Paris, London, Basque Country (Spain)
Place de Vosges, Marais (4e), Paris.
This is the view from Victor Hugo's former apartment.
Gardens of the Palais de Versailles, the decadent estate of Louis XIV. Versailles, France.
The Guggenheim museum by Frank Gehry is so impressive that it has to be seen from inside and out to really get it. (And the audio tour helps).
Bilbao, Basque Country, Spain.
Another shot of the unmistakable building.
Basque Tapas (pintxos). This is all I ate for my first 5 days in Spain. Every bar has a number of their own specialties. You eat whatever looks good and then just tell the bartender what you had.
San Sebastian, Spain.
This is a view from just above "downtown".
Street and church, San Sebastian. The previous panorama shot was taken from the hill you can see above the church.
Playa Concha, San Sebastian.
Farther down the Playa Concha, here you can see a building on the beach a ways down. That is Bataplan, which is a nightclub that rages seemingly every night in the summer until, well, after I go to bed. There was a line to get in when I left at 6am. Waves crash directly below the club's terrace so you can effectively relax on the beach while clubbing.
Playa concha boardwalk. One thing I like about Spain is that all ages seem to enjoy a social stroll in the afternoons and evenings.
Typical San Sebastian architecture -- very nice.
These signs were all over. It seems that some people living in a wealthy paradise of apparent total freedom can still find a way to be mad about something. (No disrespect intended to the oppression Basques have faced over the years, but calling the current situation "Apartheid" seemed disrespectful to those who have faced actual apartheid).
A Sunday afternoon in San Sebastian.
Costa Rica (January):
Isolated Beach, Guanacaste, Peninsula Nicoya.
Humpback whales and leatherback turtles swimming nearby...
This was my new friend at our great hotel in Playa Ocotal, Villa Casa Blanca. He took a liking to me after I protected his breakfast from "The Gangsters", a group of aggressive and huge Costa Rican bluejays. Called "the gangsters" because they looked nice, but were rotten on the inside.
Rincon de la Vieja, Northern Costa Rica.
This is one of Costa Rica's many volcanoes, but it is not overly visited. Amazing rainbows every day we were there. Great hiking, horseback riding, natural spas, and views are the highlights from here.
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