“Alex, I’ll take transportation for €44,40”. The question: Why would someone take the Mont Blanc tunnel?
This 11.611 km (7.215 mi) passage links Chamonix, France to Courmayeur, Italy and Italy is where we were headed. Between us stood a section of the Alps. While the scenery was breathtaking, we were pleased that we were able to go through the mountain rather than over it.
Travel through the tunnel is heavily regulated and monitored seeing as how this is a border crossing. When you pay the toll you are given a hangtag for your rearview mirror which explains the rules of the road: speed limits, distance between vehicles. (Blue lights to indicate the required space between cars.) On the opposite side of the tag are directions for getting to emergency exits along the route. Happy to report we didn’t need to use them. Side note: Mont Blanc is impressive, but not the longest tunnel in the world. That is actually near Bergen, Norway. We had the thrill of that one in June 2017.
The entire travel time that day was eight hours. Much of it on toll roads. Convenient, safe, and a bit pricey. I figure we spent about $150 (US) for the privilege. On nearing Venice we began looking for the Tronchetto Parking Garage recommended by our VRBO hosts. Since cars are not allowed to drive onto the island, we were glad to have input on the best way to navigate this. Safely parked, we made our way to the docks to catch a vaporetto (water bus). Our host was meeting us at one of the stops for a 10-minute walk to our rental. On the way we took 3 turns and crossed 5 bridges and congratulated ourselves on downsizing our luggage for this portion of the journey.
It was very warm (not to mention humid, which I guess I just did) during our stay, but we had our list of things to do. Our first outing was to Collezione Peggy Guggenheim. The museum is in Guggenheim’s former home on the Grand Canal. The view above is what you see as you walk out her front door and on to her private dock. We enjoyed the art, her personal collection, and the sculpture garden; but it was the setting that really wowed us. After the museum we took a slow walk back to the flat with the intention of picking up something to eat along the way. While there is a gelato shop on every corner, we opted for pizza and beer al fresco style in one of the many cafes in one of the many piazzas. Great for people watching.
On day two we hopped into a boat (a regular tour-type, not a vaporetto) for a lovely ride over to Murano – the island of glass artisans. The history of how the glass factories all ended up on this island intrigued us. As Venice became more and more of a international city there was a concern that people coming into the city from other trade-competing countries would try to steal the glass-making secrets. Thus, all factories and workers were moved out to Murano and the island was closed to visitors. In fact, people who lived on the island were not allowed to leave without getting special permission – and then only for a day. This glass-making was serious stuff.
Though we were not allowed to take photos of any of the beautiful glass pieces in their showrooms I was able to get a shot of one of the amazing chandeliers that hang in their work room.
Back into the boat and on to Burano. It is a quaint and colorful city. The leaning bell tower is actually taller than the tower in Pisa.
Burano is know for its lace work. The women in this traditional fishing community began the craft using fish line. This close up is from lace made, by hand, over 100 years ago. There are seven distinct stitches that are used to create the patterns and each woman specializes in just one stitch. The finished piece reflects their teamwork. Few women engage in lacemaking today, so it is becoming a lost art. Those that do stitch can only work about 3 hours at a time and their careers are short due to the eye strain.
Bob outside our flat, bringing back goodies for cocktail hour. Fortunately he could walk to the grocery store – about 3 blocks away. No boat necessary. Our digs were lovely – old world decor with just the right amount of modernization. And, as in all places where we have resided during our vagabond journey thus far, furnished and accessorized with various purchases from Ikea. Gotta love it. Just two doors down from our rental was an excellent little restaurant. Only open from 7-10p and serving a limited menu, it put out absolutely delicious food. What pasta, what creative antipastos; and all just steps from our door.
And, just because I couldn’t believe it – a street with no people! We thought the Louvre was crowded, but it can’t hold a candle to the city of Venice. The narrow streets coupled with the necessity of crossing bridges means lot and lots of pedestrians – most of then looking down at the Google map on their phone. Oh, there were a few brave souls who ventured out with a paper map but most everyone used technology. We live in an interesting world. Another thing missing along this street is commerce. Much of Venice feels like a shopping mall: store after store, stuff upon stuff. Makes sense considering approximately 50,000 visitors come into the town every day.
And one final Venice photo of the front door to a lovely home we passed on one of our walks. I know – it just begs the retort, “Watch that first step.”
Florence. We opted to stay outside the old city to get a break from the hustle and bustle. We were glad for the variety and for the location that offered us some beautiful views – along with, as luck would have it, another great neighborhood restaurant! In addition, we were only two blocks from a tram stop so it made getting into the center easy and convenient.
Our VRBO host suggested that, since we had a car, we might consider a short trip to see the Medici villas. There are three near Florence and we made it to two of them. This is the Great Room of Villa La Petraia, built in the mid-1300s. For those of you, like me, who do not have a deep working knowledge of Italian history: The Medici family ruled the city of Florence throughout the Renaissance. Through their success in commerce and banking they attained great wealth and political power. They had a major influence on the growth of the Italian Renaissance through their patronage of the arts. The family dynasty includes four popes and many blood ties to royal houses throughout Europe.
A close up of that massive chandelier. I loved the purple tones in the glass. Wonder if it was made in Venice!?!
The Red Room. I couldn’t decide what to take a photo of – the floor to ceiling tapestries, the ceiling, the carved columns. Went for the whole package. As we walked through we got to wondering how many people they employed just to light (and continually replace) all of those candles used in the huge ceiling lights in each room.
A table top made of wood inlay. So detailed it looks like a painting.
Equalled by the craftsmanship of the stone and metal work on this table top.
But even with all of that beauty and opulence, the place still got cobwebs.
The vertical sundial on the front of the villa still has me intrigued. We checked on it periodically through the afternoon and it was accurate.
