Surfer Bird on Huntington Beach

The bird is the word........ Go ahead and get that song out of your head now.

Was a windy but sunny day for a ride down to Huntington on the PCH, watched the sunset from the pier.

Eating bacon popcorn at the Citizen Public House in Scottsdale- you know, bacon does make everything taste better.

Full tank of gas, rain suit on- luckily no rain at moment. Heading home. 400 miles to go.

Real MC ride down the Pacific Coast Highway today to meet a co-worker and review some documents.

An espresso doppio in Bannon CA- much needed!

Stopping in Desert Springs to shed the long sleeve shirt and go to summer gloves.

Temps low 50's going through Tonopah AZ- zippers closed on leather's. Beautiful riding weather.

Another bonus to living in the LBC- the cigar Humidor is at a higher level than when I left PHX.

Driving a Ford Edge rental from PHX to LA today. Well done Ford, very nice vehicle.

Yikes- $4.12 for hi test gas somewhere near Palm Springs CA

Hanging out in the LBC this evening.

Just crossed over into California from Arizona. Smooth ride so far- not as fast as the autobahn but still able to keep it at a steady 88

Final leg of the ride into Phoenix

On the ride down the mountains - which I forgot how breathtaking that ride is - I could feel the heat of the valley approaching. The last 40 miles were in 105+ air temps, then add in the heat from the road itself and I had my own little sauna going at the end.

Some tidbits from the ride there and back
Highest elevation- 7850 ft
Continental Divide- crossed it twice- though the crossing in New Mexico was not nearly the same height
Rio Grande- crossed it twice
Weirdest non- nature sight: a conversion van (with full standing height roof) with a living room love seat strapped to the roof sideways and piled with boxes and a half dozen bikes strapped to the roof in front of it! I am surprised it did not tip over it looked so top heavy.
A first: A danger bear crossing sign. Not sure which was scarier, that or the multiple moose warnings. Did come across (not literally) 3 run over deers on the road. Why I try not to ride highways after dark, the big critters are hell on the front of a motorcycle.

Total miles to Denver:960
total miles home: 1170
Grand total: 2130 miles in 4 days of riding

Number of espresso shots: can't count that high

No rain today- of course. I knew that would happen as soon as I bought a face shield for my helmut. So the helmut stayed strapped to the bike the whole ride(s) home.

Lordsburg NM

Just made the turn off if I10 and now heading north on 70 towards Globe Az

Rainbow

A rainbow over Truth or Consequences NM.

Stop for lunch in Santa Fe

Have 425+ miles behind me, trying to stay ahead of the rain. Only went through a couple of brief showers. About an hour now to Albuquerque AND A Starbucks!
The views are so much better than last week when it rained most of the way from Santa Fe.

Sent from my iPhone

Wagon Mound NM

Gorgeous Views

125 miles south of Denver. Clear skies, the views of the mountain are spectacular!
Temp about 58 when I left this morning but starting to warm up. A lot of motorcycle rally's on the road between Denver and Colorado Springs.

Sent from my iPhone

The Las Vegas Strip

Seems a bit tamer than the one in Nevada. IMO

Found a Starbucks

On Rte 25 heading north in Bernanillo. Sun is shining and temps in low 80's. About 6 hours more to Denver.

Say what....ohhhh hookup

Screen cap of Starbucks app in Grant New Mexico.

Night in Grant New Mexico

I would love to say it is refreshing to drive for 3+ hours in the rain on a motorcycle but I cannot, but at least the rain suit worked well and kept me dry. Stopped at a gas station and put on my leather jacket under the rain jacket as the temps had dropped into the 60's - but I was warm enough.
Even with the rain the sights threw the painted desert were pretty incredible and a I saw a lot of rainbows when the rain would let up, mother nature is such a tease though as I could see the clear skies in my review mirror.
Looks like tomorrow's travel holds more of the same for me and I am hopeful that the last 500 miles of the trip is not all in rain.

Been in rain since last post

With thus still ahead. The rain suit is getting a workout. Currently in the Navajo Nation with about 200 miles to Albuquerque.

Stop at Meteor Crater National Park

That is what I am driving into. Have not seen any cars or trucks yet using wipers. So hopefully it will stay south while I skirt to the north. About 4 hrs to Albuquerque.

Lunch in Camp Verde, AZ

Stopping for lunch and caffeine refueling at a Starbucks in Camp Verde, AZ.  Beautiful ride, but there was a stretch of about 4 miles where there were a lot of brush fires on the side of the road.  Lots of crews trying to get them under control.

Heading to Denver

All packed up and ready to go, looking forward to arriving in Denver tomorrow and seeing all my friends there.

Back in the states

The 8 hour flight is over! Now just a short flight that is usually under 4 hours to go.
The line through immigration was really, really, long and it took almost 20 minutes to go through. Then it was over to wait for luggage, pick that up, then on to customs with another line, then drop the bag back off at Delta and into another 10 minute security line. Into the Delta Sky Club for a double espresso to keep me going until i get on the plane.

