Merry Christmas from the Deep South!
We just got our first taste of wintry weather. All of November continued a year long trend of rain. We had the third wettest April in 50 years. Even with more of December left, we are almost a foot ahead in rainfall at this point. November was warm and when it was not raining, we made good use of our fire pit. Luckily, a string of dry days coincided with the full moon, so it was very nice to be outside in the evening. It was possible to go out walking in shorts and T-shirts on the 30th because it was still in the 70s. Then on December 1st it turned cold and windy. Looking ahead, the forecast for the coming winter is for cooler and more wet weather, “thanks” to a strong el nino.
Once again we are disappointed Braves fans. Were it not for the Miami Marlins, the Braves would have ended the season as the worst team in all of baseball.
In mid-April Jim, Kristin, Alexis and Keira traveled to our area so that we could attend the Medieval Times Dinner and Tournament at Sugarloaf Mills Mall in Duluth. Medieval Times has eight US locations and one in Toronto. The Atlanta/Duluth location is 17 miles from Roswell. Keeping with the medieval tradition, food is eaten without silverware – it’s fingers all the way – a big hit with Alexis and Keira! The bill of fare included tomato bisque, warm baked bread, roasted chicken, sweet buttered corn, herb-basted potatoes, pastry of the castle, beverages and coffee. The jousting tournament runs in parallel with the dinner and is presided over by the king and princess. Keira was quite taken with all of the horses.
It seems like our suitcases have been in constant use since spring with all of the traveling we have done this year, starting in mid-May with our western Mediterranean cruise on Holland America’s ms Zuiderdam. The cruise was eleven days; however, we were gone almost three weeks because we allowed for extra time in Barcelona, the embarkation point, and Rome, the dis-embarkation point. Our best weather was in Rome and Barcelona, which was a good thing because of the extensive sightseeing we did in each place – mostly on foot. We had a wonderful, boutique style hotel in Barcelona. It was within walking distance to places we wanted to visit as well as to public transportation to points of interest further away. We enjoyed the Picasso Museum, the Bari Gotec and Las Ramblas zones. The most amazing sight in Barcelona was la Sagrada Familia and tower, the masterpiece of Antoni Gaudi. It is a work in progress. It was begun in 1882 and it will not be finished until 2026. On November 7, 2010 Pope Benedict XVI proclaimed and consecrated la Sagrada Familia as a minor basilica for its architectural and religious significance. For it to be elevated to cathedral status, it must be the seat of a bishop. Even so, it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site with a seating capacity of 9000. On our last day in Barcelona we spent time at the Park Guell Monumental Zone, a planned community established in 1900 for well-off families inspired by Eusebi Guell and the architect, Antoni Gaudi.
From Barcelona it was on to St. Tropez, Monte Carlo, Calvi on the island of Corsica, Livorno/Pisa, Olbia on the island of Sardinia. This port of call replaced Tunis on the original itinerary due to an ISIS terror attack in the spring that killed tourists visiting Parliament and the Bardo Museum. From Olbia we sailed to Palermo, Sicily and then it was on to Naples. The ship docked in Civitavecchia which is about 50 miles northwest of Rome. We boarded a train to Termini in Rome and took a taxi to our hotel, the Lancelot. For all of the great weather we had in Barcelona and Rome, we had a surprising amount of rain and cold air while we were cruising the Mediterranean. This made sightseeing unpleasant at times.
The first stop was a day at St. Tropez, France, a lovely port city. We visited the L’Annonciade Museum which was formerly the Chapel of Notre-Dame de L’Annonciade, built circa 1568. The museum is home to just over 100 works of art by Matisse, Bonnard, Braque and represents the Fauvist, Pointillist and post-Impressionist eras.
Our time in Monte Carlo coincided with the Grand Prix which closed many of the streets, so we could not reach the casino and get back to the ship before it set sail for Calvi. We did, however, tour the palace and cathedral where Princess Grace and Prince Ranier are buried.
We did get a break on the weather in Calvi, a medieval city and Christopher Columbus’s birthplace. His house is in the fortified, Citadel, part of the city. We toured the Citadel. Walking can be a bit treacherous with stairs everywhere and very uneven pavement. When the cobblestones get wet, it is like walking on ice! Mike and I made it from city to city with no injuries from a slip, trip or fall!!
After Calvi it was on to Livorno, the closest port to the inland areas of Pisa and Florence. We had already been to Florence, so we did a half day excursion to Pisa. The Field of Miracles is comprised of four great religious edifices which are adjacent to each other. The Pisa Cathedral and Pisa Baptistery are among the most grand in all of Italy. The Leaning Tower which is a campanile, or freestanding bell tower of the Pisa Cathedral, is the main attraction and last but not least is the Camposanto Monumentale which is a cemetery. Its art and architecture date to medieval times.
The Greek, Roman and Arab worlds converged on the island of Sardinia, giving places like Olbia a very rich and colorful cultural history. The museums, churches and other points of interest are staffed with students who provide information about each place. The archaeological museum in Olbia was one of the best small museums we have ever visited. The students who do the interpretation earn academic credit and also enhance their ability to speak English as most of the tourists are speakers of the English language.
