tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6436599697817489572024-02-06T20:15:32.292-08:00MTBBBPJBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17288909013196767937noreply@blogger.comBlogger23125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-643659969781748957.post-7068091833998616172007-10-10T15:03:00.000-07:002007-10-11T07:23:41.825-07:00Conclusion: Back 'Mid the Groves and Copses of Lynnhurst at Rollingwood<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjppNVcBxGEA4Vm5Vawm6Q6yN3N0u9H8lWECIg2zcmv3zZdxNJPm4gQ1kVDFcBHz1MBLAPe8kkKc3_noZAUU2UYU8zqPqufdpUT41r1Qu3fEe5UMS1fjw_gK1woWt2-rA3NbZ8kEBm4nFLb/s1600-h/IMG_1049.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjppNVcBxGEA4Vm5Vawm6Q6yN3N0u9H8lWECIg2zcmv3zZdxNJPm4gQ1kVDFcBHz1MBLAPe8kkKc3_noZAUU2UYU8zqPqufdpUT41r1Qu3fEe5UMS1fjw_gK1woWt2-rA3NbZ8kEBm4nFLb/s200/IMG_1049.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5120079864362871554" /></a><br /><br />Though the tug of travel will pull me forth once again, I have been enjoying the gentle gravity of my country squire life at Lynnhurst. Never does it feel so good to sit still after one has been moving, and moving, for weeks on end. After several days of falling asleep by 8pm, I have finally returned to a feeling of normalcy. And despite a week of Indian Summer, with its hot, humid weather, fall is finally upon us, as I write this brief conclusion to the MTBBB blog. Within this world of trees and leaves and lawns, of bountiful dinners, of wonderful walks through the woods, of my lovely wife and our yet unborn daughter, there is peace for me and mine. <br /><br />So until next time...PJBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17288909013196767937noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-643659969781748957.post-26991319972947262942007-10-09T10:58:00.000-07:002007-10-09T11:07:06.561-07:00Work & Play Bilbao / Return to USA<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbYytYVjreU_YcgI-5QEvo_AAKrhzmzWVmenpkhkbMi1r8hnIjrUl0kH_1pwSa8QEsxAvjn5EovTBhhXmo4H5AP7vnunXEvdFlR15OKb-_pmXF65rrNlnGiWJ9p7FXUfVlOwsOVdPg3iYx/s1600-h/IMG_0938.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbYytYVjreU_YcgI-5QEvo_AAKrhzmzWVmenpkhkbMi1r8hnIjrUl0kH_1pwSa8QEsxAvjn5EovTBhhXmo4H5AP7vnunXEvdFlR15OKb-_pmXF65rrNlnGiWJ9p7FXUfVlOwsOVdPg3iYx/s200/IMG_0938.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5119400031169456834" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6mWabyMvhX7esnE-QgkPq5Ti1-WpOSj1MJ7lOSNkVz8OndZtQ2ie83cd1SVZCjEvNc-0s9uVu77eg-SMfEe1jVdZUo9d5bJ6VsuciMHIe2CXKuD2IFZeF4qDBMtyjT_3DM-4nqypi_NfA/s1600-h/IMG_0930.JPG"><img style="float:left; 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margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC3W5bdfE7yzbFvkKFOVn1lk5mcESBrawGasv8UlcfrQ05DkQNKU_LAADl5oWEc2r8Lslm933YdUxZNjzK6KuWUkwsd8cOvv-tUGMgdnWq6Nz6jcwuoKtVSyaUgQ2W-N2g_UdvO7pZHlN_/s200/IMG_1019.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5119399352564624018" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6Bc3d72_xRJI5cR07J04-8w7Gk62uwb8-F0GApZp5QzgBJOy3aZfmK-oJgNEHaTsQD-U0_Z06qcwnzFwEjCeERkLr023n4kwW90JQ74iwhIr06bPEYck2SNTFn5cw-tUHZ7Zd2T8n4UAS/s1600-h/IMG_1032.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6Bc3d72_xRJI5cR07J04-8w7Gk62uwb8-F0GApZp5QzgBJOy3aZfmK-oJgNEHaTsQD-U0_Z06qcwnzFwEjCeERkLr023n4kwW90JQ74iwhIr06bPEYck2SNTFn5cw-tUHZ7Zd2T8n4UAS/s200/IMG_1032.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5119399356859591330" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSlMuk5-oxLMBIEB6b8rEj1rSGBjzeHigCh-JiZbpBUxRa536E0aG3gxitYiC2SSCZAgQaFedzNlQ3GoOAdYAZo550yb6buxA96dm3sstFJ0kOTogqyyhGD9ff1x3PtxrZ9xgUFJrMmUBo/s1600-h/IMG_1057.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSlMuk5-oxLMBIEB6b8rEj1rSGBjzeHigCh-JiZbpBUxRa536E0aG3gxitYiC2SSCZAgQaFedzNlQ3GoOAdYAZo550yb6buxA96dm3sstFJ0kOTogqyyhGD9ff1x3PtxrZ9xgUFJrMmUBo/s200/IMG_1057.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5119400026874489522" /></a><br />On Wednesday, I worked, and took it easy with a few pintxos and glasses of rioja at the iruna, just across the park. <br /><br />Feeling better than I had all week, I woke kind of early on Thursday, and set about packing up to return home. Work was rewarding, as usual, particularly in a few quiet moments shared with revered artworks. Lunch at a nearby vegetarian was a modest, simple, and stabilizing affair. Being outside and crossing the streets reminded us that the wind had turned cooler. As work wound down, there was talk of having beers, which led to 5 or so with the handlers, and other museum folks. Finally beers led to dinner in the Casco Viejo, which led to wine, which led to dancing, which led to everyone being silly and making a fool of themselves…<br /><br />I hardly slept that night—not really at all—before packing my suitcase for the last time, gathering my belongings, and riding quickly through a foggy pre-dawn morning to the Bilbao airport. Waiting for the Lufthansa flight to Frankfurt was painful. My head was beginning to pound from alcohol, sleeplessness, and sinus pressure! Woah was me. I was hurting. The flight to Frankfurt hurt, as did walking long distances through the Frankfurt airport in search of my connecting gate. Fat German men rode bicycles through the airport terminal. I got invasively searched, and made it to my gate with plenty of time to spare.<br /><br />The flight from Frankfurt got better with time…the pain in my head and sinuses seemed to abate as I caught up on sleep—albeit in 20-30 minute spurts—drank water, and ate more and more food throughout the day. After what seems an interminable trip, during which I watched Big Lebowski nearly in its entirety (again), I arrived at Dulles, and within 30 min, was riding in a taxi cab bound for Lynnhurst.<br /><br />Once home, I struggled to stay awake until Sandy arrived at 5:30…I had to walk around, shower, etc to stay conscious. We had Vace pizza, and by 7:30, I was asleep on the couch…zzz.PJBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17288909013196767937noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-643659969781748957.post-15224364414994270452007-10-04T09:56:00.001-07:002007-10-04T10:50:08.346-07:00Arrival Bilbao / First Free Day<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBrSzXdwC4pAIyuYGfXrfrQdrLTllzUA9U75qY6klU3z28SuPFjgSQmR3aU3HJHzEkMWnxCxSZTxT4dGRVuf39tN2af-nDAOv_Z-pv1_AvUfFQ-0oghl5Ar_L9XzTedEvK4J8kMVXzRJO1/s1600-h/IMG_1045.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBrSzXdwC4pAIyuYGfXrfrQdrLTllzUA9U75qY6klU3z28SuPFjgSQmR3aU3HJHzEkMWnxCxSZTxT4dGRVuf39tN2af-nDAOv_Z-pv1_AvUfFQ-0oghl5Ar_L9XzTedEvK4J8kMVXzRJO1/s200/IMG_1045.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5117538205796313618" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiks9yOlOpObJJfGnOdW9FCAM0fkO4u6Q_CF_jzO2rl6hEHqXyE9Kpmqrwjc6zaiaHJ0Ty6N63v1i1Pjk0uIAff1Mxuootfk6edcQo5OQS0lSdZIPK42bnmvJYWQUsFeYtr7daV4jS9WnWc/s1600-h/IMG_0921.JPG"><img style="float:left; 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The art was delivered, and we were delivered to our Hotel, the Husa Hotel de Jardines Albia. Adjacent to a nice park, and near the river and several cafes. Two of us walked around a few city blocks the first evening—after a four hour nap—and found the Café Iruna, for a first round of pintxos (tapas in this part of Spain), and beers. Made a relatively early night of it.<br /><br />On Tuesday, I walked, with glee, to the Casco Viejo, or Old City. Its labyrinth streets kept me wandering in slight circles for an hour or so. Then hunger set in, so I set about finding the Plaza Nueva, home to two bars known for their pintxos—the Victor Montes and the Bar Bilbao. At the first, I had two pintxos—anchovies over roasted tomatoes on a slice of bread, and another with seafood salad, and one san Miguel beer. I then walked across the corner of the square to sample the fare at Bar Bilbao. After a few similar pintxos, I ordered their specialty Calamares Fritos, which were fresh, simple and excellent…dressed only with freshly squeezed lemon…crispy, tasty and great with beer.<br /><br />Sated, I left to wander back through the streets of Casco Viejo, and returned for a short siesta in my hotel room. Afterwards, I ventured out into the downtown of the city, along the main shopping boulevard with its big department stores, until I came to the Plaza Muyor, and hung a left on the Ercilla, a pedestrian shopping street that was home to the Camper store where I picked up some zapatos. I continued to wonder, buying a used copy of Mike Oldfield’s Tubular Bells, and through a park, and by the Bilbao Museum of Art, and back eventually to my hotel. That evening, another courier and I returned to the Bar Bilbao for more beer and pintxos.PJBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17288909013196767937noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-643659969781748957.post-89510086360646597772007-10-01T10:36:00.000-07:002007-10-01T11:02:15.251-07:00Paris to Bilbao<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi25Db_tH6a1WUi4IxXX0TPBWld0KSiWKMTB4v67zR5lY8-ego5TUXvfJDvURIP1SARtWvqLvO0jAYbHtQdBWnUK7AVRtI8M1zcKqreVtjqlomUAED0363CaqthoNSGJZRujTc2xP72sFEQ/s1600-h/IMG_1010.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi25Db_tH6a1WUi4IxXX0TPBWld0KSiWKMTB4v67zR5lY8-ego5TUXvfJDvURIP1SARtWvqLvO0jAYbHtQdBWnUK7AVRtI8M1zcKqreVtjqlomUAED0363CaqthoNSGJZRujTc2xP72sFEQ/s200/IMG_1010.