On the way up through New York State we stopped at Saratoga Springs because Rachael half-remembered there was a huge waterfall there. We saw geysers, which unfortunately all had brass fittings … uh … fitted. I guess they at least guaranteed a nice strong fountain of water. There was also a gorgeous [...]
There are gratings in the sidewalk all over Manhattan. Some blow warm, moist air up your trouser legs as you walk over them, others emit rumbling, grating sounds from the subway. You’re left with the impression that there is some kind of civilization down there, quite independent from our own.
I’ve always made rhythms [...]
The North ‘Merkins have some cool shops.
In Canadialand, in Kingston, is As The Plot Thickens - a Mystery Book shop with a wonderfully evocative atmosphere. The front door gives way into a dark-cornered, wooden-floored space filled with shelves and an armchair placed where Holmes might sit, voraciously absorbing the contents of the [...]
The day we left Montreal for Toronto (4 september 06) began with a series of errors. First, we went shopping in Montreal’s incredible underground mall, which we had discovered on the Sunday, just as all the shops were closing. So we tacked on a morning’s shopping to our planned day’s driving, only to [...]
After grunging around New York state (I cannot recommend Motel6 Albany: it felt like we were likely to have drug deals and hooker activity going on in the next room) and around Montreal, we were starting to get a bit grimy and tired and full of stodgy food. Then…
(cut to sequence of clouds parting [...]
… before the holibags fade and I’m stuck back in my old existence …
How To Do Niagara Falls
Go to Niagara Falls Canada not USA
Canadians pick up litter, say please and thankyou, and charge 20% less for stuff than Americans
Stay in Niagara-on-the-lake
It’s prettier, more sedate, and it’s full of wineries. Most of the restaurants cost [...]
Well, my back fortunately got betterer and betterer. The day before the holidays I spent doing back exercises and packing. By the second day of the holiday I was completely rehabilitated, at least, enough to lug the cases up and down stairs and so on. So far the jollies have involved:
Chinese food [...]
Raaaaar! My bag finally showed up, so I’ve been able to brush my teeth, put on clean kecks, gob up my hair into a rather fetching quiff, and go out and paint the town red. Instead of doing that, however, I’ve spent an hour an a half in the bath reading a technical [...]
I started to write an entry on this when, after getting an 8:20 train for a 13:00 flight, the flight was delayed by an hour with the knock-on effect that I’d miss my 17:30 from philadelphia to chicago. But I decided that I wanted to avoid writing a pointless whinging blog (some of my [...]
Last time I was in Santa Barbara, the condo I was put in had no TV. Well, it had a TV but the picture was terrible. If you already knew what the program was about you could sometimes tell what was possibly happening. Being of an engineering disposition, I had a look [...]