Tuesday, July 08, 2008

ANN ARBOR STROLL

ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN - MAY 2007

FOUR HUNDRED AND FIRST POST!

My last post on Santiago 2007 was the 400th post, if we consider all three blogs I'm keeping: Blogtrotter 70s & 80s and Blogtrotter Revival - The 90s. This one is dedicated to Ann Arbor, a city in the state of Michigan in USA and the seat of Washtenaw County. It has a population of roughly 115,000 (some 15,000 more than Santiago), of which some 37,000 are college or graduate students (some 3,000 less than in Santiago). It's also the seat of the main campus of the University of Michigan, but I'll leave that to the next post...


"HILTON - LONDON HEATHROW – As we were connecting early morning from Heathrow Airport, we had to fly the night before to London. A nice way to deal with the situation is to stay in one of the hotels in the area. The Hilton is the most convenient, as you may just walk from Terminal Four to the Hotel and vice-versa. A Sofitel hotel opened at Terminal Five on late June 2008, so the probably this will now be the most convenient for longhaul flights with British Airways..."


"ST. LAWRENCE RIVER - The flight from London to Detroit was quite nice and allowed some nice pictures of the Blue Planet. This one on the St. Lawrence River mostly frozen is one of them"

Edited: According to a comment, this isn't the St. Lawrence, but the Manicouagan impact crater with the Manicouagan Reservoir. Thanks for the correction! Actually, it looked a bit weird for a River...


"THE CAMPUS INN - Should you believe the publicity, it would seem that you are in a 1001 nights world; actually not so, but decent enough anyhow..."


"RAINMAN - One of the several sculptures at the Campus Inn"


"ROOM WITH A VIEW - We had a room on the top floor of the Hotel and the view was nice"


"THE BELL TOWER, in the middle of the main campus of the University of Michigan, is one of the more recognizable landmarks of Ann Arbor"


"MAIN STREET - It seems compulsory nowadays to have a Starbucks around"




"THREE CHURCHES - I counted 100 (one hundred) on the list of churches in Ann Arbor...



"HOUSES - Including the amazing purple house"


"RESTAURANT at the old railway station"


"BATH TIME - At the Huron River"



"MORE CHURCHES"


"THE NEWBERRY HALL - Museum of Archaeology"

67 comments:

Anonymous said...

As I mentioned on the post, this is my 401st if we consider all three blogs I’m keeping. This means surely some five thousand pictures posted (if not more) and many weekend and late night hours working around Blogger. The most gratifying for all the work invested are definitely your comments. So I hope that you enjoy, and also that you’ll be so kind to express it… ;))

Tawnya Shields said...

Awesome voyage in todays post. I loved the view from the plane. When ever I fly, I request a window seat.

That railroad restaurant blew me away. My mother and step-father would love this place as they are fans of trains.

The purple Victorian house was absolutely darling. Not sure though if I would paint mine purple. It looks like something from a childhood fairytale. Hansel und Gretel? :O)

Neva said...

Memories memories.....we are big U of Michigan fans....and our daughter has worked for their alumni camp for the past 4 years....you got some lovely shots of Ann Arbor.... and Detroit....where I met and married my husband of 32 years.....I am home now and have some great shots of Niagara Falls....not quite like you do but still....some nice ones if I do say so myself!!

raccoonlover1963/Lisa Myers said...

A lot of great shots. I have only ever been to Detroit,Michigan. I have seen the St. Lawrence Seaway from Canada. My father and step-mother used to always take me to see the huge ships passing through the locks. It was really cool watching the ships rise with the water swell to pass to the next lock.
Hope to see you visit soon.
Lisa

hpy said...

I'm singing in the rain, and still I see that the weather was quite nice during your visit!

indicaspecies said...

The frozen St Lawrence is a fascinating sight. It's lovely seeing Ann Arbor through your eyes Gil.

Thank you for sharing these lovely pictures (and the other 5,000 or so) and congratulations on completing 400 posts.

Lakshmi said...

Thanks for taking me to Michigan and what colours..your post is so vibrant

Jo's-D-Eyes said...

My congrats GIL, with your 401 post! And as always I am very impressed by your series now of Manhattan, I like your style of blogging, with all the information you are giving me/us, thas how I like blogging; sharing all differs and varyties of the world.
Thank you for sharing!

