I have just spent a few days in Phoenix. Here are a few photos to prove it. I stayed at the Sheraton Downtown, and I was pleased as usual with the lovely bar which provided for all my needs. Although there are numerous hotels around I would rather be in the centre, because it gives me access to to all corners. But pride of place is always going to be the Desert Botanical Garden which takes a full day of my time.
Winston James
This is a new visit to the city of Barcelona , and first since the end of active pandemic. I stayed at the Le Meriden Hotel in La Rambla which was very nice. Enjoy the garden, and later tour the city.
As the weather turns, here in the UK, I decided to spend a few days in Miami.
Most of it is dedicated to to what I saw as I visited, and as usual it is generally plants and gardens. I had some social activities, but that will be next time.Winston James
It has been a while since I have visited a museum. Recently I corrected this by paying a visit to the British museum in London. I wanted to see if the horrors of the pandemic had impacted on the crowd who normally visit these places. I was so right, as considering how well known the museum was, the building was almost completely empty. The intention also was to have a look around and decide what was the draw of the people visiting. Below are some of the photos that were taken,a mixture of the image which you would expect from the British Museum .
Yes, I was pleased to say that I enjoyed seeing much of the old favorites. There were no real surprises as far as the collection is concerned. Most of these items are much too heavy to move around, therefore I did not expectt to see any major changes. The scant crowd was helped by the fact that I chose a day when the rain was falling quite heavily. But it will be interesting to see how the crowd moves as the pandemic slowly retreats.
Winston James
With all the talk of war in Ukraine, I expected may be some problems, but i was quite wrong. Three days in Helsinki was without any issues and quite enjoyable. I stayed at one of the Radisson Hotels which was more than adequate for what I wanted. The city was pleasant and much more tranquil than the last time I was there. But in many ways it was easier to enjoy the short trip with little issues .
I flew there with Finnair, an airline which I had never used before and I was impressed with their style, and since they connected to the One World Alliance, I was able collect airmiles for the effort.
I did a lot of of walking around as I hoped to remember and compare this visit with the last time I was here. In spite of the proximity to war with the media constantly dramatizing all the worst scenarios, most people appear to be living a normal existence.
I thought this park was very curious even though it was quite empty. The weather was quite cool though nor freezing, and there was quite a bit of sun. This suggested most people were happy to stay indoors, or simply visit the malls.
Trams are still used throughout the city and this fascinated me. For some people trams belong to yesterday, and in London where I live are rarely seen. But here they appear to ease the traffic dependency of cars and work very well. They are assisted by buses which appear to be less in need. But I was surprised by the presence of the latest trend of scooters which were everywhere.
At that this time of the month for the last few years I have always travelled to the state of Arizona. This year will be an exception as the current situation with the pandemic has literally ended all my travel intention. I thought therefore I will reflect via some photos on the areas I have visited in the last few years.
Sierra Ancha is a mountain range in Gila county in central Arizona. It now has improved roads which makes it easier to penetrate, and visit the many archaeological remains which exist.
Arizona for me is still the land of Agaves with many other succulents thrown in to the characteristic xeric landscape.
I love the succulents and I love them when the flowers are in bloom.
And it is important to remember this is the state of wonderful saguaros.
Plant Nurseries are numerous which means that if you are looking for seedlings and young specimens, you will find lots of them in Tucson and in Phoenix.
And there are the cities with active people.
Winston James in a cold wet London
Sometimes the elements get the better of us. It is almost the start of March, and I am returning from my Brazilian holiday, and literally flew into a snowstorm. London was very cold, and I was absolutely unprepared for this extreme kind of weather. At Miami Airport where I usually make the connection, I had inadvertently left my only coat which would have insulated me somewhat, from the freezing weather. I decided to tough it out, and avoided committing myself to any quick or hasty purchase to solve the situation. Somehow I managed to make my way home in spite of the many stated delays of the usually reasonable London Underground, as the snow pelted down around me.
Once inside, there was the usual chaos, and placing my case to one side, I headed to open the back door, to survey the damage. Unusually for London the snow was building, my two greenhouses appeared fine, but all the transient plants which were haphazardly placed close to the house for protection were enveloped with snow. Normally, there would be a corrugated plastic covering to prevent any real damage, but today most of it had been blown away by the wind.
