tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-40727165503112546052024-03-18T10:47:29.089+01:00Where Is Darren Now?Darrenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04297178159681349394noreply@blogger.comBlogger448125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4072716550311254605.post-25619796485782693782016-11-06T20:39:00.001+01:002016-11-07T14:07:56.955+01:00Sri Lanka - Part 2<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
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This is part two of our trip to <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/search/label/Sri%20Lanka">Sri Lanka</a>. For part one, <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2016/10/sri-lanka-save-prayer-tour.html">go here</a>.</div>
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We stayed in Kandy only one night so the next day, it was up somewhat early to continue our journey towards the south of Sri Lanka where we'd do a safari and go to some beaches. Our goal for the day was to end up in the small town of Nuwara Eliya where we'd catch a train the day after. On the way, we had some stops planned including a couple of hours at the Royal Botanical Gardens.</div>
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I really love plants and flowers and, while living in <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2010/08/oceanside-california.html">San Diego</a>, I grew a lot including many different orchids. Between the local <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2011/03/san-diego-botanic-garden.html">San Diego Botanic Gardens</a> and frequent visits to Hawaii, I got to see a huge variety of plants. So it's fairly unusual for me to come across a plant that's so unique that I've never seen anything like it. The so-called Cannonball tree is something completely new for me. The effect of the irregularly placed balls reminded me of if a giant toddler had decorated a dead Christmas tree.</div>
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The 'cannonballs' were about six or eight inches across and the tree's flowers, which I've pasted in to corner of the photo above, were especially lovely. The park had a ton of other things to see including a nice orchid building. But, probably the biggest surprise (other than cannonballs) were the thousands of large bats hanging out in the tops of the trees. Crazy!<br />
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After the gardens, we continued our drive up, up, and up into the Sri Lankan central hill country (mountain country?) stopping on the way to check out million-dollar views and the occasional waterfall:<br />
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At one of our stops I thought Diana was going to buy another King coconut but, no, she spied a guy selling corn on the cob. Like rain in <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2011/07/bad-teeth-good-shoes.html">London</a> or fog in <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2014/03/san-francisco-official-selfie-tour.html">San Francisco</a>, there's one thing you can always count on and that's Diana's love of corn on the cob! (Think I'm kidding? Here she is around the world eating it <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2012/08/munich-part-1.html">in Germany</a>, <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2013/02/dad-visits-colombia-part-2.html">in Colombia</a>, <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2013/05/lake-como-italy-and-lugano-switzerland.html">in Switzerland</a>, <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2013/07/amsterdam.html">in Amsterdam</a>, and even <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2015/06/ensenada-mexico.html">in Mexico</a>.)<br />
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By the way, you can't see it in these photos but this particular waterfall was silly with monkeys. They're everywhere and they aren't afraid of people. Anyway, so while Diana was checking out local delicacies, Mr. Schmidt climbed over to one of the falls where, next thing we knew, he was hanging out with some locals who gave him a shot from a bottle they were sharing. I was very impressed by Mr. Schmidt's ability to integrate!<br />
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Our last destination for the day before arriving into Nuwara Eliya was to visit a tea plantation and factory, which was something I was really looking forward to. But, not too far from our destination, we noticed a bunch of trees had been sliced. Not understanding what was going on, our driver stopped and let us out so that we could get closer. Turns out that this is what natural rubber harvesting looks like. Long, angled, successive strips are taken from the bark and a half coconut full of almost-butter-colored liquid was at the bottom of the newest slice.<br />
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It was during this stop that we began to notice the temperature change from when we started the day. Between the fog and the altitude, it was easily ten to 15 degrees (F) cooler but, not really loving the heat and humidity, it was a nice break for me!<br />
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We arrived at what ended up being almost the top of the mountain at the Mackwoods Tea Plantation and Factory. Every direction you looked, the hills were filled with tea plants and, in this case, a small stream ran through the valley. Much like <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2011/02/coffee-farm-tour-part-1.html">where coffee grows</a>, I could very easily see myself living in a place like this. Perfect temperature and views, what's not to enjoy!<br />
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Mackwoods' has a working tea-processing and packing factory of their own. We took a tour where they walked us through some of the production areas and also explained how tea is grown, processed, and packed. As always, I love me a factory tour! Here's <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2012/02/celestial-seasonings-factory-tour.html">another tea factory</a> I visited when I was in <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2012/02/denver-and-boulder-colorado.html">Colorado</a> a few years ago. Oh, and now I know the difference between Orange Pekoe and Broken Orange Pekoe...<br />
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After our tour, we ordered a pot of tea and some cakes at Mackwoods' combo tasting room and cafe. And then we ordered another pot, it was that good. If you go to Sri Lanka one day, I highly, highly recommend visiting a tea plantation and, if it appeals to you, the factory tour.<br />
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We spent the next night in Nuwara Eliya, which is a small town partly in the clouds where the locals wear parkas and ski caps. My guess is that it was in the high 50s when we arrived in the late afternoon so it was definitely a bit chilly.<br />
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It was here that we had one of the two most-local food experiences of the whole trip. We followed our driver to a place he was going to eat and ordered what he was having. The waiter brought over smallish metal pails (sort of a small bucket) filled with stewed-style meats and vegetables. With no cutlery in sight, we did as the locals do and dug in with our fingers using small pieces of flatbread and just kinda' scooped it up. The locals laughed at us and we laughed at ourselves. It was a great and memorable experience.<br />
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After our early dinner, we went shopping! I was keeping my eye out for linen button-down shirts and I wanted to find a nicer sarong to use at our frequent temple stops plus I knew one'd be useful when we got to the beach.<br />
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We walked down 'main street' ducking into and out of shops. At one, Diana found the same container of aloe she had bought at the spice garden for maybe 20% of the cost. D'oh! A couple of shops over, I spied this poster for 'lungies', which is what they apparently call sarongs over in India. Score! Based on this poster alone, I knew this was what I was looking for! Maybe even get a six pack while I was at it?<br />
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I ended up paying about six dollars for a dark blue, almost-Hawaiian-style sarong. We left the shop, me happy with my purchase, and continued walking around town. About an hour later, I was starting to get cold so I stopped, took the sarong out of the bag, and attempted to wear it so that it might help keep me warm (note, I highly recommend spending time in the hill/mountain area of Sri Lanka but definitely bring a sweat shirt and long pants with you).<br />
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I fumbled with the sarong figuring I could wear it like those I had used in Hawaii. During what seemed like hours but was more like three or four minutes of struggle, a local guy who was giggling along with his family stopped to lend me a hand. In about thirty seconds he showed me two different ways to tie it suggesting (in gestures - no English) the best local way. Much like our elephant interaction a couple of days previously, this was one of the best experiences of the trip. How often does a random local take the time and effort to tell a tourist how things are done (without yelling)?<br />
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Now, properly dressed, we stopped at a supermarket to buy some groceries and then to a bakery where I saw what looked like different flavors of pound cake in the window. What I saw next was almost...unseeable. The guy attending to the customers was taking orders, pulling cakes out of the display, cutting them to size, and weighing then packing them faster than I've ever seen any human move. It was like he was some sort of friendly Terminator cyborg from the future had chosen bakery work over that of an assassin. In other words, we, as a species, are very lucky. Oh, and the cake was fantabulous!<br />
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Our home stay in Nuwara Eliya was in what was basically a "log-cabin" on a local family's property. They lived in a very 'basic' structure, did some simple farming, and we had a flat-screen. It was eye-opening to say the least and why I recommend staying with locals whenever possible.<br />
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The next morning we woke fairly early so we could get over to the train station in time to buy tickets. Taking the train between Nuwara Eliya and Ella (or in the reverse direction) is basically one of the top five things to do in Sri Lanka. If you're like us, you show up early and hope to get first or second class tickets, which is impossible being that there are very few and they're probably gone months in advance. We did manage to buy tickets in third class, which I was afraid might be as bad as it sounds but, whatever, I was sure it'd be an adventure either way.<br />
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Our train was due to depart about 10 a.m. but, by about 11.30 or so, it hadn't yet arrived. We were getting impatient especially because it was rainy and fairly cool waiting on the platform. We talked with our driver who, uncharacteristically, firmly recommended we wait and take the train. Okay, then.<br />
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Finally, just before noon and only 30 minutes or so until the next one was due to depart, the three-car, three-class train lumbered into the station.<br />
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The train was so full and had gotten even fuller with folks who were waiting for both the earlier and later trains that we decided to bail on the whole thing. We went back over to our faithful driver who was waiting for us to board the train and asked him to just drive us to the next destination. Again, with an energy I hadn't seen previously, and much like that time my friend told me <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2014/08/soria-spain.html">to go see Ecce Homo (!!!)</a>, he said we <i>had</i> to wait and take the train. Seriously, almost like we had no choice. So, we hard-balled it and before long a much bigger and newer train pulled in and we climbed aboard...for what ended up being my favorite part of the entire trip!<br />
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Being that third class was particularly full, we ended up only getting in as far as the entry area. On an incredibly positive note, they leave the doors open the whole time and, if you're lucky enough to have super-cool locals who give you their places) you can hang on (or out?) the door enjoying the wind in your hair...<br />
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...as the train winds its way along the top of the fog-shrouded mountains filled with tea plantations and amazing views!<br />
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The train passes lots of farms and plantations like the one below and through many small towns each with their own stop. We took turns in the doorway during the two-hour-or-so ride. As the train went, it got emptier and emptier to the point where we could sit in the open doorway with our feet hanging out. It was like something from a movie but in real life.<br />
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Mr. Schmidt checking out some locals with a local:<br />
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The funniest thing happened about 90 minutes into our trip. The train slowed down like it was going to stop in another random town. I laughed as we then slowly passed the first (older/smaller/slower) train we had chosen not to board in Nuwara Eliya earlier that morning!<br />
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Our driver was right, we <i>had</i> to do the train ride! I must have thanked him a dozen times or more. If you go to Sri Lanka, you absolutely must do it too. I say this on the same order of magnitude that I'd tell you to visit <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2011/05/mothers-day-mass-at-sagrada-familia.html">the Sagrada Familia</a> when you're in <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/search/label/Barcelona">Barcelona</a>. And, don't pay for first or second class where you'll only be surrounded by folks from <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/search/label/Europe">Europe</a> and maybe one or two from <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/search/label/China">China</a> and/or <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/search/label/Japan">Japan</a>. Nope! You need to pony up the $0.80 U.S. (yes, less than a dollar) or whatever it cost for third class and you're going to love it.<br />
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Our driver met us in Ella, which is the other end of the train ride. We drove down to Kataragama where, the next morning, we'd be going on, what is another of the Sri Lankan must-dos, a safari at the nearby Yala National Park. Yala is a large reserve on the southeastern corner of the island and is home to elephants, big cats, a ton of birds, and more.<br />
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The day we went to the park wasn't the best as it was a national holiday (second of our trip) so it was full of people in jeeps like ours. Even though there are lots of animals to see, parts of the park were closed for the season, which, combined with the full-moon holiday, resulted in way too many people in way too many jeeps to really get to see as much as we would have liked.<br />
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But, having said that, it wasn't like we saw nothing. On the contrary! We got to see deer, water buffalo, an elephant or two, alligators, more birds than you can shake a stick at including some cool toucans, and even the briefest glimpse of a leopard. But, the day's best was on our way home when we came across this elephant standing in the middle of the road.<br />
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Diana answering that age-old question of why did the elephant cross the road (and, yes, that's a soft-ball-sized watermelon in her hand):<br />
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I mentioned how it was the full-moon holiday that day. Turns out that Sri Lanka has a public holiday every full moon and lots of folks take advantage and head to a local temple. Kataragama just happens to have one of the most important temple complexes in Sri Lanka so we headed over to check out the festivities.<br />
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The Kataragama complex is unique as several different religious groups worship there including the indigenous Vedda. There was a ton going on and even more than a ton of people. Just getting into the complex was a bit of an adventure as the entrances were so full that we had to literally squeeze through. Once inside we saw a variety of different rituals, none of which I understood, including the one below where people following a group of musicians and members carrying offerings unrolled and and carried fabric up to and around one of the temple structures.<br />
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We only got to spend an hour or so at the temple as it was getting late and we had dinner plans. <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2011/12/eating-at-la-paradeta.html">Lena and Toni</a> told us that the Kataragama temple during the day was one of their favorite memories. We had planned to go but our changed plans made it impossible. So, definitely on our next trip.<br />
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The four of us took a couple of Tuktuks back to our homestay. Tuktuks are used as taxis and are everywhere in Sri Lanka. The reality, though, is I just wanted to use this cool photo somewhere.<br />
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The next morning we left Kataragama for the beach! We stopped off at the Hummanaya blowhole, which is the largest blowhole in all of Sri Lanka. Definitely cool but what I really enjoyed was the place where we parked (someone's side yard), walking through the little town, looking at all the family businesses that had developed to serve the never-ending parade of visitors, standing in line with the locals to buy tickets, and then seeing all of us enjoying the scene together.<br />
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By the way, trying to take photos of a blowhole in action is almost as easy as taking photos of <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2010/12/dora-diego-and-river-dolphins.html">pink dolphins</a> in the jungles of <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/search/label/Colombia">Colombia</a>!<br />
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When we first decided on Sri Lanka, Diana had only two requirements for the entire trip. She wanted to have some beach time and she wanted to go whale watching. Mr. Schmidt and I ended up (very happily) doing almost all the trip planning but we knew, for sure, that we'd have to spend a day or two in Marissa, which is known as <i>the</i> place for whale watching in all of Sri Lanka. It's a small beach and harbor town almost at the very bottom of the island.<br />
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The biggest issue for me is that I just don't like boats. Too many times getting sea sick has put me off them for the rest of my life. But, Diana, who grew up in Bogota, far from the ocean, loves them and <strike>forces</strike> asks me to go with her almost every time there's a boat <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2013/01/family-road-trip-lago-de-tota.html">ride</a> or <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2015/05/tortosa-spain.html">tour</a>.<br />
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So it was at like o-dark-thirty in the morning, we headed to the harbor and got on the two-level boat with maybe 60 or 70 fish fans. The crew handed out small boxed lunches and bottles of water to everyone but it was way too early for me to even think of eating. Plus, why would I want to fill my stomach <i>before</i> going out to sea?<br />
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Right after the food distribution, another crew member walked around and offered sea-sickness pills to those who wanted them. Hello red flag! Not only were they passing them out, the crew were TAKING the pills. WTF? When was the last time you saw a crew member <i>take</i> a sea-sickness pill? It'd be like being on a plane just about to take off and you spy a crew member extra-tightening their seat belt with one hand and blessing themselves with the other. 'Oh crap!' is all I could think as the boat got underway.<br />
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My instincts were right as, just as we rounded the point that protects the harbor, the white caps started to throw the boat like a cork pushed into a wine bottle when you don't have an opener (and when that <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1wROm-OF9w" target="_blank">cool shoe trick</a> doesn't work - and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fXihX13xjqQ" target="_blank">in German for the Schmidts</a>). Yep, for the next almost three hours we bounced around as I focused on the horizon while the crew looked for whale breath.<br />
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As luck would have it, it only took about an hour from the time we left the harbor until we spotted the first whale of maybe seven, which apparently is a very good day. I spent the next 60 minutes trying to simultaneously watch for whales, take photos, and not revisit last night's excellent dinner. Of the maybe four or five not-horrible photos, the one below is the least bad.<br />
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Fortunately for me, the tour guarantees seeing a whale and we saw one almost immediately, which means that the crew (only) spent maybe 30 minutes more seeking Moby Dick before they "had" to turn the boat around "before the weather got bad". Oh, darn!<br />
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On the way in, someone spotted two sea turtles caught in a fishing net. They were still alive but I imagine for not much longer as they were swimming in opposite directions trying to get untangled much like when you watch folks in a marriage that should have never happened.<br />
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The crew circled the boat until they were finally able to pull the turtles on board. Cheers went out as they pushed the recently-divorced couple to enjoy their newfound freedom. After the divorce, the boat ride seemed to end fairly quickly. Yeah!<br />
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The rest of the day was spent napping, wandering around town, and eating dinner on the beach (literally on the beach - the tables were just above the wet sand). Mr. Schmidt had read about a rain-forest tour that sounded interesting so the next morning we got in the van for the almost four-hour drive to what seemed like the middle of nowhere. The Sinharaja rain forest is a fairly small bio reserve that was spared from the logging trade because of its difficult-to-get-to setting, which makes it now a nice place for a nature walk. Watch out for those leeches, though!<br />
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We spent a little less than three hours walking into and back out with a guide. He pointed out some plants, monkeys, fish, and even chameleons as we went.<br />
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We enjoyed the setting but it ended up being too much driving for such a short walk. I think it'd be better, if you wanted to do this, to stay at least one night nearby rather than spend six hours round trip in the car.<br />
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From the rain forest, we drove back out to the coast and stopped briefly in the walled, colonial town of Galle. The city walls, architecture, and setting reminded me of <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2016/07/cartagena-colombia.html">Cartagena</a> and <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2015/11/saint-augustine-florida.html">St. Augustine</a>.<br />
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Our last two nights were in our driver's hometown of Hikkaduwa. It's another small beach town that has the feel of <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2015/06/ensenada-mexico.html">Baja California</a> or even Hawaii. Actually, it's got the feel of pretty much every surf town I've ever been to, which, is to say, definitely a nice place.<br />
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Growing up in <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/search/label/Philadelphia">Philadelphia</a>, we had a few different mobile businesses that'd go by our house. I was too late for the milkman era but we had 'hucksters' who'd sell fruit and vegetables from the back of their trucks. There were, and still are, <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2014/07/going-to-shore.html">ice cream trucks</a> that roam the streets playing their tell-tale music. In Sri Lanka, it's Tuktuk mini-bakeries! They all seemed to be painted red and they all definitely played music.<br />
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Buying some morning glory at Hikkaduwa beach:<br />
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Normally, when we travel, we like to use airbnb so we can stay with and among locals. In Sri Lanka, we found that airbnb wasn't the best choice because the places listed were way more expensive than what we found on other sites (like booking.com) where you could specify homestays. In Sri Lanka, you can find plenty of very nice places with air conditioning and really good breakfast for under $25 U.S. a night total for two. Airbnb was always two to three times more expensive and didn't seem to offer any benefit.<br />
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We were super lucky to stay at some amazing places during the trip including a couple of cool homestays but the last place ended up being one of our favorites and, coincidentally, our only airbnb. It was a fairly simple 'building' with two bedrooms, two outdoor (and amazing) bathrooms, and an open-air but covered living room that looked out over a very large garden, pool, and lake beyond. It came with a live-in caretaker who not only made us feel incredibly at home but also prepared shockingly good breakfasts all for relatively little money. Oh, and they had a boat you could row around the lake!<br />
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Mr. Schmidt and Diana out searching for Sri Lankan C.I.A. agents while Mrs. Schmidt and I lazily drank coffee safely back on shore:<br />
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Diana about to drive away in the available-for-use Tuktuk:<br />
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One of the final things we did on the island was also one of the most emotional. Remember the day-after-Christmas tsunami caused by the 2004 Japanese earthquake that wiped out Bada Aceh, Indonesia, among other places? Well, that same tsunami killed almost 35,000 people in Sri Lanka including in and around Hikkaduwa. One local woman's set up a museum across the street from the beach where her home was before the tsunami.<br />
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It's a simple museum that packs a big punch. Inside, she has photos, videos, and memorabilia, including part of the tent she lived in while the town rebuilt. Some of the exhibits are kinda' raw and hard to look at but, between the items in the museum and her personal-story telling, I learned a lot.<br />
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They're building an official museum not too far away, which I'm sure will be good too, but, if you're ever in the area, do yourself a favor and stop by and see this woman.<br />
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What can I say? This was an amazing trip on so many levels. It's an amazing country with some pretty amazing people. Two amazing thumbs up for sure.<br />
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Thanks to the Schmidts for helping to make the trip a lot of fun and memorable. And an even bigger thanks to our driver for being patient with our indecisiveness and last-minutiveness. We had a great time! Oh, and thanks again for making us take the train!<br />
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Parting shot at Hikkaduwa beach, Sri Lanka:<br />
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By the way, if you're thinking of going to Sri Lanka, we highly recommend our driver. He's a great guy, very patient, speaks good English, and, most importantly, is a very safe and relaxed driver. Send me an email and I'll put you in touch.<br />
<br />Darrenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04297178159681349394noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4072716550311254605.post-81608157890443152662016-10-23T20:53:00.000+02:002016-10-24T10:55:25.840+02:00Sri Lanka - Save A Prayer Tour<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
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Diana and I do most of our travel 'alone'. Exceptions are times like when we traveled with her parents to the <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2011/02/coffee-farm-tour-part-1.html">Colombian coffee area</a>, to <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2016/07/cartagena-colombia.html">Cartagena</a>, and to <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2011/05/rome.html">Rome</a>. It's not that we avoid traveling with others, it's just never really come up. But, starting last year, we got to talking with Diana's cousin and <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2011/06/airline-repair-facility-tour.html">her cousin's husband</a> who live in <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2012/07/blink-182-in-germany.html">Frankfurt</a> about the four of us going somewhere together. During what seemed like forever, we went back and forth with a bunch of ideas never being able to decide.</div>
