Let’s Go! Part VII

Now that we have journeyed along the coasts of Portugal and Spain, sampled the food and drink of both countries, experienced a touch of rough seas  and enjoyed the amenities aboard Le Boreal, we arrive at our final destination: Paris.

Of course, we see all the familiar sites: the Eiffel Tower

the Arc de Triomphe as well as monuments galore and the incredible architecture for which Paris is famous.

As interesting as all these things are, what I love are the street scenes with people taking time to visit

or to enjoy afternoon refreshment at sidewalk cafes.

I can’t help but wonder why the sidewalk air is smoke filled when the warning on the cigarette pack is so graphic!

I love the markets

and clever window displays.  My weaver’s heart sang at all these cones of colorful fiber, and I wondered how I could get my hands on them.

I love the creative, colorful and tempting presentations in restaurants and shops.

After taking in the sights and smells of Paris, I love the luxury of a beautiful hotel room and the thickness of the robe waiting to envelope me.  As good as these travels have been, it’s time to leave all this behind and ready for the long journey home.

Thank you for traveling with me.  I hope you have enjoyed the journey.

Let’s Go! Part VI

Now that we have rested a bit, let’s continue on.  If you have read Ken Follett’s Pillars of the Earth, you will enjoy this visit to Mont-St-Michel as it brings to mind the cathedral in that book.   It is a place heavy with spirituality and full of history.

Mont. St Michelle, its spire reaching to the sky, sits majestically high atop a hill on a rocky island just off the coast of France.

To get to the top requires walking many steps, so take a deep breath and let’s go.

The abbey’s fascinating history dates back to the eighth century. Structurally, it is layer upon layer of halls and chapels built over the centuries and each addition indicates art and technique at the forefront of its time.

It is easy to see how architectural elements changed over the centuries as work continued. 

Fascinating is how the construction was done.  See this wheel?  It was used to hoist large, heavy blocks of limestone.As in Follett’s book, men turned it by walking the interior space.  Think of a hamster going round and round on its wheel and you have the image.  You have to be amazed by the procedures used to build magnificent structures that have endured through the centuries.

Starting from the top down, it is easy to trace the sequence of Mont-St-Michel’s development.  At the higher elevations, the structure is more refined while the lower level with its massive columns  serves as sturdy support for centuries of change.

From its beginnings Mont-St-Michel has been a Benedictine abbey though today it is inhabited by only eight monks.  Were it not for the thousands of visitors who come, it would be a lonely place.

At the base of the abbey is a small town, quite charming and with an abundance of places to eat and shop, that is if you have the energy after exploring Mont-St-Michel for several hours.  

Thank you for traveling along.  I hope you enjoyed the journey.  It is shared at Pink Saturday and Seasonal Sundays.

Many Faces of White

Part of the fun of traveling or just eating away from home is paying attention to tables as you never know from where a new idea for your next tablescape is going to come.  Let’s take a look at some of the tables we’ve enjoyed our last few days traveling.

While most eateries use lots of white for dishes and linens, it is interesting to note the different presentations.

Here, a touch of color appears in the centerpiece, and while I’m sure the water bottles are not intended as part of the decor, their shape and color does add something to the overall effect.  I wouldn’t mind having one of those to add to my collection of bottles that so often appear on my own tables.

Look at how this charger adds a touch of glamor

and  a classic banded plate lends a quiet sophistication.

More playful on a white background are patterned plates

as are ones with interesting shapes.  Hmmm, I like what’s on this plate, too!

Here, I have no idea what the dishes will be, but I am wondering what will go in all these glasses and thinking how glad I am not to have to wash them!  Whatever the table setting I’m betting on a more contemporary look if the shape of the utensils and the simple silver napkin ring are any indication.

So you see, just as we all are different so are the many ways of preparing a table.

I can’t wait to take a look at Let’s Dish, Tablescape  Thursday and Thursday Favorite Things for further inspiration!

Let’s Go! Part V

There is more to share about food, but for today let’s turn our attention to art, another focus of this adventure.

