First morning breakfast I wondered why pedestrians walking past the hotel kept crossing themselves. Turns out there is a chapel across the street from the hotel. Tonight there was something going on as Ieft for dinner. I didn’t wait to see what it was. Monday vespers? Tuesday matins? With the Orthodox, it is hard to tell.

My cardiologist says, “Mediterranean diet.” Greece is Mediterranean, right doctor?  So shrimp and spaghetti at an upscale restaurant. Messy eating because the shrimp was still in the shell. But still good eating. The bread came with a suspicious looking substance which turned out to be an olive paste. Tasty. I only ate about half the spaghetti, so had room for heart healthy dessert.

So here’s the Chocolate island. Hard chocolate disks interspersed with chocolate ice cream on white chocolate and pistachio nuts. And red wine. Can’t get more heart healthy. Actually my blood pressure is about where it needs to be.

In Athens you are never more than about six feet above history. Right behind my table there was a window which looks into an ancient cistern.

I am convinced that Athens taxi drivers don’t know much about Athens. Coming from the airport to the hotel, I gave the driver the name of the hotel and the street address. When we got to the district, Syntagma, I had to show him on an Athens map where it was. Today the plan was to check in to the bus tour I’ll take beginning tomorrow and then take a cab to the ancient agora and Stoa Museum. The driver went on a wild goose chase, stopped somewhere no near were the agora and said ‘here?’ I said, ‘no.’ So I haul out a map and showed him. More random driving and he drops me off in the maze of streets near the agora but there is no clue how to get there. This may not be on a scale with the Acropolis and Parthenon, but it is a major historical site in the shadow of the Acropolis. I wandered around a bit, totally lost and unable to figure out exactly where I was. I eventually came across a taxi to take me back to the hotel. He did figure that out without my guiding him. He also offered me visits for massage, casinos, women and boys.

There was a hot time in old Athens today. The high was 108°F! That is 10 degrees hotter than Dallas. I didn’t do much other than ride around on a sightseer bus and train. (Not a real train). There are a lot places boarded up, but then it was Sunday and a lot of businesses may be closed for the day; certainly that is the case for the banks. Of course, all the tourist places were open for business. You could buy anything from fur coats (I can’t imagine they were doing a brisk business) to Orthodox church furnishings and vestment, to sandals, to ‘oriental’ rugs, musical instruments, pottery, statutes, paintings and jewelry.

I’m not sure, but I may have seen the beginnings of a demonstration at Syntagma Square around noon. A cameraman with an old fashioned 16mm camera showed up about the same time as a hundred or so senior citizens marching down the street. At the same time a bunch of taxis showed up and started double parking and blocking intersections. Motorcycle police showed up and started making the cabs move on. No signs, though. Who knows? Greece will be holding elections for a new government in a few weeks, but I’ve not seen any evidence of campaigning.

Much too hot for a big hot meal, so I did a Greek salad.

Left via ShuttleBus for DFW around noon on Thursday. Arrived at Frankfurt around 8 AM on Friday. Forgot all about the hassle at the airport there. Arrivals are bused a long way from a parking lot to the terminal. Since I was arriving in the European Union from the U.S., I had to go through immigration, customs (nothing to declare so quick) and the airport security again. And it was about a mile walk to my Athens departure gate. One thing about being old, hearing impaired and carrying a cane (nice prop, but not really necessary) is that I get to ‘pre-board.’ Otherwise the flights were uneventful.

Arrived in Athens on schedule around 5 PM on Friday. Grabbed a ΤΑΞΙ to go to my first hotel. (Some cabs are TAXI; I’m not clear as to the difference — they are all yellow.) This driver didn’t know where the hotel was. It didn’t show up on his GPS directory. He got me to the district, handed me a map, and asked me to find it for him. Fortunately, I knew roughly where it was and was able to locate the street intersections. What made it a bit strange is that the hotel is located directly across the street from what is obviously a ΤΑΞΙ/TAXI stand, where there are usually a bunch a cabs waiting for anyone who wants a ride.

The hotel is pretty much ‘American Best Western’ with European sized rooms. It is located about halfway between Πλατεία Συντάγματος (Parliament Square) and the Flea Market.  I ate the free breakfast at the hotel. They seem to cater to a wide variety of folks.
A bit of Britain on the left — sausages, eggs and stewed tomatoes. I prefer my tomatoes raw, so I skipped those. A croissant, orange juice and coffee would be a French petit déjeuner . On the right is Greek — watermelon, cantaloupe, raw tomatoes, zucchini, olives and feta cheese.

