I obviously wasn't a good role model for Canadians today.
Thursday, 4 December 2014
Safe in Madrid!
Trip went without a hitch. Was mildly rebuked at security check with Frankfurt airport.... Evidently I had double the amount of 'liquid stuff' for carry on...hadn't realized what all qualified as liquid. They were mild in their scolding but made their point by going through each of my countless plastic baggie removing anything that counted... only for closer scrutiny ..I got everything back. They kept asking why didn't Canada do it this way? I think my hemorrhoid ointment put me over the limit. :-)
I obviously wasn't a good role model for Canadians today.
I obviously wasn't a good role model for Canadians today.
Wednesday, 3 December 2014
Sunday, 30 November 2014
Three more sleeps until my GSPA begins!
Three more sleeps until I leave for my GSPA - Great Spain & Portugal Adventure!
Hair cut: check
Euros: check
Laundry: check
Passport: check
Organized paperwork (airline ticket, GCT documentation, Travel Insurance, photos of passpor/credit cards, list of personal emails, travel journal, etc. etc.): check
Have done the majority of the packing. Taking my smallest suitcase. I am doing this so that I can hopefully just 'carry on'. I am not concerned with the extra $25 charge for checked luggage imposed by all the airlines it seems. Rather, I just don't want to risk losing my luggage. This way the luggage stays with me. Let's hope I will be one of the lucky ones that is allowed to carry it on!
Weighed it. I had to take out a hoard of stuff.
:(
But got the weight down. (Who cares if I wear my socks each for two days in a row!)
:)
Side note: What weighs me down is my medicine chest to have on hand in case of a wide variety of ailments occurring. Not sure why I do this. Presumably you can buy this sort of thing in Spain & Portugal too should the need arise.
???
Last weekend Antonia Matas Fuentes emailed - he will be our Program Director/Tour guide.
I was impressed that they contact us before it begins. He had asked that we respond to his email to let him know it was received. So I did.
I also added I was one of his solo travellers and I "thanked him in advance for all the questions I was going to ask him".
Then, last Sunday he actually phoned me from Spain!
Yes.
From Spain!
He wanted to know what he could do to help.
Of course I was startled and had very little to say on the spur of the moment, so probably made a fool of myself on the phone. All I could think of was that, given it is December in Spain that perhaps there could be interesting Christmas markets and/or nativity scenes to see.
Now just worried I had sounded anxious on my return email. I did tell him I wasn't an overly needy sort and that all I needed generally was to be pointed in the right direction. Hoping he's not viewing my booking with trepidation.
He was kind to say that on this tour there are "lots of single ladies"... so hopefully that means I can make friends and hang out with people during our unscheduled time.
But re: email & phone call - as my sister said, "THAT'S customer service!"
Indeed it is.
Hair cut: check
Euros: check
Laundry: check
Passport: check
Organized paperwork (airline ticket, GCT documentation, Travel Insurance, photos of passpor/credit cards, list of personal emails, travel journal, etc. etc.): check
Have done the majority of the packing. Taking my smallest suitcase. I am doing this so that I can hopefully just 'carry on'. I am not concerned with the extra $25 charge for checked luggage imposed by all the airlines it seems. Rather, I just don't want to risk losing my luggage. This way the luggage stays with me. Let's hope I will be one of the lucky ones that is allowed to carry it on!
Weighed it. I had to take out a hoard of stuff.
:(
But got the weight down. (Who cares if I wear my socks each for two days in a row!)
:)
Side note: What weighs me down is my medicine chest to have on hand in case of a wide variety of ailments occurring. Not sure why I do this. Presumably you can buy this sort of thing in Spain & Portugal too should the need arise.
???
Last weekend Antonia Matas Fuentes emailed - he will be our Program Director/Tour guide.
I was impressed that they contact us before it begins. He had asked that we respond to his email to let him know it was received. So I did.
I also added I was one of his solo travellers and I "thanked him in advance for all the questions I was going to ask him".
Then, last Sunday he actually phoned me from Spain!
Yes.
From Spain!
He wanted to know what he could do to help.
Of course I was startled and had very little to say on the spur of the moment, so probably made a fool of myself on the phone. All I could think of was that, given it is December in Spain that perhaps there could be interesting Christmas markets and/or nativity scenes to see.
Now just worried I had sounded anxious on my return email. I did tell him I wasn't an overly needy sort and that all I needed generally was to be pointed in the right direction. Hoping he's not viewing my booking with trepidation.
He was kind to say that on this tour there are "lots of single ladies"... so hopefully that means I can make friends and hang out with people during our unscheduled time.
But re: email & phone call - as my sister said, "THAT'S customer service!"
Indeed it is.
Sunday, 2 November 2014
Looking forward to my next adventure....
... which in only 31 days I believe, will be Spain and Portugal!
Obviously, no pictures to post yet but I am starting - just a wee bit - to get excited.
I am going on my first "Senior's Tour". It is with a new tour company - Grand Circle Travel, of which I have heard good things. In fact, a member of the Rick Steves Tour I was on recommended it to me.
Now I loved my RS tour - but this tour is significantly less in price, largely down to the 'free single supplement'... meaning that I can still travel solo without having to incur significant extra cost.
I think there will be pros and cons to each tour company - and it will be fun to compare. From what I can gather at the moment, RS excels due to its high quality tours, galleries and museums on its tours - this company I think it's more heavily loaded on the 'city, panoramic tours'. For instance, we're in Madrid but no included tour of the Prado, one of the world's best art collections... so, I expect this tour to be 'different'... not worse, just 'different'.
In any case, stay tuned in a month or so for some uploaded pictures while I am in Spain and then, as before, stories and pictures of my travels upon my return!
GSPA is how I'm approaching this trip - my Great Spain & Portugal ADVENTURE.
