So, why Bruges? The first of two main reasons is that Bruges is a world-renowned center of lace-making. I mean real lace. Not machine-made, not crochet, not tatting. Lace. I wanted to see it being made because it’s a rare and specialized skill that takes years and years of practice to perfect. However…… That’s not what this blog post is about. The other reason I … Continue reading Bruges, Part 2
As I wrote in my recent post on London, I took a train from St. Pancras Station to Bruges, Belgium. I’ve decided to write at least two, if not three, posts on Bruges because I took a lot of pictures. I just couldn’t stop myself. In this post I hope to give you at least a small taste of the visual treasures there are in … Continue reading Bruges, Belgium
While going through photos for this post, I came across one that rightly should have gone in my last post about Bournemouth. This panoramic shot obviously distorts the shape of the coastline, but in it you can see the Isle of Wight way out there to the left and the Purbecks over to the right. It’s easy to see how these two outposts of the … Continue reading Bournemouth, Part 2
Between spending time in London after my venture in Leicester and then returning to London to catch the train to Belgium, I stayed about 10 days in Bournemouth. My friend Sarah, who I’d met years ago on my first visit to England, arranged for me to stay with her friend Helen, who had a spare room. Did I get a picture of Helen? Of course … Continue reading Bournemouth, Part 1
From Leicester, I took a train to London (do keep in mind that my blog posts are not in alignment with my travels – I’ve gotten all out of order!). I arrived at Waterloo Station. Good ‘ol Waterloo Station! I’d been there 9 years previously when I first visited England with friends and it was good to see it again. After taking the Underground to … Continue reading London
As I said in my last post, I’m going to be skipping around on the ‘story line’ of my travels. It’s just getting too complicated to try to keep up on each step of the journey. So, here I’m skipping my trip to Belfast, Northern Ireland and vicinities (which I’ll get back to later) and moving on to my time in Leicester, England. I love … Continue reading Leicester and the other place
As with my time in Killarney, I didn’t take many pictures of Galway. I’d gone there in order to have a ‘home base’ as I went off to see the Cliffs of Moher. There’s a huge area in the center of town that seems to be devoted to shopping and I’m not so much interested in that. But here are a few pictures in and … Continue reading County Clare, Ireland
There’s a place in Northern Ireland I’ve wanted to see for years. When I was with Stephen and Maurizio I told them I intended to go directly there after leaving Dublin and in the kindest, most gentle manner they said, in so many words, “What, are you nuts?” They said I’d be remiss if I didn’t take the time to go to western Ireland and … Continue reading County Kerry, Ireland
I didn’t think he was going to let me in. The customs agent at Dublin Airport. He asked how long I was staying, how much money did I have (i.e. can I support myself while I’m here), did I know anyone here, what jobs do they have, when was my departure date, why didn’t I have a ticket for my flight out and, since I … Continue reading Dublin & my Friends
I’d like to show you a random, crazy mix of pictures I’ve taken since I’ve been here in Portugal whilst I tell you a bit about my experience…. I should know better by now. I tell myself I do know better, but then find myself doing it again. That is, having expectations. Many, many years ago I saw a photo I can still see in … Continue reading Lisbon, Portugal – Part 2
