The Festival of Lights in Lyon, France

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We just went to the Festival of Lights in Lyon.  It was beautiful!  Different groups set up light displays around town for the public.  It is a free event that they hold annually.  Some of the displays were just incredible.

Though we were only there for the weekend, I thought Lyon was a lovely city.  Of course, it was very crowded and security was a (necessary?) nuisance.  It was a little cool, but no worse than one ought to expect when wandering around outside at night in December.  The city has two rivers, the Rhone and Saone that flow through it, so there are quite a few bridges crossing them.  It’s the third largest city in France.

Some of the exhibits were really spectacular.  Nearly all of them were animated or in motion in some way.  My favorite might be the flowers near the Ferris wheel, but the giants mantle clock was cool, too.  The lighted horses were interesting but difficult to photograph.

We stayed in an airbnb that had a fantastic location for the festival.  It was nicely outfitted but had a few small issues that I imagine the owner will address soon.  We ate a very nice dinner at Cafe 203 Friday night and had street food Saturday night.  Jenn enjoyed a bit of Vin Chaud- a hot spiced wine.  Walnut was with during the day, but for the festival in the evening, we took him back to the apartment because of the temperature and crowds.

It was a great visit, and I look forward to going back to Lyon.  I could see us going back for the Festival of Lights in a few years or maybe spending a few more days in Lyon in better weather.

What we did right:

  • Apartment was in a great location
  • Had sandwiches/street food for lunch and dinner Saturday (inexpensive and tasty)
  • Went to Cafe 203 for dinner- delicious food for 30€
  • brought warm clothing
  • The Festival of Lights was fabulous

What went wrong:

  • didn’t read the sign for public transit tickets- spent a few € we didn’t need to
  • didn’t have a plan for the added security and accidentally left the ‘secure’ area once, only to have to go through security to get back in
  • planned to use the metro but ‘security’ didn’t allow transfers within stations- got shunted outside only to find a 1/2 mile long line to the entrance to the next metro

A Weekend in Granada

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Last weekend we went to Granada, Spain.  We’ve been looking forward to going back to Spain, if only for a short while.  The weather was warmer than Basel yet cooler than expected.

We planned to do a little bit of clothes shopping in Spain.  Fortunately for us, there were black friday sales, even here!  Both Jenn and I needed to get a few things, which turned into a few more things.

We arrived in the evening, so we were lazy and took a taxi to our rented apartment.  The apartment had a great view of the Alhambra and the host, Antonio was very helpful.  I would definitely stay here again.

Alhambra the evening we arrived, just outside the apartment

The next morning we had a guided tour of the Alhambra.  The Alhambra is an Islamic Palace that began as a small fortress in the 9th century (roman ruins on the site date further back).  The palace and gardens are beautiful.  There is still quite a bit of the original decoration including geometric designs and script, though it was taken by King Ferdinand and redecorated in places with Christian elements.  In many areas you can see the foundations of houses for those citizens allowed to live inside the walls.  There is even a functional aqueduct still bringing water to the palace.

We hiked around town a bit and did some shopping.  In little markets all over town and in the larger stores in the center.  We tried a Pionono (a small, sweet pastry) and Pastela (similar to a pasty or a large empanada).  Definitely try them, though I favor the Pastela.  We tried a vegetarian and a chicken Pastela- the vegetarian was better (both from Panaderia Maria).

We also visited the Cathedral of Granada and the San Jeronimo Monastery.  These massive renaissance style buildings were opened in the 1500s.

We’d planned to take hike in the mountains but buses didn’t run on the day we had free to do so.  Though it was a short trip, we all enjoyed Granada.

Walnut goes to England!

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We took a two week trip to England in October with Walnut.  Since he can’t fly there, we had to plan a rather convoluted route.  A train to Paris then Calais.  A car on a train in the chunnel.  Another train to London.

Getting to Paris was easy.  The train from Basel only takes a few hours.  That night, the Louvre stayed open until 9:30 pm so we spent a few hours there.  I think we ended up wandering the same halls as last time.  We need to make a plan before we go back!  Of course, the Louvre is fantastic even if we saw mostly the same exhibits as before.  We did spend some time in the ancient Mesopotamia exhibit.  Very interesting artifacts and script.  We especially liked the signature rollers/beads.

