When I was in high school and went to Denmark on a 4-H exchange trip, my friend Eilley Weddle gave me a poem about how it was nice to visit other countries but also nice to come home to the US. And that is how I feel this morning. We had a great time in Spain and saw lots of things that were really old, including 20,000 year old cave paintings, but it is nice to be home and sleep in one's own bed. I wish I could say the same thing about my lugguge, which is still enjoying a vacation, because it got left in Barcelona. I hope it gets home soon.
My garden seems to have survived my absence. The butterfly bush that I transplanted before I left is still alive, as are my lobelia hanging baskets (although they need a trim,) and other bedding plants. This morning while drinking my coffee I watched a juvenile hawk land in the yard. There must be a bird nest in the honeysuckle hedge, because he ducked into the hedge, which caused a little stir and came out with something in his beak. The wren that was at the feeder did not move a feather. Yesterday when I was watering my impatiens, a hummingbird was feeding on them. I have a hummingbird feeder in the back but I like to see them also feeding at my flowers.
I stopped by C'side yesterday to pick up my schedule and chatted with Lori, who tells me the Japanese beetles are out. I found a few on my asters and sprayed them with Safer's Yard and Garden Insect Spray. It contains pyrethrins and salts of fatty acids. I don't think it has much of a residual effect because you can use it up to the day of harvest. I don't like to do a wholesale spray because it is a non-selective chemical (even though it is organic) and will kill even beneficial insects, like bees. I spray the beetles directly and I spray every day.
I am back at work on Wednesday, so stop by and see me.
Showing posts with label Spain. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Spain. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 3, 2007
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Hola from Barcelona
We are in Barcelona after seeing Segovia, Avila and Santiago. We enjoyed Segovia, with its Roman aqueduct and cathedral. The final night of a week-end long music festival was in progress. And the town is full of American college students doing Spanish culture and language immersion programs. Monday we toured the town and then caught a 2pm bus to Avila. The whole point of going to Avila was to catch the night train to Santiago. We had run into some fellow travelers in Cordoba who had really enjoyed Avila so I was looking forward to it, but there really wasn´t much there, except the 400-year old finger of St. Teresa.
We had a little kerfuffle with the luggage. Not wanting to carry our back packs with us, we walked from the bus station to the train station to leave our bags in a storage locker, but the train station had closed the lockers. Ever since the Atocha station bombing in Madrid, security has been very tight. The few places we have left our luggage, such as Cordoba, the bags had to go through security. The train station in Avila was too small to have that service. So back down to the bus station to leave our bags there. We spent a few hours sight seeing, had dinner, then spent about 5 hours cooling our heels at the train station waiting for the train.
Taking the night train always seems like such a great idea, but it never works out that way in practice. In this case the train´s air conditioning ran all night and we were freezing. The seats did not recline and it was hard to sleep. When we arrived in Santiago, we had the same luggage problem and ended up going out to the airport to leave our bags there, then taking the airport shuttle back into town.
Santiago itself was great. It is the terminus of one of three medieval pilgrimages to holy places. In this case the bones of St. James were supposedly found in a field here and the cathedral was built. Today many people make the 500 mile walk from France. When we were there a group of bicyclists rode into the square and celebrated.
In Barcelona we
decided to buy the "hop on, hop off" tourist bus ticket as a quick a
nd easy way to get an overview of the city and then go back to see the highpoints. We spent yesterday seeing the Anton Gaudi sights, including the Sagreda Familia, still under construction for over 100 years, and several of the houses that he designed and built. Today we will do a different bus route and tomorrow we will go to Montserrat.
We had a little kerfuffle with the luggage. Not wanting to carry our back packs with us, we walked from the bus station to the train station to leave our bags in a storage locker, but the train station had closed the lockers. Ever since the Atocha station bombing in Madrid, security has been very tight. The few places we have left our luggage, such as Cordoba, the bags had to go through security. The train station in Avila was too small to have that service. So back down to the bus station to leave our bags there. We spent a few hours sight seeing, had dinner, then spent about 5 hours cooling our heels at the train station waiting for the train.
Taking the night train always seems like such a great idea, but it never works out that way in practice. In this case the train´s air conditioning ran all night and we were freezing. The seats did not recline and it was hard to sleep. When we arrived in Santiago, we had the same luggage problem and ended up going out to the airport to leave our bags there, then taking the airport shuttle back into town.
Santiago itself was great. It is the terminus of one of three medieval pilgrimages to holy places. In this case the bones of St. James were supposedly found in a field here and the cathedral was built. Today many people make the 500 mile walk from France. When we were there a group of bicyclists rode into the square and celebrated.
