by Jim Bellomo | Oct 12, 2024 | Air travel
This is just a quick note this morning because I have some free time while Kathleen sleeps in. I am writing this in a small sitting area on our floor at the Hotel Preciado in downtown Madrid. Yesterday was an interesting flying day for the six of us, coming from different directions.
First, we are all on a group text we started about three months ago to plan and discuss tours and other stuff. And on flight days, it gets hectic. With Mike and Cathy flying out of Miami and Hurricane Milton hitting to the north of them, our group text got a lot busier, and we talked about flights a lot earlier than usual. Yesterday alone, we sent each other 297 texts between 5:15 AM Pacific time Thursday and 11:52 PM Pacific time Friday. I know. I just counted them.
We spent the first half of the day tracking our flights and planes. We used various websites and apps to see how our flight was doing and where the aircraft that would be flying our flight was at the time. If you have yet to use one of these websites, it’s worth it if you’re worried about missing connections or want to know when you should be able to get going.
Mike and Cathy started the day with their incoming flight being two hours late. On FlightAware, you can see your flight and its predicted departure time, but they also have a feature that you can click that says, “Where is my plane?” That shows you where the plane is that the airline has scheduled you to fly on. In Mike’s case, he tracked the plane and found it was two hours late leaving Lisbon (they were flying on TAP Air). This did not present a real problem for them as they were connecting through Lisbon, and if they missed their connection, they had a plethora (I love using that word) of choices on TAP to make the quick jump to Madrid. The end of their journey to Madrid got them in while we were in London, and Steve and Jamie were in Frankfurt.
Steve and Jamie, coming from LAX on Lufthansa, saw that their flight would be an hour late. This made things a little dicey for them as they were flying LAX to Frankfurt and had only about 90 minutes between their flights. They were flying the furthest as well because they were coming from Southern California, going east of Madrid and then coming back west and south. Things really went south for them when they taxied out for takeoff at LAX and had to return to the gate due to a medical emergency on board. BTW: Did you know that when they remove someone from the plane for medical reasons, they have to search the cargo hold to find their checked luggage and get it off as well? I can’t even imagine crawling into the cargo hold of a 747, trying to find just one or two bags.
I just wanted you to see a shot of our texting. At this point, Mike and Cathy are in Lisbon, and Steve and Jamie just missed their connection in Frankfurt. We were in the air about to land at Heathrow.
When they finally arrived in Frankfurt (I am sure that Steve will comment if I mess any of this up—I am just working off our texts), it looked like they would make it to their connecting flight. They got to the gate of the connecting flight with five minutes to spare, but the plane had already closed the doors, and that was it.
The last we heard from them was that they had just boarded their flight from Frankfurt to Madrid. Mike and Cathy had just finished dinner and were headed to bed in Madrid, and we had just landed in Madrid. It is 7:45 am here in Madrid as I write this, and we are still not 100% sure they made it. But I am pretty sure they did since we would have had a text to the group if they hadn’t.
We were flying from Seattle to Madrid via London Heathrow. Our flight left at the latest. British Air has two flights a day from Seattle to London Heathrow, one in the afternoon around 2:00 and the other leaves at 7:45 in the evening. We last did the late one a while ago, but it worked better this time. But, strangely, you have your entire day before you even think about going to the airport. I got up, had a leisurely breakfast, drove into downtown Redmond for my weekly injection, walked six miles through Marymoor Park, went home, and had lunch with Kathleen. Then she went off to get her haircut, and I cleaned the kitchen and vacuumed the house. We had waited to shower until that afternoon because we knew it would be our last for probably 48 hours or so. We were finally picked up by our Welcome Pickups driver for our trip to SEA at 3:30. I know that’s early, but we like to be at the airport for an international flight at least three hours early. Due to a Seahawks game in Seattle on Thursday night, the traffic was HORRENDOUS, and our usual 45-minute drive to the airport turned into 90 minutes, but we did make it.
