A Karl Lagerfeld Moment on the Atlantic

I was at the pool today aboard our ship as we near the entrance to the Guadalqivir River on our way to Seville.

Having cocktails and I had a Karl Lagerfeld moment apparently, I look just like him I am told.

You tell me.

Is that Karl with his travelling gnome Sidd

Valencia, Spain

A perfect day weather wise, beautiful sunshine, nice 23C with a light breeze. We took the shuttle bus from the Port area, we are docked in the Americas Cup dock where all the beautiful sail boats and yachts are. Some private yachts are so large you need a crew of 10 just to run the boat. I wonder who can the lucky owners be.

Valencia offers commanding views of the Gulf of Valencia, the mountains behind the city give way to rolling plains that extend to Castille, La Mancha and Aragon. It is know for its orange groves, art, architecture, cuisine and its science museum.

This beautiful city, founded in 138 BC by the Romans it was an important Colony. Rome ruled until 580 AD when the Visigoths arrived and took over. They will rule until 1094 when Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar known as ''El Cid'' takes the city in an effort to establish rule for the King of Aragon. Then in 1102 the Almoravid Dynasty, Moors from North Africa take over. It was King James I of Aragon who will give the name Valencia to the city and with the Knights Templar will reconquer the area in 1238 pushing the Moors out. The Moors will be completely expelled from Spain in 1490 by Queen Isabella I.

The river Turin crosses the city, in its new bed. The old river bed is now a large park area with all the old bridges connecting the two sides of the city. This feat of engineering was man-made to prevent any more flooding. Many monuments dot the old city landscape, churches and palaces. The Silk Market building is worth a visit, a stunning building witness to the wealth of the Silk trade in Valencia and to the Guild who ran the market. Valencia is also the Family home of the Borjas, known in Italy as the Borgias, who through Pope Alexander VI, Cesar and Lucrezia have a colourful history.

The central market is also great, you can buy all manner of fresh produce, fish, meat, cheeses, beers and wines, candied fruits etc.. all beautifully presented in an elegant copper roof building with glaze tiles and stain glass windows. You can also shop online and have your order delivered to your home, thus mixing beauty, architecture, epicurian delights and technology.

The Cathedral is an enormous building with Spanish Gothic architecture mixed in with Baroque art, it is a very huge church and contains a chapel to the Santa Calis, (Holy Chalice) again miraculous because it is said that when it was shown to the Moors they fell back and fled. Next to it is the Basilica of La Virgen de los Innocentes, Martires y los Desamparados, quite the name for a church, it has a miraculous statue of the Virgin a top the main Alter all covered in gold.

During the Spanish Civil War 1936-39, Valencia suffered greatly and the Nazi Air Force where used by General Franco against the people of the city. Later Franco will become the dictator of Spain until his death in 1975 to be replaced with the restoration of Constitution and the Spanish Monarchy with King Juan Carlos. While visiting historical buildings mention is made of the Civil War, though it has been 80 years it is still a scar with painful memories.

The streets of the old town are lined with polished limestone which can be very slippery on a rainy day. We found a great little restaurant on a small plaza, had some tapas, delicious with a glass of wine. The restaurant is El Rall on Tundidores 2 between Lonja and Plaza Negrito see the web site http://elrall.es/

Valencia is relaxing and pleasant city, clean and we had a very pleasant day admiring the architecture and the life in the city. We did a little shopping, found a great men shop and bought two shirts. The shop is called J.Palomar on San Vincente 8, in the old town.

After lunch we returned to the ship, happy and tired. We are happy we came to Valencia. We wish we could spend more time here because there is so much to appreciate.

street scene in central Valencia

looking towards the cathedral of Valencia

The old Roman centre plaza of Valencia 

Central Market of Valencia with fresh olive selection

Fresh seafood at the Central Market

Church and Central Market building, Valencia

Great Hall of the Silk Market

Barcelona, Catalunya, Spain

Barcelona, Capital of Catalunya an ancient kingdom in Spain. So here I get to practice both my Spanish and try to read Catalan which is a lot like French and can confuse sometimes when you read a sign and you make the mistake of thinking it's in French when in fact it's in Catalan, though the meaning is the same. We arrived early this morning 7 November, after all the waves, the sea now is like a mirror, sunny blue sky and warm weather around 23C.

