Today we had another leisurely breakfast, packed up, went for a stroll along the Aure River that runs through Bayeux. Very pretty. After lunch we caught a taxi to the station, a bit fraught while we waited anxiously while Frank, our host who had ordered the taxi for us, argued with the driver about his lateness. Much hand waving and very many fast words. The rest of the journey went well. We spent an hour and a half waiting in a station bar in Dol, a transit station. We had taken a photo of a memorial plaque on our battlefield tour. It was in memory of several different groups of airmen. One was a group of cigognes. We spent much of our time trawling the internet. Cigognes are storks in English. I found a book for sale on ebay entitled the Esquadrille de Cigognes. There was a very indistinct photo of an aircraft which Noel was able to identify as a French fighter. Someone several years ago had written a book about the Squadron of storks.
We arrived here and made our way from the station on foot, about 1 km mostly of pebbly pavement. I have not yet mastered the art of calling a cab to the station. Not one was waiting for me, alas for Noel. He has asked me to say that he stood up bravely to the ordeal. Apartment is nice, overlooking a picturesque pedestrian street.
Friday, September 14, 2018
bayeux cathedral and museum
Yesterday, Thursday, we enjoyed another delicious breakfst, this time more leisurely than for the last few days. Delicious pastries, coffee, juice, omlette.
We spent time in the Cathedral, described as Norman Gothic. It was very much what I call a 'working' church, as opposed to a 'museum' church. Intricate stonework, lovely stained glass windows, tall and narrow building.
I have on my job list of pre-travel stuff a reminder to get my watch battery checked. I have always over the past 15 years done this and it has never needed changing. This time I thought 'my watch never stops when I am away, I can't be bothered'. My watch stopped several days ago and yesterday we found a watch selling shop who put a new battery in for me.
We went to the excellent museum . It was a small but very interesting collection arranged in the restored old Bishop's palace opposite the cathedral. There was a definite route to take, starting in paleolithic times and moving through the ages, sometimes using rooms in the museum as part of the exhibit.
Dinner was another excellent meal in a local restaurant. I was pleased that the lady who served us always addressed me in French, despite knowing that my French is very poor and I spoke English. She addressed all the other English speaking tables in English.
We spent time in the Cathedral, described as Norman Gothic. It was very much what I call a 'working' church, as opposed to a 'museum' church. Intricate stonework, lovely stained glass windows, tall and narrow building.
I have on my job list of pre-travel stuff a reminder to get my watch battery checked. I have always over the past 15 years done this and it has never needed changing. This time I thought 'my watch never stops when I am away, I can't be bothered'. My watch stopped several days ago and yesterday we found a watch selling shop who put a new battery in for me.
We went to the excellent museum . It was a small but very interesting collection arranged in the restored old Bishop's palace opposite the cathedral. There was a definite route to take, starting in paleolithic times and moving through the ages, sometimes using rooms in the museum as part of the exhibit.
Dinner was another excellent meal in a local restaurant. I was pleased that the lady who served us always addressed me in French, despite knowing that my French is very poor and I spoke English. She addressed all the other English speaking tables in English.
Thursday, September 13, 2018
Normandy battlefields
We went on 2 tours yestrday of different parts of th Normandy WW2 battlefields.
In th morning we went first to the German gun battery at Longues-sur-Mer. This consisted of 4 huge big guns in their own little concrete box ( Noel says 'casement ' is the correct word for 'box') about 50m apart. Apparently, along the 6000km of coast line the Germans were defending, there was one of these evey 15km. These guns were made in the factory that now makes Skoda cars.
Then we went to Arromanches to see an artificial harbour created be the Allies to enable the D day landings. It was codenamed Mulberry. The guide explained in detail how it was all made, quite a few bits are still there. An amazing engineering and logistical feat.
From the harbour we looked to the right and saw part of Gold beach where the British 50th infantry division ( Noel's military memory is better than my holiday notetaking) landed. The guide talked about the different types of tanks that landed first to clear the beach of German laid obstacles. Quite ingenious. Just at Gold , 1 of 5 'beaches' , 24,000 men landed in 24 hours with 400 casualaties.
Then we went to a small cemetery , Ryes, where most of the graves were for British soldiers. There was 1 Australian and , in the back left hand corner ( as in all of the Comonewealth War Graves Commision graveyards) were a group of Germans.
In the afternoon, with a differnt guide, we went first Pegasus Bridge , a bridge in the eastern part of the battle area that was vital for the Allies to take back from the Germans so that the various forces being landed on the beaches could get to where they were going to. About 180 paratroupers from the 6th airborne Oxford and Buckinghamshire regiment were loaded into 6 gliders ( apparently nicknamed 'flying coffins' ). 3 were to land near the bridge and 3 a little distance away. We were standing near the bridge and I could throw a stone ( almost) to the area where 3 of them landed, at night. Needless to say they got control of the bridge..
We went to an outdoor museum where there were various displays of other heroic feats, but we were both a bit brain dead. We went to another cemetery at Ranville. We saw a recent grave, dug about 2 years ago of an airman who was found in a plane wreck that was recently discovered. We were then taken to look at Sword another beach, where the 3rd division of British troups landed.
Then we went to Arromanches to see an artificial harbour created be the Allies to enable the D day landings. It was codenamed Mulberry. The guide explained in detail how it was all made, quite a few bits are still there. An amazing engineering and logistical feat.
From the harbour we looked to the right and saw part of Gold beach where the British 50th infantry division ( Noel's military memory is better than my holiday notetaking) landed. The guide talked about the different types of tanks that landed first to clear the beach of German laid obstacles. Quite ingenious. Just at Gold , 1 of 5 'beaches' , 24,000 men landed in 24 hours with 400 casualaties.
Then we went to a small cemetery , Ryes, where most of the graves were for British soldiers. There was 1 Australian and , in the back left hand corner ( as in all of the Comonewealth War Graves Commision graveyards) were a group of Germans.
In the afternoon, with a differnt guide, we went first Pegasus Bridge , a bridge in the eastern part of the battle area that was vital for the Allies to take back from the Germans so that the various forces being landed on the beaches could get to where they were going to. About 180 paratroupers from the 6th airborne Oxford and Buckinghamshire regiment were loaded into 6 gliders ( apparently nicknamed 'flying coffins' ). 3 were to land near the bridge and 3 a little distance away. We were standing near the bridge and I could throw a stone ( almost) to the area where 3 of them landed, at night. Needless to say they got control of the bridge..
We went to an outdoor museum where there were various displays of other heroic feats, but we were both a bit brain dead. We went to another cemetery at Ranville. We saw a recent grave, dug about 2 years ago of an airman who was found in a plane wreck that was recently discovered. We were then taken to look at Sword another beach, where the 3rd division of British troups landed.
Mont Saint Michel
Before we came away I spent a lot of time trying to work out how we could get to MSM by public transport . About 3 hours each way with many changes from either Bayeux or Dinan. So we paid to walk 400m down the road and get into a bus. 1 and 1/2 hours in comfort.
The view of the Mount as we approached was just like in the pictures. Luckily because on the way there had been quite a lot of fog. We walked up hill through the tourist shops and cafes to the start of the church, then climbed and climbed and climbed up stairs.
We followed the designated route back down through the layers of abbey ontop of church. It was not too crowded. Still crowded enough to have extras in most of my photos. It was absolutely amazing. Chamber after chamber, huge and small, fancy vaulted ceilings, intricate but simple stained glass patterns in the windows, huge pillars, narrow winding stairs, great wide staircases, huge fireplaces, lots of intimate chapels, wonderful interesting cloisters.
We wound our way down the hill via the ramparts which bypassed the commercialism, stopping to eat our sandwiches overlooking the bay.
Some stuff we were told about France:
Most reliant country in the world on nuclear power 75%. Processes spent fuel for many countries. 40% of people now are against nuclear power. Offshore wind farms are being tried. A huge windfarm 4 miles off the coast is being constructed.
Avranche sheep from MSM area. Creamy colour with black faces.
St Michael ( as in MSM) has 3 jobs. He weighs the souls at death to decide where they go, he takes the correct weight ones to paradise and he protects heaven nd earth from the devil. Busy chap.
The view of the Mount as we approached was just like in the pictures. Luckily because on the way there had been quite a lot of fog. We walked up hill through the tourist shops and cafes to the start of the church, then climbed and climbed and climbed up stairs.
We followed the designated route back down through the layers of abbey ontop of church. It was not too crowded. Still crowded enough to have extras in most of my photos. It was absolutely amazing. Chamber after chamber, huge and small, fancy vaulted ceilings, intricate but simple stained glass patterns in the windows, huge pillars, narrow winding stairs, great wide staircases, huge fireplaces, lots of intimate chapels, wonderful interesting cloisters.
We wound our way down the hill via the ramparts which bypassed the commercialism, stopping to eat our sandwiches overlooking the bay.
Some stuff we were told about France:
Most reliant country in the world on nuclear power 75%. Processes spent fuel for many countries. 40% of people now are against nuclear power. Offshore wind farms are being tried. A huge windfarm 4 miles off the coast is being constructed.
Avranche sheep from MSM area. Creamy colour with black faces.
St Michael ( as in MSM) has 3 jobs. He weighs the souls at death to decide where they go, he takes the correct weight ones to paradise and he protects heaven nd earth from the devil. Busy chap.
Tuesday, September 11, 2018
Bayeux Tapestry and Battle of Normandy
Bayeux is a delightful town. We have enjoyed wandering around - except yesterday when we got home late from our tour to Honfleur, could not find a restaurant that was open and not full or not so understaffed that we walked out after waiting over10 minutes for a menu. We ate rice cakes and cashews for dinner. Yummy!
This morning we went to the museum which displays the amazing Bayeux Tapestry. It is almost 70 metres long. You get an audio guide that you cannot pause, so every one moves at the same speed around the horseshoelike display wall. There were few people when we were there, before the hordes, as evidenced by the waiting sheep run like queueing system in the admission area. It was wonderful to see how much expression the figures had, the detail in the embroidery and to be reminded and learn more of the history of William the Conqueror and others. Depending on whether you are French or English the moral of the story is that Harold was punished by God for going back on his word or Harold perjured himself so that he ( a Saxon) could become King and repell the Norman attack on England.
The attached museum had more details about the history of the period, the embroidery, the boats used, etc. There was also a film we watched and enjoyed the explanation of the history.
We wandered through some more streets, bought some bread, cheese ( Camembert of course) , ham and tomatoes and came back to the restful courtyard of our B and B. Our host stuck his head out the door to offer us a glass of vin. I have thoughts of a cider based aperativ before dinner so we declined.
I spent the afternoon pottering, catching up with emails while Noel went to the Battle of Normandy Museum. It was quite interesting and typical of many military museums - maps, models, diplays and equipment.
This morning we went to the museum which displays the amazing Bayeux Tapestry. It is almost 70 metres long. You get an audio guide that you cannot pause, so every one moves at the same speed around the horseshoelike display wall. There were few people when we were there, before the hordes, as evidenced by the waiting sheep run like queueing system in the admission area. It was wonderful to see how much expression the figures had, the detail in the embroidery and to be reminded and learn more of the history of William the Conqueror and others. Depending on whether you are French or English the moral of the story is that Harold was punished by God for going back on his word or Harold perjured himself so that he ( a Saxon) could become King and repell the Norman attack on England.
The attached museum had more details about the history of the period, the embroidery, the boats used, etc. There was also a film we watched and enjoyed the explanation of the history.
We wandered through some more streets, bought some bread, cheese ( Camembert of course) , ham and tomatoes and came back to the restful courtyard of our B and B. Our host stuck his head out the door to offer us a glass of vin. I have thoughts of a cider based aperativ before dinner so we declined.
I spent the afternoon pottering, catching up with emails while Noel went to the Battle of Normandy Museum. It was quite interesting and typical of many military museums - maps, models, diplays and equipment.
Monday, September 10, 2018
Apples and Honfleur and surrounds
On Sunday We had a very interesting day's tour with the very pleasant and knowledgable Karine, a gentle Amercan couple and an Australian lady.
We drove from here north, stopped in a delightful town , Beuvron-sur-Ange, then went to a cider tasting place in Cambremer, then Honfleur, drove through Trouville, walked along a bit of the beach in Deauville, then return back to Bayeux.
Along the way we learnt, or rather we were told :
Te carpet bombing of Caen in WW2 was very bad. They are still defusing unexploded bombs. Just last week a bomb underneath a house was diffused. Defusing is done on a Sunday, quiet day. People are told to leave their hoses leaving all windows open ( in case diffusing doesnot work) . Lots of police are engaged to protect the properties from looters.
Rouen at the end of the 9thC was a Viking town under the command of Rollo. Richest city after Paris. In 911 the area became Normandy.
Area we went through very marshy. Hedgerows and ditches to help absorb water as well as wind protection. Called baucage. Problem for allied tanks. Also areas of oak forests.
Normandy cows ( a breed) both milk and meat. Brown and white, various shades of brown but always a brown patch around eyes. Many less dairies than in the past. Now a big dairy is 100 cows grazing outside. In Netherlands 5000 Holstein cows, all inside , 1 farm. Normandy cows milk creamier. Cows graze in apple orchards except when apples are ripening. Fallen apples, slightly fermenting, eaten by cow, drunk cow, no milk.
Lots of horse studs in area. Mainly racing thoroughbreds. Some people have started to use donkeys again. Put a donkey in with highly strung horses = calmer race horses.
Beuvron-sur-Ange a pretty town. Lots of traditional half-timbered houses. Flowers everywhere. Lace curtains. On Sunday morning not too many tourists. Apparently it is half way from Paris to Mont Sant Michele therefore buses stop. We tried some traditional rice pudding - teugoule - cooked in slow oven overnight, rice, milk and cinnamon.
Some builders still doing thatched roofs. From reeds. Clay along roof line. Irises often grown in clay. Their extensive root network keeps clay in place.
Area known for apple cider( all alcoholic) About 10 different varieties of apples used in the one batch of cider. Often different types of trees growing next to each other. Not eating apples. Thus no problems with birds. At Cambremer we stopped at a cider making cellar door. Tried some apple cider with a baguette and 3 cheeses - a Camambert, Pont Eveque, and Livarot. The Camambert was the star. We also tried some Pommeau - a mixture of cider and Calvados and we tried some Calvados.
We drove onto Honfleur, a pretty town on the southern bank of the mouth of the Seine, opposite Le Havre. Lots of artists used to come here. We went to a wooden church, St Catherine's, the largest wooden church in France, wandered around then went to a chapel on a hill which was built for seamen to give thanks for safe passages. The statue of Mary is holding a model boat as well as Jesus. There was a good view of Honfleur and Le Havre from a nearby hill.