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5116426724094683234" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu4Vo_rjj8k065HiZ87M04EAZXm1b_sWxVck6nwW6dZoAtp8LSAp3W4VgsmH3Dn4GiBC_kBZnVAQ3nYAxoSRhZvBo72FaFy2B9NoZoNBZGcfvmbPuab0qOLRqNDqm8TVH2JHK6DxQoUoj_/s1600-h/IMG_1017.JPG"><img style="float:left; 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margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL5o8a6cGC9S-LuiBNwuqpUQqvYkAYj88BomSkcLjz5clV-UsAI5rFBoefoPyT1fuIlOmCdfj_im86ypY70Pa9hJ-I0wp34um3ho1RxOAuoM5LEOU-FA72XKZNUxfmGblyx53K0OLQcUZK/s200/IMG_1028.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5116429825061071058" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9u6KlI2k1oMujjvhDWiEQYi_XrNbim5H5hmmFoW3Tbe81hDXp0c9ZGAUWNhJSz2vfUnovbQbDzcTSG_epzKuRN3jZCGVgozdn04ZPEVtmpWbeDrGpvNsJ4d4IEIkKYK7tR6wCFxT77eDj/s1600-h/IMG_1043.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9u6KlI2k1oMujjvhDWiEQYi_XrNbim5H5hmmFoW3Tbe81hDXp0c9ZGAUWNhJSz2vfUnovbQbDzcTSG_epzKuRN3jZCGVgozdn04ZPEVtmpWbeDrGpvNsJ4d4IEIkKYK7tR6wCFxT77eDj/s200/IMG_1043.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5116429825061071074" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br />We watched The Royal Tenenbaums, and then everyone dipped out. I devised a way to lay out on the van’s floor, so made myself a little pillow from one of my overstuffed bags, and stretched my legs. Slept on and off throughout the night. At 6:30 am, we were still in France, when we stopped at a rather nice convenient store for a quick break. I was starving so I managed to gather a fresh baguette (yes, just baked at said convenient store), some sliced cheese, a yogurt drink called YOP, and a water. We stood outside the store, scarfing down bits of bread and cheese then returned to our cramped positions in the van. By morning, we had entered the foggy and craggy hills of northern spain, and soon passed San Sebastian en route to Bilbao.PJBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17288909013196767937noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-643659969781748957.post-78535501699878915712007-09-30T11:18:00.000-07:002007-10-01T11:09:55.270-07:00Paris Day 2 -- Louvre / Musee d’Orsay<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj7v-6hsaZ195tky0QUtlNrtREs_SsvebgSG78_ts85G3-lmV9FZmy7ASdPIsxxI6pMF57HYxgMQtpvwyO_-P6_4IbjILuoHQHyQMNQsEhhi4QqPuXJzFpyKJx1gSdQY9w7F7M3zVMWTqI/s1600-h/IMG_0890.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj7v-6hsaZ195tky0QUtlNrtREs_SsvebgSG78_ts85G3-lmV9FZmy7ASdPIsxxI6pMF57HYxgMQtpvwyO_-P6_4IbjILuoHQHyQMNQsEhhi4QqPuXJzFpyKJx1gSdQY9w7F7M3zVMWTqI/s200/IMG_0890.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5116064357703919394" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiuJkWmOqE60HKqiO2BVl3ndrDY0a22fFAkvF-0DVI6XW4o9GiPMf7KAfvQJGgCAz-rWEqhIK8XxAv_g_efOAMh4lh2WRJkkLjtLVDEV8kIII9JPZMptV-Rrj2pclDyFBtQIWn3_I1_O0A/s1600-h/IMG_0896.JPG"><img style="float:left; 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margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbxnR4x8hKcafpSRO8Gol_AWL0F0Ep8uPAhWzONTzGoiAdo-KENOmrmSKIt0qV9nsiCvTjeVVgLJMNi9geOAUQu_0tL4tdXhiWm91wZL2JhEKnYNYpNfxGLlYV65qAWPsu38zQnWArvV-3/s200/IMG_0999.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5116067428605536210" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO15peZ1Da3NhyRvxONJVTtTZIp-mNuj-mXyA1MCEer4cOXF8ZVRypM7uO2jH03sOP0K1r1i3aZL7_mPH5myKPWFrTBpcoNbcL2pODwGShpjtv52h3VBTbmLYj2zQLMlLIqrjYoegb8nFl/s1600-h/IMG_1003.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO15peZ1Da3NhyRvxONJVTtTZIp-mNuj-mXyA1MCEer4cOXF8ZVRypM7uO2jH03sOP0K1r1i3aZL7_mPH5myKPWFrTBpcoNbcL2pODwGShpjtv52h3VBTbmLYj2zQLMlLIqrjYoegb8nFl/s200/IMG_1003.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5116067458670307298" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh30N-UVhY6GR4l4_k10ujeHkVXu3efAbMxnGHBseUlCf-_H9ByEOxXhJ4YiUG3JkSkHLtv7IR6AIVvkKXR-T-vFf-r1fK199nJXrt6Z6zvcgcjhLI_P7_oUPJeRiZoZm-IqHJhYGofLyOs/s1600-h/IMG_1006.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh30N-UVhY6GR4l4_k10ujeHkVXu3efAbMxnGHBseUlCf-_H9ByEOxXhJ4YiUG3JkSkHLtv7IR6AIVvkKXR-T-vFf-r1fK199nJXrt6Z6zvcgcjhLI_P7_oUPJeRiZoZm-IqHJhYGofLyOs/s200/IMG_1006.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5116067488735078386" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6dDmL_PzOV2kJ2j4CsCvYOvHZxPW6hGRzlOHsv_3QCXEIV7fGDD8EYGFLE15ILzehO7Q-TPxqlPM_Kugf6nrj-_xZMhcNU8sQEk8IR7Hy13PgXmbRFUNmVS20jDA2nc5gcbUI_l7sFcsn/s1600-h/IMG_1008.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6dDmL_PzOV2kJ2j4CsCvYOvHZxPW6hGRzlOHsv_3QCXEIV7fGDD8EYGFLE15ILzehO7Q-TPxqlPM_Kugf6nrj-_xZMhcNU8sQEk8IR7Hy13PgXmbRFUNmVS20jDA2nc5gcbUI_l7sFcsn/s200/IMG_1008.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5116067493030045698" /></a><br /><br /><br />Following a leisurely breakfast at our hotel, we again traveled by subway into the city center to visit the Louvre and the Musee d’Orsay. We walked through Tuileries Garden in heading toward the museum’s central plaza crowned, as it is, with a futuristic glass plated pyramid. Once inside, we headed straight past the Venus de Milo toward the Italian Renaissance paintings, saw the Giottos and then the Mona Lisa and Veronese’s massive Feast at Cana. We then took in the Carravagio’s and some of Goya’s drawings, then headed into the Grand hall of large scale 19th century French paintings—Delacroix, Delaroche, and, of course, Gericault’s masterpiece Raft of the Medusa. It was all breathtaking. We then stood in a square gallery I thought had been the site of Samuel F. B. Morse’s Gallery of the Louvre, but alas, I was mistaken. We marched through the great hall of David’s Oath of the Horatii and Rape of the Sabine Women before quickly breezing (unfortunately) through the Dutch galleries and the 18th century French paintings of Watteau, Fragonard, Chardin, et al. Chardin’s monkey paintings always get me! <br /><br />We left the Louvre and headed across the river to the Musee d’Orsay. But first, we took a detour to the Boulevard St. Germain, where we lunched on salads and monsieur croques (open faced grilled cheese sandwiches) and $12 glasses of Kronenbourg beer at the café known as Deux Magots. All was delicious and the weather was delightful. Sated, we entered the museum, a converted train station, that houses the Louvre’s collection of nineteenth and early twentieth century paintings and sculpture. Though the large Courbet paintings were not on view, Manet’s Dejuener sur la Herbe more than satisfied. Also enjoyed seeing paintings by Fantin-Latour (Homage to Delacroix), Bonnard, and…oh I can’t think of what else…<br /><br />From there we walked along the Seine, on the river front, and through a tree lined park, toward the Royal Palais and the Champs Elysses and caught a quick glimpse of the Arc d’Triomphe. It was all glorious, and despite the trouble I had getting into the Metro (the gate messed up as I was entering and essentially took my ticket without allowing me to enter), we made it back to the hotel in plenty of time to shower, pack, and dine on some local Turkish cuisine before getting back into the van for an overnight jaunt to Bilbao. <br /><br />(something I learned during the trip was that it was possible to include more than five pics per post)PJBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17288909013196767937noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-643659969781748957.post-53211110163065304242007-09-26T11:26:00.000-07:002007-09-26T11:30:55.534-07:00Ahhh Paris! Day 1<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGrJFmdbPNhI8WZuJqTaauiJWbzRs7BVF_UHpNsZUGX62PPQvd4hCIgGEXhMqIqZAs3vRBm7OkqBFPkDln-sGUeBRLVs2H8weQzQDy1Ql4E1DcRTOl8pGd0cfWuKE0AmwJEn5kfjFta4dB/s1600-h/IMG_0817.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGrJFmdbPNhI8WZuJqTaauiJWbzRs7BVF_UHpNsZUGX62PPQvd4hCIgGEXhMqIqZAs3vRBm7OkqBFPkDln-sGUeBRLVs2H8weQzQDy1Ql4E1DcRTOl8pGd0cfWuKE0AmwJEn5kfjFta4dB/s200/IMG_0817.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5114582065705821906" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBJLohASCIwCHh6JpAtmAn4hOvA0LlTxrvcOZ2IjD9kXov7VTjwLOv4m0fEDxilQ7vT0m913jbuEw87E3AY7vaclZp_BXtTsG3vS7u7ttcaAA-Vp1fpL3naRZJ1ClJXClHmVL5J6CSquj6/s1600-h/IMG_0848.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBJLohASCIwCHh6JpAtmAn4hOvA0LlTxrvcOZ2IjD9kXov7VTjwLOv4m0fEDxilQ7vT0m913jbuEw87E3AY7vaclZp_BXtTsG3vS7u7ttcaAA-Vp1fpL3naRZJ1ClJXClHmVL5J6CSquj6/s200/IMG_0848.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5114582074295756514" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvjsYkkZ1vsb1L-mbZnMMw5d-FZmKeya1f0Def9t8JGSM2w0DW-ar06WwEj__BfVDKfWjvuEyp1nisg6xZdzsJi54B8gZqh319zNF44yp4J2JKCFqeD0jnqQQn4t1K2CmH7bEeEOQESg92/s1600-h/IMG_0864.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvjsYkkZ1vsb1L-mbZnMMw5d-FZmKeya1f0Def9t8JGSM2w0DW-ar06WwEj__BfVDKfWjvuEyp1nisg6xZdzsJi54B8gZqh319zNF44yp4J2JKCFqeD0jnqQQn4t1K2CmH7bEeEOQESg92/s200/IMG_0864.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5114582074295756530" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoqZ7CCMFpb9ATtJzDHt-2Q5RrK7vNJfp_ENv-_YiODxUjBFPymBiy4Ey__9ZS4cpPfaVFE5odAQitagsX3ioqyV6OE2p3eC8juiV4_bEh9d7dI81RByKT9U8fRbKKMkRaZaZ3zGoVZZht/s1600-h/IMG_0862.