RETURN to AZ

I'm backkkkk!!!!  Had a fantastic time these last few days in England and my friend K. again drove me to the airport in her little sport-car with the top down, so it was a fun way to arrive to begin the trip back home.  I kept my last day low key and did a long walk along a canal... a different one (from the 8 mile canal walk! I did before) and I had to cross a golf course to find it (got lost twice and had golfers giving me directions).   I found this neat PUB,  with tables beside the canal and ended up having a lunch of a delicious steak pie with a Pimms to drink!  As I crossed a small bridge I met a lady walking with her groceries and she was heading towards her 58 ft. canal boat which she and her husband live on and travel in all over Britain.   Hey, I think I now want to buy one and see Britain that way!

Managed to deal well with the 10 hour flight from London to Phoenix ... it was the wait for the shuttle and the 2 hour ride home that kinda did me in.  By the time I got to bed I'd been up for almost 24 hours!   But taking a direct flight without stopovers was well worth it.  I took British Airways and it was good except for having to climb over sleeping passengers, as I HAD to have a window seat!
Son #1 was there to pick me up and he seemed to deal well without me, and even had all the dishes done and the bathtub scrubbed when I arrived!  It is hot.  It was 44 C (115F) in Phoenix when I arrived at 5pm and it hasn’t felt much cooler here even with the altitude.  But then…. guess I brought English weather with me as we've had really bad thunderstorms and we had to shut down and even unplug computers one day as it was really close and LOUD!  Now it’s hot AND humid!

Have been spending time catching up with friends, reorganizing my closet to accommodate my new purchases and generally getting back into the swing of things.  I've loads of work to catch up on so no major time to relax now... I'm had my relax time!

It hasn’t taken long to slide back into the old “normal, comfortable” life.  I no longer need to have a map to figure out the streets, I know where to go, where the stores are, what the signs say, and even where the light switches are!  However, I do miss the Spanish Tapas, Hot Chocolate, almonds and thin slices of ham!   

Was I really gone…?  Oh yes, the old clothes in my closet managed to shrink while I was gone!  Guess I will have to be happy with looking at the pictures, recalling the memories, wearing the new clothes and using my Spanish fan I bought, to remind me that I've actually been somewhere else. Oh and of course keeping in touch with all the lovely new friends I met along the way.  It will be interesting to see what "evolves" from having taken this trip.  I gave my business card out to EVERYONE I met, hoping to see if another life / path would turn up.  But… for right now, its head down and full steam ahead to get ready for the new college semester.  Hope you have all enjoyed reading this.  I will adjust it and add more photos when I get a chance.
Wonder what my next adventure will be?!!!

Britain Revisited

A heavenly return to a GREEN world.  England looks and feels so cool and green after Spain.  Tall green trees bending over roads to form tunnels of leaves, with cool fresh breezes and blue sky with fluffy white clouds!  I just LOVE the humidity in the air.  

Although I spent my first day back, regrouping and just relaxing in my friend's GREEN garden, I later got back into the sightseeing mode.

In just a few days I've managed to see:  Oxford (walked around town with an Italian family I met, and we saw the locations that inspired the Harry Potter series at Christ Church Cathedral and College); Hampton Court;  Brighton, The Lanes, the Pavilion and the Pier; Windsor Castle (the Queen was there when we arrived but left before we were able to say hello); and have even done a walk to the next town of Woking along side a lovely green canal - only thing was ...  THAT day it was a very hot and humid and the "short walk" ended up being around 8.5 miles return!  WHAT was I thinking???? 
I barely made it back to the house!  

As it turned out, a mutual friend of ours from NZ came for a day's stay while I was here and we had a great time touring Windsor Castle together.   I also got in a phone call to an old boss of mine that is now living in the UK.  

