Barcelona

It has been a long, long winter here in the north of England.

The 18 or so hours of daylight we enjoyed last summer quickly shortened, and by mid-December we had less than 7 hours of daylight each day. We have had record cold, and there have been very few days without some type of precipitation: here on the coast it's been mainly rain. By February
Scott and I were longing for some brighter days and warmer weather, so we took a long weekend and traveled to Spain's second largest city, Barcelona.

Razor Clams
We both tried them and I have to say, they were pretty good!

Full of beautiful buildings, fountains, beaches, and friendly people, we thoroughly enjoyed our time here. Our first night in town we booked into a wine and tapas tour. We met our guide, Andrew, at the designated time and place and set off at about 6:30 in the evening. We walked through several neighborhoods, tried all sorts of wonderful food and wine, and learned a lot about the history of Barcelona.

During the course of our evening we stopped at 6 different places, including a sweet shop and an absinthe bar. Our last stop was a great tapas bar in the Gothic quarter of Barcelona, where we sipped Cava and "people watched". Finally, at about 3:00 in the morning, tired, but definitely not hungry, we settled into a cab and headed back to our hotel. What a great experience!

Wine and Tapas Tour

Saturday morning we set out to visit Barcelona's most famous architectural attraction: La Sagrada Familia. If you have been following our adventure, then we know what you are thinking because we were thinking it too. "Oh no, not another cathedral!" Friends and family told us this cathedral is different and that we just "had" to see it, so we did. They were right. La Sagrada Familia is just amazing. Designed by Antonio Gaudi, this cathedral has been under construction for over 100 years, and it's not finished yet. Antonio Gaudi designed many buildings in Barcelona and his architectural style is quite unique. More on this on our next blog post!

After leaving La Sagrada Familia we wandered through some of the streets of Barcelona heading towards the Picasso Museum. We passed a complex that looked as if it housed an old stadium of some sort. We finally found the entrance and Scott and I pooled our limited knowledge of Spanish and figured out that this was an old arena used for bullfights. For a few Euros, we could go inside and look around. I was quite surprised at how small the bull fighting ring was, and how close the spectators could be to the ring. We walked through a museum which included photographs of matadors as well as exhibits of matador costumes, and a few stuffed bull's heads. We left the bull fighting arena happy to know that sport is illegal now in Spain.

This is how the bull fighting arena looked in days gone by.

This is the inside of the arena.

We eventually found the Picasso Museum, which we enjoyed. We also tried a Flamenco Show and a Spanish Guitar Concert. We found out that traditional Flamenco Dancing was a typical art form of the areas of Spain around Madrid but was generally not typical for the people of Catalonia. The Spanish Guitar Concert was really great!

Las Ramblas is a long pedestrian mall in Barcelona. Lined with shops, restaurants, and hotels, it's a favourite with locals and tourists alike.

A market along Las Ramblas

A shop along Las Ramblas

There are one way streets on each side of the pedestrian mall. These bikes were parked in front of one of the shops.

Winter in Cumbria and Robbie Burns

One thing we have learned during our time here in England is that the weather word for almost any day is "rain". After historic rainfall during the summer months, and just when we didn't think it could get any worse, or wetter, it did. Occasionally, however, the temperatures are cold enough that, at least in the fells, the rain turns over to snow, and there were a couple of good snowfalls during January and February. Scott has picked out the best of our winter photos to share with you!

Castlerigg Stone Circle

Bassenthwaite

A snowy day in Whitehaven is a real rarity!

Some of Scott's fishing fleet on a rare sunny day.

Robert Burns, the poet, came from Scotland and the Scots are quite proud of that. In this part of England he is seen as a hero as well, and each January on the anniversary of his birth, "Burns Suppers" are held all over the area. Scott and I joined some friends for a dinner this year at a local restaurant. There is quite a protocol for these dinners and most follow a prescribed order. 

First the guests gather and are welcomed by the host. Then a grace is said, usually the "Selkirk Grace", and it is spoken in the Scots native language. Give this a try!

"Some hae meat and canna eat,

And some wad eat that want it;

But we hae meat, and we can eat,

And sae let the Lord be thankit."

After Grace, the ceremony continues with the entrance of the main course, which always includes haggis. A large tray containing the haggis is carried in, usually by the cook, followed by a piper playing a Scottish tune. The platter is set on the host's table and another long poem is recited. Somewhere in the midst of this poem there is a line about a knife being plunged into something and it is at this point that the cook takes a big knife and sinks it into the haggis splitting it open from end to end.  After the poem a Scotch whiskey toast will be proposed to the haggis, then everyone sits down and the food is served. Frankly I couldn't decide which would be worse, choking down the whiskey or the haggis. I finally decided that I might need the whiskey to actually eat some of the haggis! The haggis was served with tatties and neeps, thank goodness. Don't know what that is? Tatties are mashed potatoes and neeps are mashed turnips. Following dinner there are usually speeches and more poems can be read. Typically the evening ends with a "Toast to the Lassies", followed by the ladies' retort, a "Toast to the Laddies".  We were seated at a distance from the action, so our photos are not the best, but I have included a few anyway. 

The haggis are piped into our dining room. You cannot tell from the photos, but the two gentlemen in "suits" are wearing traditional Scottish garb, right down to the kilts. 