We are docked in front of the Column of Christopher Columbus at the foot of La Ramblas this wide pedestrian avenue which leads up to Plaza Catalunya where you will find Corte Ingles the famous department store. We can easily walk everywhere from the ship.

We got off around 9 am and took the Hop On-Hop Off bus which takes you to all the sights with no effort. Barcelona is truly a beautiful city, full of great architecture and style and an elegant relax atmosphere. It is also a University town with 8 universities dotting the city.

It is easy to walk around, there are lots of good restaurants and we found one today for lunch quite unexpectedly. A little cafeteria-Café in the neighbourhood of Parc Guell. It was obviously a neighbourhood restaurant, all the customers new each other and the owners, the average age was about 65. The food was wonderful, good portions and the price could not be better. I had a lovely soup and 3 of those big sardines (the size of 3 fingers) on the grill, very fresh fish and good tasting too, we do not see them in Canada we are so used to the little ones in tin. Will had a paella of seafood, a generous serving for one and then a chicken breast with home made french fries. The kitchen was at the back and you could see the 2 ladies working. A glass of wine was 1 euro and a beer 1.40 euros. We thought not many fellow passengers would find such a place and we were happy to simply walk around and stumble upon it. We have found quite a few good local restaurants this way. The restaurant was called, Il raco de Dalt on Travessera de Dalt 52. The menu was in Catalan, so we had to ask for a few explanations which were given in Spanish, no problem. Perfect place for a very nice lunch, often the best meals are found in just such places.

The one thing that bothers me a lot are the gypsies you have to have your wits about you. They are everywhere so you have to be aware of who is around you, they are very good pick-pockets. There is also a lot of police watching them. Bus stops and busy areas are of concerns because they tend to congregate in those areas. I was their victim once, so now I am very leery of them.

We have been to Barcelona before, but the details of this previous visit were a little sketchy. We visited the old Cathedral built in 1058 by the Count and Countess of Barcelona, their emblem a black bat is also the emblem of the City. This is a medieval building in the romanesque style, which is built directly into the old Roman Walls which can still be seen all around the church and the old Roman Gate, the town was then called Barica. This part of Barcelona is ancient and the streets narrow but so beautiful, so many shops offer all manner of services to decorate your house or have some repair made, antiques, porcelaine, silverware and old objects. Many services we once had in Canada but no longer have due to the shopping mall craze.

Cathedral of St-Eulalia and of the Holy Cross of Barcelona built in 1058

Tomb of the Ramon Borell Count of Barcelona and his wife Ermesenda de Carcasonna in the Cathedral

We then went to the Gaudi Church of La Sagrada Familia, and I will devote one full posting to that church still under construction after 100 years, it is a unique building and it is now 80% complete with a completion date of 2026, I will be 70 years old then and would love to see it complete, it is a marvel as it is now. There are so many architectural details, you constantly discover things your eyes simply missed. Gaudi has tried to incorporate the New Testament and all of stories and names into the building, it is a riot of details, columns are trees with branches, fruits and vegetables are represented as well as animals, the church building is a large canvas for the story of God's Creation.

So I will devote one entry just to Gaudi and this very special building. If you come to Barcelona and manage to see just one thing, that would be it.

La Sagrada Familia by Gaudi to be completed by 2026.

Some of the stained glass windows have now been installed.

On our second day here, we went to visit a site we had missed on our previous visit, the Reial Monestir de Santa Maria de Pedralbes. This monastery of the St-Clare Nuns, the female branch of the Franciscan Order. Queen Elisenda de Montcada founded this cloistered Monastery in 1327 with the help of her elderly husband King James II of Catalunia and Aragon. It is known that she was about 30 years old when she founded this monastery of the site of her Palace Pedralbes (white rocks), she went on to live there as a nun after the death of her husband. In her will she gave the land and all the buildings to the Abbess of the order. It has remained to this day a monastery for the nuns of St-Clare. Many of the Abbess were Noble Ladies like Francesca Ça Portella who was engaged to marry Lorenzo il Magnifico Medici.