BTW: I passed you an award for creativity, come to my blog to see it, My congrats and you deserve it!

JoAnn from Holland

Mariposa said...

Oh wow.. you take great pictures! I love the skyline..it looked purplish-blue.

Thank you for the post. =)

Voegtli said...

Of course, the railway station picture attracted me very much. And I will see a lot of them, in a few month. And I might make a series of posts then, like "The Railway Station of the Month".

Z said...

Congratulations on your newest milestone! I'm afraid I haven't been very good at writing comments, but I do enjoy following your posts via Google Reader.

S-V-H said...

The purple house in your post looks very similar to the also purple "artist house" in Key West, don't you think?

I liked your post, I like the pictures and all the so English looking churches.

Thanks for sharing, Gil! It's always a big joy to come, to see and to travel with you.

Noushy Syah said...

Most of the photos taken were lovely and a view from plane is always breath taking.Although I'm not often with camera capturing pics but I enjoy and admire the view from plane and always requested for the window seat..I think many will agree with me:)

Thanks for bringing another gr8 place virtually to us..it is appreciated!

Keep postings!

Lara said...

congratulations for the 400th post! that is a great accomplishment!

alok said...

Hope you are doing great.

And Terrific set of pics again!! Specially the 'ST. LAWRENCE RIVER' pic :)

PeterParis said...

Difficult to compare Ann Arbor and Santiago, except for some figures that you give in the introduction!

... and I'm sure (afraid?) that you can now also find a Starbuck's at Santiago!

The ice circle on the St. Lawrence is amazing!

Anonymous said...

Congrats with your 401 post!

an excellent post i can say too!!!

I wish you a great summer

Nikon said...

I agree with the congrats on post #401!
This is a great series of photos, Gil, maybe because I get to see a European's view of the good old USA.
I love the Main Street shot - very traditional American scene. Too bad we keep tearing Main Streets down for fake foam brick facades of shopping malls.
The train station is amazing - & of course, out of use :) We love to tear up train tracks for bicycle paths so the yuppies can ride an overpriced bike while they drink bottled water. Then they get in their car - after all - there are no trains!
End of rant!
About your question on the photo on my blog - the photo is from the JFK library in Boston, part of their Hemingway collection.
Thanks for the visit!

Cergie said...

Félicitations Gil pour tes 400 messages, cela en fait des voyages et des pérégrinations autour du monde, que de photos, que de souvenirs à se rappeler et à partager.

Donc tu en as terminé avec St Jean de Compostelle. Tu en gardes tout de même un peu l’esprit (saint) : que d’églises sur ce message !

Je n’aime guère être logée en hauteur dans les hôtel, je crains toujours les incidents, et avec la clim les fenêtres ne peuvent s’ouvrir. Il me semble que tu as fait ces photos depuis votre chambre derrière la vitre, elles rendent bien tout de même.

Je suis aussi attirée par la faune (ici des bernaches du Canada il me semble) et les arbres d’avenue, qui dépaysent beaucoup dans leur emploi et dans les essences employées.

Bon courage alors dans tes diverses occupations, avec les vacances de plus, la façon de blogguer de tous s’en ressent...

Anonymous said...

Congratulations for the 400th post, Gil. That's a lot, but you are hopping around the world at high-spped ;-).
I've never heard of that town but now - thanks to you - I've seen a lot of it.

Dorothée said...

Bonjour Blog Trot,

J'arrive a temps pour te feliciter pour ce 400ieme post. Bravo! et surtout merci de nous faire partager ces beaux moments passes aux coins du monde.
Nous sommes actuellement dans le Montana (Glacier National Park), et donc rarement connectee c'est la raison pour laquelle je ne peux faire ma tournee des blogs.
A tres bientot,

Indrani said...

Congratulations on your 401st post, Gil! You can now definitely bring out a book with the amazing collection of pictures and info that you have. I would love to hold one.

I liked the green Bath time scene in your present series of shots.

Thanks for making it to my blog and leaving your precious comments for me in spite of your hectic schedule. Take care. :)

Pietro Brosio said...

