Tagged With "Saint Mark"
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Re: Trains in Cuba
Great question...and possibly not an easy clear answer. Cuba's trains have generally been in poor shape in recent years as older equipment has run down and spares not available. However, according to Mark Smith (The Man in Seat 61), that's changing with the arrival of a fleet of new Chinese-built locomotives. On his site ( Seat61.com ) he has an extensive update of recent changes in schedules, routes and locations (that's important because Havana's main station is closed for a 3-year...
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Re: Gumbo's Pic of the Day, Oct. 27: Paris's Stravinsky Fountain
Absolutely wonderful. You can almost hear the music and the splashing water. Thanks for the lovely photos.
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Re: Canal Saint-Martin: Where Gumbo Was
Well, now, am I disqualified from future participation in "Where in the World..."? I'd hate to have to cash out after an easy one like that. Tell me I can still play please.
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Re: Canal Saint-Martin: Where Gumbo Was
I say Port Moresby can only play if he/she doesn't know where where in the world is. LOL.
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Re: Canal Saint-Martin: Where Gumbo Was
I imagine this is a tough one to formulate - to make it possible to be guessed/known by someone but difficult enough to be fun. Maybe the balance for those who have gotten one right is to wait until the last day to post and then, as you say DrF, only if we don't know.
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Re: Canal Saint-Martin: Where Gumbo Was
My inclination is that if some one knows, they shouldn't hold back, but post. Some will be easy, some will be tougher. But making the brain work is the fun part. PHeymont is sort of running these, as much as anyone runs anything here. We'll see what his take is.
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Re: Canal Saint-Martin: Where Gumbo Was
My answer would be that of course, PM can play...but if he's right too often, he'll have to start selecting and posting the new ones!
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Re: AAA Premier a Good Idea for Budget Travelers
I've use the towing service several times over the years, as well as their locksmith service. Excellent service always. And I actually use a ton of their travel books and maps when planning my domestic trips (USA and Canada). Yes, you can check them out but this way you can mark them up and cut out what you need. In Canada, a AAA (CAA) offers a 10% discount on a national parks pass (annual), and their travel agents can help you plan out a road trip with great advice -- all for free if you...
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Re: Paris warned: bigger floods will happen
'An expert is an ordinary fellow from another town.' (Mark Twain)
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Re: Majorelle Garden - Marrakech
Wow! The colors just pop right off the computer screen! An amazingly beautiful place and again you've given us another reason to follow in your footsteps.
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Re: Majorelle Garden - Marrakech
You certainly have caught the gardens at their most colourful Mac. What time of year was it ?
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Re: Majorelle Garden - Marrakech
The visit was just 3 weeks ago, so mid-October, when the temperatures are pretty nice day and night (mind, the swimming pools get pretty cold....). It's more about the magic time of day GarryRF generally between 4 - 5 pm when the light is at it's best.
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Re: Gumbo's Pic of the Day, November 25, 2014: Fall colors at Upper Kananaskis Lake, Alberta
Great views, and especially the pictures where the lines of color so clearly mark the changes in altitude and what is growing there...
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Re: Gumbo's Pic of the Day, Feb 11, 2015: Fruit of the Vine
Hi Paul. Just curious. Would an outdoor wine tasting be permissible in the US? I always find events like this to be so civilised. Folks just mixing and tasting locally produced food and wine. No one over indulging and a beautiful way to enjoy a summers day making new friends.
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Re: Gumbo's Pic of the Day, Feb 11, 2015: Fruit of the Vine
We have a lot of different state and local laws, so, as they say, Your Mileage May Vary. Since New York is a significant wine-producer, it may be a bit easier here, and in summer there are several wine producers sampling at our local Greenmarket
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Re: Gumbo's Pic of the Day, Feb 11, 2015: Fruit of the Vine
I never knew that New York was a wine producer. I'll add that to my shopping list in August. Blossom Hill of California is a big seller here in the UK. Thank You !!
