Decided to spend the summer of 98 in London so I could attend the Total Publishing Show sponsored by S&G magazines at Olympia, and also work on a couple of ongoing projects I took along. For those who visit here, or locals alike, here is a familiar map.

It was a good tool I used in getting around the city in London's Underground or "tube" as the locals call it. Best mode of transportation if you're not in a big hurry. Day passes usually runaround £3.50 and can be found at convenience stores, bookstalls, or petrol stations.

Most tube stations also have them available at vending machines. Just study the map and it's colorized routes and where you intend on getting on & off makes it a neat (and interesting) way of navigating Londinium!

Probably the best known of art museums in London, the Tate has works from old masters to new and current artists from around the world. Very reasonable entrance fee and you get to see the creme de la creme of artwork.

If you're looking for a good argument on politics, religion or sex, come to speakers corner in Hyde Park. Here, you'll find maniacs who will air their complaints on anything. This guy was complaining about the U.N.

Note the small plank he's stands on atop a few small blocks so he stands above the crowd.

This guy was ranting and had several bodyguards watching his back for people in the crowd in case they attacked him. They are the guys with cell phones, keeping in touch with one another. The police presence is higher on the day speakers corner is at full speed.

Took train out to Stonehenge in Salisbury. Ride from London here is about one & a half hours. This station is fully equipped with restaurant, convenience store, restrooms & phones. Buses continually arrive for visitors to the rockpile, along with taxis.

Weather was exceptional this day...about 85 degrees.

a vet from British Columbia visitng his war buddy from London had obliged me with the following snapshot. I was surprised the fellow from London had never visited here, although I take my own local tourist attractions for granted too!

Another shot of the "big bodacious rockpile". Now run by The British Heritage, they don't allow visitors to go up and investigate closer and keep it roped off. Too many idiots were trying to hammer away parts of the stones as souvenirs. A tunnel underneath the highway alongside the henge will take you to the parking lot and the giftshop. The tunnel is painted with murals of how they think stoneage people assembled Stonehenge.

Sitting in hotel lobby one afternoon comparing pics with other travelers, I opened my package of new developments. I was stunned to come across this one. Everyone who first looked at it said the same thing...a crop circle!

This was off same roll taken at Stonehenge and definitely recall this was supposed to be a photo of The London College Of Art & Design. Question: how did a crop circle embed itself on my roll of film?!

Harrod's in London. How ironic to see people a block away asking you for pocket change and see others walking out of Harrod's dressed in their Armani clothes, getting into into an Alfa Romeo?

London has it's fair share of homeless. In fact, I'm sure there's alot more than the 400 or so which the British monarchy says there are.

The monarchy even has given them a more pleasant sounding name..."rough sleepers".

Touring central London's Picadilly Circus on another hot afternoon.

Overheated tourists rest at the foot of the Eros statue

Checked out Buckingham Palace but didn't get to meet her majesty. Did get a shot with these 2 VERY HAPPY looking blokes who were obliging other tourists with a pic.

The Devonshire Arms was a favorite pub in neighborhood my hotel was in. Good home cooked food is available and if you're tired of eating at cafes or restaurants, most London pubs (or at least the good ones), have an on staff chef. It's recommended to get in around late afternoon before all of it is gone!

Even though West Kensington area is a safer part of London, with a good police presence, signs like this (in Devonshire Arms) are common. Ladies are asked to keep a close watch on purses and handbags!

BEWARE: HANDBAG SNATCHERS OPERATE IN THE KENSINGTON AREA

If you're into natural history, a day inside this place isn't enough. A cool place to learn stuff about the planet. As you enter through the lobby and into the atrium, you first encounter a huge diplodocus skeleton. The earth sciences exhibits are highly recommended. I was very surprised to see my part of the world respresented here, where in their geological exhibits are samples of native copper from the New Caledonia Mine, Ontonagon County Michigan!

Across from Hyde Park is Royal Albert Hall which hosts events ranging from Symphony to Kickboxing shows. That particular week I recall The Godfather of Soul James Brown was scheduled. I hope he sang "Livin' In America!"

Some new friends I met from Poland convinced me to take the Eurostar and check out Paris for a day. Why not? As a partial train nut, it was fantastic to get the chance. The Eurostar leaves Waterloo Station a couple times a day, which takes 3 hours to The City of Lights.

On the English side, the tracks contantly go "clickety clack" but once you arrive at Folkstone & enter the Eurotunnel for the 30 minute ride underneath the English Channel, it changes to a constant droning sound.

