tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38093845748986942562024-02-07T15:18:16.480-06:00Transformations Through TravelTransformations Through Travelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04310513512703735060noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3809384574898694256.post-81866637541952104752022-10-03T23:16:00.008-05:002022-10-24T08:57:15.147-05:00The Digital Nomad Experience<p><span style="font-size: medium;"><b></b></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghsVWrLXjm0DOsBVoxn-WRE76_rcgWcThAsUQ9cDCguIJQzFxoZ6g9Z2B2wBSWmnLNxSYDzrJulCyPB3nZQ1dQL8RiOjm_gJVopD7zDc-hMKUSp6RpfgaS7BCcuATGWN3tAG_LMZKow_caaYppsW9sMEw-GLr7pEKIXGbVqmE3BiS8Cf5TZejJFlbo/s4000/20221024_053950.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="3000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghsVWrLXjm0DOsBVoxn-WRE76_rcgWcThAsUQ9cDCguIJQzFxoZ6g9Z2B2wBSWmnLNxSYDzrJulCyPB3nZQ1dQL8RiOjm_gJVopD7zDc-hMKUSp6RpfgaS7BCcuATGWN3tAG_LMZKow_caaYppsW9sMEw-GLr7pEKIXGbVqmE3BiS8Cf5TZejJFlbo/s320/20221024_053950.jpg" width="240" /></a></b></span></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><br />Embarking on the Next Adventure!</b></span><p></p><p>Ten years ago I created this Blog with intention to chronicle journeys past and present. I ran out of steam by the end of the first year returning in 2015 for a short lived reprisal. I am grateful I have kept the Blog alive and available. Without new stories to add it pleases me to know my photos posted here have given others around the world reason to visit. I am overwhelmed by the number of viewers regardless there is only historical content.</p><p>This is about to change! It is a new decade and my life and career have taken many turns. Leaving a 21 year career in Travel caused me to think this Blog would no longer have relevance. My current occupation has shifted to a fully remote work environment. The opportunities before me are expanding at breathtaking pace and my plan is to join an ever increasing population who are taking their travel dreams to the next level. I am becoming a Digital Nomad.</p>John@Transformationsthroughtravelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04768496693368327241noreply@blogger.com0New Orleans, LA 70130, USA29.9335594 -90.0700050999999891.6233255638211546 -125.22625509999999 58.243793236178846 -54.913755099999989tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3809384574898694256.post-57429511592604171792015-04-26T16:35:00.000-05:002015-04-26T16:35:30.277-05:00A Walk Through KathmanduTransformation is an appropriate word to use today. In fact if I am committed to living in the moment, then it is a word which applies every day of my life. I had great passion to dive in and create this Blog three years ago, yet the rigid rules I gave myself made progress slow. The plan was to retrace all the travels I had done in my life starting with my youth and move forward chronologically. BORING! I may have wonderful memories of the trips, but for many I do not have pictures. Today we want to see through the writer's eyes, and pictures help us do this. I have often said, my stories are always about human interaction. If I am traveling, and have not engaged with others along the way I will know it by a sense of disconnection.<br />
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Fast forward to the present, the here and now. It is the 26th of April, 2015 as I make this entry. My mind is filled with images of destruction, and suffering caused by the devastating earthquake which occurred in Nepal this weekend. I look at the news (something I rarely do for those who know me) and experience a sense of sorrow, and grief. My first desire when seeing these images is to get on the next plane to go and help. For now, this is not to be my way of providing assistance to this lovely nation nestled in the Himalayan Mountains, landlocked in a valley bordered by India, and China (Region of Tibet).<br />
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There is something I can do. I can use this tiny space I have on the Internet to share with you the Nepal I know. The Nepal I remember fondly. Natural disasters, especially when they occur in the most vulnerable of places appear to boggle the mind, yet I have been amazed over the years as I witness the resiliency of the people I have met over the years who have told me their stories of what they did in such situations. For many, acts of bravery, courage, and selflessness came naturally. My current thoughts are focused on the Love I have for my fellow humans who are in need, and gratitude to the many who frequently offered assistance as I made my way across the region visiting the Kathmandu Valley. Such memories continue to shine Light in my life.<br />
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I shall tell this story with an excerpt from my journal to Nepal which I visited in 2002. The preparation for the journey was as endearing as the trip itself. The destination was pre-planned as part of my one year sabbatical from 2002-2003 when I circumnavigated the globe with a back-pack and an around-the-world airline ticket. Kathmandu was a side trip, and one which I had booked as a separate flight arrangement from India. Though this fact may be incidental, it played a major role in learning patience, perseverance, and learning about cultural norms. To be more specific, I was in Hong Kong two months prior to setting off to India when I learned the flights I had booked to Nepal had not only been cancelled, but the route itself was no longer operating. Furthermore, the ticket I had was not valid for use because the airline I booked did not work with other carriers providing alternative service. I was given the option to take a voucher to India, and visit an Indian Airlines office in New Delhi where I might attempt to book new flights to Nepal. This was not what I had planned. Purchasing a ticket from Indian Airlines in 2002 with a "voucher" at a New Delhi City Ticket Office was not an equivalently simple experience as showing up at London's Heathrow and purchasing a last minute ticket to Paris.<br />
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I shall spare you the remainder of the New Delhi ticket purchase story, as fun as it was. Should you be interested in learning more, have no worries. I will write much more on India in later posts as it is a favorite destination of mine with three visits in the last ten years. Moving on, the following text comes directly from my journal. Reading it again today reminds me how fresh, and new everything appeared to me. I can recall the clean, crisp air, the magnificence of the Himalayan skyline on the descent into Kathmandu, and the utter sense of feeling relaxed after five weeks in China, and the previous week in New Delhi.<br />
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"Returning to the Himalayas was a breath of fresh air after Delhi, both literally and metaphorically. I stayed in the tourist area of Kathmandu known as Thamel. This is a fantastic place to hang out for a few days. Lots of roof top restaurants, and shops selling so much stuff that I wanted to buy but resisted because I don't want to carry it for 6 months. The Nepalese have their share of touts, but nothing like India. They just want you to come into their shops which are very inviting. For sale are beautiful handmade Tibetan rugs, pillows, hats, and various other textiles. While in Kathmandu I visited the ancient area known as Durbar Square. The buildings and temples in this area are made of brick or stone, but what makes them so unique is the wooden inlaid windows and rooftops. All of them with minute intricate carving that has withstood time. There were just so many temples in this square it was mind boggling.<br />
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I very much enjoyed Kathmandu as it reminded me a lot of Tibet (without the Chinese influence). I also traveled to Bhaktapur which is also an ancient city that today acts like an open air museum. Walking around the city you encounter houses, temples and buildings all with these amazing wooden rooftops and window inlays. My final day trip in Nepal was to Boudhanath. This is a small village with one of the 40 largest Buddha stupas in the world. The Stupa was behind a gate separated from the busy street. The shops all around the stupa were playing Tibetan chanting music which added to the calmness and beauty of the area. It was difficult to leave Nepal after such a pleasant visit. I definitely would like to go back and have time to trek through the Annapurna mountains.<br />
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On a separate note, Indian Airlines turned out to be outstanding. They had the best in flight food I have had on an airplane. I learned that Taj Hotels does their catering. The security in Kathmandu was also like nothing I have ever experienced. After you check in, you go through the regular x-ray routine. Each and every hand bag is emptied and inspected. At the gate, you must go outside and identify your checked luggage before it is loaded on the plane. Just outside the aircraft at the foot of the stairs, all hand baggage is again emptied and inspected and you are body frisked. Wow!"<br />
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It is with pleasure I re-launch Transformations Through Travel today. I look forward to publishing more content combining my passions for travel, people, multiculturalism, and writing.<br />
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I hope you enjoy your visit. If there is a particular destination you would like for me to share my experiences, have a look at the archives for the Countries Visited Listing. Let me know, and I will do my best to accommodate.<br />
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Best,<br />
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John<br />
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<br />Transformations Through Travelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04310513512703735060noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3809384574898694256.post-48754944167433946942012-08-02T06:42:00.003-05:002012-08-02T06:42:50.468-05:00Quick Detour...Capture the Colour PhotoBlogging Travel Competition!<span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";"><strong>As a newbie</strong>
to the world travel blogosphere I have just begun exploring other writers, and
their journeys.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have learnt quite a
bit in the last two months, much of which I haven’t been able to apply to my
own Blog as of yet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have my own set of
excuses; full time job, not currently traveling, blah, blah, blah.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Truth be told, I am simply long winded!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">I just learnt about this photo contest, and with a library of pictures I can't wait to share, I figured what a great way to display some of my favorites. I'll also tell a few quick (yes I am going to attempt to be brief) tales of the road for each photo. The contest asks for five pictures according to a colour scheme of Blue, Green, Yellow, Red, and White.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">The following are my pick of pics. I hope you enjoy!</span><br />
