Tag Archives: Venice

Asia 2011 Itinerary

Asia 2011 Itinerary

Asia 2011 Itinerary

Okay, I’m going back to Asia for another two months. You might ask what I’m going to do when I go there. Well, I intend on going to Laos, India, Australia and Bali for starters. Sometime in the next week or two I intend to start booking flights with Air Asia to move me around the Asian continent. I plan on spending a few days here and a few days there and a few days somewhere in between. My goals are to spend some time in about 8-10 different counties while I’m there. If I get to ten, the count may be up to 100 countries that I’ve visited. Here’s hoping… So why do I want to spend time outside of the United States? If you have to ask that question then whatever answer that I give probably wouldn’t satisfy you. But I’ll try – the Pyramids of Egypt, Chichen Itza, Pompeii, Mont St Michel, the Great Wall of China, Petra, the Taj Mahal, Stonehenge, Machu Picchu, St Peter’s Basilica, the Egyptian Museum, Dubrovnik, the Uffizi Gallery, Hong Kong, the Sistine Chapel, Angkor Wat, the Louvre Museum, the Canals of Venice, St Mark’s Basilica, the Kremlin, Chambord Chateau, the Acropolis, Jerusalem and Hagia Sofia. If the mere mention of any of those terms creates a stirring of any kind inside of you then realize that there are some people in whom that stirring is more intense. I’m one of those people. The ticket is paid for. The money is in the bank for the trip. Now I all I have to do is stay alive.

Europe 2005 Road Work

Europe 2005 Road Work

Europe 2005 Road Work

This is the laundry that is located down the street from the hostel where I stayed in Venice. It was a little pricey, but there was nothing I could do about that. Self-serve laundries can be a little hard to find when one is on the road. I take advantage of them every chance I get. 11/2005

Europe 2005 London Pidgeons

Europe 2005 London Pidgeons

Europe 2005 London Pidgeons

It’s called Trafalgar Square and it’s one of my favorite places in London. At the center of the square is Nelson’s Column, which stands about 170 feet high and commemorates Admiral Horatio Nelson’s death at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. There are other statues and sculptures in the square and the square has a nice fountain located in it. Surrounding the square is the National Gallery, the National Portrait Gallery, St Martin-in-the-Fields church and the English National Opera. But my favorite sight is the pigeons. It was said that, at their heyday, the flock of pigeons at Trafalgar square number over 30,000. You can imagine the problems with pigeon poop. I know there are less that that today, but there are still more than a few pigeons around the square. Trafalgar Square, along with St. Mark’s Square in Venice, Italy are my favorite places to have a little lunch and feed a few pigeons. When in London, I always try to get to Trafalgar Square. According to Wikipedia, "Trafalgar Square ranks as the fourth most popular tourist attraction on earth with more than 15 million annual visitors." Gee, I’d call that a tourist attraction. 10/2005

Europe 2005 Alone in St. Mark’s Square

Europe 2005 Alone in St. Mark's Square

Europe 2005 Alone in St. Mark’s Square

Guess who? Guess where? Have you ever seen St Mark’s Square so empty? No? Then you don’t get out of bed early in the morning. Luckily for me I do and I’ve gotten up early ever since I realized that it was a better time for me to function than later in the evening. Early in the morning means fewer people are out with the exception of the freeways of large metropolitan areas. Find any urban environment and go out cruising in the middle of the city when the sun is coming up and notice how empty the streets appear. This is absolutely the best time of day to go out for a walk or a bike ride or a drive around the inner city. Even in Venice, Italy. 11/2005