Once out into daylight in Calais, on the French side, it picks up speeds to around 156 mph. Zipping through the French countryside you really can't even take decent snapshots it moves so fast. Trying to visually lock on a target to photograph is useless. This is at Gare du Nord after arriving out of London.

Eiffel Tower isn't far from The Arc de Triomphe. Downed my thimble-sized cup of caffeine fortified latte and crossed the Champs-Elysees taking this snapshot. Keep your eyes wide open for the crazy drivers on this thoroughfare!

A sideshot of the Arc de Triomphe. Alot larger in life than what I've always been used to seeing.

There's an inner tour of the arc where you get a view from the top but since I didn't have any time I settled for a snaphot for posterity.

Eiffel Tower had a countdown clock to the new millennium on it.

It was a warm day and fantastic weather!

Almost got lost trying to navigate my way across the city back to the train station. A passerby speaking English, directed me on the right path saying if I see a Greek domed temple down the way while crossing this avenue, I was on the right course...hey, there it is!

A typical Parisian backstreet heading closer to Gare du Nord.

The gothic looking facade of Gare du Nord in downtown Paris. Your typical European train station, complete with pigeons flying through the rafters. An old building invites lots of new visitors each day into the city.

Took a couple months to visit Spain during summer 99. This snapshot taken from hill overlooking the city of Granollers which is about a half hour north of Barcelona.

Train station in Granollers. Conveniently located in the city centre with trains heading north and south every half hour. The inner-city train service is great but inner-regional system is very antiquated with older passenger cars.

Inner-city trains are double decker cars and air conditioned.

One of Barcelona's landmarks is it's own Arc de Triomf built in 1889

Another shot of Barcelona's Arc

Barcelona Harbour.

Coast of Mediterreanean along the beaches.

Picasso museum sits in an ancient mideval building in the gothic section of Barcelona. I couldn't believe at how packed the place was and it's amazing to see the following some artists have.

La Rambla is one of Barcelona's best known thoroughfares. Street performers, sales people, musicians, food vendors attract visitors to the city.

A statue lady waits patiently for people to put pesetas in her donation box.

Patience is a virtue with all statue people. Some go hours like this. And then you see them casually walking into a bodega for a drink, to enjoy their spoils! Hey, could this be Flea from the Red Hot Chili Peppers moonlighting?

Barcelona "rough sleeper", spotted during mid afternoon on one of the city's busy avingudas.

Hopped the train north to Figureres, Spain to visit the Salvador Dali museum. Figureres is near the Pyrenees mountains and is a real bucolic Spanish village. I wish my Espanol was better, Photos are prohibited in most museums and here also.

I ventured down a quagmire of stairs, away from the tourgroup into this room to see Dali's Caddy. The moment I turned around I discovered his actual tomb across from his car!

Note the same railings as were in front of his caddy. Here is Dali buried next to his wife Gala and a sculpture of his, placed in the background.Needless to say, being the only one here at the moment had me a bit creeped out!

Just so you know, Dali was Catalonian and they believe material objects carry on life, so that's why they buried him with his first car!

Headed to the village of Pubol to visit Salvador Dali's castle. The castle is located in his boyhood home and is more of a testament to his life as opposed to a museum.

Another view as you near the castle. I always was intrigued with Dali's style and work. Not just the dripping clocks, but innovative paintings like the Lincoln painting where the collage effect makes up the overall look to the painting when viewed from a distance. Photographs here were also prohibited. Reason? Who knows!

The countryside of Pubol, which I clicked from atop Dali's castle.

One of Dali's more memorable sculptures outside the castle.

Back in Barcelona looking at the spires of the Sagrada Familia, one of the most famous landmarks in the city.

Entrance into the church of the Sagrada Familia. This building is a constant work in progress, begun by one of Barcelona's best known architectual geniuses Antoni Gaudi. His influences can be seen all over the city with his distinctive style.

Statue of Christopher Columbus at the Barcelona harbour. Monument was being renovated at the time which is why the base is enclosed.

Statue of Christopher Columbus is supposed to be pointing to the "new world". As a landmark, it's located at the very end of the La Rambla, near the Mediterranean.

Went to visit Barcelona's most famous resident, Snowflake. The worlds only captive albino gorilla. I waited & waited for him to finally make a cameo appearance and he styled long enough for this snapshot.