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<strong><span style="font-family: Verdana;">WHITE</span></strong></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">In August of 2000, I traveled to Vietnam. The country was just beginning to see a wave of tourism. Hue is a city half-way between Hanoi, and Ho Chi Minh. The Citadel is a fortress like structure, military in nature. The day I was visiting there were hundreds of school kids walking along the grounds. The girls were all dressed in these beautifully tailored white outfits. Behind me there was a procession of army soldiers marching. I had walked by the girls initially, and said hello, and they smiled politely. They seemed to be quite shy, and were fascinated with my digital camera, my first. It had a screen on the back allowing you to see the picture after taking it. They were not too keen on having their picture taken, or at least they indicated such. The look on the middle girl's face says the opposite. I walked away, and took this shot with the zoom. 12 years later, it is still perhaps one of my favorite pictures I have ever taken. I can look at it, and remember the hot humid air, the army procession behind me, and the "no, don't take my picture sir" verbalized, but the 'yes, I want to see myself in that little screen' being whispered in her thoughts.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;"><strong>RED</strong></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Buddhist Nuns, Ani Tsankung Nunnery, Lhasa, Tibet</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">In 2002 I was fortunate to travel to Lhasa. One morning I was walking with friends I met along the way, and by word of mouth we had heard about the nuns who lived in a converted monastery. We entered through a peaceful courtyard adorned with yellow flowers. There were nuns tucked away in corners praying peacefully. This picture was taken in a busy room where experienced seamstresses were teaching novices to sew robes. I love the intensity in which the teacher, and the pupil devote themselves to their tasks. I look at this photograph, and wonder how much focus I truly give to things I do, particularly when multi-tasking is expected to be a job requirement these days!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;"><strong>BLUE</strong></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Antigua is a delightful, colonial town with a volcano for a backdrop which you can see behind he clouds in this picture. While wandering the streets early one morning, I captured this picture of a local mother taking her daughter off to school. The entire town is covered in cobble stone, and was peaceful in the early am. At night it was a buzz with dining, music, and local flare. Being at a high elevation, Antigua was comfortable regardless of the typical high June temperatures. Oh, and I can't forget to mention the coffee. My whole reason for strolling down this particular street so early in the morning was to visit the coffee house on the corner, just amazing! Hooray for caffeine.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>GREEN</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Peace. Tranquility. I could go on with more synonyms, however I feel the picture tells the story of the mood best. In 2004 I visited India for the second time. My first was as a true budget backpacker paying $2.00 a night for accommodation. This time I was returning on a two week vacation, employed, and had a few more dollars to spend, (still had sense to be on a budged mind you).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The backwaters of Kerala could be described as estuaries, or small river like bodies of water which overflow inward from the Arabian Sea. I may have really messed up that description. People have built settlements along these areas for generations, and tourists have traditionally rented houseboats to sail for a day or two to visit the area. Based on economics of scale, I found it quite affordable, and it was a true privilege to know the captain seated here who guided me through the villages. I took this particular picture, because after 12 hours of sailing through tiny, narrow canals we arrived to our first wide open space. It was as though by chest opened up to a breath of fresh air, and the world opened up to use with blue skies.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>YELLOW</b></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCz3aQn2mzONEgSd3p2U2c_pg81yxLTPRL9555buwhq_JCLENYqo2D9c6-SgpKXkhAcyX1d0oI_CBGa76bN1HGfR1qWFe3sy5wNDVT90gcQNJLEYe_vfSA0IhXiAzoO4_-Hs6uVLPYYew/s1600/5+Y.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCz3aQn2mzONEgSd3p2U2c_pg81yxLTPRL9555buwhq_JCLENYqo2D9c6-SgpKXkhAcyX1d0oI_CBGa76bN1HGfR1qWFe3sy5wNDVT90gcQNJLEYe_vfSA0IhXiAzoO4_-Hs6uVLPYYew/s640/5+Y.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dejavara Spice Market, Mysore, India</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I returned to India just last year, and was in Mysore which is known for sandalwood. The Dejavara Spice Market is a famous central market which sells not only spices, but other products one may need, or not.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This picture captivates me insofar as I look at the people, and love to guess at what they are thinking. My favorite is the woman front and center.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>"Where are the chickpeas? I thought I bought chickpeas? Where are they?"</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>So there you </b>have my five entries. To learn more about the contest, make sure you check out the contest's official website which you can find here:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.travelsupermarket.com/c/holidays/capture-the-colour/" target="_blank">Capture the Colour PhotoBlogging Travel Competition</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Each participant is asked to nominate other bloggers whose photography they admire. I have chosen to nominate the following:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="http://taketothehighway.com/" target="_blank">http://taketothehighway.com/</a></span></div>
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<a href="http://www.tosimplify.net/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">http://www.tosimplify.net/</span></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/MarriedwithLuggage" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">https://www.facebook.com/MarriedwithLuggage</span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="http://everywhereonce.com/" target="_blank">http://everywhereonce.com/</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="http://itinerantlondoner.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">http://itinerantlondoner.wordpress.com/</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Well that is about it. I hope you enjoy the photos, and 'brief' stories I wrote with them. Back to memoirs with my ongoing Blog. Next Up...Europe at 16 years old with 9 other 16 year old with one 25 year old group leader...are you ready Marjorie????</span></div>
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</div>Transformations Through Travelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04310513512703735060noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3809384574898694256.post-92104110363321766192012-07-30T06:18:00.002-05:002012-08-03T05:54:16.164-05:00My First Adventure...Israel, Egypt, and Greece with My Father<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">Growing up</span></b><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";"> I was always fascinated with
ancient history. As a youth I would attend Sunday school, and Hebrew school
which were compulsory.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It wasn't until
one teacher introduced our class to stories which she called Jewish Mysticism.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I hung on every word she said, and became
quite the fan of her teaching.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">In 1979 I
remember my father was following the news regularly, specifically focused on
the Israeli-Egyptian peace negotiations which were underway between Anwar
Sadat, and Menachem Begin, facilitated by President Carter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To the best of my recollection, I remember
Camp David becoming a household term.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">When the
treaty was signed, and peace had been bridged between the two nations it was a
signal to my family Jews could now visit Egypt.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Looking back over 30 years, I know now a peace treaty never prevented
Jews to visit Egypt.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That is an entirely
different matter not for discussion here.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Once signed, my grandparents announced they were booked to go to Cairo
to celebrate a Passover Seder in April of 1980 at the base of the Pyramids of
Giza.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My father heard this, and said he
would like to see Egypt.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He had always
been intrigued by ancient Egyptian history, and archaeology.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My mother suggested he take me, so we planned
the trip over a February vacation period.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">So far this
may sound like a pretty straight forward Holy Land tour for a father, and his
son, how adventurous, and interesting a story could this be?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Keep reading, because having gone through a
box of old post cards, and photographs quite a few charming memories have
surfaced. Is this going to be the Pulitzer of stories? Likely not, however I
suggest you stick around for an enjoyable account.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">My father,
six months prior to my birth, experienced a neurological infection which left
him with sustained brain trauma, and ongoing susceptibility to seizures.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The secondary effects of his medication
management caused an unsteady gait.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>On-lookers would have a sense of worry he was going to fall.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The fact is he never worried, only the
on-lookers worried.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We considered my
father obstinate, and stubborn, yet the opposite of this attribute could be
seen as confident, and self-assured.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He
did fall frequently.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Although I digress,
there is relevance to it in this story…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">Off we went
on this exciting trip overseas, my first ever.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Just writing these words brings vivid memories.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My mother drove us to JFK airport, and we got
lost on our approach to the airport.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We
did arrive, and entered into the TWA terminal which I found mesmerizing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I looked up at the massive board before me
which listed flights departing to LONDON, ROME, FRANKFURT, and so on.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I wanted to be on all these planes going
everywhere, all at once!<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">Our first
flight was to take us to Paris, where we had a connection.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I know now, youth brings with it a sort of
innocence that is lost as we grow older.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>At age 13, I had no fear of boarding an enormous piece of metal the size
of a football field wondering how on earth this machine was going to get off
the ground, let alone take 350 people across an ocean.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When the flight took off from JFK, the plane
began to skid, and shake.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It did so the
