April 2007 ~ Travel In Home

April 4: Cordoba

The main reason we visited the city of Cordoba was to see the Mezquita, and it did not disappoint. The Mezquita of Cordoba is the only Great Mosque built under Islamic rule in Spain that still stands today. It was built in the 700s AD, when the Moorish dynasty was at its height. At the time, its territory included all of Spain and North Africa and the capital was at Cordoba.The mosque has some

by Jour ~ Sunday, April 29, 2007 0 comments

Oxford sightseeing

Today was warm and sunny so we did some hometown sightseeing in Oxford. David got an early start. While I was still snoozing, he went into town to get his hair cut - he was there when the doors opened at 7:30. Then he went for a stroll with his camera and captured some lovely glimpses of what Oxford looks like before everyone else wakes up and crowds the streets. The New Walk in Christ Church

by Jour ~ Saturday, April 28, 2007 0 comments

April 4: Seville to Cordoba

My last post left off with us making last-minute plans to rent a car from Seville and use it to visit Cordoba, then Algeciras. I was really happy that this new plan would allow us to have a relaxing morning and then go up in La Giralda (the cathedral tower) when it opened at 11. We were also looking forward to taking more pictures of the inside of Seville Cathedral at a time when it was open to

by Jour ~ Wednesday, April 25, 2007 0 comments

Bangkok Pride Festival 2007 ( November 3 - 11, 2007)

Bangkok Pride Festival is a number of community events held throughout the year and culminating with a parade and a community day. Bangkok Pride Festival strives to engender a sense of community among the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Trans gender(GLBT) population in Thailand, and to empower everyone with a stronger sense of pride.

Over the years, the Bangkok annual event has undergone organizational changes, resulting in a current focus on the long-held goal that the Bangkok events and parade be created by and for members of the Thai GLBT community, with support from gay and gay-friendly business and civil society sectors—Thai and foreigners alike.

History of Bangkok Pride Festival

Pride celebrations started in Thailand in the late 1990’s and were first organized by Khun Pakorn Pimton with the support of several Thai gay businesses. Under the name of Bangkok Gay Festival, they presented Thailand’s first gay pride parade in the Silom business district in 1999. This parade attracted representatives from Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore and other Asian, as well as Western, countries and subsequently led several other countries to follow with their own events.

[Source from; pridefestival.org]

by Jour ~ Monday, April 23, 2007 0 comments

April 3: Semana Santa in Seville

After our afternoon excursion to Italica, we joined the crowds next to Seville Cathedral to watch part of a Semana Santa procession on Tuesday evening. It was definitely worth it, but also involves a lot of waiting, crowding, watching for pickpockets, and inhaling of cigarette smoke. The parades are also a little less atmospheric during the day than at night (see Arrival in Seville), but they are

by Jour ~ Sunday, April 22, 2007 0 comments

April 3: Italica, Spain

Our spontaneous excursion to Italica from Seville turned out to be well worth it. It was much larger and more impressive than we thought, and an ancient Roman site was a nice change from the churches (not that I ever really get tired of churches). And thankfully, it didn't rain on us and we even had sunshine for some of our photos.Italica was founded in 206 BC as a place of settlement for veteran

by Jour ~ Thursday, April 19, 2007 0 comments

April 3: La Giralda to La Macarena, Seville

Above: Views of Hotel Alminar in Seville (recommended!)On the morning of Holy Tuesday David got up before me and went out to wander around a bit, including having a brief look around the cathedral, which was about three minutes from our front door. He said it was very impressive, and empty and peaceful that early. I was mighty jealous, although after our previous long day I think it would have

by Jour ~ Tuesday, April 17, 2007 0 comments

April 2: Arrival in Seville

After a full day of pounding the cobbled streets of Toledo, we were grateful to collapse into our comfortable seats on the high-speed train for the 2.5-hour journey to Seville.They played a movie in English with Spanish subtitles and handed out headphones just like on a plane, but unfortunately it was one we had already seen and didn't like the first time around, My Super Ex-Girlfriend. No

by Jour ~ Monday, April 16, 2007 0 comments

April 2: Holy Toledo!

Above: Toledo Cathedral from the tower of a nearby church.Toledo certainly lives up to its usage in the popular expression - there are so many great religious sights there that we would need a week to see them all properly. But in our six-ish hours there, we managed to squeeze in a huge cathedral, a monastery, a Jesuit church, two synagogues and a mosque. And we also made a couple stops in knife

by Jour ~ Saturday, April 14, 2007 0 comments

April 2: Madrid to Toledo on the Fast Train

On Monday morning I had to drag myself out of bed at some ungodly hour like 7:00. We were aiming for the 9:20 fast train to Toledo, with 10:50 as a backup to ensure avoiding the disappointment of yesterday. We sat down to breakfast in our hotel as soon as it began at 7:30, and this time we had the place nearly to ourselves and enjoyed fresh scrambled eggs and warm croissants.We then checked out

by Jour ~ Friday, April 13, 2007 0 comments

April 1: Spectacular Segovia

Above: Mountains, churches and rooftops at Segovia, Spain.On Sunday we had breakfast in our hotel's basement restaurant, which was served buffet-style and was good. There were even eggs and warm bacon available, which is unusual for the Continent. It was quite crowded and we ended up sharing a table with a nice older Spanish couple. We left feeling a little more full than we intended, but it

by Jour ~ 0 comments

March 31: An Evening in Madrid

Some Impressions of SpainThe first half of our trip was spent in central and southern Spain, which welcomed us with unseasonably cold weather the entire time. That was such a disappointment, but at least we had sunny Morocco to look forward to. And of course we had a good time anyway. This was the first time either of us had visited Spain, and as always some things turned out to be different than

by Jour ~ Thursday, April 12, 2007 0 comments

Back home from Spain and Morocco

Just a quick note to say we've arrived back home safe and sound after our adventures in southern lands. We had a chaotic check-in but smooth flight from Marrakesh this morning and arrived in Oxford around 5 this evening. England seems like a beautiful, green, quiet paradise after the dust and noise of Morocco! More to come soon as we sort through pictures (about 6,100 of them!) and get some trip

by Jour ~ Wednesday, April 11, 2007 0 comments

Ronan Keating Live in Bangkok

Ronan Keating–the man behind such worldwide smashes as “Life Is A Rollercoaster” and
“When You Say Nothing At All” – is returning to Thailand this May.

BEC-Tero Entertainment PLC and Nokia Nseries are proud to present Nokia Nseries presents Sharing Discoveries with RONAN KEATING Live in Bangkok on May 7, 2007 at the Royal Paragon Hall.

Ronan Keating will return to Thailand to celebrate his 10th year in the music industry. His hits include " Iris", "If Tomorrow Never Comes" and many more.

Ronan started off his career as a member of
British boy band Boyzone. He was not only the band's
lead singer but also played an important role in
the songwriting and the band's music production.

After that, he became a solo artist with hit albums
such as Ronan, Destination, Turn It Out, 10 Years
Of Hits and Bring You Home. He also proved his talents
by being the band manager of Westlife.

Ronan gave a concert in Thailand in 2003 at the Indoor Stadium, Hua Mak, Bangkapi. Tickets sold out very quickly. His mini-concert at the Met 107 Radio station's launch was also very well received by his fans.

by Jour ~ Thursday, April 5, 2007 0 comments