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoqZ7CCMFpb9ATtJzDHt-2Q5RrK7vNJfp_ENv-_YiODxUjBFPymBiy4Ey__9ZS4cpPfaVFE5odAQitagsX3ioqyV6OE2p3eC8juiV4_bEh9d7dI81RByKT9U8fRbKKMkRaZaZ3zGoVZZht/s200/IMG_0862.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5114582078590723842" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd7sCLnyXl1gmZ0HQLpqCyPEuOFv2vb0pA22C0jwgi6JpnkljMe562JCsfYZpFojaxCBKuequCH8QnqMP-v-gxnm4nKJMFL7cU9GluRZvZ3x7GCsWbZ6FNiLLNPBHUbLEcxl9sHorZazgb/s1600-h/IMG_0886.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd7sCLnyXl1gmZ0HQLpqCyPEuOFv2vb0pA22C0jwgi6JpnkljMe562JCsfYZpFojaxCBKuequCH8QnqMP-v-gxnm4nKJMFL7cU9GluRZvZ3x7GCsWbZ6FNiLLNPBHUbLEcxl9sHorZazgb/s200/IMG_0886.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5114582082885691154" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />To my surprise, we were rewarded for our suffering with 1 1/2 days in Paris, one of the greatest cities I’ve ever visited. The weather was perfect as we took the Metro into the city center. We first had a snack at a small café, then walked along the Seine to the Eiffel Tower. One of the couriers wanted to take the elevator to the top, so we obliged, waiting in a series of lines for well over an hour. Once at the top, the views were magnificent, if a little vertiginous, but the most frightening feature of the tower’s highest level were the wax figure mannequins of Alec Eiffel and his colleagues pouring over their blueprints. Proud of his accomplishment back in the late 19th century, Eiffel had an office in the tower’s highest point. So the French decided it best to use several very lifelike figures to tell this story. For those of you who don’t know, I’m a little weirded out, to say the least, by mannequins, so their presence was startling, yet somehow intriguing.<br /><br />We finally returned to the ground just after dusk and proceeded to walk to Montparnasse, the neighborhood where Sandy and I had stayed (at the Hotel de Bains) back in the summer of 2003. Our destination was the Bistro du Dome, a seafood and fish restaurant where we had eaten on that trip. Though the walk was long (I recommended a taxi, but no one took me up on it), everyone seemed to enjoy what was a delicious dinner of oysters, mussels in curry sauce, and a variety of fishes, ranging from sea bass to skate (a strangely bony fish with succulent white meat). Afterward, we enjoyed a nutella crepe on the Boulevard Montparnasse before taking the long subway ride back to our hotel.PJBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17288909013196767937noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-643659969781748957.post-91883658872644755112007-09-26T11:23:00.000-07:002007-09-26T11:26:11.039-07:00Road to Paris / Montreuil<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsm10itk-dD2tJg18ETDWwYWLYc5ZLDpQ2um8CHbzKLQAQg1LXQNwnJ3SwauNvzaHnHmHS9K9u6Xa5sLW4NEUsedeu93COT0WudQ844tZgNAksQ52X1489Vjsxn-xKsyuzTV687heOixp0/s1600-h/IMG_0794.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsm10itk-dD2tJg18ETDWwYWLYc5ZLDpQ2um8CHbzKLQAQg1LXQNwnJ3SwauNvzaHnHmHS9K9u6Xa5sLW4NEUsedeu93COT0WudQ844tZgNAksQ52X1489Vjsxn-xKsyuzTV687heOixp0/s200/IMG_0794.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5114580867409946242" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkK2KVuF0DbJz1cHVhqBp4NGKYMPypreApBfntILlnJPlYvlMbE-hvbdKI4mA9EMbxkIo8Ulv-7t8Smn2qgyPDQeGpgiuE_qe7nYCICVaoewIRjoRGEkfaPlIDZWDQjZmIyjh3TGhVTRS_/s1600-h/IMG_0800.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkK2KVuF0DbJz1cHVhqBp4NGKYMPypreApBfntILlnJPlYvlMbE-hvbdKI4mA9EMbxkIo8Ulv-7t8Smn2qgyPDQeGpgiuE_qe7nYCICVaoewIRjoRGEkfaPlIDZWDQjZmIyjh3TGhVTRS_/s200/IMG_0800.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5114580871704913554" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixUcKN-0rk20ZT9eoCaRXudeMr1g639DMraz22fY9wPWZ2M-vRFMdZGoIvbd_nj5Q_6CrzZQvABUrpGaQt65hcD80wKLORR8qJnLJe4rvK9AuQmGzG4ZRwHd0T46_1sOLhNX3eSsWow6UC/s1600-h/IMG_0802.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixUcKN-0rk20ZT9eoCaRXudeMr1g639DMraz22fY9wPWZ2M-vRFMdZGoIvbd_nj5Q_6CrzZQvABUrpGaQt65hcD80wKLORR8qJnLJe4rvK9AuQmGzG4ZRwHd0T46_1sOLhNX3eSsWow6UC/s200/IMG_0802.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5114580875999880866" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnbC35HhbSiNfsqP_ufta2Lc3bFvxpOl_E46oIo63geMMafZ8QB5Dv8UUiM-cW1yw4_r-e_Uj4M0DeTXI2p5P2m4jby-0uC1xeWDkxDfM9U-nYw-dwG4JGEmwh6ATfyG7LFNtVbTM9se0M/s1600-h/IMG_0799.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnbC35HhbSiNfsqP_ufta2Lc3bFvxpOl_E46oIo63geMMafZ8QB5Dv8UUiM-cW1yw4_r-e_Uj4M0DeTXI2p5P2m4jby-0uC1xeWDkxDfM9U-nYw-dwG4JGEmwh6ATfyG7LFNtVbTM9se0M/s200/IMG_0799.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5114580880294848178" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqxe9z3Wv2JgIYl8c381gD46JMQltyCyAaocNqqrNXEOCIAROKr8rLTZNOKcbCoqy0PbY3mcLlCjz1LInToUYU08ZXZqxJ0rgNiJdnk4vYlZC2sfq7TomXMaHEW1voV1NZhYFtZdMNV3Nf/s1600-h/IMG_0806.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqxe9z3Wv2JgIYl8c381gD46JMQltyCyAaocNqqrNXEOCIAROKr8rLTZNOKcbCoqy0PbY3mcLlCjz1LInToUYU08ZXZqxJ0rgNiJdnk4vYlZC2sfq7TomXMaHEW1voV1NZhYFtZdMNV3Nf/s200/IMG_0806.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5114580884589815490" /></a><br />Pics of things mentioned in the previous post...PJBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17288909013196767937noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-643659969781748957.post-80860224844434455462007-09-26T11:18:00.000-07:002007-09-26T11:22:41.981-07:00On the Road Again<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9lWz2bc61HZxT-yldIT1v2YgOcjpEIITMbIlEcyPcvJr6__cJ6X3ONe1PsIe8r__5-TxHsLkauqRptdvwZZaoz3XGh6Q4A0xJ5JKyVS2TnM8tT_-RWLdymnlY_VkkhyMYIBpLP9BviMiX/s1600-h/IMG_0769.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9lWz2bc61HZxT-yldIT1v2YgOcjpEIITMbIlEcyPcvJr6__cJ6X3ONe1PsIe8r__5-TxHsLkauqRptdvwZZaoz3XGh6Q4A0xJ5JKyVS2TnM8tT_-RWLdymnlY_VkkhyMYIBpLP9BviMiX/s200/IMG_0769.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5114579935402042930" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7aCLRwqgwy6kB4wudc5o1meZsHoVB9TzV3hpHRJzq2gdaO6L0xQmdkVFGvwkJ5xWhGL0GSeZ5KeejpzvE4rcbyGeqvcAEtIdLK9jmVO_hCWVOENATerdZLV2ZzFhQiFTO8ozqoNump3qu/s1600-h/IMG_0786.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7aCLRwqgwy6kB4wudc5o1meZsHoVB9TzV3hpHRJzq2gdaO6L0xQmdkVFGvwkJ5xWhGL0GSeZ5KeejpzvE4rcbyGeqvcAEtIdLK9jmVO_hCWVOENATerdZLV2ZzFhQiFTO8ozqoNump3qu/s200/IMG_0786.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5114579943991977538" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2UVT_Q9cpSwlKueXGLlJvFCg6dlx6RKCqlj8ckjVyGpng2wn-_wDZIHkBkgKDDyPi-StC2IlFPKO_crGK9PBQzxRMji5dY99xZq_FYhwLQY8BMTqPAaZ5r6SKsx3hyUnpn7Y3hdEUnJBe/s1600-h/IMG_0778.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2UVT_Q9cpSwlKueXGLlJvFCg6dlx6RKCqlj8ckjVyGpng2wn-_wDZIHkBkgKDDyPi-StC2IlFPKO_crGK9PBQzxRMji5dY99xZq_FYhwLQY8BMTqPAaZ5r6SKsx3hyUnpn7Y3hdEUnJBe/s200/IMG_0778.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5114579952581912146" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2ku1SLqHvXzlc1MPSBd4x60HfGJYuJBsUQHA4T6o7-DAniFcxnbKWZdWZuKj7KtF4OovhDmR5zSfZ3mXa2VlwByOfLh_bfC8tLkAni3TCJS_Dp1GveBPLyFfWJrVFOuArEWJxUaetYyS2/s1600-h/IMG_0780.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2ku1SLqHvXzlc1MPSBd4x60HfGJYuJBsUQHA4T6o7-DAniFcxnbKWZdWZuKj7KtF4OovhDmR5zSfZ3mXa2VlwByOfLh_bfC8tLkAni3TCJS_Dp1GveBPLyFfWJrVFOuArEWJxUaetYyS2/s200/IMG_0780.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5114579956876879458" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhERwcT99R_xH2cYbv5rrs6UFeNt10qTPq4Git6XCRDA67D6SGIHsomxEWUNhuOop8qSBwiPOQB72cCctE9dcfkTZvQh60p_kgFFm8VkTAJ9_4ms8KM8Avp68s6_bUUPwwZE_VeKJ5SvQz4/s1600-h/IMG_0779.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhERwcT99R_xH2cYbv5rrs6UFeNt10qTPq4Git6XCRDA67D6SGIHsomxEWUNhuOop8qSBwiPOQB72cCctE9dcfkTZvQh60p_kgFFm8VkTAJ9_4ms8KM8Avp68s6_bUUPwwZE_VeKJ5SvQz4/s200/IMG_0779.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5114579961171846770" /></a><br /><br />The ferry landed in Travemünde, Germany, near Lubek at around 9pm. So we loaded back into the van and hit the road, driving all night through Germany, into Netherlands, and across the tip of Belgium. We watched two films: The Big Lebowski and Zoolander, which helped to pass the time. Around midnight, we stopped at a truck near Salzberg, Germany. It was a very nice, and, of course, interesting place. Along with snacks, beer, and porn magazines, the rest stop had a full service café, and a variety of trucking accessories, including what I have taken to calling trucker clogs—several of the Finn drivers were wearing them. Though the road was smooth, the seats inside the somewhat cramped were hard and unforgiving. Sleep came in fleeting doses. By dawn we had entered northern France, and I awoke to a full sunrise that saturated the sky and the rolling fields on each side of the highway. Within a couple of hours, we were rolling through the narrow streets of Montreuil, a Paris suburb. We were deposited at the Hotel Franklin, and immediately set about looking for some petite de’jeuner. We found this café nearby, where we feasted on baguette with butter and marmalade and croissants with good coffee. Afterwards, we retired to our rooms for a few hours’ rest.PJBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17288909013196767937noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-643659969781748957.post-43847068027187339882007-09-25T13:50:00.000-07:002007-09-25T14:03:16.976-07:00Finnmaid the Ferry Pt 4<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKB3_0CyBJ1Sak1MS6q2DONO-_fVPL0o5eXH1KAUUxivMQFC4MDm97Uba-mS1UG-ypV_VjgAjhynOQXPV7egG40yDREbkIXzAgib21zZ87-ZIXSFTBod8v1io_SQPN6fLmTbNR1ylMclo_/s1600-h/IMG_0692.