A Collection of Daily Wisdom by Dennis Sylvester Hurd since September 2003.

How old is one during the summer between Grade 5 and 6? I think that was the last time I saw the Grand Canyon. I do remember the family crossing the country on that trip with an old Chevy pickup and camper. My mother always took lots of images in the form of Kodachrome slides. I wish I had those to scan but I guess they no longer exist as my father doesn't know their whereabouts.

I will be sure we get lots of digital shots of me standing at the edge of the canyon when Jay and I head to Arizona next month. We're taking vacation after I complete my current course, so from May 10th to 17th we'll be away.

The airfare we found to Phoenix seems so cheap! To travel one way is just $77 including taxes and fees. It'd certainly cost more than $154 each to drive there and back. Of course, we do have to go to Bellingham, WA in order to get the deal. I hope there are no surprises. We've never been on Allegiant Air before but service on every plane is non-existent nowadays, right? We now make it a habit to bring our own snacks as one is lucky to get a free pretzel to suck on from a flight attendant.

Labels: Desert Southwest, Eurotrip 2005, flying, Paris, Q2_2008, travel planning

This is a test of using Windows Live Writer as a method of publishing an entry.  Yesterday, I installed the Windows Live Toolbar and, frankly, this is the only piece of software which intrigues me in the least.  Honestly, I don't think die hard computer enthusiasts are going to abandon Flickr, or Google Earth for the pale imitations that Windows Live offers.  The options do integrate well though, and this might make things easier for an average, non-geeky, computer user.  That doesn't describe me, I guess.

This interface is very Vista-like and quite interesting with lots of potential tools and plug-in modules.

I'm mainly interested in this program as it will allow one to make draft entries when offline.  This, potentially, could be useful during our upcoming trip to central Europe.  I will most probably bring along my seemingly 26 lb. laptop, but I cannot be assured of universal, free wi-fi.  During past extended trips, I've had to keep daily accounts with a word processor and later copy and paste into blogger.com after getting on the Internet.   If I can use Writer to complete entries with photos, then it'll make documenting travels a hell of a lot easier.

Labels: blogging, Eurotrip 2005, Q3_2007

I really didn't know what to put here today. The day was brilliant and our day off pleasant. I spotted a new icon in the draft version of Blogger.com. I wanted to see what'd happen if I uploaded a video clip. I rather hastily put in a DVD disc from our Eurotrip in the fall of 2005. I cut a chunk and then pressed to upload the 44 MB clip. While the file is being transferred, I'm typing this text. Where's it going, he wonders? I clicked right past those warning things what one is supposed to read when working with software. You know what I mean don't you? I am talking about the agreements that one quickly scrolls to the bottom of, and then presses I AGREE button. Maybe those would've told me that it now belongs to Google Corp. I guess that's okay with me. They can have it, just as long as you can see it too. This is from a section of tape shot in Paris. It's only Montmartre during the day and a bit of the Champs Elysee at dusk.


After waiting half of forever, I decided that my file, although destined for Google Video, would never complete. Therefore, I mashed this up with YouTube.

Labels: blogging, camcorder, Eurotrip 2005, Google, Net apps, Paris, Q3_2007, YouTube

Although there were giant, new wind-turbines in Holland, I found this old technology was much more approachable. The phrase, "tilting at windmills" comes to us through Cervantes' Don Quixote as windmills were also common in La Mancha, Spain in the Middle Ages.

Labels: Eurotrip 2005, Q4_2005

I felt lighter upon our return to Canada. I don't mean physically, although it would be nice to weigh about twenty kilos less. Europe is interesting and one big reason why is the history. Everywhere you turn, there's a historical building or monument. This makes a trip great for tourists. It seems as if the majority of things by which one is surrounded are old. Sometimes, they're ancient.

I wonder how this affects the young people growing up there. I first remember feeling sorry for kids kicking around a soccer ball in Florence Italy when I travelled there in the 1980's. They were having fun but were confined in the large open space of an ancient plaza. It would just seem to me to be a burden living amongst all the past. Mind you, it's not past from a book, it's past right in their faces, everyday.

I am writing this entry in one of the first cities in British Columbia but I'd be hard pressed to find a civic structure that is 120 years old. Maybe that's why I feel lighter in Canada than I did during the recent trip.

