A Reunion

   

     Just back from Prague and I already look forward to returning soon, this time with Day and maybe friends. Travel is more than the seeing of sights, for me it's about people. Day and I have met many people and befriended a few, who we stay in touch with via Facebook. People are the memories that last a lifetime. So I would like to tell a story, one I hope would come true.

     Jaroslav picks us up at our flat, as he always has, and he brings us to Jan's home. Jaroslav is my father's second cousin, who Day and I visited for the first time in April 2016 in Prague. Jan is a most excellent tour guide, who we just loved as soon as we met him. I have now been on two tours with him, and I would like to call him a friend. So, Jaroslav brings us to Jan's and my heart is warmed at the sight of Helena, Jaroslav's most wonderful wife, and Jan cooking a feast for friends, together in his kitchen. At last, we finally get to meet Jan's family, and they are every bit as wonderful as he. So food and friends, the only thing we are missing is wine, and with that, a knock on the door.

     Francesca, Simone and Pickle bring the wine we are missing. Francesca is the owner of an apt we rented in Venice, and like others, we loved her and have stayed in touch on Facebook. Simone and Pickle are a couple we met in Tuscany during an impromptu dinner, kept in touch with and have actually met up with a couple years later, and spent a wonderful day together. We spend the night eating, drinking and making friends and memories that will last a lifetime.

     We will have to say "goodbye" at some point, and we agree to do this again, sometime. Maybe we will, and maybe we won't, is doesn't matter, because we had this night, which we will never forget.

“We travel, initially, to lose ourselves; and we travel, next to find ourselves. We travel to open our hearts and eyes and learn more about the world than our newspapers will accommodate. We travel to bring what little we can, in our ignorance and knowledge, to those parts of the globe whose riches are differently dispersed. And we travel, in essence, to become young fools again- to slow time down and get taken in, and fall in love once more.” – Pico Iyer

Luv ya
Curly

A Trip to Prague...with my Mom

    

“Prague never lets you go. That dear little mother has claws.”

     So wrote Franz Kafka, one of the Czech Republic’s most well-known writers.

     Prague is indeed an enchanting, fairytale city, a city of castles, ancient churches, cobblestone streets and the beautifully ornate, Charles Bridge. Day and I were fortunate enough to go to Prague this past April, and we loved it. I cannot speak for Day, but for me, this was one of my favorite trips.

     We spent much of our time with Jaroslav, my second cousin, and his wife Helena. They were gracious hosts, and he was a most excellent tour guide. There is much to see in Prague, years and years of history, and the beauty is breathtaking. Food in Prague was fantastic, and sitting in a local pub, enjoying Pilzner beer with friendly locals, was surly an event. I enjoyed my trip to Prague, with my wife, with my best friend. We had fun, and I enjoyed her, and her company, I truly like my wife, and I look forward to going back with her again.

     I will in fact be going back to Prague in a few short weeks, but without Day, instead with my mother. Yes, I am going on vacation to Prague, with Mom.

     I want to write, to share and be honest with myself and those of you who may read this, one of whom may be my mother. So I must muster all of my tact, humor, and dare I say, my award winning charm, to find the perfect words to describe my trepidation.

     Traveling in itself can be stressful. Traveling with friends, which Day and I do often, has a whole new set of challenges, and traveling with family is insane! My Mom does not travel often, or far. The last time she was on a plane was at least 15 years ago when we went to Ireland. Day and I, my mom, sister and her husband went to Ireland and Scotland for three weeks, together! I am glad we did it, we had a great time, but what the hell was I thinking? That is a lot of family and a lot of time together, and as you can see, my sister is a smuck...

My sister, beating me up in Ireland

     Anyhow, I am sure my mom is nervous. This is an educated guess given the many phone calls and questions about packing, what time are we leaving, when and how are we getting to the airport, and on and on. The endless questions are fine, I realize she is nervous, but I worry about travel day. Travel day can be stressful and I know she will be nervous. I am not the most patient of people, but the older I get, the more patient I get. So I am hopeful on travel day, I will be a good son.

     A good son, I am not sure what that is, or if I have been one. I am sure I don't spend as time with her as she might like, she calls often, and I don't always pick up. When we to see each other or speak on the phone we struggle to have a meaningful conversation, so we talk about the weather. I am sure I don't say it often enough, but I love my family and my mother. Not only do I love my mother, but I admire and respect her.

