Here and There Blog

Continuing the tourist weekend, I went to the Wild Animal Park (now known as Safari Park) for a few hours. Surprisingly the animals decided to show off for us. I haven't made up my mind if I like the park changes but a lot of people do and it's bringing in money, so hey. Who am I to miss the old park? It's still a great place to wander about and see the wild life.

Renamed and decorated for Christmas, Disney's Jungle Cruise was a bit more fun, the guide a bit more wacky and everyone was laughing. In the best of time, the Jungle Cruise is out dated animatronics from the 60's but you have to go with it and enjoy. Here's a taste of the holiday treat. Fruit Cakes - abandoned! Fruit Cakes - used as bait for Hippos! I'm sure the elephant was not amused. The predators on the loose. Sadly I was on the wrong side of the boat and couldn't get a picture of the reindeer carnage. Piranha's taking bites out of Christmas presents. If you look on the left there's one flying out of the water.

Rain! Twice in a week and more coming. Most welcome for SoCal. Well it's a slow time for work so after the day was wrapped it was off to Karl Strauss, where I haven't been in a while. New beers to try even new food on the menu. Not much else is going on. Other than ROUGE ONE greatness! I've seen it once, liked it and now that I know what to expect I'm looking forward to seeing it again on Christmas. New Doctor Who this weekend and a Who marathon on BBC right now. Cheers!

O.B. California. Everyone says it's a place like no other and it's true. Today was sunny and perfect, you could walk out on the pier without being blown away by the wind, and all was good.  The swells were coming in but due to the recent storm no one was surfing today.  Instead, most people were hanging out by the Christmas tree.

Many cities decorate the streets in a style that reflects the area. Beach towns typically have Surfing Santas and palm trees turned into candy canes. In Carlsbad, the local retail center has the usual tree, holiday ornaments and Christmas lights all the way to the top of the palms. This was taken close to sunset down by the beach. Another reminder of why it's good to be home!

The mega castle of reconstructed old ruins is a short drive from Toulouse.  Carcassonne has it all, towers, a wall you can walk for great views, and rooms to explore. After all that you can shop and eat in within the city walls. Typical history, a fortress, various families ruled, attacked in the crusades, fell to and from hands, and finally to disuse, ruin and now perfect for tourism!        

Short version - Abli and church area date back to the 10th and 11th centuries. The people of Albi went out on the crusades in the 13th century against Cathars. What are Cathars? I never heard of them before. Simply people who rejected the Roman Catholic Church but still considered themselves Christian. Holy war commence, a lot of people died. Roman Catholic Church won and decided that this was a good way to get rid of a problem.  What remains is a now UNESCO World Heritige site to wander around.      

Foix was about the mid-point on our drive between Toulouse and Andorra and with a castle like this, we had to make the stop to climb around. Basic history, founded a long time ago, well fortified and defended in various wars and the area absorbed into the greater kingdom.      

Tucked in-between France and Spain, Andorra is one of those tiny principalities in Europe that is really hard to reach except by car or bus. The country is in the Pyrenees and the landscape is stark but might look better in the spring than right at the first snowfall.  The local pizzeria greeted us with Sangria.  The scenery becomes rocky and steep as you approach the Pyrenees.  On the French side, the towns are smaller with glimpses of snow on the ski runs.  The town looks like a parking lot for the ski resort. The visible slope was accessible from the street.

I've never gone hungry on Thanksgiving. Most of them have either been spent with family or on the road for work. While it's a time to be thankful for what we have, it's also the moment to remember that many people don't have enough food on a daily basis, let alone enough money to have a stuff your face meal. I'm not one to give money to people on the streets. That money may buy them a beer but that's about it. I'd rather give money to groups that do the work to help the people who want help, not a free ride. Before I left on this trip, I did a quick Sprouts run. On that day they were doing a drive to buy meals for people who would have nothing on Thanksgiving. For a person who rarely ever gives money to people on the street, I'm quite the free ride when in a store. So much so that when I see people outside a store selling something, I turn around and leave rather than deal with it. But on this election cycle when so many people are in for a rough four ...

A table facing the ocean, more coffee than I can drink, and roasted coffee bean perfection, made waking up in Cannes easy. This setting is the way to induce a lingering at the table, taking your time instead of rushing through and getting on with life. In fact my 45 minutes was short compared to the people who were there before I arrived and planning to stay much longer after I left. Now that I'm gone I miss the view and miss the coffee.  Cannes in November is nearly perfect.  Affordable hotels and no crowds at all!

Nothing like a trip to the south of France for post-election blues! Cannes is the place to do nothing, but do it in style. Walking, eating, drinking, sitting, and then repeating. This is a place to relax and move slowly and be okay with it. Even the coffee tastes better here. I should have taken a picture of it this morning but the crowd in the restaurant didn't seem like the approving sort of food & drink photos. Tomorrow I will be braver. (maybe)  A short steep walk up a hill takes you to the lookout point and up close and personal with the Cannes sign. The view across the water is worth the hill.  Behind Cannes  On my balcony at the hotel. Why are the best upgrades on the shortest stays? And does my jet lag show, but oh well, it's been a good day. Once the clouds lifted a bit, I also had this view. Now that I know I like it, Monaco and Saint-Tropez are on a future visit list.

I think anyone who knows me well, realizes that the election annoyed me. There was too much wrong with almost every aspect, in every corner. I have friends who have experience post election racism in their face. Anyone who has a friend who is other than white and male, know that those friends are subject to subtle or obvious harassment or racism. Not just people of color but women are impacted too. That 72 cents to the $1? I know it well. Watching male peers who have less experience and skills than you get promoted while unqualified? I know that well too. What I don't know is why these plastic ants were the artistic direction at an outdoor mall where I was working in Mexico City.  They're up on the glass looking down at all the shoppers. Maybe they're annoyed and tired of people stepping on their insect cousins. Maybe the march of two by two has to start with us. One person can't keep a movement going. They have to have a second join in, who the gets others t...

Went back last night to take another look. The evening lights brought out the color in many of the Alebrije.  Here's a few that stood out    

I missed the parade by a few days but all the Alebrije (giant paper-maché) are on display along Mexico City's Reforma main street.  On Sunday's the street is closed to traffic in the morning so people can exercise in the street, Best part of today was having something to look at along the walk.       I'll have to credit Wikipedia here since their sources were cited.  " The monumental alebrijes of the parade are based on those credited to artisan  Pedro Linares , who began creating fantastic, chimera-like, brightly colored creatures after dreaming them while ill. They generally combine elements of real and fantastic animals as well as humans including faces, wings, horns, hoofs, multiple heads, tails and more."  Learn more  click here