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One of the early ideas was a recommendation from our friends <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2013/08/skelleftea-sweden-part-1.html">Lena and Toni</a> from <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/search/label/Sweden">Sweden</a>. While they were living in the U.A.E., they had gone and said we should go. Between discussions of going to Hawaii, <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/search/label/Mexico">Mexico</a>, Cuba, Iran, Iceland, South Africa, and even the north of <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/search/label/Spain">Spain</a> (yes, we really went crazy and, I know, 'first-world problem'), we kept ending up with Sri Lanka. Finally, while on Skype one night and just weeks before our planned departure date, we pulled the trigger and booked tickets to Sri Lanka!</div>
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We would all arrive into the airport and spend one night at a beach-front hotel in nearby Negombo before setting off on an adventure to visit about half the country over the following week and a half.</div>
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Fish drying on a Negombo, Sri Lanka, beach:</div>
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And a Bollywood-style movie being shot right around sunset (the star is wearing white pants):<br />
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When Diana and I travel, we usually try to squeeze every second out of the trip. We can often be found returning home only hours before we're due somewhere. Because we were going with the Schmidts (as I'll be referring to them because of privacy wishes), this trip would be different as we'd be traveling and experiencing everything at group speed. But, the reality was that booking a "free" day at the beginning of the trip to recover from the 17 hours of flying and nearly 24 hours of traveling (more about that in a later story) ended up being an excellent idea. Being able to nap and lounge around our incredible hotel and its incredible setting was quite, well, incredible.<br />
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Sunset view from our hotel's pool. Oh, and see that 'bird' flying above the palm trees? It's actually one of probably hundreds of (giant) fruit bats that were flying around. Although they looked like something right out of Jurassic Park, they were super cool (and hard to photograph).<br />
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Like I mentioned, our plan was to explore a little less than half the country. Lena and Toni told us that getting around might be a bit slow using public transport and that they didn't recommend driving ourselves. They did recommend we hire a driver they used who they said was super nice and did a good job for them. Well, bright and early the next morning, our driver showed up and we started our adventure.<br />
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Stopping for what seems like Sri Lanka's national fruit, King coconut, on the side of the road:<br />
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From Negombo, we drove about five hours to the town of Sigiriya, which is almost in the center of the country. We would spend a couple of nights and, while there, visit Lion Rock. Being that we arrived around mid-afternoon, we decided to take a (what turned out to be ridiculously expensive) 'village tour'. It starts with a mile-or-two ride via ox cart:<br />
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The cart takes you to the edge of a lotus-filled lake where you get into a small rowboat. The guide rows the boat around the lake, which is beautiful for its setting, the massive amounts of lotus plants and flowers, and the view of the nearby Lion Rock. The final stop on the tour, which is also by far the highlight, is at a house where a local woman taught us how to make several traditional foods from scratch using traditional methods.<br />
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Diana showing off her mad skillz:<br />
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The tour is definitely worth doing but, as we quickly learned, very overpriced. Our group chalked this up to being our first day in town and not knowing that we needed to negotiate (almost) everything down. In other words, learning occurred.<br />
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We woke up early the next morning and enjoyed our local-style breakfast at our excellent family-stay accommodation. Almost all of the places we stayed were owned and run by a local family and, for our group, were a great opportunity to get a (very brief) view of local life.<br />
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Our driver took us to Lion Rock, which was the first of many palaces, temples, and landmarks we'd see. It's a capital (city) complex dominated by a 660-foot-tall (formerly palace-topped) rock that sticks out of the surrounding area similar to <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2011/01/scaling-mavicure.html">Mavecure</a>.<br />
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Prior to coming, we knew we'd get to see some wildlife as we were planning on taking a safari as well as doing some whale watching but, much like in <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/search/label/Gibraltar">Gibraltar</a>, seeing monkeys in silly quantities like they were pigeons in <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/search/label/Barcelona">Barcelona</a>, was still a big surprise.<br />
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Prequel to Planet of the Apes in Sigiriya, Sri Lanka:<br />
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One of the must-dos in Sri Lanka is climb the 84,000 steps(or so it seemed) to the top of Lion Rock to see the views of the surrounding area. About half-way up, there's a spot where you can check out, up close, some very old cave paintings, which I would have taken photos of if it weren't clearly prohibited by way of several attendants and the maybe 500-or-so signs indicating that it was prohibited/illegal to do so. Not wanting to "sign the guestbook", which is, legend has it, where rule breakers/photo takers must write and sign a full admission of guilt and apology after deleting their photos, <i>three</i> of us came, saw, admired, and continued on our way with no photos taken and no issues at all.<br />
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The next stopping point is almost all the way up. It's a plaza-like area where you can still see part of the old lion entrance marked by the feet, which remain.<br />
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The day we went was a national holiday so the place was packed with locals. We saw relatively few tourists compared to the number of locals, which was probably partly to do with the fact that we went during the small window between summer and rainy season.<br />
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The view from the top was well worth the climb and the whole palace complex reminded me of Monte Alban in Oaxaca, Mexico (no story link - this was pre-whereisdarrennow).<br />
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On our way back down, we briefly stopped in the (lion feet) plaza and watched monkeys systematically sort through the discarded bottles to pull out those with sugary drinks. Silly me fully expected them to open the cap to drink. But they have different plans choosing to instead bite a small hole in the bottom of the bottle and slurp out their prize. The greatest thing was how they could clearly and quickly discern the difference between regular and "diet" labels tossing the latter in favor of the former.<br />
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We weren't sure how long we'd be at Sigiriya's Lion Rock so we didn't plan anything else for the day. It turns out that it only took a few hours so we decided to go up to see the UNESCO World Heritage temple complex at Polonnaruwa, which we had considering visiting before coming to Sri Lanka but had ruled it out as too far away to fit into our schedule.<br />
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About five minutes after we left the Lion Rock parking lot, our driver stopped the van and pointed to a couple of guys WASHING THEIR ELEPHANT in a stream. It was almost a joke when he asked if he wanted us to stop so we could get out as we were practically jumping out while he was asking.<br />
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Mr. Schmidt and I talked about whether we should go into the water. Yes, we seriously spent time standing on the side of the stream deciding if we should get closer to the elephant...in the stream...in Sri Lanka. The girls were already in the water and we weren't far behind.<br />
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The two guys were cleaning (or massaging or both) the elephant's skin with pieces of King coconut shells. They were super cool and let us 'pet' the elephant. Did you know that elephants are covered with a small amount of very coarse, maybe one-inch-long hair? It was funny to see how the elephant just laid there, relaxing while getting a massage, all the while using its snout as a snorkel.<br />
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In retrospect, one of the two or three coolest moments of the entire trip:<br />
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About an hour or so from Sigiriya, Polonnaruwa is a massive complex filled with lots of old temples, palaces, and other structures and is one of Sri Lanka's holiest places.<br />
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Because of its size and in order to save time, we used the van to go between the various places. One of the many highlights is the reclining Buddha below. Did you know that it's a sign of disrespect to take a photo with your back to Buddha?<br />
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Many of the most famous archaeological sites around the world tend to be constructed of stone. Polonnaruwa and quite a few of the places we visited in Sri Lanka were built with brick, which results in structures that have unique forms but, unfortunately, make them somewhat less durable. They've taken care to restore many sites and have left others, like the one below, (yet) unrestored. Even the giant Buddha statue on the back wall is made from brick and was coated with stucco or other material, which, over time, has come off exposing the bricks.<br />
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Okay, so here's a little secret I can share now. Back in the 80s, there was a band named Duran Duran (sorry to the fellow old people reading this) that was quite popular with the alternative music set. One of their videos, Save A Prayer, was shot in 1982 all around Sri Lanka. If you watch it, you'll see Lion Rock, Polonnaruwa, some southern Sri Lankan beach scenes, and even people in rivers with elephants! Yes, so far, we've basically done the 'Duran Duran Save A Prayer' video tour!<br />
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Rock on, right?<br />
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The next morning we started heading back down south from Sigiriya and our first stop of the day was at the Dambulla Cave Temple. Is this not a very cool photo?<br />
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Climbing up the couple hundred steps reminded me of <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2010/09/shikoku-henro-pilgrimage.html">Shikoku's many temples</a>. This one's different because it appears to be built next to this cliff...<br />
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...but in reality those buildings serve as entrances to vast spaces carved into the rock. Inside are giant Buddhas and other religious artifacts. The room below is probably 75 feet wide and a few hundred feet long.<br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZvLrqVJQ91o/V_FLNc_SiyI/AAAAAAAAWbo/jS3J8jJg2j0DA6XQhULX_Kyre9Z2YH87gCLcB/s1600/f3%2Breclining%2Bbuddha%2Bdambulla%2Bcave%2Btemple%2Bsri%2Blanka.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZvLrqVJQ91o/V_FLNc_SiyI/AAAAAAAAWbo/jS3J8jJg2j0DA6XQhULX_Kyre9Z2YH87gCLcB/s400/f3%2Breclining%2Bbuddha%2Bdambulla%2Bcave%2Btemple%2Bsri%2Blanka.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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If you're claustrophobic you need not apply.<br />
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Our next stop of the day was at a herb and spice garden, which sounds kinda' nice, doesn't it? One could imagine seeing all sorts of spices growing in their native setting. Yeah, just like this photo below where the guide demonstrated a natural hair remover on Mr. Schmidt's leg.<br />
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The gardens were lovely and 'guides' where also nice. But, think more herbal remedy than chili peppers and curry powder. The hair remover may have been impressive but I probably wouldn't do this one again.<br />
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Oh well, our next stop was very cool. It was a Hindu temple and school the likes of which I've never seen before. Exceptionally intricate and colorful:<br />
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9TlbaPUbOgk/V_FLTcCqbTI/AAAAAAAAWbs/gOqw9Ia4xHE99VoqPOSKk7-5qI66E481gCLcB/s1600/h1%2Bmatale%2Bsri%2Blanka%2Bmuthumariamman%2Bkovil%2Btemple.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9TlbaPUbOgk/V_FLTcCqbTI/AAAAAAAAWbs/gOqw9Ia4xHE99VoqPOSKk7-5qI66E481gCLcB/s400/h1%2Bmatale%2Bsri%2Blanka%2Bmuthumariamman%2Bkovil%2Btemple.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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The crappy thing is that I don't have any decent photos. It was seriously hot and humid so we spent most of our time out of the sun and the photos I did take were mostly washed out.<br />
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But, just as we were about to go back to the van, we stuck our heads inside an open-air building to see what it was about. It turns out that it was a grade school we were told for poor and orphan kids. An older woman teacher gave us a tour where she told us about the school, the students, teaching methods, and even showed us some of their writing and projects. It was a great experience that would have only been topped if the students, <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2010/11/teaching-english-in-tibet.html">like that time in Tibet</a>, would have been there.<br />
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Much like <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2013/02/sunday-morning-on-farm.html">Chiquinquira</a> is Colombia's religious heart, the city of Kandy is Sri Lanka's. The most famous site to visit is the Sri Dalada Maligawa temple, which is located on the grounds of an old royal palace right near the lake that practically runs through the center of town.<br />
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But, before we could go in, we were told that we (Mr. Schmidt and I) would have to either buy or rent sarongs because our shorts were not considered respectable enough. It was no surprise as we've encountered this same type of thing before like when were in the U.A.E. The problem was where to get one quickly.<br />
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Well, that didn't turn out to be much of a problem either as right across the street was a guy with a wide selection. The choice was ours, buy for like five dollars or rent for like three. Diana and I picked out one she liked and paid full purchase price while Mr. Schmidt opted to go rental but still scored a more macho print.<br />
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We spent about an hour exploring the old palace, which has a variety of worship areas spread throughout the scenic property.<br />
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The most important part is the temple itself, which is also known as the Kandy Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic. Yes, it's the site where one of Buddha's teeth is kept.<br />
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Before going into the temple, we needed to check our shoes much like you'd do a coat check at a theater or dinner. From there, it was into the temple, which is impressive for its beauty as well as for the level of reverence and worship taking place inside. I had only ever seen anything like it when I was in the <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2010/11/jokhang-temple-and-barkhor-market.html">Jokhang Temple</a> in <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/search/label/Tibet">Tibet</a>.<br />
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The photo below is taken just as we entered the very center of the temple. To the left, you can see people waiting in line to get close to the relic and, in the center, the flower offerings of the worshipers.<br />
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The story is that, after Buddha died and was cremated, one of his teeth was recovered from the ashes and came to represent the Buddha himself. Moved around over time, its current home is inside the the space just past where these people are praying:<br />
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While we were inside the temple, we watched a series of offerings and rituals including a group of drummers playing. Even though it was full of worshipers and had a very solemn setting, I never felt like anyone was looking at me asking what I was doing in 'their' space. It was nice to feel welcome, which, in general, is how I felt during our entire trip. The people of Sri Lanka were warm, welcoming, and always interested in speaking with us. It was refreshing as in some places, tourists aren't always super popular with the locals.<br />
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This is part one of our visit. Stay tuned for part two.<br />
<br />Darrenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04297178159681349394noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4072716550311254605.post-84757950324694599372016-09-25T21:37:00.000+02:002016-09-25T21:37:04.371+02:00Biert - French Pyrenees<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
While we were in Paris <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2016/09/tour-de-france-in-paris.html">visiting Monica and Olivier (and seeing the Tour de France)</a>, they mentioned that they were going the following weekend to the Pyrenees to get their kids who were with the grandparents. From there, Olivier and the boys were going camping for a few days then they'd all spend time in <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/search/label/Spain">Spain</a>. Monica's not big on camping so it'd help them if she could go back to Barcelona with us to wait for the guys.</div>
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Diana's talked about Olivier's parents before and especially how I needed to meet his dad who's a big wine fan. Monica and Olivier invited us to meet them and, with Diana's brother in town, Monica needing a ride, having no real plans, and, of course, the promise of some great French wine, how could we say no? I reserved a car as soon as we got back to <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/search/label/Barcelona">Barcelona</a>.</div>
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During the week, I continued to check for cheaper car rentals and found one on Thursday night, which I booked immediately canceling the original reservation. I went to the rental place Friday afternoon but, when I got there, the agent asked me like three times for my name. I finally just gave her my identification but she couldn't find the reservation. Pulling up the email my heart sank when I realized that I had booked the new reservation with the website-default date a couple of months later. Argh!</div>
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The agent's reservation computer wasn't working so she needed me to book a car using my phone but the system showed nothing available. Panicking, I was finally able to find a car at another agency and went to get the car all the while Diana and her brother were waiting for me at home. Our original plan was to leave about 6 p.m. so that we could arrive around 10.30 p.m. We ended up leaving at 8.00 p.m. meaning we'd get to their folks house around 1 a.m. Oh well, no big deal. At least we were on our way.</div>
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The house is basically a farm house kinda' like Diana's parents' in <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2013/02/sunday-morning-on-farm.html">Chiquinquira</a>, which meant that finding it at 1.30 in the morning proved to be a challenge. A couple of U-turns at various houses (and waking up one poor family), we had finally arrived and headed straight to bed. It wasn't until the next morning when I went outside that I realized just how rural the "neighborhood" was. That's their house on the right:</div>
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After proper introductions all around, Oliver's mom made us breakfast Saturday morning. She included an assortment of breads she had bought at a shop in town along with some different homemade jams and the craziest rock-salt butter. It's exactly like it sounds, butter with big, crunchy rock salt throughout. Apparently, every family uses it. I. Was. Hooked. You know when you're making chocolate-chip cookies and you've mixed the brown sugar, white sugar, butter, and vanilla how you just can't resist sneaking a little of the mix before adding the eggs? Yeah, it's that good.<br />
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To work off the buttery goodness, we went for a nice looooong walk...<br />
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...all the while enjoying the scenery:<br />
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My only experience with the French side of the Pyrenees was a quick stop just across the Spanish border <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2013/05/catalan-pyrenees.html">with Juan and Carol a couple of years ago</a>. Biert, which is the closest town to their house, is basically a village a bit more than an hour or so past <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2016/02/andorra-pre-internet-amazon.html">Andorra</a>. In quite a few ways, the "tri-country" Pyrenees feels a bit like the mountains inland from <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2010/08/oceanside-california.html">San Diego</a> and <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2011/03/los-angeles.html">Los Angeles</a>; good views, clean air, fairly dry, nearby snowboarding/skiing, and a good place for a weekend away. In the case of this trip, there's one major addition...French wine!<br />
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After our walk, it was time for food...again! This time the meal was a team effort with everyone helping out in some way. Olivier's dad lived up to his reputation by opening bottle after bottle of the good stuff. And, in classic French style, dessert was another bottle of wine and a big spread of cheeses from a local cheese shop.<br />
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Olivier's dad giving Diana and me an overview of the yumminess yet to come:<br />
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All of this relaxation and gluttony got the best of me and I crashed for the next hour or two. Diana woke me and said Olivier's sister would take us into to town so we could buy cheese at the shop where our dessert was from. Biert has all the requisite sites, a church, some cafes, a plaza, and a bunch of family-style shops including where we bought cheese:<br />
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Later that evening, it was even more wine, snacks, and conversation. I've mentioned this in other posts but I love, love, love hanging out talking story with groups with such diverse backgrounds and experiences.<br />
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A big thanks to Olivier's family for hosting us. You've all got a place to stay whenever you're in Barcelona. Hope to see you all again soon!<br />
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The drive home from <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/search/label/France">France</a> involved much less mystery but I think the key was that Monica was guiding. As a bonus, and consistent with our seize-the-moment planning, we even did a quick detour at <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2010/04/montserrat.html">Montserrat</a> on the way home.<br />
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<br />Darrenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04297178159681349394noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4072716550311254605.post-24845337399174619932016-09-04T22:50:00.000+02:002016-09-08T21:52:42.011+02:00Tour de France In Paris!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Back when I lived in <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/search/label/California">California</a>, I watched the Tour de France every year. Often, I'd Tivo it (remember that?) and catch the highlights at like 3x speed. It's always been on that loose list of things I'd like to see in person one day.</div>
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Well sometime in late June, our friends in Paris said their kids would be with their grandparents and that we should come for a visit. When I noticed the dates coincided with the last day of the the Tour and, oh, that Diana's brother would be in town, I blurted out to Diana that we HAD TO GO! It took me about twenty seconds to buy airplane tickets once Diana confirmed with her brother that he was interested.</div>
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I decided that this would finally be the trip where I'd pack super light and actually use every single item in my bag. In the photo below you'll find every item (except my flipflops) that I'd have with me. One pair of shorts (that I wore on the plane), a plain T-shirt and undies for each day, my toiletries, camera charger (why can't I charge my camera with a my phone charger?), <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2015/06/ensenada-mexico.html">my lifeguard hat</a>, and my backpack. That's it, super lightweight and I even had space for the jamon Iberico I picked up for our hosts!</div>
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Monica met us at the bus station and we headed into central <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/search/label/France">Paris</a> to walk around for the afternoon. Here we are about five minutes after arrival in front of Notre Dame:<br />
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Our first day in town was spent seeing the city center as Diana's brother, visiting from <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/search/label/Colombia">Colombia</a>, had never been to <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/search/label/France">France</a>. We walked through the Marais (the Jewish quarter), had lunch in the Sorbonne (the Latin quarter), and then went to visit the Louvre, which is something I've never done.<br />
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First off, if you've never been there, it's MASSIVE! So big that I have no idea how actually big it really is. The plan was to stay for a few hours and see some of the important works like the (copy of the) statue of David and, of course, the Mona Lisa.<br />
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We passed by these two sculptures on the way into one of the museum's wings. They're sort of like before and after images. On the left, you can see the guy's holding (what looks like) a bottle of wine up to his head probably thinking to himself I probably should stop now and not drink the whole thing then, on the right, you see the same post-full-bottle guy pawing some chick and biting one of her nipples while she seems to be thinking oh great he's drunk again. I'm sure the artist intended some lesson here.<br />
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I had heard that the Mona Lisa was a bit of a let-down from more than one person so I didn't expect much. I figured that it'd be super crowded with selfie-taking masses and, on this, I wasn't disappointed. It was way better than I had expected and it was great to see something that's such a part of world culture. Oh, and about those other paintings in the room with the Mona Lisa? They could have been the most amazing works of art but, like the not-to-be-missed Casa Amatller next door to the <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2010/02/casa-batllo.html">Casa Batllo</a> in <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/search/label/Barcelona">Barcelona</a>, they get NO love at all.<br />
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Apparently, in the entire Louvre, there are no (working) fountains. It was getting to the point where I would have drank from a random bottle in a trash can. The only choices you have are to pack in your own water, go all the way back to one of the shops in the lobby and pay like five euros per tiny bottle, or do what I ended up doing which was to drink from the faucet in one of the bathrooms. I get that this is a total first-world problem but, really, no water anywhere. So, take heed weary Louvre visitor, pack in water. It's a loooong journey through the desert!<br />
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Other than the Louvre desert, Paris really is one of the all-time-best cities. I'm not sure how it'd be to live there as I'd imagine, like <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2011/06/london-part-1.html">London</a> or <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2014/03/san-francisco-official-selfie-tour.html">San Francisco</a>, it's best if you're a millionaire but some things you encounter really are very cool. On our way to meet up for dinner, we saw this orchestra playing in one of the metro stations. Talk about impressive public art/performances:<br />