     I have always worked hard all my life. I have always had a job, and always did what needed to be done, without complaint. I recently posted a line from a book, A Walk in the Woods, which seems a perfect quote for here:

     "The hardest part, is the discovery there is always more hill, and still we stagger on. What else can we do?"

     I am not saying this to brag but, I believe I am tough, I work hard, I do not complain, and nothing keeps me down to long, I always get back up. I did not get any of that from my father. I would like to say that again, I did not get any of that from my father. The strongest people I know, are women.

     A friend, who over the last few years has been faced with multiple challenges, and from a distance I have watched her, in awe, admired her strength and courage as she tackled them head on. There are other friends, mine and Day's very best friend, who is one of the smartest people I know, just ask her. And one crazy friend, who on her own, owns three homes and travels the world, she is fearless.

     My wife, who for the last 18 or so years, has put up with me and my crap. Who has been my partner, and together we have weathered many storms in life and our relationship. We fight, we argue and still, we love one another and plan an eternity together. She is my rock. Strength I am sure Day got from her mom, another strong, independent woman. FYI, strong independent Italian women come with challenges, many challenges, bossy comes to mind. The Decou and Whitehead women are some of the finest, so they boss us around, we smile, and love them for it.

     And my Mom, I don't know where she got her strength from, I have no idea what kept her going all those years. Nothing stopped her from doing what needed to be done. Life was not easy for her. There was always more hill, and still she staggered on. What else could she do. I am the person I am today because of my Mother. It's not until recently that I have come to that conclusion, but yes, my strength comes from my mother, and someday, I will thank her for that. For now, in a few short weeks we will travel to Prague, together.

     Jaroslav came to the United States  in 1978 for work. At that time the Czech Republic was Czechoslovakia, a communist country, so Helena was not allowed to come with him. Our family met him just once, thirty-eight years ago. Mom has kept in touch with him ever since, by snail mail. In a few short weeks she will once again be reunited with Jaroslav, and finally, finally get to meet Helena, a most wonderful woman.

     So I am excited. I am excited to go to Prague once again. I am always excited to go on vacation. I am excited to have this chance to be a "good son." Most of all, I am excited for Jaroslav, Helena and my Mom. Imagine if you can, the moment when the three of them will meet once again, after thirty-eight years.

     In a few short months I will be turning fifty, and I have come to the realization that I have lived more years, than years I have left to live. It is only natural then, to ask yourself, what contributions have I made, what have I done to make this a better world and whose lives have I touched? If not for Day and I going to Prague months ago, to meet a couple we didn't know, this trip would not be happening. And in a few short weeks I am hopeful, Day and I, no matter how small our roll, have made three people very, very happy. I am excited to be a part of that moment.

Travel, TripAdvisor, Walking Tours, and...the President of Ireland (pt.2)

     Welcome back for part 2 of "Travel, TripAdvisor, Walking Tours, and...the President of Ireland." (Part 1) Given my past post, I am thinking you are all wondering, what does any of this have to do with the President of Ireland, and how freakin long is it going to take him to get there? Well, let's get started.

     I already wrote about TripAdvisor, and what big fans Day and I are, we are also fans of the walking tours. What are they? Go to TripAdvisor, "your destination city," "things to do," and find, "walking tours," there are tons of them. Tour guides who walk the city with you and others, showing you the sights, relevant to whatever theme you chose for your tour. Don't get overwhelmed, first decide what you are interested in. Do you just want a general tour of the city, or some history? Day and I recently went on a WWII tour of Prague, what a great tour, and a fantastic way to see the city and learn about the history. After photographing the crap out of Prague, I later searched the web for WWII photos of Prague, the (Google Album) or (FB Album) are worth a look. If you are a photographer and are interested in getting that one great picture, a "photography tour" may be for you. I haven't done one of these yet, but I am looking forward to it. A local photographer spends a half a day with you, and others, bringing you around to the best photo opps, at the right time of day, and shows you tips and tricks with your camera. These can be a little pricey, so do some research. Our favorites, the "food tours," yep, a tour about eating. We have done a number of these and have yet to be disappointed.

