We’re off to St Petersburg, Russia today to visit Pavlovsk Palace. The palace looks much the same as it did when Catherine the Great gave it to her son. Hitler tried to burn it in 1944 but most of the furniture was hidden from the Nazis and now resides in the rebuilt palace. The park surrounding the palace is designed as an English-style formal garden. All in all, it’s all stunning.
Today in history:
- 1959 – MS Hans Hedtoft, called at the time the safest ship afloat and “unsinkable” like the RMS Titanic, struck an iceberg on her maiden voyage and sank, killing all 95 aboard. Did they not learn anything from the Titanic? Don’t brag!!!
On TV tonight: a new episode of Alcatraz. Have I mentioned how much I love this show?????
Reading: Over the weekend, I began reading Napoleon’s Pyramids by William Dietrich. It’s a historical thriller about an American who joins Napoleon’s expedition to Egypt.
We’re going to take a whirlwind trip to visit several Middle Eastern locations with Roman ruins. Of course the way things are currently in the Middle East, you couldn’t pay me to visit these places in person, but online? Piece of cake!
We’ve had two celebrity deaths the past few days. James Farentino died at age 73 on the 24th. And yesterday Robert Hegyes died at age 60. Farentino was in many shows over the years but Hegyes is best remembered for his role as Juan Epstein on Welcome Back, Kotter.
On TV tonight: tonight is the series finale of Chuck which makes me rather sad even though they’ve really taken the show as far as it could go. We also have a new episode of Fringe.
Reading: Now I’m reading Viridis by Calista Taylor. This is a steampunk romance. It’s good, so far.
I’m in the mood to hang out on the beach somewhere. So we’re going to visit the Caribbean islands in the Grenadines. They comprise over 600 islands! Powdery sand beaches, coral reefs, Visit this site for pictures.
Today in history:
- 1892 – Pioneer aviatrix Bessie Coleman was born. Read about her, she was made of awesome!
- 1892 – Actress Zara Cully was born. She’s best known for her role as Mother Jefferson on The Jeffersons,
- 1905 – Character actor Charles Lane was born. I’d be very surprised if you hadn’t seen him in something. He died in 2007 at age 102!
- 1905 – Singer Maria Von Trapp was born. Yes, the woman from The Sound of Music. The real woman.
- 1907 – The Short Magazine Lee-Enfield Mk III was introduced into British Military Service. It remains the second oldest military rifle still in official use.
- 1911 – Glenn H. Curtiss flew the first successful American seaplane.
- 1920 – Former Ford Motor Company executive Henry Leland started the Lincoln Motor Company which he later sold to his former employer.
On TV tonight: The Finder and Person of Interest, but I’ve lost interest in the latter. And I have a DVD I need to watch.
Reading: I’m reading a great new book called From the Ashes by Jeremy Burns. It’s an action/adventure/thriller and I’m really enjoying it. And unlike so many books these days there’s almost no cussing. I’m 300 pages into it and there have been a grand total of 3 cuss words that I recall.
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