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Spring 2013 in Marin

May 11th, 2013
by Kbeckerley.
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I just had to share some pictures of the wildflowers in Point Reyes and the flowers in my garden. This is an incredible Spring in Marin and I wanted to share the beauty of where we live.

The barn and history here is very interesting to read about and to see. It is an easy stroll around the barn exhibit if you are not inclined to hike .

Tamales Point trail hike- 4 miles of wildflowers, ocean and Tamales bay!

Lupine all along the trail

Lupine - so huge and bright!

Wild Iris was everywhere!

The wild elk

Such a great view - you really feel like you are at the edge of the world here. The full hike is 4 miles each way. It is moderate in difficulty with a few hills to climb. Well worth the hike.

 

View of Iris garden.

The blue are really prolific and I love the shapes.

I Love the orange Iris.

Spring is definitely my favorite time of year! All the new growth and new life just makes life feel wonderful!

Posted in: Close to home.

Our Visit to Egypt and the Pyramids

Mar 22nd, 2013
by Kbeckerley.
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On our Holy Land Cruise one of the most interesting stops was to visit Cairo and The Pyramids. We disembarked for our 2 day tour in Alexandria and drove 3 hours to Cairo. The ride was very interesting and a bit scary. The traffic in Egypt is so unbelievably heavy . There are all kinds of different transportation on the freeway- cars, trucks, horses, wagons and even a few camels. There are no traffic laws and no set lanes so it is all very chaotic. Our guide was Mohammed and he was full of information about the culture and politics of Egypt. I am not going to go into all that on my blog. I want to share my pictures and some of the experience we had. Egypt is a very interesting country and full of ancient history and many wonders. Our first stop was lunch on the Nile River on “The Boat of the Pharaohs” – a floating restaurant. We  were entertained with Belly dancers and a whirling dervish.

Freeway traffic- everyone going in the direction they want to go!

Lunch on the Nile

Whirling Dervish

Buildings along The Nile River.

After lunch on the Nile we visited The Egyptian museum in Cairo. “The Museum of Egyptian Antiquities, known commonly as the Egyptian Museum or Museum of Cairo, in Cairo, Egypt, is home to an extensive collection of ancient Egyptian antiquities. It has 120,000 items, with a representative amount on display, the remainder in storerooms. ” It was fascinating and a wonderful museum.

Picture of the Egyptian museum

After a quick ride around Cairo we were taken to the Pyramids for an evening light show. I found this to be rather a touristy experience, but it was fun to see them at night and lit up. The next day we saw the pyramids of Gaza, The sphinx, Imhotep and Saqqara tombs, The Citadel of Salah  Al Din, The Rahina museum and much more. Walking the area of the Pyramids was gorgeous. The only bad experience we had was the relentless vendors who really should not be allowed at the Pyramid site.

The Sphinx at Night lit up

Quite a show- lights and music

"Legend has it that Salah ad-Din chose the site for its healthy air. The story goes that he hung pieces of meat up all around Cairo. Everywhere the meat spoilt within a day, with the exception of the Citadel area where it remained fresh for several days. But in reality this location provides a strategic advantage both to dominate Cairo and to defend outside attackers. Salah ad-Din had come from Syria where each town had some sort of fortress to act as a stronghold for the local ruler so it was only natural that he would carry this custom to Egypt. Read more: http://www.touregypt.net/citadel.htm#ixzz2OIlxG9k1"

View of Cairo from Citadel

You can see how the Citadel is very majestic!

Entering the area of the Pyramids . I love the gold colors and the atmosphere radiates with light.

"Giza can be subdivided into two groupings of monuments, clearly defined and separated by a wadi. The larger grouping consists of the three "Great" pyramids of Khufu, Khephren, and Menkaure; the Sphinx, the pyramids of the queens, attendant temples and outbuildings, and the private mastabas of the nobility. The second grouping, located on the ridge to the southeast, contains a number of private tombs of citizens of various classes. While the majority of the monuments of the larger grouping are made from limestone that was quarried and transported to the site, the tombs of the smaller grouping are simply carved out of the native living rock. Read more: http://www.touregypt.net/giza.htm#ixzz2OIvgoCX6"

Camel rides are offered by the vendors. This was part of our group taking off for a picturesque ride among the Pyramids. The vendors will not let you off the camel until you give them more money- so beware!

View from a distance.

 

Posted in: Cruise reviews, Fun and Adventure, Travel.