As mentioned several days ago, Lisbon is a city of museums.  There isn’t time to visit all, so let’s go to the highly regarded Gulbenkian Museum. Here we will find a wealthy man’s collection of paintings, sculpture, rugs and decorative art. At one time Calouste Sarkis Gulbenkian, who lived the last 13 years of his life in Portugal, negotiated with the National Gallery in Washington, D.C. as a potential home for this outstanding collection, but it ended up in Lisbon where a specially built facility ensured that it would be kept under one roof.

There are many beautiful things here, but being a fiber person, I am enchanted by the textiles, an example of which is this embroidered Japanese hanging. Can you imagine the ability, to say nothing of the time, it would take to create such an intricate pattern with needle and thread?

Next stop Sintra, a beautiful town in the mountains near Lisbon, which was the summer retreat for Portuguese royalty whose reign ended in 1910. In the royal dwelling, now a UNESCO World Heritage site, two things make a special impression.

One is the painted wood ceilings,

more primitive than frescoed ceilings and charming in their own right.

The other is the tile work done on many of the palace’s wall surfaces and is evidence of Portugal’s long history of tile making.

Imagining the effort that went into the painting of each tile so as to create a cohesive whole is overwhelming.

Though not typically described as art, these copper pots are pretty wonderful.  Wouldn’t you like to have one or two of these?

Moving on to Spain, Bilbao is home to one of the five Guggenheim museums, and it is spectacular.

The exhibitions are impressive, but it is the Frank Gehry designed building that is the real work of art.  (Thanks to the hubby for this terrific photo.)

One could spend hours here studying the building’s angles and interconnecting shapes and photographing it again and again to capture the changing hues of the titanium shingles.

This is a museum not to be missed!

On to Paris, also known for its museums, but rather than visit the familiar ones, let’s go to the Musee Jacquemart-Andre.  Like the Gulbenkian, it represents the acquisitions of a wealthy person with the difference being that they are housed in the family’s residence.

Though the decor is not typical of today’s, it clearly represented the good taste and attention to detail of the mansion’s owners.

Again, fiber caught my attention, this time in the form of Gobelin tapestries woven by hand in the 18th century.

Aren’t we fortunate that art is such an important part of history?

Thanks for traveling with me today.  We still have lots ahead of us.

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Time Out For Richmond

Image via Wikipedia

Have you ever been to Richmond, Virginia?  I had not before this weekend when we attended a perfect and beautiful wedding there.  Quite frankly, I’d never given Richmond much thought, so everything I saw and learned was new to me.

Richmond is one of the oldest cities in the country having been settled 400 years ago  just a few years after Jamestown.  Like many other places in the South, its economy relied heavily on farming, particularly tobacco which today is still a lucrative business.

Richmond, of course, was capital of the Confederacy, and there are many reminders in the city of its importance during the Civil War.  On one street, appropriately called Monument Avenue as it has huge statues of Civil War heroes Jefferson Davis, Stonewall Jackson, J.E.B. Stuart and Robert E. Lee, is the house that served as headquarters to Davis who, as you know, was president of the Confederacy.

It appears that many of the old buildings and residences in Richmond have been preserved, and they are charming.

One of the wedding activities was held in this one which is now home to the Virginia Garden Club.  Like many another structure, it had columns, seemingly an architectural must in Richmond, even in the fine arts museum.

Speaking of the museum, the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in a winner.  It proudly sports a new addition which to me was almost as interesting as the art it housed.  Walking through the galleries was a visual delight and, as you might guess, the tapestries caught my eye.  

Weaving tapestries in the 16th and 17th century was a real art form, and I marvel over how threads are used to produce a work as layered as any painting.  I can only imagine the challenge of “painting” in this medium.

Richmond is home to two universities, the University of Richmond and Virginia Commonwealth University.  Please don’t tell, but I was unfamiliar with VCU until last year’s NCAA basketball tournament, however, its significant presence in the city cannot be denied.  I was surprised to learn that the enrollment is in excess of 35,000.

