Book Nook Cafe discussion

madrano wrote: "Thank you, Alias. I have so much to do before we leave tomorrow that my excitement is only now started to bubble forth. This much i know about our stay in Greece. We arrive in Athens, where we'll b..."

The island of Crete is famous for their long lived inhabitants. The are a "Blue Zone" place. Enjoy that food !

madrano wrote: "Thank you, Alias. I have so much to do before we leave tomorrow that my excitement is only now started to bubble forth. This much i know about our stay in Greece. We arrive in Athens, where we'll b..."

Have a good trip!

I appreciate the encouragement. The last time we were in Europe we had trouble finding connections, which is why i hesitate to promise. To be fair, though, we were also both ill from an awful cough we shared.

Later, book pals!

Greetings from Crete! We had a period of adjustment with jet lag this time, something which hasn't been much of a problem for me over the years. Not this time! Almost a week in & we are still in bed by 10! Even reading can't keep me awake later.

The new Acropolis Museum was wonderful. They've made a sort of contemporary Parthenon using steel columns. The metopes and friezes are in the correct place, for the most part. It's as though they've moved much of it indoors in order to protect it. And you can see the damage the centuries have done to the works. To be so close to some of these pieces is divine. There are several they have left at human level so you can see them up close.

Now we are on Crete, where today we visited Knossis Palace, home of King Minos and the Minotaur. I'm a fan of ancient Greeks, so am reveling in the day. This visit we have rented a car & will be visiting smaller palace sites and digs. Exciting stuff.'

One not so exciting aspect, one we had forgotten about until we saw the sign, is the issue of toilets. For much of Greece there are signs near every toilet requesting users NOT put toilet paper (or any other paper products) into the toilet. The sewer systems in the area can handle human waste but not the paper. Next to each toilet is a small, lined waste can for your used toilet paper.

I'll be you can't wait to come here now, right?

I like to be in bed by 10 and I don't have jet lag as an excuse!
I bet those waste cans smell wonderful.....

Thanks for checking in deb. And thank you for the card. ♥

With all the touring and exploring it's no wonder you are in bed by 10.

Enjoy the wonderful food as you explore Crete.

Julie, we usually go to bed around midnight, so this is a change for us. In an unusual turn of events, my husband is the one having trouble sleeping over here. Usually (at home or away) i am the insomniac.

Tonight we are in Agios Nikolaos in NE Crete. Our room is facing a lovely bay on this calm day. Earlier we had sprinkles of rain while visiting an ancient palace, Malia. This setting was better than Knossis, the palace of Minos.

Fresh Greek yogurt, feta, olives, tomatoes and cucumbers for breakfast each morning thus far. Today I had preserved kumquats, which was nice mixed with the yogurt. Lamb chops two nights in a row. Who's in heaven, now? Me!

Dan is handling the car well. It seems easier than i thought it would be. Motorcycles are apparently allowed to go wherever they want & whenever--passing on the left, the right and not stopping for stop signs. Wow. To be fair, the speeds are fairly slow, as traffic is heavy.

I decided the time was right to read "The King Must Die" by Mary Renault, as it is partly set in Crete. It's pretty good, although i question some of her history and definitely some of her interpretation.

Btw, i had to add an updated GR link and am finding it challenging. For instance, i cannot locate the place to create links to titles & authors. I'll try after posting this.

Tomorrow, another palace ruin, Gournia. Frankly, we like these lesser known ruins as there are fewer tourists. Yesterday Knossis was a mess, partly due to a cruise ship being in town.

Btw, the toilet paper can doesn't stink the way one would think. What a surprise. Maybe this colossal weather helps, as it's been in the 60s.

Madrano wrote: Fresh Greek yogurt, feta, olives, tomatoes and cucumbers for breakfast each morning thus far. Today I had preserved kumquats, which was nice mixed with the yogurt. Lamb chops two nights in a row. Who's in heaven, now? Me!"

Oh my, that sounds like heaven.

Madrano wrote: "Dan is handling the car well. It seems easier than i thought it would be. Motorcycles are apparently allowed to go wherever they want & whenever--passing on the left, the right and not stopping for stop signs. Wow. To be fair, the speeds are fairly slow, as traffic is heavy...."

Ugh. In California, they ride in between cars on the lane lines. It is disturbing even for me in a car, I can't believe they want to do that... Seems like an accident waiting to happen when someone doesn't see them.

Julie, Calif. was the first place i saw such a thing. Handy if you are on a bike, otherwise, not.