The bishops in the area used to be very rich. They owned a lot of bridges, given to them by sinning land owners in return for foregiveness. Owners of bridges could exact a toll. We have just seen in the Bayeux tapestry Bishop Odo, Will the conqueror's offsider wielding a huge club as he rode into battle. Bishops were not allowed to shed blood but they could knock a man lifeless.
Trouville and Deauville are Victorian seaside towns very popular with Parisians. Lots of huge old fancy houses, lots of sand. Apparently Coco Chanel sold clothes for the first time in Deauville. She had sold shoes previously in Paris.
It is illegal in France to ask on a form anyone's race or religion.
Viking place names :
...vec river
...fleur ( e.g.Honfleur) mouth of river
We drove from here north, stopped in a delightful town , Beuvron-sur-Ange, then went to a cider tasting place in Cambremer, then Honfleur, drove through Trouville, walked along a bit of the beach in Deauville, then return back to Bayeux.
Along the way we learnt, or rather we were told :
Te carpet bombing of Caen in WW2 was very bad. They are still defusing unexploded bombs. Just last week a bomb underneath a house was diffused. Defusing is done on a Sunday, quiet day. People are told to leave their hoses leaving all windows open ( in case diffusing doesnot work) . Lots of police are engaged to protect the properties from looters.
Rouen at the end of the 9thC was a Viking town under the command of Rollo. Richest city after Paris. In 911 the area became Normandy.
Area we went through very marshy. Hedgerows and ditches to help absorb water as well as wind protection. Called baucage. Problem for allied tanks. Also areas of oak forests.
Normandy cows ( a breed) both milk and meat. Brown and white, various shades of brown but always a brown patch around eyes. Many less dairies than in the past. Now a big dairy is 100 cows grazing outside. In Netherlands 5000 Holstein cows, all inside , 1 farm. Normandy cows milk creamier. Cows graze in apple orchards except when apples are ripening. Fallen apples, slightly fermenting, eaten by cow, drunk cow, no milk.
Lots of horse studs in area. Mainly racing thoroughbreds. Some people have started to use donkeys again. Put a donkey in with highly strung horses = calmer race horses.
Beuvron-sur-Ange a pretty town. Lots of traditional half-timbered houses. Flowers everywhere. Lace curtains. On Sunday morning not too many tourists. Apparently it is half way from Paris to Mont Sant Michele therefore buses stop. We tried some traditional rice pudding - teugoule - cooked in slow oven overnight, rice, milk and cinnamon.
Some builders still doing thatched roofs. From reeds. Clay along roof line. Irises often grown in clay. Their extensive root network keeps clay in place.
Area known for apple cider( all alcoholic) About 10 different varieties of apples used in the one batch of cider. Often different types of trees growing next to each other. Not eating apples. Thus no problems with birds. At Cambremer we stopped at a cider making cellar door. Tried some apple cider with a baguette and 3 cheeses - a Camambert, Pont Eveque, and Livarot. The Camambert was the star. We also tried some Pommeau - a mixture of cider and Calvados and we tried some Calvados.
We drove onto Honfleur, a pretty town on the southern bank of the mouth of the Seine, opposite Le Havre. Lots of artists used to come here. We went to a wooden church, St Catherine's, the largest wooden church in France, wandered around then went to a chapel on a hill which was built for seamen to give thanks for safe passages. The statue of Mary is holding a model boat as well as Jesus. There was a good view of Honfleur and Le Havre from a nearby hill.
The bishops in the area used to be very rich. They owned a lot of bridges, given to them by sinning land owners in return for foregiveness. Owners of bridges could exact a toll. We have just seen in the Bayeux tapestry Bishop Odo, Will the conqueror's offsider wielding a huge club as he rode into battle. Bishops were not allowed to shed blood but they could knock a man lifeless.
Trouville and Deauville are Victorian seaside towns very popular with Parisians. Lots of huge old fancy houses, lots of sand. Apparently Coco Chanel sold clothes for the first time in Deauville. She had sold shoes previously in Paris.
It is illegal in France to ask on a form anyone's race or religion.
Viking place names :
...vec river
...fleur ( e.g.Honfleur) mouth of river
Sunday, September 9, 2018
Poole to Bayeux
The ferry trip yesterday was very pleasant. The boarding procedure was smooth. There was a fine view of Poole from the top deck as we left the harbour. After a few hours we had a fine view of Cherbourg as we entered that harbour. The ferry company's bus took us part way to the middle of the town and we walked the rest of the way to the railway station.
Last year we had a bad experience of a regional train from Lyon to Avignon. We had to squeeze ourselves and bags on and only got a seat after half an hour, This time we had our choice of about 20 seats in the carriage we got into.
Our accomodation is delightful. A lovely large room looking out over a small courtyard with the cathedral spires not far away. The old paved floor is not even, the bed is comfy and the new small kitchen and bathroom have been added in an interesting manner with several skylights.
This morning, Sunday, we enjoyed a delicious breakfast and then went on a tour to Honfleur and other places.
Last year we had a bad experience of a regional train from Lyon to Avignon. We had to squeeze ourselves and bags on and only got a seat after half an hour, This time we had our choice of about 20 seats in the carriage we got into.
Our accomodation is delightful. A lovely large room looking out over a small courtyard with the cathedral spires not far away. The old paved floor is not even, the bed is comfy and the new small kitchen and bathroom have been added in an interesting manner with several skylights.
This morning, Sunday, we enjoyed a delicious breakfast and then went on a tour to Honfleur and other places.
Friday, September 7, 2018
Friday train to Poole
This morning we had a leisurely breakfast then walked to the nearby railway station and caught the train to Poole. Once again we went through town after town of brown , light, medium and dark , houses and other buildings, occasionally with some white. Boring conformity.
It took us a little while to work out how to get out of the railway station at Poole onto the right road. The map and the ground were a bit hard to reconcile with roads and freeways over other roads but we got here ok.
We are staying at a quaint old pub which has 3 small rooms up narrow windy stairs. We were unimpressed by the menu of burgers and chips for lunch so walked 50m down the road to another pub and had a lovely lunch. We then walked to the ferry terminal from where we will catch the ferry to France tomorrow. On the way back we decided a taxi was the way to go. We found a Sainsburys and bought breakfast : grapes, rice crackers, goats cheese and cashews.
Dinner was at the Angel, our lunch venue. Again we had good food in very pleasant, friendly surroundings. We chatted to the cook, ( who was quite happy to halve 1 meal for us both) about his time working at the Royal Life Boat Institute school down the road. This brought back childhood memories. Every year we received a Christmas card from my fathers sister and her family put out by the RLBI. The one problem with Poole is crossing the roads. The locals drive very quickly, specially around corners, the pedestrian crossing lights take ages to change and on these the only green, go, sign is on the post near the preess button. Easy to miss.
It took us a little while to work out how to get out of the railway station at Poole onto the right road. The map and the ground were a bit hard to reconcile with roads and freeways over other roads but we got here ok.
We are staying at a quaint old pub which has 3 small rooms up narrow windy stairs. We were unimpressed by the menu of burgers and chips for lunch so walked 50m down the road to another pub and had a lovely lunch. We then walked to the ferry terminal from where we will catch the ferry to France tomorrow. On the way back we decided a taxi was the way to go. We found a Sainsburys and bought breakfast : grapes, rice crackers, goats cheese and cashews.
Dinner was at the Angel, our lunch venue. Again we had good food in very pleasant, friendly surroundings. We chatted to the cook, ( who was quite happy to halve 1 meal for us both) about his time working at the Royal Life Boat Institute school down the road. This brought back childhood memories. Every year we received a Christmas card from my fathers sister and her family put out by the RLBI. The one problem with Poole is crossing the roads. The locals drive very quickly, specially around corners, the pedestrian crossing lights take ages to change and on these the only green, go, sign is on the post near the preess button. Easy to miss.
Thursday Kew Gardens and the Tate Modern
On Thursday Noel met his daughter and her partner at Kew Gardens. They had a lovely day. For Noel the highlight was the temperate house. The main structure of this large Victorian glass house had a smaller annex at each end. It is the largest Victorian glasshouse still standing. Fascinating architecture. They had many Australian plants. The parklike grounds were beautifully maintained and the principal features were widely separated. Noel enjoyed less the high 30 C degree, high humidity of the palm house also constructed of glass.
I took th opportunity to potter a bit on my own. I wandered from where we were staying to Covent Garden area trying to keep to the laneways rather than the busy more direct roads. It was a lovely sunny day with many people sitting in pavement cafes. Somewhere along the route I saw some different pedestrian crossing lights. Instead of a green man indicating crossing was allowed there was an interlocking male and female symbol.
I crossed the river again and went to the Tate Modern. As background, in 2012 in Washington I was really interested in a room in The Phillips Collection that was purpose-built for 4 Rothko paintings, all similarly coloured but all slightly different. The smallish room just had 1 bench in the middle .There was a sort of progression from 1 painting to the next that invited contemplation ( well, for me it did). But why? They are just blocks of colour on canvas. In the Tate Modern there was a room, once again purpose built for a series of 9 paintings that Rothko made for the Tate. I sat a while thinking.
I came out of the Tate by a different exit to the way I went in accidentally and was momentarily geographically challenged. Where was the river, which direction was the hotel? Over the past years Noel has learnt when to say 'Right, Sue, time for some food for you'. But he was at Kew. So I ate a bit later than I should have.
In the evening we met Noel's daughter and her partner for a very enjoyable dinner.
I took th opportunity to potter a bit on my own. I wandered from where we were staying to Covent Garden area trying to keep to the laneways rather than the busy more direct roads. It was a lovely sunny day with many people sitting in pavement cafes. Somewhere along the route I saw some different pedestrian crossing lights. Instead of a green man indicating crossing was allowed there was an interlocking male and female symbol.
I crossed the river again and went to the Tate Modern. As background, in 2012 in Washington I was really interested in a room in The Phillips Collection that was purpose-built for 4 Rothko paintings, all similarly coloured but all slightly different. The smallish room just had 1 bench in the middle .There was a sort of progression from 1 painting to the next that invited contemplation ( well, for me it did). But why? They are just blocks of colour on canvas. In the Tate Modern there was a room, once again purpose built for a series of 9 paintings that Rothko made for the Tate. I sat a while thinking.
I came out of the Tate by a different exit to the way I went in accidentally and was momentarily geographically challenged. Where was the river, which direction was the hotel? Over the past years Noel has learnt when to say 'Right, Sue, time for some food for you'. But he was at Kew. So I ate a bit later than I should have.
In the evening we met Noel's daughter and her partner for a very enjoyable dinner.
Wednesday, September 5, 2018
London
The focus for our 2 days in London has been to spend time with Noel's daughter and her partner and to go to a few places we had not been to. On wedesday we met them at the Victoria and Albert Museum and pottered around a few galleries chatting. The little we saw, in the Medieval Galleries and some of the Asian galleries was very interesting. After a long chat over tea in the ornate 1860's cafe we came back to our basic hotel room in Waterloo. We met them again at the imperial war Museum in the afternoon. Again, we picked only a few galleries to wander through . We looked at the displays of Britain's involvement in troublespots since 1945 and at the harrowing Holocaust display.
Tuesday, September 4, 2018
Arrived in London.
We arrived in Heathrow this morning . We had a good sleep between Singapore and Munich. Because of my onward plans to come home via Missouri and to keep my extra costs to a minimum, we have to fly with Lufthanser, hence an extra stop in Europe, Munich.
We came straight to our hotel near Waterloo station and were very pleased to have immediate acess to our room and a shower and clean clothes. We wandered down to the river and found lots of people out and about. A pleasant atmosphere. We enjoyed a good coffee at a Le Pain Quotidien - a chain I frequented in NYC in January. Their house-made gluten free bread was delicious, based entirely on seeds. I digress. On the way back to our hotel I discovered , when i tried to use them, that the 2 GBP coins I had been given in my change by the cafe we had lunch at were no longer legal tender. We went back. She feigned suprise that she had given them to me, but I distinctly remember her looking at them as she gave them to me. The 2 coinsare unmistakenly different. Ah well.
Dinner at the bar/restaurant attached to the hotel was OK. Because I had paid our hotel bill, I was not able to charge the dinner to our room. Bit odd.
Very tired. Early to bed.
We came straight to our hotel near Waterloo station and were very pleased to have immediate acess to our room and a shower and clean clothes. We wandered down to the river and found lots of people out and about. A pleasant atmosphere. We enjoyed a good coffee at a Le Pain Quotidien - a chain I frequented in NYC in January. Their house-made gluten free bread was delicious, based entirely on seeds. I digress. On the way back to our hotel I discovered , when i tried to use them, that the 2 GBP coins I had been given in my change by the cafe we had lunch at were no longer legal tender. We went back. She feigned suprise that she had given them to me, but I distinctly remember her looking at them as she gave them to me. The 2 coinsare unmistakenly different. Ah well.
Dinner at the bar/restaurant attached to the hotel was OK. Because I had paid our hotel bill, I was not able to charge the dinner to our room. Bit odd.
Very tired. Early to bed.
Saturday, January 20, 2018
31 hours door to door
I was pleased with how I was a bit better than previously at standing in queues and switching off and not getting agitated. I was very pleased to walk into my apartment at midday today.
Wednesday, January 17, 2018
Last few days in New York
I have been reminding myself that this is a holiday as well as a trip. Yesterday I went to Midtown and caught the ferry which zig zags it's way down the East River, starting at 34th street , going over to about 5 stops , the first in Long Island City, the southern end of Queens, then several stops along the Brooklyn shore then crosses back to the Wall Street pier. I went to the North Williamsburg stop. The ferry seemed quite new, the LIC and Brooklyn wharves were all very new, but each time the ferry driver took several goes to position the ferry properly at the wharf. Maybe the water was chopper than normal, but I think not. Maybe he was on his L's.
I walked through one of the very new parts of Williamsburg- lots of construction, very old run down buildings, brand new trendy looking apartments, small interesting shops. I walked around, was going to walk to the stop at South Williamsburg but decided to return to the one I got off and came back to my apartment.
In the evening I went to see The Book of Mormon. It was very funny, with lots of good singing and dancing. The single guy sitting next to me lives in a town 63 km ( I have just asked Mr google) away from Wendy in the middle of nowhere in MO. What are the odds of that? We chatted quite amicably about everything and nothing before the show and at interval.
Today I had breakfast in my normal cafe, was greeted by the locals and was assured , when the topic of weather came up, that today's steadily falling snow and the conditions are quite different from the snow 2 weeks ago that stopped Carol getting out of NY. According to the locals, I should have no difficulty getting out tomorrow.
I pottered in my apartment till lunch time , when I walked a long way around to a nearby cafe for lunch but did not enjoy the slippery conditions. I learnt what slippery frozen snow looked like 2 weeks ago here and I learnt in Quebec City what slippery half frozen snow on top of half frozen snow looks like, but today's light snow on footpaths looked like slush to me but was, in fact, quite slippery. I will know for next time. If? When?