Outside of each villa were vast formal gardens. These are at Villa Castello. While I wandered the citrus gardens Bob took a break at the central fountain. Look closely and you will see him becoming one with the setting.
On Tuesday, the Uffizi. Cosimo Medici designated this building as the Florentine administrative offices and dedicated a small portion as a museum. Today the entire building is filled with Renaissance art, much of it amassed by the Medici family. This photo is a view from the top patio, looking through the stonework wall. A side note: we pre-purchased “skip the line” tickets for the museum before leaving Reno. This entitled us to 1. stand in a line to exchange our voucher for actual tickets, 2. stand in another line to enter the building (before the line of people who had not pre-purchased), 3. stand in another line to get security screened, and 4. stand in another line to show our actual tickets. Those of you that know my Bob are probably surprised he lasted long enough to get into the galleries. But he did it. Another side note: turns out a dear friend of mine (Renee and daughter Cara, from Reno now in Florida) were in Florence on the same week as us, visiting the Uffizi on the same day as us, and with tickets for a tour/entry only an hour apart from us. As I told her, “Clearly the Universe wants us to get together.” We had a lovely lunch and spent the afternoon catching up, solving world problems, and feeling like we had never been apart.
Another view, taken from the top level but from within the museum. Note the string of cars going across the middle bridge. Only people with a special pass can drive into the city center. Well, Bob and I didn’t know that when we drove in on our first day in the city. Oops. No ticket, fortunately.
Another gallery ceiling that I just couldn’t resist capturing.
This painting, originally made to be a door front for library shelves, uses troupe l’oeil to make it appear as if the panel is actually painted on wood.
Amidst all of the religious iconography, this gallery really stood out: Fritz Keonig Retrospective 1924-2107. Being able to walk up close to the pieces and admire the artist’s techniques kept us in this exhibit for quite a while. His preliminary sketches are done mostly in charcoal. Seeing them emerge as sculptures is fascinating. Background info: Keonig created “The Sphere” for the Twin Towers Plaza in NYC. The sculpture survived the collapse of the World Trade Center and is currently in Liberty Park, recovered from the rubble but essentially intact.
Camargue XX/3, 1974 While the animals are obvious, their arrangement and connection make this piece visually compelling. I kept going back to look at it from different angles. In a happy coincidence, the Camargue is one of our destinations while we are next in France.
After the museum and lunch with friends we navigated our way back to the tram station using stores as landmarks: take a left at Gucci, continue straight until we pass Ferragamo, curve toward Cavalli. And then there it was – our second sighting of Mont Blanc!
Enough big city. Time for some day tripping. We spent one lovely afternoon in Volterra, about a one hour drive up into the Tuscan hills. We opted for a walking tour recommended in a Rick Steve’s travel book and were not disappointed. In a fact-filled hour we learned plenty of things we never knew before. This is the last remaining arch in the city walls build by the Etruscans in the 4th Century BCE. During WWII the Nazis had planned to blow it up as they retreated but the townspeople took the bricks from the town square and filled up the archway (manually) and then convinced the exiting troops that it was a waste of ammunition to destroy it. Today those bricks are back in the square and we walked over them to get to the arch.
Volterra is known for alabaster – so of course we went to the alabaster museum. Lots of realistic carvings but this is the one that made us both smile.
Located in the same museum was a section of regional art. Think of how many feet have climbed these stairs.
Bob was intrigued with the floor grates, placed perfectly above and below each other on each floor.
Taken from an angle – for those who, like me, admire a bit of asymmetry.
The new day’s road trip took us to Montepulciano, a medieval hill town with lots of up and down paths that tempted us to just head out and explore. This is the town that reminded us most of Guanajuato – curved alleys, steep inclines, shops tucked into quiet cup-de-sacs.
Speaking of shops, we made it a point to get to a wine tasting of the region’s renowned Vino Noblie. “The noblest bottle of them all”, this wine is made from locally grown Sangiovese grapes and is distinctly deep jewel-red and thoroughly delicious. Liking to be in good wine-drinking company, we were happy to find out that it was a favorite wine of Thomas Jefferson. The bottle that captured our taste buds: the third from the right, Dei. So good that we now own a bottle (to be consumed before we head back to the US, of course). The tasting station itself was a first for us. You get an electronic chip card that tracks what you try. Prices are based on the particular bottle you select and how large a pour you punch into the electronic dispenser. Great fun. Besides the Vino Nobile we also sampled some Brunello which is the wine from the neighboring town of Montalcino. This wine is also made from Sangiovese grapes but has a distinctly different profile – reddish brown in color, with a higher acidity and more forward tannins. (WOW – that sounds like I actually know what I am talking about.) Glad we tried it, but our heart stayed with Dei.
We wandered back to our car alongside the old town walls.
Bob’s “short cut to avoid more climbing” took us on a road less traveled. But it got us to our destination.
On the way back to Florence we made one more stop – Pienza – for a lunch featuring the locally made pecorino cheeses. Bob favored the blue veined variety (top right) . I preferred the aged in walnuts and grape leaves wedges (lower left) with a bit of honey drizzled on top. While we were they we walked through most of the town (it’s tiny). Unlike other hill towns which are full of twists, curves and alleyways, Pienza’s streets are laid out in a grid pattern. No need for Google maps here. In Palazzo Piccolomini there was a display commemorating Franco Zeffirelli’s filming of some scenes for his movie adaptation of Romeo and Juliet.
With apologies for a long post, I bid you arrivederci. We are off to France – the southern part. Smaller towns, a bit slower pace. Still plenty to look forward to.
