Back in the US

  

Austin

    When I landed in Austin on October 30th, it certainly was a surreal moment. I think it would be that way for most people, at least somewhat. After all to be away in Europe for most of a year and then come back to The US, to Texas would make you feel that way. It was like I was a visitor or tourist in my own city. Several weeks later, I’m more or less back into the swing of things, as far as work and getting back into the grind. And also a year away, in the scheme of things isn’t that long. It certainly was profound and an exhilarating experience, and, at times, daunting.

Buffalo 86

Larry & me in his Buffalo State dorm room-there's vodka in my cup

    Recently an old friend of mine, Larry, passed away on Oct 15th. I met him when I was 8 years old and we became best friends soon after, right up through the end of high school and throughout our 20’s thru our 50’s. Of course we did different things throughout our lives and could go several months without talking, especially when I moved to Seattle in 2003 from NYC, where we grew up. After that, I visited NYC two times and he visited me in Seattle once. When we did talk, we’d be on the phone for at least 2 hours. The last time we talked was on his birthday last year, just before I left for my European adventure. The last contact with Larry was in May with other friends in a group chat about our exploits with the Brooklyn-Mobile years ago (that’s a story for another time). The last text he sent me was to wish me a Happy Birthday in September. I’m still processing he's passing, but it definitely doesn’t seem real. I’m sure it has something to do with the fact that we were thousands of miles apart and didn’t see each other a lot. In fact the last time I saw him in person was in 2008 when I visited NYC. Had I still lived in NYC, we would have gotten together on a regular basis and his absence would probably be felt much more than it is now. But as we do when our loved ones pass away, we celebrate them and remember them by telling stories. There is a story I’d like to tell about the photo at the top of this blog.

London Town

   

London

    Hey y’all. It’s been some time since I came at you in this blog to share my travel adventures thus far. Other than my updates of reminders of my photography prints for sale, and my summer discount, which I will do here again, Photo Sale, it’s been almost 3 months since my last entry.. It’s now been approximately 9 and half months since I began this adventure and I am trying to figure out what to do with my life.

Birthday Photo Sale

Fontaine des Quatre-Parties-du-Monde

 Hello Everyone, I'm in London. In my ongoing effort to earn some money and in celebration of my birthday, which is September 4th,  I'm having a birthday photo sale on my website, offering 25% of all photos prints. Basically I'm continuing the photo sale I started in August .

Edinburgh

National Monument of Scotland

    It really does feel like yesterday that I was catching a train in Glasgow to head over to Edinburgh. And now my Edinburgh experience is over and I’m sitting at a desk, in a house in Manchester. Time really does fly. Edinburgh was certainly a different experience than any other I’ve had so far.

5/24/05 and The Mystery Woman

The Dakar Apartments-My first floor apartment is on the left.

    I happened upon some photos recently that were taken on May, 24, 2005. It got me thinking about the past, which is what I do best. What was going on with me 20 years ago that day? It's also the day I took the photo of the mystery woman, a photo that I’ve reflected on many times over the years. 

Six Months

    

Papas Fish & Chips-Cleethorpes

    It’s been 6 months since I got on a plane in Austin in November 2024. I’ve been to 4 countries and a host of cities. I’ve met a lot of people and have taken many photographs. I’m currently in Edinburgh in a workaway situation at Barton Bunker which is RAF Barton Quarry-Edinburgh’s Nuclear Bunker. You can read about the place here. Right now there are about 17 volunteers here from places as far away as Chile, Mumbai, Australia and of course Texas. It’s certainly interesting. And volunteering for something like this and meeting the people I have met here is one of the reasons I wanted to do this adventure in the first place. This is only my second workaway. Most of my time has been pet sitting. Since my last blog about Paris and London, way back in the beginning of April, I’ve mostly been in the Midlands, UK.

