Yes, we both got up at 6:00 AM to make sure we arrived at the 7:00 AM stretching class. That’s just plain insane as far as I’m concerned. Anyway, we arrived at the class and immediately decided NO WAY -- it involves a lot of work on mats on the floor, which means you have to get down onto the mat and then back up and that is just not going to happen with this body and these knees. But to our credit, instead of just wandering to the buffet for breakfast, we did some treadmill time and some bicycle time. The treadmill machines face huge windows at the front of the ship so I had a great view of the Mediterranean. My mind wandered for a bit to all the ships over all the centuries that have traveled these same waters on this same course. It is an interesting feeling of connection to other seafarers through time although my voyage is far more luxurious than most.
Decided on the spur of the moment to get a manicure because my nails were in terrible shape -- I find it difficult to keep my skin and nails in good shape when traveling because I use so much disinfectant every time we eat something and that stuff does terrible things to your skin and cuticles. Anyway, the manicurist turned out to be from a town that is only 30 miles from where I live -- what a small world. I’d rate the manicure about a B or B-, not bad but not nearly as good as my usual at home. And I really did not appreciate the constant up-sale pressure. In the guise of simple conversation she tried to sell me overly-expensive skin and nail products then tried to sell me several overly-expensive extra hand massages. I declined and as a result, the massage that usually comes with every manicure was very lackluster -- almost nonexistent. Although I am very aware that the spa is in business to make money, the constant pressure to buy more detracts significantly from the overall spa experience. But I will be back in 2 weeks for my regular manicure-pedicure because my nails can’t wait until I get home. When I first booked the cruise I was secretly thinking of booking a massage or two, but even a simple 40-minute Swedish massage costs $120, which I think is outrageously high. So I’ve sworn off massages for this trip.
We got ourselves to show up on time to pick up our free ice show extravaganza tickets. Can you imagine doing ice skating tricks while the ship is at sea? Well they manage to do it, although if the sea is too rough they cancel the show. We explored several more places on the ship and then we engaged in the classic shipboard activity of reading and napping. Actually, I think I’m catching up after several weeks of frantic getting ready for this trip and then several busy days in Barcelona. My body is trying to achieve balance and who am I to thwart such a goal.
My sister went to the theater in the afternoon to see the movie The Help and we decided to skip the fancy dining room for dinner and went to the buffet. Wow, they really had quite a selection -- really good Mexican food, Indian food, and fresh made-to-order sushi. Brought some cookies to our room and watched old, silly movies on the TV.
The temperature is absolutely wonderful, the slight breeze generated by the ship is delightful (we’re traveling at about 22 knots, diagonally across the Mediterranean -- saw a glimpse of Sardinia off to the left in the late afternoon) and the sea is very calm. This is the life!
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
DAY 6 AND THE WINNING CHOCOLATE IS…
This was our last day in Barcelona and we decided that our final act before going to the cruise ship needed to be one last hot chocolate. Although the winning hot chocolate of the 3 that we sampled was at the Museu de la Xocolata, we decided that the taxi ride over and back would really cost too much so we settled for 2nd best at La Pallaresa, with churros and an orange muffin. Ahhhhh, what a way to finish off a lovely visit. And an extra bonus was that 2 doors down from La Pallaresa is a torrone shop that sells quite an impressive variety of torrone flavors….oh dear, have I given myself away again? (This shop has been in business since 1775 -- Europe is so much older than the USA and shops with this kind of history really bring that to my attention.) Well, perhaps one or two little torrone tidbits found their way into my shopping bag. Perhaps. And once again, the weather was absolutely perfect, she changed the subject hastily.
Boarding the ship was relatively painless -- we are sailing on the Royal Caribbean Voyager of the Seas and I highly recommend this cruise line. Been on several cruises with them. Yes, we had to stand in line but it moved quickly. And yes, there was lots of paperwork but that was handled pretty fast. One quick “smile!” for the ship’s photographer as we walked up the gangway and we were onboard. Apparently the ship is fully booked and by the looks of it we fit right in with the prevailing demographics -- retired and over 65 and frequent cruisers. In fact, we met a couple at dinner who were continuing from the previous cruise, and another couple who were continuing from the previous cruise and planning to continue on to the next cruise (that’s 42 days of cruising -- wow) along with us.
We found our stateroom (outside room with a balcony) and took our time lolling around, then looking around the ship a bit. We toured the spa (prices are horribly high but the offerings are enticing) then toured the fitness center (yes, you heard that right) and even talked to the trainer and tried out a couple of machines. My sister and I both previously decided, independently, that we wanted to take advantage of the free fitness facilities to start getting into better shape. As a result, we have signed up for stretching classes every morning at 7 AM (yikes, this does not sound like vacation activity to me) and then we intend to spend some time on the treadmill and recumbent bikes. This is a radical departure from our Barcelona schedule and I’m not sure how long it will take us to acclimatize. After all that, we desperately needed a nap -- don’t forget that everyone reacts to change in their own way. I pretended to read but that didn’t last long.
Surprisingly, it didn’t take long to unpack and everything fit in -- these staterooms are very well designed -- and we were able to store our suitcases under our beds. So we went on a hunt to find the 4 most important places on the ship -- the main dining room, the theater (called La Scala), the buffet (called the Windjammer), and our favorite bar, the Schooner Bar (there are many others, but we like this one the best). We chatted with the bartender to verify that they carry Maker’s Mark bourbon (a VERY important factor in my personal enjoyment of the cruise) and to my delight they DO carry it (which is a reversal for Royal Caribbean because a few years back they decided to stop carrying that label). With the important landmarks discovered, we had lunch at the Windjammer and discovered they have a self-serve soft ice cream machine. I am doomed. Not to mention that elsewhere on the ship they have a Ben & Jerry’s store and a Starbuck‘s store. As an aside, this ship also has an ice rink, a rock-climbing wall, a small golf course, a basketball court, an inline skating track, and 2 pools. We sat on our balcony, read up on info about ship activities, and fiddled with stuff in the room until dinner.
After dinner we went to the Schooner Bar for our first cocktail of the cruise (and no, I am not going to embarrass myself by reporting the number of cocktails consumed this trip -- some things are best left to your imagination). I have, however, made an important decision. In light of supporting my desire to get in better shape, I am going to forego the cherries in my Manhattans. I think that’s a good start.
There is a very good piano player at the bar who easily got the crowd singing, my sister and me included. Just envision a bunch of old people all happily singing the chorus to American Pie and Hey Jude. OK, well, maybe you shouldn’t. It seemed fun at the time.
