MaverickRovers

  MAVERICK ROVER WORLD  Blog Post #81 PARIS & CHEVIGNY, France   Moulin Rouge - 5/23/24 before our  experience We enjoyed the amazing and tantilizing show which is sort of a mix between  Can Can Cabaret and Cirque de Soleil We attended the 11:30pm show,  which ended at about 1:00am.   Moulin Rouge - 5/24/24  after our experience (notice the missing blades from the windmill)  Sometime after our exit of the venue and before daylight,  the 100 year old blades fell off the windmill  taking the first 3 letters of   Mou lin Rouge down with them.  No one was injured and no foul play was noted.   Luminaire  another night, another amazing event at Eustache Cathedral.  A light show and musical extravaganza  with a live orchestra,  church organ and choir music resonating through 22 speakers. POMPIDOU modern art museum a special exhibit of a little known artist Brancusi, a contemporary of Picasso...

MAVERICK ROVER WORLD  Blog Post #80 PARIS, France Time now to  practice your French Je t' Aime = I Love You So, we say Je t' Amie, Paris I Love You, Paris SPOILER ALERT: Being RUDE is NOT a French thing, and here's why we contest that statement:  When Ron is walking  with his sticks, getting on a subway, passing through a doorway or just trekking down the street, Parisians offer Ron their seat and/or move to the side so Ron has easy access.  On one subway ride, I literally saw 3 people simultaneously get up from to offer Ron a seat; by the way, one of those was a  women at least as old as us.  And get this, others have often offered me their seat as well. Is it my white beard or just that I am traveling with Ron?  We have observed a local person walk across the street to assist a tourist, who was struggling with  Google maps. We also hear a lot of Bon Jour and Merci Beaucoup. So, yes Je t' Aime, Paris The Eiffel Tower Tour Eiffel is...

MAVERICK ROVER WORLD  Blog Post #79 LISBON, Portugal (photo above is a stock photo captured from the website) Pena Palace ,  SINTRA, Portugal Sintra lies just a 45 minute train ride to the west of Lisbon.  A safe train with just a bit of graffiti.  Pena Palace was originally built as a monastery. The monastery at Pena was damaged by severe lightning in the 18th Century, followed by the Great Lisbon Earthquake in 1755 that turned the monastery into shambles. In 1838, King consort Ferdinand II, bought the chapel, nearby land, the Castle of the Moors, and a few other estates as deemed apt.  He then enlisted German engineer, Baron Wilhelm von Eschwege, to begin transforming the ruins into the most romantic and artistic  summer stay for the royal Portuguese family.  Eventually the Portuguese Park system acquired the palace, which is now a UNESCO World Site, and open to the public for tours, Inside photos of Pena Palace View to the Atlantic Ocean from the Pa...

  Flag of LISBON, PORTUGAL The story is that when St. Vincent of Rome died, his body was being moved to Portugal and whilst the ship was in the Algarve, two ravens perched on the ship to keep guard. Thus, the coat of arms with the two ravens sits over a gyronny  (eight black & white triangular pieces) that creates the Lisbon flag as it exists today.  These symbols of the ship and ravens can be seen all over Lisbon.  MAVERICK ROVER WORLD  Blog Post #78 LISBON, Portugal Never let it be said  that the world is flat, Lisbon will prove you wrong at every corner and staircase.  I'm pretty sure that Ron will agree. And probably this lady from Lisbon will agree, too. The history of Portugal is rich. Lisbon is the second oldest capital in Western Europe, only behind Rome, it goes back several hundred years BC.  Prince Henry the Navigator, shown here as the leader,  never actually embarked  on travel,  but encouraged sea faring and trade ...