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Another only-in-Paris item we saw was this public fountain located along one of the river walkways. Public fountains usually don't get much attention (although it'd be nice to have one in a certain museum) but this one offered not only 'regular' water but also sparkling water! At a public fountain on the street! Love it!<br />
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Dinner that evening was at the Boullon Chartier, which is a popular French restaurant complete with traditionally dressed waiters and typical cuisine. I opted for the steak tartar because, well, it seemed the French thing to do. Our group, which included some of Monica and Olivier's local friends had a great time sharing travel stories and more than a couple of bottles of nice French wine.<br />
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The three of us were on our own for day two so we decided to visit Versailles where I had also never been. Wow - talk about crazy! The serpentine line out front reminded me of our visit to <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2011/05/trifecta-vatican-sistine-chapel-and.html">the Vatican with Diana's parents</a> a few years ago. I'd guess there were more than a thousand people waiting with us.<br />
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We spent maybe three hours visiting the impressively-detailed palace. I was telling Diana how it reminded me of the palaces (like <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2012/09/schloss-hohenschwangau.html">Hohenschwangau</a> and <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2012/07/schloss-ludwigsburg.html">Ludwigsburg</a>) we visited when we lived in <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/search/label/Germany">Germany</a> and she laughed at me (definitely not the first time!). Ah, yeah, she said, they were copying this one. Oh. Okay.<br />
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A note about visiting Versailles. A friend of mine said that we should stay to see the evening light and music show so booked tickets for both in advance. After spending the better part of the afternoon visiting the palace and surrounding (amazing) gardens, we hung out for a couple of hours in the park waiting for the gates to reopen (they kick you out around 5pm and reopen around 7 or so). When the time came, we went to the gate and...they said sorry, this is a daytime ticket, which is no good for the show. Argh! Well, it seems we're not the first to have this happen. Turns out the company that runs the show is completely different and it needs to be booked separately.<br />
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So, we bailed on paying an additional like 20-something euros each and went for dinner at the nearby Notre Dame (not the church) Market where there's a bunch of outdoor, cafe-style restaurants.<br />
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La Creperie. So very France!<br />
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And so came the big day! Sunday, the final day of the Tour de France when the peloton arrives for a mostly ceremonial run through the cobbled streets of Paris!<br />
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I had read that a good spot to see the action was, surprisingly, right out in front of the Louvre. I had my doubts but our group headed that way and arrived just as the parade was going by. The spectacle of floats, funny costumes, and freebies is every bit looked forward to I'd image in the same way that people watch the Super Bowl to see the commercials.<br />
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When we arrived there was still about an hour or so until the peloton would pass by and we were able to claim a spot opposite the museum right up against the railing. Woohoo! All the sudden a line of fast-moving cars with advertising on the side and bicycles on the roof went rushing by. Not more than 30 seconds later, the first rider went by. FAST! Like a rocket. Then, 20 seconds or so later, the peloton arrived! There's this year's winner, <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/search/label/England">England</a>'s Chris Froome, in his yellow jersey (just above the photographer):<br />
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Diana was excited to see Colombia's Nairo Quintana who's been tearing it up and finished second this year. Not only is he from <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/search/label/Colombia">Colombia</a>, he's from Boyaca, which is the state where <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2010/12/chiquinquira-not-just-for-dinner.html">Chiquinquira</a> and <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2011/01/villa-de-leyva-roommate-reunion.html">Villa de Lleyva</a> are and where Diana's parents are from. You can see Nairo with the blue jersey and yellow helmet just at the bottom left corner of the pyramid:<br />
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The disadvantage of our amazing viewing spot was that the peloton only passes once. We decided to head over to the other side of the Tuileries Gardens where the peloton disappears into the tunnel. The riders passed by twice in the short amount of time we hung out there. Actually, it's amazing how fast they go up to the Arc de Triomphe and back. I would guess it was like 10 minutes but it has to be more. They move so fast; that was probably the biggest surprise of the day.<br />
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From there, we walked over to another of the park's edges and watched the riders go by a couple of more times. After the final lap and it was clear Froome had won, we found a nice place to get a bottle of Champagne to celebrate. Oh, and one of the last surprises, they served those amazing <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2012/09/erdnuss-flippies.html">peanut butter flavored (cheese) curls</a> I love from when we lived in Germany!<br />
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Thanks to Monica and Olivier for hosting us at their new Paris place! Last time it was <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2015/08/istanbul-part-1.html">Istambul</a>, <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/search/label/Turkey">Turkey</a>. Like whereisdarrennow, I wonder where they'll end up next! Something I do know, if they do go somewhere new, we won't be far behind! :)<br />
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<br />Darrenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04297178159681349394noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4072716550311254605.post-61778205594747560752016-08-14T14:09:00.004+02:002016-08-14T21:44:26.660+02:00Colombia 2016<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
We got back to Bogota after our trip to <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2016/07/cartagena-colombia.html">Cartagena</a> and spent only one night before loading up the car with our stuff and Diana's mom and dad to go to <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2010/12/chiquinquira-not-just-for-dinner.html">Chiquinquira</a>. If you're not familiar, this is the small town about a three-hour drive north of <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2010/12/coffee-bogota-style.html">Bogota</a> where Diana's parents are from and where they still have a small farm house and a some milk makers.</div>
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It had been about a year-and-a-half since <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2015/05/colombia-2014.html">my last trip</a> and I was excited to be back. A few minutes after arriving, I wanted to see the family's donkey, <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2013/02/sunday-morning-on-farm.html">Pepe</a>, who sometimes acts like a big dog. Being that so long had passed, I figured he wouldn't remember me. Umm, I was wrong.</div>
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As I walked around the house, I saw him up on the hill. He took a quick break from eating and glanced my way and actually did a double take before running down towards me while making that donkey hee-haw sound. The family was a few steps behind and couldn't believe it. Apparently, this wasn't standard Pepe behavior; I was honored.</div>
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The view of Rancho Grande and its immense herd of cows as seen from Pepe's favorite hang out:<br />
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Pepe is now retired. Normally, on a farm, animals have a very short "retirement" (read: maybe one day), which, while I understand the cost and upkeep, especially for older animals, is still sad. Well, Diana's dad had decided that, because Pepe means so much to the family, he would get a nice long retirement instead. Thanks Juaco!<br />
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Happily hanging out with the farm's new pet "dog":<br />
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Pepe's pre-retirement job was to cart cans and other supplies at <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2010/12/milking-cows.html">milking time</a>. Diana's dad mentioned during a call a few months ago that he had hired Pepe's replacement. Breaking with family-donkey tradition, he contracted Lucero who, as you can see, is...a horse. Gasp!<br />
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Maybe it's farm life, or maybe being in Chiquinquira, but Lucero is every bit as mellow and friendly as cousin Pepe. It was funny to watch Pepe watching Lucero get tied up to the cart at milking time as if Pepe was thinking, "hey, that's my job" before turning back to his current position of watcher-of-all-things-going-on and maintainer-of-short-grass.<br />
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One of the things that's great about being out at the farm is how time changes. No longer are we controlled by the every-15-minute ringing of <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/search/label/Barcelona">Barcelona</a> church bells, but rather it's the twice-daily milkings. Other than that, nothing usually happens. Usually.<br />
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But we woke up one morning to some excitement. Diana's mom was on the phone yelling, which is HIGHLY unusual. It took me a minute or two but she was clearly upset and was "telling" whoever was unfortunate enough to be on the other end that they needed to immediately come out and resolve whatever was going on. Diana, still with pajamas on, was already putting on her farm boots so I did the same.<br />
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On the hillside above the house, not far from Pepe's hangout, we found the following scene. Apparently, one of the neighbors from the other side of the hill had contracted with someone to do some work with a digger on their property and, as they had come sometime overnight, the digger went off the side of the road. They already had it secured to another backhoe and were waiting on a large tow truck to arrive.<br />
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It took them much of the day to recover the digger and, by the time we went back later, they had repaired the road. For a place where basically nothing ever happens, it was a big deal.<br />
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After the excitement died down (and a nice lunch), I put my boots back on and went to visit the cows. While taking pictures, I noticed one of the cows seemed to be in a bit of distress. She was making usual noises so I went to see what was wrong.<br />
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As I got closer, it looked like she had a small blue bag stuck to her backside. Figuring maybe she had eaten some plastic or something, I moved in to see if I could help. When I was about three feet away, I could make out a cow nose and hoof inside the "bag". <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/search/label/Philadelphia">Being a city boy</a>, it took a few seconds to process. Yes, this cow was having a baby! Right there and right then. In front of me!<br />
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It was amazing. And scary. Was she okay? Should I help? There's always a blanket and water in the movies. Should I get those? No, better to get Diana. She's smarter than me; she'll know. I yelled up to the house and Diana came running. We immediately told her parents and called her cousin and his wife who are the part-time caretakers and keepers of the cows.<br />
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We kept watch, both not really knowing what to do - oh well. Her cousin arrived about five minutes later just as the calf was almost fully out and just as it gained consciousness, an moment which, on its own, was quite a surprise. He tore the placenta and both mom and baby looked around.<br />
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The only thing faster than your baby growing up and heading off to university is the speed at which the calf managed to get up, wobble around a bit, and start nursing. Total time, maybe five minutes. Again, amazing.<br />
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Baby's first steps:<br />
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Postpartum photo with Diana's cousin, his wife, and some locals:<br />
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What excitement! Between that, a bunch of <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2011/01/zona-cafetera-coffee-country.html">Colombian coffee</a>, and a couple of <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2013/01/whats-colombian-food-like.html" target="">Arepas Boyacenses</a>, it was a day I won't soon forget. The next day, it was back to Bogota to spend my last few days in town with Diana's family.<br />
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Dual-birthday celebration for Diana's dad and nephew:<br />
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Diana's nephew asked me to take a photo of him and his grandfather (Diana's dad), which I did. The problem was that her dad's always wearing some sort of hat so his face was all dark in the first photo. I went to take his hat off and, for some random reason, turned it around like her nephew. The result is one of my favorite photos I've ever taken.<br />
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As we had been super busy, I mentioned to Diana on my last morning that I hadn't eaten a <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2011/02/like-heroin-bandeja-paisa.html">Bandeja Paisa</a> the entire trip. She immediately set about rectifying this extreme oversight by organizing family lunch at a nearby place with excellent BP.<br />
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If you don't already know, Bandeja Paisa, which means basically 'country tray', is one of my favorite Colombian meals. It has all the important food groups including such delicacies as chicharron, sausage, beans, eggs, ground meat, avocados, and fried plantains. Can you say 'yummy, yummy, I'm gonna' put you in my tummy'?<br />
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Sadly, it was once again time to say goodbye to Colombia and Diana's family. Thanks to Diana's mom, dad, sister, brothers, nieces, nephews, cousins, aunts, uncles, donkeys, cows, horses, and everyone/thing else that made it (as always) a great trip. Nos vemos pronto!<br />
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A small side story for this trip. I flew Air France and my return flight from Paris to Barcelona was canceled due to one of France's regularly scheduled labor actions. As compensation, I got three 'extra' hours in CDG, and a bonus six-hour layover in <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2013/07/amsterdam.html">Amsterdam</a>, which I happily took advantage of.<br />
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A few euros and a half-an-hour later, I was eating <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2013/06/belgian-yummyness.html">real Belgian-style french fries</a> for breakfast while overlooking canals. The only bummer was that I, unable to think after my red-eye, ordered ketchup instead of mayo ensuring everyone knew I was an American tourist. Ha! Not important, I was, ten hours after leaving Bogota, in Amsterdam on my way to <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/search/label/Spain">Spain</a>!<br />
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<br />Darrenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04297178159681349394noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4072716550311254605.post-995106427038816102016-07-11T00:26:00.002+02:002016-07-11T00:40:52.489+02:00Cartagena Colombia<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
My last trip to <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/search/label/Colombia">Colombia</a> was mostly about hanging out at Diana's mom and dad's house and going to doctor appointments. It was nice but not as fun as past visits like when we went with her folks to <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2011/01/zona-cafetera-coffee-country.html">the coffee area</a>. We decided that this trip would be different and we wanted to go somewhere new (for me) to have some fun. With Fidu and Juaco back to their former <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2013/02/sunday-morning-on-farm.html">farmer-strength</a> selves, we chose Cartagena. A day after arriving in <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/search/label/Bogota">Bogota</a>, it was back to BOG for a short flight with mom, dad, and one of Diana's brothers and, voila, we were in the Caribbean!</div>
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Cartagena was founded by the Spanish in the 1500s and part of the old town is inside a fortified wall. From the top of the wall looking towards Boca Grande where there's a lot of newer high-rise hotels and apartment buildings:<br />
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There were two different events going on the week we were there that gave it extra flavor; the anniversary of the founding of Cartagena and the Copa America futbol tournament. There were yellow jerseys for sale everywhere as well as on lots of people.<br />
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<a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2011/02/fernando-botero-super-size-me.html">Fernando Botero</a> sculpture, La Gordita, in one of the plazas in the old part of town:<br />
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Old town has two faces; during the day, it's a mix of locals going about their daily business and tourists taking it all in. We had fun checking out the old houses, public buildings, churches, and plazas but, it was hot! And humid! It's in the evening, after the sun went to bed that it was way easier to walk around to enjoy the relative peace and quiet and lovely scenery.<br />
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The historical part of town is divided into two, one inside the wall and another nearby but just outside the wall. We came across a plaza where they were celebrating the city's birthday with a musical variety show. It reminded me a bit of the first evening I lived in Merida, <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/search/label/Mexico">Mexico</a>, and I watched the Noche Mexicana show, which was probably the single moment when I fell in love with traveling.<br />
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The Getsemani neighborhood (outside the wall) had a much more hippy feel to it. Lots of college students, most sounding like they were from the <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/search/label/United%20States">United States</a>, hanging out in the streets smoking pot and drinking beer. It was like a fraternity party had been brought in for the evening.<br />
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So, if you still have any doubts about visiting Colombia, it's time to get over them and go visit this amazing country. It's safe, so safe in fact, that the discount travel folks have found a way-cheaper and more-authentic locale than the likes of Cancun. Until Cuba's open to us U.S. passport holders, we'll have to (happily) make do with scenes like this one:<br />
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...and this:<br />
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Our second day in town, we spent the morning at the Castillo San Felipe de Barajas, which is a large fort complex overlooking the city and bay.<br />
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Even after visiting the fort, I have my doubts if it was built on top of a hill or if the hill is the result of building the fort. My guess is that it was a hill first and they covered with what you can see. It's the impressive (and massive) series of tunnels, storage, barracks, and water tanks you can't see that give me my doubts.<br />
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Don't let the clouds in these photos fool you. Like I said earlier, it was H-O-T hot! We stopped for frequent breaks and drank way too much water. Here's Diana's mom and dad taking advantage of an old canon, which was used as winch point to bring supplies up to the top, during one of our stops. Note Fidu representing <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/search/label/Philadelphia">Philadelphia</a> by rocking the <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2011/07/birthdays-tailgate-and-baseball-game.html">Phillies</a> hat my dad gave her when <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2013/02/dad-visits-colombia-part-1.html">he came to Colombia</a> a couple of years ago. Way to go Fidu!<br />
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While we were at the fort, Diana's brother hired a driver to take us to our next two stops, the first of which, La Popa, is Cartagena's highest point. There's a monastery, which is nice, but it's the view of all of Cartegena, the bay, and the ocean beyond that takes the prize. If you look at the photo below up close, you'll see the Castilla San Felipe de Barajas, which is beyond the yellow building above Diana's head, and the old walled city just beyond that. Nice view!<br />
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We wanted to eat some good fresh seafood and the driver recommended a place he knew out at La Boquilla, which is a narrow island just north of the city. You get there by driving, along with basically all the other local traffic on the sand just up from the water. Lining the entire way is a series of covered "restaurants" that really aren't much more than tents where you can get some food made in nearby houses. As good as that sounds, our meal was just okay. We had better in town for pretty much the same price.<br />
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What made the visit worthwhile though was the setting. Diana and her family went in the water while I took photos and enjoyed the locals going about their business. At one point, a fishing boat came in and I watched the maybe twenty guys pushing the boat up onto the beach, bring in the haul, and tend to the nets. While all this was going on, a series of vendors sold mangoes and other snacks to the most-likely freshly flush fishermen. What a great experience! And the view's pretty nice too!<br />
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Another day trip was over to the beach at La Boca Grande, which is the more modern side of Cartagena. I'd imagine that most of the tall buildings have been built in the last few years with many still under construction. The beach itself is full of rental beach chairs and umbrellas, small restaurants, and an army of people trying to earn a living from anyone who's not a local.<br />
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We ate lunch at a place that had the appearance of being made from leftover lumber and may have lacked indoor plumbing. Depending on your style this may not sound appetizing but I can tell you that the view from the tables on the sand were first-class and the food. Well, let's just say, like when we <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2010/11/random-items-from-beijing.html">ate on the streets</a> in <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/search/label/China">China</a>, it was the best meal of the trip. The fresh fish was the size of my thigh and my pina colada, which was made with fresh coconut and pineapple by the nextdoor business, was also super yummy and I'd go back in a second! And, as a bonus, Diana and her mom got massages at the same time!<br />
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And about those views...<br />
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Diana and her family wanted to take a boat ride out to the nearby Rosario islands, which is supposedly one of the must-dos when visiting Cartagena. We woke up extra early one day and headed over to the docks full of energy.<br />
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That is, until I found that it was like four-plus hours in the boat between coming and going. If you've been reading my blog before, you may have seen I'm not the biggest fan of boats. It's not that I'm at all afraid or anything. It's just the idea of being on a boat for four hours is not my idea of a fun day. So, I opted out, gave some goodbye hugs, took photos of the dearly departing, and happily headed back into town to enjoy some alone time!<br />
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After stopping back at the house to drop off my stuff, I went to the highly promising Museum of the Inquisition, which is located in an old colonial-style palace inside the walled city.<br />
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A quick side story before getting into the museum. When we were kids and often when the whole family was gathered together like at Thanksgiving, my dad would lead a game he called Torture. Although I'm still not clear on what the rules were, it involved all of us jumping on him while he acted as the torturer. As games often say on the box, it was fun for all ages.<br />
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I fully expected a museum version of this game. Maybe a bit more hardware, a lot more raw flesh, and gobs more crying. With the exception of the display below, it was surprisingly short of torture. In retrospect, I foolishly confused "Museum of the Inquisition" with "Museum of Torture", which I'm sure exists somewhere I haven't yet gone.<br />
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Having said that, it was a good museum and I learned a lot about a topic that I probably slept through during my schooling. A nice extra was a few rooms filled with some more modern art done by (very talented) local kids. It included drawings of daily-life experiences like random things seen while riding the bus, times at school, and even family-time. And, no, there was no Torture game artwork. Maybe like comedy, the game doesn't travel well.<br />
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I'll often have moments when I'm hyper-aware of the setting and me in that setting. I've tried writing about it before but I've never been able to really capture what I meant. As an example, I recently found myself standing and waiting on a street outside a post-wedding party I had just attended. The variety of people I was surrounded by, the number of languages being spoken, the setting of the street I was standing on, the random people passing by were mesmerizing. It was so much in such a compressed time and space that it really struck me and made me reflect on what path got me to that random spot at that random moment.<br />
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Other times, I'll be in the middle of something that could be a scene out of one of those movies where the director focuses on all the micro details of what's going on (like I said, this is a bit hard to explain). While we were walking around a random Cartagena neighborhood, the moment captured in the photo below, I had one of these hyper-aware moments.<br />
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The amount of traffic passing by, the mini buses packed with locals heading wherever, the guy talking on the phone at a way-too-high volume, the people selling items at the stand, the palm trees, the heat and humidity of the day, the smells of food cooking on the street, the modern shopping center, all the random folks walking by or just hanging out, and even the "mototaxis" between the bus and the curb (mototaxis are a lower-cost version of a taxi). It was all a bit surreal and made me stop and wonder for a moment how I had arrived at that specific moment.<br />
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I wonder if this is how people feel when the meditate; an awareness of everything all at once. Or maybe it's the opposite as meditation might be the hyper-awareness of nothing at all. In any case, it's moments like this when I can be found in one of my happy places.<br />
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The scene in the next photo was a surprise. While walking through the Parque del Centerio, old-town's Central Park, we came across a bunch of local kids practicing inline racing. All the kids had racing skates, spandex outfits, and the track was in great condition. I've been to Colombia before and have spent almost nine months in various parts of the country. I know it fairly well and I'm very comfortable there. But, this scene made me realize that, for some reason, I have some biases that are still embedded deeply in my brain.<br />