Good Friday night we could hear the church bells ringing from 9:30-10:30, after church service. Vaguely we heard music but it slowly crescendoed (is that a word?) until it was a slow, loud dirge, kinda the way "Bolero" gets louder. Finally, a rousing ending. During the music (unseen by us, sadly) a procession of people holding candles was making its way to the band. After the band ceased, the church bells got louder. Then, slowly even those faded. Lovely.

Saturday night (Easter morn) at midnight the bells began tolling loudly and the fireworks began. That went on 15-20 minutes. Nice, joyous sounds. That morning we saw our lamb on a spit being roasted. During the meal Greek musicians played traditional music while some guests danced. It was a neat event.

As we traveled the back roads today, hitting archaeological sites, we could smell spitted lambs across the region being cooked. It's their Easter tradition. Ideally all family members return home for this special weekend.

Just thought i'd fill you in on our glorious day! I hope your holiday was special, too.

How lucky to spend the Easter Holiday in Crete and experience how they celebrate.

I'm glad you are starting your travels on such a lovely note.

My sister loves lamb for Easter. I like the taste but not the aroma of it cooking. Other family members are not fans. So this year we went with the spiral ham with a nice pineapple salsa on the side.

Apparently lamb is an acquired taste. I've liked it since my first taste but my 3 siblings dislike it. Did i mention that the last time we were in Greece i ate lamb 12 of the 14 days we were here? This time, oddly, many places are out of lamb shanks because the tradition is to roast the entire lamb on a spit for Easter Day. We've been settling for chops, which appear to be poor this time of year. Finally, the last couple of nights we've been able to get lamb dishes, including a new (to me) way to serve it with vegetables and cheese. Dan had rabbit yesterday & it was tasty.

We are now on Santorini, the remnants of an ancient volcano. Most of the photos I've seen of Greece are these precariously set hotels and homes on the caldera of the island. It's gorgeous. This time we are actually staying in one of those hotels and it's quaint and friendly.

We returned to this island because last time we couldn't visit the archaeological dig site at Akrotiri due to a ceiling collapse. It took several years for them to construct a safer building (from the beginning, it appears, the decision was made to cover the entire village remains). It is a good site to also witness some of the precautions taken and tricks used to preserve areas for future digging. The village was constructed in 1450 BC and appears to have suffered devastating earthquakes not long prior to the volcano ash which kept it covered until the 20th century. Some amazing frescoes have been found there, which are on display at a museum here in town.

We've had only one day with rain & it was a travel day for us. We feel fortunate, as it helps keep the temperatures mild, too. In the 60s all week. I'm going to guess a quarter of a million or so photos are taken on this island every day. The caldera, the rocks, the ancient sites, the sunsets, etc. draw us all. And it's rarely just one shot of a rock, always a second. It's funny. Believe me, i'm one of the worst offenders.

Our daughter has decided to join us late next month in Ireland. We're excited about that, as it will be around the time we visit the ancestral parishes of my great-great grandparents. Until then, it's Grecian ruins and lovely sea coasts.

It's so nice and refreshing read your updates on the trip Deb. Santorini it's a wonderful little island I have such a good memory of it, you made me consider going back to Greece this summer :)!!!

Good luck with the next stops, have a wonderful time!

Madrano wrote: " I'm going to guess a quarter of a million or so photos are taken on this island every day. The caldera, the rocks, the ancient sites, the sunsets, etc. draw us all. And it's rarely just one shot of a rock, always a second. It's funny. Believe me, i'm one of the worst offenders. ..."

Do you have a way to share some photos with us? I'd love to see them! I love taking beautiful scenery pics myself.

There really isn't a way to share more than a single photo on GR.

There probably are photo websites that you give people the password to to view the photos. If I recall that is what my niece did when she went to Italy.

Deb wrote: Greece are these precariously set hotels and homes on the caldera of the island. It's gorgeous. This time we are actually staying in one of those hotels

Wow. I am going to have to do some googling to see this. It sounds amazing !

I have a flickr account and can just send people a link....no password required. I haven't used it in a long time though. I am sure there are more sites like that. I don't know if she has ever tried any or not.

I haven't tried putting any photos here. Over the years my success sharing photos while traveling has been poor. I blame it on the iPad. We've gotten better sending some photos via email, this time but they are ones i've taken with the pad, which i don't usually do, either. I'll keep trying.