entire way down the runway.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Nearly all
overhead bins opened with bags falling into the aisles.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If memory serves me correctly, a cart from
the galley had come loose as well. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Many
passengers were screaming.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My father and
I just looked around us at the commotion wondering what was happening.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As soon as the aircraft lifted off the runway
the shaking, and bumping stopped.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Very
strange we thought, but I didn't give it another thought...until 45 minutes
prior to arrival at Charles De Gaulle airport in Paris.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">As I was
eating my continental breakfast of a croissant, (two new things for me at age
13; a croissant, and the term continental breakfast), the pilot came on over
the loud speaker and said the following which to this day I remember:
"Good morning ladies, and gentleman.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I hope you enjoyed your flight with us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Some of you may have noticed a slightly bumpy take off when we left JFK
last night.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We received word from JFK
authorities they found pieces of rubber on the runway after we left.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Apparently we shredded some of our tires on
take-off.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This shouldn't pose too much
of a problem for us on arrival, except for the fact we don't know which wheels
have tires, and which do not.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are
going to have to lower the landing gear, and fly over the tower so Paris
authorities can have a look.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Once they
see what we have, we can then make our approach.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We will have foaming machines on
stand-by.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Enjoy your breakfast, and we
will be landing soon."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>OH MY GOD!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">Dad was not
alarmed at all.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He just lit a cigarette,
and drank his coffee.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My nose started to
bleed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Never before had I had a nose
bleed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They told me it was altitude
adjustment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don't know if I was
scared, or excited about landing on a foamed runway, though the flight
attendant said, "they are on stand-by dear".<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As it turns out, the pilot knew what he was
doing, because to this day I think it still ranks as one of the smoothest
landings I have experienced.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Mind you as
the plane came to a stop we were parked out on a tarmac at the end of the
furthest field at Charles de Gaulle surrounded by fire trucks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It took ages to be bused to the
terminal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My father was a man who seemed
to be one who took things in stride.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not
having known him prior to his illness, I don't have much of an experience of
his personality before he had become sick.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>During this trip I learned he was mostly one who would 'go with the
flow', unless you told him he couldn't do something.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>More on that later.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">Here is a
picture of my father sitting in Charles de Gaulle airport awaiting our
connecting flight to Tel Aviv.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In my
opinion, after the long flight, and ordeal we had experienced, he looks pretty
good to me!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">The next
flight took us to Tel Aviv.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sitting by
the window, I had a phenomenal bird’s eye view of the Alps.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I knew then, and there I had to return to
Europe to see first-hand the sites of this continent.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On arrival, we were greeted by a young
Israeli driver to transfer us to our hotel in Jerusalem.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When we got into the back seat of the car, he
stopped to pick up his girlfriend.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
entire ride which was about 45 minutes was spent listening to the two of them
talking in Hebrew.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When we got to the
hotel I asked my father if he understood what they were saying.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He told me, “eh, they were just going on
about their plans for a party tonight, nothing very important”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My father had a gift for languages, and spoke
several.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I know what it is like to want
to be able to understand what is being said around me, even if it is ‘not very
important’.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">When I look
at the photographs and old post cards from this first trip I realize now how
special this trip was for us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We visited
sites within the Holy Land without difficulty.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Raised Jewish, with a respect and interest in comparative religious
beliefs I was fortunate to have been booked on a tour which brought us to all
the major sites.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There are pictures I
have captured, and restored as best I could which bring back fond
memories.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In looking back, I also found
some surprises.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I found a post card
showing a visit the tomb of “The Ari”, a famous Kabbalist.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I had come to know of him much later in life
through personal studies, but never realized I had visited his tomb so many
years ago as a youth.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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SAFED, The Synagogue of the Ari</div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">The story I
wish to tell, which is wonderfully depicted in two photographs, is our visit to
Masada.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To get to the top of the
mountain you must ride a gondola, and then walk a stairwell alongside the
mountain which is rather steep.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Atop the
mountain, it can be windy, and at the time they had only railings to keep you
from falling off the side of the mountain.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>At least this is how I remember it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Perhaps it was more secure.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
guide had become accustomed to looking after my father, and approached him
before we went to the site.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He said to
him directly, “Dr. Burkin, I think it will be better for you to wait for us
here in the bus”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To quote Julia
Roberts, “big mistake, big, big mistake, Huge!”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As I said before, it is not a good idea to
tell my father what to do.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, if
you ask him to do something for you he will likely try and help.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I later told the guide if he had said to my
father, “Dr. Burkin, I need the driver to join me atop the mountain, would you
be so kind to stay with the bus, and look after it for security reasons?”, he
would have likely obliged.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Instead, my
father responded quite defensively asking why the guide thought he shouldn’t go
to the top.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was thinking the whole
time, ‘because Dad, you could fall off!!!!!’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">What ended
up happening is Dad went, as dad always did what dad wanted to do.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He climbed that stairwell, and hung on to
that railing as the wind blew with his coat blowing fiercely in the wind.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He made it to the top.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We got a picture of him just as he made it to
the top, and in the first picture I have to have a bittersweet laugh, because I
can see the anguish of his hanging on for dear life, yet he would never admit
he was for one second scared!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The second
photograph shows him relaxed, and composed once he regained his balance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I like this picture most.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A fond memory indeed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">I haven’t
much more to say about Israel, but rather will place here the scanned pictures,
and post cards I have.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">On our way
to Egypt, we stopped for the day in Athens.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>They had not yet implement direct air service between the two
countries.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We had enough time to make a
trip to the Acropolis.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I must have
really enjoyed visiting the Parthenon, and I think this post card, and picture tells
the story well.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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"Dear Mom, We were in Greece for one day and we saw The acropolis, The parthonon, and the thing on this postcard I touched"</div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">Onward to
Egypt.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The flight itself is something I
will never forget.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hmm, I think I am
beginning to establish a trend, first the New York-Paris flight, now the
Athens-Cairo flight.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I wonder how many
flights I have ahead to recall which are stories alone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Something to ponder perhaps.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As I was saying, this flight was quite
interesting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not a typical New
York-Miami run.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No, not at all.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The first noticeable difference was how
regardless of assigned seating, people took it upon themselves to separate men
from women within their families, and groups.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Then there was the smoke.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Smoking
vs. Nonsmoking did not exist on this plane, and by the way this was a TWA
flight from Athens to Cairo.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then there