     We recently went on the "Eating Prague Tour." To be honest, this was one of the best we have been on. Our guide Jan, was fantastic, in no time, he felt like a friend that was feeding us in his kitchen, like he had done it a hundred times before. Jan was friendly, smart and funny. We spoke on many topics, the history of Prague, politics, and even Trump. Most importantly, food, you could tell he had a passion for food and loved talking about it.

And, the food was amazing

So, if you are in Prague, "Eating Prague" is a must.

     "Sights and Pints," the "Presidential Tour" with Garvan is a can't miss if you are in Dublin. We had just gotten in, and needed something to do for a few hours before we could hit the sack. Jet lag is a killer, so if you're getting in at mid day, book an afternoon tour. Yes you're tired, but if you took a nap instead, you'd be up all night and never get through the jet lag. Well that's just what we did, we scheduled an afternoon tour of Dublin, with Garvan. We booked a private tour, so it was easy and low key, Garvan was the perfect guide for four tired travelers. He was fun, friendly, knew a bunch of stuff about the city and the "1916 Easter Rising," but kept it pretty light, up until, the President of Ireland showed up!

     It's obvious Garvan made "sucky face" with the Blarney Stone because he has the "gift of gab," and as he's going on and on about this bookstore we are standing in front of, a car with two flags on the hood pulls up. "Hey Garvan, who's in the car," I asked. He looks for a second, and replies, "uhhh, that's the President." "The President of what?" "The President of Ireland, dude!" Well crap, I gotta get me a picture then, don't I? So I followed the President inside, against the wishes of my friends.

So in I go, I muscled my way through the crowd and introduced myself, as Curly of course. I told the President of Ireland the story, "we are from the States, here on vacation, bla, bla, bla," and asked if I could get a picture. Mike D. (that's what we call him) was more than happy to humor me, we chatted a bit, seems he made "sucky face" with the Blarney Stone also. Then he asks, "Curly, what's the story with this Trump fella?" "Mikey," I said, "You know you shouldn't be talking politics without a Guinness." "Ah, yer right there Curly, I dunno what happened to me manners. What d'ya say ya round up yer crew and we'll throw back a couple of pints at the pub then!"

     Ok, all that didn't happen, but it could have, if I followed my heart and hadn't listen to my freakin friends. The President did show up though. I did follow him into the bookstore and got his picture, and that's pretty funny. So, if you're in Dublin, book the "Presidential Tour" with Garvan, tell him I sent you.

     Regardless of where you are going, look into booking a walking tour. Day and I like to do them in the beginning of our trip, you get a good lay of the land and the guides are full of information that might help you plan the rest of your trip. Ask them tons of questions, they love talking about their city and all the cool things there are to do there. They make the best restaurant recommendations and they can tell you what to stay away from. So for your next vacation, book a walking tour, and follow your heart, and enjoy!

Mentions: +Eating Prague Tours +Dublin Tour Guide

Luv ya,
Curly

Travel, TripAdvisor, Walking Tours, and...the President of Ireland (pt.1)

     Day and I consider ourselves pretty seasoned travelers. In the past we avoided touristy activities because, hey, they are for tourists and we are "world travelers." The more you travel, the more you learn, and the first thing we learned, we are still babies when it comes to "world traveling." The other thing we learned, we like doing the touristy things, we just don't like hordes of tourists.

  TripAdvisor is a great website for planning your trip, we use it prior to our trip and while we are on our trip, (as a matter of fact, TripAdvisor and smart phones are essential for travel and worthy of a post themselves) but that is for another day. With TripAdvisor, we decide where we want to stay, what we want to do, and where and what to eat. People review everything, but take the reviews with a "grain of salt." You can get a pretty good idea of let's say a hotel, by their overall star rating, an average of all the individual reviews and then peruse through the reviews. We watch for many things, such as, the number of people who have reviewed the hotel. Doesn't mean much if only 5 people have reviewed a place, or maybe it does, why does it have only 5 reviews? We also pay attention to how many reviews a person has posted. What I mean is, if you saw that I reviewed something, you could click on my profile and see who I am, where I am from, how many reviews I have posted and, click on my previous posts. Why is this important, well some people like to bitch. If you see someone has nothing better to do than write hundreds of reviews on TripAdvisor and all they do is bitch, well who cares what they think. I also love the ones that start with, "my wife and I have traveled all over the world." They wanna brag and hear themselves bloviate.

