Category: Travel

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Edinburgh Scotland – Have Fun Storming the Castle

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Ah, Edinburgh. I have fond memories of this wee city, the capital of Scotland. I had the good fortune of living there for all too short a time – only three months – but during the brightest summer in recent history I’m told. I was there to work, but spent most weekends exploring the surroundings.

One of the centerpieces, both figuratively and literally, is the Edinburgh Castle. The summer I was there saw the release of J.K. Rowling’s last (or perhaps second to last) Harry Potter book. Though born in England Rowling called Edinburgh her home and so there was a grand book launch at the castle the likes of I’ve never seen before. The castle (needless to say) sits on a hill in the center of town and the line of children and their parents stretched all the way out of the castle and down the narrow streets:

Edinburgh Castle

The above photo was taken from the top of Arthur’s Seat, the rocky outcrop looming over the city.  Here’s a view to give you an idea. It was a beautiful place to hike up to and contemplate life.

Edinburgh Scotland

The Seat hovers above the Salisbury Crags, here seen from below to give you an idea of how high up I was:

Salisbury Crags, Edinburgh, Scotland

And the castle a bit closer:

Edinburgh Castle

Ah, this inspires a bit of poetry, like the opening lines of Jason Fenton’s appropriately named “Edinburgh Castle:”

Roots of stone
rise unfettered out of the earth;
crenellations of cobble
burnish with pride that cascades
into the Firth of Forth.

Okay, let’s leave town so I can show you a gorgeous photo of the Ballachulish Mountains at Loch Linnhe, a half day drive north of Edinburgh towards the Isle of Skye:

Ballachulish Mountains at Loch Linnhe

More about Edinburgh Castle can be read here. If you go try to do it in August when they have the “Fringe,” a festival of art and music performances that fill the halls and the streets for a full month.

That’s it for now. This is just a teaser as I’ll be out visiting a bunch of old rocks standing in the (likely) rain. I promise more stories and photos when I return.

David J. Kent is the author of Lincoln: The Man Who Saved America, in Barnes and Noble stores now. His previous books include Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity (2013) and Edison: The Inventor of the Modern World (2016) and two e-books: Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time and Abraham Lincoln and Nikola Tesla: Connected by Fate.

Check out my Goodreads author page. While you’re at it, “Like” my Facebook author page for more updates!

[Fragile]

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Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial – Washington DC

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The photograph below is a close-up of the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial in Washington DC. This beautifully massive monument represents King as a “Stone of Hope” emerging out of the “Mountain of Despair,” from the famous line in his “I have a dream” speech given August 28, 1963 on the steps of the nearby Lincoln Memorial.

Martin Luther King

The site, which covers four acres along the Potomac tidal basin, was opened to the public on August 22, 2011. The dedication ceremony was scheduled for August 28th – the anniversary of his famous speech, but was postponed to October 16th because of the arrival of Hurricane Irene. In addition to the “stone” and the “mountain” there is a long wall displaying some of his most well known quotes.

Martin Luther King Memorial

Overall, the effect is breathtaking. King emerging from the mountain and gazing stalwartly toward the memorial to Thomas Jefferson standing resolute across the tidal basin. The artist did justice to the man and to the memory of his accomplishments.

David J. Kent is President of the Lincoln Group of DC and the author of Lincoln: The Man Who Saved America. His previous books include Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity and Edison: The Inventor of the Modern World and two specialty e-books: Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time and Abraham Lincoln and Nikola Tesla: Connected by Fate.

Check out my Goodreads author page. While you’re at it, “Like” my Facebook author page for more updates!

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A Conversation Overheard – The Pope’s Swiss Guards

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When in Rome do as the Romans do.  By which I mean speak Italian and/or Latin, drink a lot of wine, and constantly carry an ice cream cone – gelato – when walking.  At least that seems to be what they are always doing in Rome.