Am about to pack for return to USA and leave all this lovely green, cool air behind.  Not sure what I'll do this last day as I have seen so much already!  I was hoping to see the young red fox that shows up in the garden in the mornings, but think I may have scared him away when we met the other day.  I can also watch the robins, blackbirds, pigeons and English magpies as they play around in the nearby trees.

Malaga Days

Taking time for a few extra days in Malaga after the course was a great idea.  Malaga is a great city for walking around.  I waited to visit the outlying town of Ronda on a day bus trip and do any clothes shopping until my friend C. had taken off.  Wandering around the city by myself, from street to street finding all sorts of fun bargains wasn't a problem and I managed to locate a small shop that sold Mango fruit bars dipped in dark chocolate!  Of course on my last day I treated myself to the luxury of a dip in the local Arab baths which I would highly recommend!  Of course I wasn't always alone as I managed to chat with others and on my last night, as I said a new Russian friend found us a restaurant to watch Flamenco dancing at!

The thing is that there is so much to see, you hardly want to stop and of course as I am one of those "don't want to miss anything" people, my poor legs and feet barely know what horizontal feels like after consistent 8+ hours days of walking around the towns and cities sightseeing!   There was another Thyssen museum here that was related to the one in Madrid I had gone to and they both have amazing art.  This one also had an Regoyos exhibit which I really enjoyed.  I just HAD to visit the Picasso Museum (which has a very convoluted hard to find entrance) and also found their extra exhibit on a Russian artist fascinating.  The Prado museum in Madrid had a great El Greco exhibition I managed to get to also.

RIGHT there in the city is this amazing entrance to the Alcazaba of Malaga - an impressive group of buildings, mostly dating from the 11th century.  They formed a sort of palace-fortress during the Moslem rule and the views and architecture are just wonderful.  Then C. and I took a taxi to Malaga's Botanical Gardens and walked around there for 2 hours (I'll have to add photos!!) which was so relaxing and green!  During my walks around the city I just happened upon the entrance to the place where they store the gigantic floats (over 200 men carry them) that they take out on festival days... usually once a year - truly impressive! (will add photos - sorry have to wait until I get home to find them all!)

It turned out that even our hotel had ancient ruins directly beneath it.  As you walk in the lobby door the floor is transparent and you can see it below you.  If you follow the stairs down, there is even more!  Directly to the right of the hotel was a smaller museum that held a treasure trove of amazing information about the city and the history of the culture of Spain.

There always seemed to be music somewhere around on the streets, violins or guitars being played by street musicians. There was even a roaming Mariachis band!  As we sat  outside at a table having dinner one night we realised we were in for a treat.  A car barely managed to drive by us in the street we were on (I pulled in my feet),  and it stopped at the end by the street by the tall church doors.  Later we realised it must have been the bride's mother stepping out as we saw the very large church doors open and we could see inside.   We walked down to see people standing around waiting for the bride to arrive.    When her car came, she stepped out and was just stunning with a lovely long lace mantilla over her gown.

Andalucia Photography Course

Andalusia is super!!! It ended up that I was kept so busy exploring the area that there's been little time to add news as it happens... but okay, here's a blatant plug for the course I came here for - it is   www.paint-andalucia.com   It turned out to be a most extraordinary experience.  I wasn't sure what to expect but it exceeded anything I had even considered!

First there was a bit of a MADRID Panic...!  As my ride to meet my friend C. at the airport didn't materialize as planned, but with the help of a long phone call by Emilio at the hotel's front desk it came and I made it to the airport on time … ONLY to find that each specific terminal is enormous (there are 4).  As we found out later, neither of us could get our Wi-Fi to work as we had both been sending emails to tell the other where we were waiting.  I finally located him after walking the length of the terminal - which took over 1/2 hour!  The thing is they don't put a gate number up as to where the plane will be until about 30 minutes before boarding, so you just sit anywhere and keep checking the boarding screen.  

Flying to Madrid to Malaga is only about an hour's flight and we were picked up at the airport by a car and driven North (about 40 minutes) to the small village town of Torrox where we were to be based.  

