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Eric: Orange County
The Oceanfront of
Orange County, California:

A Personal Journey

Text and Photography by Eric Anderson

know an OB/GYN who spends his time at parties hanging around women guests. He finds his work makes him more comfortable around women than around men. I understand and find I, myself, am more at ease with couples socially than making small talk with guys especially younger men. It may be the deficiency of being 28 when I first came to the States in 1960 and as a result I never had an American childhood or played American games. There's a limit to how long guys will listen to talk of rugby or cricket! Or want to explain a joke a second time for someone wearing hearing aids.

So I wondered if I could handle or even enjoy a "Guy Trip" -- or as Michelle McCue, the spokesperson for The Oceanfront called it, a "ManFam," (the term fam trips is used in public relations as outings to familiarize the media with a product). This trip in October 2010 would be a preview of some of the components of an adventure "along the Orange County, California coast to give a handful of male travel writers a sneak peek at the Oceanfront's upcoming 2011 'Ultimate Guy's Getaway Sweepstakes,' which will begin February 1 and end May 31 - just in time for Father's Day."

Our tour would include some of the parts of the prize package.

For me the trip would require a round trip by car of about 250 miles from San Diego, a miniscule drive for any Southern Californian. And the offerings surely were attractive. But Michelle is a sophisticated traveler herself well aware of trends and her public relations website advises providers that today's travelers are more discriminating. "They want value but value does not always equal cheap," she says. "And people on vacation genuinely want meaningful experiences."

Those might result from vacations involving volunteerism, or trips that create memories beyond what a photograph might invoke, she tells me, And it may be meaningful if it gives you a learning experience, even as when you get measured for a shirt.

I am thinking this as I stand in Brooks Brothers at the South Coast Plaza, the multi-store fantastically successful mall in Orange County that gets more visitors every year than Disneyland and Universal Studios combined. I see a male mannequin wearing what looks like pioneer days underwear and hope I am about to be measured for a custom shirt and not underwear.

at the Brooks Brothers in South Coast Plaza, Oceanfront, Orange County

It's the shirts. I think of former generations in a Scottish village where brides were required to show they could make future husbands a shirt. No such concerns bother Bruce Fitzgerald, our bespoke shirt maker. We have two choices, non-iron or a fabric that needs ironing after washing. All Brooks Brothers' shirts are 100 percent cotton; the non-iron cotton, he tells us, gets its properties after it is made and it can stand 50 to 60 washings.

"I'm not going for the non-iron one," a fellow writer says, "I believe my wife likes to iron," The others look around furtively and hope no woman heard that.

The biggest mistake men make buying a shirt is getting the wrong collar, says Mr. Fitzgerald. "You have a long face, "he tells one writer, so this is your style," he declares pointing to an illustration. "And you have a round face," he tells another, "You should wear this!'. His gaze swings to me. I smile uneasily. "You have an average face," he says with aplomb, "So you can wear anything!"

Now I get it. My two-day preview will be a personal journey of discovery, a search for identity, to find for example if a frugal, flinty ex-Scot born in the Depression could enjoy upscale resorts and deal comfortably with the concept of a bespoke shirt costing $325. I don't know. What I do know is I am wearing my favorite watch, a Timex, and my favorite Hawaiian shirt, the one where I gave a local woman who did alterations $6 to turn the frayed collar.

First discovery? I can handle both old and new, especially if I'm not the one paying.

surfing and surf lessons at Huntington Beach

We move on to Huntington Beach, "Surf City, USA" and my second introspection: Born in 1932 I don't have to take a first-time surf lesson to try and impress our attractive 30 year-old publicist. As an old geezer I can listen instead to Jack O'Brien at GW Segway Tours. "The riding is very intuitive and most people learn in about ten minutes," he says, "But you have to trust the machine. It won't let you down!" O'Brien continues, "I've taught more than 1000 customers and only one couldn't get it in all that time." He's shooting a challenge at me. "I don't want that to go to two!" he says. I agree and shake my head. He still stares. I nod my head' He looks away.

I shoot a picture of a writer who is one year younger than me. I tell him it's a "Before" picture. In case he falls off and his plastic surgeon needs the shot for reference. He scowls.

We finish up and O'Brien's numbers still hold: It's still one in more than a thousand.