I have just returned from dinner at the place I went to last week with the $1 oysters , which becomes more like 1. 60 AUS by the time you add their tax, then the 20 % 'tip' then convert to our dollar. Still I had a delicious final dinner. As well as oysters I tried a few clams. One, the cherry stone clam was huge and delicious. THe same waiter as last time looked after me. He had told me he comes from the Midwest. After last nights coincidence , tomight I asked him where in the Midwest. I told him my daughter lives in Missouri. He comes from Iowa about an hours drive from the border of Missouri. Quite diplomatically , he asked how she found it. After a sentance or 2 of me trying to be diplomatic, he read between the lines and was quick to say that many parts of Iowa are quite progressive and forward thinking. I have enjoyed my exposure to this country of contrasts over the last year
.
I walked through one of the very new parts of Williamsburg- lots of construction, very old run down buildings, brand new trendy looking apartments, small interesting shops. I walked around, was going to walk to the stop at South Williamsburg but decided to return to the one I got off and came back to my apartment.
In the evening I went to see The Book of Mormon. It was very funny, with lots of good singing and dancing. The single guy sitting next to me lives in a town 63 km ( I have just asked Mr google) away from Wendy in the middle of nowhere in MO. What are the odds of that? We chatted quite amicably about everything and nothing before the show and at interval.
Today I had breakfast in my normal cafe, was greeted by the locals and was assured , when the topic of weather came up, that today's steadily falling snow and the conditions are quite different from the snow 2 weeks ago that stopped Carol getting out of NY. According to the locals, I should have no difficulty getting out tomorrow.
I pottered in my apartment till lunch time , when I walked a long way around to a nearby cafe for lunch but did not enjoy the slippery conditions. I learnt what slippery frozen snow looked like 2 weeks ago here and I learnt in Quebec City what slippery half frozen snow on top of half frozen snow looks like, but today's light snow on footpaths looked like slush to me but was, in fact, quite slippery. I will know for next time. If? When?
I have just returned from dinner at the place I went to last week with the $1 oysters , which becomes more like 1. 60 AUS by the time you add their tax, then the 20 % 'tip' then convert to our dollar. Still I had a delicious final dinner. As well as oysters I tried a few clams. One, the cherry stone clam was huge and delicious. THe same waiter as last time looked after me. He had told me he comes from the Midwest. After last nights coincidence , tomight I asked him where in the Midwest. I told him my daughter lives in Missouri. He comes from Iowa about an hours drive from the border of Missouri. Quite diplomatically , he asked how she found it. After a sentance or 2 of me trying to be diplomatic, he read between the lines and was quick to say that many parts of Iowa are quite progressive and forward thinking. I have enjoyed my exposure to this country of contrasts over the last year
.
Monday, January 15, 2018
Trinity church, Central park
Yesterday morning the omelette won over heated up veggies and meat that I did not enjoy first time around. I dawdled reading the paper as long as I could. I went to the southern end of Manhatten, the first settled part and now the financial district. I went to a choral service at Trinity church, the oldest Episcopalian church and the one that I had been to on Christmas Day with Wendy and her family. I knew it was going to be a special service. Today is Martin Luther King Day, a public holiday for most. Trinity had a special preacher, Ruby Sales, who,I suspect ,many of the congregation had come to hear. She is described in the pew bulletin as a social activist, public theologian,scholar etc etc. In her words she is ' pushing 3 score and 10' but she is still a powerful and engaging speaker. To fit the day we sang 'swing low, sweet chariot', ' mine eyes have seen the glory..' and others. Her message was partly about what she called the troubling in the land. Her less than favourable remarks about Trump drew loud applause.
After lunch I wandered around Battery Park, right on the southern tip of Manhattan. Since I was here last, they have built a different sort of carousel in a building. Instead of a horse you sit in a fish which rotates and goes up and down in a sort of ocean with changing coloured lights. I thought of having a ride but decided not to. I had been disturbed by a flickering fluorescent light at breakfast , didnot much like the changing lights and didnot see how I could get off mid ride if I got queasy trying to take a selfie to prove I had been inside a fish.
Today after breakfast in my apartment I wandered around Central Park for ages.
The sun was shining, I had all my layers on and was warm enough. After lunch in a nice place I pottered in the knitting wool shop that I like for ages looking at things, getting ideas, talking to other people.
Still sheets of ice on the lake. Upper West Side mansions, bare trees.
After lunch I wandered around Battery Park, right on the southern tip of Manhattan. Since I was here last, they have built a different sort of carousel in a building. Instead of a horse you sit in a fish which rotates and goes up and down in a sort of ocean with changing coloured lights. I thought of having a ride but decided not to. I had been disturbed by a flickering fluorescent light at breakfast , didnot much like the changing lights and didnot see how I could get off mid ride if I got queasy trying to take a selfie to prove I had been inside a fish.
Today after breakfast in my apartment I wandered around Central Park for ages.
The sun was shining, I had all my layers on and was warm enough. After lunch in a nice place I pottered in the knitting wool shop that I like for ages looking at things, getting ideas, talking to other people.
Saturday, January 13, 2018
Saturday
Today I had breakfast again at the same place. The same 2 separate woman arrived at much the same time as I did, and had the same breakfast as they had before. I vary mine. Then I went to Union Square which has a market on Saturdays and other days but Saturday is the biggest. Lots of interesting local produce. There was a lady with a large stall of dried flowers. They were beautiful, lovely vibrant colours. Lots of different arrangements, very reasonably priced. I would have liked to buy something.
Then I walked to Chelsea markets and wandered around, but there were far too many people and mostly tourists, so I came back to my apartment by yet another different way which included a coffee stop. Several people sell hot , spiced apple cider, but so far I have not found one that does not have added sugar.
I had a pleasant afternoon pottering in my apartment catching up on some emails, reading, etc. but now I am grumpy. I have made the same mistake as I made last time I was here. There are lots of 'diners' around. Not always diners with booths but I thinK it it has come to mean fast, cheap, fairly ordinary food. As it happens I went to a nearby diner. I got a plate of roast lamb that, if blindfolded, I would probably have guessed lamb by elimination . When I ordered he rattled off a list of vegetables. I should have said ' a little of everything' but instead said broccoli and potato. Let's just say I donot like paying money for things I can cook better myself. The annoying thing is, I had the same complaint 4 1/2 years ago. I donot know yet whether I will eat the left overs for breakfast or go out for a nice omelette.
Then I walked to Chelsea markets and wandered around, but there were far too many people and mostly tourists, so I came back to my apartment by yet another different way which included a coffee stop. Several people sell hot , spiced apple cider, but so far I have not found one that does not have added sugar.
I had a pleasant afternoon pottering in my apartment catching up on some emails, reading, etc. but now I am grumpy. I have made the same mistake as I made last time I was here. There are lots of 'diners' around. Not always diners with booths but I thinK it it has come to mean fast, cheap, fairly ordinary food. As it happens I went to a nearby diner. I got a plate of roast lamb that, if blindfolded, I would probably have guessed lamb by elimination . When I ordered he rattled off a list of vegetables. I should have said ' a little of everything' but instead said broccoli and potato. Let's just say I donot like paying money for things I can cook better myself. The annoying thing is, I had the same complaint 4 1/2 years ago. I donot know yet whether I will eat the left overs for breakfast or go out for a nice omelette.
Friday lunch and Jewish Museum
Yesterday I had breakfast for the second time in a cafe over the road and saw 2 women that I saw the first time, both locals or at least very regulars. They were greeted , separately , no orders were taken ,their food just appeared.
I dawdled a bit , then went into Midtown and met Joan , a cousin of a friend who I have met several times now in NY, for lunch. We talked for ages, then she went back to work and I went to the Jewish Museum. Ihad been told that their permanent collection was being rearranged and unviewable but that there was a good exhibition of Modigliani's early work. It was interesting. Lots of his early African-ish heads and talk of his early painting life in Paris in the early 1900 when Jews were out of favour, but he was Italian and didnot fit in anywhere and how this affected his work.
There was also an exhibition of clothing worn by Jewish women and some menswear collected from various continents over the years. Many different designs and textiles. It concentrated on how the different groups of Jewish people had adapted their dress to be more like the local country, or adapted the local costume to suit their rules and customs. There were quite a few garments from Bukhara, Uzbekistan with the characteristic patterns and colours that I recognised from 41 years ago.
A funny incident I donot want to forget . I am normally careful , when I come out of a subway station, to orient myself correctly before I move off. The stairs out the subways always go round corners and I find it hard to remember which direction is which . Anyway , I forgot, walked off and realised when I got to the first crossroad that I had gone the wrong way, laughed at myself ( an improvement, I was not cross with myself) , turned around and there was a human sized Mickey Mouse waving at me. I smiled at the universe that arranged for him to be there.
I dawdled a bit , then went into Midtown and met Joan , a cousin of a friend who I have met several times now in NY, for lunch. We talked for ages, then she went back to work and I went to the Jewish Museum. Ihad been told that their permanent collection was being rearranged and unviewable but that there was a good exhibition of Modigliani's early work. It was interesting. Lots of his early African-ish heads and talk of his early painting life in Paris in the early 1900 when Jews were out of favour, but he was Italian and didnot fit in anywhere and how this affected his work.
There was also an exhibition of clothing worn by Jewish women and some menswear collected from various continents over the years. Many different designs and textiles. It concentrated on how the different groups of Jewish people had adapted their dress to be more like the local country, or adapted the local costume to suit their rules and customs. There were quite a few garments from Bukhara, Uzbekistan with the characteristic patterns and colours that I recognised from 41 years ago.
A funny incident I donot want to forget . I am normally careful , when I come out of a subway station, to orient myself correctly before I move off. The stairs out the subways always go round corners and I find it hard to remember which direction is which . Anyway , I forgot, walked off and realised when I got to the first crossroad that I had gone the wrong way, laughed at myself ( an improvement, I was not cross with myself) , turned around and there was a human sized Mickey Mouse waving at me. I smiled at the universe that arranged for him to be there.
Thursday, January 11, 2018
Another visit to the Met Museum and pottering in Soho
Yesterday I walked through Central Park to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in the morning. It was a lovely fine sunny day, about 3 or 4 degrees, so quite mild after the last few weeks. I have been taking lots of photos of bare trees. I find them strangely attractive but have no idea why.
At the Museum there is currently an exhibition entitled "Michelangelo: Divine Draftsman and Designer" that I walked around. There were lots of people looking and lots of drawings and sketches that all looked much the same to me after a while. There were some drawings of buildings he designed.
The Met also has a large exhibition of David Hockney's work. It seemed like they had a good representation of the various stages of his paintings in the various places he has lived . I liked some of the more abstract ones of his time in California, not so much the ones with people in them. There were 2 paintings of the grand canyon which I was interested to see after being there 6 months ago. More recently he went back to live in Yorkshire for a while and there were some I liked that he painted there. All his paintings are bright and full of life. He is in his 80s now and uses an iPad each morning to sketch what he sees out his window.
After a coffee and a mental switch off, I really enjoyed wandering around the section called 'Art of the Arab lands, Turkey, Iran, Central Asia and Later South Asia.' There was so much interesting, beautiful stuff, that I didnot know how to spend my time, so I just picked one thing in each room to closely look at, enjoy, and read about.
I pottered in a different part of Midtown in the afternoon and in the evening went to see The marriage of Figaro at the Metropolitan Opera. It was great fun. Wonderful singing and excellent acting. The evening was slightly spoiled because my knee which does not do ' bent stationary' at all well decided to not respond to panadol, well only for 30 minutes. Luckily the guy next to me was a shuffler and didnot seem to mind that I was trying to move my leg a lot.
This morning I slept in then went to a nearby cafe, one of the Le Pain Quotidien chain. I had an interesting conversation with a young woman who grew up in France, worked in Britain, elsewhere, then San Francisco Bay area and now NYC.
Then I went to the box office of the theatre where I have tickets for the book of Mormon next week. ( very poor englisH, sorry) After last night I had to change my seat, which I did to an aisle so I could stick my leg straight) but it had to be a higher category. What a pity!
Then I caught a train further south and wandered around Soho. There is a knitting wool shop that was the excuse, but I enjoyed the edgier feel of the place. Lots of small shops with different stuff, but no prices. I donot think I have seen any prices at all in shop windows, not even the ordinary shops . There was a bigger variety of buildings and some old brick roads.
On my way back from the nearest subway stop on one of the 2 subway lines that I have the choice between, there are about 6 fancy hotels. Last time I was in new york I used to amuse myself by deciding where I would stay (if I was filthy rich) based on the uniform of the doormen who always stand outside waiting to greet their clients. Some are too ornate, some too plain. Until now this trip they have all been inside. Sometimes you can see them peering out , waiting. The temperature must have risen enough - to about 5 degrees I think- for them all to be standing outside today. Except they had rather boring rain coats on, not nice woolen overcoats that I have seen once before.
I have just come home from a delicious seafood meal. As background, before I came I was looking forward to having some oysters from the Oyster Bar under Grand Central as I have on previous visits. When I went a few days ago I passed on the oysters because the cheapest was over $2 each and quite a few were over $4 each.
Several days ago , a lady I talked to in a coffee shop recommended Crave, a few blocks away. I had looked in the window at the menu, thouht the mains were a bit pricey, saw that they had lots of specials in happy hour 5.30 to 6.30 and thought it would be worth a try, so I went to day. I was delighted to find that in happy hour oysters are $1 each. It would have been sensible to try the ones that were the more expensive ones, but I could not work out how to phrase that politely, so I just asked the waiter to choose 3 different ones X 2. Then I had some crab stuff on a corn tortilla and then possible the best calamari I have ever had with Japanese flavours. The glass of wine that came on special in happy hour was an ugni blanc / colombard blend from France. Ugni sounded an odd french word that i had never heard before but I looked it up ( thank you Mr Google) to find it is the French name for the Italian trebbiano. I will return to Crave before I return to Australia.
At the Museum there is currently an exhibition entitled "Michelangelo: Divine Draftsman and Designer" that I walked around. There were lots of people looking and lots of drawings and sketches that all looked much the same to me after a while. There were some drawings of buildings he designed.
The Met also has a large exhibition of David Hockney's work. It seemed like they had a good representation of the various stages of his paintings in the various places he has lived . I liked some of the more abstract ones of his time in California, not so much the ones with people in them. There were 2 paintings of the grand canyon which I was interested to see after being there 6 months ago. More recently he went back to live in Yorkshire for a while and there were some I liked that he painted there. All his paintings are bright and full of life. He is in his 80s now and uses an iPad each morning to sketch what he sees out his window.
After a coffee and a mental switch off, I really enjoyed wandering around the section called 'Art of the Arab lands, Turkey, Iran, Central Asia and Later South Asia.' There was so much interesting, beautiful stuff, that I didnot know how to spend my time, so I just picked one thing in each room to closely look at, enjoy, and read about.
