Bill's Blog

Bordeaux, France

Morning walk to a church

Sirena with Bordeaux in the background

Narrow streets!

Flower Shop at the end of a street

Saint- Louis des Chartrons Roman Catholic Church (built in 1895)

Guide explaining how part of the sides of the church had been restored.

See full size images at my gallery site: https://billterry1.smugmug.com/Places/Western-Europe-Wine-Quest-2022/

Go here for a list of each day: https://www.billterry1.com/2022/07/western-europe-wine-quest.html

June 8, 2022

La Rochelle, France

No planned shore excursion. We took a shuttle downtown and wandered around this beautiful seaport city located on the Bay of Biscay in western France.

Looking out to sea from the harbor

Kids learning to sail tied together and pulled by a "mother boat."

The entrance to the city, surrounding the narrow harbor entrance, was built up with old battlements.  

Views of the city and harbor

Locks that open to let small boats out

Wandering around

Bureau du Port

Wilson supervising kids in boats

Nice paint!

Lunch at a great Italian restaurant... in France.

Closing shot. Nice door.

See full size images at my gallery site: https://billterry1.smugmug.com/Places/Western-Europe-Wine-Quest-2022/

Go here for a list of each day: https://www.billterry1.com/2022/07/western-europe-wine-quest.html

June 7, 2022

No shore excursion today, just a lazy day onboard with the Big Dinner with our tour group in the Tuscan Steakhouse. Since it was part of a wine quest, some very good wines and knowledge from Kelly

No formal images, it was all about focusing on wine, food and friends... excuse the grab shots!

Prosciutto di San Daniele Riserva

Caprese

Introducing a wine to people who actually paid attention.

Peek at Ruth's Risotto ali'Aragosta (lobstah!)

Fagottini al Formaggio

Wilson studying the menu up close.

Osso Bucco (!!) w/ 2017 Saumur Champigny Roches Neuves

More 'splaining.

Terrible picture, GREAT dessert! "A Decadent Quintet"

One of many toasts

Forgot to save a copy of the menu so here is the best I got.

Later that evening...

Entertainment and... more wine!

What a great evening with friends!

See full size images at my gallery site: https://billterry1.smugmug.com/Places/Western-Europe-Wine-Quest-2022/

Go here for a list of each day: https://www.billterry1.com/2022/07/western-europe-wine-quest.html

June 6, 2022

Saint-Malo, France

It dawned gray and cloudy at the walled port city in northwestern France on the British Channel.

Seagull on guard

  Unfortunately, our scheduled shore excursion once again did not occur. Fortunately, Kelly stepped up and, on the fly, led a great day in Saint-Malo. An excellent starter of Crepes de Froment (sweet crepes) at a local restaurant was followed by a walking tour of the city. Lunch at the Cafe de L'Quest led to a guided tour of the walls and city. 

City Map

One of many entrances

Another entrance

View from atop the wall

Wilson posing for his fandom

Narrow crowded streets within the walls

  Some apartment and wall images

"Wall art"

High tide in the morning

See the object in the lower part of the image? We spent a while trying to figure out why there is a staircase out in the water. See the answer later.

LUNCH!!!

Saint-Malo is known for its seafood!

Flambé!

More wandering:

Robert Surcouf (12 December 1773 – 8 July 1827) was a French privateer and slave trader who operated in the Indian Ocean between 1789 and 1801, and again from 1807 to 1808, capturing over 40 prizes. He later amassed a large fortune as a ship-owner, from privateering, commercial activities,the illegal slave trade,and as a landowner. Buried in Saint-Malo. He is pointing towards England, his favorite hunting grounds.

Stained glass

Low tide in the afternoon

Look at the lower right, the staircase at hightide reveals itself and a diving platform for a saltwater pool at low tide.

See full size images at my gallery site: https://billterry1.smugmug.com/Places/Western-Europe-Wine-Quest-2022/

June 5, 2022

In between thunderstorms last night, a double rainbow greeted us when we stepped outside...  

The most vivid rainbow any of us had seen.

July 20, 2022

Western Europe Wine Quest
Day One, La Havre and Honfleur, France

On the first day of our ten-day wine cruise, the scheduled shore excursion never got started because the bus never arrived. We had been told that lasting effects of the Pandemic could wreak havoc on scheduled events. 

Kelly, our intrepid leader (the one with no red hat), took over, organizing an off-the-cuff wandering. First, a ship-sponsored shuttle bus into La Havre, followed by a tram to the downtown bus station. We got bus tickets to the small city of Honfleur. It was about an hour or so before the bus left, so some of us took a cab to the scenic Hanging Gardens in La Havre, a mid-19th-century fortress with manicured gardens.