The next day we caught a train to Calais where we met a taxi we’d hired from England.  When we meet with him, he asks if Walnut had a tapeworm vaccinations between 24 and 120 hours ago.  He did not… So, we had to run to a local vet for the shot and stay in Calais overnight.  An expensive mistake!  So we scratched off our plans in Dover and wandered around in Calais- where we found original Rodin, The Burghers of Calais.

Our taxi came the following day and shuttled us to Folkestone where we caught the train to London.  Once there, we took the tube to Notting Hill where we stayed for 5 days.  It was refreshing to travel once again where I can read signs!  The tube is easy to understand and we found ourselves using it whenever we had the chance.  Our apartment in London was in a great spot.  It was a pretty nice place except for the bed.  It was a mattress on the floor in a loft.  I had trouble sleeping the entire stay in London.  I won’t stay in a place that only offers a mattress on the floor again if I have the choice.

Thankfully, our delay in getting to England only impacted the one day, and we were able to make our reservation with the tour guide, Britt.  We spent the whole day Monday touring London with her.  We started out with Walnut and viewed Kensington Park, Hyde Park and went to see the guards at the Palace.  Nearby is the Armoury, where the guards that do the change set up and practice their tunes before the ceremony.  We listened to them play a couple songs before we headed off to see more monuments in parks.  This morning gave one the sense that London was nary a city at all!  The parks were enormous with towering trees and plentiful wildlife.  It was really nice to let Walnut off the leash and watch him run around.  Near lunchtime, we dropped Walnut off at the apartment (bushed from the walking) and we took a bus to Westminster Abbey.  From there, we continued walked around the financial district ending at the Tower of London.

The next morning we went back to the Tower for a tour.  The tour was great and the Tower is an interesting site, performing many different roles through history.  We walked from there to the Globe theater for a tour but missed by one minute and they would not relent.  It was the last tour of the day, so…. bummer.  That evening we saw the play ‘Mousetrap’.  It was pretty good, and it was nice to see theater in London.  Kinda makes me miss theater in Chicago.

The Churchill war rooms museum was a really neat attraction.  Very informative about both the war and the Prime Minister.  It really made you think ‘Where have people like this gone?’  We also took a walking tour with Jenn’s detour app.  It talked about MI5 and was written/narrated by an ex-employee.

Then we took a train to Bath.  We had a nice Airbnb, though it was a bit far from the center of town.  Exhausted from our itinerary in London, we slowed things down a lot here.  We took the bus tour through Bath and it gave us a nice overview of the sites and some insight into Bath’s history.

From here we did a morning Stonehenge tour.  It was really spectacular.  It was chilly and windy, but the sun was out and the sky was clear.  We also went to Avebury, and the villages of Lacocke and Castle Combe.  Avebury was another stone circle site, far larger than Stonehenge.  Unlike Stonehenge, at Avebury, you could get close to the stones.  Lacocke and Castle Combe were beautiful little villages.

We rented a car and drove to our next airbnb in the Cotswolds near Chipping Campden.  It was strange to have to drive on the left and there were fewer signs and reminders to do so than we saw while driving in New Zealand.  Thankfully, there was little traffic on our drive, though most of the roads were barely two lanes to begin with.  Our place was on a farm in the boonies.  We did a bit of hiking there before we drove to visit the nearby towns.  Bourton on the water was built to attract tourists, and we visited the model town here.  We also went to Broadway tower and did some hiking.

We drove across the country to turn the car in at Canterbury, where we stayed our last night in England.  The taxi picked us up from here to take us back to the train station in France.  A few trains and a night in Paris later, we were back in Basel.

A weekend in Prague

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This past weekend the three of us met up with some friends in Prague.  It was great to see Val and Dave, and Prague was beautiful!

This trip, Jenn scheduled a car to pick us up. Though our timing with the car wasn’t perfect, we might start doing this on other trips especially when we arrive later in the evening like this trip.

We arrived in the evening and checked in.  Our apartment was just a few blocks from the Charles Bridge.  Sadly, the grocery store was already closed so we stopped at a convenience store to get some cereal, milk and diet pepsi.  It cost us $20 since we were in the heart of the tourism zone.  I really love the old world feel of Prague, the architecture reminded me of Lisbon.  Even the cobblestone streets and sidewalks were nearly identical to Lisbon.

Saturday, we crossed the Charles Bridge and saw the astronomical clock.  Though we passed it several times we never happened to be there at the hour when it does it’s show.  Near the clock was Our lady before Tyn and the Jan Hus monument.  We did some more walking and a few of the sites were closed so we stopped for ice cream on our way to Prague Castle and St. Vitus Cathedral.  That evening we met up with Val and Dave after their race at the beer garden in Letna Park.  On the way, we passed the Winged Lion memorial to the Czech airmen.