Another extraordinary post of your marvellous blog. I enjoy it very much. Wonderful the pictures, interesting the text. Splendid the images of the view from the hotel, of the nice churches, the houses, the beautiful landscape of the Huron River.
Thanks for the visit to my blog and for your generous comment.

Dina said...

Oh thank you! I've not seen beloved Ann Arbor since my graduation from U of M in 1967.

Congratulation on 401 posts. I have missed 399 of those, having only discovered you today. But it is a fortuitous beginning, this starting with A-2.

Lori said...

I don't know how you can manage three blogs! That's amazing. I don't think there is anywhere you haven't visited. I especially like the purple house and the rainman statue. Very cool!

Anonymous said...

I've never been to Michigan before. Thanks for giving me this wonderful virtual tour. Love it. I love all the church photos.

Congrats on post 401.

Paz

alicesg said...

Very beautiful photos of michigan. Love the different designs of all the houses. Have a nice day.

Anonymous said...

Very beautiful, clean and neat surroundings. I like the aerial view, that is really something. :)

Alexander
Alex's World! - http://www.kakinan.com/alex

Anonymous said...

Congrats, Gil!

Imagine my surprise coming here and seeing a town in my own back yard! These are great shots of one of my favorite cities, so much to do there, in a University kind of way. And it has lots of good stores and restaurants.

What took you there?

leo said...

Hi Gil, I'm back! Lending ur phrase to the 'world of blogsphere'. Sorry it took me so long to get here. Thank you so much for visiting and leaving comments on my humble blog. I enjoy your Paris-Dakar (very much), cultural Santiago and of cos this bright and cheerful pics of Ann Arbor. Ok, I've got to OFF the lights *wink, wink*

Shionge said...

You must have seen more than me Gil and I am glad you shared this with us :D

Dick said...

Congratulations, thanks for sharing this wonderful voyage.

travelphilippines said...

congratulation on your 400th post... and wow hats a lot of churches in there....so nice.

Azer Mantessa said...

some 5000 pics ... whoaaaaa

the air view of st lawrence is amazing.

the view from the room looking the greenery scenery is very nice.

congratulations on the 401 postings

lv2scpbk said...

Love the rainman, it reminds of singing in the rain song. The rail station looks nice and again you came up with a great collection of building photos. That purple house stands out. I took a photo of a purple house awhile ago and posted it. Not sure if you'd remember it though. Have a good weekend.

Catherine said...

Don't count your posts. What interest me is the quality of realisation.
You make me see the most beautiful view from Sky of the St Laurent river.
And the view from your hotels are amazing.
I'm happy to see that people get enough humor to paint their house in purple.
Thanks to bring us in your travel.

Unknown said...

Hello Gil,
fantastic post as usual !

I just love the aerial picture, my goodness, how lucky you are having all these views. I am sure you must be feeling on top of the world :)

And so many churches too, just beautiful. Oh Gil, you've got to hop over to Cambodia one day, angkor wat and the rest are just out of this world :)

Have a great weekend and thanks for popping over.

Unknown said...

...oh yes, a big CONGRATS on your 401st post and many more to come. You are one of the best travel-blogs I've ever known.

Chuckeroon said...

..well, Trotter, this obviously is NOT St. Iago! Looking at the station I'm thinking "Scottish Baronial"...weird.

Great to see. Have a good week & thks for dropping in again.

'roony.

Anonymous said...

Welcome to the U.S.A. and Michigan. Great aerial shot Gil. I love to take photos from the window seat. Love the purple house....that's fun! When are you coming to Va.? Congratulations on your 400th post. That's quite an accomplishment especially with all your gorgeous photos. Have a super great weekend. ~ Lynn

SusuPetal said...

Congratulations, four hundred and one posts is an amazing figure, considering the amount of photos included!
It has been nice to travel aruound the globe with you. Let's continue the trip:)

kyh said...

Wow I absolutely love the churches!!! Feels medieval to me, though USA doesnt exist at that time yet! :P

I've got friends studying in Ann Arbor... :)

Wendy said...

Congrats on your 401st post! And managing three blogs is no easy task either.

kuanyin333 said...

Congrats on your post scores! Since I manage 12 blogs and 4 microblogs and other online stuff, I know how tough it is to get around and leave comments as much as you do on other's blogs, and this is what I congratulate you for MOST of all!

