As Panurge said to Pantagruel, "I've long known you to be a lover of peregrinations, ever wanting to see and ever wanting to learn. We shall see wonderfull sights, believe you me". 😍😍 (from Rabelais; Third book of Pantagruel)
OF CASTLES, PALACES, MUSEUMS, GARDENS, ARTISTS AND ART...OF HOTELS AND TRAVEL. SEARCHING FOR THE HOLY GRAIL, WRITING MY BOOK, THE ART OF FLÂNERIE, AND THINGS THAT NO LONGER EXIST. BASICALLY, THIS WEBSITE IS FULL OF MY PERSONAL ARM CHAIR PHILOSOPHY AND TRAVELERS' TRIFLES.
As I work on writing and publishing my book, I will provide some pages of some chapters in the book on this website. The page called INDIA includes some of chapter 5 of my book. The pages called MY STORY IN POETRY and SONORA ROAD TRIP include some of the poetry I had written while traveling on the roads of North America. SONORA ROAD TRIP will bring you to Mexico. MY STORY IN POETRY incudes a trip I made in my converted school bus 🚌 ( a 1967 Ford short school bus) along side the Mississippi River. I am an explorer, not in any professional way, but I try to post my photos and descriptions as inspiration for others. Nothing on my website should be thought of as professional advise. And I must admit, although having been to Paris and fancying myself as a flâneur, I am not a true flâneur because I always seem to have an agenda and at least one destination to reach as a result of the walks I take. The true flâneur has no agenda for their walks like I always do. Their walks exist for the walks and only for the sake of the walks. The last times I walked like that were when I was 13 and 14 years old as I was accustomed to walking all day between the river and the range of cliffs with caves just south of Florence, Colorado. I walked for miles, alone, just to walk. These following photos show examples of what this website will explore. Go to the page called "PRACTICAL THINGS" to see an example of the process I use to plan my trips. I use my New York City trip for the example. And to see the description of my marriage in Parlilitan North Sumatra, you can read the page called "MEETING FARIDA". You will see many photos that I took in Southeast Asia and each photo has a paragraph concerning the meeting and marriage with Farida. Just tap or click on each photo for my travelers' trifles attached to the photo. My "PHOTO TAPPING" pages have general travel photos and favorite restaurants on them. Just tap on each photo for the descriptions. Anyone who is interested in the traditional cuisine of New Mexico can go to the page called TRADITIONAL FOOD which will sample food from many contries. Bon voyage aux monde.🌎 I should warn you, go to my pages; Paris, India, and Information Photos only if you are interested in reading short stories or novellas because I am writing a lot on those three pages. My FAVORITE PHOTOS page will just be a lot of photos of my family, animals, and art works.
DISCLAIMER STATEMENT:
I do have an affiliate link or two on this website and I can potentially make a nominal commission if anyone were to click on it and make a reservation. It is on the bottom of this page and at the first section of my PARIS page and it is for tickets to Operá Garnier but it is a Get Your Guide website so you can explore and book events throughout the world. Get Your Guide is terrific. Also, if you do make a purchase via the affiliate links here, and if I do get a commission, it will not effect how much you pay. The cost remains the same for you.
A FEW PHOTOS TO SUMMARIZE THIS WEBSITE:
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Kong Qiū (Kong Fuzi) said; "Wherever you go, go with all of your heart".
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Oh, and one more thing:
I have about 3,000 places in the world on my Guide Book For Life wish list. I know that it is all right if I arrive at only 5% of them before I meet death because the journey is the true destination. I am who I am no matter where I am and I live in the moment when I make plans and itineraries knowing that I may never arrive anywhere else. And that is all right.😑 I included a page about death on my humble website because I came very close to death when I was hit by a car and it fractured my Lumbar #1 vertabrae. That was the third time I landed in the hospital because of motorcycle and car accidents so I have thought about death quite a lot. Maybe that is the HOLY GRAIL? 🤔 To die well?
NOW FOR THE MISCELLANEOUS PHOTOS
AROUND ALBUQUERQUE NM.
Climbing the boulders in the Sangre de Cristo mountains near Sandia Peak. Albuquerque is just west of Sandia Peak.
IN COLORADO
At Cheyenne Mountain Resort in Colorado Springs. Overlooking the pool, the lake, and the countryside.
There is a lot to do at Cheyenne Mountain Resort. There are basketball courts, lakeside volleyball courts, fitness center with personal trainer, boating on the lake, Alluvia Spa and Wellness Retreat, tennis courts, and of course the pool. It will cost around $200 a night to stay at Cheyenne Mountain Resort but at least we can roast marshmellows..
And here are some of the favorite possessions of the Native Americans.
Curr Reservoir. This reservoir is part of the property of the Country Club of Colorado. If you are visiting the Stratmoor area or Cheyenne Mountain Resort in Colorado Springs, you can very easily arrive here for fly fishing or bait casting. You may catch Channel Catfish or you may catch a couple species of Trout. Oh, and the weather here in August is wonderful. Rain is minimal and the elevation is high enough to keep the heat from becoming too oppressive. We experienced perfect temperatures when we visited Colorado Springs in August.