I have kept this a secret from our group text, but it must come out eventually. While Mike and Cathy were slightly inconvenienced and Steve and Jamie had massive scheduling problems, we had what might have been our best flying day ever. And a lot of it was in our control.
We (OK, I) had decided that since we were flying at around 8:00 p.m., I would stay on my usual schedule as much as possible. That meant that I would not eat dinner on the plane. You pay for Business Class, so you should at least get to eat the meal. So we ate dinner in the Business Class lounge at SeaTac. It was snacky-type food, but they had a nice salad bar, some good sandwiches…and cold water. You see, another thing I had decided not to do was drink alcohol on this flight. I have been reading a lot on the best ways to avoid jetlag, and one of the biggies is no booze. We ate dinner at our usual time (around 5:30) and boarded at 7:45. I had a very nice mocktail and told the flight attendant I was skipping dinner to wake me for breakfast, and I got out my Kindle and started reading my current book. Please note that I did not turn on the plane’s entertainment system. I knew that if I did, I would find a movie or TV show I would get hooked on, and that would prevent me from sleeping.
And it worked. I reclined the seat to flat, pulled on a blanket, read my book until I felt tired, pulled on the provided eye mask and went to sleep. The next thing I remember was six or seven hours later when the flight attendant woke me for breakfast. I got to sleep for a good six hours, and that’s about as much as I usually sleep at home. Kathleen didn’t quite do as well, but she did get some sleep.
Another thing that was different on this trip is that due to Kathleen injuring her knee (she is going to physical therapy) and the size of the airports we would be traversing, I asked British for a wheelchair for her. She didn’t need it (and we didn’t use it) at SEA, but it was a godsend once we got to Heathrow. Moving through any airport can be a pain, but it is a total slog at Heathrow. On the plane, we were met by a very lovely young lady who got Kathleen off the plane and up to the gate, where she was transferred to a cart-type conveyance that took her and six other wheelchair flyers to passport control. I got to walk an entirely different route to meet up with her at the other end of the trip through the airport just before we got to passport control. The only hold-up was that we had to stand (Kathleen sat) through the regular security line, but once we were through that, we were dropped off in the Business Class lounge for our terminal. Before he left, our wheelchair attendant wrote down our table number in the lounge so they would send someone with the chair to that table when it was time for our next flight (to Madrid). That lovely person came and got us and took us to the plane, where we were the first people on board.
When we got to Madrid, the experience was truly unusual. As we were about to deplane, the flight attendant motioned us to wait in the first row of seats. A few minutes later, they opened the door on the other side of the plane, and there was a lift truck with ten seats in it pulled up right to the plane. We got on (with another party needing assistance). They lowered us to the ground and drove us about 100 yards to a door where we were met by another man with a wheelchair who took us through a bunch of doors to another place where we could get a different attendant. Then we went through passport control and a short walk again and got into another van. That van took us on a 20-minute ride around the airport, driving all over the runways, behind planes up and down tunnels. If you had asked me to find that route again, I could not have done it in a hundred years.
But the end was great. Our luggage made it, our driver waited, and after a 40-minute drive, we were at our hotel in downtown Madrid.
I took a break there for breakfast, and everyone was there! We all made it. Now for a leisurely day in Madrid. Lunch will be at Boudin, the world’s oldest restaurant. I will let you know how it is tomorrow.
I hate everything about airports, from getting there to taking off. —Honor Blackman (the woman who played Pussy Galore in Goldfinger)
by Jim Bellomo | Oct 10, 2024 | Air travel
Kathleen and I are sitting in the British Airways Business Class lounge at Seatac. We just had a nice bite to eat, and we are waiting to board the first flight that will take us to London Heathrow. From there we change planes to fly on to Madrid.
So far, we are the only ones in our group of six who have been on time (we hope to stay that way). My brother Steve and his bride Jamie are coming from Southern California via LAX, and their Lufthansa Frankfurt started an hour late, got halfway to the runway where they were to take off and had a medical emergency and had to turn around and go back to the terminal so they could take the person off. Their plane finally got in the air almost two hours late. We hope they connect in Frankfurt, which was only 90 minutes to start with. Luckily, Lufthansa has three other flights down to Madrid tomorrow, so they should be OK.
