Author Archives: RDoug

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About RDoug

Published author, amateur photographer, amateur astronomer, expert bridge player, gourmet cook and wine connoisseur, handguns, extensively traveled.

Transatlantic 2022 — Valencia; Central Market


Last look: Church of Saint John of the Market

Everybody loves a little shopping. And if you’re Ursula, you’re enamored with foreign food markets. Doesn’t make any difference if it’s an outdoor farmers market, a Coop or Spar superstore, or a cavernous monstrosity housing myriad vendors selling everything from produce to hams to seafood to candies. In the case of Valencia, that last one describes Mercat Central de Valencia (Central Market of Valencia), an Art Nouveau hall of immense proportions located just southwest of the Silk Exchange. And, yes, when I say immense, I mean immense! Just take a gander at the exterior:

Mercat Central de Valencia

Think that’s impressive? Head on inside, where it looks even bigger because the photo above gives you no hint as to the depth of the market:

Mercat Central de Valencia

I have a sneaking suspicion that the vendors here are selected for the quality of their wares. It certainly appears so looking at, say, the produce:

Central Market produce

Or the seafood:

Central Market seafood

Or how about some of that famed Spanish jamón Ibérico?

Central Market Iberian hams

Getting hungry yet? If not, just click on the following slide show/photo gallery to fix that problem:

Слава Україні! (Slava Ukraini!)

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Filed under Photography, R. Doug Wicker, travel, vacation

Ukraine Secession Voting begins today in Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson


Today I’m going to tag this opinion piece as “humor” even though there is very little that is humorous about this situation other than how the blood lusting “Vlad Tepes” Putin keeps getting kicked squarely in his assets. This latest situation involving a rigged secession vote, the outcome of which was announced by Pravda three days ago (I kid you not), is deadly serious. Vlad “Tepes” is already threatening to throw a nuclear temper tantrum if other nations do not respect the predetermined outcome. Even enablers Xi Jinping, Narendra Modi, and Recep Erdoğan are starting to distance themselves from this fiasco (welcome to the club, I guess, since all three of you helped create today’s very dangerous situation).

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Filed under Author, Humor, Opinion Piece, R. Doug Wicker

Fun Photo Friday — Transatlantic 2022; Valencia and Sagunto favorites 2


Today I’m including one shot of Sagunto amongst six others of Valencia. See if you can pick out which one does not match the rest:

Слава Україні! (Slava Ukraini!)

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Filed under Fun Photo Friday, Photography, R. Doug Wicker, travel, vacation