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ardysez

~ surrender to yourself

ardysez

Tag Archives: USA

hurts so good…

13 Saturday Oct 2018

Posted by Ardys in Travel

≈ 12 Comments

Tags

England, life, Spain, Travel, USA

Three days home. Travel brain is nearly gone and home-brain is working again. Mostly.

We have been away traveling for nearly six weeks. I was going to give you a heads up that I might not be writing and then, with no warning, I developed a nasty head cold a week out from departure. It did not go away before flying. This is not a good thing. If you have ever had to fly when your sinuses are in turmoil, you will know what I mean. In fact the cough and sinus stuff did not leave until three weeks into the trip. So, I was not feeling like writing much of anything and hope you understand.

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Guggenheim exterior, Bilbao, Spain

Travel is a good thing. It is. But it is not among the easier undertakings one might pursue. When I say travel, I’m not talking about a vacation to the beach where you bask all day, between margaritas and naps. Our version of travel, while perhaps not arduous, does deplete one’s energy. We walk a lot, see a lot, process a lot of information. Therein lies the second physical challenge for this trip. Walking. I have had a sore foot for months. It gets better and then worse, then even worse still, which it did on the trip. ‘Plantar Fasciitis’ is a common problem for which there is not much known about either cause or cure. Some things work and some don’t. Sometimes it leaves and sometimes it doesn’t. I know because I had it 15 or so years ago and that is exactly what I experienced. The exercises the podiatrist gave me did not work, in fact made it worse. Stopping them, adding stretches of my own saw it go away in a couple of months. This time I’ve had it much longer, have tried both the previous methods of stretching, as well as nothing, had a couple of days of complete absence of symptoms but essentially nothing has fixed it. So I walked. In pain. For six weeks.

I dropped into bed every night of the trip, exhausted mentally and physically, but did actually manage to take in the experiences and enjoy it for the most part. Just not the pain.

wells-cathedral-england

Well’s Cathedral Musical Director practicing with musicians for a future performance.

And while we are at it, there are a few other things I will enjoy not dealing with for a while.

  1. having to forage for every meal based on food intolerances. This is not easy and I spent a good deal of the time being hungry. Yes, I lost weight.
  2. having a different shower to figure out with each and every change of accommodation…It is a fact, every hotel in the world has a different shower mechanism from every other hotel. Am sure there was a primordial agreement in the ethers that caused this to happen.
  3. soooo much processed food…if it says on the packet it is healthy for you, it isn’t. Generally, food that is good for you doesn’t come in packets. And while I’m thinking of it, not everything must be consumed on a waffle or wrapped in bread, piled on pasta or rice or have onion or garlic flavouring added.
  4. searching for a place to wash our clothes—I nearly kissed my washing machine when we returned home. What do other travellers do to clean their clothes? Hand washing is just not possible, most hotels and B&B’s don’t even allow it, and frankly, hand washing is not my idea of travel fun.
  5. crowds—I can hear the neighbour’s little dog yapping this morning, and even that is music to my ears compared to crowded, noisy places.
  6. the smell of cigarette smoke in front of every building on every street in every country.
  7. filthy toilets–having to lay toilet paper on the seat before I can sit down, because there are never paper seat covers in the toilets where they are needed, only the cleanest ones have them! Humans are filthy creatures at times.
  8. bad coffee—there are a lot of people who don’t realise you can have the best coffee machine but if the beans are bad, it won’t make good coffee. Likewise, stewing coffee or storing it in an urn is just ruining any chance that coffee has of being good.
  9. loud mouth people in airports, especially on their cell/mobile phones (don’t you know everyone around can hear you? and does not care about your employee problems??)
  10. crappy hairdryers–(my husband hypothesised, there must have been someone traveling just ahead of us putting the same bad hairdryer in each different hotel, or there had been an excellent sales pitch to sell the same inferior device to four different hotel chains!) I have a new shorn hair style and vow not to need a hairdryer for future travels.
  11. bad lighting in bathrooms—worst lighting prize went to two, otherwise nice, B&B’s, best lighting prize goes to the Sheraton at the Falls in Niagara Falls, with a magnification makeup/shaving mirror with it’s own lighting as well as a surround light for the large mirror. Bless them.
  12. filthy, smelly taxis—our daughter has promised to explain to us how to use UBER. Nuff said.
  13. and while I’m at it, taxi drivers who use their phones while driving (not to mention bus drivers who talk on their phone WHILE filling out paperwork, WHILE driving—please leave multitasking to people who are not driving, or walking down the street)
  14. High fructose corn syrup—my sworn enemy.