In Barcelona we
decided to buy the "hop on, hop off" tourist bus ticket as a quick a
nd easy way to get an overview of the city and then go back to see the highpoints. We spent yesterday seeing the Anton Gaudi sights, including the Sagreda Familia, still under construction for over 100 years, and several of the houses that he designed and built. Today we will do a different bus route and tomorrow we will go to Montserrat. Sunday, June 24, 2007
More from Spain
We just finished the first half of the trip and put two of our traveling companions on the train for Madrid and then home. We drove from Sevilla to Cordoba, turned in the rental car and took the train ourselves to Madrid, then a bus to Segovia, where we are enjoying a lovely evening just chilling out after a week of hard charging touring.
When we left Madrid we took the AVE (fast train) to Toledo. We upgraded accomodations and stayed in a lovely hotel in the heart of the old city. It was still relatively inexpensive but not as cheap as the MAD Hostel in Madrid. The cathedral there is very gothic in style. We also spent some time seeing the city´s Jewish history. We enjoyed a great traditional meal at a small restaurant near our hotel. We left the next morning for Cordoba, which meant we took the train back to Madrid, then boarded another one for Cordoba. It took less than 2 hours to get there. We spent the morning and part of the afternoon touring the Mezquite, the Christiana de los Reynes and some lovely gardens. The synagogue we wanted to visit was closed. Cordoba is the high point of Moorish rule in Spain. The mezquite is a gorgeous building with high ceilings and many columns and arches to hold it up! No flying buttresses yet. We rented our car and then visited the archeological ruins of the medina before heading to Granada.
Usually, we take public transportation when traveling in Europe. It is relatively inexpensive and usually convenient to the city center. With five people in our group it was cheaper to rent the car, though that can present some problems. Narrow streets are only a minor nuisance compared with some of the other problems we encountered. Signage, as in street signs, can be sparse or even non-existent. Traffic circles I can usually deal with, but here in Spain they have "jug handle" left turns that I always miss, resulting in an illegal U turn to get where I need to go. It helps to have a great navigator, as I did, to get around in the car.
Well back to Granada. Our mission in Granada was to visit the Alhambra. If Cordoba was the high water mark of Moorish occupation, then Granada was the low point. This was the last Moorish stand before being driven out of the Iberian peninsula and the reconquest of Spain by the Christians was complete. The Alhambra was impressive, but I think our group liked the Mesquite best. After our tour we drove to Tarifa, the southern most tip of Spain and only 10 miles from Africa. Friday we took the ferry to Tangiers, Morocco and enjoyed a tour of the city and area with our guide, Aziz.
Anywhere else we would have gone on our own, but after talking with several friends and reviewing a few guide books, we decided 5 unaccompanied females would not be a good idea. The mother of our young friend Julia estimates that 10 percent of touring is wasted, either in time or money, and since we were only there for the day and wanted to make the most of it, we decided to hire the guide. And it was worth every penny and then some. I picked his name from the Rick Steve´s guide to Spain. I was able to e-mail to make the arrangements and I called him that morning just to confirm the arrangements. We visited sights outside the city we would never have gotten to and we never would have made our way through the intricate twists and turns of the kasbah. The tour through the market was fascinating and we enjoyed a typical Moroccan lunch at the end. This excursion got everybody´s vote for "Best Day."
We were sad to put our two friends on the train this morning and hope they had a great flight home. We are on to Santiago de la Compostela and then flying to Barcelona for 5 days.
When we left Madrid we took the AVE (fast train) to Toledo. We upgraded accomodations and stayed in a lovely hotel in the heart of the old city. It was still relatively inexpensive but not as cheap as the MAD Hostel in Madrid. The cathedral there is very gothic in style. We also spent some time seeing the city´s Jewish history. We enjoyed a great traditional meal at a small restaurant near our hotel. We left the next morning for Cordoba, which meant we took the train back to Madrid, then boarded another one for Cordoba. It took less than 2 hours to get there. We spent the morning and part of the afternoon touring the Mezquite, the Christiana de los Reynes and some lovely gardens. The synagogue we wanted to visit was closed. Cordoba is the high point of Moorish rule in Spain. The mezquite is a gorgeous building with high ceilings and many columns and arches to hold it up! No flying buttresses yet. We rented our car and then visited the archeological ruins of the medina before heading to Granada.
Usually, we take public transportation when traveling in Europe. It is relatively inexpensive and usually convenient to the city center. With five people in our group it was cheaper to rent the car, though that can present some problems. Narrow streets are only a minor nuisance compared with some of the other problems we encountered. Signage, as in street signs, can be sparse or even non-existent. Traffic circles I can usually deal with, but here in Spain they have "jug handle" left turns that I always miss, resulting in an illegal U turn to get where I need to go. It helps to have a great navigator, as I did, to get around in the car.
