A day in Glasgow

While visting Edinburgh we decided to take a train ride to Glasgow for the day. Conveniently my friend was in Glasgow for a layover and we were able to meet up while we were there. Glasgow is full of interesting architecture. Although we did Glasgow as a day trip, I wouldn’t have minded spending the night there to explore more.

One of the highlights of the day was the tour of the Glasgow School of Art. This tour must be booked in advance. Charles Rennie Mackintosh is responsible to designing the school inside and out. He is famous for his contributions to the Art Nouveau movement. I couldn’t begin to describe the magnificent detail that went into this building. One must come visit for themselves. We couldn’t take any pictures at Mackintosh s masterpiece…. but I did snap a pic from the team room he designed (but it was already closed)

More interesting Glasgow structures.

Meeting Kerri in town!!!!!

Rio de Janeiro

When we visited Rio in 2006 it was notorious for violent robberies. While traveling we usually wander around towns with ease. In Rio we decided to play it safe and do all our sightseeing with tour guides. The two memorable trips we took were to Rochina (a favela) and a day tour called a “Carioca Tour” around Rio.

Our day started with pickup from our hostel and we first stopped at the famous Christ the Redeemer statue. Yes it is as cool as it looks in photos and you can get some great views from up there.

We then stopped at a national park and got a glimpse of a nice little water fall.

Another highlight of the tour is that we got to see the famous Selaron tiles in Rio.

He happened to be working that day and we were able to snap a photo with him. We were supposed send him tiles from Florida to help with his art but we never did. It makes me sad to discover he died in January 2013.

Finally we went to Pão de Açúcar (Sugarloaf mountain) to watch the sunset.

At some point in the tour we stopped a beach. It was July and winter there. A few are playing sports but the beaches are pretty much a ghost town. However if I remember correctly it probably was at least in the 70’s Fahrenheit. Cariocas have low tolerance for cool weather.

We had a safe and memorable visit to Rio.
The hostel we stayed at was Rio Backpackers.

Sardana in Barcelona

One of the most interesting cultural things we witnessed while in Barcelona was the Sardana dance. It is a dance unique to the Catalan culture. It is a dance to show their pride to their Catalan heritage. Catalans have a separate language and culture from the rest of Spain. We got to witness this inclusive dance that is done at noon every Sunday at the cathedral of Barcelona.

A day in Edinburgh

A cold day in Edinburgh walking along the Royal Mile….

Very interesting looking Scottish Parliament building…They let Scotland make some of their own decisions but not on matters of defense, or foreign policy, or taxation. This $800 million eco-friendly building was a sight to see.

The Queens Gallery

Some new clothes??

And it started to snow again….

Yeah, it is cold ….

St. Giles Cathedral

The Edinburgh Castle

Tolbooth Church

The start of our visit in March 2013.

High Line

We had a chance to visit the High Line in New York December 2011. The city reused abandoned raised railroad tracks and turned them into a 1.5 mile trail and public park that over looks the streets of West Manhattan.
Our visit was a very cold day and we walked the path as the sun set. I can only imagine the joy that new yorkers get when they use this path during the fall and spring. What a fantastic reuse of city property!