Phot-o' the Day: Falco's Grave (on the occasion of Falco's birthday)

February 19 is Falco's birthday. He passed away in 1998 in a car accident in the Dominican Republic.

I had the good fortune a few years ago of visiting Vienna and visiting his gravesite. This was back in the winter of 2018, December, back when we were allowed to travel where we wanted to, when we wanted to, naked-faced. He's buried in Vienna Central Cemetery, the same cemetery as Beethoven, Brahms, Bach (and Hedy Lamarr). This is Falco's grave.

Phot-o' the Day: the Canals of Copenhagen, Denmark

Copenhagen is lousy with canals. And a lot of the canals function as boat parking lots. Which means Copenhagen is lousy with pleasure boats.

I'm guessing that, at one point in Copenhagen's history, these canals were choked full of working boats, with fishermen eking out a living plying the waters of the Baltic Sea or the North Sea (Copenhagen sits at the choke point between the two). Those days are gone. So, like the canals of Copenhagen, may your Labor Day be free of labor.

Visited September 2015.

Phot-o' the Day: Feral Cats by the Sea; Montevideo, Uruguay

Feral cats beside the sea. Actually, it's the Rio de La Plata in Montevideo, Uruguay, which is (technically) an estuary. But it's salt water, so that makes it "the sea," by any reasonable definition. There is a very large colony of stray cats strutting around the Faro de Punta Carreta, the lighthouse at the southernmost point in the Montevideo metropolitan area. They appeared healthy and tolerant of bipedal forms of life.

Visited November 2013.

Phot-o' the Day: Houhai Neighborhood; Beijing, China

This is the Houhai, or "Back Lakes" neighborhood on Northwest Beijing. The streets surrounding the water are packed with bars, restaurants, upscale shopping, and trendy nightlife. Yes, this is Yuppie Central. Every city in every nation has a yupster magnet and this is Beijing's.

Visited July 2018.

Phot-o' the Day: Dawn in Panama City, Panama

The light of sunrise illuminating the skyscrapers of oceanfront Panama City, Panama, as seen from my room in the Plaza Paitilla Hotel.

Visited November 2017.

Phot-o' the Day; Inside the Paleontological Research Center; Villa de Leyva, Colombia

 A few years ago, they were building a road near one of the most beautiful little tourist towns you will find anywhere: Villa de Leyva, Colombia. And they found a giant fossilized skeleton of a kronosaurus. They kept the fossil intact and built a museum around it. The Museo del Fosil -- everybody's Spanish is good enough to translate that into English -- is on the other side of the highway. On this side of the highway is the Centro de Investigaciones Paleontológicas, the Paleontological Research Center.

Villa de Leyva, already having been a tourist town, was the perfect location for the two paleontology museums that sprung up as a result of this discovery. One museum features the star attraction, the kronosaurus. The other features the larger collection of smaller fossils found in this area, from before the time the three ranges of the Andes rose and cut this area off from the Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea.

Villa de Leyva is accessible only by bus or car. It's about four hours north of Bogota. I visited in November 2017.

Phot-o' the Day: The Sava River, outside of Bled, Slovenia

I have posted many pictures of Lake Bled in Slovenia. I'm not yet willing to say that it's the most beautiful acreage on planet earth that I have seen thus far, but I do know it would be under very serious consideration. And the beauty of the area is not limited to the namesake lake. Case in point: the Sava River just outside of town, just over a mountain ridge from the lake.

This is from my "off road" segway tour of Lake Bled back in September 2014.

Phot-o' the Day: Catching a Tram in Saint-Étienne, France

What's the best way to get to Stade Geoffroy-Guichard in Saint-Étienne, France? Take the northbound tram from downtown.

Visited June 2016.

Phot-o' the Day: Nazaré Lighthouse, with Wooden Ducks; Nazaré, Portugal

Nazaré, Portugal, is known for having the largest surf-able waves on Planet Earth. It also has a funicular and one of the absolute best gelato stands anywhere (Gelatomania on the main street along the oceanfront). Either of which alone would be reason enough to visit. Then you consider the fact that Nazaré has both and you would have to be wondering why you are not there on Portugal's Atlantic Coast.

Need another reason? The Farol da Nazaré, the Nazaré Lighthouse. Excellent views of the ocean, including the mega-waves that hit town usually in November. The Farol da Nazaré also had a bunch of wooden ducks placed about the stone walls of the lighthouse/fortress. "Why?," you ask. Some people see wooden ducks on stone walls at a lighthouse and ask why.  I dream of wooden ducks that never were and ask why not. (Actually, I'm more likely to dream of metal animal sculptures that never were and asking why not about those, but wooden ducks will work, too. I'm sure Robert Kennedy wouldn't mind me appropriating his quote.)

