An impromptu invitation from my impulsive friend led to a day on the scenic by-ways from Mid-Coast Maine to the Western Mountains. The day couldn’t have been more beautiful and we were met at the end – Sugarloaf ski resort – with a lovely arts and crafts fair AND these delicious mini-donuts glazed with apple cider!!
Spending a week with these guys and checking out their new home and neighborhood.
The playground and lake is just around the corner.
Feeding peas to the ducks, especially the “pretty ones” is lots of funđ
Downtown Redmond.
Peter had football practice and didn’t come along for the splashy fun!
Lake Sammamish fun!
We spent the morning downtown visiting Pike’s market, riding on the ferris wheel, and lunching at Post Alley Pizza.
Beautiful fresh flowers, fabulous salmon, juicy apples and tasty cider were abundant at the market.
It was the perfect day to ride on the wheel.
The pizzas prepared by Andrew were delicious. It was great to see both Ruel and Andrew and wish them every success.
We’ve missed having a camper for short excursions around our beautiful state – a couple of weeks ago I found this cutie of a vintage camper on Craigslist and we snapped her up!
We just returned from an overnight at Springy Pond – friends’ lakeside, wooded property. So beautiful – warm pond water and the scent of pine in the air.
We’re spending two nights at the lovely H Hilton hotel at LAX. Very comfortable, convenient and great views of the runway!
Yesterday evening enjoyed a walk under the flight path and a delicious dinner in a small Greek taverna (Aliki’s) with a glass of retsina – taverna decked out in traditional blue and white and great Greek music for added atmosphere.
Today a bus ride to Venice and a walk through the downtown and to the beach. Lots of street art to enjoy and lots of activity on the beach for a Tuesday morning.
We rounded off the day with well deserved đ« fresh tamales and margarita at el Cholo’s on Wilshire in Santa Monica.
Our plan was to explore the old, Portuguese influenced, area of Panjim; however, our driver spoke just a smattering of English and didn’t know the way! Iwas able to direct him to Se cathedral and the basilica (16c) using google maps!!!
Our sight seeing of the old architecture in town was less successful, and when we finally found the market, discovered that it was not nearly as nice as the one in Vasco de Gama. The ride to and from Panjim along the waterfront was interesting, especially the roaming cows, dogs sleeping wherever -to include in the road, and the brightly decorated homes (for Christmas).
The stars were aligned ** and an impromptu decision to buy tickets on a clear and not too cold day in December to Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens, in Boothbay, for their Gardens Aglow worked out perfectly.
The stringing of the millions of LED lights is quite a feat, and the outcome is spectacular! We arrived at dusk and the setting sun created some dramatic effects.
..and as the skies darkened, the lights became more and more vivid. Just beautiful!
Living in this beautiful rural environment, in the far north-eastern reaches of this vast country has many advantages. One of the many things to be thankful for is the ability to drive 25 minutes along a picturesque rural road to the village of Freedom and cross a footbridge to an old, renovated mill – entering the magical space that is home to The Lost Kitchen.
A little over three years ago, on July 4th, we went to the opening of Erin French’s restaurant in the old Freedom Mill. We have been since, but not since reservations became much sought after. However, last evening we were lucky enough to have been passed down a reservation from friends unable to go.
A fabulous evening with good friends and a total of seven courses (even though only four appear on the menu!) This is probably my favorite restaurant EVER!
Wine selected from the wine cellar on site.
Four happy faces!
First (non-menu) course – delicious cheeses, bread, pickled beets, radishes, almonds, olives.
Ooops! where are they! Second (non-menu) course – Pemaquid oysters with apple, onion, dill vinaigrette.
Third (non-menu course) – juicy pork burgers with blue cheese – oh! my!
Refreshing sorbet in Erin’s signature dishes!
Now to the menu!
We had a fabulous time in Barcelona and managed to pack quite a lot of sights into five days. We spent the last day moving to the hotel Room Mate Anna which is one in the Room Mate chain. We will definitely check out others in cities we visit.
Last images of the Gaudi designed house near our hotel.
We enjoyed a leisurely Sunday lunch with locals in a small cafe – so much fun seeing large family gatherings and hearing all the chatter that goes on! We added a little culture to our last evening in town and bought tickets online to see Opera y Flamenco at the famed Palau de la Musica Catalana. Our tour of Gaudi and Modernism took us by the theater earlier in the week and Andrei told us how beautiful the interior is. It truly is an art-deco masterpiece. The music and dancing was spectacular and with our front row seats we could see all the foot movements! Photography and videography was not allowed, so I found a link on youtube.
The story of Anoni Gaudi and Sagrada Familia is fascinating. An architect was hired to plan a church on this site, but resigned after just a few years. In 1883 Gaudi was hired and was able to infuse enough donations to redesign the building to his liking.
Gaudi poured his life into this project and he definitely gained his inspiration from nature. A deeply religious man, he made plans and plaster models (which he then photographed) of every aspect of the building. Wherever you look throughout the building there is evidence of nature – the columns representing trees, the light filtering through from above, the honeycomb shapes, and designs from geodes, leaves, flowers and any other natural thing. He knew, from conception, that he would not live to see the completion, and his life was cut short in an accident at the age of 74 in 1926. Therefore, the completion date of 2026 is to commemorate the centenary of his death.
It remains, to this day, a controversial edifice but architects and sculptors continue to put their stamp on this amazing design.
This is how it looked when I was last here in 1973:
Today is a drizzly, rainy day in Barcelona and the perfect day to visit some of the fabulous markets! We spent several hours wandering the aisles of  La Boqueria – or officially – Mercat de Sant Josep de La Boqueria! This huge public market is on the records back to 1217, and it still stands today as a huge market hub.
Don’t I wish I could shop here regularly!!!!
An extensive array of seafood…
Vibrant and fresh fruit and vegetables ..
Wonderful breads, meats, spices, legumes, gelato – anything your heart desires ..
Everything about O Manjerico in Prazeres is a little different from the norm – from procuring a reservation, to the actual dining experience. I read about the restaurant on Trip Advisor and it sounded good and not too far from our place for night driving. Reservations were recommended and so I attempted to call without success, but then wrote them a message on Facebook requesting a reservation. The response was positive but also inquiring what we would like to eat! I’d read how good the stuffed chicken was, so went with that!
We arrived for our dinner to this lovely little stone building with no obvious outward appearance that it was a restaurant. In we went to a cozily decorated room with fireplace ablaze and a warm welcome from the proprietor. Seated in front of the fire, there was just one other table set for two and we were soon joined by a young Dutch couple.
The meal itself was absolutely delicious. Starting with fresh, home-baked bread and a platter consisting melted Brie, stuffed mushrooms, shrimp, short ribs with a delicious sauce, and little meat-filled puffs.
The entire evening was very leisurely and we enjoyed conversation with the proprietor and also the other couple; experiences whilst on Madeira, living on the island, the U.S. political situation, the pending Dutch elections, and much more.
The deboned roasted chicken stuffed with pork, chestnuts and raisins was absolutely delicious.
… and dessert! Oo-la-la! Passion fruit mousse, which resembled key lime cheesecake, topped with fresh passion fruit!
We definitely saved the best for last! Salad for the next few days!!