March 24, 2011- Penrhyn Castle, North Wales

Greetings All,

Another gorgeous day as we headed into Wales to visit Penrhyn Castle.  The castle itself is 200 yards long and has over 70 roofs extending over an acre and is thought to be one of the largest private houses anywhere. It was built between 1820 and 1837 of Anglesey limestone, to the design of Thomas Hopper.  The new castle engulfed another of the same name built in the Gothic style by Lord Penrhyn (1739-1808) some 50 years earlier, and at the same time the remains of the originally medieval manor house.

A bit about the first Lord of Penrhyn, Richard Pennant.  At 28 he was a wealthy merchant, forward looking man, moderniser and improver.  He transformed his new estate creating farms, developing a slate quarry, building roads, harbour and railway.  North Wales was never to be the same.  He provided employment for thousands and riches for some.  His money came from slave trade and his sugar plantations in Jamaica which was typical of the entrepreneurs of the time.

Well enough history, the entrance to the grounds as seen in the left hand corner is impressive but does not really prepare you for the castle itself.  We had lunch at the castle, Welsh Rarebit.  Since I have seen this at pubs before I decide to give it a try not knowing what it was. It turns out it is just fancy name for cheese on toast, who knew.  However we did enjoy it.

We were not supposed to take pictures in the premises itself but we were told by staff that as long as we do not use a flash it was okay to take photos.  The walls are all stone and the carvings in the stone are very intricate.  The woodwork is oak and the archways are plaster, however, look like oak as well in the way they are finished.  Amazing and deceiving at the same time.  All the walls are hung with tapestries that look like the rooms have been wall papered and are in amazing condition.  There were a number of water closets and a system of grills through out the castle in the stone floors that fed warm air into the rooms and were considered quite advanced features in the 1830's.

The most impressive part of the castle to me and I think to Fred was The Grand Staircase Hall.  The masons employed at Penrhyn were local and probably from the family quarry.  The carvings in the staircase are of two contrasting stones and of the highest order of craftsmanship.  The exotic designs both repeating and figurative are mind boggling when you think of the tools of the trade at the time.  While Fred is madly taking pictures of all the details I chat with the steward on duty.  He inquired were we are visiting from. I tell him Liverpool which raises his eyebrows. I then explain how we came to be living there. He knew Liverpool quite well as it turns out and said if he was a city person he could live there because it is a mad place.  I'm not sure what he meant by that but he did tell us some other things we can do from Liverpool, one which I would love to do is a Ferry Tour on the River Mersey and another is a barge trip to Manchester on the canal.  Maybe a trip in the summer.  We said our farewells and headed on exploring the balance of the castle.
It seems the Lord of the time was a religious man.  The castle had its own chapel and it was part of the original medieval manor house but was moved to its current location in the late eighteen century. Daily prayers were compulsory for staff and family.  You can check out my Facebook site for pictures or our Flickr account as there was just so much choice and I have limited space on  the blog for pictures.

We then headed out to the walled gardens which is in bloom with various spring flowers and shrubs.  We only walked the formal garden but there are paths into the forest that go through a bog garden.  It must be very pretty in the warmer weather when everything is in bloom and green.

For the trip home we took back roads and head to Snowdonia and Betws-y-Coed.  We decided to stop in Betws-y-Coed for a rest break and enjoyed a pint of Old Speckled Hen and 1/2 pint of cider for me followed by a bit of a walk around.

On our way back to Liverpool we passed a number of fields with newborn lambs, but unfortunately because of the narrow winding roads there was no place to stop for photos and the one spot we could have stopped Fred was traveling just a bit to fast to make a safe stop as there were cars behind us.  I did get to see the lambs however bouncing around their mom's from my passenger seat.

We had a very enjoyable day out and hope you enjoy the blog.

Cheers for now,

Sandy & Fred

March 22, 2011 - Dunham Massey Hall

Greetings All,

The weather has turned absolutely amazing so we headed out to a National Trust site, Dunham Massey Hall to look at the house and grounds.  I am especially excited as they have a deer park on the site and am hoping to get some nice pictures up close and personal.  The ride in is a little longer than expected but then the nav-chick takes us on a bit of a detour.  Once we finally arrive quite by chance we are quite happy we are National Trust Members, as there is a charge for parking as well as entrance fees both to the house and gardens.

