tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19310889239584519172024-02-22T02:34:07.350-05:00Explorer Bear Summer Time Adventures in the Old WorldExplorer Bearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11298350787853865821noreply@blogger.comBlogger214125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931088923958451917.post-58986429371496417542017-07-02T16:08:00.002-04:002017-07-02T16:09:36.586-04:00Explorer Bear Travel Blog Has a New Home!My Explorer Bear Travel Blog moved to Wordpress in June 2017. Click the link below to visit the new blog!<a href="https://explorerbear.blog/"> Click Here For the New Blog!</a><br />
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Explorer Bearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11298350787853865821noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931088923958451917.post-76383003616376442182016-08-16T18:29:00.001-04:002016-08-16T18:29:07.186-04:00A Visit to Portofino<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">We spent a large part of the day exploring the cobblestone streets and arcaded shops on the waterfront. To just relax and take in the ambiance, we decided to stop at a cafe just above the beach to people watch. Most people brought their own umbrellas and many had a picnic too. One extended family all huddled under an umbrella to escape the summer sun and then lathered up with suntan lotion to take a cool dip.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">While people lounged on the beach, several merchants appeared. One was selling cool slices of coconut and another was holding large cotton cloths with colorful designs. "From Kashmir!" he called out proudly. I am not sure if they were really from there but they did look nice.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">In the evening we took the public bus to Portofino. It's a 15 minute ride up the narrow coastal road that has such sharp twists and turns that the bus driver had to constantly toot a musical horn. We noticed that here buses rule and everyone else needs to pull over. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I have always wanted to visit Portofino, a resort for the rich and famous. On Skyline webcams I have watched the live streaming webcam and noticed the luxurious yachts. The village is accessed down a step cobblestone lane and the waterfront is lined with colorful houses and cafes all tucked into a tiny cove where the yachts are docked. We walked along the waterfront and found a table on a floating dock right outside a cafe. We ordered bellinis where the peach puree was so fresh, it tasted like it came right off the tree. The drinks were served with a tapa type platter of olives, cheese, prosciutto, potato chips, and carrot sticks and dip.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Determined to find the picture postcard view always featured in photos, we hiked up the stone path on the other side of the harbor to a small church overlooking Portofino on one side and the ocean on the other, We discovered that a music festival was taking place and a swing band was about to perform outside the church. We stayed for one song and they were excellent.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Back in town, the lights on the buildings were just coming on. We walked out on a pier to look back at the town. It was a lively place with people at outside cafes and musicians serenading tables. Many of the buildings including the church are outlined in white lights. Looking back at the town, we truly felt like we were in a magical place.</span></div>
Explorer Bearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11298350787853865821noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931088923958451917.post-14349195588716611302016-08-15T07:22:00.002-04:002016-08-15T10:56:06.879-04:00Adventures on an Italian Train<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: "trebuchet ms", sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">Traveling by train in Italy can be an interesting experience. We have experienced everything from cars so old they have rusted through to sleek modern high speed trains that swiftly take you from one destinationto the next. The biggest problem we find is if you have luggage. If there is no room in the luggage area in the car, you are often left standing between cars just to stay with your bags. It was with all these possibilities in mind that we were not exactly looking forward to a two hour train ride to Santa Margharita on the Ligurian coast, but we were in for a pleasant surprise.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">After rushing to get on our assigned car at Milan Centrale we discovered the train had compartments, each holding six people with room for luggage up above the seats. We have had experience with these where everyone sat in silence plugged into the iPads, but today there were four interesting passengers: a young mother originally from Slovakia and her three year old son Alex, and an older well dressed couple. David and I sat facing each other by the window, the mother and child in the middle, and the couple facing each other by the door. David and the man started talking about Italian films and they immediately developed a nice rapport. We learned the couple was married on Lake Maggiorie and that he had been a chemical engineer. "Has Italy changed much since you were a boy?" Dave asked. "My story is a long one," he said. "I was born in 1929."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Throughout the rest of the train ride this man who looked like a little college professor told story after story. As his English improved as he spoke, we realized we were in the presence of a brilliant mind with interesting stories about history. We sat fascinated listening to stories ranging from how the Vespa Italian motorbike was invented to his life under Mussolini as a child. "I remember it all," he said.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">While all these stories were being told, there was some entertainment from Alex. Desperate for attention he touched his lollipop to each of our legs and the man's shoes before popping it in his own mouth. His mother had brought an activity bag with coloring pages, puzzles, and plastic figurines to entertain him, but with his short attention span, he was in and out of the compartment with his mother close behind, showing us his toys, or offering us milk out of his bottle. At one point he was siting on my feet. His mother had some parenting skills to learn. Right as the man was saying, "When the Allies invaded Sicily..." Alex and his mother got into a power struggle with an empty soda bottle. I have to admit, though, keeping a child that age entertained for two hours would be a challenge, Our journey ended with handshakes and we felt very enriched from this cultural experience.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Exiting the train station in Santa Margharita we were a little concerned, When we called our accommodation from the train to alert them we would be late, they told us they had never heard of us even though we made the reservation in April. Thinking there must be a mistake, we headed over anyway and received the same message. "This is bank holiday weekend in Italy. There are no hotel rooms anywhere. The whole town is booked." The man at the desk finally agreed to look for a room on his computer for us. "Well ok.There is a room at the Park Hotel Suiss. It's a 4'star, but I think it's really a 3 star," he said with a look of disdain on his face. What could we do? We had to take it. While waiting for the taxi I got online and looked it up on Trip Advisor. It ranked 21/21 hotels- the lowest ranked hotel in the city.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">We were told our room had a sea view so we headed over in a taxi expecting a back alley hotel with a tiny room with a small dusty window with a far off glimpse of the sea, but we could not have been in for a bigger surprise, The hotel is undergoing renovations and although our room decor is bland, it's big and clean with a huge balcony with expansive views of the harbor. This is the kind of view you get at a four star hotel. There's a new pool and the hotel is just down the street from all of the action. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">To save money we decided to stroll around and look for a cafe for a slice of pizza, salad, or toasted cheese. We ended up recognizing a restaurant Ristorante Michele that was featured in a Dennis Callan video on YouTube. Dennis Callan has hundreds of travel videos following European tours he leads from Hawaii. I tried telling the wife of the owner we had seen the restaurant on TV. She spoke no English, but was so curious what I was so excited to tell her that she brought her daughter over to translate. As it turned out they had seen the video and were so touched we mentioned it that they treated us to limoncello.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">All around us in this outdoor cafe was an Italian holiday vibe. Although it was 10:30, children of all ages ran and played while the adults sat happily just enjoying their table which is yours for the evening. We struck up a conversation with the couple beside us from Genoa. They were as interested in us as we were them.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">When we travel we travel on a budget. We do not stay in fancy hotels and we don't dine at fancy restaurants. This way we are closer to the people and in our minds, that's what good travel is all about.</span></div>
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Explorer Bearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11298350787853865821noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931088923958451917.post-21684369621712455092016-08-14T08:18:00.003-04:002016-08-14T08:18:37.005-04:00A Day Trip to Switzerland<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">Today we did something out of the ordinary. We took a round trip excursion to the Swiss side of Lake Maggiorie to the town of Locarno. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">Getting there was half the fun. We boarded a Swiss panoramic train that wound through the Italian countryside and up through the mountains for two hours. Looking down into the valleys we saw rushing rivers and at times, people rafting, Looking above were tiny villages, each with a stone church with a bell tower at the highest point, all with clock faces. Several of these villages were stops for alpine hiking trips or mountain biking trips.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Stepping off the boat I spotted some para gliders floating high above the mountains. "They must have an amazing view," I thought to myself, but I think my fear of heights would prevent me from trying it. We ate lunch at a cafe on the waterfront. Food is expensive here. A slice of pizza costs over $10. My meal was interesting. It was a grilled cheese sandwich made with pancakes. We had a nice chat with our waiter. He grew up in Macedonia when it was under Soviet rule. "Your menu is in English with an Italian accent," he joked. He must have thought we were friendly. When he brought the bill he announced, "Here in Locarno it's a tradition that the lady pays!"</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">My sister Jane and my friend Susan Erickson and I all love Swatch watches. Every year I buy one I think Susan will like. It's a tradition. I sent Jane a link to the European Swatch collection and she said her favorite was a black one with a cow etched on it and a real cowbell attached. I told her I would try my best, but it was unlikely that in Paris they would sell that one because it seemed unique to the Alps. Walking past a department store today I spotted a collection of Swatch watches and lost no time heading right inside and there on the wall was the exact watch she chose. I couldn't believe it. It was my best purchase of the day.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Since we only had a few hours in Locarno, we were only able to see a few sights. We visited a church which dates back to the 13th century and a museum of archaeology. I think we were the only ones in there. We were given a map, but ended up using our imagination in some of the rooms because nothing of course was in English. In the bell tower people had signed their names over the past 100 years. This week on CNN International they have an ad for the show where the announcer says, "Where some people see graffiti, I see art." While there weren't any drawings, looking at all the names in different handwriting was like looking at an art form.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Our trip back to Stresa was a two hour boat ride across the lake which stopped at many small towns to let people on and off. The sun was out the entire way and everywhere people were out in small sailboats.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Late tonight we joined some of the others and strolled the lakeside promenade. There are a lot of old world grand hotels and we toured the lobbies. Many were elegant with crystal chandeliers and antique furniture. One would think it would cost a fortune to stay at these places, but many are under $150 a night including breakfast. There is such a pleasant holiday vibe here. I think we have found a new favorite place.</span></div>