     Also, pay attention to where people are from, different cultures and people expect different things. Americans and Europeans are completely different, for instance, bathrooms, more specifically, the showers. My shower is 5 ft. × 5 ft, has a seat in it, plenty of shelves and two shower heads, that's usually not the case in Europe. Showers are usually quite small and often it's a bathtub with the shower head on the hose. That's just the way it is. An American might complain about the hotel's breakfast, as a matter of fact, they often do.
   
     An American breakfast is usually the hot stuff: eggs, omelets, pancakes, sausage and home fries, the list goes on and on. A European breakfast leans towards the cold dishes: yogurts, cereals, fresh fruit and vegetables. They put out some hot stuff, but...it's not the best. Now surely you can complain if the yogurt has mold on it, but you can't complain that there is no pancakes, I have never seen a pancake in Europe. So keep in mind who is writing the reviews. I just read a review about the "Gap of Dunloe" in Killarney. The review was written by some guy's mommy, about what a terrible time this adult guy had on this tour, really? We went on it and it was fantastic, which brings us to "tours."

     More specifically "walking tours," but I promised to keep my posts short, so I am stopping here with (pt.1) of Travel, TripAdvisor, Walking Tours, and...the President of Ireland. Haha, I hope that is enough of a teaser to bring you back for part 2.

Luv ya
Curly
P.S. if you are reading my blog, please take a moment to comment, I would enjoy some feedback.

Day: travel companion, best friend, wife and caretaker

     I am so far behind on my blog now, and I have so much to say, I am going to try this a different way. My posts are about trips and are long, maybe too long, shorter and more often might be the way to go. Posts about ideas, thoughts, or a specific event instead of a whole trip, may be more interesting for you, and easier for me. So many ideas are rolling around in my head.

     Our trip to Ireland with friends, a trip to Prague and a distant relative, TripAdvisor and walking tours, blogging, selling photos, traveling for the disabled, traveling with friends, and most important, traveling with your significant other, which is where I will start.

     Day and I recently went to the Grand Canyon and Ireland with friends, and finally after 15 years of traveling with friends, we went to Prague, Czech Republic by ourselves. I love traveling with our friends, but this was a much needed trip for just the two of us. It takes years of practice to become a good traveler, well it did for me.

     I have little patience for long lines and less than smart people, the more politically correct way of saying, "stupid people." My impatience and short fuse, would only stress out Day, especially on our day of travel. On the outside, Day appears to be calm, but on travel day, she is stressed, and does not need me making it worse. So on travel day I have learned, if Day wants to be at the airport three hours early, then we are at the airport three hours early. "Stand here with the luggage," my reply, "ok fruitcake." And why not, it doesn't cost me anything to do what I am told on travel day. It makes travel day less stressful for my wife. Once we are one the plane, Day gets the window seat, every freakin time.

     The plane ride is not so bad though, I keep myself amused on my phone with pictures or writing on the notepad app, or, farting, yep farting. Getting healthy means eating healthy, and that means gas, and I let them rip. Everyone within 15 ft of me has their shirt pulled up over their nose. Yep, I am that guy, and it amuses the hell out of me. I laugh as Day pulls her shirt up over her nose, rolling her eyes and shaking her head at me. Hey, it is no more offensive than too much bad perfume.

     Travel for Day is about food, so our trips usually involve a "food tour." It makes her happy, and I get to eat. For me, it's about writing and getting that one great picture, so I photograph everything. This means Day needs to stop often and walk slower, and for those of you who know Day, nothing drives her more crazy than walking slow. But, she does it for me, because it makes me happy (topics I will write about later).

     These last two trips have been challenging for the both of us, I am having serious back issues (traveling for the disabled). Painful does not describe sciatic nerve issues, especially while walking on cobblestone streets and sidewalks for 10 miles.

     I did not want to ruin her vacation, so we did everything we wanted, and she took care of me. She walked slow, I held on to her arm most of the day, and we sat often. She help me out of bed, into bed and tied my shoes. In the mornings we sat for breakfast, a buffet, and she brought me my food. I appreciate everything she did and thanked her often. She was patient with me, and I tried, I think I did a good job, to not be an ass to her, because I was in pain. We did everything we could to make it a great vacation for one another.

     We do this because we should, and we appreciate one another and thank one another, because we should. We are travel companions, best friends, husband and wife, and caretakers.

