GLOBAL AROUND THE WORLD ADVENTURE IN PHOTOS: Part 4

Two more parts to go:  Tauck European River Cruise and Back in the USA.  GAWA 39:  I boarded Tauck's MS Espirit, where we had dinner and then a short river cruise to see Budapest at night.  It was very chilly, but the view was phantasmagoric, magical.

GAWA 40:  We had a lecture and tour of Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia, a city smaller than Honolulu, but with a progressive high tech economy that was like a mini Silicon Valley.  Here some Fall colors:

GAWA 41:  Then on to Vienna, where I shared a Wienerschnitzel with some friends I made on this trip.

GAWA 42:  Sunset at Melk Abbey in Austria.

GAWA 43:  Lunch scene on the Blue Danube.

GAWA 44:  Sunset on the sun deck of the MS Espirit.

GAWA 45:  A view from my room of the banks of the Blue Danube River (actually, the river is just known as the Danube, and is the second longest in Europe to the Volga River).

GAWA 46:  My photo of the 1945 and 2015 courtroom at Nuremberg, where Nazi war criminals were judged.

GAWA 47:  The Face of Bamberg.

GAWA 48:  My Blue Bar Pigeon at the Christmas Market in Rothenburg.

GAWA 49:  Cablecar view of Rudisheim.

GAWA 50:  My Blue Bar giving a lecture in Cologne.

GAWA 51:  At the Romisch=Germanisches Museum, I noticed a tombstone from around the time of Jesus Christ.  I found it amazing that the alphabet we use today is exactly the same as Latin letters 2000 years ago.

GAWA 52:  You need to look very closely, but visible are five bridges over this Amsterdam canal.

GAWA #53:  At the final dinner on board the MS Espirit, Lareen and Lesley with Charlotte's leis.

GAWA 53:  Goodbye Amsterdam.

GAWA 54:  But first, my final meal on the MS Espirit, courtesy of Chef Siegfred, a saffron truffles risotto with foie gras:

Tomorrow, the final part of my Grand Around the World Adventure in pictures:  Back to the USA.

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Tropical Storm Sandra, meandering westward, south of Mexico, has suddenly strengthened to 115 MPH, but should weaken back to tropical storm status on a path now projected to just miss Cabo San Lucas at the southern tip of Baja, and make landfall at Culiacan:

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GLOBAL AROUND THE WORLD (GAWA) IN PHOTOS: Part 3

GAWA 24:  Over the past quarter century, I've been to Bangkok numerous times.  To the left is the Hyatt Erawan Hotel, and that green-roofed structure in the front is where the shrine was bombed by terrorists on August 17, killing 20 and inuring 125.  The shrine actually today looks better than it looked before the explosion.

In the early days, you could have two suits made for less than $100.  So I decided to have my tailor do safari shirts.  What you see below is the 5th generation.  The material is more comfortable, and there are four zippered pockets.  I brought a copy of the 4th generation, and they copied it with some minor adjustments.  Everything was completed in 36 hours.  Price?  A little more expensive than two decades ago. 

GAWA 25:  Dubai is truly astonishing.  However, it suffers from air pollution.  In the midst of this mucky air is the tallest building in the world, the Burj Khalifa.

GAWA 26:  I balance ridiculously expensive meals with cheaper fast food combinations I have in my room.  Here, in Dubai, virtually across the street, I found a Panda for some hot & sour soup and a box of Kentucky Fried Chicken, with some red wine.

GAWA 27:  For a while I contemplated staying one night in the Burj Al Arab, where rooms start at $2,000/night.  If the price could be worked down to $1,000/night, I would have splurged.  Anyway, here is what it looks like.

GAWA 28:  Then, on to Istanbul.  Here is an inside view of the Blue Mosque (more accurately, Sultan Ahmed, or Sultanahmet Camii in Turkish, was built in the early 1600's, mostly of blue tiles).

GAWA 29:  Baklava (invented in Turkey) and Turkish coffee at Beyti.

GAWA 30:  A final breakfast view from my hotel in Istanbul.

GAWA 31:  In Milan, I walked around my hotel, found a market which sold sashimi, but no rice.  so I got a bag of potato chips and invented a new kind of sushi, which I had with some Italian beer and red wine.  As the meal was sort of Japanese, I watched NHK, where their English channel is prominent throughout the world.