We stayed in the Jefferson Hotel, and I’m sure its walls have many stories.  I had no idea that part of the filming for Gone With the Wind was done there.  Walking down the stairs to the large ballroom, I could imagine Scarlett O’Hara making her appearance in the dress she had made from Tara’s velvet draperies.

Alligators in one form or another were inside and out at the hotel.  That was somewhat puzzling until I found a sign explaining their presence.  Apparently, in days past, Florida visitors thought it cute to have a pet alligator.  As they travelled north, the alligators often outgrew their habitat and were left behind in Richmond, probably becoming residents the local populace didn’t welcome.

I’m sure there is much more to know about this historic southern city, but time was short so it will have to wait for another day.  In the meantime, do come back tomorrow to glimpse a most interesting installation at the museum.

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Tablescape Challenge

Traveling in an RV and setting an attractive table for six are not necessarily compatible.  The table in the van is only for two people so the rest of us had to eat wherever there was a sit down space.  One night, however, we were lucky enough to have a spot in an RV park that had a picnic table right outside the door.

Yahoo, we could all enjoy sitting together!

Before dinner treats were a must to be enjoyed with one of the wonderful wines chosen by the son-in-law driver.  While everything isn’t a perfect match, the tablecloth from Williams Sonoma adds a little color to the table as do the flowers that had traveled with us from Houston.  Nothing like those little touches of home!

Just so we wouldn’t have to eat off paper plates every night, I had brought these colorful melamine dishes picked up at Costco.  Not only are they cheerful but all the pieces mix and match and don’t seem to mind being paired with plastic utensils and paper napkins.

And, thanks to our El Paso Walmart stop we even had real glasses rather than plastic cups.

We also found these great plastic serving pieces at Walmart at the grand cost of $1 each.  They were a perfect match for the dishes and will surely come in handy again.

What fun to make something out of very little, and the best part was having the little girls get into the act.

Do tell me about some of your experiences making do.

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Summing It Up

Yes, this was an experience new for all of us, and while there may have been some initial concerns about six of us traveling for two weeks in an RV, all went well. The son-in-law driver is my new hero having shown incredible driving skills and patience. The hubby did better than expected considering he is not known for enjoying road travel.

The daughter and little girls were a joy, and I loved the time we had together.

All that being said, there were some learning curves when it comes to RV travel. Not all RV parks are the same.

Some are little more than concrete parking lots while others are in lovely settings and have nice amenities like a decent shower.

Judging from the number of RVs in every park, they are a popular means of travel.

They come is every size and shape from the big ones to scarcely more than a trailer.

Meals can be a challenge. When you’re in a big ole bus, it’s not easy to go tooling around town looking for a place to eat, so we ate more often than not in the RV. Breakfast and lunch were simple, but our evening meals were as good as any, thanks to my new favorite appliance, the Cuisinart slow cooker which made preparation a snap.

We had everything from roasted chicken and venison sausage to slow cooked brisket and ribs. Some of this we had planned to cook on the grill, but with the ban on fires of any kind that was impossible.

The spaces in an RV are tight, especially the kitchen and bath, but we managed without getting in each others way too much. What made a huge difference is that when we stopped, the sides of the bus could be expanded doubling the interior space.

 Just like at home, there were laundry and cleaning chores. Who could get along without a dustbuster on one of these things!

At the end of a long day, it was good to have some silly fun.

The son-in-law and daughter gave new meaning to kicking off your shoes and dancing in the kitchen!

Now the question being asked is would you do it again. Yes, provided the son-in-law driver is willing, however, I would either take longer to cover the same amount of ground or be less inclusive. And, I must confess to having experienced the best part of the trip. An unexpected happening called me back to Houston early, and on the return trip the bus blew a tire, had a leaky air hose and lost AC. OUCH! The rest of the crew was a little agitated when they got home a few days later.

No doubt this will be an experience all of us will remember and as years pass I’m betting it becomes one of our stories.  I can’t wait to hear the embellishments.