Thank you Day, you were wonderful, and I love you for that.

The Grand Canyon

The wonders of the Grand Canyon cannot be adequately represented in symbols of speech, nor by speech itself. The resources of the graphic art are taxed beyond their powers in attempting to portray its features. Language and illustration combined must fail.

John Wesley Powell

   

                                

     Those are only words, unless you have seen the Grand Canyon. If you have seen it, you understand those words, if you haven't, this is what Theodore Roosevelt had to say about the Grand Canyon:

"Leave it as it is. You cannot improve on it. The ages have been at work on it, and man can only mar it. What you can do is to keep it for your children, and for all who come after you, as the one great sight which every American... should see."

     Days before our trip to the Grand Canyon I wrote this in a blog post:

Day and I, along with our friends S&D are going to the Grand Canyon for Christmas, so, just days away. I cannot describe the excitement I am feeling, the anticipation of seeing the Grand Canyon. Understand, it is more than checking the Grand Canyon off my list, it's more than being able to say, I have been to the Grand Canyon.

"Certainly, travel is more than the seeing of sights; it is the chance that goes on, deep and permanent, in the ideas of living."

Mary Ritter Beard.

I would imagine, the beauty of the Grand Canyon stays with you, long after you leave, forever changed. With each new experience, I am reborn, a new person, and I like who I am becoming... 

You can read all of my previous post Our Roots Grow Deep if you would like.

Our view from Bright Angel Lodge on the South Rim Trail

     

     The beauty of the Grand Canyon will stay with you, to say it is awe inspiring is an understatement for sure. We arrived at the canyon on Christmas Eve, and stayed at the Bright Angel Lodge. We got in a little late, it was dark and after a long day of travel we were ready for bed. Like a kid again, I lay awake on Christmas Eve in great anticipation of Christmas morning, and Christmas morning did not disappoint. This was our view, just 50 ft. from our lodge, it is big! The Grand Canyon is 277 miles long, at its' widest point it is eighteen miles across, and on average, it is 10 miles across. The bottom of the canyon, the Colorado River, is over one mile down. The North Rim of the canyon is 8000 feet above sea level, and the South Rim is 7000 feet above sea level. The Grand Canyon National Park covers 1,217,262 acres, or almost 2 million square miles! The Grand Canyon was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site  in 1979 and is considered one of  the  Seven Natural Wonders of the World.  Five million people visit the canyon every year, four million of those are Americans, and four of them this year, were our friends S and D, Day and myself! To say the Grand Canyon is awe inspiring, is an understatement. 

Its big, really big

     So the four of us at the Grand Canyon for the first time, it's big with tons of things to do, where does someone start? We only had four days there, so just enough time to get a taste of the canyon, and a great place to start is always the visitor's center. The visitor's center is at Mather's Point, east of Bright Angel Lodge on the South Rim. The visitor's center has a great movie about the canyon, and there is plenty of great staff that are happy to point you in the right direction. We were there in December and it was crowded, I cannot imagine that place in the summer, but I still think it is worth your time.

     I had read that Mather's Point was the place to be for great views and seeing the sunrise, if you like taking photos, it sound like a must see right? So one morning we headed out early with plans on making it to Mather's Point in time for the sunrise and then to the visitor's center afterwards. I think we all enjoyed the brisk walk along the rim ( you can walk the South Rim from Pipe Creek Vista to Hermits Rest along the rim trail, approximately 13 miles long ). I have been eating healthy and exercising regularly and have recently lost 30 pounds ( which you could read about here at Fit at Fifty ). I feel great, and for the first time in a very long time, I loved all the walking and hiking we were doing, but to call the South Rim Trail a trail, is a little misleading. The trail is more like an unpaved sidewalk, and actually paved in some areas. I would imagine this is where most of the five million visitors spend their vacation. On one side of the trail are lodges, restaurants and other points of interest, on the other, the Grand Canyon and some spectacular views. Mather's Point is crowded, you do not need to go to Mather's Point for great views, they are everywhere!

That's a fun "selfie"

Haha, nice faces

     We left Massachusetts on Christmas Eve and it was 50 degrees, we had to come to Arizona for a white Christmas. Anyhow, a trip to the visitor's center and a walk to Mather's Point and back to Bright Angel Lodge is a pretty full day. Back to our lodge for a nap, a shower and dinner after, with a game of Pitch to end the night. Tomorrow, Hermit's Rest.

