Another Day At The Office

When the Covid-19 pandemic traveling restrictions eased up a little, and international travel was re-opened, I decided to visit Paris and booked a flight for the morning of January 10, 2022.

I began to worry because the airline required a Covid test taken 72 hours prior to boarding. After booking the Paris trip, I was unable to find a testing site in Philly that didn't required an appointment, everyone was full. And to make matters worse, there was no appointment available before my trip. I contacted my former supervisor at the health center where I used to work before retiring a few months prior, and they squeezed me in to get tested. I received the online results the next day, and was all set to travel.

Another one of my concerns was that to return to the United States, travel restrictions were a little more strict and now I was required to show a Covid test result taken 24 hours prior to the day of my flight. After arriving in Paris, I learned that Covid tests were available at any pharmacy in the city, results available in 20 minutes, and no appointments required. Cost $26.00 euros, and I was assured that there was a pharmacy in every corner, as illustrated in the top picture. In my broken very limited French, I asked a fruit vendor to take the pic of "moi" waiting to take the test.

To put it into perspective, yesterday I read that two days before Thursday night’s men’s 200 final race, Noah Lyles, the American record holder of the 200 meters, and the third fastest man in the event learned he had tested positive for Covid. With permission of officials at USA Track and Field and the U.S. Olympics, who said they followed protocol, Lyles was allowed to run at the Olympics. Lyles won the bronze medal with 102-degree Covid fever and collapsed on the track after the race was over.

Nowadays, a  Covid diagnosis is like just another day at the office.

Video Recording - Stage One

Today, I finally completed to install a video editing software on my computer, to begin recording and uploading videos on YouTube.

In hindsight, I regret not capturing/recording a few video clips during my Paris trip earlier this year. I also failed to use my GoPro action camera to record snorkeling underwater in Puerto Rico, and filming the kayaking tour adventure in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, this past summer. Those video clips could've been used for the channel introduction. 

To get used to the recording process, in a few weeks I am going to start by creating a test video to make sure the sound, lighting and camera settings are set correctly. 

On the first video I will be Painting in Light my motorcycle in the garage at night. It should be fun, and once the video is finished and uploaded, I will post a YouTube link to it. 

Enjoy the pictures! 

If You See Something Say Something

I think it was back in 2002 that the Department of Homeland Security implemented the phrase "if you see something, say something". You can see posters at the airport, in bus and train stations encouraging travelers to report suspicious activity.

The next day after I arrived from France, I was at the Amtrak terminal at Penn Station in NYC waiting for my train to arrive and take me to Philadelphia 30th Station. With plenty of time to spare, I decided to use the restroom. I don't know you, but I don't like to use the restroom in the train or bus when I am traveling.

To my surprise, a well dressed young man was injecting heroine in one of the toilet partitions. I screamed an expletive at the young man, and stepped out into the train station waiting area. Immediately notified the situation to an Amtrak employee, he advised me to tell the police.

I informed three police officers, two men and a woman with a K-9 police dog that were standing at the train terminal. They replied, "we'll take a look". They didn't move and kept chitchatting as if I was not there.

The whole incident, and the police officers lack of care had upset me more than when I encountered the young man shooting up drugs in the restroom. What if I was a parent taking my young child to the restroom? How about the safety and wellbeing of other children? The experience left a bad taste in my mouth. Our tax dollars hard at work. 

The Story Behind The Shot

Last year, in one of the photography forums I am a member of, I saw a picture of the Eiffel Tower taken from a tall building in Paris. At first, I thought it was taken using a drone.

Upon inquiry, a forum member revealed that it was taken from the MontPannarse Observatory Tower. So I decided if I ever visited Paris, I would find a hotel room close to that location.

So I did. When I made the decision to visit Paris, I booked a hotel that was a short walking distance from the Montparnasse Observatory Tower. As luck will have it, I had access to everything I needed during my stay including access to public transportation; everything was in the same vicinity.

As mentioned before, on the day of my arrival, I applied for the French Health Pass [$36.00 euros] as proof of vaccination to gain access to pretty much everything in France.