was the noise of chatter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Everyone was
talking.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Talk, talk, talk.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How fascinating.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My first introduction to the Arab culture was
this flight, and I found the people to be soo intimate with each other insofar
as their relationships as family, and friends.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>They sat close, and talked, sipped tea, smoked their cigarettes, and
played cards.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They hardly looked up from
their conversations.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It all looked so
intense.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The smoke in the cabin was
intense.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you have ever seen the film
with Eddie Murphy, The Golden Child when he was on a plane to Asia, this was
just like that.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">Cairo Airport.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>More smoke.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Hospitality for sure!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It had to
be 3:00AM, and everyone was awake, and happy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We were greeted by a tour guide who escorted us through passport
control, and provided us with visas, etc.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We were driven by taxi to the hotel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I remember seeing across the dark moonlit desert a big billboard with a
picture of Anwar Sadat.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We stayed at the
Cairo Nile Hilton which I can practically still see in my mind.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>From the outside it looks like a modern
1960’s cement like structure, yet at the time the inside was decorated in an
old world Agatha Christie like fashion.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>What it is like today, I have no idea.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I remember the deep red carpets, and ornate furnishings in the large
lobby.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I felt as if we had entered the
1930’s.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The lobby patio restaurant led
out onto the Nile river, and had a sense of relaxation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Off to our room.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The elevator door opened to our floor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Smoke.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We entered our room, and it was very nice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I wasn’t bothered by my father’s smoking,
because it was nothing like the fog cloud in the hallway.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">The first
thing I noticed about Cairo on waking the next morning was the population.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I looked out our window, and saw people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Millions, and millions of people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There were so many people walking outside
they didn’t have enough space on the roads for them, so they built a second set
of sidewalks which were elevated above ground accessible by staircases.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Cairo is not for the claustrophobic.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">Unlike our
experience in Israel where we were part of a larger group tour, in Egypt we
were greeted in the lobby by a guide who was to be dedicated to us for the next
three days along with a private car, and driver.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Having returned to Egypt much later in life I
learned this is still a common practice, and a pleasant one at that.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">I have two
memories which stand out from this final portion of the itinerary; the museum
of antiquities, and dysentery.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One I
enjoyed more than the other for sure.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The museum allowed a first-hand look at the life of King Tut.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I also learned about the mummifying process.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">As for
dysentery, how can there be an interesting story behind such a topic one might
ask.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Well, don’t let this discourage a
trip to Egypt, but I did get very ill our last 2-3 days in Egypt.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We were out by the step pyramid of Sakkara
when it hit me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A sudden sand storm
began, and my stomach started to grumble.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I asked to go to the rest room.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>On one look at the rest room, I reached for all the inner strength of my
psyche and did all I could to force myself back into the car.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I then prayed I could hold out for the 30
minute drive back to the hotel to use our own rest room.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don’t think I need to paint a picture of
the rest room facilities at the step pyramid of Sakkara.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixlfLLZvxsFcm5nrfyscHwtg1cwymUtA5BEoEMg-WIAKA-J7j_P2C_kFV50sX7puyzToHg22wZSRh-aWrB3NTSV2yvYHHvQJRC9rzFR-CDpvNMdNye1KX_o-GN1Emtvo5CiLPcK3b2ljA/s1600/Scene+from+Sakkara.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="432" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixlfLLZvxsFcm5nrfyscHwtg1cwymUtA5BEoEMg-WIAKA-J7j_P2C_kFV50sX7puyzToHg22wZSRh-aWrB3NTSV2yvYHHvQJRC9rzFR-CDpvNMdNye1KX_o-GN1Emtvo5CiLPcK3b2ljA/s640/Scene+from+Sakkara.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEtRALU3uKf1xhuj7jXnfcLp03pKWA2iG19LzYdTT3FfyrBXcEB7Ch9C8-jvUAtG2b7qp23-Wg_iYaeDxnKF8xmFKudHc9MM7dZEqlV5YPNcMUkb8qF_Nx3qosHUboa57a630wob2HbXA/s1600/John+Burkin+Giza+Egypt+1980.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEtRALU3uKf1xhuj7jXnfcLp03pKWA2iG19LzYdTT3FfyrBXcEB7Ch9C8-jvUAtG2b7qp23-Wg_iYaeDxnKF8xmFKudHc9MM7dZEqlV5YPNcMUkb8qF_Nx3qosHUboa57a630wob2HbXA/s640/John+Burkin+Giza+Egypt+1980.jpg" width="634" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">Things got
worse at the hotel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We had to have a
doctor come to the room.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My father said,
“I’m a doctor”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yes, this is true, but
you don’t have any medicine.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When the
doctor came to me, and gave me medication, my father told me he didn’t think
the medicine I was given was FDA approved.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I can’t remember if I took it or not.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>My last recollection of Egypt, which I can laugh at now, because I love
the country very much, is waiting in the airport to fly home.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We were awaiting our TWA flight to Paris, and
once again I needed to visit the rest room.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I went down stairs, and the men’s room had rows of toilets along a wall,
of course no seats.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At this point I
didn’t care, hovering was OK.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What was
not OK was the man at the entrance with rolls of toilet paper who required
payment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I had to go back upstairs and
get money from my father.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On returning I
paid he money, and he gave me 2 pieces of paper.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>YES, 2 SQUARES of toilet paper.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was in such pain, and quite sick at this
point.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I did not speak Arabic, he did
not speak English.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I blurted out to him,
“2 SQUARES WILL NOT BE ENOUGH!”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He kept
rolling his hand gesturing for more money.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I just grabbed a whole roll of toilet paper, and told him to follow me
if he wants, or call the police, but this is an emergency!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">When we
finally boarded the aircraft, even though we were still 6,000 miles from home
just knowing we had a bathroom within eye-shot made me happy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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</div>Transformations Through Travelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04310513512703735060noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3809384574898694256.post-25194480297406620132012-07-01T13:46:00.000-05:002012-07-01T14:14:26.683-05:00Destinations Visited...So FarIt has taken some time, but I feel I have met the challenge. I set out to begin this Blog by first setting forth a visual display of the places I have visited. My aim in doing so is to convey my passion for travel, and diversity. I suspect when one glances at some of the places I have been, an eyebrow or two migh be raised. Good! Travel should do just that in my opinion. This Blog is a not a political statement, I want that to be clear. I take no position on issues over which I have no control, and will not use this Blog as a platform for such discussion. Just wanted to slip that in here. What I will say is I have learned much from the people I have met in the different countries I have visited, and those experiences I will share. That is my vision for this Blog, as well as a place to have some fun with my thousands of pictures, and hundreds of adventurous stories. So on with the Blog!<br />
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This final pictorial essay in the series contains a combination of souvenir patches, boarding passes, and passport stamps for destinations I have visited, but do not have any photographs.<br />