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Explorer Bearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11298350787853865821noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931088923958451917.post-52415577749322928342016-08-13T07:36:00.002-04:002016-08-13T07:36:10.396-04:00Spending a Day on Lake Maggiorie<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-size: 15px;"><br /></span></span>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">This morning in Stresa we discovered a neighborhood of tiny cobblestone streets and piazzas behind our hotel. It's fun to watch a town waking up in the morning. Shop owners were putting up their umbrellas and awnings, arranging appealing displays outside, and cafes were busy selling coffee and cakes. Even though it wasn't yet </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">11:00 am</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">, families were enjoying ice cream cones and many were posing with them too.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">We took a boat to Isola Bella, an Italian villa on an island which is still in use today. Dating back to the early 17th century, the villa has been witness to some significant developments in world history, including a two night visit by Napoleon in1797, and in 1935 it was the setting for the failed Stresa Conference in which the Allies tried to encourage Mussolini to help them stop Hitler. When Napoleon and his entourage visited for two nights, the staff said they were appalled at the mess they left behind.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">The villa has a staggering collection of artifacts and artwork collected from around the world. Two interesting rooms in the palace included their massive collection of marionettes and several grottos which are covered floor to ceiling with black and white perfectly formed pebbles and shells. The purpose was to be a cool respite from the hot sun of Italy and it was very cool in there. I envy those who have lived here, There are striking views of the lakes, the islands, the mountains including snow capped ones in the distance, and tiny towns from every room. Outside are immaculately maintained terraced Italian classical gardens with lily pools. There were so many families posing for photos it was hard to get to the top. With all this beauty a funny moment was when all cameras aimed at a tractor driving up two flights of stone steps pulling a wagon of bottled water and paper towels. I have to admit I have never seen this maneuver either.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Just 10 minutes away by boat is Isola Madre. Located on its own island, the villa has an interesting story, In August 2006 a tornado swept through the area uprooting an enormous cyprus tree which had been the pride and joy of the villa. The seeds for this tree had come from the Himalayas in a paper bag and were planted back in the 1800s. Almost immediately a rescue effort was launched and through the use of several cranes delivered by helicopter, it was pulled upright into a position where the roots were replanted. Today it is held upright by a series of cables which anchor it. It is thriving and while it may never return to its former glory, it is beautiful and as the sign says, it has seen the past and looks forward to the future. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">While walking through the villa which also has an amazing collection of marionettes, a young woman stopped us on the stairs. "Have you seen the exotic birds?" she asked and we said we had in the aviary, "Find a hidden path, listen for crunching, and then look under the bushes. The most beautiful birds are hidden there." She showed us some of the colorful birds she had photographed. While we didn't discover any hidden birds, we did enjoy the gardens which are English and much less elaborate than the Italian ones at Isola Bella. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Tonight we walked around town and checked out some of the older grand hotels. Tomorrow,we have a busy day planned for tomorrow, we are taking a boat tour into the Swiss side of the lake for a day trip.</span></div>
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Explorer Bearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11298350787853865821noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931088923958451917.post-30831861964656730642016-08-12T13:12:00.000-04:002016-08-12T13:12:16.349-04:00Lake Maggiorie<div class="_rp_h" style="background-color: white; margin-bottom: 5px; position: relative;" tabindex="0">
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<span style="color: #212121; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">Today was a transition day. I usually don't like them because I am always happy where we are for the moment and of all cities, Paris is difficult to leave. Today was different, however. We were off to the Lake District of Italy and I am very excited.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #212121; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">In Paris, thousands of sleek black taxis fill the busy streets. Yesterday we flagged one near a museum and discovered the driver was a very pleasant woman. This morning our hotel called a taxi to take us to the airport. When it pulled in, who should step out? The exact same woman from yesterday! She recognized us immediately, greeted us warmly and we all shared a good laugh.</span><div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Charles de Gaule Airport is enormous, It's so big that one time when we flew in here on a short haul flight on Brittany Air the plane taxied for 15 minutes across the airport, only to stop near a terminal. Today on easyJet we are amazed the plane has its own jetway. Our one hour flight had striking views of rugged snow covered mountain peaks with hidden lakes in the valleys.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Leaving the departures terminal was amusing. An extended family was greeting a large group of relatives by leaping into their arms with hugs all around, There was so much hugging and shouts of "Welcome to Italy!" in Italian that no one could get by and soon a small crowd was waiting, "Oh sorry!" they said sheepishly when they saw what had happened, but they were clearly elated to have this reunion.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">We thought we would need to take a 40 minute bus ride at $10 each to Milan Centrale to transfer to a train to Stresa on Lake Maggiore which would be the cost of another ticket, but a kind attendant at the airport pointed out that going to Milan is going in the wrong direction. He suggested a much faster route going to the town of Gallarate and then hop a train to Stresa. Total cost - $7 each. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Stresa on Lake Maggiorie is so beautiful. Our room on the fourth floor overlooks the lake which is surrounded by mountains with tiny villages. We ate dinner tonight in the hotel on their outside terrace. There</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> were several tour groups here who were honored with a flaming baked Alaska </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">parade. Speeches were given and the chef appeared in his tall white hat to a round of applause. In the middle of our meal, a man wearing a red robe appeared peering over the glass wall by our table and said, "Hello, would you like to see my shop?" Without waiting for an answer, he opened a small suitcase chock full of costume jewelry, We politely declined and he smiled and went on his way.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">After dinner we visited a craft show down by the water running until 11:00 pm. They were selling everything from jewelry to wooden pencil holders, Tomorrow we will an island with gardens on the lake.</span></div>
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Explorer Bearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11298350787853865821noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931088923958451917.post-45853156339738008662016-08-11T11:55:00.002-04:002016-08-11T11:55:39.715-04:00Summer in Paris<div class="_rp_h" style="background-color: white; margin-bottom: 5px; position: relative;" tabindex="0">
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<span style="color: #212121; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">It's summer in Paris and the city is alive with tourists. It was a bright sunny day when we</span><span style="color: #212121; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">headed out for sightseeing today and thankfully the temperature is in the 70s.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #212121; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">Saint Sulpice is just around the corner from our hotel. Modeled after St. Paul's in London, this church has beautiful stained glass windows inside. Hearing and seeing the organ there is a pilgrimage for church organ enthusiasts like me but unfortunately Daniel Roth, the greatest organist in Europe won't be performing until after we have left.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #212121; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">My nephew recommended the Musee De Cluny which is the museum of medieval history. As a history teacher Dave really wanted to see it, but I was worried it would just be room after room of medieval paintings. I couldn't have been more wrong, Located in an old palace, it actually had a Roman bah inside the original walls. Inside the Roman Bath area were four of the oldest artifacts dating from 14 - 37 CE. Another room had the heads of statues that had originally been on Notre Dame, During a time in French history when religious items were destroyed these heads were buried in a citizen's backyard until they were discovered 200 years later and moved to the museum.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">A former colleague of mine at school, Christine, always told me that putting black as a background on a bulletin board at school would make pictures pop. Preferring brighter colors I didn't always listen to her, but today I found out she was right, Beautiful stained glass from St. Chapelle was displayed in a room against a pitch black background and it looked stunning. The rest of the museum had well designed displays with priceless artifacts. In one room a guard was sound asleep. He perked up when a small group came in.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">In the afternoon we visited he most incredible palace - Jaquemart Andre Museum. Built in the 19th century, it had more original artwork by Rembrandt and Van Dyck than many museums. What I loved about it was how the audio guide told the story of each room complete with photos of how it looked in 1913. Soft classical music played in every room and the entire place had the scent of fine French floral soap. We ate at the museum's elegant cafe on an outside terrace for coffee and scrumptious raspberry cream cake and it's a good thing it was so delicious. It turned out to cost $12 a slice.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I was not familiar with Galleries Lafayette. It has to be the largest department store I have ever seen. It takes up two city blocks. The main building is under a huge dome with stained glass and each floor surrounds the main floor so that you can see the dome from every level. Every designer is represented including Apple. It was the most incredible store I have ever visited, but we were so busy looking at everything we didn't buy a thing. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Early this evening we walked along the Seine. Along parts of the river are green metal boxes attached to the wall where traditionally artwork and books are sold, One booth had beautiful maps and old prints of birds, feathers, and eggs. I spotted a wicker basket of rubber stamps and ink pads for sale. Thinking Dave would like these if they had buildings of Paris on them I headed over, but the illustrations on these particular stamps would not be appropriate for a school! We laughed about it on the way back to the hotel. We'll miss Paris and the positive vibes here. Tomorrow we head to the lakes district of Italy.</span></div>