We are now in Dublin now. It was tough leaving Greece on many levels. Already it was getting crowded, i cannot imagine summer, Francesca. Do you travel much here during the summer months? Already we've had trouble finding rooms in Paris & Berlin, for the June weeks my sister will be here. Ok, i mean ones fairly affordable rooms. In Amsterdam we are paying our highest yet, €130.

Dublin is pricey but cities usually are. We'll see how the smaller towns go. Today we walked around plenty, as well as saw the Book of Kells at Trinity University. Kells were the gospels created around 900 AD by monks. Elaborate, illustrated and with some illumination, the books are remarkable in the mere fact they still exist.

The weather here cleared up and people are crediting us and our bringing the Greek sun with us. It's perfect for big city walking. More later.

Thanks for sharing Greece with us. Now on to Dublin. Love it !

I am not only enjoying following you around the globe, I am learning new things too.

I never heard of the Book of Kells. Interesting.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of...

madrano wrote: "I haven't tried putting any photos here. Over the years my success sharing photos while traveling has been poor. I blame it on the iPad. We've gotten better sending some photos via email, this time..."

In summer Greece became mad, specially August so many people Deb. September and July are still kind of manageable thou :). Have a wonderful time in Ireland...a truly amazing country!

Alias, maybe i knew about Kells because i was raise Catholic and am of Irish descent? Not sure about that. Good history there. At the Archaeological Museum we learned of another old, old psalter found in a bog! Remarkable that it was intact as much as it was. Because of the age and delicate condition of these texts, photos are not allowed and the rooms themselves are kept darkened.

Francesca, we were warned that August would be a busy month, as far as tourists go. I cannot imagine how warm it will be in Greece at that time. As it was we were thirsty all the time!

Tomorrow we beging the adventure of driving in Ireland. Walking with traffic on the different side of the road has been challenging enough, i must admit. At least Dublin has signs painted on the concrete to tell us which direction to check for traffic. I wonder how many injuries it took for that decision?

Today we leave Ireland, both the Republic and Northern. It's a mixed feeling. Our allergies have been wild since the 5th day, so we are hoping to leave them behind. Of course it's possible Paris will offer its own pollen to which we are allergic.

The sites we've visited have awed us with their age and meaning. Most of the dolmen, stone circles and fort/fairy rings are from the Neolithic Age. Enormous stones, balancing on 3 or so large stones are Dolmen, marking ancient burial sites. The last one we saw was taller than us--how did they hoist it atop those 3 large, tall stones?

This was written on the GR website. Unfortunately it wouldn't post, i will try later.

Nice to have some updates from you Deb! It’s a shame you are allergic to pollen, Parc des Buttes-Chaumont would definitely a must see in Paris during summer times, specially with the hot weather they are having right now! Well I’m sure you’ll find some valuable alternatives :)!

Have a wonderful time...

Thanks for the update deb. Ireland sounds wonderful. Sorry about the allergies. :(

On to Paris !

We see your post, so the website is working for you !

So far, so good as far as allergies go. It is warm but we've gotten around some. We ran into an open market just before noon--wow! Fresh fish, cheeses, cooked food and more fruits and vegetables than we've ever seen. What an experience.

Alias, i'm relieved to know folks can still see my messages and vice versa. It appears to be just the links here, at least, that are the problems.

Glad to hear the allergies are better in France.

I can just picture you strolling the french market.

Color me green with envy !

If you are envious of that you will really turn greener when i tell you we spent the day at the Louvre Museum. The building itself is magnificent but the art is plentiful. We finished two floors, mostly the paintings. With luck we'll be able to return (15€ a pop) for the sculpture and antiquities.

The room in which the "Mona Lisa" is on display was a riot. Few seemed to really look at the work, they were too busy photographing it and themselves with it in selfies. I ended up looking at it, then taking photos of the tourists. Bad Deb!

We are both dog tired tonight. Our feet ache but our spirits are high.

Madrano wrote: "If you are envious of that you will really turn greener when i tell you we spent the day at the Louvre Museum. The building itself is magnificent but the art is plentiful. We finished two floors, m..."

Deb, I think you will get a kick out of this. When my sister visited the Louvre a few years ago, on display was an object on loan from the Brooklyn museum. She said I went all the way to Europe to see something from the museum from my hometown. :)

Enjoy !

Too funny, Alias!

You know that old song about "I Love Paris"? Well, i'm here to tell you we do NOT love Paris when it sizzles! Most of what we want to see is outdoors, so it is going to be miserable for a couple of days when my sister arrives. Still, such an opportunity.