And you two get around more than any other bloggers I know...for this you deserve some amazing International Globetrotting Award!

Anonymous said...

Happy 401's Gill :) And yes, all those hours you spent - totally worth it. View from the airplane is beautiful, and so is the charming purple house :)

Fliss and Mike Adventures said...

I could spend hours just looking at the photos alone... take care

Ron said...

Very nice blog, I am liking it. I got your blog from Felicity. I will be a regular now. This is fantastic:)

Emery Roth said...

As you usually do, you're introducing me to a new part of the world. I had a number of good friends who graduated from U of Mich in Ann Arbor, but I never was there. I'm still puzzling over that photo of the St. Lawrence that seems to flow in a circle. Clearly, there's something I'm not understanding. So, what does it look like at sunrise? Thanks for stopping by my blog.

Steve Buser said...

Interesting, my post today was number 440. Just one behind you. But alas, the laws of the universe being what they are, I fear I will never catch up with you.

Once again, your Ann Arbor tour is excellent -- good choices of sites and excellent angles.

Anonymous said...

Hi Folks!
I understand that almost everybody would probably be more interested on surfing the waves this time of the year (at least on the Northern Hemisphere) rather than surfing the web. That’s why I’m most grateful to all of you that not only take your time to come here on my 401st post, but even more to comment on my posts. I’m truly over the moon. Thanks! Merci!

Titania,
Maybe my choice of seats on airplanes is a bit odd. I always ask for an aisle on short haul flights, and always a window on long haul; that’s because I don’t like to be stuck on a window seat and long haul flights usually have more space and make it easier to get out of your seat when you need it.. Travelling «D», «J», «A» or »F» classes, I mean… ;)))
I wouldn’t mind dining at the railway restaurant, but don’t think I would paint my house purple; though I’m living with Purple for more than 35 years… ;))

Neva,
Great to read that you love the UM and that your daughter worked there; maybe she was on the site during the Conference I attended…
32 years means 1976; on this side of the Atlantic we married on 08.08.1975, so we’ll commemorate 33 years on 08.08.2008, with the fabulous fireworks of the Beijing Olympics!! ;)) But actually our date is April 25, 1970 (38 years ago)!
Look forward to seeing your Niagara Falls; re-visiting it from our 1983 trip!

Lisa,
I also remember those locks at the St. Lawrence River from our 1983 trip. Amazing! I’ll check your blog asap!

Helen,
You know, the «pocket sun» from Portugal that I use to carry when travelling abroad normally works… ;))

Celine,
Thanks! The Saint Lawrence River is huge!
When I think that there may be some 5000 thousand of my pictures out there I feel a bit incredulous…

Lakshmi,
You’re welcome! We’re actually exchanging travels!

JoAnn,
Thanks very much for your Award! I’m truly honoured!
Manhattan? You must have some unusual attribute to find out what will be coming next… ;)))

Mariposa,
I can’t say they’re great pictures; actually their intention is to show something. I hope they do…

Pete,
Many railway stations? I wonder whether you’ll be travelling one of my dreams: the Trans-Siberian Express Moscow–Ulaanbaatar-Beijing… ;))

Z,
Thanks very much for your visits and support! I also enjoy very much your Villigen blog, and will look forward to seeing your travel adventures on your new blog!!

Sue,
You’re right. When I saw that house in Ann Arbor I thought to myself that it wasn’t the first time I saw a purple house; now you remembered me where it was. Great! Amazing all those churches; more than in Santiago, though not so remarkable… ;)

Noushy Syah,
As far as window seats, like I replied to Titania, aisle on short haul flights, and always a window on long haul! The reasons are up here… ;)

Lara,
Thanks! Hope to be able to keep posting, though I’m not travelling that much these days… ;)

Alok,
I’m fine, thanks; maybe busier than I would love this time of the year… ;))

Peter,
I’m not so sure of the Starbucks in Santiago; at least I haven’t seen any… It seems however that they’re finally coming to Lisbon in 2008! People in Portugal are usual «café» drinkers but have resisted coffee with more than one «f» or «e». It seems the globalization however is taking over… No big deal for me; I don’t drink coffee… ;)

Vlahos,
Thanks! I was thinking to get to the Greek Isles once again, but I’m not sure I’ll be able to get there this year… We’ll see!
Wish you a great summer also!