I enjoyed watching two men in their late seventies, clearly a couple, one rather dapper and one a bit dottery, on a couch at the bar, slightly leaning towards each other, enjoying their drinks and the general cheerfulness of the crowd. I imagine they’ve been together for a very long time. It is rare to see older gay couples and very encouraging.
A note of warning: Internet connection is very expensive onboard the ship (I purchased a discount package for $0.55 per minute), it is very difficult to get a connection, and the connection is very slow. It took 12 minutes for me to upload yesterday’s post -- you do the math. Therefore, I will probably only post every 2 or 3 days, unless there is so much to say that I really need to post more frequently. The slow and expensive connection also precludes uploading photos, so that will just have to wait until later.
Boarding the ship was relatively painless -- we are sailing on the Royal Caribbean Voyager of the Seas and I highly recommend this cruise line. Been on several cruises with them. Yes, we had to stand in line but it moved quickly. And yes, there was lots of paperwork but that was handled pretty fast. One quick “smile!” for the ship’s photographer as we walked up the gangway and we were onboard. Apparently the ship is fully booked and by the looks of it we fit right in with the prevailing demographics -- retired and over 65 and frequent cruisers. In fact, we met a couple at dinner who were continuing from the previous cruise, and another couple who were continuing from the previous cruise and planning to continue on to the next cruise (that’s 42 days of cruising -- wow) along with us.
We found our stateroom (outside room with a balcony) and took our time lolling around, then looking around the ship a bit. We toured the spa (prices are horribly high but the offerings are enticing) then toured the fitness center (yes, you heard that right) and even talked to the trainer and tried out a couple of machines. My sister and I both previously decided, independently, that we wanted to take advantage of the free fitness facilities to start getting into better shape. As a result, we have signed up for stretching classes every morning at 7 AM (yikes, this does not sound like vacation activity to me) and then we intend to spend some time on the treadmill and recumbent bikes. This is a radical departure from our Barcelona schedule and I’m not sure how long it will take us to acclimatize. After all that, we desperately needed a nap -- don’t forget that everyone reacts to change in their own way. I pretended to read but that didn’t last long.
Surprisingly, it didn’t take long to unpack and everything fit in -- these staterooms are very well designed -- and we were able to store our suitcases under our beds. So we went on a hunt to find the 4 most important places on the ship -- the main dining room, the theater (called La Scala), the buffet (called the Windjammer), and our favorite bar, the Schooner Bar (there are many others, but we like this one the best). We chatted with the bartender to verify that they carry Maker’s Mark bourbon (a VERY important factor in my personal enjoyment of the cruise) and to my delight they DO carry it (which is a reversal for Royal Caribbean because a few years back they decided to stop carrying that label). With the important landmarks discovered, we had lunch at the Windjammer and discovered they have a self-serve soft ice cream machine. I am doomed. Not to mention that elsewhere on the ship they have a Ben & Jerry’s store and a Starbuck‘s store. As an aside, this ship also has an ice rink, a rock-climbing wall, a small golf course, a basketball court, an inline skating track, and 2 pools. We sat on our balcony, read up on info about ship activities, and fiddled with stuff in the room until dinner.
After dinner we went to the Schooner Bar for our first cocktail of the cruise (and no, I am not going to embarrass myself by reporting the number of cocktails consumed this trip -- some things are best left to your imagination). I have, however, made an important decision. In light of supporting my desire to get in better shape, I am going to forego the cherries in my Manhattans. I think that’s a good start.
There is a very good piano player at the bar who easily got the crowd singing, my sister and me included. Just envision a bunch of old people all happily singing the chorus to American Pie and Hey Jude. OK, well, maybe you shouldn’t. It seemed fun at the time.
I enjoyed watching two men in their late seventies, clearly a couple, one rather dapper and one a bit dottery, on a couch at the bar, slightly leaning towards each other, enjoying their drinks and the general cheerfulness of the crowd. I imagine they’ve been together for a very long time. It is rare to see older gay couples and very encouraging.
A note of warning: Internet connection is very expensive onboard the ship (I purchased a discount package for $0.55 per minute), it is very difficult to get a connection, and the connection is very slow. It took 12 minutes for me to upload yesterday’s post -- you do the math. Therefore, I will probably only post every 2 or 3 days, unless there is so much to say that I really need to post more frequently. The slow and expensive connection also precludes uploading photos, so that will just have to wait until later.
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
DAY 5 YET MORE SANGRIA
Today was an old lady day. By that I mean that everything ached and I was tired before I even woke up. Of course, getting to bed at 3:30 AM and getting up again at 7:30 AM to make sure we got in our dose of hot chocolate and still get in line at the next destination before the lines get too long, might have something to do with it. Anyway, getting up and ready was really hard -- we both moaned and groaned. Vacations are supposed to be easier than this, but on the other hand, we are traveling, which is often not easy, just interesting.
We walked out of the hotel into an absolutely perfect day -- cool breeze, warm sun, beautiful blue sky -- and hobbled 3 whole blocks to the third hot chocolate place on our list, La Pallaresa. The hot chocolate there was better than La Dulcinea but not as good as Museu de la Xocolata. But that’s still pretty spectacular. After our chocolate, a plate of churros, and a plate of another Catalan-style pastry that’s kind of like a sugar donut (wow, chocolate and sugar and fried bread for breakfast -- doesn’t get much better than that no matter how you look at it), we felt much perkier and ready for our next Gaudi experience.
The target for the morning was Casa Mila, an apartment building designed by Gaudi and yet another UNESCO World Heritage site. We arrived by 10:30 AM to find a fairly long line and ended up standing in line for an hour, something I am rarely willing to do. But oh boy was it worth it.
When we finally got to the ticket and audio guide counter, we discussed just running through the building to save time, but thankfully our better judgment prevailed and we took our time -- we ended up staying there for 3.5 hours. I can’t help it, Gaudi’s designs just fascinate me. We were both mesmerized by absolutely everything -- the architecture, the structural design, the metal work, the mosaic work, the plaster work -- you name it, we gazed at it with full attention. Did I mention the 8 zillion stairs and additional 8 zillion little steps? My old-lady-day body did not take kindly to the constant step-up then step-down requirements of the tour.
By the time we got out of there it was 3:00 and we hadn’t eaten any real food that day (no, even I am not able to seriously claim hot chocolate and pastries as real food) and we were hungry. We hailed a taxi and dashed off to a famous restaurant for a full, Catalan, Sunday afternoon lunch experience.