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Let's try something. Close your eyes and think about the idea of Colombia. What images flash into your mind? I can almost certainly guarantee that this is not one of them. All that other stereotypical crap, yeah that may have existed (and maybe somewhere still does) but this is real:<br />
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One of the more popular pastimes for locals and tourists alike is walking along the top of the city wall. Diana and I walked it at least once a day. It was a great place to people watch and just relax.<br />
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At one point along the wall, there are a series of openings that might have been where canons were placed. In the evenings, each of the openings would be filled with a single teenage couple pawing at each other while looking out over the sea. I joked with Diana one time that we should come early, stake out a place, and then sell our spot once all the others had been filled by sweaty teenagers in love. She thought it was a good idea, or so she says, and we spent maybe an hour one day just "hanging out" in our own little nest.<br />
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Another random Cartagena thing I enjoyed was the Portal de los Dulces, which is a small market area where people sell local-style sweets. There's lots of coconut and tropical-fruit-flavor candy some of which appears to be handmade and others that are definitely factory items. Diana and I stopped by one day to buy about $20 worth of candy (and sample another few dollars worth!) to take back to Bogota and <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/search/label/Barcelona">Barcelona</a>. Worth a visit if you're ever in town.<br />
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Our last morning in town was spent at the Naval Academy visiting with a friend of Diana's brother who is a naval officer at the school. We got the full tour, ate some coffee and sweet bread, and took a bunch of photos. It was interesting to see the facilities and learn about the history but, humorously, the thing I remember most is the cadets cleaning the statue below and the surrounding plaza. Some of them were hand cleaning the bricks and others were polishing the statue. It was hard work and it, again, was hot, hot, HOT in the sun!<br />
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Oh, and I need to mention that we stayed at an amazing, five-bedroom house that had a rooftop deck and a small pool in the courtyard. The house is colonial style with all the first floor rooms open to the courtyard, which is open to the sky. With the air conditioner on, it was very comfortable and pleasant to lounging by the pool drinking some Argentinian wine. This is the life!<br />
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Dinner on our last night in town:<br />
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It was nice to be back in Colombia with Diana's family and to be able to spend so much time with her mom, dad, and brother in such a beautiful house and city. Plus, it was way better than refreshing my knowledge of the Colombian medical system!<br />
<br />Darrenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04297178159681349394noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4072716550311254605.post-29636440092641327582016-06-19T22:51:00.000+02:002016-06-25T12:01:52.924+02:002016 Nike Barcelona SLS Skateboard Contest<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
When I was maybe eight or nine years old, I started getting seriously into bicycle riding. It started out innocently with a BMX bike that my parents gave me and, over the years, moved into more and more higher-end bikes and got to the point where I spent almost every waking hour when I wasn't in school or working riding with friends. To pay for my addiction, I started peddling (ha - punny!) newspapers when I was ten and later other jobs included selling, doing repairs, and so on in bike and skateboard shops.</div>
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My biking "career" spanned the last couple of years of grade school, through high school, and even some time at university. A lot of it was racing BMX but, by the time I was in 10th grade, our group of friends started "doing freestyle", which was stunt riding on BMX bikes. It was right around then that we also got into skateboarding. Some of the same spots that were good for freestyle lent (and still do lend) themselves nicely to skateboarding. Plus, when it rained or snowed, the bikes stayed home; we were limited to skateboarding in Center City <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/search/label/Philadelphia">Philadelphia</a> parking structures.</div>
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About half way through university, a friend from high school moved to <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2015/06/back-in-southern-california-part-1.html">San Diego</a> to work in the skateboard industry. I went to visit him for a week or so one summer and, within a couple of hours of landing in <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2011/03/los-angeles.html">Los Angeles</a>, I was hooked. Right after university, I was off to <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/search/label/California">California</a> where I spent the next 19 years. The whole time I was surrounded by friends who worked in the skateboarding, snowboarding, and surfing industries. I was even lucky to work in the bicycle and snowboard industries for a while.</div>
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One those friends, John John, who managed <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2011/03/daily-habit-tv-show-filming.html">what so many dream of doing</a> - turn a love (of action sports) into an amazing job and lifestyle, recently messaged asking if I'd be around as he could get me tickets to the Nike Street League Skateboarding Pro Open contest.</div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rUfvE-iKU8g/V2Uvr18oEmI/AAAAAAAAVmk/4nQgQsSPKzgydhS0-4gpVFCVSTRNtwuMACLcB/s1600/1%2Bnike%2Bskateboard%2Bleague%2Bseries%2Bsls%2Bpro%2Bopen%2Bbadalona%2Bbarcelona%2Bspain%2B2016.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="295" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rUfvE-iKU8g/V2Uvr18oEmI/AAAAAAAAVmk/4nQgQsSPKzgydhS0-4gpVFCVSTRNtwuMACLcB/s400/1%2Bnike%2Bskateboard%2Bleague%2Bseries%2Bsls%2Bpro%2Bopen%2Bbadalona%2Bbarcelona%2Bspain%2B2016.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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I told <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2012/08/munich-part-2.html">John John</a> that, of course, we'd love to go! When the day arrived, Diana and I took the train to the Skate Agora skatepark in Badalona, which is the next town north of <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/search/label/Barcelona">Barcelona</a>. We grabbed our V.I.P. bracelets and set in to enjoy watching pro skaters from around the world compete on the newish, well-designed, beach-side park.<br />
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jg0PJNhEa4k/V2UvmW0CcDI/AAAAAAAAVmY/LQlM9PnjFYEdEpnOwOS522Hcknf5ZP-gACLcB/s1600/3%2BSLS%2Bnike%2Bskateboard%2Bbadalona%2Bbarcelona%2Bspain%2Bpro%2Bopen%2Bstreet%2Bleague.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="295" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jg0PJNhEa4k/V2UvmW0CcDI/AAAAAAAAVmY/LQlM9PnjFYEdEpnOwOS522Hcknf5ZP-gACLcB/s400/3%2BSLS%2Bnike%2Bskateboard%2Bbadalona%2Bbarcelona%2Bspain%2Bpro%2Bopen%2Bstreet%2Bleague.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Since moving away from California, I've only been marginally aware of the industry and sports that occupied such a majority of my time on this planet. Barcelona has its own (fairly big) skateboarding scene, the mountains are close, and you'll even see the occasional surfer at the beach but it's just not the same intensity as it was in <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2010/08/oceanside-california.html">Oceanside</a>. It was nice to be back in the mix, even if just as an observer.<br />
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Thanks for the tickets John John! We had a great time (vicariously) reliving my youth. Maybe when you and the family come for a visit, we can roll around the park for a bit!<br />
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<br />Darrenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04297178159681349394noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4072716550311254605.post-27991087746150785812016-06-11T17:30:00.000+02:002016-06-11T17:38:04.493+02:00Edinburgh Scotland<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Never saying no to an opportunity, Diana and I were lucky enough to take a surprise, last-minute weekend trip to Edinburgh, Scotland:</div>
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The trip was almost exactly ten years since my last visit. Back then, pre-whereisdarrennow, I spent a couple of days in Glasgow, maybe four or five days driving up to Inverness and then back down to Edinburgh for a couple of more days. Here's a shot of me (with my hair just starting to grow out!) looking for Nessie at Loch Ness:<br />
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Being that it had been ten years, I couldn't remember exactly what Edinburgh was like. I think it was partially due to having visited Glasgow, Inverness, Edinburgh, as well as a few other towns along the way, which made them all kinda' run together. But, once we arrived and were walking around, many details came back.<br />
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The Edinburgh castle as seen from the King's Stables area:<br />
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We arrived in time for a late-afternoon <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2011/07/bad-teeth-good-shoes.html">pub lunch</a>, which consisted of some kind of meat pie, mashed potatoes, and, of course, gravy. I'm generally a <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2015/11/caretaker-memories-in-bottle.html">wine drinker</a> but, when visiting <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/search/label/England">England</a> or <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/search/label/Ireland">Ireland</a>, I like trying the different ciders. Sometimes they're really good and other times they're waaaay too sweet. It wasn't until going to this pub that I learned that there are different sweetness levels and that I could ask for a "dry" cider. Yummy food, yummy company, AND yummy cider!</div>
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We spent the next six or seven hours walking around town. Even after living in <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/search/label/Europe">Europe</a> for over six years, I'm still impressed by the architecture and walkability. Yes, I know that <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/search/label/United%20States">U.S.</a> cities like <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/search/label/Philadelphia">Philadelphia</a>, Boston, and <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2012/01/new-york-city.html">New York</a> can be similar but there's just something about buildings and places that have been continuously inhabited for hundreds, if not thousands of years.<br />
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Ya3q97kcEA8/V1CbHV2xWfI/AAAAAAAAVeg/5MoMzEq7RmMfFoeHyxCRh9GAoH3nqHI9gCLcB/s1600/2b%2Bedinburgh%2Bscotland%2Bstreet%2Bview%2Bmini%2Bcooper.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Ya3q97kcEA8/V1CbHV2xWfI/AAAAAAAAVeg/5MoMzEq7RmMfFoeHyxCRh9GAoH3nqHI9gCLcB/s400/2b%2Bedinburgh%2Bscotland%2Bstreet%2Bview%2Bmini%2Bcooper.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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I'm guessing that demographics and culture are changing in Scotland like they are in the United States. <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2010/07/colonia-guell-church.html">Near where I grew up</a>, some churches and catholic schools are closing down due to a lack of local parishioners including my grade school. Walking around Edinburgh, we came across churches that had been repurposed into museums, theaters, restaurants, and even night clubs. I've always wanted to live in an old firehouse including being able to go downstairs in the morning using the pole but I had never considered an old church before now!<br />
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We walked up to the castle to take in the city view. Looking out towards the Salisbury Crags (the hill off in the distance - more below), I remembered this scene very well from my last trip.<br />
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It was fairly late in the day by the time we reached the castle so we decided it wasn't worth it to go in for only an hour. Plus, I had done it before...gotta' love that hair!<br />
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On our way back to the apartment, we stopped to take some professional portraits overlooking the city:<br />
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...and mine (Diana's definitely a better photographer!)...<br />
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Okay, so a bit of a random digression. Why is it that if you try to use "Scottish" pounds in a <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2011/07/london-part-2.html">London</a> shop do they look at you like the money is fake but when using "English" pounds in Scotland it's no problem?<br />
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In the photo below, you'll see two ten-pound and two five-pound notes. The middle two were issued by the Bank of England, the top one by Clydesdale Bank (a Scottish bank), and the bottom by the Bank of Scotland. Regardless of where the money is issued, it's worth the same; a ten-pound note is always worth ten pounds, or at least I'm told. I just know that I'll probably have trouble trying to use my leftover "Scottish" money during my next trip to England.<br />
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One last thing; if you look at the two middle notes, both have similar (the same?) picture of the queen. But, and it's probably just me or maybe even the fact that the five-pound note is more wrinkled, the queen on the five appears to be pensively looking out to her right while the one on the ten-pound note seems to be looking at us with an almost sexy stare!<br />
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Our second day in town started with me eating a Full English, which is like a U.K. breakfast <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2011/02/like-heroin-bandeja-paisa.html">Bandeja Paisa</a>. As with its cousin from <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/search/label/Colombia">Colombia</a>, there are eggs, sausages, (baked) beans, ham (bacon), fried mushrooms, toast, and white and (my favorite) black pudding. All that and a cup-o-Joe and you're all set for a good day. Yummy!<br />
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Our big bust out for the trip was taking the Underground City tour, where you go below what is now the city chambers to see old dwellings. When the building was built, they removed the top floors of housing and left the bottom few floors as foundation.<br />
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They do a great job of setting the scene for what life was like in the city during the late middle ages. The housing of the era could be up to maybe nine floors with the distance between facades of maybe five feet apart. There was very little light that got to the bottom floors where the poorest people lived in their tiny, low-ceiling, one-room dwellings.<br />
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I'd imagine it was quite lovely walking down Mary King's Close (the name of the street below) especially considering the residents would dispose of their waste, including human, out their front windows twice a day. There was no sewer system to speak of, other than the rain - bombs away!!!<br />
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Apart from the thought of the "black rain", the guide told us about how the plague impacted the city. Much like <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/search/label/Barcelona">Barcelona</a> and other European cities, the flea-borne disease decimated the local population.<br />
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Many cities had doctors who would go out among the victims to try to help them and to also provide accurate counts of the dead. These "plague doctors" wore heavy garments and masks as protection from the evil spirits that brought the disease. The masks sometimes looked like a bird's beaks due to their long "nose" where the doctors would place herbs and other aromatic materials. It's now believed that these heavy garments provided some protection from flea bites, which helped them to not (always) get sick.<br />
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I took a photo of the Doctor Rae exhibit (Edinburgh's famous plague doctor) in one of the rooms where people used to live. I'm not sure what happened but the LED lighting must have confused my camera resulting in this unretouched photo, which I really like!<br />
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After the tour, we walked the rest of the way down the Royal Mile with a plan to hike up to the top of the Salisbury Crags, which is a large hill and rock formation in the center of town.<br />
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We stopped for a bit to enjoy the views and to watch some kids playing in a fountain. I laughed because it was maybe 60 degrees (15 C) and the kids were in shorts, some with shirts, and all having a fun time splashing around. The reason why I found it funny was because in Barcelona when it's that temperature parents have their kids (and most likely themselves) bundled up in winter clothes and would never imagine their kids playing in water at that temperature. But, much like when we lived in <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/search/label/Germany">Germany</a>, a 60 degree day <i>is</i> summer in northern Europe!<br />
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The Crags are lovely natural backdrop to the city and offer a 360-degree view of the whole Edinburgh area. It took us about an hour to make it to the top and we hung out and enjoyed the city and water views for another 30 minutes or so.<br />
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We were super lucky that the weather was great while we were in town. Locals told me that it was 16 days straight without rain, which ended the last morning we were in town, when it rained lightly.<br />
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Diana and I had a great time and really enjoyed the city and, of course, the food! A special shout out to some friends who made our last evening in town extra special with a nice dinner out. Thanks for the fun Scotland!<br />
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<br />Darrenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04297178159681349394noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4072716550311254605.post-16291244825943490112016-05-22T17:41:00.001+02:002016-05-23T22:21:15.623+02:00Fez Morocco<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
After spending <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2016/05/marrakesh-morocco.html">a couple of days in Marrakesh</a>, we took an early morning train up to Fez. The train left about 6:30 am and took almost seven hours with about 20-plus stops including Casablanca. Unfortunately, our plan didn't include any time there as it's definitely one of those places I've heard about and would have liked to see. Maybe next time?</div>
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Seven hours in a train, especially one in <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/search/label/Morocco">Morocco</a>, could understandably be a bit intimidating. We were wise enough to cough up the cash for first-class seats, which were set in small, semi-private compartments each with six seats. I partially expected it to be like that scene in Trading Places with Eddie Murphy and Dan Aykroyd. Well, it wasn't quite that nice. I think my favorite part was the bathroom where you could watch the ground pass by the bottom of the toilet. Yes, for real. But, they did have a guy who came by regularly with coffee and snacks, which, along with the fabulous views, made it a surprisingly nice trip overall.<br />
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After we arrived in Fez, I got to experience the Moroccan three-taxi intercity transport system. This involved taking a "small" (local) taxi from the Fez train station to another taxi station slightly away from the center of town where we got into a larger long-distance taxi. This one took us to the outskirts of Adil's hometown, Sefrou, where we caught another small taxi to his folks' house.<br />
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The two local taxi rides were each about ten minutes and the long one was well over 30 minutes. I don't remember what we paid for the long ride, which was in a well-traveled 30+ year-old diesel Mercedes, but it cost surprisingly little. A bonus was that all of the taxi drivers we had, with the exception of one, drove conservatively enough where I didn't fear for my life. Actually, it was a lot less scary than that but I had expected the worst. I still wonder if Adil preemptively said anything to the drivers...<br />
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One of the long-distance taxi stations:<br />
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We arrived at Adil's family's house and immediately settled in. His mom and dad were super gracious and welcomed our what seemed now like an exceptionally large group. Adil's mom had tea and snacks ready and we spent some time getting to know each other.<br />
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After a bit, Adil, Adil's brother, who lives in <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/search/label/Italy">Italy</a> and also happened to be in town. their sister, and the rest of our pack walked to the old walled Sefrou medina stopping off along the way to get more tea and coffee at an outdoor cafe. I kinda' liked the French-inspired stop-at-a-cafe culture in Morocco!<br />
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One of the entrances to the Sefrou medina:<br />
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Compared with Marrakesh and Fez, each with around a million people, Sefrou was a village. Adil's hometown feels like a suburb with working families going about their daily activities. I'd imagine lots of folks make the trip into Fez every morning so "their kids can grow up in a family-friendly area" - yeah, just like wherever you're reading this from. Sefrou's probably not on the Marrakesh-Casablanca-Fez-etc. tourist trail, which made it a nice contrast to what we had already experienced.<br />
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Around 9 pm in one of the plazas in the Sefrou medina:<br />
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When we got back to Adil's house that evening, his mom had prepared a way-to-big and way-too-delicious feast for us. I'm not sure anyone was hungry when we got there and I can assure you that we were all stuffed by bedtime! Ladhidh! (Yummy in Arabic.)<br />
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The next morning, after another incredible homemade meal (I could get used to this!), we did the three-taxi trip back to Fez to check out the medina, which seemed every bit as giant as the one in Marrakesh.<br />
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Can I just say again how much I loved all the cafes and what a view!<br />
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Some of our group with Adil's brother just about to enter through one of the gates:<br />
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It was relatively quiet when we went and kinda' felt like a recovery day or something in that people seemed to be taking it easy.<br />
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Some local kids hanging out:<br />
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Taking advantage of the bright colors for a (not my) family photo.<br />
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Another random Fez medina street scene:<br />
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If you're like me, you've probably been wondering about the hat. Before the trip, I was curious if I'd see anyone actually wearing a fez in Fez. And, really, what the heck is a fez anyway?<br />
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Let's get it out of the way, yes, I did see people wearing fezzes like the man at the bottom of the photo above and on the coppersmith in the photo below.<br />
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I learned that the fez served (and may still) as a sort of wearable anti-French nationalist symbol in Morocco. The felt-covered hat, which I read is a "modernized" turban, was being worn mostly by older men. I don't remember seeing any on younger folks although, at a higher-end fez shop we passed, there were three 20-something guys waiting for the fez maker to finish sizing a fez for one of them.<br />
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Where is Darren now? Wearing a fez in Fez, of course!<br />
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Beyond its namesake hat, Fez is also known as a place where you can buy inexpensive leather goods. There are both processing and manufacturing facilities located inside the medina. These active preparation and dying vats seen from the roof of a leather shop are one of, if not <i>the</i> iconic image of Fez.<br />
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A random photo - we briefly followed these three donkeys carrying construction supplies (bricks and bags of cement) through the medina.<br />
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A big ole' shukraan (thank you) to Adil, his family, and especially his mom and dad for having us (all!). You and your home were warm and welcoming, the food was beyond delicious, and the experience is something we'll never forget! We can't wait for you to visit <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/search/label/Barcelona">Barcelona</a> so we can repay the favor!<br />
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A bit of a postscript to this story. Adil's family owns some farmland not far from Sefrou where they grow olives and make olive oil. His mom served some alongside every meal and, like the homemade wine we had while in <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2016/02/ruta-del-cister-part-1.html">Cabra del Camp</a>, I couldn't get over how fresh, light, and delicious it was. I was afraid that I was going overboard repeatedly telling her how amazing it was and how much I loved it.<br />
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Well, my being impressed with their oil must have made an impression on Adil's mom and dad because, about a week later, when Adil's brother was in Barcelona on his way back to Italy, he gave Diana and me a liter bottle of oil that their mom had sent us. Can. I. Just. Say. How. Amazing. It. Is? Thanks again for making our Moroccan visit to continue back in Barcelona!<br />
<br />Darrenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04297178159681349394noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4072716550311254605.post-57348310705822840232016-05-01T12:37:00.001+02:002016-05-01T13:17:25.325+02:00Marrakesh Morocco<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Back in the late '80s, when I was growing up in <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/search/label/Philadelphia">Philadelphia</a>, the neighborhood around South Street was the city's avant-guard home. There were record shops (remember them?), "alternative" clothing stores, night clubs where you could hear live music, and a collection of interesting places to eat.</div>
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One of those was, and maybe still is, a small restaurant named <a href="http://www.marrakesheastcoast.com/" target="_blank">Marrakesh</a> that serves Moroccan food. I remember the strange experience of eating in a tent-like place with carpeted walls and ceilings and we had to eat everything without utensils. Since then, Morocco's been a bit exotic in my mind; a far-away place with people in thwabs riding camels through the desert looking for oases.</div>
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Flash forward maybe 25 years and I'm now living in <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/search/label/Barcelona">Barcelona</a> alongside people from pretty much every place in the world - a real melting pot. My best estimate is that my circle here hails from at least 20 countries, if not more. One of those friends grew up in Fes (or Fez), Morocco, and always said that we needed to come with him sometime when he went back to visit his family. Well, guess what!</div>
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Adil planned a trip for a group of friends where we'd fly from Barcelona to Marrakesh, spend a couple of days then go on by train to Fes and his home town, Sefrou. Woohoo!<br />
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We arrived at our rented apartment around 9 p.m. and immediately walked to the medina to check out the evening action like the folks playing this soda-bottle fishing game, which was exactly NOT what I'd imagined I'd find back in the day in Philadelphia!<br />
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It wasn't all like that though. The warren of shops and restaurants is reminiscent of places I've been like <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2010/01/walking-new-testament-bible.html">Jerusalem's old city</a> and <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2015/08/istanbul-part-2.html">Istanbul</a>.<br />