:)
Obviously, no pictures to post yet but I am starting - just a wee bit - to get excited.
I am going on my first "Senior's Tour". It is with a new tour company - Grand Circle Travel, of which I have heard good things. In fact, a member of the Rick Steves Tour I was on recommended it to me.
Now I loved my RS tour - but this tour is significantly less in price, largely down to the 'free single supplement'... meaning that I can still travel solo without having to incur significant extra cost.
I think there will be pros and cons to each tour company - and it will be fun to compare. From what I can gather at the moment, RS excels due to its high quality tours, galleries and museums on its tours - this company I think it's more heavily loaded on the 'city, panoramic tours'. For instance, we're in Madrid but no included tour of the Prado, one of the world's best art collections... so, I expect this tour to be 'different'... not worse, just 'different'.
In any case, stay tuned in a month or so for some uploaded pictures while I am in Spain and then, as before, stories and pictures of my travels upon my return!
GSPA is how I'm approaching this trip - my Great Spain & Portugal ADVENTURE.
:)
Sunday, 7 September 2014
The Scala Contarini del Bolovo and other Venice memories
Hmmm??? Seems to be Venice heavy, this blog, yes? Venice is a sparkling memory, of course. However, I also did spend a number of extra days there in advance of joining the tour - in total I spend 7 days there, so half my time. Florence, Rome - much shorter. That will explain in part why it is Venice that is highlighted more. I only hope it's not boring 'ya all'....
This is a picture I captured of a young adolescent out on his boat. At the time I took it I thought it was absolutely enchanting to see him out and about in his city, enjoying his leisure time in his boat. I was struck by how very different his pass time was from what my friends and I would have been doing in Regina, in the Saskatchewan prairies at his age.
Later - many, many hours later - I saw him again. Alas, no picture. I was in the vaporetto on the Grand Canal but there he was steadily rowing right down the middle. He seemed like he was in a trance.
Hmmm? I wonder if he is practicing to be a gondolier? Alessandro said most gondoliers started young and that it took lots of practice! Good luck to him.
More pictures
The Scala Contarini del Bolovo
This unique building in Venice is a small palace hidden away in an obscure little campo. But it's worth the hunt! It is undergoing renovations but soon will be open to the public I think. (Hey! Another good reason to return to Venice!)
This lovely, elegant spiral staircase is unlike anything you will see elsewhere in Venice. The spiral is reminiscent of a snail's shell (Bolovo), hence its name. (Earlier I had posted a picture of the roof tops of Venice from its bell tower... can you find this building in it? I bet you can!)
This is a picture I captured of a young adolescent out on his boat. At the time I took it I thought it was absolutely enchanting to see him out and about in his city, enjoying his leisure time in his boat. I was struck by how very different his pass time was from what my friends and I would have been doing in Regina, in the Saskatchewan prairies at his age.
Later - many, many hours later - I saw him again. Alas, no picture. I was in the vaporetto on the Grand Canal but there he was steadily rowing right down the middle. He seemed like he was in a trance.
Hmmm? I wonder if he is practicing to be a gondolier? Alessandro said most gondoliers started young and that it took lots of practice! Good luck to him.
More pictures
The Scala Contarini del Bolovo
This unique building in Venice is a small palace hidden away in an obscure little campo. But it's worth the hunt! It is undergoing renovations but soon will be open to the public I think. (Hey! Another good reason to return to Venice!)
This lovely, elegant spiral staircase is unlike anything you will see elsewhere in Venice. The spiral is reminiscent of a snail's shell (Bolovo), hence its name. (Earlier I had posted a picture of the roof tops of Venice from its bell tower... can you find this building in it? I bet you can!)
Monday, 1 September 2014
Venetian travel memory
This posting may make you sigh - or roll your eyes - or giggle. Or, perhaps, do all three.
:)
You can imagine that in the labyrinth of calles, bridges and campos that make up the maze that is Venice, that there are a lot of dark, secluded corners. Venice is known as one of the safest cities in Italy, however it does have a few unexpected dangers. To whit, the danger of men relieving themselves in the aforementioned dark and isolated corners! (Could you just imagine the stench of urine that would pervade the city?)
Venice has recognized this danger and has taken steps to remedy matters. What Venice has done is filled in some of these corners with cement in such a way that should a man urinate on it, the wee would run down the edge and onto the shoes of the malefactor!
Good deterrent don't you think?
:)
You can imagine that in the labyrinth of calles, bridges and campos that make up the maze that is Venice, that there are a lot of dark, secluded corners. Venice is known as one of the safest cities in Italy, however it does have a few unexpected dangers. To whit, the danger of men relieving themselves in the aforementioned dark and isolated corners! (Could you just imagine the stench of urine that would pervade the city?)
Venice has recognized this danger and has taken steps to remedy matters. What Venice has done is filled in some of these corners with cement in such a way that should a man urinate on it, the wee would run down the edge and onto the shoes of the malefactor!
Good deterrent don't you think?
Venetian legend
Bartolomeo Colleoni was a Venetian mercenary soldier who became immensely rich fighting for "La Serenissima". At his death in 1475 he stipulated in his will that all his fortune is to go to Venice provided it erect a statue of himself in "San Marco", his intention, of course, Piazza San Marco.
Now Piazza San Marco is just far, far, far too prominent a place and even Venice's Doges don't get honoured there. It was never, never, ever going to happen. Yet Venice still wanted his fortune and bequest. What to do? What to do?
Well those crafty, clever Venetians got around it by placing his statue in the campo around the Scuola Grande di San Marco.
Colleoni's will ought to have specified his location much more precisely I am thinking.
No worries, though. I think Bartolemeo Colleoni's fame is even greater given these circumstances and events!
More pictures of Venice including Colleoni's statue!
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