Travel – Page 11 – GringoPotpourri

A Potpourri of Updates

It has been almost three weeks since my last blog post. So much has happened that I’ve barely had a chance to come up for air. But for the next 13 days or so, I’ll have a respite from the usual craziness, and even a chance at my first solo vacation since My (Not Quite) Coast-to-Coast Trip Report of 2014.

Meanwhile, I thought you might appreciate a CliffsNotes-style update on my life, and on things that are of interest to me. I am still alive and well, Loyal Reader. I promise not to be offline for so long before my next post.

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Photo Locale of the Month – July 2015

Last month’s entry took us to a green space in the middle of a large U.S. city. For this month’s feature, we remain in the U.S. but get closer to nature.

Yellowstone National Park is the country’s oldest national park. It is also one of the biggest, occupying the northwest corner of Wyoming as well as several thousand acres in both Idaho and Montana.

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Top Ten Museums

Ten days ago I visited the Knoxville Museum of Art. This free museum, built on a bluff above World’s Fair Park, houses five galleries over three floors. As art museums go, the exhibits are only so-so, but it does include a nice collection of 20^th-century art by Tennessee artists and/or about Tennessee itself. Most of what remains is abstract contemporary in nature – in other words, the kind of art that you don’t immediately “get” on a first viewing.

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Photo Locale of the Month – June 2015

So far in this monthly series, I’ve taken us once to Asia, once to Europe, and three times to Latin America. The most recent entry transported Loyal Readers to roaring Iguassu Falls, at the “Triple Frontier” of Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay.

But it is officially summer as I write this, and I thought I would take us to a site near my hometown that looks great during the summer months, a site that, despite its name, celebrates its 11th anniversary: Millennium Park, Chicago.

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Adrenaline Rush

I recently read about a roller coaster accident at Alton Towers amusement park in the UK. Apparently, one carriage on The Smiler ride crashed into a second, empty car. Several passengers on the moving car were injured, one critically. This BBC link details the full story.

I love roller coasters. Back in 1999, I received the computer game Roller Coaster Tycoon and spent countless hours designing theme parks of my dreams. There isn’t a coaster in the world that I won’t ride; I raised a few eyebrows after telling friends that I rode every coaster at Happy Valley, a Disney-esque amusement park in Beijing (wiki site here). China does not have a great reputation for quality control, but I survived the experience without even a trace of whiplash, and would rank Happy Valley as one of my favorite amusement parks anywhere. Far scarier was Rutschebanen coaster at Tivoli Gardens, in Copenhagen. On this 101-year-old wooden coaster, the operator responsible for braking is a passenger on the ride!

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40 at 40 – A GringoPotpourri Q&A

I turned 40 two weeks ago. The feeling is a bit surreal. On the one hand, most people tell me that I look young for my age. On the other hand, I can’t believe that I’ve completed four decades of living, and I’m disappointed that I’m not “where I should be” in my life considering that I’m a college graduate who has traveled around the world. At least that dreadful phrase “Over the Hill” has become passé.

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Photo Locale of the Month – May 2015

The fifth month of this feature takes us back to Latin America (see other Latin America-themed photo entries here and here). Latin America is one of my favorite corners of the globe, not just because of the people, the food, and the architecture, but also because of the stunning nature.

South America is particularly blessed with natural beauty. Two mighty rivers meet near the “Triple Frontier” of Paraguay, Argentina, and Brazil. Itaipu Hydroelectric Dam, which tames the mighty Río Paraná, is one of the premier technological wonders of engineering. Also near here – and splitting the Iguassu River in two – are the majestic, unforgettable Iguassu Falls.

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Photo Locale of the Month – April 2015

For the fourth month of this feature (see last month’s entry here), we travel to Europe. Perhaps one-third of the way down the left side of Italy’s “boot” lies the former port city of Pisa. Land has since reclaimed the port, however, and the Tyrrhenian Sea is now several kilometers to Pisa’s east.

Athough sailors no longer stop off there, the city of 90,000 Pisanis still draws thousands of tourists each day, most of them making a mad dash from the train station directly to the iconic Leaning Tower of Pisa and Piazza dei Miracoli.

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What Religion Means to Me

With Passover beginning today and with Easter taking place this Sunday, I spent some time recently thinking about religion. On my travels, I’ve traveled to majority-Protestant countries such as Anglican Great Britain, and to majority-Catholic countries like Mexico. I have had the good fortune to visit majority-Muslim countries such as Turkey, heavily-Buddhist countries like Thailand, mixed-religion countries such as India and the United States, and Communist countries like China, where Atheism is officially encouraged but where most locals actually worship the State.

Of course, those descriptions are broad and somewhat simplistic. As such, I hope you don’t get too wrapped up in the semantics. Allow me to continue.

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Photo Locale of the Month – March 2015

To celebrate the arrival of spring, this month’s photo feature takes us to the tropics of South America. Exactly two years ago I visited the Colombian cities of Bogota, Cartagena, and Santa Marta, as well as the pre-Hispanic ruins of Ciudad Perdida. Cartagena (full name: Cartagena de Indias) was the trip highlight.

I was especially taken by Cartagena’s Colonial-era City Walls. They were built by the Spanish conquistadors to protect from maritime invaders…and have never been breached.

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