The foot is strapped and receiving regular ice packs. The mountain of laundry is done, repairs to the garden are nearly done. And there are murmurs…of future adventure…

What keeps me traveling? I’m glad you asked. The mechanics of it are tiring, frustrating and downright unpleasant at times. However…when things take my breath away, or a sudden connection of a piece of knowledge turns on a light inside me, or something unexpected brings me to tears, it feels all worthwhile. When I see Wells Cathedral and a lump sticks in my throat, when I am gobsmacked by the incredible Guggenheim at Bilbao, when a Spanish woman spins her grandson in dance to a Basque folk song, when the most powerful show of water I’ve ever seen tumbles and mesmerises so that I can hardly look away, or when I stop in an ancient cemetery and realise that the man in that grave signed the Declaration of Independence…that is when I know I’m not done yet.

It hurts so good…give me more.

Samuel Adams resting place in downtown Boston, Mass.
Samuel Adams resting place in downtown Boston, Mass.
Niagara Falls from the Canadian side
Niagara Falls from the Canadian side
Dancing to the Basque Folk songs in Donostia-San Sebastian
Dancing to the Basque Folk songs in Donostia-San Sebastian

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travel is my cheesecake

14 Wednesday Oct 2015

Posted by Ardys in Travel

≈ 14 Comments

Tags

Australia, Melbourne, photography, Seattle, Travel, USA

Seattle. Home of Microsoft, Boeing and Starbucks, to name but a few. We have never heard a bad word spoken about Seattle and so we decided to see for ourselves what it was about. We lucked out with perfect weather in the Pacific Northwest, which was an auspicious start in itself. Apparently October is their driest month, but with temperate rain forest climates, you just never know!

Our first day was spent gathering information for the next day when our friends would join us, so that we could make the most of our subsequent three days. Don wanted to visit the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation as he is doing some writing and work in the area of philanthropy at the moment. There was a very interactive display where I learned more about the Foundation’s work. It is a large complex and one can only imagine the ideas that were being contemplated within its walls on that Thursday morning.

Space Needle from our hotel room
Space Needle from our hotel room
Reflection of Space Needle in Frank Gehry designed, EMP Museum
Reflection of Space Needle in Frank Gehry designed, EMP Museum
Monorail track runs through EMP Museum
Monorail track runs through EMP Museum
Gates Foundation complex
Gates Foundation complex
Gates Foundation
Gates Foundation

The EMP Museum (see above photos), designed by the famous architect Frank Gehry, was a case of serendipity, neither of us being aware it was there. But it was the building itself that mesmerised me, its contents of Pop Culture not being my strongest interest. If you are into Star Wars and Nirvana, though, you are in for a treat!

One of the places near the top of my list to visit was the Seattle Public Library–but not for books, for the architecture. I have never ever been in a library like it. It was truly inspiring and were it not for Ailsa’s recommendation I would have probably not known about it.

Seattle Central Library
Seattle Central Library
Seattle Central Library
Seattle Central Library
'Sharing' the WIFI signal outside the library
‘Sharing’ the WIFI signal outside the library
Renoir painting, SAM-Impressionist Exhibition

Renoir painting, SAM-Impressionist Exhibition

The surprise of the stay was the newly opened Impressionist exhibition at SAM (Seattle Art Museum). Due to the renovations happening in the National Gallery in Washington DC, paintings from the areas under construction were being circulated around the country. Any time I can see Edouard Vuillard, Manet, Cezanne, Pissarro Bonnard, Renoir and others, is a good day. I do invoke my one hour rule, however. It has been my observation over many years of visiting museums, galleries and architectural masterpieces, that after an hour my brain is sodden with information, dripping out my ears and onto the floors. I simply cannot absorb any more at one time. So my only choice is to see whatever I can as often as possible. Nasty job, but one to which I’m willing to sacrifice myself.

If the Impressionist exhibition was the surprise of the visit, then it is fair to say the Seattle Aquarium was the jewel in the crown. It was the most stunning aquarium any of us have ever seen. It was as close to seeing the Pacific marine life, via deep sea diving, as you could get on dry land. There were even pools created with waves washing over the live anemone and coral, some you were even allowed to touch with bare hands! There was a live octopus, a tank of jelly fish, sea otters and sea lions, eels and on and on.

