A bullfight:
Modeled after the famous lizard at the entrance to Parc Guell in Barcelona!
Old posters:
La Sagrada Familia:
Hungry, anyone?!?
More later...
Location:Barcelona, Spain
Sunday, November 27, 2011
Museum of Chocolate
A highlight for the two young Ohkuysen girls on their first trip to Spain last week was an afternoon trip to the Chocolate Museum in the Barrio Gotico of Old Barcelona. The entrance ticket (less than 4 euros each) was a chocolate bar! The history of the arrival of the cocoa bean in Europe from the New World was interesting enough, but the displays of "monas", a Catalan invention made for Easter Monday, were impressive! A "mona" is an elaborate chocolate sculpture, often of famous building, people, cartoon characters, etc. They are displayed in pastry and chocolate shops during the Easter season and are purchased by godparents to give to their godchildren on Easter Monday, often containing whole eggs corresponding to the age of the child. These below are all made out of chocolate! Enjoy!
A bullfight:
Modeled after the famous lizard at the entrance to Parc Guell in Barcelona!
Old posters:
La Sagrada Familia:
Hungry, anyone?!?
More later...
A bullfight:
Modeled after the famous lizard at the entrance to Parc Guell in Barcelona!
Old posters:
La Sagrada Familia:
Hungry, anyone?!?
More later...
La Sagrada Familia Revisited November 21, 2011
Recently I was very fortunate to play "tour guide" to our friends, the Ohkuysens, whom we knew from McKinney and Slidell and who now live in Puerto Rico. Kristin and Pancho had visited Barcelona on their honeymoon 15 years ago and the first thing they wanted to revisit was La Sagrada Familia to see the changes, the most impressive being that there is now a roof! Pat and I had first visited on our "look-see" trip to Barcelona in July 2009 when the interior was still just a dusty and noisy construction site. I took Jen and Ben there in February 2010 and things didn't look much better. But now...just look! What a difference another year makes and particularly since the consecration of the Church by the Pope in November 2010! We felt the entry fee of ~12.50 Euros was warranted and just sitting inside the nave was rewarding as we listened to the organist practicing for awhile. Amazing!
Entrance to the Nativity Facade:
Close-up of the stained-glass window:
Looking to the roof was dizzying!
The High Altar and organ:
Back of the Church which will eventually become the main entrance upon total completion:
Taken from the back of the Church-note the beam of light over the High Altar:
Pictures of Gaudi designs seen in Barcelona today:
View of the city and the Mediterranean from the tower:
View of the waterworks building from the Tower:
Typical residential/shop blocks in the Eixample area of Barcelona:
Ongoing construction of the outer towers:
Current construction site:
More later...
Entrance to the Nativity Facade:
Close-up of the stained-glass window:
Looking to the roof was dizzying!
The High Altar and organ:
Back of the Church which will eventually become the main entrance upon total completion:
Taken from the back of the Church-note the beam of light over the High Altar:
Pictures of Gaudi designs seen in Barcelona today:
View of the city and the Mediterranean from the tower:
View of the waterworks building from the Tower:
Typical residential/shop blocks in the Eixample area of Barcelona:
Ongoing construction of the outer towers:
Current construction site:
More later...
Location:Barcelona, Spain
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Friday afternoon with Baby Elliott!
These pictures were taken when Elliott was nearly 4 weeks old on Friday, October 21st. I was trying to keep him awake for a little while after nursing, which was quite a task! He was propped up in the nursing pillow that Jen uses.
Earlier in the week, I took pictures of him sleeping in his new bassinet, which goes onto his stroller, essentially making it into a carriage.
More additions to Grandma's Brag Book later...
Earlier in the week, I took pictures of him sleeping in his new bassinet, which goes onto his stroller, essentially making it into a carriage.
More additions to Grandma's Brag Book later...
Location:Home, Montreal, Quebec
Sunday, October 16, 2011
Leeds Castle
Backing up just a bit, this is the location where Pat attended his quarterly GOLT meetings with Coty management, known as "the most beautiful castle in the world". It was indeed quite lovely, surrounded by rolling countryside, grazing animals, a full moat with black swans, ducks, etc. It is currently quite a tourist attraction and the day I arrived, September 29th, it was very crowded due to the continuing hot, sunny weather. Vicky kindly drove me there from Chelmsford, about an hour south and across the Thames River. With a little help from the parking attendant, we we able to bring her car closer to the castle itself and found out that Pat was to move rooms into one which was formerly part of the stable.
The castle was built by a Norman baron in the reign of William the Conqueror's son Henry I, on an island in the River Len. For many centuries, it was a royal residence before becoming the private home of an American heiress, the Hon. Olive, Lady Baillie. It was she who ensured the castle would be managed by the Leeds Castle Foundation and enjoyed by visitors from around the world. One of the more famous residents was Henry VIII and his first wife, Catherine of Aragon, who used it as a royal palace. The Coty management team enjoyed a dinner in Henry VIII's dining room!
