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| 8 APR 2012 at 4:15pm |
HelenGuild Master
Posts : 3436
Joined: 12 OCT 2002
Location: US
Status : Offline | I have never heard anything about these. Interesting.
Thanks for the link.
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| 10 APR 2012 at 3:10pm |
Len GreenJourneyman
Posts : 832
Joined: 31 JAN 2012
Location: IL
Status : Offline | I thought that the oldest cave paintings were in France & Spain - but those recently discovered in Australia seem to be considerably older than the 35,000 year old French ones.
Apparently they were made by the long long ago ancestors of today's Aborigines ?!?
There hangs a sort of personal saga
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In 1977, almost exactly 35 years ago, we embarked on the holiday of our lifetime.
I was 52 and Sylvia 47. Our 3 children were grown up. David studying electrical engineering in the Technion College in Haifa; Noemi just having finished the army studying Philosophy at Bedford College London University and our youngest daughter Dana (18.5 y.o.)still an officer in the Israeli Defence Forces.
We fitted out our ENORMOUSLY trusty small Fiat 128 with a tent, sleeping bags, some simple tools & cooking implements, and took the Ferry from our home in the Israeli port city of Haifa for Cyprus and then Pireus in Greece.We intended to spend up to 4 months touring Europe and finishing in London to visit our parents and other relatives in Englamd.
My teacher's salary was nothing to shout about and Sylvia's wages as a part time librarian at the Haifa British Council Library (since closed down due to budgetary cuts unfortunately) were also not too munificent - and so we had to conserve cash as much as possible !
So we planned to stay in (cheap) campsites as much as possible - it was a hot summer so that was nice. If the weather turned nasty we would stay in the simple (rather more expensive) huts at the campsites. And if that was impossible, we stayed at relatively cheap motels.
It worked out very well ! Without detailing the wonderful views, cities, experiences, etc. I took literally hundreds of photographs of our journey,
Firs the attractive island of Cyprus.
Then the beautiful country of Greece,
Then Yugoslavia - very poor, still governed by Tito, with some of the most beautiful coasts of the Adriatic Sea.
After that, a tour of the whole of Rumania. About the poorest country in Europe at the time, still under the thumb of CeauAcescu and more or less dominated by the Soviet Union.
After that, a short stay in the small country of Hungary - also behind the Iron Curtain and under the control of the USSR.
From there into the beauties of Italy - wonderful after the Soviet drabness.
A quick dash into Switzerland - expensive.
After that along the Italian & French Rivieras,
********
We intended to visit the old battlefields of Flanders, the ***CAVE DRAWINGS" of France and maybe a short visit to Spain.
But when we got to Paris, I phoned home to find that my 76 year old father had died suddenly of a heart attack and so an immediae dash to the French coast, the Hovercraft ferry across the English channel and the immediate drive to London.
We did a similar tour across the whole of Northern USA from coast to coast (and a touch of Mexico & Canada) 4 years later. It was our 1st visit to America - but we have been there a lot since then !!
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The boast of heraldry, the pomp of power,
And all that beauty, all that wealth e'er gave,
Awaits alike th' inevitable hour:-
The paths of glory lead but to the grave.
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| 10 APR 2012 at 5:16pm |
ValGuild Master
Posts : 3472
Joined: 2 OCT 2002
Location: US
Status : Offline | That is fascinating! Thank you for the link, Len!
Your travels sound marvelous as well.
We can be heroes, just for one day.
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| 10 APR 2012 at 6:53pm |
HelenGuild Master
Posts : 3436
Joined: 12 OCT 2002
Location: US
Status : Offline | Yes they do and I would love to do something like that, or even just get in the car and travel cross country, just taking our time, and seeing the sites.
Someday.........
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| 13 APR 2012 at 3:31am |
Len GreenJourneyman
Posts : 832
Joined: 31 JAN 2012
Location: IL
Status : Offline | Originally Posted By Helen (10 APR 2012 6:53pm)
Yes they do and I would love to do something like that, or even just get in the car and travel cross country, just taking our time, and seeing the sites.
Someday.........
I'n not trying to make you envious or jealous - Helen !
It;s only feasible to do that when you're young - or in our case not OLD and don't mind roughing it a bit.
I must say, there was an enormous amount to see and enjoy in our tour of America. It was our 1st visit there and every place we visited thrilled us immensely (even Las Vegas hehehe)
We covered a good deal of the middle and northern part of USA (albeit superficially (I remember to this day the best steak I've ever eaten in my life at Mt. Rushmore !). We didn't get down to the Southern half of USA - there's a limit to what you can do in 3 to 4 months !
