As part of our day job related fund raising, we travel to all kinds of places and hotels. Sometimes when it is in our nonprofit world, we stay with friends or the locals offer to put us up. This is great as it saves money as we raise it. Several churches have had space to host us and we've always been grateful, but it's also some of the strangest sleeping quarters I've experienced.
I don't know if any of you have ever been in a huge building alone as a kid or an adult. As a kid I remember we'd play hide and seek in the basement of the church I grew up in while the adults ate finger food and drank punch upstairs somewhere. It always seemed like you'd get spooked and run like you'd never run in your life down a dark hallway. Also my dad used to rent "computer time" in a big office building in downtown KC. I'd be the only person on the 10th floor poking in people's desks and such. Then I'd go even further down to the bathroom and get spooked and run like mad back to the computer room that was completely sealed and sound proof. My dad wouldn't have heard me yelling or running or anything the way it was set up. It was great fun. I give you this as way as background to the places with dark hallways that might effect odd places I slept as an adult.
The first time we slept in a guest room inside a church it was in a smaller community, but the church could probably seat a couple hundred people. We had a compulsion to walk around and see everything just so we knew where we were at and how the land lay. My significant other sneaked into the sanctuary and tapped on the cymbals while I was in another part of the church getting a drink or something and tried to say it wasn't him. The church folks had thoughtfully put a lock on the door of the room.
One nice thing about a lock is that you are in a huge building alone and it's nice not to feel vulnerable. Two is that folks arrive at all kinds of early hours for church services and you'd like to not introduce yourself in your skivvies.
So another time, another religious institution, the guest room was actually a large lounge with six sofas that made into beds. So you just picked one and opened up. While it was a big space (besides being in a big building) it very distinctly wasn't a single bedroom. We dressed in the attached bathroom.
Well, putting it mildly I'm not an early riser. The early risers in this rural farm community were getting coffee going behind a folding curtain that attached to our room. My significant other got in the shower and gave me a moment to awake. I started worrying this big room was a Sunday School area and I should get moving. I traded the sofa room for the bathroom only to hear pounding on the door of our area. I was about to turn on the shower when my man opened the door and said that I needed to hurry they were going to have to turn off the water. The snow storm had frozen and broken pipes which were filling the heating system with water. Uhm, okay, no pressure.
When I came out to join in the donuts and early morning church rituals, you could hear the water pounding in the heating vents like tribal drums. Really weird sound.
Okay, so another room another state. This time attached to the men's bathroom as this was the only bathroom that had a shower. My spouse taught me that it is inappropriate to balance one's makeup bag on the handle of a urinal, but honestly you just work with whatever space you have and there wasn't any. We stayed in this arrangement for eight weeks. It was in a urban spill from a very large city. The kitchen was in the basement which meant walking through the sanctuary (in the dark) and down some stairs and hallways to the kitchen for hot water or microwaves etc. So I had to psych myself up for the journey (see the paragraph of childhood basement running above!).
It was fine and we didn't mind. These are just the little challenges you don't think of unless you stay a place as unusual as the back of thousands of square feet of public use space. After a few days, someone from the pastoral family mentioned that we needed to double check the side door by the sanctuary (not the one we used in the back dark parking lot!) because it didn't always latch and sometimes homeless people came inside to get warm. No big deal but it was best to check. Yeah. Note to self check the doors and the dark hallways on the way to the far away kitchen.
So then my significant one had to leave for another meeting and I got to stay there completely alone for two weeks. It was fine. Really. So maybe yes, I ran a couple times thru dark hallways, but I was grateful for somewhere to stay. It probably helped the intensity of my prayers!
Showing posts with label explore. Show all posts
Showing posts with label explore. Show all posts
15 May 2016
Weirdest Places Slept, part 3, Place of the Dead
We spent a big chunk of life only going to visit people we knew when we went on vacation, grandparents, college roommates, that sort of cheap and comfortable vacation where you see your people.
When we started traveling for work reasons, we went a lot of places that hadn't been on the agenda financially or as major destinations. We had some meetings in New Jersey, New York, and other east coast locals so we drove from the midwest. We didn't used to plan for hotels and on these trips a lot of people host us so we were just winging it.
In the middle of New York somewhere far from civilization, we found ourselves too far to go back and too far to go on as the wee hours began to make us sleepy. We finally took the next exit because we saw a sign for the "White Horse Inn." Taking a dark exit far from everything we'd seen for some time, we drove another 10 miles or so into the woods and discovered the White Horse Inn was a pancake - dinner place and they were locking up. We really needed to stop for the night so we asked if there was anything near by, a bed and breakfast perhaps?
An older fellow pointed us to a campground just a few miles down the road (still further into the deep dark woods and away from the highway) and they had a hotel on the grounds. Perfect.
It was dark and late, we could have missed it but somehow saw the turn. No lights or anything, it was one of those old methodist camp ground type things with the little victorian cottages surrounding a main green. (This sort of thing though this is not the one.)
We parked in front of a white clapboard two story hotel, relieved and tired and wondering where we were. We'd passed no towns of any sort.
My significant other checked us in while I stood by the luggage at the bottom of the stairs looking at a painting. Not an experienced artist, but well meaning. I looked at the caption and it said, 'painted by Mary SoandSo in a trance.' Trance? I looked around further and there was a quilt done in a trance.
When my honey came up with the keys, we sort of put some things together he saw at the front desk and what I was seeing and realized we'd just checked into a camp for people who like to talk to dead people. Mediums, spiritualists, and such. Uh oh.
It was so late, we were tired and now paid up so we just went to our room, even though this would not have been a place we would pick out of website to stay. Let's just say it's not our spiritual cup of tea.
It was a lovely old room with wood floors and metal bed. You know how those old eastern board places don't have a/c? Well, this was one of them. We had the lights off in a few minutes since we were beat. My man was gleefully speculating if the curtains were blowing in the summer breeze or ...? I fell asleep. He told some family members who were completely terrified for us that we'd stayed there.
It was a lovely old camp ground but as we drove away each little cottage had a sign for a psychic or a medium or something. It struck me as a vaguely sinister environment with a quaint veneer over the top. A little arsenic and old lace.
Taking a different tact on the same trip later, we stayed in a hotel near the highway that had a hot tub the size of a car in one half of the BEDROOM space. Ick. And when I turned on the TV to porn, we were really skeeved out. I think I slept on top of my scarf. Let's say, this may when we began to realize we needed to plan a little more carefully.
When we started traveling for work reasons, we went a lot of places that hadn't been on the agenda financially or as major destinations. We had some meetings in New Jersey, New York, and other east coast locals so we drove from the midwest. We didn't used to plan for hotels and on these trips a lot of people host us so we were just winging it.
In the middle of New York somewhere far from civilization, we found ourselves too far to go back and too far to go on as the wee hours began to make us sleepy. We finally took the next exit because we saw a sign for the "White Horse Inn." Taking a dark exit far from everything we'd seen for some time, we drove another 10 miles or so into the woods and discovered the White Horse Inn was a pancake - dinner place and they were locking up. We really needed to stop for the night so we asked if there was anything near by, a bed and breakfast perhaps?
An older fellow pointed us to a campground just a few miles down the road (still further into the deep dark woods and away from the highway) and they had a hotel on the grounds. Perfect.
It was dark and late, we could have missed it but somehow saw the turn. No lights or anything, it was one of those old methodist camp ground type things with the little victorian cottages surrounding a main green. (This sort of thing though this is not the one.)
We parked in front of a white clapboard two story hotel, relieved and tired and wondering where we were. We'd passed no towns of any sort.
My significant other checked us in while I stood by the luggage at the bottom of the stairs looking at a painting. Not an experienced artist, but well meaning. I looked at the caption and it said, 'painted by Mary SoandSo in a trance.' Trance? I looked around further and there was a quilt done in a trance.
When my honey came up with the keys, we sort of put some things together he saw at the front desk and what I was seeing and realized we'd just checked into a camp for people who like to talk to dead people. Mediums, spiritualists, and such. Uh oh.
It was so late, we were tired and now paid up so we just went to our room, even though this would not have been a place we would pick out of website to stay. Let's just say it's not our spiritual cup of tea.
It was a lovely old room with wood floors and metal bed. You know how those old eastern board places don't have a/c? Well, this was one of them. We had the lights off in a few minutes since we were beat. My man was gleefully speculating if the curtains were blowing in the summer breeze or ...? I fell asleep. He told some family members who were completely terrified for us that we'd stayed there.
It was a lovely old camp ground but as we drove away each little cottage had a sign for a psychic or a medium or something. It struck me as a vaguely sinister environment with a quaint veneer over the top. A little arsenic and old lace.
Taking a different tact on the same trip later, we stayed in a hotel near the highway that had a hot tub the size of a car in one half of the BEDROOM space. Ick. And when I turned on the TV to porn, we were really skeeved out. I think I slept on top of my scarf. Let's say, this may when we began to realize we needed to plan a little more carefully.
23 November 2013
Urban Explorers aka trespassers
I recently tweeted and posted a link to a photographer who goes into abandoned buildings and takes pictures. A couple years ago I also saw a reality TV show on a team of guys who would do these guerrilla break in of places in order to take pictures of abandoned buildings. It sort of fascinates me and brings out the sneaky Scooby-doo feelings. (Loved that show as a kid.)
Once near where I lived an entire neighborhood was condemned. In a rather ominous bureaucratic move, the city decided they needed more commercial zoning and since they were landlocked the way to get it was to condemn a 40 year old neighborhood of small houses. Probably small voices as well. I don't know if the compensation was fair at all, I do know everyone wasn't happy.
Of course, it was prime real estate right along the freeway. One poor disgruntled soul spray painted a protest on the side of his house for everyone on the highway to see as they drove by. In time they were all given a date to get out and a fence was put around the entire four block square. Then it proceeded to sit there untouched for months.