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Diana waiting for our friends to come out of a (very pretty) lamp shop:<br />
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Our last stop of the evening was for tea at a place on the edge of the medina. Diana and I with our co-adventurers Adil, Natalia, Martha, Eric, and Heric:<br />
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We arrived the prior evening after dark so I was pleasantly surprised in the morning when we looked out from the balcony to see the red city and the Atlas mountains beyond. Snow? In <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/search/label/Africa">Africa</a>? Where were the sand dunes???<br />
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We started our first day with an a great local's-style breakfast followed by a walk through some of the more modern parts of town. At one intersection we crossed, there were some guys with mini horses and camels (finally!!!) for tourists like us to take photos. While our friends were taking their photos, Diana went to see if this camel was alive (he was but I'm still not clear if he was well - maybe I'll have to ask <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2014/06/al-ain-uae-part-1.html">Lena and Toni</a>):<br />
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When it was our turn, Diana and I got a few photos but I couldn't resist taking a camel selfie. Just as I was taking the photo, the camel swung its head around towards me as to say "no selfies". Out of the maybe 650 photos I took over the course of the trip, me jumping away is definitely one of the best!<br />
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After I recovered from the camel attack, we continued on to the medina. I hadn't realized the night before that the old city was surrounded by a big fortress-like wall. It's funny but the gate where we went in looks a lot like the entrance of a southern-<a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/search/label/California">California</a> shopping center maybe out near <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2011/03/palm-springs.html">Palm Springs</a>!<br />
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There was a lot more life in the (giant) main plaza during the day - tarot-card readers, people selling food, guys with various types of monkeys(!!!), and even a couple cobra snake charmers! That's more like it! It was as if we were back in Epcot Center's Morocco at <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2015/11/walt-disney-world-family-vacation.html">Disney World</a>. For some reason, it reminded me of the <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2010/05/flamenco.html">flamenco show</a> in <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2010/05/no8do.html">Sevilla</a> in its ability to match the stereotype I had when imagining a Moroccan bazaar.<br />
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Natalia and Diana at Marrakesh's Jemma el-Fnaa plaza:<br />
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The winding streets are also much more alive during the day. Shops selling tourist trinkets are mixed in with locals going about their normal lives. The folks buying dried fruits and nuts below remind me of our tourist-infested bi-weekly food-shopping trip at <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2010/08/mercat-st-josep-la-boqueria.html">La Boqueria</a>.<br />
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It looked like a (local) kids' class trip over at the olive-buying plaza. Imagine! Mommy, I want some olives!!!<br />
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The farther we walked, the more actual artisans we saw. This guy was making wooden things on a home-made lathe he operated with both hands and one foot:<br />
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This guy was like something out of a living history museum. His tiny store front had maybe ten tiles and he was carving another. If you told me he's been in this same spot for 50 years, I'd believe you.<br />
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Diana and I ducked down some tourist-free side streets to explore more of the 'hood. Just like us living in Barcelona, it was refreshing to see real people living in the mix and to come across normal-life scenes like this one:<br />
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Another random market scene:<br />
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Saw a bunch of guys doing parkour at this fountain on our way back to the apartment:<br />
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Dinner that night was at Chez Ali, which is a dinner-and-show place about an hour from Marrakesh. Just like back on South Street, dinner's a multi-course meal eaten with our hands inside a what looks like a big tent...<br />
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At various times, a group of musicians would come in and everyone would get up to dance to traditional music...<br />
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After we stuffed ourselves, it was outside to watch the action-packed music, acrobatic horse riding, character, and camel show. Adil told us that the staff, costumes, dinner, and show all had parts representing the different regions of Morocco.<br />
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It was back to the old city the next morning to see some mosques, palaces, and schools.<br />
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Looking for the magic-carpet salesman...Straight Outta Aladdin, yo?<br />
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One of the places we visited was the Bahia palace, which was built in the late 19th century. It's a giant complex and the decoration and gardens are beautiful.<br />
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The courtyards are a world away from the busy streets outside. Trying to look cool with our host with the most, Adil, and his squeeze Natalia!<br />
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Back out in the streets, we stopped at a couple of farmers' markets. Fresh dates, anyone?<br />
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One of our favorite stalls of the entire medina was this old guy selling fresh mint and herbs. Rastas need not apply!<br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Z0Z4TEYhk6c/VxNZnq2a52I/AAAAAAAAVC0/05hHIsi9ypE9kUmoeG3h0AN5mTeV2z7IQCLcB/s1600/f4.1%2Bmarrakesh%2Bmorocco%2Bfresh%2Bseasonings%2Bvendor%2Bbasil%2Bmint%2Bseller.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Z0Z4TEYhk6c/VxNZnq2a52I/AAAAAAAAVC0/05hHIsi9ypE9kUmoeG3h0AN5mTeV2z7IQCLcB/s400/f4.1%2Bmarrakesh%2Bmorocco%2Bfresh%2Bseasonings%2Bvendor%2Bbasil%2Bmint%2Bseller.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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Just after lunch, we spotted one of <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2010/12/milking-cows.html">Pepe's</a> cousins trying to hide from the sun. There were lots of donkeys in the markets carrying all sorts of things where vehicles couldn't go. This poor guy was a refuse-removal engineer and probably would have been much happier on the shady side of the street.<br />
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Random aside. Just like when we visited <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2010/05/aranjuez.html">Alicia and Paco</a> in Paco's hometown of <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2014/08/soria-spain.html">Soria</a>, seeing the giant storks and their nests on the building tops was quite a surprise. That nest is probably three or four feet across!<br />
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Finishing out our stay in Marrakesh with some tea.<br />
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Marrakesh was both more and less exotic than I'd imagined. The snake charmers in the market and the camels on the side of the road fit right in. What I didn't expect, but really enjoyed, were the brief glimpses of the locals' lives mixed in with the backpacker-and-tourist hustle and bustle.<br />
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Next stop (or 20), the early-morning train to Fes...<br />
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Darrenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04297178159681349394noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4072716550311254605.post-38353398727560755892016-04-17T10:31:00.001+02:002016-04-17T10:36:43.659+02:00The (Travel) Force Is Strong With This One<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Poking around my blog, you might guess that my love of travel is genetic and that I come from a long line of explorers. Well, that's really not the case. Actually, many in my family just don't get why I like wandering all over the world. There are a couple of exceptions though, like <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2013/11/more-family-visits-barcelona.html">my aunt and uncle</a> and, now, my niece.</div>
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Back in 2010, I was in <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/search/label/Philadelphia">Philadelphia</a> for <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2010/11/thanksgiving-dinner.html">Thanksgiving</a> when my cousin's daughter, who was in high school at the time, showed some interest in my travels. She asked me where I had been, what I liked, and some ideas of places she might visit one day. Even though she had yet to enter university, she was already thinking about where she'd could do an exchange semester overseas. As I had just come to Philadelphia directly from <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/search/label/China">China</a>, I think I said how impressed I was and that she might consider going there. I probably gave her some other ideas but I don't remember now.</div>
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Like all smart people, she's <i>completely</i> ignored my advice and is currently doing an exchange semester in <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2011/06/london-part-1.html">London</a>! By the way, it seems like that conversation was yesterday! I'm old!</div>
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When I found out she'd be in <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/search/label/England">England</a>, Diana and I told her she needed to visit during a break. It was an even bigger surprise when my cousin decided to visit her and that they'd do a quick <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/search/label/Barcelona">Barcelona</a> trip!</div>
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vEmTrxJN63s/Vu8CIANS2_I/AAAAAAAAU64/owUKxGQ9-xM_jNucQJRwBzDrEnBaFHUaQ/s1600/1%2Bmagic%2Bfountain%2Bbarcelona.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="295" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vEmTrxJN63s/Vu8CIANS2_I/AAAAAAAAU64/owUKxGQ9-xM_jNucQJRwBzDrEnBaFHUaQ/s400/1%2Bmagic%2Bfountain%2Bbarcelona.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Even though it was for only a couple of days, we squeezed in all the best of Barcelona. The Magic Fountain above and the full <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2011/05/mothers-day-mass-at-sagrada-familia.html">Sagrada Familia</a> tour. This was just a couple of days after we went for <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2016/04/the-day-nobel-peace-prize-candidate.html">our private tour with Victor Ochen</a>.<br />
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By the way, I was recently corrected that I'm wrong to call my cousin's daughter my niece but saying "my first cousin once removed" is just way too complicated, so you'll have to forgive me as I'll just continue saying niece.<br />
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I mentioned above about how my niece is a bit of a travel fan. She did a project in <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/search/label/Belgium">Belgium</a> last year and has been bouncing around Europe for the last couple of months. I was jealous when I recently saw her posts from Croatia! It's good that the force is strong with (someone in) my family (finally)!<br />
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Taking in the view from <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2010/02/park-guell.html">Park Guell</a>:<br />
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Between the <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/search/label/Wedding">wedding</a> and several random visits like this one, maybe a third of my family's been, which isn't too bad when you consider it's like a ten-hour flight away. Now, about the rest of them...<br />
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At <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2010/02/casa-batllo.html">Casa Batllo</a>:<br />
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It was a treat to have these guys stay with us. I can't wait to visit my niece when she's living somewhere in a land far, far away (hint, hint). Based on what I've seen, it won't be a long, long time...<br />
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<br />Darrenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04297178159681349394noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4072716550311254605.post-19592250860640761692016-04-02T12:09:00.001+02:002016-04-17T18:27:31.801+02:00The Day A Nobel Peace Prize Candidate Stopped By<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Not too long ago I mentioned how a lot of random (good) things happen for Diana and me like the time we got an <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2016/03/ruta-del-cister-part-2.html">impromptu castle tour</a> in Barbera de la Concha and when <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2010/11/teaching-english-in-tibet.html">I taught the English class in Tibet</a>. I figured this kinda' stuff happens to everyone but, after talking to some friends, it may come down to our <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2013/03/on-value-of-time.html">openness to new experiences</a>. The reality is that I can't remember a time when someone asked me to do something and I didn't except for when I was physically not able/there.</div>
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One recent example was when <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/search/label/Wedding">Xavi, the priest who married us</a>, asked Diana if he could bring a few people by our apartment for pica pica one Sunday afternoon after a meeting. It's one of the reasons why we like living in the very center of <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/search/label/Barcelona">Barcelona</a> - people tend to stop by, which we really enjoy. Anyway, he didn't go into a lot of detail but, as usual, we said sure. Diana and I bought some food and straightened up a bit. Nothing special down to the plastic plates and cups. Hey, nothing screams class more than serving <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2015/09/freixenet-cava-factory-tour.html">Cava</a> and <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2010/06/lanzarote-wine-growing-region.html">wine</a> in plasticware!</div>
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Well, turns out that the guest of honor was Victor Ochen who was a 2015 Nobel Peace Prize candidate. D'oh, IKEA furniture and plastic cups!</div>
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Victor was in <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/search/label/Spain">Spain</a> to give a series of talks about his life and work. While my shallow self was worried about cutlery, Victor casually told us about how he spent his first 20 years living through civil war, surviving meningitis with no medical care, growing up in refuge camps, and trying not to get kidnapped and/or taken away to fight (like his brother who never came back). Then, if all that wasn't enough, how, for the last 15 years, he's been working for peace as well as starting and running the the <a href="http://www.africanyouthinitiative.org/">African Youth Initiative Network</a>. In other words, some amazing things.<br />
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We hung out at our place for about two hours before Xavi asked Diana and me if we'd like to go with them to the Sagrada Familia for a private tour. <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2011/05/mothers-day-mass-at-sagrada-familia.html">Sagrada Familia</a>. Private tour. Hmm, is the Pope Catholic? Of course!!! And off we went.<br />
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Our tour was led by, you're not going to believe this, the parish priest of the Sagrada Familia, Father Lluis Bonet i Armengol whose father worked with Gaudi and whose brother oversaw construction of the Sagrada Familia for 28 years! Could this day get any better?<br />
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ZOjPd_-Losw/Vux1SN2QZlI/AAAAAAAAU4Q/WDiVeVWhqyQTCAU82SQMI1wEmL9Ze44Bw/s1600/2%2Bsagrada%2Bfamilia%2Bstained%2Bglass%2Bwindows%2Blluis%2Bbonet%2Bi%2Barmengol.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ZOjPd_-Losw/Vux1SN2QZlI/AAAAAAAAU4Q/WDiVeVWhqyQTCAU82SQMI1wEmL9Ze44Bw/s400/2%2Bsagrada%2Bfamilia%2Bstained%2Bglass%2Bwindows%2Blluis%2Bbonet%2Bi%2Barmengol.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
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Father Bonet i Armengol took us through the entire church pointing out things like that the stained-glass windows each have a name of place, such as Lourdes and Guadalupe, where a miracle has happened. At one point, he asked Diana where she was from and, when she said <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/search/label/Colombia">Colombia</a>, he said, oh, there's a window for <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2010/12/chiquinquira-not-just-for-dinner.html">Chiquinquira</a>. What? The small farming town where Diana's parents are from here in the Sagrada Familia? Crazy. If you look at approximately 10 o'clock in the photo below, you'll see Chiquinquira.<br />
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-oOX7SFSShMY/Vux03MAjaUI/AAAAAAAAU4I/4lzzyV7dxsEx3kzURypGehr0mStlRwzaQ/s1600/3%2Bsagrada%2Bfamilia%2Bbarcelona%2Bspain%2Bchiquinquira%2Bventana%2Bwindow%2Bstained%2Bglass%2Bcolombia.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-oOX7SFSShMY/Vux03MAjaUI/AAAAAAAAU4I/4lzzyV7dxsEx3kzURypGehr0mStlRwzaQ/s400/3%2Bsagrada%2Bfamilia%2Bbarcelona%2Bspain%2Bchiquinquira%2Bventana%2Bwindow%2Bstained%2Bglass%2Bcolombia.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
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We even had some fun during the tour. While in the crypt, Father Bonet i Armengol made each of us sit in a confessional that he said Gaudi designed. Here's Victor shyly looking out:<br />
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While in the crypt, I saw this lectern, which Father Bonet i Armengol said was also a Gaudi design. I love the dragons at the top and the bird feet down below:<br />
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SWoS8lhFMCU/Vux2HLIxRNI/AAAAAAAAU4k/RzFZI6eMd80nhjr6kviTR-e5JBUbjn8FQ/s1600/5%2Bgaudi%2Blecturn%2Bsagrada%2Bfamilia%2Bsteampunk%2Bdragon%2Bbarcelona%2Bspain.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SWoS8lhFMCU/Vux2HLIxRNI/AAAAAAAAU4k/RzFZI6eMd80nhjr6kviTR-e5JBUbjn8FQ/s400/5%2Bgaudi%2Blecturn%2Bsagrada%2Bfamilia%2Bsteampunk%2Bdragon%2Bbarcelona%2Bspain.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
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After our church tour, we went to the parish office, which, if you're familiar with the Sagrada Familia, is the brick building to the left of the Passion facade. Victor signed the guest book and Father Bonet i Armengol showed us old photos and other Sagrada Familia memorabilia. Ah, yeah, that's me in the Sagrada Familia parish office with the parish priest and a Nobel candidate. Crazy day.<br />
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-SjaC1XaGSQk/Vux2WplKW1I/AAAAAAAAU4o/x__ELy6bnFsBXznWSBSusuN1c5cVnHaMQ/s1600/7%2Bparish%2Boffice%2Bsagrada%2Bfamilia%2Bbarcelona%2Bspain.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-SjaC1XaGSQk/Vux2WplKW1I/AAAAAAAAU4o/x__ELy6bnFsBXznWSBSusuN1c5cVnHaMQ/s400/7%2Bparish%2Boffice%2Bsagrada%2Bfamilia%2Bbarcelona%2Bspain.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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Father Bonet i Armengol sharing research he had done with Victor and Diana:<br />
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Victor had one more job to do after we left the Sagrada Familia. We went with him to a church where he gave a speech and met with parishioners. At this point, it felt like we were old friends so it was a bit strange to see him up on stage.<br />
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As you could imagine, Victor's an amazing guy. He's smart, funny, charismatic, humble, and even a bit shy. It was his humbleness that really struck me. Here's a guy who was nominated for a Nobel prize, who travels around the world speaking, who <a href="http://howafrica.com/forbes-top-10-list-of-africas-most-powerful-men/">Forbes named one of the most powerful men in Africa</a>, and who's got Desmond Tutu Whatsapping him, yet he was super humble. Like what he was doing was something anyone could do. Total respect.<br />
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The thing that I'll always remember about Victor, well other than he invited us to come stay with him in Uganda, was when he and I were just outside the Sagrada Familia waiting for the others. Looking at the scene, he reached over and pulled me in close, looked me in the eye, and said something like "this is amazing". I looked back and said "really, this happens to me every day" and we laughed like a couple of old friends.</div>
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Darrenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04297178159681349394noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4072716550311254605.post-48871604300182256892016-03-13T23:26:00.002+01:002016-03-13T23:26:32.283+01:00Tarragona<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
One of the best parts of living in <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/search/label/Barcelona">Barcelona</a> is having so much history in such a compact space. People have been living here for a long time but the city really had its first growth spurt during Roman times. There's still evidence a couple blocks from our apartment in the form of an old aqueduct-turned-building facade, columns from a forum inside another apartment building, and various building foundations throughout the city. Sort of like noticing the palm trees every day when I lived in <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2015/06/back-in-southern-california-part-1.html">San Diego</a>, I never get tired of it.</div>
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For the last day of our trip to the <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2016/02/ruta-del-cister-part-1.html">Ruta del Cister</a>, I wanted to visit the town of Tarragona, which is located on the coast about 60 miles south of Barcelona. Back in the day, Barcelona was a bit of a backwater and Tarragona was the big city. It was the first major Roman city on the Iberian peninsula and they have a bunch of Roman ruins, including an amphitheater right next to the sea, that you can visit.</div>
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After leaving Joan's place, we drove about 30 minutes through mostly farms to Tarragona and parked under La Rambla Nova. Immediately after coming up, we came across a fundraising event for a dog rescue. There were a bunch of dogs for adoption (no, we didn't get one much to Diana's continued frustration) and lots of dogs and their owners were dressed in costumes.</div>
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Tarragona and the surrounding area are respected as one of the powerhouses of castellers so much so that the annual castellers competition is held nearby. They have a surprisingly big sculpture celebrating the tradition about half-way down La Rambla Nova. After <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/search/label/Castellers">my time as a casteller</a>, I couldn't help myself and pitched in with the pinya:<br />
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We spent some time walking along the old city wall and through neighborhoods near the old town center. One of my favorite things was seeing all the orange trees lining the streets. Diana sampled one of the oranges but it wasn't very good - not sweet at all. But they sure do look nice.<br />
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After a quick stop at the cathedral, we walked down towards the sea so we could visit the Roman sites before they closed for the day. The first thing we came across was the old Roman theater, which is built along a natural rock formation. It's been partially renovated but not by so much that it looks new. (Note how crazy blue the sky is in these photos.)<br />
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There's a Roman-history museum that opens up into of the ruins. You know the tunnels that you have to go through at some stadiums or the hallways behind the seats at the theater, well here's the ~2000 year-old version:<br />
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From the museum's rooftop, there's a nice view of the sea and surrounding city. That's the cathedral in the distance.<br />
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On the way out, my mom's voice popped into my head as I spotted this <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2013/06/pisa-and-siena-italy.html">Romulus and Remus</a> sculpture just like one I saw in <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/search/label/Italy">Italy</a>. "Were you raised by wolves?" she'd always ask when we did something foolish like leave the door open, be rude to someone, or perhaps, sometimes, just generally annoy her.<br />
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The final stop on our planned-to-be-lazy-do-nothing trip to the Catalan countryside was at the very scenic Roman amphitheater. It surprises me that this has managed to survive for something like two millennia.<br />
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If you'd asked me just a handful of years ago if I'd be spending my Sunday afternoon checking out Roman ruins along the coast of Spain, I'd have laughed. Even more if I'd have thought about giving up <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2010/08/oceanside-california.html">the palm trees and lovely Pacific</a> for the history of Barcelona. But, it's been an amazing "trip" and our vacation to La Ruta del Cister and Tarragona was one more feather in that cap.<br />
<br />Darrenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04297178159681349394noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4072716550311254605.post-47112873573875527512016-03-06T20:56:00.000+01:002016-04-24T16:44:18.689+02:00Ruta del Cister - Part 2<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
This is Part 2 of our trip around the Ruta del Cister. <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2016/02/ruta-del-cister-part-1.html">Part 1 is here.</a></div>
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On our second evening, after eating our <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2012/03/calcotada-popular.html">calçots</a> lunch, we decided to go check out the Museum of Rural Life in the small town of L'Espluga de Francoli. Our host Joan recommended it as it's near his wine shop and has some of his family's heirlooms on display. How crazy's that? Do you own anything that is old/special enough for a museum... Anyway, I don't have any worthwhile photos to show but the museum was interesting and extra special because we got there about 45 minutes before they closed and were the only ones there.</div>
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After the museum closed, we went for a walk through the town, which, like lots old towns, is built on a large town-sized rock (just like <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2016/02/ruta-del-cister-part-1.html">Montblanc</a>, <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2011/05/mont-saint-michel.html">Mont Sant-Michel</a>, or <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2010/08/garrigas-dalis-house-and-costa-brava.html">Castellfollit de la Roca</a>). It's amazing to see houses built right onto the hillsides...</div>
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...like this house above a cliff face with a small, cave-like space complete with a bench and mood lighting:<br />
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We returned the next morning to visit Joan's wine shop as it was closed by the time we got there the night before. It's located next to river in L'Espluga de Francoli. The shop is run by Joan's niece and her husband and there's even some production going on in the building.<br />
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Joan's shop shares a parking lot with a museum that's built on top of a large, underground cave (according to Wikipedia, the seventh largest in the world). It's not quite the <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2011/02/catedral-de-sal-salt-cathedral.html">Cathedral de Sal</a> but La Cova de la Font Major (the Major Source Cave) was a worthwhile guided-tour visit. They take you down into the cave and walk you through history using some videos, music, and displays. The staff wasn't too keen on photo taking so I (unusually) grudgingly complied thus no photos. But, it's a cave. If you don't like enclosed spaces, it's probably not your cup of tea.<br />
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Our next stop was at the Poblet Monastery, which is Diana's favorite of the ones in the area.<br />