I pottered in a different part of Midtown in the afternoon and in the evening went to see The marriage of Figaro at the Metropolitan Opera. It was great fun. Wonderful singing and excellent acting. The evening was slightly spoiled because my knee which does not do ' bent stationary' at all well decided to not respond to panadol, well only for 30 minutes. Luckily the guy next to me was a shuffler and didnot seem to mind that I was trying to move my leg a lot.
This morning I slept in then went to a nearby cafe, one of the Le Pain Quotidien chain. I had an interesting conversation with a young woman who grew up in France, worked in Britain, elsewhere, then San Francisco Bay area and now NYC.
Then I went to the box office of the theatre where I have tickets for the book of Mormon next week. ( very poor englisH, sorry) After last night I had to change my seat, which I did to an aisle so I could stick my leg straight) but it had to be a higher category. What a pity!
Then I caught a train further south and wandered around Soho. There is a knitting wool shop that was the excuse, but I enjoyed the edgier feel of the place. Lots of small shops with different stuff, but no prices. I donot think I have seen any prices at all in shop windows, not even the ordinary shops . There was a bigger variety of buildings and some old brick roads.
On my way back from the nearest subway stop on one of the 2 subway lines that I have the choice between, there are about 6 fancy hotels. Last time I was in new york I used to amuse myself by deciding where I would stay (if I was filthy rich) based on the uniform of the doormen who always stand outside waiting to greet their clients. Some are too ornate, some too plain. Until now this trip they have all been inside. Sometimes you can see them peering out , waiting. The temperature must have risen enough - to about 5 degrees I think- for them all to be standing outside today. Except they had rather boring rain coats on, not nice woolen overcoats that I have seen once before.
I have just come home from a delicious seafood meal. As background, before I came I was looking forward to having some oysters from the Oyster Bar under Grand Central as I have on previous visits. When I went a few days ago I passed on the oysters because the cheapest was over $2 each and quite a few were over $4 each.
Several days ago , a lady I talked to in a coffee shop recommended Crave, a few blocks away. I had looked in the window at the menu, thouht the mains were a bit pricey, saw that they had lots of specials in happy hour 5.30 to 6.30 and thought it would be worth a try, so I went to day. I was delighted to find that in happy hour oysters are $1 each. It would have been sensible to try the ones that were the more expensive ones, but I could not work out how to phrase that politely, so I just asked the waiter to choose 3 different ones X 2. Then I had some crab stuff on a corn tortilla and then possible the best calamari I have ever had with Japanese flavours. The glass of wine that came on special in happy hour was an ugni blanc / colombard blend from France. Ugni sounded an odd french word that i had never heard before but I looked it up ( thank you Mr Google) to find it is the French name for the Italian trebbiano. I will return to Crave before I return to Australia.
Tuesday, January 9, 2018
Tuesday
I spent a while this morning chatting to the owners of this brownstone. Then I went into Midtown, walked a fair bit, had lunch in the Oyster Bar of Grand Central ,walked past Bryant Park, walked a fair bit more to a wool shop , but it was not as nice as the one 3 blocks from me. Then a walked a bit to another of the Think Coffee chain , enjoyed reading my book for half an hour over a nice coffee and then came back here. A relaxing, warm day.
The fountain in Bryant Park on 26 December, partially frozen.
The same fountain on 9 Jan after a big snowfall and very cold weather. More frozen
Monday, January 8, 2018
Whitney and High line
Today I enjoyed a delicious omelette and decent coffee at a local cafe before going to the Whitney Museum Of American Art. 2 years ago this moved into a brand new building at the southern end of the High Line. There were exhibits on 7 floors. I spent most of the time looking at paintings from their collection in an exhibition Where we Are 1900-1960. This was organised around 5 themes: family and community, work, home, the spiritual and the nation. Their selection of paintings was interesting and thought-provoking. I spent some time watching and listening to a teacher talking to a group of immaculately uniformed all black kids of about 12 about a painting by Joseph Stella called The Brooklyn Bridge. It had the arches of the bridge but they were also like windows in a church with stained glass pictures. She asked all sorts of questions, age appropriate, to get them thinking . Later on I bumped into her and she apologised saying she hoped she or the kids had not disturbed me. On the contrary, I said, I learnt a lot about the painting and thanked her.
There was an exhibition by Laura Owen. All sorts of quirky , whimsical , abstract stuff. I liked a painting that had a boy and an animal hanging onto a rope that said " when you get to the end of your rope, make a knot and hang on."
After some soup in their cafe looking out over some construction stuff and then the Hudson river I had a quick look at the rest of the floors and then left and walked along the High Line. The weather was significantly better than our previous attempt last week, positively mild at -2 degrees. I did have a thought that the day after I bought myself 2 pairs of gloves to wear together, it warmed up and I only needed one pair. I really enjoy the elevated view of different Manhatten (and !ew Jersey) buildings. I enjoy the contrasts -old next to brand new, very rectangular next to curves. The High Line itself was quite bland - white , grey and bare, not the colourful place it is in summer time. Some photos follow of different views of and from the High Line.
After another good coffee from the Think Coffee chain, I went back to my apartment.
There was an exhibition by Laura Owen. All sorts of quirky , whimsical , abstract stuff. I liked a painting that had a boy and an animal hanging onto a rope that said " when you get to the end of your rope, make a knot and hang on."
After some soup in their cafe looking out over some construction stuff and then the Hudson river I had a quick look at the rest of the floors and then left and walked along the High Line. The weather was significantly better than our previous attempt last week, positively mild at -2 degrees. I did have a thought that the day after I bought myself 2 pairs of gloves to wear together, it warmed up and I only needed one pair. I really enjoy the elevated view of different Manhatten (and !ew Jersey) buildings. I enjoy the contrasts -old next to brand new, very rectangular next to curves. The High Line itself was quite bland - white , grey and bare, not the colourful place it is in summer time. Some photos follow of different views of and from the High Line.
After another good coffee from the Think Coffee chain, I went back to my apartment.
Sunday, January 7, 2018
Sunday
Today Carol, Katie and I had a nice farewell breakfast in a traditional American place serving traditional American food. Carol and Katie left late morning for their flghts to St Louis to stay with Wendy and Co. She was very pleased to be going. She had originally planned to leave last Friday but the foul weather intervened and her flight was canceled . I was sad to see them go and it took me a little while to decide what I felt like doing. I decided I wanted some seafood soup for lunch and so caught a subway train to the Flat iron district and went to Eataly. As good a way of deciding what to do as any other.
Eataly is like a big fancy delicatessen with little cafes dotted through it. Near the huge counter selling fresh fish there is a small area with tables where you can sit down and have a seafood lunch. Near the meat section is another area where you can eat meat etc etc. You can have wine with your fish but you cannot , as I discovered, have a coffee. You have to go to the coffee bar for that. The first time I went to an Eataly was in Bologna in 2010 and a few weeks later I went to the huge one in Turin which is where the whole chain started. It was massive and less refined than the one here. I remeber being impressed with a whole section downstairs which has wine vats on their sides, maybe 3 reds and 3 whites. You brought your own bottles in and filled them up. Apparently quite respectable drinking wine. There was also a section where you could fill your own bottles with milk from a big vat.
Next stop was a large sport wear shop where I was hoping to get some gloves. It was easy to get someone to help and so i quickly found out they had run out of warm gloves in women's sizes, but not in mens. When you are trussed up like an Eskimo who cares what your gloves look like. I settled on some thin gloves with ends on some fingers so I can use my phone/ camera and over the top a pair of mittens with an extension that unfold to revel topless fingers, but in my case will reveal the under gloves.
I had on my list a nearby coffee shop , part of a chain, Think Coffee that I had read about that sources ethically , environmentally sound etc etc coffee and gives back to some communities. The people were friendly, the coffee was excellent. Enough for the day.
Eataly is like a big fancy delicatessen with little cafes dotted through it. Near the huge counter selling fresh fish there is a small area with tables where you can sit down and have a seafood lunch. Near the meat section is another area where you can eat meat etc etc. You can have wine with your fish but you cannot , as I discovered, have a coffee. You have to go to the coffee bar for that. The first time I went to an Eataly was in Bologna in 2010 and a few weeks later I went to the huge one in Turin which is where the whole chain started. It was massive and less refined than the one here. I remeber being impressed with a whole section downstairs which has wine vats on their sides, maybe 3 reds and 3 whites. You brought your own bottles in and filled them up. Apparently quite respectable drinking wine. There was also a section where you could fill your own bottles with milk from a big vat.
Next stop was a large sport wear shop where I was hoping to get some gloves. It was easy to get someone to help and so i quickly found out they had run out of warm gloves in women's sizes, but not in mens. When you are trussed up like an Eskimo who cares what your gloves look like. I settled on some thin gloves with ends on some fingers so I can use my phone/ camera and over the top a pair of mittens with an extension that unfold to revel topless fingers, but in my case will reveal the under gloves.
I had on my list a nearby coffee shop , part of a chain, Think Coffee that I had read about that sources ethically , environmentally sound etc etc coffee and gives back to some communities. The people were friendly, the coffee was excellent. Enough for the day.
Saturday, January 6, 2018
More biting wind. Fri and Saturday
I will never again complain about the cold on my early morning walks in Canberra. The tall buildings and long streets here act like wind tunnels. You can be walking along a street in -16 degrees wearing all your clothes in relative comfort and you turn a corner and are hit by a wind that slices through everything and hurts . The one mistake I have made with clothing and will rectify tomorrow is gloves. Carol and Isla have gloves you can touch a screen with. I donot. I have to take mine off to take a photo. Hence not many photos.
Having said all that, yesterday morning I walked about 2.4 km through Central Park. It is really beautiful with the sun shining on the snow and the bare trees. Very few people. Photos soon. I went to the Museum of the City of New York and really enjoyed it. I watched a short film which did not gloss over the bad times and walked through the well arranged galleries.
Carol and Katie had been to the 9 /11 memorial site. The weather is hard for little people and quite energy-sapping. Still, Katie loves playing in the snow and in the afternoon I found them near a closed playground. I looked after Katie and enjoyed some frozen 'cake', amongst other delicacies, that she prepared. On our way back to the apartment the 'icy pole' that she insisted on carrying drew some odd smiles. Another dinner from Zabars.
Today we went to the Metropolitan Museum and wandered through some of the numerous galleries, all full of amazing stuff. We went to a Burger place that Carol wanted to try. Their heating was off , but it was still better than outside and Carol and I scored a complimentary t bag in hot water and Katie an apple juice.
I went to the Met Brewer Gallery, an offshoot of the main Met, that was not there last time I was in new York. There was a big exhibition of Edward Munch's paintings which do nothing much for me, maybe I should try and learn. There was, however, an exhibition entitled " Delirious:Art at the limits of Reason 1950 to 1980 which I enjoyed. Well, about half of the exhibits I enjoyed because they were patterns of things. I can hear the smirks.
I walked back through Central Park a different way, thought I was remebering my way well from my previous visits but got stumped because at one point ahead of me there was a field of snow where I thought there was a pond, but as I got closer I realised it was an ice covered pond with some people walking on it. I saw several Ice Rescue Ladder Stations with a bright red ladder.
I tried another coffee shop and did the 3 block walk to Zabars for dinner.
Having said all that, yesterday morning I walked about 2.4 km through Central Park. It is really beautiful with the sun shining on the snow and the bare trees. Very few people. Photos soon. I went to the Museum of the City of New York and really enjoyed it. I watched a short film which did not gloss over the bad times and walked through the well arranged galleries.
Carol and Katie had been to the 9 /11 memorial site. The weather is hard for little people and quite energy-sapping. Still, Katie loves playing in the snow and in the afternoon I found them near a closed playground. I looked after Katie and enjoyed some frozen 'cake', amongst other delicacies, that she prepared. On our way back to the apartment the 'icy pole' that she insisted on carrying drew some odd smiles. Another dinner from Zabars.
Today we went to the Metropolitan Museum and wandered through some of the numerous galleries, all full of amazing stuff. We went to a Burger place that Carol wanted to try. Their heating was off , but it was still better than outside and Carol and I scored a complimentary t bag in hot water and Katie an apple juice.
I went to the Met Brewer Gallery, an offshoot of the main Met, that was not there last time I was in new York. There was a big exhibition of Edward Munch's paintings which do nothing much for me, maybe I should try and learn. There was, however, an exhibition entitled " Delirious:Art at the limits of Reason 1950 to 1980 which I enjoyed. Well, about half of the exhibits I enjoyed because they were patterns of things. I can hear the smirks.
I walked back through Central Park a different way, thought I was remebering my way well from my previous visits but got stumped because at one point ahead of me there was a field of snow where I thought there was a pond, but as I got closer I realised it was an ice covered pond with some people walking on it. I saw several Ice Rescue Ladder Stations with a bright red ladder.
I tried another coffee shop and did the 3 block walk to Zabars for dinner.
Friday, January 5, 2018
Trudging through the snow. Sun 31st to Thur 4th
Last Sunday, 31st, was my elder daughters 40th birthday. It was a good celebratory day. Wendy and I went to the nearest Anglican church for a 9 am service. It was quite different to the packed Christmas service we went to the previous week at Trinity church. There were about 20 other people in the congregation, antiquated liturgy - thees and thous, but a friendly conversation afterwards with a few parishioners. It was a huge church and very warm. Must be money somewhere.
Carol and Lach had organised the kids in our absence and everyone had made a card for Wendy. We then went to a,performance of the Radio City Rockettes. I had never heard of them but apparently they have been putting on a lavish performance of dancing and singing since 1930 something. I enjoyed being with the kids and the professionalism of the dancers was obvious.
After lunch we caught the subway to Brooklyn and all went for a ride on Jane's Carousel in DUMBO ( Down Under Brooklyn Manhatten Overpass). It is a lovely restored old carousel on the waterfront just near the Brooklyn Bridge. It was about 5pm but dark and there were lots of sparkly lights everywhere. I had been for a ride 4 1/2 years ago and wanted to take my family. There was a wedding party there, so obviously a local celebratory thing to do.
We had a delicious dinner at a nice restaurant that Wendy had booked . Lach had arranged a special treat for Wendy. A good day. I cannot remember, but I think it was that day that Stelli fell asleep on the subway on the way home.
The following day we went to the High Line, a disused elevated freight rail line that has been converted to an urban park. I have been several times and thought everyone would enjoy it but the weather was impossible for the small people and the bigger people were not enjoying it , so we gave up. I donot know what the temperature was, but am sure it was colder than the coldest day in Quebec that I experienced that I know was -18 but -26 considering the wind chill. We walked through Chelsea Markets but many other people were also escaping the biting winds there. Lach and Carol took the kids home while Wendy and I went to the library bar in the Nomad hotel. It was lovely. Books, timber, chairs and tables not too close to each other. We had a couple of drinks, some nibbles and chatted like adults with no kids around.
