Scotland/Ireland 2017 – #11.1

[Categories: Travel, Photography, Photography 101 Forever] [Photos here are hosted on OneDrive or CloudUp.] Fri. 30 Apr.  Glenveagh National Park.  Our tour gets a few hours here but it's worth at least a half day.  Take the time to walk a lot if you get here.  We saw some walking the 2 miles or so …

Scotland/Ireland 2017 – #10

[Categories: Travel, Photography, Photography 101 Forever] [Click to view, explore, view, click some more.] [Photos here are hosted on OneDrive or CloudUp.] Thu. 29 Apr. ('17).  Northern Ireland.  The Antrim Coast Road.  Giant's Causeway. Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge.  Brevity is soul, or something like that.  I'll do my best to limit the number of pictures but …

Scotland/Ireland 2017 – #09

[Categories: Travel, Photography, Photography 101 Forever] (Click to view, scroll down and click to view larger.] Wed. 28 Apr.  Belfast.  'The Troubles.'  Peace Walls. Our guides were very enthusiastic about the reconstruction booming economy of Belfast since peace was realized, but I felt an eerie quietude as we toured some of the former boundaries between …

Scotland/Ireland 2017 – #08

[Categories: Travel, Photography, Photography 101 Forever] (Click to view, scroll down and click to view larger.] It is the next day from yesterday.  (Are you keeping with me?  Thu. 27 Apr. if not.)  We travel from Ballachulish (Balla-HOO-lish) to Belfast today by way of the Western Highlands and the Robert Burns Museum in Ayr near …

Scotland/Ireland 2017 – #07

[Categories: Travel, Photography, Photography 101 Forever] (Click to view, scroll down and click to view larger. Wed. 26 April. Last night was a one-nighter in the aging, 3 to 4-star (?!), Columba Hotel Inverness.  We are doing 2-1-1-2-1-2-1-2-2 in terms of overnights during the tour and many are VERY nice. Perhaps I'll do a hotel …

Scotland/Ireland 2017 – #06

[Categories: Travel, Photography, Photography 101 Forever] (Click to view, scroll down and click to view larger. Edinburgh...  (I hope you are pronouncing that Edin-burro, with a clipped and trilled 'r', and not -BURG!)  Practice now.  "...BURro" "...BURro" Actually I think "...BUR-doh" will help you trill the 'r' "...BUR-doh."  "E-din-BUR-doh."  Good. ...to Inverness via St. Andrews (400+ …

Scotland/Ireland 2017 – #05

[Categories: Travel, Photography, Photography 101 Forever] (Click to view, scroll down and click to view larger. Many days and miles have passed.  I knew I couldn't keep up the (posting) pace.  I'm in the Republic of Ireland now, but this is now, that was then. Monday 24 April (only a week ago???) was the assault …

Scotland/Ireland 2017 – #04

[Categories: Travel, Photography, Photography 101 Forever] (Click to view, scroll down and click to view larger. We join the regular tour today at the Dalmahoy Hotel & Country Club. There will be 22 of us on a bus that holds twice that many.  Darn. The hotel is 9 miles from Edinburgh.  Here are two shots …

Scotland/Ireland 2017 – #03

[Categories: Travel, Photography, Photography 101 Forever] (Click to view, scroll down and click to view larger.) Saturday 22 April.  It is the last free day before joining 'the Tour'.  I can see our total 5 days in Edinburgh will barely scratch the surface.  As it should be. Should I save today's best for last?  No. …

Scotland/Ireland 2017 – #02

[Categories: Travel, Photography, Photography 101 Forever] (Click to view, scroll down and click to view larger.) The Wee Red Bus today with Heart of Scotland Tours. 10 passengers on a 16 passenger bus. Rosslyn Chapel of DaVinci Code book and movie fame.  It should be well know despite that.  The interior stone carvings are phenomenal. …