We go off to the pet friendly Waterfront Beach Resort - a Hilton Hotel and its new Surf Hero Deli where a one-man steel band beats out Harry Belafonte tempos and a "Wall of Woof" exhibits pictures of the hotel associates' personal pooches. I've stayed at the Waterfront on previous occasions. It was the first resort in Huntington Beach and had set the standard even before it became a Hilton. Locals say though it's an elegant hotel, it's low key enough for families to enjoy. Says one father to our group as he tries to hold on to two squirrely, small boys: "The hotel people pamper us but the help is not snooty here as if it's better than the guests!" Well that's an endorsement; I've been in some fancy hotels in London where that was exactly what the staff thought.

one-man steel band and the interior of the Waterfront Beach Resort, Huntington Beach

We walk next door to the Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach Resort and Spa. (Every time I write down the long-winded ever-so-correct names of hotels I long for the old days of print journalism long-gone when I got paid one dollar a word.) The Hyatt Regency has the same owner but is larger with 517 rooms including 57 suites versus the 290 at the Waterfront. The Hyatt Regency is the only hotel in Southern California that has a pedestrian footbridge over Pacific Highway to the beach and it prides itself on what it offers families in summer such as "Dig It!", Professional sandcastle building lessons on the beach every Saturday; "Adventures with the Kite Man" on the pier on Fridays; and "Dive In Movies" in their pool at the weekends (The Hyatt supplies the inner tubes for the float-in.) But we are guys and what is great for our group is the Red Chair Lounge. Yeah! It has flat panel TVs all over the place.

Who was it who said, "All most guys want is a big TV and an even bigger beer?" Well, the beer we're now confronting at the Balboa Bay Club & Resort in Newport Beach is special rather than big. The club's offering for the impending Oktoberfest it's presented by a couple of European chefs, one Hungarian and one German and both knowing more about beers than an elderly American. They tell us about the start of Oktoberfest at the October 12, 1810 marriage of the Bavarian Crown Prince Ludwig to the Saxon-Hildburghausen Princess Therese -- with the event then celebrated annually until now it has become the world's largest beer festival. Guy stuff!

I recall talking to a German guide in Neuschwanstein Castle in Bavaria (the model for the Cinderella Castle in Disneyland) where we had just had an eyeful of Ludwig's eccentric son King Ludwig II who had a love of both swans and Wagner. I murmured louder than I'd meant to, "Now we know why they called him Mad King Ludwig!" The guide sniffed and, catching my British accent, said, "Maybe so, but we like to think had he been born into the English Royal family his behavior would not have been noticed."

We munch on Oktoberfest delicacies including Wiener Schnitzel made according the Chef Josef Lageder's own recipe. We sample this yacht club's three choices for the 2010 festival: The Innstadt Stadl made by the 700 year-old brewery in legendary Passau; the classic wheat beer of Erdinger Weissbier that takes four weeks in the bottle to ferment; and the original Paulaner Munich that was first brewed in the 19th century, light, hoppy, slightly dry and elegantly sparkling. See! We can talk it up like wine snobs because real guys are, er, beer aristocrats.

top photos: chefs and beer at the Balboa Bay Club & Resort in Newport Beach; bottom photo: painting of John Wayne at the Duke's Place, Newport Beach

We carry our drinks from the patio back into the celebrated Duke's Place, perhaps the most famous bar in Newport Beach. John Wayne was a former governor of the club and moored his boat here. He was gregarious and popular and a painting of him and numerous stills from his movies deck the walls. "This is a social club," a tall, distinguished man who looks a bit like a U.S. Senator says to us, as he nurses his beer by the French doors. "The real yachting, the competitive racing, is done over there at the Newport Yacht Club." He points vaguely in several directions then lapses back into his drink and seems to fall asleep.

"I bet he's got an Innstadt Stadl," one writer whispers, "Golden color, rich malt aromatic taste, 5.4 percent alcohol. Specially brewed in Passau. Strong stuff!'

The senator rouses. "No, it's just a Bud Light," he says, smiles and closes his eyes again. The perfect squelch.

We retreat to study a heron on one of the expensive yachts tied down in the marina. "The bird flew in several days ago," says the cocktail waitress, "and became obsessed with the small fish swimming around in the protected bait box on the aft deck. It just stands there all day trying to figure how to get to the fish!"

pictures of a heron on board a yacht in Newport Beach

We wait a few feet away as motionless as the bird. It's like a sentry on guard, the only thing moving is its head as it swings back and forth as if watching a tennis match. One of the guys starts singing Joni Mitchell's song in the nostalgic style of Judy Collins, "I've looked at life from both sides now…" The heron gives him an unamused glance and resumes his sentry duty.

writer's room at the Balboa Bay Club & Resort

We go upstairs to our respective rooms. The beds are magnificent. It seems most upscale hotels these days offer beds so indulgently comfortable guests want to buy them in the gift shop and order delivery to their home. My bed was readied for me even to the club's terry toweling slippers. It was welcome and sleep came easy.