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKB3_0CyBJ1Sak1MS6q2DONO-_fVPL0o5eXH1KAUUxivMQFC4MDm97Uba-mS1UG-ypV_VjgAjhynOQXPV7egG40yDREbkIXzAgib21zZ87-ZIXSFTBod8v1io_SQPN6fLmTbNR1ylMclo_/s200/IMG_0692.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5114249158495741410" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXFXlqeDozwEVdQprNwdJOXxgqmnv97SQ-jxPkP9c21yxTRoWVXvrcxTbrobhBLm1YvUFMDKAT0eP97rbCdNmkA65oR27S8B1G5Y5POgfS-RgY0WJfXbfdnCKtpMA9FD2u9O_lZjyPiorV/s1600-h/IMG_0710.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXFXlqeDozwEVdQprNwdJOXxgqmnv97SQ-jxPkP9c21yxTRoWVXvrcxTbrobhBLm1YvUFMDKAT0eP97rbCdNmkA65oR27S8B1G5Y5POgfS-RgY0WJfXbfdnCKtpMA9FD2u9O_lZjyPiorV/s200/IMG_0710.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5114249162790708722" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0ktDU-69GQnLzAIq65u-8aJ7jujx2gEfCpopeNe7aQfCCIw11zo6y1IeC623ApCzhLsG16aadPAsU0U4OOQVoYV-PxAxbd4BVIpnR2nEavPc9ofSkPNWy0AVWoilk5KlFTTVP-Y9llev6/s1600-h/IMG_0717.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0ktDU-69GQnLzAIq65u-8aJ7jujx2gEfCpopeNe7aQfCCIw11zo6y1IeC623ApCzhLsG16aadPAsU0U4OOQVoYV-PxAxbd4BVIpnR2nEavPc9ofSkPNWy0AVWoilk5KlFTTVP-Y9llev6/s200/IMG_0717.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5114249167085676034" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWF4QR5oEXPNS6FnUkTConZ41dppb_3B6quYsZ_-lAYLsm2cbOoWYY6s_Pt7iwQdr3f1HyjleC9loIIqueBAxQLcrZCCcBdi79LyRNmdhIIvYvBCX2b6v5guZO2BkRlxiBRNqgSeM_RI6c/s1600-h/IMG_0727.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWF4QR5oEXPNS6FnUkTConZ41dppb_3B6quYsZ_-lAYLsm2cbOoWYY6s_Pt7iwQdr3f1HyjleC9loIIqueBAxQLcrZCCcBdi79LyRNmdhIIvYvBCX2b6v5guZO2BkRlxiBRNqgSeM_RI6c/s200/IMG_0727.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5114249171380643346" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD3xXs1AWXyerdODuzPLfR7T4Mo6TwUKxNk1CE-ry3I8_JDK1tR-Z_AY5SqrBqyaJlyEQpio1-IPYgyFVN8xytKmBm2MaDuKTqxk1kFfM1tM_AHlKLAE3Jz5bASDzcgFGVY13mteYj1wdb/s1600-h/IMG_0730.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD3xXs1AWXyerdODuzPLfR7T4Mo6TwUKxNk1CE-ry3I8_JDK1tR-Z_AY5SqrBqyaJlyEQpio1-IPYgyFVN8xytKmBm2MaDuKTqxk1kFfM1tM_AHlKLAE3Jz5bASDzcgFGVY13mteYj1wdb/s200/IMG_0730.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5114249175675610658" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Damn! Those Finnish drivers can drink! The group of them began by bringing over a round of Blue Hawaiians. Then shots of vodka, then shots of licorice tasting liqueur--a Finnish speciality. We drank, and drank, and drank. And while tipsy, only one the drivers got wasted drunk. I even woke the next morning feeling ok. Sleepy but okay. It was fun, doing all the toasts, and succumbing to peer pressure....like high school all over again. <br /><br />It was fun.PJBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17288909013196767937noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-643659969781748957.post-2312218933189701612007-09-25T02:08:00.000-07:002007-09-25T02:11:56.229-07:00Finnmaid the Ferry Pt 3<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1caDYDw9WEIDNdyDTDaLCibGJhOwWmY6TXhVA9cufiQ00bhZ6HAj9wK7wQ3B-PYimDdSB4lQ7Gqmn6sWSq_2McG0Q4XCsWpbNda37IVHnwelaXz6WYucCz4QdOqT6J0tIOBuLzjN6_hyphenhyphenq/s1600-h/IMG_0672.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1caDYDw9WEIDNdyDTDaLCibGJhOwWmY6TXhVA9cufiQ00bhZ6HAj9wK7wQ3B-PYimDdSB4lQ7Gqmn6sWSq_2McG0Q4XCsWpbNda37IVHnwelaXz6WYucCz4QdOqT6J0tIOBuLzjN6_hyphenhyphenq/s200/IMG_0672.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5114066716874941842" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidzTVqb2PjH4O0l3x-IXxJZDff4-v93c7kN8ENPl9WV6sj0flfQexw3pRETAW9EDCflL_hZ4SPfSMKJxFWuLfp6dQuS5YDVYLxyoAV1Vo8ByaSt1wW2_G015Sdc4pQgkUjHllnYrxMGNH8/s1600-h/IMG_0675.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidzTVqb2PjH4O0l3x-IXxJZDff4-v93c7kN8ENPl9WV6sj0flfQexw3pRETAW9EDCflL_hZ4SPfSMKJxFWuLfp6dQuS5YDVYLxyoAV1Vo8ByaSt1wW2_G015Sdc4pQgkUjHllnYrxMGNH8/s200/IMG_0675.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5114066721169909154" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc9s4RBuhBZapSSyrbzxenjf5fPKmz3dV542hRafZ3s19B5YhQO91xdnM8zNzvZVXDeY2plRTnmEdGLeHwEKX5mqAa7jZKy6r6Hc_kySH_SpBtewPOp4F8y_2TewkWHr41wbCF_OcOCD6e/s1600-h/IMG_0676.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc9s4RBuhBZapSSyrbzxenjf5fPKmz3dV542hRafZ3s19B5YhQO91xdnM8zNzvZVXDeY2plRTnmEdGLeHwEKX5mqAa7jZKy6r6Hc_kySH_SpBtewPOp4F8y_2TewkWHr41wbCF_OcOCD6e/s200/IMG_0676.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5114066725464876466" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ3Da1G8P0r9yp8eokGR8462KMWPpi6_lXib2GaUHMtHHj1mDDunlHNNVAYzmebdV19XHoZ1PMm-sPkRYkv-NZpdoSbZ1OF-hA-dHicRnSF0zDxSObRV4wMUgv6KC1O8Vw1rMhVoC432wF/s1600-h/IMG_0684.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ3Da1G8P0r9yp8eokGR8462KMWPpi6_lXib2GaUHMtHHj1mDDunlHNNVAYzmebdV19XHoZ1PMm-sPkRYkv-NZpdoSbZ1OF-hA-dHicRnSF0zDxSObRV4wMUgv6KC1O8Vw1rMhVoC432wF/s200/IMG_0684.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5114066725464876482" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj01AZoKKpT7dbJlGtQMTYvHoUvUebyTRWtdy5MPtoNCJJlUZQEm1k0hSx046kSvRKnPndefKFlg2VvP0Ejj9mNiZS9B48o0a_Iklk6LHK2J-wZmMJNTAGViKhGEEqBUUmlgJcMzFqOKtG4/s1600-h/IMG_0687.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj01AZoKKpT7dbJlGtQMTYvHoUvUebyTRWtdy5MPtoNCJJlUZQEm1k0hSx046kSvRKnPndefKFlg2VvP0Ejj9mNiZS9B48o0a_Iklk6LHK2J-wZmMJNTAGViKhGEEqBUUmlgJcMzFqOKtG4/s200/IMG_0687.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5114066729759843794" /></a><br /><br />Views from the deck, including the helicopter landing pad (!), and views taken as we departed Helsinki's harbor. A beautiful afternoon for sailing on the Baltic!PJBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17288909013196767937noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-643659969781748957.post-45760009669399987922007-09-25T01:59:00.001-07:002007-09-25T02:07:53.350-07:00Finnmaid the Ferry Pt 2<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVkDphRMba8Xjjz1jY2a4I4hnlxyFExBL18ZWFBStZ295Sno73hmMjPDQML_4q5eogdQB4I_pkcX2EKFPbTX0zoHG8N0uwgYmwW3BguFSrNET0rstGQDdLnLhq2QWHkJXhqyiSdeA4OZW0/s1600-h/IMG_0666.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVkDphRMba8Xjjz1jY2a4I4hnlxyFExBL18ZWFBStZ295Sno73hmMjPDQML_4q5eogdQB4I_pkcX2EKFPbTX0zoHG8N0uwgYmwW3BguFSrNET0rstGQDdLnLhq2QWHkJXhqyiSdeA4OZW0/s200/IMG_0666.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5114065170686715202" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggRif91BACRwaZr4YSHLskl5_B4aDbWchfTUZmajjohee-M1jJrZ4mAIvfguNruhxIQ70N7o-Q0IfQzkMkI9pXazLUJ5eAveStHFxYgZCQ8eHWo8d2u7uREIchVMVuINQVfqFDTzgYb4k1/s1600-h/IMG_0667.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggRif91BACRwaZr4YSHLskl5_B4aDbWchfTUZmajjohee-M1jJrZ4mAIvfguNruhxIQ70N7o-Q0IfQzkMkI9pXazLUJ5eAveStHFxYgZCQ8eHWo8d2u7uREIchVMVuINQVfqFDTzgYb4k1/s200/IMG_0667.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5114065174981682514" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJbzfOlZb-5kxXKHpQq7nhDtFMQHvvsHs8vl8UrYjIvxpz4onqpw40zobsWVHYuWuN6olyU9ELHRl4fFXTZ_5FxJtD32qYACahmLCr15bcWW7K9-Pgf42fyClw63qNvpFTycaeW1PssMB6/s1600-h/IMG_0668.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJbzfOlZb-5kxXKHpQq7nhDtFMQHvvsHs8vl8UrYjIvxpz4onqpw40zobsWVHYuWuN6olyU9ELHRl4fFXTZ_5FxJtD32qYACahmLCr15bcWW7K9-Pgf42fyClw63qNvpFTycaeW1PssMB6/s200/IMG_0668.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5114065179276649826" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKsbWZdhKGZWRyx_rRZ185A0nDf-pYjYz7e09Y92jcnDg8Pd1l4Ox-VPbiA0IcOirZ7tTJn8BjS8E97zzcZx4KZe0PHqeEfa8v9lrv1z3RZqOGXJfhdBbxu9CIMylIjramMiTJCUQBRyU9/s1600-h/IMG_0682.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKsbWZdhKGZWRyx_rRZ185A0nDf-pYjYz7e09Y92jcnDg8Pd1l4Ox-VPbiA0IcOirZ7tTJn8BjS8E97zzcZx4KZe0PHqeEfa8v9lrv1z3RZqOGXJfhdBbxu9CIMylIjramMiTJCUQBRyU9/s200/IMG_0682.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5114065179276649842" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOfVnt4tIJMX5QBH6bj5i2ANCKMufRB1WRTxp5jsDh15nBPdzvP4SBij2oBdhZh_h21BJ7TRKawx2wWjcvq802qx0OZ0HqF3FUAPAbC7HFZlQs8MYrblZxKwvlWq7fVE2y-LCp9uKcY1WR/s1600-h/IMG_0681.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOfVnt4tIJMX5QBH6bj5i2ANCKMufRB1WRTxp5jsDh15nBPdzvP4SBij2oBdhZh_h21BJ7TRKawx2wWjcvq802qx0OZ0HqF3FUAPAbC7HFZlQs8MYrblZxKwvlWq7fVE2y-LCp9uKcY1WR/s200/IMG_0681.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5114065183571617154" /></a><br /><br />Here are pics of my cabin, and from the deck of the boat. Hard to get a sense of the size of the thing as there was no vantage point from which I could successfully capture the immensity of it. Of course, it wasn't the cruise liner that we expected...but was sufficiently large enough to shield us from an intense rocking from the waves. Overall, though, while you felt the movement of the water throughout the journey, to our great good fortune, the Baltic Sea was relatively calm. Because I can only fit five images per post, I will devote a few more posts to the Ferry experience...I mean, it was 24 hours of my life, and it was an interesting, if a little dull and monotonous, experience...PJBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17288909013196767937noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-643659969781748957.post-29451656831873218062007-09-25T01:53:00.000-07:002007-09-25T01:59:05.793-07:00Finnmaid the Ferry Pt 1<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKJOtKwPZE4fEpeiJzrpnVBVw78-lucexMiWXBK9KyUyW6MD_AMJvJN-ygCy9zbv_OFK8pX3f34xYmwQkXcBJg-0y7wiWTe-NvkFSMjBhbd7uMJOgWfluloZZ9jDXflyr2WS6y37NYHOdQ/s1600-h/IMG_0655.