I don't know what came over me but one blustery autumn day my significant other and I decided to explore the now abandoned neighborhood. The main entry street had a bar across it that was locked to keep cars out, but if you were walking there was no impediment to just ducking under the bar. So we did.
This is one of the most bizarre experiences I've had as an adult and it has really stuck with me. I have often described it to people and probably mentioned it in blogs before.
Because no one else was moving in or because they were mad, people had left random things they didn't want in their homes. Also all the doors stood open so in this entire neighborhood you could just randomly wander into the homes.
People had garage sales and just left the things that didn't sell standing on the trestle tables in the drive or garage. I actually picked up a couple little dishes that I still have and use on occasion. Souvenirs of sort.
Clothes were left in closets like someone was coming back. As we walked we managed to get onto creepy stories and in one house freaked ourselves out hearing strange noises. I think in a way it was better than any haunted house experience because it was very mental and real. As I'm prone to do, my imagination ran away with me and I thought someone could be roaming around inside this little neighborhood for weeks hiding, living off food left in cabinets, changing clothes. What if they came on us? What if they were a fugitive? We are in here where no one could hear us if we yelled.
It was a very satisfying, nosy, creepy, adventure and no one the wiser. It didn't occur to me until I read this article (The photos) and looked at his photos that we could have been arrested. The photographer has been arrested a lot for trespassing. I'd like to think we'd have gotten away with a warning and a "get out of here you kids" like Scooby-do and the gang.
We made another memorable trespass adventure now that I think of it, we probably also could have been arrested for too -- but we were young and carefree and enjoyed a good adrenaline kick from being spooked.
It was Halloween in Dover, England. We'd taken the ferry over for the weekend and had no car. We were staying in a little b & b. It was of course cool and rainy, but the b & b was basic to say the least and sitting indoors could get old. So we went out hiking after dinner in the dark and found ourselves exploring all around the grounds of Dover Castle. It was lit up for a nice view from afar, but we stayed to the shadows and poked all around, even tried a few doors I think but didn't get inside the walls. It was great fun and creepy. One of those accidental events that is a memory that sticks with you.
I remember as a kid making up stories and taking turns freaking each other out about the house on the corner that seemed to have no one in it. There's just something fascinating about an empty or abandoned place. The question always lurks - is it really abandoned?
So have you explored any odd urban sites or trespassed? Any you'd like to visit?
Once near where I lived an entire neighborhood was condemned. In a rather ominous bureaucratic move, the city decided they needed more commercial zoning and since they were landlocked the way to get it was to condemn a 40 year old neighborhood of small houses. Probably small voices as well. I don't know if the compensation was fair at all, I do know everyone wasn't happy.
Of course, it was prime real estate right along the freeway. One poor disgruntled soul spray painted a protest on the side of his house for everyone on the highway to see as they drove by. In time they were all given a date to get out and a fence was put around the entire four block square. Then it proceeded to sit there untouched for months.
I don't know what came over me but one blustery autumn day my significant other and I decided to explore the now abandoned neighborhood. The main entry street had a bar across it that was locked to keep cars out, but if you were walking there was no impediment to just ducking under the bar. So we did.
This is one of the most bizarre experiences I've had as an adult and it has really stuck with me. I have often described it to people and probably mentioned it in blogs before.
Because no one else was moving in or because they were mad, people had left random things they didn't want in their homes. Also all the doors stood open so in this entire neighborhood you could just randomly wander into the homes.
People had garage sales and just left the things that didn't sell standing on the trestle tables in the drive or garage. I actually picked up a couple little dishes that I still have and use on occasion. Souvenirs of sort.
Clothes were left in closets like someone was coming back. As we walked we managed to get onto creepy stories and in one house freaked ourselves out hearing strange noises. I think in a way it was better than any haunted house experience because it was very mental and real. As I'm prone to do, my imagination ran away with me and I thought someone could be roaming around inside this little neighborhood for weeks hiding, living off food left in cabinets, changing clothes. What if they came on us? What if they were a fugitive? We are in here where no one could hear us if we yelled.
It was a very satisfying, nosy, creepy, adventure and no one the wiser. It didn't occur to me until I read this article (The photos) and looked at his photos that we could have been arrested. The photographer has been arrested a lot for trespassing. I'd like to think we'd have gotten away with a warning and a "get out of here you kids" like Scooby-do and the gang.
We made another memorable trespass adventure now that I think of it, we probably also could have been arrested for too -- but we were young and carefree and enjoyed a good adrenaline kick from being spooked.
It was Halloween in Dover, England. We'd taken the ferry over for the weekend and had no car. We were staying in a little b & b. It was of course cool and rainy, but the b & b was basic to say the least and sitting indoors could get old. So we went out hiking after dinner in the dark and found ourselves exploring all around the grounds of Dover Castle. It was lit up for a nice view from afar, but we stayed to the shadows and poked all around, even tried a few doors I think but didn't get inside the walls. It was great fun and creepy. One of those accidental events that is a memory that sticks with you.
I remember as a kid making up stories and taking turns freaking each other out about the house on the corner that seemed to have no one in it. There's just something fascinating about an empty or abandoned place. The question always lurks - is it really abandoned?
So have you explored any odd urban sites or trespassed? Any you'd like to visit?
04 November 2013
The Comfort Tour
So due to visa restrictions in Russia when we traveled there earlier this year, we had to sign up for a tour. We were coming off of a busy season of life and didn't want a high speed pressure filled event, so we signed up for "comfort class" tour.
The group was small and consisted of those who'd past 70 -- and us! I don't know what I expected but not the senior citizen tour.
An old trucker and his wife from Texas. He was rambunctious and couldn't hear and she repeated things for him. He had his wallet stolen at the Peter and Paul Fortress in the line for the turnstile, but other than pride and a few choice words, no damage done. He only brought cash in his wallet from the boat since he was worried about pickpockets. I had to wonder if you didn't bring your credit card on land to buy foreign things, why did you have it with you at all? It was a strategy that paid off for him though.
The group was small and consisted of those who'd past 70 -- and us! I don't know what I expected but not the senior citizen tour.
An old trucker and his wife from Texas. He was rambunctious and couldn't hear and she repeated things for him. He had his wallet stolen at the Peter and Paul Fortress in the line for the turnstile, but other than pride and a few choice words, no damage done. He only brought cash in his wallet from the boat since he was worried about pickpockets. I had to wonder if you didn't bring your credit card on land to buy foreign things, why did you have it with you at all? It was a strategy that paid off for him though.
Two delightful Vietnamese sisters retired and living in California had an amazing sense of humor and traveled without their significant others. One of them spilled her water bottle as we were getting on the mini-bus and was very adamant that everyone would know she didn't pee.
A retired Canadian couple born in the UK but living in Ottawa had very British accents and almost felt like a comic sketch of a British couple. He thought everywhere was unsafe but had had to travel with a "government office" during his working days. He fancied himself an expert on everything and liked waxing eloquent on it. He was a major pro-picture taker.
A quiet tall older couple from Minnesota or the Dakotas were a matched set of tallness. She was friendly; he didn't talk. I found myself standing by him on the 5 minute escalator ride to the bottom of the St. Petersburg metro station. It was dramatically long. He was so overcome he spoke, "You'd have to leave for work early." Then at the bottom of the long escalator was a booth with a guard sitting in it. "That'd be easy work." I guess he thought about work.
There was one other couple and they were an exact match to this northern pair where one was friendly and one didn't talk. For the life of me I couldn't keep them straight. Except one fella wore a fishing cap.
While my mother has told me that I'm middle aged, I am not even beginning to be able to imagine the word retirement, so this was not my normal social set. It was almost like any group of quirky people but the quirks seem to be on steroids. Maybe our oddities increase as we get older? Is it harder to hold in our natural instincts of telling all you know or announcing loudly how bad the food or prices might be? I just don't know, not yet anyway.There was one other couple and they were an exact match to this northern pair where one was friendly and one didn't talk. For the life of me I couldn't keep them straight. Except one fella wore a fishing cap.
One thing that was unexpected for my husband and myself was that we felt responsible for all these people. I'm not sure if it is that we are used to living overseas and often are taking others around to see sites. We perhaps are in the habit of watching over folks. On this day, of course, we'd all paid dearly for a tour guide. She was a nice English teacher and probably around our age.
Nevertheless, my husband and I were tech support for the earphone technology, along with the tour guide, checking channels and volume buttons. We would hang back if we noticed one of the pack falling behind. We were cautioning them about pickpockets when we went into the metro station. We were definitely in mother hen mode even though it wasn't our job.
The cute thing is when we arrived late the first day (see earlier post) they were all worried if we were okay especially those from the north that must have skipped breakfast knowing the passport lines were long. It was our first time, how were we to know?
We compared notes with some younger people on the normal-non-comfort tours. It sounded miserable. They were road marched past a few more sites than us but never allowed to stop or ask questions. It sounded like a race to run past famous monuments, plus that tour was made up of three full sized bus loads of people and we were only 12. We could chat with our tour guide and ask for random potty stops while the big tour people did not have these luxuries. I was thrilled we had taken the comfort tour and had been able to enjoy the sites. To tell the truth, the comfort tour managed to wear me out anyway.
29 September 2013
Food time may not be the right time for you in Spain
This is something that always comes up with visitors to Spain. A friend has recently come to visit and in addition to noticing my food shopping procrastination, she made me realize that we eat at funny times.
We don't eat Spanish style but after living here so long and of course dealing with the weather the same as everyone else, we have inadvertently adapted to the food schedule.
The system as I, a foreigner, understand it in Spain is generally eating five times a day. It goes something like this:
Breakfast: maybe a cup of coffee, or a cigarette, or both. Juice and a piece of toast if you're all into it.
A toast favorite of mine here is pan tomate: toasted left over bagette bread smeared with puré of fresh tomatoe, olive oil, and sea salt.