We ended up being housed in a small village house with our own rooftop balcony with views of the village and surrounding hills.  

It had a kitchen which we didn't use as we headed down to the village plaza every morning to have breakfast out in the open at one of the local plaza restaurants (of course we had to have a map to get there the first time as the tiny streets are a maze when they were unfamiliar - after a time or two we were fine!).  

Since the house had 3 floors, I got plenty of exercise climbing stairs, so I was really glad I'd "trained" by using the stairs for my 4th floor hotel room in Madrid!  It turned out the two of us and a British fellow (John) were the only 3 doing photography and the 6 ladies that were in the same "course" were all doing painting.    

The village was amazing and parts were very old.  I met a lady and was asked in for tea, and her house was over 900 years old and the street in front was the oldest in the village - 1000 yrs old!    Anywhere I have been so far in Spain, it seems that one needs to be constantly "alert" - as the streets and "sidewalks" seem to blur together and one really ends up developing a "sixth sense" as to when to move over to let the approaching car or scooter go by.  Sometimes there is no more than a few inches between you and the vehicle – whether a car, van, or lorry.  Once  when I had my backpack on I couldn't get far enough into the available doorway and had to turn sideways so the car could get by!

The course participants tended to separate for the day doing our own courses  (painting or photography) and then got together at night for the evening meals in the village plaza.  Our days started by walking down to the plaza for breakfast each morning and then back UP... puff puff (yes steep streets!) to be picked up at 10 am for a full day of in and out of the vehicle at different locations for photo opportunities.  We were kept busy until a late lunch around 1:30-2pm with more photo shoots afterward and then back to house by 4 ish with only time for a quick relax, shower, downloading of photos and then sorting through the 200 + photos you took that day to pick 5 (or more) to discuss with others and then back down to the plaza for a lovely dinner with the whole group at 8pm to around midnight!

Life in Spain seems to revolve around food and socializing.   After a few nights of our evening “get-togethers / dinners” in the open air of the plaza I realized just how "bereft of company” I had felt at times while I was in Madrid – with no one to sit with in an open air café.  It was wonderful to have this little cluster of companions from all over the world (Canada, Britain, Turkey, Qatar / New Zealand, Ireland, USA) and we all seemed to “gel” quite nicely.   

Since we ate at a different restaurant on the plaza each night, we had a chance to sample different wines and food and LOTS of tapas.  They just kept coming.  I have some great pictures of the food - which I will add as soon as I can.  But the tapas were like little bits of individual courses and one night we had 7 BEFORE the main meal came.  They were anything from sardines, salad, broccoli, jamon & queso, olives, broccoli mixture, to omelettes, eggplant, octopus and fresh fruit and vegetables!   Of course bread and wine was served throughout! 

jamon & queso

Salad & Omelette

Octopus that was really quite good

Since I like water also, I learned to order Aqua sin gas… which means water un-carbonated.  While in Madrid I did manage to locate an excellent Chocolateria to consume the thickest hot chocolate and superb churros, but  limited myself in Torrox to just Sangria...!  Found they also had a horchata drink in Malaga which tastes different than that made in Mexico.

We had amazing days of visiting local villages and the nearby seaside for photos, into Malaga centro for shots at the Saturday Food Market (busy place!), their large port area, and one of only 3 female lighthouses in all of Spain (all the rest are male!),  the amazing Roman and Muslim ruins, small marinas and even a hillside where there had been a local fire.  I ended up with some amazing shots which once I download to my computer at home I can add a few here.  I will see if I can find any friends that want to be bored with viewing more!

Of course I managed to meet some lovely people everywhere, not only on my course.  In one instance, when I was taking a photo of a window in one of the villages, a lady stopped to put her bicycle into the house’s doorway and said in English… “I love when people take pictures of our house”… and there started a 20 minute conversation with a retired teacher from Minnesota and I got to see inside the house too!   She rents it out guys!! 