Labels: Eurotrip 2005, feelings, Q4_2005

This was taken this morning on the Gatwick Express out of Victoria Station in London. It's now 5:04 and this is being posted from western Canada. There have been eight extra hours to the day though.

Labels: Eurotrip 2005, Q3_2005

It's our last day in London and the final day of our trip. It doesn't seem possible that we've been away almost three weeks. Tomorrow, we'll get up around 5:00 am so we can get to Victoria Station early enough to catch the Gatwick Express to the airport. Then, it'll be 10 hours home because, unlike our flight out, this stops in Calgary.

Today, we had a few more things on the list to do. We started by finding Harrod's and walking around the floors pretending we were like the people stupid enough to waste their money on items with impressive brand names. I picked up a single set of sheets that boasted a price of 195 Pounds. Since that is nearly Canadian $450, they never be on any bed that I sleep on.

As we were looking for a Tube station, we happened by the Victoria and Albert Museum. It was a great because of such an eclectic collection of objects and arts. Modern shows are included to keep things up to date. The best thing is that the admission is free. We've spent a Queen's random to see her stuff on this stay.

We also walked darned near all around Hyde Park. It probably was only a few miles but it seemed at least 300. We saw a tiny little sign pointing to the Princess Diana Memorial. It's surely not an attraction set up for ready attraction. We ended up getting around to Piccadilly Circus for lunch at around 3 o'clock.

Although we popped back to our area which is one stop past Ravenscourt, we plan to go back downtown this evening just to see the Parliament area of the Thames at night.

Labels: Eurotrip 2005, London, Q3_2005

Although I had no desire to get out of bed this morning, by the end of the day I had conquered my flu. After breakfast in our 'hospital' accommodations, we went downtown by Underground. I mention hospital not because of any reference to my own health. I mentioned that we were staying at Globetrotter Inn, a semi-hostel for people of all ages. Well before the middle of the last century the building was a center for local community health care. After a lot of refits, it makes a perfect residence away from home.

First, we went near the Tower Bridge and walked about.

After, while walking near Leicester Square we couldn't help but notice all the places selling show tickets, all seemingly at half price! We went right to the real TCKTS and decided on the evening showing of Chicago, the Musical.

I was rather tired so after a really late lunch we went back to the Globetrotter and I slept for a few hours.

Feeling much better after the sleep,we went back to Charing Cross and were there well in advance of the 8:00 pm show. It was marvelous. You'll never guess who played the role of the prison warden; it was Lynda Carter! Wonder Woman looked wonderful after all these years. We made some soup in our hostel kitchen after getting back at 11:20. I'll be dreaming about and all that jazz ... all night.

Labels: Eurotrip 2005, London, musical theatre, Q3_2005

The first thing I noticed this morning was how sore my throat was. I guess while travelling around, in close quarters, someone has provided me with a virus to fight. That's not a souvenir that one likes collecting when abroad. The next irritant was it looked dark and cloudy.

Still, we jumped back to a tube train to Buckingham Palace. Although, we wandered by yesterday, today we went in for closer inspection. The State Rooms are open to the public for eight weeks of the summer. They close on the 27th so we made it just in time. Handheld electronic devices have really helped the museum and tour business. We were turned to English from the multitude of those offered, and proceeded to tour the palace. If proceeding at a snail's pace it's easy to follow along. Pause buttons make it possible to linger any place along the way. There were many objects where one could interrupt the audio commentary and by pressing the number mentioned hear auxiliary clips and explanations. Not only are these systems more complete and accessible, they are much cheaper than hiring tour guides. Even though, the Palace seemed stuffed to the gills with staff to ensure no one got out of line.

The sun had come out with puffy white clouds floating in it. As we are still on our passes, we jumped in and out of the Underground a lot today; once, to eat at Earl's Court. Another time, we simply wanted to check out the location of the Tower of London before going there tomorrow.

I'm early here resting. Jay's still checking out the scene.