This was all part of a preview of the forthcoming Ultimate Guy's Getaway Sweepstakes. It also included paddleboard and surf tutorials and practices in Huntington Beach, a hands-on (literally) lesson in falconry (the "green way to control pests"!) at the Montage Laguna Beach, and a mini-spa treatment at the Laguna Cliffs Marriott Resort and Spa.


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Tell Eric what you think of his article.
In the meantime, here are some of the feedback we have already received:


Hey Eric and Nancy! As a fellow Traveling Boy journalist, and as a confirmed WW2 aficionado, just wanted you to know how much I loved your story on Arnhem. Really great stuff, and truly brilliant riveting writing.

I’ve been there twice and covered it on my KNX radio show when I was on LA radio, and your story and evocative photos brought back a ton of wonderful and poignant memories. This could have been an amazingly brilliant military operation – as you both know – that might well have ended the War in Europe maybe a year earlier. However, allied misreading -- and in my view disregarding certain aspects of the situation in Holland -- plus the fact that they dropped the paras over 3 days and not in one huge assault at night (and not in the day as they did) doomed the mission to failure.

Your clever words and great photos brought all this graphically to life, and it should be required reading for anyone interested in any aspect of WW2, and certainly should be read by today’s teenagers. Again Bravo and well done!!!!

John Clayton
Travel with A Difference

We just couldn't leave your website before saying that we genuinely enjoyed the high quality information you offer for your visitors... Would be back frequently to check up on new stuff you post!

Raanana

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What a fantastic write-up!

I could almost copy and paste most of your narrative verbatim as it reflects our fantastic experience with Fantasy Cruises almost to a tee. It was truly one of the greatest vacations my girlfriend and I have ever experienced.

Cheers!
Mike Richard, Editor, Vagabondish.com

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One of my dreams is to go to Alaska by way of cruise. This article very much intensifies the longing for that dream to come to fruition. I simply cannot wait much longer. And I will never again be able to think of a waterfall without picturing myself "nosing up" to it. Thank you for this intriguing, virtual journey.

Sandra Mines, Seattle, WA

Thank you for writing, Sandra. Alaska really is a wondrous place. Re "Nosing up" to a waterfall: we have a different article up at Physician's Money Digest on the same cruise (Small Ship Cruising: Alaska by the Back Door). The third last set of images there shows a crew member filling a jug of ice water from a waterfall while standing in the bow of the ship! Best wishes. Get there! To Alaska one day.

Eric & Nancy

Loved your photos from Alaska! Because I am the Director of Sales & Marketing for Westmark Hotels, I am up in AK and the Yukon quite often to visit our hotels and staff! But your pictures were so enjoyable-love to see the "real" Alaskans!

Heidi Howeiler, Seattle, WA

Hi Ms. Howeiler, That was kind of you to write and yes, you do see real people in Alaska, don't you? Alaskans always remind us off rural Texans or Australians in the isolated Red Centre of their country: hard working, sensible, rolled-up-sleeves people with no affectations. We love your Westmark hotels and we take our hats off to the person who started your company, Chuck West. What a great guy!

Eric & Nancy

Enjoyed your realistic and practical comments on Provence. Always wanted to go there ever since reading Peter Mayle's 2 books on Provence. But the two times I went to France, time was always short, so we spent our days in Paris. And now you say, it is losing its unique charm to tourism. (Sigh). It's always a choice between sharing beauty, and keeping it hidden. The world lurches on. Thanks for your thoughts.

Dette, Iligan City, Philippines

Hi Dette, (Would love to see all your waterfalls), Thank you for writing. Provence is busy in the tourist season but it hasn't lost all its charm or the quirkiness Mayle talks about in his book Provence A to Z. It's still a place to visit. Appreciate hearing from you. Best wishes.

Eric & Nancy

What a great article, especially regarding Louis XIV. I was not aware there was a contemporary account of his execution. It was fascinating. Thank you!

Celtic fan, Nashua, MA

Dear Celtic fan, Thanks for writing. I didn't know about the account of his execution either till I stumbled upon it. Sad to think that the French revolutionaries thought they could be both judge and jury. We are lucky to have a more elegant system today. Thanks for writing.