On Tuesday Wendy, Lach and the 4 girls left to drive to their home in Missouri. Carol, Katie and I came here to the UWS where I have stayed before. We left our bags and went on the Staten Isand ferry for Carol and Katie to see the Statue of Liberty. On the way back we were escorted by a small coast guard boat. I wonder if this always happens. Both this time and Christmas day there was a lot of security at both ends of the ferry ride- heavily armed soldiers and at least 2 bomb detecting dogs. Carol discovered the nearby NY institution Zabars for dinner.
On Wednesday Carol and I and Katie went to the NY City Fire Museum. Quite interesting old machines. There are several new coffee shops in this area. New = since I was last here in April 2013. Obviously it is my duty to check them all out.
So I started yesterday. On Wednesday afternoon Carol discovered her flight on Friday to St Louis was cancelled.
On Wednesday afternoon there were lots of warnings about a large snow storm overnight and into Thursday. Everyone was encouraged to stay home if possible, schools were closed etc. I woke to find about 20 m of snow over everything and the snow was heavy through the morning into early afternoon. We walked , or rather trudged, to the nearby Children's Museum, where we were warm and Katie was interested for 2 hours. It was quite eerie walking around. Only taxis, a very few cars and some delivery vehicles on the road, all going very slowly, very poor visibility. Another coffee shop in the afternoon. The snow eased off enough for us to take Katie to central park, 1 1/2 blocks away, to play in the snow. All the way back she insisted on trudging through the snow drifts on the edges of the footpaths, not walking on the sort of track in the middle. Each step was into snow above her knees. No wonder she slept well.
Carol and Lach had organised the kids in our absence and everyone had made a card for Wendy. We then went to a,performance of the Radio City Rockettes. I had never heard of them but apparently they have been putting on a lavish performance of dancing and singing since 1930 something. I enjoyed being with the kids and the professionalism of the dancers was obvious.
After lunch we caught the subway to Brooklyn and all went for a ride on Jane's Carousel in DUMBO ( Down Under Brooklyn Manhatten Overpass). It is a lovely restored old carousel on the waterfront just near the Brooklyn Bridge. It was about 5pm but dark and there were lots of sparkly lights everywhere. I had been for a ride 4 1/2 years ago and wanted to take my family. There was a wedding party there, so obviously a local celebratory thing to do.
We had a delicious dinner at a nice restaurant that Wendy had booked . Lach had arranged a special treat for Wendy. A good day. I cannot remember, but I think it was that day that Stelli fell asleep on the subway on the way home.
The following day we went to the High Line, a disused elevated freight rail line that has been converted to an urban park. I have been several times and thought everyone would enjoy it but the weather was impossible for the small people and the bigger people were not enjoying it , so we gave up. I donot know what the temperature was, but am sure it was colder than the coldest day in Quebec that I experienced that I know was -18 but -26 considering the wind chill. We walked through Chelsea Markets but many other people were also escaping the biting winds there. Lach and Carol took the kids home while Wendy and I went to the library bar in the Nomad hotel. It was lovely. Books, timber, chairs and tables not too close to each other. We had a couple of drinks, some nibbles and chatted like adults with no kids around.
On Tuesday Wendy, Lach and the 4 girls left to drive to their home in Missouri. Carol, Katie and I came here to the UWS where I have stayed before. We left our bags and went on the Staten Isand ferry for Carol and Katie to see the Statue of Liberty. On the way back we were escorted by a small coast guard boat. I wonder if this always happens. Both this time and Christmas day there was a lot of security at both ends of the ferry ride- heavily armed soldiers and at least 2 bomb detecting dogs. Carol discovered the nearby NY institution Zabars for dinner.
On Wednesday Carol and I and Katie went to the NY City Fire Museum. Quite interesting old machines. There are several new coffee shops in this area. New = since I was last here in April 2013. Obviously it is my duty to check them all out.
So I started yesterday. On Wednesday afternoon Carol discovered her flight on Friday to St Louis was cancelled.
On Wednesday afternoon there were lots of warnings about a large snow storm overnight and into Thursday. Everyone was encouraged to stay home if possible, schools were closed etc. I woke to find about 20 m of snow over everything and the snow was heavy through the morning into early afternoon. We walked , or rather trudged, to the nearby Children's Museum, where we were warm and Katie was interested for 2 hours. It was quite eerie walking around. Only taxis, a very few cars and some delivery vehicles on the road, all going very slowly, very poor visibility. Another coffee shop in the afternoon. The snow eased off enough for us to take Katie to central park, 1 1/2 blocks away, to play in the snow. All the way back she insisted on trudging through the snow drifts on the edges of the footpaths, not walking on the sort of track in the middle. Each step was into snow above her knees. No wonder she slept well.
Sunday, December 31, 2017
3 more freezing days in New York
Our days have been much the same ...... wake up, chat to some other awake adults, chat to Lach while he cooks breakfast, chat to assorted of the 5 kids, get ready to go out ( which takes ages and ages to find hats , gloves, extra layers etc despite leaving everything at front door) , go to where ever we have decided to go, battle crowds, take kids to park to,run around and warm up, while we feeze watching them, eat, visit somewhere else, come back and repeat maybe. Bath and get kids to bed and ignore them as they chatter and play together in bed.
Yesterday it was a little warmer, -6 maximum, and it snowed, much to the delight of all the kids, so there were a few more stops in parks to throw snowballs.
It is lovely to see Wendy's 4 sharing in looking after their younger cousin.
Yesterday it was a little warmer, -6 maximum, and it snowed, much to the delight of all the kids, so there were a few more stops in parks to throw snowballs.
It is lovely to see Wendy's 4 sharing in looking after their younger cousin.
Wednesday, December 27, 2017
More New York
On Monday we did go on the Staten Island ferry, past Lady Liberty, got off the ferry and immediately queued up again to return to Manhatten and a small Italian restaurant for dinner.
Tuesday we packed up our stuff, went to a late breakfast, then wandered past lots of the Christmas windows that some of the big stores organise every year. Some very clever. We found the fancy apartment and were very pleased to be warm again. Wendy and Lach retrieved our luggage and organised take away Thai, then Carol and Katie arrived. Apparently Katie had only slept for 5 of the almost 36 hours they took to get here. She was delighted to have her 4 cousins to look after her, but after a while they were less impressed when she would not go to sleep. Carol was exhausted when they arrived, but she was still smiling. Wendy was delighted, if not completely surprised.
This morning Wendy , Lach and Carol went for a run in Central Park, then we went to an off- Broadway performance of The Lion , the Witch and the Wardrobe. Katie had never been to a live performance before and it was fun to listen to Lainie trying to explain to her what was going to happen. After lunch at some American burger place that Lach knew of, we wandered down Broadway with all the other tourists trying not to loose each other, through Times Square and to Bryant Park, then back to the very welcome warm apartment. It got to a high of -4 today, but sometimes when you rounded a corner the bitter wind hit you . Katie did a great job of walking for ages, always with a cousin on either side of her.
Tuesday we packed up our stuff, went to a late breakfast, then wandered past lots of the Christmas windows that some of the big stores organise every year. Some very clever. We found the fancy apartment and were very pleased to be warm again. Wendy and Lach retrieved our luggage and organised take away Thai, then Carol and Katie arrived. Apparently Katie had only slept for 5 of the almost 36 hours they took to get here. She was delighted to have her 4 cousins to look after her, but after a while they were less impressed when she would not go to sleep. Carol was exhausted when they arrived, but she was still smiling. Wendy was delighted, if not completely surprised.
This morning Wendy , Lach and Carol went for a run in Central Park, then we went to an off- Broadway performance of The Lion , the Witch and the Wardrobe. Katie had never been to a live performance before and it was fun to listen to Lainie trying to explain to her what was going to happen. After lunch at some American burger place that Lach knew of, we wandered down Broadway with all the other tourists trying not to loose each other, through Times Square and to Bryant Park, then back to the very welcome warm apartment. It got to a high of -4 today, but sometimes when you rounded a corner the bitter wind hit you . Katie did a great job of walking for ages, always with a cousin on either side of her.
2 Daughters and 5 granddaughters
Monday, December 25, 2017
New York at Christmas.
Firstly, I have not been slack , just aware that my priorities are spending time with my grand children rather than remembering what I have done.
On Saturday I moved to the cheap hotel in Chinatown wendy had booked for us for 3 nights then pottered around. Wendy and Co turned up mid afternoon after driving from Killing ton in Vermont. We went to a nearby Chinese restaurant at 5. 30, only just got in and the kids fair hair was definitely not the norm. LateR Wendy, Lach and I went to a performance of Handels Messiah at Carnegie Hall. It was absolutely wonderful.
Yesterday we walked to a cafe in Little Italy for a very late breakfast. Ground zero and the surrounding memorials was next on the agenda. Then wendy and her family had to finish their Christmas shopping. Century 21 is a huge store with lots and lots of racks closely packed with clothes, lots of people and lots of noise. Not my thing so I rapidly pealed off and found the cafe which turned out to be some comfyish chairs and vending machines. Very few other people. Later we went to Washington Square park to sing some carols then we found a Turkish place for dinner.
This morning, Christmas morning, we went to breakfast at a nice hotel that Wendy had booked then to a Christmas Service at Trinity church. Very old, huge, very full ie standing room only, ( we got there early enough to get a seat) , wonderful choir, soprano soaring above everyone, interesting slight differences in liturgy. When we left we had to walk through the area where they serve lunch to whoever wants it every day of the year.
I think next we are going on the ferry to the Statue of Liberty, but I have yet to be told the details by our tour director, Wendy. I am enjoying doing what I am told.
On Saturday I moved to the cheap hotel in Chinatown wendy had booked for us for 3 nights then pottered around. Wendy and Co turned up mid afternoon after driving from Killing ton in Vermont. We went to a nearby Chinese restaurant at 5. 30, only just got in and the kids fair hair was definitely not the norm. LateR Wendy, Lach and I went to a performance of Handels Messiah at Carnegie Hall. It was absolutely wonderful.
Yesterday we walked to a cafe in Little Italy for a very late breakfast. Ground zero and the surrounding memorials was next on the agenda. Then wendy and her family had to finish their Christmas shopping. Century 21 is a huge store with lots and lots of racks closely packed with clothes, lots of people and lots of noise. Not my thing so I rapidly pealed off and found the cafe which turned out to be some comfyish chairs and vending machines. Very few other people. Later we went to Washington Square park to sing some carols then we found a Turkish place for dinner.
This morning, Christmas morning, we went to breakfast at a nice hotel that Wendy had booked then to a Christmas Service at Trinity church. Very old, huge, very full ie standing room only, ( we got there early enough to get a seat) , wonderful choir, soprano soaring above everyone, interesting slight differences in liturgy. When we left we had to walk through the area where they serve lunch to whoever wants it every day of the year.
I think next we are going on the ferry to the Statue of Liberty, but I have yet to be told the details by our tour director, Wendy. I am enjoying doing what I am told.
Train to New York
A long boring day, but quite relaxing.
Despite being told that the old people would be boarded first onto the Amtrak train from Montreal we were not. However I still managed to get a window seat. However the view was of white snow, greyish trees, white ice nd more white snow. Several pops of colour stood out. I knew we were going round the edge of some lakes, so I knew to look out for it, but if I had not known, I would have missed the lake. It was odd suddenly to see appearing out of the gloom a whole lot of largish boats on their cradles. Bigger than anything that sails on Lake BG. So that would have given me a clue we were near a lake. We got on the train at 10 am, it left promptly at 10.20, we stopped at the US border while customs people interogated everyone, some more so than others and we got off the train at 9.2pm.
I booked a hotel right near Penn Station . It is a new Holiday Inn. A tiny room, but quite adequate. It has a king size in width bed with only about 50 cm of space around it. But it is short. Lying on my back my heels hang over the bottom edge. A most odd feeling. Just as well I am not over 6 foot.
Despite being told that the old people would be boarded first onto the Amtrak train from Montreal we were not. However I still managed to get a window seat. However the view was of white snow, greyish trees, white ice nd more white snow. Several pops of colour stood out. I knew we were going round the edge of some lakes, so I knew to look out for it, but if I had not known, I would have missed the lake. It was odd suddenly to see appearing out of the gloom a whole lot of largish boats on their cradles. Bigger than anything that sails on Lake BG. So that would have given me a clue we were near a lake. We got on the train at 10 am, it left promptly at 10.20, we stopped at the US border while customs people interogated everyone, some more so than others and we got off the train at 9.2pm.
I booked a hotel right near Penn Station . It is a new Holiday Inn. A tiny room, but quite adequate. It has a king size in width bed with only about 50 cm of space around it. But it is short. Lying on my back my heels hang over the bottom edge. A most odd feeling. Just as well I am not over 6 foot.
Thursday, December 21, 2017
Museum of Fine Arts, chapel Notre-Dame de Bonsecours and assorted
Apparently 3/4 of the world's maple syrup comes from Quebec.
Montreal is the second largest French speaking city in the world. When I read this I wondered about Marseille. According to one website Montreal has 1.75 million in 2016. One website said Marseille would have 1.5 mill in 2017 and one said 1.1 in 2015. Both websites said Marseille was growing very quickly.
Quebec didnot have , e.g. 60, 62 A, 62 B, 64 street numbers in a street but 60, 62,
62 1//2, 64. I would rather live in 62 1/2 than 62B
Today I went to the Museum des Beaux Arts. The gallery is spread over 4 buildings . I looked at the modern art, skipped most of the older European stuff, could not make sense of the Contemporary stuff, enjoyed the early settler stuff. Lots of the paintings of Europeans and natives were vaguely similar to paintings of the early days of Australia except most had reference in some way to the Catholic church. I quite liked the work of Marc-Aurele Fortin, a Canadian. They didnot have much Inuit art. Apparently there is another gallery that specialises it.
Along the street from where I am staying is a small chapel, the oldest stone church in Montreal. It has become known as a church for sailors and there a re quite a few models of boats hanging from the ceiling. In 2003 there was a special ceremony to marK the 350th anniversary of the lady who started the chapel. The Port of Montreal gave the church a model of a container ship to mark the occasion.
There are many things I would like to have seen but my priority today is to catch up on little things and rest a bit. It would not be sensible to arrive in NY tired. I know from the 10 days I spent with Wendy and Co in July that the kids go full speed all day, some of the night and then the next day and the day after etc etc
When I arrived there was snow everywhere. It snowed on the first day but then stopped and got cold. Today many of the footpaths were covered in treacherous icy patches. Quite difficult in places. Quite tiring, I have to concentrate.
Montreal is the second largest French speaking city in the world. When I read this I wondered about Marseille. According to one website Montreal has 1.75 million in 2016. One website said Marseille would have 1.5 mill in 2017 and one said 1.1 in 2015. Both websites said Marseille was growing very quickly.