I have met so many interesting people along the way.  When in Madrid, my tour to Avila and Segovia was made more enjoyable when I met a super lady from Tasmania, Australia.   In Malaga,  I met a lady in the Arab baths from Ecuador who lives nearby now and does property rentals around the Costa del Sol area.  A day before, I met a Russian lady coming out of a church we had both been looking at  - and on my last evening in Malaga we had dinner together at a restaurant she had found that had Flamenco dancing, where we also met a young Korean girl heading to San Diego for school!    On the day I took a bus tour to Ronda, I ended up sharing the day with 2 young ladies, one from Russian and one from Nova Scotia in Canada.  We had a super time chatting, eating and shopping while looking at this amazing village that is famous for having the first bullring and is perched on either side of an enormous gorge.  Their “new” bridge was built in the 1700’s.  As Anna said, (the Russian ballerina)… it was so nice to share the day with someone… they “colored my day” beautifully!  So it has been a trip filled with all sorts of wonderful adventures and memories and LOTS of new friends!

Amazing Madrid

Six days in Madrid is just not enough!  So glad I had scheduled 2 tours before I arrived through the local AAA, as it allowed me to just enjoy all the sights and sounds near my hotel without feeling overwhelmed and that I needed to DO something right away.  Toledo was the first tour day then a free day and then Avila and Segovia with 2 free days after that.  Of COURSE I managed to make friends and chat up some lovely people along the way and found out all sorts of interesting things to do and see that I hadn't thought about.  My hotel was super and once I figured out how to say my room number in Spanish, all seemed to go well.  They would keep my key as I left and someone was always on the desk when I returned.  I even made sure that I walked up and down the stairs to my 4^th floor room each day even though there was a glass elevator.  Luckily it was good training for all the walking I would do. 

 My hotel (Francisco I - I'd recommend it) was right in the heart of Madrid on a busy walkway / street and I even had a little balcony overlooking it all.  A bit noisy but that’s Madrid… it rarely seems to sleep… being up until 11 pm isn't unusual as they don’t seem to eat until around 8 or 9 pm!  The balcony doors had double panes so once closed the noise was gone.  I’ve loads of pictures which will come as soon as I can get them on the computer.  I was near most of the major plazas with the Royal Palace only a few blocks away.  Which I did get into see before I left and it was amazing, plus on my last day I got to see the changing of Royal Guard which only happens on the first Wednesday of the month – except for August and September.  Managed to fit in a couple of art museums (one with an amazing exhibit on El Greco) and found something to photograph on every corner.  LOADS of people… as lot more than I’m used to but everyone managed to share the walkway / streets with the cars, trucks and scooters that abound!  Still not sure how the ladies don’t sprain an ankle walking on the cobblestone streets in their amazing array of heeled shoes!

Busy W Days - Wisley - Windsor - Warwick - Wimbledon -

Saturday... Am thoroughly enjoying the days- beautiful weather.  I keep telling them I brought the sunshine with me!  Even with the kitchen all torn up we all manage quite well and K. and I headed to a local shop to pick out some floor samples.  Since I'd had enough of the big city for awhile, I ended up spending most of Saturday at home, working the vegetable and flower gardens – definitely getting some much needed exercise and prepared a bed and planted 12 tomato plants.  I found myself “surprised” as I used the pitchfork to dig the ground up… it was sooooo soft compared to trying to dig in Arizona!  K. and her “fella” D. got a chance to relax with his Dad and wife who came for a weekend visit, and later Kath took me to an amazing nearby Garden… Wisley RHS (Royal Horticulture Society).  So relaxing to walk around an already completed garden and enjoy all the plantings, and between the two of us we were able to name quite a lot of them!  Lots of amazing roses and I always enjoy Bonsai Trees. We found a small pagoda type pavilion at one end and an enormous glasshouse at the other that felt like you’d entered a jungle!  Then headed towards the sounds of jazz playing at the small café and everyone was either sitting at tables or on the grass enjoying it.   We had to dash to make it home in time for D.’s barbecue dinner!