La Havre

City of La Havre from atop the Hanging Gardens

War Memorial downtown. La Havre was decimated during WWII, suffering terrible civilian casualties.

Big Birds guarding City Hall (Hotel de Ville translates to City Hall)

Big Bird up close

Red Plant at the Gardens

Another view of La Havre

Honfleur

A crowded intra- city bus took us to the picturesque city of Honfleur. Known for its Vieux-Bassin (old harbor), lined with 16th- to 18th-century townhouses, the city was hosting a giant farmers market with booths lining the major streets. An outdoor lunch at an excellent small local restaurant, where no one spoke English, and wandering the streets filled the day. 

Vieux-Bassin

The Market

Lunch!

Wandering

Cook's window

Artist's window

Old Harbor patrolled by a Duck

 A return bus, tram ride and a 45 minute walk through beautiful La Havre got us back to the ship. Wonderful day. 

See full size images at my gallery site: https://billterry1.smugmug.com/Places/Western-Europe-Wine-Quest-2022/

June 4, 2022 

Wandering around London on the 2nd level of a Big Red Bus. We spent our last day in London playing tourist on the top deck of one of London's omnipresent double-decker tour busses. 

Trafalgar Square 

Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, 1st Duke of Bronte, KB

I'm not sure I completely get British humor. At a corner of Trafalgar Square

At another corner of Trafalgar Square... shouldn't it be named the Vice- Admiralty?

A lasting memory of London- very crowded and lots of slow moving traffic

Big Ben is the name of the bell, not the tower

The Tower is the Elizabeth Tower

From London Bridges

Lots of strange creatures on big pedestals
 

Two guys hangin' out... holding Earths?

A homage, not to the Colonel, to "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street" (it is on Fleet Street)

The Hung Drawn and Quartered. Pleasant name for a big pub.
 

A small construction. 'Drove by it at one of the times the bus actually moved quickly, so I really don't know what it is for.

End with another pass by Big Ben

Full-size images are at my Gallery site: https://billterry1.smugmug.com/Places/London-2022/

June 14, 2022

We were in London for a few days earlier this month before and after a cruise. Ruth's first time and my last visit was in the 70's.  A lot of the time was walking around the Paddington and Kensington areas, including the two big parks, Hyde and Kensington.

The week of the Queen's Platinum Jubilee...

where Ruth had an audience with someone special. 

Adjacent to our hotel, Paddington Station is a huge train station, more crowded than most US airports.  

Paddington is associated with a rather famous bear, who Ruth got to sit next to. 

Two bucket list items...

British ale/ beer (the one on the left is mine)

Wilson... and Ruth in a traditional Brisitsh phone booth (they are only there to impress tourists like us... everyone uses cell phones)

We stayed at the Hilton Paddington, which was originally the Great Western Railway Hotel.

Walking the streets of London...

Wall art

Amidst all the beautiful old buildings, this was a bit of a shock.  

Loved the view inside this old church

Lots of Beatles things in London

How does he get in there?

Sign outside a Barber Shoppe

Kensington Gardens- a Royal park

Local Inhabitant. He didn't quack so I don't know if he had a British accent. 

Visiting inhabitant

One of the anomalies of London parks, amidst beautifully kept grounds are little patches left to grow wild.

Bees

Hyde Park

The largest of four Royal parks in the center of London

One of the huge number of inhabitants of the same breed.

Kensington Castle framed by art

Kensington Castle

Wild Parakeets??

Even the broken fences are protected

A beautiful gardens in Hyde Park

One of many statues: Arthur, Duke of Wellington

Another area left alone to grow slightly wild

The closing image is not really London. It is a view of the traditional English countryside on the road from London to Southampton. 

Full-size images are at my Gallery site: https://billterry1.smugmug.com/Places/London-2022/

June 2, 3, 13, 14, 2022

Chihuly Collection in St. Petersburg, FL

revisited

More Chihuly from May, 2021

March, 2022

The third in a series on the riverside complex in Apalachicola that was once Boss Oyster, Carolines Restaurant, and the Apalachicola River Inn. This post focuses on the River Inn and Carolines.

Earlier posts are here:
The story and images
and
Inside Boss Oyster

All the images, high-def and full-size, are part of my Abandoned/ Out of Business gallery:
Gallery Images

The Apalachicola River Inn

Back Registration Entrance

Closer in

Registration side door

Registration area

View from upstairs

Laundry

Sign to the Rooftop Lounge

Steps to upstairs rooms

Stairs at far end

Caroline's Restaurant

Water-side view

Remnant of an ad piece

Chandelier and round window

Entrance wallpaper and light fixture

February 2022

On Saturday, March 13 a 200-yard wide EF1 tornado with winds of 110MPH ripped through Ocala, Florida. Trees, fences, and some structures were damaged. A recent foggy sunrise created an eerie damaged landscape. 