Visited September 2017.

Phot-o' the Day: Gelato Stand, Zadar, Croatia

The most ornate gelato display ever?

This is Slad Ice Cream, on Široka Ulica in Old Town Zadar in Croatia.  There are other gelato stands in Old Town Zadar.  There are other gelato stands on Široka Ulica.  The other gelato stands may be close to having as intricate of a display, but none match this one.

Visited September 2014.

Cool Phot-o' the Day: Norm The Dog on His Tenth Birthday

Today is the 10th birthday (according to vet records) of Norm The Dog.

Norm's been slowing down lately, but I'm guessing that is a function of high temperatures in the hundred-teens, morning temps in the 90's, and evening temps in the one-hundred-oh's, rather than being related to the number of times he's circled the sun. Is today really his birthday? Or, when he went to the vet for the first time with his second owners back on August 21, 2011, did the vet say, "He looks about one year old" and that became his "official" vet records birthday? I report. You decide.

I've been posting "cool" pictures the last few days, photos of cool places as we muddle through an extreme heat wave here in Las Vegas. This certainly qualifies as a "cool" photo, albeit a different kind of cool.

Cool Phot-o' the Day: Gullfoss Waterfall, Iceland

And what better place to go for cool times in cool places than the land of ice and fire: Iceland.

This is Gullfoss, a large waterfall on Iceland's "Golden Circle" of tourist meccas, which, in addition to Gullfoss, includes the geysers of Haukadalur, including the large geyser named Geysir (our word "geyser" is probably the only English language word derived from Icelandic, as we borrowed the Icelandic word and changed one vowel -- prior to the discovery of Yellowstone, the English language really didn't need its own word for "geyser"), Thingvallir (rock formations along the tectonic plates, spelled in Icelandic with that weird letter that looks like a bullet, and one of the major stops on the global "Game of Thrones" tourism tour), and the Bobby Fischer Museum in Selfoss. OK, I added that last one to the "Golden Circle," but it really is part of a circle with the other three and is, in my opinion, well worth a visit if you find yourself in Iceland.

You may recognize Gullfoss as the place where they shot the cover photo for the Echo & The Bunnymen LP "Porcupine." No? Understandable. No one should ever buy an Echo & The Bunnymen album. They have some incredible awesome fantastic singles, such as "Bring On The Dancing Horses," or "The Cutter," or, especially, the amazing "The Killing Moon," but a whole album? No. Stick with one single per LP and you will have all the Echo and all the Bunnymen that one person would ever need.

Getting back to Gullfoss, this is from my visit in June 2016. While the heatwave here will dissipate tomorrow, high temperatures will remain in the upper 100-oh's through all of next week. So more escapist "cool photo" fun is in the future.

Cool Phot-o' the Day: Walking Among the Adršpach-Teplice Rocks in 40-Degree Weather

The heat wave is still on. This will be another day with the day-time high well into the hundred and teens (that's 45 degrees for you people in Celsius countries) (which, yes, I know, is everywhere except the United States and Myanmar).

So let's go where it was cooler. One such place was the Adršpach-Teplice Rocks in the northern Czech Republic. I visited in May 2019 and the temperatures were in the 40s (high single digits for those you in Celsius countries) (any friends in Myanmar would have known what I was talking about with the Celsius translation).

The Adršpach-Teplice Rocks are a collection of interesting and tall rock formations. Between the location in northern Europe, and the height of the rock formations preventing much sunlight from reaching the ground, this place is likely cool even in summer heat. And the rock formations are cool in addition to being cool.

Phot-o' the Day: Plaza Argentina; Quito, Ecuador (March 2020)

I spent five days in Quito, Ecuador, right as everything was starting to shutdown for the COVID-19 pandemic panic. That was five months ago and, after all that is happened in the Year of Our COVID 2020, it seems like it was several years ago, not a few months ago.

This is Plaza Argentina on the north side of Quito, just above the Mariscal district where there were a lot of nice hotels and great restaurants aimed at the foreign tourists. Locals call the Mariscal neighborhood "Gringolandia" because this is where you see us Gringos in our natural habitat, spending 24 to 48 hours in the City of Quito before embarking on journeys to the more touristed parts of Ecuador, which almost always included the Galapagos.

I was in Quito, weirdly enough, to see Quito. That's not typical. Typical is using Quito as the transfer point because your international flight landed at Quito's airport in the middle of the night and you have time to kill before you head on to the tourist meccas elsewhere in this beautiful country.

No I do not know what that big wooden sculpture in the plaza is. I asked some locals. They didn't know either. I guess it will forever be one of those mysterious secrets of South America that will not be surrendered.