Scotland/Ireland 2017 – #01

[Categories: Travel, Photography, Photography 101 Forever] I'm posting from an iPad.  Good luck to me. Armed with guidebooks (a 1989 Michelin Scotland and a Baedeker's Ireland of nearly the same vintage, from my 1990 visits) and a crusty camera not quite that old resurrected from storage, I'm off to see beautiful Scotland and the Emerald …

Lapham’s Quarterly Spring 2015: Swindle & Fraud

[CATEGORIES: Literature, Lapham's Quarterly, Reading, Book Review] [Click HERE to see my previous posts referencing Lapham's Quarterly.] [Some of LQ’s contents are available free.] [All pictures courtesy L.Q.] LITERATURE!  It's what's for dinner.  And breakfast and lunch.  What better on which to feast than fragments of thought and insight from great thinkers throughout history.  Yes, they …

Biking in The Netherlands – 10 – Kudelstaart to Aalsmeer to Amsterdam

[Categories: Travel, Photography, Travel Photography] [This series of posts is about our recent 3-day sightseeing plus 7-day  Bike & Barge, Holland:Tulip Tour in the North and South Holland Provinces of The Netherlands.] [See a list of all posts currently in this series HERE.] LAST DAY at last!  I'm not in a hurry to end the trip, just …

Biking in The Netherlands – 09 – Gouda (Waddinxveen) to Kudelstaart

[Categories: Travel, Photography, Travel Photography] [This series of posts is about our recent 3-day sightseeing plus 7-day  Bike & Barge, Holland:Tulip Tour in the North and South Holland Provinces of The Netherlands.] [See a list of all posts currently in this series HERE.] Today is our final full day of biking.  We prepare to embark on bikes. …

Biking in The Netherlands – 08 – Leiden to Gouda

[Categories: Travel, Photography, Travel Photography] [This series of posts is about our recent 3-day sightseeing plus 7-day  Bike & Barge, Holland:Tulip Tour in the North and South Holland Provinces of The Netherlands.] [See a list of all posts currently in this series HERE.] Wednesday 22 April 2015.  Biking Day 4.  A lot of countryside biking for which …

Biking in The Netherlands – 07 – Haarlem to Leiden

[Categories: Travel, Photography, Travel Photography] [This series of posts is about our recent 3-day sightseeing plus 7-day  Bike & Barge, Holland:Tulip Tour in the North and South Holland Provinces of The Netherlands.] [See a list of all posts currently in this series HERE.] Day 4 of our biking tour.  Biking Day 3.  Should be easy posting today. …

Biking in The Netherlands – 06 – Alkmaar to Haarlem

[Categories: Travel, Photography, Travel Photography] [This series of posts is about our recent 3-day sightseeing plus 7-day  Bike & Barge, Holland:Tulip Tour in the North and South Holland Provinces of The Netherlands.] [See a list of all posts currently in this series HERE.] Monday 20 April 2015.  Second day of biking.  We bike from Alkmaar south and …

Biking in The Netherlands – 05 – Purmerend to Alkmaar

[Categories: Travel, Photography, Travel Photography] [This series of posts is about our recent 3-day sightseeing plus 7-day  Bike & Barge, Holland:Tulip Tour in the North and South Holland Provinces of The Netherlands.] [See a list of all posts currently in this series HERE.] Our first day of biking at last.  In the morning we have a 1hr+ …

Biking in The Netherlands – 04 – Meet the Biking Tour

[Categories: Travel, Photography, Travel Photography] [This series of posts is about our recent 3-day sightseeing plus 7-day  Bike & Barge, Holland:Tulip Tour in the North and South Holland Provinces of The Netherlands.] [See a list of all posts currently in this series HERE.] FINALLY we are ready to start the bike tour.  We meet the group and …

Biking in The Netherlands – 03 – A Walking Tour of The Hague

[Categories: Travel, Photography, Travel Photography] [This series of posts is about our recent 3-day sightseeing plus 7-day  Bike & Barge, Holland:Tulip Tour in the North and South Holland Provinces of The Netherlands.] [See a list of all posts currently in this series HERE.] Hang in there bi-cy-clers and pedal-interested.  A day of walking today, meet the Bike …