Paul,
It’s always startling (I think) to see what is familiar to us with different eyes. And I must confess that I’m always a bit appalled to see the traditional main street in US small towns; may be because one of the first I saw was the «fake» Anaheim Disneyland street… ;))
I fully agree with you on the train issue; almost all old traditional lines here in Portugal were finished as they’re weren’t competitive; now with the price of oil people are thinking again on trains; but this time is TGV (the High Speed Train)… ;))
Interesting that the JFK Library has that Papa’s picture running in front of the bull during the San Fermin feast in Pamplona!!

Lucie,
Merci. D’une certaine façon, les posts sont là à la place des voyages qui me manquent maintenant… ;(
Tu as raison: St Jacques n’y est plus mais j’étais moi-même surpris d’apprendre qu’il y a 100 églises à Ann Arbor… Pas très impressionnantes comme la cathédrale de St. Jacques de Compostelle mais quand même… ;))
J’évite toujours penser aux incidents quand je me loge à un hôtel parce que j’aime bien être là haut… C’est vrai que j’ai pris les photos derrière la vitre!
Finalement, en ce qui concerne les occupations, j’en ai assez, tandis que vacances, presque rien… Il semble que je réussirais à partir du 7 au 14 septembre prochain (pas sûr et surement pas où?)

April,
I «was» travelling at high speed; now I’m stuck! Regrettably!! ;((
I’ll show a bit more of Ann Arbor on my next post!

Dorothée,
Merci. J’aime bien les glaciers; mon plus beau souvenir est de la Baie des Glaciers à l’Alaska ou en Colombie Britannique au Canada. J’espère que tu feras un beau voyage en Montana!

Indrani,
Thanks! Maybe one day I’ll think it over at a cyber-book! But first I’ll see how Peter will manage to deal with my suggestion of having «Peter’s Paris» on a book!
I thought I needed to put some «green» on this post and after making a collage with several of the pictures by the Huron River decided that this one was better than all together… ;)

Pietro,
Thanks! It’s my pleasure to land at your blog!

Dina,
Great to see you commenting here again! I’ll show some more of UM on my next post; hope you enjoy!

Lori,
I can’t manage three blogs! You see that the last time the 80s was updated was on May 24th and the 90s was on May 25th… ;)
For the rest, believe me: It’s not such a small world… ;))

Paz,
But you’re much closer to Michigan than me… ;))

Alice SG,
I was also impressed with the houses and took quite a lot of pictures there!

Alex,
That aerial picture is astonishing even for me!

Ruth,
I was there for a conference, as explained in my next post, and must confess that it a surprise to find how interesting Ann Arbor could be!!

Leo,
Great pleasure to see you back here and my great pleasure to visit your blog! Thanks!

Shionge,
Seen more than you? Don’t know where you’ve been… ;))

Dick,
Travelphilippines,
Thanks!

Azer,
I’m also thrilled with that St. Lawrence from the air… and the room had actually a very nice 180º view…

Barb,
Singing in the Rain is one of my favourites; great Gene Kelly, and actually that rain man looked a bit alike! I think I’ve seen that purple house in your blog!

Catherine,
Great to read your comments here (first time I believe)!
I don’t count the posts (actually you probably noticed that I passed the 400th and only noticed it at the 401st, but when you get to the Blogger’s dashboard, it’s written there…;))
I also love to see pictures from the skies and agree that one must have a great sense of humour to paint his/her house in purple!!

M.Kate,
Thanks!
On the top of the world? Not that high this time; it was higher at the Concorde, flying sometimes at 60,000 feet… ;) Actually, it seems there is now a «Top of the World» restaurant in the crazy city named Las Vegas… ;))
I know I’ve to get to Cambodia one of these days, but you see «this is not such a small world»… ;))

Chuckeroon,
It’s not Santiago but it seems to have more churches… ;))
Scottish baronial looks pretty adequate to describe that old railway station disguised into a restaurant… ;))

Lynn,
Thanks!
Also love those long haul window seats; further to the movies, you also have the earth Show!! That purple house is incredible, isn’t it? ;)
I would love to get to Virginia (and many other places), but I’m now a bit stuck… ;(( I’ll try, one day!