 After breakfast I walked toward the Flea Market — lots of tourist souvenirs — but no fleas. Rugs, clothes, and tourist junk. And then on to revisit Hadrian’s Agora.  I was thinking of going on a bit further to the Tower of the winds and the ancient Agora. But Athens is experiencing a heat wave; it is cooler in Dallas! And I’ve not recovered from jet lag. So I had a frappe and headed back to the hotel for a nap and to cool off.

Day 10: Paris, France I am thinking this trip has been jinxed. As previously reported, my hearing aid drowned in perspiration in the Heathrow Airport. The next day I lost a contact lens in Paris Gare de Lyon. It was the one for my good eye. I did bring a backup – old prescription, not quite right. So I have been deaf and blind. I arrived in Lyon in the late afternoon, had a good dinner and retired for the night. The next day I visited the Roman Museum and Amphitheater. It was a pleasant day. But the next two days it rained. It did not seem to be a good day for traipsing around Lyon and Vienne. It did clear up one afternoon so I did go visit the main square of Lyon for a while. They had set up a big TV screen there – I gather to cover the Tour de France that was about to begin – in England this year. I didn’t schedule this around the Tour; when the Tour is in England, I’m in France and when it’s in France I will be in England. Then it was off to Nimes. The strange thing about Nimes seems to be that while they have buses and taxis, no one seems to recommend them. Not having any idea where my hotel was, I tried to take a taxi. “No, it’s only 10 minutes that way.” Another day I asked the hotel which bus to take to the Tourist Center where there is a tour train that tours the city, I was told, “No, it’s on1y a 10 minute walk from here. It may be that it is 10 minutes from anywhere to anywhere else in Nice – if you know where you are going. If you don’t it is going to take two to three hours. The main Roman sites in Nimes are the memorial to Gaius and Lucius Caesar – two of the grandsons of Augustus by his daughter Julia and Marcus Agrippa. The memorial is like a temple, but isn’t a temple. There is also a well preserved amphitheater. I didn’t get inside because they were preparing for a rock concert, which probably would have spoiled the visit anyway. The amphitheater in Lyon is for drama and is semicircular. The one in Nimes is for “games” and is oval. Think a small, well preserved version of the great Coliseum in Rome. I noticed that the Place du Justice is directly across the street from the amphitheater making easy to take convicted criminals, Christians and other undesirables to be fed to the lions. But the jinx continued. It rained in Nimes. Plus I came down with some sort of bug – a bit of diarrhea one day, chills and a bit of a fever. It was sprinkling today when I walked the train station. Yes, it is a 10 minute walk if you know where you are going. Then took the train to Paris. Raining in Paris with temperatures in the 60s. This stuff seems to be stocked in both France and England. It does not seem to be going to improve while I am in Paris and London is even worse. I am dreading Haltwhistle – rain and highs in the 50s. And no, those are FARENHEIT, not Celsius. I’m wearing the “warm clothes” intended for Haltwhistle in France. They are not the drip dry sort of things I can wash out in the sink. Meanwhile, Dallas is heading for triple digits. Canicus Modius AKA Kenneth Peck

Lyon, France

3 July 2014

Today was a visit to the Amphitheatre and the Musee de la Civilisation Gallo-Romaine (Gallo-Roman Museum). This is one of the main tourist attractions in Lyon, especially if you are interested in things Roman. Lyon (lugdunum to the Romans) was located in the Roman Province of Transalpine Gaul (Gaul-Across the Alps). It had become a province about the time Caius Julius Caesar (the famous one for moderns) was born. It was part of the provinces assigned to Caesar after his first term as consul of Rome and from which base he proceeded to conquer Omnia Gaullia. It was also one of the locations where Rome established a mint to coin bronze and silver coins partly to simplify payment of the legions stationed in Gaul and commerce. I have some of the coins minted here in my collection.

The museum really doesn’t look like much from the outside when you arrive. It is pretty much a blank concrete wall. But after you go down a few steps and enter it, it is entirely different. It is still pretty much a concrete building and much of the structural supports is visible. But you descend a circular ramp with a few short steps down six floors, along which there are artifacts found in and around Lyon. These range from early pre-Roman Gallic weapons and tools with which Caesar would have to contend in his conquest of Gaul through artifacts from the days of Imperial Rome.