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The following TABLE lists all the destinations I have visited during my lifetime...<strong><em>so far!</em></strong><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYog6JJO5xtTiASoaV8xzPZcFNoZWEibGLht6irUq_bzFI3zM4i-yrdKf9lCZ719gmXHdiZSTtqVshmvSWSbVQmGAuJKpmbbOq86V_9Yyw7Gz6Z5CZemAAVQ3sQiPB_2Hwg6m1fR1xqkE/s1600/COUNTRY+LIST.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="496" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYog6JJO5xtTiASoaV8xzPZcFNoZWEibGLht6irUq_bzFI3zM4i-yrdKf9lCZ719gmXHdiZSTtqVshmvSWSbVQmGAuJKpmbbOq86V_9Yyw7Gz6Z5CZemAAVQ3sQiPB_2Hwg6m1fR1xqkE/s640/COUNTRY+LIST.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjTmaGqAqzgm1BDc46V7Dwp4aUq3kRy8fpVCepHnbc817VdTTJQPvEID0CG_tfbLoFOtTs1B4VTa_WG3nvF7EihZDahDNiijahoLdD5u0ct83tH7WjlbEmUSzbJjxe1CaeWYfuiwcB5TA/s1600/Austria.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="139" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjTmaGqAqzgm1BDc46V7Dwp4aUq3kRy8fpVCepHnbc817VdTTJQPvEID0CG_tfbLoFOtTs1B4VTa_WG3nvF7EihZDahDNiijahoLdD5u0ct83tH7WjlbEmUSzbJjxe1CaeWYfuiwcB5TA/s200/Austria.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">AUSTRIA</td></tr>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7RAs7EQ58UQqzJrUmYQ0vnpjWWePcHLQ_Dt59Bw0fHNBD886QG0Wl6_i7QtZPnlSY8w3vgAuc03lwji0tmJfQWwgF7I6L_SDOU_vAKgPPu8Z70yXJIAFOmXn9VbMMIhETkdkGG_asnfM/s1600/Belgium.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="146" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7RAs7EQ58UQqzJrUmYQ0vnpjWWePcHLQ_Dt59Bw0fHNBD886QG0Wl6_i7QtZPnlSY8w3vgAuc03lwji0tmJfQWwgF7I6L_SDOU_vAKgPPu8Z70yXJIAFOmXn9VbMMIhETkdkGG_asnfM/s200/Belgium.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">BELGIUM<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4mGf8phans57_JYcuZaxNMi0U4hREN-EY3_DwMBSE1tZ97LUBoXLBMsizU9F17nxVgl7vMGu7RDo_nVM00dqeGxSMCh0WubsRbJ3COMpKY78AfyHUFC5RnYDSoL9SZP-lEzNZPM_wo8U/s1600/Canada.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="135" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4mGf8phans57_JYcuZaxNMi0U4hREN-EY3_DwMBSE1tZ97LUBoXLBMsizU9F17nxVgl7vMGu7RDo_nVM00dqeGxSMCh0WubsRbJ3COMpKY78AfyHUFC5RnYDSoL9SZP-lEzNZPM_wo8U/s200/Canada.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">CANADA</td></tr>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS8mzdBoJYZxB_tJRFWu6PP8Q0yO098fkEJp_FTk7o1oDvp4d-nMYoqAJL6F2t7gjvRzVv8Ots9KS8CAO8FTQzvUbDxqq7s8X3Yt9aqJ0dvmmw4WngngPgLM5fqBL_eyPAq2pEdutonP4/s1600/Botswana.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="111" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS8mzdBoJYZxB_tJRFWu6PP8Q0yO098fkEJp_FTk7o1oDvp4d-nMYoqAJL6F2t7gjvRzVv8Ots9KS8CAO8FTQzvUbDxqq7s8X3Yt9aqJ0dvmmw4WngngPgLM5fqBL_eyPAq2pEdutonP4/s200/Botswana.jpg" style="cursor: move;" unselectable="on" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">BOTSWANA</td></tr>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJv5UFXE-y06AWqEjEHSdXT0Yq11zgBe_uGObGxSbiZrOayu9E3rkoiRRtdyALr0VUQxiYao7hOvSNjKZ2owjwWNEQAIiLvClUw7XnmzSXJ_fTFi4eLKTB4L00W6GnfB8rEFNwKFuIGvM/s1600/Chile.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="128" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJv5UFXE-y06AWqEjEHSdXT0Yq11zgBe_uGObGxSbiZrOayu9E3rkoiRRtdyALr0VUQxiYao7hOvSNjKZ2owjwWNEQAIiLvClUw7XnmzSXJ_fTFi4eLKTB4L00W6GnfB8rEFNwKFuIGvM/s200/Chile.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">CHILE</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAyOIJfX1qr72bk0mYQQ-pl7zQUQ1foQhbBgGLBdJmdLs1EgozrWFJPYY3ta8NM31i6j7mRkZLuV_Yf8YAnSDxtnO1od3AtJOGx575-LB7JJYCZVWzBtPc9e9qJ-jYoxwd4Obo7okZmAY/s1600/Czech+Republic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="154" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAyOIJfX1qr72bk0mYQQ-pl7zQUQ1foQhbBgGLBdJmdLs1EgozrWFJPYY3ta8NM31i6j7mRkZLuV_Yf8YAnSDxtnO1od3AtJOGx575-LB7JJYCZVWzBtPc9e9qJ-jYoxwd4Obo7okZmAY/s200/Czech+Republic.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">CZECH REPUBLIC</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqKOQacUiblIHlHPj3SUr7m7EXhpCUk2B4adSpM0KcoeEmEURNsBpegjw0D51ni_F8y5jN5JOh8o7mjE6pUeukW6O2nL6aciGeP7vYpwSy96kgTeLdgWnM28ecXXKUgdZbQoDEFb9MZ-0/s1600/Denmark.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="148" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqKOQacUiblIHlHPj3SUr7m7EXhpCUk2B4adSpM0KcoeEmEURNsBpegjw0D51ni_F8y5jN5JOh8o7mjE6pUeukW6O2nL6aciGeP7vYpwSy96kgTeLdgWnM28ecXXKUgdZbQoDEFb9MZ-0/s200/Denmark.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">DEMARK</td></tr>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD8rr6JkGbxRndjFBqq2tyx2e1ChfbaP9XXWFuisDxv7CPaaucCRpZQP_35J_PvLBQy5VSzegC5C1kPS2tvJZLO2dt1fPNTLMZClivImJ5zyfNSUdueXz6GX_bBNQc4Fb5oxSkDfD1daI/s1600/Estonia.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="140" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD8rr6JkGbxRndjFBqq2tyx2e1ChfbaP9XXWFuisDxv7CPaaucCRpZQP_35J_PvLBQy5VSzegC5C1kPS2tvJZLO2dt1fPNTLMZClivImJ5zyfNSUdueXz6GX_bBNQc4Fb5oxSkDfD1daI/s200/Estonia.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">ESTONIA</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ5-jA7TukoK93wvDeBmEr0QW2zAkzAyyLj4vSrY8biRryulQBETmVEYIvgg6WCi4CG_pIovSMAyVOE3CdM28qS0AoyoV4YOhciFO6uGiCJ9diFSuUMmMpB7Z0gWs8xS_sV9TMucyU56A/s1600/Italy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="146" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ5-jA7TukoK93wvDeBmEr0QW2zAkzAyyLj4vSrY8biRryulQBETmVEYIvgg6WCi4CG_pIovSMAyVOE3CdM28qS0AoyoV4YOhciFO6uGiCJ9diFSuUMmMpB7Z0gWs8xS_sV9TMucyU56A/s200/Italy.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">ITALY</td></tr>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf4obyGJcs2tUayY5LR7u5W5MSXvGMhJx0kjxrx_cfMm_NyaCtp9ZXkWwdqs6iXmqSLS39ZsHV0FVUnFu-7wt7auRmS1QHwDYqdoifYaqzAIFTEwyGrA54zUCI0QEDzISpGdjd_gICmwk/s1600/Hungary.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="135" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf4obyGJcs2tUayY5LR7u5W5MSXvGMhJx0kjxrx_cfMm_NyaCtp9ZXkWwdqs6iXmqSLS39ZsHV0FVUnFu-7wt7auRmS1QHwDYqdoifYaqzAIFTEwyGrA54zUCI0QEDzISpGdjd_gICmwk/s200/Hungary.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">HUNGARY</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGDyeMiyOOAWdxZhoxv0w_c34mSPEdv8N6IsuP85aUBoZpNIqZBv53MOPrQg3zO-D3qIIt4xxHryVivlTKcg_ocKfzQ50euh_-kiqMf7WgbhC5LcXaPqaPR9vOlq0m65wge3Uy7pjeBlc/s1600/Japan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGDyeMiyOOAWdxZhoxv0w_c34mSPEdv8N6IsuP85aUBoZpNIqZBv53MOPrQg3zO-D3qIIt4xxHryVivlTKcg_ocKfzQ50euh_-kiqMf7WgbhC5LcXaPqaPR9vOlq0m65wge3Uy7pjeBlc/s200/Japan.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">JAPAN</td></tr>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsNLnv0-tInlXRVBx47qhFkdXydEnaFWK4_6Gq2VxWKqplLTWwyWZ3FAhfrt86ldb9-9GftxD147lF7CbH1cG5RrIjS8LV9j6NNmGN-s2KGaWkMm2tFDPfvGCqmnizm2a9yJitUm9f-hE/s1600/Korea.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="100" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsNLnv0-tInlXRVBx47qhFkdXydEnaFWK4_6Gq2VxWKqplLTWwyWZ3FAhfrt86ldb9-9GftxD147lF7CbH1cG5RrIjS8LV9j6NNmGN-s2KGaWkMm2tFDPfvGCqmnizm2a9yJitUm9f-hE/s200/Korea.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">SOUTH KOREA</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL-D19FYdmh20Z8IH-_vxtdcMIRO5t62_PETMzIhs0PdTZArtP7LrW5w-hvZWvXfbPrZtxHVGdvuvWwDfvXJPh0gN5SBPCBVfMOEmF1lvuUf2aShgjlgM6MjgsOUh9zCi3y3nl6GMRKFY/s1600/Lesotho.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="138" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL-D19FYdmh20Z8IH-_vxtdcMIRO5t62_PETMzIhs0PdTZArtP7LrW5w-hvZWvXfbPrZtxHVGdvuvWwDfvXJPh0gN5SBPCBVfMOEmF1lvuUf2aShgjlgM6MjgsOUh9zCi3y3nl6GMRKFY/s200/Lesotho.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">LESOTHO</td></tr>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-RgQg9hRWPj5ecdJCPa0UtnDYZmd4Zy3vFcYfLIS2iOSUhARj5hC0qs_wb6_o4ggjdsRy2ixxw4Pw4pk9FIQsZRQMYhDlxX9KQJXbVAENefX3fzxQ2NkCRRNUSpW8U2e8wKaBSvCQhJM/s1600/Laos.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="130" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-RgQg9hRWPj5ecdJCPa0UtnDYZmd4Zy3vFcYfLIS2iOSUhARj5hC0qs_wb6_o4ggjdsRy2ixxw4Pw4pk9FIQsZRQMYhDlxX9KQJXbVAENefX3fzxQ2NkCRRNUSpW8U2e8wKaBSvCQhJM/s200/Laos.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">LAOS</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXU6WpiD9_QUAkearPiRML5dmOtNx5jHWqUjV0gn27HT02c7dEwZHoV6dTiP-i4rZebKUG79NasIcPebbxfzwJqEjgetQAo80jYIhcqguwzm5fxlLHjdQWoGhf8H9pp08ltPMuKk7oKXQ/s1600/Monaco.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXU6WpiD9_QUAkearPiRML5dmOtNx5jHWqUjV0gn27HT02c7dEwZHoV6dTiP-i4rZebKUG79NasIcPebbxfzwJqEjgetQAo80jYIhcqguwzm5fxlLHjdQWoGhf8H9pp08ltPMuKk7oKXQ/s200/Monaco.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">MONACO</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZLUKepDvg8_0a9aGwH3b-Ki924o0jfQwX78lat-tNEe_9SnMRq9zsNV33yR8dX2cafYq3XpNFe4GyMvYSEIXQ8weIA-wnyqeXg0xetiwRPyPgrhhKibxOSJXWW9PgDxipRLLOiG84lcU/s1600/Mexico.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="128" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZLUKepDvg8_0a9aGwH3b-Ki924o0jfQwX78lat-tNEe_9SnMRq9zsNV33yR8dX2cafYq3XpNFe4GyMvYSEIXQ8weIA-wnyqeXg0xetiwRPyPgrhhKibxOSJXWW9PgDxipRLLOiG84lcU/s200/Mexico.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">MEXICO</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu7ybXmfcpwLUIHQRefqePxFBcCAHvtY67oXYTrYC_VD-R_8pyWQsGkD1vKFpmB59_XVHGJljwBs0oFq3CKXXm2zHoHYRh7jwL69-WAAfSxYzkZ7tBMqC82vBH1YsWmZT9Wx-MDZqSCs0/s1600/Poland.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="158" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu7ybXmfcpwLUIHQRefqePxFBcCAHvtY67oXYTrYC_VD-R_8pyWQsGkD1vKFpmB59_XVHGJljwBs0oFq3CKXXm2zHoHYRh7jwL69-WAAfSxYzkZ7tBMqC82vBH1YsWmZT9Wx-MDZqSCs0/s200/Poland.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">POLAND</td></tr>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6LfpeF2TNDVAMxFIRM5xVR6CB4u3CwMNXr0khHXMsLMsNLvNdjA95e1SjEqD0uQJj9fyPl2V4y9DQk-24ymp3O_6vkpd5-0CHZ6AahyphenhyphenXhNHUWwcafrAcpjM3AZTS8OSotLuJDkenR1JM/s1600/Portugal.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="123" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6LfpeF2TNDVAMxFIRM5xVR6CB4u3CwMNXr0khHXMsLMsNLvNdjA95e1SjEqD0uQJj9fyPl2V4y9DQk-24ymp3O_6vkpd5-0CHZ6AahyphenhyphenXhNHUWwcafrAcpjM3AZTS8OSotLuJDkenR1JM/s320/Portugal.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">PORTUGAL</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpDSx_-hGxUHXs_2URn0ULBml-bMXhJZl3F9O7Zu448x-gWZCdgut9Jl0AJpbyk3D4npmoy3pl1zmfDpAno5WwkWq2Jy4-lbe7eX7pyE6RUayTlOoVx9WzyJcLHG8qsAOqAlAY4oYfnfw/s1600/Switzerland.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="136" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpDSx_-hGxUHXs_2URn0ULBml-bMXhJZl3F9O7Zu448x-gWZCdgut9Jl0AJpbyk3D4npmoy3pl1zmfDpAno5WwkWq2Jy4-lbe7eX7pyE6RUayTlOoVx9WzyJcLHG8qsAOqAlAY4oYfnfw/s200/Switzerland.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">SWITZERLAND</td></tr>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLO1A4Ak8yIm6o0FFsh2nRJDK4UlGHFMPQpngYES84csIVPzDlj4CU2T0OSIaNWD1lXGo6_NtL0e7ETVgQrqAJyWDfgDl-PBMpcrv0TiiALEF7S1-G1V350qUUd2Atle47FoADUlf1ajw/s1600/Singapore+(Boarding+Card).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLO1A4Ak8yIm6o0FFsh2nRJDK4UlGHFMPQpngYES84csIVPzDlj4CU2T0OSIaNWD1lXGo6_NtL0e7ETVgQrqAJyWDfgDl-PBMpcrv0TiiALEF7S1-G1V350qUUd2Atle47FoADUlf1ajw/s200/Singapore+(Boarding+Card).jpg" width="129" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">SINGAPORE</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjdZab4fcsm0j0Gwkt1FnCBu7BHBP-D3T6L8zJrVaNpqjEqPgUJeRrdbbyfGJqsn_eLTj_mvvPSFm3IFoNpWP7l6FEcMI-k9noy8E_A3szbNwdl4Ri4tET-ithCmAFWbEadrS7MSTO57o/s1600/Tunisia.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="155" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjdZab4fcsm0j0Gwkt1FnCBu7BHBP-D3T6L8zJrVaNpqjEqPgUJeRrdbbyfGJqsn_eLTj_mvvPSFm3IFoNpWP7l6FEcMI-k9noy8E_A3szbNwdl4Ri4tET-ithCmAFWbEadrS7MSTO57o/s200/Tunisia.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">TUNISIA</td></tr>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3U5sWMFExXBifAIoZ2FJB7IRs_bgsOSVcOw01A7UEtxAJN-8egKLPXcX6g-OoBbN5iQWYH7IGFmIPYBJZxuVIjptdz_YNs2PrtuR_sUxbP20Azbaue0aT_OfQdF_YuIBhdDLgSJr7Yy0/s1600/The+Netherlands+(Holand).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="161" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3U5sWMFExXBifAIoZ2FJB7IRs_bgsOSVcOw01A7UEtxAJN-8egKLPXcX6g-OoBbN5iQWYH7IGFmIPYBJZxuVIjptdz_YNs2PrtuR_sUxbP20Azbaue0aT_OfQdF_YuIBhdDLgSJr7Yy0/s200/The+Netherlands+(Holand).jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">THE NETHERLANDS (HOLLAND)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDdFCoNABWJVedkIfwMQKO28ULE93dUIlrrvS-LmudSTxBZjOmg9jg0DQLG_gzpDLNkwm_pudR6rWJJDrzvUQfCmqYBiuOyagAR6HbuW8a787oL2NVsPzmWZnZehVOkGNEQ1DootNdxxE/s1600/Wales,+(UK).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="171" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDdFCoNABWJVedkIfwMQKO28ULE93dUIlrrvS-LmudSTxBZjOmg9jg0DQLG_gzpDLNkwm_pudR6rWJJDrzvUQfCmqYBiuOyagAR6HbuW8a787oL2NVsPzmWZnZehVOkGNEQ1DootNdxxE/s200/Wales,+(UK).jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">UK, (WALES)</td></tr>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwtifg_6Z9gFTxsR6iqQBJfA3eH8qmRQ9CrXrLwUGMFiM2TUnEYtYsrO5xuHN1z__zcV2tn5tP5M5ug9Mhb4sReypR4HSXQ4B5kpizWJ_QAFC3QviFf-oBPq94xoyZXTXGzpo3_ALVN4o/s1600/Vatican+City.