Quebec didnot have , e.g. 60, 62 A, 62 B, 64 street numbers in a street but 60, 62,
62 1//2, 64. I would rather live in 62 1/2 than 62B
Today I went to the Museum des Beaux Arts. The gallery is spread over 4 buildings . I looked at the modern art, skipped most of the older European stuff, could not make sense of the Contemporary stuff, enjoyed the early settler stuff. Lots of the paintings of Europeans and natives were vaguely similar to paintings of the early days of Australia except most had reference in some way to the Catholic church. I quite liked the work of Marc-Aurele Fortin, a Canadian. They didnot have much Inuit art. Apparently there is another gallery that specialises it.
Along the street from where I am staying is a small chapel, the oldest stone church in Montreal. It has become known as a church for sailors and there a re quite a few models of boats hanging from the ceiling. In 2003 there was a special ceremony to marK the 350th anniversary of the lady who started the chapel. The Port of Montreal gave the church a model of a container ship to mark the occasion.
There are many things I would like to have seen but my priority today is to catch up on little things and rest a bit. It would not be sensible to arrive in NY tired. I know from the 10 days I spent with Wendy and Co in July that the kids go full speed all day, some of the night and then the next day and the day after etc etc
When I arrived there was snow everywhere. It snowed on the first day but then stopped and got cold. Today many of the footpaths were covered in treacherous icy patches. Quite difficult in places. Quite tiring, I have to concentrate.
Wednesday, December 20, 2017
Basilique, rehearsal and Leonard Cohen
Today was a good day. I found a nice place where I got a similar breakfast - eggs, potatoes , ham and fruit- to what I got in Qebec. Then I went to the Basilica Notre Dame . This was designed by an American Protestant and built in the mid 1800s. The outside is quite plain -good stonemasons in N Americz in those days were rare, but the inside is , according to 1 guide book, " a magnificently ornate tribute to the importance of woodworking and decoration in the Quebec is tradition". Over the years I have not been impressed by very ornate European churches , especially Rococco ( I think), but this was quite different. Lots of carved painted wood. Around the walls were lovely fairly plain carved statues of different people. The architect who designed the church converted to Catholicism just before he died so that he could be buried in the vault.
I went from there to the Museum of Contemporary Art. A large part of their exhibition space was occupied by stuff about Leonard Cohen, who died just over a year ago. Very interesting. The other stuff I saw was a bit obscure.
I went from there to Museum of Fine Arts but only got as far as the bistro. I changed my plan for the day and after some nice soup I decided to go to a different area that my book said was called the Latin Quarter and was quite bohemian. I did find some quite nice coffee, but not much else in this weather, though today at a high of -1 was quite mild after Quebec.
Next stop was the Basilica again. There is apparently a concert every year at Christmas with quite well known performers and it is tonight. I overheard someone this morning saying that there was a rehearsal this afternoon. So I sat for about N hour listening to some music I didnot know and some I did and thoroughly enjoyed myself. About 25 mainly string musicians, 2 soloists, and a large choir. All for no cost. I had decided that I didnot mind paying the $6 entry fee again but the lady at the counter recognised me when I was half way through my " I was here this morning" French sentence .
I have just had a nice dinner which would have been improved if I could have seen a bit more clearly what I was eating. I had a glass of a different Canadian red but forgot my pen so didnot write it down and have forgotten the details. I had an interesting conversation with a couple from Masachusetts at an adjacent table.
I went from there to the Museum of Contemporary Art. A large part of their exhibition space was occupied by stuff about Leonard Cohen, who died just over a year ago. Very interesting. The other stuff I saw was a bit obscure.
I went from there to Museum of Fine Arts but only got as far as the bistro. I changed my plan for the day and after some nice soup I decided to go to a different area that my book said was called the Latin Quarter and was quite bohemian. I did find some quite nice coffee, but not much else in this weather, though today at a high of -1 was quite mild after Quebec.
Next stop was the Basilica again. There is apparently a concert every year at Christmas with quite well known performers and it is tonight. I overheard someone this morning saying that there was a rehearsal this afternoon. So I sat for about N hour listening to some music I didnot know and some I did and thoroughly enjoyed myself. About 25 mainly string musicians, 2 soloists, and a large choir. All for no cost. I had decided that I didnot mind paying the $6 entry fee again but the lady at the counter recognised me when I was half way through my " I was here this morning" French sentence .
I have just had a nice dinner which would have been improved if I could have seen a bit more clearly what I was eating. I had a glass of a different Canadian red but forgot my pen so didnot write it down and have forgotten the details. I had an interesting conversation with a couple from Masachusetts at an adjacent table.
Tuesday, December 19, 2017
An easy day
I woke up feeling like i wanted to do very little today so I did. I trudged through more snow to the nearest metro station, bought a 3 day pass, caught the subway, very efficient and easy to follow, to the main railway station. I have a reservation for the train to NY on Friday but no reserved seat. Not possible. Bit antiquated. I wanted to find out how long before the train boarded did I have to be there to ensure I got a window seat Also what I could take to eat ie what do the US customs people object to. There were about 30 people lined up half an hour before it boarded. Nearby was an area for old people and families. I stood for a minute thinking would i say i was an old person with a dodgy knee. A lady came up and asked if she could help. I explained what I was doing. She said , without looking at my ticket, just my tired haggard face, your are a senior , you can wait here. We board you first. I do in fact have a senior ticket because I am over 65. Good.
Next I went to an area a bit north of the main centre where there was a knitting shop. I must have left my crochet hook in San Fransisco and want another one. The area is known for its outdoor coffee shops, though not in this weather. I did find a crepe place that made buckwheat pancakes, so I had one.
Then a supermarket that took ages. It was not in a neat rectangle. Curved aisles here and there. I did find the bacon, not because I wanted to but any. Avid readers may remember that I was not complementary of the bacon rashers served by a particular hotel chain that Wendy and Co organised for most of the week I was with them in june. They were all exactly the same length and width and seemed to have the fat and lean part evenly distributed. The bacon I got in SF and in Quebec was the same. So today I found that all the bacon sold in a large IGA was exactly the same. They do not have rashers like we know them, with a round bit of meat at one end tailing off .
I stopped on the way back to my apartment for a coffee and I splurged on a maple syrup and pecan brownie. I saved half for tomorrow. I decided it was my duty as as tourist to sample something with maple syrup in it.
For most of the afternoon i have done little other than crochet some flowers for a new project, try to work out ice hockey rules , read anD watch an extremely inane game show
Next I went to an area a bit north of the main centre where there was a knitting shop. I must have left my crochet hook in San Fransisco and want another one. The area is known for its outdoor coffee shops, though not in this weather. I did find a crepe place that made buckwheat pancakes, so I had one.
Then a supermarket that took ages. It was not in a neat rectangle. Curved aisles here and there. I did find the bacon, not because I wanted to but any. Avid readers may remember that I was not complementary of the bacon rashers served by a particular hotel chain that Wendy and Co organised for most of the week I was with them in june. They were all exactly the same length and width and seemed to have the fat and lean part evenly distributed. The bacon I got in SF and in Quebec was the same. So today I found that all the bacon sold in a large IGA was exactly the same. They do not have rashers like we know them, with a round bit of meat at one end tailing off .
I stopped on the way back to my apartment for a coffee and I splurged on a maple syrup and pecan brownie. I saved half for tomorrow. I decided it was my duty as as tourist to sample something with maple syrup in it.
For most of the afternoon i have done little other than crochet some flowers for a new project, try to work out ice hockey rules , read anD watch an extremely inane game show
Monday, December 18, 2017
Arrived in Montreal
I caught a very comfortable Canadian train to Montreal today. The trip was white, white snow everywhere, white ice over the rivers, and white everywhere else. The sameness was sort of relaxing.
I caught a taxi to the apartment even though I had spent ages working out what subway to take or which road to walk along. At 4.30 pm it was almost dark, it had been snowing for ages and presumably the footpaths were as treacherous as those in Qebec. I decided I would practise at being a sensible person and save my energy.
The apartment is nice, spacious and well located in the old part if Montreal, now a bit trendy and a bit touristy, but I will know more tomorrow. I had a nice dinner of fish and a glass of brouilly.
I caught a taxi to the apartment even though I had spent ages working out what subway to take or which road to walk along. At 4.30 pm it was almost dark, it had been snowing for ages and presumably the footpaths were as treacherous as those in Qebec. I decided I would practise at being a sensible person and save my energy.
The apartment is nice, spacious and well located in the old part if Montreal, now a bit trendy and a bit touristy, but I will know more tomorrow. I had a nice dinner of fish and a glass of brouilly.
Sunday, December 17, 2017
Wandering the streets of Quebec city
Background : before I go away I try and read something about the places I go to or a book set in the places I am going to. This time I have found and have been reading a series of books set in Canada and based around Montreal where the lead character, a detective, lives. One of the series was set mostly in quebec city where he was visiting a friend who lives down the road from where I am staying and eats in 2 different places, both off the beaten tourist trail. Today I wandered down the part of the street and the houses all fit the description. The 2 cafes both exist and are as described.
Highlights from today: I mastered walking down hill. I mastered the toe tap - bang toe of boot hard into the rise of the step when entering a building to shake as much snow off as possible. I visited a lovely shop selling woolen products made from sheep in the Charlevoix area 100km north of quebec city. I enjoyed a salad in a place where there were only locals or maybe regular visitors, going on how everyone seemed to be known to the proprietor. I had some delicious onion soup in another simple place where they were mostly locals. I enjoyed a glass of cab/merlot in a pleasant bar with a view over the St Lawrence River in the fanciest hotel in town. It was from a vineyard in Okanagan , south British Columbia. The wine lady reckoned this particular vineyard's white was better. I looked at the temperature when I left for the bar at 4.50 and it was -16, but feels like with the wind chill factor considered -23. I told her I would have red! Places in Canada do not seem to be heated as much inside as the US. Several people today, as yesterday, have addressed me in French, understood my halting French reply, realised I spoke English and then asked, in English, if I would prefer them to talk in English or French. I always reply 'French slowly please because I am trying to learn' in French, which they do. How kind and thoughtful is that.
View across lower old Quebec City from upper old quebec city to St Lawrence River
On way to Chateau Frontenac
Highlights from today: I mastered walking down hill. I mastered the toe tap - bang toe of boot hard into the rise of the step when entering a building to shake as much snow off as possible. I visited a lovely shop selling woolen products made from sheep in the Charlevoix area 100km north of quebec city. I enjoyed a salad in a place where there were only locals or maybe regular visitors, going on how everyone seemed to be known to the proprietor. I had some delicious onion soup in another simple place where they were mostly locals. I enjoyed a glass of cab/merlot in a pleasant bar with a view over the St Lawrence River in the fanciest hotel in town. It was from a vineyard in Okanagan , south British Columbia. The wine lady reckoned this particular vineyard's white was better. I looked at the temperature when I left for the bar at 4.50 and it was -16, but feels like with the wind chill factor considered -23. I told her I would have red! Places in Canada do not seem to be heated as much inside as the US. Several people today, as yesterday, have addressed me in French, understood my halting French reply, realised I spoke English and then asked, in English, if I would prefer them to talk in English or French. I always reply 'French slowly please because I am trying to learn' in French, which they do. How kind and thoughtful is that.
View across lower old Quebec City from upper old quebec city to St Lawrence River
Saturday, December 16, 2017
Transport and Quebec City
Friday was a long day of travel. Walk to local train station, train to airport, plane to Montreal, wait around, plane to Quebec City, taxi to hotel. The taxi driver and I communicated quite well, until the end of the ride. Arabic was his first language and English, Italian and French equal second. I tried to use French but quickly realised he could equally understand the Italian that often came out of my mouth if my brain could not find the French quickly enough, so just carried on regardless. We arrived at about 9pm in this little square, lightly snowing, all the buildings lit up and sparkly, big drifts of snow everywhere, happy people walking around. I said it was like being in a fairytale. He didnot know the English word and I didnot know the French or Italian.
This morning breakfast in the hotel was a huge ham and cheese omelette, a large amount of lightly fried potato and some cut -up fruit, all on the 1 large plate.
It was -15 degrees when I set off at 9.30. It got up to the maximum for thE day -10 at 2pm. Mostly bright blue skies. I wandered around, looking at the view over the partially frozen St Lawrence River, the Basilica, the English church , windows of shops for most of the day. I walked to the railway station and returned a different way and decided that on Monday I would chose a different method when I go to Montreal. I am fairly sure my boots are as good as most people's and better than some but I have not got the technique of walking down hills in the slippery thick slush that covers the footpaths mastered. Several times I have almost fallen. I have seen quite a few other people slip and slide down the hills. So dragging a suitcase would be silly.
Apart from my eyes which run in the cold, mostly I am fine in the conditions, as long as I donot take a photo or look at a map!. I cannot take a photo on my phone with my gloves on. I will try with my camera shortly. If I stop to look at my map, my glasses fog up. This evening I went to a supermarket about a km away and did not try very hard coming home and followed my nose, which didnot work particularly well and my route home was longer. Maybe because my nose as well as my eyes run in the cold, it didnot lead me very well.
This morning breakfast in the hotel was a huge ham and cheese omelette, a large amount of lightly fried potato and some cut -up fruit, all on the 1 large plate.
It was -15 degrees when I set off at 9.30. It got up to the maximum for thE day -10 at 2pm. Mostly bright blue skies. I wandered around, looking at the view over the partially frozen St Lawrence River, the Basilica, the English church , windows of shops for most of the day. I walked to the railway station and returned a different way and decided that on Monday I would chose a different method when I go to Montreal. I am fairly sure my boots are as good as most people's and better than some but I have not got the technique of walking down hills in the slippery thick slush that covers the footpaths mastered. Several times I have almost fallen. I have seen quite a few other people slip and slide down the hills. So dragging a suitcase would be silly.
Apart from my eyes which run in the cold, mostly I am fine in the conditions, as long as I donot take a photo or look at a map!. I cannot take a photo on my phone with my gloves on. I will try with my camera shortly. If I stop to look at my map, my glasses fog up. This evening I went to a supermarket about a km away and did not try very hard coming home and followed my nose, which didnot work particularly well and my route home was longer. Maybe because my nose as well as my eyes run in the cold, it didnot lead me very well.
Thursday, December 14, 2017
San Fransisco extras.
On every bus I have been in, I have one of very few non Hispanic, Black or Asians.
People often say Happy Holidays in situations we would say Happy Christmas
I have been very pleasantly suprised by the lack of tacky blow-up Santas. Just about all shops have lots of decorations, but quite tasteful. Mainly sparkly trees and green garlands. Very few flashing lights.
Golden Gate bridge: The most difficult bit was the foundations of the south tower, 345m offshore. The foundations go 30m down into the earth below the water. The main cables are 1m thick
A lot of people wander the streets in christmassy clothing , more than in Canberra.