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Re: Gumbo's Pic of the Day, Feb 11, 2015: Fruit of the Vine
The Finger Lakes area in the center of the state has long been a big white-wine producer; Taylor is originally from there. There's been a growing industry on Long Island in recent years, where sandy soil in some areas has been good to the grapes. On the whole, NY wines range from extraordinary to oversweet. And, of course, it's home to one of my guilty favorites: Manishewitz Concord Grape wine, kosher for Passover!
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Re: Gumbo's Pic of the Day, Feb 11, 2015: Fruit of the Vine
Must look into this. I prefer sweet wines. Hate dry wines. Which I know is very unfashionable. But I do love asking guests to try my Italian "Martini. Asti Spumante. Sparkling Wine". I do enjoy converting people with an attitude to sweet wines !
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Re: Bones Recreated Using 3D Printer, What Would Richard Have Thought?
"Blessed are they who expect nothing, for they shall always be satisfied". - Mark Twain P.S. Even the jaded would have to admit the following intact in situ T-rex skeleton is awesome!!
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Re: Mont-Saint-Michel: Like no other (Pt. 1)
Thanks PH, great pictures and journey. This has been on my wish list for many years. Your informative article has pushed it up that little more....
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Re: Mont-Saint-Michel: Like no other (Pt. 2)
A visit to this church, almost exactly 30 years ago, is one of my fondest travel memories. I stayed on the island and went to mass, it was a dark and stormy night (really), the wind howled, we were welcomed in English, the only visitors present in the small congregation and I've never felt so included as a traveler. Part of what I remember was a distinct dip worn into the stone of the stairs on the climb into the church. It appears from the beautiful photo at the top of this page that the...
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Re: Mont-Saint-Michel: Like no other (Pt. 2)
I'd not be surprised if the stones have been renewed; there is construction and reconstruction going on constantly (as it must have also in the Middle Ages). I cropped most of it out, but you can see some of the scaffolding in one of the pictures above.
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Re: Mont-Saint-Michel: Like no other (Pt. 1)
This is definitely on my list of places to go within the next couple of years. Good story, thanks. Tom
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Re: Mont-Saint-Michel: Like no other (Pt. 1)
These are great and Mt. St. Michel is deifnitly on my bucket list.
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Re: Super-tide at Mont-Saint-Michel: High water and 30K viewers
It's amazing to see that nature can be predicted. We can prepare for it and enjoy its wonder.
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Re: Gumbo's Pic of the Day, May 9, 2015: All-You-Can-Eat Dim Sum
I hope you washed down that dimsum with a nice drink at the Top-of-the Mark. No better place to enjoy the sunset in San Francisco, PM.
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Re: Gumbo's Pic of the Day, May 9, 2015: All-You-Can-Eat Dim Sum
Last time I was at Top of the Mark I was in high school. It was THE place to go on prom night, along with the Tonga Room across the street at the Fairmont. I actually seriously considered staying at one place or the other on this road trip but opted for the free parking at the hostel, so annoying was the price of parking on Nob Hill. Interesting how decision-making can work. And btw, check in next Saturday and see where I actually did have a drink after dim sum.
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Re: Gumbo's Pic of the Day, Apr. 29, 2015: L'Écoute at Les Halles
I can easily see you sitting on top of that "rock", PHeymont.
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Re: Gumbo's Pic of the Day, Apr. 29, 2015: L'Écoute at Les Halles
Is that one of those repurposed shipping container housing projects in the background of the bottom picture? Or what, I wonder.
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Re: Gumbo's Pic of the Day, Oct. 18, 2015: Olive Grove, Saint-Remy
I always thought picking olives would be a labour intensive task. I watched as the farmers wife placed a round blanket ( with a split in it ) on the ground under the tree. Then the tractor had a claw attachment that gripped the tree. Then it shook the tree for 10 seconds. All the olives fell on the blanket. Job done - 1 minute a tree !
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Re: Memories of Dijon, France
Great post, George, thanks! Makes me want to go to Dijon, rather than be self-isolating.
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Re: January 21, 2019: Saint John City Market, New Brunswick, Canada
Terrific photos of color and texture. The fresh produce is appetizingly displayed.