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Explorer Bearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11298350787853865821noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931088923958451917.post-55854310232245718732016-08-10T09:09:00.004-04:002017-06-23T22:01:17.610-04:00A City of Stunning Beauty<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned data-instgrm-version="7" style=" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:658px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);"><div style="padding:8px;"> <div style=" background:#F8F8F8; line-height:0; margin-top:40px; padding:33.33333333333333% 0; text-align:center; width:100%;"> <div style=" background:url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAACwAAAAsCAMAAAApWqozAAAABGdBTUEAALGPC/xhBQAAAAFzUkdCAK7OHOkAAAAMUExURczMzPf399fX1+bm5mzY9AMAAADiSURBVDjLvZXbEsMgCES5/P8/t9FuRVCRmU73JWlzosgSIIZURCjo/ad+EQJJB4Hv8BFt+IDpQoCx1wjOSBFhh2XssxEIYn3ulI/6MNReE07UIWJEv8UEOWDS88LY97kqyTliJKKtuYBbruAyVh5wOHiXmpi5we58Ek028czwyuQdLKPG1Bkb4NnM+VeAnfHqn1k4+GPT6uGQcvu2h2OVuIf/gWUFyy8OWEpdyZSa3aVCqpVoVvzZZ2VTnn2wU8qzVjDDetO90GSy9mVLqtgYSy231MxrY6I2gGqjrTY0L8fxCxfCBbhWrsYYAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC); display:block; height:44px; margin:0 auto -44px; position:relative; top:-22px; width:44px;"></div></div> <p style=" margin:8px 0 0 0; padding:0 4px;"> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BVs4MBajdVO/" style=" color:#000; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none; word-wrap:break-word;" target="_blank">Sadie</a></p> <p style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;">A post shared by Nancy Dillon (@nancydillon2000) on <time style=" font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px;" datetime="2017-06-23T23:53:05+00:00">Jun 23, 2017 at 4:53pm PDT</time></p></div></blockquote> <script async defer src="//platform.instagram.com/en_US/embeds.js"></script>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 15px; text-align: center;">I have to admit it, I was a little nervous about the idea of coming to Paris. So much has happened in France in the past year, but this morning we found that Paris is alive and well and we are happy to be here.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Surrounding our hotel are small neighborhoods with cobblestone streets, Little parks are tucked into wherever there is a space and they are bursting with flowers. We saw a gardener working in one today and seeing these places, you forget you are in a large city.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The Louvre is closed on Tuesdays, but in the front there is a large glass pyramid entrance and an enormous marble fountain. Small marble cubes were scattered about and people posed on top of them for photos with their hands extended to make them look like they were touching the top of the pyramid. It was entertaining to watch. Young and old alike joined in, some climbing on each other's back. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">We headed into the Royal Gardens behind the Louvre and this time, striped wooden pillars of varying sizes were featured, For some reason, people felt the need to pose like a ballerina on these. Walking behind the gardens we discovered an elegant arcade of shops, My favorite was a toy shop with beautifully made French toys, They had the equivalent French doll to the American Girl dolls.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Lunch was at La Palette. It looks much the same as it probably did in the 1920s. It was very old world with dark wood and artists palettes displayed. We see these retro style cafes everywhere and they look exactly like what you see in French paintings of Paris.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The Luxembourg Palace must be a child's dream place. The palace itself and the gardens are beautiful, but within the garden are some wonderful things to do. At one large circular fountain, children rent small wooden sailboats with flags from different countries and set them to sail in the pool, There are no motors on them. These boats are beautifully designed to sail on their own. Long wooden poles are given to the children to push the boat along if necessary. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Our last stop was the Pantheon. Inside what was once an old church, it now houses the tombs of many famous people from France.A poster suggested a visit to the tower for a 360 degree view. I knew it was going to be 206 steps up, but I didn't know this meant a guided group march to the top. Thankfully there were two view points along the way to the top where the view over the city was amazing, We felt it was better than the view from the Eiffel Tower because here you had the tower in your view.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Tonight we took a cruise down the Seine right at dusk. Paris is so alive after dark. People sat along the river banks waving as we passed by and in one section, danced outside to live Latin music. The Eiffel Tower was all lit up and right on cue at 10:00, thousand of tiny lights on it came on sparkling like diamonds glistening in the sun. I could have watched it for hours. What a memorable way to end the day!</span></div>
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Explorer Bearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11298350787853865821noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931088923958451917.post-53861917218285637052016-08-09T09:13:00.004-04:002016-08-09T09:13:33.473-04:00Taxi, Trains, and Planes<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">Today was a transition day and a long one too. We are now in Pairs, France and thankfully the weather is so much cooler.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">Our flight from Porto on Easyjet was uneventful. Easyjet is a European budget airline and we have found them to be on time and inexpensive, Our ticket here was only $50. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">We arrived in Paris close to 9:00pm. Our hotel, Hotel Bonaparte is just down the street from the Church of Saint-Sulpice. Europe's greatest organist, Daniel Roth, plays the organ here so I hope we get to hear him. This area has quiet streets with a wide choice of cafes. The cafes all have chalkboards in front of them with the menu written by hand. The menu at the cafe we chose was all in French and I couldn't find many of the words so ended up with ravioli with asparagus which was delicious, </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Our hotel dates back to the mid 1800s. It's dated inside with an old marble fireplace in our room, but very comfortable and friendly, Tomorrow will be a busy day of touring with lots of photos to post tomorrow. </span></div>
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Explorer Bearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11298350787853865821noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931088923958451917.post-81392357371259862752016-08-08T07:04:00.002-04:002016-08-08T07:04:19.597-04:00Sightseeing in Coimbra, Portugal<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5KTaEbv8smN6TkKE0gIts8xEwY704ttzl5pZKpW95Kxbje3Z_BjiZBNzHBCewvUdLEg9AeQMBENi9D2nOSFv9L8Qf4BSrqIBBwnpzfNyVr50cFe2Enp5s_EY14pCORJv7y5-FKAHxllOW/s1600/Screen+Shot+2016-08-08+at+6.57.01+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5KTaEbv8smN6TkKE0gIts8xEwY704ttzl5pZKpW95Kxbje3Z_BjiZBNzHBCewvUdLEg9AeQMBENi9D2nOSFv9L8Qf4BSrqIBBwnpzfNyVr50cFe2Enp5s_EY14pCORJv7y5-FKAHxllOW/s320/Screen+Shot+2016-08-08+at+6.57.01+AM.png" width="239" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">We had heard there is a heat wave here in Portugal, but nothing could have prepared us for the 100 degree temperature at 7:00 pm. The sun beat down mercilessly all day, but with our guide book in hand, we made the best of it. Coimbra, Portugal is really a fascinating place.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">The Church of Santa Cruz is covered on the inside with beautiful 18th century Portuguese tiles. It's Sunday so we weren't able to visit the entire church because a special event was taking place with all the women and children dressed in their Sunday best. Outside the church is the site of a former monastery. Today there is a small cafe there with fountains and flowers. They had beautiful pastries, but in this heat the fresh fruit salad looked the most appealing.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">The Machada de Castro Museum is housed in an old bishop's palace. We saw beautiful art and statues from the now dissolved monastery and Roman ruins that were discovered underneath. As for the statues and altar pieces we learned that Coimbra was the most important center for altar piece sculptures. In one room were life size terra cotta sculptures that were part of a Last Supper scene in the former monastery.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Feeling pleased with the art we had seen we headed to the museum cafe which Rick Steves' says is the best deal in town. For the equivalent of $12US we had a buffet with chicken kabobs, roasted potatoes, pasta, and a complete salad bar. At the salad bar people were taking what looked like croutons out of a wooden box and sprinkling them on their salad, Curious I decided to try one and to my surprise discovered it was a fried fish nugget. Drinks and desserts were included such as chocolate mousse and vanilla panacotta. They even had jello, but no one chose it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">A friendly museum guide had us step in the elevator and pushed the buttons for us. We assumed we were headed for the exit, but somehow we ended up deep in the basement and a man who may have been a curator stepped in the elevator. "This is a great little museum you have here," Dave said. "Yes, but it sounds like you haven't even seen half of it," said the man with a smile.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">He was right. Every time we thought the guides were pointing to an exit, we ended up at another section: jewels, Flemish paintings, church treasury, wooden altar pieces, pottery through the centuries, It was all so wonderful, but would take all day to see and appreciate all of it. When we asked the next room guide where the exit was, he begged us to take a look at Queen Isabel's jewels. We were so glad we did because there was a silver walking staff she used on the trail to Santiago de Compestela dating back to the 1400s.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The highlight of a visit to Coimbra is a visit to Coimbra's old university dating back to 1290. Traditions are important here. For special occasions students wear a suit and tie and a long black robe. We visited an elaborate chapel decorated with intricately painted tiles and the library. Because it is so old, only 60 people are allowed in at a time for 10 minutes. I love libraries like this with old wooden bookcases that extend upward several stories and can only be accessed by wooden ladders. The view of the town and river from the courtyard of the university was incredible, but it was so hot, no one was hanging out very long.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">We stopped at a cafe in the shade on the way back to the hotel. I ordered a small Coke and a big bottle of water. "Do you mean big, big, really big?" asked the exuberant waiter. I nodded happily and off he dashed only to return proudly with a big liter of Coke all for me and no water and it wasn't cold. Here sodas are served at room temperature. I didn't have the heart to tell him he brought the wrong thing. People walking by looked positively wilted and were easily convinced by the waiter to take a rest and enjoy some refreshments. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Dinner tonight was at Italia, an outside restaurant overlooking the river. It is still stifling hot tonight in Coimbra, but we both agreed this is a great place to visit to experience some of the old world charm that still exists here in Portugal.</span></div>