The reciting of the poem. I think the cook looks as if he can't wait for the big knife plunge!

During the winter months here it is not only cold and wet, but there is limited daylight. Early in January Scott and I decided that we wanted a "sun break" at some point, so we booked a trip to Barcelona in mid-February. We are looking forward to some warmer temperatures, more daylight, and, hopefully, a bit of sun. 

Our New Year's Letter

1 January 2012 found us in Kona, Hawaii, celebrating Christmas and ringing in the New Year with our family and good friends George, Diane, and Susie Pittman. We knew that Scott and I were headed to England. Scott was to leave at the end of the month and I would follow him in March. What we didn't quite understand was just how different our new home would be, and how many amazing adventures we would have in the months to come.

In 2012 we celebrated 2 weddings! Jennie and Zach were married in Iowa in March and then Katie and Chris married in Chicago in June. Both occasions were great fun and we were really thrilled to be able to celebrate with family and friends.

Dan overcame several obstacles including a broken leg which had him pretty much in bed for 2 months during the summer of 2011, and a job that caused him to work long, long hours, to receive his M.B.A. from Drexel University in May. He has since changed jobs and is now working at Princeton University. No one is more proud of him than Scott and I!

Moving to England has given us an opportunity to do some travelling. We have been to Scotland, France, Spain, Italy, Austria, and, of course, England! We have seen more castles and churches than we can count and learned more history than we'd ever imagined! We have been awed by two different sets of stone circles, roamed through Roman baths, and walked on Hadrian's Wall. We've had pizza in Naples, beef wellington in London, and weiner schnitzel in Vienna. We've come to love French wine and appreciate button key music. We've looked for 'Nessie at Loch Ness, stood at the floor of the Colosseum in Rome, and roamed the halls of The Louvre. Scott has learned to appreciate Monet and Degas and I am working on being more appreciative of modern art.

Along the way we have met some really great people! Each day we are finding more and more to appreciate about England, from the beauty of the lakes and fells to the "keep calm and carry on" spirit of the Brits.

Trafalgar Square at Christmas

It has been an amazing adventure!

As 2013 begins we know that Dan and Jamie are engaged, and are planning a wedding in May of 2014. We are also anxiously anticipating the birth of our first grandchild. Jennie and Zach are expecting a little boy in May. We are excited about the year to come and are hopeful that we will have some more visitors here in England.

As we reflect on 2012, and look forward to 2013, we can certainly say God has been good to our family. We have been truly blessed.

Vienna: Schönbrunn Palace

 On our last full day in Vienna Scott and I decided to visit Schonbrunn Palace. The palace itself has 1441 rooms and was used by various members of the Habsburg family as their imperial summer residence. We took a short taxi ride to
reach the Palace and grounds and enjoyed an audio tour of some of the rooms inside this massive structure. The Palace was quite impressive on it's own, but the gardens include a Desert House, a Palm House, and even a zoo! After spending an hour or so touring the Palace we set off through the gardens to see the rest.

We were in the midst of a cold downpour, so we gratefully ducked inside the Palm House first thing.

The Palm House

Inside The Palm House we found lots of beautiful flowers and plants. While we thoroughly enjoyed the beautiful flowering plants, the palm trees made us wistful for the warm tropical breezes of Hawaii.

The rain had let up a bit by the time we finished the Desert House and the Palm House, so we decided to head for the zoo. Mind, we are still on the grounds of the Schonbrunn Palace! Right away I spotted the house for the panda bears and we did manage to see them, sort of. They were all curled up in a ball snoozing away in the trees! It seemed as if several different species of animals had been moved to somewhere warmer for the winter, but we did find lots of creatures like these beautiful animals.

Within the zoo compound we came across an exhibit that included fish, turtles, snakes, and lizards. We were quite chilled from the cold misty rain so we were happy to spend some time in here warming up and checking out the exhibit.

We found these guys outside the exhibit. I've always associated flamingoes with warmth and sunshine,
but these guys didn't seem to mind the cold rain a bit.

Sadly, it was time to return to England where the weather was warmer, although definitely no drier. We will always remember the Christmas we spent in Austria. The warmth of the people, the food, the lights, and the breathtaking Alps will be a memory we treasure always. 

Austria: The food, the lights, and the fun!

If Austria had a national food it would have to be either weiner schnitzel or gulasch. In each restaurant we went to we asked what their special dish was, and invariably the answer was weiner schnitzel.  During our week in Austria Scott and I sampled lots of  weiner schnitzel and we can say that we enjoyed trying some authentic Austrian cuisine. On our second night in Vienna we were directed by our hotel to a little restaurant which was actually located under the Albertina for dinner. During the course of our meal we were serenaded by a gentleman and his button key instrument.

Yes, he pulled a chair up at the end of our table, sat down, and began to play and sing.

Not positive, but I believe there is some weiner schnitzel on that table somewhere!

One thing that stood out to us, though, were the shops filled with sweets. The most famous, Demel, is located in Vienna. We had heard of this shop several times from a couple of sets of friends, and it was mentioned as a "don't miss" in our tour book about Austria. We decided to check it out one morning and, after seeing the incredible array of treats we decided to return in the late afternoon for tea. 

Yummy!

The cafe at Demel had some beautiful crystal chandeliers. This is some of the detail on one of them.

The Christmas lights in Vienna were beautiful, so we thought we'd share :)