The 7 Portes Restaurant (7 Doors) has been in continuous operation for 175 years. That isn’t a typo -- I really mean 175 years. It’s down by the port and specializes in seafood (oh goody, I can hear my friends say who know that I dislike seafood) but has lots of other interesting dishes as well. They also specialize in paella, a truly Spanish and Catalan dish. The maitre d’ looked like he’d worked there for 50 years and sternly kept potential diners at bay -- you have to get on the list and then wait until you are called. No problem -- he wrote our name on the list, which authorized us to sit in the chairs outside. But wait, the real problem was trying to recognize our name when he called it out. Luckily a multi-syllabic last name helps. We only had to wait about 30 minutes before we were called and shown to our table -- up an extra long flight of stairs. By this time I was nearly hobbling again.
But what a wonderful lunch we had. We started with Catalan-style spinach with toasted pine nuts and plumped raisins, drizzled with olive oil (I know, raisins with spinach is not a combo I would put together but it was delicious). Accompanied by a liter of sangria, of course. Then we shared a meat and vegetable paella. When we ordered, we got a bit of a raised eyebrow from the waiter because the paella was designed for one person and we were planning to share it. When it was served, the portions were huge and neither of us could figure out how any one person could eat that much. It was truly wonderful. And we kept drinking the sangria.
By the time we started giggling, we figured out that the sangria was rather more potent than most sangrias, but who cares, we’re on vacation! It about then that my sister said “stick out your tongue. Yup, purple.“ We compared tongues and both were a dark, vivid purple from the sangria. We started giggling again -- I guess we are easily amused, especially when drinking sangria.
We finished up with profiteroles for my sister (really good chocolate sauce) and a classic Catalan pastry for me that was a thin flaky pastry with a layer of pumpkin marmalade, topped with toasted pumpkin seeds. I had already eaten a few bites (finding it OK but a bit bland) when the waiter came over and poured me a generous glass of a desert wine that is intended to go with that dessert. Oh heaven -- the wine was perfectly paired with the dessert and all of a sudden the pumpkin flavors just came through beautifully. But between the sangria and the dessert wine, we were both a wee bit tipsy.
By this time is was 5:00 PM and we were exhausted. All we had done all day was visit one place and have a meal. You would think that could not take all day, but that seems to be our typical travel schedule. We decided to stroll along the marina for a bit and then caught a taxi back to the hotel. We both just crashed, but only allowed ourselves to sleep for 1.5 hours because we had reservations for dinner and a flamenco show (no rest for the weary travelers here).
Dragging ourselves out of bed again was simply murderous. We were definitely not hungry and we were not energetic enough to go anywhere. Nevertheless, we didn’t want to miss a good flamenco performance, so we pulled ourselves together and by 9:00 PM set off in a taxi for somewhere across the city to see El Tablao de Carmen. The restaurant/theater is located in El Poble Espanyol which is a set of buildings designed to be a miniature Spanish town. Originally built for the 1929 International Exposition, it is now filled with shops and restaurants with goods and food from all the different areas of Spain. Wow, we didn’t know about this place before and were very sad that we didn’t have time to come back during the daytime to explore. It is definitely on my list for my next visit to Barcelona.
Anyway, we wound around various small avenues in the venue to finally find the flamenco theater.
The theater is a small supper club with tables set in front of a small stage. The food was pretty good, a solid B+ I’d say, but we rated the show an A. We ordered a liter of sangria (2nd liter of the day) and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. I’d forgotten how intense and emotional flamenco is -- the dancer seems to be dancing only for him or herself. Of course I couldn’t understand the songs that were sung, but it was very clear from the facial expressions of the singers and from the dancing that some were tragically sad songs, some love songs, and some songs of joy. 3 women and 2 men took turns dancing. They were very good and we enjoyed it thoroughly.
We got back to the hotel by midnight (it felt downright early!) and I proceeded to spend the next entire hour trying to book and pay online for a tour in Dubai. With all the security procedures in place nowadays, it is very difficult to try to order and pay for something when you are connected on the hotel internet service in a country not your own. We really wanted to pay for the tour in cash but they wanted it prepaid online so I decided to pay by PayPal, which brought up a screen saying that they needed to verify my account and were going to call my home phone in the next 5 minutes. There was no way to tell them that I was traveling and not available by phone. But somehow, I was able to stumble onto another option and the deal went through, only to be told by the tour company site that I needed to print the confirmation and hand it over to the guide. But I am traveling and don’t have a printer with me. I suppose we’ll muddle through somehow -- maybe I’ll pull the I’m-an-old-lady-and-I-don’t-know-what-I’m-doing card. That works sometimes. And so we ended our last full day in Barcelona.
Total score so far for 4 days: 3 hot chocolates, 5 liters of sangria (shared), 2 bottles of wine (shared), 1 glass of dessert wine (shared). We have one more chance tomorrow morning to increase that hot chocolate count.
We walked out of the hotel into an absolutely perfect day -- cool breeze, warm sun, beautiful blue sky -- and hobbled 3 whole blocks to the third hot chocolate place on our list, La Pallaresa. The hot chocolate there was better than La Dulcinea but not as good as Museu de la Xocolata. But that’s still pretty spectacular. After our chocolate, a plate of churros, and a plate of another Catalan-style pastry that’s kind of like a sugar donut (wow, chocolate and sugar and fried bread for breakfast -- doesn’t get much better than that no matter how you look at it), we felt much perkier and ready for our next Gaudi experience.
The target for the morning was Casa Mila, an apartment building designed by Gaudi and yet another UNESCO World Heritage site. We arrived by 10:30 AM to find a fairly long line and ended up standing in line for an hour, something I am rarely willing to do. But oh boy was it worth it.
When we finally got to the ticket and audio guide counter, we discussed just running through the building to save time, but thankfully our better judgment prevailed and we took our time -- we ended up staying there for 3.5 hours. I can’t help it, Gaudi’s designs just fascinate me. We were both mesmerized by absolutely everything -- the architecture, the structural design, the metal work, the mosaic work, the plaster work -- you name it, we gazed at it with full attention. Did I mention the 8 zillion stairs and additional 8 zillion little steps? My old-lady-day body did not take kindly to the constant step-up then step-down requirements of the tour.