The next morning we visited Kampa garden before hiking up to Strahov Monastery.   On the way, we saw the John Lennon wall and a pair of animatronic statues of men pissing on Czech Republic.  After lunch at the monastery we saw Wallenstein Garden.  At one end of the garden is a huge Italian style grotto wall with an aviary.  There are faces and fake passages in the wall.  We could see part of the wall from Prague Castle the day before but didn’t know what it was until today.  We went back to the Jewish museum and walked through the cemetery and synagogue.  The synagogue was beautiful and very ornate.  At the Grand Cafe Orient, we had a few Czech specialties before visiting ‘the world’s only cubist lamp post.’

We got a ticket on Sunday for walking on the wrong part of the sidewalk.  The officer was kind enough to offer a reduced fine if we could pay in cash on the spot.  Very convenient!

On our final morning in Prague, we visited Wenceslas Square and Vysehrad Citadel.  After dealing with hordes of people in Prague for the weekend, the Citadel was a refreshing sight.  Not many people were here, and the grounds made you feel like you were out in the country.  Surrounded by old walls and buildings, with a giant cathedral looming in the background, the Citadel grounds were fantastic.  We didn’t have enough time at the Citadel (or Prague for that matter).

Prague is a beautiful town, steeped in old world charm.  Try to visit sights as early as possible.  We were there on the weekend, it’s probably better on weekdays.  We will definitely be back!

 

Basler Fasnacht

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Fasnacht is Switzerland’s answer to Carnival.  It is an event that is very special in Basel.  It all begins at 4 am on the Monday following Ash Wednesday.

Jenn and I got up and went to Marktplatz to see the parade.  All the lights in town are switched off for the event.  (Though it IS 4 am so not many are on in the first place)  The Fastnachtler dress up in costumes with crazy masks.  They craft lighted floats and play instruments and they walk the streets.  It’s pretty wild.

Most Fastnachtler wear a lantern on their mask.  The art on most floats is outstanding.  Tons of confetti is thrown around- and I do mean tons.

After the initial parade, there are follow up parades as well as concerts.  We’ll have to arrive earlier next year!

A weekend in Lisbon, Portugal

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With a move to Switzerland at the end of the month, we decided to squeeze in a few more trips from Spain. This previous weekend we went to Lisbon, Portugal.

We arrived pretty early in the day so Jenn found us some storage lockers to put our luggage in so we could join a walking tour. We brought walnut with us and he loved walking through a new town. The tour gave a glimpse into Portugal’s past. Portugal was the world’s first global power. They learned and put to good use navigation and other seafaring techniques to find trading routes around the world.

In the 1700’s there was a massive earthquake that nearly flattened Lisbon. It was on all saints day, and most people were in church- old, high ceilinged buildings made of stone. Further, because of the holiday, many had candles burning at home. Lisbon was ablaze, and the survivors gathered in the main square which is near the taiga river. The tidal wave that followed the quake wiped out many of the would be survivors.

Lisbon was rebuilt nearly from scratch afterwards. Many of the buildings we currently see in Lisbon are from that era, having been built to new, higher standards. Some buildings remained from the earthquake as monuments to those who were lost.

We joined a knights of the Templar tour that took us to several sites important to that order. We started at Castelo de Almoural. It was a defensive position on an island in the middle of a river. The water level was much higher when this castle was in use, but even today it required a boat for access.

In Tomar, we visited the Convent of Christ.  Founded by the Templar Knights, it was huge!  It was added to and and decorated many times over the years.  Much of the ornamentation is very nautical, in the Manueline style.

On our last day in Portugal, we took a train to Sintra.  At the station, we hired a private car/guide and went to a few incredible sites.  Montserrat, the National Palace in Sintra, and Quinta da Regaleira.  Carvalo Monteiro built an incredible estate here at Quinta da Regaleira, truly amazing.

Lisbon was fantastic and I can’t wait to go back.