I don't love anywhere when it's hot.

Be thankful you are not in Arizona, deb. I think the temp was 118. Almost a record. They had to ground airplane flights due to the hot temps ! I had no idea planes had a upper limit temp. that they could not operate in.

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ariz...
Much of Arizona continues Tuesday to cook under triple-digit temperatures that could break records, grounding some flights in Phoenix amid fears plane tires could melt or gauges be compromised.

The high heat, which the National Weather Service has warned about since last week, stretches into parts of California. Death Valley temps are expected to reach 127 degrees, the NWS said. Even in typically cooler San Francisco, residents are baking during 88-degree days early this week. In Las Vegas, temperatures are forecast to be 110 degrees or hotter this week. Lows will only fall into the mid-80s early mornings.

Wow! I will be grateful. We lived in Phoenix for a couple of years in the mid 70s but the temps never got that high. While i abhorred it at the time, I now would prefer that heat to our Dallas hundreds with high humidity. Lesson learned there!

This has been a hot spring for France. They were suffering heat long before we arrived. Predictions are for it to end Friday. The rest of Europe doesn't seem to have had it this bad.

Note to self: Do not ever move to Arizona. I do not want to live anywhere where tires can melt!

A friend of mine on facebook lives in Petaluma, CA (north of San Francisco) and she was talking about 100 weather there.

Julie wrote:
A friend of mine on facebook lives in Petaluma, CA (north of San Francisco) and she was talking about 100 weather there.
."

That must be rare for N. Cal. I hope the summer isn't too brutal in NYC this year. We do suffer high humidity here. We already had 2 heat waves (3 or more days in a row with temp in the 90s).

Wow! Those high temps are daunting. Alias, keep cool. Petaluma probably has little cooling resources, like here in Paris. Dining out is a warm adventure. One must be careful to not perspire into one's food!

We have spent the last 3 nights in Yarrow, Scotland, which is in the part of the country called the Borders, partly because south of this is England proper. Our stay has been at The Gordon Arms, which was a coaching inn during the 18th and 19th centuries. My husband made the reservations because there were numerous places we wanted to visit in many directions from here, all under an hour away.

What he didn't know, and what pleased me no end is that Sir Walter Scott met at the pub here with a man some consider his protégée, James Hogg, author of https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8.... They met here to share ballads they both collected. Need i tell you what a little thrill it is to be here? While i've never heard of Hogg, i have read a couple of the novels Scott wrote. And one of the sites we visited while here was the home he built, Abbotsford.

Naturally, i had to share with you, my book buddies, who may understand my delight at this turn of events. (As an aside i'll note that Lit Nobel winner Alice Munro's g-g-greatgrandfather was from here and locals took note when she visited. Her family was familiar with the above-mentioned Hogg family.)

Madrano wrote: "We have spent the last 3 nights in Yarrow, Scotland, which is in the part of the country called the Borders, partly because south of this is England proper. Our stay has been at The Gordon Arms, wh..."

I wanted to see some photos so I looked online and saw this. Glad they are back in business.
"Due to the devasting and destructive fire at The Gordon Arms in May 2015"

Then I saw this. I'm jealous !

The Ettrick and Yarrow Valleys stretch south and west from the town of Selkirk, in the western Scottish Borders. Both valleys have some of the most beautiful countryside in Scotland and are ideal walking country. The area offers a variety of landscapes: delightful river valleys, glistening lochs, extensive woodland and forests, majestic hills and wild moorland. "
http://www.thegordonarms.com/walks.html

Yes, they are recovered from the fire, so much looks new. The pub was untouched, probably because the fire occurred during the daytime. They were under-insured, which set them back for rebuilding, too. However business is thriving. The restaurant and pub were busy every day but one night we were their only guests in the inn.

Today we are in Newcastle-on-the-Tyne. It's called the "English Border Country" but isn't as lovely as the Scottish parts. Tomorrow we visit the remains of the Roman "Hadrian's Wall", right up our history-lovin' alley. There are a couple of forts and the wall itself.

Always a pleasure to read about your travels.

Thanks, Julie. My husband & i just realized Sunday that these are the first Roman forts we've ever seen. We've seen numerous other structures but i guess most Roman forts were built over on the continent. Seeing these in the isolation, one can appreciate the dedication of Roman soldiers.

