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Depoe Bay and Taft

Depoe Bay and Taft

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The first question many of you will have is, “Where is Taft, Oregon?” It’s just north of Cutler City and south of Nelscott. Of course, you may never have heard of these because they are three of the five small towns that merged in 1965 to become Lincoln City,
Devil’s Elbow

Devil’s Elbow

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You will no doubt be pleased to hear the the mystery of the name “Devil’s Elbow” has been solved. Sort of.

Heceta Head State Park (which includes Devils Elbow State Park) is located in a cove at the mouth of Cape Creek. There are picnic tables sheltered from the

The Coast

The Coast

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Mine was a family of fixed habits. Back in the days of Kennedy and Kesey going out to dinner meant either to the Colonial Inn Buffet run by the VFW, or Johnnie’s Broasted Chicken run by, well, Johnnie.

When the family Buick departed for the coast, we knew that

Spencer’s Butte

Spencer’s Butte

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The heart of Eugene, Oregon is bounded by Skinner’s Butte to the north and Spencer’s Butte to the south. What’s a butte, you ask? It’s a hill of modest height. Of the two, Spencer’s is the higher and steeper.

it seems like almost from the

Dockton

Dockton

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Dockton is pretty much in the middle of nowhere. But at the end of the Nineteenth century it was very much somewhere. This speck of a now-residential community lies on Maury Island, itself a speck attached by a thin isthmus to the somewhat larger Vashon Island.

What put Dockton on

Bordeaux at Night

Bordeaux at Night

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It’s not a long walk from our hotel to the Garonne river, but after a day of walking, we decided to make the trip by tram. We got off at Place de la Bourse where we found a young violinist performing a jazzy version of “Killing Me Softly with
Out and About in Bordeaux

Out and About in Bordeaux

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Bordeaux is called the Paris of the South. It’s not as large, of course, and notably lacks a tower or pyramid. But it’s elegant, beautiful, clean and interesting. We will return.

This is going to be one of those “mostly pictures” blog posts because I don’t have

Château LaTour-Martillac

Château LaTour-Martillac

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Have you toured a winery? If so, you’ll see a lot that’s familiar in this post. Winemaking is like many other things – brain surgery, for instance – everyone does the same thing; some just do it better than others.

Château LaTour-Martillac is a small producer run by five brothers

Le Tour de Géants

Le Tour de Géants

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Pau is a small town just north of the Pyrenees often used as either the beginning or the end of a stage of the Tour de France. If you’re a fan of the Tour, you’ll know Pau.

imagine my surprise to discover this monument to Tour winners in

Pigs and Fishes

Pigs and Fishes

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The main reason that we came on this trip, the founding principle if you like, was to visit the Basque Country. We’ve been in and around it for a few days now, but today we headed into the heart.

Before I show you what we found there, let’s

Among the Basque

Among the Basque

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We cruised through Euskal Herria (Basque Country) today. The Basque are an ethnic group that lives in an area that spans France and Spain on the Bay of Biscay at the western end of the Pyrenees.

We stopped in three places: the small fishing village of Getaria, the large and

Bilbao – This and That

Bilbao – This and That

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Excusez-moi, Président Bush, mais vous envahissez le mauvais pays!

France

Tomorrow we return to France. Mary Anne and I love France, but many ‘mericans don’t. Maybe it’s because the French refuse to go along with some of our less-than-well-thought-out plans.

But we showed them! Freedom fries! How’d

Guggenheim – Bilbao

Guggenheim – Bilbao

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Everybody talks about the Guggenheim art museum in Bilbao. Designed by Frank Gehry, the same guy who gave us the Experience Music Project (now MoPop) in Seattle, the Guggenheim has garnered accolades for its design.

In its short lifetime, the museum has joined a rarified list of places that folks

Pamplona

Pamplona

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Bullfighting. Meh.

Look, I get it. Bulls are big, have pointy things on their heads, and can be dangerous if provoked. If you want to show your skill at dancing with death, I suppose annoying a bull makes as much sense as free climbing or Formula 1 racing or whatever.

Zaragoza

Zaragoza

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Zaragoza dates back to 14 BC when it was established by the Romans. There’s little left from that period, but there is a spectacular basilica, a Moorish palace, a Goya museum, and enough general interest material to make a stop worthwhile.

But let’s begin with a quick look