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On The Way To The Doctors Office

The last day of November and the temperature was a mild 60F. I had intended to ride 20 miles or so and take some photos. One hundred yards from the house and the plans were changing. I ran into Paul M. whom I worked with when I was a field tech for Verizon. He was spending his lunch hour walking the bike path. We chatted for fifteen minutes and both headed towards Fairhaven center.

I was tossing around a route that would take me along the peninsula when I spotted a company truck at the new wine and tapas bar under construction. There I met another former co-worker. Actually, one that I broke into the craft. Phil is a thrasher, skier, biker, with lots of tatoos. Always fun to talk with, I spent another twenty minutes talking about the job and the new changes in technology. DSL, FTTP etc. I am trying to get back into that part of the company and am watching very closely the bids. The high tech part is interesting and I am ready to return to working outside.

Finally, I managed to force myself to get a move on and get some miles in. This ride was in the same general area as the last but I ventured on lots of side streets, and streets off the side streets.


This is a very old Synagogue on 6th St. in New Bedford. Built at the end of the 19th century, it was an integral part of the the city when the very rich textile barons roamed the streets.






Next door is another interesting building that was built in 1891.










My ride took me to the church I belong to while in grammar school St. James RC church, which boast the stomping grounds of the first pedophile priest accused and convicted in the Churches child rape scandals. Cardinal Law spent lots of time, energy and money trying to cover up the crimes.

I rode by St. Luke hospital where I saw a bunch of men standing outside the emergency room chewing the fat and smoking. .It's only a matter of time before their friends will be standing out there when they are rushed in.


Across from the ER is the original nurses dormitory. Like the school teacher of the time, only single women were allowed into the field.

A property with a few grand old Maples got my attention. This was the best of the bunch.


I had a chance to shoot a couple of the area stately homes before heading to the doctors office. I have been discovering many of these gems I never noticed till I began biking.

Shopping is Done!

Wifey and I spent the weekend in Freeport Maine with our good friends the Johnsons. We got just about all of our shopping done for the holidays, which include Christmas and birthdays. Both boys and Sue celebrate theirs in December.
The weekend was split with the daytime spent shopping in Freeport and the evenings doing vacation stuff in Portland.

We stopped for lunch at the Muddy Rudder in Falmouth Maine. It's a tradition for us to begin our holiday weekend with a delicious Lobster Bisque. Actually that is Sue's tradition. Since I have to lose so much weight, I opted for a baked scrod dish, which was also very good. We were able to get a bottle of my favorite wine McMurray Ranch Pinot Noir.

Satisfied, it was a short drive to our accomodations The Harraseeket Inn.

Soon after I distinctly heard a voice say, "Let the Shopping Begin". Wifey was off like a dog chasing a meat wagon. LLBean Outlet store where returns are resold really cheap, was her first stop. Patagoinia, North Face oh heck, just Click here, for a video tour.

After some warmup shopping for the girls, we drove to Portland for dinner and the evenings activities. J's Oyster bar was the spot. If you have been to Portland, walk into the parking lot of the tourist spot DeMilos, look left and there it is. J's, where the locals eat. It's din-gy, kind of rough looking, and the clientle is mostly drunk and derilicks. This was according to the guy smoking outside as we approached. "Thats ok", I said. "I'm an undercover derilict". The seafood is very good. Alaskan King Crab with steamers for me. Lobster Pernot for the ladies and a medium "bucket" of steamers and oyster stew, for my buddy Jack.

The girls shopped most of the morning and well past lunch on Saturday. We wanted to take a hike before going back to Portland for a movie and dinner. The hike worked out pretty well. It was and easy hour of flat hardpack. The temperature hovered around 50 with no wind. It was actually a pretty good day for a walk in the woods.

Some have it better than others. (freeloader)

The movie was much better than we all expected. "The Queen"

Your could hear a pin drop in the theater. If you've seen it, you know what I mean.

We ended the evening in Portland at Street and Co. This gem was recommended by our waitress at the Muddy Rudder. She said it was her husbands' favorite. (He is and executive chef). We tried it. She was right. It went right to the top of the better restaurants where I have dined.

Fisherman Stew for me. A Mediteranian dish with shrimp, scallops, tuna, swordfish, mussles, clams, and salmon. All cooked in a wonderfull sauce. (dipping bread in the sause was as good as the meal). Wife had the sushi grade tuna, seared not cooked. The Johnsons had something or other that I can't recall because I was so enthralled with my dish. (and the cute waitresses scurrying around the place).

