Poznan in winter is still a small town. But it’s almost halfway from the German border to Warsaw so it seemed like a good place to stop over for a few days, see how the trains work and cut the trip to Warsaw in half.

exploring Segovia is easy from Madrid. It’s a very short ride, less than an hour, and after you visit this town you can go back through Madrid to Toledo for a very short train ride there as well. One main feature of Segovia, of course, is the aqueduct where you will start your journey into the old town.

as I mentioned in the previous post on Toledo it is definitely one of the “must see“ cities in Spain. It’s a very short train ride from Madrid which is more expensive so you may want to stay here in a very beautiful old town atmosphere and take a day trips into Madrid. I stayed in Grecco which is right above the gelato shop so on your way back to the very comfortable room you can stop in front and have a delicious gelato.

there is a very interesting story about the Jewish quarter in Toledo indicating how powerful these people were in the Gothic and Moorish periods of Spanish history before the people took it back from the Moors. It seems the Islamic groups lived peacefully and with tolerance with the different religious groups but that was not to continue after the Christians took the territory from the Moors.

last year I bought a ticket for the Rod Stewart concert Köln, Germany on December 2 so I had to plan my travels accordingly. I had originally planned a month in Ireland but my friend was visiting France for a week and asked me to join so I cut my trip to Ireland short. Then I made it down to Spain and then back up to Germany for the concert.

when you go to Spain make sure you go to Cuenca. It is a world heritage site for a reason. You go up by bus to the castle uphill or you can walk though it is quite a distance and could be tiring depending upon your degree of fitness. Walking back down to the town is a piece of cake and a very interesting stroll.

as you walk around Madrid you’ll find some very interesting things so keep your eyes peeled.

the more you look around, the more you will find interesting any place especially in Japan where so many things are different but you have to be on the lookout.

when you are in Madrid make sure to visit the Prado museum since it is the premier national classical art museum. What you will be saying is about 95% paintings many of them by very famous artists and in about 5% statues and figurines.

just south of Bordeaux, a few hours by train, you come to an interesting small town in the Aquitaine. Bordeaux is known for wine, especially red wine but honestly I found the wine offered experiences to be really great for novices and people who have never visited a vineyard or had the chance to hear someone’s explanation of how to appreciate wine.

What you will find in beautiful Tottori is a very different environment than other tourist places. If you visit in August the rice is about ready to harvest so there are green fields everywhere there are not step hills or mountains. Mountains are green and quiet places to hike and find small shrines where few visitors arrive. The sand dunes of Tottori are unexplored sites in Japan and the friendliness of rural shop owners is refreshing.

if you are going off to Kells you will pass through a number of small towns which are very interesting and very beautiful with local shops which are very old and a lot of old signage. Many of the churches are not open unless they have services which is understandable nowadays. You can find the Irish sense of humor outside in many places so keep your eyes peeled.

In Inniskeen enjoy the rushing river walk, the Small small pitch and putt golf course and the church ruins

Himeji I rented a car in this area and drove around for four days to some places I have not been in 48 years. I highly recommend going to the Japan Seaside from the Pacific side if you get the chance. The area around here is extremely beautiful and not over developed.

Scotland is a wonderful country. It is expensive but the people are more than friendly. A Scots friend of mine says the Scots are “chatty”. They will come up to you and start a friendly conversation. In the North you will notice a lot of sheep. A lot of this culture was brought about by the Sutherland family. Their origins are in France, possibly Normans (viking descendants).

At Ephesus near Selçuk in Turkey you will see this amazing city requiring several hours to walk around and investigate. It is one of the most fascinating and expansive Roman city I have visited. It should be one of the highlights of your trip to Turkey.

Hopping around towns in Turkey is easy and exciting. Driving in Turkey is pretty much the same as in Thailand. The laws and rules are “suggestions”. There are many police check points as you go from one area to another. But the police and everyone in the country are friendly and helpful so there is nothing to really be worried about when traveling around.

across the bridge from Topkapi in Istanbul is a very busy area and series of streets called Taksim. It seems this area is extremely popular with everybody looking for something different from the “imperial“ area on the other side of the river with most of the main tourist attractions. But they’re very narrow streets here with some very nice restaurants and coffee shops that make this area feel like a major tourist shopping street but also a very “local“ area.

Enjoy some Fun in Okinawa and make some friends while there and enjoy the delicious food.

Searching for ancestors records in Luxembourg is easy. It is done in the main city and there are people there to help. You even get an archive library card after doing some searches. However, finding gravestones and other physical proof of ancestry proved to be much harder. It seems almost all the gravestones in the churches are not older than 150 years or less.

As I was traveling around Japan I decided to go to my old school area on Mt. Fuji, Fujinomiya, and also to a place I love to visit. The Kiso trail goes from near Matsumoto area to Nagoya and still has old villages with places to stay and a walking trail along the centuries old walking trail. These two areas are close to Tokyo so easy for day or several day trips.

When I first came to the outskirts of Palermo in 2010 all the cars I saw were badly scratched or dented and parked on the road and sidewalk in every kind of configuration. I didn’t want to subject my rental car to this fate so I turned around and went to another place to stay and visit. However, this time I found it to be a safe place to drive and park a rental car, though I didn’t rent one, and things were generally better organized.

Ishigaki island is much closer to Taiwan than Okinawa and a much smaller island. However as you are drifting around Ishigaki Island you will find a wonderful ocean, interesting plants and animals and really friendly people wanting to talk to you over a drink. An island close by is Taketomi. When I was there in April/May I got the feeling it wasn’t the tourist season since most everything was closed.

when you’re traveling to Germany Heidelberg it’s definitely one of the cities you should visit at the castle is very interesting. So remember when you get in this area make sure you get high on Heidelberg Castle.

Reims is a pretty interesting ciy to visit, the place where French kings were crowned for many centuries . The roman wreath for crowning kings in Reims is what the lady is carrying The old city center Many train stations in France have pianos for people to play some music, a very interesting and enjoyable idea.