Check out the fantastic sneer on this mug! Snowflake has one of those faces only a mother could love...excellent!

Spent summer of 2000 in Scotland. Glasgow, Edinburgh and north in Inverness. Quick snapshot of Galsgow's central station. Trains move out of here all day long to everyplace in the UK.

I Headed to the north of Scotland and had some great hosts in Inverness.These signs catch your eyes and had to check it out!

The tour out of Inverness takes you to Loch Ness where the guides take you aboard the Jacobite Warrior and you ride on the loch where you're given a history of the region, loch & monster itself. You meet up with the tour bus here at Urquhart castle where most of the sightings of Nessie have been documented. I continually scanned the water hoping for a photo of the elusive critter...

Finally! Real proof! One of my fellow tour members snapped this quick picture of Nessie at Drumnadrochit as she briefly popped out of the water!

I decided not to sell out but post the photo for posterity

Highland cattle in the north of Scotland near Culloden.

Inverness was great, I hope to get back, but time to move on to Edinburgh. This shot of Edinburgh's busy Waverly train station. I wanted to check out Edinburgh's "Fringe Festival"...I kept hearing so much about it and other travelers along the way were coming from or going to it so I wanted to see what all the buzz was about.

The most eye-catching landmark in Edinburgh is undoubtedly the castle overlooking Princes Street and the rest of the city. I've seen big castles, medium sized ones, old dilapidated ugly ones, but this one takes the cake!

The Fringe was in full gear and the city was packed and buzzing with all kinds of activity. There's alot to see (and do) if you're into any festival type atmosphere.

In downtown Edinburgh on Princes Street during the Fringe Fest. Street performers come from all parts of the world to attend. If you are into any kind of venue from comedy, drama or other offbeat performers, this is the place to check out.

Shows are listed in special catalogs throughout the duration of the fest which you can pick up at any corner store etc. New artists try their material out and established comedians from all over the world are also in town. Places to stay are at a minimum though, so it's best to check ahead. I lucked out and found available housing on campus at the University of Edinburgh which is made available during the summer months to the general public.

Waykis, from Peru made their way to do street performances and sell their CD's. Alot of performances are held in theatrical settings all night long after sundown and guide books supply a long list of what's going on in all areas of acting, comedy, music etc. The Fringe Fest runs through several weeks each summer.

Overlooking the park called Princes Street Gardens from the main street in Edinburgh with the castle looming in the background. The Military Tattoo is held each day within the entrance to the castle and is usually sold out. Imagine thousands of bagpipers performing in unison, along with a fireworks show blasting over the castle during the evening as a finale!

This particular snapshot was taken during a performance of a Scottish rock band.

Spent summer 2001 in Australia. Made Sydney home base for a while. Flight out of LAX is a long 14 hours and you realize what "down under" really means as flight goes over Hawaii, passes equator, international dateline and over the tropic of capricorn and eventually into Sydney.

Here is one of Sydney's tallest landmarks...the AMP Tower.

View from inside AMP Tower's observation deck. Note in 3rd window from the left is Sydney Harbour Bridge. In 4th window is backside of the opera house.

Observation deck provides 360 degree view of the city, allowing for great views of Sydney, the surrounding environs, jets landing & taking off at Sydney Intl. and the Pacific.

Another angle of Sydney from inside the tower.

View looking towards giftshop area and elevators in the tower's observation deck.

Photos of the tops of skyscrapers that surround the tower.

Spent time out in Alice Springs and got to visit Ayers Rock. Excellent tour guides take you on a walking tour around the base of the monolith.

The rock is on sacred aboriginal grounds. You even can get guided tours by aboriginal guides from base came & gift shop located nearby Yulara.

One of many crags, caves and unusual rock formations which surround the base of the Rock. The soil is red, the monolith is red and on clear days when the sun sets, the sky is auburn. You realize why it's called the Red Centre of Australia.

Went to climb the rock this day, but since this was during the Australian winter, the weather can be unpredictable. Alot of rain had fallen in Uluru so the climbs on Ayers Rock were cancelled this time. The local aborigines ask visitors not to climb, out of respect for the aboriginal "dreamtime" religion.

Some new friends I spotted at a roadhouse along the way to Uluru. Look at how red the ground is! The tour guides give verbal history of the area and surrounding region to help you learn more. Movies are also played on the way back after the almost 18 hour journey. One in particular was loaded with lots of sex and violence...The Life & Times of The Australian Dingo!

Spotted this emu at one of the roadhouses along the way to Uluru.

