2008

Russian Roulette on the Road.

I guess I have been playing “Russian Roulette on the Road” and have got off easy.  We...

House on Caminito Street in the Boca district of Buenos...

Connor is still and will be in Buenos...

Recently we all have started Spanish lessons and they are going very well.  We are all learning...

Connor and Alannah examining a map of the Buenos Aires...

Connor is in Buenos Aires, Argentina

After the gruelling plane trip over the Atlantic Ocean we finally touched down in Buenos Aires after...

The unknown airlines.

We get around many different ways.  We use inter-city buses; we love the train; have crossed rivers...

Alannah just purchased a hand knitted shawl in a market in...

Connor mimicking a sign in Buenos Aires. We are not sure...

One of the few Kosher McDonalds we have seen on the trip.

We are now in Buenos Aires, Argentina. This is a street...

This photo was taken of the seat-back video on our Air...

Here we are after leaving our hotel in Madrid and waiting to...

Intricate wrought iron railings are found on many buildings...

The stained glass windows in this church in Madrid produced...

Connor is still in Nice

Nice is very much a walking city.  We have spent much of our time wandering around. Occasionally...

Probably our last posting from Nice, as we leave for Madrid,...

Connor and George Clooney in Cannes, France.  Connor is on...

Are the streets confusing in France?  Sometimes very...

“Could you please pass the salad.”
— Connor, yesterday at dinner...

Connor, Janice and Alannah with the small sea-side town of...

An interesting photo taken from outside THROUGH two sets...

Connor and Alannah at the Museum of Modern and Contemporary...

No … Connor is NOT drinking wine, but Janice is, and...

“Quel chiffres crie une poule après avoir pondu? 4 - 4 - ...”
— Alannah found this...

We made a new friend at the Aquarium in Monaco.

We spent the day in Monaco and this lovely (and expensive)...

Alannah and Connor in front of the Casino at Monte Carlo in...

Connor is now as tall as his dad ! ! !

Connor in Nice, France

Our apartment in Nice is really great.  It has 3 double beds, a kitchen, a T.V and stereo, a nice...

This is NOT Connor’s new haircut in France !!! ...

Connor and Alannah in Nice, France.

Citroen “Deux Cheveau” in Nice, France.

Street scene in Nice, France.

We met up again with the James Family from Fort Smith, NWT...

Window in Nice, France.

Ottawa take notice.  In Nice, France, not only is a rapid...

“There are two types of dirt in the world. Light-coloured...”
— Just an observation after...

One of those really interesting old cage-type elevators,...

Connor and Alannah on the train leaving Venizia for our...

Warren pictured by a glass sculpture on the Island of...

Taken on board one of the Venice water taxis.  He...

Thanks to “hostelworld” on the Internet, we...

Many buildings are being restored in Venice.  Even when...

Here is just one more reason showing Venice being the most...

Spring has sprung in Venice.  View overlooking the Grande...

Undoubtedly the most city visited on our trip - a scene...

Sometimes it’s tiring even for the locals in Venice. 

Alannah has taken to maps - here planning our path in Venice...

Well fed pigeon in Milano, Italy. 

“Self” portrait in Venice.  This is a photo of...

Connor in Dahab, Sharm El Sheihk and...

Most of the time the McBrides and the Payns spent in Dahab was occupied by random bouts of shopping,...

Just a taste of the water colour in the Gulf of Aqaba (Red...

Our group photo before Don (Janice’s brother) and...

Janice and her brother Don Payn in Dahab, Egypt. ...

Don and Genny Payn joined us in Dahab, Egypt.

Free Tibet.  Stop the killing. China:  Get out of...

Janice’s brother Don Payn and sister-in-law Genny Payn...

Self explanitory sign along the beach at Dahab, Eqypt.

A horse cooling off in the Gulf of Aqaba, with the western...

Alex James with her dad, Rick.  See next photo for other...

We met the James family in India and then met up again in...

A peaceful scene on the Gulf of Aqaba at Dahab,Egypt.

“There has never been a well-behaved woman who has made...”
— From a bumper sticker found on...

It has been a very, very long time since...

This entry is an new way of writing for me.  It may save me alot of time.. From the last time I...

Comfortable pillow restaurants very close to the Gulf of...

Hey! Connor gets another haircut, this time in Egypt.

It's a Global World

We purchased orange juice/peach juice blend for this morning’s breakfast (because we...

Workers tombs near the Valley of the Kings, Luxor,...

Is this proof that the ancient Egyptians ate bagels?  Found...

The Nile River at Luxor, looking west.

Drifting sand across highway.  That’s Janice, Alannah,...

The White Desert in western Egypt in the early morning light...

The White Desert in the beautiful light of sunrise.  The...

Our camp in the White Desert was made up of mats on the...

Janice at sunset (and almost full moon) in the White Desert...

Connor standing beside the “Mushroom” in the...

Alannah and her new friend and Alex James from Fort Smith,...

Midday at the oasis.  It sure was pleasant to soak our feet...

The Black Desert in Western Egypt.  To all of my geologist...