Our friends Mike and Cathy live in South Florida, and even though they were south of the hurricane, they were worried that Miami airport might close. The good news is that their nonstop flight to Lisbon and then on to Madrid on TAP Air (the national airline of Portugal) made it out, but they were two hours late. Mike thought they might also miss their connection, but that would be OK as TAP has flights to Madrid about every hour.
So, if everything works out for us, we will be in Madrid at 7:55 tomorrow night (which is 10:55 tomorrow here in Seattle. Wish us luck. We have a three-hour layover at Heathrow, which I consider enough. More on Saturday. And hopefully some photos, but it’s supposed to rain, so we shall see.
Seems like half my anxiety dreams are about airports. —Lois McMaster Bujold
by Jim Bellomo | Oct 3, 2024 | Uncategorized
It’s been a while, but I wanted to let you know to get ready for a plethora of posts as we leave for Europe a week from today. I know—we are going to Europe again. In our defense, when we were there in June, we were just up north in Scotland, England and Norway. This time, we will be heading south to Spain and Portugal.
Last October, we sailed on Oceania’s Vista from Montreal to Miami. On that trip, we were joined by our good friends Mike and Cathy from Wellington, Florida, my brother Steve and his wonderful bride Jamie from San Juan Capistrano, California and our good buddy Jocelyn Hartwell from Chelan, Washington. Sadly, Jocelyn won’t be joining us for this adventure, but the six of us (Mike, Cathy, Steve, Jamie, Kathleen and I) will all be back together. (Just an aside, Mike and I were talking about three months ago that we should always vacation together in October, so next year, we are cruising the Columbia River, and in October 2026, we will cruise the Great Lakes.)
As I mentioned, a week from tonight, we will board British Airways flight 48 from here in Seattle, non-stop to London Heathrow, where we will have about three and a half hours to either rush or relax (depending on how late our flight from Seattle is) before we head south to Madrid, Spain. Although we have been to Spain before, all our visits have been on the Mediterranean coast, where we have visited Tarragona, Barcelona, Málaga and Valencia. But this will be our first time in Spain’s capital.
We are in Madrid from October 11 until the 16th. During our stay, besides seeing Madrid, we will go on day trips to Segovia and Toledo. Since we are traveling with the king of shore excursions and tours, Mike Preisman, we will be on some of the best tours in all of the Iberian peninsula.
After five full days in Madrid, we will catch a plane to hop over the mountains to Lisbon, Portugal. From the time we land there and for the next ten days, we will fully enter the world of Viking River Cruises. We will spend two nights in Lisbon and then board a “luxury motor coach” for a ride north to Portugal’s second city, Porto, where we will board the Viking Torgil for a six-night cruise up and then back down the Douro River. From the riverboat, we will do excursions to Salamanca, Spain, as well as Regua, Barca d’Alva, Pinhão and Lamego, Portugal. (See the map above–you can click on it to enlarge it) We are sure to have fun, food and a great time!
After we are off the cruise in Porto, we are taking a private airporter-type coach south and back to Lisbon, where we will spend another four days at one of our favorite hotels—Hotel Portugal (really original name ?). On the 29th, we will board a flight back up to London Heathrow, where we will spend the night at an airport hotel before flying home the next day. So this means we are gone from the 10th to the 30th! It will not be quite as long as last June, but it will still be long enough for us to have a great time.
This post tells you only a bit because I plan to blog as often as possible. So get ready for another bunch of posts with photos. Of course, as always, my posts will be totally dependent on Wi-Fi. That means good coverage when we are in hotels and, who knows, what we will get on the boat.
In Spain, the dead are more alive than the dead of any other country in the world. —Federico Garcia Lorca
by Jim Bellomo | Aug 29, 2024 | Uncategorized
by Jim Bellomo | Jul 3, 2024 | Photography
I have had a number of people both here on my blog and on Cruise Critic comment…
- Many of you have been curious about my photography process. You’ve asked, ‘How do I take my photos? What kind of camera do I use? What type of lens?’ Some of you even wondered if I’m using a camera at all or just my phone.