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Poblet is also a Cistercian monastery and was founded in the mid 1100s. It's a testament to the work of the Generalitat of Catalunya and their restoration and maintenance efforts. Like Santes Creus we visited the day before, I'd imagine the scale of these facilities was awe-inspiring back in their day as they still are today.<br />
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Just look at the cooking area on the left side of the photo below. The "stove" room is similar in size to the entire <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2013/09/home-sweet-home-aka-finally-settled.html">apartment</a> where Diana and I live!<br />
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The Poblet monastery's church is another reminder why it's good to be rich. Not only do you get to buy elections, you get to be buried and displayed for all time in the church.<br />
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If you remember back to part one of this story, I said that my idea for the weekend was to hang out and relax, maybe read a book, and so on. Realize that we're probably 72 hours into this "relaxing weekend" trip and we've already done more than probably most folks would do during a whole week. And no books were yet read. Oh well, that's kinda' our style.<br />
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So, onward and upward. The Poblet monastery is right next to a village named Vimbodi. We had no idea what was there but it was like three minutes away so we headed over. There was pretty much nothing but an old church, some houses, and a bunch of winding little streets. Just as we were about to leave I looked up at this house and noticed the plaque (above the top right-hand corner of the wood door) that says it was built in 1776, which is the same year the <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/search/label/United%20States">United States</a> was founded. And someone still lives there!<br />
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One of the last things Diana and I wanted to do was visit the little town of Barbera de la Conca, which, yet again, is built on a town-sized rock. We had driven by it several times as it was right near where we were staying in Cabra del Camp. On our way there, we stopped to take photos and, just as we got out of the car, the sun broke through the clouds and lit up the town of Barbera de la Conca and made for a great photo!<br />
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We walked up to the top of the hill to check out what was left of the castle we could see back when we took the photo above. As we got to the castle's door, there was an early-twenties-something couple just inside. We asked them if we could come in and they told us that they were waiting for a woman who'd be coming in a few minutes to give them a tour and it'd be better to ask her.<br />
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1Uclo0PBDZQ/VtLXylMLEII/AAAAAAAAUvc/vU9DGftRumY/s1600/3b%2Bcastell%2Bbarbera%2Bcastle%2Bconca%2Bcatalunya%2Bspain.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1Uclo0PBDZQ/VtLXylMLEII/AAAAAAAAUvc/vU9DGftRumY/s400/3b%2Bcastell%2Bbarbera%2Bcastle%2Bconca%2Bcatalunya%2Bspain.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
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The woman was a member of a local group who oversees and cares for the castle and they periodically offer tours and hold special events like concerts. She was super nice and agreed to let us join her tour.<br />
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The castle, like a lot of things in the area, was first built in the mid 1000s and has served a variety of purposes including, until recently, a school. One of the more interesting things we saw was the old prison/dungeon room. Originally built with only the square roof opening, they've since opened a new slightly larger hole and put in a step ladder to make it easier to get in and out. I'd imagine this wasn't the best airbnb stay!<br />
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-EQuzvKpS4zc/VtLYIUEY5cI/AAAAAAAAUvk/JfIuD5dD99Q/s1600/3c%2Bcastell%2Bbarbera%2Bcastle%2Bprison%2Bbasement.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-EQuzvKpS4zc/VtLYIUEY5cI/AAAAAAAAUvk/JfIuD5dD99Q/s400/3c%2Bcastell%2Bbarbera%2Bcastle%2Bprison%2Bbasement.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
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The other castle-tour highlight was going up to the top of the observation tower, which had a commanding view of the area. Note the <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2010/08/catalan-nationalism.html">Catalan-independence</a> flag - you see a lot of more of these when you get outside <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/search/label/Barcelona">Barcelona</a>.<br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oP1Pt_VpilM/VtLYIt9wQFI/AAAAAAAAUvo/nzjpB2KaCBU/s1600/3d%2Bcatalunya%2Bflag%2Bcastell%2Bcastle%2Bbarbera%2Bconca%2Btower%2Bsunset.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oP1Pt_VpilM/VtLYIt9wQFI/AAAAAAAAUvo/nzjpB2KaCBU/s400/3d%2Bcatalunya%2Bflag%2Bcastell%2Bcastle%2Bbarbera%2Bconca%2Btower%2Bsunset.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
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We were super stoked to happen on the castle tour and thanked the guide. But, it turns out it wasn't over! She asked if we wanted to come with her to visit the Agricola de Barbera, which is a wine-and-cava-making facility down at the bottom of the hill. What? Wine-making tour? Absolutely!<br />
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By the way, these random things happen to us a lot. I'm not sure if it's because we seek them out, if we're just open to "random", or what it is. There's another story I'll be writing soon that was also a very cool random-chance thing like this one.<br />
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The Agricola is a cooperative where local smaller-scale wineries can use the shared production facilities. Diana and our guide checking out one of the bins where incoming grapes are transferred from the trucks into the facility:<br />
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Pt6yKsx__HM/VtLYlrGnVgI/AAAAAAAAUvw/oRvYLSpzj7I/s1600/4a%2Bagricola%2Bbarbera%2Bwine%2Bmaking%2Bequipment.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Pt6yKsx__HM/VtLYlrGnVgI/AAAAAAAAUvw/oRvYLSpzj7I/s400/4a%2Bagricola%2Bbarbera%2Bwine%2Bmaking%2Bequipment.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
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I've been to a couple of cava-factory tours (<a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2012/02/codorniu-cava-factory-tour.html">here</a> and <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2015/09/freixenet-cava-factory-tour.html">here</a>) but those tend to keep you (understandably) at arms-length from the equipment and facilities. This tour was right up close to everything including the grape-processing equipment, fermentation tanks, cellars, and even the packing facility:<br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KRCDiB772Z4/VtLY4MwyCqI/AAAAAAAAUv4/BBi4suHC8gQ/s1600/4b%2Bagricola%2Bbarbera%2Bconca%2Bspain%2Bwine%2Bbottling%2Bpackaging%2Blabeling.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KRCDiB772Z4/VtLY4MwyCqI/AAAAAAAAUv4/BBi4suHC8gQ/s400/4b%2Bagricola%2Bbarbera%2Bconca%2Bspain%2Bwine%2Bbottling%2Bpackaging%2Blabeling.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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The funny thing is, that from the outside, the building looks fairly small. But it isn't until you go past the shop and through the production-facility doors that you realize just how big the place is. It's a full-on factory and warehouse.<br />
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We walked around the facility for a good 20 minutes. When we thought we were done, the guide took us down some stairs in the corner of the building, which led to the caves down below. Wow! Crazy... These caves are where the cava is kept during the fermentation process<br />
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ChCA8pZyYls/VtLZC7-dl2I/AAAAAAAAUv8/q2CFEcft4zE/s1600/4c%2Bcooperativa%2Bagricola%2Bbarbera%2Bconca%2Bcava%2Bcaves%2Btunnels.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ChCA8pZyYls/VtLZC7-dl2I/AAAAAAAAUv8/q2CFEcft4zE/s400/4c%2Bcooperativa%2Bagricola%2Bbarbera%2Bconca%2Bcava%2Bcaves%2Btunnels.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
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After a nice glass of cava and some tapas, our our visit to the Ruta del Cister was over (but not yet the whole trip). It was back for one last enjoyable evening with Joan armed with even more stories to share.<br />
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One final view over the vineyards in front of the Poblet monastery:<br />
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<br />Darrenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04297178159681349394noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4072716550311254605.post-87860625502537569202016-02-25T22:19:00.000+01:002016-04-24T16:45:38.266+02:00Ruta del Cister - Part 1<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Diana and I travel. A lot.</div>
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If you know me and/or have looked at more than just this story, you'd probably already know that. Many of our trips involve flying to this place or that. Getting stamps in passports. Passing through customs. You know, basically what you think of when you hear the word travel.</div>
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This time I wanted it to be different. I wanted to do some nights away from <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/search/label/Barcelona">Barcelona</a> that would be, well, easy. You know, maybe like people who go to the beach or something. Wake up late. Eat a leisurely breakfast. Maybe read a book. Take a nap. You get the idea. So I asked Diana to come up with some plans where we could rent a car, drive not too far, and just be able to hang out and relax. Maybe stay at farm house or something with no distractions. Easy.</div>
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We rented a tiny car and headed out on our road trip. About an hour and a half after leaving the city, we arrived at our airbnb in Cabra del Camp not too far from the Roman city of Tarragona.</div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GV2WkHh-a2k/VsTRiE4wHDI/AAAAAAAAUns/Qc8ErL-NA1g/s1600/1a%2Bcabra%2Bcamp%2Bairbnb%2Bhorse%2Bfarm%2Bhouse%2Bcatalunya%2Bruta%2Bcister.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="295" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GV2WkHh-a2k/VsTRiE4wHDI/AAAAAAAAUns/Qc8ErL-NA1g/s400/1a%2Bcabra%2Bcamp%2Bairbnb%2Bhorse%2Bfarm%2Bhouse%2Bcatalunya%2Bruta%2Bcister.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Farm house? Check! Complete with three horses! And that's our host, Joan, showing Diana around the back 40. The house and the surrounding property has been in his family for literally hundreds of years. It was a living museum complete with family artifacts from each of the last four centuries.<br />
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-uBnx0dIsRqY/VsTQtjWg-kI/AAAAAAAAUng/si9nFoYdshU/s1600/1b%2Bfarm%2Bhouse%2B17th%2Bcentury%2Bdecoration%2Bcatalunya%2Bcabra%2Bcamp.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-uBnx0dIsRqY/VsTQtjWg-kI/AAAAAAAAUng/si9nFoYdshU/s400/1b%2Bfarm%2Bhouse%2B17th%2Bcentury%2Bdecoration%2Bcatalunya%2Bcabra%2Bcamp.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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Oh, and the last major house renovation was right around when Jefferson and Madison where in <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/search/label/Philadelphia">Philadelphia</a> writing the <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/search/label/United%20States">United States</a> Bill of Rights back in the 1790s!<br />
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Joan's family has been making wine for well over 100 years and there's still various wine-making methods and equipment in the house including this old vat below:<br />
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rXq8Jf6ZF-I/VsTQzSMKI9I/AAAAAAAAUnk/Z8ecQMoEvJI/s1600/1c%2Bcatalunya%2B17th%2Bcentury%2Bwine%2Bmaking%2Bhistory.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rXq8Jf6ZF-I/VsTQzSMKI9I/AAAAAAAAUnk/Z8ecQMoEvJI/s400/1c%2Bcatalunya%2B17th%2Bcentury%2Bwine%2Bmaking%2Bhistory.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
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Crazy amazing. We had stumbled into the home of one of Catalunya's lesser-known but highly respected wine-making families. Joan even shared a couple bottles of his homemade creations with us!<br />
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Diana planned some area day trips, our first of which was at the nearby walled city of Montblanc.<br />
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People have lived in the region for thousands of years but the town itself dates (only) from the 12th century. As with countless other medieval European towns, this one's been nicely restored and is it's fun to wander around the tiny streets and shops. More importantly, this town is the setting for the story of <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2013/05/diada-de-sant-jordi-2013.html">Sant Jordi</a> versus the dragon!<br />
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Diana looking for flying dragons from the former site of the town's castle, which was disassembled over the years to build some of the housing stock.<br />
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And here she is checking out yet another church. Hello, is anyone home?<br />
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Random Montblanc street scene (I like this shot):<br />
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If you're not aware, I'm a sucker for a good bakery and Montblanc's Pastisseria I ConfiterÃa Viñas didn't disappoint.<br />
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-yWDToSP2aIQ/VsTS_rxr0fI/AAAAAAAAUoM/N5cs0ThTYRc/s1600/2b%2Bmontblanc%2Bsweets%2Bshop%2Bchocolate%2Bcenter%2Bvillage.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-yWDToSP2aIQ/VsTS_rxr0fI/AAAAAAAAUoM/N5cs0ThTYRc/s400/2b%2Bmontblanc%2Bsweets%2Bshop%2Bchocolate%2Bcenter%2Bvillage.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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As the sun set on Montblanc, Diana and I left to explore the town of Reus best known for its favorite son, Antoni Gaudi. We didn't run into any of the Gaudi family but we did wander around its winding streets and even caught part of an outdoor concert in the town's main plaza.<br />
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It's funny but, even with all its amazing buildings and nice scenery, it was this shop's <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2012/02/paradise-found-wine-vending-machine.html">wine</a> and <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2012/02/codorniu-cava-factory-tour.html">cava</a> display I loved. We stopped to buy some groceries to take back to share with Joan when the guy in the photo below told me that he had worked in the shop for something like 40 years and the display had always been there. He laughed as he said that he couldn't remember anyone ever taking notice before. It's so simple and would be easy to do. Maybe my sister can pin it on Pinterest...<br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-o3-7YyNMCFU/VsTTV-kWF0I/AAAAAAAAUoU/yj9qKmrqSxo/s1600/2c-reus%2Bcatalunya%2Bruta%2Bcister%2Bwine%2Bcava%2Bmeat%2Bshop.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-o3-7YyNMCFU/VsTTV-kWF0I/AAAAAAAAUoU/yj9qKmrqSxo/s400/2c-reus%2Bcatalunya%2Bruta%2Bcister%2Bwine%2Bcava%2Bmeat%2Bshop.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
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That night we went back to hang out with Joan some more. He's not only a farmer and winemaker but also a multi-book Catalan author. We couldn't get enough of his and his family's stories. Oh, and his handmade wine, made with grapes he crushed with his own feet (!!!), was an incredible bonus. <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2015/12/dave-visits-barcelona.html">My friend Dave</a> would have been jealous...<br />
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Now it's time to explain the story's title. La Ruta del Cister translates to the Cistercian Route, which is a series of Cistercian monasteries not far from Taragona. The route provided the theme for our trip and the first monastery up on the docket was the scenic Santes Creus:<br />
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The Cistercians are a religious order of monks and nuns that was one of the main ways technology spread throughout Europe during the middle ages. They believed in doing manual labor and (still to this day) living an austere monastic life. Each monastery normally had some type of factory and/or main industry like metalworking, and the monks were prolific farmers, which fortunately for us, includes growing wine grapes! Woohoo!<br />
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The Santes Creus monastery is from the late 1100s and is similar to the other monasteries we visited during the trip. It's not to say they're not amazing and beautiful and impressive, they are, but rather that their consistency in design and scale is what's impressive. The scale, demonstrated by the giant dormitory room below, must have been awe-inspiring back when it was built as, even today, it's kinda' wow.<br />
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The Santes Creus cloister:<br />
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Remember back to the start of this story where I said I wanted to have a nice weekend where we could sleep late, relax, and maybe read a book? Yeah, well, we're just about 30 hours into this trip and it's been fairly busy so far. So what would a normal person do in this situation? Head back to the house and put their feet up? Hmm...not us!<br />
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Zoom zoom! Let's go. Off to the town of Valls, famous for the onion-like calçot, for <i>lunch</i>!<br />
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One of the things that Diana and I discussed before going on the trip was the possibility of stopping by Valls to get <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2012/03/calcotada-popular.html">calçots, which I've written about before</a>.<br />
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We drove into the center of town, parked, and started wandering around looking for a place to eat. It was already getting kind of late, even by <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/search/label/Spain">Spain</a> standards, so we were trying to find something fast. There was a couple about our age loading up a car so Diana asked them where we should go. They looked at each other for a moment or two and both said at the same time that there was really nothing nearby they could think of and that most of the places to eat calçots are outside the center of town closer to the surrounding farms.<br />
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They recommended a place called Bobila but they thought it might not be open on that particular day. No matter, we jumped back in the car and drove above 15 minutes to the restaurant, which is located in an old brick-making facility with some of the dining areas actually in the old kilns. It was around 3:30 pm so we knew there was a chance we wouldn't be able to eat. We pulled at the door and it opened! Score!<br />
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But wait, just inside and the hostess said that they were closed but that, because there was a special party in the other room and because "we had come all the way from Barcelona", she'd check with the kitchen to see if there was enough food left.<br />
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And...yes! We would soon be eating calçots!<br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XXyddmlGH30/VsTUcnGa_3I/AAAAAAAAUow/5V7WN3RnLjs/s1600/4c%2Bvalls%2Bbobila%2Bcalcots.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XXyddmlGH30/VsTUcnGa_3I/AAAAAAAAUow/5V7WN3RnLjs/s400/4c%2Bvalls%2Bbobila%2Bcalcots.JPG" width="225" /></a></div>
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The calçots were delicious and lunch was great! As always, the amount of food they give you at a calçotada is enough that you end up in a food coma for sure.<br />
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Diana digging into the third course "meat plate":<br />
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We finished up lunch at about 5:00 pm after a nice private restaurant tour. From there, it was back into the car to go to the next stop in our plan-to-do-nothing, relaxing long-weekend trip...<br />
<br />Darrenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04297178159681349394noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4072716550311254605.post-88993000387536675142016-02-16T20:37:00.001+01:002016-02-20T18:27:55.321+01:00Andorra - The Pre-Internet Amazon<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
If you're old like me, you might remember back to a time when you'd run all over town comparing prices on something you wanted to buy. Maybe you were interested in a VCR. You'd get in the car and go to the mall, Circuit City, maybe Best Buy, or even Crazy Eddie's (was that only a <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/search/label/Philadelphia">Philadelphia</a> thing?) to look at every model and try to figure out what the best deal was. It's funny, now that we have the internet, you'd never do something like that.</div>
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Okay, now imagine an entire country where you'd go to buy something because you knew you'd always find the cheapest price. That place exists, or at least used to. It's called Andorra and it's a tiny speck of a country that sits in the <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2013/05/catalan-pyrenees.html">Pyrenees</a> between the borders of <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/search/label/France">France</a> and <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/search/label/Spain">Spain</a>. (And, yes, there should be snow everywhere. It's been like spring all winter.)</div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-drXdEzEqHNs/VrzvqfY0pJI/AAAAAAAAUfA/DKo0aPYw6uA/s1600/1a%2Bandorra%2Bvela%2Bcenter%2Btown.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="295" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-drXdEzEqHNs/VrzvqfY0pJI/AAAAAAAAUfA/DKo0aPYw6uA/s400/1a%2Bandorra%2Bvela%2Bcenter%2Btown.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Back in the dark ages (before the internet), people from all over <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/search/label/Europe">Europe</a> would go to Andorra to buy anything and everything because it was way cheaper than they could find at home. Well, other than select items like alcohol and tobacco, the internet's changed all that and it's no longer the must-do shopping destination it once was. Today's visitors are more likely to be there to enjoy another Andorra must-do activity:<br />
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Yep, winter sports, baby! A group of twelve of us went to play in the snow for a few days. Inside the gondola at Val Nord in Andorra:<br />
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Since moving to Europe about six years ago (!!!), I've only been <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2014/04/snowboarding-in-pyrenees.html">snowboarding once</a>, if you can believe it. Back in <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/search/label/California">California</a>, there were years where I'd go almost every weekend during the winter. In other words, it was good to be out again especially with a big group of friends.<br />
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We did two full days on the snow and it was great. For someone like me who spent most of their lives at smallish east coast and southern California mountains, the resorts in the Pyrenees are ginormous...and the one we were at isn't even considered particularly big.<br />
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Mountain-top <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2014/03/san-francisco-official-selfie-tour.html">selfie</a> showing just a small part of the resort:<br />
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Diana had a great time too. Even though she spent most of the time taking the beginner's area conveyor-belt-in-a-tube...<br />
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I did manage to get her to take one trip on the "adult" lift for what turned out being the longest-distance run of her life.<br />
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There's even video proof!<br />
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She did great, didn't she?<br />
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Oh, and don't think we didn't check out the shopping. It's definitely no amazon.com but the center of town is basically a giant shopping mall with prices that are at least as good as the best I've seen in <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/search/label/Barcelona">Barcelona</a>. For folks from northern Europe, it's probably still worth the trip moreso if combined with skiing and/or snowboarding. I picked up a new Icebreaker shirt (I love me some merino wool!) and a bottle of brandy for the cabinet back home. Both good finds at nice prices!<br />
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I didn't mention it yet but Andorra is a <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2010/04/discuplame-perohabla-espanol.html">Catalan-speaking</a> country that seems to exist today as a banking center. A bit more <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/search/label/Switzerland">Switzerland</a> and a bit less Crazy Eddie, I guess.<br />
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We spent part of the day exploring town, which is filled with nice plazas, family-style shops and cafes, and some interesting art like this one I'm "floating" in:<br />
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On our way home, while our friends were filling up the tank with cheap gas (the other item that makes the trip worthwhile), Diana and I went to price check La Casa Del Formatge (The House Of Cheese), which, unfortunately, was closed for lunch. Damn southern-Europe <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2014/09/2014-festa-major-de-gracia.html">closed-for-lunch</a> schedule!<br />
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Thanks to our friends who made the trip fun. Let's do it again soon so I can get some cheese to go with my brandy!<br />
<br />Darrenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04297178159681349394noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4072716550311254605.post-10319886357306681482015-12-22T00:29:00.001+01:002015-12-22T00:29:53.420+01:00Dave Visits Barcelona<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
There are days when I look at my Facebook feed and enjoy all the languages. One of the benefits of having lived in so many places is having friends from all over the world, all over the world. On the up side, I'd like to think it means I could find a place to crash within a few hours of almost anywhere on the globe. On the down side, it can make it a bit tough to meet up with some of those friends on a Saturday night or, sometimes, to even just connect.</div>
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When it does happen though, it's extra special like when my good friend Dave from <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/search/label/California">California</a> came to <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/search/label/Barcelona">Barcelona</a> for a two-week visit:</div>
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Dave and I met about ten years ago at work. We hit it off almost immediately partly because we are both originally from <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/search/label/Philadelphia">Philadelphia</a> and partly because...well, I can't remember. It just kind of happened, I guess. Whatever.<br />
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Every time we go back to <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2010/08/oceanside-california.html">San Diego</a>, <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2015/06/back-in-southern-california-part-1.html">we stay with Dave</a>. This past March, it was for about half the trip. He and his dog Miles are great hosts who live in a great house near the beach. Dave makes it easy as he likes to cook (and is really good at it) and share a good bottle of <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2015/11/caretaker-memories-in-bottle.html">wine</a>. Diana and I pushed and pushed until he finally committed to coming to Barcelona in the fall.<br />
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Waiting for our fish to be prepped over at <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2010/08/mercat-st-josep-la-boqueria.html">La Boqueria</a>:<br />
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Getting the chance to spend so much one-on-one time with Dave made me both happy and sad. Happy because it was super nice to be able to share my daily life with such a long-time good friend. We went to the <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2011/05/mothers-day-mass-at-sagrada-familia.html">Sagrada Familia</a> one day,<br />
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which impacted Dave even more than I would have ever imagined.<br />
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There were the meals together like at <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2013/01/whats-colombian-food-like.html">the Colombian place</a> and, my current favorite, tapas at El Xampanet:<br />