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="154" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwtifg_6Z9gFTxsR6iqQBJfA3eH8qmRQ9CrXrLwUGMFiM2TUnEYtYsrO5xuHN1z__zcV2tn5tP5M5ug9Mhb4sReypR4HSXQ4B5kpizWJ_QAFC3QviFf-oBPq94xoyZXTXGzpo3_ALVN4o/s200/Vatican+City.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">VATICAN CITY</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNMEbff43Iq2-jFMuR7SL7LezvPkEt9LORdK1gtwyGzTtvwtN8U5BsCsPaMZYVQTt5y7mnrF11ANkj7dqRUOjZ24QfWzcAAtg45CFVTpBNkkQNTFCjg7-2sUkt55lqmKHImnn81Az-Ids/s1600/Yugoslavia,+(Visited+in+1987+prior+to+dissolution).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="143" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNMEbff43Iq2-jFMuR7SL7LezvPkEt9LORdK1gtwyGzTtvwtN8U5BsCsPaMZYVQTt5y7mnrF11ANkj7dqRUOjZ24QfWzcAAtg45CFVTpBNkkQNTFCjg7-2sUkt55lqmKHImnn81Az-Ids/s200/Yugoslavia,+(Visited+in+1987+prior+to+dissolution).jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">YUGOSLAVIA, (VISITED IN 1987 PRIOR TO DISOLUTION)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ6t_RZxbiNV3yAl83bYzhUL9Y1CRSupN6rFwhRl7B47PftSIv2OjDJAjeaNnVNaextUENVhqJffAEpOAWEXDAvOAAgxfRxurZN5Yfhbuhpkb1kFHIP_CRjjtTaBEHmEZ2dlF25xuN7os/s1600/Zambia.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ6t_RZxbiNV3yAl83bYzhUL9Y1CRSupN6rFwhRl7B47PftSIv2OjDJAjeaNnVNaextUENVhqJffAEpOAWEXDAvOAAgxfRxurZN5Yfhbuhpkb1kFHIP_CRjjtTaBEHmEZ2dlF25xuN7os/s200/Zambia.jpg" width="145" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">ZAMBIA</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVK7ZXT6vHyopiYTl1op8bGwTR0AoLEVO4YrHiH7S1Jms_6zdg9jI5jNLmNoPLKubKFoDLfVR_eCXTEYM2fMnffSfDPhoCwZe6qbU_VdC_9dnIDjk-uaTGy5rHbs6afLooMQbGgAGQYo0/s1600/Zimbabwe.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVK7ZXT6vHyopiYTl1op8bGwTR0AoLEVO4YrHiH7S1Jms_6zdg9jI5jNLmNoPLKubKFoDLfVR_eCXTEYM2fMnffSfDPhoCwZe6qbU_VdC_9dnIDjk-uaTGy5rHbs6afLooMQbGgAGQYo0/s320/Zimbabwe.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">ZIMBABWE</td></tr>
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<br /></div>Transformations Through Travelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04310513512703735060noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3809384574898694256.post-21633939689597504082012-06-23T14:19:00.000-05:002012-06-23T14:19:15.311-05:00Brief Pictorial Essay (Part Two)The first trip I took overseas was in 1980. The photographs I have are unspectacular, but do capture the memories. The same can be said for many trips I took prior to obtaining my first digital camera. A common theme with the pre-digital photos I notice is how even when I was younger I tended to photograph people, not just monuments, and scenery. Some pictures I used to represent a country in this essay are similar to those posted in the prior one insofar they do not depict monuments, or landmarks, but rather people in their environment. Again, I did include several scenic pictures, and this time added photographs of myself. I did so not for vanity, but rather the availability of pictures for some destinations in my library are rather minimal except for a few with me shown center stage. One must make difficult decisions in such situations.<br />
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This post is entitled Part Two, and it will also be the final Pictorial Essay. I have one more presentation of countries & territories to post to complete the 'Birth to Present' listing of destinations visited. The next posting will be entitled Destinations Visited...So Far, and will end this preview series of postings.<br />
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The plan going forward will be the Blog itself. My intention is to begin to tell the story of my travels beginning with that first trip I took in 1980, and go from there. It should be quite a ride, as I have lots of stories I have been recalling. I have been pondering whether some details should be left untold, or not. I guess it will have to depend on how I feel, and perhaps if anyone out there is reading this. For those of you who are, I do hope you are finding it enjoyable!<br />
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More to come...<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3neNwGwmWdXWV-pD7L-BwcsaeDCAI8TtkiGGu_KpOAo4FUxlWvll9nGFXPCRW9YY6kYCuo1-M5R8m0yuBM8l433F0SC4xuDhwRqcJsgCaUDVs1ql0_v4zisD4Kq8YHnwmepbmE5swL0s/s1600/Antigua.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="452" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3neNwGwmWdXWV-pD7L-BwcsaeDCAI8TtkiGGu_KpOAo4FUxlWvll9nGFXPCRW9YY6kYCuo1-M5R8m0yuBM8l433F0SC4xuDhwRqcJsgCaUDVs1ql0_v4zisD4Kq8YHnwmepbmE5swL0s/s640/Antigua.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Antigua</span></h2>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPxFXVAhJb1PSfYHgMNZcME4T6D8FvQYjIXCsRArlzSP076-rt_dV_mloQTON5wCjEQ7XAdyZVxPrKclrDZr61er1HVWjL_91dHXw8uIUT58f5nR2reBoFt-a2Ruvv4yMyb-ASJsdRObI/s1600/Basilica+de+la+Sagrada+Familia,+Barcelona,+Spain.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPxFXVAhJb1PSfYHgMNZcME4T6D8FvQYjIXCsRArlzSP076-rt_dV_mloQTON5wCjEQ7XAdyZVxPrKclrDZr61er1HVWjL_91dHXw8uIUT58f5nR2reBoFt-a2Ruvv4yMyb-ASJsdRObI/s640/Basilica+de+la+Sagrada+Familia,+Barcelona,+Spain.jpg" width="454" /></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Basilica de la Sagrada Familia, Barcelona, Spain</span></h2>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXqYFc8J_pKTvdiUWkpDAjo_xG_LjNKfrbgl6CzZV2JzC7yn03noZ0iOQ_i6TTav9BgsnmeZw3QatoYa0SLOOPyluRaIHag1XM5-nUCEcBsrgfS8pY0JsFw1dnBfRZo5eDhynzq1jZVk8/s1600/Dublin,+Ireland.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXqYFc8J_pKTvdiUWkpDAjo_xG_LjNKfrbgl6CzZV2JzC7yn03noZ0iOQ_i6TTav9BgsnmeZw3QatoYa0SLOOPyluRaIHag1XM5-nUCEcBsrgfS8pY0JsFw1dnBfRZo5eDhynzq1jZVk8/s640/Dublin,+Ireland.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
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Dublin, Ireland</h2>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVmg-ttN0QAMt3MsFCqpdKIp-MpSEXLZMmLjdBAD2eSo6bJiV4xWVB8WDw6bh3OR53TaYVRsQ1beM2tgLkjKfKrWnpLjZ3HCI2RAdjOcKMiRDLQw01IA2lPjmHVay8rx5PYOJqiOXpu7c/s1600/Georgetown,+Penang+Island,+Malaysia.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVmg-ttN0QAMt3MsFCqpdKIp-MpSEXLZMmLjdBAD2eSo6bJiV4xWVB8WDw6bh3OR53TaYVRsQ1beM2tgLkjKfKrWnpLjZ3HCI2RAdjOcKMiRDLQw01IA2lPjmHVay8rx5PYOJqiOXpu7c/s640/Georgetown,+Penang+Island,+Malaysia.jpg" width="434" /></a></td></tr>
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Georgetown, Penang Island, Malaysia</h2>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR2KnBBew9UPr6qByrjweKQgcbiLtDYqLbZgHhSj89q32o8CacnLeSsphFn5c_VPqkA117O-ehVdFkXd8ga3iLrULb3r2f8aMSuhegkyQQ6UXmSwt3B2jCWjB4WHQD7ZJ5MGTrw_TM01s/s1600/Kasbah,+Ouarzazate,+Morocco.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR2KnBBew9UPr6qByrjweKQgcbiLtDYqLbZgHhSj89q32o8CacnLeSsphFn5c_VPqkA117O-ehVdFkXd8ga3iLrULb3r2f8aMSuhegkyQQ6UXmSwt3B2jCWjB4WHQD7ZJ5MGTrw_TM01s/s640/Kasbah,+Ouarzazate,+Morocco.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
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Kasbah, Ouarzazate, Morocco</h2>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQUmG9RhE5c82rxgYmj_e5_mG30NAVqFlVdV9mg30sCWoO-tZxC3t0CrpgNaiVA4c2ryPnYBS1TXX5l7YwxHww9iDwWFVkISE8MhTaMdxb0mRKwe9Q2GgyczSFjy6cxUslrU3l115J_5w/s1600/Mykonos,+Greece.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQUmG9RhE5c82rxgYmj_e5_mG30NAVqFlVdV9mg30sCWoO-tZxC3t0CrpgNaiVA4c2ryPnYBS1TXX5l7YwxHww9iDwWFVkISE8MhTaMdxb0mRKwe9Q2GgyczSFjy6cxUslrU3l115J_5w/s640/Mykonos,+Greece.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
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Mykonos, Greece</h2>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibvX0CgHunK5lVDAoX5wTNkH1qTwpNnR1HfdmCQfmdlvrsOFOArEtygoxAxfQfuotvK4OZdL9HdnI7jvbIK4tdzpkuCfINGqjHn3YydweOKFpGcb5tuQpLZmoxdis74jYZhFl5ZpDokLU/s1600/Nassau,+Bahamas.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="416" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibvX0CgHunK5lVDAoX5wTNkH1qTwpNnR1HfdmCQfmdlvrsOFOArEtygoxAxfQfuotvK4OZdL9HdnI7jvbIK4tdzpkuCfINGqjHn3YydweOKFpGcb5tuQpLZmoxdis74jYZhFl5ZpDokLU/s640/Nassau,+Bahamas.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
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Nassau, Bahamas</h2>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsojbNYP4rmLYPWrhfT_8dIaUCzNUlLIR-1WbCjJU8dFZmBREvQKTFSwDqiBGJzX7FUSPawma2iqpYM2QN6EBJ7lidNUpwvSg1dUbR-xyeeyklVQ108M_i0Ctawm_FZLGLktZDz9FN4-Y/s1600/Old+City,+Jerusalem,+Israel.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsojbNYP4rmLYPWrhfT_8dIaUCzNUlLIR-1WbCjJU8dFZmBREvQKTFSwDqiBGJzX7FUSPawma2iqpYM2QN6EBJ7lidNUpwvSg1dUbR-xyeeyklVQ108M_i0Ctawm_FZLGLktZDz9FN4-Y/s640/Old+City,+Jerusalem,+Israel.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
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Old City, Jerusalem, Israel</h2>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLkUmJ6vAK_MKWsx3luggMGFnLIl40SztT76nDGJG1Jsnl0Bw291syxB4aI7ZT8xJX5ygYIn17iXg1rnvQdyZxN-Kq1205sCnVKX413oZbNU7dhtwEpwPutw_3xZMhRALHFpnbzsTKuBQ/s1600/Orange+River,+Namibia.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLkUmJ6vAK_MKWsx3luggMGFnLIl40SztT76nDGJG1Jsnl0Bw291syxB4aI7ZT8xJX5ygYIn17iXg1rnvQdyZxN-Kq1205sCnVKX413oZbNU7dhtwEpwPutw_3xZMhRALHFpnbzsTKuBQ/s640/Orange+River,+Namibia.jpg" width="428" /></a></td></tr>
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Orange River, Namibia</h2>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMVIEjTEK3taouYsDUEBqGZ4pxo46oaQ1V1cCay-jux4K62tRUPVUFkTEnBnEfVzUFWeAEetmbizGdrJLkE-2xvfhWWo6gURuXl7NFcXEdPFb3GfkZNeaHi4c5mxxS7k-wK5YPSnzH04s/s1600/Paris,+France.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMVIEjTEK3taouYsDUEBqGZ4pxo46oaQ1V1cCay-jux4K62tRUPVUFkTEnBnEfVzUFWeAEetmbizGdrJLkE-2xvfhWWo6gURuXl7NFcXEdPFb3GfkZNeaHi4c5mxxS7k-wK5YPSnzH04s/s640/Paris,+France.jpg" width="428" /></a></td></tr>
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Paris, France</h2>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNJ_kLH0HjtSylPy9Y_yGi7Uu1Tk_gYICFLs1dKF-cqMqxalNEzDwYuCusgbLR-IA8IQ9rmzlLjBj2jpT3bXBmxfXXwUCC_6ZWQxBAQVcBoGXVmFRLt5wdILqQqlWd4x9olfSVwxkpwX0/s1600/Rio+de+Janeiro,+Brazil.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="434" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNJ_kLH0HjtSylPy9Y_yGi7Uu1Tk_gYICFLs1dKF-cqMqxalNEzDwYuCusgbLR-IA8IQ9rmzlLjBj2jpT3bXBmxfXXwUCC_6ZWQxBAQVcBoGXVmFRLt5wdILqQqlWd4x9olfSVwxkpwX0/s640/Rio+de+Janeiro,+Brazil.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
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Rio de Janeiro, Brazil</h2>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCONbpAz3JXidj4pP3qypVBkQnG3q_663jHoMMhyphenhyphenDtPRY9s_Vrilyq5HHcjFxe_Catvg9N1_gv9PQi-dhRRcONBDVwzvIr4CLZnVvEQLha6a2O-zwGUkFQYJK9yNghDS-sW4VMkVndzBA/s1600/Stockholm,+Sweden.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCONbpAz3JXidj4pP3qypVBkQnG3q_663jHoMMhyphenhyphenDtPRY9s_Vrilyq5HHcjFxe_Catvg9N1_gv9PQi-dhRRcONBDVwzvIr4CLZnVvEQLha6a2O-zwGUkFQYJK9yNghDS-sW4VMkVndzBA/s640/Stockholm,+Sweden.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
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Stockholm, Sweden</h2>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0ctQkqB2GHIfWtpt_6ObSoRKGMjrt10KkSfYEerZjaeaPK9THCAZMksFVExOOXkO-r4dSCauNNfdj3Sfd3S3U5DSmCgEm8ssDj0ctqZteP1YUxiKPozb8fER8fwtcFIaZuYn3k3XVb7k/s1600/Table+Mountain,+Cape+Town,+South+Africa.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0ctQkqB2GHIfWtpt_6ObSoRKGMjrt10KkSfYEerZjaeaPK9THCAZMksFVExOOXkO-r4dSCauNNfdj3Sfd3S3U5DSmCgEm8ssDj0ctqZteP1YUxiKPozb8fER8fwtcFIaZuYn3k3XVb7k/s640/Table+Mountain,+Cape+Town,+South+Africa.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