Our room was located in the upper floor of the brick building in the background, overlooking a lovely English garden.
A black swan near the Aviary:
Then a falconry display in the afternoon:
The maze (that was tricky!)
The castle tour:
Inner courtyard and fountain:
The Chapel, featuring a 15th century tapestry depicting The Adoration of the Magi:
The Seminar Room, used in 1978 for the initial talks in the Camp David Accords, with Lady Baillie's collection of impressionist paintings:
Lady Baillie's bedroom:
Catherine of Aragon's bedroom:
Yellow drawing room:
Thorpe Hall drawing room:
Setting sun on the front of the castle:
What a lovely spot to end our week in the UK! Don't miss this beautiful castle if you are ever in Kent!
More later...
The castle was built by a Norman baron in the reign of William the Conqueror's son Henry I, on an island in the River Len. For many centuries, it was a royal residence before becoming the private home of an American heiress, the Hon. Olive, Lady Baillie. It was she who ensured the castle would be managed by the Leeds Castle Foundation and enjoyed by visitors from around the world. One of the more famous residents was Henry VIII and his first wife, Catherine of Aragon, who used it as a royal palace. The Coty management team enjoyed a dinner in Henry VIII's dining room!
Our room was located in the upper floor of the brick building in the background, overlooking a lovely English garden.
A black swan near the Aviary:
Then a falconry display in the afternoon:
The maze (that was tricky!)
The castle tour:
Inner courtyard and fountain:
The Chapel, featuring a 15th century tapestry depicting The Adoration of the Magi:
The Seminar Room, used in 1978 for the initial talks in the Camp David Accords, with Lady Baillie's collection of impressionist paintings:
Lady Baillie's bedroom:
Catherine of Aragon's bedroom:
Yellow drawing room:
Thorpe Hall drawing room:
Setting sun on the front of the castle:
What a lovely spot to end our week in the UK! Don't miss this beautiful castle if you are ever in Kent!
More later...
Location:Kent, England
Wandering in Paris October 4, 2011
Pat's Coty meetings began at the Novotel on Monday morning, so after coffee and a pain aux raisins at a nearby patisserie, I took the Metro to the Bastille to pick up some Nikon accessories for his camera. From there I walked along the Seine and over to the Latin Quarter. Another nice day for the most part, still lots of tourists in the city but a lovely place to wander and explore.
A bridge close to the Notre Dame Basilica holds padlocks, similar to a part of the Ponte Vecchio in Florence, Italy, which we've seen before. I think the premise is that whoever leaves one there will return to the city on another visit to remove it!
A visit to Paris isn't complete without a visit to the quirky English book store, Shakespeare and Company, located across from Notre Dame. Always busy and full of books of all sorts!
In the Latin Quarter, the Arenes de Lutece, where Roman gladiators fought wild animals in the first century, AD. Today men play boules and children from a neighbouring school came for their run around the outside edge.
This cafe was closed when I walked by, but coming from La Belle Province, I was a little intrigued! Does anyone know it?
A pretty square, so typical in the Paris suburbs:
A plaque on the home where Hemingway lived, 74 rue du Cardinal-Lemoine
Rue Mouffetard
Open-air market at the bottom of the Rue Mouffetard
Paris Mosque in the Latin Quarter
The very popular tea room in the front courtyard of the Mosque
A selection of Moroccan-style pastries available at the tea-room...I enjoyed a sugared almond crescent with a glass of sweetened mint tea.
The inside dining room at the Mosque
More later...
A bridge close to the Notre Dame Basilica holds padlocks, similar to a part of the Ponte Vecchio in Florence, Italy, which we've seen before. I think the premise is that whoever leaves one there will return to the city on another visit to remove it!
A visit to Paris isn't complete without a visit to the quirky English book store, Shakespeare and Company, located across from Notre Dame. Always busy and full of books of all sorts!
In the Latin Quarter, the Arenes de Lutece, where Roman gladiators fought wild animals in the first century, AD. Today men play boules and children from a neighbouring school came for their run around the outside edge.
This cafe was closed when I walked by, but coming from La Belle Province, I was a little intrigued! Does anyone know it?
A pretty square, so typical in the Paris suburbs:
A plaque on the home where Hemingway lived, 74 rue du Cardinal-Lemoine
Rue Mouffetard
Open-air market at the bottom of the Rue Mouffetard
Paris Mosque in the Latin Quarter
The very popular tea room in the front courtyard of the Mosque
A selection of Moroccan-style pastries available at the tea-room...I enjoyed a sugared almond crescent with a glass of sweetened mint tea.
The inside dining room at the Mosque
More later...
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