Category: Travel

Greetings to all from San Francisco!  “Shelter in Place” is still our daily routine.  Our weather has improved with sunny clear skies and warmer temps in the mid 60’s to low 70’s.

We have been slowly increasing our walks “within mandated guidelines.”  (rubber gloves, face masks and 6 feet distance from others!) Stow Lake in Golden Gate Park, Crissy Field in the Presidio and today Marina Green are among our favorites.

J&J

Here are some pictures from the last couple of weeks:

Tulip gardens just yards from the beach.

One of two original windmills in Golden Gate Park.

San Francisco’s Ocean Beach is miles long.

Pair of geese on siesta at Stow lake.

Overlook where the Bay meets the open sea.

Who’s that masked man?

A unique peek at the Golden Gate Bridge towers.

Egrets chilling.

One Swan a swimming!

A beautiful day for a walk around the Palace of Fine Arts.

A bright sunny morning at Chrissy Field.

Munching!

Imagine keeping track of 14 goslings!!

After a super busy Fall and a very busy Holiday Season we decided a quick trip to London might be a good way to start year 2020!!  Our flight from San Francisco departed early and landed early in London. Overall welcomed news. As usual we took the “tube” into the city where we dropped our luggage at the hotel and decided to wander for a bit.

We have spent the last several days exploring areas we haven’t explored in a while along with areas we know quite well. Weather has been good/very good overall. A few showers here and there but mostly cool and mild. The City is crowded with shoppers from around the world as usual.

We decided to visit The Wallace Collection yesterday. It’s a free admission to a world class collection of art housed in a once palace. We had not seen this collection in several years. We were pleased to see it hasn’t lost its luster.

Some of our favorites follow…

Big Greetings to all!

One of the things we love most about San Francisco and the surrounding areas are the copious options to easily slip out of the city and enjoy the beauty and diversity readily available around us.

Just yesterday we zipped over the Golden Gate Bridge and drove over to coastal Marin County and one of our favorite areas know as the Golden Gate National Recreation Area.

If you are in the area our favorite place for lunch is a local Italian spot called Stellina, on the main street in the tiny town of Point Reyes Station.  Nearby the restaurant is the ever popular Cowgirl Creamery.  Many worthwhile and unique shops can also be found here.

Here are our favorite photos from the day.

Looking South towards the Golden Gate, the Marin Headlands and eventually San Francisco.

This channel between Point Reyes and the mainland is where the San Andreas Fault exists just off the coast of California. At some point in the future, Point Reyes may become an island.

Today was our next to the last day in Paris.  Our walk was over 6-1/2 miles mostly in the Northeast part of the city.  It was full of discoveries.  Monuments, a Passage of Indian restaurants, lots of shops and markets new to us and a new part of the City with modern high rise buildings, shops and massive modern transit hubs.

It was another interesting day in Paris.  The weather has cooled into the low 50s demanding an additional layer, something light but warm…

Today we decided on a walk in the 8th Arr. that included several new surprises along with some old familiar places.  After a seafood lunch we decided to squeeze in another movie, enough for a new review post.  Stay tuned in the next day or so.

 

We are back in Paris for a second week after our two week tour to Eastern Europe that included the Czech Republic, Slovakia, a tiny corner of Austria and Hungary.  We traveled over 600 miles on our bus.  We walked over 120 miles in total averaging 4.2 miles per day.

Now back in Paris, our first day included a much needed visit to the local laundry, a quick trip to the corner store for food and provisions.  And a long walk to a movie complex to catch a much needed (English) language movie just to stay current.

Today was our last day in Lucerne.  We spent most of the day with our long time friends who live here.  This morning’s weather included heavy overcast so we decided to stay close to home and explore nearby areas.

We decided to explore some of the city’s old fortified walls dating back centuries. Next was a leisurely traditional lunch at a local restaurant and another city walk before saying bon voyage.  Tomorrow it’s back to Paris.

 

Today was another day to explore the charming and diverse city of Lucerne.  It’s a compact city on a series of lakes with a walkable old town with lots of restaurants and seemingly endless activities.

We started our morning at the local Farmers Market, followed by a visit to an exceptional museum featuring Picasso, Paul Klee and several impressionists.  (We unexpectedly ran into the owner of the Rosengart collection and museum whose portraits by Picasso hang in the museum.)  We are sorry, photography was not permitted.

Yesterday was a long travel day.  An early morning wake up call, followed by an hour ride to the Budapest airport.  It was a pleasant 1-1/2 hour flight to Zurich, Switzerland.  And then a one hour train ride brought us to Lucerne and a visit with long time friends.

The afternoon included a wonderful lake boat ride followed by a delightful dinner.  All and all a long, but fun, day.

Last night we took a 90 minute cruise up and down the Danube.  It’s a popular way to see Budapest’s city lights.  Here are a few of our favorites.