It was a cold freezing night when I visited the Montparnasse Observatory Tower. I was surprised to see that I was the only person in the security screening line. After they screened my Health Pass, I was the only person on the elevator on my way to the observatory. The night was so cold that without counting the security personnel, I was the only person at the observatory. I spent half hour taking pictures during sunset hour.

After I left the building, I walked ten city blocks back to the hotel with a huge grin on my face anticipating what kind of pictures I had taken. Even though you never know what will happen when taking pictures, I predicted one of the dozen images I took would be the one I envisioned. This is my favorite image taken during this trip, it was all worth it. 

More Paris Pictures

Learned recently that the Eiffel Tower is lighted in blue the month of January because it was France's turn to preside over the Council of the European Union. For a minute I was wondering why the tower turn blue at night, when in most online images it looks gold? I guess that solved that mystery.

One late afternoon, after visiting the Louvre Museum, I decided to walk [approximately 3 miles] from the Louvre to the Eiffel Tower, along the Seine River. I noticed a tribute sculpture (the Flame of Liberty) for the late Diana, Princess of Wales at the entrance of the tunnel where she died next to Pont de L'Alma bridge.

As I stood there, passersby dropped flowers at the sculpture next to her pics. I chose not to take pics of the memorial, I refuse to photograph anything that resembles a shrine. Instead, I photographed a young woman taking pics at the metro subway entrance next to it. Enjoy the pictures!

The top picture was taken from a place called Trocadero. Second picture was taken next to Princess Diane Flame of Liberty sculpture memorial at the entrance of the subway Metro. Next pic is another Trocadero image. Then the Louvre Museum, a merry-go-round by the Eiffel Tower, and the Eiffel Tower at night. The last picture was taken from the Montparnasse Tower Observation Deck.

A Few Images From Paris

I arrived home this past Monday, after spending almost a week in Paris. A fascinating city, worthy of many return visits. I think I will need at least a month to see all Paris has to offer.

I followed a friend's advice and obtained a French Health Pass on the day of my arrival to enter museums, restaurants and public venues. Health passes are available at any pharmacy for $36.00 euros.

You have to show your vaccination card at the pharmacy. They transfer the information to the document, you pay the fee and receive the pass in the spot. Without the French Health Pass, people are not allowed to enter most establishments. They requested the document at every restaurant I visited.

My main concern was where to obtain a COVID test 24 hours prior to returning to the states. Without a negative test result, the airline will refuse people to get on board. On my first day I learned that COVID-19 test are available at any pharmacy in Paris. The test cost $26.00 euros, and there is a pharmacy in every corner. No appointments necessary as you can see me on the last picture, standing outside the pharmacy waiting to be called for the test.

The top picture was taken from Bateaux Mouches, across the Seine River. The second picture is the pharmacy where I obtained the French Health Pass. The last image is where I took the COVID test 24 hours prior to my returning trip.

The 2022 Bucket List

In three weeks I am traveling to Paris, France, for the first time. To say I am a little nervous about this trip after several months of planning it's an understatement. I am a little worried that the new COVID variant Omicron could force the French authorities to apply more travel restrictions, and prevent me from visiting the country. 

For years I've been dreaming of riding a motorcycle in Europe. If all goes well and the weather cooperates, I plan to rent a motorcycle for a couple of days during my stay. I already received my International Drivers Permit. I contacted AAA (American Automobile Association) , visited their local office here in Philly and got the International Drivers License the same day. 

In addition of carrying my Nikon DSLR and a couple of lenses, I am planning to bring my GoPro camera with the handheld gimbal stabilizer and use it to vlog about the trip. Ordered extra memory cards, extra batteries for my Nikon and GoPro cameras and also a couple of European travel plug adapters. All the camera gear is ready to go. 

Don't laugh, but it's been so long since I used my GoPro cameras, that while testing recording a video the other day, nothing worked. Nothing was video recorded. For twenty minutes I was freaking out, panicked, trying to figure out why nothing was recording. Until I noticed that the GoPro camera lens cover was on, that's when I realized that I need to use my GoPro more often. 

I am looking forward to this my second trip to Europe. I just hope that this time the weather is nice during my stay, the motorcycle rental is dependent on the weather conditions.