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKJOtKwPZE4fEpeiJzrpnVBVw78-lucexMiWXBK9KyUyW6MD_AMJvJN-ygCy9zbv_OFK8pX3f34xYmwQkXcBJg-0y7wiWTe-NvkFSMjBhbd7uMJOgWfluloZZ9jDXflyr2WS6y37NYHOdQ/s200/IMG_0655.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5114063190706791666" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN4jk1V_tIAzNXqle_Fw7I8IAJgc_KDBRyuKsoGPLqNCcE8mj_XZ_fiChNOKYHJ9OeBcpYS0rE-UrhXMiW-SPvR_48h7ryGIkq1gEAN10-fXc19pYWLagBhl71bhUl5Ed9jolDeQAovgdM/s1600-h/IMG_0658.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN4jk1V_tIAzNXqle_Fw7I8IAJgc_KDBRyuKsoGPLqNCcE8mj_XZ_fiChNOKYHJ9OeBcpYS0rE-UrhXMiW-SPvR_48h7ryGIkq1gEAN10-fXc19pYWLagBhl71bhUl5Ed9jolDeQAovgdM/s200/IMG_0658.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5114063220771562754" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOWlUHxZPd2J2TuDX5BgPsRBLHm-q-TxzhPFaJYxPIgu3HryLTk8N2kNMf-gXrYRu0sWrdWHyJ18ysKPVMjAkIaK6Xwa3eQW7YTEQglZqkR_1ipiO_5PtbOOgNJFGUzNw0Pu17MUnA9JD_/s1600-h/IMG_0660.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOWlUHxZPd2J2TuDX5BgPsRBLHm-q-TxzhPFaJYxPIgu3HryLTk8N2kNMf-gXrYRu0sWrdWHyJ18ysKPVMjAkIaK6Xwa3eQW7YTEQglZqkR_1ipiO_5PtbOOgNJFGUzNw0Pu17MUnA9JD_/s200/IMG_0660.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5114063225066530066" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWt3MZJKg2RaM7djhA_eUbcn2S2lXQPzu3sr2t9YCU2EVj5fL-ZJzZHmza4pMOWrC2THrMmOZdwk5KmKCHZtGe64lODNP5beBUPQb962ks4mAs_c4lCZbD6mLtdWwNcM618Lc9tIvQ7I82/s1600-h/IMG_0665.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWt3MZJKg2RaM7djhA_eUbcn2S2lXQPzu3sr2t9YCU2EVj5fL-ZJzZHmza4pMOWrC2THrMmOZdwk5KmKCHZtGe64lODNP5beBUPQb962ks4mAs_c4lCZbD6mLtdWwNcM618Lc9tIvQ7I82/s200/IMG_0665.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5114063229361497378" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEMLseIdbvzkE1rRQV6ruk9gsAmAx-KnzoWXmF9Q-2yQzIkOK6T6AO_2xAEEw4rhjO2q3mFtEtefqZm12htkK8PPcGDLQDHxozSTrDfHDqPMPDrXdb_7OhCH9yNWxr9rGiCilhnUO1t1m0/s1600-h/IMG_0669.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEMLseIdbvzkE1rRQV6ruk9gsAmAx-KnzoWXmF9Q-2yQzIkOK6T6AO_2xAEEw4rhjO2q3mFtEtefqZm12htkK8PPcGDLQDHxozSTrDfHDqPMPDrXdb_7OhCH9yNWxr9rGiCilhnUO1t1m0/s200/IMG_0669.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5114063233656464690" /></a><br /><br />Though the bus ride was any but smooth, its spaciousness was sorely missed as we boarded our next vehicle...the small Volkswagen van seen here. We drove this onto and into the belly of the ferry, where several trucks were parked, ours included. We went up to the deck to take a quick look around, so here a couple of pics of the ferry itself, and the truck trailers lined up in the rear of the boat. More pics of the ship's interior in the next post...PJBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17288909013196767937noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-643659969781748957.post-9685876072945423902007-09-23T00:36:00.000-07:002007-09-25T01:52:49.180-07:00Hello Again Helsinki<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhocE4p3cOEBYOdoatkIFsHw6MABjfMHoRyJiJQYvrLEFVo-YeEDlgIydHPEHWqxBkghxqsZceJw7hXx6LfpAjm6ehXSR_gWkMKBKZ4X1V5FPHP5SJPyl9MG9eyS42n51wxRZ1QfyFlhTVE/s1600-h/IMG_0645.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhocE4p3cOEBYOdoatkIFsHw6MABjfMHoRyJiJQYvrLEFVo-YeEDlgIydHPEHWqxBkghxqsZceJw7hXx6LfpAjm6ehXSR_gWkMKBKZ4X1V5FPHP5SJPyl9MG9eyS42n51wxRZ1QfyFlhTVE/s200/IMG_0645.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5114061970936079522" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMO53LCyvhQRIgTDPj51Drh4OWLSlMdjiewUq-n0sMKqBpVFzB6FAl5IAkTknBmKtY3Qg1nQd5kh2i7-AN2RA4TvlkRElAahLHB0hJ4hDRRsc7FrtXPbrAGRx0snPj9LtuNKUkKgCrsgb2/s1600-h/IMG_0622.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMO53LCyvhQRIgTDPj51Drh4OWLSlMdjiewUq-n0sMKqBpVFzB6FAl5IAkTknBmKtY3Qg1nQd5kh2i7-AN2RA4TvlkRElAahLHB0hJ4hDRRsc7FrtXPbrAGRx0snPj9LtuNKUkKgCrsgb2/s200/IMG_0622.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5114061996705883314" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEFtodrHCW69AMp7zqtkSZk9JRkLT-X4Fs9WgZqislziAlHxeFu-PKrUA-b9yLvtAL0o63NYx4gdTZ0w7RvQf_miRCU8y8MEXU6jQOEUJL8-7nhY-WQQgB77q3lEr2PRNegEqh2-dd1N1y/s1600-h/IMG_0628.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEFtodrHCW69AMp7zqtkSZk9JRkLT-X4Fs9WgZqislziAlHxeFu-PKrUA-b9yLvtAL0o63NYx4gdTZ0w7RvQf_miRCU8y8MEXU6jQOEUJL8-7nhY-WQQgB77q3lEr2PRNegEqh2-dd1N1y/s200/IMG_0628.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5114062026770654402" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrlJAAyvo-XZrOcgu01dm1iC8n39f-FdsMxhx2ez-0-c6aP9GeHnM4l5F5wxQTkPxlTwG-YzttLwNoLM6SCaxT1Y4tssJfqZGHdI4pXaT95BPJ9gnTaBGQyaC5S8Svw2f-Rde4Ld0ERnQJ/s1600-h/IMG_0633.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrlJAAyvo-XZrOcgu01dm1iC8n39f-FdsMxhx2ez-0-c6aP9GeHnM4l5F5wxQTkPxlTwG-YzttLwNoLM6SCaxT1Y4tssJfqZGHdI4pXaT95BPJ9gnTaBGQyaC5S8Svw2f-Rde4Ld0ERnQJ/s200/IMG_0633.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5114062031065621714" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqw_xl4jRiyHEZQ37GojpyHOJbktjzNSO-WWeCVIgqz53eOsgx1Mf40CI-j63W7qZSDwVN6UzE9J02tASGV44nJfl_tX6Awr8njRt9a_YPNZdIo8TceQiuhxvwIFzgAynID7V3R07lwifr/s1600-h/IMG_0645.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqw_xl4jRiyHEZQ37GojpyHOJbktjzNSO-WWeCVIgqz53eOsgx1Mf40CI-j63W7qZSDwVN6UzE9J02tASGV44nJfl_tX6Awr8njRt9a_YPNZdIo8TceQiuhxvwIFzgAynID7V3R07lwifr/s200/IMG_0645.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5114062035360589026" /></a><br /><br />Helsinki, again, was such a pleasure after the roughness of Russia and its substandard roads. But again, our time in this wonderful city was all too short. We managed to get out for a nice Finnish dinner the first evening (even looking for the Laplander restaurant where we had Reindeer's tears last time), and then spent the next morning strolling the streets for less than an hour. Hence, several of these pictures will look somewhat familliar. I did, however, make it down to the docks this time, where ships large and small lumbered in and out of the harbor. We stayed in the same hotel, and all was good. Then, we loaded ourselves into a volkswagen (sp?) van for the next leg of the journey. We drove to the Ferry terminal where we loaded onto a sizeable cargo ferry. More on that in the next post.PJBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17288909013196767937noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-643659969781748957.post-59406006959823944342007-09-20T00:56:00.000-07:002007-09-20T01:01:31.577-07:00Highway to Hell(sinki) 9.18-9.19 Pt. 2<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9WeZ0she3StJBRK73lopbG3lPKa34YZ32uj88xGmUFiRRa0hOaIiLJDA1qGQO5xHEpmcPA9gzbufosudyAb_sqdzQ-sUo215QdT5GA15iZRyqJd8TxxilmhcMby7ZKDlAg1myllA8HgCW/s1600-h/IMG_0617.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9WeZ0she3StJBRK73lopbG3lPKa34YZ32uj88xGmUFiRRa0hOaIiLJDA1qGQO5xHEpmcPA9gzbufosudyAb_sqdzQ-sUo215QdT5GA15iZRyqJd8TxxilmhcMby7ZKDlAg1myllA8HgCW/s200/IMG_0617.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5112193073302529042" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhprEh7P1qkfN05-JWX6y4oqVyGoHzbTnqlMq0fNQYonMZRUE97X4gk9ZiAtKLs3PSH2rpJ-BdhTw5yE-v_OTr_8JlT5X7xJ_ZF9-dyqfVIIdUn-bZZq1CAGwJNXzTLdFBlXZZPqhy3ypDO/s1600-h/IMG_0623.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhprEh7P1qkfN05-JWX6y4oqVyGoHzbTnqlMq0fNQYonMZRUE97X4gk9ZiAtKLs3PSH2rpJ-BdhTw5yE-v_OTr_8JlT5X7xJ_ZF9-dyqfVIIdUn-bZZq1CAGwJNXzTLdFBlXZZPqhy3ypDO/s200/IMG_0623.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5112193077597496354" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqpFa_dn-4jfGHqWJ3mvwnpNJur-OKHugoXqHp9uu4WFGX4NoALUQzeY4OoWMACWKEMTt3aBF9RJ6iluzRJfU2nk6Ojvj8QJiDW-UBJDZNhLGtAHFtA5D6AlrA6jWxOiHu6ECKKolM98ap/s1600-h/IMG_0631.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqpFa_dn-4jfGHqWJ3mvwnpNJur-OKHugoXqHp9uu4WFGX4NoALUQzeY4OoWMACWKEMTt3aBF9RJ6iluzRJfU2nk6Ojvj8QJiDW-UBJDZNhLGtAHFtA5D6AlrA6jWxOiHu6ECKKolM98ap/s200/IMG_0631.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5112193081892463666" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizgaE2rP-j-EsxeU57RtaO4qad4N_0dQ_VaMWxNk88KE7ktD_DI0Ha8Pd55DVYKgJtLIHzYmZKvaZydrWR-tRtTCCtFEPwRFbMdK9BOensRNN8mtBqE7v1EQnRLd-rkDK-fFcP0-tnssW8/s1600-h/IMG_0638.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizgaE2rP-j-EsxeU57RtaO4qad4N_0dQ_VaMWxNk88KE7ktD_DI0Ha8Pd55DVYKgJtLIHzYmZKvaZydrWR-tRtTCCtFEPwRFbMdK9BOensRNN8mtBqE7v1EQnRLd-rkDK-fFcP0-tnssW8/s200/IMG_0638.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5112193090482398274" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcwrfUgYc52QlXWs_fcQZFexVZNCkp-2ysTtyHuYHKDp4zbq_EtnBfsTn-IQ2czwdNH8isokeam4-D5bIWKaqQJGZDmoVUdsyVV_gEAe-S8NIiSIt1Fb4SDDWlF4Fzh1LCQgrjwM6u5sj6/s1600-h/IMG_0642.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcwrfUgYc52QlXWs_fcQZFexVZNCkp-2ysTtyHuYHKDp4zbq_EtnBfsTn-IQ2czwdNH8isokeam4-D5bIWKaqQJGZDmoVUdsyVV_gEAe-S8NIiSIt1Fb4SDDWlF4Fzh1LCQgrjwM6u5sj6/s200/IMG_0642.