“Cotswold Trail, Clouds” — Clouds build above a trail through agricultural land in the Cotswolds.
For a hiker like me, with a lifetime of wilderness hiking and backpacking behind him, a “Cotswolds walk” is a new and different experience. I am used to single-person-width trails, usually rocky, and sometimes ascending to quite high elevations. On multi-day trips I have carried everything on my back. But here the trails are gentle, often passing between and through fields and pastures. And you carry only a few supplies for the day’s walk — you simply stop at a grocery or a pub in a small town at lunch time and buy something to eat.
“FRESH” — A person walks past a Dublin wall with painted flames and a “FRESH” sign in the Temple Bar district.
I have seen Dublin’s Temple Bar district described in various ways: historic, touristy, not a place to go at night, nightlife hub. From what I could gather on our brief visit this past May, any or all of those might be correct, though I saw no real evidence of it being dangerous. Mostly it felt like one of those typical big city tourist areas, center in an older district with “character,” and gradually being invaded by chain restaurants and shops. But there are still some fun rough edges.
“Wheat Field and Building Clouds” — Thunderheads rise above a Cotswolds wheat field.
If you are following along, it may start to be difficult to follow the itinerary of our late-spring trip to the British Isles. We started in Scotland, spent time in Ireland, then headed to England for about three weeks. The first week in England was spent on a walk between villages in the Cotswolds. We had heard about people doing that, and it sounded fun — and we were able to meet up with relatives who live in Europe.
“River Walk” — Pedestrians on the Chicago River Walk on a cold November morning.
This scene caught my attention as we crossed the bridge on Michigan Ave, heading toward Chicago’s “Magnificent Mile.” Here the river bends slightly before heading deeper into downtown Chicago near “The Loop.” Nearby tall buildings reflected the morning sun into the scenery from different directions. It was early enough that only a small number of people were out walking along the river.
Until this morning we had spent most of our visit inside The Loop, located south of the Chicago River. Now we joined the throngs of people (not visible in the photo, obviously) heading south on Michigan Avenue to the “Magnificent Mile,” where a nighttime holiday parade would take place later on.