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We even went shopping together! In other words, boy-bonding at the highest level.<br />
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But, all that Dave time also made me sad because, after he left, it occurred to me how much harder it is to make good friends as you get older. Anyone who's over 30 might realize upon reflection that most, if not all, of our good friends are those we made when we were young. (I even came across <a href="http://waitbutwhy.com/2014/12/10-types-odd-friendships-youre-probably-part.html">an article theorizing as much</a>.) Yes, the downside of being a bit nomadic is that some of your best friends might be half way around the world.<br />
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But, like I said, it makes getting together that much more special. Looking tough (with Gara) in Barceloneta:<br />
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Diana and I really enjoyed having Dave over. He's an easy guest and, best of all, we got to play Parcheesi almost every night! It something he introduced us to when we visited a few years ago and that we enjoy. And, like a good guest, he even let us win a few rounds. So nice.<br />
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A lovely afternoon in <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2010/05/sitges.html">Sitges</a>:<br />
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A couple of days before Dave arrived I found out that I needed to make a quick trip up to <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2015/06/slainte-dublin.html">Dublin</a>. I was bummed to say the least. After Dave flew almost half way around the world, I would need to be gone for a chunk of time. But a day later I got a crazy idea and sent him a message. Would you be up to going with me? The hotel's paid for and you'd only need to buy a ticket.<br />
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Guess where this flight with these two crazies was headed!<br />
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Side note: I'd forgotten until writing this that Dave and my first week working together was spent up north of <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2014/03/san-francisco-official-selfie-tour.html">San Francisco</a> on new manufacturing operation I was developing. I remember it ended up being a really fun adventure.<br />
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Anyway, Dave got to check out a wee bit of <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/search/label/Ireland">Ireland</a> while I was working and says he had a great time. Unfortunately we didn't get to hang out too much but it was still great to have him along. Oh, and if you find yourself on a Ryanair flight and there's an emergency, make sure to remove your shoes, earrings, glasses, and dentures when evacuating.<br />
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I once heard a saying about aging that goes "the days are long but the years are short". I can't believe how fast time flies especially those two weeks Dave was here. Whoosh! Like the wind.<br />
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Here's to good friends, whatever language they speak and wherever they happen to be!<br />
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<br />Darrenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04297178159681349394noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4072716550311254605.post-51705446771325555532015-11-22T18:55:00.001+01:002015-11-22T19:03:45.861+01:00Caretaker - Memories In A Bottle<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I lived in <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/search/label/California">California</a> for a bit less than twenty years and, since leaving for a <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2011/06/done.html">"six-month trip"</a> almost six years ago, I've only been back a handful of times. Of course, I have a ton of great memories. During the last trip in March, Diana and I went with <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2015/07/back-in-southern-california-part-2_19.html">Gail and Chuck</a> to visit Gail's long-time friend Trish and her husband, Randy.</div>
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Randy's quite the wine connoisseur and was nice enough to lead us through some of his collection. It's not often I've sat down with an expert to talk about and try various wines. One of the things that gave me a charge was how Randy (and Trish) often combine travel with his (their?) love of wine, be it in California, <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/search/label/Europe">Europe</a>, or some other place. We all talked about some of our favorites and why and I mentioned that one of mine when I lived in <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2010/08/oceanside-california.html">San Diego</a> was Caretaker, which comes from <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2011/09/shopping-at-trader-joes.html">Trader Joe's</a>.</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-j9NxjfoYdug/Vkci8uh31UI/AAAAAAAATs0/zAH9nAodRfA/s1600/2%2Bcaretaker%2Bpinot%2Bnoir%2Btrader%2Bjoes%2Bcaliforrnia%2Bsanta%2Bmaria.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-j9NxjfoYdug/Vkci8uh31UI/AAAAAAAATs0/zAH9nAodRfA/s400/2%2Bcaretaker%2Bpinot%2Bnoir%2Btrader%2Bjoes%2Bcaliforrnia%2Bsanta%2Bmaria.jpg" width="295" /></a></div>
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Caretaker's a Pinot Noir from <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2011/03/california-central-coast-with-disaster.html">California's central coast</a>, which is the area between <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2011/03/los-angeles.html">Los Angeles</a> and <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2014/03/san-francisco-official-selfie-tour.html">San Francisco</a>. From what I understand, it's made for Trader Joe's from multiple growers' grapes. For me, it's a pretty good, easy-to-drink wine.</div>
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I found it by "starting at the bottom", which I've used in both <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/search/label/Germany">Germany</a> and <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/search/label/Spain">Spain</a> with good results. Since I already know that price is, for the most part, what someone else thinks something's worth (read: "somewhat arbitrary"), I do a little basic research about local wines then start with the lowest-priced bottle for each grape/type I want to try and begin working my way "up" until I find something I really like. From there, I try a bunch of each of that type of grape/wine until I find a favorite. At that point, I have an intersection of price and (one) wine type from which I'll maybe try something like 50% more expensive - just to see if there's a difference worth the premium. I can then repeat this for each type of wine someone recommends and/or I want to try.</div>
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Now, granted, I have to work my way through some crappy wines but I learn a lot about what's grown locally and at low cost. (Don't worry, if the wine's really crap, it gets tossed out.) This is the way I found <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2012/11/local-stuttgart-wine-spatburgunder.html">Spatebergunder while in Germany</a>, Granatxa in Spain, and Caretaker Pinot Noir in California. And, as people who are into wine already know, they have commonalities.</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hXU9yF4Bvew/VkcjIWMD9II/AAAAAAAATtA/wDJL7IBXEKg/s1600/1%2Bcaretaker%2Bpinot%2Bnoir%2Bcalifornia%2Bcoastal%2Bsanta%2Bbarbara.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="295" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hXU9yF4Bvew/VkcjIWMD9II/AAAAAAAATtA/wDJL7IBXEKg/s400/1%2Bcaretaker%2Bpinot%2Bnoir%2Bcalifornia%2Bcoastal%2Bsanta%2Bbarbara.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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During our visit that evening, someone asked me if I had Caretaker recently and if I still liked it as much now that I've tried so many others. I hadn't but, as you can see, the local Trader Joe's had it in stock so I picked up a bottle to take back to <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/search/label/Barcelona">Barcelona</a>.<br />
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<a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2011/10/moving-on-upto-deluxe-apartment-in-sky.html">Vladimir</a> was over one afternoon and we decided to open the bottle to see what we all thought. As I transferred it to the decanter, I immediately had memories <i>pour</i> into my head. The smell alone reminded me of so many good times in California. Sort of like hearing an old song, truly amazing. And surprising. I also remembered that Randy said something similar; about how different wines triggered different memories for him.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-H7xyjtOcmUY/Vkci-FItmgI/AAAAAAAATs4/1EjAqout5UQ/s1600/3%2Bpinot%2Bnoir%2Bcaretaker%2Bbarbara%2Bmaria%2Bcoastal%2Bdrink%2Bwith%2Banything%2Bor%2Bnothing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="295" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-H7xyjtOcmUY/Vkci-FItmgI/AAAAAAAATs4/1EjAqout5UQ/s400/3%2Bpinot%2Bnoir%2Bcaretaker%2Bbarbara%2Bmaria%2Bcoastal%2Bdrink%2Bwith%2Banything%2Bor%2Bnothing.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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So, what's the verdict?<br />
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Over the past few years, I've found wines I'm not a fan of and others I've enjoyed a bunch. There are certain characteristics I like more than others. Mostly, I've enjoyed the process and experience. The taste? Yeah, I was a bit surprised, it's still one of my favorites. But, in terms of memories-per-bottle, Caretaker wins hands down!<br />
<br />Darrenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04297178159681349394noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4072716550311254605.post-80887523499230175932015-11-15T11:38:00.002+01:002015-11-15T11:38:37.391+01:00Saint Augustine Florida<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I'm not sure if it's a window into my soul but, for me, life is a series of paths crossing, choices, luck (good and bad), and experiences. Part of my life goal, to learn something new every day, is trying to get to know as many people, places, and cultures as possible and to try to never say no to an opportunity.</div>
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Sometimes all of those things happen at the same time in the same place and the results are pretty amazing. For example, you randomly cross paths with a new person (or maybe happen upon a new place, etc.) and getting to know that person changes you and/or makes you learn something new about yourself. These chance encounters are the chips in the chocolate chip cookies of life. Yummy delicious!</div>
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On our last full day in <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2015/10/walt-disney-world-family-vacation-part-1.html">Florida</a>, Diana and I, on the recommendation of her friend, drove up to Saint Augustine, which is a small coastal town about two hours or so north of Orlando:</div>
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In a sort of life's random-paths-crossing, we were surprised to see the whole town decked out with Spanish flags and red-and-yellow banners. Look again at that photo above. We knew before going that it was founded by the Spanish in the 1500s but, wow, they seem to be a bit Spain addicted or something.<br />
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Well, it turns out that Saint Augustine played a major role in the Americas for Spain for hundreds of years. Oh yeah, and the king and queen of <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/search/label/Spain">Spain</a> happened to visit on the same day we were there. Small details...<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lxzBGIZRiHA/Vj-u7LkO07I/AAAAAAAATpE/RoFupatuOcw/s1600/4%2Bspanish%2Bsoldiers%2Bsaint%2Baugustine%2Bflorida%2Bking%2Bfelipe%2Bvi%2Bspain%2Bqueen%2Bletizia.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lxzBGIZRiHA/Vj-u7LkO07I/AAAAAAAATpE/RoFupatuOcw/s400/4%2Bspanish%2Bsoldiers%2Bsaint%2Baugustine%2Bflorida%2Bking%2Bfelipe%2Bvi%2Bspain%2Bqueen%2Bletizia.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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Oops. Little did we know when we set out that the whole city was celebrating 500 years since its founding with a big party, which the king and queen would attend. Had we arrived like 20 minutes earlier, we would have seen them on the balcony below. Argh, no wonder there was so much traffic getting into town!<br />
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Talk about coincidences. It'd be like you live in the <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/search/label/United%20States">United States</a> and you come to <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/search/label/Barcelona">Barcelona</a> randomly one day and <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2010/12/washington-dc.html">the president's</a> there. It made for good photos around town with all the bright colors, cool flags, and all.<br />
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A fairly empty, non-peak-season look down Saint George (<a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2011/04/books-and-roses-la-diada-de-sant-jordi.html">Sant Jordi</a>, en <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2010/04/discuplame-perohabla-espanol.html">Catala</a>) Street, which is the main tourist shopping district:<br />
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Saint Augustine reminded me, for some reason, of Cape May, New Jersey, which is near <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2010/08/wildwood-new-jersey.html">Wildwood</a>. Well, and I guess, in a way, <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2015/06/back-in-southern-california-part-1.html">La Jolla</a> too. There are lots of cool old buildings, the beach is right there, and it's a lovely place to spend the day.<br />
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After some time trying unsuccessfully to meet up with the king and queen and then eating a fabulous southern-style lunch, we walked over to the San Marcos fort. Just two weeks earlier(!!!), we were at the beach in <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2015/10/porto-portugal.html">Porto, Portugal</a>, sticking our feet in the other side of the Atlantic!<br />
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Yes, (we're aware) life's pretty good for this world-traveling duo! But, after all, that's a part of the goal, right? At least for me it is. How to learn and squeeze in as much life as possible into our <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2013/03/on-value-of-time.html">precious-few trips</a> around the sun?<br />
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Thanks to everyone who I've met along the route. Yes, the places are great. The <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/search/label/Food">food</a> and <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2010/06/lanzarote-wine-growing-region.html">wine</a> are good too. But, really, at the end of the day, it's the people who make it. Thanks sharing the ride!<br />
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<br />Darrenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04297178159681349394noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4072716550311254605.post-43791909611147626312015-11-08T20:47:00.002+01:002015-11-08T20:51:01.790+01:00Kennedy Space Center<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Diana and I are very fortunate that we have friends from all over the world and seem to make more all the time. It can make coordinating Saturday-night pintxos gatherings tough but it sure does make traveling fun. We laugh out loud every time someone tells us that we should come visit them because, inevitably, we end up darkening their doorstep. So, take that as a warning if you ever offer.</div>
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After my family left <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2015/10/walt-disney-world-family-vacation-part-1.html">Disney World</a> to go back to <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/search/label/Philadelphia">Philadelphia</a>, Diana and I went to stay with a friend of hers from growing up in <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/search/label/Colombia">Colombia</a>. We saw the friend last time we were in <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/search/label/Bogota">Bogota</a> just as she was getting ready to move to the <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/search/label/United%20States">United States</a> with her new husband. She casually mentioned, probably without much thought, that we should come stay with her if we're ever in central Florida...</div>
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Ha! Guess whose lovely backyard view this is!</div>
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Staying with Diana's friend was especially fun for me because I got to watch Diana's take on suburban-American life with a family who's is not my own. Everything from the big-to-Diana house, the pick-up in the driveway, to having to drive every time we left the house (it took probably almost five minutes just to <i>drive</i> out of the massive development). We even went one night for, surprise, <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2010/03/water-ice.html">water ice</a>!</div>
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Their house provided a great base to check out two relatively nearby places. The first is the topic of this story, the Kennedy Space Center:</div>
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I really can't remember if I've ever been to Kennedy before. I think I may have gone the last time I was at Disney World years ago but I'm still not sure. Anyway, it doesn't matter because it was all new to me.<br />
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The Kennedy Space Center's Rocket Garden:<br />
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We were both very impressed with the Center. We had only planned on spending a couple of hours there but basically ran out of time after about five. First off, it's really big, with multiple museum-style buildings and launch facilities spread out over probably thousands of coastal central-Florida acres.<br />
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Kennedy's old Launch Control Center where the missions were managed until the craft left the launch pad at which time control transferred to Houston:<br />
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It's all pretty impressive when you think about it. The amount of work and coordination involved in, for example, getting people to the moon and back. I know how hard it can be to get teams I work with to agree on processes to do their jobs much less have some guy survive in a tin can for weeks or months at a time. After all, in this case, it may not be brain surgery but it's definitely rocket science!<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4mJTx0C2NfU/VjfQBdtClSI/AAAAAAAATlg/SfgyFS3fju8/s1600/2b%2Bgemini%2Bcapsule%2Bkennedy%2Bspace%2Bcenter.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4mJTx0C2NfU/VjfQBdtClSI/AAAAAAAATlg/SfgyFS3fju8/s400/2b%2Bgemini%2Bcapsule%2Bkennedy%2Bspace%2Bcenter.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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Like I said, we could have easily spent more time at Kennedy. There are multiple options and tours to choose from. We stayed at the main visitor center for a couple of hours before taking a bus tour, which goes past things like the iconic Vehicle Assembly Building below, out to the Apollo/Saturn V Center:<br />
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Oh, and a pro tip, sit on the right side of the tour bus, which we didn't do. The route is such that most of the things you'll see are on that side.<br />
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The scale of everything on the tour is hard to comprehend. The Mobile Launcher Platform below is a good example. This giant <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2010/11/shanghai-expo2010.html">Sand-Crawler-like</a> platform carried the Space Shuttle from the Vehicle Assembly Building out to the launch platform. If you look towards the bottom right of the platform, just above and to the right of the tank tread, you'll see the driver's booth!<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fCQ-izJmg0Q/VjfQYLnn2oI/AAAAAAAATl0/UIlQycMjOhU/s1600/3b%2Bmobile%2Blaunch%2Bplatform%2Bkennedy%2Bspace%2Bcenter%2Bshuttle.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fCQ-izJmg0Q/VjfQYLnn2oI/AAAAAAAATl0/UIlQycMjOhU/s400/3b%2Bmobile%2Blaunch%2Bplatform%2Bkennedy%2Bspace%2Bcenter%2Bshuttle.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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It's funny, but there's space-launch-related stuff laying everywhere you go on the bus tour. If you look at the photo above again, you'll see some examples just behind the fence. I'd imagine everything related to the space program has got to cost a fortune and to see it spread around makes me laugh. Not very 5S NASA!<br />
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The bus tour also goes by the SpaceX building and launch pad. SpaceX, if you're not familiar, is the Google of the space industry where companies like Boeing and Lockheed Martin are considered old school. It was started by the Iron-Man-like Elon Musk who also started some other unknown companies like PayPal and Tesla. Yeah, I'd imagine it'd be an amazing place to <strike>play</strike> work.<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_iegDAbGfFM/Vj3dyKwWd8I/AAAAAAAATn0/ADZ70PnZRSo/s1600/3c%2Bkennedy%2Bspace%2Bcenter%2Bspace%2Bx%2Bbuilding%2Blaunch%2Bcomplex-crop.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_iegDAbGfFM/Vj3dyKwWd8I/AAAAAAAATn0/ADZ70PnZRSo/s400/3c%2Bkennedy%2Bspace%2Bcenter%2Bspace%2Bx%2Bbuilding%2Blaunch%2Bcomplex-crop.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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Over at the Apollo/Saturn V Center, the scale of what they're sending up to space is astonishing. If you think of traveling in an airplane as "flying through the air at 550 miles per hour in a hollow metal tube", going to space in one of these things must be like sitting on top of the world's largest bottle rocket!<br />
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The one thing we saw that really makes me think I've been to the Kennedy Space Center before is a display where you are able to touch a rock that came from the moon during one of the Apollo Missions. Hmm... Who knows, right?<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hSCvKbXb-F8/VjfQlH2x69I/AAAAAAAATmE/VvKEvFb8HbY/s1600/4b%2Bmoon%2Brock%2Bkennedy%2Bspace%2Bcenter%2Bsaturn%2Bv.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hSCvKbXb-F8/VjfQlH2x69I/AAAAAAAATmE/VvKEvFb8HbY/s400/4b%2Bmoon%2Brock%2Bkennedy%2Bspace%2Bcenter%2Bsaturn%2Bv.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
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I think for both of us the highlight of the visit was the Space Shuttle Atlantis Exhibit. The four surviving shuttles are now on display around the country and Kennedy has one of them. I remember watching on the internet the day they <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sg5jVGVPOfk" target="_blank">flew the Endeavor</a> around <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/search/label/California">California</a> and the very cool images of it <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JdqZyACCYZc" target="_blank">winding its way through the streets</a> of <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2011/03/los-angeles.html">Los Angeles</a>. I couldn't wait to finally get to see one in person. (By the way, you really should check out those videos!)<br />
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Space Shuttle external fuel tank and booster rockets, which are actually replicas, outside the Atlantis Exhibit building:<br />
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The exhibit starts with two videos each in its own theater. As the second video ends, the wall along the left side appears to light up with an image of a Shuttle with the Earth behind. It's only when a dark-out curtain rises, which you can see below, that you realize you're looking at the actual shuttle on display in the museum. Whoever came up with this one deserves a bonus!<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-QQ8W3PUw_q8/VjfQqrzSwxI/AAAAAAAATmM/qrvsHoZCLEY/s1600/5b%2Batlantis%2Bkennedy%2Bspace%2Bcenter%2Bshuttle%2Bbuilding%2Bexhibit%2Bmovie.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-QQ8W3PUw_q8/VjfQqrzSwxI/AAAAAAAATmM/qrvsHoZCLEY/s400/5b%2Batlantis%2Bkennedy%2Bspace%2Bcenter%2Bshuttle%2Bbuilding%2Bexhibit%2Bmovie.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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The Shuttle itself is both bigger and smaller than I expected. Smaller in the sense that, like when I first saw <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2010/01/walk-like-egyptian.html">the pyramids</a> in <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/search/label/Egypt">Egypt</a>, it could never match the size I had in my mind. But bigger than you think is possible to send up into space. Think something bigger than a boxcar!<br />
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The Atlantis is far enough away where its just out of arm's reach but close enough where you can see that every single heat-shield tile is individually numbered and that Shuttle's skin isn't (as I expected) smooth but rather like it's covered with fabric, which it might be.<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-iZ8qnashWUM/VjfQ4Ppbx2I/AAAAAAAATmU/TG7fg7hzG7s/s1600/5c%2Batlantis%2Bshuttle%2Bclose%2Bup%2Bengines%2Bheat%2Bshield.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-iZ8qnashWUM/VjfQ4Ppbx2I/AAAAAAAATmU/TG7fg7hzG7s/s400/5c%2Batlantis%2Bshuttle%2Bclose%2Bup%2Bengines%2Bheat%2Bshield.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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Getting to see a Space Shuttle up close was definitely an experience I won't forget. The size, history, and the work it represents is truly awe inspiring. I can't recommend enough going to see one when you get the chance.<br />
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<br />Darrenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04297178159681349394noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4072716550311254605.post-53355454868751501712015-11-01T22:51:00.001+01:002015-11-01T22:55:41.482+01:00Walt Disney World Family Vacation - PhotoPass<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
This post is Part 3 of our family's trip to Disney World. Here are <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2015/10/walt-disney-world-family-vacation-part-1.html">Part 1</a> and <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2015/10/walt-disney-world-family-vacation-part-2.html">Part 2</a>.</div>
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As a brief recap, my dad's crazy generous and my sister has organizational OCD.</div>
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And, with a couple of more details, my dad decided about a year ago to take the whole family to Disney World for a family vacation. He asked my sister to look into what that would involve and gave her free rein to set everything up, which she did - down to the very last detail. But, the combination made for a truly amazing trip.</div>
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Anyway, as part of the planning, my sister bought a whole-family PhotoPass package, which includes all-you-can-eat-style photos anywhere there's a photographer throughout Disney's property. It's something I would have never chosen if I were planning the trip but it ended up being a great extra.</div>
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Our first (and arguably one of the best) PhotoPass family photo right after we entered the Magic Kingdom on our first day:</div>
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The deal is that you pay one all-inclusive fee and there are photographers spread out at scenic locations throughout the parks as well at character meet and greets. It also includes those photos they take <a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xTaERPvitx8/ViPJn7CJ5PI/AAAAAAAATes/Ip-MG876QIs/s1600/4%2Bdisney%2Bhollywood%2Bstudios%2Brock%2Bn%2Broller%2Bcoaster.jpg" target="_blank">when you're on the rides</a>.<br />
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Entering Epcot Center on our second day:<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-o4RkVC05ZPo/ViP5JZOUUBI/AAAAAAAATfk/V3Ft0tt_s9s/s1600/1b%2Bepcot%2Bdisneyworld%2Bphotopass%2Bworld%2Bshowcase%2Bfrance.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-o4RkVC05ZPo/ViP5JZOUUBI/AAAAAAAATfk/V3Ft0tt_s9s/s400/1b%2Bepcot%2Bdisneyworld%2Bphotopass%2Bworld%2Bshowcase%2Bfrance.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Whenever you see a Disney photographer anywhere, you can ask them to take your photo. They then scan your Disney MagicBand (or photo card). A little while later, you can see the photos on the Disney app on your phone (yes, they've got it all pretty much covered) and it's all downloadable when you get home.<br />