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Table Mountain, Cape Town, South Africa</h2>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIT4maK81DwJLVRhaqXvaWvnIMszPc7fFUCtFNIq7fd8q7a_uXGlLRqmbtH2YWLYMbIU0y0fUyO_Vlwu0z4O2N7RfmSa7k8MSzwAQIz6Ahm5DBVyCX1AQyIE7fI0L58ZS60K8_vRMkazY/s1600/San+Juan,+Puerto+Rico.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="436" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIT4maK81DwJLVRhaqXvaWvnIMszPc7fFUCtFNIq7fd8q7a_uXGlLRqmbtH2YWLYMbIU0y0fUyO_Vlwu0z4O2N7RfmSa7k8MSzwAQIz6Ahm5DBVyCX1AQyIE7fI0L58ZS60K8_vRMkazY/s640/San+Juan,+Puerto+Rico.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
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San Juan, Puerto Rico</h2>
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</tbody></table>Transformations Through Travelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04310513512703735060noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3809384574898694256.post-53927866727632637062012-06-14T00:21:00.001-05:002012-06-14T09:06:05.710-05:00Brief Pictorial Essay (Part One)Harvey Golub, former CEO of American Express, once said in a town hall meeting to fellow employees, "Perfection is the enemy of good". Each time I find myself attempting to put out the perfect project, the best creative endeavor 'du jour, I try to recall those words I heard him say in the late 90's.<br />
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I started this Blog without an outline, or a plan. Since the first posting, I have floated many ideas in my mind. I have practically envisioned an entire sequence of posts. A bit much for a newbie. To keep a reader's attention, there needs to be activity. I have been lapse in that area, and want to start with letting you know what you have to look forward to if you decide to stick around.<br />
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You know an interest in travel runs in my family, I've covered that topic. I share my passion for travel with my sister, who has spent her lifetime working in the travel industry. Her travels are extensive, and impressive as well. She can write her own Blog.<br />
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What I wish to do is get on with the task of sharing my travel stories, and photos with you. The challenge has been gathering the photos from the pre-digital era. There are also quite a few destinations for which I have no photographs, but only memories. When I go to write about a particular experience, I had hoped to have some type of artwork to display. Alas, the perfectionism coming out in me. Well the imagery will simply have to be in the words, unless I find something.<br />
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My rough outline, which I have now formulated (I knew unstructured wasn't going to last very long for me), is going to be a chronological perspective of my traveling adventures. I'll spare you mundane tales of family reunions, and holiday vacations to Florida. This Blog will focus on the more adventurous aspects of my travel life, i.e. separating from my group at the age of 16 with my Eurailpass to head off to Switzerland leaving them behind on the French Riviera. This was when I learned the first lesson of how effective it is to apologize afterwards, as opposed to asking for permission first. If you do not believe I did this, both my mother, and the group leader can attest to the fact I did. Not only did I do this, but I did it twice. The second time resulted in a police search party looking for me in Venice. My apologies to the group leader if she is reading this. It was all a misunderstanding of course, (between a 16 year old group participant, and a 25 year old group leader), right?<br />
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What I have for you now is a collection of photographs, each one a single representation from a country, or territory I have visited. This is Part One, because I still have quite a few photographs to scan. For those destinations which I have no photographs I will need to come up with some other type of artwork to use as a marker. For now, I give you twenty-five views of the world through my eyes. Many are pictures of people, as opposed to monuments, or city streets. As I mentioned, I am drawn to travel for the connection with people, and their cultures, as opposed to just the destination. For me, I will say it over, and over again, the journey is the destination!<br />
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Enjoy!<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGXTDlvbp7JZZ30iyf2vdto2Ozsq3XjqhqJ_ibLD-Tv11VSs61Dhqe-2HOfD3wYiUlCH5qi1tAc1kn2FLXqMrqbXSlZu3eCuQ6n0CQ8xj7OIPD5c3aCgxSQkMCniPSiEO2iKbqS2bDPTc/s1600/Argentina.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGXTDlvbp7JZZ30iyf2vdto2Ozsq3XjqhqJ_ibLD-Tv11VSs61Dhqe-2HOfD3wYiUlCH5qi1tAc1kn2FLXqMrqbXSlZu3eCuQ6n0CQ8xj7OIPD5c3aCgxSQkMCniPSiEO2iKbqS2bDPTc/s640/Argentina.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Salt Flats, Andes Mountains, Salta, Argentina (Local Artists)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjugTiXyGb1w-FKA5G0HHCyJsPvEgKx24wmC_rPmiiILjpI5oONrzyC2Fg0pzBXF4GrMl0UPKx36nc6dWvCZgMtKhSOucO8KXu_VZIHX38k40WmZPL_shkdxLkLZKwyHkc-qXPGmplJnFM/s1600/Australia.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjugTiXyGb1w-FKA5G0HHCyJsPvEgKx24wmC_rPmiiILjpI5oONrzyC2Fg0pzBXF4GrMl0UPKx36nc6dWvCZgMtKhSOucO8KXu_VZIHX38k40WmZPL_shkdxLkLZKwyHkc-qXPGmplJnFM/s640/Australia.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kings Canyon, Australia</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyiKI0_rclIkYBVMCJS-IB6rXnTxBpnv57Cgn5gCjcWGPQU9wtyJhpmkNJQQ2MQFkqYkQJ7OpxFrm7PvHIVXqRMqu6mM2fwTi5Zz7Z4rwxZ-S3lthPmXlEHl_3al-ds3t9JmKxRn2X9Vo/s1600/Cambodia.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="419" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyiKI0_rclIkYBVMCJS-IB6rXnTxBpnv57Cgn5gCjcWGPQU9wtyJhpmkNJQQ2MQFkqYkQJ7OpxFrm7PvHIVXqRMqu6mM2fwTi5Zz7Z4rwxZ-S3lthPmXlEHl_3al-ds3t9JmKxRn2X9Vo/s640/Cambodia.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Angkor, Seam Reap, Cambodia</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbHLYOxX3oI5PcXBoSKhl6kUdfHiAKYhX-kI7tMVmQLZCHG5yhVicxdLY5jUF2AU3ZN-QzJujTUcATRcEhTzPQ78wDokjA6yTpkaj9TfzLS_ucvQg9vvDt0wtnq1f4ronXqN7W1akEVUg/s1600/China,+Peoples+Rupublic.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbHLYOxX3oI5PcXBoSKhl6kUdfHiAKYhX-kI7tMVmQLZCHG5yhVicxdLY5jUF2AU3ZN-QzJujTUcATRcEhTzPQ78wDokjA6yTpkaj9TfzLS_ucvQg9vvDt0wtnq1f4ronXqN7W1akEVUg/s640/China,+Peoples+Rupublic.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lesser Three Gorges, Yangtze River, PR China (Tour Boat)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4e8wY7UZaF_U2xz6r-bSgoPJCohoqImggA8tuJMJCv4DwkrROUQyhzveI7zDHRUUhQFVncTOmJ1FIbn7JU4AI8yBP0YVXj8a1-BWXC_8bJUmgG8HotYimmPtDYbIFBNBWwGoVt6hhuGo/s1600/Dubai,+UAE.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4e8wY7UZaF_U2xz6r-bSgoPJCohoqImggA8tuJMJCv4DwkrROUQyhzveI7zDHRUUhQFVncTOmJ1FIbn7JU4AI8yBP0YVXj8a1-BWXC_8bJUmgG8HotYimmPtDYbIFBNBWwGoVt6hhuGo/s640/Dubai,+UAE.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dubai, UAE (ski resort inside shopping mall)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2kLjJuhoxQPRTvqQSxjuQIotefw06IttbdpQaz80UmzeU9H9gJRgjg1VGUIEHIhuKUpOcUor6Oik1rHNnEqKL9ggqYEhQ94XqMi5w3pFYV07Jxr4Fc5yb1sjGZbNB_Dex1dIb3JRpzcs/s1600/Egypt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2kLjJuhoxQPRTvqQSxjuQIotefw06IttbdpQaz80UmzeU9H9gJRgjg1VGUIEHIhuKUpOcUor6Oik1rHNnEqKL9ggqYEhQ94XqMi5w3pFYV07Jxr4Fc5yb1sjGZbNB_Dex1dIb3JRpzcs/s640/Egypt.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Saqqara, Egypt</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGinjCaadl4yX4EabcOM2U29usIRfLj_5BsuATMC2MH-GY8HkvTr2p9PSS1BIUoxRXn-BsHPX_zNd6e8Pj7peVztJI1TaD3j2q7zXhzP2sJkXKG0Do_08yJwReq5sdTNwcee_0rB8BrqI/s1600/Germany.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGinjCaadl4yX4EabcOM2U29usIRfLj_5BsuATMC2MH-GY8HkvTr2p9PSS1BIUoxRXn-BsHPX_zNd6e8Pj7peVztJI1TaD3j2q7zXhzP2sJkXKG0Do_08yJwReq5sdTNwcee_0rB8BrqI/s640/Germany.JPG" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cologne, Germany</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJPg8T82DAXEd4Jhipanqdoi7C0DSh2IWb_RjnRwx66CnOp4HrInmCO6UIFH6piX4UCZ_jwWKxbvp36Jj9o_X5rxfIGnEfPacJf19u7cs9QylE8AY14mAbiOhWyDaFFJ4uDYyjr0duqvY/s1600/Guatemala.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJPg8T82DAXEd4Jhipanqdoi7C0DSh2IWb_RjnRwx66CnOp4HrInmCO6UIFH6piX4UCZ_jwWKxbvp36Jj9o_X5rxfIGnEfPacJf19u7cs9QylE8AY14mAbiOhWyDaFFJ4uDYyjr0duqvY/s640/Guatemala.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Antigua, Guatemala</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhThwOvDx3nIIYaaps6BihN1JgoyV2sOZwQhtwCFmWrXkGjVu2NPi1dx4z0sLRdpx1jQS-DoHQWF1QJr8LCs57KRWWVI_Mk3NpbP5bGBOtvEkVAt9njKGFUinHH6pEXOb-tWzCMANplYw/s1600/Hong+Kong,+SAR,+PR+China.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhThwOvDx3nIIYaaps6BihN1JgoyV2sOZwQhtwCFmWrXkGjVu2NPi1dx4z0sLRdpx1jQS-DoHQWF1QJr8LCs57KRWWVI_Mk3NpbP5bGBOtvEkVAt9njKGFUinHH6pEXOb-tWzCMANplYw/s640/Hong+Kong,+SAR,+PR+China.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lantau Island, Hong Kong, SAR PR China</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheVByth5ar7DUQMfIdOhrHRhadtbti1eCzq3MW_2xGMCSi4d-hPmna1dwrn73-Puy_gvhLgHFCIFTOrB4nNUE-nt5KJTUirPYLw_NIjmAmp1jTFBtr76R08iK2kqmmraWJd0OGmJiwfqU/s1600/India.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheVByth5ar7DUQMfIdOhrHRhadtbti1eCzq3MW_2xGMCSi4d-hPmna1dwrn73-Puy_gvhLgHFCIFTOrB4nNUE-nt5KJTUirPYLw_NIjmAmp1jTFBtr76R08iK2kqmmraWJd0OGmJiwfqU/s640/India.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Devaraja Market, Mysore, India</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBtrueLSTSB4rzliuHmZQS4bXVfeP_bJFgckkKFo9ClGawrhAXsLqHLw3Nkr8eWe8yTcMKeAWqoplLRj5pyA4cE_lk_sHqkdK_6CXyuC10sbRb-cbEaxgMmC17vkaLyQnAknr4yifc2qE/s1600/Indonesia,+Bali.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="458" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBtrueLSTSB4rzliuHmZQS4bXVfeP_bJFgckkKFo9ClGawrhAXsLqHLw3Nkr8eWe8yTcMKeAWqoplLRj5pyA4cE_lk_sHqkdK_6CXyuC10sbRb-cbEaxgMmC17vkaLyQnAknr4yifc2qE/s640/Indonesia,+Bali.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bali, Indonesia</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNJ9yBZhzhgcCxtYzLR2zb2byxcQXzI1MwoNyDpXBtrp5zTCou_n67QVjFDAIDDA25wBrALnES7PVwffPHLAqsAbcGqQl5OkRJomBRzB1-ubD21jBkPG8d9eRSTG9Qks5jOqQxLmBCoc8/s1600/Jordan.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNJ9yBZhzhgcCxtYzLR2zb2byxcQXzI1MwoNyDpXBtrp5zTCou_n67QVjFDAIDDA25wBrALnES7PVwffPHLAqsAbcGqQl5OkRJomBRzB1-ubD21jBkPG8d9eRSTG9Qks5jOqQxLmBCoc8/s640/Jordan.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Petra, Jordan</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAWWm6ocbgrTH5ZzWayLp6o9zVnQPFwh-VI0FOiZYk8LI_Z7xixxCM6bUp_FYrulP8VVAcBaLZ62JVOw_hDftDC1haY8kQnfNpqCIm-DgO9Pmvq1_0rv_Nksw11x42YhJ5kwYabvnxq9g/s1600/Lebanon.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAWWm6ocbgrTH5ZzWayLp6o9zVnQPFwh-VI0FOiZYk8LI_Z7xixxCM6bUp_FYrulP8VVAcBaLZ62JVOw_hDftDC1haY8kQnfNpqCIm-DgO9Pmvq1_0rv_Nksw11x42YhJ5kwYabvnxq9g/s640/Lebanon.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rue Hamra, Beirut, Lebanon</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjux2OKm8__VR0EhWB1t7_x4J1BWKIrFXv0f8KqbguabwFcYkLBKkITvr5ge7UW7XSIb3KdS116Tux1s7J5VmS4wyLYsSKky1z85dSUg7UhLDablQ_nxvsMfImMBdp0E5IQ_u1AKWtUDDc/s1600/Myanmar+(Burma).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="432" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjux2OKm8__VR0EhWB1t7_x4J1BWKIrFXv0f8KqbguabwFcYkLBKkITvr5ge7UW7XSIb3KdS116Tux1s7J5VmS4wyLYsSKky1z85dSUg7UhLDablQ_nxvsMfImMBdp0E5IQ_u1AKWtUDDc/s640/Myanmar+(Burma).JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Inle Lake, Myanmar (Burma)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVpzl0Kv00BeIidTS2WrlK8CZIeq46e4fZd0BqW3VH16qelzWJ_0DWvgpig9X3lSComCTv8mOLFX2-qB2Y6FxCxUiC51EIQzZRQD1FtI6qmUjPrI1Lwys4DzsCBrpK2GiJ8LpqyjRnMNQ/s1600/Nepal.