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On the Road VIII

Three short days is just not enough to see all there is to see in the Grand Canyon, 

so to give us an opportunity to glimpse a bit more, the hubby surprised us with a helicopter ride on our last day.

Moving away from the pinon pines (did you know they are the source of pine nuts?) and catching our first glimpse of the canyon from above was one of those ahhhhhh! moments.

From the air we could see the differences between the south and north rims.

The south rim is craggy, rich with color

while because of its higher elevation and more rainfall, the north rim is greener with thick stands of pine trees.

We could see clearly the Colorado River snaking between the two rims, and this day parts of it were a beautiful turquoise, a color most visible  this time of the year.

With feet back on the ground, it was time to leave the canyon behind, but there was one more final look on the way out.

This lovely observation tower designed by Mary Colter provided the perfect vantage point from which to say our goodbyes.

Who knows whether or not I will ever see the Grand Canyon again, but if I don’t once was beautiful evidence of God’s masterpieces.

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On the Road V

Hot dry wind causing nose bleeds and dehydration and blowing so hard we were rocking all over the place.  Our goal today: explore Highway 60, and we were glad to have the opportunity for a few stops, none of which were on the agenda.  Are you beginning to figure out our carefully planned agenda is changing at every turn?

We happened upon the Very Large Array (VLA) Center.

If you saw the movie Contact you will recognize these huge radio telescopes that are spread across this flat, empty land.

All of us were absolutely fascinated,

and the little girls loved throwing their voices via parabolic transmitters.

Further down the road, Magdalena had little of interest but this sign gave a sense of just where it is located.

Pietown was a different story.  Just as we had hoped it had a place to buy pies,

delicious homemade ones in many flavors.

Nobody could decide what flavor so the piemaker suggested a “piepourri”.  When we got back on the bus, I was sneaking a bite of the peanut butter pie when I was caught and everyone had to join in.

 Tonight’s dessert never made it out of the box.  Fortunately, the daughter went back in and bought a just out of the oven pear/ginger pie.  Good thinking!

Next stop was to be the Petrified Forest and Painted Desert, but deciding that 40 mph winds blowing sand into our faces was not a good thing, we blew on by (literally) and headed to Holbrook, Arizona, supposedly the night’s stop.  Arriving there, we changed our mind in a hurry.  Another Good Sam Motor Park in a wide open space with sand blowing in every direction held no appeal, especially since none of us had wanted to use the shower at the last Good Sam park.  The son-in-law driver was exhausted, but that park gave him enough motivation to go on down the road to Flagstaff where the RV park was vastly improved.

Tini time and carnitas and we were in a much better mood.  On we go!

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On the Road II

Texas is BIG, and  if you’re going to get from Houston to the other side of the state before dark, that’s means an early start, like 5:30 AM.    Fortunately, the son-in-law driver was bright eyed and bushy tailed, but the same was not true for all the rest of us.  Some of us slept until well past San Antonio, but that’s OK since there’s not much to miss along that stretch of I-10.

Except to gas up with the other big guys, there was no stopping until we got to Marathon, a small town in the middle of nowhere (the same can be said of many Texas towns).  There’s not much to see there but the historic Gage Hotel where people from all the country come to enjoy its ambience and good food.  No time for us to stay, however, other than to snap a few photos.

The original building has a feeling of western authenticity

while the new decor has a  distinctive southwestern flair.

Five hundred miles and 10 hours from Houston, we arrive at our destination, Alpine, looking forward to relaxing and enjoying a grilled dinner.  That was our first change of plan as we were warned no fires of any kind are allowed.

  Texas is dry, dry, dry and judging from the charred landscapes we saw along the way, rain will be most welcome.

Lucky for us, I had brought the new Cusinart  do everything slow cooker along and in little time we had a delicious dinner of roasted venison sausage, potatoes and broccoli.  That with a good glass of wine (good in spite of being drunk from a plastic cup!) was the end of a good first day, and as we settled into our cozy space we congratulated ourselves for the beginning of a successful journey.

Wonder what tomorrow will bring.

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