We took Peter on a short day sail on Penobscot Bay – his first sailing experience – for his 8th birthday. The most perfect day and conditions for a schooner sail.
He helped hoist the sails and became the Captain’s mate!
Lavender Love
Yesterday was the perfect day for a short road trip and saw the beautiful lavender fields at Glendarrgh Farm in Appleton.
“Pondering”‘s maiden voyage!
Our little “Pondering” took to the water on Steven’s Pond for her first jaunt.
Meanwhile activities never ever end at camp when the fearsome foursome are there!
Learning something new – Shibori and Indigo dyeing
My friend, Sherry, and I signed up for this afternoon class at Waterfall Arts. I had an ancient damask table cloth that I tore in to six serviettes and a narrow table cloth/runner. We had lots of fun experimenting with rubber bands, marbles, CDs, and more.
A Sunday Jaunt
A lovely day to take a road trip to Northeast Harbor on Mount Desert Island for lunch at the Colonel’s Restaurant and then a visit to Asticou Azalea Gardens. What a treat! such a lovely quiet and serene place with beautifully kept gardens and gorgeous azaleas, rhododendrons and more!
A Weekend with the Grands and Greats
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.
Belfast, Maine gets better and better…
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.
Montreal May days
A terrific little city break in Montreal to meet up with Irene from Toronto. A great AirBnB apartment in south west Montreal and very convenient to metro and downtown.
May 17 was Montreal’s 375th birthday and we were treated to free metro transport! We visited the impressively huge Jean Talon market and Old Montreal.
Subway sights….
Despite the blistering heat (totally unexpected after all the cold weather!) we spent an enjoyable day at the botanical gardens. In another week or so we would have been wowed by the peonies, but I will be wowed by my own in the garden at home!!!
That camp life
We spent four days doing the “camp thing” and enjoying our new fireplace….
Cooking Indian
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!
Lisbon – last day!
How can our trip have come to an end? We have seen and done so much; met many wonderful people; stayed in lovely places, and eaten amazing food – and drunk fabulous wine! Unfortunately, this must come to an end – for a while!
Today, breakfast started out at a neighborhood bakery/cafe with a good cup of Americano and my beloved Pastel de Nata and Bola de Arroz! Had to have one of each – who knows when I will have it again??!
We took another Free Walking tour with Gabriella of Lisbon Chill-out Free Tours , a local organization. She took us up and down and around Lisbon for over three hours – hitting some touristic high points, through Alfarma’s narrow “roads”, to a place where we could taste some home-made Ginjinha – a sour cherry liquer, and ending up with a crazily beautiful view over the city.
Street art …
Neighbourhoods…
Plazas and edifices …
Views….
We spent the afternoon taking tram 15 to Bellem – a neighborhood west of Lisbon with a beautiful esplanade, park, and the humongous Jeronimos Monastery (dating from 15th century). It is also known for its wonderful pastries, but the line was just too long! So we took the tram back to town and then meandered back to our room for a rest for a couple of hours before heading back out again!
Logging in: 16,153 steps/7.37 miles/61 sets of stairs!
Electrico 28 (tram 28)
In operation since 1873, Tram 28 is the vintage yellow tram that plies various routes in Lisbon. This little yellow tram climbs and dives through the city’s steep and narrow streets. We travelled two of the five routes and hope to cover the remaining three.
Views from along the way….
Barcelona Wrap-Up!
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.
