Archive for the ‘Travel’ Category
Fun With A Visitor From Home
Posted on: May 31, 2023
- In: Family | Spain | Travel
- 75 Comments
I’ve been away from my blog for the last couple of weeks as I was busy entertaining a special visitor from Canada. My cousin and I had spoken of her coming for a visit for quite some time and I’m so glad it all worked out. As you know, I love showing folks around my corner of Spain. We took in some sites, chatted, ate, chatted, relaxed by the pool, reminisced, read and chatted some more. She loved the area and the relaxed lifestyle. Here are a few of the many pictures we took.
We walked on the beach near our home most mornings.
And enjoyed a refreshment at our favourite coffee bar.
Reading on my patio and playing with the dogs
And relaxing at the pool.
We took a day trip by bus to the beautiful city of Alicante
With streets lined with blooming jacaranda trees!
We popped in to see the Museu de Fogueres d’alacant, a collection of effigies that managed to escape the flames of Fogueres de Sant Juan Bonfires, where we were dwarfed by these huge figures.
Castillo de Santa Bárbara in the background.
And had lunch at the stunning harbour with the Santa Barbara Castle overlooking it. Since her mother was my dear Aunt Barbara, we called it her mom’s castle!
And we found some delicious gelato for dessert.
We took a drive to Cartagena where my Canada bag got noticed by tourists from Calgary.
And my cousin met a sailor on leave in this port city.
Then we took a train to the fascinating city of Valencia.
Valencia is such a pretty city with fabulous architecture.
It is the home of paella so of course we had to have some.
My guest even took the time to read my latest book. Some of the memories are hers as well.
We had so much fun. I’m so glad she came for a visit!
I’ll elaborate on some of our trips in the next few posts. This was just a taste.
Copyright ©2023 darlenefoster.wordpress.com – All rights reserved.
Thursday Doors: Taos, New Mexico
Posted on: May 5, 2023
- In: Doors | Travel
- 71 Comments
Welcome to Thursday Doors! This is a weekly challenge for people who love doors and architecture to come together to admire and share their favorite door photos, drawings, or other images or stories from around the world. If you’d like to join us, simply create your own Thursday Doors post each (or any) week and then share a link to your post in the comments, anytime between 12:01 am Thursday morning and Saturday noon (North American eastern time). The link to join is here.
I spent a week in Taos, New Mexico a few years ago and found many unique doors. I decided to share a few of them for Dan Antion’s Thursday Doors this week.
A wooden carved door found in an artist’s house.
A door in the Hotel La Fonda leading into the DH Lawrence painting display
A door to a cantina.
The front door to the San Francisco de Asis church
The door to a hall on the church grounds.
An interesting shaped door in Mable Dodge Luhan’s house.
A door to a building on the grounds of Mable Dodge Luhan’s property
I loved the blue doors of the Taos Pueblo
Some of these doors made it into Amanda in New Mexico: Ghosts in the Wind. New Mexico is a fascinating state and I’m so glad I was able to visit it.
Dan is also featuring The Thursday Doors Writing Challenge (TDWC). Visit this page – Pick a door that inspires you – Write something, anything – Post it to your blog – Leave a link to your post in a comment on the TDWC page. If you don’t feel like writing, visit the page and see the wonderful things that have been written. Should be fun!
Copyright ©2023 darlenefoster.wordpress.com – All rights reserved.
- In: Doors | Inspiration | Travel
- 50 Comments
I am joining Dan Antion over at https://nofacilities.com/ where he runs a series called Thursday Doors.
Welcome to Thursday Doors! This is a weekly challenge for people who love doors and architecture to come together to admire and share their favorite door photos, drawings, or other images or stories from around the world. If you’d like to join us, simply create your own Thursday Doors post each (or any) week and then share a link to your post in the comments below, anytime between 12:01 am Thursday morning and Saturday noon (North American Eastern time).
My last post featured some pictures of my trip to the United Arab Emirates that inspired my first published book, Amanda in Arabia: The Perfume Flask. I included a picture of a door, which made me think I should do a Thursday Doors post of some of the interesting doors I found on that trip. So here you are:
The door to the Museum of Ras Al Khaimah
An interesting door inside the museum walls
The door of a deserted house found in an abandoned village
The door of the oldest mosque in the UAE, from 1410!
Ancient stone huts found in the mountains
A colourful door on a walled residence in the desert.
A door to a courtyard
At the Sharjah Sook
Some of these doors found their way into the book!
Copyright ©2023 darlenefoster.wordpress.com – All rights reserved.