Well back to Granada. Our mission in Granada was to visit the Alhambra. If Cordoba was the high water mark of Moorish occupation, then Granada was the low point. This was the last Moorish stand before being driven out of the Iberian peninsula and the reconquest of Spain by the Christians was complete. The Alhambra was impressive, but I think our group liked the Mesquite best. After our tour we drove to Tarifa, the southern most tip of Spain and only 10 miles from Africa. Friday we took the ferry to Tangiers, Morocco and enjoyed a tour of the city and area with our guide, Aziz.
Anywhere else we would have gone on our own, but after talking with several friends and reviewing a few guide books, we decided 5 unaccompanied females would not be a good idea. The mother of our young friend Julia estimates that 10 percent of touring is wasted, either in time or money, and since we were only there for the day and wanted to make the most of it, we decided to hire the guide. And it was worth every penny and then some. I picked his name from the Rick Steve´s guide to Spain. I was able to e-mail to make the arrangements and I called him that morning just to confirm the arrangements. We visited sights outside the city we would never have gotten to and we never would have made our way through the intricate twists and turns of the kasbah. The tour through the market was fascinating and we enjoyed a typical Moroccan lunch at the end. This excursion got everybody´s vote for "Best Day."
We were sad to put our two friends on the train this morning and hope they had a great flight home. We are on to Santiago de la Compostela and then flying to Barcelona for 5 days.
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Hola from Spain
As I write this I am in Madrid, Spain, getting ready to head to Toledo. I haven´t found a way yet to upload the pictures I am taking, but as soon as I do I will post them. The first two days here it rained. We forged ahead anyway, taking in all the sights though getting drenched in the process. Yesterday it cleared up and we had a nice time seeing the Reina Sophia art museum (modern art, including the mind bending works of Dali and Picasso.) We also saw Picasso´s famous painting, "Guernica," the painting he did as a tribute to those killed in the Basque town of Guernica by the Germans during the Spanish civil war. We enjoyed a picnic lunch in the Royal Botanic Gardens. This garden has been in existence since 1755! The butterfly bushes were over 6 feet tall and in full bloom and there were several display gardens featuring herbs and vegetables.
I am traveling with my youngest daughter, her friend, my friend and her 15 year old. Anyone who knows me, know I am notoriously cheap when it comes to accomodations so we are staying at hostels and pensiones. The hostel here in Madrid is the Mad Hostel, and is pretty nice. The beds are running $14 per night and it does include a continental breakfast. We are in a 6 bed room (there are five of us) and figured what were the odds of a single person showing up. But what do you know, we shared our room each night first with a young man from Texas and then with a young man from Mexico. Not their lucky day. This morning we leave for Toledo and then for points south, including a day trip to Morocco, which the kids are definetely excited about.
It always helps when traveling in a group to travel with people who have similar tastes, food schedules, etc. I am a big breakfast eater. It can be difficult if someone in the group isn´t, since then the whole meal schedule gets thrown off. I always tell my kids, "Eat when you are hungry or when you get the chance!" Not that it ever works, because there is always one who gets up late and misses the free breakfast, then makes you stop at 10am because they are starving. I also enjoy stopping at the local market and selecting fruit, cheese, salami, bread etc. for lunch on the run. It is usually less expensive than eating in a restaurant and it is fun to shop with the locals.
Well, that is all for now. Hope the weather is nice in Crystal Lake and John, don´t forget to water my plants!
I am traveling with my youngest daughter, her friend, my friend and her 15 year old. Anyone who knows me, know I am notoriously cheap when it comes to accomodations so we are staying at hostels and pensiones. The hostel here in Madrid is the Mad Hostel, and is pretty nice. The beds are running $14 per night and it does include a continental breakfast. We are in a 6 bed room (there are five of us) and figured what were the odds of a single person showing up. But what do you know, we shared our room each night first with a young man from Texas and then with a young man from Mexico. Not their lucky day. This morning we leave for Toledo and then for points south, including a day trip to Morocco, which the kids are definetely excited about.
It always helps when traveling in a group to travel with people who have similar tastes, food schedules, etc. I am a big breakfast eater. It can be difficult if someone in the group isn´t, since then the whole meal schedule gets thrown off. I always tell my kids, "Eat when you are hungry or when you get the chance!" Not that it ever works, because there is always one who gets up late and misses the free breakfast, then makes you stop at 10am because they are starving. I also enjoy stopping at the local market and selecting fruit, cheese, salami, bread etc. for lunch on the run. It is usually less expensive than eating in a restaurant and it is fun to shop with the locals.
Well, that is all for now. Hope the weather is nice in Crystal Lake and John, don´t forget to water my plants!
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