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With all the family photos, individual-ish photos, and ride photos, we ended up with over 350 between us. Even though the crappy web interface (not everything Disney does is perfect) made me spend a few hours downloading (three times!), unzipping, and comparing everything before realizing I had three (ugh!!!, differently named) sets of the same photos, it was still worth it.<br />
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Epcot Center character meet and greet:<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rLOHwgdEw0Y/ViP4xZeEflI/AAAAAAAATfc/D1KiCkoggfs/s1600/1c%2Bepcot%2Bfuture%2Bworld%2Bcharacter%2Bbreakfast%2Bphotopass.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rLOHwgdEw0Y/ViP4xZeEflI/AAAAAAAATfc/D1KiCkoggfs/s400/1c%2Bepcot%2Bfuture%2Bworld%2Bcharacter%2Bbreakfast%2Bphotopass.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Speaking of the Disney MagicBand (yes, Disney really likes <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CamelCase" target="_blank">CamelCase</a>), when you stay at a Disney property, they give you a radio-frequency bracelet to wear. This bracelet gives you an easy way to open your hotel room, use FastPass (see - more CamelCase), pay for your purchases, and use PhotoPass (argh...maybe it should be called WaltDisneyWorld?). And, in addition to making your visit easier, it gives Disney's database geeks a treasure-trove of data to play with!<br />
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Seriously though, I really liked the convenience. Paying for everything was as easy as touching your bracelet to a terminal and entering a PIN. FastPass was simple. And no hotel key to keep track of! Actually, it's just like how people were paying for things in <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/search/label/Japan">Japan</a> when I lived there FIVE YEARS AGO! If you can't tell, I'm very much waiting for Apple and Android Pay to be widely accepted enough that I can get rid of my wallet for good... Helllllo! What's taking sooooo long???<br />
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Day three at Animal Kingdom:<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yN3M22l1u3M/ViP7Fo5ZdTI/AAAAAAAATf8/PSH3sZ6KXbA/s1600/1d%2Bdisney%2Banimal%2Bkingdom%2Bphotopass.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yN3M22l1u3M/ViP7Fo5ZdTI/AAAAAAAATf8/PSH3sZ6KXbA/s400/1d%2Bdisney%2Banimal%2Bkingdom%2Bphotopass.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div>
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...and day four at Hollywood Studios:<br />
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So, anyway, time for me to share a few selected-by-me favorites. Dad and Ginny...<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GObsROQviJI/ViP711V4VbI/AAAAAAAATgM/s2M8x8z6ofU/s1600/2%2Bepcot%2Bmickey%2Bdisneyworld%2Bphotopass.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GObsROQviJI/ViP711V4VbI/AAAAAAAATgM/s2M8x8z6ofU/s400/2%2Bepcot%2Bmickey%2Bdisneyworld%2Bphotopass.jpeg" width="266" /></a></div>
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...my brother's family...<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-emVUb1UIO7Q/ViP82vXmVtI/AAAAAAAATgY/JjGpkz3SGuc/s1600/3%2Bdisneyworld%2Bepcot%2Bphotopass%2Bfamily%2Bgoofy%2Bcharacter.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-emVUb1UIO7Q/ViP82vXmVtI/AAAAAAAATgY/JjGpkz3SGuc/s400/3%2Bdisneyworld%2Bepcot%2Bphotopass%2Bfamily%2Bgoofy%2Bcharacter.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div>
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...my sister's family...<br />
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...and, finally, Diana and me:<br />
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I know I already mentioned this in both of the other two posts but I'll say it again. We had a great time. It was a lot of fun to be able to stay and hang out together for such an extended period.<br />
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Thanks to my sister for planning everything and a giant thanks to my dad for making it all possible! We should do it again soon... :)<br />
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<br />Darrenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04297178159681349394noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4072716550311254605.post-71767100087205756572015-10-28T22:34:00.001+01:002015-11-01T10:52:58.034+01:00Walt Disney World Family Vacation - Part 2<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
This is part two of our family vacation in Walt Disney World. <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2015/10/walt-disney-world-family-vacation-part-1.html">For part one, go here.</a></div>
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To catch you up, my dad decided to take the whole family to Florida - all FOURTEEN of us. We stayed in a giant apartment at the Boardwalk Resort just outside Epcot Center that's probably ten-plus-times larger than <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2013/09/home-sweet-home-aka-finally-settled.html">our apartment in Barcelona</a>. It was big. And it was on a lake. With boats. Crazy.</div>
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Goofy with Ginny, Diana, dad, and some random Disney character:</div>
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It's been a few years since I was last at Disney World. I'm not 100% sure when it was but, like with lots of experiences in life, I remember the first time. I was 13 when my dad's mom took me. Back then, it was pretty much just the Magic Kingdom and Epcot so I think we spent a day or two at each park.<br />
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I remember the Magic Kingdom being fun but what really sticks with me is going to Epcot. The whole future thing and then all the countries you could visit. They all seemed so exotic and strange. Well, if you've been reading this blog at all, you'll know that I've been fortunate enough to see first-hand all but one (!!!) of the countries in the Epcot World Showcase. It's a bit crazy, I know. I didn't even realize it until we were walking around the park.<br />
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<a href="http://www.disneyfoodblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/worldshowcasemap.jpg" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Photo credit: disneyfoodblog.com</span></a></div>
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So, the first half of this story is dedicated to <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2013/03/on-value-of-time.html">my parents</a> who've given me the opportunity to have this oh-so-crazy trip around the sun we call life. In clockwise order on the map above...<br />
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There's <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/search/label/Mexico">Mexico</a>, where I lived for two years:<br />
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...with Mariachis, of course! (Well, I didn't actually live <i>with</i> Mariachis but they were <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2014/11/mariachis-at-home.html">at the house</a>...)<br />
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Then there's <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/search/label/Norway">Norway</a>, which Diana and I visited when we went to see <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2014/06/al-ain-uae-part-1.html">Lena and Tony</a> in <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/search/label/Sweden">Sweden</a> a couple of years ago.<br />
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A little bit farther around the World Showcase, one of my favorites, <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/search/label/China">China</a> seen here with Epcot's version of Beijing's <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2010/11/random-items-from-beijing.html">Temple of Heaven</a>:<br />
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Next up? <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/search/label/Germany">Germany</a>. Surprise of surprises. We loved living in Germany and <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2012/11/tage-wie-diese-days-like-these.html">miss our friends there</a> very much. The Disney version could be any <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2012/04/tubingen.html">one of a hundred small towns</a> littering southern Germany:<br />
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Just about half way around, you come to the land of pizza, pasta, and <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2013/06/pisa-and-siena-italy.html">faulty engineering</a>, <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/search/label/Italy">Italy</a>. Diana hanging out with some Italian guys who, she assures me, are just friends:<br />
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At the half way point, the <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/search/label/United%20States">United States</a> makes its appearance. Really, it seems a bit redundant as Disney's is as "American" as they come. There's no photo from the U.S. area but I'll throw in this one of me with a Mickey-shaped ice-cream sandwich. American or what?<br />
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<a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/search/label/Japan">Japan</a> is next up in the World Showcase after the U.S. Can I just say again how much I love and miss Japan. And not only the food! I learned so much there.<br />
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Continuing along, Morocco, which is the ONLY country of the lot I haven't been to. Actually, we're just waiting on our friends Natalia and Adil to get married in his hometown of Fez so we can tag alone for the big party!<br />
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Next, <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/search/label/France">France</a>, followed by the <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/search/label/England">United Kingdom</a> and, last, but not least, our crazy poutine-eating cousins to the north, Canada (sorry, no links). Yeah, Epcot's pretty cool and it brings back a ton of memories!<br />
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The rest of this post is made up of random items from the trip. In the past, it would have been a separate post but I'm getting lazy in my old age.<br />
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I normally only get to see my family in small bursts during <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2010/11/thanksgiving-dinner.html">holiday visits</a>. This trip was great because we got to spend a surprising amount of time together as one big group.<br />
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It also provided lots of one-on-one time that I was craving!<br />
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My next post will be about photo ops, characters, and Disney's photo package. But, one character stands out from the whole trip. Pocahontas. Yep. One of Disney's brown princesses.<br />
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We spent our third day at Disney World visiting Disney's Animal Kingdom, which is part zoo, part amusement park. It's full of zoo-type animals, log-flume rides, counter-service food places (if you've been to Disney, you'll know), and, on occasion, character meet-and-greets.<br />
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Because my sister had booked Disney's all-you-can-eat-style PhotoPass (more on this in the next story), we made sure to try to get as many character pictures as possible. Now, many of the meet-the-character locations are along major paths through the park or near entrances or exits to shops or attractions...except for poor Pocahontas. You can't actually see Disney's brown princess. She only gets this little sign, which you can see behind <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2011/10/lucky-break-getting-our-gaudi-on.html">another brown princess</a>.<br />
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Unlike all her character brothers and sisters, she's hidden down some narrow path and behind some bushes. Hey Disney, how about an upgrade for Pocahontas?<br />
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It isn't all back-alley though, so don't worry. The big name celebs get air-conditioned buildings:<br />
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All in all, an amazing time. Even with a daily bit of rain, the whole family was all smiles...<br />
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Thanks again for the amazing trip dad! You outdid yourself this time.<br />
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I'll leave this story with a composite of two photos taken on the Rock 'n' Roller Coaster at Hollywood Studios that pretty much sums up how we felt during the whole trip.<br />
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Darrenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04297178159681349394noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4072716550311254605.post-6426779369283660432015-10-18T20:43:00.001+02:002018-05-31T21:51:31.671+02:00Walt Disney World Family Vacation - Part 1<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
About a year ago my dad got a crazy idea (or did he go crazy and have an idea?) to take the whole family to Walt Disney World in Florida. I talked to my sister about it and we both were surprised and excited by the prospect of having all 14(!!!) of us meet up for a true Griswold-style family vacation. Well, it didn't end up being some group hallucination, it actually happened!</div>
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Day one going from our Boardwalk Resort apartment to the front entrance of Disney World on the Disney Express bus:</div>
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I'll admit right up front that Diana and I had embarrassingly little to do to make the trip happen. Our part pretty much consisted of using my dad's credit card to book flights one day and then drinking wine and watching movies at 35,000 feet on another. My sister did everything. And, I mean... E.V.E.R.Y.T.H.I.N.G. Can you say "spoiled"?<br />
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The whole "Poppy's Pirates" team a couple of minutes after entering the Magic Kingdom:<br />
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My sister had meticulously planned the entire week's adventure down to which rides to FastPass, where to eat, and, well, everything. She even ordered us matching shirts with an image of a Pirate Mickey, crossed swords, and the words "Poppy's Pirates". (My nieces and nephews call my dad Poppy.)<br />
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Diana practicing her driving skills at the Disney World Tomorrow Land Speedway:<br />
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The trip was extra special for me because I don't really get to spend extended time with my six <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2014/01/philadelphia-zoo-for-christmas.html">nieces</a> and <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2012/12/horseback-riding-for-christmas.html">nephews</a> and this was a multi-day opportunity to do so. Even though we were 14, our group stayed together for most of the time, if you can believe it!<br />
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Waiting in line with Poppy and crew for the Buzz Lightyear Astro Blaster ride:<br />
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I made a conscious effort to spend as much time as possible with each of my nieces and nephews. Disney makes it relatively easy to do so as most attractions are whole-family friendly. Actually, looking back, and much to probably everyone's surprise, I can't remember even a single moment where anyone wanted to kill someone else. :) Quite an achievement for such a large group!<br />
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Happy campers waiting for a show at Disney World:<br />
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We lucked out with our trip timing, which was just after back-to-school time. It meant that there were almost no insane lines and those we did encounter were entirely reasonable. I think it really helped that my sister had FastPassed almost all the big-name rides.<br />
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The weather was good too. Still hot and humid but no worse than <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/search/label/Barcelona">Barcelona</a> in summer. The difference at Disney, though, is that there's air conditioning everywhere. But, on a downside, they set it at sub-zero temps and you go from sweating to freezing probably 100 times a day.<br />
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Hanging with bro-in-law and "the boy" on the Animal Kingdom Kilimanjaro Safari Ride:<br />
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Make fun of stuff like the air conditioning all you want but, I've gotta say, Disney's got their sh*t together when it comes to efficiently serving tons of visitors. From FastPass to their endless zig-zagging lines, I know I'm waiting but, inexplicably, I almost don't mind. Not always, but I notice it less than, let's say, with TSA at the airport.<br />
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I imagine that there's a team of folks like me looking for continuous-improvement ideas for things like queuing, ordering, paying, and so on. (Hint for the D-folks: hey, I've got the app downloaded... Can I, for example, order lunch for everyone and get a FastPass-style assigned time while I'm zig zagging my way towards Space Mountain rather than having to wait while some family ahead of me debate the health implications of a cheeseburger?)<br />
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Enjoying lunch at the Be Our Guest Restaurant in Fantasy Land:<br />
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No matter how modern Disney gets, some things never change. The Jungle Cruise and It's A Small World are examples. Usually terrible lines, somewhat cheesy sets, but, really, some of the best parts of being there. And, a plus, loved by all ages!<br />
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A not-so-<a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2010/08/catalan-nationalism.html">Catalan</a> Spain in It's A Small World:<br />
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It was Diana and five of six nieces and nephews' first trip to Disney World. This required us to do pretty much everything so they could have the full experience. Haunted Mansion? Check. Space Mountain? Check. Big Thunder Railway? Check. And, of course, the famed Main Street Electrical Parade!<br />
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Oh, and this particular blog post is significant for a technical change. Up to now, all the photos in the 425-plus (!!!) whereisdarrennow stories have been taken with my two mobile phones (Nexus One and Nexus 5) and only one point-and-shoot camera. Although the camera on my Nexus 5 is damn good, I've been wanting a new point-and-shoot with decent zoom and excellent imaging that could still fit in my pocket. For this trip, I researched and researched and <i>finally</i> pulled the trigger.<br />
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So, what do you think of the photo quality from my new Canon?<br />
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It had been a while since I went to Disney World and it was great to be back, especially with Diana and the whole family. A big thanks to my sister for doing such a great planning job and, of course, to my dad, Poppy, for making it all possible. Truly a trip of a lifetime.<br />
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<br />Darrenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04297178159681349394noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4072716550311254605.post-61419812680120784312015-10-04T11:35:00.001+02:002015-10-04T11:35:09.451+02:00Porto Portugal<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I always find it interesting (and maybe funny) what images and stories I remember from childhood. Some are mere flashes like when I was probably two or three years old walking up the steps where we lived at the time. Nothing particular, just steps and the the front door opening. There are others like when my dad would take me and my friends to 7-Eleven for Slurpees that I can remember in much more detail (down to the car we went in). And then there are others that I recognize aren't even a particular event but rather what are a bunch of memories combined into one like how <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2015/09/freixenet-cava-factory-tour.html">I wrote recently about my parents buying Cava to celebrate New Year's</a> or even how they used to eat Port-wine cheese on crackers.</div>
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I hadn't thought about Port-wine cheese in quite a while but it flashed back when Diana told me about a conference she had to go to near Porto, Portugal. Never wanting to miss the chance to go to a new place, especially when it's in a new country and possibly the home of Port wine cheese(!), I booked some tickets and an apartment right away! Gotta' go!</div>
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Looking for cheese out over Porto and across the Douro river towards Vila Nova de Gaia:</div>
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Other than maybe four stopovers on the way to and from <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/search/label/Philadelphia">Philadelphia</a>, I had never been to Portugal and really didn't know much about it (other than that damned cheese). I have a Portuguese friend here in <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/search/label/Barcelona">Barcelona</a> that lived for a while in Porto and another guy from <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/search/label/Spain">Spain</a> who had been to Porto quite a few times so they gave us quite the to-do list.<br />
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One of the many curiously blue-tiled churches I saw in Porto:<br />
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The old town part of Porto's just inland from the (Atlantic) coast of Portugal. The wine from the region got its name from the city around the 1700s when trade was booming in the area. Maybe it was later when cheese came into the picture.<br />
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The city of Porto to the left and Vila Nova de Gaia to the right:<br />
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I was pleasantly surprised by the great weather during our stay. It was a relatively quick trip but the weather reminded me a lot of San Diego with its cool nights and warmish days. Hmm...sounds good for some wine growing, doesn't it...?<br />
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The interior of Porto's main train station, Sao Bento:<br />
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As always, there are huge benefits when you know someone who lives in the place you're visiting or, like my friends, have lived there in the past. They recommended a bunch of places to see and, more importantly, some great places to eat.<br />
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Porto's known for the Francesinha sandwich, which is quite the gut-buster. There's bread, beef, sausage, ham, and it's all topped off with an egg, some cheese, although not the Port-wine type, and thick sauce. Have two, they're small.<br />
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We finished off our first day at an amazing hole-in-the-wall-dinner place and a nice walk along the riverfront. Porto is very scenic with hills going up from both sides of the river. The view from the Porto side up towards the Serro de Pilar Monastery:<br />
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True to most of our trips, we walked. And walked. <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2015/08/istanbul-part-1.html">And walked.</a> We covered pretty much the whole city over just a couple of days but while managing to stop to visit everything that looked interesting or that we had been told about.<br />
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We saw this cemetery and spent some time checking it out. The most interesting thing was that there were lots of mausoleums and that most had glass doors where you could see the coffins stacked up inside. All the above-ground graves reminded me a bit of cemeteries I had seen during trips to New Orleans (sorry, no links!) where they "bury" people above ground due to the city being below sea level. That's not the case in Porto so I'm not sure why the tradition.<br />
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Like some celebrities, certain places become famous just because they've become famous. It kinda builds on itself as more and more people find out about it making them want to find out more. Our stop at the Lello & Irmao bookstore is one such example. This bookstore is famous for being a supposed, although completely undocumented (as far as I could find), influence on J.K. Rolling of Harry Potter fame who apparently used to live nearby. The beautiful but crazy wooden stairs and interior are impressive and do have a Potter-esque look to them. Who knows, right? We went anyway and had a look.<br />
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We also took a quick trip out to the beach. Porto's beach very much reminded me of the <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2011/03/los-angeles.html">Los Angeles</a> beach area around El Segundo including the nearby airport and oil refineries. It was lovely and there was even an old fort, which you can see just to Diana's left in the photo below.<br />
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Our final stop was at the friend-recommended Croft Port house, makers and distributors of Port wine. We took a tour, which included a few Port samples and some excellent cheese (but, Port-free, unfortunately!), and got to walk through the dusty old store house. The whole Vila Nova de Gaia hillside is full of Port houses and is fun to walk around.<br />
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And so ended my quick hop. Diana, on the other hand, went on to her conference and had even more fun. Thanks to Bruno and Pablo for the great recommendations and, until next time, ve lo novamente em breve Portugal! Oh, and about that cheese...<br />
<br />Darrenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04297178159681349394noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4072716550311254605.post-14974641241853509972015-09-27T12:05:00.001+02:002015-09-27T12:07:52.874+02:00Freixenet Cava Factory Tour<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
When I was growing up in <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/search/label/Philadelphia">Philadelphia</a>, my parents would sometimes buy Champagne to celebrate New Year's. Even though it's been way over 20 years, I can remember that they'd buy Freixenet.</div>
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Oh, and, by the way, "Champagne" is called Cava in <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2010/04/discuplame-perohabla-espanol.html">Catalunya</a> (and Sparkling Wine in <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/search/label/California">California</a>). At the time, I didn't know the difference; it was all Champagne...</div>
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So, anyway, the Freixenet C<i>ava</i> factory is only about a 45-minute train ride from <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/search/label/Barcelona">Barcelona</a>. Time for a visit!</div>
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There's a whole wine-and-Cava growing region just outside the city with many different places you can visit. <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2012/02/codorniu-cava-factory-tour.html">Codorniu</a>, which I went to a few years ago, and Freixenet are located near the village of Sant Sadurni d'Anoia. Both offer similar tours where they teach you about Cava and walk you through some of the storage and production areas. Although the Codorniu buildings are more beautiful, the Freixenet's underground storage areas are also very cool.<br />
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I got lucky as my tour was in English. Score! The guide did a good job explaining the different types of grapes and Cavas. I think I know enough now that I have some reference and can actually absorb the information.<br />
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This time I learned the difference between the sugar content of the various Cavas and Champagnes. Not that sweeter is better or worse but only Brut Nature has no added sugar, which I often prefer because it's dryer. I never really knew why until now.<br />
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It was pretty late in the day when I did the tour and the production and distribution facilities were closed (although I'm really not sure if they're ever included on the tour). We did get to see some old production methods and equipment in one of the underground rooms.<br />
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A barrel-storage area on our way to the tram for our ride back up to street level:<br />
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Freixenet and Codorniu have similar offerings and prices. Freixenet wins for their tasting/tapas bar and convenience (right next to the train station) but, like I said, Codorniu's <a href="http://www.whereisdarrennow.com/2012/03/casaramona-textile-factory-caixa-forum.html">Cadafalch</a>-designed building wins for beauty.<br />
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There's also a bunch of other wineries and tasting rooms around Sant Sadurni d'Anoia, which I haven't yet visited. When you come to see us, you could easily do both factory tours in the same day. Hint hint!<br />
<br />Darrenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04297178159681349394noreply@blogger.com0