Dunham Massey Hall was initially built in 1616 by Sir George Booth, but was later remodeled by John Norris for George, Earl of Stamford and Warrington between 1732 and 1740; it was also altered by John Hope towards the end of the 18th century and by Joseph Compton Hall between 1905 and 1908.  The hall itself, the stables, and the carriage house of Dunham Massey Hall are all Grade I listed buildings.  There is a bit of scandal in the family's history as one Earl married a circus performer.  Society of the time shunned them.  Rooms in the house are lush and very ornate.  We learnt that when attending a coronation you must buy your own chair and stool.  We saw the chair and stool as well as the gowns that were worn by the Earl of Stamford and his wife at the coronation of George VI.

We are also fortunate to get some insight into how the library in the house is maintained.  We watched them hand dust the books and shelves and I am amazed how much dust comes off with the vacuum and the smell of the dust as I am quite sensitive to it.  The work is quite meticulous with each book being opened and scanned visually.  We learnt how water soaked books are restored. The books are vacuumed sealed up to five times to get ride of the water and then they can remain in a vacuum up to five years. We also got some insight to the problems of wood worm that invade these sites.  Wood worms are prevalent in soft woods or where there has been water damage and they eat into the books as well as the building itself. 

After touring the house we then walked the gardens and really enjoyed the flowers in bloom.  The garden was well maintained with areas of different seasonal flowers.  The moat which I really think is more of a pond as it does not surround the whole house is home to a number of water fowl.  There are a number of signs that advise against feeding the birds bread.  Something I did not know but bread provides little nutrition and swells in the birds belly so they think they are full.  All those poor birds we have fed bread to in Ontario and here in the UK who knew!

On our way out Fred got a perfect shot of a Mallard at rest.  We had a great afternoon and the only disappointment for me was no that there was no deer.  I did ask the ladies on duty where the deer park was, as I thought that I had missed it, and was told I was looking at it outside the gardens and  house.  They also told me that this was the first day in a while that there were no deer.


Ta ra for now,

Sandy & Fred

March 2, 2011 - The North Shore

Ola All,

Between 1730-1736 a series of volcanic eruptions occurred creating 32 new volcanoes in a stretch of 18 km and also 100 smaller ones in the area known as Montanas del Fuego. Then another eruption occurred in1824, however was not as severe as those in 1730 -36.

Some of the lava tubes resulting from these volcanic eruptions were enhanced by Cesar Manriques, and our tour of the North Shore incorporates three of his most famous works.  Our first stop was Cueva de los Verdes (The Green Caves).  This particular cave was used by the local inhabitants to hide from pirates and slave traders in 1402.  The caverns allowed for the people to defend themselves as entrances were narrow and allowed for only one person to enter at a time.  Cesar kept the caverns as they were but enhanced the floors to make them smooth for people to be able to explore the tube.  He worked with Jesus Soto placing lighting to show off the beauty of the caves.  The picture in the top corner shows the perfect optical illusion that they created by adding black volcanic sand to the floor of the cavern and covering the sand with water.  When we entered this cave we were asked to stay well away from the edge as it was a very deep drop.  Our guide threw a rock in and we then realized it was an illusion.  The last part of the tour in the Green Caves took us to a concert chamber that seats 400 people.  The acoustics are perfect as the rock is porous absorbing sound rather than it bouncing off the hard rock.  Pavarotti has performed in one of these concert chambers.