Explorer Bearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11298350787853865821noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931088923958451917.post-18959038919324954302016-08-07T09:08:00.001-04:002016-08-07T09:08:20.204-04:00The Long Bus Ride to Coimbra, Portugal<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMa3prTBdxCbO5UYvL0c8S0hA7BY0kyq057LIT672wdafGNRT3feJLQ14IHxNLUN1HOd20sSAz5LsT66zqFnn0z7VTmlgnR2Hcfyl7M0u_1VTH285Ba7qB0PdFuxfCrNWcCj8xRjlS1IBj/s1600/Screen+Shot+2016-08-07+at+9.02.45+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMa3prTBdxCbO5UYvL0c8S0hA7BY0kyq057LIT672wdafGNRT3feJLQ14IHxNLUN1HOd20sSAz5LsT66zqFnn0z7VTmlgnR2Hcfyl7M0u_1VTH285Ba7qB0PdFuxfCrNWcCj8xRjlS1IBj/s320/Screen+Shot+2016-08-07+at+9.02.45+AM.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-size: 15px;">Leaving such a beautiful place as Santiago de Compestela was not easy this morning, The garden where we had breakfast is such a pleasant place with flowers, grape arbors, a fountain, and little tables tucked away into alcoves in the stone wall. David took a walk down to the cathedral and saw many of the pilgrims arriving celebrating the end of their journey.</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-size: 15px;"></span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">Today we took a long bus ride to Coimbra, an ancient university town in Portugal. Our bus was spacious with air conditioning and everyone was able to have two seats to themselves. At first it was very quiet, but as the trip progressed everyone began to feel as if they were among friends. We met a young German woman, Caterina, who was a Spanish and French teacher in Germany. We swapped teaching and travel stories. "I heard you speaking Spanish with someone on the bus," she said. Suddenly I felt shy. The truth is I graduated from college with a teaching degree in Spanish, but other than when we are in Spain, I don't usually have a chance to practice it. This was a missed opportunity for me, but we enjoyed our conversation in English. Other people on the bus were interesting too. Out of the blue, a woman appeared in front of us, unplugged Caterina's iPhone and plugged her own in. She shook her head in dismay and moved on. Every time an announcement was made in Portuguese another man called out, "Translation please!" All these different people made the trip even more fun.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It is brutally hot in Coimbra with the temperature over 100 degrees. We arrived in the late afternoon and discovered a roof top cafe with incredible views of the city. Before us the city rose up on the hill like a movie set with the university at the top.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Dinner tonight was in an old world Italian restaurant serving delicious crispy pizza. While walking around the town square, a parade of over 50 accordions marched down the street with people following behind. We're tired from the long bus ride so look forward to exploring tomorrow. </span></div>
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Explorer Bearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11298350787853865821noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931088923958451917.post-88354283718958562892016-08-06T12:18:00.000-04:002016-08-06T12:18:20.106-04:00Santiago de Compestela-- A Magical Place<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">Last night when we arrived in Spain it was dark so we had no sense of the landscape. This morning when we woke up we saw the most beautiful view from our window: an old stone church steeple rising up in the village surrounded by green hills with white washed houses. We are in Santiago de Compestela and it is stunning.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">We ate breakfast this morning under a grape arbor in the garden. Breakfast </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">was brought out to us in stages. First was a large slice of toast and slices of cheese followed by grilled croissants spread with honey, and a traditional Santiago cake which is almond flavored dusted with powdered sugar. We met a man from Connecticut who walked the 75 mile journey for pilgrims with his 78 year old mother, his wife, and ten year old son. Along the way they met a man walking the same journey on a prosthetic leg.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Heading down the winding cobblestone lanes there was beauty everywhere. Flower boxes are bursting with flowers and tiny shops have wrought iron signs. The cathedral is massive. Much of the facade is covered with scaffolding which can be disappointing, but at the same time we can see that the restoration will be amazing, Already cream colored stone pillars stand beside stone blackened over the centuries. When finished, the church will look incredible.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Here at Santiago de Compestela, there is al spiritual vibe, but a joyful one too. In the courtyard, arriving pilgrims with walking sticks celebrate. One couple posed for pictures with walking sticks held high, another man leaped into the air for a photo, and two men threw down their bikes and embraced in happiness. Other pilgrims spread out their gear to just lie down facing the cathedral with a look of total contentment.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">We followed the massive crowd into the sanctuary for high mass at noon. It was standing room only, but from our vantage point we could see the altar. It was brilliantly decorated with gold and marble. While I find the altars in many cathedrals dark and too ornate, this one was flashy and meant to capture our attention. The mass was mainly in Spanish and began with an announcement that all phones and cameras were forbidden.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">During the service we made our way to just left of the altar and at the end of mass, the most wonderful thing happened. Eight men in red velvet robes untied ropes holding a silver incense burner the size of a small child hanging from the ceiling on a pulley. The incense was lit and the men pulled the burner up and down causing it to swing the full length of the sanctuary back and forth as the organ played. It was swinging so high it seemed as if it would hit the ceiling and as it was swinging, it filled the church with the sweet aroma of incense. This tradition was originally to mask the scent of the pilgrims centuries ago who were tired and sweaty, but today it filled the crowd with pure joy. All cameras and phones previously forbidden, appeared to document this amazing event which only takes place during certain times of the year. It was one of the most spiritual moments I have experienced in a long time.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In the evening, the mood outside the cathedral was celebratory. A youth group marched to the cathedral singing with kayak paddles, people poked their heads out of holes in a painting of two people hiking for a photo, and children ran about on the cobblestones. We joined the line to view the crypt where it is said a silver chest with jewels contains the bones of Saint James. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Dinner tonight was at a small restaurant inside a parador beside the cathedral. We had the mussels and scallops which were delicious, I felt confident I had asked in perfect Spanish if they had a table for two , but they immediately handed us the English menu. Sometimes things get lost in translation. One of the menu items was fried lobster fingers in a bag.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Tonight the town has a vibrant positive energy. Walking around we came upon three outdoor concerts in the plazas. My favorite was an all male Spanish band in fancy robes and I didn't want the concert to end. Santiago de Compestela is an amazing place and I hope to come back here again.</span></div>
Explorer Bearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11298350787853865821noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931088923958451917.post-64054296904206740562016-08-05T15:24:00.001-04:002016-08-05T15:24:23.753-04:00We're Off to Santiago, Spain<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-size: 15px;">This morning in Porto did not go quite the way we had planned it, but in the end, it was a really great day. Rain was falling gently when we left the hotel for the bus station. Prepared for a four hour trip to Santiago in northern Spain, we were informed the 12:00 bus was full and we would have to wait until 5:00. Feeling disappointed we had two choices: we could stay with our luggage for five hours at the bus station or trust the man at the ticket counter to watch our bags as he said he would. We decided on the latter and hopped a cab to the Palacio da Bolsa, a site we had wanted to see.</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-size: 15px;"></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">According to Rick Steves, the Palacio da Bolsa is a monument to civic and commercial pride in Porto. Touring this building was so popular that we had to take the Portuguese language tour just to get inside because the English tours were all filled. We visited eight rooms including an elegant court room made of heavy wood and the grand hall which had an intricate mosaic tile floor. Walking down one hallway, I noticed a couple giggling while appearing to take photos. I caught a glimpse of their phone and noticed that of all things, Pokemon had made an appearance inside the palace. They continued the game for the rest of the tour.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">The tour was only 30 minutes long and I knew we had reached the grand finale when the doors opened to the last room and the people in front of me gasped in unison and gave a collective "ooh!" Known as the Arabian Room, it was decorated floor to ceiling In a Moorish style with wood, plaster, and gold in a lavish intricate design. It was beautiful.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Just around the corner is the Sao Francisco Church. Outside it looks rather plain but inside it is decorated with wooden and gold carvings, all of them very dark now from aging over time. Members of the church who were once buried under the floor are now buried in a series of catacombs under the church.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Our bus to Santiago in Spain was a large modern tourist bus. The countryside of northern Portugal is beautiful with mountains and tiny villages of white houses. We are now in Santiago, Spain. The time is one hour ahead of Portugal, but even though it's past midnight, the town is hopping. As for us, after a long day it's time to turn in so we'll be ready to explore tomorrow.</span></div>