I wonder whether very cheap camp sites still thrive in USA. Since I hear that the economic situation is tough for the vas majotity of the population I would think that fascinating holidays very chep would be poular
Mind you, I can't remember, but I think we covered about 3000 miles and petrol (gas in USA) was a fraction of what it costs today - what a pity !!
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The boast of heraldry, the pomp of power,
And all that beauty, all that wealth e'er gave,
Awaits alike th' inevitable hour:-
The paths of glory lead but to the grave.
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| 13 APR 2012 at 5:15pm |
ValGuild Master
Posts : 3472
Joined: 2 OCT 2002
Location: US
Status : Offline | Yep, someday for me too. I want to travel the world and see so many things "in real life" rather than on TV. I want to see more of the USA of course but I reallllly want to see many places in the rest of the world. It's funny how we get used to the place we live even though others find it as exotic to them as we do to places other than where we live.
We can be heroes, just for one day.
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| 14 APR 2012 at 4:54am |
Len GreenJourneyman
Posts : 832
Joined: 31 JAN 2012
Location: IL
Status : Offline | Originally Posted By Val (13 APR 2012 5:15pm)
Yep, someday for me too. I want to travel the world and see so many things "in real life" rather than on TV. I want to see more of the USA of course but I reallllly want to see many places in the rest of the world. It's funny how we get used to the place we live even though others find it as exotic to them as we do to places other than where we live.
***Val***
"I want to see more of the USA of course but I reallllly want to see many places in the rest of the world.
****It's funny how we get used to the place we live even though others find it as exotic to them as we do to places other than where we live****".
Maybe it's partly due tothe fact that we LIVE there - 'I can ALWAYS go there,ANY TIME I WANT TO' and hence we never do - but leave it to the visitors and tourists who have come SPECIASLLY to see &/or participate in these things.
In 1977 we visited a good deal of Europe. We saw many beautiful and exciting things.
4 years later we did a similar jaunt across USA. You may think (I assume that you're American) ' well we haven't got tha e same 'attractioms' as Europe. True they generally are not all that OLD - but they are different and fascinating in a very different way.
I can't remember EXACTLY (Please excuse my worst errors) - it's over 30 years ago now: But some of the memorable places we visited - not necessarily the best taste :-
****** San Francisco; Something Wharf (Gay area); Pacific Coast rod; skipped the kitsch of Hearst 'castle'; Fisherman's wharf (John Steinbeck's Canry Row); Los Angeles; Hollywood Boulevard; Universal Studios; DisneyLand; Chico (to visit a pioneer computer prof' at California Uni - I remember vividly we got there and joined in 4th July celebrations !!!; Fresno (to visit an Israely friend who invented a crop drip system and opened a large Company; Richard Nixon's habitat; San Diego, Tijuana; Hoover Damn, Gred Canyon; Las Vegas; Yosemite, Yellowstone, The Badlands, Mt. Rushmore; Simulation of the 'Gunfight at OK Corral) (was it the "OK" ??), an actual rodeo, Chicago, the El; Niagara Falls; Toronto (Canada); Hamilton; New yok - too much to describe; Long Island (visiting a 1st cousin - a talented scientist at one of USA's top microbiological research stations at Cold Spring Harbor); Gettysberg; Washinton - White House; Detroit (Ford Rouge plant); Liberty Bell (Philadelphia)/
Probably other places I've overlooked --
Please excuse errors & typos.
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The boast of heraldry, the pomp of power,
And all that beauty, all that wealth e'er gave,
Awaits alike th' inevitable hour:-
The paths of glory lead but to the grave.
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| 14 APR 2012 at 1:50pm |
Len GreenJourneyman
Posts : 832
Joined: 31 JAN 2012
Location: IL
Status : Offline | I forgot !
We visited the Mormon Church in Salt Lake City.
Apparently I signed the visitors' book.
Some weeks after we returned to our home in Haifa (Israel) came a knock on our front door and a very tall lanky man & woman asked to come in - speaking American English
Turns out they were Mormon missionaries and they had come to convert us.
We were very polite - but not a snowball's chance in hell !
We both remain ancient total non-believers in ALL formal religions !!!
P.S.
You probably all know but I only just heard tonight that the sole Republican candidate to challenge Obama in the next USA election, Nick Romney, is a Mormon.
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The boast of heraldry, the pomp of power,
And all that beauty, all that wealth e'er gave,
Awaits alike th' inevitable hour:-
The paths of glory lead but to the grave.
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