By the time we got out of there it was 3:00 and we hadn’t eaten any real food that day (no, even I am not able to seriously claim hot chocolate and pastries as real food) and we were hungry. We hailed a taxi and dashed off to a famous restaurant for a full, Catalan, Sunday afternoon lunch experience.
The 7 Portes Restaurant (7 Doors) has been in continuous operation for 175 years. That isn’t a typo -- I really mean 175 years. It’s down by the port and specializes in seafood (oh goody, I can hear my friends say who know that I dislike seafood) but has lots of other interesting dishes as well. They also specialize in paella, a truly Spanish and Catalan dish. The maitre d’ looked like he’d worked there for 50 years and sternly kept potential diners at bay -- you have to get on the list and then wait until you are called. No problem -- he wrote our name on the list, which authorized us to sit in the chairs outside. But wait, the real problem was trying to recognize our name when he called it out. Luckily a multi-syllabic last name helps. We only had to wait about 30 minutes before we were called and shown to our table -- up an extra long flight of stairs. By this time I was nearly hobbling again.
But what a wonderful lunch we had. We started with Catalan-style spinach with toasted pine nuts and plumped raisins, drizzled with olive oil (I know, raisins with spinach is not a combo I would put together but it was delicious). Accompanied by a liter of sangria, of course. Then we shared a meat and vegetable paella. When we ordered, we got a bit of a raised eyebrow from the waiter because the paella was designed for one person and we were planning to share it. When it was served, the portions were huge and neither of us could figure out how any one person could eat that much. It was truly wonderful. And we kept drinking the sangria.
By the time we started giggling, we figured out that the sangria was rather more potent than most sangrias, but who cares, we’re on vacation! It about then that my sister said “stick out your tongue. Yup, purple.“ We compared tongues and both were a dark, vivid purple from the sangria. We started giggling again -- I guess we are easily amused, especially when drinking sangria.
We finished up with profiteroles for my sister (really good chocolate sauce) and a classic Catalan pastry for me that was a thin flaky pastry with a layer of pumpkin marmalade, topped with toasted pumpkin seeds. I had already eaten a few bites (finding it OK but a bit bland) when the waiter came over and poured me a generous glass of a desert wine that is intended to go with that dessert. Oh heaven -- the wine was perfectly paired with the dessert and all of a sudden the pumpkin flavors just came through beautifully. But between the sangria and the dessert wine, we were both a wee bit tipsy.
By this time is was 5:00 PM and we were exhausted. All we had done all day was visit one place and have a meal. You would think that could not take all day, but that seems to be our typical travel schedule. We decided to stroll along the marina for a bit and then caught a taxi back to the hotel. We both just crashed, but only allowed ourselves to sleep for 1.5 hours because we had reservations for dinner and a flamenco show (no rest for the weary travelers here).
Dragging ourselves out of bed again was simply murderous. We were definitely not hungry and we were not energetic enough to go anywhere. Nevertheless, we didn’t want to miss a good flamenco performance, so we pulled ourselves together and by 9:00 PM set off in a taxi for somewhere across the city to see El Tablao de Carmen. The restaurant/theater is located in El Poble Espanyol which is a set of buildings designed to be a miniature Spanish town. Originally built for the 1929 International Exposition, it is now filled with shops and restaurants with goods and food from all the different areas of Spain. Wow, we didn’t know about this place before and were very sad that we didn’t have time to come back during the daytime to explore. It is definitely on my list for my next visit to Barcelona.
Anyway, we wound around various small avenues in the venue to finally find the flamenco theater.
The theater is a small supper club with tables set in front of a small stage. The food was pretty good, a solid B+ I’d say, but we rated the show an A. We ordered a liter of sangria (2nd liter of the day) and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. I’d forgotten how intense and emotional flamenco is -- the dancer seems to be dancing only for him or herself. Of course I couldn’t understand the songs that were sung, but it was very clear from the facial expressions of the singers and from the dancing that some were tragically sad songs, some love songs, and some songs of joy. 3 women and 2 men took turns dancing. They were very good and we enjoyed it thoroughly.
We got back to the hotel by midnight (it felt downright early!) and I proceeded to spend the next entire hour trying to book and pay online for a tour in Dubai. With all the security procedures in place nowadays, it is very difficult to try to order and pay for something when you are connected on the hotel internet service in a country not your own. We really wanted to pay for the tour in cash but they wanted it prepaid online so I decided to pay by PayPal, which brought up a screen saying that they needed to verify my account and were going to call my home phone in the next 5 minutes. There was no way to tell them that I was traveling and not available by phone. But somehow, I was able to stumble onto another option and the deal went through, only to be told by the tour company site that I needed to print the confirmation and hand it over to the guide. But I am traveling and don’t have a printer with me. I suppose we’ll muddle through somehow -- maybe I’ll pull the I’m-an-old-lady-and-I-don’t-know-what-I’m-doing card. That works sometimes. And so we ended our last full day in Barcelona.
Total score so far for 4 days: 3 hot chocolates, 5 liters of sangria (shared), 2 bottles of wine (shared), 1 glass of dessert wine (shared). We have one more chance tomorrow morning to increase that hot chocolate count.
Sunday, April 29, 2012
DAY 4 SANGRIA WITH CHINESE FOOD?
We flagged a taxi and as we were driving through the city our first interesting sight was that of a friar, in brown, hooded robe with white robe belt, walking across the street carrying a large, wrapped painting. It pays to keep your eyes open.
Our first destination was La Sagrada Familia, which is the cathedral that Gaudi spent 43 years of his life working on and was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2005. Lines are always long (about 3 million visitors a year) so we were up and out by 8:30 -- only bit of cheese for breakfast. By the time we arrived 10 minutes later (the church opens at 9:00 AM) the line for tickets was halfway around the block already. But luckily, once it opened the line moved fast so we were in by 9:10. Quick travel advise tidbit: we didn’t have breakfast but we did nibble on a couple of little bon bel cheeses before we left the hotel. They are the perfect non-sugary snack to keep you going if you skip a meal when traveling.)
Anyway, the building work on the cathedral is still in progress to this day and it will probably take another 50-100 years to complete Gaudi’s whole design. I was in Barcelona about 10 years ago and visited here and at that time the roof wasn‘t yet completed. It was wonderful then but the contrast between then and now was startling. Today the main interior is mostly finished, many stained glass windows are done, and some of the interior lighting has been installed, and work on additional towers is in progress. It is stunning. The entire design is organic, like being in a forest of trees with dappled sunlight coming through the leaves. All in stone and cement, decorated with amazing (and how I hate the overuse of that word nowadays but in this case it is truly an accurate description) mosaic work everywhere, especially on the ceiling, accented with brilliant, modern and abstract stained-glass windows. Gaudi carefully thought about and designed the light, making sure there was enough to illuminate and elevate one’s spirit but not enough to blind you to the greater purpose of the Christian message.