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Explorer Bearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11298350787853865821noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931088923958451917.post-76378144332719670222016-08-04T06:58:00.004-04:002016-08-04T06:58:44.644-04:00A Cruise Through the Douro Valley<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; text-align: center;">Sometimes when you take a risk and go with a hotel's recommendation for a great day, even if the eight page uninspiring brochure is all in Portuguese with no photos, you can be in for a pleasant surprise. Today we experienced just that on a river boat on the Douro River in Portugal.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">We headed out quite early to meet our group and stopped in the Imperial McDonalds. Built in an Art Deco style building, it is known for being the most elegant McDonalds in the world. With marble floors, painted tiles on the walls, and chandeliers, it is also a place where the old meets the new. Two large ordering stations in the shape of iPhones help speed orders and payment along.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Our tour group rode the train for two hours to Regua, deep in the Douro Valley. As soon as we exited the train, we were deluged with people selling straw hats. The faster the group hustled away, the faster they moved calling out in Portuguese, "Two for five euro." Some people even ended up with the hats on their heads. Approaching the dock, we expected a small excursion boat with plastic chairs and tables. Instead, we sailed on a long sleek river boat with three levels and panoramic windows. While we knew lunch was included, we expected a make your own sandwich and crisps buffet, but instead it was a sit down lunch at tables with white linens and waiters. Lunch was vegetable purée soup, roast beef, roasted vegetables and potatoes, and layered chocolate torte. We exchanged travel and teaching stories with two primary teachers from Switzerland who spoke perfect English. We found out that in Switzerland, children in the mountains east walk to and from school a half hour each way four times a day: to and from school and to home and back for lunch even on a cold windy day. When you graduate, your absences are written on your diploma.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The Douro River is the birthplace of Port wine. We passed terraced landscape with white stucco houses with red tiled roofs and rows and rows of grapes vines or olive and almond trees. There are 4,000 wine makers in a 50 mile stretch along the river. Along our journey we came to two major locks. It was so interesting to watch the engineering to raise and lower the ship.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Tonight we had dinner at Abadia. It's a family friendly place with old world charm. We ordered their specialty, grilled cod with roasted potatoes and peppers. Our waiter brought it to us on a platter and prepared our plates for us. Europe is definitely more casual in the summer. I looked around and saw one man wearing scrubs with palm trees and monkeys on the shirt, and another woman who looked like she had just painted her house. At one table, twelve Germans kept giving toasts by raising their glasses in song. We noticed the manager signaling to them to tone it down.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Tonight we walked around the pedestrian zone and talked about how surprised we had been at the nice cruise. After taking a risk on an inexpensive excursion and expecting it to be be a tiny one level excursion ship, our biggest surprise was when we discovered our river boat appears in the lead photo of our blog two days ago. This summer the dollar goes far in Portugal. We wish we could stay in Porto longer. Tomorrow we are off to Spain.</span></div>
Explorer Bearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11298350787853865821noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931088923958451917.post-50066482950517698682016-08-03T18:41:00.006-04:002016-08-03T18:41:59.628-04:00The Vibrant City of Porto, Portugal<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbUhYvL4_CnYfyJ2B_j_P6IT0H1J91RwReNqCbYwEeeoBXkzHONnEX3xHGQ-_HgovZWFKj0FkNP4ZA0bgbvQdg2TbavNiXKjk_BDSWFrtJbZFvmwdboca5erE6aTV2WP6qg9E1wY-4S3Ii/s1600/Screen+Shot+2016-08-03+at+6.28.44+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="237" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbUhYvL4_CnYfyJ2B_j_P6IT0H1J91RwReNqCbYwEeeoBXkzHONnEX3xHGQ-_HgovZWFKj0FkNP4ZA0bgbvQdg2TbavNiXKjk_BDSWFrtJbZFvmwdboca5erE6aTV2WP6qg9E1wY-4S3Ii/s320/Screen+Shot+2016-08-03+at+6.28.44+PM.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-size: 15px;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">We're no longer in a place where it's sweater weather. It's hot, it's sunny, it's August in Porto, Portugal.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #212121; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">The breakfast buffet at our hotel was amazing. There was fresh fruit, cheese, meats, cereals, croissants, and eggs. They even had an omelette bar where you could create your own concoction for the chef with tomatoes, cheese, parsley, cucumbers, and mushrooms.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #212121; font-size: 15px;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">We decided to take a hop on hop off tour on a double decker bus, but instead of hopping off, we stayed on with the rest of the passengers for almost the whole loop. With soft British narration we passed old churches covered with painted tiles, buildings with wrought iron balconies, and lush palm trees along the seaside promenade. The tide was in and the waves splashed against the rocks sending a mighty spray into the air. We learned that sometimes the passengers on the bus are splashed too.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #212121; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">Our first major stop was for a cruise down the Douro River and the passengers eagerly poured out of the bus and headed down the steep stone steps to a boat waiting below. We sat on top in the bright sunshine and sailed beneath six bridges, one designed by Eiffel of the Eiffel Tower. I noticed abandoned stone houses built into the steep cliffs and wondered who once lived there. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #212121; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">After lunch we toured a port winery, Calem, which was quite elegant. We walked through a wine cellar with enormous casks of wine. Our guide was quite intense as if giving a science lecture. "If you buy 10 year old Port it will still be 10 year old Port even if you don't open it for 50 years. Do you have any questions?" Someone was snickering about the presentation behind me, but Dave thought it was excellent. He complimented the girl and she glowed with pride. The tour ended with a sample of red and white Port served in real glasses.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Walking back across the bridge we noticed people were lined up peering down. There were local teenage boys diving off the bridge, "Will you give me a euro to jump?" said a young boy to us. His friend passed the hat and people threw in coins. It looked dangerous to me, but they all dove right in.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">We took a funicular back up the hill. The cathedral in Porto was built in the 12th century. It's dark inside but remarkably well preserved. In the cloisters a man with a suit and bow tie was trying to get my attention. Thinking he wanted to talk us into a big donation, I scurried away. Later we learned he was taking souvenir photos of people up against the blue and white Portuguese tiles called azulejos.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Tonight we walked down to the bridge and walked out on the upper level. Looking down we noticed some more stone houses built on the side of the hill that had been completely reclaimed by the earth. Covered with flowers and ivy, all you could see we're the outlines. It truly is beautiful here. Tomorrow we will explore the Douro valley.</span></div>
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Explorer Bearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11298350787853865821noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931088923958451917.post-78228274042437047692016-08-02T17:43:00.000-04:002016-08-02T17:43:36.365-04:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-size: 15px;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It's August 1st, the official start of summer holidays in Europe. School just ended last week in the UK and everyone is ready for a break.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-size: 15px;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Chaos. It was chaos at Ryan Air, a well known cut rate airline in Europe. Just as we were ready to board, we were turned back because there was damage to the tire when the plane landed and it needed to be changed, Later when we landed with a jolt in Porto, Portugal we could see how that might have happened. As the plane slowed down, the relieved passengers broke out into applause. </span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-size: 15px;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">We love our hotel. It's right in the heart of Porto, famous for its port wine. We headed right out to explore and visited one of the wineries. It was very elegant and they served us small glasses of port wine with delicious chocolates.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-size: 15px;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Dinner tonight was at Taylor's. It's a winery up the hill from the other side of the river in Porto. We ate outside on the terrace and the view was stunning. I felt as if I was looking at a painting. All the stucco buildings in Porto with red tiled roofs rise up the hill with a cathedral at the top. It was a three mile walk back to our hotel from dinner, much of it up hill, but it is beautiful here and well worth it, I can't wait to explore it tomorrow.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: wf_segoe-ui_normal, "Segoe UI", "Segoe WP", Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;"><br /></span>Explorer Bearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11298350787853865821noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931088923958451917.post-67704565293944800702016-08-01T21:50:00.000-04:002016-08-01T21:50:05.169-04:00The Rugged Beauty of North Wales<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1pllHOt65DijE-v7EdzAlR97gZfCIhnta0-dZNWuqp9PenZ_nKHhmgFcAlJiEX01GJJIdY945mtbSJmMTN_gxVT_AFgeNlK1jGf9xcimJgrmVvlcGCTXMgBt6PR2ILxD8o6NNs1AjV3hk/s1600/Screen+Shot+2016-08-01+at+9.38.34+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1pllHOt65DijE-v7EdzAlR97gZfCIhnta0-dZNWuqp9PenZ_nKHhmgFcAlJiEX01GJJIdY945mtbSJmMTN_gxVT_AFgeNlK1jGf9xcimJgrmVvlcGCTXMgBt6PR2ILxD8o6NNs1AjV3hk/s320/Screen+Shot+2016-08-01+at+9.38.34+PM.png" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-size: 15px;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I've always loved trains. My sisters and I used to take them to New York when I was a child and when I was 12, my parents and I took a train one summer from Chicago to San Francisco and back again. Today we took an old- fashioned journey on a coal fired steam engine through the Snowdonia Mountains in North Wales. </span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-size: 15px;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The Ffestiniog and Welsh Highland Railway runs several restored trains daily. At the station in a small town, a Sunday morning vintage car show was taking place. Families with children were all dressed in 1940s outfits. Children wore straw hats and women wore fancy hats and nylons with seams up the back. Small tables were set up selling handmade afghans in pastel colors and for children, a paint your own rock table The train cars have wood paneling and run on a narrow gauge causing them to rock to and fro. I love the clickety clack of the wheels, the long lonely toot of the whistle, and the smell of smoke from the hot coal burning in the engine.<br /></span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-size: 15px;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The scenery was spectacular: mountains covered with green grass and ferns with sheep grazing. Other mountains near the old slate mines were covered with bits and pieces of slate. I've never seen anything like it.