The white pieces are wall insulation blown off a nearby construction project.

Click here for full-size, high-def images on my Gallery site.

March 17, 2022

A piece of Florida tradition... Florida kitsch... is disappearing. Robinson's Pecan House had, according to the Monticello News in 2020, been run by Arthur Robinson for 43 years and before that by his brother, Willie, for 37 years.  Noticeable for its bright red and yellow signs, the Pecan House is on a rural section of Capps Highway, the road that was the main north-south thoroughfare to the state capital, before the interstates took over.  For years, it has been the indicator for me that I was getting close to Tallahassee when driving up from Tampa. Along with pecans and pecan products, the House (actually a stand with 4 manual garage doors that raised up when open for business) sold a variety of local honey, boiled peanuts, tomatoes, and other goodies.

Sadly, time has not been kind to the Robinson's Pecan House and it is permanently closed, slowly being consumed by the rural countryside.

Once bright yellow and red signs lead to and away from the Pecan House along the side of the highway, offering delights to passers-by. Now they are slowly falling apart.

Some are gone altogether

You can barely see that it is Tupelo HONEY at the bottom of the sign.

Fading to white.

Click here for Full-size, high-def images at my galleries.  

March 2022

Boss Oyster, and the conjoined River Inn and Caroline's restaurant were long-time favorites in Apalachicola, Florida. Hurricanes and the Pandemic shut them down. Click here to read their story in my earlier post. 

In late February 2022, I was able to go inside what was once a favorite watering hole in Apalach, Boss Oyster. 

The old sign, done as a detailed painting.

A lot of the outdoor water-facing areas are in very bad shape

The old Frog Level bar

Actually a picture of... a frog (the bar's namesake?)

Food pickup area

Looking out from the kitchen

Another view looking into the kitchen

Wall art

Once a door?

Looking at you!

Door framed by a window

Best seat in the place

Do NOT go through this door!

Click he

Click here to go to my gallery and see full-size high-def images of this abandoned place.

Coming soon: Inside the River View inn and Caroline's

February 2022

Last three images. All caught up!

Hurricanes and the Pandemic shut down Boss Oyster in Apalachicola. Rumor has it rebuilt this year to be World Famous again!

A ceiling map: St. George Island

Anonymous Big Hunk

Thanks for looking at the "leftovers" from 2021.

All my images are at my galleries at http://billterry1.smugmug.com.

After the storm- Anne Marie Island, August 2021

Sunset viewing

Watching

Patiently waiting for sunset

First morning coffee

Outside the Dali Museum, September 2021

Um, excuse me, ma'am, do you have the time?

Ants amongst the cacti

Boat in an emerald sea

Downtown Ocala at sunset, September 2021


Savannah, GA, September 2021

Fun with water and lights

Night sculpture

Patterned wall

Patriotism in the stands and on horseback

Local rodeo

Renderings on a theme
Do you like one the best?

Original

As an oil painting

As a colored pencil drawing

As a detail painting

Savannah, GA, September 2021

Admiring the view

Headin' out

Headin' in

St. Pete skyline from the new pier

The first aitline pilot

The first airline copilot?

Urban art

End of day


St. Petersburg, FL

May, 2021

Abandoned motel in Central Florida

The roses are starting to take over

Back alley dinosaur off to do some fishin'.

Glass blowing in St Pete

My two most favorite people!

Growth amongst the rocks

St. Pete at night (Rowdies game to the right)

May 2021

May, 2021

The St. Augustine Distillery

Superb small- batch bourbon

Replacing the Santa Maria Restaurant.

Here is what it looked like in 2018: https://www.billterry1.com/2018/12/out-of-business-santa-maria-restaurant.html

The gate at the pier entrance is the only part of the original restaurant left.

Classic accommodations:



Steps at the downtown Hilton



Rype and Ready

Walls

Done as a detailed colored pencil drawing

Closing Image (sunset in Ocala, FL on the way home)

May, 2021

From May, the Lightner Museum in St., Augustine, Florida

I liked the full painting in the Music Room but also liked it cropped a bit...

'Don't know what this is, but it sure is intricate.

Looking Down.

View through a window

May 2021

Here goes a series of posts wandering back through 2021, posting images taken but not seen... 

I am not totally sure where this was. It was shot with my little DX0 and grouped in with a bunch of other miscellaneous images. Nice sunset anyway.

September 2021