Our next stop was Jameos del Agua.  It is the second set of caves that are part of the 7 kilometer long lava tunnel from Volcan de la Corona. In these caves we found the home of Munidopsis Polymorpha, a blind albino crab that were no bigger than a babies fingernail. These crabs normally live in the depths of the ocean but have pathways to the lagoon because of the volcanoes.  The lagoon is salt water and we are lucky as the tide was in.  The picture on the left was taken by Fred with his camera being on full telephoto right at the waters edge.  After passing by the lagoon we arrived at the cactus garden designed on ancient lava ash.  Here we saw geraniums that are the size of small bushes.  I now know what to do with one of the geraniums I brought inside last fall as it has grown so large.  There is also a 600 seat concert hall at this site but it is under construction as it needs to be brought up to European Union standards for safety and access for the disabled (new fire exits and lifts) are now required.  We were fortunate as a gentleman was playing his harmonica in the hall and we get to experience how true the sound is.  Our guide said that they used to pipe music into the hall so tourists could experience the sound quality but because of construction they stopped doing that.

Jameos del Agua is also home to a scientific centre for the study of volcanology.  There was art work by Manrique throughout the site as well this was the last centre opened by the artist in 1990.

Before our last stop we were taken to Maguez, a small village for lunch.  We had the best meal as yet on the trip.  Ribs, chicken, paella, salad, vegetables, bread, fruit and cake with a glass of red wine of course.

After lunch we headed out to Mirador del Rio, another of Cesar Manriques creations.  It is a look-out 480 metres up with spectacular views down onto the Chinijo Islands with the largest island being La Graciosa.  The viewpoint is carved into the cliff-edge and was once an old artillery post 'Bateria del Rio'.  The wind was so strong that taking pictures was hard and it was cold but well worth the visit.

Lanazote with its rugged and diversified landscape has been used for a number of movies and a TV series, Krull, Enemy Mine, One Million BC and most recently Broken Embraces as well as the TV series The Martian Chronicals.  Some of these I have seen.

Back at the resort it was oriental theme night in the restaurant.  Needless to say they do a poor job with oriental dishes as well.  Thank god we had a great lunch.  The oriental drink provided as we leave the restaurant was sake and the girl told us that it was supposed to drank warm but they can't do that. Thanks to Christopher I informed her that good sake is drank cold not warmed, she seemed happy to hear that.

This completes the blog on Lanzarote as the next day we headed back to the UK.  For the first time ever I am glad to be leaving.  As my brother-in-law John likes to say "one and done!"  I am afraid that Lanzarote falls into that category.  We did enjoy our trip but seven days has been enough.  Last but not least I heard a new saying.  I was asked if I was glad to be off.  Well I know some of my family and friends think I am a bit off but really?  Fred explains she is asking if I am glad too be leaving or going home LOL.

Adios amigos and watch out for April when we head to Holland for the bulb fields, Ghent and Luxembourg.

Sandy & Fred

February 28 - March 1st, 2011 - Sun and Wind

Ola All,

This blog will be short as our next two days were catching more rays.
The wind has picked up considerably so much so that that people are bundling up around the pool.  I actually kept covered up until noon when the sun was at its hottest.  Service continued to be mediocre at best and the sun is still intense even with the wind which has increase in velocity.

Now may be a good time to tell you about Cesar Manrique an artist and architect who was born in the Teguise area.  Upon his return to Lanzarote Cesar saw a high rise hotel in Arrecife.  He did not want Lanzarote his home to become a maze of high rise hotels like so many of the other islands.  He got together with other important dignitaries to ensure that this did not happen.  As a result homes can only be two stories high and hotels no higher the five stories.  All building were to be painted white with shutters to be either green (for vegetation), brown (for earth) or blue (for sky/sea).  The government didn't collect property tax until the property was painted as this was when it was considered complete. To speed up the collection of taxes Cesar Manrique convinced the government to provide the paint free of charge as the cost would be recouped from the increased tax revenue.  We did note that all building are no longer white but were unable to ascertain when or why the change took place.  Cesar was very involved in the design of many of the tourist attractions on the island and ensured that the natural environment was maintained and enhanced using recycled material.  There are 7 wind toys (mobiles) located on round-a-bouts made by Cesar on the island that are made from recycled materials or construction garbage made by.  The picture in the corner is one of his works.