Eric & Nancy

Nancy and Eric,

Enjoyed reading your article on Santa Fe, NM. I was in AZ travel nursing in 2008 and 2009 and made it to Santa Fe. Took a lot of pics and really loved walking around the old town while I was there. Hope to be able to take the wife there in the future.

Brett Eidson, Soso, MS

Hi dude! Nice to see your site. It's beautiful. My congratulations.

New York

Hi New York, Thank you for writing. Best wishes.

Eric & Nancy

Hi www.travelingboy.com! Your web-site is very interesting and I want to tell www.travelingboy.com G'night.

New York

Dear New York,

Thank you for writing. Glad you find the site interesting. We are here for you. Keep visiting.

Eric & Nancy

* * * * *

This is all genuine. I will return to scan.

Keflavik

Hi Keflavik, Thank you for writing. We are happy you will return.

Eric & Nancy

Good article.

On Behalf Of Diane, Port Ludlow, WA

Thanks for writing from Port Ludlow. We hear that's a beautiful place. Best wishes.

Eric & Nancy

* * * * *

When I was hurt in a boat accident my life would be changed totally. I really don't post much but thanks for the good times I have here. Love this place. Long time lurker, thought I would say hello!

Miami

Dear Miami, Thanks for writing. It's nice to hear from you. Hope you are getting better. Glad you get some good times at Traveling boy. Good luck.

Eric & Nancy

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Dear friends,

My name is Adelina. I am a 22 years girl from Italy. I was looking for a free translation software and I found one. Program's name is Babel Fish and it supports 75 languages. I installed it but I could not understand how to use it. I am not a computer expert. Can someone help me please on how to run this.The link is here :http://access.im/3/babelfish. I thank you very much for your help.

Adelina, Celaya

Adelina, I didn't want to download it but I saw examples online. It seemed easy. You select the page you want translated, copy it and paste it into the box. You then click on the button to translate. You may have to do one page at a time. You can also use Google to translate a page; that's what I do because I don't want to load too much software.

Eric & Nancy

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Amiable brief and this mail helped me a lot in my college assignment. Thanks you seeking your information.

WordPress Themes, Gray Mountain

We are glad to have been of help. Best wishes.

Eric & Nancy

* * * * *

What's up everyone? Great forum. Lots of lovely people. Just what I need. Hopefully this is just what i'm looking for. Looks like I have a lot to read.

Spanish John, Benidrom

Encouraging to get your feedback. Glad to hear from you. Thank you for writing.

Eric & Nancy

Nice dispatch (http://www.travelingboy.com/travel-eric.html) - and this enter helped me a lot in my college assignement. Thank you as your information.

Gray Mountain

Hi Gray Mountain,

Thank you for your comment. Your email reminds us all at TravelingBoy how important it is to be accurate in what we write. Good luck with your studies and have a great life.

Eric & Nancy

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Hello people, I just signed up on this splendid community forum and wanted to say hey there! Have a wonderful day!

Jacksonville

Hi Jacksonville, We are pleased to hear from new readers at TravelingBoy. Your feedback encourages us all to do better. Thank you for writing.

Eric & Nancy

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What a fascinating bit of Russian history you wrote about! How sad to learn that 100,000 churches were reduced to create skating rinks and such during the revolution, after seeing the photo of the interior of a magnificent church filled with art! War is so devastating on so many levels! The art of their culture is so beautiful as is shown in the image of the painted box! Thank you,

Yoka, Westlake Village, CA

Dear Yoka,

Thank you for writing. Nancy is originally Lutheran and Eric is a dour Scot, more used to the frequently cold and often cheerless churches of his native land so we were both overwhelmed to see the beauty of Russian churches. It was kind of you to write, Yoka.

Thank you,
Eric & Nancy

Interesting observations.... Very informative and thought provoking. Questions.... What would be the best way to get from Moscow Airport DME to boat dock? taxi? prearranged limo? prepaid Viking Tours transfer? Any idea on cost and travel time for taxi or limo or Viking Cruise pickup from airport to boat? We shall be flying to Moscow on our own. Do you happen to have an address for the river boat dock that Viking Cruises uses in Moscow? I would be nice to Google map the situation. Thanks,

Robert Hopwood, Ottawa, Canada

Hi Bob,

Excuse the delay; we were on a trip. I do understand your question and will try and get you an answer. The Viking river dock in Moscow was for us in the north part of the city but once we were on the boat it was an easy ten minute walk to the Metro station that had us downtown within 30 minutes. I'm a lot more relaxed at the end of a trip than at the beginning and therefore I always feel taking the cruise-line sponsored trip from the airport to the dock makes sense: What starts right usually ends right.