Cinque Terra- Italian Riviera

Feb 27th, 2013
by Kbeckerley.
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In October we had a wonderful trip to Italy and The Holy Land. I will share my experiences with you over time and hope you enjoy  reading about each place. We began in Italy. We flew to Milan and dropped our friend off in his family’s hometown Lonate Pozzola. He has family there and we spent our first night in Italy in Giovanni’s home. He was a wonderful host and we felt so at home.

The next day we left for Cinque Terra. Driving in Italy was a challenge, fast drivers and hard to read signs all made driving an adventure. We had a hotel reserved in La Spezia , but drove around town and never found our hotel even with a GPS system to help us! John got quite frustrated and decided to head back to a sweet little town called Borghetto we had passed and the Hotel Belvedere on the main street. We checked in there with no problem and ample parking. Our room was clean and we had a nice view of the mountains behind us.  The restaurant was reasonable with good food so we decided to eat here , also. We enjoyed our time there.

Hotel Belvedere

 

View of town from our room

The next morning we had a great breakfast at the hotel then headed to Monterosso Al Mare and our hotel Palme. This town is divided in half by a mountain with incredible views. We started by driving to the old town side. We could walk to our hotel from here- but had to drive back up the scenic windy mountain and back down to the other side to reach our hotel by car. We loved our hotel. It was one block from the beach and an easy walk to the train station. We spent 4 nights in this area and loved every minute. Each day we took a train ride to one town or another then hiked the rest of the day. Every hike was special. I took hundreds of pictures and will share a few.

“The Cinque Terre, the five villages… Linked together by fantastic walking paths, these breathtaking villages are full of history and magic. With amazing hills to produce the rare Cinque Terre wine, wonderful local olive oil, beautiful forests where wild mushrooms are picked during the autumn, you will, without a doubt, enjoy the local gastronomy. The bustling little ports offer a wonderful location in which to relax, as do the old centres and narrow streets of the five villages.“

The beautiful view of Monterosso La Mare from the top of the mountain.

The Cinque Terra region is famous for it's pesto. It is delicious. We ate at a restaurant called "Al Carugo" 3 times. We loved this restaurant above all that we tried in Monterosso. Delicious pesto pasta and Mussels to die for!

View of Riomaggiore in background. We bought a 2 day pass for the train and rode it to Riomaggiore then hiked from there to Manarola after exploring the town.

I loved the houses built on these step hills- So hard to imagine how people decided to build here. The colors are incredible!

The pretty town of Manarola. Where do you go and see boats parked on the street and the laundry hanging is part of the scenery.

 

 

 

Hiking above Corniglia- breathtaking scenery

Today we hiked to Corniglia from our hotel in Monterossa al Mare. We followed the direction in our Rick Steve's book and it was a wonderful hike. The up hills are a killer- lots of stairs and straight up, but the reward of gorgeous views made it totally worth the climb. It took us exactly 90 minutes, which is what the book said it would take. There were quite a few people on the trails. We arrived in Corniglia took lots of pictures and checked out the town.

Approaching Corniglia

Cinque Terra was definitely one of my favorite places to be for 5 days. I have lots more pictures, stories, places of interest and history. For now I am leaving you with just a taste of our experience in hopes that someday you will be able to visit this beautiful area and experience it for yourself.

 

 

 

Posted in: Fun and Adventure, Travel, Travel.

Bruge – A wonderful place to visit

Jan 30th, 2013
by Kbeckerley.
1 comment

I am reflecting on trips past and one of my fondest memories was our visit to Bruges. “Upon visiting Bruges, you will immediately notice that this city has always carefully cherished its architectural and artistic treasures from the past. What makes Bruges so unique though, is the way it deals with this past today.” Bruges is a World Heritage site. It is such a friendly City with people who are happy to help and show you the way to enjoy their city. We walked everywhere. One day we rented bikes and biked throughout the whole City and then into the countryside. It was so beautiful and so much fun!

The City of Bruges has many resemblances to Venice on a smaller scale.

The architecture in Bruges is special and there are many great art museums to visit.

 

There are fine restaurants and many outdoor cafes to sit and watch the world go by.

 

Bike riding around this city is a real treat. So many pretty parks and bike trails.

 

Leaving Bruges to bike along the river and countryside. I love this picture with the windmill and clouds reflecting in the water.

 

One of incredible streets of Bruges with its old buildings and narrow streets.

Posted in: Travel.

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