And the vagabond year continues… but before going into details for this portion of the trip it might be helpful if I gave a bit of information on the process we used to make our travel decisions. (Process being a euphemism for seat of our pants). First we considered our kiddos: grandson, his parents (our younger son and his lovely wife) and our older son. It was important to get them in our circuit. Next we put together a “love to” list of places: cities we wanted to experience and those that we have talked about seeing again. That done, we accepted that our ‘love to” list could not even come close to being reasonably doable, so we chopped it up into geographical sections; stringing together as many things on our list as we could. Then we did something really daring – we asked friends for suggestions (relating to our now roughly determined path), and invited them to add what they thought we should strongly consider. Thanks to all who shared so eloquently. (Patty & Jack, Judi, Chad, Emily & Aaron, Lynne, Bradley, Terry & John, Patty B., Kerry, Christine …sorry if I have missed someone; please know that all advice has paid off.) As the suggestions and comments rolled in it was enlightening to hear the strong and diverse feelings people had: Paris – my favorite/been there done that; Venice – magical/what’s the big deal?; London – I can’t wait to go back/nothing exceptional and then there’s the horrible food.
That said, we put France on our list for a number of reasons: I had been, but Bob had not. I have longed to get back to the southern portion of the country and it was, after all, France. Our British Isles cruise put us in somewhat close proximity. And, while the south was my goal, it seemed right to do the stuff that Paris offers – it was convenient and there.
Paris. Our flat was ideally situated: two blocks from a Metro stop, near 3 grocery stores, amidst the usual abundance of cafes and patisseries. We fell into our routine of breakfast in the flat, grabbing something along our outing mid-day and then opting for a quiet evening in house or at something in the neighborhood. Best find was a Cambodian restaurant a few blocks from our flat. Still have no idea what I ordered, but it was delicious.
The Louvre. Our take: Impressive building. Gallery upon gallery of world class art. Rooms upon rooms of tourists. Photos being taken everywhere. (Bob kept muttering, “Buy an art book.” As for me, I was amused by the tourist taking photos of the signs that directed people to important galleries) For those of you who have done this, you know what I mean about crowds. On the day we were there the gallery where Mona Lisa is hung was so packed you could not get within 20 feet of the painting itself. Winged Victory, my favorite for that museum, was so crowded we chose to take a different staircase and look from afar. That said, there were plenty of other joys and we delighted in walking through the gorgeous rooms, apartments and grand salons; the gilt and painted ceilings, the moldings, and the tapestries were incredible.
Pompidou Centre. Modern and contemporary art housed in a building that reminded me of the game Mouse Trap. Lots of escalators and glass tubes. The upper level sculpture garden was a very tranquil and lovely space.
Favorite piece – an homage to the importance of the tree. The sculptor took a section of a trunk and carved out what he envisioned as the young tree and its potential growing within.
Adjacent was a room with bales of bay leaves and a set of lungs – reminders of the importance of forestation and breath. I wish this post had smell-ability as the room was intoxicatingly fragrant. I kept going back.
The day following our visits to The Louvre and Pompidou Centre started out rainy. We postponed our activity until skies cleared after lunch and then headed for the Tuileries and l‘Orangerie. On our way, Bob had his pocket picked while riding the Metro and that influenced our overall mood. Bob was, as can be imagined, frustrated but circumspect. I took no photos, staying more quiet and contained. We did enjoy the Monets and even took a side trip to the National Gallery of Jeu de Paume (ironically, a photographic exhibit space). The current showings were related to the protests of the tortures during the French/Algerian War. In a serendipity, this was the day French President Macron issued an apology for the government’s handling of the Algerian situation. In this case art clearly preceded life.
The d’Orsay. This is the museum that drew the strongest recommendations – and with good reason.
From the sculpture on the roof.
To the decor in the cafe. This museum is a day of delights.
After the building itself, my favorite thing about this museum is the the rooms of decorative arts: furniture and furnishings. This corner chair with lily pad-inspired arms still has me swooning.
And so it goes for Paris (refer to earlier comment about buying the book). We are now changing up our transportation mode to Bob’s choice for moving about: him behind the wheel. From our Paris flat we Ubered to the airport and waited in line for almost 2 hours to get our rental car. Heads up: if you are in Charles De Gaulle and looking for lunch/snack/take on the road options, Marks & Spencer beats everything else pricewise and in regards to lines.
And then it is on to Dijon. We had a lovely flat, just blocks from the city center. There was a small grocery near and we were only a 5 minute walk from the heart of the old city.
This lovely town is a perfect ying to Paris’s yang: quiet, contained, unassuming. Our flat was 2 blocks from the Jardin Darcy, the entry point for the walk through the historic city center.
We happened to be in town during the 2-day celebration of Dijon as a UNESCO World Heritage site. All historic buildings were open and admission was free. Too good to pas up, so off we went. Not far from our starting point, these gargoyles on the front of Church Notre Dame certainly made a statement. This church is the oldest in Dijon, and there are 51 of these creatures staring down at you as you pass by the front doors. Not difficult to understand why the design style is called Burgundy Gothic.
Dijon has adopted the owl (chouette) as a symbol for the city and The Owl’s Trail is the city walking tour. Plaques imbedded in the street are a great aid in finding our way about the twists and turns of the medieval pathways.
And if you are fortunate and follow the route faithfully you come upon the original carved in a niche of a church. Rub it with your left hand while making a wish and it is said the wish will come true. Obviously many have observed the superstition. I joined them and made a wish. We’ll see….
Of course you cannot go to Dijon and not do a mustard tasting. Didn’t find one that I didn’t like.
Along our walk, the beautiful tiled roof, a signature of the Burgundy region.