My sister and I wandered through all the information stops with our audio guides, but mostly we just stood and gawked -- spending most of our time tilting our heads as far back as we could to drink in as much of the upper regions as possible. We were there for 2.5 hours before we reached sensory overload and just couldn’t take in one more exquisite detail.
So we started searching for a restaurant, somewhere a bit off the standard tourist snack area around the cathedral. By this point we were both pretty hungry so we were focused on our goal until we happened to pass an intriguing optical store. We just had to go look. Mindful that on our Venice trip a couple of years ago, we each bought a pair of au courant eyeglass frames to take home, we decided to do the same here in Barcelona. After trying on many pairs, we each settled on something that was different from our current glasses, different from anything we’ve seen in the USA, and fun and flattering. It’s a great kind of souvenir, one that reminds me of a trip everyday.
By that time we were each very hungry and couldn’t find a restaurant. After wandering a few blocks, we spied a Chinese restaurant and decided that although it wasn’t really a Barcelona experience, we were too hungry to care. It turned out that the food was good (although I must admit that a Chinese menu written in Spanish just seemed a bit strange), the waitress was markedly listless and seemed unable to manage more than 3 syllables (in Spanish) in any conversation and even that was mostly swallowed so that we couldn’t understand her very well, and the beverage choices included sangria. But we enjoyed the meal and were sufficiently full by the time we left.
We walked back to the cathedral then caught a cab to our next destination, Parc Gruell, which is an outdoor park designed by Gaudi and commissioned by Senor Gruell. It has something of a fairyland look and was crammed with visitors, with Gaudi-esque gingerbread houses at the entrance crowned with white mosaic roofs that look like cake icing and typical, whimsical mosaic chimneys. One of the most famous parts is a very long mosaic bench that is in an undulating snake shape and that circles an upper platform in the park that overlooks the city. Every few feet of the bench is a different mosaic design and it is fascinating.
Did I mention that the park is built on a hill so that everywhere you go involves major steps up (and then down)? By the time we left, we were both exhausted and our knees and hips were definitely begging us to just give them a rest for awhile. But once again, the place is so fascinating that we ended up spending a couple of hours.
By the time we caught a cab back to the hotel it was 4:00 pm and we were way too tired for hot chocolate (how sad is that?) so we limped to our hotel room and simply crashed for 3 hours. After we revived, it took a couple more hours of puttering and a bit of time to do hand laundry before we were ready to forage for dinner.
We walked out of the hotel into a drizzle -- not cold and not a heavy rain, but definitely wet enough to require an umbrella. It was Saturday night and the activity on Las Rambles was not dampened by the weather -- vendors were selling cheap souvenirs, gelato booths were doing a brisk business, and lots of people were strolling up and down. This is a major pickpocket area, which several people warned us about as did all the guidebooks, so we are always extra careful when walking around. Anyway, we decided to return to the restaurant from last night, MataMala. Yes, I know, it isn’t as adventurous as one might hope, but it was so good that we wanted more. It turned out that we ordered completely different dishes this time and even a different wine -- a red Catalan wine made with garnatxa grapes (nope, I haven’t heard of it either) and everything was, once again, wonderfully delicious. One cute thing was that my entrée was described on the menu as cannelloni with cheese au gratin. Nothing like a little au gratin on your cheese! On the other hand, I loved sitting at a table with a couple on the left speaking Catalan and a couple on the right speaking Castillian -- I felt very much the world traveller. It was 12:30 AM by the time we left.
We didn’t feel very tired so both of us read and I worked on my computer a bit. By 3:00 AM we decided we needed some bedtime chocolate (note the word “needed,” don’t you love it?) so we nibbled on one of the chocolate bars I bought at the chocolate museum. We finally got to bed by 3:30 AM, somewhat dreading our full schedule the next day, but heck, that part of the travel experience.
Total score so far: 2 hot chocolates, 3 liters of sangria (shared), 2 bottles of wine (shared). I think we’ll try to bring up the hot chocolate count tomorrow.
Saturday, April 28, 2012
DAY 3 SANGRIA FOR BREAKFAST
Decided to start walking in the direction of one of the Gaudi buildings, hoping to find a restaurant on the way for breakfast. Our first fun discovery of the day was the boqueria, which is a huge, covered food market. And I mean huge. There are at least a hundred vendors: fresh fruit stalls, dried fruit stalls, nuts, produce, ham, fish, candy, chocolates, poultry, cheese -- you name it except for baked goods. Each stall is a work of art, with the wares arranged so attractively that I just wanted to buy everything. Fruits I’ve never seen before -- pig ears -- chickens with the heads still on -- cocks combs -- fish I’ve never seen before -- marzipan animals -- mushrooms I’ve never seen before. And kazillions of people. It was a wondrous place.
We continued down the street and found a nice place for breakfast/lunch with outside tables in a little alley off Las Ramblas. Ordered sangria again and discovered it is a great beverage for washing down my daily vitamin pills. My sister and I shared a salad (we decided that fresh lettuce was probably safe to eat), a chicken soup with a tomato base that tasted great, and a platter of mixed shish kabobs. Quite good. We finally pushed ourselves away from the table and continued on our way to the Palau Gruell.
The Palau Gruell (Gruell Palace) is a UNESCO World Heritage building, designed by Gaudi and built for the Gruell family in the 1890’s. And what an extraordinary experience to walk through it. They give out audio guides so we were able to walk through it at our own pace. The tour takes you through the entire building, from basement to the top of the roof (wouldn’t want to miss those incredibly recognizable Gaudi-style chimney tops), which means lots and lots of stairs up AND down. The huge house-restoration project was completed recently and it is a marvel. The family organ (quite impressive) is played every hour and it is delightful to hear the music of the day fill the whole place. But my favorite things are the ceilings and the chimney tops. Gaudi designed every aspect of the house, down to the intricate wood-carved ceilings with delicate iron-work decorations. The ceilings in every room are different and I would have been perfectly happy to just lie down on a rolling platform and spend all my time looking up.