You must appreciate that I am a plant lover, and also a plant seller; and it is very important to prevent further damage as the weather prediction had offered minus five Centigrade by evening time. Some quick action was needed to avoid total destruction as far as the outdoor collection is concerned. Yet the snow kept falling. A quick investigation of my greenhouse confirmed that I was right, and that most of the plants inside were in a good order. Surveying the freeze outside, and noting the frozen tap, it was the group that were outdoors that posed the problem. Using layers of plastic bubble I tried to add extra cover on some of the plants to prevent further damage from evening lows, even though I fared the worst.
Preparing for winter is not a very easy task for us plant lovers, and it often takes a certain degree of subtlety, as you want to avoid dragging all your specimens in a dark basement in the middle of October. At the same time, you also have to utilize as much of the good weather that is possible and that is the reason we always take a few risks. Also, timing is very important, as on numerous occasions, you may fail because of this. To put it bluntly sometimes you are ill-prepared when it is absolutely necessary to be on focus, or simply be present. This is one of these occasions, and the photos say it all. Of course, later after the thaw, I will insist on new arrangements in place which must prevent the same things happening again. But it does not always work, as nature has a way of subverting life when you least expect it.
Winston
Visiting Morocco was always on the cards, but the timing had to be right. Once I decided that the time had come, the big question of where to stay took much longer than it normally does for my kind of holiday. After scrutinizing numerous hotels in Casablanca, I found myself unable to choose . This made me shift my glance to Rabat, the nation’s capital, a smaller city with less choice and in the end an easier route to making a decision. I chose a familiar route, a French Accor hotel (Sofitel), in a country which was overflowing with French influence. This visit took place years ago, but I thought I would like to share it with you.
The change from Casablanca to Rabat as a base, meant that I had to reorganize my itinerary somewhat, but that was easily done. At the top of my list was Fez, a city that had always fascinated me as a youngster. The new plans meant that I will arrive at Casablanca Airport, take a taxi to the train station, and travel by the next available train to Rabat. In practice, the plan worked fine, the train was slightly delayed, but I was impressed with the standard of the carriages.
Rabat worked perfectly, allowing easy access to all the places I wanted to go. From here, I organized my trip to Fez, which was via ONCF train system. The journey took more two hours passing through Sidi Kacem and Meknes, and was very unusual because of the open countryside in between. Arriving at Fez station, I was able to walk to the downtown area which was far more modern than I expected. I had a look around, had something to eat, and hailed Petit Taxi, and headed for the Medina, which in Morocco was the place to visit to get a pulse of the city
It was still early morning when I arrived, and the souk was not very crowded. I had planned to do it on my own, but changed my mind when approached by a young lady, casually dressed, but speaking perfect English and who appeared to be a university student. The Medinas are never disappointing, because of the potpourri of traditions laced with cultural and commercial icons. Here, it was much the same. Housed in an antiquated walled enclosure, it demonstrated the best example of the Arab marketplace. Leather goods seemed quite prominent, followed by brassware and ceramics, but there were lots of everything else to be had.
I had decided not to do any serious shopping, as I found the bidding system quite difficult. My intention was to collect only a few souvenirs to take back with me. Yet I still engaged a few of the traders simply to amuse myself. I greatly appreciated, though, the artists present who were practically demonstrating their trade. My attitude to buying serious goods like carpets, blankets, etc, is you need to spend a full day to suss out the trade items or bargains; and then return the following day to do the actual purchases, or else you would simply be taken for a ride.
I was able to see one of the tanneries in operation, and was able to appreciate how the skins of animals became leather. Unsurprisingly, it was not a smooth factory styled operation, but it achieved what it set out to do and I was quite impressed. Like everywhere in Morocco, even here in the Medina you were never far from a mosque, and yet all around it, you were in a shopper’s paradise, catering to locals and the special visitors.
At the end of the tour, having exhausted all my visual sensibilities, I offered my guide a fee which I thought was adequate. She didn’t, and I was taken aback that after a tour of humble politeness, she suggested that I double the amount. I got it, even the intended fee was up for negotiation. I offered half of the extra, and with some reluctance she accepted.
For the rest of the afternoon, I embraced an unguided tour of the city which took me to the outer limits, looking at the way old and new ideas were moving forward especially in terms of architecture. Altogether, the city was far more modern that I expected, but there was still more than enough of the old to keep me focused. By five o’clock, it was time to head back to the station having had my day’s fill, and board the train back to Rabat.
Winston
kaowinston 