So assuming you’re not Roman and are visiting Rome as a tourist, and specifically if you are a tourist visiting the Vatican, then you must visit St. Peter’s Basilica.  And as the invariably long line snakes to the entrance – soon after going through the security checkpoint – make sure to look to the right just before making that hard turn to the front of the church.  And you’re likely to see the Swiss Guard.

Swiss guardYou would be hard pressed to tell from the multi-colored – even garish – ceremonial uniforms of today’s Swiss guards to know that historically the guards were some of the fiercest fighters of the middle ages.  The guards were called in by Pope Julius II to help fight wars with those pesky Venetians and the French, that is, when Julius wasn’t bossing around both Michelangelo and Raphael as they created their respective masterpieces – the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel and the School of Athens.

Today of course the Swiss Guards are purely ceremonial.  After all, an easy lifestyle of standing around with a pike and retiring with a papal pension is almost worth wearing those colors and feathered helmets. But admittedly there are days even a Guard would rather not be caught dead looking like that. The day I was there I overheard this short conversation:

Hey, Luigi, do these yellow stripes make me look fat?

No Giuseppe, you look fine. Don’t worry about it.

Are you sure, Luigi? I’ve been putting on a few kilos lately. All that gelato I think.

I said you look fine. We go through this every day. You ask me if the stripes make you look fat, I say no, you yammer about eating too much gelato. This job is boring enough as it is, the least you could do is talk about something interesting for a change.  Hey, is that your girlfriend over there?

Giuseppe glances to the side (see photo).  Oh mio, it is…it is my beloved Bianca. Cazzo, I told her I was the Pope’s right hand man.  I cannot let her see me dressed in this silly outfit. Luigi, rapido, run me through with your pike. Oh Signore, portami in cielo ora.

Okay, maybe I heard wrong. But seriously, wouldn’t that be your reaction?

 

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I Walked 77 Miles Through Italy – For This?

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I recently returned from a well-deserved (at least in my mind) trip to Italy, during which my total walking mileage was about 77 miles. In 9 days. The trip started in Rome, passed through Pisa, flourished in Florence, broke in Bologna, and mingled in Milan before coming to a close in Geneva.  And in those places there was the Sistine Chapel, the leaning tower, the naked David statue (another David, no relation), the two towers (no, not the Tolkien ones), the Last Supper, and a mostly not spurting jet d’eau. Oh, and then there was the guy who picked my pocket.

But I’m not going to talk about those now.  I’m going to talk about the weirdos.

There are weirdos in Italy.  Did you know that? To be honest I really shouldn’t be shocked given that I’ve seen this sort of thing everywhere I’ve gone in Europe (not so much in Asia for some reason).  Mostly they are the street performers, if you can call sitting or standing with no movement performing.

First there was the guy sitting on the corner of piazza that keeps Trevi Fountain from running down the street. I think he went by the name of Ronnie Raygun.

Trevi street performer

Nearby was a slightly lost Praetorian Guard.  I believe, but cannot confirm, that he was checking the GPS app on his iPhone to locate the colosseum (two miles east).

Roman praetorian guard

Not to be outdone was this finely dressed gentleman.  Something strange about him – Not quite sure I can see what it is though.  I think he’s hiding something.

invisible man

This guy isn’t really a weirdo. In fact, he played the most extraordinary guitar.  On a most extraordinary guitar.  Very talented and a real treat to hear.

guitar player

Now this guy – he was weird.  But environmentally friendly!

The Tree Man

Even the horses got into the act.  Now I know what they mean by that old expression – “tying on a feedbag.”

horse and feedbag

Too bad we can’t teach the folks here in DC how to wear a costume and stand still for hours.  They would make a lot more money begging that way.

So this was my weirdo, er, street performer post for Italy.  I assure you that there were a lot of incredible sites along the way and I’ll definitely come back to share them with you all soon.  Here’s some art to whet your appetite. Anyone know who this is (who they are)?