The exhibits include items of ordinary everyday use and a great many inscribed stonework. There are some English labels, but most are in French. There is an audio guide which I imagine has English as well as other languages. The inscriptions are a challenge to read even if you know Latin because besides being sometimes worn and incomplete, they contain many abbreviations and no separation between words. EVERYTHINGISRUNTOGETHERLIKETHIS. Perhaps the most spectacular contents of the museum are the many mosaics which seem to be quite complete or else have been well restored. In several cases you are given an opportunity to view a mosaic floor from the floor above. There are also windows from which you can view the adjacent amphitheater. When you have descended to the bottom floor of the museum you are on the level of the orchestra of the amphitheater and the courtyard which was located behind the skena.  Not to worry, you don’t have to climb back up the six floors to get out of the museum; there are elevators.

The museum is located on a hillside next to the Amphitheater and Odeon. Both have been restored and used for modern performances. The Amphitheater was like the classical Greek theater – semicircular seating on the hillside around an orchestra, behind which was a skena, a build that served as a backdrop, where the mechanics of deus ex machine were located and scenery could be deployed. The skena is now gone. The museum contains a small working replica of the skena. With the help of a museum attendant I was able to take of video of the mechanics of raising and lowering the scenery. Because of the slowness of Wi-Fi I will post the video in August.

Perhaps my luck is beginning to improve. My hearing aids have dried out and are more or less working again. The fidelity isn’t up to snuff and they are somewhat weakened. I will have to have them serviced when I get home. While the restaurant gave me a free ticket to the museum yesterday, I didn’t need it because access to the museum was free today. The ticket is also good for a museum in Vienne, which I will try to get to before I leave Lyon on Saturday.

I had decided to take a taxi from the hotel to the museum and back. The rivers Rhone and Saone lie between the hotel and museum which is located on a steep hill overlooking most of modern Lyon. I probably could use the local bus system, but with a taxi I don’t have to figure out how. One interesting thing about the taxis here is that they not only charge by the mile, but time as well. While stopped at in traffic, the meter ticks over about €0.10 per minute. What with the taxi rides, another excellent dinner in the evening and some magazines I ran a few euros over my “target” by well below my “maximum” day budget. But so far I well under $100 per day, which is the “target.” I’m still spending Euros left over from Greece and haven’t had to use an ATM, although I probably do need to do so while in Lyon just to verify that the Credit Union hasn’t messed up like they did a couple of years ago when I visited Italy.

Canicus Modius

AKA Kenneth Peck

LUGDUNUM GALLIA

A D V NON IUN MMDCCXXII AUC

My friend, Martin, wants me to use the proper Latin names, so there it is. Lugdunum is what has been known as Lyon, France, for a few years. The name actually recalls a pre-Roman Gaullic fortress town, which was a Roman province before the last Caius Julius Caesar (if you don’t count Caius Julius Caesar Octavianus) was born. There were a bunch of Gaius Julius Caesares due to the penchant for Roman patricians to give their elder sons their name. I’m not sure, but I think it Lugdunum was in the Roman province of Transalpine Gaul (as different from Cisalpline Gaul). Transalpine Gaul was “Gaul across the Alps, while Cisalpine Gaul was on the Italian side of the Alps. Lugdunum was definitely not “Long-Haired Gaul, which Caius Julius Caesar conquered all when governor of the other two Gauls. For an explanation of the date line, see yesterday’s post.

Today was another travel day from London to Paris to Lyon – for Martin, that’s ex Lundinum ad Lutetia Parisiorum ad Lugdunum. I’m beginning to hate terminals. A two block walk quickly took me from my hotel to Paddington Station. Then I had to find the Metro station and platform for the Hammersmith & City metro to St. Pancras/Kings Crossing station. Arriving at that Metro station I had to find the Eurostar International Terminal which is in St. Pancras RAIL station, which is connected to but not the same as St. Pancras METRO station.

Of course, the International Station is in St. Pancras RAIL station with a bunch of British trains. When I finally located the correct terminal, there was a huge line going through a security check. The security check is pretty much the same thing we experience in American airports. You don’t have to take off your shoes or belt, or take your laptop and there is no quart baggie of liquid stuff.  But you are subjected to a pat-down search. They did pull my carryon bag and is insisted on and searching it item by item and then running the unpacked items and bag through a scanner. Before searching it the lady asked if there was anything sharp in it and I said no. Then as shee came on a sewing kit about the size of a cell phone battery I had forgotten was in there (it contains four threaded needles and some buttons). I said, “Oh, those are sharp.” She laughed. I don’t think she confiscated the needles. I’ll have to check. They didn’t unpack my big bag, but that had been done by TSA in Dallas. I found a note in the bag when I got to the hotel yesterday. I thing spare batteries, chargers and liquids triggers that.