Other interesting stops along the way included another large rock formation called The Olgas. You can also view The Devils Marbles and stop along lookouts to view Mt. Conner & McDonnell Ranges.

Finale of the Ayers Rock tour takes the tour out to Sunset Lookout for food & drink then onward to Alice. Wish the weather would've been better but a great tour overall!

I was forced to fly into Alice out of Sydney but had the chance of riding across the continent aboard Australia's famous Ghan, back to Sydney.

Couldn't resist.

The engines of The Ghan are decorated with aboriginal artwork. Check out this "dreamtime" design with the long black snake aside the front engine!

Another angle of the front engine as it gears up to head out of Alice.

The Red Centre is so remote in Australia's outback, alot of people opt to take their own vehicles out here. The Great Southern Railway allows for travelers aboard the Ghan to take their own transportation for an extra fee. Well worth it!

The train station in Alice Springs is one of the busiest places in town. Riding the rails back to the gold coast is a great way to see the outback and the rest of Oz!

The Ghan is named after the Afghan cameleers who introduced the camels you see which roam the outback! Ride back to Sydney takes about a day & a half, stopping for leg stretching & and fresh air in Adelaide, Melbourne etc. If you have time to kill when visiting Oz, I highly recommend it. The good news these days, is you can now reach Darwin in the northern most part of the Northern Territory with a new rail line from Alice! Close to Van Diemen Gulf and Beagle Gulf and of course Kakadu National Park. If you're going, just type THEGHAN.COM into your search.

Take an afternoon off to climb Sydney Harbour bridge. It gives a whole different perspective on the city and the tour is great. It only takes 3 1/2 hours and you can be back in the Rocks District in no time.

A good climbing crew this day had fellow climbers from Pakistan, New Zealand, England and even Ann Arbor, Michigan...my home state!

If you're going, check out BRIDGECLIMB.COM

Sydney's Central Station where regional trains arrive & leave on a constant basis. A very busy place with shopping complex, cafes etc.

At Sydney Aquarium. Lots of sharks, crocs, platypus...you name it. Get a load of the eerie effect the flash caused in his (otherwise lifeless) eyes!

spent time up the coast from Sydney with my old mate Brad who I haven't seen in a quarter of a century...the hospitality was great! Brad obliged with this pic of his wife Dianne (right) and her parents Kevin & Jeanette and daughters Sara (left) and Nicole.

Hunting wombats and going to visit ole' Doc Jurd up in the Blue Mountains was excellent. If I ever get back, I promise not to complain about the vegemite!

Finally made it to the Emerald Isle of Ireland spending the summer of 2002 here in Dublin. Here is central landmark O'Connell's statue in downton, along the river Liffey that winds it's way through the middle of town.

A rainy busy afternoon with rush hour traffic on one of the many bridges that cross the Liffey in downtown Dublin.

If you have a broken doorknob or doorknocker in Dublin, where would you go for new ones? Here of course!

Great train service in Ireland. You can easily get a train to all points north, south, east & west at most times. Dublin's train station is great and fares are very affordable for cross country rides.

Made a day trip to Belfast on this one. I was a bit apprehensive since this was in the middle of their "marching season" when lots of political unrest breaks out. It was peaceful though and enjoyed visiting the city.

Street artists are a dime a dozen throughout Dublin but this guy was fantastic. His talents compared to any master artist. He told me he'd done it all and gave up a commercial art career to be a fulltime street artist. This snapshot doesn't do his work justice.

One of Dublin's mega malls with shops all throughout the complex.

The infamous Bad Ass Cafe in central Dublin.

I made a sojourn to the quaint, bucolic village of Rathdrum to visit the world famous Cartoon Inn. This place was ground zero for an annual international cartoon festival held each year that drew in thousands of visitors and famous cartoonists alike.

The festival has since been suspended due to inner conflicts between the organization running it and due to local village politics.

The smoke stained walls contain hundreds of original hand doodled images by cartoonists from Europe and elsewhere around the world. Photos never do justice, but it was fantastic to soak up the history within this place.

I spotted an original sketch of The Spirit, by none other than cartoon great Wil Eisner and the innkeeper obliged with a snapshot. I hope someday the festival can be revived. This is a unique place in a special part of Ireland!

Ireland is now on the Euro and it's great...makes understanding the exchange rate much simpler and quicker. Although the Emerald Isle is the only country in the UK which has the Euro, you still need to exchange your money back to £sterling if you go into Northern Ireland & Belfast-and you really take a hit!