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-size: 15px;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">At the end of the line, everyone had time to stop for a quick bite to eat. Beside me sat a woman who lived in this small port town on the Irish Sea. "Excuse me, guess what's in the bag?" she said pointing to a green plastic bag rolled up on the table. I had no idea so she proudly opened the bag. It was a lobster! Throughout the cafe there was a festive holiday atmosphere. "My grandchild asked me the other day why I sign my letters LOL," said another woman to her friends. "I told her I thought it stood for loads of love!" </span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">The National Slate Museum was much different than I expected. Thinking it would be a timeline through the history of slate.mining I was pleasantly surprised to find it was actually an old mine that closed in the 1969s. In addition to houses you could visit that showed the life of the miners in the last 200 years, it had the biggest water wheel in the UK. Walking through the foundry, a dusty dark place, you could see how grim a job this must have been. The countryside on the way here was rugged and desolate.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-size: 15px;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Tonight we ate at the Castle Hotel in Conwy where we dined on fresh local fish. On the way back to our hotel, We decided to climb the twin walls one last time for a view. We'll miss North Wales. Tomorrow we head to Portugal.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-size: 15px;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The sun was shining brightly this morning outside our breakfast room at the Castlebank Hotel in Conwy in North Wales. It was the perfect day for exploring.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-size: 15px;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Plas Mawr in Conwy dates back to the 16th century. It's a large historic home overseen by Cadw which means keeping in Welsh. The main floor was covered with slate mined from this area. They kindly gave us a high tech audio guide, but we never needed it because in the first room we met a docent who was so pleased with our undivided attention to his explanation about the hanging wooden bread basket in the kitchen that he took us on a private tour. Unlike the Tudor house we toured yesterday, this one had plain white plaster walls embellished with small plaster casts on the walls and ceilings of birds, animals, dragons, or flowers.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">In one room which smelled of mint, sage and rosemary, I spotted some visitors writing with quill pens and making Welsh cookies with a woman in period costume. She beckoned me over and I longed to join them, but it would have been impolite to leave the enthusiastic docent mid sentence, "The swan on the ceiling to the left of the owl represents... "</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-size: 15px;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Conwy Castle was built in the 13th century right on the water's edge where supplies could be brought in from the sea. Today you can tour the grounds and walk the castle walls, but unlike many castles it hasn't been restored so you have to use your imagination to picture what it would have looked like.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-size: 15px;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Bodnart Garden, a National Trust site, is just down the road. It bills itself as one of the world's most magical gardens and I think it's true. Walking down the garden paths which twist and turn you discover an old tree, a pool filled with lily pads, a babbling stream or wildflowers planted around a neatly edged path. At one turn I followed my nose to a familiar scent, Easter lilies. </span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-size: 15px;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">My favorite section was a rose garden. My mother grew red, yellow, and pink roses along a fence at the home where I grew up in West Hartford. My mother spent years looking for a special yellow rose from her childhood, but I was lucky. These roses were just like the ones I remembered. I leaned over them and breathed in their scent.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-size: 15px;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Our last stop on our self- guided tour was Swallow Falls. It's a magnificent waterfall cascading over rocks into pools below.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-size: 15px;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Tonight we drove across the harbor to Llandudno. At first glance, it looks like it might have been in an old Victorian movie. It's very atmospheric with cream colored Victorian hotels lining the long sandy beach and a promenade that juts out into the sea with Victorian wrought iron railings and a game arcade in the pavilion at the far end. On a promontory overlooking the sea stands the Grand Hotel which must have wide sweeping views up and down the coast.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-size: 15px;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">We ate fish and chips at the St. George's Hotel right on the water. Dating from the 19th century, it got rave reviews on Trip Advisor. The once glorious Grand Hotel didn't do quite as well. it scored 60/61 hotels in the town. On closer inspection, it was crumbling and the lobby featured bingo posters. Not only that, two entertainers named Ray and Jay wearing gray suits with bright red silk ties sang, "Don't break my heart. My achy breaky heart," while people who seemed to love it, danced. </span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">Back in Conway, the lights are twinkling across the harbor. It's very beautiful and peaceful here, but there's something else. It's sweater weather here in Wales. What could be more perfect than that! </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-size: 15px;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>Explorer Bearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11298350787853865821noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931088923958451917.post-92157161626523054302016-07-30T05:46:00.005-04:002016-07-30T05:46:22.203-04:00Before North Wales, A Return to Tudor Times<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-size: 15px;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Tales, Trails and Tails. it's the 150th anniversary of the birth of Beatrix Potter and to commemorate it, the National Trust has planned activities at many of their historic sites. Today we followed a Beatrix Potter trail at Speke Hall in Liverpool and it was wonderful.</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggICBftSC1TY4RkjXGYyz_p7uBrVW-loKwr6fhFrPaDnh5TcfkI1CM3JZZnH4F6VKsGIpqXsoStVKuy3Lcbi6dHxLPm7jgUGa4wtaoHdVyx5bxKqsvzwJ4Hcl7aJfp3J2cZ96yDBhbW6IY/s1600/Screen+Shot+2016-07-30+at+5.34.15+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggICBftSC1TY4RkjXGYyz_p7uBrVW-loKwr6fhFrPaDnh5TcfkI1CM3JZZnH4F6VKsGIpqXsoStVKuy3Lcbi6dHxLPm7jgUGa4wtaoHdVyx5bxKqsvzwJ4Hcl7aJfp3J2cZ96yDBhbW6IY/s200/Screen+Shot+2016-07-30+at+5.34.15+AM.png" width="150" /></a><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-size: 15px;">Speke Hall is an old Tudor house on the outside and Victorian on the inside. Docents in every room had interesting stories to share about the family and history of the house. Apparently it has priest holes. I had to confess I didn't know what this meant and they kindly explained it's a nine foot square room hidden in the walls of a house accessed through a laundry closet and down a narrow passageway behind the chimney. This where priests could hide during the Reformation. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-size: 15px;">Another curiosity was the number of copies of the painting Whistler's Mother. There was even a mannequin posed like the painting. It turns out the original owners of the house knew the Whistlers. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-size: 15px;">The actual Beatrix Potter Trail wove in and out of the house. Inside the house children were guided to search for Hunca Munca's baby mice in the parlor, or four cheeky mice in the kitchen where knitted mice were tucked behind a crock of flour. </span></span><br />
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</span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpQLJwohkBM6GQcC5vyjgdD28kSO26kztJOhfXvlSMlYQ_ArEcw2h5FXgo9z8yYWFie-pW7zieekolirj6Ri_dqOM1jiZrLKeSV4lNWgyQZjEEz_SYTYTBEEhEZHLckSSfyL1CUq8Zwmoi/s1600/Screen+Shot+2016-07-30+at+5.34.34+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpQLJwohkBM6GQcC5vyjgdD28kSO26kztJOhfXvlSMlYQ_ArEcw2h5FXgo9z8yYWFie-pW7zieekolirj6Ri_dqOM1jiZrLKeSV4lNWgyQZjEEz_SYTYTBEEhEZHLckSSfyL1CUq8Zwmoi/s200/Screen+Shot+2016-07-30+at+5.34.34+AM.png" width="150" /></span></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">Outside, Mr. McGregor's garden was a vegetable gardener's dream. Rows of lettuce, carrots, tomatoes and parsley were carefully planted in rich soil with not a weed in sight. Mr. McGregor, a mannequin with a gray beard and spectacles, kept a watchful eye over the garden while children hunted for Peter's tiny slippers or the scarecrow made with Peter's knitted blue jacket. Most wonderful were trees with knitted pears and apples hanging from them while knitted birds and squirrels peered down from the trees. A trellis was covered with knitted flowers and butterflies. We learned the original purpose of a trellis was to hide old worn out brick walls. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-size: 15px;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Tonight we are in Conwy in North Wales. It's a seaside town surrounded by old 13th century stone walls with a castle at the water's edge. We took a walking tour using our Rick Steves' guide and ended up at the harbor where there was a holiday vibe. I love the sound of seagulls at the ocean. Families sat on benches eating fish and chips out of styrofoam containers. It's very old world. There's ice cream for sale but no carnival rides. It's a family friendly place and just about as "back door" an experience you will ever find.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: , "segoe ui" , "segoe wp" , "tahoma" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 15px;"><br /></span>Explorer Bearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11298350787853865821noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931088923958451917.post-55478601622359513242016-07-29T20:21:00.000-04:002016-07-30T05:30:16.041-04:00A Memorable Day in Liverpool<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-size: 15px;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">It's 10:30 pm in Liverpool. As I sit in the Hope Street Hotel lounge beside a floor to ceiling glass window, I catch a glimpse of a man dressed in a Victorian era night watchman's outfit standing on the sidewalk. "He's leading the Liverpool Ghost Tour," Dave explains. </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">It does sound like fun and we jokingly agree we hope he's not saying there are ghosts in our hotel. I turn back to my iPad, grateful for some wifi time, when Dave suddenly exclaims, "Look outside!" Just outside the window, twenty people are standing with the guide with their arms outstretched pointing inside the hotel right at me. We laugh together and wave. It's a fun ending to a memorable day in Liverpool.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-size: 15px;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Rain was gently falling this morning when we left the hotel. With umbrellas in hand, we headed to the Metropolitan Cathedral. It's a Catholic Church and we learned that the original vision was for a cathedral to rival St. Peter's in Vatican City. A large crypt was built on the grounds of the church and donations poured in. The vision ended during WWII when the crypt was used as an air raid shelter and funding diminished. After the war, a new vision was drawn up and in 1967 a new modern cathedral opened with an open circular concept. it was beautiful inside with tiny chapels all around it, each in a different style. While we were there, a ladies chorus performed a nice repertoire of songs and the acoustics were amazing.