I pass regularly a man begging on the pavement. I have no idea what he is saying, but I cannot not smile because it sounds to me like "small change for a Ferrari".
People often say Happy Holidays in situations we would say Happy Christmas
I have been very pleasantly suprised by the lack of tacky blow-up Santas. Just about all shops have lots of decorations, but quite tasteful. Mainly sparkly trees and green garlands. Very few flashing lights.
Golden Gate bridge: The most difficult bit was the foundations of the south tower, 345m offshore. The foundations go 30m down into the earth below the water. The main cables are 1m thick
A lot of people wander the streets in christmassy clothing , more than in Canberra.
I pass regularly a man begging on the pavement. I have no idea what he is saying, but I cannot not smile because it sounds to me like "small change for a Ferrari".
THursley. Lots of steps and lots of walking.
As well as old cable cars , SF has some old historic trolley buses. The Coit Tower is on top of Telegraph Hill, one of SF's hills. It was built in 1933. This morning I combined the 2. I walked down to the nearest trolley bus stop , waited about 20 minutes, got the trolley bus to near the Filbert stairs, one of the ways of climbing the hill. The 449 steps go up the side of the hill, weaving through the houses in little lanes. I was a bit puffed, paid my $5 to go up in the lift to the look out and discovered I have another 36 steps. The 360 degree view was worth it.
I came down an easier way, walked through North Beach, another interesting part of SF to the City Lights Bookstore, the first paperback bookstore in the US. Over the years it has gained a reputation for supporting all sorts of wild, often subversive at the time but worthy causes.
More walking to the Jackson Square historic area, which was not very impressive. A block of reddy brown brick 2 or 3 storey buildings, warehouse like, that survived the catastrophic fire in 1906. They look the same as buildings all through the Rocks ( although maybe those are sandstone, I cannot remember but the same style) and along the river in Teneriffe and Newstead, Brisbane.
Then a walk back to my hotel. Too much walking. Tomorrow I will be sitting at airports and in planes all day.
I came down an easier way, walked through North Beach, another interesting part of SF to the City Lights Bookstore, the first paperback bookstore in the US. Over the years it has gained a reputation for supporting all sorts of wild, often subversive at the time but worthy causes.
More walking to the Jackson Square historic area, which was not very impressive. A block of reddy brown brick 2 or 3 storey buildings, warehouse like, that survived the catastrophic fire in 1906. They look the same as buildings all through the Rocks ( although maybe those are sandstone, I cannot remember but the same style) and along the river in Teneriffe and Newstead, Brisbane.
Then a walk back to my hotel. Too much walking. Tomorrow I will be sitting at airports and in planes all day.
Spanish mission
Yesterday I visited a small old church commonly called Mission Dolores. It was one of about 18 missions built all over California in the late 1700's early1800's with the aim of converting the local Indian people to Christianity. However within 50 years all of the local Indians had died about 5000, mainly from disease. To quote one book I read " their entire universe, from their daily life to their spiritual beliefs, was erased. As psychotic a transformation as Pol,Pot's regime." What does that say about our history.
Anyway, the small mission church , built in 1791 , is still standing. It is considered the oldest building in SF. A Basilica was built next door in the early 1900's. It was pleasant enough, but I looked everywhere for some thing to acknowledge the Indians and could not find anything. Next I went into the small museum. There were clerical clothes , odds and ends the priests used, tools the Indians used, but no mention of them dying out, except for a book on display entitled " A .Time of little Choice, The disintegration of tribal culture in the SF bay area 1769 to 1810" So into the cemetery I continued to search. I found 2 graves which looked like their wooden headstones had just been redone and a little statue of an Indian lady on a plinth with the inscription "Prayerful memory of our faithful Indians" . Lots and lots of other graves.
I walked off and found some lunch -another nice salad but with too many green leaves, not the first time . I talked to a local at the bar about the Mission museum. He said everyone knows the history of the area, how the Indians got wiped out, so why do they need reminding? I said, what about visitors? He shrugged. I said goodbye and went to catch another 2 buses nd walked to the Haas- Lilienthal House, a Victoria House in the Queen Anne style built in 1886. I found it interesting.
Then home, then out for dinner.
Anyway, the small mission church , built in 1791 , is still standing. It is considered the oldest building in SF. A Basilica was built next door in the early 1900's. It was pleasant enough, but I looked everywhere for some thing to acknowledge the Indians and could not find anything. Next I went into the small museum. There were clerical clothes , odds and ends the priests used, tools the Indians used, but no mention of them dying out, except for a book on display entitled " A .Time of little Choice, The disintegration of tribal culture in the SF bay area 1769 to 1810" So into the cemetery I continued to search. I found 2 graves which looked like their wooden headstones had just been redone and a little statue of an Indian lady on a plinth with the inscription "Prayerful memory of our faithful Indians" . Lots and lots of other graves.
I walked off and found some lunch -another nice salad but with too many green leaves, not the first time . I talked to a local at the bar about the Mission museum. He said everyone knows the history of the area, how the Indians got wiped out, so why do they need reminding? I said, what about visitors? He shrugged. I said goodbye and went to catch another 2 buses nd walked to the Haas- Lilienthal House, a Victoria House in the Queen Anne style built in 1886. I found it interesting.
Then home, then out for dinner.
Murals
Wednesday, December 13, 2017
Murals, Spanish mission, Queen Anne house part 1
One of the things San Fransisco is noted for are the murals painted on walls and buildings in lots of areas, but mainly in an area called Mission where there has always been a high concentration of Hispanic people . It took me a walk and 2 buses and a walk to get there which, although took about an hour, was quite interesting. I was underwhelmed though by having to wait 20 minutes for the 2nd bus in a less than salubrious neighbourhood. There is a particular street that has a lot of murals, many with a great deal of detail of, Eg people that was lost on me. Mostly protesting against injustices to minority groups. See photo below.
Next stop was a wool shop, a bus and walk away, though the walk was broken by a stop for delicious freshly squeezed veggie juice. I thought I was being very good when remembering to ask for the bathroom rather than loo or whatever else we ausiess say. I was gently corrected when the lady said ' the restroom is over there' , with the emphasis on rest. How ridiculous. I no more intended on resting than having a bath. Any way, the wool shop was amazing. Bigger than any wool shop I have seen in my life. There was a huge range of yarns, a huge range of books, a huge range of bits and bobs. There were 3 people serving customers and another lady who seemed to be the boss. I bought a ball of wool for the project I have bought with me. If it had been my last stop before returning to tiny Cbr, I would have bought some books at least.
Next stop was Mission Dolores.
.
.
.
I left this account and went to dinner at 5.45. I had intended on just getting a quick ish meal. However I have just returned and it is 8.30. I got talked into a glass of wine -because it was before 6pm he said it would cost me $7 instead of $12- and a dish of cioppino, a sort of fish stew which had heaps of all sorts of delicious seafood, but took ages to eat, the crab bits were huge, very messy. I also spent longer than I intended because I got talking to 2 local guys sitting at the bar near me. One of the interesting things I learnt from the bar man is that right across all of the hospitality trade in SF numbers of tourists are about 50% of normal for this time of year. He said Europeans are not coming because they are afraid of what might happen with Mr Trump at the helm. Now I want to play with my new wool and will write part 2 tomorrow.
Next stop was a wool shop, a bus and walk away, though the walk was broken by a stop for delicious freshly squeezed veggie juice. I thought I was being very good when remembering to ask for the bathroom rather than loo or whatever else we ausiess say. I was gently corrected when the lady said ' the restroom is over there' , with the emphasis on rest. How ridiculous. I no more intended on resting than having a bath. Any way, the wool shop was amazing. Bigger than any wool shop I have seen in my life. There was a huge range of yarns, a huge range of books, a huge range of bits and bobs. There were 3 people serving customers and another lady who seemed to be the boss. I bought a ball of wool for the project I have bought with me. If it had been my last stop before returning to tiny Cbr, I would have bought some books at least.
Next stop was Mission Dolores.
.
.
.
I left this account and went to dinner at 5.45. I had intended on just getting a quick ish meal. However I have just returned and it is 8.30. I got talked into a glass of wine -because it was before 6pm he said it would cost me $7 instead of $12- and a dish of cioppino, a sort of fish stew which had heaps of all sorts of delicious seafood, but took ages to eat, the crab bits were huge, very messy. I also spent longer than I intended because I got talking to 2 local guys sitting at the bar near me. One of the interesting things I learnt from the bar man is that right across all of the hospitality trade in SF numbers of tourists are about 50% of normal for this time of year. He said Europeans are not coming because they are afraid of what might happen with Mr Trump at the helm. Now I want to play with my new wool and will write part 2 tomorrow.
Tuesday, December 12, 2017
SF Museum of Modern Art
On my way to the SF MOMA I went to look at the outside of the Contemporary Jewish Museum. It was designed by Daniel Libeskind, one of the group who designed the One World Trade Centre and built in 1994. It is a bit odd. A rectangular reddish brown building that used to be a power station with a shiny black cube on 1 corner next to it. It is right up close to other buildings, 1 a church, and it is impossible to get a good photo of it - well, impossible for me. Nearby is the new Yerba Buena Centre for the Arts in a new park, about the size of a whole block, with garden beds, lawn and seating. There is a memorial to Martin Luther King which was quite moving. You could walk behind a large, long waterfall and there were excerpts from his speeches on the wall.
The SF MOMA, another new building was built in 1994. There were 6 floors of exhibits. I sat looking at a Rothlo for a while. The colours seem to get more intense the longer you look, or is it a mind trick. There were lots of groups of children with their teacher scattered around the gallery. There was a painting by Edward Hopper of a single woman in the corner of a theatre. I listened for a while while the teacher asked what his 12 15 or 16yr old boys thought she was thinking about. Several thought she must be lonely. To me she looked like many of his single women, alone but quite self- contained and not lonely.
When I was in Washington I saw an exhibition in the Guggenheim gallery of John
Chamberlain's 20 or so old cars that he painted bright colours and then squashed . I could not see the,point. Today I saw a washing machine that he had squashed. The label associated with this work says " metal from an old washing machine was thoughtfully crushed and fitted together to create this torquing form. Hmm. 'thouhtfully'?
There were some lovely sculptures by Alexander Calder that made me smile. Then I enjoyed a proper cup of coffee before walking a bit to the start of another cable car line. I rode to the end, then started to walk back but stopped in an Italian restaurant for a salad and some gf pasta. Delicious.
I went to look at Grace Cathedral, the main church of the Episcopal Diocese of California , mainly because it has 2 labyrinths, one inside and one outside, both based on the labyrinth of Chartres cathedral. When I was in sydney , I walked around the newish labyrinth in centenial park which is similarly based on the Chartres one. Today, I could not see the inside one because of the yearly performance of the Messiah that is performed in this cathedral and the one outside was disappointing to me because it was hemmed in by a stone wall , a building and was overlooked by several buildings. So I was a bit grumpy when I went to look at other things inside. There is peaceful, modern AIDS memorial interfaith chapel.
That was it for the day. The temperature had dropped and I was not aware at the time, but it was also at 3.30 getting a bit dark because my photos that I
took on the way home are a bit dark.
The SF MOMA, another new building was built in 1994. There were 6 floors of exhibits. I sat looking at a Rothlo for a while. The colours seem to get more intense the longer you look, or is it a mind trick. There were lots of groups of children with their teacher scattered around the gallery. There was a painting by Edward Hopper of a single woman in the corner of a theatre. I listened for a while while the teacher asked what his 12 15 or 16yr old boys thought she was thinking about. Several thought she must be lonely. To me she looked like many of his single women, alone but quite self- contained and not lonely.
When I was in Washington I saw an exhibition in the Guggenheim gallery of John
Chamberlain's 20 or so old cars that he painted bright colours and then squashed . I could not see the,point. Today I saw a washing machine that he had squashed. The label associated with this work says " metal from an old washing machine was thoughtfully crushed and fitted together to create this torquing form. Hmm. 'thouhtfully'?
There were some lovely sculptures by Alexander Calder that made me smile. Then I enjoyed a proper cup of coffee before walking a bit to the start of another cable car line. I rode to the end, then started to walk back but stopped in an Italian restaurant for a salad and some gf pasta. Delicious.
I went to look at Grace Cathedral, the main church of the Episcopal Diocese of California , mainly because it has 2 labyrinths, one inside and one outside, both based on the labyrinth of Chartres cathedral. When I was in sydney , I walked around the newish labyrinth in centenial park which is similarly based on the Chartres one. Today, I could not see the inside one because of the yearly performance of the Messiah that is performed in this cathedral and the one outside was disappointing to me because it was hemmed in by a stone wall , a building and was overlooked by several buildings. So I was a bit grumpy when I went to look at other things inside. There is peaceful, modern AIDS memorial interfaith chapel.
That was it for the day. The temperature had dropped and I was not aware at the time, but it was also at 3.30 getting a bit dark because my photos that I
took on the way home are a bit dark.
Monday, December 11, 2017
Golden Gate Bridge and other firsts
This morning, breakfast in the hotel was a delicious omelette. A good start. Then I went to a nearby Walgreen - seems to be the supermarket of choice around here - to but some almonds. The price was 7.00 or 4.00 if you had a loyalty card. The checkout lady seemed surprised that I didnot have one. She asked was I a visitor and I said yes, so she gave me the cheaper price. Did I look like I needed financial help? I am sure she was just being friendly.
My rough plan was to get public transport to the southern end of the GG bridge, walk over it ( about 4 km including the approaches) and on to Sausilito (about 3 km to the edge of the town and another km to the ferry wharf) and then catch a ferry back to SF. However I had not planned what mode of transport or anything , just had a rough idea of which direction. I had looked up the ferry times and seen they ran about every 60 to 90 mins and thought that will be ok. For me, very unprepared.
There is a cable car stop about 10 m away from the hotel front door. Soon a full ish one came up the hill going in the right direction for me. There's room for 1 more, the brake man called out to me, so I squashed onto the running board and held on and kept my elbows in because there is little room sometimes between the people standing on the outside and adjacent cars. Normally if I go somewhere I like to take photos and watch a map as we go - my way of remembering where I have been and what I have taken a photo of. Neither possible this morning so I just enjoyed myself and the wind in my hair. Over a fairly short distance we went up quite a few hills and down the other side. It is really obvious -smaller houses at the bottom of the hills and larger houses at the tops.
At the end of the line I walked a few m to a nearby biggish road that had busses running down it. I asked the first one that came along was he going where I wanted to go. He told me no and told me what number bus and where along the street to catch it. Normally I would be embarrassed to do this because I know that I can look up timetables myself, For some reason today I didnot care. Must be something in the air, or part of the 50th celebration of 1967, the start of the hippy era.
So, I walked over the bridge. 6 lanes of traffic made it a bit noisy. About 6 groups of about 20 cyclists went past. There were not many walkers. At one point crossing the bridge I wondered about what particular mathematical function created the curve of the supporting cables. Luckily I am not (anymore!) my mother , dismissed the thought and the need to find out, and went back to enjoying the wind in my hair.