Labels: Eurotrip 2005, London, Q3_2005

(Jump to Sunday the 25th.) The Globetrotter's Inn is sort of a spin on a hostel for mature folks. We read about it in the travel section of the Vancouver Sun this fall. It's sort of the way that Jay and I travel anyway. It's not lack of funds that keeps us from staying in a Hilton. Well ... the funds are a definite part, but more importantly, it's avoiding the boring, sameness of chains. Why would someone wish to go to a standardized hotel room that appears the same as hundreds of thousands all over the world. It's nice to know you're not at home when travelling.

Anyway, I was just starting to say about the breakfast buffet at the place we're in. It's sort of a fun, communal way of starting the day. You get a chance to see and at minimum, say 'Good Morning' to the fellow guests.

The morning proved to be sunny. The sky was blue so our first chore was to go up in it. We bought 3-day passes on the Underground and popped out at the London Eye this morning a half an hour before many of the other tourists did. It was beautiful and I'm awed by engineering enough to have enjoyed it merely for the mechanical aspects.

London city seems small and easily 'walkable'. Combine that and our passes and we've chosen to forgo the bus tour and explore on our own. We ended up at Piccadilly Circle. We ate lunch there but didn't end up at a matinee performance of any show. I'd love to see Phantom of the Opera though.

Tonight, we're keeping close to home, so we can get up early and do some more exploration bright and early tomorrow.

Labels: Eurotrip 2005, London, Q3_2005

You know how some things can go very smoothly and come off without a hitch. That sort of describes today. Getting up early was not nearly as hard as I would have expected. You have to remember that by 'early' I mean just a bit before 7:30. We ate. We checked out and walked right to one Metro line at Republic Square. Within 15 minutes we'd departed at the end of the line which led right into the Euroline bus station. We had to wait about a half hour before leaving Paris. It was like clockwork.

The bus was big and comfortable. It also headed for Chalis and a ferry crossing to the English coast. On the ferry we had a great, late lunch and then walked around the ferry a bit before we headed past the white cliffs of Dover and into the port. Our bus was stopped by customs for a check, but even that went without incident.

We got into London a bit late, but we had made reservations at Globetrotter Inn, the only of our trip, before we left Canada. So, we knew there was a room waiting. From Victoria Station we got the District Line to Stamford Book and proceeded right into our room. We grabbed fast food and were quite tired. But, it was a perfect day in many respects.

Labels: Eurotrip 2005, London, Paris, Q3_2005

We saved the Louvre for our last day here. I've never walked this much in my life. Even though we're learning the Metro routes, we must've walked three or four kilometers just inside the museum. The Egyptian holdings are very large which helps explain the French accents used by archaeologists in Hollywood movies. The logistics of moving so many visitors through so many objects was superb. We even splurges for a sit-down lunch of salmon; whether it was from BC, I don't know.

We didn't finish the museum until nearly three o'clock. Then, we walked down through the Tuileries towards the Arc de Triomphe. It was miles away, but I love Paris because of it's grand layout. Capitalism benefits consumers but when citizens leave city planning to market forces, they end up with a mess. Nature is random but the greatness of cities comes from straight lines!

Tonight we pack up early. We have to get out of bed earlier than we have been recently. Eurobus suggests getting to the station an hour before our 10:00 am start.

I hope to ride around on double-decker busses and give my poor tennis shoes a great in London.

Labels: Eurotrip 2005, Paris, Q3_2005

We hit Sacre-Coeur du Montmartre this morning. It was nice seeing the part of town that was mountainous. In the evening we walked down the Champs Elysees. When I become a multi-millionaire, I'll make sure I have a shop on that avenue.

Labels: Eurotrip 2005, mountains, Paris, Q3_2005

We had only booked to stay in our second hotel here for two nights. We decided to change scenery by staying more 'uptown' for the last two nights. Unfortunately, they didn't have an opening for tonight. This is still busy season in Europe and this meant our hotel couldn't find a place for us tonight. We were without a place to stay so, Jay went out 'hunting' in our area but across from one main street. We're in Luna Park Hotel. It's very cheap as it doesn't have an elevator and we have to walk up to the third floor on a tiring, winding staircase. Still the window looks out onto a little place where three or four lanes come together each filled with traditional little shops. It's fine.