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">The Liverpool Anglican Church is the largest cathedral in the UK. Inside are intricate stained glass windows and dark sandstone pillars. It was completed in 1973. It had a very nice interactive display giving tribute to all the workers involved in the daily life of a church from bakers to gardeners and even the people who change the light bulbs on the massive chandeliers which must be lowered from the ceiling.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Down on the waterfront is the Liverpool Museum. It had kid friendly interactive displays to teach visitors about everything there is to know about the history of Liverpool from Stone Age tools to modern dock workers. A large display featured immigrants to Liverpool from China called The East Meets the West. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">One room featured an old railroad car from a 13 mile overhead railroad that existed in Liverpool long ago. You could go into the car and watch a video of the scenery you would have seen passing by.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">On the way back to the hotel we stopped in Cath Kidston. If I am in the UK, this store is a pilgrimage for me. If you loved Laura Ashley patterns from the late 80s and early 90s, you will be in heaven here. I love this store. I circled through it again and again before narrowing down my choices. Everything is wonderful. It even brings back memories of the smell of a Laura Ashley store - clean, bright, and fresh like a meadow of honeysuckle flowers.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Dinner tonight was at HOST (Hope Street). It's Asian fusion and we ordered small plates of Korean meatballs, veggie tempura, and crab cakes. It was delicious.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">We ended the evening with a Twilight Tower Tour at the Liverpool Anglican Cathedral. A modern lift whisked us 10 floors up to the top and with just 100 steps to go, you are at the top. The 360 degree view was stunning. We could see rows of Georgian Houses with brightly painted wooden doors, the lights of boats twinkling in the harbor, and the Metropolitan Cathedral all lit up. We will miss this city. Tomorrow we leave for North Wales, but not before one last adventure- a trip on the Mersey Ferry which is all decked out in 1960s colors and designs. Stay tuned!</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 15px;"><br /></span>Explorer Bearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11298350787853865821noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931088923958451917.post-66858832507633380372016-07-28T08:23:00.002-04:002016-07-28T08:56:12.732-04:00Much More in Liverpool Than the Fab Four<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 15px;"><b>Tonight as we dine in a small Chinese restaurant open for over 40 years, we are amazed at how much we have already seen on one day. We're in Liverpool, home of the Fab Four: The Beatles.</b></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 24px;">Our flight from Boston on Aer Lingus via Dublin was quiet. It was so quiet that while Dave claimed a middle row of bulkhead seats to himself to stretch his legs, I had the two window seats to myself. While immersed in a book about a family traveling through South America, my thoughts were suddenly interrupted by an abrupt announcement, "Ladies and Gentlemen. The Captain has just reported that someone has been smoking in the bathroom. Please stop or you will be prosecuted," scolded the flight attendant.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 24px;">"Wow!" I thought to myself. "Someone here is bold." I glanced around to see everyone's reaction. Nothing.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 24px;">From Dublin we took a short flight across the Irish Sea to Liverpool. The plane was small with high wings and propellers, but was quick, modern, and efficient.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 24px;">Once we arrived in Liverpool we headed right to our hotel, The Hope Street Hotel. It was only 9:00 am and normally we are told to drop off our bags and come back after lunch causing us to spend hours in a jet lagged haze, but this time our room was ready and it was perfect. Our strategy is to take a three hour nap and then we are ready to go. We have a large room in what was once The London Carriage Works dating back to the 1800s. The hotel which opened in 2004 did not know of the historic significance to this building until they removed some old plaster.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 18px; line-height: 24px;"><b>In the afternoon we visited The Walker Gallery. It is small, but free as are many museums in the UK. The museum featured an exhibit of sculptures, several by John Gibson, a Welshman born in Liverpool. Encased in a cylinder glass case was the Tinted Venus. It was considered scandalous by the Victorians who thought the marble skin looked too life like. Upstairs in galleries with creaky wooden floors were collections of paintings. Among them was a self portrait by Rembrandt and a collection of modern art. My favorite one was called Old News. It was a painting of neatly stacked Chinese newspapers.</b></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyg2Cwfa7S4VaEFlB5mvB6tFbUIZELBJjklaJobVwQLGVE4-szEwdy4QPgS6eqe-GpRc0xtCr3KjvZWBYCvNr8VB5tTd0mY0CRaaT6QiRWs-XAjZzDgDl5RI9qgEOrIwp371JwCAfdBcZn/s1600/Screen+Shot+2016-07-28+at+8.07.08+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="241" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyg2Cwfa7S4VaEFlB5mvB6tFbUIZELBJjklaJobVwQLGVE4-szEwdy4QPgS6eqe-GpRc0xtCr3KjvZWBYCvNr8VB5tTd0mY0CRaaT6QiRWs-XAjZzDgDl5RI9qgEOrIwp371JwCAfdBcZn/s320/Screen+Shot+2016-07-28+at+8.07.08+AM.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 24px;">Down on the waterfront is a collection of old restored brick buildings surrounded by glass buildings with stark angles built over the last 40 years. There was a festive summertime atmosphere with old fashioned carnival rides and even a large sand box designed to look like a beach where children played with brightly colored buckets and spades. Off to the side in a grassy area were statues of the Fab Four. Tourists lined up to pose with their favorite one.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Albert Dock had small shops tucked into arcade walkways. They featured everything from jewelry to solar dancing queens. </span><span style="font-family: "noteworthy";"> </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 24px;">Dinner tonight was at Yuet Ben, located in the shadow of the Chinese Arch, the largest in Europe. The food was delicious and we spent some time talking with the owners. The restaurant was established 40 years ago and passed down through the family. We learned they were originally from Hong Kong when it was a British colony. A couple from Liverpool detected our North American accent and stopped by to say hello. They told us the food is amazing and they have been coming for over 20 years. They inquired about our trip and wished us happy holidays. It's encounters like this, with these two families, that makes traveling worthwhile.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: , "segoe ui" , "segoe wp" , "tahoma" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 15px;"><br /></span>Explorer Bearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11298350787853865821noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931088923958451917.post-56601372769245179102015-08-18T03:35:00.001-04:002015-08-21T15:03:17.310-04:00London: A City of Museums, Parks, and Cathedrals<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCatna1KOHJeR7i-R5K840DEw8J9-cB180bo2kpAzU-SM-T3vpbE1_Np95jQf_fIFenk4xsyXI2ruRivIc9xHGkYXzd1tvWgYFWDE4C2KzIc6lJ2Jgsg9zU1ttMo0Q24BkypP4AJhzm_Dz/s1600/Screenshot+2015-08-18+14.53.48.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="237" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCatna1KOHJeR7i-R5K840DEw8J9-cB180bo2kpAzU-SM-T3vpbE1_Np95jQf_fIFenk4xsyXI2ruRivIc9xHGkYXzd1tvWgYFWDE4C2KzIc6lJ2Jgsg9zU1ttMo0Q24BkypP4AJhzm_Dz/s320/Screenshot+2015-08-18+14.53.48.png" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0976563); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(191, 107, 82, 0.496094); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); font-family: Noteworthy; font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 24px;">We have been so lucky. By spending our holiday in Northern Europe we have had a second summer in a row without one uncomfortably humid day. We love it.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">We had quite an extensive itinerary planned for today which took us through St. James Park that practically borders Buckingham Palace. It's a very pretty city park with winding walking paths, ancient shade trees, and a pond with different species of birds. Not all are native. In fact a sign says the pelicans were originally a gift from Russia. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGcLfXYnBX5PRwJqTlk4GOJVxPUQS5yNVd8zui_qoQPMp-DV3jjPvaGVOk-tydO7heHQEf8_8LdGx5JpqiMdJxsIGoUEqxlFIM_Qg_24ZRlPvSTtDfEqzlRHMge8Dr5Yoyx7z0nzG8MFVp/s1600/Screenshot+2015-08-18+14.58.41.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGcLfXYnBX5PRwJqTlk4GOJVxPUQS5yNVd8zui_qoQPMp-DV3jjPvaGVOk-tydO7heHQEf8_8LdGx5JpqiMdJxsIGoUEqxlFIM_Qg_24ZRlPvSTtDfEqzlRHMge8Dr5Yoyx7z0nzG8MFVp/s320/Screenshot+2015-08-18+14.58.41.png" width="320" /></a>Today all of the birds, most gifts from other countries, are protected through the generosity of companies such as Tiffany's.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Our self guided tour of London took us to Cabinet War Rooms and Churchill Museum which is part of the Imperial War Museum. It was Churchill's secret underground headquarters along with his cabinet during WWII which was necessary because of the bombing of London. It's a fascinating walk through underground chambers which have been left mainly untouched since the war when it was a secret headquarters. Churchill hated the underground. He said it confirmed the enemy's power. Using our audio guide we learned that the ceiling of the bunker was fortified with steel 6 feet thick. This gave many of the people working there a sense of security but the truth is it wasn't as safe as they thought. If a bomb had hit the building, it would have collapsed. It was also vulnerable to chemical attacks.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">We read the personal reflections of many of the people who worked there. They described Churchill as being determined and demanding. He often put a sticker on documents that read "Action this day!" yet he was a kind man with a good sense of humor. The kitchen staff had a cat named Smokey who slept on Churchill's bed on the few overnights he spent there. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The museum itself was very interactive with videos, photos, and transcripts. I heard some tapping and saw children excitedly lined up in front of a hands on exhibit. Upon closer inspection I discovered it was a manual typewriter. "This is our most popular exhibit for kids," a museum guide told me with a smile. " The only problem is we need to order our ribbons from China." Churchill hated noise of any kind. The actual typewriters used had sound silencers on them.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The Thames River has quite a current causing the water to appear to be churning in all directions. We took a boat down the river to the art museum Tate Modern. The boat passed the London Eye which looks like a giant bicycle wheel. It was quite crowded. It looks like you would have an amazing view from it, but it costs over $30 US per person so we gave it a pass.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The Tate Modern is housed in an old power station. The exhibits are displayed by concept rather than by artist. We visited most floors and saw paintings and sculpture with a geometric concept. There are three giant frames for example with bold blue borders with a different colored stripe accenting each one. One odd exhibit to me is called Sugar and Oil. It is a black and white video showing what happens when crude oil is poured on a stack of sugar cubes. An interesting exhibit is a series of vintage radios turned into a high tech robot. There are also impressive paintings by Picasso. Children are invited to draw pictures using a high tech stylus. Their artwork is projected on the wall. On the top floor is a nice cafe with panoramic views of the city.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">St. Paul's Cathedral was designed by Sir Christopher Wren who worked on it for over four decades in then1600s. It is the fourth largest cathedral in Europe and was where Charles and Diana were married in 1981. The church is considered England's national church. By the time we got there it was ready to close within an hour and at $27US a ticket, we decided that was too expensive so we did something different. We went to a 20 minute Evening Prayer Service there. It was a very peaceful and calming experience with prayers and readings from psalms.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Today we are off to the British Museum and to my favorite store, Cath Kodston. I can't wait!</span><br />