Around 10:30-11am. It's break time. I can't seem to get a firm grasp on what this is called in Spain. Almuerzo is a possibility but some say otherwise. It is not uncommon for everyone to go get a coffee from an office environment around this time and eat something small. It is very common to see people who work manually sitting in the shade or on a sidewalk eating a bocadillo (sandwich on bagette bread) and drinking wine or beer or coke. It's a snack to get you through til lunch.
2pm Comida. In the Madrid area, this is just referred to as Comida maybe different in other parts. This is normally a three course lunch. On weekdays this is a very affordable and filling option. Last week I paid 8 Euros for: course 1 - cannelones; course 2 - skirt steak and fries; course 3 - an ice cream cone, drink included. It's sort of stick to your ribs physical worker food out in the villages where we are at. In the city a few minutes away, sometime it has more finesse but it's always the same structure. This is traditionally the big meal of the day. Children are released from school to go home and eat big and they come back at 4:30 or so which makes for a challenging day for working parents and a lot of grandparent involvement or paying the school to keep the kids for this time frame. After this would be your nap if you take one, not everyone does, and many people are too far away from home to go back anyway.
5-8 pm is merienda. Again snack time but more commonly this is something sweet. A donut or tortitas: that is American style pancakes with chocolate syrup and whip cream. This is the only time of day McDonald's serves pancakes here. People generally make sure kids get something during this time frame.
Dinner, well that depends. I understand that you might feed the kids here at 8 or 8:30pm. Restaurants do not open for dinner until 8, 8:30 or 9pm depending on their preference. I've entered a restaurant at 7:50pm and been told to come back later.
For Valentine's day one year, we left our house at 7:30pm, arrived, were seated and ate our dinner as the only patrons in the restaurant. At 9pm when we were leaving, a few couples were coming in. A fancy dinner out would probably be scheduled at 10pm or perhaps 11pm.
The next question every American asks is how do they sleep with all that food on their stomach. I have no idea. I do know people stay up later here generally. Even Spaniards sometimes admit it's not good for you to eat so late.
If they are eating at home, this 9-10pm meal is something lighter, not a big three course meal. A Spanish tortilla for instance would be a dinner. It's like an egg and potato omelet but made in a flat pan shape which is a fine art here.
I usually do eat breakfast. Mother raised me to eat something before I left the house. I don't do 10:30 snack/almuerzo though on occasion will eat a cookie if I'm starving around 11am. We eat lunch in the office between 1:30 and 2 usually, rarely do we go out for the three course meal. It takes a long time and even though affordable doesn't meet our budget.
I try not to eat anything after work around 6pm but if I'm starving I might have a snack. Dinner without air conditioning in a summer of 100+F at times got later and later. We ate consistently at 8pm but often it drifted into 9pm. Now that the weather is cooling, we might eat a little earlier. I like the free time aspect when I arrive home and often write then, rather than "starting dinner," so it's not going to get too much earlier than 8pm.
When we are home in the USA and someone wants to beat the crowd to a restaurant at say 5:30pm -- it sort of gives me reverse culture shock. It seems like eating a late lunch to me. Funny what you get used to without even knowing it.
We don't eat Spanish style but after living here so long and of course dealing with the weather the same as everyone else, we have inadvertently adapted to the food schedule.
The system as I, a foreigner, understand it in Spain is generally eating five times a day. It goes something like this:
Breakfast: maybe a cup of coffee, or a cigarette, or both. Juice and a piece of toast if you're all into it.
A toast favorite of mine here is pan tomate: toasted left over bagette bread smeared with puré of fresh tomatoe, olive oil, and sea salt.
Around 10:30-11am. It's break time. I can't seem to get a firm grasp on what this is called in Spain. Almuerzo is a possibility but some say otherwise. It is not uncommon for everyone to go get a coffee from an office environment around this time and eat something small. It is very common to see people who work manually sitting in the shade or on a sidewalk eating a bocadillo (sandwich on bagette bread) and drinking wine or beer or coke. It's a snack to get you through til lunch.
2pm Comida. In the Madrid area, this is just referred to as Comida maybe different in other parts. This is normally a three course lunch. On weekdays this is a very affordable and filling option. Last week I paid 8 Euros for: course 1 - cannelones; course 2 - skirt steak and fries; course 3 - an ice cream cone, drink included. It's sort of stick to your ribs physical worker food out in the villages where we are at. In the city a few minutes away, sometime it has more finesse but it's always the same structure. This is traditionally the big meal of the day. Children are released from school to go home and eat big and they come back at 4:30 or so which makes for a challenging day for working parents and a lot of grandparent involvement or paying the school to keep the kids for this time frame. After this would be your nap if you take one, not everyone does, and many people are too far away from home to go back anyway.
5-8 pm is merienda. Again snack time but more commonly this is something sweet. A donut or tortitas: that is American style pancakes with chocolate syrup and whip cream. This is the only time of day McDonald's serves pancakes here. People generally make sure kids get something during this time frame.
Dinner, well that depends. I understand that you might feed the kids here at 8 or 8:30pm. Restaurants do not open for dinner until 8, 8:30 or 9pm depending on their preference. I've entered a restaurant at 7:50pm and been told to come back later.
For Valentine's day one year, we left our house at 7:30pm, arrived, were seated and ate our dinner as the only patrons in the restaurant. At 9pm when we were leaving, a few couples were coming in. A fancy dinner out would probably be scheduled at 10pm or perhaps 11pm.
The next question every American asks is how do they sleep with all that food on their stomach. I have no idea. I do know people stay up later here generally. Even Spaniards sometimes admit it's not good for you to eat so late.
If they are eating at home, this 9-10pm meal is something lighter, not a big three course meal. A Spanish tortilla for instance would be a dinner. It's like an egg and potato omelet but made in a flat pan shape which is a fine art here.
I usually do eat breakfast. Mother raised me to eat something before I left the house. I don't do 10:30 snack/almuerzo though on occasion will eat a cookie if I'm starving around 11am. We eat lunch in the office between 1:30 and 2 usually, rarely do we go out for the three course meal. It takes a long time and even though affordable doesn't meet our budget.
I try not to eat anything after work around 6pm but if I'm starving I might have a snack. Dinner without air conditioning in a summer of 100+F at times got later and later. We ate consistently at 8pm but often it drifted into 9pm. Now that the weather is cooling, we might eat a little earlier. I like the free time aspect when I arrive home and often write then, rather than "starting dinner," so it's not going to get too much earlier than 8pm.
When we are home in the USA and someone wants to beat the crowd to a restaurant at say 5:30pm -- it sort of gives me reverse culture shock. It seems like eating a late lunch to me. Funny what you get used to without even knowing it.
22 September 2013
Telephone company induced culture shock
I had a guy who is living outside his own culture say he never had culture shock. I think he doesn't know the definition and has an ego that makes him think he's better if he doesn't have it. Maybe he is.
Having lived quite a number of years outside the USA, I would say culture shock can sneak up on you from very unexpected directions and maybe doesn't look like you'd think, even after years. After seven years in Spain, I define my culture shock moments by an unexpected and disproportional rage or reaction of some kind. It's not that the provoking event doesn't merit some reaction, it's just that proportionally culture shock jumps you several levels ahead of what it would be in your home culture.
Take Burger King for instance. The new one nearby has -- in English -- on the seats "Have it your way" and yet a friend of mine who is particular about how she likes her food was told "no se puede." It cannot be. Yes, it's annoying and yes it's absurd but sometimes something simple can blow you out of the water. This same Burger King which has a permanent sign on it's pillar proclaiming "24 horas" told me two weeks ago at 11 am -- 24 hours yes, but not today, only on weekends.
The last two weeks I have been at conferences. The first week was here in Spain and people came from all over Europe. Now, I made the mistake of thinking these people are Europeans so they will not have a strong reaction to Spain.
What I discovered is that I am accustomed to the eccentricities of Spain and I have accepted many of them. I don't always like it but I'm used to it. Now my northern European colleagues were suddenly asking why things were and I had no answer. I realized eventually that they were uncomfortable with the hotel changing the hours or the exact order of things or the details we had all agreed upon.
Now perhaps I have given up fighting these things since it takes so much energy or perhaps I have just accepted them as inevitable. I realized my colleagues were having a mild discomfort and confusion which is culture shock.
I know my significant other and I have each separately or occasionally together had moments of raging against something simple or terribly complicated, but invariably something we could not control.
Last Monday in fact after conference no. 1 we arrived home to discover our internet and cable tv service had quit. We reset the system a couple times. Nothing.
In the USA the next step is make a phone call. We put that off until morning because we didn't have the energy. The next morning the automated system couldn't understand my man's Spanish. So I asked the admin assistant at work to call. She perhaps didn't realize I expected her to find the entire answer for me. She got me into a queue for English support and handed the phone back to me.
After being on hold for more than 30 minutes and passed between offices because they had me on hold for the wrong office, I found myself talking to someone in heavily accented English on perhaps the worst speaker phone I have ever heard. It was near impossible to understand anything. I fought thru the preliminaries of my phone number etc. I kept say I can't understand you. This degredated into him shouting at me and hanging up on me. I thought I was suppose to hang up on the cable company - at least I could picture that happening in the USA, but here they hung up on ME in frustration.
My Spanish speaking colleague said I should call and renounce the guy which is the word they use here for filing a complaint. It's a very expressive word that I like a lot and would like to try sometime, but I'd been passed around so much I had no idea who or what department I was talking to.
So I called back and then the automated system hung up on me. Then I called back and they tried to sell me something before they asked me my problem. Then I finally talked to someone in Spanish. I discovered embarrassingly that the payment didn't go thru as my account got too low. Okay, I can fix that. I only needed you to tell me.
I inquired two or three times in case my Spanish isn't working well on how to go about solving this. Do I need a number when I got to the bank and pay it? No. So then I repeat their expectations and what I should do a couple times.