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5112193099072332882" /></a><br /><br />Here are a few pics of the miles and miles of trucks lined up along the road awaiting passage from Finland through the Russian border. Sometimes they wait days on end. And then once we entered Finland, the sun broke through and made for a beautiful afternoon/evening. Crisp and cool!PJBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17288909013196767937noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-643659969781748957.post-15922115263125179232007-09-20T00:47:00.000-07:002007-09-20T00:56:46.371-07:00Highway to Hell(sinki) 9.18-9.19<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfopVwCXiaVe-uh9Jwy9oHICX9HxQ4XxBAHU70ANO0nNoMeCX2jeXD3QUdMkkn0rOPPCunjk4S5vOOQ6i254xRV8YJte1-9FUtjH6mB9Jqr7vMdEkv_us-t4afxYnHCajiBAnYtUhRZpI9/s1600-h/IMG_0612.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfopVwCXiaVe-uh9Jwy9oHICX9HxQ4XxBAHU70ANO0nNoMeCX2jeXD3QUdMkkn0rOPPCunjk4S5vOOQ6i254xRV8YJte1-9FUtjH6mB9Jqr7vMdEkv_us-t4afxYnHCajiBAnYtUhRZpI9/s200/IMG_0612.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5112191913661359058" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1Al5KbFSASJVIMpQoLmKbCdhnHlFT3BzryXDGHgLtDZENPiRlc-UKdKb2PxVz-YeFTyqaJtDqviNkSgMoURESQ93NTns8YdsN43zrWhS4QXNM-fxyRZCniHB5CZz8FJTY3EoAvT1hMoi_/s1600-h/IMG_0613.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1Al5KbFSASJVIMpQoLmKbCdhnHlFT3BzryXDGHgLtDZENPiRlc-UKdKb2PxVz-YeFTyqaJtDqviNkSgMoURESQ93NTns8YdsN43zrWhS4QXNM-fxyRZCniHB5CZz8FJTY3EoAvT1hMoi_/s200/IMG_0613.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5112191917956326370" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_usb39F-bljBH99L3WPo96sP_ueOGDiafdh1rQOVLy9SATRWWNZfgM01POIfo79J5kBUW20OM5KU1FQcW3A4QxvMIi5O-cN95HRszkCNaABTxPLY_8CVYCc-rvQRIGkbdJKDh_NX6a0E0/s1600-h/IMG_0614.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_usb39F-bljBH99L3WPo96sP_ueOGDiafdh1rQOVLy9SATRWWNZfgM01POIfo79J5kBUW20OM5KU1FQcW3A4QxvMIi5O-cN95HRszkCNaABTxPLY_8CVYCc-rvQRIGkbdJKDh_NX6a0E0/s200/IMG_0614.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5112191922251293682" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTJ2Ow5GXLIZY1-KcXGZzXXTRsBY4ceswhoyzlZuCmXB1uaLw5feR01eqWoCGOQojNYNPXU4QuKaYwc8zNk2J__1X9HOGrfgSHwnNrVLvtPfETZV4Zk9hJFCSi0KrAi17hjJ94dJv4UEb4/s1600-h/IMG_0615.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTJ2Ow5GXLIZY1-KcXGZzXXTRsBY4ceswhoyzlZuCmXB1uaLw5feR01eqWoCGOQojNYNPXU4QuKaYwc8zNk2J__1X9HOGrfgSHwnNrVLvtPfETZV4Zk9hJFCSi0KrAi17hjJ94dJv4UEb4/s200/IMG_0615.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5112191926546260994" /></a><br />Though not as harrowing as the bus ride from Helsinki to Moscow back in July, this road trip had its share of strange adventures on long, almost painful stretches of sleepness and mild nausea. Again, there were snacks and drinks on the bus, but a favorite memory is standing on the side of the road, eating a big mac (and feeling thankful), fries, and chasing them with a tall boy russian beer, while armed Russian guards and truck drivers looked on. About midnight--after we had watched the movie, Gladiator, on the bus, the Russians' car broke down. They attempted to repair it by replacing a broken belt, but they had no luck. We stopped at a truck stop I had visited on my trip traveling the other direction, so it was interesting to see again a place I thought I would never see again.<br /><br />The darkness of autumn also helped, as dusk fell around 8pm. It remained dark until 6am or so (instead of a summer night lasting from 11pm-4am). That helped with getting a little more sleep, but the bumps and the uncomfortable bus seats made for a difficult night. Oh well. We made it. And though it rained the whole trip, we were greeted by sunny skies and brilliant sunshine when we arrived in Finland. Some of the longest stretches of the trip were the passage through the border and customs, and the last few hours' drive into Helsinki.<br /><br />Had a nice Finnish dinner with the other couriers--sweet potato soup, and a char-grilled whitefish in "cajun" sauce. Pretty tasty. A couple of us finished the evening in fine style: with a shot of ice cold Aquavit. Very nice. Here are a few pictures of the weary travelers. I'll include a few pics from the road in a subsequent post.PJBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17288909013196767937noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-643659969781748957.post-62600888572956951392007-09-18T03:23:00.000-07:002007-09-18T03:55:53.275-07:00So Long Moscow! Hello Helsinki<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJkKkfdxvWZ8JDpwPkYm2uObC2fLSIvaTHC4Q40fewUtRQ7j05uz34uuVcAJ-LW-MLB1DTQ7_jBNNvxjtZ0SWEiipe2Ljat2Sg4zgtmbXt-iU7N1JO-x5cADHvta0usx-vCGl4jN3Z1cN9/s1600-h/IMG_0635.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJkKkfdxvWZ8JDpwPkYm2uObC2fLSIvaTHC4Q40fewUtRQ7j05uz34uuVcAJ-LW-MLB1DTQ7_jBNNvxjtZ0SWEiipe2Ljat2Sg4zgtmbXt-iU7N1JO-x5cADHvta0usx-vCGl4jN3Z1cN9/s200/IMG_0635.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5111496158172025474" /></a><br />Okay, so I know I used that line before. But it's a true joy to be leaving Moscow. Overall, it was much better this time around. The cooler weather helped most, but good people to hang out with, good restaurants, and good wine helped too.<br /><br />Here's a parting shot of the Ministry of Culture (or something like that).<br /><br />I am out of here. Will try to post again from Helsinki...after our 30 hours on the bus...<br /><br />Here we go again!PJBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17288909013196767937noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-643659969781748957.post-14129426072649614052007-09-17T08:19:00.001-07:002007-09-17T08:30:20.169-07:00Sunday Stroll on the (Novy) Arbat 9.16<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5X7wbDTCNkGk4GiZKDcpC0x6PZIjMMTOEcucybtS0gh9VzsPk7hwCP3PuWgtwb3djEYZdusaB483PVemo9w6hQgyuI_Xupg3wskNxRFlxc6wwcb6bvkYadi4YRYxoSrfm7749v1IxqoHq/s1600-h/IMG_0613.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5X7wbDTCNkGk4GiZKDcpC0x6PZIjMMTOEcucybtS0gh9VzsPk7hwCP3PuWgtwb3djEYZdusaB483PVemo9w6hQgyuI_Xupg3wskNxRFlxc6wwcb6bvkYadi4YRYxoSrfm7749v1IxqoHq/s200/IMG_0613.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5111193947093209650" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh80OKV5wdkyZIR9713K5UDpVVBUO6pjFyNHwCSVKwOt6DaaXkSCFCiQGbVsuxD1erAT3StRkSf0PMaklSZpgxegpc0ma2wMK-5MnnDCywpPOyG7bww9kyFhPGdQl0IHgJIXWO5V1OLkExQ/s1600-h/IMG_0619.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh80OKV5wdkyZIR9713K5UDpVVBUO6pjFyNHwCSVKwOt6DaaXkSCFCiQGbVsuxD1erAT3StRkSf0PMaklSZpgxegpc0ma2wMK-5MnnDCywpPOyG7bww9kyFhPGdQl0IHgJIXWO5V1OLkExQ/s200/IMG_0619.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5111193994337849922" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX6Pymm6wzjkvHAiu0_O993UhrzpX8XVF9gDtqbhjuJYF22w270BoqjRCVV-WK7ay3qqvCDtsbKwiwfhWmPtN1KkqGW0QWyc0X7hASE2k6ednI882NGyPQrYtZ6E37Ogz82davQ91RYYg_/s1600-h/IMG_0620.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX6Pymm6wzjkvHAiu0_O993UhrzpX8XVF9gDtqbhjuJYF22w270BoqjRCVV-WK7ay3qqvCDtsbKwiwfhWmPtN1KkqGW0QWyc0X7hASE2k6ednI882NGyPQrYtZ6E37Ogz82davQ91RYYg_/s200/IMG_0620.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5111194015812686418" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj__T7YwVVCcid2PK7-c3O-KT8x2S7fzqdPYDZjPmkWM9IHqNNo0_BbsP5ZNfjbSFFlWk-_EOMGih05z4mUQL9HqPVJxdq4vzfFnP-owp_CdeGfXvuMSldNxhCaSPbyEMUqY_-0k_pvIdrk/s1600-h/IMG_0622.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj__T7YwVVCcid2PK7-c3O-KT8x2S7fzqdPYDZjPmkWM9IHqNNo0_BbsP5ZNfjbSFFlWk-_EOMGih05z4mUQL9HqPVJxdq4vzfFnP-owp_CdeGfXvuMSldNxhCaSPbyEMUqY_-0k_pvIdrk/s200/IMG_0622.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5111194045877457506" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsmSpOYHhkd_JGx5_ZX56DksyLe7_XietMbNi0FyJdhvC3t7aWr4YGZNmMCQTUzUGiz9-G5uGQvRUfI2KtQzfyCaYJYkq1EOad-r-QSGlipIwOHQffgt-cPYWXwL2FtJcB1bEmdjUuGgnD/s1600-h/IMG_0623.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsmSpOYHhkd_JGx5_ZX56DksyLe7_XietMbNi0FyJdhvC3t7aWr4YGZNmMCQTUzUGiz9-G5uGQvRUfI2KtQzfyCaYJYkq1EOad-r-QSGlipIwOHQffgt-cPYWXwL2FtJcB1bEmdjUuGgnD/s200/IMG_0623.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5111194058762359410" /></a><br />Sunday was really about relaxing and taking it easy. Woke at 10am (after a late night of movie watching) and went down for breakfast. Returned to the room, and hung for a while, reading last Sunday’s NY Times about all the interesting exhibitions this coming season: Olafur Eliasson, Courbet, Turner, and Homer’s watercolors. Also of interest is the show, Sympathy for the Devil, which traces the interrelationship of rock music and art from 1967 forward through the art of Andy Warhol and the Velvet Underground, and up through Raymond Pettibon and others. Around 2pm, another courier and I walked over to the Arbat, a pedestrian walkway lined with cafes and touristy shops. He was on the lookout for a sweater or sweatshirt for our impending ferry ride. We returned to the hotel via the new Arbat, lined with high end designer stores and large, gaudy casinos. After being quite cloudy for most of the day, the skies opened up and the sun came pouring through. Beautiful afternoon, now turning to evening. Tonight we’re planning to go to a nearby Georgian restaurant for dinner. We’ll see how that goes. I hear it’s good, cheap, and accessible, meaning that it has a full English menu. Plus, there’s supposed to be live entertainment. Oh boy. (Writing a day later, it was delicious and satisfying...)