A street scene in Cairo, Egypt.

A Cairo mosque at sunrise near the Giza train and Metro...

One of my favourite photos. This is Connor riding his...

Our tour group in Egypt. Pictured here at Habu Temple in...

Giddyup. Bev Davis and Janice are seen here riding these...

Connor, Simon Mills, Nicole Mills and Alannah at Karnak...

During our eight-day tour of southern Egypt, we spent a day...

Connor in Cairo, Aswan, on the Nile and...

For the last week we have been on a tour with the Mills family. The plane that the Mills were...

What do Westboro Academy students and alumni do when not in...

Try doing yoga in the water. Here I am in the salt water of...

Connor in Jerusalem and Ein Boqeq and...

For the three remaining days in Jerusalem the McBrides walked alot.  One of the highlights was the...

One of the narrow steets in the Old City Jerusalem.  Easy to...

As we entered the Roman Amphitheatre at Jerash, Jordan, we...

A column at Jerash, the Roman City, near Amman, Jordan.

Connor in Amman, Jordan and Jerusalem,...

Publicly owned mass-transit is virtually non-existent in Jordan.  Instead there are hordes of...

Nutritious?  Not sure.  Happy?  Absolutely.  While in Amman,...

Rain rarely stops our adventure.  We have been travelling...

This is a street sign in Amman, Jordan.  We went left.

“Happy Birthday, Grannie ! !”
— From the McBrides in Petra,...

Dr. Chumak, Dr. Li, Ida, Tyler, Mike Landau and staff...

There were many ways to get around at Petra: horse, horse...

For all my geologist friends … or for anyone who loves...

A scene at Petra in Jordan.

We got up very early this morning to get to the ruins at...

Connor in Wadi Rum Town and Wadi Moussa...

From Aqaba we took a short taxi ride to Wadi Rum Town.  Our driver was nice so we booked him for our...

Connor and Alannah doing their best “camel”...

After an hour and a half of travel thought the desert in a...

Our Bedouin guide for two days.

Alannah and Connor enjoying a breakfast of pita and sugar...

Connor in Agra and New Delhi, India and...

The Taj Mahal!  The biggest tourist attraction in India and possibly the world.  The Taj Mahal is...

Alannah asleep using a potato chip bag as a pillow, at...

The compulsory photo at the Taj Mahal, Agra, India

“I wiiiiinnnnnnn!”
— Connor after winning a game of...

“Good horn Good brakes Good luck”
— Words of wisdom for...

Connor in Jodhpur and Agra, India

The culture show in Udaipur that night was interesting.  One of my favourite parts was when a squat...

Outside of the OM FOREX Internet Cafe.

At this very minute outside of the OM FOREX Internet Cafe in Jodhpur, this is what I see: a stall...

Connor, Alannah and Janice in the back of Deepak’s...

A child in a window in Jodhpur, Rajasthan.

A hat for a hat.  I’ll lend you my Hemmings Motor News...

This man worked at the Mehrangarh Fort.  He showed visitors...

It’s cold in the morning in Jodhpur, Rajasthan.  This...

If it looks cold here, it is … though only in the...

The south end of an elephant outside of the automobile...

A beautiful example of the Indian-made Royal Enfield...

Enough Photos Yet?

As of today we have sent home 26 Gigabytes of photos taken in our first 6 months of the trip. 

Connor in Udaipur

From Cochin we flew Kingfisher Airlines to Mumbai via Mangalore. From Mumbai we flew by the same...

Connor in Allepey, a houseboat and Fort...

The Secret Beach in Allepey, India was very much secret for tourists but not for locals. I was...

“Home is where you rest your head.”
— From a backpackers T-Shirt,...

Alannah learning the proper technique in throwing a fishing...

A scene along the banks lining the fields in the backwaters...

A scene along the backwaters of the State of Kerala, India...

Janice on board the converted rice barge...

It took 25 local men … well, 24 local men AND Connor,...

On the backwaters of the State of...

We just finished a 3-day, 2-night cruise on the fresh water backwaters of Kerala, east and north of...

Twenty five years ago this man was probably hunting...

Alannah her mom on a bamboo raft on the Periyar Lake at...

… it’s easy - just get a 3-wheeled motorcycle...

The cow is sacred in India, though that doesn’t mean...

John Travolta of Saturday Night Fever fame was alive and...

“Excuse me, but our ceiling is leaking.”
— Alannah McBride on the phone...

Connor in India Con'd

Finally we got to Pondicherry were we stayed at the Hotel Mass.  The Hotel Mass is a really old...

“Welcome to India!”
— Connor McBride

Connor in India

What I first saw after stepping off the plane did not surprise me.  I had entered a whole new world...

Connor in Phuket, Thailand and...

From Ko Lanta Yai we took a lengthly ferry boat trip to Phuket.  As always the family sat on the...

This for Mme Munter, our principal at Westboro Academy: ...

We like to walk on the beach in the morning when it is not...

Our cribbage tournament continues for the Title Of All...

When on the beach one must get braids in your hair.  In...