Eric & Nancy Anderson

Hi Bob,

I’m back with more information. The river port’s address is Northern River Boat Station Leningradsky Prospekt, Khimki. If you Google that you will see it is about 15 minutes’ walk from two Metro stations. http://www.aptouring.com.au/files/documents/17/29022_Moscow2.pdf .

I spoke to Nancy at customer relations at Viking Cruises at the new LNR Warner Center in 5700 Canoga Avenue, Woodland Hills, Calif.

She was very helpful and advises you to take the Viking transportation service. She is biased, of course, but she’s right. Moscow DME airport is 40 miles away on the opposite side of the city, at least two hours driving time. The airport has no Metro station; you’d have to take the Aeroexpress train to Paveletsky station then change to the Metro and go to Rechnoy Vokzal station then take a cab to the port. A cab all the way from DME would cost at least 2000 rubles (more than $70). That’s less than the $60 each that Viking would charge…but…I think you’d be ill-advised to do it on your own. Why start the trip where the potential to screw up is so likely? Moscow taxi drivers are as dishonest as most tourist city cab drivers and probably yours won’t speak English. I think the address in Russian is

BUT...

I strongly discourage you from economizing on this and doing it on your own. Buy the transfer and save money somewhere else.

We have other Viking Volga web articles up at http://travelingboy.com/archive-travel-eric-russia.html and at http://www.ericandersonsworld.com/story.php?id=6LvDg.

Good luck. Great show Canada’s putting on for the Olympics!

Eric & Nancy Anderson

Your blog keeps getting better and better! Your older articles are not as good as newer ones you have a lot more creativity and originality now keep it up!

Reseller Hosting, London

Hi, Is it Britni Freeman?

Thank you, we think... We suspect your comments are valid. In fact we think all of us writing for TravelingBoy are starting to get into the swing of things and do a better job -- and your encouragement spurs us to do even better. Thank you for writing. Have a good 2010,

Eric & Nancy Anderson

Dear Nancy and Eric

Thank you so much for the wonderful article on statues in Europe. Statues are my favorite art form and your descriptions were delightful to read - knowledge and fun together. I do still wonder about that foot in Rome...

Peggy - Pasadena, CA

Hi Peggy,

Thank you for writing. We appreciate your comments. We used to be critical of people who can't identify the persons on statues in foreign cities -- until one day a tourist stopped us in our own San Diego and asked us, in vain, for details on a statue we'd never noticed before! We wonder about that Roman foot too. If Eric had stood any closer he'd be in his typical foot-in-mouth position.

Eric & Nancy Anderson

I live in Santa Fe and see and delight in it every day, but your writing makes it sparkle even more. How nice to see Santa Fe through your eyes. Great photos!

Cynthia Whitney-Ward - Santa Fe, NM

Dear Dr. Anderson:

I have followed your writing career for as long as I can remember, and I think the thing I enjoy the most about your travel writing is the sense of joy and discovery that leads the reader to anticipate ever corner you turn in your travels.What a delightful traveling companion you are, and I know have always been, with that wonderfully eternally youthful joie de vivre...I wonder:do you feel that East, West, home is best? And where IS that place you have never been, but want to go most of all,yet? Bring we, your devoted readers ever along!

CAT -- San Diego (Scrips Ranch), CA

Dear CAT,

Thank for taking the time to write to TravelingBoy.com. You are very kind. We don't know that travel writers make the best companions; we suspect they may be obsessed with getting the best photograph or may monopolize the guide with questions so that others don't get to ask what interests them. What place is best? Well, it may be fun to sit in a rickshaw in Beijing or try to master the Metro in Moscow, but -- as you imply -- it is good to get home after trips.

Home is as comfortable as a pair of old shoes and home for many of us fortunately contains family.

We've never been to Easter Island and may have missed the boat (no pun intended) there. The island is losing its innocence; we've seen that happen at Machu Picchu or, closer to home, at Lake Powell in Arizona. So maybe the best travel advice is: Go when you are fit and healthy, before rising prices make a destination inaccessible -- and before hordes of tourists ruin any destination's mystique.