And whilst in Dijon, a side trip to Beaune and the home to Vueve Ambal. I will admit, I had no idea of what we were getting into when we decided on this day trip. Bob originally found it online and figured I would be on board because it was about wine with bubbles. He was right. We both had a wonderful time: learning about crémant vs champagne. As most know, champagne must be made in the Champagne region of France and using the “champagne method” to be OFFICIALLY champagne. (It’s the appellation distinction thing that I wrote about in my tequila/mescal post when we were in Guanajuato.) Other wineries in regions outside of Champagne can produce sparkling wines (and even use the same or similar methods) but they cannot be called champagne. Thus Crémant de Bourgogne.
The production facility was huge and many of the processes were done with robots. These machines were designed specifically to transfer bottles from the aging room (where they are stacked in alternating style, nested top to bottom, to conserve space) to the riddling room (where they have to be stored with all tops in the same direction to allow sediment fo be flushed out). They can transfer 5,500 bottles every hour. That is important when you are shipping 18 million bottles every year, as they do at Vueve Ambal. And, while that sounds like a lot, it is a drop in the bucket compared to what flows out of Champagne.
The riddling room where bottles are turned (by robots, of course!). Note the cases on an angle rather than lying flat.
Our time in Dijon was over too quickly. We have already begun a new list: places we want to spend more time in during future travels. After all, we still didn’t make it to the gingerbread factory and there are still so many wines waiting to be tasted.
Cheers and good health to all! We have completed our British Isles cruise and I thought a Cornish toast would be a good way to head this latest post. What follows is by no means a comprehensive travelogue of our trip, but it does capture some of the sights and insights along the way.
First port of call: Guernsey/St. Peter’s Port. We took a tender (red boat in lower right hand corner) from our ship into town.
The public seating outside the visitor’s center quickly became occupied as there was free wifi. Many people came ashore just for that amenity.
Our choice of outing was Candie Gardens – a lovely green space with a small but impressive museum. We saw displays explaining island traditions and superstitions and a section of Victor Hugo paintings and sketches. (Hugo exiled on Guernsey and while there did little writing but pursued visual arts, often incorporating his name and/or monogram into the work. They say he regularly went down to the seaside and wrote his name on rocks and tossed them into the waves. He said it was an effort to become known by the island.) My favorite exhibit was the blown glass models.
Stunningly beautiful. Science meets art.
Came around the corner to spy this colorful piece.
Upon closer inspection I find out that it is an entirely hand sewn canvas.And then it’s back to the quay to get a return tender… and to stand in line. I have indicated Bob’s spot as he saved my place so I could take this photo. Already, on day one, Bob is saying he is unhappy with all of the queuing up. (Later in the cruise he also put his foot down regarding outings where people fall asleep in public. Our options for travel are becoming more defined.)
We skipped port #2 – Cork. The ship docked in Cobh and there was quite a bit of travel to negotiate to get into town. The main attraction was Blarney Castle, which I know many enjoyed. Guess we were just not into the mood for blarney – in any form. However, we did make a day of it at port #3 – Dublin. We had a great walk into town and then did a bus tour to get an overview of this busy city.
Sign sighted in a storefront near the center of town.
Lots of murals, but this one was exceptional in that it was 3-D. Made of recycled materials.
And, of course, the ubiquitous shamrock-themed street lights. There were a variety of motifs along the route.
Final stop of our day in Dublin was the tasting at Jameson’s. (All bottling is now down in Cork, but the original distillery is where we had our tour.) We have a loquacious and very witty guide and it felt like a real theater performance. Great fun; learned some new things – which always makes for a successful day.
Our next port was Belfast. We did a morning walking tour in the city center. The theme was the “the troubles” and our guide was exceptional. A former history teacher and now a conflict mediator, he regaled us with facts and stories. The long and deep conflict is mind boggling. In the photo you can see the “peace wall” on the left, a 42 foot barrier constructed to separate Republic/Nationalist Catholics from Loyalist Unionist/Protestants.
In the afternoon we went on a private taxi tour of the street murals. I have a number of photos of them but am sharing the one that represented the range of people involved – men, women, adolescents.
We stopped at a lovely cathedral, site of some of the reconciliation talks. Inside there were incredible mosaics.
One of the buildings that has not been rehabilitated.
Bob’s contribution to the peace message.
And mine.
And, ending our Belfast day on a humorous note; located atop a bin in the park outside Belfast City Hall.
Next port: Greenock, Scotland; a lovely little town where we caught a train into Glasgow. We walked the town from end to end to get to the train station and along the way I noted this storefront. I wanted to stop and take a longer look but was concerned we would miss our train (which it turns out we would have), so vowed to get at least a photo upon our return. And I did. My sons always tease me about my attraction to sparkles. They have even been know to try to distract me when they see shining things coming into our vision. Guess it’s the magpie in me.
We took a bus tour and then stopped at the Gallery of Modern Art (though the building was clearly not modern and the exhibits were not what I would call Modern Art. In a country with such a long history it’s relative, I guess). We happened to arrive when there was an organ concert in the grand hall of the building. What a sound!
This eye-catching display was in one of the long galleries – done by a museum curator to highlight the space. The exhibit celebrating the 150th birthday of Glaswegian Charles Rennie Mackintosh was a highlight but photos were prohibited. Guess you had to be there.
Next up: Kirkwall. The cruise lines bills this as a visit to Orkney Islands, but in order to do that you have to book a special excursion. Instead it was just a visit to town. Bob headed to the library where he found this unique sculpture.
And he was struck by the “handy” labeling of these rails. He is my partner in observation, sighting quirky things.
Our next day was to be at sea, but as we left port I caught my breath when I saw this phenomenon outside our windows. I have done some research and think it may be a circumhorizon arc, but I am happy to be corrected. I do know that it is NOT a rainbow according to the Atmospheric Optics.
On to Edinburgh. Of course there had to be a castle photo. As an aside: I have been reading Ken Follett’s Column of Fire, the third book in the Kingsbridge series. The first was Pillars of the Earth – a tremendous saga and a favorite of my book group chums. (You know who your are Sunrise Valley pals~) The juxtaposition of the actual place with events in the book was a nice serendipity. (Follett’s books are fiction, but heavily tied to historical facts.)