This shows how many Euros you get for each $100 bill you exchange. Aside from their keeping a commission, it's almost even with our American dollar so you easily can assume the cost of things as you visit.

A few say they still miss the Punt which was the original form of currency.

While spending a few weeks in Galway, the visit couldn't be complete without visiting the Cliffs Of Moher on Ireland's west coast. A great ride if you take it from Connemara.

No fence, gates or any barriers hold visitors back from looking over the edge to the ocean below. Only a simple rock barrier.

The cliffs tower 70 stories above the Atlantic ocean and run for miles.

A single smooth rock ledge protrudes out from a great observation area off the main trail going up to an ancient lookout tower built in the days of the Celts.Lots of visitors lay belly-down at the very edge to take pictures or just to listen to the ocean roar below.

A well traveled trail. Park services advises visitors Not to navigate a narrow footpath which begins along cliff edge around top of this picture. They say "your life is in your own hands", as some have slipped off.

The single rock ledge mentioned previously can be seen sticking out, if you note the footpath in left of picture, that heads down to it.

O'Brien's Tower is perched atop the highest point at the cliffs. Initially built to lookout for invaders from other lands, coming off of the Atalantic. The winds blowing in off Atlantic are awesome at this height above the ocean!

Touring back from the Cliffs, you also stop at castles etc. This was at Ailwee Cave. Guided tour brings you a quarter of a mile in, to see underground rivers, basins, falls etc.

Galway is a university town in western Ireland. It's great here...right on the coast. During summer there are a ton of festivals, and this was their "arts" festival. Very busy!

A local street artist keeps visitors entertained. His work was excellent.

At Galway's harbour.

Visited the Aran Islands off of Ireland's west coast. Trip from Galway out to the island is less than an hour and guides are readily available to take you on van tours across the island. These cliffs over the Atlantic are not quite as high as those at Moher, but still real impressive.

Shot of the ocean below on the isle of Inishmore. Inishmore is largest of the 3 Aran islands off Ireland's west coast.

Ancient fort of Dun Aengus on Inishmore. You have to wonder what types of characters built all of this which in ancient times was seemed so far off the main Island.

Lower cliff edges, down from the fort with visitors rambling about the edges of the rock. Ride to the mainland used to take almost 3 hours but with new improved boat service it's cut the travel time back to the mainland to less than half. A very interesting place to visit.

Leaving Dublin aboard one of the large passenger ferrys, heading across the Irish Sea to Holyhead, Wales.

Last view of Ireland. A cloudy day, but the ride to Holyhead is under 3 hours on an impressive, large ferry. Hopped a train in Holyhead and cruised through Wales, into England and onward to London.

My second visit in ole' London town! Noticed this sign on one of the streets. Don't think I'd want to be navigating this part of the city after midnight!

See these bootleg versions of KFC all over the city. A bit comical! Why not Alabama or Tennessee fried chicken? I bet they never duplicated the colonel's secret recipe though!

new footbridge recently constructed across the Thames. Name is the Millennium Bridge, in honor of the year 2000.

Newest attraction in London is the "London Eye" or "Millennium Wheel". It offers the best perspective of Londinium if you're interested.

Taken from inside the passenger "pod". One of the city's busiest train stations....Waterloo.

As the pod begins ascending, you get a good perspective of the others below you (and above!).

Start cranking! Looking below, the people begin to appear smaller & smaller.

Boarding area at the base of wheel where you enter the pods.

At the apex, looking down on the Thames & city. Note to right of neighboring pod, Westminster Bridge and houses of parliament with the clocktower & Big Ben below. Weather was cloudy & muggy with rain in forecast...this combined with the pollution makes for a hazy pic!

At the top of the wheel looking across at the neighboring pod. If you plan to visit and want to learn more, just type LONDON EYE into your search.

Crossing Westminster Bridge to get close ups of the clock tower & hear Big Ben chime away.

Heading towards Trafalger after getting pictures at #10 Downing Street.

Tried complaining that England should change to the Euro but they wouldn't listen!

Tower Bridge from a cruiser on the Thames. When you visit the big wheel, they give you a ticket for a free ride on the river.

This particular "cafe" near Trafalgar Square was so big, you had to purchase one of these tickets from a vending machine in the lobby when you walk in. You drop in your £1 coin and it kicks one of these out. Then find an open PC where you enter the user ID to log on.