Friends From Home
Posted on: April 6, 2023
- In: friends | Spain | Travel
- 82 Comments
We love our life in Spain but miss our friends from Canada and get very excited when someone comes to visit. We’ve been fortunate to have various friends visit over the years. Recently, a couple from Calgary spent five days with us. We packed in a lot in five days. Plenty of eating, catching up and sightseeing. Here are a few pictures.
We took them to Guadalest, one of our favourite places.
and Cartagena, another favourite.
We visited castles
and a Roman amphitheatre
and a church inspired by Gaudi
Sheila and I both have birthdays in March so we celebrated together at a favourite restaurant.
We had coffee at the beach
And happy hour on our terrace
as well as dinners on the terrace
And an early morning tea on the patio.
We met Don and Sheila in Calagry and have been friends for forty years. It was wonderful to show them around our part of Spain.
“There is nothing I would not do for those who are really my friends. I have no notion of loving people by halves, it is not my nature.”
― Jane Austen, Northanger Abbey
Copyright ©2023 darlenefoster.wordpress.com – All rights reserved.
Thursday Doors: The Isle of Arran
Posted on: April 1, 2023
- In: Doors | Travel
- 70 Comments
I am joining Dan Antion over at https://nofacilities.com/ where he runs a series called Thursday Doors. This is what he has to say:
Welcome to Thursday Doors! This is a weekly challenge for people who love doors and architecture to come together to admire and share their favorite door photos, drawings, or other images or stories from around the world. If you’d like to join us, simply create your own Thursday Doors post each (or any) week and then share a link to your post in the comments below, anytime between 12:01 am Thursday morning and Saturday noon (North American eastern time).
Check out Dan’s great books: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BC23MDLV
I’m featuring some doors I found on the Isle of Arran, Scotland.
Brodick Castle
The front door of Brodick Castle
Back entrance to the castle
Farmhouse on the island.
St. Columba’s Church, now a dwelling
Isle of Arran Heritage Museum
Nineteenth Century Cottage
Buildings of the museum
One of many coffee shops and bakeries on the island.
Beautiful homes on Arran Island
There is so much to see and do on this wonderful island. I will share more about the museum in the next post.
Copyright ©2023 darlenefoster.wordpress.com – All rights reserved.
Doors of Malta
Posted on: March 3, 2023
- In: Books | Doors | Travel
- 94 Comments
I am joining Dan Antion over at https://nofacilities.com/ where he runs a series called Thursday Doors. This is what he has to say:
Welcome to Thursday Doors! This is a weekly challenge for people who love doors and architecture to come together to admire and share their favorite door photos, drawings, or other images or stories from around the world. If you’d like to join us, simply create your own Thursday Doors post each (or any) week and then share a link to your post in the comments below, anytime between 12:01 am Thursday morning and Saturday noon (North American eastern time).
Dan writes great books too https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BC23MDLV
Today I want to share some of the amazing doors I found in Malta. Most of the buildings in Malta are made from limeston, but the doors are often in bright colours breaking up the monotone buildings. I was fascinated by the variety of doors and doorknockers. Here are just a few pictures I took around the island.
You might recall that Amanda had quite the adventure in Malta.
Copyright ©2023 darlenefoster.wordpress.com – All rights reserved.
Inside Murcia Cathedral
Posted on: January 31, 2023
- In: History | Spain | Travel
- 90 Comments
On a recent trip to the city of Murcia, I finally had time to explore the interior of the Cathedral Church of Saint Mary in Murcia built in the 1500s. I was awestruck and want to share a few pictures, although they don’t do it justice. I think you will agree that the details are amazing.
Chapel of the Immaculate dedicated to the Virgin Mary
The image of Santa María, carved in polychrome wood, is dated around the year 1627
The Baptistery Chapel was built in 1546. From then until 1908, the sacrament of baptism was held in this chapel. I love the gorgeous baptismal font.
Chapel of Gil Rodriguez de Junteron, a Murcian-born priest who spent time in the Vatican during the time of Pope Julius II. This explains the Italian look of this chapel.
The crypt with confessionals on each side.
The only rose window in the cathedral, from the 15th century.
The choir with late-Renaissance stalls, carved in walnut wood. Above it stands the great Merklin organ, with almost 4,000 pipes. It is one of the most well-known organs internationally. The sound is mesmerizing.
The impressive main nave.
I’ve always been fascinated by the huge thuribles, or incense burners, known as Botafumeiros in Spain. Apparently, as well as for religious purposes, they were used to ward off the plague in medieval times.
The cathedral also houses a small museum in the cloister of the old Cathedral with a few interesting items. These were my favourite pieces.