Cloister of Santa Maria de Pedralbes

It is located way up in the posh neighbourhoods of Pedralbes and Sarria. It is well worth a visit, all the buildings are very well preserved and the cloister has 3 levels which is unusual for the period. Beautiful frescoes, the Chapel of St-Michael is under restoration and is reminiscent of the style of Giotto. There is a beautiful exhibit on the restoration of the frescoes and a video presentation explains how a single panel would be done over a period of 22 days by the artist and the technique he would follow. The garden at the centre of the cloister has a large herb garden and an orchard of orange trees with a beautiful cistern done in Majolica tiles and a circular pond surrounded by cypresses. A very peaceful place. The church itself is rather austere and done in a severe style. There are several royal tombs and a seating arrange according to monastic order, minor and upper. The nuns also have an isolated area for contemplation and prayer. The church use to be more ornate prior to 1906 when it had gothic decoration, then all was removed to return to building to its original decoration, even the side chapels were dismantled. Looking at it now, despite the magnificient original fourteen century stain glass windows, the look is severe though beautiful in its simplicity. The monastery was briefly abandoned by the sisters between 1931-1933 during the period of the Spanish Civil War and the government of Catalunya confiscated the buildings and its treasures. Opening it up to the public for the very first time since its foundation in 1327. The sister returned and re-occupied the premises, today it is a museum and a monastery.

There is so much to see in Barcelona and it is worth seeing it all, we will have to return to this beautiful city. 

At Sea in the Western Mediterranean near the Balearic Islands

Well we have been at sea now for 2 days and 2 nights as we travelled from Castellamare near Sorrento to Trapani, Sicily were we could not enter Port due to extremely bad weather and continued on to Barcelona at reduce speed due to 20 feet waves and high winds. We made slow but deliberate progress with much motion sickness on board. Luckily for me I only had a brief bout of dizziness and nothing else. Did not miss a meal and kept my alcohol intake to a minimum, one cocktail, 2 glasses of wine. The Captain's plan was to do a long detour around the storm to avoid the worst of it, glad he did because this was a very ugly storm.

As someone said this change in the travel plans of the cruise threw a lot of people for a loop. Many had not made plans to have so much time on their hands, no books to read and nothing much else to do. The ship does have a nice comfortable library, a casino, lounges with musical entertainment and movies.

You could also sleep and simply relax but for many that is not an option they would think of, having time on your hands becomes stressful a symptom of our age.

I read, went to the Spa for a facial and a manicure, walked around the decks carefully, took in a movie and took naps.

Tomorrow morning at 8 am we arrive in Barcelona and will dock right in the centre of the City. We plan to take the On-Off Bus which will take us directly to all the sights we wish to see. I do want to go back to see the building progress on the Church of Antoni Gaudi, La Sagrada Familia. Barcelona remains one of the most beautiful cities in Europe.

We are also going to a nice restaurant we enjoyed for dinner 3 years ago on our last visit. Day two will see if there is anything else we wish to see.

This evening we had a very nice dinner and the Maitre d'Hôtel sent us a bottle of Moët et Chandon to help us celebrate our 35 Anniversary. The staff of the Discovery Restaurant are simply super, Elroy and Benjamin and Vera are professional and attentive, there is also Grace the Sommelier. The food is great with a different menu in the restaurants everyday, quite an undertaking for the Chef. Lots to choose from for lunch or dinner even for the picky eaters and vegetarians.

Looking at the stars tonight from our balcony I am amazed how the Universe is simply painted white with a multitude of stars, it is overwhelming to look at, to think we are only one little planet in this immensity.

Erik Satie, Gnosienne no.5 and travel

I really like this quiet piano music by Erik Satie.




In ten days, just a few days away, we will be flying to Rome, Eternal beauty, for a few days to visit with friends. Then we board our cruise to the Amalfi Coast unto Sicily and then Spain. We will continue our trip via an hotel-train from Seville to Paris and then on the EuroStar to London to see friends.

