A digital travel diary. · WP v1.08 · Updated
After helping Alex move his belongings to his new digs in San Francisco, Inna and I decided to see the Monet in Venice exhibit at the de Young Museum. Today was the last day of the exhibition, and we managed to get tickets for the 10:30 showing. . . We really enjoyed the exhibition, though it was crowded.. . . . Here is a nice…
Read More: Monet and Venice at de Young Museum
Inna had pre-purchased two tickets to the Hearst Castle's Grand Rooms Tour for Saturday, May 2, at 11:20. We arrived at 11:15, and our tour bus was already loading. We ended up being seated in the back. . . A Visit to Hearst Castle: Grandeur, Art, and the Collector’s Trophy Room . Big Rooms Tour Experience. . Few places in America capture ambition, extravagance, and…
Read More: Hearst Castle, Cambria
Friday, March 20, 2026 . Our British Airways BA597 flight landed in London's Heathrow Airport at 19:15 GMT (from Venice, Italy). The flight was delayed about 15 minutes (with the original arrival time of 19:00 GMT). . . After landing at Heathrow, we had to board buses (as our plane didn't have its own terminal). Inna and I almost got separated on different buses. Upon…
Read More: London (March 20 – 24)
Thursday, April 19, 2026 . At 09:30, after checking out of Hotel Mioni Pezzato in Abano Terme, we began our drive to Venice's Marco Polo Airport to drop off our Opel Corsa at the Hertz Car Rental return center. . The drive to Venice was fairly smooth. When I reached the airport, I stopped to refill the Opel Corsa's gas tank (it was close to…
Read More: Ethereal Venice (March 19)
When we started our drive from Sirmione (at 09:00) to Brescia, I had programmed our parking as Parcheggi Fossa Bagnini, near the Castello di Brescia. . . However, when we arrived, we could not find it. Perhaps Google Maps has the wrong location. (NOTE: Google Maps was terrible at navigating in Northern Italy, failing to explain which exit to take at numerous roundabouts, and making…
Read More: Historic Brescia (March 13)
Monday, March 9, 2026 (San Jose). I woke at 07:00, showered, and shaved. I finished packing for the trip to Italy and then headed over to AVAC to work out. At AVAC, I rode the stationary bike for 40 minutes and the rowing machine for 20 minutes. I lifted a few weights and headed for the showers, returning home at 10:00. . I packed a…
Read More: Fashionable Milan (March 9-12)
The de Young Museum's Bouquets to Art is an annual exhibition where floral designers create arrangements inspired by artworks in the museum’s galleries. The bouquets are displayed next to the paintings, sculptures, or objects that inspired them, allowing visitors to see a botanical interpretation of the art. . . . . . Here’s a concise summary of the exhibition: . Concept. Professional florists, garden clubs,…
Read More: Bouquets to Art Floral Exhibition at de Young Museum
For our day out in San Francisco (Friday, November 28), we decided to stop at the Legion of Honor Museum to see the new Manet & Morisot exhibition. . . . . This is the first major exhibition dedicated to the artistic exchange between French Impressionists Édouard Manet (1832–1883) and Berthe Morisot (1841–1895). Manet was the era’s great pioneer of modern painting, and Morisot, the…
Read More: Legion of Honor: Manet & Morisot Exhibit
After breakfast, Inna and I decided to walk to Schloss Ambras in Innsbruck (a 4.2 km/1-hour walk through downtown Innsbruck). . . . . . As we walked through Innsbruck, we noticed the various shops (including numerous hair salons). When we reached the southern part of Innsbruck, we noticed some of the uglier/cheaper housing (rectangular apartment buildings where pensioners probably reside). We saw excellent public…
Read More: Visiting Schloss Ambras Innsbruck
After visiting Obidos and Caldas da Rainha, we drove for 30 minutes to Buddha Eden Garden of Peace in Bombarral. . . Once we purchased our tickets (12.00 euros/person), we waited to board a train to ride around the gardens. We got off at our first stop and started taking many photos. The train is relatively slow and has a few stops. Next time, I…