<br /><br />And there's the whole Novy Arbat...a neon laden strip of designer stores and casinos. Crazy stuff. Seeing these by day hardly captures the magic at night...But to capture that magic would mean that I was out on the strip late in the evening. Sorry, not going to happen.PJBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17288909013196767937noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-643659969781748957.post-59020507978085548282007-09-16T11:45:00.000-07:002007-09-16T11:53:23.924-07:00More Izmaylovskaya Market Photos<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsHRZFor_cwMAH6NL2DywkScVDIEzCD8rfQukwSvWWaJj6TS6TDQHobPMjCeBgXmQQ6lEKCKeSNNr8veiIS15ELKZMtqB_DCkLao8FjSvNQdL9SAuggBIL2WcvRdUSFlTc5mIQbf_953OT/s1600-h/IMG_0608.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsHRZFor_cwMAH6NL2DywkScVDIEzCD8rfQukwSvWWaJj6TS6TDQHobPMjCeBgXmQQ6lEKCKeSNNr8veiIS15ELKZMtqB_DCkLao8FjSvNQdL9SAuggBIL2WcvRdUSFlTc5mIQbf_953OT/s200/IMG_0608.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5110876583369773538" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkoX5EzZgs3o6DnOwRso8z1QyBP4xWm0biB9H5cy_p7H6GNE04Pl7nlDrYL-PPxXMBmB2RUE8DgxA6MIl2bNfYnCBVUFBY-vqwvSNYo8ysf4T7Gdyykg0P7vTGdm0I5b1hpz_c0O5BJE9g/s1600-h/IMG_0620.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkoX5EzZgs3o6DnOwRso8z1QyBP4xWm0biB9H5cy_p7H6GNE04Pl7nlDrYL-PPxXMBmB2RUE8DgxA6MIl2bNfYnCBVUFBY-vqwvSNYo8ysf4T7Gdyykg0P7vTGdm0I5b1hpz_c0O5BJE9g/s200/IMG_0620.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5110876591959708146" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-TAgAQPKwfgNabwNqGVaSq_ThBEYvE0pI8x3qdzMwMJpmVcAdhkFDJZe35ThBr0pajvXwIoSuIeEPVQtNljgYJEOOhOj9YRoUCgsxJmV_xI5CcpkuFQZfb_lT9yzVC64iHwRke9K1ejKp/s1600-h/IMG_0626.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-TAgAQPKwfgNabwNqGVaSq_ThBEYvE0pI8x3qdzMwMJpmVcAdhkFDJZe35ThBr0pajvXwIoSuIeEPVQtNljgYJEOOhOj9YRoUCgsxJmV_xI5CcpkuFQZfb_lT9yzVC64iHwRke9K1ejKp/s200/IMG_0626.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5110876596254675458" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1eS6WHQDjvNKoVeqSD7YwtKgKu_HLqdpGfZ6xYUzEjQoDZ72epZY7bWn7hydMJQQN7zSq9Xv_i38ynG9XzlrMBwcPF7eU-65VQ9SfpKCR7tpIeIUYZpM09XWRem-RavmjtkiDBUx6GY_w/s1600-h/IMG_0636.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1eS6WHQDjvNKoVeqSD7YwtKgKu_HLqdpGfZ6xYUzEjQoDZ72epZY7bWn7hydMJQQN7zSq9Xv_i38ynG9XzlrMBwcPF7eU-65VQ9SfpKCR7tpIeIUYZpM09XWRem-RavmjtkiDBUx6GY_w/s200/IMG_0636.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5110876596254675474" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHqXYLDTXWLUAzpZsoJzqfF6ruOeIaVUELUXG4UQ9DxL3B7m7RxAW_3prBx3xyQSFHVvpqpzke1qlNwxqo88s_gjQf15-8Edsy9PLJpBUi3WQuew8sBaunr3z2TjhKtKkBIKYEDAE2NfGe/s1600-h/IMG_0641.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHqXYLDTXWLUAzpZsoJzqfF6ruOeIaVUELUXG4UQ9DxL3B7m7RxAW_3prBx3xyQSFHVvpqpzke1qlNwxqo88s_gjQf15-8Edsy9PLJpBUi3WQuew8sBaunr3z2TjhKtKkBIKYEDAE2NfGe/s200/IMG_0641.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5110876604844610082" /></a>PJBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17288909013196767937noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-643659969781748957.post-61821718046132192612007-09-16T11:34:00.000-07:002007-09-16T11:45:24.340-07:00Izmaylovskaya Market 9.15<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJy-bPYSI3IhQ49QFH2bPC5YecrDbxbLxoRi-pAFkemYCMgD7ySvpqCPiz7mVRMGc-XGf1xeDYEXqj61Wu_9nxAOSdsecCZ-v-TdYYTMM7bQ9jZXYwhZcSe2vhoPcqDjv5pWKHWagDMTLt/s1600-h/IMG_0594.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJy-bPYSI3IhQ49QFH2bPC5YecrDbxbLxoRi-pAFkemYCMgD7ySvpqCPiz7mVRMGc-XGf1xeDYEXqj61Wu_9nxAOSdsecCZ-v-TdYYTMM7bQ9jZXYwhZcSe2vhoPcqDjv5pWKHWagDMTLt/s200/IMG_0594.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5110874912627495314" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXlXjXnZGTCHbe_ba_5IYo-di4z3Z7-_OJDX6EmakjyBXcr9mgGXyUw94eWxmsTw4zZLdOa0HV0GlC1jWcTT5bXZ1WJn7-CcEkjEz23LrPCZBJSuy6gD4U4ExymR9S73bZ5OuI_BaZ2QU9/s1600-h/IMG_0598.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXlXjXnZGTCHbe_ba_5IYo-di4z3Z7-_OJDX6EmakjyBXcr9mgGXyUw94eWxmsTw4zZLdOa0HV0GlC1jWcTT5bXZ1WJn7-CcEkjEz23LrPCZBJSuy6gD4U4ExymR9S73bZ5OuI_BaZ2QU9/s200/IMG_0598.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5110874921217429922" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH9emeS6BLWbWc9uVyx7cQAQxpFXVt7ikMUmfwn5AckCpXsWrvX4zN5nAoj8oPDxmg0sxVDk99z1qJmlnPZbjhmf-XnReMfd2Cf5EGdJFBi0zb-jdGnVr_YzkGqijAeiKt_fFglirXYnk_/s1600-h/IMG_0604.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH9emeS6BLWbWc9uVyx7cQAQxpFXVt7ikMUmfwn5AckCpXsWrvX4zN5nAoj8oPDxmg0sxVDk99z1qJmlnPZbjhmf-XnReMfd2Cf5EGdJFBi0zb-jdGnVr_YzkGqijAeiKt_fFglirXYnk_/s200/IMG_0604.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5110874925512397234" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoVRyfrhSO4rGAoxwJhFH5YmZF86xM_WE8Sr340RtA5V0nX910gaKxCypLJ1gPLPNz3PwRVMTk2GD_7gRJAkzMaPsqjrdJBwpnyTkMlKMlH551cwUQ0RVpRFIaibRbA8nbiixi4oIVJE_a/s1600-h/IMG_0609.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoVRyfrhSO4rGAoxwJhFH5YmZF86xM_WE8Sr340RtA5V0nX910gaKxCypLJ1gPLPNz3PwRVMTk2GD_7gRJAkzMaPsqjrdJBwpnyTkMlKMlH551cwUQ0RVpRFIaibRbA8nbiixi4oIVJE_a/s200/IMG_0609.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5110874929807364546" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioaMFAQhv27SyL4Yob6TRx7eDAp4uYzyyCa5xv1EBlTbM22elJXyJOQaTkR13fFY1mLIeq5CdkNqAKGBBeoKP8adRHeXwjckICPGd3TXwF6bY6icE8eKXNKFPB-_s8b-0MeLIwGZozUcU8/s1600-h/IMG_0606.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioaMFAQhv27SyL4Yob6TRx7eDAp4uYzyyCa5xv1EBlTbM22elJXyJOQaTkR13fFY1mLIeq5CdkNqAKGBBeoKP8adRHeXwjckICPGd3TXwF6bY6icE8eKXNKFPB-_s8b-0MeLIwGZozUcU8/s200/IMG_0606.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5110874934102331858" /></a><br />On Saturday another courier and I took the Metro to the northwestern part of town to visit the Izmaylovskaya Flea Market. We successfully navigated the labyrinth stations of the subway system, but accidentally exited at the station just past the one we needed. So we decided to walk back through a nice, forested park. The concrete trails soon gave way to dirt, which had turned to mud as a result of all the recent rain. We continued alongside the railway, and eventually made it out of the woods safely. We found the market and entered. Just inside what I took to be the main gate, an animal keeper tended to his three Russian bears. The market was populated by stall after stall of coats, boots, shoes, hats, jeans, suits, etc. Miles and miles of stalls in a seemingly infinite number of directions, lining narrow and narrow walkways thronged—and I mean thronged—with people jostling to push ahead. On top of all the people pushing and shoving, stevedores, in the truest sense of the word—pushed and pulled carts brimming with boxed goods of all sorts—scarves, shoes, whatever. And added to these pushy, boisterous workingmen, there were a number of food vendors hawking their wares from pushcarts that too populated the angry lanes.<br /><br />With the push and pull, there were few places to actually stop moving, but we managed to find a couple of places to step aside and take a breath of air. Food stands populated busy corners, and offered a range of pies, turnovers, and knish-looking buns, all filled with various kinds of mystery meat. Several of these stands also offered döner kabobs. Of course, we steered clear of most of this, but finally settled on a couple of meat-free turnovers and a couple of beers.<br /><br />Around the time that we had had enough of the market, we found the section we had originally sought filled with stands selling Soviet-era kitsch—posters, figures of Lenin and Stalin, military pins and regalia, religious icons, and tons of flea market type paintings of all sorts: landscapes, genre scenes, marine paintings, abstractions, nudes, and portraits. We wandered through these stalls for an hour or so, and then decided we were finished. We took the subway back to the hotel, and rested before heading back out for an exquisite Italian dinner. I had a great octopus and potato salad and then pasta with clams and some wine. Then back to the room where I watched Blade Runner, one of several dvds I brought along for the trip.PJBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17288909013196767937noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-643659969781748957.post-12639132179199589062007-09-14T08:39:00.000-07:002007-09-14T08:44:22.799-07:00Friday Night, Not Much to Report 9.14<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi94HijDEtqwdqHdUkboo5cs3qBVoArAZRu6KH6gSEBADCJvl8AwOU2KyaFLeGSKxdTL2kHumAHAwnwzgNdieq7UCu-r0u_mhc432nY8L17-Knsdd78-7xW5QYNhNzwB-F2AWnpFP3C_Gkb/s1600-h/IMG_0513.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi94HijDEtqwdqHdUkboo5cs3qBVoArAZRu6KH6gSEBADCJvl8AwOU2KyaFLeGSKxdTL2kHumAHAwnwzgNdieq7UCu-r0u_mhc432nY8L17-Knsdd78-7xW5QYNhNzwB-F2AWnpFP3C_Gkb/s200/IMG_0513.