Sunday morning was quiet and would have been another great bike riding day. Saturday afternoon was perfect. Because we were with friends I didn't bring my bike. There was quite a bit of down time for me while the others were shopping. Like the saying goes, "If I only knew then.....". Next year for sure. I did walk alone on Sunday morning and here is the photo journal.

McDonnalds, Yes, "the" one with the clown.

Later.

Boats, Buildings and Elephants

Since it was 45 degrees and sunny, it seemed like a good day for a bike ride. With the camera in my handlebar bag, the ride began. Beginning on the waterfront, continuing to the city checking out the architecture and looking for elephants.

My first sight was the Steamship Authority repair facility in Fairhaven. A couple of laborers working this Sunday, acknowledged me and continued to do what ever they were doing. After a couple of pictures the boss man came out of the trailer and told me "This is private property, and you don't belong here". Me possibly taking pictures for the "terrorists" crossed his mind, I'm sure. I was close to saying a couple of things like, "It's not private, it's state property". and "I know about the property, I'm one of the owners". I did manage to get a couple of photos.

SS Marthas Vinyard

I continued into the city, (New Bedford, Ma.) and found some more great old homes. At one time New Bedford was the richest city in the world, or maybe it was only the US. Either way there was a lot of money to be had during the Whaling, then the Textile eras'.

Cobblestones Restaurant

The city is beginning to revitalize. The one giant piece missing is the train to Boston. Once that happens, the possibilities are very positive.

Wall Art

On a bicycle, the rider is usually going slow enough to see things most people do not. For example this little hidden gem.

And this small "court" I stumbled upon while riding up a side street.

My ride continued through Rural Cemetery
Plenty of legends and ghost stories

Also was a quick ride through Buttonwood Park

Bison

And yes I did find everything I was looking for.

Later.

Celebrating With the Revs

A little too much.

Sometimes all the stars line up. I got to the hotel Saturday around noon. The Revolution players were staying there and they are all very friendly and open to talk, picture taking or whatever. I got to chat a little with a couple of them, but decided not to bother them before the big match. Let them concentrate on business, so to speak.

The general manager, who years ago was my ticket rep, said hello and introduced me to a couple other front office guys. It was pretty neat meeting all these big wigs.

I needed to get some wine for the game on Sunday and walked the 10 blocks to the ABC store. I learned that the ABC stores do not sell wine. Luckily a customer refered me to a Spanish restaurant around the corner that would allow me into their wine celler to purchase a couple of bottles.

It's a great tapas place that I decided to try later in the evening. On the walk back, wine in hand, a couple of fans from NY saw my Revolution jacket and struck up a conversation. Even though they were from NY, I invited them to our tailgate the next day. (All Revs fans are welcome). They declined saying their plans were already made.

Back at the hotel, I met a couple of the players parents, more players and tv and radio people. Next thing I know Brandi Chastain shows up. Remember her? Here is a refresher.

Here come the two guys from NY walking through the lobby. I want to give them a heads up that hanging around the lobby is a great place to meet the players, and they may even see some tv peronalities like Brandi Chastain. "Brandy Chastain" one of them say. "That Brandi" who was standing right behind me?

Crap. Then she starts talking to them and go grab a table and begin chatting. My friend the GM was nearby, I told him what had just happened and pointed to the three of them at the table. "Those are the ESPN guys" he says. "The director and producer of tomorrows show". I guess they really did'nt need me to meet the celebs.

Joe Cummings, RKO radio announcer. Bruce Arena. The former natioal team coach and ESPN TV. Eric Wynalda ESPN TV color commentator and Craig Thornberg. Revolution GM.

The traveling Midnight Riders supporters.

The players acknowledging us after the victory.

Marching out of the stadium. The yellow jackets in the rear are part of the security who were with us all day.

Waiting for the players to arrive back at the hotel.

That was till the guy sitting down told us they had already left for airport and return flight to Boston.

My wine drining buddy from the home tailgates found a wine named "Revolution"

Revolution wine. 15% alcohol

You know where this is going right.

We'll just walk it off.

Which one of the three did not make it into the game?

If anyone is wondering. Yes I did.

Road Trip

I'll be leaving for Washington DC tomorrow morning. All for the big game on Sunday. Wifey was going to join me, but the kennel (for the dogs) was booked. I suggested that we call another kennel but nooooo, the dogs like this one. When it came time for me to book a hotel, it was suggested that I just find the cheapest. I'm beginning to understand where I fit in the pack. To the dogs, I'm Alpha. To everyone else, I'm a lot deeper in the Greek alphabet. Somewhere around Gamma.