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Re: Butterflies Everywhere at the Butterfly Farm in St. Martin
I love watching butterflies fly about and land on everyone -- especially children. It's such a simple pleasure! Never knew about this place, and it's always good to add another stop to one's (evergrowing) bucketlist. Thanks, Samantha!
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Re: Butterflies Everywhere at the Butterfly Farm in St. Martin
Thanks for the message DrFumblefinger. You are right. I really enjoyed watching the kids get so excited when one would land on them. Of course that scared them off, but it was still fun. Glad you enjoyed the post and was able to add to your bucket list. I know mine is huge and keeps getting longer and longer, lol.
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Re: How do you buy your travel?
Few more thoughts, following HistoryDigger and DrFumblefinger... 1. Definitely check all your affiliations on car rental; after years of getting better price through AAA than any other way I knew, I recently found that going to the same vendors through USAA (my car insurance) gets me even better. 2. Not only does Priceline have good pricing on cars, I've often found I can get 30-40% lower through their blind-bidding (Name Your Own Price) service. 3. RailEurope is something of a red flag for...
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Re: Gumbo's Pic of the Day, October 24, 2015: Poppies -- Weeping Window at Woodhorn
We southern North Americans are not that unfamiliar with the poppies, although perhaps the younger ones...in my childhood and on, they were annually a tradition carried on by the American Legion. Actually, a little research tells me that the tradition started with them in 1921, and then spread to UK and Commonwealth! Here's the text of the poem, written by John McRae, a Canadian soldier and physician: In Flanders fields the poppies blow Between the crosses, row on row, That mark our place;...
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Re: The Stravinsky Fountain, Paris
Not only children play in the fountain in the summer; looking through older pictures I found this intrepid canine happily splashing about.
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Re: Walking the Burgundy Canal
Every walk is different, of course, so planning, for someone like me who isn't a distance walker, is essential. I can walk comfortably up to about 10 miles with my little pack, more if I must but try to avoid it, so there's no rush in the morning to be out early. I enjoy a leisurely breakfast and head out mid-morning. I'm never in the position of looking for a place to overnight because I've reserved in advance, either well in advance or at least a day or 2, knowing where I'll be. In France...
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Re: Spain or Portugal?
Portugal's rail system feels a bit worn in places, and some trains look terrible from outside...but the interiors are clean and the system seems to work. Not a terribly large country, so that time between the two largest cities (Lisbon and Porto) is about 3.5 hours. If you add in getting to the airport early and getting in from the airport at the other end, it's probably faster than flying. Other significant points in Portugal also have reasonable rail service, including Coimbra, the...
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Re: Wednesday Market, Saint-Remy-de-Provence
Oh yum! Makes me hungry for great French products. Let us know how the AirBnB apartment is.
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Re: Wednesday Market, Saint-Remy-de-Provence
Thanks! The produce was great, indeed. The apartment was also fine; a nice bedroom and living room with kitchenette in a building I believe Is 18th century but modernized. Two flights up, with an air conditioner, washer, dryer and a view directly into the market, and across to the main church in town. It’s two steps off the boulevards, inside the old town. For anyone who’s interested, here’s a link: https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/883140 . It's listed at 40€ a night.
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Re: Wednesday Market, Saint-Remy-de-Provence
A wonderful narrative and your photos are brilliant. I felt like I was there as I looked at all the different pictures of people, produce and products!
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Re: A Farm Visit in Normandy
Definitely no! Our kids are all grown, and we have no animal dependents to keep us off the road!
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Re: Gumbo's Pic of the Day, Jan. 4, 2015: Stairway to Heaven
Beautiful lighting, PH, well captured...
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Re: Gumbo's Pic of the Day, Jan. 4, 2015: Stairway to Heaven
Oooh I like that shot PH, strong lines and good lighting!! Nice one, thanks.
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Re: Saint-Remy's Fête du Vin
What a great day! Thanks for sharing it with us. And the snail will be rubbery next time, too. Guess you need to develop an affinity for rubber!