My man goes to the bank and there proceeds to get yelled at for not having the right information to pay this bill despite my close questioning of the phone company/cable company person.
Something that is simple or perhaps frustrating in the USA, turns into epic proportions in another culture. In the end, we figured out how to pay in another way online and service was restored but not before we'd had a war with our own emotions and the system. Often we just don't fight things because we just don't have the energy for it, but sometimes even in the same day, we have magical moments and love where we're living!
Having lived quite a number of years outside the USA, I would say culture shock can sneak up on you from very unexpected directions and maybe doesn't look like you'd think, even after years. After seven years in Spain, I define my culture shock moments by an unexpected and disproportional rage or reaction of some kind. It's not that the provoking event doesn't merit some reaction, it's just that proportionally culture shock jumps you several levels ahead of what it would be in your home culture.
Take Burger King for instance. The new one nearby has -- in English -- on the seats "Have it your way" and yet a friend of mine who is particular about how she likes her food was told "no se puede." It cannot be. Yes, it's annoying and yes it's absurd but sometimes something simple can blow you out of the water. This same Burger King which has a permanent sign on it's pillar proclaiming "24 horas" told me two weeks ago at 11 am -- 24 hours yes, but not today, only on weekends.
The last two weeks I have been at conferences. The first week was here in Spain and people came from all over Europe. Now, I made the mistake of thinking these people are Europeans so they will not have a strong reaction to Spain.
What I discovered is that I am accustomed to the eccentricities of Spain and I have accepted many of them. I don't always like it but I'm used to it. Now my northern European colleagues were suddenly asking why things were and I had no answer. I realized eventually that they were uncomfortable with the hotel changing the hours or the exact order of things or the details we had all agreed upon.
Now perhaps I have given up fighting these things since it takes so much energy or perhaps I have just accepted them as inevitable. I realized my colleagues were having a mild discomfort and confusion which is culture shock.
I know my significant other and I have each separately or occasionally together had moments of raging against something simple or terribly complicated, but invariably something we could not control.
Last Monday in fact after conference no. 1 we arrived home to discover our internet and cable tv service had quit. We reset the system a couple times. Nothing.
In the USA the next step is make a phone call. We put that off until morning because we didn't have the energy. The next morning the automated system couldn't understand my man's Spanish. So I asked the admin assistant at work to call. She perhaps didn't realize I expected her to find the entire answer for me. She got me into a queue for English support and handed the phone back to me.
After being on hold for more than 30 minutes and passed between offices because they had me on hold for the wrong office, I found myself talking to someone in heavily accented English on perhaps the worst speaker phone I have ever heard. It was near impossible to understand anything. I fought thru the preliminaries of my phone number etc. I kept say I can't understand you. This degredated into him shouting at me and hanging up on me. I thought I was suppose to hang up on the cable company - at least I could picture that happening in the USA, but here they hung up on ME in frustration.
My Spanish speaking colleague said I should call and renounce the guy which is the word they use here for filing a complaint. It's a very expressive word that I like a lot and would like to try sometime, but I'd been passed around so much I had no idea who or what department I was talking to.
So I called back and then the automated system hung up on me. Then I called back and they tried to sell me something before they asked me my problem. Then I finally talked to someone in Spanish. I discovered embarrassingly that the payment didn't go thru as my account got too low. Okay, I can fix that. I only needed you to tell me.
I inquired two or three times in case my Spanish isn't working well on how to go about solving this. Do I need a number when I got to the bank and pay it? No. So then I repeat their expectations and what I should do a couple times.
My man goes to the bank and there proceeds to get yelled at for not having the right information to pay this bill despite my close questioning of the phone company/cable company person.
Something that is simple or perhaps frustrating in the USA, turns into epic proportions in another culture. In the end, we figured out how to pay in another way online and service was restored but not before we'd had a war with our own emotions and the system. Often we just don't fight things because we just don't have the energy for it, but sometimes even in the same day, we have magical moments and love where we're living!
27 July 2013
Sprint across St. Petersburg tourism day 2
First the subway ride in the brand new Admiralty stop. The first escalator is about 10 stories continual escalator. Crazy. The trains are old and beat up looking but the stations are new. I think the Kiev, Ukraine station I was in last year was more impressive and older but they really work to make the stations impressive and regal. No graffiti like I'm used to in Spain.
Quickly back to the tour bus and the early entry of the Hermitage. Biggest museum in Europe (quantity - wise) only 7% is on display. It is housed in three palaces at least the display part. The palaces themselves are worth a visit even without the art. The impressionist exhibit was very nice. Some Van Gogh I wasn't familiar with and Cezanne as well as a lot of names I recognized. Some early pieces of Monet that were darker palettes before he moved on to lighter colors and light play were an interesting contrast to other paintings I'd seen in other countries. Rembrandt section is the largest in the world and super crowded. Ridiculous. We saw the prodigal son which had been used for a sermon in Spanish church and I really liked seeing it live. It was quite large.
It was really worth it to have a guide for the Hermitage both for the early entry they get and for guiding you to see specific things. The place was enormous and you could spend and entire day wandering and not see what you were looking for.
One thing that made me pay attention was that Oksana our guide would describe the people who had collected say the impressionist paintings and then at the end say: and it was confiscated by the Communist government where normally you hear it was donated to the museum. Then in the tour they would have the biggest of say the Rembrandts in the world, the european silver collection biggest in the world. If the government simply confiscated everyone's everything from all the rich people in such a huge country and put it in the museum seems it would be an easy way to get the biggst collections of a lot of things.
We walked thru the grand and large Revolutionary square. You could see St Isaac's golden basilica in the distance. 4th largest in the world or Europe or something (or maybe a lot of place I've been claim to be in the top five??) She mentioned four including this one and Brussels, Milan and Rome.
We visited the church of the spilled blood. Most mosaics in the world. 7000 inside one church if I'm remembering right. I thought it would be the spilled blood of Christ, but it was where Emperor Alexander II was killed. There was a second (at least) attempt on his life with a bomb. It harmed some people and not him and he felt it was his duty to get out and attend to the people. So the conspirators threw another bomb and got him and so they built a church literally on the spot - they moved the bank of the river and kept the pavement and the railing wheere he was killed inside the church they built. He had freed all the serfs from the feudal system/slave system still going on but did not give them the land they lived on. The church was colorful inside and out. Russiana Orthodox so no pews.
 |
| All mosaics! The whole place was covered. |
 |
| That little low railing in the back is the sidewalk railing and inside the marble fence is the original pavement where the royal blood flowed. Never seen anything quite so specific. |
 |
| Church of the Spilled Blood from outside. Picture doesn't do it justice very colorful. |
A quick walk down a shopping district (not to shop to show us -- a blog on tours later) We got out no money the whole time. They just marched us around very quickly and stopped us at particular shops.
Then a dramatically quick stop at the Peter Paul Fortress to the St.Peter St. Paul church, orthodox russian where all the Csars are buried including the last one and his assascinated 5 children -- they did NOT receive the royal crest on their tombs. They were found in a mine shaft where their bodies had been thrown 80 years later or something like that and dna tests verified them. Oksana was adamant that none survived that it was legend from books.
Nothing was leisurely but we did see a lot in a very short time.
14 July 2013
The harsh welcome in Russia
Russia requires a visa for American tourists. In order to get
off of the ship in Russia, we had to be associated with a tour company
or else apply for our own visa. We did look into the process of getting a
visa, but visiting the Russian embassy in Madrid didn't work into our
schedule at the time, so we had to find a tour to take.
We
were too late to get in the ship tours, so we found another company
that had decent reviews and signed up for the two day St. Petersburg
comfort tour. Comfort meaning you walked less or something.
After
waiting in line for a while to get off the boat thru security, we
joined another line. The passport control in Russia was ungainly and
stressful and is often the case we seemed to have chosen a line that it
was the person's first day on the job. Each person had to show a visa
or a tour company invitation/guarantee. It became more and more tension
filled for us as we realized the meeting time for our tour had come and
gone. The information they sent us said that someone would be waiting
for us no matter what, but we felt bad.
We
finally got thru about a half hour late. We are not habitually late
people so we were stressed by this. We came out and similar to an
airport lounge there were many people with signs but with the names of
tour companies. We scoured the signs. None with our company. Uh. Oh. We
asked one of the other guides, "Do you know if anyone from Alla is
here?" She looked around and said no she didn't see anyone. We saw buses
outside so we went to investigate. No signs so we asked a couple bus
drivers if they knew of our company or if it was there. No dice.
We
tried to go back inside and check the signs again, but a police officer
guarding the door forbade it. He said we needed to wait outside and our
tour company would find us. After 10 minutes or so, it was evident that
this was futile.
We saw the hop
on and hop off buses waiting in the parking lot and we were considering
if we should do that. We knew we were supposed to be with the company
that showed on the visa, but what do you do when you are abandoned?
Stuck in St. Petersburg.
We went
around to another entrance back into the port terminal. The policeman at
this entrance was distracted by people talking to him so I slipped in. I
looked at the area where people were holding signs. Still no one for
our company. I gave up and turned toward the shops at the other end
hoping I would find an ATM so we could get some money.
As
I'm walking, someone on a bench starts yelling at me, "No, no, no." I
was startled and I stared. It was a woman sitting on a bench not holding
up the sign lying in the seat next to her. She picks it up and it says
"Alla Tours." Before words come out of my mouth she starts angrily
saying this is unacceptable over and over again, so I cannot speak.
"There is no excuse. No excuse." Being in line for an hour and a half
was not good enough for her. Actually she wouldn't listen to me and just
kept yelling about unacceptable and no excuse. I was stunned because
she wasn't even trying to hear me or be polite or anything. We have
contracted for a very expensive service and this is our greeting. Yes we
are late but we are customers. I know customer service is weak to
non-existent in Europe, apparently the same in Russia. Then she said she
had to call and stop
them from reporting us to the police because they'd sent someone to
report us! Yikes. We've been in Russia 30 minutes and already we are
getting reported to the police. I'm guessing all the old Soviet ways
haven't worn off completely. She got on the phone and stopped someone
from reporting us and rudely handed us off to an underling to drive us
across town to meet up with the tour.