Then I had to find where I would board the Eurostar train to Paris. I found it, but was told I couldn’t wait there, I had to go back down stairs to wait. There was a “walking escalator” up – either an escalator without steps or an uphill moving side walk. Interesting experience. Standing going uphill dragging luggage seems harder than walking on a moving sidewalk dragging luggage. One of the attendants unlocked an elevator so could get downstairs – and I was able to use the same elevator to go back up.

The ride from London to Paris was enjoyable. I’ve done this before. Last time I went 1^st class, but this time I chose 2^nd class. The only difference I could see online was a 2 course dinner instead of 3 courses. Since I was leaving London mid-morning (London time) and arriving Paris at noon, I couldn’t figure how a 3 course dinner would work. It turned out to be “un petite interlude for your journey,” a second breakfast as the Hobbits would say and or “un petit déjeuner” as the French would call it – orange juice, roll, croissant with jam and café … plus yogurt. I didn’t think to take a picture of it until I had destroyed it.

The train is known as the Chunnel because it goes under the English Channel. Last time I didn’t realize when we had gone under the Channel until the graffiti turned from English to French. This time there seemed to be no graffiti in England and none in France until we reached the outskirts of Paris. But I did realize when we were under the Channel this time. I took some video out the window of the English and French country side. I did take a picture of the Chunnel out the window too.

I arrived at Paris Gare du Nord and had to find the RER-D Metro to Melon in order to get to the train station to catch the train to Lyon Gare du Part-Dieu. I had instructions of how to do this from the internet so It was probably the easiest of the day … except why do they always NOT put a sign up at the last turn?

The RER was packed, but it was a short ride to Paris Gare du Lyon where I had to catch the next train. But finding where to go at the station was a nightmare. And at one point the contact lens popped out of my eye and disappeared on the floor. Now I was not only deaf, but blind. I kept asking where to go and finally learned it was upstairs and in a different building. The stairs were a challenge with my luggage (what Caesar appropriately called “impedimenti.” It was as much a hindrance to me as to him. Part way up a woman grabbed the other end and helped me get it up. Merci beaucoup.

I am beginning to think it makes no sense to buy a 1^st Class French Rail Pass. Every train that offers first class service seems to require reservations, but when you get the reservation it is 2^nd class. And the trains that don’t require reservations don’t offer 1^st class service. 2^nd class isn’t all that bad. I didn’t get a chance to shoot any video out the window of the country side between Paris and Lyon because I had been assigned an aisle seat without a good view out the window. The coach was a double decker with my seat topside. Had I a window seat I could have gotten some good video. But lugging the impedimenti up the stairs was a challenge.

I arrive in Lyon on time. I had been here before and stayed at the same hotel before. It is to a side of the plaza in front of the station, so very easy to get to. I checked in. Dug my backup contacts out of my luggage and now can more or less see. They are an old prescription, so not perfect. I also have an older prescription glasses (which I had dug out of the luggage in Paris) but are annoying for a couple of reasons. There had been no reason to upgrade anything this year because I’m due cataract surgery in the fall and anything would become useless after that.

Ended the day eating at a sidewalk café across the plaza from my hotel. An excellent salmon and spinach lasagna and red Rhone wine. Too much of both.

Canicus Modius

AKA Kenneth Peck

LONDINIUM BRITANNIA

A D VI NON IUN MMDCCXXII AUC

Sort of a frustrating day. No pictures. The day began somewhere over the Atlantic on my way from Dallas to London. Long hike from the plane at Heathrow to British Immigration. Long line at Immigration. After waiting in line for about 15 minutes. I came upon a sign that said “Estimated Wait up to 45 Minutes.” After 15 more minutes, another sign indicated “Estimated Wait up to 30 Minutes.” I had brought a cane, not that I really need one, but it was suggested I do that. At the 30 minute sign there was a lady pulling folks with small children or canes out of the line and put us in an express lane. The cane is sort of a nuisance, but at this point it paid off.

