Category: Travel

Certosa di Padula; Part I – May 2, 2018 – Padula, Italy

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By Tom Allin

Yes, you read that correctly: Part I.  This is going to be a three-part photo essay because I went crazy with the camera in the four plus hours we walked the grounds and buildings.

It was an easy drive that lasted about one and a half hours.  As is so typical of the Italian countryside it was beautiful.  We arrived, parked in a large parking lot (not typical of Italy) with very few cars and only two or three buses, and set off for the entrance to this UNESCO World Heritage Carthusian monastery.

One of the reasons for all the photographs is this monastery is the largest monastery in Italy.  One of the statistics is: 320 rooms and halls – thank god (no pun intended) not all the rooms are open.  The oldest portion of the monastery is 450 years old or another way to think of its age is construction began in 1568.  Most of the monastery was built in the Baroque style.

If 1568 is not old enough for your enjoyment remember the monastery was founded in 1306.  The monastery was dedicated to one of Nancy’s and my favorite saints, Saint Lawrence.  He was supposed to have been roasted alive on a griddle iron and is the patron saint for rotisserie owners – you just can’t make things like this up.

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THE ALLEY DOWNTOWN MARSHALL

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By Claudia Lowery
Center Stage Cuisine columnist for the former Piney Woods Live entertainment magazine

I doubt I’m the only person around Marshall that feels the need for a dose of atmosphere and an occasional attempt to hide a few hours to collect thoughts, visit with a bestie, or have a quiet heart-to-heart under a small-town towering shade tree. A new getaway spot right in the heart of downtown Marshall is hidden from view, but if you’re in-the-know, or curious enough to ask how to find it, it’s easy enough to find. Take a walk through Blissmoor Valley Ranch store at 208 N. Washington St. and walk to the back where a cozy lunch counter and room becomes The Blue Frog, a lunch and catering business with special evening events. But the hideout I speak of is literally…. off the chart. Keep walking until you are out the backdoor. Like stepping through Alice’s looking glass the exit enters another world, The Alley Downtown Marshall.

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Chernobyl Museum in Kiev

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The Chernobyl Museum in Kiev, Ukraine

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Editor`s note:
Jerry Kenney is a travel writer in Northern California. He is a frequent traveler. He has been on all the seven continents and visited 125 countries in every parts of the world.

Bb> ” … the greatest technological disaster in human history!” — Anatolly Koliadin

My wife and I visited the Chernobyl Museum in Kiev, Ukraine in August of 2013. Our tour group met Anatolly Koliadin, who had worked in the nuclear power plant during the disaster. Our guide translated as he talked to us.

Anatolly Koliadin, an electrical engineer, was born in Russia. In 1985, he was sent to the Ukraine to work at Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant. His job was to manage alarms and the electronic systems used to monitor the performance of the four nuclear reactors.

Anatolly was at home with his wife at 1:23 a.m. on April 26, 1986, when the nuclear power facility experienced catastrophic failure. Because it was pitch dark, and all electrical power was immediately lost, no one could see precisely what had happened. To address the lack of information and the potential danger, Chernobyl’s managers established three priorities.

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Bathhouse Row – Hot Springs – Gallery 2

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Bathhouse Row is a sight unique to Hot Springs Natural Park and a National Historic Landmark as of 1987. The “row” is composed of three features: eight historic bathhouses that are fed from the natural hot springs of the park, the so-called Grand Promenade walkway running behind the bathhouses, and a Spanish Mission-style park administrative building.

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Bathhouse Row – Hot Springs – Gallery 1

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Bathhouse Row is a sight unique to Hot Springs Natural Park and a National Historic Landmark as of 1987. The “row” is composed of three features: eight historic bathhouses that are fed from the natural hot springs of the park, the so-called Grand Promenade walkway running behind the bathhouses, and a Spanish Mission-style park administrative building.

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JUST THE THREE OF US

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By Deloris Munden

August 29 loomed in our future. A day that marked 35 years since the Munden’s went on a date. We were still talking, no recent calls to sheriff for spousal abuse; life was good.

Ron, who is always ready to leave town so he can “shoot” (photos) jumped at this and recommended Hot Springs, Arkansas.

One small detail…what to do with a 4 month-old puppy? We decided that it would be an excellent opportunity to expand her horizons if we took her with us. And how much trouble could she be. I pictured late night walks with Ron and Ginny (puppy), Ron and I throwing a ball to her, watching her reaction to new experiences, and murmuring “thank you “as people exclaimed how beautiful and stately she looks. I need to point out that Ron and I spend an hour on Sundays…at least…and that’s without a bath and blow dry and daily combing to achieve this stately look. But you can see how Ginny brings us together. I say, “you’ve got to hold her still” and Ron sweetly saying in a loud voice, “I am”!

So off we go. One hundred seventy nine miles and we will be checking in to La Quinta in Hot Springs.

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Garvan Woodland Gardens – Hot Springs

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Garvan Woodland Gardens , a botanical garden complex belonging to the University of Arkansas and located inside Hot Springs National Park, is composed of over fifteen separate natural areas and picturesque sites of interest.

The Ouachita Mountains surround the gardens’ 210 acres of beautiful wild forestry and manicured territories, and part of their shoreline runs along Lake Hamilton, offering visitors stunning lakeside views. A highlight of the woodland estate is the award-winning Garden of the Pine Wind Japanese garden, which incorporates cascading streams, Asian-inspired bridges, and 300 types of Asian ornamental flora into a calming space for quiet meditation. Read more Address: 550 Arkridge Road, Hot Springs National Park, AR 71913, Phone: 501-262-9300

These images were taken  on our walk.

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OPINION: MARSHALL CAN’T

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Editor’s note:
I recognize that many people will have a different opinion of Marshall. I would like to publish those opinions. Please send them to the email address below and they will be published in their entirety.

By Ron Munden — ron@easttexasexposed.com — August 27, 2018

By the end of October I will have been back in Marshall for 17 years. I returned after an absence of 39 years.

During those 39 years I made infrequent visits back to Marshall. Based on my visits from 1970 through 1999, I was certain I would never return to Marshall to live. I liked the people in Marshall but based on many conversations it was clear that Marshall could not get things accomplished. I did not want to live in a place like that.

As we entered the 2000s, motivated by an aging mother, I increased my visits to Marshall. During those visits I thought I saw a glimmer of hope for Marshall. There was talk of an infusion of private money from some of the wealthier member of the community and talk of a change in attitude of Marshall’s citizens.

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