On the plane for flight to the US

7/23/11 09:00 Amsterdam

On the plane in Amsterdam and the flight attendant is coming around taking pre-flight meal orders, the man in the window seat on the other side of the aisle tells her he does not want any food because he is feeling sick. Airlines are very sensitive about bringing sick people to another country. So now because he is a dumbass he has the potential to get tossed off the plane and put on a flight tomorrow. He has talked to the flight attendant, purser, and now the captain -says he has a sensitive stomach and this happens to him all the time, he will be better when he gets home. Well if it is not unusual then be quiet and don't cause a scene.

Finished the trip with a flourish

Had a great last day and an excellent time for my last night in Amsterdam- got to bed at 4:00am and then up at 6am for the ride to the airport. Sitting in the KLM lounge and hoping I do not fall asleep and miss my flight this morning. There is a small pub across the dock from our boat and we spent the last three nights visiting there with last night being the best and closing it out this morning. This sounds like a setup to a joke but there were 3 Irishmen on holiday, a local Dutchman, a transplanted Scotsman, an ex-pat American who has spent the last 12 years in Russia and then South Korea, and myself. The Irishman were having a grand time of it- problem is you could not understand half of the stuff they were saying, but they were laughing and kept themselves in stitches.

Had great evenings here drinking fresh Heineken on tap and making new friends.

(check back this evening for more pictures- slow connection here in the KLM lounge)


Started the day with an omelete and a  pancake a the "Pancake Corner"- only it was not so much a pancake as it was a crepe but it was still good.  Also on the menu were Brussel waffles vs what in the states think of as Belgian waffles.

Spent the day walking the city again with a couple of trolley rides thrown in as needed.

Toured the Van Gogh Art museum which was incredible for both the history and the art work on display.

Had lunch at Beems Brasserie with an excellent Kobe beef burger and a Warsteiner bier.

After lunch visited the "House of Hagenius"- a 180 year old purveyor of fine cigars and pipe tobacco.  Of course it is also a museum, it really seems that everything here is a museum of one sort or another. Must get a tax break if they call themselves a museum.

Walked the red light district (during the day) which was hysterical when you realize that in the midst of it is a large catholic church. The shops stores and of course "window" fronts were quite amusing, definitely glad visited this area during the day as I can only imagine what it is like at night.

Finished the official touring part of the day with a boat ride on the canals and went under bridges where the boat cleared by inches- both at the roof level and on the sides- very impressive handling of the boat by the captain.

We had a very eclectic dinner on the boat of shimp, salmon, cheeses, crackers, and olives.  I needed to finish up a couple of Heineken's while Julie had work to do on a bottle of red wine.

Incredible trip.  Will begin working on slide shows for posting on the way home- maybe- after I get some sleep.  Who knows, I may finally get some sleep on a flight.

Birthday in Amsterdam

I had a great birthday, walked all around Amsterdam today with Julie (about 6 miles worth) with frequent stops at sidewalk cafes for Heineken replenishments.  The architecture and canals are really beautiful and the people are so friendly and as Julie noted the waitress at dinner sang Happy Birthday to me in Dutch.  Stopped at the pub across the street from the boat we are renting and the bartender bought me a shot of Jameson's and Julie and I a round of Heinekens. She remembered us from yesterday when we had dinner there and waved to us as we walked by- so of course we had to be polite and stop in.
There are so many bicycles in Amsterdam it is truly mind boggling, they have so many that it is a problem with parking.  They have special bike parking barges and underground bicycle parking garages along with just streets filled with parked bicycles.  They ride them year round- during rain and snow as for most people it is their only mode of transportation other than the excellent buses and trolleys.

View with morning coffee from the fantail of the boat on the canal

The central train station

Homes along one of the canals

Homes along one of the canals

Commemorating the original Santa Clause who was a cardinal here 

The royal residence

The flower shops are on the left and a bike barge on the right

No vehicle traffic, only bikes and trolleys

Boats along one of the canals

The architecture is beautiful

Houseboats lining the left side of this canal

Sunset at 9:30pm, does not get fully dark until about 10:30pm

Morning from Amsterdam

Woke up to the sounds of waves splashing against the boat, took my morning coffee and sat on the fantail and watched the city and river come awake. A good start to the day.

Lunch in Brussels, Belgium

We took a detour into Brussels to have lunch and do a drive through the city.

Having lunch at Les 7 Saveurs in Brussels, going to have the Big 7 cheeseburger meal which is a cheeseburger, frites, and coke zero.
The city itself is very old world with all the trolley's going down the center of the street and the rows of apartments above the businesses at street level.

The hamburger was really a falaffal burger with a lot of spices, very good. The frites (French fries) were excellent.

You get a french fry fork so your fingers do not get greasy

Relaxing in Luxembourg

We Left Milano this morning about 11:00am and did a side trip to Lake Como- and sorry ladies we did not have any George Clooney sitings there. I can see why he would have a summer place there, beautiful area with incredible views. We sat by the lake shore and enjoyed a gelato and watched a seaplane take off and another one land about 15 minutes later.