  

At the start of the Garden Tour

Those are ... 5 blooms on one stem!

Sunday... Around 1:30 pm (or 13:30 as they use the 24 hr clock over here for everything) the 4 of us ended up at a local Pub for a “real Sunday Dinner” (I had roast beef!) and then we all went for a walk in the nearby park.  K. even had the energy to drive a bit further and take me to the town of Windsor.  We arrived after Windsor Castle closed, but I got a good sense the town and how to go so will definitely take the train over and play tourist when I can schedule it after my return from Spain.   We had fun just walking around and I spied some neat pastries in a window and thought I’d be nice and buy 3 pastries for the morning.  We were flabbergasted when he said our total was £11.85  - talk about captive audience!   That’s almost $20 for 3 pastries!!!  They were good, just NOT that good.  We also ended up walking across a small bridge and lo and behold… we’re in Eton!  Here’s a link for it if you’re interested.  Neat buildings.  Caught a snap of a young man coming out of the library in his famous robes.

 Monday, turned out to be a travelling day, as D. was nice enough to let me tag along on a business trip he had to take, to Warwick – 2 hours north of London and about 96 miles from the house. (yes, although they drive on the opposite side of the road they still compute distance in miles).   He had his meeting and I got a chance to visit the famous Warwick Castle (over 1000 yrs old!) and took loads of pictures!  Did I mention that we drove K.’s car?  A really fun TT Audi, and we even got to put the top down on the way back!

Amazing Buffet hand carved from a single tree

 

This is for you Ronni!!

Tuesday… We are all planning on taking the late train to do see some late tennis matches at Wimbledon.  Tickets cheaper after 6pm.   Went by train and walked a mile to stadium all up hill!

Wednesday… Yes, we went to Wimbledon, but “things” just sort of worked out oddly and due to MY FAULT, I misplaced K. & D. and ended up walking around it by myself while they were in a tizzy outside looking for me.  LONG story, and I feel really bad about it.  Amazing how you think you are doing something right and it all falls apart!!!  They are still talking to me, thank goodness!

Both K. & D. had long work days today and since I will be departing for Spain tomorrow morning I had a lot to do as I spent the day finishing the gardening (14 lettuce plants in!) with more weeding and 2 other beds prepared.  Had to repack and of course do some hand washing but also managed to grab a much needed NAP!   So am finishing this UK section up for now.  Not sure how I will manage to add to it while in Spain but will give it a go!  The flight only takes about 2 hours and I have a ride from the airport already set up along with 2 tours I sorted out with the AAA office, all day tours – Friday is to Toledo and then Sunday is to Avila-Segovia with a “Gastronomic Lunch” which should prove interesting!  Will have the days in-between to just relax and wander Madrid!  Then on July 2 will meet up with friend C. and head to Malaga for Photo Course.  Finally got my bank account sorted out today, so have some Euros to spend!   Ta ,Ta till later!

London - Friday

Well, it IS London and it IS summer tourist time, but I wasn’t really prepared for the masses of people that were there!  Talk about culture shock in a big city!  I took the train into London proper for a day’s ”look around” and ended up walking until 5pm when I boarded the train for home! I started out by walking to the nearby station (about 20 minutes), and boarded the train in about 10 minutes (after 9:30 am it’s “supposed” to be cheaper but the ticket was £14.50 return… which is equal to about $28!)  It turned out the final stop in London was the Waterloo Station… and there were LOTS of people and interestingly, a lot of them were REALLY dressed up!  Ladies in fancy dresses, high heels and unusual hats and men in full long morning coats and top hats… it turned out that they were all off to the Royal Ascot Races at 10am in the morning!  I was so amazed and soaking it all in I didn’t even think to take out my camera!  But no worries, as the day progressed I ended up getting in picture taking mode! 