London Town and Springtime in Paris

The Palace of Westminster

    I’ve been lucky with almost a month of sunshine, with just a few cloudy or partly cloudy days. especially in the last two weeks in London and Paris. Right now the sun is shining brightly as I compose this blog in the town of Stevenage, a town a mere 20 minutes on the train from Kings Cross station in London. This extended sunshine makes up for the month of dreariness in December in Amsterdam. But whatever the weather conditions might be, it is what it is, so it wouldn’t stop me from exploring whatever particular place I’m in. But I am happy with the sun. The temperatures have been averaging 60 degrees. As a result, I am doing a lot more walking. In the last two weeks I’ve done the most walking on the trip so far. In Paris alone I walked a total of 31 miles in 3 days. I’m going to need new shoes (just like Leo). In Paris and London, cities which I’ve been to twice before, I revisited some places I really like and explored new uncharted territory. If I’m in Paris I will always go up Montmartre hill to the Sacré-Cœur and sit on the steps. Sometimes I’ll decide to walk down this avenue or that boulevard without knowing what I’ll come across, like a mural or a statue or a cool storefront.
    

I Accidentally Booked a Bed in a Pod Hotel

    On this extended vacation or adventure as I like to call it, I sometimes need to book hotels or Airbnb’s when I am in between pets sitting gigs. I usually try to find a room as cheap as I can get it and It's usually only for a day or two. My pet sitting gig in New Barnet ended on Saturday March 15th and the next one started the following day on March 16th. On that Saturday morning, I went to Booking.com and found a place called Komo Hackney in the London Borough of Hackney. It was £41. The description read “At the hotel, each room has a wardrobe. The rooms have a kettle, while selected rooms also boast a kitchenette with a fridge. All rooms will provide guests with a microwave.” Sold and what’s more it’s only a 30 minute tube ride to my next gig. I didn’t look at the photos that were of the hotel space.. Approximately 10 hours later I was at the doors of Komo Hackney. That’s when I realized this was not a hotel of rooms but of pods. What the hell!?

Down to London

Newcastle upon Tyne

    I’m currently on a train headed down to London. We just left Newcastle and we passed the city of Durham. From the train window, I got to see Durham Cathedral. It is spectacular. When I was visiting Brougham Castle in the Penrith area, a few weeks back, I got to talking to a retired history teacher. He told me places I should visit in England and Durham, for its cathedral, amongst other things, was on the top of his list for places to go. It will have to be another time though as I’m onto the next phase of my journey.

‘s-Heer Abstkerke

The house I stayed at in ‘s-Heer Abstkerke

    I’m headed to IJmuiden in North Holland to take a 16 hour ferry journey across the North Sea to Newcastle upon Tyne in The United Kingdom after spending 2 months in the Netherlands. In early December, while in Amsterdam on my cat sit, I had to figure out where I would go next. I went on Workaway, where you do various tasks around a person’s house or property, averaging around 20 hours in a week in exchange for room and board, and found Iris de Leeuw, in 's-Heer Abtskerke, a little village in the municipality of Borsele in the province of Zeeland in the southwest area of The Netherlands.

Moving Music: Ballad of Sir Frankie Crisp(Let it Roll)

All Things Must Pass-George Harrison's Masterpiece

    This is the third installment of my Moving Music series. You can read the first two, “Blue Sky” by the Allman Brothers Band and “Wishful Sinful” by The Doors. I explain in the first paragraph of the Blue Sky post how I want to write about these different songs that have affected me in very profound ways. The song I will feature in this post is “Ballad of Sir Frankie Crisp(Let it Roll)” by George Harrison.

Oh! Sweet Nuthin’

Den Haag

    I’m in The Hague or Den Haag as they call it here.  I’m 6 weeks into my adventure and will be in Den Haag for 7 days. Part of this travel experience consists of taking lots of photographs, which I love to do. I’ve talked before about how it’s the best medicine to cure what ails ya. The other day I was walking around central Haag, snapping photos on yet another cloudy, overcast day. 

Happy New Year

    It’s been six weeks since I started this adventure and it’s now the longest time I’ve been abroad. The previous record was 1 month in Peru(Lima and Cusco) way back in 1999. That was certainly an adventure. That was through a study abroad program at Brooklyn College. I am now in the Hague, having just arrived last night. My time in Amsterdam, taking care of 2 kitties, Finn and Callie, has come to an end. Being winter time, there were a lot of overcast and cloudy days. It reminded me of Seattle. There were a few days where the sun peaked out behind the clouds to play. Luckily there were only a handful of days of rain. This was my second time in Amsterdam and both times have been in the winter. So the next time I visit will only be in the spring or summer where I can see all those tulips they talk so much about and I can wear shorts. Regardless of the weather, as always, I did a lot of walking and photo-ing.