Monday night's entertainment involved parrots and as we headed to the bar I spot the birds.  Never say ahhh or make eye contact.  Before we knew it I was given two birds and Fred was positioned beside me and given another parrot.  The picture was taken and 10 Euros later we had a photo.  Well at least we got a photo of us together which is a rarity on most of our trips.

On Tuesday the wind is even worse than Monday so have a shorter day in the sun and spend some time in the lobby trying to clean up e-mails and download picture of me on Facebook on the some what intermittent e-mail.

The resort's restaurant put on a theme night and Monday was Italian.  The only good thing about the food that night was the shot of Grappa they served as you were leaving the restaurant.

Buenos noches,

Sandy & Fred

Febuary 27, 2011 - Teguise Market

Ola All,

Today we headed off to the Teguise Market.  The trip started off with a glitch as the bus ends up being a hour late.  There was an older English couple from Southport on the tour from our hotel as well and they were  really upset.  They complained to everyone who was waiting for the tour.  As it turned out the bus that was supposed to get us had mechanical problems and the replacement bus had to come from the far side of the island.  The poor tour operator was practically jumped on by the couple.  She apologized I don't know how many times to the couple as well as the group as a whole.  As I am fond of saying shit happens we were still getting to go to Teguise and having the full allotted time of 3 hours in Teguise.

Teguise was founded in 1414 and was the capitol of Lanzarote until 1852 when the capital was moved to Arrecife.  The market is the islands oldest and largest weekly market held every Sunday with over three hundred stalls. You can purchase farm produce, local delicacies, arts and crafts, leather, silver, African artifacts and lace goods, jewelry and aloe vera products.  It is a absolute mad house with people haggling over the price for goods.  The old windmill pictured on the right is at the entrance of the town heading into the market area.

Fred and I have not come for the market as we don't need anything plus I hate haggling.  Just tell me what you really want for your product and if I want it I will buy it.  We came in to see the old town and buildings.  As we wander through town the market stalls are every where. There is a lot of duplication of product in the market stalls and I wonder just how any of these people make any real money.  The churches are all closed due to market day which I find strange as it is a Sunday so we have to settle for pictures of the outside of the buildings.  The picture on the left is one such church.

As we wander along investigating small road ways away from the market we came across a lovely garden.  The flower and cactus are all planted in a gritty black sand.  It was quite beautiful as well as peaceful away from  the hustle and bustle of the market.

Across the street from the garden we are able to enter The Covenant of Santo Domingo that was founded in 1698.  It is now an art gallery and was open.  It was a nice respite from the sun as it was quite hot.

It is now time for lunch.  A it was quite busy we tried a number of places before Fred finds a quaint little bodega.  They did not have a menu you just go up and see what they have and then let the waiter know.  We saw a lovely plate of Spanish type hams with olives and bread.  So we decided that is just perfect with a nice glass of red wine. Well our waiter turns out  not to be the brightest spark in the bodega. We ask for red wine and he brings white.  We ordered what we thought was the meat platter with olives however something was lost in translation. We got meat, beef cubes in an olive marinade, pork with a red pepper sauce and tuna salad. The bread was to die for and the meat platter we got was very tasty.  So we laugh, enjoy it and have more wine to make it all part of the experience.

As a final note I would like to tell you a bit about the area.  It was in this area that Cesar Manrique was born (a noted local artist).  I will tell you more about Cesar in my next blog and why he is so important to the island.  The main industry in Teguise is farming and tourism.  Last but not least the final picture is that of the fort, Castillo de Santa Barbara, that was built after 1336 to warn of pirate attacks.  It now is a museum.

Unfortunately, we did not get to explore it as time did not allow.
Fred will shortly have more pictures posted on Flickr for your viewing pleasure.


Adios amigos,


Sandy & Fred

                                          

February 25-26, 2011- Relaxing and Sunshine

Ola All,

Our first full day of rest and relaxation, its not like we don't already do this but in the sun was a bonus for us.  We were told that the island is know for its winds and that it is very deceiving about how much sun you are getting.  I had a full six hours in the sun and even with sunscreen I did get a burn.  Fred and I actually thought that we were very close to the equator but it turns out that from a latitude point of view we were in line with Florida.  Still, the sun was very intense. The wind seems to pick up around 3:00 and as we had had enough for our first day, we showered and took a walk along the promenade in the other direction towards Arrecife and the airport.