We spent a good 2.5 hours at Palau Gruell and by the time we walked up and down 6 stories and stood around on hard marble floors, we were both walking like old ladies. Clearly, we needed a bit of chocolate to soothe our tired joints. So we wimped out and took a cab to the next chocolate place on our list, Museu de la Xocolata (love the way they spell chocolate). And wow!
We entered a big chocolate store and my sister bought the tickets for the museum while I stood at the turnstile waiting to enter. She handed me a candy bar, which I thought was a nice gesture and when I looked at her questioningly, wondering where the ticket was, the ticket taker grinned, pointed to the chocolate bar and said “ticket.” The candy bar WAS the ticket. How cool is that. Best ticket ever.
The museum was mildly interesting but the best part was still to come. We exited the museum part and sat down at a table and ordered hot chocolate and a brownie. They added free samples of their dark salted chocolate. OMG!!! Can I say that again? The hot chocolate was A+, maybe even A+++ -- very intense dark chocolate flavor, just sweet enough to counteract the bitterness of the cacao, and very thick. Absolutely beyond description and I think I’ve probably had the closest taste of heaven I’ve ever had. Of course I figured that the brownie was an afterthought, but not so. Quite an outstanding, milk chocolate, brownie, again not too sweet, with walnuts and some kind of faint spice that I couldn’t identify. Between the hot chocolate and the brownie I think I could be cured of most anything that ailed me. And then came the salted dark chocolate samples. Could life get any better? Well, yes, as a matter of fact. Intense chocolate, not sweet but not bitter, melt in your mouth texture, enhanced by the punch of sea salt. I really don’t think I’ve ever had chocolate this good before. I mean really.
I decided that I wanted to buy some salted chocolate to take onboard the ship, so I went to the counter where the ticket taker gentleman was standing and pointed to the free sample plate and asked him to show me which chocolate bar in the showcase was the salted one. He looked and looked and then gestured that they were out, whereupon I looked comically stricken and he laughed. Undaunted, I bought several other chocolate bars and then sat down. A few minutes later he came over and handed me a salted chocolate bar and said something that I didn’t understand, so I just blew him kisses as a thank you. Not quite knowing what to do, I went to the counter to pay for it, but the girl explained that it was the last one and he gave it to me as a gift. So in my enthusiasm I took his hand and kissed it. He walked away smiling and so did I. Life is definitely good.
Came back to the hotel for a little relaxation and reading (well, you know, reading with your eyes closed). Siesta time is truly a luxury.
By 10:00 PM we started walking up the Las Ramblas to a slow food restaurant, MataMala, that was recommended by the hotel. It turned out to be a gem of a place specializing in traditional Catalan food, all organic and locally grown. Our menu choices really required a decent red wine rather than sangria, so we were forced to drink a very nice cabernet franc. Had a cheese plate that provided a delicious variety and I had onion soup while my sister had leek soup. The presentation of my onion soup was interesting -- they brought me a very hot soup bowl with 3 separate piles of things in the bottom: shaved cheese, carmelized onions, and dark bread croutons. Then they poured the hot onion/beef broth on top. Very nice indeed and the flavor was wonderful. I was introduced to the slow food movement a few years ago by a guide in Tuscany and I’ve been a convert ever since. I highly recommend the restaurant -- right on Las Ramblas.
Total score so far: 2 hot chocolates, 3 liters of sangria (shared), 1 bottle of wine (shared). Of course, as these numbers get embarrassingly high I may need to stop announcing my total score just to protect my reputation. J
Friday, April 27, 2012
DAY 1 & 2 BARCELONA
Getting up at 3 AM so I can arrive at the airport at oh-dark-thirty is just plain punishment. And being squeezed into an airplane for a zillion hours is near miserable and no way to start a fabulous trip. OK, now that I’m done complaining, the flight to Barcelona was remarkably smooth with the one exception of a really fun roller coaster ride as we descended for landing. My sister’s friend at the airline was able to get us exit-row seats so we had lots of room to stretch out and we were able to get some sleep on the plane. We flew a new airbus which was interesting but there is a bit of a design flaw in the bathrooms. The available/vacant indicator is so small that nobody could see it and I witnessed many people open a bathroom door only to find someone else already in there -- apparently the door locking mechanism is not that intuitive. On the other hand, they had a wheelchair accessible bathroom, which was great because it is a bit larger than the normal airplane bathroom -- not nearly large enough to accommodate a walker but an improvement nevertheless. Enough about bathrooms.
We arrived in Barcelona around 8:30 AM and took a cab to our hotel, which is about a half block off Las Ramblas in the gothic quarter. A fabulous location from which to head out to a number of great destinations. Our room was not available until after 2 PM so we dumped our luggage and headed out, wearing the same clothes we‘d been wearing for 24 hours already. As with any trip where we spend a few days in the same place, we have a quest -- it’s always a fun thing to have quest. This time, our quest is to find the best hot chocolate in Barcelona. A bit of background: Barcelona (and all of Spain) is known for its thick, intensely-flavored, not-too-sweet, hot chocolate. About as close to heaven as a person could possibly get. So, with a lovely map from the hotel, we walked to the closest hot chocolate place on our list, Dulcinea, which was only about a 5 minute walk. It was a little, tiny place but lovely and we sipped our first hot chocolate of the trip and ate churros (not as sweet as churros at home) and another Catalan pastry that is a lot like lemon-flavored lady fingers. YUM. Definitely an A- to an A in my rating book.
Thus fortified, we wandered down narrow alleys of shops -- there were many tile placques on the walls with various pictures of people and little proverbs very interesting. Discovered a shoe store that sold only one style of shoe but in hundreds of different colors. Loved it but was able to avoid the temptation of buying any. Discovered an earring store with literally thousands of earrings that were wonderfully unique, many quite humorous, but again was able to avoid temptation. We eventually found the main cathedral in Barcelona -- not the Gaudi one -- and went it and looked around. Very lovely stained glass windows and lovely gothic architecture. We decided against paying the fee to go into the choir section in the middle of the cathedral, only to discover as we walked around it, that we could see into it from the other end. The wood carvings are amazingly delicate and intricate. I wonder how they maintain that wood over the centuries -- I mean, how do they keep stuff like that oiled? With q-tips?