Then a hike to baggage claim. And, as luck would have it, the carrousel for my flight was at the extreme far end of a bunch of carrousels. My checked bag did arrive (a wheeled duffle bag) shortly after I got to the carrousel. Then a long hike to customs and then to the main concourse. I followed the Heathrow Express signs until I came to a bunch of helpful people telling how to get to London. I asked if my BritRail Pass was good for the Heathrow Express. The first person didn’t know, checked with a coworker and then say no, I would have to buy a ticket. The ticket booth was across the way, where I asked again. Yes, was the answer. The lady filled validated the pass and filled out the 01 07 bit. Then the ride to Paddington Station, which is about two blocks from my hotel.

I have not been able to get any of my mobile devices to work properly. AT&T Global on my Kindle can’t access the internet. My mobile phone’s international SIM can’t access the internet and is bombarded with meaningless messages at a rate of about one per minute. My computer, mobile phone and Kindle can all access my JT-Mobile Hotspot, but can’t communicate with the internet through that hotspot. This hotel does have free Wi-Fi – in the lobby. The hotel in Lyon has paid Wi-Fi that works in the rooms.

A friend criticized me for saying I was planning to visit Lyon. So, I guess I have to be correct. LONDINIUM was the Roman name for the city in BRITANNIA known today as London. So to be consistent, I dated this using the good old Julian calendar as the Romans who lived in LONDINIUM did.

A D VI NON IUN MMDCCXXII AUC explained.

A D is not “after died” nor is it “anno domine.” It is ante diem – “before the day.” The Roman calendar had a few fixed days of the month. The Kalends was the first day of the month. The infamous IDES were either the 13^th or 15^th day of the month, depending on the month. There were two NONES one falling between the KALENDS and the IDES and the other between the IDES and the next KALENDS. The day before the KALENDS, NONES, and IDES were PRIDIE (the day before). The rest of the days were numbered as the days before (counting the day itself). So A D VII NON = “the seventh day before the NONES, counting the NONES as a day.

But we’re not done yet. There is a 13 day discrepancy between the Julian and the Gregorian calendars. So today is still June, not July. Hence, JUN = JUNIA = June.

Now the fun really begins. The ancient Romans typically designated a year by naming the consuls for that year further compounding the issue when a consul served more than one year. But there are no Roman Consuls these days. There was an alternate system occasionally used, as here. The MMDCCXXII is recognizably a Roman numeral, equivalent to our 2722. AUC is an abbreviation the Romans used meaning either AB URBE CONDITA or ANNO URBIS CONDITA, “from the founding of the city” i.e., Rome. Is there any other city?

CANICUS MODIUS

Aka Kenneth Peck
 

My current plan is to revisit England and France in July, 2014. Nothing is booked yet, but the details are on the drawing board.

1 July I will fly out of DFW via British Airways to LHR, arriving on 2 July. After going through British customs and immigration, I’ll take the Heathrow Express to Paddington Station, the Tube to King’s Crossing, the Chunnel to Paris and the train to Lyon. I’ll revisit the Roman sites in Lyon. New will be day trips to Vienne and Orléans. Then I will take the train to Nimes. After vising the Roman sites there I will do day trips to Arles and Pont du Gard. Then it is back to Paris by train. I will visit the Louvre, this time armed with my camera. I plan to do a day trip to Versailles and possibly Chartres.

Then it is the Chunnel to London. On my to to do list is more time in the British Museum, the Roman Museum, etc. I will revisit Canterbury (one of my favorite places to visit) and York. I may do day trips again to Bath and Salisbury (Stonehenge). Then the plan is to take the train to Haltwhistle via New Castle. Never heard of Haltwhistle? It is on the English-Scottish border near Hadrian’s Wall. There are remains of the Wall and Roman forts and towns in the area as well as museums. Then it will be back to London where I will spend the night at the Heathrow Airport Hotel before returning to Dallas on 31 July.

A visit to Greece and Turkey is in the planning stage for 2015 and Italy in 2016.

Canicus in Athens – very briefly: Day 11 (20 September 2013)

Well, I did wake up in time – a few minutes before the wake-up call. Got dressed and walked over to the airport – about a 15 minute walk. While the airport was just across the street, the Lufthansa counter was at the extreme end of the building. I was surprised to find them opening up at 3:45 AM. I have had the experience in Paris and Rome of arriving at the appointed time, finding no one there and having to wait a half hour before anyone showed up. Baggage check was quick.