In the morning, we will pack up and walk a few streets north for our remaining two nights in Paris. Speaking of remaining time, we'd heard that North Station was the location for the departures of Eurostar to London. How fun it would be to race through the Chunnel, we thought. So, we went to the station to purchase ahead for Friday. It was a bit shocking to hear it would cost us more than E500, or about $750.00 Canadian to go one way! We decided it would be even MORE FUN to take a bus as the per price ticket was only E61 or $90.00 Canadian instead. The trip will last from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm rather than the train's time of less than two hours. It will be much better being able to see actual scenery. Isn't it strange how cost can change one's idea of fun?

Today we also did a bit of exploring by subway. The three-day, unlimited tourist pass tickets will finish at midnight. I like Paris. I also don't feel so embarrassed for Manhattan because of the rat-warren den of its subway stations.

Labels: Eurotrip 2005, Paris, Q3_2005

Today was. I'm writing at 10:22 happily but with feet that hurt. We did lots of things in Paris today. We started by finding another hotel but unfortunately can't check in until the day after tomorrow. There's nothing much wrong with this one other than the below-standard towels and lack of WiFi.

We went back to the Eiffel Tower first. Yesterday, we walked around it but today we wanted to go up it. Although there were fewer people in the area, only one 'leg' of the tower was open. In total we waited an hour and a half. There are two 'stages' and then the 'top'. We went directly to the second platform by an escalator that runs at an angle up a leg. We spent some time there before taking an elevator. The way I was positioned, I wasn't aligned with a support. I am not usually afraid of height, but I was a bit unnerved! There only appeared a spider-web of steel beams which didn't look as if they offered a place to stand. Yikes. The view was much greater than it looked from the bottom.

From there, we travelled to the Champs-Elysees and the Arc de Triomph. We also popped out at various Metro stations just to look around. This was how we saw the National Museum of Music as well as the Opera area.

We rode back out to the Eiffel Tower after dark just to see how it looks at night. Jay was correct in insisting that we stay to the turn of the hour. The strobe lights started at 9:00.

We had dinner and now it's time to call it a day.

Labels: Eurotrip 2005, Paris, Q3_2005

As soon as we got up, we remembered we hadn't bought breakfast as part of our stay at the hotel. We walked a block or two around the hotel area and didn't find anything we thought would suffice and went back in to get the 6E50 breakfast at the hotel.

We also thought we might be able to do Euro 14.00 cheaper at a hotel right next door and therefore packed up. We later brought the bags there at only 9:00 am. We left them downstairs as the room wasn't guaranteed to be free until 2:00 pm.

We initially thought we'd do a tourist bus to get our general orientation. Then after waiting we decided to check to see if Metro had tourist fares. We instead got 3-day unlimited passes for 18 Euros. We tried them out by going to the Eiffel Tower. What fantastic weather! We couldn't have ordered it any better.

Later in the afternoon we went back to Notre Dame by subway. One final trip was out to Place de Clichy. Wouldn't you know, there really is a Moulin Rouge!

Labels: Eurotrip 2005, Paris, Q3_2005

(Jump to Sunday the 18th.) Today ate leisurely knowing that we'd chosen a 12:32 train into Paris. There was even a good, thorough BBC documentary on the implications of American Rap or Hip Hop music. Whereas, MSNBC runs around asking people's opinions of the 60th anniversary of the UN. Let me tell you, most ordinary people don't have opinions worth broadcasting.

Rolling through the French countryside was interesting. There was much more farm land than I'd envisioned. I guess I think Europe should be more widely populated as it's been here so long.

We arrived right on time at Glace d'est at around 4:12. Luckily one of the areas that Jay had written down was only a few Metro stops away from the station. We're one station down from Place de Republique at Oberkampf. It was easy to get to this area. We then walked and stayed at the second hotel we asked about. It was small. The prices here are a bit more reasonable than what we have seen so far in Europe. Still I'm spending Euros as if they were Canadian dollars. C'est la vie!

We managed to walk to Notre Dame before sunset. The map of Paris maps things look like a hop and a skip; however, my feet are killing me after that JOURNEY.

Labels: Eurotrip 2005, Paris, Q3_2005

It was grey and cloudy when we got up. We wanted the 'official' tour of the city, so we bought tickets to the tour bus. Just like in other Brussels, we pressed ENGLISH from the nine or so other choices and slipped on the free headsets. I seem to remember college kids had these jobs once upon a time. Now, we've forsaken the fun for efficiency.