GAWA 32:  One of the main reasons I went on this GAWA is to attend the Milan World Expo, with the theme:  Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life.  I have pretty much been to all of the World Fairs (the Expo is for Exposition) since 1962 when it was held in Seattle.  Here is a typical scene.

 

GAWA 33:  The next World's Fair will be held in Kazakstan in 2017, then in 2020, Dubai.  If I'm still capable, I might actually make that my final Expo, for the Year 2020, this Vision thing, has long been my longevity goal.  Twenty million came to Milan 2015.  Here is just another photo from Day 2 of Milan.

GAWA 34:  Glassmakers from Murano, an island of Venice, have been the leaders in this field for centuries.  Here are two examples:

GAWA 35:  During breakfast at my hotel in Venice, this bold Blue Bar Pigeon joined me on my table for breakfast.  Here he is flying away.  Why show this photo?  Well, this "same" Blue Bar appeared at every European city I visited.

GAWA 36:  During no doubt the best meal I had on this trip at Quadri, he couldn't get in, but watched me eat from outside the window.

GAWA 37:  I then moved back to the St. Regis, and the chef made me a black truffles saffron risotto, which was a work of art and a gustatorial treat, too.  Certainly in the top ten of anything I've ever consumed.

GAWA 38:  On to Franfurt in the Fall.

Tomorrow, Part 4 will feature my 14-day Tauck European River Cruise.

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GLOBAL AROUND THE WORLD (GAWA) IN PHOTOS: Part 2

The following photos are not necessarily the best from an artistic point of view, but representative of my stay at each city.  Food continues to dominate (but many of my meals, actually, are fast food and cheap, which I take to my room, as to the left, where unfolds the city of Bangkok).  However, the scenery and tourist stops will later come into prominence.  For details on each Global Around the World Adventure day, you can, of course, go to that day in this blog.

GAWA 14:  The ANA Lounge at Narita Airport is about as good as it gets for business class travel.  There is a station for noodles and a wide variety of sakes.  Here minestrone soup and a miso ramen.  Note how large everything is when you consider that black and white thing on the plate is a regular musubi:  

On the flight from Tokyo to Seoul, Asiana Air served saam, a Korean dish, almost like a Mexican taco, except leafy vegetables , with assorted peppers, are used to wrap the meat and rice.  While it doesn't look like much packed in cellophane, there are two each of six different types of leaves.  Here with soju, bloody mary and a beer.  Note that I just had the above meal at ANA.

GAWA 15:  The breakfast buffet at the D-Cube Sheraton in Seoul is fabulous.

What you see above is just one course, of a buffet that has half a dozen stations devoted to noodles, eggs, meats, etc.  Just the assortments of vinegar/oil and salt are way over the top.  I count twelve different kinds each of vinegar, oil and salt.

GAWA 16:  Jun-sik is the highest rated restaurant in Korea.  This is my second time there, and, while he was in Manhattan at his establishment there, he moved to a more posh location in the city.  Here a blue rose dessert.

GAWA 17:  I moved on to Hong Kong, and was ideally position in time and place to view from my room the most elaborate fireworks show I have ever seen.

GAWA 18:  I caught the MTR (subway) to Hong Kong Island, then the Star Ferry back to Kowloon.  Children pay around 15 cents, and adults double that.  I think there is a seniors rate, but at that price I didn't bother.  Here is a passenger.

GAWA 19:  Singapore probably deserves a more meaningful photo, but thought these glass bears were cute.

GAWA 20:  The air pollution--caused by out of control forest fires in Indonesia--was terrible.  Also, next time you take an around the world trip, check first if a stop through this country involves a steep surcharge.

GAWA 21:  I had dinner at Waku Gin and on my way out took a photo of the Sands casino, which is prohibited.  But I got in the elevator and left before the approaching guard got to me.

GAWA 22:  Rossini's is in the Grand Sheraton Sukhumvit, and I talked the chef into creating a truffles risotto.  This was "only" black truffles, but the meal was superb.

GAWA 23:  Sirocco is the highest rooftop restaurant in the world.  The view is awesome, including a beautiful sunset, and food excellent.

This is good day to end Part 2, as my next flight will take me to the Middle East, Dubai.  Return for Part 3.  

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