Sususpetal,
Thanks for the company on this virtual tour! The problem of posting all these is that we find out how young and handsome we were in the 70s and 80s… ;)

Kyh,
You’re absolutely right: it seems they copied the old medieval styles…
I’m sure that your friends are enjoying the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor!

Wendy,
Thanks!

Kuanyin,
You’re very special; can’t compete with you on managing blogs… ;)
Actually my 70&80s and my 90s are far from being adequately updated… But it’s true that I always try to make my weekly round of blogs and comment on what I see! My rule is that I hardly visit a blog who allows comments without leaving one; I think the owner deserves it and probably also enjoys it, otherwise he/she wouldn’t allow comments… ;))
And thanks for the Globetrotting award; I take it as granted!! ;)

Priyank,
Thanks! It’s rewarding to see that what you do is somehow appreciated! Delighted to read your comments!

Fliss & Mike,
Please make yourself at home… ;)

Ron,
Thanks for the visit and first time comment. Look forward to read you here frequently!

Ted,
I must confess that I was reading the Michigan Law Review and had no idea on how Ann Arbor could be… ;)
I was also puzzled with that picture! The St. Lawrence must have some lakes and other rivers surrounding it so that it appears that way from up there at 35,000 feet… ;))

Steve,
You’re well ahead, actually 39 posts ahead and counting, as I’m only on my 401st…
As for the laws of the universe, I’ll just state that it’s not such a small world… for all of us on Earth… ;))

JO said...

OH THAT PURPLE HOUSE! I want it! Only something I could dream about - I don't think my hubby woudl ever go for it! It is AMAZING though! I love love love the pic of the river from the plane - it is gorgeous!

Anonymous said...

Jo,
How I understand your hubby: a purple house... ;)))
Also love that frozen St. Lawrence picture!

Emery Roth said...

Ah! now I've found your comment. Well, we can be puzzled together than. Thanks for stopping by my blog.

alicesg said...

Thanks for replying to my comments. I think you are sweet to reply to all.

Anonymous said...

Ted,
A «puzzling» river that St. Lawrence... ;)

Alice SG,
You're too kind. Thanks!

Dawning One said...

loved the statue of rainman. what a lark!
the railway station restaurant is novel too. gives me ideas...hmmm...

Anonymous said...

Dawning One,
Amazing statue indeed! And the railway, though not like the «Orient Express» at the Taj Palace in Delhi, is also a great discovery... ;)

Olivier said...

felicitation pour ton 400th, tu nous fais profiter de ton tour du monde, c'est superbe. Bonne continuité.
J'adore la statue "RAINMAN"

Ming the Merciless said...

I've never been to Michigan before. So thanks for the photos of Ann Arbor. It's fun to see the landscape of another city, even if it's closer to where I live than you do. :-)

Anonymous said...

Olivier,
Merci! C'est vrai que la statue est superbe; je regrette de na pas avoir pris note du nom du sculpteur/(euse)...

Ming,
Ann Arbor is quite different if you compare to NYC; but some of their buildings could be at Columbia University...

Louise said...

Thanks for stopping by my blog. I don't know how you found it, but I'm glad you did because it allowed me to find this one! Your love for old buildings and taking pictures of them is eye candy. I look forward to seeing more of your posts.

Joy said...

I loved the lovely pink/purple house and the pretty churches. Even the ducks were delightful!

Many thanks for your visits to Norwich Daily Photo. I hope that you enjoy the colours of summer on my blog.

joy

Anonymous said...

Louise,
I also don't know how I did land on your blog, but it was a great pleasure!
Glad that you liked to see my trottings!

Joy,
Thanks! That purple house needs a great sense of humour to be a resident there... ;))

alphachap said...

Your ST. LAWRENCE RIVER picture is the (214 My old) Manicouagan impact crater.
Nice picture.

Anonymous said...

Alphachapmtl,
Thanks for the info! It looked a bit weird for the St. Lawrence!

Adelaide Detroit said...

Lovely photos of Ann Arbor! I went to school here! Brings back very fond memories Ann Arbor Used Cars

GMG said...

Aelaide,
Great! But why should I have a used car? ;)