Clown fish in anemones
Clown fish in anemones
Live jellyfish, Seattle Aquarium
Live jellyfish, Seattle Aquarium
Live Starfish, Seattle Aquarium
Live Starfish, Seattle Aquarium
Anemones, Seattle Aquarium
Anemones, Seattle Aquarium
Chihuly glass at the Seattle Aquarium
Chihuly glass at the Seattle Aquarium
Dusk view from Space Needle, Seattle

Dusk view from Space Needle, Seattle

A little known characteristic of mine–I do not feel the need to climb or elevate to great heights to ‘enjoy the view’. Taurus, the bull, is an earth dweller, so that may have something to do with it. I’m not worried about heights, I’m just not particularly interested, or moved by them, either. Odd thing? I love climbing to the top of the small rocky outcrops nearby our house, but that is the extent of it. My travel companions seemed more keen to see what was at the top of the Space Needle, so I went along–the first time. I opted out of the second time when the queue was long and tedious and I wanted to be taking photos and having a drink. The Space Needle was erected for the 1962 World’s Fair as an example of architecture of the future. Small problem… it is a hugely inefficient use of space! Still, it distinguishes Seattle’s skyline and judging from the queue, attracts many visitors into the city.

I need to say a word about glass. Chihuly. (pron: che-hoo-lee) If you have never seen or heard of Chihuly’s glasswork, it is truly unique. He is a genius with glass. We have seen numerous of his works over the years and we would never miss an opportunity to see more. His permanent Glass and Garden Exhibition in the middle of Seattle was amazing.

Chihuly glass garden sculpture
Chihuly glass garden sculpture
Dale Chihuly glass sculpture
Dale Chihuly glass sculpture
Dale Chihuly glass garden, Seattle
Dale Chihuly glass garden, Seattle

In between all these spectacular things, was the spectacular time with our friends. It was three days we will never forget.

My silhouette looking at a projected image of the room in which I actually stood in the Hermitage three years ago.

Only a projected image of the room in which I actually stood in the Hermitage three years ago, but it evoked fresh emotion.

But wait, there’s more… there is the return to OZ. This time we decided to stop for a couple of nights in Melbourne to shake the travel dust from ourselves and have a look around. As luck would have it, the Exhibition from the Hermitage was at the National Gallery of Victoria and so once again, our eyes feasted on some of the greatest art our species has to offer. We actually saw a couple of the same pieces IN the Hermitage a few years ago and there was something deja vu and goose-bumpy about it all. That is twice in one trip that I was brought to emotional response from beautiful art. What a privilege.

We always enjoy Melbourne for its uniquely European/Asian/Australian vibe. There were times when I wondered where I was–fresh off the plane and with the exotic faces and languages around me. I was reminded what a ‘yarn bomb‘ looks like! It’s a real thing and it was happening in Melbourne, and apparently, all over the world. If only I could knit.

ANZ Bank Museum and Headquarters
ANZ Bank Museum and Headquarters
Yarn Bombed tree, Melbourne
Yarn Bombed tree, Melbourne
Grandma's afghan has a new home-yarn bombed
Grandma’s afghan has a new home-yarn bombed
Melbourne Morning
Melbourne Morning
Melbourne from Southbank
Melbourne from Southbank
Interior, ANZ 1890 bank, still operational
Interior, ANZ 1890 bank, still operational

Also we had a look inside the Bank Museum–boring name for a very interesting place. The original ANZ bank building has been thoughtfully conserved, retaining much of its character, but brilliantly attached to the new, very modern, headquarters. In the photo above you can see the new tower’s architectural nod to the original building. I just love it when cities mindfully restrain themselves from destroying everything old and replacing it with new.

And so, what does cheesecake have to do with travel? I will leave you with this photo of my dear, lovely, funny Mother, who says (and I quote)

Eat cheesecake and break a few chairs”

The photo that will haunt my mum

The photo that will haunt my mum

Travel is my metaphorical cheesecake, and breaking of chairs. My life has been greatly enriched from it, though I don’t mind telling you, a few pieces of real cheesecake have been consumed along the way… once, even in a limo in New York City. Oh yeah.

 

 

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