Read More: Visiting Buddha Eden Garden of Peace, Portugal
Thursday, September 26, 2024 . From Belmonte, we drove to Covilha to see the New Hand Lab. The drive to Covilha was more difficult due to narrow, one-way roads. We finally arrived at 14:15, a few minutes ahead of its opening hours (14:30 - 17:00) . . We waited for the New Hand Lab to open. When it did, a person who worked there let…
Read More: Visiting the New Hand Lab, Covilha
On the way to Ventozelo, we briefly stopped at the Fundação da Casa de Mateus in Vila Real. . . . . According to Wikipedia:. The winery buildings date from the 16th century and were modified in the 1800s. Architect Nicolau Nasoni was involved in the project to construct the palace, which took place in the 18th century, possibly between 1739 and 1743, according to…
Read More: Visiting Fundacao da Casa de Mateus, Portugal
As a Legion of Honor Museum member, Inna and I decided to visit the Tudors exhibit, which is running until September 23, 2023. . . Our drive from San Jose to San Francisco was uneventful, and we parked at Crissy Field at 13:00. We walked along Marina Blvd toward Scott Street (where we used to rent an Airbnb). On Scott Street, we turned left on…
Read More: The Tudors at the Legion of Honor
For the Memorial Day weekend, Inna made a Bed & Breakfast reservation at the Stockbridge Country Inn in Stockbridge, MA. We planned to explore the museums and hiking trails in this area. . We expected to pick up our Turo Honda Civic at 7:00pm and start our long, 2-hour drive to Stockbridge, where we would stay for 3 nights. . . However, Mounisha encountered traffic…
Read More: Exploring the Berkshires
Since Inna and I have never been to Cape Cod, though we have heard much about it over the many years, we decided to pay a short visit, stopping at the major attractions. . . . . After eating a small breakfast and getting ready, we started our two-hour drive to Provincetown (the tip of Cape Cod), with a long, enjoyable stop in Sandwich. .…
Read More: A Day out in Cape Cod
I woke up at 07:30, showered, shaved, and dressed. I waited to pick up the Turo Toyota Prius at 08:30. Daniel arrived at about 08:40 and showed me how to operate the 2010 Toyota Prius. . . From there, we drove to Alex's old apartment in Northeastern's International Village (1155 Tremont Street) to help him move to his new Summer digs at 1065 Tremont Street.…
Read More: Visiting Salem
After visiting the deCordova Sculpture Park, we decided to pay our respects to Walden Pond and see the remains of Henry David Thoreau's home there. In about 10 minutes, we drove to the Walden Pond parking lot, where I parked my Infiniti QX50 and purchased parking tickets. . . We walked over to Walden Pond, across the street from the parking lot (too bad there…
Read More: Walking around Walden Pond
On Sunday, May 8, 2022, on the way from Portland, Maine, we decided to stop by briefly at the deCordova Sculpture Park on the outskirts of Boston. . . When we arrived at the park around 14:50, we waited for about 15 minutes behind a line of cars, also purchasing tickets. We bought tickets (without reservations), though they were expensive ($18/adult, $1/student). . . .…
Read More: Visiting deCordova Sculpture Park near Boston
Having seen The Art of the Brick Lego creations during her visit to Boston in 2014, Inna was excited when she learned of a new Art of the Brick exhibit in San Francisco. She purchased tickets in advance, for a 14:00 entrance on January 22, 2022. . . . . On Saturday, we started our drive to San Francisco around 10:50, arriving downtown around noon…
Read More: Art of the Brick
With time running out for the once-a-year Bouquets to Art Show at the de Young Museum in San Francisco, we decided to visit the beautifully arranged flowers next to fine paintings and sculptures.. . . . We had difficulty finding parking when we arrived at Golden Gate Park, near the de Young Museum. Eventually, we found an open spot and walked to the museum. A…
Read More: Bouquets to Art at de Young Museum