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="432" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVpzl0Kv00BeIidTS2WrlK8CZIeq46e4fZd0BqW3VH16qelzWJ_0DWvgpig9X3lSComCTv8mOLFX2-qB2Y6FxCxUiC51EIQzZRQD1FtI6qmUjPrI1Lwys4DzsCBrpK2GiJ8LpqyjRnMNQ/s640/Nepal.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Durbar Square, Kathmandu, Nepal</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1gS4oUTjnOpq-oq-sWc6VbO8R8NbBjwITv-Mdfk4mbFOMYLYGniNOg5q5YX2vNTsm8KrYaJwkYcqT5onyg76tYQ1Dzakrpg2eYuyZKcaBlNArfNSl2xuAbAvNzJQabJyRKPiXyatM1HI/s1600/New+Zealand,+South+Island.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1gS4oUTjnOpq-oq-sWc6VbO8R8NbBjwITv-Mdfk4mbFOMYLYGniNOg5q5YX2vNTsm8KrYaJwkYcqT5onyg76tYQ1Dzakrpg2eYuyZKcaBlNArfNSl2xuAbAvNzJQabJyRKPiXyatM1HI/s640/New+Zealand,+South+Island.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">South Island, New Zealand</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4TWdFy5LupCJhFPMoCpTSnOUrjCBTVbBh4s0cd89Y9wBfkz3vPTNtc5I-y2ousvHB7jAMD2Vrz8eWwq4diY4LbB2EXOWSvBKu5ynDBUmLr5K6eRg-Z0IDN_Hmyxa5W6lWlucqfD5YhU8/s1600/Peru.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4TWdFy5LupCJhFPMoCpTSnOUrjCBTVbBh4s0cd89Y9wBfkz3vPTNtc5I-y2ousvHB7jAMD2Vrz8eWwq4diY4LbB2EXOWSvBKu5ynDBUmLr5K6eRg-Z0IDN_Hmyxa5W6lWlucqfD5YhU8/s640/Peru.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Machu Picchu, Peru</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvWb0G_fdz_Fo1PyNEOzBp-bHbc4-a7RVFvV84bl61vN968icc9deAgNp854fJpy806Rnkfhz0H5kSoGMxhrQZ4mAbUaR65P_iSUNxxXkt6n95t1n4_CMp5IShXpRe45Zex0EhChc7z3o/s1600/Russia.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvWb0G_fdz_Fo1PyNEOzBp-bHbc4-a7RVFvV84bl61vN968icc9deAgNp854fJpy806Rnkfhz0H5kSoGMxhrQZ4mAbUaR65P_iSUNxxXkt6n95t1n4_CMp5IShXpRe45Zex0EhChc7z3o/s640/Russia.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">St. Basil's Cathedral & Red Square, Moscow, Russia</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT8sR7Kkyu0I4c3nxqplDZTpRuJLmFmp89Dkyk9-yFFSvfMjCPE9oAv0EUw-NcOz8YSnMz-AQ5-dBJJMqbwzTvkAg0Pa8xC1uAucQhaIqqgHO0on180pfGXymcwOT4rL0s2FkstVaakHw/s1600/Syria.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT8sR7Kkyu0I4c3nxqplDZTpRuJLmFmp89Dkyk9-yFFSvfMjCPE9oAv0EUw-NcOz8YSnMz-AQ5-dBJJMqbwzTvkAg0Pa8xC1uAucQhaIqqgHO0on180pfGXymcwOT4rL0s2FkstVaakHw/s640/Syria.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Souq Al Medina, Aleppo, Syria</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb4X8-GhdHo85FNbKpmEPsm8U0CZ9RisAJE-mf3lI8TD4E3q3BS4NvhcpRKrFthH5XIYbe8jlAB-SLOJ48ZuZQuV3A9TLc6Ph-ETh4OfRiySCu-YVKUlUIiZN1T3jzDiSYPvkXjq-x6zg/s1600/Thailand.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb4X8-GhdHo85FNbKpmEPsm8U0CZ9RisAJE-mf3lI8TD4E3q3BS4NvhcpRKrFthH5XIYbe8jlAB-SLOJ48ZuZQuV3A9TLc6Ph-ETh4OfRiySCu-YVKUlUIiZN1T3jzDiSYPvkXjq-x6zg/s640/Thailand.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thailand</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVNmIWDkRQCn0PUaK5HcDpKisjuMP1OZ-o58HCkbBKiLZaVmjz0FOzSwK4ESJpWCcxNUnF4dotAwuBc4o2gVCaCrWhdc3A2FjbJzWgu_fALM4vzhOejEXCt0jiDpLkGSdSKGWUoHiarcQ/s1600/Tibet+Autonomous+Region,+PR+China.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVNmIWDkRQCn0PUaK5HcDpKisjuMP1OZ-o58HCkbBKiLZaVmjz0FOzSwK4ESJpWCcxNUnF4dotAwuBc4o2gVCaCrWhdc3A2FjbJzWgu_fALM4vzhOejEXCt0jiDpLkGSdSKGWUoHiarcQ/s640/Tibet+Autonomous+Region,+PR+China.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lhasa, Tibet, SAR PR China</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinsn6m9_HLm9EsaLM3kvxSw8S-BpHWx5u2tz_5cTc9V10fBmqb9BUUDNwstTVtjRRfoi8gVXfLJRm1revWPPfIbfzwPZ3XUr8d58DslhEbnAhLobcPAsdM06mC0bPHw591yBEaEVrOlhk/s1600/Turkey.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinsn6m9_HLm9EsaLM3kvxSw8S-BpHWx5u2tz_5cTc9V10fBmqb9BUUDNwstTVtjRRfoi8gVXfLJRm1revWPPfIbfzwPZ3XUr8d58DslhEbnAhLobcPAsdM06mC0bPHw591yBEaEVrOlhk/s640/Turkey.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cappadocia, Turkey</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg08sXAtWUfVGvmOtCrzwhtzC_iBgnmBqkO9sNdH0O8-amC6nZEId5H7dLi5g9XQFqwTzAm3f7M-HfDnK04uBXg16zg1KAqYDaJsAqmKJBvvhN_1rWEm07m8qzWws0lT9p9cm1OfFCyxRE/s1600/UK,+London,+England.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg08sXAtWUfVGvmOtCrzwhtzC_iBgnmBqkO9sNdH0O8-amC6nZEId5H7dLi5g9XQFqwTzAm3f7M-HfDnK04uBXg16zg1KAqYDaJsAqmKJBvvhN_1rWEm07m8qzWws0lT9p9cm1OfFCyxRE/s640/UK,+London,+England.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">London, England, UK</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieQ-khS3r0fXvHGx7JskqBJr-IwLaugwgNxu87crV-YnnV69qwk55bLyH7iOvTnFe0aQuWshbwye1ceLNB3qy250lfd5GGtH1MYrx7TJqqGu6JGFIUIefgg67cLKZh9CqW1vfL0VUUQnU/s1600/Uzbekistan.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieQ-khS3r0fXvHGx7JskqBJr-IwLaugwgNxu87crV-YnnV69qwk55bLyH7iOvTnFe0aQuWshbwye1ceLNB3qy250lfd5GGtH1MYrx7TJqqGu6JGFIUIefgg67cLKZh9CqW1vfL0VUUQnU/s640/Uzbekistan.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bukhara, Uzbekistan</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVB7TrHg8GLr-cP3MRNXm_G8Zytibap1ZEXmMZIAYbJMXHqKNnWBzjwlcZJMj2-Fs4EGWwFZtjxt1mAvsNS6002I8UFD2RpQ8bY2hwXjAAwX6yKSR89ivUrKLp0rTtaNBXSx6Y-BWehYM/s1600/Vietnam.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVB7TrHg8GLr-cP3MRNXm_G8Zytibap1ZEXmMZIAYbJMXHqKNnWBzjwlcZJMj2-Fs4EGWwFZtjxt1mAvsNS6002I8UFD2RpQ8bY2hwXjAAwX6yKSR89ivUrKLp0rTtaNBXSx6Y-BWehYM/s640/Vietnam.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hue, Vietnam</td></tr>
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</div>Transformations Through Travelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04310513512703735060noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3809384574898694256.post-81001510172073290712012-06-03T23:56:00.000-05:002012-06-16T21:37:57.573-05:00A Family of Travel EnthusiastsHaving been born under the sign of Sagittarius, I always attributed my zest for travel as an innate characteristic of my personality. However, perusing old photographs going back as far as the 1930's, I can see that travel has played a role in my family's heritage long before I was ever conceived. I had known my grandparents to enjoy taking cruises in their retirement, but I didn't know the extent to which they traveled when they were younger. I came across two photographs of interest. One depicts my mother's parents walking along the boardwalk in Atlantic City in front of the Traymore Hotel on what appears to be an early spring, or autumn day. The other photograph, is of my grandfather taken in 1957. My mother tells me he traveled frequently on American Airlines, and had reached the milestone of having flown a million miles. Having reached this goal, when the airline introduced the first transcontinental service between Boston and Los Angeles, my grandfather was invited to fly on the inaugural flight.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Edward Grocer<br />
American Airlines Mercury Service<br />
Inaugural Flight 1957<br />
Boston-Los Angeles, Non-Stop<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ida & Edward Grocer<br />
Traymore Hotel<br />
Boardwalk, Atlantic City</td></tr>
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The desire to travel was passed on to the next generation with my mother, her twin sister, and their best friend who later became my aunt by marrying the twins' brother. In 1954 the three of them sailed to Europe for the summer, and visited the major sights. Later in 1957 my mother returned to Paris, this time by air. I remember her telling the story of flying from Boston to London on a Constellation Aircraft which required refueling in Halifax. Later my mother, and father traveled together for the first time on a cruise which was their honeymoon. The photograph below shows them traveling aboard the ship to Nassau.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihyphenhyphenN-t1zMqJx47un_rTbKGk0x2foMGyLKh2VUl9S3OQRIYT3Hb86uE4CkvcsQqRdd197hrmMXMuNCNPlCoeVrQdelKN2C_JWpzbChXb7aXDFiTvDoK1EzFbe8GqQjYP03N0ssOgp4Fu2s/s1600/Mom+and+Dad+Honeymoon+to+Nassau+1959.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihyphenhyphenN-t1zMqJx47un_rTbKGk0x2foMGyLKh2VUl9S3OQRIYT3Hb86uE4CkvcsQqRdd197hrmMXMuNCNPlCoeVrQdelKN2C_JWpzbChXb7aXDFiTvDoK1EzFbe8GqQjYP03N0ssOgp4Fu2s/s640/Mom+and+Dad+Honeymoon+to+Nassau+1959.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sandra Grocer Burkin, and Aaron H. Burkin M.D.<br />
Honeymoon to Nassau<br />
June 1959</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Transformations Through Travelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04310513512703735060noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3809384574898694256.post-39416012071034877102012-05-29T01:06:00.001-05:002022-10-07T16:21:22.411-05:00Let the Adventure Begin<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZo0Oc6RXV3g4BZ2LiXQodfeC35FU59oS1tceO4cltupmoUURBCIM6-hRcqcw271oFy9ZHhMjiP-Nqv8YzTi05zct3y-QAdvvMt4RI5F1ac4xyGsVVQHs1fRDbCqG9J0LlJFARUzTYZdU/s1600/Tonle+Sap.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="456" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZo0Oc6RXV3g4BZ2LiXQodfeC35FU59oS1tceO4cltupmoUURBCIM6-hRcqcw271oFy9ZHhMjiP-Nqv8YzTi05zct3y-QAdvvMt4RI5F1ac4xyGsVVQHs1fRDbCqG9J0LlJFARUzTYZdU/s640/Tonle+Sap.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<strong><em><u><span style="color: blue;">Let the Adventure Begin!</span></u></em></strong></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Photo shown above: Tonle Sap Lake, Cambodia taken 1999</span></div>
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A Blog? Now what exactly is this I am creating? I have heard the term for years, especially when watching CNN on election night when they talk about "news from the blogosphere". I consider myself fairly up on technology, however journaling to me has always been a private matter; until now. What changed? I guess I have in a way. For the last few years, I have attempted to go along with the current trend they call "social networking". After reading through pages of posts written by 'friends', many who I haven't seen in over 25 years, I began to ponder my reason for maintaining this particular venue of communication. It has served me well in the past when I have been on the road while traveling, and for that I am grateful. However, it has no continuity for me personally. It no longer meets my needs, and I find that I am no longer a 'one size fits all' kind of person.<br />
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With that being said, I bid farewell to my profile from the past, and greet my Blog of the future. Ironically, my vision for this Blog is to tell a story which retraces my steps of the past. I entitled the Blog, "Transformations through Travel", intentionally. I have devoted most of my life to exploring the world, its people, and the diversity of cultures we humans have created on this planet. Never am I ceased to be amazed by some extraordinary act of kindness, generosity, or warm greeting even if there isn't a common language spoken. The universal smile in most cases has worked wonders in bridging the gap where verbal communication has not been possible.<br />
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My desire is to share with you; my reader, my friends, my family, and perhaps in the end myself, as there is no guarantee any of you will be coming to visit this Blog, the journey I have taken through the myriad of trips from my past until present. Much of what I will write will be from memory, some from journals. I am doing this without an outline, no plan, or agenda. I do have my photographs, nearly 2000 of them which will help guide my storytelling as they are logged chronologically. I shall do my best to keep the Blog interesting, as well as amusing. I too do not wish to put myself to sleep while writing.<br />
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I gave this Blog a big title, therefore I have a big task ahead of me. Let the adventure begin!Transformations Through Travelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04310513512703735060noreply@blogger.com0