With best Holiday Wishes from Traveling Boy,

Eric & Nancy Anderson

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What a fantastic primer on New York City. I think you have really captured its essence with this exciting overview of its offerings. Well done!

Gillian Abramson - New York

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You describe a city on wheels - er, wings - and an absolutely perfect way to travel. SHOWERS & FLOWERS! Amazing! I love that your passion for all-things-aviation comes through in this story about an almost unbelievable airplane. Thanks for breaking the news in such an engaging way!

Richard Frisbie - Saugerties, New York

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Enjoyed your blog on Romania. Noticed you called Bucharest "The Paris of the East." I wonder, is there any city not called "The Paris of something." I've read San Francisco is 'the Paris of the West,' Buenos Aires 'The Paris of South America,' and even Tromso, Norway 'The Paris of the Arctic.'

Terry Cowan - Fresno

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Hi Terry,

Thanks for writing to TravelingBoy. And thanks for educating me; I didn't know that about Tromso, didn't even know there was a Tromso. I heard Bangkok called the Venice of the East when I was there and, in two weeks, I'm heading for the Venice of the North, St. Petersburg, Russia.

It does become a bit silly, doesn't it? But we are originally an immigrant nation that was Eurocentric. Maybe it gave our forefathers confidence even courage when they took old names, old ideas to the New World with them. I know I feel nostalgic if I drive around Ontario, Canada and see all the British place names.

I appreciate your email. Thank you for writing.

Eric

Eric -

Enjoyed your article on Madrid. I noticed that you find it superior to Rome. Most of the Spanish folks that I meet seem to prefer Barcelona. How would you rate that city?

Samuel K
Seattle

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Hi Samuel,

We loved Barcelona although driving around the city was surprisingly complicated as our maps were inadequate. The cathedral had scaffolding around it so I couldn't get the pictures I wanted but we found the architecture fascinating and the Picasso museum rewarding. We were anxious to get on the road to Costa Brava and didn't have more than a couple of days in Barcelona.

Thanks for writing.
Eric


Great article on Madrid. I've heard there is a rivalry between the people of Madrid and Barcelona. In which city are the people friendlier? How about for hipness? I noticed you were Scottish. I felt a similar thing in Scotland, with a Glasgow v. Edinburgh vibe.

Gary
Santa Monica

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Thank you for writing to TravelingBoy, Gary. We found Barcelona friendlier.

Maybe that's because it's not the capital and it's not so busy either. Maybe it's because the Gaudi architectural influence is pervasive and -- to both its citizens and tourists -- comforting. Maybe it's because Barcelona is the gateway to the work of artist Salvatore Dali, and his spirit catches us. (I don't know much about art but I've seen a lot of Dali's work enough to think he never took himself too seriously and often painted tongue in cheek. Maybe fun people spring for fun places?) Hipness? Madrid is more formal and dressy but Barcelona, I believe, is more hip maybe, again, because it's more fun.

Your points about Scotland are valid. It's more than a joke. The Glaswegians are more down to earth. I think we see it here in the belief that if you had a flat tire in Middle America passers-by would be more inclined to stop and help than perhaps New Englanders.

- Eric

Dear Eric,

I liked the article. As I read it, I was wondering how you as a physician were influenced by Hippocrates. What influence did this historical figure have on the practice of medicine beyond the obvious 'oath.' Why is Hippocrates considered to be such a paragon of medicine? DWA - San Pedro, CA

* * * * *


Dear David,

Thank you for writing to Travelingboy.com.

Hippocrates is revered because he believed his duty was to the individual patient, not to the community at large. This is a very important premise. The Romans, whose empire followed that of the Greeks, achieved much in health matters by emphasizing clean drinking water and personal hygiene, and created great national works like aquaducts and public baths but wealthy Romans apparently preferred Greek doctors as their personal physicians.

Hippocrates is also respected because he brought intellectual thought to diagnosis. He taught his students to use their five senses in assessing patients and was openly critical of the junk science of his day as practiced by the priest-physicians who preyed on the fear and ignorance of the ill persons who came to them.

It is true that not all medical chools today require graduating doctors to take the Hippocratic Oath but most conscientious physicians base their lifetime commitment to the practice of medicine on the life and teachings of that one man.

Or so I think. Perhaps if we knew more about our heroes they would seem less heroic. But in Hippocrates' case he did leave a record of his thoughts and some of his principles are today as strong as ever.

Thank you for writing, it is appreciated.

Eric

Stay tuned.


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