Morocco travelogue
Photo albums of Morocco
Wednesday, 7 March 2012
A trip to Morocco
For my 60th birthday Danny and I and friends took a 10 day trip to Morocco. We enjoyed ourselves immensely and are already thinking about a return trip. I have written a blog detailing the trip
Morocco travelogue
Photo albums of Morocco
Morocco travelogue
Photo albums of Morocco
Wednesday, 22 February 2012
A lovely visit.....
We spent two days this week visiting our dear friends Linda & Ron who live about 2.5 hours away in beautiful Perthshire. Great company, great food, great drinks! On the way home I got a few photos at Killiecrankie.
On Friday we are heading to the airport hotel and will catch our flight to Morocco on Saturday morning. This is our first trip there so it should prove interesting.
On a visit to the used bookshop at the Pitlochry train station:
I've applied for and received my bus pass which entitles me to ride free on all buses in Scotland. Anyone 60 and over is entitled to one. Due to our location I am also entitled to a ferry pass which I can use on our local ferries, one of which is free and the other will charge 60 pence with the pass.
On Friday we are heading to the airport hotel and will catch our flight to Morocco on Saturday morning. This is our first trip there so it should prove interesting.
Thursday, 2 February 2012
London trip!
Yesterday we discovered that a concert Danny wants to see and a monk I want to see are in London at the same time. Can't be a coincidence, so we've booked a trip! Hotel, tickets, train are all booked.
I'm very happy to be taking the train instead of flying, especially in first class!
On the 29th of March Thich Nhat Hahn will be speaking at Southbank Centre. The talk is titled True Peace and Happiness in the Here and Now.
The 31st of March will feature TNH leading a Sitting Meditation in Trafalgar Square. Better remember a cushion to sit on!
At Southbank Centre on the 1st of April we'll attend St Matthew Passion by the Bach Choir.
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| Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centre |
Saturday, 28 January 2012
Sunrise
Popped out on the front porch the other morning to capture the sunrise and the crow that sits in our tree every morning. I'm ready to start a photo project but don't have any plans to try the photo a day project again.
Monday, 23 January 2012
Flowers in January
A few daffodils bloomed a couple of weeks ago which is early. Snowdrops and Crocuses are on time.
Tuesday, 17 January 2012
New Year
We've settled back into our routine. I'm ready to start taking photos again. We had mild temps for a while so a couple of our daffodils bloomed. Got cold again though (just above freezing at night) so the daffodils look very sad now.
Anxious to go to Morocco next month for many reasons - birthday celebration, experience a country we've never visited, enjoy being with friends, and new photo ops!
This morning was foggy and I spotted a Royal Navy ship going past so grabbed the camera which is always ready.
This one was me playing around during our 4+ hour layover in Amsterdam after a long flight from Detroit. Nothing to do but eat, read, browse the duty free shops, and about an hour and a half of free internet. So I took some pics.
Anxious to go to Morocco next month for many reasons - birthday celebration, experience a country we've never visited, enjoy being with friends, and new photo ops!
This morning was foggy and I spotted a Royal Navy ship going past so grabbed the camera which is always ready.
This one was me playing around during our 4+ hour layover in Amsterdam after a long flight from Detroit. Nothing to do but eat, read, browse the duty free shops, and about an hour and a half of free internet. So I took some pics.
Friday, 6 January 2012
Back home from the US
Danny and I spent 3 weeks in Michigan for the holidays. Weather was milder than normal and very little snow. Except for an epidemic in my family of a stomach virus, the visit was wonderful.
We flew Delta/KLM this time. We were unimpressed with the flight from Amsterdam to Detroit due to a bad tempered flight attendant and others who seemed to be in bad moods. On the way home the flight was much better as the flight attendants were friendly, and we had booked an exit row so had lots of legroom. I loved having my new Kindle and actually read the entire 7 hour flight without getting tired or strained eyes. The screen is easy on the eyes.
Our opinion of Delta overall is that they suck! They keep changing our flight times for our May trip. They changed our outgoing flight a few weeks ago whereas we'd arrive in Amsterdam several hours after our connecting flight had left. A note in red at the bottom of the email telling us this was: you may miss your connecting flight. Duh?! Ya think so?! They changed it back after a long time on the phone. Yesterday they tried to make changes in our return flight. They want us to hang around Amsterdam airport for about 10 hours before our connecting flight. Might be okay if we wanted to be tourists in Amsterdam for the day, but after flying all night we'll be too tired. So, after a long time on the phone it's back to the original flights. Why do I get the feeling this isn't the last change?! Idiots!
We flew Delta/KLM this time. We were unimpressed with the flight from Amsterdam to Detroit due to a bad tempered flight attendant and others who seemed to be in bad moods. On the way home the flight was much better as the flight attendants were friendly, and we had booked an exit row so had lots of legroom. I loved having my new Kindle and actually read the entire 7 hour flight without getting tired or strained eyes. The screen is easy on the eyes.