Family

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Late Christmas night Jenn and I watched a movie together and it got me thinking about my Dad.  He passed away just a few years ago and it moves me a lot whenever I think about him.  I was very close with my Dad, I think back to the times we’d stay up half the night chatting in the kitchen.  Who even knows what we could talk about for so long…

My parents divorced when I was a kid, so I spent every other weekend with him.  This meant most of the time I lived with my Mom.  Of course, this meant she had to do most of the odious disciplining and I’m sure that contributed to the teen angst my sister and I experienced.  It’s hard to look back on one’s past without those memories being colored by what one thought or felt at the time.  Memories seem like blurry things, I can recall emotions and feelings about events in my life but exact details are difficult to make out.

I’m grateful for the circumstances that intersected leading to the last time I saw my father.  Growing up, he lived in St. Louis and my sister and I lived in Omaha.  For a time, my Dad didn’t own a car and would make that ~8 hour drive on his motorcycle.  I was happy to see him, but as an 8-year-old I didn’t know what that drive was like.  I’m not trying to paint him as a superhero for driving a long way on a motorcycle when another man would have bought a car- or when another would have cancelled the visit.  Many years later I got a motorcycle of my own and drove the ~8 hours to visit him.  To be honest, it was a harrowing experience.  But that drive offered me a perspective I had not previously known.

I showed up at his house and we chatted for a few hours.  I had been humbled by the drive, and was grateful for his having done so many times in the past.  I am normally not humble enough nor grateful enough to those around me, family or friends.  But this day, this last time I would see my father, I had been both.  A few months later, he passed unexpectedly.  I miss him dearly.

I have a very strong memory of that visit.  We were happy, sharing stories and enjoying each others’ company.  When I happen to think back to that day, it’s a bright memory; one that I cherish.

JnR’s Merry Mallorca

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Walnut, Jenn and I went to Mallorca, Spain for the new year.  We’ll be moving to Switzerland in a month and are trying to squeeze in a few little trips in Spain before we leave.  The flight from Barcelona took about 50 minutes.  We stayed in Palma, a beautiful city on the coast.

We wandered around our neighborhood, visiting a small Christmas market and a fancy market street.  Cobblestone streets, horse drawn carriages, and ancient stone walls and cathedrals make the city feel like another world.  Castell de Bellver, found high upon a hill overlooking the port, cemented this feeling.

In the evening, the holiday lights formed tunnels down streets while stars and orbs floated overhead.  The cathedral and other ancient walls glowed in the mellow evening light.

The Palma Aquarium was pretty good.  Apparently, they have the deepest shark tank in the EU.  The sharks they had in there were huge!  They also had quite a few other aquariums, and I found their smaller tanks to be very good.

We went to a cave, cuevas drachs, on the other side of the island.  The public bus was easy to use and drove us the 60 miles or so directly to the site.  The cave was very large, with a pretty sizable lake (for a cave, that is).  At one point, they even boated in orchestra players to play a few songs for us.  After the visit, we had some time to kill and hiked to the nearby coast and sat in the sun for a while.

A quick visit to Arc de Triompf and christmas markets

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We had not yet been to Arc de Triompf so we decided to see it Saturday.  Since it’s outside and a nice day we brought Walnut with us- I’ve already posted his pictures from that day.  We took the Metro red line just a few stops and discovered a market at the square.  We’re not sure if it’s a small Christmas market or if it’s an occasional market that we just happened across.  We also passed the Central Catalana de Electricidad building, which originally housed steam generators for the production of electricity.

After the Arc, we walked to the Cathedral to visit the main Christmas markets.  On the way, we past through some neighborhoods new to us.  We passed an ‘experimental xocolatier’ but they didn’t seem to have any in stock.

Here in Catalonia, there are a few Christmas traditions that are new to me.  There is the Caganer figurine (caganer means “the crapper”) which is a figurine of someone taking a dump.  These figurines are hidden in the nativity scene.  Another tradition is the Tio de Nadal or Christmas log.  Beginning in early December, the christmas log is ‘fed’ every night and well cared for by the household’s children.  On Christmas day, the log is placed in the fireplace and told to poop out presents.  To facilitate this, children sing songs (ordering the log to poop) and strike the log with sticks.

A few photos of Walnut in Spain

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We’ve been in Spain for about 9 weeks now.  I haven’t been very good about keeping friends and family up to date with Walnut.  He had been diagnosed with a portosystemic shunt the third week of August and had lost about 4 pounds.  He’s been on a new diet and medicine regimen that has helped him a lot.  He has regained his weight (actually I have to cut back on his kibble!) and energy.  He’s doing great!  We live close to a very active dog park and on our evening walk it is common for him to greet 20 dogs.  He loves it here.