From Sardinia we sailed to Palermo, Sicily. This was our least favorite port because it was not a good city for walking; traffic was a nightmare and this was the day the temperature struggled to reach 60 degrees F with a driving rain. We did visit one of the museums and a church.
Luckily, we had good weather the next day when we were in Naples. We took the train to Pompeii and were outside all day touring the ruins. I had already been to Pompeii, but Mike had not. It is vast and it takes more than one day to see all of it. Pompeii thrived until 62 AD when an earthquake struck and destroyed the city. Reconstruction began immediately, but it was for naught when 17 years later Mt. Vesuvius erupted on August 24, 79 AD. The city was leveled again and covered in rock and ash. Excavation and restoration are still ongoing. About two thirds of the work is done, with a third remaining for completion.
Rome was a repeat for me, but it was all new to Mike. We had another great hotel, the Lancelot, with a view of Palatine Hill, the amazingly well preserved Roman Forum and the Coliseum. We spent our first day in Rome at these sites. The next day was devoted to Vatican City. We stood in line under the hot Roman sun in St. Peter’s Square for nearly two hours before we walked inside the basilica, the largest church in the world. It is such an amazing sight that it defies description. The major basilica gets its name from St. Peter, the first Pope and Bishop of Rome. Tradition and strong historical evidence hold that St. Peter’s tomb is directly below the high altar. We spent an equal amount of time in the Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel. Our last day in Rome we visited the Borghese Gallery and Gardens, the Pantheon, Spanish Steps, walked the Via del Condotti and Via del Corso, as well as seeing the Piazza Navona with Bernini’s Fountain of the Four Rivers at its center. We did a tremendous amount of walking in Rome and saw many neighborhoods with smaller churches, beautiful gardens and museums that are overshadowed by their more famous counterparts.
We had quite a time getting out of Rome due to a fire at Fiumicino Airport’s International terminal on May 8th. Even though our departure date was more than three weeks after the fire, it was still chaos in the makeshift terminal. We allowed three hours for processing at the terminal and that was almost not enough time. We made it to our gate just as our flight to Atlanta began boarding. As of this trip we have seen the best of Europe’s castles and cathedrals; now it is on to Asia!!
At the end of June we drove to Fairfax, VA to visit Eric and Amber and to see their new home. This was one of the few times we had driven the Blue Ridge Parkway from south to north, giving us a new perspective of the mountains. The first evening we stayed on the parkway at the Switzerland Inn. It lies between the parkway at mile marker 334 and NC 226A, the Diamondback, a true backwoods mountain road. It has 190 curves in 12 miles. We were still on the parkway the following night so we stayed at the Peaks of Otter Lodge. On our last trip to see Eric and Amber in October 2014 we went to many of the museums and monuments. This time the only museum we visited was the National Museum of the American Indian. We were there in October but did not get to see all of it, so we wanted to re-visit it to see the rest of it. We spent time at Wegman’s, a really nice food store; an artisan mall; a stop for purchasing a newly released specialty beer; and time at Tysons Corner Mall. For years I have lamented the loss of Lord & Taylor, my favorite department store, from Atlanta. There is a Lord & Taylor at Tysons, so I went in there first. I had no idea how large the entire mall was. We went into some of the other stores we do not have in Atlanta, like L L Bean. Best of all was spending time with Eric and Amber. We used major roads to return home. We decided to do the drive in two days, so we spent the night in Winston-Salem, NC.
One sad note to report is the death of Mike’s oldest brother, Roger, age 74, on July 20th due to cancer.
We stayed put until early August when we were in Savannah for the birth of our third granddaughter, Lily. She arrived on August 5th and was a healthy 8 lbs. 5 oz. at birth. I find newborns to be fascinating and Lily was no exception. It was also good to have some time with the “big sisters”, Alexis and Keira.
The family continues to grow. Eric and Amber are expecting their first child in early June. A boy would be nice this time!! In any event, we are excited, overjoyed and thrilled about grandchild number four.
At the end of September we spent a week on Hilton Head Island, SC at the Marriott Surfwatch. Fortunately, the bad weather caused by stalled low pressure and hurricane Joaquin stayed away until the end of our time there. We were able to use the pools and be on the beach from Sunday through Thursday afternoon. There was a little bit of street flooding from the heavy rain, but we managed to get out Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings for a nice dinner. We had a lovely two bedroom villa which we thoroughly enjoyed. The one thing we didn’t get to do because of the weather was to visit some of the nearby islands like Daufuskie, Fripp and Folly. We can look forward to doing that on our next visit.
Recently we spent a day in Atlanta at the High Museum of Art to see the Habsburg Splendor exhibition which had over 90 artifacts dating from the mid 1400s to the mid 1900s. In addition to the portraits and jewelry, there were many pieces of clothing ranging from the robes and regalia that were worn at their coronations to the various military uniforms and the armor that was worn during wars and sporting events. We saw two of the other special exhibits. One was called Seriously Silly!: The art and whimsy of Mo Willems. He is an award winning author of children’s books. The other was Iris van Herpen: Transforming Fashion. The artist is from the Netherlands and makes extensive use of technology for the fabric in her fashion designs. They are truly works of art first and clothing second.
The last trip of 2015 will be to Rincon to spend Christmas with Jim, Kristin and the girls.
We send our best and hope you have a happy holiday season.