- One of the most common questions I get is about how I manage to process and share my photos while on a cruise. It’s definitely a unique challenge, but I’ve developed a system that works for me.
- Others also want to know any travel photo tips I might have.
My buddy Mike Preisman always has his equipment at the bottom of every page of his website. I don’t, so here are the answers, along with commentary (did you expect any less) about my photo process. This will get a little geeky for some of you, so please feel free to ignore this post.
My Gear
I have been a Nikon guy since I went digital. I chose Nikon because of one thing. My son-in-law had a Nikon, and I figured we could borrow each other’s lenses. This was back in 1999, and we have only done that once. Get the camera you like. Get a lens that works for you. I am part of a group on Reddit who are Nikon users. One of my biggest criticisms of those who are in the group is that they are too concerned with what gear to buy. More than half the posts are about what lens or camera body to buy.
I shoot a mirrorless Nikon Z7II. I have been using it since fall 2022. It’s the best camera I have ever owned (Don’t sweat if you don’t know what a mirrorless camera is.)
One of the things I get a lot of flack about from the Nikon groups is that I only carry one lens. I have seen people walking around ships or on the streets with a camera bag with 2, 3, 4 or more lenses. I just won’t do it. That’s too much to carry everywhere I go. I carry a zoom lens so that I can take large landscapes as well as close-ups and distant subjects. Up until just before this trip, I was using a 28-300mm zoom lens from Nikon. It was a great lens, but I needed a new one because it was from my old digital lens reflex camera, and I had to use an adapter to use it. That not only added weight to what I was carrying around but it was one more thing my images could be affected by when shooting. But Nikon did me one better and brought out a 28-400mm lens, and I love it! What an awesome camera and lens combo for a travel photographer. What am I getting with this lens? The ability to carry one lens.
The only other thing I feel important if you are a travel photographer is the right strap. I see people carrying these huge cameras either in their hands or around their necks. The only strap you get from a camera manufacturer is a neck strap. The only thing a neck strap does is give you a sore neck. When your camera and lens combo weigh almost five pounds, any chiropractor will tell you are nuts to hang that around your neck. So, I found a great strap years ago. It’s called a Blackrapid strap. It attaches to your camera on the bottom, where you screw the connector into the tripod mount. Then, it hangs off a cross-body strap (see the illustration.) and rides on your hip. The only problem I have with it is that mine is getting old, and they don’t have the exact same one I do because mine has a small pocket on the front that was built to put a flip phone in (that’s how old it is ?) and I keep my extra battery in there. I hate having it in my pocket, so I will probably have this one forever.
One last thing about camera gear: Don’t ever say this to a photographer: “WOW! I love your pictures. What kind of camera do you use?” Before you say that, consider this: Would you ask a chef of a great meal what kind of pan he cooks with? It’s the same thing as far as I am concerned. I believe I take great travel photos because I practice a lot, take classes and shoot great stuff. One of my favorite photographic gurus is Scott Kelby. When Scott was asked what gear someone should buy to be a better photographer, Scott told them not to buy anything but to spend the same amount of money to go someplace awesome. His mantra is, “If you want to take amazing photos, stand in front of amazing places.” I agree.
My Process
I have developed a pretty specific process for taking, rating, processing and improving my photos. First, I always shoot photos in RAW format. Ninety percent of photographers shoot in JPEG format. When I shoot in RAW, I get a digital negative. But that means that I can’t show you any photo I have taken until I process it. That takes time. I process all my photos through a process.
Second, when shooting, I go back and forth on my camera between my Program mode and Manual mode. When I am in full sunlight and have lots of light, I shoot in Program mode, on my camera that’s pretty much as close to automatic as you get. When I shoot early in the morning or late at night or in low light/bad weather, I want complete control of the camera, so it’s manual for that. And once in a blue moon, I will switch to one of the other two modes. If I am going to shoot action (maybe my granddaughter’s softball game), I switch to Shutter priority to ensure I freeze the action. When I want to isolate a subject, I might switch to Aperture mode to do that.