The street artist in the park by the Prince Street Gardens was sending bubbles afloat. In the background is the National Art Gallery.
Favorite piece of the National Gallery visit. The interpretive sign alongside this painting suggests that, based on the position of his hands and the intent gaze, the lad was trying to memorize a lesson. Such a beautiful child.
On to the Scottish National Portrait Gallery, housed in a red sandstone neo-gothic palace. Architecturally breath-taking.
Stained glass windows celebrate famous Scottish royalty, clergy, and laypersons.
The Hall of Heroes and Heroines was made up largely of men, but the last photos put special emphasis on the contributions of women, particularly during wartime. Those bare feet ~
Final port: LeHavre. Many passengers chose to take the trip into Paris (2.5 hours each way) but since we are headed to France next we decided to walk the town. Bob takes off down the street, intrigued by the what looks to be a unique Lego-type structure.
Not Legos but shipping containers. The people walking (lower right) give a sense of the size of this structure.
Excellent visit to MuMa. This time the building was definitely modern.
Intrigued by how they hung their pieces – brackets rather than wire. Wonder who patches the holes.
Sometimes the thing that catches your eye in a museum isn’t the art. This time it’s the interplay of architecture and the public. This was taken looking across a high gallery and into the restaurant.
Name of this building?? If you guessed The Volcano (Le Volcan by Oscar Niemeyer) you would have been correct.
This lovely space is actually a public library. Very popular space on a sunny Sunday.
And on to Paris we go. Looking forward to a bit more sunshine, fewer lines to navigate and as many baguettes and pastries as I can hold.
It has been 17 years (Millennium change/Y2K remember that?) since our last visit…way too long for a city we enjoy. We have made up for lost time by hitting the streets and seeing what’s new and appreciating what we loved about our first encounter with London.
A city on the grow. Bob is convinced that there is an architectural challenge in progress: how different can you make it?
And of course there are always the classic structures to appreciate. This is HM Treasury, next to the entrance for the Churchill War Rooms.
Underground, in the War Rooms themselves, there was a wall that reported what was going on above ground. This is the weather report. So much for Doppler radar. Overall, the museum visit was an excellent experience; so much great history, but the best part was the sense of place and purpose conveyed throughout the maze of rooms.
Our VRBO hosts recommended a local pub which we had to try out.
The featured cuisine – which did not disappoint. We passed on dessert. The pies, mushy peas and mashed potatoes were aplenty.
And who doesn’t love a joint that provides a condiment basket with three mustards?
I believe our favorite outing was a day at Tate Modern. We managed to walk over before the rain started. Had a lovely brunch at the museum restaurant and than spent 5 hours going through the galleries. The cable clamps in the foreground are on the Millennium Bridge. Our table at the restaurant was next to the windows (sixth floor) and we watched river traffic as we dined. I must admit, eating at an art gallery or museum does makes me feel grown up. Food isn’t always exceptional but the experience is.
The majority of the galleries are free, but we opted to purchase tickets for the Picasso 1932 exhibit. This is called his “wonder year” and the creative output was incredible. Though I am not a committed Picasso fan (he had issues…) I had to admire the depth and range and brilliance of his talent.
In addition to the art on the walls, I was enchanted by this budding artists siting about on the floors. This young lady was quite serious in her efforts and kept checking the painting in front of her as she went about her work.
In interesting contrast, one of the galleries held broadsides that were plastered about NYC by Guerrilla Girls. This was my favorite “food for thought” morsel.
Kadar Atilla created a model of the ancient Algerian city of Ghardaïa – made entirely from couscous. This was part of an exhibit on making art from everyday objects. There were comments relating to this piece about the motivation the artist had to create a representation that would not last.
Another artist created a bed of boulders out of burlap bags. When we initially walked into he room we were reminded of Sand Harbor at Lake Tahoe.
And then there was the wall of wool. The knitter in me had to fight hard to not touch.
Ski Jacket by Peter Doig: Detail of a painting on newsprint. The story underneath was about a children’s ski school on a Japanese mountain.
And how’s this for a twist on a “radio tower”. Using that literal concept, what might a cellular tower look like?
And this… A Summer’s Day by Bridget Riley. It is a literary reference to Shakespeare’s sonnet, “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?” The colors are meant to create an optical shimmer. Lovely.
One more fiber object – a ruffled jacket woven of jute and steel. Obviously heavy to wear but beautiful to behold.
And just a few random sightings from our neighborhood:
I know the proper spelling in Britain is different than it is in the USA, but it still made me do a double take.
One of the murals outside the primary school just a few blocks from our flat.
Signs on the brick wall at the entrance to our building. Not sure what anti-climb paint is, but they sure put up a lot of notices about it.
Tomorrow it’s off to Notting Hill and the Portobello Market. Next day we leave for British Isles/Ireland/Scotland. Time to turn in our Oyster Cards, make sure we have no extra pounds in our pockets, and attach our luggage tags for the cruise. Cheerio, London! It has been wonderful.
A visual metaphor asking readers of this blog to be on the lookout for some upcoming posts. And, in the literal sense, an empty cupboard that will soon be filled by the people who will be renting our Reno home for the next 12 months.
Backstory: This adventure came about quite unexpectedly when we had a request from a visiting UNR professor to rent our Reno guest house for a year. There were some back and forth negotiations while she waited for her grant to come through but, by the time it did, the guest house was no longer available. We next worked with her to help her find a potential place to rent (considering price, nearness to the university, etc.) but no luck. At about this same time a series of life events brought reminders of how important it is to do the carpe diem thing, and we decided to offer her our home as a rental – if she and her family (husband and 2 children) were okay with they. They were. And that means Bob and I will be hitting the road August 1 for a year of vagabonding, adventuring, and immersing ourselves in a variety of locales.