I'm staying in Crystal City at the same hotel as the Revs. Two years ago the Revs lost in overtime to United and we all drowned our sorrows at the Crystal City Mariott bar. I'm hoping for a celebration this year. I was looking forward to sightseeing with the lovely one on Saturday, but I will have to play the part of the lonely tourist.

There are 150 or so of us making the trip, representing the "Fort".

RFK is a very hostile venue for visiting fans so the club is providing security to escort us into and out of the stadium. We have our own section, isolated from DC's supporters groups, like Barra Brava.

We will have security all around us, and we will be placed in the uppers section to prevent the DC fans from throwing things at us. Man, I love this game.

Sunday, 4PM ESPN. I won't be smoking, but anything else is possible. Wifey will be at home, don't forget.

Pictures and more next week. If we survive.

Healthy Day

John

Provence, France

Sue and I left Boston under the usual security hogwash: No water bottles or any other liquids: On passanger arrived late, and we had to wait for them to take his luggage off the plane because he was denied boarding. In Amsterdam the plane waited for the late passenger. Go figure.

We arrived in Marselle but only stayed long enough to visit the Notre Dame of the Sea Cathederal. We had a nice lunch after the tour and drove to Casis, our home while in France. We got a car with GPS, which is necessary in a foreign land. I,m finding the keyboard foreign also. It is just different enough to have to slow down a bit to look at the keys. It would look like this if I didn,t. (It zould look like this if I didn%t). Just a little off.

Marselle

Logan Airport in Boston.

CASIS
Day 1
We took a boat to En Vau, and hung around that Calanques for a couple of hours then hiked out. The first part of the hike, to Port Pin, was very steep and treacherous. Hiking into the Colanques there is a warning sign. There may have been a sign at our end, but we were too much in awe of the whole place:


En Vau, Casis France.

Begin the hike out

Looking back to the start of the hike.

Shortcut

Ma and Pa at the top of En Vau.

We continued to Port Miou where we lunced on baguette, ham and some very creamy Chamonbert cheese. When we finally arrived back in Casis, we rewarded ourselves with a cold French beer.

Lunch at Port Miou, French Riviera

After dinner, while strolling around we heard a lot of cheering from a nearby Cafe. My instinct made me shout "soccer game". The Euro qualifier that was the rematch of the French/Italian world cup. This time the result was as it should be.
3 France
1 Italy

Keith wanted to go back to the Colanques by kayack. Sue took the boat and I hung around town for a while before hiking out and meeting Sue halfway. I didn´t want to do that steep one again. On the way our I met a couple of 30ish Artist following the paths of Renoir. They were good company and we split at the final path to Colunque En Vu. Sue arrived just as I was preparing lunch. We stuck up a converstation with the young park ranger Jean. He had been to America a couple of times and specifically to Boston and Cape Cod.

In general we found all the French in provence very friendly. Jean told us that in other parts of France, the locals really dislike Americans. I told him it is the same in America. There are lots of backwards people who dislike the French. Especially those who had never been to France.

Here is some information about hiking the Calanques of the French Riviera.

Hiking the Calanques of Casis

Good General Calanques Information


Day 3 Avignon Click Here for photobucket slidshow.


We drove to Avignon for a day trip. We visited Site Du Pont Gard, an aqueduct built over two thousand years ago by the Romans.

After lunch in town, we met up with our Dutch guide Mike, of Wine Safari.
We toured the popes summer home on the Rhone, a drive through the Cotes de Rhone wine district. The trip culminated at a small wine family farm. They had just harvested the first batch of white grapes for the 2006 year and had just begun the first process of the winemaking.

2006 white grape harvest

Touring the vinyard

The leftovers, to make grappa

Tasting

Dinner was a little out of the way villiage of Isle-sur-la-Sorgue. We dined at a very very gormet place called "Chambrex Les Trois Figuiers". I can,t say them either. Yes, it was as expensive as it sounds. Sue and Keith loved the place. Too Fancy pants for my tastes, but it did come highly recommended by Rick Steves

The Popes Palace in Avignon

Avignon Street

To be continued:

Catalonia

9 Sept.

Barcelona
Snapfish slideshow HERE.
If your not a snapfish member,go to bugmenot.com for a password for this or any other site that requires you to join.

A five hour drive from Casis got us into the city around 2PM. We met Todd at a tapas restaurant on the main pier.

Sue and I had made arrangements to meet our friends the Johnsons, who were departing from the city on a Mediterranian tour. We never did find them, but had no problem finding their ship.

