It was five days into my research trip to Rennes-le-Chateau, a village in the French Pyrenean foothills, and I was lonely. Gathering details for my novel, I had hiked the hilly red dirt of the countryside dotted with helm oaks and dry broom, had walked the narrow roads of the village to the accompaniment of squawking roosters, and had admired the humble stucco houses. I stood in the rooms of the presbytery where my characters -- a priest and his … [Read more...]
Once Upon a Time in Mexico
"So what do you make of this?" said Xavier. I watched, from behind a cordon of yellow police tape, Antonio Banderas in a mariachi outfit, and Salma Hayek in far less, dangling from cables affixed to the rooftop of the Hotel San Francisco in San Miguel de Allende's central plaza, el jardin. Walkie-talkies crackled in Spanish and English. A utility van edged slowly past with a card taped to its windshield reading Once Upon A Time In … [Read more...]
Los Angeles, CA – Flea Markets & Swap Meets
Los Angeles offers a wide variety of outdoor flea markets and swap meets ranging from clothing to used electronics and everything in between. The Rose Bowl Flea Market in Pasadena sets the bar in the south-land for size - with over 2500 vendors represented the second Sunday of every month. But there are many more much smaller markets scattered throughout Los Angeles - some open every day, some with more limited hours. Here are a few we have … [Read more...]
Los Angeles, CA – Colleges and Universities
These are a few of the universities that we have visited in Los Angeles and vicinity. Additional universities will be highlighted here over time, as this is by no means an exhaustive list. Cal Poly, Pomona is located just south of the 210 Freeway in Pomona. Originally a satellite campus of what was known then as California Polytechnic School in San Luis Obispo - the two schools became separate entities in 1966. One tradition however did not … [Read more...]
Los Angeles, CA – California Missions
California has a total of 21 Missions running from San Diego to Sonoma ranging in date of founding from 1769 until 1823. The intent with each mission location was historically to place each one approximately a days journey between each other. Greater Los Angeles and Orange County have three representatives of these, Mission San Juan Capistrano, Mission San Gabriel Archangel (the closest mission to downtown Los Angeles) and Mission San Fernando … [Read more...]
Los Angeles, CA – Watts – Compton
Watts & Compton lie in the southern shadow of Los Angeles and are both separated from each other by the 105 freeway. There is a lot of history in this part of Los Angeles. The Watts Riots of 1965 started here - the command center was located at the corner of Compton and Nadeau streets (still there). What is now Bethune Park at the corner of 61st and Hooper Ave used to be a gathering point for the Black Panthers. The history and neighborhoods … [Read more...]
Los Angeles, CA – Cardrooms Casinos
Cardrooms/Casinos - There are no Indian Reservations within the city limits of Los Angeles so technically there are no casinos within Los Angeles. Rather these businesses are cardrooms, but each cardroom cleverly has decided to incorporate the word casino in their names (which is misleading to the casual gambler). These cardrooms do not have slot machines, rather their focus is on card games including but not limited to blackjack, poker and … [Read more...]
The Kingdom of the Atlas Mountains
Dear Friends, I got bitten by the travel bug again, after more than eight months of staying put around my home base of Orange County, California. I gave South America some serious consideration, especially now that it is summer in the more southern and chilly parts of the continent. But for various reasons, the most important of which is the chance to meet up with my brother Abdul, I settled on Africa. He is roaming around South Africa now … [Read more...]
Morocco: Where is my crown of olives?
There is far more to Morocco, Al Maghreb, as it is known among its citizens, than I can describe in just a short little blurb. Other than the intrusions of various cultures into this part of the african continent, the geography plays a large role in shaping Morocco as well. First and foremost, the High Atlas mountain range dominates the heart of the land. Eclipsed only by Kenya's volcanic Mt. Kilimanjaro, the High Atlas rise to a maximum … [Read more...]
Smoke the Revolution
Havana, Cuba March 25, 2003 Dear Friends, Greetings from Cuba!! Just a couple of weeks before my departure to Havana, I could not have imagined soaking up the warm and humid trade winds here on this beautiful Caribbean Island. Instead I was entertaining thoughts of attending a Spanish course in Guatemala, when my old pal Jimmy Bentley called out of the blue to tell me he was looking for a nutcase to join him in defying the US embargo of … [Read more...]
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