It got better from there! (more next time on St. Petersburg)
30 June 2013
Pros and Cons of Cruising from an indie traveler perspective
I just got back from a Baltic cruise. I don't have much experience with cruising. We are not the people that go a couple times a year. In fact, it's been twice in 25 years. The first time was a family outing and I did not make any decisions about it. I showed up when I was told to and it was Caribbean so quite different than this Baltic one. My impressions from that long ago cruise were few: everyone was seasick as we had bad seas, lots of different food I hadn't had before, brief visits that were far too short to see an actual location, and expensive.
Normally we do independent travel. Plan our own tickets and hotels and go on our own, sometimes in the car and other times flying and pubic transport. Five years ago for example we the Amalfi coast of Italy. We stayed in four cities and used public transport to change cities every couple days.
This year was a special anniversary, so we wanted to do something out of the norm. We also had an exceedingly hectic six months prior to this opportunity to vacation, and really no time or maybe no energy to plan something. We found a last minute deal on the cruise, had a good tax return this year, and decided to go for it. We needed to relax.
Pros:
We had free room service available and took advantage of it by having breakfast in our room nearly every morning. It was relaxing and easy. Two mornings we had to be up and moving early we didn't do it and I found the group dining room to be crowded, hard to find a table, and hassle ridden. God bless the wait staff hustling but it was crazy. A much greater selection of food was available in the dining room however, than what was on the menu for room service though.
I also took advantage of room service when we were deciding to eat later by ordering cheese and crackers, or cookies. It was wonderful to eat a light snack and watch the sea go by while sipping a hot tea. It was chilly up there so I enjoyed the tea service a lot. This was one of the more relaxing aspects.
No thinking needed. The agenda is laid out for you on the cruise. What things there are to do at what times and what time you can get off the boat to see the city. This is a season of my life I needed to not have to figure out what was next and this made it more relaxing. Granted I didn't take very much advantage of their offerings and mostly relaxed with my book.
Unpacking once and sleeping the same place. I think that made the trip much more relaxing. I think if you are trying to see a wide scope of places in a short trip cruising is probably much less harried than say a bus trip where you change hotels each night.
We were advised by several experienced cruisers to get a balcony and this turned out to be very good advice. It was really nice to watch the ports come and go or to step out and watch the sun or check the weather. It made our room much more appealing, a good refuge.
If you are a nervous traveler, cruising is a good option. The food is there and you don't have to second guess much of anything. You can even sign up for shore excursions and be hand carried to see the important sites. It can be a no brainer.
Variety and Service. Our boat seemed full of people from all over the world and in the evenings we chose to randomly eat with different people which was very interesting. We ate with people from Denmark, South Africa, Ireland, England, and even a couple from the USA. A lot of the boat was people from the U.S. actually and because of that or the cruise company policy customer service was more like I am accustomed to in the U.S. and that was pleasant.
Cons:
Feeling herded like cattle. At the first embarkation I noticed it, we were in rows and rows of wrap around lines and lots of people were complaining. I mean we're essentially going to grown up Disneyland, so we should expect lines, right? Getting off the boat for the ports of call was definitely a herd feeling too. If you had an organized tour, you generally had a tight schedule to keep and for some that means fighting the other cattle to get ahead. The cruise people did a good job of efficiently unloading the boat but it was still 2,000 people to move.
We chose open seating for dinner and generally eat later so we never had to wait, but I noticed others waiting on occasion and wondered if you could run into the same crowded sensation with the food too if you weren't careful.
Expensive. All this hand carrying is not cheap. You get good value for your Euro or your Dollar but this was not our best value trip. Other than the buffet style restaurant and one other restaurant on board, the other eating places required a supplement between $10 per person all the way up to $89. We did not eat at the supplement locations and had good food throughout minus some soggy shrimp, but not as exotic as the first cruise I took. Perhaps though I am just a more seasoned traveler now. The food seemed heavy toward the American side but was generally good quality. The only beverages included were coffee, tea, and water. Soda, gourmet coffee, and cocktail drinkers beware. They would offer drinks at times that were like part of the show and after people took them the servers would come around and ask for your room card to charge you.
The excursions were, for me, shockingly expensive. I saw after the fact that you are paying quite a few people to help you handlers and tour guides, not to mention pre-planned private transport to very specific sites and entry tickets. So it has all been done for you - and that doesn't come cheap. We did two excursions and I will blog about those later.
Still under expensive: tips are not included and there are a ton of people waiting on you. They are doing a very good job and deserve to get paid properly and that involves tipping. The cruise company we went with charges you $130 per person for all the tips for everyone. This is after you get on and in addition to your cruise price. So it's all taken care of, but if you've never been before it might hit your budget if you didn't know.
Sales gimmicks. Everywhere you turned on the boat something was being sold or pushed. Paintings. Jewelery, Faberge Eggs, Russian nesting dolls, t-shirts from past and present cruises, photographs, photograph sittings, spa visits, drinks etc. I guess they must make some good money on all the extras or they wouldn't do it, but it felt a little shopping channel to me. Of course, you don't have to participate but it's always there.
We had a good time and for certain kinds of trips I would do a cruise again. The Norwegian fjords for example I think would be good to see from the water or anytime you are trying to get a lot of countries or a big country like China into a 10 day trip, a cruise would be an easier way to do that. You only dip your toe into the culture with say an 8 hour day trip to one city, but it's a nice taste and let's face it not all travelers are cut out for the deep immersion travel so this is a good way to visit on the lighter side with some hand carrying.
Viva la difference!
Normally we do independent travel. Plan our own tickets and hotels and go on our own, sometimes in the car and other times flying and pubic transport. Five years ago for example we the Amalfi coast of Italy. We stayed in four cities and used public transport to change cities every couple days.
This year was a special anniversary, so we wanted to do something out of the norm. We also had an exceedingly hectic six months prior to this opportunity to vacation, and really no time or maybe no energy to plan something. We found a last minute deal on the cruise, had a good tax return this year, and decided to go for it. We needed to relax.
Pros:
We had free room service available and took advantage of it by having breakfast in our room nearly every morning. It was relaxing and easy. Two mornings we had to be up and moving early we didn't do it and I found the group dining room to be crowded, hard to find a table, and hassle ridden. God bless the wait staff hustling but it was crazy. A much greater selection of food was available in the dining room however, than what was on the menu for room service though.
I also took advantage of room service when we were deciding to eat later by ordering cheese and crackers, or cookies. It was wonderful to eat a light snack and watch the sea go by while sipping a hot tea. It was chilly up there so I enjoyed the tea service a lot. This was one of the more relaxing aspects.
No thinking needed. The agenda is laid out for you on the cruise. What things there are to do at what times and what time you can get off the boat to see the city. This is a season of my life I needed to not have to figure out what was next and this made it more relaxing. Granted I didn't take very much advantage of their offerings and mostly relaxed with my book.
Unpacking once and sleeping the same place. I think that made the trip much more relaxing. I think if you are trying to see a wide scope of places in a short trip cruising is probably much less harried than say a bus trip where you change hotels each night.
We were advised by several experienced cruisers to get a balcony and this turned out to be very good advice. It was really nice to watch the ports come and go or to step out and watch the sun or check the weather. It made our room much more appealing, a good refuge.
If you are a nervous traveler, cruising is a good option. The food is there and you don't have to second guess much of anything. You can even sign up for shore excursions and be hand carried to see the important sites. It can be a no brainer.
Variety and Service. Our boat seemed full of people from all over the world and in the evenings we chose to randomly eat with different people which was very interesting. We ate with people from Denmark, South Africa, Ireland, England, and even a couple from the USA. A lot of the boat was people from the U.S. actually and because of that or the cruise company policy customer service was more like I am accustomed to in the U.S. and that was pleasant.
Cons:
Feeling herded like cattle. At the first embarkation I noticed it, we were in rows and rows of wrap around lines and lots of people were complaining. I mean we're essentially going to grown up Disneyland, so we should expect lines, right? Getting off the boat for the ports of call was definitely a herd feeling too. If you had an organized tour, you generally had a tight schedule to keep and for some that means fighting the other cattle to get ahead. The cruise people did a good job of efficiently unloading the boat but it was still 2,000 people to move.
We chose open seating for dinner and generally eat later so we never had to wait, but I noticed others waiting on occasion and wondered if you could run into the same crowded sensation with the food too if you weren't careful.
Expensive. All this hand carrying is not cheap. You get good value for your Euro or your Dollar but this was not our best value trip. Other than the buffet style restaurant and one other restaurant on board, the other eating places required a supplement between $10 per person all the way up to $89. We did not eat at the supplement locations and had good food throughout minus some soggy shrimp, but not as exotic as the first cruise I took. Perhaps though I am just a more seasoned traveler now. The food seemed heavy toward the American side but was generally good quality. The only beverages included were coffee, tea, and water. Soda, gourmet coffee, and cocktail drinkers beware. They would offer drinks at times that were like part of the show and after people took them the servers would come around and ask for your room card to charge you.
The excursions were, for me, shockingly expensive. I saw after the fact that you are paying quite a few people to help you handlers and tour guides, not to mention pre-planned private transport to very specific sites and entry tickets. So it has all been done for you - and that doesn't come cheap. We did two excursions and I will blog about those later.
Still under expensive: tips are not included and there are a ton of people waiting on you. They are doing a very good job and deserve to get paid properly and that involves tipping. The cruise company we went with charges you $130 per person for all the tips for everyone. This is after you get on and in addition to your cruise price. So it's all taken care of, but if you've never been before it might hit your budget if you didn't know.