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5110085845530841474" /></a><br />Just a quick post to say that I don't have much to report. Been working the last two days. It's been raining for the past day and a a half...cool and rainy. Making my way through a flurry of emails, and trying to figure out how to book an overnight trip to St. Petersburg. Kind of hectic, but in that good, frantic way...<br /><br />Haven't taken any more pics, but will do so in the coming days. In the meantime, here's one I took the other day...of the ubiquitous Lenin.<br /><br />Stay tuned...PJBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17288909013196767937noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-643659969781748957.post-19416186210244459362007-09-12T10:13:00.001-07:002007-09-12T10:40:10.114-07:00Tretyakov 20thc Gallery / Gorky Park 9.12<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhS9R9z2K_QsCkAGddRRgvrAeTy68gCMa7Bcg4a1jOTaWzZ7XsBhb73Dsh0hAn2L0eb0RG0p9bH3Gao1PMfLk-Xn1o4ERPaP69mOUNnCPunbXX-zCfC9IvOqsDJkIC6QbPJt2an2S4Wr0g/s1600-h/IMG_0536.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhS9R9z2K_QsCkAGddRRgvrAeTy68gCMa7Bcg4a1jOTaWzZ7XsBhb73Dsh0hAn2L0eb0RG0p9bH3Gao1PMfLk-Xn1o4ERPaP69mOUNnCPunbXX-zCfC9IvOqsDJkIC6QbPJt2an2S4Wr0g/s200/IMG_0536.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5109368450222630738" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihgJ3rTE_foURz-PV9FYLoyMdjhnR8UBOrc3FoBowna1eM90KIo0VYqafOHGBbuHrYrAbBxHOfWEL02u-qCRMKKMxtXqO08iMumd-MsL0yxmE5JtBCmhYrDk8V9f4J_1h2lqUxkOkaKaf-/s1600-h/IMG_0533.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihgJ3rTE_foURz-PV9FYLoyMdjhnR8UBOrc3FoBowna1eM90KIo0VYqafOHGBbuHrYrAbBxHOfWEL02u-qCRMKKMxtXqO08iMumd-MsL0yxmE5JtBCmhYrDk8V9f4J_1h2lqUxkOkaKaf-/s200/IMG_0533.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5109368458812565346" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7goFulC0Rhn6ziiVDNJxBW0C1kk4yd83XzebrHTD8GuKwivDDhkKGObyGLnlpuSJCP3bjpldQZoLsJromU3E1Jc4bVVx1SEduPkp_tHH11KI62pwZ9k4d5Cpw-zdCiZlAr1IgeLoV0F7L/s1600-h/IMG_0545.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7goFulC0Rhn6ziiVDNJxBW0C1kk4yd83XzebrHTD8GuKwivDDhkKGObyGLnlpuSJCP3bjpldQZoLsJromU3E1Jc4bVVx1SEduPkp_tHH11KI62pwZ9k4d5Cpw-zdCiZlAr1IgeLoV0F7L/s200/IMG_0545.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5109368463107532658" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw0wOB06MKkHpjUoIFt4sXgdZ0qMbKFHX3H45afa4jFsVEYr_sLv2atKyBYOHOy1pkIyq0hJxaP4sp2rbazFhpa8bhFwPrEGUkJbK-fNoRqDqMorefQC9D4qYGXv7FCt90g2b51JPIEw5y/s1600-h/IMG_0556.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw0wOB06MKkHpjUoIFt4sXgdZ0qMbKFHX3H45afa4jFsVEYr_sLv2atKyBYOHOy1pkIyq0hJxaP4sp2rbazFhpa8bhFwPrEGUkJbK-fNoRqDqMorefQC9D4qYGXv7FCt90g2b51JPIEw5y/s200/IMG_0556.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5109368467402499970" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCZNnYUrCWh2Tv_zk7zLVcqnIVLamzUp5OI0vTW9L3Y5F51ZsTzGPrkWbfmJ_ePyg8QlX25QorSxlyKlScG7aL0c16PyASE7VAmudECyZX8WQ9wFF5hPO-O8uUWfT503C51xjM5564WHc9/s1600-h/IMG_0552.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCZNnYUrCWh2Tv_zk7zLVcqnIVLamzUp5OI0vTW9L3Y5F51ZsTzGPrkWbfmJ_ePyg8QlX25QorSxlyKlScG7aL0c16PyASE7VAmudECyZX8WQ9wFF5hPO-O8uUWfT503C51xjM5564WHc9/s200/IMG_0552.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5109368467402499986" /></a><br /><br />Today, work was put off for another day, so I opted, along with two other couriers, to visit the 20th century part of the Tretyakov Gallery, a decent walk from the Pushkin museum. Crossing the river, I saw the museum, which resembled an Ikea like structure. A slightly out of the way, slightly run down sculpture garden surrounded it, and included several Soviet era statues that became obsolete and unpopular with the fall of communism. The place was strangely vacant. There might have been 10 other people in the whole museum. The gallery is devoted to Russian artists. Other than Kandinsky and Rodchenko, there are few recognizable names. The paintings ranged from abstract to expressionist to constructivist, social realist, and so on. One of my favorites was this large scale painting of Stalin on the roof of the Kremlin. I learned that Russia calls WWII the "great patriotic war." Of course, photos were not allowed, but I snuck a few anyway.<br /><br />Afterwards, we crossed the street and entered the famed Gorky Park, for an admission price of 50 rubles, or about $2. Again, the place was strangely vacant. The park, or at least the amusement park through which we walked, sits on an enormous piece of land. Most of the rides were idle, as a few people--couples mostly--strolled or sat on benches drinking beer. Lots of empty beer patio gardens, with blaring techno music, exuded a residue of "has been." Games and animal keepers, such as this guy sweeping inside a chain link fence alongside a tiger, rounded out the park's contents. Granted, it was late on a weekday after the high season of summer. But, the grandness of the open spaces gave the place a very lonely feel. Of course, we were happy that it wasn't thronged with people. Truly a place out of time. From there, we crossed the Moscow river not once but twice en route to the hotel. Tired, I opted for room service: a "traditional" turkey club sandwich (complete with bacon and a fried egg) and french fries...only about $25!<br /><br />I'm fading now, so will post again in another day or so. Until then.PJBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17288909013196767937noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-643659969781748957.post-69071785878897615672007-09-11T12:39:00.000-07:002007-09-11T13:06:09.205-07:00Arrived in Moscow 9.10<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI7d85fZd-om0JUrqA6vdZLoUygTpPhClJFb_RVdyI60IXbxkDP-2IIM24eI4Er-vSmX9D2VNIznGPjLtRabRa08t8lffJpwA8E9oH6ydsrQDJjz3xjl171P3mUx1RL11bNjhxTLBQrGGa/s1600-h/IMG_0525.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI7d85fZd-om0JUrqA6vdZLoUygTpPhClJFb_RVdyI60IXbxkDP-2IIM24eI4Er-vSmX9D2VNIznGPjLtRabRa08t8lffJpwA8E9oH6ydsrQDJjz3xjl171P3mUx1RL11bNjhxTLBQrGGa/s200/IMG_0525.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5109039165469856386" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjquuwfbgU15RtWmyizNYWYhAJOtIf4_HhVlCSoERDGC6yYPKFK4X-cjlFfh3PhwCGQozvnNxi0mhh-kkR6B60yhFcnfIDpZmMYq-_UTXxXl3a8RgTMDjhch13ti4u_tb3fnyNTwpssrFid/s1600-h/IMG_0524.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjquuwfbgU15RtWmyizNYWYhAJOtIf4_HhVlCSoERDGC6yYPKFK4X-cjlFfh3PhwCGQozvnNxi0mhh-kkR6B60yhFcnfIDpZmMYq-_UTXxXl3a8RgTMDjhch13ti4u_tb3fnyNTwpssrFid/s200/IMG_0524.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5109039174059790994" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqDWqQGrqSJjrvOxYdRWKH-pTKUn82XJbQd7XwNCdhaUziooR79G-MdtNRpJgFq5GIrJA4t7v8iukz8G2QEGo7EOwuFtwif-6W-J9dbmue078yBLSRLMri453UB2WgqF_zY5DP0opjLYnJ/s1600-h/IMG_0527.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqDWqQGrqSJjrvOxYdRWKH-pTKUn82XJbQd7XwNCdhaUziooR79G-MdtNRpJgFq5GIrJA4t7v8iukz8G2QEGo7EOwuFtwif-6W-J9dbmue078yBLSRLMri453UB2WgqF_zY5DP0opjLYnJ/s200/IMG_0527.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5109039178354758306" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZLA-mcxHPXreuNKx8jmSfHWOCEAxcO-CT4NfmxFX9em6U41Eyp5yc-XXXXmAYqeujtABna1_32YBfThtOV3WfPintNWxrXGOa78VXwa7Hg6GzNzq-Ecn9-se-VNHYpWmixky30VsAJnlL/s1600-h/IMG_0528.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZLA-mcxHPXreuNKx8jmSfHWOCEAxcO-CT4NfmxFX9em6U41Eyp5yc-XXXXmAYqeujtABna1_32YBfThtOV3WfPintNWxrXGOa78VXwa7Hg6GzNzq-Ecn9-se-VNHYpWmixky30VsAJnlL/s200/IMG_0528.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5109039182649725618" /></a><br />Arrived safely in Moscow. Largely uneventful but comfortable flight...They ply you with so much food in business class...full dinner followed by a breakfast 4 hours later! Walked around the first afternoon, showing another courier the ropes...We walked to the train station and shopping mall next to the hotel, then returned to the hotel for a Russian dinner...I had borscht and potato pancakes...for about $40!! Nothing much to write about there...<br /><br />Today, I began my work. Had a nice smooth day of it. Enjoyed a nice Georgian meal for lunch...kind of middle-eastern in flavor, and had a nice Lebanese dinner with a few of the others. <br /><br />Walked through some nice areas of Moscow. The weather today was beautiful...sunny and a high temperature of about 60 degrees. <br /><br />Fall has certainly arrived here in northern Europe! <br /><br />Promise better pics in the days to come. All for now.PJBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17288909013196767937noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-643659969781748957.post-21544486789685794502007-09-08T07:19:00.001-07:002007-09-08T07:22:30.710-07:00Return to Moscow 9.9.07Hi all,<br /><br />As many of you have heard, I am heading back to Moscow where I will help deinstall the show I helped to install back in July. From Moscow, I'll be traveling back to Helsinki, then by ferry to Germany. From there, we'll be trucking across Europe...Down toward to Paris, then onto Bilbao.<br /><br />Hence the name of this new travel blog: Moscow To Bilbao By Bus<br /><br />This time around, I will devote attention to documenting European gas stations, truck stops, etc, along with general reporting about my whereabouts, experiences, etc.<br /><br />So, here we go.PJBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17288909013196767937noreply@blogger.com2