As an aside, Sinday, upon arriving at our first fort, it was too cold to stay! Yes, you read that right. It was wet, windy and just at 50 F degrees, so we decided to return the next day. Even lacks were dismayed at the cold--"in mid-August!"--the gift shop cashier declared.

Madrano wrote: "inday, upon arriving at our first fort, it was too cold to stay! Yes, you read that right. It was wet, windy and just at 50 F degrees, so we decided to return the next day. Even lacks were dismayed at the cold--"in mid-August!"--the gift shop cashier declared. "

Wish I could say that about NYC. Today the humidity was brutal. The temp was around 90 but felt like 100 with the humidity. Fall can not come soon enough to suit me.

I fully understand, Alias. Dallas is having 100+ temps and we are not missing that at all.

This afternoon we embark upon our two-week voyage home. I'll probably be out of contact, as the Internet prices onboard are expensive. My iPad is full of books and they have a library on the ship, so i'll be happy on our balcony!

We've been in Barcelona for 3 days. Our first night pots and pans were clanged together throughout our neighborhood in protest of the Spanish government's arrest warrant for...i've forgotten his name. It began at 10 PM and continued 30 minutes or so, getting louder as more joined in. There were even some fireworks on one side of the city.

The next day we saw a street protest--i'm guessing 100-200 people. Our Hop On bus tour just diverted their route. As we drove around town we noticed every building had at least one Catalonian flag hanging from the balcony. Some were probably for the soccer team but most had accompanying flags with "SI" or democracy on them. This was city-wide, wealthy and non-neighborhoods. Very Interesting.

Later!

Happy voyage home to you, deb !

We had a good cruise home. It was rockier than our previous transatlantic voyages but not sickeningly so. Indeed, i rather enjoyed it, although i still find myself feeling as though the ship is rocking, despite being on ground for a week.

Naturally, i gave myself a "welcome home" gift of a cold. I missed family Thanksgiving, too. Worse, our computer is misbehaving, despite my brother's overhaul. Slowly Dan is figuring it all out, so it should run smoothly for me when i can spend some time online again. I just wanted to let folks here know we are back in Texas. Same ol' same ol'.

madrano wrote ---I just wanted to let folks here know we are back in Texas. Same ol' same ol'.

Ah, thank you!

Now we start in on medical appointments--dental tomorrow. AND we found my husband's brother & wife are coming to Texas late this week, so much cram in a drive south. And we'll be spending the holidays in Portland with our children, so our rest may only come with the new year!

Home again, home again. Of course "home" is only the Dallas, Texas, area, not a real owned structure. We are staying at the Candlewood Suite because it's near my siblings. We are unclear how long we will be here, however.

Our ventures were good and being with family was a pleasure, naturally. The internet connection on the cruise was awful (we thought we had solved that issue with our own "hotspot" but it failed to be sufficient), so i have much catching up to do here. The Goodreads app just doesn't work correctly for me most of the time, so i stopped trying upon our return to Texas.

Presently my time is being spent chauffeuring my sister to medical appointments she made while we were gone. That and editing photos from our cruise and other visits will take up the rest of my days. And, of course, catching up here.

Welcome back, Deb! How was your trip minus the internet issues? Did you see any whales?
My husband and I went to a beach in Waianae on Oahu where we have had luck seeing whales breach but sadly we didn’t see any out :( we usually have luck seeing dolphins from there too but no such luck!

Our trip was a good, Stephanie. Of course with our children & my sister along, how could it not be? We didn't see any whales at all, sad to say. I kept looking for telltale signs, such as upward sprays or fellow passenger's pointing but saw none. As we took a tender from the ship to the island of Oahu, we saw a remarkable number of dolphins, however. Because there were so many pleasure crafts and surfers in that bay, i was surprised to see the dolphins. They frolicked along and pleased us all enormously. Oddly, though within 2 hours (our return) no evidence remained of them. I guess we caught them at recess, so to speak.

There were some problems with the ship itself, however. We didn't even set sail until the second day. And toilets on our floor were iffy. We got a transfer to another room after 2 days without a flushing toilet but later met a woman who was on Day 5 of no flushing toilet! Yuk!

Anytime i get off a ship and am not ill during the cruise or afterward, i consider the vacation a wild success. And this is one of the few times that happened! Hurrah!

madrano wrote: "Home again, home again. Of course "home" is only the Dallas, Texas, area, not a real owned structure. We are staying at the Candlewood Suite because it's near my siblings. We are unclear how long w..."

Welcome back, Deb! Glad to have you back.