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Explorer Bearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11298350787853865821noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931088923958451917.post-57776872395140174752015-08-17T02:23:00.001-04:002015-08-21T11:36:35.288-04:00We're Off to London<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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At breakfast this morning while sharing our experiences in the Cotswolds with Carole, the owner of the Cornerways B &B in Chipping Campden where we are staying, the doorbell rang. It was a neighbor bringing her a loaf of whole grain brown bread hot out of the oven. She surprised us with several toasted slices and it was delicious. </div>
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Even though it was Sunday, several of the shops were open including one called Dandelion. In their window I had noticed some pretty hand painted ceramic necklaces. It turns out they are made by the owner. The shop has artsy handbags, photo cards that capture the daily life in the Cotswolds perfectly, and scarves decorated with hares and dogs. I love shops with items truly from the English countryside and not wooden signs saying, "A polite thank you for not parking here." I find myself lingering over the items. </div>
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Lots of road work on the way to London. Traffic cones are lined up like soldiers and on the side of the road are life size photos of children saying, "Our dad or mum works on this road project." This is a friendlier sign than the one they have that says bluntly "High Risk Crash Zone." We stopped at a roadside stop for Costa coffee, similar to a Starbucks. When I was a child I used to amuse myself reading my parent's Egon Ronay's guide to England which often included brutally honest reviews of roadside stops saying "the hamburgers taste like a horse hair mattress." Those days are over but the two roadside stops we visited have some peculiar things: slot machines, Christmas Tree Shop type knick knacks, and even tents.</div>
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After returning the rental car we took an express bus to London to Victoria Station. We are staying in a budget type B&B in a very nice neighborhood. It's clean and tidy. We ate in an atmospheric pub and walked walked down to Buckingham Palace. It was dusk and I thought it would have floodlights showcasing it, but it didn't. People were photographing the guards who stood still like statues. We walked a little further and suddenly Big Ben appeared behind some trees. I have seen it before, but close up with it looming ahead of us it was like seeing it for the first time. It's dark now so we decided to head back to the hotel to get a good nights sleep for a full day of sightseeing tomorrow.<br />
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Explorer Bearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11298350787853865821noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931088923958451917.post-73853810788140369092015-08-16T12:07:00.003-04:002015-08-16T17:00:52.767-04:00Picture Perfect Villages in the Cotswolds<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This morning at breakfast, Carol, the owner of the Cornerways B & B where we are staying in Chipping Campden gave us a list of must see villages in the Cotswold that are not always on the tourist trail. With our map in hand and the GPS in the car to guide us, we set off on a full day adventure touring the northern Cotswolds.<br />
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Our first stop was Broadway which is known as the "Jewel of the Cotswolds." It is a very pretty village with honey colored stone cottages either with slate or fully thatched roofs. Down Kennel Lane live some cream colored fox hunting dogs pictured on the front cover of a book about the Cotswolds we had seen at the B&B. The dogs were all behind an iron fence silently lined up on their hind legs. Their heads moved in perfect unison watching their owner who was just coming home. He opened a door to an enclosed garden and they bounded off without a sound. </div>
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Following a long winding road with hundreds of cyclists, we pulled into Stanton. There are no businesses, cafes, or accommodations that we could see. It is just a pretty village with one Main Street of houses and a church. Hedgerows were neatly trimmed, roses were in full bloom, and lavender swayed in the breeze with fat bumble bees buzzing about. In front of one house was a simple wooden table with a sign that said "Fresh Mint."</div>
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I have always known about Upper and Lower Slaughter. My parents talked about visiting it years ago and even owned a memoir written about the area. I will look for the book in my old bookcase filled with their favorite books. Driving into town, we were immediately struck by how it is one of the prettiest villages we have ever seen. We stopped for lunch at the Cotswold Inn, a lovely inn with indoor and outdoor tables. The inn is so old there are signs kindly posted everywhere to warn the visitor of old wooden beams on a low ceiling.</div>
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After lunch we followed a one mile footpath along the stream that ran through the town and through the fields to Upper Slaughter. Just at the end of the village was to me the most perfect house. It was a tiny cottage made of stone with pots of wild flowers on the door step and a basket of handmade lavender sachets for sale in a tiny wicker basket. </div>
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Hiking to Upper Slaughter was a sensory experience. The smell of roses, honeysuckle, and at times, woodsmoke filled the air. Water gurgled in the stream, sheep calmly bleated, doves cooed in the distance and tiny gravel crunched beneath our feet. Arriving in Upper Slaughter we were surprised to see a tiny village with an elegant wedding about to take place at a manor complete with vintage cars. We had been told the village is often so quiet that it looks like no one lives there.</div>
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Bourton-on-the -Water is known as Little Venice. We visited it yesterday and wanted to go back and take photos, The Main Street in the village runs beside a crystal clear stream with tiny stone bridges. Today the town was much more lively and although it was chilly, children were wading in the stream beside the ducks. There are shops in town that are mostly independently owned and it was fun to browse their tempting gifts.</div>
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Time moves slower here in the Cotswolds. We could have gone on touring villages all day. </div>
Explorer Bearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11298350787853865821noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931088923958451917.post-47284627880224899722015-08-15T02:39:00.002-04:002015-08-15T10:50:16.743-04:00Exploring the Cotswolds<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The Cotswolds are beautiful: honey colored stone houses with slate roofs, roses in full bloom, flower boxes bursting with wildflowers, and the endless sound of doves cooing. Even though the weather was not on our side this morning, we set out to explore this picturesque part of England.<br />
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Less than 30 minutes away from where we are staying in Chipping Camden is Blenheim Palace. It is England's largest palace and the home of the Duke of Marlborough who actually lives there today. It is situated in a 2,000 acre park like setting with forests, lakes, gardens, fountains, and even a miniature railway for children. There was a very nice exhibition about the life of Winston Churchill who was born in the palace, caught his first fish there, and even created tents with umbrellas on the vast grassy areas when he was seven. "Protector of Europe's freedom" it proudly proclaimed over the door. On display we saw uniforms and letters he wrote to his mother and his wife. "He was Prime Minister and a great man," I heard a mother tell her young daughter who was studying a family photo.<br />
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The main part of the palace made of honey colored stone is stunning with a huge gravel courtyard. We headed up the stone steps to the entrance where umbrellas were lying on benches and pressed up against walls. "How thoughtful of the museum to provide loaners," said a woman. "I'll take this pink one with the elephants." Just as I was about to say I didn't think they were loaners, she dashed down the steps with a child's umbrella.</div>
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We took a guided tour of the palace. We saw room after room with tapestries, elegant clocks, massive portraits, Meissen China, and carpets and furniture from France. At first I thought our guide was a bit of a stuffed shirt, but he interjected his stories with humor and even admitted he is an extra in the latest Tom Cruise film Mission Impossible 3 that just came out and was filmed there one night. It was a formal and extensive tour. Right as the guide was saying,"This fine tapestry of the Duke was hand sewn in Belgium," a cell phone rang with a hip hop ring tone. A couple in front of me shook their heads in dismay and glared at me compelling me to tell them it wasn't mine. I think the man was a little embarrassed when he pulled his own phone out of his pocket to check it and it was indeed his phone. Flustered, he quickly stuck it back in his pocket without turning it off and it actually rang again.</div>
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Behind the palace is a private Italian garden, a hedge maze, a rose garden, fountains, and gravel paths to the water's edge of a large man made lake that wraps around part of the property. "Imagine the ability the first Duke must have had to envision the palace and the lake. This was all created by hand," said an English couple visiting with their two young grandsons. Looking back at the sweeping view of the palace, we couldn't agree more.</div>
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Bourton-on -the-Water is a pretty Cotswold village often known as Little Venice because of the shallow canal with willow trees that hang low, ducks, and tiny stone foot bridges. We were advised to visit either early or late and that was good advice. Although many of the shops were closed, the hoards of tourists were gone.</div>
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Dinner tonight was at a Mediterranean restaurant. It was in a beautiful intimate setting right here in town and all the tables had tiny candles. This is such a friendly and pretty place. I think I could live here! </div>
Explorer Bearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11298350787853865821noreply@blogger.com2