Not sure what I have ever done to the Alps but we had rain for the whole drive through them again today. The big difference today though was that we took the more direct and less windy route versus the route taken by Hannibal. The route included a 17km tunnel that goes straight through a mountain at an elevation over 3000ft up. Still had many spectacular views and saw countless waterfalls that drop 100's of feet, just incredible.

Had lunch in a little town in Switzerland called Buochs on one of the lakes as we were taking a lot of backroads through little villages. When you leave Switzerland and keep heading north you weave back and forth across the German/French border many, many times. Often the only way you know which country you are in is based on the road signs- and even then you cannot be sure.

We stopped at a Pizzeria in Avolsheim France for dinner, very cute local place where everyone said hi to us when they were leaving. While we were having dinner the heaviest of the rainfall stopped which was really appreciated since we still had 4 more hours of driving. Needed to gas up the car so we pulled into a self service station that is open 24/7 but does not have anyone there in the evening, not a big deal except the machine would not accept foreign credit cards. Luckily a local resident pulled in to fill up her car, asked if she could help- which she did by reading the messages that were in French for us. She ended up using her credit card to purchase our gas and we then gave her cash. I have a very good impression of the French following this trip.

We made it to our hotel in Luxembourg at 11:30pm- long day of driving and eating. We ended up having 3 deserts today so it was a good day.
1- Gelato on Lake Como
2- a fruit type cake in Buochs
3- Tiramissou in Avolsheim

The tally for this trip is 7 countries and 2 principalities. We have driven over 1300 miles and crossed the Alps twice.

Breakfast in Luxembourg

Drove through the center of Luxembourg, very nice mix of old and new. Striking how clean the city is, and even though the buildings are old they look nicer without the grafitti that marred Milano.

Afternoon musings from walking Milano

Sitting in the Giusto Guto sidewalk cafe on the via Broletto. Sipped an espresso and a pastry- the pastries are everywhere and incredible. I have gone from eating very healthy in Tokyo- a lot of fish rice and vegetables to the car capital of the world. Finished the pastry and espresso and now enjoying a Cuban Cohiba Maduro 5 with an Italian beer Cisk XS, which is an extra strong beer at 9%.
Sites today included the Duomo Cathedral square- incredible detail on the cathedral.
The architecture in the city center is just breathtaking- the buildings have intricate detailing on them and you can spend hours on them alone. One thing that struck me though on the cathedral at Duomo was the graphic violence on the reliefs- boiling oil being poured over people, a man being clubbed, very spiritual.
We ended up walking 9 miles today and my ankle is letting me know it is not happy.

Mid morning snack- cannoli and espresso

Street view in Milan

Lunch- a little carb loading

Ice cream sandwich- Italian style

Milano Shopping center- tile floors, stained glass windows

Prada on one side and Louis Vitton on the either, luckily not my kind of stores

The cathedral at Duomo

The front of the church was filled with these types of happy carvings

Street view

Afternoon pastry time- along with a Cuban cigar and an extra strength Italian beer.

Walking Milano

Julie and I are sitting in a sidewalk cafe enjoying some pastries and espresso, the city looks much different during the day. It is a robust city, you can see the aging beauty coming through and picture how it looked in it's younger days. We are going to continue our walk to the the city and shopping centre, I am under strict orders from Julie to not let her go in any of the hundreds of shoe stores we are passing.

Drive to Monte Carlo in Monaco

After a lazy morning and leisurely breakfast we headed out on the road. Drove through the heart of Milano and I have to say that even though I realize it is a very old city- it is not aging well. Just looks and feels haggard and used.
By appearances I would not feel safe walking here at night- which is the total opposite of the areas I was in in Tokyo and Paris. My last night in Paris I walked around until 2am- ok maybe the last hour was at a pub, but I still walked back to the hotel and felt safe. Anyway, the drive to Monte Carlo......
The beginning of the drive is about 9 KM's through Milan to get to the main highway which is a beautiful toll road which takes you right into France and the doorstep of Monaco. Upside is you can set the cruise at 100mph and just go for the first 200 kilometers or so of the ride. Downside is the toll is 25euros or about 37 dollars- EACH way!
You drive through the mountains separating the coast from the interior and hit a peak elevation (for the road, not the mountains) of about 1300ft. As you come down the Mediterranean side you begin to have incredible views of the water and countryside. The final 50 kilometers along the waterfront is very interesting indeed as you are always 600-700 feet up in the air. The roadway is a four lane affair that is either a bridge or a tunnel blasted through a mountain. You are never at sea level for any of the drive, so they finally got me to slow down as I really do not like heights. When you come around a curve you see Monte Carlo laid out below you and you realize that the building you see far, far below you is a 40 story building- and you are more than double it's height up in the air on a tiny road. It is very similar to the road to Jerome AZ, where it is all switchbacks and rapid descents.
Monte Carlo has money. The boardwalk along the waterfront is paved with marble, or travertine tile- could not tell which it was. The streets were very clean, the