We have tickets to see the new exhibit on the life of Emperor Augustus, Pater Patriae, who died on 19 August 14 AD some 2000 years ago. Much of our traditions and laws in the Western World we owe to him.  On his death he became a god by a vote of the Senate of Rome. http://english.scuderiequirinale.it/categorie/exhibition-augusto-rome

There is also a new exhibit on Cleopatra who visited Rome but was never allowed to enter the City itself and lived in Trastevere, Romans did not like foreign potentates much and she was said to have bad morals, thus offending the matrons of Rome. There are many more wonderful exhibits, will see how many we can see while in the Citta Aeterna.
http://chiostrodelbramante.it/en/info/cleopatra_roma_e_lincantesimo_dellegitto/

Rome's seaport is at Civitavecchia some 50 km away the old port of Ostia is no more since the airport is now located in that vicinity at Fiumicino. It takes about one hour to get there, so we will be staying in Trastevere which is closest to the exit out of Rome without having to cross the city.

We have not been to the Amalfi Coast so our first stop is Sorrento, then across to Trapani on the western tip of Sicily where they make excellent wines. A city we know well and where we have bought much wine in the past. Then we will sail for Barcelona, another city we know well and we wish to visit again the famous cathedral still under construction of Antoni Gaudi (1852-1926), La Sagrada Familia, it is spectacular architecture. http://www.sagradafamilia.cat

We will then sail down to the home town of the Borgia Family, Valencia then to Gibraltar and up the Guadalqivir River to Seville. We will leave the cruise at that point and proceed to Granada to see by night the Alhambra and its gardens. http://www.alhambradegranada.org/en/

Our hotel-train will take us to Madrid and on to Paris. Hotel-trains offer the same luxury as an hotel with full dining car and multi-course gourmet meals and wines. We will change in Paris for the Euro-Star which will take us to London via the Chunnel. http://www.chunnel.com

Looking forward to this wonderful trip and seeing so many friends in the process.

Automne, Autunno, Autumn

We were able to have dinner outside from 21 June to 31 August this year, a short period of time but we love this tradition of dining on our terrace looking at the Rideau Canal.

Since 1 September the weather has been sunny but cool and in the evening chilly. The days are noticeably shorter now so we are slowly moving towards Autumn.

The word Autumn in English comes from old French Automne and it seems that prior to the 16th century the word Harvest was much in use since most people lived on the land and Harvest meant that time of the year, Season, when most food is harvested. Only as of the 16th century when more people moved to Cities and learnt to read and write did the word Autumn gain prominence.

With Autumn new activities take place, Thanksgiving falls on Sunday 13 October, meaning that we decorate with various types of coloured corn, pumpkins and a variety of squashes. Last year I found a pumpkin which was a bluish silver colour, a heritage variety. There is a lot of so called Heritage vegetables on the markets now and many people love this new choice. Just outside Ottawa, the Gatineau Park has spectacular colours and it is wonderful to drive up into the hills and on a sunny day see the multi-coloured trees.

Of course many will cook a turkey and have the traditional stuffing and vegetables, potatoes, brussels sprouts, carrot, turnip and squash. I do not know what we will do. It all depends who is in town during this long weekend.

We are booked for our cruise in November from Rome to Seville, with stops in Sorrento, Trapani, Barcelona, Valencia, Gibraltar, then across the Strait of Gibraltar and along the Guadalquivir river to Seville. We also plan a side trip to Granada. This cruise is to celebrate our 35 Anniversary. We had such a great cruise last year from Amsterdam to St-Petersburg and Stockholm through the Baltic Sea. This will be our gift to each other and a wonderful way to celebrate. AZAMARA is tailoring the cruise for our anniversary and giving us little extras to make it memorable.

This will be our second cruise with AZAMARA, smaller ships, called mid-size with 700 passengers and higher level of amenities and service. The food was excellent and the wine list impressive, I also liked the fact that they poured drinks not measure them, so you got a nice stiff drink to make any sailor proud. We have never been on the super-size ships carrying thousands of passengers and I do not think we would like it. Also from a point of safety, I prefer a smaller ship. We were also able to dock in town where larger cruise ships had to dock often far away in sea ports. One final point that sold me on AZAMARA was the number of Canadians on crew on board, a nice touch.

Azamara Quest

Wisdom on 31 December 2012

Here is a message from my friend C.P. this morning, words of wisdom on my entering a new phase of life in retirement. Thank you C.P.

To invent the life you want to have rather than the life someone says you must have. It takes time.

And on this note here is the year in photos, not a bad year at all, lots of travelling in Europe throughout the year and then retirement, with photos of the actual site where the decision was made.