I arrived at the security check about 15 minutes before they were open for business. I was told there was nothing to eat or drink on the other side, so if I wanted to eat I should do that before going through security. I chose not to. It turned out that there was actually a place selling bottled drinks, coffee and pastries next to the gate where I was to board. I did get an expensive bottle of water. But decided not to get food or coffee. That would be free once I got underway.

The flight to Frankfort was uneventful. A breakfast was served. An odd combination of scrambled egg, potato, broccoli, and tomato. There was butter for a roll; but the butter was unspreadable.

We arrived in Frankfort in light rain. We arrived at terminal B, with my departure from terminal Z. Not promising. But I really did not have to go through terminals C through Y to get to Z. There was a passport check on the way that had a fairly long line. Otherwise no big problem.

Waiting for the plane someone seated next to me asked where I was coming from. Good grief, I was wearing a tee shirt that had ΕΛΛΑΣ and a Greek flag emblazoned on it. I told him I had been in Athens and he asked about the riots. That was the second time I had heard about riots in Athens. I had seen a peaceful demonstration on Thursday and the taxi detoured from the area on Friday. But as far as I knew there were no riots. Nor were riots on the news when I got home. But the news was all about the crazy Republican plan to defund the Affordable Care Act or else shut down the US government. Maybe it’s time for riots in the US. The issues are not all that different, after all. Both have to do with burdening the 99% to pay for the follies of the 1%.

The plane was not full. There were two empty seats next to me. So it was a comfortable flight. Except for the baby that cried all 11 hours of it. I did bring my MP3 player filled with the complete organ music of Bach and the symphonies of Schubert, Mendelssohn, Bruckner and Rachmaninoff and earphones which helped. They served dinner, which I deemed a Hobbit’s second breakfast. Free wine went with meals and the in-between snacks.

Lufthansa joins my list with British Airways as my favorites. (American and U.S. are my least favored. They are merging. They deserve each other.)

My check in bag came down the carousel fairly soon after the priority stuff. This trip has blown my previous complaint that my luggage was always the last to be unloaded. Immigration and customs went quickly. The beagle sniffed and didn’t detect any contraband.

Apparently we towed the Frankfort rain to Dallas, as it was raining in Dallas. The SuperShuttle ride home was quick. A quick trip to the grocery for some fresh veggies and milk. I now have the makings of Greek salad, although the veggies are not as nice as those served in Athens – particularly the tomatoes.

I’ll try to get the photo journal for Wednesday up tomorrow. There were no pictures on Thursday or Friday. I’ll also try to clean up the video of the changing of the guard and the entertainment on the cruise and try again to upload. Maybe with cable I can get faster uploads of video, although nothing is likely to speed up Photoshop Premiere, which I find a real pain.

Canicus Modius.

Today was mostly packing and a transfer to the new hotel in preparation for my departure tomorrow. I managed to get everything in my bags and kept my checked bag under 50 pounds. Barely. I did transfer a few items to the back pack. Some heavy, like the National Geographic book on Greece, one of those Athens: Then and Now books. A couple of boxes of rechargeable batteries. The backpack is probably overweight, but they don’t seem to weigh those.

Apparently the demonstrations were still going on in the afternoon when I took the cab to the airport hotel. The driver said he would take the long way because of the demonstrations. The short way goes through downtown Athens past the Parliament. The long way went through the Piraeus harbor area. It was a more scenic route with much of the coast visible. I was a little afraid the taxi fare would be very high – but it turns out there is a fixed rate to the airport.

The airport hotel is located across the street from the airport terminal. The hotel is one of those swanky affairs with rooms more like what we see in the US. But a lot of extras like bathrobes, slippers, etc. All I really needed was a place to crash for the night before catching a red eye to Frankfort.

I did walk to the airport to get my seat assignment and boarding pass. The flight was due to depart at 6:15 AM, but they wanted me to be at the gate at 5:45 AM. And at the airport at 3:45 AM to check my bags and go through security! (Which is why I changed hotels – I would have had to leave the other hotel at 2:45.)

These early morning departures always make me nervous because I am virtually deaf in my left ear and hearing impaired in the right. If I am sleeping with my right ear buried in the pillow, I won’t hear the quiet phone’s wake up call. So early to bed in hopes I’ll wake up in time.

I ate in the hotel’s dining room. Very expensive. And my camera has started acting up. So no Thursday photos.

Canicus Modius.