This sculpture is outside of the Pioneers Museum of Colorado Springs. It depicts a farmer who lived in Security which is a southern suburb of Springs. During his lifetime, he gave away hundreds of thousands of pumpkins to the children. His name was Domenico Venitucci, also known as The Pumpkin Farmer. .
Here is a historic building in Manitou Springs. It is called Barker House Apartments so I imagine that it is not open to the public. Nevertheless, it is a National Landmark dating back to 1872.
THROUGHOUT NEW MEXICO.
Tourism is now the main industry of Red River. They have a ski lift on that mountain behind Farida. It is called Red River Ski Lift and it is a good one. They also have a zip line. A website for Red River is: www.redriverchamber.org We stayed at the Deer Lodge which has cabin style rooms.
Deer Lodge has a "Very Good " rating on Trip Advisor. Guests can park their vehicles right outside the room entrance. Their website is deerlodgeredriver.com and the home page has a photo of a beautiful deer.🐂, no, 🦓, no, 🐏, no, 🦌Aah, there it is 😃 Deer lodge is within easy walking distance to the ski lift and Sawmill Mountain.
Red River NM is in Taos County located within the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. It is about 36 miles north east of Taos. The population is only about 480 people although it has a significant tourist population also. Red River is on the Enchanted Circle Scenic Byway which is about 85 miles throughout north central New Mexico and "starts and ends in Taos".
In Santa Fe, one of the oldest houses in the USA, that still stands, can be found by walking just 5 minutes from Old Town Plaza. There is a gift shop here now. Some of the postcards sold here show the house as it was first built with its bricks exposed before the nicely painted stucco was added to protect the bricks This is called the De Vargas house which makes sense because it is on De Vargas Street.
Another view of one of the oldest houses in the USA. A portion of it is now a gift shop but there is a large part of the interior that remains true to its original style as a home. It has been standing here since at least the early 1700s, as is shown from the earliest record of the house. It is across the street from the San Miguel Mission Church which was built in 1620. Another reason to believe that this building was probably built before 1700 is that the earliest construction of the building was done with the same style used by the Pueblo people of the area.
Here is one of the oldest churches in the USA. It is San Miguel Mission Church which is across the street from one of the oldest houses in the USA. It is a National Historical Building built between 1610 and 1620 with a Romanesque Fortress architectural style. The old house can be just barely seen at the left side behind the church. It is on De Vargas Street.
On the Old Town Plaza in Taos NM. Many wonderful shops and restaurants can be found in this area as well as a home of Kit Carson.
A second view of Old Town Plaza Taos with the veterans memorial on the left.
My slideshow page has a few photos from the Rio Grande River Gorge bridge. Here, we are at the west side rim of the cañon itself with the bridge in the background. This bridge is about 10 miles west of Taos New Mexico. This is the 5th highest bridge in the USA.
We stopped at Eagles Nest NM while we were on our way to Angel Fire Ski Area from Taos and Red River. Eagles Nest is a very small town on the north side of the lake.
This theater is on the campus of the New Mexico Highlands University in the new town area of Las Vegas NM. Las Vegas new town is on the east side of the Gallinas River.
EUROPE.
One of the villages that I walked through on the slope of Vesuvius Volcano. I walked from Herculaneum to the summit of Vesuvius. Herculaneum ruins are located within the modern town of Ercolano. I spent about 1 hour exploring the ruins then preceded up the paved road through Ercolano and a few villages on the volcano's slope until I reached the summit. It took me all day, until dark, for me to return to a coastal town to find transportation back to Napoli...For more about Italy, see my ITALY page.
One of the buildings of Pompeii ruins. This photo was taken on my approaching of the Scavii Pompeii. I took the fast train south from Napoli to the Scavii Pompeii train station. .
I spent lots of time in the covered passageways of Europe because some can be elaborately beautiful. Passage Umberto in Napoli is one such shopping center. Here is an example of a purchase I made while there. There are also many cute cafes in those indoor shopping malls. In Paris they are called Passages Couverts.
On the Seine looking towards lle de la cité If I remember correctly, I am standing on Pont de les Arts.
L'île de Cité is where Paris began (Lutetia Parisiurum) This area of Paris with Île Saint Louis provide some wonderful early morning walks.
See PARIS page for more about Paris.
Looking at the island, I was thinking that it was a funny place to start a metropolitan community but the river was much wider during the Roman occupation. So, maybe the island was larger also? There were no cemented quais along the north and south banks of the Seine River so the bridges they built must have been longer too. I am just speculating though, because I do not know what the size of the island was before and during the Roman occupation.
Another view looking down (or is it up) the Seine River.
Tour Eiffel from Place Trocadero
In Copenhagen Dänmark, you can visit Rosenborg Castle and its wonderful garden. This is a Dutch renaissance castle. It was built between 1605 and 1625. King Christian IV commissioned it to be built. He commissioned quite a few amazing buildings. There is a museum here and if you visit here, you will be able to see royal collections that date from around 1580 to around 1800. This castle visit should take 3 or 4 hours easily...For more about Dänmark, see the SCANDINAVIA page of this website.