We wandered around a bit more and discovered an interesting lunch place, so we went in. Ordered sangria, of course. We both ordered “bean salad” as a starter and were served a hot bean soup that was really good. So much for translation. By the time we finished lunch and slurped up the last drops of sangria, it was 2:30 pm and the sangria (nap juice) was working and we both felt sleepy. So we went back to the hotel, shed our clothes and fell into bed for about a 5 hour nap. We read and puttered around a bit and when it started to get dark tried to turn on the lights in our room. No lights. We looked around the room with our flashlights (never, ever, travel without a flashlight) and found the thing by the door where you have to insert your room key for the electricity to work. Aha, we said to ourselves and rushed around to turn on the lights. No lights. We finally gave up and called the front desk. It took two people and a bit of complicated replacement of fuses, but we now have lights. While waiting for the hotel guy, we were serenaded by a large group of French men (just a guess on the national origin) lustily singing La Marseilles. Don’t know the reason -- perhaps a football game. They were clearly enjoying their adult beverages but the singing wasn’t that bad.
By this time, it was 11:00 pm and time to forage for dinner (remember, we’re on Barcelona time now) so we headed out again. Night time is when Barcelona comes alive.
We only got about a half-block away and discovered 3 interesting restaurants with tables outside. We settled at the tapas place and ordered sangria (what else?) and tapas. Enjoyed a plate of that famous Spanish ham (sliced tissue-paper thin and full of flavor) and several other things. (Well OK, my sister ordered anchovies in vinegar with green olives and she reported that they were quite nice, but I wasn’t about to go near that stuff.)
We ended the evening by walking up and down part of Las Ramblas -- lots of people out strolling and vendors and street artists. Great entertainment. We finally got back to the hotel by 1:30 AM.
Final score for the day: 1 hot chocolate, 2 liters of sangria (shared). Not that I’m counting, mind you.
We arrived in Barcelona around 8:30 AM and took a cab to our hotel, which is about a half block off Las Ramblas in the gothic quarter. A fabulous location from which to head out to a number of great destinations. Our room was not available until after 2 PM so we dumped our luggage and headed out, wearing the same clothes we‘d been wearing for 24 hours already. As with any trip where we spend a few days in the same place, we have a quest -- it’s always a fun thing to have quest. This time, our quest is to find the best hot chocolate in Barcelona. A bit of background: Barcelona (and all of Spain) is known for its thick, intensely-flavored, not-too-sweet, hot chocolate. About as close to heaven as a person could possibly get. So, with a lovely map from the hotel, we walked to the closest hot chocolate place on our list, Dulcinea, which was only about a 5 minute walk. It was a little, tiny place but lovely and we sipped our first hot chocolate of the trip and ate churros (not as sweet as churros at home) and another Catalan pastry that is a lot like lemon-flavored lady fingers. YUM. Definitely an A- to an A in my rating book.
Thus fortified, we wandered down narrow alleys of shops -- there were many tile placques on the walls with various pictures of people and little proverbs very interesting. Discovered a shoe store that sold only one style of shoe but in hundreds of different colors. Loved it but was able to avoid the temptation of buying any. Discovered an earring store with literally thousands of earrings that were wonderfully unique, many quite humorous, but again was able to avoid temptation. We eventually found the main cathedral in Barcelona -- not the Gaudi one -- and went it and looked around. Very lovely stained glass windows and lovely gothic architecture. We decided against paying the fee to go into the choir section in the middle of the cathedral, only to discover as we walked around it, that we could see into it from the other end. The wood carvings are amazingly delicate and intricate. I wonder how they maintain that wood over the centuries -- I mean, how do they keep stuff like that oiled? With q-tips?
We wandered around a bit more and discovered an interesting lunch place, so we went in. Ordered sangria, of course. We both ordered “bean salad” as a starter and were served a hot bean soup that was really good. So much for translation. By the time we finished lunch and slurped up the last drops of sangria, it was 2:30 pm and the sangria (nap juice) was working and we both felt sleepy. So we went back to the hotel, shed our clothes and fell into bed for about a 5 hour nap. We read and puttered around a bit and when it started to get dark tried to turn on the lights in our room. No lights. We looked around the room with our flashlights (never, ever, travel without a flashlight) and found the thing by the door where you have to insert your room key for the electricity to work. Aha, we said to ourselves and rushed around to turn on the lights. No lights. We finally gave up and called the front desk. It took two people and a bit of complicated replacement of fuses, but we now have lights. While waiting for the hotel guy, we were serenaded by a large group of French men (just a guess on the national origin) lustily singing La Marseilles. Don’t know the reason -- perhaps a football game. They were clearly enjoying their adult beverages but the singing wasn’t that bad.
By this time, it was 11:00 pm and time to forage for dinner (remember, we’re on Barcelona time now) so we headed out again. Night time is when Barcelona comes alive.
We only got about a half-block away and discovered 3 interesting restaurants with tables outside. We settled at the tapas place and ordered sangria (what else?) and tapas. Enjoyed a plate of that famous Spanish ham (sliced tissue-paper thin and full of flavor) and several other things. (Well OK, my sister ordered anchovies in vinegar with green olives and she reported that they were quite nice, but I wasn’t about to go near that stuff.)
We ended the evening by walking up and down part of Las Ramblas -- lots of people out strolling and vendors and street artists. Great entertainment. We finally got back to the hotel by 1:30 AM.
Final score for the day: 1 hot chocolate, 2 liters of sangria (shared). Not that I’m counting, mind you.
Friday, February 10, 2012
TEXAS IS ANOTHER COUNTRY, INDEED
Just got back from another trip to east Texas to visit friends. In case you don't know where Texas is, it is a country in North America, just above the Gulf of Mexico, and is surrounded by the USA. The native diet consists mainly of beef and various forms of potatoes (mashed, french frys, and tater tots are most common), accessorized occasionally by vegetables such as iceberg lettuce, catsup, and tomato soup. Although English is the official language, the natives mostly speak a dialect that is decipherable if you listen carefully. They are highly social, employing an interesting mix of southern plantation graciousness and cowboy charm. All in all, an interesting place to visit but I don't think I'd last long if I tried to live there.
On this trip, I repeated some of my favorite activities from last time. I went to the drive-through daiquiri spot again (got a "sexy sour" this time) where they put a big piece of scotch tape across the top of the to-go cup to comply with state law but just manage to miss taping over where you put the straw. That way you can insert your straw with the tape still on the cup and drive off while sipping your drink! My favorite BBQ place burned down just before I got there (the whole town cried) -- but the good news is that they are already starting to rebuild so they'll be ready for me next year. And, yes, I did make sure to have a steak dinner -- yum.