The first month of the year was the usual blah, mild winter and not much happening, work was not that interesting and by March I decided it was time to return to Rome and consulted friends to see what was going on in the Eternal City.

The two domes of the Churches in Piazza del Popolo as seen from the Belvedere of Villa Borghese.

I also had my birthday in Rome with friends at a lovely luncheon in Capena just a few minutes outside the Città.

Cake was Linda's creation and it is not on fire.

Because March is Artichoke season, she also made Stuffed Artichoke Roman Style. A favourite of mine.

Now I did walk a lot in Rome, something I truly enjoy doing, the City is built like a theatre set and anywhere you look there is always something to attract your eyes.

Looking down this street that morning in March I was just waiting around for Nancy de C. to start one of her private tours of the Convent at Trinita dei Monti, top of the Spanish stairs. So I was just looking down the street, Via Sistina, this would be around 9:55 am and if you look all the way you can see at the other end the steeple of Santa Maria Maggiore. The street changes names twice before you arrive at the other end, to Via Quattro Fontane and then to Via Agostino DePretis. It was busy that morning like all morning in Rome are and I do not know why, but a little voice told me, you know retiring would not be such a bad thing after all, you had a wonderful career. Rome and it's sunlight can inspire.
That is when I decided that I would retire by year end.

Vincent Lam in Ottawa at Fraser Café at the launch of his bestseller book, The Headmaster's Wager. During the Ottawa Writers Festival. A wonderful book to read. Vincent is a writer but also a E.R. doctor at Toronto.

In early May we had the annual Tulip Festival in commemoration of the Royal Family of the Netherlands who spent the Second World War in Ottawa. Carpets of  tulips everywhere in city parks can be seen, beautiful.

Nicholas and Nora in the morning after breakfast, a little snooze.

Of course this year was the 60th anniversary of the accession of Queen Elizabeth II. The Diamond Jubilee was celebrated in June in Canada.

Then in June we went on our cruise with AZAMARA from Amsterdam to Hamburg to Copenhagen, to the Island of Ronen and on to Helsinki, St-Petersburg and Tallinn finally arriving in Stockholm.

From Kevin M. apartment and B&B beautiful view. We also met M.J. in Amsterdam.

Before coffee in the morning in a lovely café just down the street from our B& B.

Copenhagen Palace Square in the morning.

We then sailed to a small island of Ronen to see smoke houses where fish is smoked like herring. It is very fresh and delicious with a glass of wine.

 A very traditional method of preparing and preserving fish and it was very interesting to see. Such a lovely small island, very green, a beautiful picture of Scandinavia.

 We then sailed on to Helsinki, a beautiful small Capital, friendly people and wonderful pastries.
The excitement was building as we were now approaching Imperial St-Petersburg the city built by Peter the Great, what a jewel and thanks to massive renovations by Vladimir Putin, the city once again shines on the Baltic.

Here we are across from the Winter Palace by the Sphinx on University Embankment. If you touch the Sphinx you are likely to return to St-Petersburg. I wish we could have stayed at least one more day, two days was simply not enough for this magnificent city.

Our last stop was Stockholm, which for Will meant going to Drottningholm (Queen's Palace) to see the famous 17th century theatre. He waited almost all his life to see it and I had heard of it for the last 35 years, so the expectation was great. We were not disappointed, it was magical, to be able to step back in this perfectly preserved small theatre.

My favourite photo of 2012, Will at the entrance to the Royal Park, he was so excited, like a little kid.
Of course Sydd appears in the photo, he accompanied us throughout the trip.

 Talk of green environment in Stockholm Harbour.

But this was not all for my travelling, in the Fall I went for a few days to London to see friends. Wonderful visit and how nice to see the City with a lot less tourists. Staying with C. in the Marylebone area near Selfridge's on Baker street.

 The West facade of St-Paul's Convent Garden, Market area, known as the Actor's Church built by Inigo Jones in 1633. A beautiful Church well worth a visit.

How many times in my career, Will and I said this, so true and it continues to be.

December, the first snow in Ottawa. We have had so far more snow in December 2012 than in the entire winter of 2011. It promises.

On the 29 December, the retirement party with a few friends at home.

and the year ends, on with the new......

It's -22 C. on this photo, Happy New Year to All!