Our opinion of Delta overall is that they suck! They keep changing our flight times for our May trip. They changed our outgoing flight a few weeks ago whereas we'd arrive in Amsterdam several hours after our connecting flight had left. A note in red at the bottom of the email telling us this was: you may miss your connecting flight. Duh?! Ya think so?! They changed it back after a long time on the phone. Yesterday they tried to make changes in our return flight. They want us to hang around Amsterdam airport for about 10 hours before our connecting flight. Might be okay if we wanted to be tourists in Amsterdam for the day, but after flying all night we'll be too tired. So, after a long time on the phone it's back to the original flights. Why do I get the feeling this isn't the last change?! Idiots!
Thursday, 5 January 2012
Which culture?
It's been brought to my attention that I refer to myself in terms of British or more specifically, Scottish people. I often refer to Americans as 'you' not 'us/we' and the British as 'us/we' not 'them'.
Due to my residing in the UK for nearly 12 years I feel well-adapted to the culture of this nation, and the country from which I originate seems almost foreign to me. This is not a judgement on one culture being superior to the other. Where I currently live feels like 'home' and I feel like a visitor in the US. This has nothing to do with patriotism as I am American, but I'm also a citizen of the UK and this is where I've made my permanent home. Yes, I was born and raised in the US and lived there for 48 years, but I haven't lived there in what seems like a very long time. I drove there for 30 years before moving abroad but I'm used to driving in the UK and driving on the left side in a right hand drive car feels natural to me, not the other way around. I am so accustomed to different spellings that I often find that a spelling such as 'color' looks incorrect to me.
I regret not doing a blog or journal when I first arrived here. A summary at the end of each year would be interesting to look back on.
It amazes me that a few expats (and others) think they are being traitors or betraying their American identity by using non-American terms or identifying with a culture other than the American one. Some expats enjoy the attention they get by using American terms even when they are confusing. Seems to me this is done by only relatively new expats as this just gets tiresome after living in a new country for a few years. It's been implied, and sometimes outright accusatory, that I must be a traitor or unpatriotic by becoming totally acclimated to the culture in which I live. This is my home for the rest of my life so my question is - why wouldn't I? Is there some point that needs to be proven by clinging to a culture that is no longer part of my everyday life?
As for adapting to the language my question is if you move to France are you going to learn to speak French, or are you going to make your life very difficult, if not impossible, by clinging to your own language and culture? How is this different from moving to an English-speaking country?
My blog on vocabulary changes I have made
Comments and questions are welcome.
Due to my residing in the UK for nearly 12 years I feel well-adapted to the culture of this nation, and the country from which I originate seems almost foreign to me. This is not a judgement on one culture being superior to the other. Where I currently live feels like 'home' and I feel like a visitor in the US. This has nothing to do with patriotism as I am American, but I'm also a citizen of the UK and this is where I've made my permanent home. Yes, I was born and raised in the US and lived there for 48 years, but I haven't lived there in what seems like a very long time. I drove there for 30 years before moving abroad but I'm used to driving in the UK and driving on the left side in a right hand drive car feels natural to me, not the other way around. I am so accustomed to different spellings that I often find that a spelling such as 'color' looks incorrect to me.
I regret not doing a blog or journal when I first arrived here. A summary at the end of each year would be interesting to look back on.
It amazes me that a few expats (and others) think they are being traitors or betraying their American identity by using non-American terms or identifying with a culture other than the American one. Some expats enjoy the attention they get by using American terms even when they are confusing. Seems to me this is done by only relatively new expats as this just gets tiresome after living in a new country for a few years. It's been implied, and sometimes outright accusatory, that I must be a traitor or unpatriotic by becoming totally acclimated to the culture in which I live. This is my home for the rest of my life so my question is - why wouldn't I? Is there some point that needs to be proven by clinging to a culture that is no longer part of my everyday life?
As for adapting to the language my question is if you move to France are you going to learn to speak French, or are you going to make your life very difficult, if not impossible, by clinging to your own language and culture? How is this different from moving to an English-speaking country?
My blog on vocabulary changes I have made
Comments and questions are welcome.
Thursday, 8 December 2011
Gale force winds in Scotland
Most of Scotland and other parts of the UK and Ireland had strong winds today. Up to 90 mph were predicted for our area, with higher winds measured in other areas. Schools and businesses were closed. Ferries cancelled. Bridges closed.
Video in front of our house:
Video in front of our house:
Winds reached up 165 mph in some areas.
Wednesday, 7 December 2011
New blogs
I have recently added two blogs I thought might be helpful.
The first is How I quit smoking.
The other is How I got fit and healthy at 60.
We are getting ready for our trek to Michigan for the holidays and leave next week. We're looking forward to seeing family, but not really anxious to see the snow!
Some blog readers ask where my photos are kept. I have a link in the sidebar of this blog but if you only get updates by email, you won't see it. Photo collections
The first is How I quit smoking.
The other is How I got fit and healthy at 60.
We are getting ready for our trek to Michigan for the holidays and leave next week. We're looking forward to seeing family, but not really anxious to see the snow!
Some blog readers ask where my photos are kept. I have a link in the sidebar of this blog but if you only get updates by email, you won't see it. Photo collections
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