Vive le Zazous
The beginnings of youth counterculture, forged by Fascist oppression, rebelling literally with style.
We go to places. We eat food. We are famous.
The beginnings of youth counterculture, forged by Fascist oppression, rebelling literally with style.
Tina and I have been cooped up like so many, waiting for the day we could get back to seeing the world outside the four walls of our house. 2022 was the year we got back on it, visiting our favorite cities: London, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and Portland.
It's been more than ten years since I've written for IMBF. There's no good reason why. Ostensibly it's because Apple discontinued iWeb but that wouldn't be very honest.
Overnight train from Paris to Venice
Today was, perhaps, the slowest of all days. If it weren’t for our entertaining dinners I suspect we’d go a bit batty. We’re not far from Southampton, though. Keeping up our steady twenty-two knots per hour, we’ve a mere thousand nautical miles to go.
As I post this we’re at underway at 22 knots and the ship’s heading is 69.8˚. For those less nautically inclined, we’re about two hundred miles south of Greenland, with over fifteen hundred nautical miles to go before landing in Southampton.
The QM2 is beautiful. The grand lobby is luxurious, the hallways are richly decorated, and everything is spotless. The food is, well, adequate.Tina and I have spent the days attending astronomy lectures given by Mark Butterworth (from the International Astronomical Union).
We started off in style, hiring a Bentley to take us to the airport. Tim, a UK ex-pat, drove us through Friday rush hour traffic with conversation and cool. That’s us, above, in front of our luxmobile. It was pretty sweet I gotta say -- and it was my one, final surprise for Tina! She loved it.
I don’t know what to expect, here. We board the QM2 for a one-week cruise from New York to Southampton (just north of London). Having never been the “crusing” type, it’s hard to imagine how we’ll spend seven days on a ship.
I’m very lucky. My job is very rewarding in many ways, not the least of which includes regular sojourns to Beijing. I used to fly United but -- for reasons that will be apparent to anyone who flies United -- I’m always looking for better carriers. Right now, China’s Hainan Airways is my choice.