Memorial Day weekend spent with the kids – lots of fun and high energy! A huge shoutout to Kat, Ian, Zach and Grandpa for laying the decking on the 12×30′ frame in 5 HOURS! while GG had fun with Colby and Lincoln; and Peter and Greyson spent time with their Aunt McKayla.
McKayla doing what she loves the most.
Fun times and birthday celebrations at camp.
This town is the best! And now we have a legit market hall – United Farmers Market – in the old Matthews Brothers building – what a transformation and fabulous selection of food, goods and produce.
We spent four days doing the “camp thing” and enjoying our new fireplace….
What better past time for a dreary, drizzly day than cooking an Indian feast? With Gunjan Gilbert as our teacher, Nan, Lisa, Jeff, and I prepared: samosas, naan bread, lamb keema, cucumber raita, aloo saag, chicken makhani, mint cilantro chutney and fragrant rice!
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!!
I bought this honey directly from the bee-keeper at the market in Ponta Delgada (Azores). It is the most flavorful honey I have ever had – this particular one is clover – or so he told me! We are enjoying it on the delicious Portuguese bread with salted butter or sharp cheese – as we learned at Taberna Acor….
Yesterday we enjoyed limpets in garlic butter at Restaurante Caravela in Sao Vicente (Madeira). Local flavours abound
Winter will be over by the time we return, so had to post a few reminders of Winter 2017.
We enjoyed the serenity and beauty of Stevens Pond in early December.
Some very frigid days in December – unusually early for those temps.
The downtown area is always so festive looking with wreaths and lights strung across the streets.
The Annual Polar Dip downtown at the boat launch was relatively balmy – especially for one who didn’t touch the water!! Always fun to watch my crazy friends!
We get out for walks no matter what the conditions! After all, Lucy is a Mainer-girl!
January was pretty uneventful with very little snow. And then … the day before Valentine’s Day Blizzard!
Santa came and brought lots of reasons for excitement in the McPherran household…
A quick hop into the Big Apple for a well executed tour (by our friend, Sue) of some highlights – the American Indian museum, housed in the former Customs House, a walk along Wall Street, lunch at an Indian restaurant in lower east side, exhibits at the New York Public Library, Bryant Park and a virtual reality experience at a Facebook demo lounge, and the cream on top – the Broadway show “Jersey Boys”! What a day!
Lady Justice and the Manhattan skyline from Guttenberg, NJ.
Fancy subway cars!
Grand Central & Lower Manhattan
The magnificent public library (research)
On the streets…
Shop windows, Christmas lights and experiencing VR!
Jersey Boys and total number of steps walked!! = 9.5 miles!!!
Our first family gathering – at Thanksgiving – at camp! Plenty of space for the kids to run around, roaring fire, board games, building forts and splitting wood outside, and delicious Thanksgiving dinner.
Having fun with Snapchat!!!