The tour was around an hour. We, again, took the 'second story' and shivered although covered in the front section by a roof. The rain continued. As the tickets were valid for 24 hours, we did the same trip in the afternoon. This time I had on a proper sweatshirt and the sun eventually broke out.

It was nice to have a short nap today. We changed hotels from yesterday. That was the very first thing we did in the morning. The room was fine Hotel Zurich but there was a nightclub close and we had a room over the front street. I didn't sleep soundly for the whole night. We have a smaller but quieter room at Hotel Bristol now. Yet, only for tonight.

Tomorrow we will go to Paris. We even bought the tickets ahead. The 12:15 train arrives at around 4:00 there. Hopefully, after we get all settled, I'll find a place to upload the missing photos and these words.

Labels: Eurotrip 2005, Q3_2005

Today, after getting up from our basement suite at the hotel, we packed and went to the train station. We bought a locker for the bags. Then, we did a final walk around the river front of Frankfurt.

For a large majority of day we followed the Rhine river on our way to Luxembourg. It was a very beautiful ride. I have always thought in my travels how everybody thinks of their location as nice, beautiful, or even as "God's country". In actuality, lots of geographically-separated areas share common appearances. I saw the rolling hills of Vermont today. I saw meadows that could've been in the American midwest. I saw vast areas that reminded me of the Okanagan region of BC and Washington State. The common castle on top of the hills reminded me I was on a different place on the globe. That, along with the buildings of the towns and the languages being spoken on the train.

We got to Luxembourg in plenty of time to check in and walk around the city. This is smaller that other places we've stayed. It's cute.

Labels: Eurotrip 2005, Q3_2005, road trip, train

We figured that we'd done Brussels and it was time to move on. We got up, ate breakfast, and walked down the hill to the North Station. We had looked at a map and decided we were ahead of our own schedule which exists only in our heads. We didn't need to run to Luxembourg. Therefore, the map showed that Frankfurt, Germany wasn't too far away.

If you've got the cash, travel by train is a snap. We had to go into Cologne, Germany to catch an ICE train to Frankfurt. It's probably the fastest I've ever travelled on land. It's too bad that rail doesn't make sense in North America. You'd think, now that air travel is such a burden due to security that some routes would work. How about a Montreal --> Boston --> Hartford --> NYC --> Washington DC high-speed line?

We got into Frankfurt in the late afternoon. Wouldn't you know there's an automotive exhibition going on. Hotel rooms are more than double normal prices. We're paying more than I care to convert to Canadian dollars. Plastic will hold everything until we can sort out back in Vancouver at the end of the month. Just gimme another German beer.

Labels: beer and wine, Brussels, Eurotrip 2005, Q3_2005, train

We had a fine breakfast at this hotel. We're staying in the Hotel Albert. Right after, we walked down to the North Station and took the Metro to Central Station. There were competing companies offering city tours. We got on the upper, open deck of a bus. It had audio commentary through headphones. We just had to select English from a list of many. The tour was designed with 10 stops where you could hop off. We didn't and were on the bus for more than an hour and a half.

We ate lunch down near the area in yesterday's photo. I'm still full. We spent the afternoon sightseeing.

Belgium is an interesting place. Around 40% of the population speak French and a larger number Dutch. As we are staying in the north quarter, we also hear a lot of Arabic and Turkish on the street. The country considers itself the capital of Europe. Except for its chocolate, lace, waffles, and beer, I think knowledge of Belgium is a bit low key.

Labels: Brussels, Eurotrip 2005, Q3_2005

These entries aren't too insightful. It's more difficult than I thought to distill the events of a trip while it is going on. Maybe the paper journal I kept in Sri Lanka last year worked more efficiently. I don't know.

Today we left the Netherlands. We went to Amsterdam's Central Station and bought tickets to Brussels, Belgium. On the map it looked so far, but in a train marked as International, it didn't take long. We disembarked in less than three hours. I love flying along on rail. It's a real shame that rail doesn't seem to work in North America.

