Monthly Archives: December 2014
The Fountains of Bucharest
In 1989 we moved to Monrovia, Liberia where we lived for 10 months or so. We planned to stay longer, but a civil war broke out and we eventually had to leave. Touring downtown Bucharest in the summer of 2014 reminded me in some ways of our arrival in Monrovia 25 years before. We were […]
Memorial Museum Passchendaele 1917
I really didn’t want to go to another museum. I had been to the In Flanders Fields Museum twice in five years, and didn’t think the recently renovated Memorial Museum Passchendaele 1917 would offer anything different. I was over-ruled. Turned out I was right. And at the same time I was wrong. Our hosts at […]
Twitter and Pandora’s Box
Yesterday the Ottawa Senators hockey team fired their coach – and announced his departure via Twitter. Today seems like a good time to diverge from the travel dialogue we have been having and talk technology, starting with Twitter. I’m not used to seeing it used for important announcements like that. My wife was asking about […]
Watching The World Cup
It is arguably the biggest sporting event in the world, even bigger than the Olympics. Also held every four years, the FIFA World Cup dominates most of the world for a month or so – pretty much everywhere except North America. Here the sport that the rest of the world refers to as football has […]
Greyfriars Abbey, Dunwich
It is in what could be considered the middle of nowhere, definitely off the beaten track, though admittedly there were a lot more people around in the 13th century. In rural Suffolk you can find the ruins of a medieval Franciscan friary, founded in 1277 and in use until 1538. I assume it was closed […]
Different Approaches
I was flabbergasted at the words of the British woman who was showing me around the lifeboat station. We were in the English town of West Mersea, and there was an open house at the local station of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution. Never having been in such a place before (Ottawa is a long […]
The Trip to Juno Beach
Vivian wanted the joy of a trip she didn’t have to plan, so she delegated all the details of our 2014 European vacation to me. But that didn’t mean she wouldn’t make “suggestions.” “Make sure you book a Juno Beach tour, space is sure to be limited.” Well, I didn’t see it that way, but […]
Gotta Be Flexible When Traveling
“I’m sorry, but your train has been cancelled.” “When will the next one be?” “Tomorrow.” My wife might tell you that I am not very flexible, that once I decide on something I hold to it and can’t be budged. That’s not a good idea when you are traveling. So much of travel is beyond […]
Walking in Bucharest
Two things are guaranteed to get my attention: free and highly rated. When I discovered a walking tour of the historic part of downtown Bucharest, Romania, I signed us up. I chose my time carefully. We were arriving on a flight from Paris in mid-afternoon. I didn’t know how long it would take to get […]
Looking For A Legacy
We have a craving for eternity, a longing for something that transcends this mortal coil. We know our time on this planet is limited and we want to be remembered. Those seeking to leave a legacy for future generations frequently fail to achieve their goals, perhaps because they try too hard or fail to understand […]
random thoughts from lorne 
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