Still a bit dazed by it all I just followed the crowd figuring they knew where the exit was and wandered out the station thinking I was heading towards “the river” which is actually …  the Thames!  I did finally find it after walking up a few alleyways.  I stopped to gorge myself on the first place that would sell me a sausage roll as I was starved, wandering along the river walk as I just soaked in the skyline.  Since I could see St. Paul’s Cathedral in the distance I figured I’d start there and do a big loop so I could end up back at the Waterloo station in time for the 5 o’clock train.  

So I crossed the Thames using the Blackfriars Bridge and chatted up a lovely couple from Denmark as we all tried to make sure we were heading in our respective directions.  They were heading over the Millennium Bridge.  I will say the signage was really good most of the time, so you couldn’t get too lost.  St. Paul’s  “appeared” in front of me down this small street… such an amazing piece of architecture just “right there”!  

I walked around the outside until I found the entrance and decided to only enter the “free” chapel as the main part had a £ 16.50 fee and I could still see a lot from there.  No photos allowed inside.  I remember reading how the Germans didn’t bomb St. Paul’s in WWII, because they were using it as a landmark but my friend K. also told me she had heard that people were very brave to stay inside it during the bombings (they didn’t know it wouldn’t be bombed) and helped to put out the embers from other bombings so the building would survive.   There were heaps of school children in groups everywhere I went.  The schools here are still in session for another 2-3 weeks I heard.

After walking around it outside and taking a short look down some side streets, I followed my nose down Fleet Street …  saw an amazing amount of men in good looking business suits walking around!   Couldn’t remember when I last saw them in numbers like that!  Hadn’t realized just how “out of that world” I had been! 

Found out I was passing by the Royal Courts of Justice and that I was allowed in…  so in I went!   An old stone edifice with rooms and corridors one could easily get lost in!  Even sat in on a court case but got out quickly!

My original intention was to head for Covent Gardens area and then Piccadilly circle but when I reached Covent Gardens (not really gardens, lots of small booths, shops and eating places) I was getting tired and it was so crowded and I was so totally unimpressed I gave up on seeing Piccadilly and just followed on to find Nelson’s column in Trafalgar Square.  Did manage to get some culture in by stopping to look through the 3 floors of the National Portrait Gallery (FREE entrance fee! – to all national museums apparently) where they even had a portrait of George Washington!  Then walked down Whitehall and saw the Horse Guards Parade Grounds and even passed 10 Downing Street (the Prime Minister’s residence – which sits far back as it’s all blocked off - but if I squinted I could see the door!  (Current Prime Minister David Cameron was appointed on 11 May 2010)).

Just kept walking down the street as I could see a big tower in the distance so figured I was heading towards Big Ben.  I arrived just as it struck 4pm. 

Then crossed the Westminster Bridge and got a good look at the Houses of Parliament from the river.   Don’t’ think I had realised just how many bridges London has that cross the Thames. 

The masses of people that were around and crossing amazed me too but hey, summer tourist season!    I saw the “London Eye”, that big Ferris wheel but didn’t fancy a ride.  Very expensive from what I hear.  

From there I just asked directions back to the Waterloo Train Station and since I already had my return ticket I just stood in front of the listings to wait to see what Platform the train would be on.  Another 40-minute train ride home and then a 20-minute walk back to the house and I was knackered!!!   Done in!  Kaput!  7 hours of almost constant walking!

I will have to return to see Buckingham Palace, Hyde Park, and the British Museum.  Loads to see yet but… found out yesterday when I tried to use my credit card, that if I don’t have chip in it (which I do) AND have a Pin # I may not be able to use it!  EEK.!

FYI… I walked with an empty plastic water bottle for over an hour looking for a bin to toss it into and it took ages until I found one.  Later heard that due to potential bombing threats there are not a lot of trash bins around in London.

Thought this car park was a super idea...