David and Goliath

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Cinco de Mayo – What to do in Cancun and Chichen Itza

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Hola! Feliz Cinco de Mayo!  Wondering what to do on Mexico’s traditional day of celebration?  Well, head on down to Cancun on the Yucatán peninsula.  And don’t forget to take a day trip to Chichen Itza.  Just make sure you do it before the end of 2012 (it’s Mayan, you know).

5 Things to do in Cancun

1. Relax at an all-inclusive resort hotel on the beach.  Once you arrive everything is already included – all meals, all drinks, all goofy pool games, and all 15 or so miles of the beach along the hotel zone.

Cancun Chichen Itza

2. Be Active at the various hotels, marinas, and yes, even a sinkhole.  Take a smiling parasail ride, or if you’re really daring, dive into one of the many Yucatan sinkholes.

Cancun parasailing

Yucatan sinkhole cinco de mayo

3. Shop in Cancun, or work your way down to the Mayan Riviera.  Or head inland to check out the Mayan artwork.

cancun maya cinco de mayo

Mayan art cinco de mayo

4. Visit Chichen Itza.  If Cancun is like being in Miami (English and dollars are more prevalent than Spanish and pesos), then Chichen Itza is like going back in time.  This center of Mayan civilization is a marvel to see.

Chichen Itza Maya cinco de mayo

5. Watch the sunrise.  Come on, it’s the beach.  Of course you’re going to watch the sunrise.

Cancun sunrise

I’ll have much more on Cancun and Chichen Itza in the future (this was just to whet your appetite).  I’ll have some videos and many more photos and ideas for what to do. But before then, let’s take a quick look at…

What not to do in Cancun

Note the cell phone, an iPad, and even a laptop at his feet. Okay, Mr. Workaholic.  Step away from the electronic devices and put on some sun block.

What not to do in Cancun

David J. Kent is an avid science traveler and the author of Lincoln: The Man Who Saved America, in Barnes and Noble stores now. His previous books include Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity (2013) and Edison: The Inventor of the Modern World (2016) and two e-books: Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time and Abraham Lincoln and Nikola Tesla: Connected by Fate.

Check out my Goodreads author page. While you’re at it, “Like” my Facebook author page for more updates!

 

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Need some inspiration? This inspired me…

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A was looking at random videos on YouTube and came across this one.  It feeds my desire to travel to all those places I haven’t traveled yet – though I probably will take more than 10 days to do it.  As the video says – Make It Count!

It’s time to go…

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A Whale of a Tale – Woods Hole, Cape Cod, Massachusetts

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In one of my past lives I was a marine biologist.  Yep, Jacques Cousteau was my idol. I loved the beach not so much for the sand but for the psammon (pronounced like the fish, but really the microscopic flora and fauna of the interstitial spaces between sand grains of sea-shore and lake-shore areas).  Okay, too technical, I get it.

In any case, I did a lot of scrounging on the rocky shores of New England, snorkeling in the pristine clear waters of Bermuda, and scuba diving in the murky muck of the Jersey coast (long story).  I even worked at the National Marine Fisheries Laboratories on the Eastern Shore of Maryland and Sandy Hook, New Jersey.  I studied jellyfish in the first and fish behavior in the second. The only problem with marine biology as a career was that there was basically one high-paying job in the business – and Jacques had it.  So, alas, despite my all too brief discussion with Jean-Michel Cousteau about growing algae in Iowa (another long story), my marine biology days are behind me.  At least professionally (yet another long story).

I did recently make my way back to Woods Hole, Massachusetts, where I strolled past the Fishmonger Cafe and The Captain Kidd, passed along the moored boats, and said hello to a new old friend – the whale in front of the NMFS aquarium (more on aquariums later).  So here are a couple of photos reminiscent of days long gone but never forgotten.

A Whale of a Tale

Something about the reflection in this photo brings back fond memories.