When I got to the end of the bridge and started following the signs to Sausilito I could have been in bush anywhere miles away from civilisation. I didnot see anyone else on the path. I followed the path through a military base, through a magnificent stand of what looked to me like Syney Red Gums, through more bush to Sausilito. Walking through the town I thought a cup of calm chowder would be nice for lunch. I chose a place at random , went in , was shown to a nice table on their deck overlooking the water to S F. It was a lovely fine sunny clear, no fog, day. A waiter who was good at up selling convinced me to have a bowl of soup and a glass of Gruner Veltliner, which I didnot know. I needed very little persuading. It took me a long time to savour every morsel of my delicious clam chowder. At some point, I remembered that I had bought myself a powerbank. If I use my phone to take photos (lots today) and to navigate ( less than normal today) it almost runs out of charge before the end of the day. I had remembered to leave it in my bag this morning but not, as I discovered at lunch, the connecting cable. In the past I would have been annoyed at myself. Today I just laughed.
The views of the GG bridge coming back on the ferry where made different by the sun near the bridge. It was 2pm, but the sun seemed lower than 2pm here and the brightness changed the colour. I have yet to sort my photos. I enjoyed watching the shapes and colours of SF as we approached it. The wind in my hair was good too.
The ferry stopped at Fisherman's Wharf - a tourist collection of shops and I have to admit that I looked up on my just-still-charged phone where to get which bus from.
I discovered this afternoon that over the road from my hotel the little cafe serves nice proper espresso coffee.
For dinner I went to a cafe and ordered a spinach salad which had lots of veggie stuff in it. The waiter asked if I wanted some chicken as well. More up selling, but it was an excellent idea . He charged me an extra $2 for quite a large piece of grilled chicken.
A great day.
My rough plan was to get public transport to the southern end of the GG bridge, walk over it ( about 4 km including the approaches) and on to Sausilito (about 3 km to the edge of the town and another km to the ferry wharf) and then catch a ferry back to SF. However I had not planned what mode of transport or anything , just had a rough idea of which direction. I had looked up the ferry times and seen they ran about every 60 to 90 mins and thought that will be ok. For me, very unprepared.
There is a cable car stop about 10 m away from the hotel front door. Soon a full ish one came up the hill going in the right direction for me. There's room for 1 more, the brake man called out to me, so I squashed onto the running board and held on and kept my elbows in because there is little room sometimes between the people standing on the outside and adjacent cars. Normally if I go somewhere I like to take photos and watch a map as we go - my way of remembering where I have been and what I have taken a photo of. Neither possible this morning so I just enjoyed myself and the wind in my hair. Over a fairly short distance we went up quite a few hills and down the other side. It is really obvious -smaller houses at the bottom of the hills and larger houses at the tops.
At the end of the line I walked a few m to a nearby biggish road that had busses running down it. I asked the first one that came along was he going where I wanted to go. He told me no and told me what number bus and where along the street to catch it. Normally I would be embarrassed to do this because I know that I can look up timetables myself, For some reason today I didnot care. Must be something in the air, or part of the 50th celebration of 1967, the start of the hippy era.
So, I walked over the bridge. 6 lanes of traffic made it a bit noisy. About 6 groups of about 20 cyclists went past. There were not many walkers. At one point crossing the bridge I wondered about what particular mathematical function created the curve of the supporting cables. Luckily I am not (anymore!) my mother , dismissed the thought and the need to find out, and went back to enjoying the wind in my hair.
When I got to the end of the bridge and started following the signs to Sausilito I could have been in bush anywhere miles away from civilisation. I didnot see anyone else on the path. I followed the path through a military base, through a magnificent stand of what looked to me like Syney Red Gums, through more bush to Sausilito. Walking through the town I thought a cup of calm chowder would be nice for lunch. I chose a place at random , went in , was shown to a nice table on their deck overlooking the water to S F. It was a lovely fine sunny clear, no fog, day. A waiter who was good at up selling convinced me to have a bowl of soup and a glass of Gruner Veltliner, which I didnot know. I needed very little persuading. It took me a long time to savour every morsel of my delicious clam chowder. At some point, I remembered that I had bought myself a powerbank. If I use my phone to take photos (lots today) and to navigate ( less than normal today) it almost runs out of charge before the end of the day. I had remembered to leave it in my bag this morning but not, as I discovered at lunch, the connecting cable. In the past I would have been annoyed at myself. Today I just laughed.
The views of the GG bridge coming back on the ferry where made different by the sun near the bridge. It was 2pm, but the sun seemed lower than 2pm here and the brightness changed the colour. I have yet to sort my photos. I enjoyed watching the shapes and colours of SF as we approached it. The wind in my hair was good too.
The ferry stopped at Fisherman's Wharf - a tourist collection of shops and I have to admit that I looked up on my just-still-charged phone where to get which bus from.
I discovered this afternoon that over the road from my hotel the little cafe serves nice proper espresso coffee.
For dinner I went to a cafe and ordered a spinach salad which had lots of veggie stuff in it. The waiter asked if I wanted some chicken as well. More up selling, but it was an excellent idea . He charged me an extra $2 for quite a large piece of grilled chicken.
A great day.
Sunday, December 10, 2017
Another trip started well.
All yesterday's flights went well. Cbr to Syd then Syd to San Francisco. I got asked 3 times about my reasons for visiting USA. Once at the gate to get onto the bus from the domestic to international airport, second time getting onto the plane and the 3rd time getting into the country. Each time I said vacation and was asked where, why, etc and once who else was going to be at the 40th birthday etc etc. They usually gave up when i said i was looking for ward to seeing my grandchildren. I was tempted to say that my lovely Tahli the Terrific Tiger was too young to be a Terrorist but knew not to.
From San Fransisco airport I got almost straight onto a BART train ( Bay Area Rapid Transport) a painless and cheap way of getting into the city. The stop nearest my hotel was next to the tourist bureau, which I discovered was only open on Sundays from March to October, despite what it's website said. Never mind, up the hill to my hotel. The first hill of many. Luckily my bag only weighed 12.8 kg. About 2 of that was christmas presents. I left my bag at the hotel, went for some lunch , then wandered a bit and ended up at Macy's where there was another tourist info. They did not have a map to scale. I had to explain what I meant. Ah well. I often use my phone when I am walking around, but I much prefer to have a paper map when I am planning my route.
Now to plan tomorrow.
From San Fransisco airport I got almost straight onto a BART train ( Bay Area Rapid Transport) a painless and cheap way of getting into the city. The stop nearest my hotel was next to the tourist bureau, which I discovered was only open on Sundays from March to October, despite what it's website said. Never mind, up the hill to my hotel. The first hill of many. Luckily my bag only weighed 12.8 kg. About 2 of that was christmas presents. I left my bag at the hotel, went for some lunch , then wandered a bit and ended up at Macy's where there was another tourist info. They did not have a map to scale. I had to explain what I meant. Ah well. I often use my phone when I am walking around, but I much prefer to have a paper map when I am planning my route.
Now to plan tomorrow.
Tuesday, July 11, 2017
Home safely
After a quiet night in Sacramento on Saturday, I caught a plane to LA the next day. I spent a pleasant afternoon in Santa Monica. I went to a seafood restaurant for dinner and the first item on the specials board was barramundi from Queensland. Needless to say, I chose something else. The next morning I found a cafe that sold real food and had a very nice omelette that was made from real eggs and mushrooms and spinach that I could recognise and taste. I pottered along the pier, walked along the waterfront etc. Quite relaxing.
The 2 flights to get home were unremarkable. Noel delivered me to my lovely sunny apartment. Now to washing, paying bills etc etc.
The 2 flights to get home were unremarkable. Noel delivered me to my lovely sunny apartment. Now to washing, paying bills etc etc.
Sunday, July 9, 2017
Road trip 3. 4 states in 1 morning.
On Wednesday the troops arrived back in the evening tired but happy after walking through the river up a canyon for a long way. For some of the return they apparently floated down the river.
On Thur we breakfasted ( I use the term ' breakfast ' loosely. It seems impossible in Holiday Inns to get anything real that has no gluten or sugar. There are lots of pastry things, sometimes some scrambled egg stuff that tastes funny. Wendy says it's made from powdered eggs. There is sometimes little omelette things with a few bits of what maybe vegetables. Filling enough for me. For a change from their normal healthy regime the kids are allowed free rein , so they are happy.) Back to where I was, in SW Utah in a little corner of the USA where several states meet. We drove through the NW corner of Arizona into the SW corner of Nevada and then into California. In the car we had salad stuff for lunch ( a normal practise, bought from Walmart at a reasonable price) but the 2 roadside rest areas we passed were both closed so we stopped at a funny little town. We could not find a park for thE kids to run in. Outside the temperature was a searing 116 degrees F, 45 C. So we had to resort to a peculiar Greek restaurant. Salad for dinner in Visalia.
On Friday we drove into the Sequoia National Park to see the giant sequoias. We went on several short walks, wandered through pine forests with these huge trees, and through lovely meadows. We saw the tree which is reputed to be the biggest tree in the world by volume.
We drove from there to Fresno where we had a very late lunch / early dinner. It was Tahli's 7th birthday . She chose a Japanese Tepanyaki place which was very good. The chef put on an excellent show . One of Tahlis sisters told him it was Tahlis birthday and he made a big fuss of her. The food was excellent. We spent the night in Marioposa, one of the gateway towns to Yosemite. We decided on the way to give Yosemite a miss- too crowded and we had seen some wonderful places and didnot want to rush, wait in a long queue to get in etc etc. The drive to Mariposa was quiet, rural, very pleasant landforms similar to Australia, but with different trees. Mariposa was a nice little town, busy when we arrived in the evening, but completely dead at 9.30 when wendy and I went for a look in a few shops. Only 1 was open. EveryOne else was in the queues in Yosemite.
Saturday we drove to Sacramento and had lunch in an interetsing old warehouse area which looks like it is regenerating. Wendy and Co dropped me at a hotel near the airport and drove onto Lake Tahoe where they were meeting Lachs sister and her family for another 2 weeks of road trip.
On Thur we breakfasted ( I use the term ' breakfast ' loosely. It seems impossible in Holiday Inns to get anything real that has no gluten or sugar. There are lots of pastry things, sometimes some scrambled egg stuff that tastes funny. Wendy says it's made from powdered eggs. There is sometimes little omelette things with a few bits of what maybe vegetables. Filling enough for me. For a change from their normal healthy regime the kids are allowed free rein , so they are happy.) Back to where I was, in SW Utah in a little corner of the USA where several states meet. We drove through the NW corner of Arizona into the SW corner of Nevada and then into California. In the car we had salad stuff for lunch ( a normal practise, bought from Walmart at a reasonable price) but the 2 roadside rest areas we passed were both closed so we stopped at a funny little town. We could not find a park for thE kids to run in. Outside the temperature was a searing 116 degrees F, 45 C. So we had to resort to a peculiar Greek restaurant. Salad for dinner in Visalia.
On Friday we drove into the Sequoia National Park to see the giant sequoias. We went on several short walks, wandered through pine forests with these huge trees, and through lovely meadows. We saw the tree which is reputed to be the biggest tree in the world by volume.
We drove from there to Fresno where we had a very late lunch / early dinner. It was Tahli's 7th birthday . She chose a Japanese Tepanyaki place which was very good. The chef put on an excellent show . One of Tahlis sisters told him it was Tahlis birthday and he made a big fuss of her. The food was excellent. We spent the night in Marioposa, one of the gateway towns to Yosemite. We decided on the way to give Yosemite a miss- too crowded and we had seen some wonderful places and didnot want to rush, wait in a long queue to get in etc etc. The drive to Mariposa was quiet, rural, very pleasant landforms similar to Australia, but with different trees. Mariposa was a nice little town, busy when we arrived in the evening, but completely dead at 9.30 when wendy and I went for a look in a few shops. Only 1 was open. EveryOne else was in the queues in Yosemite.
Saturday we drove to Sacramento and had lunch in an interetsing old warehouse area which looks like it is regenerating. Wendy and Co dropped me at a hotel near the airport and drove onto Lake Tahoe where they were meeting Lachs sister and her family for another 2 weeks of road trip.
Wednesday, July 5, 2017
Road trip 2. 4 states in 4 days
On Sunday, after breakfast in the NW of Texas we drove into New Mexico, kept going through New Mexico and stopped for the night in Gallup in the west. On Monday morning we passed into Arizona and spent some time in the interesting Petrified forest and painted desert national park. Weird moonscape sort of landscapes. More driving and we got to Tusayan, the nearest town to the Grand Canyon for the night.
Tuesday morning we spent wandering around the southern rim looking down into the amazing Canyon. So many amazing views of different colours and shapes. Late lunch in the car, more driving and we got here, Springdale, Utah, the nearest town to Zion National Park in the evening.
This morning, Wednesday, after a late start ( what a suprise, everyone was quite tired) we went for a walk in the Canyon in the SE of the Zion NationalPark. Again, amazing but in a far more personal way. We walked along the edge of the small river that runs through the Canyon with high high walls either side. I left the others to continue on the walk up the river and came back to the hotel to catch up on a few things. So, maybe more details later on the wonderful places I have seen. Maybe not.
Tuesday morning we spent wandering around the southern rim looking down into the amazing Canyon. So many amazing views of different colours and shapes. Late lunch in the car, more driving and we got here, Springdale, Utah, the nearest town to Zion National Park in the evening.
This morning, Wednesday, after a late start ( what a suprise, everyone was quite tired) we went for a walk in the Canyon in the SE of the Zion NationalPark. Again, amazing but in a far more personal way. We walked along the edge of the small river that runs through the Canyon with high high walls either side. I left the others to continue on the walk up the river and came back to the hotel to catch up on a few things. So, maybe more details later on the wonderful places I have seen. Maybe not.
Sunday, July 2, 2017
Road trip. Mostly Oklahoma
On Friday I spent the day pottering with Wendy as she raced around doing jobs.
On Saturday morning we all left their home to travel West. They have a 7 seater car . At first , while we were still in the Orzarks, it was a bit hilly and very dense scrub, but then it was flat for the rest of the day. Miles and miles of crops, some black Angus. We went through Oklahoma, had dinner in a little town just East of the border with Texas , and soon we will set off again after spending the night just in Texas. Wendy and Lach share the driving, I sit, look and relax.
On Saturday morning we all left their home to travel West. They have a 7 seater car . At first , while we were still in the Orzarks, it was a bit hilly and very dense scrub, but then it was flat for the rest of the day. Miles and miles of crops, some black Angus. We went through Oklahoma, had dinner in a little town just East of the border with Texas , and soon we will set off again after spending the night just in Texas. Wendy and Lach share the driving, I sit, look and relax.
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