Along the promenade there was gym equipment set up in a circuit type formation for both cardio and weight resistance.  We did not use them but they would be good if you were staying for longer than a week and wanted to stay fit or work off calories more aggressively than just walking.  It was a very nice walk and we stopped and watched the planes coming into the airport.

Once back at the resort we had a drink before dinner. We were rather disappointed with the lack of customer service at the resort.  We have stayed at Sol resorts in Cuba and the service was excellent.  We put it down to the Cuban people because here the Spaniards either ignore you or act as if they are doing you a big favor serving you.  Having said that we do experience two people who are very customer focused and seemed to enjoy their jobs.

The 26th is more of the same as the 25th though Fred stays out of the sun till after 11:00 a.m. as he tried to download The Times to read later.  We had purchased internet access for the week but the connection is slow and sketchy.  I used my float in the pool but it was cool with the constant wind and there were way too many kids.  Fred had planned our trip outside of the kids half term break in Liverpool, but the half term break in Ireland coincided with our holiday, as did the break for Germany and other parts of the UK.  Note taken for next year.  There was entertainment every night and we saw a show with birds of prey.  Unfortunately, none of my pictures turned out as it was too dark but the birds where amazing.  The show was early and either I am getting old or the sun had taken its toll as I crashed at 9:30 p.m.  The air conditioner did not work very well so by 3:00 a.m. it was hot, I am wide awake and as we were on the ground floor we couldn't leave the doors open.  This probably seems like more of a bitch session but the facts are the facts.  Plans for tomorrow were to head off on our first excursion to Teguise.


Buenos noches,

Sandy & Fred






                                                         

February 24, 2011- Lanzarote

Greetings All,

It seems a while since we posted anything, but there has not been much exciting happening since Christmas other than me passing the Life in Britain test which is the next and final step for my visa to allow me to stay in the UK indefinitely and to take out citizenship should I choose.  Our trip to sun and sand took us to Lanzarote an island that is in the eastern most part of the Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean.  It is the fourth largest island of the Canaries and is about 125 km off the coast of Africa.

A bit of history of the island.  The island is volcanic and is believed to be one of the first of the Canary Islands to be settled. Firstly by the Phoenicians around 1100 BC and then it was abandoned until 999 AD when the Arabs arrived.  In 1336, Lanzarote da Framgua (a Genoese navigator) from which Lanzarote gets its current name arrived from Lisbon.

We arrived around 3:00 p.m. after an easy flight to bright sun and a rather brisk breeze.  It took forever for our luggage to get off loaded as Thursday is one of the major arrival/departure days. While we are waiting an elderly gentleman chats with me and asks what company we booked our vacation with. He told me that he travels with SAGA (Sex and Games for the Aged) since he lost his wife. After a good laugh he explained that while SAGA charges a bit more he does not pay a single supplement as well it covers all insurances required so he get a good size room as if he were traveling with a companion.

The resort was only a five minute drive from the airport but by the time every gets to the bus and we get underway it was an hour before we arrived at the resort. The lobby is lovely with a large pond with Bird of Paradise and waterlilies.  A picture of the Bird of Paradise is on the left.  Our room was on the ground floor which we are not too happy about with views of the ocean and pool and was a handicapped room to boot.  We were not sure why we got this type of room but the resort was fully booked so nothing could be done.  Once unpacked we set off to explore the lay of the land and walked along the beach and then along the promenade that is miles long.  Should you choose you could walk from Arrecife to Puerto del Carmen.  There are numerous restaurants, pubs and stores along the beach as well as numerous cacti growing in the black grainy sand.

Attached is a picture of an aloe vera plant in bloom and at the top corner of the blog is a lookout made of the black volcanic rock. It has been a long day as it seems we spent almost as much time waiting around as we did flying so our first night is a fairly early night.

Buenos noches,

Sandy & Fred