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Yours truly.


Traveler, adventurer, and whisky drinker enjoying life on land, at sea, and in the air!

(Cameras: Canon F-1, Canon P, Mamiya 645 1000s)

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The French Dispatch, Vol. III

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A Politically Incorrect Review of Marseilles Over the years, I had heard that the French seaside city of Marseilles was know to be a bit ‘dodgy’.  Much of this comes from the zeitgeist, such as the film “The French Connection” which was based on a real heroin smuggling operation that ran from the 1930s through the 70s.  Unione Corse, the Corsican mafia that makes the Italian mob look like a bunch of cupcakes, ran copious amount of heroin from Southeast Asia to the United States and Canada via the port city of Marseilles.   Are these characterizations of Marseilles being a “Gotham City” of Europe valid in 2024? Well, like all stereotypes, there is an ounce (or two) of truth in them… I arrived in Marseilles via train from Avignon.  Full disclosure, Avignon is a very clean and quiet city (they have four homeless people and all of them are quite charming in their way); so that certainly influenced my opinion of Marseilles.  When I arrived, the train station was pack...
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24 Hours in Paris

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  As the great Anthony Bourdain said, “The journey changes you”.  Notice he said ‘journey’ instead of ‘delicious meals’, or ‘sunsets’, or ‘beautiful experiences’. No, it’s the JOURNEY that changes you…and part of the journey is getting out of your comfort zone and doing things you don’t really want to do.   I landed at Charles de Gaul Airport at 6.30am, Saturday morning.  The flight had been a terrific First Class affair from JFK, and I was very excited to go spend the day in Paris.  I booked a hotel at the airport as I was flying out to Istanbul the next day. After dropping off my bags and changing my underwear, I fired up Google Maps to figure out my plan for the day.  I have been to Paris many times, but shockingly I have never seen the Eiffel Tower!  I always felt it was too touristy; but it was a winter day so I figured the crowds would be light. This is the moment disaster struck.  From my previous journeys I knew that getting to Paris from ...
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The French Dispatch, Vol. IV

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(Absinthe in Avignon) French Drinking Culture As my good friends will tell you, I enjoy a good drink!  Other than that time in Rotterdam which all parties involved agreed to never speak of again; I rarely drink to any serious level of intoxication. Just enough to relax and enjoy myself. I also genuinely enjoy the taste of certain alcohols (and I only consume drinks I like the taste of).  You will never see me having beer (aka, cat piss). The past two weeks of living in France has shown me how shockingly puritan America is when it comes to alcohol.  Yes, the drinking age is 18 in France (21 in America), and yes you can buy hard liquor in just about any shop you can think of (NOT happening in Pennsylvania); but it goes much deeper than that. In the mornings, in France, you will see people at their local cafes having an espresso or two to start the day.  You will also see people having a glass of wine or a beer. Indeed, even the local indoor market in Avignon has a bar ...
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