We have converted my studio into a bedroom for the kiddos; done lots of researching, reading, list making and itinerary planning; culled through closets and cupboards to make our house renter ready; tied up local obligations and duties; and stowed away any remaining personal things we won’t be taking along on our journey.
We will stay in touch – through this blog, text and email. We have suspended postal delivery, so please save those stamps!! NOTE: Beginning August 1 Facebook will not longer send out notices when a new blog entry is posted. (Part of the new Facebook policy regarding third party postings. This is what the 2016 election social media fallout has wrought, for better or worse…) Therefore, if you want to automatically receive notification of new posts you need to sign up for an email message. You can do it on this site using the button in the right-hand column. Just making sure you know of the changes…
As I work on final tasks I have been hearing Willie Nelson in my head; that endearing nasal twang of “On the Road Again”, and I am keeping in mind the following piece of inspiration:
“I long, as does every human being, to be at home wherever I find myself.”
As I contemplated the heading for this post I started to wonder what readers would imagine it contained: a household cleaning task? a recall of some sort of bizarre punishment? an attempt at a horror story? a retreat gone wrong? All interesting guesses, but the fact is that I spent most of the last three days in the basement at Reno City Hall, working wardrobe duties for Bandaloop: a vertical dance company out of Oakland, CA, that was in town to kickoff Artown celebrations.
It was great fun even though the green room and sewing space presented a challenge. I set up my work space using a 1960’s vintage couch (looked very similar to the one in my Moorhead State University dorm lounge circa 1969) and a coffee table. My sewing machine was pretty low to the ground and that meant that getting to the foot pedal required me to sit in a modified easy seated yoga pose. (Maybe that’s more plus than minus…) The overhead lights were low-level florescent tubes and I found myself using the flashlight app on my phone for detailed work. But the company – literally, the dance company – was a delight; easy to work with, appreciative, funny, inclusive.
The original wardrobe call indicated that I would be needed for light sewing repairs and then ironing and steaming of costumes to be worn for the main shows. That role expanded significantly, and I ended up doing some major construction: working on 6 out of 7 of the group’s costumes. One costume was entirely redone; 2 needed major overhauls and repairs; 2 needed new pieces made; 1 was just fitting and adjustments.
One of the more interesting tasks was creating bloomers out of a peasant dress.The importance of those bloomers is evident from this photo of them being worn during a performance. In addition, the pink dress on the top dancer is the one that was totally redone and new underleggings made.
My most unique request was to add a pair of suspenders to this pair of man’s Spanx. A first for me.
Fortunately, there were opportunities to go above ground and appreciate the amazing talents of this fabulous troupe.
Gives new meaning to the phrase, “All in a day’s work.”
What better to do in the spring but take a trip back to the Heartland, in this case Nebraska and Missouri; and along with dear friends and fellow quilters, head out to see what delights the area has to offer? Our host and hostess had a full agenda of activities arranged for us: lunch and a walkabout in a revitalized and historically preserved section of downtown Omaha, car trips to local points of interest around Greenwood and Louisville, dinner at a nearby state park, shopping, and of course quilts, quilts, quilts.
We were fortunate to be in Lincoln in time to see the Ken Burns Exhibit at the International Quilt Study Center and Museum. This is the first time these quilts have been on display and the museum was delighted to have the opportunity to host them.
The docent who lead our tour made a great point of telling us how Ken Burns lived with the quilts on display. He has them hanging on walls and covering his bed.
In addition to the Ken Burns quilts there were two other galleries for us to enjoy. Singular Fascination had quilts that were based on the use of repetition, the idea being that each quilt was a reflection of a maker’s habits. Each of the quilts was amazing in their own right – so precise and artistically created. Two of my favorites are shown below. The first is squares; the second triangles. And remember, each of these has been created by hand – piece by piece, row by row.
The final gallery was Eiko Okano’s Delectable World. Okano, a quilt artist from Japan, makes viewing quilts a delicious experience.
But just visiting the museum was only the beginning. In the afternoon we went on a behind the scenes tour and had the opportunity to learn about how the center does its care and conservation of quilts. Many of the objects we viewed do not go on display as they are too fragile to be hung or to be out of a controlled environment.
We got lucky, and our docent for the tour was the head of the preservation department. She started the tour by showing us the storage units. These racks of boxes are behind closed doors so that the temperature and humidity can be closely monitored. They also keep a close eye out for bugs.
One of the first quilts she showed us was this white on white wedding quilt, dating from the late 1700’s. The detailed stitching and stuffing of the shapes totally amazed us all. And the really interesting part is that the back looks identical to the front because the back and front were done simultaneously. The whole cloth fabric was hung vertically and quilters stood up and sewed on it. Boggles my mind.
This quilt will be part of an upcoming exhibit, War and Pieced. The fabrics are from 19th Century British military and dress uniforms and the quilts were done exclusively by men.
The stunning hand embroidery and lace shown on this photo and the one below was on the border of a Norwegian-made quilt. The background is silk. The tiny stitches that create the puckering effect are as small as pencil points.
The maker of the crazy quilt that is shown in the next three photos worked on the quilt top throughout much of her lifetime and the quilt never did get finished. Because of that, we were able to see the back side of her work and admire the way she did her piecing. From looking at it you would never guess that she was using a geometric pattern block as her base.
This quilt is a remarkable example of hand embroidery and quilt overlay stitching. The lighter brown/gold areas are actually metallic thread. We couldn’t use a flash (for obvious reasons) so while the colors are lovely they are not fully realized. Seen with direct light the overall effect is dazzling.
