The Autumn of 2020 merged into the tail end of the memorable summer of this very memorable year. It was mild and the usual changing of the season was gradual. I suspect, because we spent more hours outdoors than ever before, we saw the change as a gradual transition. Autumn is really the…
Oh what a summer 'twas! The summer of 2020 will go down in history as a summer to remember and a summer to forget. In fact, the year 2020 will be spoken of in years to come for many reasons. For reasons of brevity (I know, I know! I'm turning over a new…
I know you've probably forgotten everything I've written so far about this fateful tryst with destiny, the trip to London, England, fraught as it was with the aggregation of aggravations and the curious concatenation of circumstances that led to the very stormy emotions running through my sugar soaked veins. That was a longish…
Day 8 Day 8 of the French Campaign saw us leave Paris and explore the land beyond the city borders; specifically, the Loire Valley. The Loire river (riviere, if French), rises in the south and flows through Orleans; the real, old one, not the new one in America. You know, the one where…
When the draft plan v0.0 ( read it here ) was rejected, it was back to the drawing board. It was then that we applied a different technique. Block off the dates first, then worry about the itinerary. This made life much simpler. Actually, before we got to this point we had had…
Planning is fundamental to any endeavor. It is fun and the way we do it is quite mental. Let's assume, or in this case, take as the truth, that we are initiating the planning phase of a two-week trip. It could be anywhere, but since you've read the title of this post, you…
A bit of background! It is a well known fact that I’ve longed and dreamed of visiting England. To understand how much England meant to me growing up, you need to understand the circumstances of my birth, my upbringing, the influences that shaped my view of the world and gave me the only…
Ok, at the outset, I must explain that it is I who was ( and is ) lazy, not the city of Le Mans. How lazy? Well, consider that I made this trip in 2014 in the month of June. Consider also, that I am writing this sentence in July 2018. Yes, you…
This was my second ( or third, if you include the Nepal adventure ) foreign trip and I had much on my mind. This was my second trip to North America and the first hadn't exactly been a carefree and joyous one, if you remember. I don't think it is easy to describe…
Actually, the notes are not early. They're late. Late by about 19 years now, will be exactly 19 years late on the 2nd of June 2016. Yes, you are very correct in your maths. I arrived in the great country of Canada on the 2nd of June, 1997. ( Sorry. I wrote this when…