The head of an apostle.
San Cristobal/Saint Christopher
The priest Gil Rodríguez, who died in 1552, arranged in his will that he wanted to be buried inside a large imperial Roman sarcophagus, brought from Rome. During the 1998 restoration, this amazing sarcophagus of the muses was discovered intact, buried in the crypt. It is now on display in the museum and is the oldest item in the cathedral’s collection.
An original fresco, discovered while restoring the cloister, represents the Virgen de la Misericordia and is from the 15th century.
What amazing finds!
Copyright ©2023 darlenefoster.wordpress.com – All rights reserved.
Doors of the Cathedral of Murcia
Posted on: January 20, 2023
- In: Doors | History | Spain | Travel
- 81 Comments
I am joining Dan Antion over at https://nofacilities.com/ where he runs a series called Thursday Doors. This is what he has to say:
Welcome to Thursday Doors! This is a weekly challenge for people who love doors and architecture to come together to admire and share their favorite door photos, drawings, or other images or stories from around the world. If you’d like to join us, simply create your own Thursday Doors post each (or any) week and then share a link to your post in the comments below, anytime between 12:01 am Thursday morning and Saturday noon (North American eastern time).
Cathedrals often have amazing doors and I have discovered some here in Spain I wish to share. These doors are part of the Cathedral Church of Saint Mary in Murcia.
The facade is Baroque. Building was started in 1385 and completed in 1467 with additions added up to the 18th Century.
Some of the interesting details.
The bell tower, built between 1521 and 1791, stands 90 metres (300 ft) tall—95 metres (312 ft) with the weathervane. It is the tallest campanile in Spain.
The city of Murcia is only about forty minutes away from where we live but I only just recently spent time in this amazing cathedral. I will follow up with some photos of the interior soon.
Copyright ©2023 darlenefoster.wordpress.com – All rights reserved.
Fascinated by Doors
Posted on: January 13, 2023
- In: Doors | Spain | Travel
- 92 Comments
I have always been fascinated by doors. Is it the mystery of what lies behind them or the curiosity of who has entered them in the past? Wherever I travel I tend to take pictures of doors. The older the better.
Dan Antion over at https://nofacilities.com/ runs a series called Thursday Doors. This is what he has to say:
Welcome to Thursday Doors! This is a weekly challenge for people who love doors and architecture to come together to admire and share their favorite door photos, drawings, or other images or stories from around the world. If you’d like to join us, simply create your own Thursday Doors post each (or any) week and then share a link to your post in the comments below, anytime between 12:01 am Thursday morning and Saturday noon (North American eastern time).
Dan also writes some wonderful books https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BC23MDLV you might want to check out.
I decided to join this challenge and share some of the door pictures I’ve collected over the years. I’ll start today with some doors I’ve discovered while exploring a place near us here in Spain. Let me know what you think of them.
I captured these doors in an amazing place called Guadelest. Oh, the stories these doors could tell if they could talk!
So many stories this door could tell.
Guadelest Castle. Some doors are harder to reach than others.
I’m going to enjoy sharing my door pictures.
Copyright ©2023 darlenefoster.wordpress.com – All rights reserved.
Pets on My Travels
Posted on: November 28, 2022
- In: animals | Dot | Family | Travel
- 90 Comments
As much as I love to travel and visit my family and friends, I always miss my two doggies Dot and Lia. Fortunately, there are pets at many of the places I visit. Here are a few pictures of the pets I spent time with while in Canada in September.
Brandy, a Golden Labrador/Rhodesian Ridgeback mix. A real sweetheart.
Brandy in her yard playing ball.
Come on, throw the ball.
Grandpuppy Petite on Mudge Island
Grandkitty, Bimbay on Mudge Island
Lexi, the oldest of my Granddaughter’s pets, enjoying a sunny day.
Mandy the Newfoundland dog. A big cuddly teddy bear.
Mandy, the guard dog.
Roni, another of my granddaughter’s pets. Those eyes!
Me and my buddy Roni
And there are many cats as well. This is Earl Grey. The coolest cat ever and I love his name.
We can’t forget the goats. Did I mention my granddaughter loves animals? I didn’t get pictures of all of them either.
Beelzebub, my grandson’s newly acquired pet who seems very happy with his new home.
Lola, my son’s family pug. Another cutie.
Willow, an Australian Shepherd. A special dog for a special girl in Vancouver.
Well, not really a pet, but my great granddaughter’s badger Halloween costume.
How about an awesome cake that looks like a pet?
So you can see I had many pets to keep me company until I came home to these two.
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