This quilt, from India, shows the influence of Chinese design and gives historical markers to the interplay of trade and commerce. The next photo shows what is thought to be the beginnings of paisley as a design motif.
And this beauty is a section of a full size quilt – cloth background with a quilting design made entirely of buttons. So heavy that it pretty much stays put in it’s storage space.
Yes, that outing to Lincoln was extraordinary, but now we were ready from some realtime quilting excitement. The next day we jumped into the car for a field trip to Hamilton, Missouri – home of the Missouri Star Quilt Company (MSQC). This little town has been revitalized by MSQC and is pretty much a quilters paradise; some brochures even call it the Disneyland of Quilting. There are eleven quilt shops on the main street, each with an individual theme. It was hard to know where to start. But rest assured, we each came away with a bag (in some cases bags) full of good stuff. I think I hear my sewing machine calling me…
Though not a quilt shop, I couldn’t resist throwing this one in for fun.
Going through photos and recalling our Mexico adventure via the rear view mirror helped me realize that I had a mixed assortment of images that never made it into a blog post but were still ones that I would like to share. First off, a curiosity of museums: (BTW – there is no collective noun for a group of museums, but I figured “curiosity” would work).
Alhóndiga de Granaditas, a former grain storage building in Guanajuato Centro where the first battle for Mexican independence took place. The bullet damage to the facade is in sharp contrast to the fabulously curated interior. The building has a large open courtyard and two floors of exhibits celebrating the heroes of the revolution and the cultural roots of Mexico. The hand-woven hat in the photo at the top of this post is in one of the displays.
One of the galleries featured family portraits and paintings. Love so much about this piece: the Primitive Style, the preponderance of religious iconography, the look of the Señor’s head laying atop the pillow, the chamber pot so casually included.
The large stairwells are filled with murals. This one, “Song of Guanajuato” by José Chávez Morado, represents the evolution of the city from the colonial period to contemporary days.
And while on the topic of museums, we did go Diego Rivera’s home. No photos allowed but that was okay as there were not many things that caught our attention. And why so little about Frieda? It was a good stop – but not great, frankly. On the other hand…
We really enjoyed the small modern art gallery that was just a few doors away from Diego Rivera.
When we were at the Museo de Arte e Historia in Leon we saw this huge cut-away map of the mining tunnels around Guanajuato. We vowed to spend a day learning more, which takes us to the next set of photos.
Once the source of most of the world’s silver and a financial cornerstone for Spain’s colonization efforts, many of the mines are now closed. Those that are still being worked are not open to visitors. Thanks to the efforts of the University of Guanajuato, we did find one we could tour.
Yes, they did make us wear hard hats. Yes, I did choose one that matched my outfit.
We were allowed to walk below ground into a shaft. Neither of us are claustrophobic, but it was beginning to feel a bit close down there.
The literal, not proverbial, light at the end of the tunnel.
Once above ground we visited an abandoned residential area on the hillside above the mine. This is a former church, complete with cactus growing out of the wall (upper right).
Bob clowning around with one of the repurposed pieces of mining equipment in the parque.
And of course there are the many flights of steps that led from the residential area to the mine itself.
New topic. For those of you who remembered that I said I would post a few photos of our house and were wondering when I would get around to it…here goes:
A portion of the gorgeously landscaped walk up to our front door.
The beautiful bovega ceiling in the master bedroom. This ceiling, which is made by hand and without scaffolding, is classic Guanajuato. My first thought: How amazing. Bob’s first thought: What happens in an earthquake?
View from the lower level looking up to the third floor cupola.
The opposite point of view; from the top landing down to the main floor.
And from here on the photos are totally random.
This one is for my dad, mail carrier extraordinaire: the only post office in the city.
Not many public restrooms (sanitorios) in Mexico, but there was one conveniently located at La Comer, a supermarket/big box store of sorts. The toilet paper hangs on a large roll in the entrance to the facilities. “Do the paperwork first”, Bob reminds me.
My guideline for baked goods: never cookies, was debunked by these molasses treats that were on the breakfast bar at our hotel in Querérato. And while I am on the subject – all breakfast bars offer dessert options. I am so okay with this…
They may look friendly, but they are just another form of topes.
Off on another road trip – this time to Querétaro, about a 2 hour drive from Guanajuato. (FYI: Querérato, like Guanajuato is both a state and a city within that state. This sometimes causes confusion as both the city and state are typically referred to by a single name. If you live here it doesn’t seem to be a problem; people pretty quickly figure which of the two you are talking about. It is the non-locals who have to scratch their heads a bit before getting the distinction.) Querétaro is pretty much the ying to Guanajuato’s yang as it’s modern feel and robust economy (largely based on IT/data centers and aerospace manufacturing and research) provides a young and progressive vibe. But that doesn’t mean it is without a wealth of historical, cultural and artistic opportunities to enjoy. In fact, we found so much to see and do that we extended our stay by one night and still feel like we have barely dipped our toes into the Querétaro waters.
We like to do our initial investigations on foot. Just blocks away from our hotel was Plaza de Armas with its wide variety of dining options. We decided to grab a quick lunch, staying with cuisine typico; Bob had chili relleno and I ordered enchiladas Querétaroan. Next we headed down the way to go to the artisan’s market/shop but found they were closed from 2-4p. Siesta time? So instead we strolled the Portal de Dolores, where we chanced upon Maria, the best known muñecas de trapo (rag doll) in Mexico. The story behind this doll is quite interesting and if you want more you can check out this link: Maria Doll.
On to Museo de Arte, housed in the former monastery of San Agustin; the building is a marvel of Baroque architecture.
Vividly colored vaulted ceilings.
Tiled domes.
Beautiful and highly detailed carvings on towers.
And pillars that camouflage water spouts!
On our way to Plaza Zenea for some bench time we passed shop after shop of wedding/bridal party dresses. Love the romance of a full skirt.