While walking, I did see a young bike tourer. He was very easy to pick out by how dirty his bike was. And the paniers of course. I should have stopped and asked if he was posting on crazyguyonabike.com. He was making some progress with a very pretty local, so I let him be.

We had little time to spare because we had tickets for opening day at Camp Nu and F.C.Barcelona. The home team had an easy 3-0 victory.

98,000 people leaving at one time kind of clogs the transit system. We four decided to find a place to eat nearby. At 11PM we dined at a place that was the best we have had on the trip. The owner was a character and treated us very well. He ended our evening with a complimentary brandy. We made our way back to the hotel via the underground and topped a great day by walking the Main St. of Barcelona, La Rambla.

La Rambla

Our second day in Barca was great for the family. I found the site seeing kind of boring. Churches, museums and old buildings. At first it is nice, but it gets old quickly.

Todd took us to a very fancy restaurant he visited on his last trip. Sue and I kept glancing at each other with raised eyebrows looking at the prices. Yikes! The boys surprised us by picking up the tab. It was a bill that needed two people to pay. We finished dinner at 1AM and walked a couple of miles back to the hotel. That was good stuff.

Majorca

11 Sept. 2001
We spent the day at the Catalonia festivle celebrating their original independence from Spain I think. Many of the banners say "We are not Spain". It was pretty interesting and something to do while waiting for our 3PM flight to Majorca.

Locals playing bocce

Vacation part II

The first part of the holidays was historical and standard stuff. Restaurants, museums, sightseen etc. Now for my favorite type.


MAJORC SPAIN

Majorca is an island off the coast of Barcelona. We have a great apartment and a studio for the boys.

Arrival at our abode

Our back yard

The main room


Great beaches, cheap restaurants, and lots of expensive boats. One of the better features is the lack of Americans. After all, we can see as many as we want at home and this gives us a chance to be the outsiders. Lots of Brits, Germans and Dutch.

The beaches here have no problem wth topless bathing. It´s so common that no one pays much attention. Like anything, there are extremes. I have pictures of one extreme.

12 Sept.

We drove to Cals Mondrago for the day. (

When we returned we met the owner of our condo Jourgen and his wife. They are from Hamburg and are a great fun loving couple in the mid 40´s. Jourgen is returning Friday evening with a 5 litre keg of his favorite German beer. I told him it was my favorite ever though I had never hear of it. His wife mentioned it to me and said to him it was mothers milk.

13 Sept

We left the apt early to tour the island. A farmers market. An Old Roman Town and a ritzy port.

We had lunch in Sineu. It is famous for it´s wine cellar restaurants.

Looking for restaurant

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Dining in the famous wine cellar restaurants.

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Bike tour with sag.

Sue makes a new friend

Sineu

Pollenca


A long climb up the stairs in Pollenca

The reward for climbing

{{{{{Theeee Quiiiickkkk Wayyyyyy DDowwwwnnnnn}}}}}

I heard the telephone man was on holiday in the States.

We got back home at 8PM, bought some pizza and opened a bottle of Cotes D Rhone wine that were purchased at the winery during our tour of Casis.

Most of the places are very touristy, which make us apppreciat our accomodations so much more. Our place is more like going home, as opposed to going back to hotel.

Palma

Friday 15 Sept.

Sue and Todd were supposed to take a boat to spend a day at some island. It was cancelled yesterday. Keith was off rock climbing with his freind Jonah. I had the day to my self again. Just walking around town and down by the marina. I visited our friends at the Irish place before walking to the market for evening tapas. Tonight is the night our hosts Jourgen and Babbette were comming over with beer.

The boat was cancelled again so Sue and Todd spend the day in Palermo. It´s what I was going to do on Saturday. They had also gone shopping for tapas. We had tons of food. Much to much for six people. Keith invided his friends Jonah and Annie from Seattle. I invited our Dutch neighbors and the German neighbors invited themselves. That was ok. For a last minute deal, the party came off very well.



Jorgen in orange brought the beer. We supplied the food.

Five liter kegs

Preparing tapas for the party.

An American couple from Seattle with their two month old baby.

Saturday 16 September.

Our last day. We spent part of the afternoon at the beach with Keith and Todd. Sue and I left early to change and to take Sue to meet Sarah the pot bellied pig.

A last supper at the Irish Bistro before packing up to go home.

Our flight left Majorca at 8AM, (10 PM EST). We flew to Madrid, Amsterdam and finally arriving in Boston at 5PM on the 17th.

Madrid from the plane

Amsterdam Airport shopping.