For new experiences, my friends took me on a day trip to Natchitoches, Louisiana (Yankee pronunciation guide: NAKAdish) where they filmed the movie Steel Magnolias and where that family actually lived (I hadn't realized that it was a true story).
Next, we went on a day trip to Hot Springs, Arkansas which has been a vacation and spa destination for national leaders (FDR, for example) and the Chicago mob since the 1920's. The old part of downtown is a national park and the hot spring water is fabulous -- not sulphurous at all and delicious to drink. We went to one of the old, gracious lady hotels, The Arlington, that has a bathhouse build in the early 1920's -- all white tile and teal-colored copper pipe and fixtures. I was treated to "The Works" which turned out to be 2-hours of sheer pleasure and included a nice soak in a huge tub with a jacuzzi, then my bath attendant scrubbed me down, then a sauna (I skipped that option), then I layed-down on a table and was wrapped in hot, wet towels with an ice cold towel on my face, then a needle-spray shower, then a massage. I was a very happy and relaxed blob of jello after that. All for $62 -- can you imagine? At home that would have cost $200-$300 or more. I plan to make Hot Springs a required destination every trip to Texas!
Did I mention that the speed limit on most Texas roads is 70 MPH except where it is 75 MPH? Whew, people just barrel along. Oh, and speaking of roads, I saw my very first armadillo. Yes, it was dead and on the side of the road, but I'm told that is the most common way you see armadillos.
And, of course, I must mention our trip to the Kilgore College Rangerette Museum. The Rangerettes were started 60 years ago and are a precision dance team, much like the Rockettes (the Rockettes asked the Rangerettes to open for their show when they played in Dallas). They were on the Ed Sullivan Show, too, and they always perform at the half-time show at the Cotton Bowl. The museum was fun to see -- old costumes and video clips. And, as you can see from the photo, we fit right in.
Another highlight was seeing my friend get shot. It turns out that on the first Saturday of every month, my friend gets shot in a gunfight downtown. OK, here's the back story. My friends live in a little bitty town called Jefferson, which is quite a nice tourist destination because there is something going almost every weekend, there are a lot of lovely old homes to look at, and there are a lot of B&Bs to stay in. Every Saturday morning, they reenact a bit of Jefferson history. This time there were two bad guys who walked down main street having a big argument. They started shooting at each other (finally killing each other) right in front of the delicate ladies (who were scandalized because one of the outlaws was chewing tobacco and spitting in public!), the banker and the sheriff, who finally got off a few shots of his own just to make sure. All in all, it was wonderful fun.
And because it is a small town, I can truthfully say that the mayor of Jefferson cooked my breakfast on the day I flew home (he owns a cafe in town) -- good breakfast, too! And speaking of small towns, there is no such thing as a quick dash to run an errand because everyone stops and visits a bit with every person they walk past. It is charming in a way, but I'm accustomed to the relative anonymity of the big city that allows for rushing in and out of stores. There's not a good or bad here, just a different way of conducting daily business.
I flew in and out of Shreveport, Louisiana because it is closest to Jefferson and boy, when you are in the Shreveport airport you know you are in the south -- every day at noon everyone in the airport comes to attention while they play the Star Spangled Banner over the loud speakers. The south is very proud of its patriotism.
On this trip, I repeated some of my favorite activities from last time. I went to the drive-through daiquiri spot again (got a "sexy sour" this time) where they put a big piece of scotch tape across the top of the to-go cup to comply with state law but just manage to miss taping over where you put the straw. That way you can insert your straw with the tape still on the cup and drive off while sipping your drink! My favorite BBQ place burned down just before I got there (the whole town cried) -- but the good news is that they are already starting to rebuild so they'll be ready for me next year. And, yes, I did make sure to have a steak dinner -- yum.
For new experiences, my friends took me on a day trip to Natchitoches, Louisiana (Yankee pronunciation guide: NAKAdish) where they filmed the movie Steel Magnolias and where that family actually lived (I hadn't realized that it was a true story).
Next, we went on a day trip to Hot Springs, Arkansas which has been a vacation and spa destination for national leaders (FDR, for example) and the Chicago mob since the 1920's. The old part of downtown is a national park and the hot spring water is fabulous -- not sulphurous at all and delicious to drink. We went to one of the old, gracious lady hotels, The Arlington, that has a bathhouse build in the early 1920's -- all white tile and teal-colored copper pipe and fixtures. I was treated to "The Works" which turned out to be 2-hours of sheer pleasure and included a nice soak in a huge tub with a jacuzzi, then my bath attendant scrubbed me down, then a sauna (I skipped that option), then I layed-down on a table and was wrapped in hot, wet towels with an ice cold towel on my face, then a needle-spray shower, then a massage. I was a very happy and relaxed blob of jello after that. All for $62 -- can you imagine? At home that would have cost $200-$300 or more. I plan to make Hot Springs a required destination every trip to Texas!
Did I mention that the speed limit on most Texas roads is 70 MPH except where it is 75 MPH? Whew, people just barrel along. Oh, and speaking of roads, I saw my very first armadillo. Yes, it was dead and on the side of the road, but I'm told that is the most common way you see armadillos.
Another highlight was seeing my friend get shot. It turns out that on the first Saturday of every month, my friend gets shot in a gunfight downtown. OK, here's the back story. My friends live in a little bitty town called Jefferson, which is quite a nice tourist destination because there is something going almost every weekend, there are a lot of lovely old homes to look at, and there are a lot of B&Bs to stay in. Every Saturday morning, they reenact a bit of Jefferson history. This time there were two bad guys who walked down main street having a big argument. They started shooting at each other (finally killing each other) right in front of the delicate ladies (who were scandalized because one of the outlaws was chewing tobacco and spitting in public!), the banker and the sheriff, who finally got off a few shots of his own just to make sure. All in all, it was wonderful fun.
And because it is a small town, I can truthfully say that the mayor of Jefferson cooked my breakfast on the day I flew home (he owns a cafe in town) -- good breakfast, too! And speaking of small towns, there is no such thing as a quick dash to run an errand because everyone stops and visits a bit with every person they walk past. It is charming in a way, but I'm accustomed to the relative anonymity of the big city that allows for rushing in and out of stores. There's not a good or bad here, just a different way of conducting daily business.
I flew in and out of Shreveport, Louisiana because it is closest to Jefferson and boy, when you are in the Shreveport airport you know you are in the south -- every day at noon everyone in the airport comes to attention while they play the Star Spangled Banner over the loud speakers. The south is very proud of its patriotism.
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