tall trees’ walk that, much like what we experienced in Tasmania, takes you up near the top of the trees and provides some great views of the city. Spring means that the flowers were in bloom and the bees were zooming around them. My favorite flowers were the banksia with their spiky blooms and leaves. Although I should have expected it, there were sections with plants from around the world, including a group of cacti from California.

L to R: Bee on flower, DNA Tower, Gala

Eventually we made our way to the Firefighters’ Memorial and to the DNA Tower. The tower resembles its namesake. At the bottom are signs telling about the characteristics and function of DNA; platforms half-way to the top have information about the flora and fauna in surrounding area. Once on top of the tower, there are more views of Perth and the nearby mountains.

Raining with a Chance of Sheep

Tasmanian bay and sailboats 

Tasmania was not at all what I expected. While there are ‘mountains’ that ring the coast, the interior of the island is rolling hills covered in lush green grass and herds of sheep. The mountains do get touched with snow, but the foothills host redolent, temperate rainforest plants. The wind-swept beaches and hills reminded me of Scotland, but without the castles; the weather lived up to the best traditions of Scotland, however. It takes no more than six hours to get anywhere in Tasmania, and the roads are good, so we rented a car. Our seven day road trip took us to most of the island, but there are still many sites we didn’t see and events we didn’t experience. This is one of those places in the world we want to visit again.

Hobart to Launceston

It’s a lovely drive from Hobart to Launceston, with opportunities to pop over to the beaches to touch the sand and to find that the water is, indeed, very cold. The Tasmanian Wool

Raw Wool and Wool on the Hoof

Centre in Ross affords an opportunity to learn about the wool industry, tour their small but substantial museum, learn about the town, and do a bit of shopping. Local artists sell finished wool garments, as well as hand spun and dyed yarns.  I’d never seen or touched raw wool directly from shearing and didn’t know how it was graded; I still wonder how the grading was done before the advent of technology since the wool fibers are measured in microns. The wool from a black sheep isn’t black, but a muddy brown; wool texture changes based on fiber size, but also on the variety, gender and age of the sheep. The raw wool feels oily.

Big Tex Says, ‘Howdy’!

Texas Flag

Fall days in north Texas can be ‘hotter ‘an a fire cracker’, ‘colder ‘an all git-out’, ‘rainin’ a frog-strangler’ or absolutely glorious. And when the State Fair of Texas is in town, the glorious days are rather rare. One year we waded in water up to our knees to get from the parking lot to the fair grounds. The sanitation workers were selling ‘rain bags’ ~ trash bags with head and arm holes torn in them; another year we wore our down jackets, braving 30 mph frigid winds to watch the dog show and pig races. This year we were very lucky to experience a wonderful autumn day. The temperature topped out at about 85^oF and there was a gentle breeze blowing ~ just enough to ripple the Texas flag.

For many people, the biggest draw is the new car show. Others

Mountains of Art

Seven years ago I was lucky enough to attend the Bead Retreat created by Carol Wilcox Wells, an extremely talented bead weaving artist. Each year since then I’ve journeyed to

YMCA grounds, lodge, and beading projects

North Carolina’s Blue Ridge Parkway area to learn new beading techniques and to be inspired by the natural beauty of the Smoky Mountains and the artistic people in our group.  We stay at what I originally thought was an unlikely spot, the YMCA Blue Ridge Assembly near Black Mountain. This is a lovely, peaceful expanse in tall trees, and near a trickling stream; it is home to bears, turkeys, and other assorted wildlife. From the front porch rockers you can see the mountains and the clear blue skies. It’s no wonder that we can’t wait to be back together each year. The location is also appealing because we can easily go into town for retail therapy and outstanding food.

Two of my favorite towns near the Blue Ridge Parkway are Black Mountain and Asheville. These artists’ colonies are alive with weavers, painters, jewelers, glass makers and other

Singing in Singapore

Orchids

One of the most delightful places I’ve been is Singapore. Easy to get around in, pleasant people and a common language are all characteristics to recommend this destination. But that’s not what enamored me most. The variety of cultures is the highlight of this city.

Modern Singapore dates from the establishment of a British port in the 1800s to support trade with India and China, as well as launch business enterprise in Southeast Asia. And one of the early businesses in Singapore was the Raffles Hotel, which is still in operation. Although the opulence of the hotel has faded somewhat, the

Ride ‘Em Cowboy!

Cattle Drive in Fort Worth Stockyards

Every once in a while someone from out of state (or country) comes to visit us. They expect to see ‘real’ cowboys in boots, spurs and hats riding horses and herding cattle. It’s fun for us to show visitors around simply because we forget about the plethora of culture (both high and low) available to us in the DFW area. Much of what people visualize when they think of things typically Texan can only be experienced in the great out of doors.

Tarrant County Courthouse

In 1849 Fort Worth was established near the confluence of the West Fork and Clear Fork of the Trinity River. It was one in a line of forts that marked the beginning of the western US (hence the moniker, ‘Gateway to the West’). Years later it became a county seat and the Tarrant County Courthouse was built. Constructed from pink Texas granite, it looks much like the state capital in Austin. The county courthouse is still in use; there are other buildings for family, criminal, civil, city and federal courts. Near the courthouse is Sundance Square with its traditional western to modern architecture, places to eat, and shops.

Art, time after time

Karlovy Vary park sculpture

There is no excuse in either Germany or Czech Republic to be late because no matter where you look there’s a clock tower. These lovely towers are part of the art that abounds in Bohemia. Most of what I saw was architecture and sculpture. I only visited one museum, which was surprising since I am such a museum addict.

While clocks are on many buildings, towers, and street corners, they represent different periods in history. Some, such as the one advertising Mercedes Benz, is modern while

Clocks in Stuttgart, Strasbourg, and Prague

the sundial on the side of the church and the two astrological clocks are substantially older. The Strasbourg astronomical clock, in the Cathédrale Notre-Dame of Strasbourg, Alsace, France is the third clock located here, dating from 1843. The first clock was built in the 14th century and the second in the 16th century. The clock has a computus (perpetual calendar), an orrery (planetary dial), the current position of the sun and moon, including solar and lunar eclipses, and a rooster that crows three times at noon. At 12:30PM Christ and the Apostles march out of one door and into the other at the top of the clock. In Prague, the Orloj, installed in 1410, is the third-oldest astronomical clock in the world and the oldest one still working. This is particularly impressive since it is on the southern wall of Old Town City Hall in the Old Town Square. Again, there is a computes, an orrery, and the current position of the sun and moon. Each hour the figure of Death, a skeleton, strikes the time the Apostles parade past two open doors, but don’t venture outside.

Odds and Ends

Tower Bridge

There are always odd and unrelated occurrences on trips. This blog is composed of images that I didn’t fit in anywhere else. For instance, we saw the Tower Bridge and once again did not make the stroll across. We did, however, walk across the new Millennium Bridge from the Tate Gallery of Modern Art to St. Paul’s Cathedral.