So I shoot photos and then put them in my MacBook Pro. Yes, that means I carry around a full-size laptop with me. I mentioned that my camera weighs almost five pounds, but my camera/computer bag weighs nearly 35 pounds. I try never to carry it but to always move it on top of either my or Kathleen’s carry-on roller bag.
As soon as I have time, I copy the images to a folder for that day, and then I open Adobe Bridge. Most photographers use Lightroom to process photos, but I started doing photography when I was a graphic designer, and we like Bridge. You can use any software; you just need one that lets you see the entire photo on a full screen. I go through my photos pretty quickly the first time. When I shot the 600+ photos on the day we were in Gearanger I needed to have a quick way to get through them. I call what I do “photo triage.” I go through my pics in pretty much a hurry. And when I see what one I like and want to come back and look at again, I hit the five key on my Mac. If I see a photo that I might like if I worked on it, I hit the four key. If I see one that goes into a specific category (like photos with family in them) I hit the three key. This adds a rating to the photo.
Then, I go through each of the ones tagged with a five and process them in the Adobe app Camera Raw. First, I set the white balance and exposure, and then, if the photo warrants it, I might add some clarity or vibrance. I also might up the sharpening. And if the sky is dead (that happens a lot), I might dehaze it a little.
Once I have done all the 5s, I look at the 4s again. If any are one-of-a-kind shots that I have to have, I will do my best to fix them. After that, I might work on the family pics, but I often transfer them to another folder to work on when I get home because I hardly ever use them on my blog.
Now I have all the Camera RAW files the way I want them; I have to turn them into JPEGs so they can be uploaded to the web. Luckily for me, there is a wonderful extension for Bridge and Photoshop (and I believe you can use it in Lightroom as well) called Image Processor. All I have to do is select all my five photos and tell Bridge to run them through Image Processor. The extension created a folder called JPEG within my existing folder and turned them all into high-end JPEGs. But I am still not done at this point. This whole process takes about 10 minutes of automated work on 50 photos.
I then open up an amazing piece of software called Topaz Photo AI. This is the most fantastic software ever because it goes through all the photos in the JPEG folder and looks at them to see what might be improved, and then it uses AI to fix them. It is amazing with noise and sharpening. Just amazing. But this takes a little time—about 20 minutes for 50 photos.
Lastly, I have to shrink the photos. I could upload the original Topazed photos, but they are HUGE! The average size of the JPEG file after being run through Topaz is more than 15 megabytes. If I had to upload those size files, I would never have gotten a single picture online to add to the blog. And to see them in all their glory on a digital screen, you don’t need the high resolution. This means that they must be shrunk. To do that, I created a script in Photoshop to do that. It opens the larger file, shrinks it to a smaller size (usually about 2 megabytes) and saves the file. It is quick, and I don’t have to do anything while it runs. Fifty photos take about two minutes. Amazing.
Now I can start writing my post and adding the photos. But when do I do all this on a cruise? First thing in the morning. I am not a big sleeper. I get to sleep right away, but my need for sleep is less than most. I usually get by on six hours. So that means I am generally awake between 4:00 a.m. and 5:00 a.m. I grab my laptop and head up to the upstairs of the Explorer’s Lounge, sit on one of two couches, take my shoes off, put my feet up and sometimes I process photos and then write and design the post. Hopefully, I get done with it before Kathleen wakes up around 6:30 and texts me that she is up and out of the shower. I also squeeze in some time in the afternoons.
If you liked the photos I posted for this trip, I invite you to take a look at my portfolio. Just click the link in the menu bar above to see my best stuff.
Photography is a way of feeling, of touching, of loving. What you have caught on film is captured forever… it remembers little things, long after you have forgotten everything. —Aaron Suskin
