the itch, the bug, whatever...

the other morning I was seeking a change of the cover photo for my blog- the Venice Grand Canal one having been up for quite some time... and I was looking for a change... I settled upon the photo of the Cao Dai Temple an hour or so north of Saigon... but what really overtook me was the itch-  the bug - whatever you want to call it... I have a well known travel "jones" and it is definitely flaring up these days.

We have many trips planned for the remainder of 2015 and I am ready to go now, especially since I came across a few photos of destinations I have loved.  So I thought I would post photos for each destination we have lined up for the remainder of the year-

May- NYC, Brussels & Amsterdam - one of our favorite NYC places- the High Line

Grand Place in Brussels- and chocolates for sale in a shop there-

canal side houses in Amsterdam and souvenirs from a shop along the way-

July - Road Trip - to "Fallingwater" via DTW (Motown Museum) Cleveland (Rock & Roll Hall of Fame) and Pittsburgh (PNC park for Cards game) with a stop on the way back in Toledo to revisit the art museum there...

below- the famous Diego Rivera mural from Detroit's Art Institute and coneys from Detroit's famous Lafayette Coneys

the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland

July - Dublin (meeting up with our cousin Iddo who now lives in Exeter in the UK) - here are some old old photos from a trip to Dublin in 1997 - since it is almost 20 years since I have been there and even longer for Phil- this was a natural for a summer get away...

August - TB and I do DART (Disappearing America Road Trip) again- this time NH is the primary destination.  Since I have only stopped in New Hampshire at a Shaker Village my photos are limited but here are two- one from the general store near the village and one in the main house of the village

September/October - the biggie - our trip to Bulgaria, Romania, Moldova, Transdniestria, and Odessa (to catch up with our friend Iryna from Lviv)

These are all new places to us so I can only show a photo of Phil's brothers Larry (L) Steve (R) and the three of us in the center (Phil, me and Iryna) from a prior trip to Ukraine...

and some spirits along the way in Ukraine- to make you forget that this was your TV in the luxury suite of the best hotel in the tiny town of Rivna where the boy-es grandfather came from... LOL

our two rooms on the top floor-

room 421- our suite

November - NYC again

the view from our terrace one fall when we got the "upgrade" - we had wine there every night and the kids and friends stopped by - LOL- a great once in a lifetime treat...

a regular stop on the way out of town - Grand Central Oyster Bar....yum! love love love oysters!!!

December - a return to Cuba! this time with Phil!

My travel addiction is long standing and does not look like it will be abating anytime soon- so come on along... it will always be here at semifreelife now located at blog.semifreelife.com

last night's play

last night we saw the Asolo production of Our Betters a play from 1917 by Somerset Maugham.

 

and here is my review in brief- outstanding costumes, excellent set design, a number of good performances despite the fact that most of the characters were of questionable honesty and morality. I enjoyed the broadly comedic nature of the script, but Phil really didn't care for any of the characters and therefore found it less than entertaining. So the final tally- one thumbs up and one thumbs down... Still two more Asolo productions left in our season and one (for me) Florida Studio Theater play - along with many many films at the Sarasota Film Festival coming up 4/9-4/19.... so lots more to see and do before we leave for the northern season where we have three plays in the first five days after I arrive home for the summer... never a dull moment.