Snowfree ~ Our World Trip

Russian Roulette on the Road.

Mon, 12 May 2008 16:42:00 -0400

I guess I have been playing “Russian Roulette on the Road” and have got off easy. We have been travelling for almost 9 months and have used the facilities of probably 100 Internet Cafes around the world, some excellent and but many of “garbage” quality. All of the postings for our blogs “snowfree.tumblr.com”, “roomwithaview.tumblr.com” and “alannahsnews.tumblr.com”come from these Internet cafes. The other day one of the PCs turned and bit me. I was working at uploading the lastest photo seen below. Suddenly the drive that holds my camera card disappeared. I remove my camera card and re-install it in my camera and it tells me: ”unreadable … do you want to re-format ?” or something like that. POOF. 300 photos gone. Then the next day, the same things happens to Alannah. I´m not happy. Let´s hope the photos can be retrieved. By the way, of the 100 or more Internet Cafes in the world, all have been comprised of PCs … only one had a fleet of Macs. You may have to wait awhile for the next photo posting. I think that I will burn all photos onto DVD before doing anything in an Internet Cafe again. Cost yes. But it will be worth it.

Warren

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

Fri, 09 May 2008 11:49:00 -0400

House on Caminito Street in the Boca district of Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Connor is still and will be in Buenos Aires for the next 3 weeks

Fri, 09 May 2008 11:21:00 -0400

Recently we all have started Spanish lessons and they are going very well. We are all learning lots. Yesterday we went on a city tour on a tour bus with about 20 other people. We saw most of the city monuments and Universidads (Universities) we also La Boca, the poorest neighborhood in Buenos Aires. The part we visited had the coloured houses that you see in all the brochures. Unfortunately all the shops are selling fridge magnets, T-shirts and snowglobes. On the way back to the starting point the photographer who had mounted the bus earlier and took our pictures got on and presented to us our heads on the bodies of tango dancers. We could not resist and got it. It is hilarious.

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

Tue, 06 May 2008 16:51:00 -0400

Connor and Alannah examining a map of the Buenos Aires “Subte” (from the word “subterraneo”) etro in the centre of Buenos Aires. It is a very old system (first line started in 1913) but covers a great deal of the city.

Connor is in Buenos Aires, Argentina

Sat, 03 May 2008 18:18:00 -0400

After the gruelling plane trip over the Atlantic Ocean we finally touched down in Buenos Aires after spending a night over in Madrid, Spain. Our apartment in Buenos Aires has never been lived in before and everything looks new. The purpose for going to Buenos Aires was to take Spanish lessons. We start on Monday. Today we visited a market in Downtown Buenos Aires (BA). There was not a “Made in China” sticker in sight. Everything was hand made and Alannah bought a poncho. As it turned out there is a large supermarket close to our place so we often by groceries. What a treat! We will be here for about a month. Today I finally got to swim at the local sports club. Getting to use the pool is not as easy as one might think. First, before you even get to be in the building you have to buy a monthly pass. You then have to give that pass to the “boy” or the security guard who lets you through the turnstile. You then walk up a flight of stairs to the changing rooms. Most of the lockers are already locked and you are quite sure that there cannot be that many people already there before you. Anyway you find a locker and get changed. You look around for an entrance for the pool. There is no obvious way in. As it turned out the door masquerades as a fire exit. Joy! Once down at the deck I was asked for my ID, in Spanish. “Habla solomente Inglese!” I say with gusto. He says it again in broken English. I go get my card and I come back. I am then told to by a man in a grey lab coat to put my feet on a stool. He then proceeded to check my feet for some alien life-forms. Next he looked at my underarms. He did not find what he was looking for whether that was a good thing or not. The next thing he looked at was not surprising, my hair. After the O.K for the doc I then proceeded to the pool thinking that my ordeal was finished, it was not. Since I clearly was a gringo and did not speak a peep of Spanish the pool staff had called over probably the only person in the building who spoke English. She tried to explain that I could swim either in a class or by myself. I chose the second option. The swim itself was uneventful compared to the preparation!

The unknown airlines.

Sat, 03 May 2008 18:10:00 -0400

We get around many different ways. We use inter-city buses; we love the train; have crossed rivers in dug-out canoes; have been on ferries both large and small; and on the occasion have hired a driver to get us from A to B. Sometimes we just have to use air … either it´s over ocean, it´s too far or the cost is too low to refuse. Here is a list of the air carriers that we have used since leaving Ottawa. Some you will recognize. Many you will not.

United (Washington DC to Beijing, China)
Hainan Air (China)
Air China (China)
Dragon Air
Air Asia
Tiger Airways
Kingfisher (yes the brewery runs an airline)
Royal Jordanian
Egypt Air
Ryan Air
Air Europa

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

Sat, 03 May 2008 18:07:00 -0400

Alannah just purchased a hand knitted shawl in a market in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

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

Sat, 03 May 2008 18:03:00 -0400

Connor mimicking a sign in Buenos Aires. We are not sure what this sign is for … school maybe?

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

Sat, 03 May 2008 17:52:00 -0400

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

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

Sat, 03 May 2008 17:49:00 -0400

We are now in Buenos Aires, Argentina. This is a street scene taken at dusk in Buenos Aires … many street corners have small cafes and restaurants … very pleasant.

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

Sat, 03 May 2008 17:39:00 -0400

This photo was taken of the seat-back video on our Air Europa flight UX041 between Madrid and Buenos Aires just as we crossed into South America. It was interesting that on a 13 hour flight beteen Madrid and Buenos Aires we spent so much time over land … it seemed about two thirds of the trip was either over or close to West Africa or Brasil and only about one third over water.

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

Sat, 03 May 2008 17:34:00 -0400

Here we are after leaving our hotel in Madrid and waiting to be picked up for the airport. That is a statue of Queen Isabel II in the background.

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

Sat, 03 May 2008 17:30:00 -0400

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

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

Sat, 03 May 2008 17:26:00 -0400

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

Connor is still in Nice

Sun, 27 Apr 2008 05:51:00 -0400

Nice is very much a walking city. We have spent much of our time wandering around. Occasionally finding a candy store or a supermarket or a fancy restaurant where we only dream of eating at. Over the last week we have; been to Monnaco, seen a marathon, gone to where the Cannes film festival is held and been to a medieval town to see a festival. Monnaco is the second smallest country in the world, first is the Vatican. Monnaco has a king and is less than 2km squared. While there we saw His Majesty’s Palace, the Monnaco raceway and the famous casino. The medieval town we went to is called Tourette and holds an annual medieval festival. It was mostly for children but it was fun to see everyone dressed up and the old buildings. Very soon we will be in Madrid and then in Buenos Aires.

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

Sun, 27 Apr 2008 05:40:00 -0400

Probably our last posting from Nice, as we leave for Madrid, Spain tomorrow for two days and then onto Buenos Aires, Argentina. This is a street scene in the centre of Nice with sculpture high up on posts, sculpture by Jaume Plensa (Spanish) related to his exhibition at the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art.

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

Thu, 24 Apr 2008 13:36:00 -0400

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

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

Thu, 24 Apr 2008 13:24:00 -0400

Are the streets confusing in France? Sometimes very confusing … especially for drivers. But not as confusing as in India or Egypt. This is a sign in Nice, France not far from our apartment.

"Could you please pass the salad."

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 11:02:54 -0400

“Could you please pass the salad.”

- Connor, yesterday at dinner time. He has made significant strides in the food department

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

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 10:58:00 -0400

Connor, Janice and Alannah with the small sea-side town of Beaulieu-sur-Mer, just east of Nice, behind them.