Sales gimmicks. Everywhere you turned on the boat something was being sold or pushed. Paintings. Jewelery, Faberge Eggs, Russian nesting dolls, t-shirts from past and present cruises, photographs, photograph sittings, spa visits, drinks etc. I guess they must make some good money on all the extras or they wouldn't do it, but it felt a little shopping channel to me. Of course, you don't have to participate but it's always there.
We had a good time and for certain kinds of trips I would do a cruise again. The Norwegian fjords for example I think would be good to see from the water or anytime you are trying to get a lot of countries or a big country like China into a 10 day trip, a cruise would be an easier way to do that. You only dip your toe into the culture with say an 8 hour day trip to one city, but it's a nice taste and let's face it not all travelers are cut out for the deep immersion travel so this is a good way to visit on the lighter side with some hand carrying.
Viva la difference!
13 May 2013
Do you hear what I hear?
Have you ever noticed the explosion of sound when you close your eyes? I went to have my hair done at a nearly empty shopping center. Normally I practice my Spanish and try to chat with the beauty technician, but I decided to close my eyes and listen.
I'm working on a senses edit of my next novel trying to add another layer to the story of the five senses. I must be a majorly visual person. I never thought of myself that way, but I find it takes a big effort to focus on elements of a scene besides what I see in my mind's eye.
When the lady started putting the color on my hair, I decided to close my eyes and listen. I enjoy getting my hair done though I am a lot lax about doing it regularly. I find someone else combing my hair to be very relaxing so I slipped into a semi-somnambulant state.
The easiest thing to hear was a baby screaming somewhere in the mall. They always scream in confined places, don't they? Airplanes, weddings, shopping centers, church. When the baby took time out, I heard a soft buzz of adult conversations, probably upstairs on the restaurant level. The foil on my head made lot of rattling sounds and the brush applying the color made a pounding sound inside my head that accompanied the rattle of the foil.
In lulls between the plastic comb and paint brush applicator clacking together ad the foil rattles, I sometimes heard music from a nearby shop. Not enough to identify a song, but the beat or a crash of symbols, a high note. In the quiet there is also a big echoing sound of air in the mall. I suppose it's just the big enclosed space sound a whoosh of air and motion.
When I slipped deeper and concentrated harder, I could hear the purr of a motor. It reminded me of a quiet house when the refridgerator kicks on, but it's a beauty salon and there are no refridgerators. I can't really identify that sound and if I don't concentrate on it, it disappears again from my consciousness. I smell the strong smell of the ammonia in the hair color and maybe a hint of food from upstairs. Even the scents are more notable with my eyes closed.
The other girl in the shop moves some chairs and they make scootching sounds against the tile floor. Like they think I'm really asleep, she and the lady working on my hair exchange a quiet mumble that I don't catch all of. Something about sharing something, food maybe?
I hear voices nearer probably of people walking nearby on this level and the occasional race car sound and motor from a child's ride in motion.
So a quiet shopping center with few people in it actually turns into a cacophony of sounds when you unplug your brain and your eyes and listen and smell. So what can you hear?
I'm working on a senses edit of my next novel trying to add another layer to the story of the five senses. I must be a majorly visual person. I never thought of myself that way, but I find it takes a big effort to focus on elements of a scene besides what I see in my mind's eye.
When the lady started putting the color on my hair, I decided to close my eyes and listen. I enjoy getting my hair done though I am a lot lax about doing it regularly. I find someone else combing my hair to be very relaxing so I slipped into a semi-somnambulant state.
The easiest thing to hear was a baby screaming somewhere in the mall. They always scream in confined places, don't they? Airplanes, weddings, shopping centers, church. When the baby took time out, I heard a soft buzz of adult conversations, probably upstairs on the restaurant level. The foil on my head made lot of rattling sounds and the brush applying the color made a pounding sound inside my head that accompanied the rattle of the foil.
In lulls between the plastic comb and paint brush applicator clacking together ad the foil rattles, I sometimes heard music from a nearby shop. Not enough to identify a song, but the beat or a crash of symbols, a high note. In the quiet there is also a big echoing sound of air in the mall. I suppose it's just the big enclosed space sound a whoosh of air and motion.
When I slipped deeper and concentrated harder, I could hear the purr of a motor. It reminded me of a quiet house when the refridgerator kicks on, but it's a beauty salon and there are no refridgerators. I can't really identify that sound and if I don't concentrate on it, it disappears again from my consciousness. I smell the strong smell of the ammonia in the hair color and maybe a hint of food from upstairs. Even the scents are more notable with my eyes closed.
The other girl in the shop moves some chairs and they make scootching sounds against the tile floor. Like they think I'm really asleep, she and the lady working on my hair exchange a quiet mumble that I don't catch all of. Something about sharing something, food maybe?
I hear voices nearer probably of people walking nearby on this level and the occasional race car sound and motor from a child's ride in motion.
So a quiet shopping center with few people in it actually turns into a cacophony of sounds when you unplug your brain and your eyes and listen and smell. So what can you hear?
30 December 2011
My Books of 2011
Here's my reading list for 2011. Not including whatever book I start tomorrow, but I likely won't finish one tomorrow so I think it's not too premature to post my list. I read 8 more books than the previous year which surprised me. I've only been keeping track the past couple years. I know I had a phase of one week when I was younger, but now we have the internet and other distractions.
I know that non-fiction slows me down because it just doesn't keep me coming back for more and often I am reading it at the behest of someone or some project and it feel obligatory not relaxing. I do force myself to read it because I know I should at times as well. I prefer to use reading as a relaxation though and not to "better myself."
I read a couple travelogues which I know technically are nonfiction but they flow for me like fiction. A good one is one of my favorite things to read. I tend to enjoy them more and read them faster if they are humorous. So in this category for 2011: The Narrow Dog to Carcassonne wins. Delightful.
It's hard to pick a favorite in the fiction category because when I look at the titles they each say something different to me about the stories and then where I was myself at that time last year. I slept in more beds than I can count (with only one person I might add) so life was a bit topsy turvey last year. Historic favorite: A monstrous Regiment of Women. Really liked Down River and The Case of the Missing Servant opened up a new world of Indian humor and mystery. Take the Monkeys and Run was the best humorous mystery I read this year. Death of a Cozy Writer feels like the beginning of a new favorite author find.
1 A monstrous Regiment of Women, Laurie B King
2 The art of deception, Ridley Pearson
3 Telling Yourself the Truth by Backus and Champion, finished in 2011
4 Expectations and Burnout, Women Surviving the Great Commission, by Eenigenburg & Bliss, finished in 2011
5 Thrilled to Death, How the Endless Pursuit of Pleasure is Leaving us Numb, by Archibald Hart
6 - 12 'Christian' Beliefs That Can Drive You Crazy: Relief from False Assumptions, by Cloud and Townsend
7 Desert Lost, Betty Webb
8 Whose Body? Dorothy L. Sayers
9 The Rosewood Casket, Sharon McCrumb
10 A Million Miles in a Thousand Years, Donald Miller
11 Freedom from Tyranny of the Urgent, Charles Hummel
12 Grace Under Pressure by Julie Hyzy
13 Brush with Death, an art lovers mystery, by Hailey Lind
14 Death on Demand, Carolyn Hart
15 Driving over Lemons, an optimist in Spain, by Chris Stewart
16 Cleopatra, Stacy Schiff
17 Chamomile Mourning, Laura Childs
18 Fire and Ice, Dana Stabenow
19 Rikki Tikki Tavi, Kipling
20 Digital Disciple, Adam Thomas
21 The Mysterious Affair at Styles, Agatha Christie
22 The Meeting of the Waters: 7 Global Currents that Will propel the Future Church. Fritz Kling
23 Traveling Mercies, Anne Lamott
24 Think Twice, Lisa Scottaline
25 Down River, John Hart
26 Narrow Dog to Carcassonne, Terry Derrington
27 Hemingway Cutthroat, MIchael Atkinson
28 How to Write Killer Fiction, Carolyn Wheat
29 Say it With Poison, Ann Granger
30 The Practice of the Presence of God, Brother Lawrence.
31 Straight, Dick Francis
32 The Case of the Missing Servant, Tarquin Hall, Vishi Puri mystery set in India.
33 Murphy's Law, Rhys Bowen
34 Take the Monkeys and Run, Karen Cantwell
35 Brett Battles, The Cleaner
36 The Killing Hour, Lisa Gardner, kidnapper-killer using odd environments
37 The Summer Snow, Rebecca Pawel, post Spanish Civil War
38 Stalker, Faye Kellerman, police procedural. Peter Decker lieutenant
39 Woman to Woman, Sharing Jesus with a Muslim Friend by Joy Loewen (Jan 1, 2010)
40 Shutter Island, Dennis Lehane
41 Missing Persons, Clare O'Donohue
42 Still Life: An inspector Gamache Novel, Louise Penny
43 Last Breath, Michael Prescott
44 Shameless Promotion for Brazen Huzzies, by Roberta Isleib, ed.
45. Death of a Cozy Writer, G.M. Malliet
46. Retirement can be Murder, Phil Edwards
I know that non-fiction slows me down because it just doesn't keep me coming back for more and often I am reading it at the behest of someone or some project and it feel obligatory not relaxing. I do force myself to read it because I know I should at times as well. I prefer to use reading as a relaxation though and not to "better myself."
I read a couple travelogues which I know technically are nonfiction but they flow for me like fiction. A good one is one of my favorite things to read. I tend to enjoy them more and read them faster if they are humorous. So in this category for 2011: The Narrow Dog to Carcassonne wins. Delightful.
It's hard to pick a favorite in the fiction category because when I look at the titles they each say something different to me about the stories and then where I was myself at that time last year. I slept in more beds than I can count (with only one person I might add) so life was a bit topsy turvey last year. Historic favorite: A monstrous Regiment of Women. Really liked Down River and The Case of the Missing Servant opened up a new world of Indian humor and mystery. Take the Monkeys and Run was the best humorous mystery I read this year. Death of a Cozy Writer feels like the beginning of a new favorite author find.