Hermit's Rest

     Hermit's Rest is a snack bar and gift shop at the end of Hermit Road. Hermit Road follows the South Rim and the rim trail west, and is quite popular, so popular, it is closed to private vehicles during the summer months, and the only way to see it is to walk it, or take a bus. In the winter however, the road is open to private vehicles, and we opted to drive it.

     The idea of getting on a tour bus does not excite me, but there are many places to pull off, all having great views, so bus or walk, Hermit Road is a must. Hermit's Rest however, was just ok but, I guess you might as well go all the way. We had fun, we stopped often to take pictures, well S and I took pictures. I should say S has been our friend for almost twenty years, our good friend, and I had a great time with her.

We horsed around, teased each other as always, and photographed the shit out of the Grand Canyon. And the four of us wandered about, enjoying the views and each others' company. Here are a few photos of our day on Hermit Road...

More pictures of Hermit Road and my beautiful wife...

"Tada"

One of the things I liked most about the Grand Canyon was, there were no fences. Personal responsibility, you had better be careful, it's one mile straight down. S has a fear of heights, haha, we teased her of course.

I am pretty sure that is Day laughing at poor S.

The colors of the canyon are amazing, and change throughout the day. We must have been on Hermit Road at just the right time, because it was beautiful. The canyon was purple, absolutely breathtaking...

This post has more pictures in it than previous posts, but words alone cannot describe the beauty of the Grand Canyon. There you have it, another day at the canyon. Tomorrow we will hike down!

     Yes S, we are all very excited to hike down into the canyon. If you are a hiker, the Grand Canyon must seem like heaven. It takes 8-10 hours to get to the bottom and twice as long to get back out. There are trails everywhere, we decided on the Kaibab Trail at the east end. Obviously we are not going to the bottom, so we set our sights on the first rest stop, an hour down. An hour and a half if you are afraid of heights. Now, I know I have a friend who is reading this thinking, you only hiked down for an hour? Well, like I said, we were only here for four days, just long enough to get a sense of the canyon. It is so big and there is so much to do, you would have to come back many times if you really want to enjoy the Grand Canyon. A hike to the bottom, camping for a few nights and a two day hike out would be on my list, along with rafting the Colorado River. But today, just three or four hours of hiking.

For those of you wondering why it takes 10 hours to hike down one mile to the bottom, it is one mile straight down. The Kaibab Trail is 7.1 miles of switchbacks on an almost shear rock face.

We took our time, meaning we waited for S. We enjoyed the views and had fun on our way to the first rest stop.

Amazing right? This turned out to be a great day, the hiking was fun now that I was 30 pounds lighter. We were able to tease our friend who is afraid of heights, and the views were great. This is a great time to say how much I enjoyed Day. Day and I hadn't spent much time together this past year. I had just spent a year on a job, which kept me in a hotel Mondays through Fridays. We needed this, and we had a great time together, at least I enjoyed her.

S is tired

Not the bottom, but for us, our goal, the first rest stop. We spent about a half hour here, before we began our hike up and out, soaking in the views. The mules are beginning to look like a great idea. A Mule is the offspring of a male donkey and a female horse, if you wanted to know. Anyhow, our Grand Canyon trip ends here. We hiked out and were heading out to Sedona for the final 3 or 4 days of our vacation. Sedona will be another post, another time.

    Surreal is a word I might use to describe the Grand Canyon, but...

"the wonders of the Grand Canyon cannot be adequately represented in symbols of speech, nor by speech itself." 

John Wesley Powell was absolutely right. The words I have written in my blog could never describe what I saw, or the awe I felt as I stared in amazement at the Grand Canyon. As I write that, the Grand Canyon, I think, it truly is, The Grand Canyon. I can only hope my post, might entice you to go, and see it for yourself. Powell went on to say, 

"The resources of graphic art are taxed beyond their powers in attempting to portray its' features. Language and illustration combined must fail." 

It is hard to take a bad picture of the Grand Canyon, and I believe I took some great ones, but pictures can never do the Grand Canyon justice. You must see the Grand Canyon yourself.

"it is the one great sight, which every American should see"

     

Theodore Roosevelt