Digitized Analog Phot-o' the Day: Butchart Gardens, Brentwood Bay (near Victoria), B.C., Canada

See all the pretty flowers.

Butchart Gardens is a large garden. That has to be stated because not everything named "Something Gardens" is a garden. Madison Square Garden in New York, for example, may have a plant or two nearby, but it's known for something else entirely. Marvin Gardens on your Monopoly board is a street, in the yellow sector, at the extreme upper end of the mid-range properties. But Butchart Gardens is not metaphorical gardens. It is actual gardens. Lots and lots and lots of plants and trees and colorful flowers.

It is located just north of Victoria, British Columbia, on Vancouver Island, which is not to be confused with the City of Vancouver which is not on the island of Vancouver, it's on the mainland. If you're into this sort of thing, referring to acres of pretty flowers, it is well worth the visit. If you're not into this sort of thing (and I am not), it still is well worth the visit. If you are REALLY into this sort of thing, it's worth planning a trip with Victoria, B.C., as your primary destination.

Visited June 2001.

Digitized Analog Phot-o' the Day: Arches National Park; Moab, Utah USA

Delicate Arch, the signature arch of Arches National Park. It's been on the Utah state license plate so that makes it pretty iconic. Is this as seen from a hiking trail? Or is it as seen from a viewpoint on the driving loop through the park? It's been too many years for me to remember.

But I do remember that Arches is one of the greatest sights to see on Planet Earth. How did they manage to fit all these stone arches into such a tiny corner of Utah? Why is this where it happened with so much frequency? I've seen these stone arches here and there and everywhere as I've traveled around. But I think that at least a clear majority, if not an overwhelming majority, were packed into this one national park.

And Moab, Utah, is a cute little town worth visiting on its own right. Well, at least it was when I visited in June 2003.

Phot-o' the Day: Yosemite on a Dry Autumn Day; Yosemite National Park, California USA

If you go to Yosemite National Park, don't make the mistake I made. Do not go in the fall, when the weather is warm and dry. Go in the spring, preferably after a wet winter. Why?

You need water to make a waterfall. You can see the barest glimmer of a waterfall plunging over this cliffside. I am guessing from the discoloration of the surrounding rock that the dark color is the maximum water flow in the wettest years. That's a whole lot more water than the tiny trickle visible in this shot.

At least in the fall, on a weekday, after the school year has long started (back in the pre-COVID days when children would physically attend schools in actual live person), Yosemite was relatively empty. Still, Yosemite without waterfalls is like Yellowstone without geysers. Or Rocky Mountain National Park in the plains. Something important is missing.

Visited September 2002. Before the advent of digital photography (in my life, at least).

Phot-o' the Day: At the Copa, Copacabana; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

I have finally started the long process of digitizing all of my old film-photography photos from my life (including travels) prior to the advent of digital photography. It's like experiencing a past-life regression. Scratch that: it is experiencing a past life regression.

Today's past life regression is to the first major international vacation of my adulthood (Canada not counting as "international" for the limited purpose of defining a travel experience):  Brazil in December 1997. My first stop in Brazil (other than the change of planes in Sao Paulo airport) was Rio de Janeiro.  This is the view of crescent-shaped Copacabana Beach as seen from Pão de Açucar, Sugarloaf mountain. An iconic sight of Brazil as seen from an iconic sight of Brazil.

Colors are fading because that what happens with film photography. The sand is not pink on Copacabana. They're sandy tan. And neither are the bodies pink. No skin gets sunburned in Rio de Janeiro because it's always exposed to the sun (well, except after dark).

Phot-o' the Day: Los Milenios on the Malecon; Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

The Malecon is the concrete boardwalk adjacent to the Pacific Ocean (well, technically -- and I am all about the technical accuracy here -- the Bahia de Banderas, the bay that is responsible for the "Puerto" in "Puerto Vallarta"). It's lined with all sorts of statuary. Such as, por ejemplo, "Los Milenios," or "the Millennia," en ingles. This symbolizes the passage of time, for the origins of earth to the present. Time, apparently, passes in a curvilinear fashion.

Visited February 2011.

Phot-o' the Day: "Temos Sardinha" in Alfama; Lisbon, Portugal

I've been to 49 states and 31 countries, and the only place on earth I've been where the restaurants proudly proclaim that they have sardines is Portugal. "Temos sardinha." "We have sardines." The good news is that they also have sangria, as in "Temos Sangria."

Sardines are something of a cultural icon in Portugal. Other than that, it's a great place to visit.

This photo is in the Alfama neighborhood of Lisbon, where the streets are so steep and windy that ordinary public transportation cannot access it. Visited September 2017.