1 A monstrous Regiment of Women, Laurie B King
2 The art of deception, Ridley Pearson
3 Telling Yourself the Truth by Backus and Champion, finished in 2011
4 Expectations and Burnout, Women Surviving the Great Commission, by Eenigenburg & Bliss, finished in 2011
5 Thrilled to Death, How the Endless Pursuit of Pleasure is Leaving us Numb, by Archibald Hart
6 - 12 'Christian' Beliefs That Can Drive You Crazy: Relief from False Assumptions, by Cloud and Townsend
7 Desert Lost, Betty Webb
8 Whose Body? Dorothy L. Sayers
9 The Rosewood Casket, Sharon McCrumb
10 A Million Miles in a Thousand Years, Donald Miller
11 Freedom from Tyranny of the Urgent, Charles Hummel
12 Grace Under Pressure by Julie Hyzy
13 Brush with Death, an art lovers mystery, by Hailey Lind
14 Death on Demand, Carolyn Hart
15 Driving over Lemons, an optimist in Spain, by Chris Stewart
16 Cleopatra, Stacy Schiff
17 Chamomile Mourning, Laura Childs
18 Fire and Ice, Dana Stabenow
19 Rikki Tikki Tavi, Kipling
20 Digital Disciple, Adam Thomas
21 The Mysterious Affair at Styles, Agatha Christie
22 The Meeting of the Waters: 7 Global Currents that Will propel the Future Church. Fritz Kling
23 Traveling Mercies, Anne Lamott
24 Think Twice, Lisa Scottaline
25 Down River, John Hart
26 Narrow Dog to Carcassonne, Terry Derrington
27 Hemingway Cutthroat, MIchael Atkinson
28 How to Write Killer Fiction, Carolyn Wheat
29 Say it With Poison, Ann Granger
30 The Practice of the Presence of God, Brother Lawrence.
31 Straight, Dick Francis
32 The Case of the Missing Servant, Tarquin Hall, Vishi Puri mystery set in India.
33 Murphy's Law, Rhys Bowen
34 Take the Monkeys and Run, Karen Cantwell
35 Brett Battles, The Cleaner
36 The Killing Hour, Lisa Gardner, kidnapper-killer using odd environments
37 The Summer Snow, Rebecca Pawel, post Spanish Civil War
38 Stalker, Faye Kellerman, police procedural. Peter Decker lieutenant
39 Woman to Woman, Sharing Jesus with a Muslim Friend by Joy Loewen (Jan 1, 2010)
40 Shutter Island, Dennis Lehane
41 Missing Persons, Clare O'Donohue
42 Still Life: An inspector Gamache Novel, Louise Penny
43 Last Breath, Michael Prescott
44 Shameless Promotion for Brazen Huzzies, by Roberta Isleib, ed.
45. Death of a Cozy Writer, G.M. Malliet
46. Retirement can be Murder, Phil Edwards
27 December 2010
An attempt at Satire
In Klingistan, the people are small and green. A new leader decided all the people of the kingdom would wear yellow shirts. He had found a law in the history books that said he could tell the people what to wear. So, "Only yellow shirts," he declared. "Starting on Tuesday at 9am, everyone will wear yellow shirts. Always."
One fellow, we'll call him, Adam didn't want to wear a yellow shirt.
Another person, Anna, had to make her own and she asked for a two hour deviation. By 11am she could have her shirt done, but 9 wasn't quite going to work.
Tuesday came and the leader sent the police out to enforce his new law. Many people didn't take it seriously, so he created a special police force just for the yellow shirt policy. Anna was arrested first for not being on time.
Adam started speaking out in the streets wearing a, gulp, blue shirt. He called for the yellow shirt law to be abolished and Anna to be released from prison.
Well, in the tradition of the green people the leader had to be followed. It just had to be done. The ancient writings said so. The leader sent the yellow shirt police to disband the crowd, even though they all wore their yellow shirts. It wasn't seemly for them to gather together and listen to that Adam fellow talk ill of the leader. You see speaking ill of the leader was also forbidden in the land. The original leader of the green people, many hundreds of years ago, had said so.
The shirt police fired shots into the crowd, live ammunition, killing several people. The red blood soaked their yellow shirts. No one would be allowed to congregate in the public squares, yellow shirts or no. Poor Adam, who felt he had something to say, was arrested.
It was a big event in Klingistan and well, a man who worked for the newspaper had happened by during the gathering. He was intrigued and took notes from a distance. So he wrote a little observation piece for the local paper. He tried very hard to only tell what had happened because he knew it would be sensitive. The next day the newspapers flew off the stands. All the green people who weren't at the gathering were fascinated and wanted to know what had occurred exactly.
You can imagine it wasn't long before whispering was going on among the green people. Even though the leader said so, well some weren't sure if the arrest of Anna or Adam was the for the best, but then tradition said they must obey the leader. It was perplexing, but no one was sure what could be done.
The shirt police went to the newspaper and talked to the poor observant fellow. His choice was to, well, clarify the story, perhaps recant some things or face losing his job, maybe going to prison. He got going on a new version of the event. The printer sent couriers out on the streets to gather in the unsold papers.
When Adam's family saw the newspaper the next day with the new version, they were disturbed. They knew they couldn't say anything against the leader. But poor Adam sitting in prison. He had a different opinion yes, but, well it was disturbing. They went to the religious house in their neighborhood. It seemed they ought to appeal to a higher power on Adam's behalf.
While his mother knelt at the front, the state police entered the back of the building. A large green officer, cleared his throat loudly. "Excuse me, you will all have to leave this place. It is not a sanctioned place of worship. It deviates from the tradition. The ban is effective now."
Everyone sat or knelt frozen in place contemplating this announcement. Stunned.
"You need to leave, NOW!"
The startled group shuffled out. The general police nailed the door shut and posted a notice of where a legal place of worship existed. Adam's mother grasped the officer's arm, "Is this because of Adam?"
He shook her off. "No," he straightened the yellow uniform blazer. "I don't know what you are talking about. This worship place doesn't abide with the tradition. The new leader wants to enforce the old traditions. We must enforce it."
The poor woman sobbed as she walked home. Something didn't feel right, even though the traditions were being followed. Somehow she felt dirty or wrong. She also had a conviction she would never see Adam again. And she didn't.
the end
Similar Stories
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One fellow, we'll call him, Adam didn't want to wear a yellow shirt.
Another person, Anna, had to make her own and she asked for a two hour deviation. By 11am she could have her shirt done, but 9 wasn't quite going to work.
Tuesday came and the leader sent the police out to enforce his new law. Many people didn't take it seriously, so he created a special police force just for the yellow shirt policy. Anna was arrested first for not being on time.
Adam started speaking out in the streets wearing a, gulp, blue shirt. He called for the yellow shirt law to be abolished and Anna to be released from prison.
Well, in the tradition of the green people the leader had to be followed. It just had to be done. The ancient writings said so. The leader sent the yellow shirt police to disband the crowd, even though they all wore their yellow shirts. It wasn't seemly for them to gather together and listen to that Adam fellow talk ill of the leader. You see speaking ill of the leader was also forbidden in the land. The original leader of the green people, many hundreds of years ago, had said so.
The shirt police fired shots into the crowd, live ammunition, killing several people. The red blood soaked their yellow shirts. No one would be allowed to congregate in the public squares, yellow shirts or no. Poor Adam, who felt he had something to say, was arrested.
It was a big event in Klingistan and well, a man who worked for the newspaper had happened by during the gathering. He was intrigued and took notes from a distance. So he wrote a little observation piece for the local paper. He tried very hard to only tell what had happened because he knew it would be sensitive. The next day the newspapers flew off the stands. All the green people who weren't at the gathering were fascinated and wanted to know what had occurred exactly.
You can imagine it wasn't long before whispering was going on among the green people. Even though the leader said so, well some weren't sure if the arrest of Anna or Adam was the for the best, but then tradition said they must obey the leader. It was perplexing, but no one was sure what could be done.
The shirt police went to the newspaper and talked to the poor observant fellow. His choice was to, well, clarify the story, perhaps recant some things or face losing his job, maybe going to prison. He got going on a new version of the event. The printer sent couriers out on the streets to gather in the unsold papers.
When Adam's family saw the newspaper the next day with the new version, they were disturbed. They knew they couldn't say anything against the leader. But poor Adam sitting in prison. He had a different opinion yes, but, well it was disturbing. They went to the religious house in their neighborhood. It seemed they ought to appeal to a higher power on Adam's behalf.
While his mother knelt at the front, the state police entered the back of the building. A large green officer, cleared his throat loudly. "Excuse me, you will all have to leave this place. It is not a sanctioned place of worship. It deviates from the tradition. The ban is effective now."
Everyone sat or knelt frozen in place contemplating this announcement. Stunned.
"You need to leave, NOW!"
The startled group shuffled out. The general police nailed the door shut and posted a notice of where a legal place of worship existed. Adam's mother grasped the officer's arm, "Is this because of Adam?"
He shook her off. "No," he straightened the yellow uniform blazer. "I don't know what you are talking about. This worship place doesn't abide with the tradition. The new leader wants to enforce the old traditions. We must enforce it."
The poor woman sobbed as she walked home. Something didn't feel right, even though the traditions were being followed. Somehow she felt dirty or wrong. She also had a conviction she would never see Adam again. And she didn't.
the end
Similar Stories
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06 November 2010
Together or Apart?
So I'm spending some time on my own in New England. Things happen all the time that I think, oh I should tell someone...funny things, odd things, strange events.
