-
A picnic to remember in Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Picnics were commonplace for Sarah and I over the course of our travels. Bread and cheese was our sustenance. Many picnics were not ideally located, or were soggy as we sought shelter in a train station, huddled under a tree, or perched on a park bench. Most quite frankly are long forgotten. A glorious picnic is a different story. It warrants some wistful reminiscing. In Châteauneuf-du-Pape I wrote “we had a picnic the way I imagined our picnics to be”. We headed out into wine region from our base in Avignon. It was early spring, the vines were spindly and the earth dry and pebbly. There were no grapes on…
-
Merriment in Barcelona
I had a blast in Barcelona. My journal is filled with adjectives like “super”, “incredible” and “fun”. It was the vibrancy of the city; the fun company (we were touring with our energetic friend Carolyn); the lovely weather; the spontaneous Easter egg hunt in our hostel (thank you Sarah!) We laughed, we had good time. I was fascinated by Antoni Gaudi. I had absolutely no clue about this famous architect. Never seen any photos. So his creations were a complete surprise … and bizarre and unusual. Perhaps that made the discovery all the more thrilling. We wandered in a park with a “huge cascade of fountains, statues and stairs galore”…
-
Stopping to smell the leaves, hear the birds
The birds were chirping non-stop this spring. Chirp, chirp, tweet, tweet. Looking out my window, the birds were fluttering around like crazy. Playful black-capped chickadees, bright red cardinals, tiny sparrows, red crested robins, orange tanagers, swooping orioles. Back yard or front yard, it was the same. Where did they all come from? I asked a neighbour if there were more birds this year than normal. A sensed pity in her eyes when she responded. “They have always been there, Andrea. You have simply stopped to notice.” Duh. I had been rushing around, commuting, cleaning, packing lunch, organizing stuff, you get the idea. This spring was the first time I was…
-
Chill’n out in Gandia
We drank sangria and learned that nightlife only gets going after midnight in Spain. The nightclub was practically empty at 11:00 pm, but the music was loud. 🎵 Don’t go, don’t goooo, don’t go away… I’m begging you to stay… The club was a short walk down the beach from our beachfront youth hostel on Playa Piles. On another night, we watched the sunset and made a fire by the beach with the other travellers staying at the hostel. We were all there for the same reason. A beach holiday within our holiday. After three weeks of checking off European cities (12 in total!) and three sleepless overnight train trips,…
-
Our Granada mother
We were greeted at the train station by a little old lady. She was drawn to the large Canadian flag on my pack. As usual we rolled into town with no place to stay. This is generally not a problem. But it was Semana Santa, and this is a big deal in Spain. We had not consulted a calendar or our common sense before heading into Spain during the event of the year. So when she approached us offering us a room in “mi casa”, we figured it was our best bet. “Venga” she motioned for us to follow. We tightened our huge packs around our waists and were off.…
-
The bridges of Ronda
When I returned from my trip, my family gave me the postcards I had sent them during my travels. I thought this strange at first, but now I realize the postcards are helpful as I piece together my memories. In a postcard to my dad (a retired architect) I wrote about the construction of the bridge spanning the dramatic gorge in Ronda. The Puente Nuevo (“New Bridge”) is an impressive architectural feat. It is the largest of Ronda’s three bridges. In a side view of the bridge, you can see how the bridge was built in three stages, each with its own layer of arches (google it, the bridge is…
-
A plaza in Sevilla
I am standing in a small plaza filled with orange trees. The trees grow out of small square openings in the cobbled ground, filling the air with the smell of sweet blossoms. The surrounding buildings are warm shades of yellow and ochre. People are lounging at small tables, sitting on fanciful white metal chairs, sipping a drink, nibbling a tapa. A man is strumming a guitar. Sevilla. This is the feeling of Sevilla I remember. We spent most of our time searching for a bank and food, and chatting with some Canadians preparing to work at Expo 92. We were lucky to get the beds we did for two nights…
-
Two nights in Portugal
We were in Lisbon for two nights. The only country we spent less time in than Portugal was Luxembourg (not really a fair comparison as it is 36 times smaller than Portugal). We arrived in Lisbon by overnight train from Spain, and departed the same way. Our short stay was not for lack of places to visit. We certainly got recommendations from other backpackers, notably the Algarve region. But we did not make a detour to this southern coastal region. Instead, I started my list of places to return to and Lagos was the first entry. In my journal I noted “Lisbon is quite lovely”. I admired the large walkways…