We came to this city without any reservations or plans. Wouldn't you know there is another international exposition that is filling all the hotel rooms. Well, not exactly all as we managed to get one for tonight. I don't know if we'll be able to extend here or have to look elsewhere.

My feet are tired as we walked around Grand Place which is very far from where we're staying. It was very cute and almost magical in a Disney sort of way. Food and most things seem cheaper here than in Holland. We ate in one of many Turkish restaurants for lunch. They gave so much food we just did sandwiches for dinner.

Labels: Brussels, Eurotrip 2005, Q3_2005, train

Tonight's the second evening that I'm writing and saving as a text file. As soon as we moved to the upgraded room, I lost the free internet connection. I'm still getting several but they are secure.

Last night we finished Amsterdam by walking around most of it. The famous 'red light' district was pretty in a neon glow.

Today, we got up very, very late. We didn't get down to the breakfast until 10:15. After that, we walked to the Rembrandt museum. Although interesting, I just think a few lucky artists got good PR. Some didn't even manage to achieve fame in their own life. It might also be that those who create a large enough body of work cannot be forgotten. The modern equivalent might be the Beatles, or perhaps Madonna. In order to be a deva, one just needs to weather enough years.

Jay called a pen-pal that he's had for over 15 years. The guy lived in northern Holland, so we took a train up for a visit. The distances are short here and the rail system very good. We flew past many cows, sheep, geese, and canals. It was a very nice visit an only an hour each way.

We didn't finish until almost 10:00. Since we want to get an earlier start tomorrow, we'll not be doing anything tonight. We will head south on rail tomorrow and end up somewhere.

Labels: Amsterdam, Eurotrip 2005, Q3_2005, train

(Jump to Sunday the 11th.) Jannie, hadn't changed a bit. She came in at eight o'clock and we proceeded to to the central Amsterdam, after-hours tour. Most things don't get started until 11:00 but we were finished by midnight. Everybody eats and drinks till wee hours of the morning. We ate a Mexican restaurant .. and silly me, I had a Corona in the land of Heinekin. We slept right through till nine in the morning. It's okay as the 'continental' breakfast in the cafe section of the hotel doesn't get going until eight thirty anyway.

We were only able to book two nights in Amsterdam. There's some sort of conference going on and that combined with weekend-Euro-party people seemed to fill every reservation in the city. We packed as if we were to leave and then checked at noon to see if there was anyone who had cancelled. We were able to get another room although a bit more expensive. This means we won't have to spend the weekend in Rotterdam or somewhere else in the Netherlands.

We ate a leisurely lunch and after we got key at 2:00 pm, we took the tram back to Central Station. That's where all the canal tour boats leave from. We got on one and saw the city from canal level.

Nap time was short today. We'll play it by ear and see what happens later ...

Labels: Amsterdam, Eurotrip 2005, Q3_2005

I couldn't believe that we didn't even wake up until 9:00 am this morning. That ended up changing our plans of going to the city of Alkaram to see the cheese market. After breakfast we did get back to Central Station, then we went by train to Koog Zaamdijk. We walked to Zaanse Scans with is like an area where some have been kept. We crawled up a working one. Coming back into town, we walked around Dam Square and eventually ate lunch at 3:30 pm.

Tonight, in an hour, we're meeting a woman that taught with me in the UAE. Jannie is Dutch and married to an American guy. We've not been in contact at all for 10 years. I remember her as practically a child.

Labels: Amsterdam, Eurotrip 2005, Q3_2005

The plane got in at 3:00 but by the time we got out of the airport and into the city and finally in the hotel it was 6:00. The Air Transat flight was on time but boy they don't have very large seats. Imagine not having wiggle room for nine and a half hours of flying time. I'm so tired now!

Labels: Amsterdam, Eurotrip 2005, Q3_2005

We are just about out the door now.

I fully expect to be able to keep this blog up-to-date during the trip. Afterall, I have to justify carrying around an extra 5.5 lbs in the backpack. Actually, I have to carry around the extra weight to justify the purchase of the notebook! We'll be eight hours ahead of usual.

I will most probably be uploading just one picture a day to flickr. It'll be the same one that will accompany each blog entry. After our return, in three weeks, I'll hopefully be able to upload oodles of images.

Labels: Eurotrip 2005, Flickr (Page 1), Q3_2005