What the well-dressed Catholic bride is wearing this season: complete with rosary and Bible.
Some stores had more than one floor of dress options. The top of the building reminds me of a crown – like Prince Charming?
While at Plaza Zenea we admired the Temple of San Francisco.
And we wished we could have seen the view from one of these roof gardens that overlooked the square.
Fabulous idea noted: free Internet access sites that are moved about through the city. When we went by that little place was packed.
Alameda Hidalgo Park, across from our hotel, is about two city blocks square and filled with play areas for children and families. The park is undergoing serious renovation and updating so we couldn’t enter, but I did peak through the fence and was impressed with the extent of the changes being made.
The broad boulevards that surround the park are filled with people. There is music playing from overhead speakers. Fountains on the sidewalk tempt children to come and play on warm days.
Went on a hunt to find some of the delicious nut mix we enjoyed at happy hour the previous evening. Quite a few stores (clothing as well as food outlets) have popcorn machines near the front doors and the aroma was very enticing. Good gimmick!
Wandering through the side lanes and alleys often resulted in surprising sights. This fountain with a statue of a traditional dancer is one example.
And in Plaza de la Corregidora there is the statue of doña Josefa Ortiz, a hero of the revolution. The mother of 14 children, during her lifetime she was labeled an insurgent and radical. I think I would have liked her.
And following that, as an quirky synchronicity, I came upon this protest by telephone workers.
Definitely not in Kansas… and this sweet pup is not Toto, but he sure was interested in what I was doing on the street below.
But before we get to the pup, I guess it would be best to go back to the start of our great circle route: San Miguel de Allende to Dolores Hidalgo to Santa Rosa. This was going to be our first visit to San Miguel, though we know many folks who regularly visit here and rave about the town. It has quite a large expat population and there is deep history and gorgeous art. Bob and I were both wondering if we would be so taken with the town that we would feel differently about our beloved Guanajuato. We even had prepared a list of places to check out as potential winter lodgings in the coming year.
We were more than halfway to San Miguel when we started seeing lines of people walking up the road. This was pretty much in the middle of nowhere as there were no actual towns in sight. The lines went on for kilometer after kilometer; hundreds of people. We knew we were seeing something unique and special. But what??
At one point religious flags and a large group singing and saying prayers aloud passed in front of us.
This group carried a reliquary, a glass box with their patron saint’s image inside. By now we are confident that we are witnessing a religious ritual or pilgrimage of some short. We figured that it would be impolite to call out a question to the marchers, but we planned to definitely ask about all of this when we arrived in town.
Overview of San Miguel. You can identify El Centro by the predominance of church spires.
First thing we did was find our hotel. This is the lovely inner courtyard. Our room was right across from the fountain.
Mural of Frida Kahlo in the hotel lobby. No information on the processional, but we did get a good recommendation for lunch – so off we go.
An example of the rooftop greenery that is everywhere in the city. Behind those pots is likely a lovely rooftop garden and/or seating area.
The houses we pass come right to the sidewalk and we see unique door ornaments and alcoves with art in them.
Priest behind bars?!?
After lunch we walk around the area to see the various offerings in the shops. We then head toward the plaza to check out one of the nine large churches/cathedrals within the main section of town. I liked the contrast of beautiful stone work and the signs of age on this one.
Inside there were five magnificent chandeliers.
And the bell tower was home to a number of pigeons.
Back in the car: we drove about town to check out those VRBO sites we had identified. Lots of stone-paved roads, narrow streets, construction (both of homes and of infrastructure), and market areas. Overall, we found it interesting enough, but nothing seemed to draw us like Guanajuato does. I am sure there are things we may have missed or overlooked. I would love to hear from my friends who come to San Miguel and truly enjoy it. Our minds are still open on this…
Oh – the good news is we found information about the procession. We went to a happy hour (mojitos and margaritas down the street from our hotel) and asked our server what the occasion might have been. Between his understanding of my spoken Spanish and my interpretation of his spoken English we determined that we were seeing a sanctification of the saints by Saint Mary. Again – if someone else has anything to add to this – comment away, please.
Next morning we head to Dolores Hidalgo, “the cradle of independence”. It was here that Father Hidalgo first issued a cry for Mexico’s freedom from Spanish rule. As you can see by the sign, this area is famous for colorful ceramics.
Monument to the Heroes of Independence. The sculpture is 25 meters in height, carved from pink stone and boasts the colossal figures of Hidalgo, Morelos, Allende and Aldama.
Beautifully laid out streets with landscaped medians. These palms seem carved to resemble pineapples.
From Dolores Hidalgo we travel over a very, very windy and steep road to Santa Rosa. At this point we are just shy of 9000 feet. It’s not quite the vista we had in Norway this past June, but it is still quite breathtaking.
Getting close to a cactus patch.
We passed a forest firefighters camp and tower along the way. Hard to imagine fighting fires in this elevation and using these roads.
Here is our reason for including Santa Rosa on our outing. All items are made on site, and they employ 30 painters who do all of the decorating by hand.
‘Story panel tiles” on the gate front of the house next to the ceramics store.
Another beautiful panel. And it is from the roof of this building that the dear pup peeped out his head to see what I was doing.
House with Mayolica adornments.
As we were getting in our car to leave we noticed that school was letting out. No school buses in this town of 1,085 residents. Interestingly, most every group of students had a adult who had come to walk them home. Guess that rather than the “Kiss and Ride” lanes at many American schools this would be a “Kiss and Walk”. I like it.
Going through photos and recalling our Mexico adventure via the rear view mirror helped me realize that I had a mixed assortment of images that never made it into a blog post but were still ones that I would like to share. First off, a curiosity of museums: (BTW – there is no collective noun for a group of museums, but I figured “curiosity” would work).