I started thinking are things better experienced together or apart? With the risk of sounding a bit like a sesame street episode: together or apart? Together - sometimes you are busy with your own conversation or your own stuff and you don't notice things. But...together sometimes you can see something and just give each other a look and know that weird guy in aisle 5 caught both your eyes. Is it funnier together or apart? Because sometimes things get funnier in the retelling. I don't retell something when I saw it with someone but I might retell it to a third party thus expanding the funny factor. So together or separate?
I've noticed sometimes I get an artistic eye when things quiet down or I look around more in general when I don't have anyone to talk to (guilty of being of talker). I went on a walking tour this week without a companion on the tour with me and I found myself trying to be creative with the camera (didn't turn out but I tried).
I know my significant other has said he saw a lot of sites in Europe by himself in the Army and it was less satisfying because there wasn't anyone to share it with, so I suppose it depends on where and when.
I know I found myself laughing this week a few times even though I was by myself - so things are still funny even though I'm by myself. Maybe that makes them funnier because then I'm the crazy lady by myself laughing out loud. So I can see good on both sides: the together side and the apart one. Maybe the trick for everyone is not too much of either one.
I started thinking are things better experienced together or apart? With the risk of sounding a bit like a sesame street episode: together or apart? Together - sometimes you are busy with your own conversation or your own stuff and you don't notice things. But...together sometimes you can see something and just give each other a look and know that weird guy in aisle 5 caught both your eyes. Is it funnier together or apart? Because sometimes things get funnier in the retelling. I don't retell something when I saw it with someone but I might retell it to a third party thus expanding the funny factor. So together or separate?
I've noticed sometimes I get an artistic eye when things quiet down or I look around more in general when I don't have anyone to talk to (guilty of being of talker). I went on a walking tour this week without a companion on the tour with me and I found myself trying to be creative with the camera (didn't turn out but I tried).
I know my significant other has said he saw a lot of sites in Europe by himself in the Army and it was less satisfying because there wasn't anyone to share it with, so I suppose it depends on where and when.
I know I found myself laughing this week a few times even though I was by myself - so things are still funny even though I'm by myself. Maybe that makes them funnier because then I'm the crazy lady by myself laughing out loud. So I can see good on both sides: the together side and the apart one. Maybe the trick for everyone is not too much of either one.
19 July 2010
Hotels and motels
What adventures the itineration life has to offer. We travel a lot for our fund raising work and usually the churches we visit arrange for us to have somewhere to pay. We are so grateful not to have to pay for accomodations each weekend. This helps our cash build up more quickly for our work.
Most of the time we are at a standard motel. A brand name place along the highway - nearly always these are clean and unremarkable. We did get put up in a higher end chain that had nice sheets and a jaccuzi tub. Memorable.
In small towns there are often not chains just local mom and pop motels. Often they compete for the little churches' patronage and the church will ask if it's okay. This is awkward since you don't really know what the competition is and you don't want to be ungrateful for a free room.
A whole series of towns have motels that cater to hunters to stay in business. So we've stayed in several that had hunting motifs and one mobile home converted to hunters quarters. Some places even have notes about, Please don't use the towels for cleaning off mud, or Don't clean animals in the room.It's a world I would never have known.
Recently we stayed at a hunting lodge/b and b, that had started it's life as a nursing home. This was the best place in town according to our hosts and I believed them. It was still looking like a nursing home in the halls, but the room was clean, comfy and practical. It made for good of joking around between Kerry and I and it was an experience I wouldn't trade. Elk heads, deer antlers, biscuits and gravy, shower and hall railings, and all.
We stayed in a place we referred to as the "Killer" motel. It wasn't that anything was bad necessarily. It was a small town motel and run down a little on the outside, a little dark. Some of the cars lurking in the parking lot seemed somehow sinister. The inside was okay, a little well used, but not gross. Maybe it looked like something we'd seen in a creepy movie. Or maybe it was creepy guy at the check-in.
I chose for myself a Super 8 in Florida near family. The new coat of paint on closer inspection covered very little of the age of the place. They weren't friendly and the long hairs in the sheets might have been from the maid, but I tried the other bed anyway. What do I expect - I chose the cheapest place.
On our own vacation, we stayed at a 100+year old hotel in an former mining town. We were downstairs in a shop/lobby when the local Ghost tour went through and up the stairs to where the rooms were. Some woman 90 years ago threw acid on another woman and thus the ghostly story came to be. The building had settled unevenly and our doors had quite an angle on them as did the floor, but no ghosts showed. The ghost hunters were looking for among other things "cold spots" which they think indicate the presence of ghosts. Our air conditioner wasn't working and I told Kerry, if I found a cold spot I was going to roll around on it so I could cool down. He thought maybe if it was a ghost, the ghost would be grossed out by the sweaty girl rolling around and leave.
Most of the time we are at a standard motel. A brand name place along the highway - nearly always these are clean and unremarkable. We did get put up in a higher end chain that had nice sheets and a jaccuzi tub. Memorable.
In small towns there are often not chains just local mom and pop motels. Often they compete for the little churches' patronage and the church will ask if it's okay. This is awkward since you don't really know what the competition is and you don't want to be ungrateful for a free room.
A whole series of towns have motels that cater to hunters to stay in business. So we've stayed in several that had hunting motifs and one mobile home converted to hunters quarters. Some places even have notes about, Please don't use the towels for cleaning off mud, or Don't clean animals in the room.It's a world I would never have known.
Recently we stayed at a hunting lodge/b and b, that had started it's life as a nursing home. This was the best place in town according to our hosts and I believed them. It was still looking like a nursing home in the halls, but the room was clean, comfy and practical. It made for good of joking around between Kerry and I and it was an experience I wouldn't trade. Elk heads, deer antlers, biscuits and gravy, shower and hall railings, and all.
We stayed in a place we referred to as the "Killer" motel. It wasn't that anything was bad necessarily. It was a small town motel and run down a little on the outside, a little dark. Some of the cars lurking in the parking lot seemed somehow sinister. The inside was okay, a little well used, but not gross. Maybe it looked like something we'd seen in a creepy movie. Or maybe it was creepy guy at the check-in.
I chose for myself a Super 8 in Florida near family. The new coat of paint on closer inspection covered very little of the age of the place. They weren't friendly and the long hairs in the sheets might have been from the maid, but I tried the other bed anyway. What do I expect - I chose the cheapest place.
On our own vacation, we stayed at a 100+year old hotel in an former mining town. We were downstairs in a shop/lobby when the local Ghost tour went through and up the stairs to where the rooms were. Some woman 90 years ago threw acid on another woman and thus the ghostly story came to be. The building had settled unevenly and our doors had quite an angle on them as did the floor, but no ghosts showed. The ghost hunters were looking for among other things "cold spots" which they think indicate the presence of ghosts. Our air conditioner wasn't working and I told Kerry, if I found a cold spot I was going to roll around on it so I could cool down. He thought maybe if it was a ghost, the ghost would be grossed out by the sweaty girl rolling around and leave.
22 February 2007
The long weekend
We went to go skiing about an hour away from home. When we got to the hotel we found out the snow was gone. So we went site seeing instead.
Kerry and our car by a Roman church, waaaaay out in the country.
A medieval town, Sepulveda where we ate lunch at Casa Paulino.
Yes, that's an egg in my soup. Along with chunks of bread and meat somewhere between bacon and ham. Tasty actually, especially on a cold day.
Madriguera, a red village. Nearby are also black villages. The earth was drastically red and so were the buildings. It was a surreal place. It felt like another time and place in the world.
This must the home of the people who like animals in Madriguera. Cats were everywhere around this place.
Ayllon, another medieval town with a Roman church further to the north. Sunday, no one around and only the restaurant/bars were open.
We raced from Ayllon down to an appointment to go through a cave. It was a guided tour, in Spanish, and pretty interesting. Some of the formations were multi colored, red, black and white due to minerals in the ground water. We went from there to a gas station to buy a bottle of water. Then our car wouldn't start. This is when we made friends with the gas station attendent, the tow truck driver, and a taxi driver. Because I left the keys to the hotel in the now towed away car, we had to sit for two hours in a bar and wait for the hotel owner to come back. We were the only guests so he'd locked up and gone to visit his dad in the hospital. We were tired to put it lightly.
Monday we took a taxi back home, yes an hour long taxi ride. That's what the insurance company said to do and they will pay us back. I sure hope so as it was over 100E. The car is at a garage in Madrid now, after a lovely language snafu on my part. A blow to my confidence language-wise. Now we are waiting to hear what's wrong and hoping it is covered by the warrantee.
Not dull, you can say that.
Kerry and our car by a Roman church, waaaaay out in the country.
A medieval town, Sepulveda where we ate lunch at Casa Paulino.
Yes, that's an egg in my soup. Along with chunks of bread and meat somewhere between bacon and ham. Tasty actually, especially on a cold day.
Madriguera, a red village. Nearby are also black villages. The earth was drastically red and so were the buildings. It was a surreal place. It felt like another time and place in the world.
This must the home of the people who like animals in Madriguera. Cats were everywhere around this place.
Ayllon, another medieval town with a Roman church further to the north. Sunday, no one around and only the restaurant/bars were open.
We raced from Ayllon down to an appointment to go through a cave. It was a guided tour, in Spanish, and pretty interesting. Some of the formations were multi colored, red, black and white due to minerals in the ground water. We went from there to a gas station to buy a bottle of water. Then our car wouldn't start. This is when we made friends with the gas station attendent, the tow truck driver, and a taxi driver. Because I left the keys to the hotel in the now towed away car, we had to sit for two hours in a bar and wait for the hotel owner to come back. We were the only guests so he'd locked up and gone to visit his dad in the hospital. We were tired to put it lightly.
Monday we took a taxi back home, yes an hour long taxi ride. That's what the insurance company said to do and they will pay us back. I sure hope so as it was over 100E. The car is at a garage in Madrid now, after a lovely language snafu on my part. A blow to my confidence language-wise. Now we are waiting to hear what's wrong and hoping it is covered by the warrantee.
Not dull, you can say that.
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