Travel – With the Barretts

Rheinfall in Switzerland – Travel Lagniappe

Lao Tzu was dead-on when he said, “A good traveler has no fixed plans and is not intent on arriving.” So, when during an atypical (for the Barretts, anyway) driving trip in Europe we saw some signs for Rheinfall in Switzerland (which, by the way, is the largest waterfall in Europe, according to both the Wikipedia site and the Swiss site dedicated to the falls), we decided to check it out.

At the risk of rendering the rest of the post somewhat anticlimactic, let’s go ahead and take a look at the massive rush of water:

There’s more, so don’t go away just yet. Continue reading “Rheinfall in Switzerland – Travel Lagniappe”

Just a Taste of Rothenburg ob der Tauber

I thought I’d give you a little taste of some new adventures coming in the not-too-distant future. So, here is a shot of one of the seemingly endless photogenic spots in Rothenburg ob der Tauber, a lovely spot on the Romantic Road in central Germany.

Markusturm Hotel - Rothenburg ob der Tauber — Markusturm Hotel – Rothenburg ob der Tauber

Stay tuned!

Best –

Dan

Glass! – 19 Pictures from the Seattle Chihuly Exhibit – Travel With the Barretts

While in Seattle a couple of weeks ago visiting our son and precious daughter-in-law (who are expecting our 1st girl grandchild!), Debra and I took in the Chihuly Exhibit at Seattle Center, right at the base of the Space Needle. If you’re not familiar with Dale Chihuly, you can find him all over the Internet – and installations of his work all over the world.

Seattle Chihuly Exhibit

Chihuly’s work with glass remains his forte (in my opinion). The Seattle exhibit is a melee of colors and shapes – a fantastic surreal fantasy, at once familiar and alien.

This post is about the pictures, so I’ll be kind of quiet. I’ve not included our customary watermark on these shots; I couldn’t figure out how to do that without insulting the images. I trust that if somebody wants to use one, they’ll give appropriate attribution.

So, here we go. Please enjoy the Seattle Chihuly Exhibit. Continue reading “Glass! – 19 Pictures from the Seattle Chihuly Exhibit – Travel With the Barretts”

A Stroll Around Faro With the Barretts

Faro – Our First Stop in Portugal

Debra and I decided that it was past time that we took a trip to Portugal. So, in March 2018, we did just that. We spent the first week of the trip in the lovely, small Algarve-region town of Faro.

View from the Cathedral in Old Town Faro

The Algarve region is enormously popular in the summer months, notably with British tourists anxious to trade cold drizzle for drenching sunshine. Like I mentioned, we were there in March – well before the throngs hit the beaches. Which suits us just fine. We’re not really beach people (although many of our closest friends are) and we like the weather when we travel to be what some consider cool. Eighteen to 20 Celsius (64-68 Fahrenheit) is ideal.

It was a touch cooler than that most of the time we were in Faro – and we had steadily pounding rain all of one day – but we didn’t mind. Besides, we had the place practically to ourselves – from a tourist standpoint. Which is better than fine with us, particularly as the Portuguese people are almost universally pleasant and accommodating. (I even managed to think of the pickpocket who lifted my wallet in Lisbon as a nice fellow – remember? If you missed that post, you can find it here.)

So we spent much of the week strolling and exploring. This post is dedicated to some of the shots we took doing that – things you probably won’t see in the Algarve promotional material for tourists.

So, come along, won’t you? Continue reading “A Stroll Around Faro With the Barretts”

The Heartwarming Tale of the Kindly Portuguese Pickpocket

This heartwarming tale is set in Lisbon, Portugal.

Portugal is a beautiful country. The countryside, the architecture, the warmth and friendliness of the people.

We recently spent two weeks in Portugal. It’s a place we’d like to go back to and spend more time exploring. It was a wonderful trip.

All except for that pickpocket in Lisbon on Tram 28. But that wasn’t so bad, either, as you’ll see.

Continue reading “The Heartwarming Tale of the Kindly Portuguese Pickpocket”

Springtime in Seville

You want to go to Spain, perhaps visit several cities, and you’re wondering which cities and what time of year. Make Seville – the heart of Andalusia in southern Spain – one of the cities. And go in late March or early April. Springtime in Seville is a delight.

Southern Spain can get quite hot in the summer, with many days topping 100 degrees. In March, though, it is as pleasant as you could wish for – warm enough to be comfortable in short sleeves during the day and sometimes cool enough for a light jacket at night. But the real reason to choose that time of year for your visit is the smell.

Orange Blossoms

While you’re strolling the cobblestone streets during springtime in Seville, the scent of orange blossoms is everywhere, sometimes so strong that it’s almost intoxicating.

Thousands of orange trees line the streets of Seville and in the early spring, they’re all in bloom. The oranges, themselves, are not edible. The Moors brought Seville Oranges to Spain a thousand years ago and, unlike more modern varieties, the fruit is bitter. It makes wonderful marmalade, though, and most of it is harvested and shipped to Britain for that purpose.

Springtime in Seville – Festivals

Continue reading “Springtime in Seville”