Relaxing at a lovely lake in the middle of Copenhagen Dänmark. I think the lake is Stadsgraven.
During an early morning photo walk this is what I saw when I left the Kongens Nytorv metro station in Copenhagen.
ASIA / EURASIA.
Walking from the Blue Mosque to the Hagia Sophia. This very lovely and well maintained park we are walking through used to be the location of an ancient hippodrome.
This photo of an old photo that was taken the year I got married to Farida (1993) in Parlilitan North Sumatra is not very clear but this is all I have from that time before anyone had cell phones. All the photos I took in those first years of travel were made with Kodak and Fuji throw away one time use cameras.
Istanbul. We are inside an inner courtyard of the Blue Mosque. The official name Sultan Ahmet Camii.
A rumah adat is a traditional style home of the Indonesian people of Sumatra. The one I am standing in front of is on Samosir Island in Tuk Tuk. I am standing next to Si Gale Gale which is a life sized puppet that dances to traditional Batak music.
WEBSITES IMPORTANT FOR FUTURE TRAVEL AND DISCOVERY:
SUMMARY AND ART ACQUISITIONS
Following in the footsteps of Gertrude Stein and Ernest Hemingway.
SUMMARY OF WEBSITE
cicchiamichael
www.cicchimichael.com
I call my website Guide Book For Life because I intend to show and describe my plans and my experiences in order to offer some insight into what can happen when one wanders around the world through out life; until one can no longer move. 😀😀 Inspiration for others who have been traveling may also be found here because I did make some interesting mistakes in my life.. My travel and exploration in this world is really just a metaphor for the travels of the soul from immaturity to maturity to eternity (I hope.) This is a life long pursuit.
I call the site "WHAT I SEE FROM MOUNTAIN TO SEA" because I have no favorite kind of excursion, I just love traveling. I call myself "Addicted to travel and exploring". As my mind searches for new experiences in new places, my soul searches for the eternal bliss. Both of these journeys will be hinted at in this website.
I would like to share my experiences and thoughts while traveling. Maybe I can provide you with some examples of what NOT to do while traveling. I sure made lots of mistakes while traveling. There may even be a few things done right! 😄 Actually, my complete story will be here eventually but it is a slow proccess to gather all of my journals together and include what may be useful to those who plan to travel to the few places where I have been (18 countries so far). I really hope I can give a few travel tips or inspiration from the experiences that I have had. I really love travel and I hope to share that love with others. I live day by day, remaining in a constant mode of survival. I believe the world is a manifestaion of Heaven so the more I explore THIS world, the more I should know THAT world.
I guess my website can be called:
MY VERSION OF THE SEARCH FOR THE HOLY GRAIL.
Of kings and queens, of palaces and castles, of mountains and lakes, of hotels and restaurants, of a life long spiritual quest, all this and more will be found on this website.
My website page "MY STORY IN POETRY" will give some hints of this search which is a search for spirtitual fulfillment. This is a search for the promised land of the spirit, to the Gates Of Paradise.
Let me apologize right now for my unprofessional, amateurish poetry and photography. I am attempting something here that I never learned how to do. I am just doing it. I guess this website is my amateurish attempt at a Travel Blog but it is just as much a description of my souls' journey through life as a whole. My writing is not very logical. I write as I think. I have no training as a writer and I certainly am not a littérateur by any means so I can only hope and dream some of you can bear with me and peruse these pages because I do have a lot to share. I really do not know how to discern what material is interesting to others so I am just reporting what I experience on THE JOURNEY. It has been said:
"It is better to write for oneself and have no public than to write for the public and have no self."
Gertrude Stein told Ernest Hemingway that he should buy art instead of spending money on clothing and such. He was not wealthy at the time and neither am I. Ernest Hemingway did manage to buy some art works and I also am taking Gertrude Stein's advice to heart. I just have to find good art with Instagram and Pinterest friends to buy art that I can afford. Here is one such art work that I bought from @lillys_press. This artwork is called "Two Birds".
These 2 pieces of art were created by Katerina Aleksandrovna. She is from Russia and her works can be seen at kentrkatty_shop2 and she also has a lot of watercolor works. I perused much of her very extensive art gallery and decided that she is not naming her paintings and drawings.
Lilly is based in New Mexico and she paints some admirable scenes of the Land Of Enchantment.
Winds of Change was a gift included with the Amanita Muxania artwork that I received from the artist Maria Lilly. She is @lillys_press.com or www.etsy.com/shop/lillyspress
These pieces are acrylic on wood and I acquired them from the Canadian artist @mysticmoonpixie who has a gallery with etsy.com
Here is another acquired art work. This painting is oil on paper. Maria Aragon is the artist. She is on Instagram and her work can be seen at mariaaragon.etsy.com
This is called Hecate An Imaginary Portrait by Maria Aragon in Alamogordo NM. She works with oils on paper and canvas. She can be found @mariaaragon64 on Instagram. I already posted her etsy.com address when I posted the acquisition of a Gaia painting from Maria Aragon.
Here is a contact opportunity for anybody who wants to correspond with us: