Previous Next
07/15 Archipelago, Sweden
08/30 Granada, Spain
11/17  Haifa, Israel
08/05 Salzburg, Austria
06/08 Northern Scotland
10/14  Marina Piccola, Capri Italy
06/06 Edinburgh, Scotland
09/20 Paris, France
09/18 Paris, France
11/24  Selesck, Turkey
07/10 Kuopio, Finland
08/12 Eiger, Switzerland
10/06  Pisa, Italy
09/24 Countryside, France
09/02 Barcelona Spain

07/15 Archipelago, Sweden

The young man, who originally invited me to his parent’s house, got up at first light and ran off to work.  His friend Brent left to pick up his girl friend.  I began to prepare omelets for the returning couple and took the liberty of cleaning up the house from the night before.  Brent’s girlfriend was very sweet and quite attractive.  …

Continue Reading

08/30 Granada, Spain

A good shower and I packed up for today’s trek.  Our first stop was to see if we could check our bags at the train station but the area used for this service had been closed down some time ago.  It was suggested that we try a hotel across the way.  Typically hotel won’t check in new customer until around noon but usually will accommodate us early arrivals by watching our bags until check in rolls around.  We have done this enough times to know to take advantage of this hospitality.  …

Continue Reading

11/17 Haifa, Israel

We discovered that the prior day’s information was incorrect.  There were no boats leaving today.  We got our Sabbath’s mixed up again.  We had already packed everything up and trekked the long walk down to the docks.  At first I had doubt that anybody was talking straight.  I always had to ask a few to get some comfort in confirmation.  We managed to gather numerous alike answers and concluded that we were stuck there another day, fuck.   …

Continue Reading

08/05 Salzburg, Austria

First words out of Jim mouth were a story about last night’s kiss and he presented it in such a way as if it was supposed to disturb me.  He had the idea I was interested in a particular lady and as the night wore on, that he had won the war.  I explained first that we are not in a competition, second I had no interest in either of the young women or I wouldn’t have retired alone early and third that he was an asshole to even consider it. …

Continue Reading

06/08 Northern Scotland

Tracking down each of the antiquities had the feeling of a treasure hunt and we never felt lost because we could always find signs of life behind the pub door.  One of these nights while wandering I discovered the pub door was locked, so I entered an old grave yard across the way seeking the unknown.  It was dark at eye level, even darker after gazing up at the million of stars looking down upon me. …

Continue Reading

10/14 Marina Piccola, Capri Italy

The next morning I took advantage of the locations that I had found the day before.  It was another beautiful day with the sun shining down under a dense curtain of trees.  I lounged around in-between the shade of the trees and the heat of the sun.  At the end of the day I sat down in the harbor and watched the passing faces leaving the island. …

Continue Reading

06/06 Edinburgh, Scotland

We headed north into Scotland.  Initially we didn’t wander too far from the train stations but eventually we stretched our arms and headed into the countryside.  The weather had been wonderful.  I truly believe the sun had been following us for weeks.  The primroses were in bloom and the fields were scattered with frolicking rabbits.  …

Continue Reading

09/20 Paris, France

I attached myself to the rear of a group touring Notre Dame.  After I came down from the tower I found myself sitting among delinquents in the square just outside the church.  After I finished a cigarette I proceeded down to the Louve.  It took me all day to wander its halls, a maze of inconveniences.  I planned on coming back in a day or two to catch up on what I missed.  I always wanted to learn how to paint, so  I enjoyed watching the students copy the masters.   …

Continue Reading

09/18 Paris, France

Sometimes when I take photographs I place more value on where I am standing than what I am looking at.  In Rouen I stood where Monet stood.  I preferred the light and shade of a subject, the dark spaces that define its character and capture the surroundings of the moment, revealing its alternations.  That evening’s twilight was a symphony colored in grey and rose that I watched as I waited for the sun to set. …

Continue Reading

11/24 Selesck, Turkey

As the storm cleared we helped put things back into place and decided to hang around another day.  About midday we took a walk into town and bought two bus tickets north toward Ephesus.  Our bus was scheduled to leave early the next morning.  All in all this was good company and I had enjoyed the time off the road.  I didn’t know what to expect heading into Turkey’s interior.  I was never taught in school much about Turkey.  …

Continue Reading

07/10 Kuopio, Finland

I darted around from one small town to another and eventually followed a young lady into Kuopio.  She explained that she had been traveling in Germany for the past few weeks and was reuniting with her boyfriend that evening.  We kinda hit it off and she went out of her way to call a few of her friends to see if they could accommodate me with a room.  She found me a beautiful cottage alongside one of the many lakes.  I understood the cottage was her parents or an Aunt but they, like most the folks this time of year, were away on holiday.  …

Continue Reading

08/12 Eiger, Switzerland

With the crack of dawn we were up to conquer the monster.  We had taken the first train into the heart of the Jungrau region, Grindelwald to the base of the Eiger.  We surveyed the landscape against a local map and selected the West slope since it was opposite from …

Continue Reading

10/06 Pisa, Italy

I was told of a nice beach just outside of Pisa so I snuck in an early shower again and took an early train out.  Tuscany provided an enchanting landscape painted in pastels.  I followed the tourists to the tower in Pisa, gave my two cents and climbed to the top.  With all those people hanging all over it I was surprised it hadn’t fallen and decided to head down before it did.  After strolling through the Duomo and viewing Ramous’s doors I wandered across the river to get a feel for the countryside and sat along the side of the bridge thinking.  Truth, like art is sometimes in the eye of the beholder.   …

Continue Reading

09/24 Countryside, France

I wandered about the northern coast of France skipping from hostel to hostel and enjoying their fine cuisine.  Finding excellent food was easy but locating a smile or a friendly gesture from the locals was sometimes impossible.  I felt that the rudeness the Northern French dished out actually provided the glue that bonded us tourists closer together.  I came across a nice room in Blois and utilized it as home base to visit the chateaus in the area.  …

Continue Reading

09/02 Barcelona Spain

After a morning cup of coffee I took a direct route to the train station and boarded the first train heading towards Barcelona.  I didn’t offer Jim a single word.  He either followed or went his own way and at that point I wasn’t going to give it too much consideration.  I wasn’t interest in continuing the conversation from the night before so sat in my own compartment.  About a quarter of the way to Barcelona a group of travelers from North Africa joined in and donated some hash for the ride.  …

Continue Reading
10
https://www.two-coin-travel-journal.com/wp-content/themes/press