Traveling Jones

Beautiful cliffside view off the Bukit Penninsula in southern Bali. Below:  Not part of our excursion but a decent pic - steps leading up to the lobby from the main pool at our hotel The Split Gate - common in Balinese architecture  Total asshole monkey. Note the stolen sunglasses by his right foot.  No awareness that he is not the alpha primate in this situation (that would be me).  What a little MF! The god Deva Ganesha, with the elephant head, that makes plans successful.  We’re liking this one! Ulawatu Penninsula  Shown below is the statue of Dang Hyang Nirartha, a famous Hindu priest, a national symbol of spiritual presence and influence.  Standing at a height of 8.11 meters, the statue looms majestically on the northern side of the temple, facing the Indian Ocean. Long-tailed Macaque monkeys picking bugs off each other.  Baby monkey Someone feeds them corn on the cob Stunning cliffside views overlooking the Indian Ocean Ulawatu Temple on the...

  First day in Bali.  This is a real vacation, not a Julie work trip.  We landed late afternoon yesterday and have been laying low ever since.  Most of today was spent at the pool, capped off with a 90 minute couples massage  Holy crap!  One of the best massages we’ve had in years!  Gourmet food and wine before hanging out at the plunge pool in our suite. Below is a Paul Hobbs Chard.  He is a world reknown wine maker and, like any other good wine, cannot be found in Dubai. Our outdoor shower. We need it be of these in Boothbay! The fountain spilling into our plunge pool. We have not yet determined what this creature is yet (bear, frog, whothefuckknows) Happy couple celebrating their anniversary one month early  Big waterfall coming off the infinity pool from above Hot Tubs The big common pool where we spent our time The big common pool View from the big common pool View from our dinner table Our “anniversary” gifts— champagne and lots of good...

  The “Fortress of Europe” guarding the European side of the Bosphorus Strait north of Istanbul. Known more formally as Rumeli Fortress, which translates into “throat-cutter” (referring to the narrow strategic waterway, not cutting people’s throats).  Built by the Ottomans in 1451, it was instrumental in maintaining their control of the strait, the only access point to the Black Sea.  Dozens of fishermen line the banks, a popular pastime among older men View overlooking the water from the quaint town of Bebek, supposedly the wealthiest suburb of Istanbul. I ate lunch at a restaurant called Chilai. It’s glassed in dining area can be seen in the upper right side of this photo Egyptian consulate, formerly the 19th century summer home of the Egyptian khedive (royal ruler, deposed by Britain in 1914).