Click on the images to see more detail. Mine is the one in the middle. I was very pleased with it.
Wednesday, 29 December 2010
Mayhill Textiles - Needle Felting
Part of the reason for returning home from Spain on Friday November 12th was so that I could attend Mavis' needle felting workshop at Mayhill textiles. We had a lovely day, a good natter with friends whilst creating something. It was very relaxing.
Click on the images to see more detail. Mine is the one in the middle. I was very pleased with it.
Click on the images to see more detail. Mine is the one in the middle. I was very pleased with it.
Visit to L'Escala in Spain - L'Escala - Friday November 12th
Friday was devoted to returning home. I didn't want to spend as much time or money getting home as I had to travelling to L'Escala, so I flew to Bristol by Ryan Air from Girona.
The airport is about 55km from L'Escala.
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The journey to Bristol took about 2 hours.
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DH picked me up and we visited our friends Ann and John in Congresbury before making our way home to the Forest of Dean.
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I had a lovely time, thank you to Mandi and Dave for having me and DH for agreeing to my having a holiday abroad without him. Next time I need to spend a little longer, it was a bit short, we couldn't fit in all the things we wanted to do. These things weren't to do with sight seeing but more to do with arting, crafting and computing together. I'm going again at the end of July with 4 other work colleagues, which will be great fun. I shall be blogging that as well.
The airport is about 55km from L'Escala.
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The journey to Bristol took about 2 hours.
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DH picked me up and we visited our friends Ann and John in Congresbury before making our way home to the Forest of Dean.
View Larger Map
I had a lovely time, thank you to Mandi and Dave for having me and DH for agreeing to my having a holiday abroad without him. Next time I need to spend a little longer, it was a bit short, we couldn't fit in all the things we wanted to do. These things weren't to do with sight seeing but more to do with arting, crafting and computing together. I'm going again at the end of July with 4 other work colleagues, which will be great fun. I shall be blogging that as well.
Visit to L'Escala in Spain - L'Escala - Thursday November 11th
I don't have any photographs for this day at all. We spent it at home. Mandi was sorting out a very special Christmas present for Dave which required work on the computer. As I write, it is after Christmas and the present hasn't arrived so I can't say what it is yet.
Visit to L'Escala in Spain - Barcelona - Wednesday November 10th
We left Mount Tibidabo and drove into Barcelona. I say "we drove", but Dave kindly drove us. I have never driven in Barcelona and wish never to do so. We parked in an underground car park. Barcelona and Madrid have more of these than we do in the U.K.
One of the things I really like doing when I am abroad is to visit food markets. Even if people eat similar food to myself, they are often presented differently. The first time I came across a ticketing system for food counters was outside the U.K. I can't remember if it was in Holland or Spain. Chicken is displayed very differently in supermarkets in Spain. In the UK, the heads are off and they are covered in cellophane. In Spain, they sometimes have the heads left on and are not covered at all. I love the bright colours in this photograph. Click on it to see more detail.
We considered eating in a restaurant attached to this market but decided it was too busy. We then went to another one attached to the market and decided it was too expensive. So we toddled along and found a more traditional restaurant for un"menu del dia". This is the equivalent of a set meal. DH always tells me that Franco decreed that all restaurants should have a menu of the day, I'm not sure if that is the case. Have a look at Table d'hôte in Wikipedia, it is interesting.
Dave has been learning Catalan and Mandi has been learning Castilliano. They live in a Catalan speaking area. However, many waiters don't speak Catalan because they are either from a different part of Spain or are not from Spain at all. I think that our waiter was one of the latter. It is a pity because Catalan is very hard to learn.
On the way to the restaurant we passed the Cathedral, not to be mixed up with "La Sagrada Familia" which I adore but did not visit on this occasion. Click on any of the images to see more detail.
We then decided to go to the "Palau de la Musica Catalana". It is a place that I missed when I last visited. Other than seeing it from the outside, I missed it again. The last English tour had left and both Dave and I didn't feel up to the Castilian tour. I do have a GCSE in Spanish (an exam that 16 year olds take) but I am very rusty and was probably never up to a full blown guide of this nature. Click on any of the images to see them in full size.
After our abortive trip to the Palace of Music, we took a walk along the Ramblas. Mandi and I visited a craft shop and did not come out empty handed.
In the last couple of years, I have become interested in screen printing. I loved these bags. I can translate the words on them word for word but I don't understand their meaning. I think they are particular sayings used by the Spanish. If any one out there can enlighten me, then please do.
Some of the streets in Barcelona are very wide, with a large area between both carriages. People can sit and rest, cafes have seating areas and there are also retail "sheds". There were several stalls selling pets, particularly caged birds.
One of the things I really like doing when I am abroad is to visit food markets. Even if people eat similar food to myself, they are often presented differently. The first time I came across a ticketing system for food counters was outside the U.K. I can't remember if it was in Holland or Spain. Chicken is displayed very differently in supermarkets in Spain. In the UK, the heads are off and they are covered in cellophane. In Spain, they sometimes have the heads left on and are not covered at all. I love the bright colours in this photograph. Click on it to see more detail.
We considered eating in a restaurant attached to this market but decided it was too busy. We then went to another one attached to the market and decided it was too expensive. So we toddled along and found a more traditional restaurant for un"menu del dia". This is the equivalent of a set meal. DH always tells me that Franco decreed that all restaurants should have a menu of the day, I'm not sure if that is the case. Have a look at Table d'hôte in Wikipedia, it is interesting.
Dave has been learning Catalan and Mandi has been learning Castilliano. They live in a Catalan speaking area. However, many waiters don't speak Catalan because they are either from a different part of Spain or are not from Spain at all. I think that our waiter was one of the latter. It is a pity because Catalan is very hard to learn.
On the way to the restaurant we passed the Cathedral, not to be mixed up with "La Sagrada Familia" which I adore but did not visit on this occasion. Click on any of the images to see more detail.
We then decided to go to the "Palau de la Musica Catalana". It is a place that I missed when I last visited. Other than seeing it from the outside, I missed it again. The last English tour had left and both Dave and I didn't feel up to the Castilian tour. I do have a GCSE in Spanish (an exam that 16 year olds take) but I am very rusty and was probably never up to a full blown guide of this nature. Click on any of the images to see them in full size.
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| Palace of Music |
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| Detail of the middle top mosaic |
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| I just love the street lamps in Barcelona and Madrid |
In the last couple of years, I have become interested in screen printing. I loved these bags. I can translate the words on them word for word but I don't understand their meaning. I think they are particular sayings used by the Spanish. If any one out there can enlighten me, then please do.
Some of the streets in Barcelona are very wide, with a large area between both carriages. People can sit and rest, cafes have seating areas and there are also retail "sheds". There were several stalls selling pets, particularly caged birds.
Monday, 27 December 2010
Visit to L'Escala in Spain - Tibidabo - Wednesday November 10th
We decided to take a trip to Barcelona which is about one and a half hours from L'Escala. I visited Barcelona 12 years ago and had not managed to visit Mount Tibidabo or the Palace of Music.
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Mount Tibidabo is 512 metres high and provides extensive views of Barcelona. It can be reached by cable car or train but we decided to drive. The drive is a bit hairy, up steep and narrow roads.
One of the first things you see is a huge telecommunications tower (Torre de Collserola)
and then the Catholic Church, Temple de Sagrat Cor.
I espied this garden when walking from the car park to the Church.
Dave and Mandi are in the picture on the left, and that is me in the other one.
Views from the amusement park.
Amusement park entrance and exit.
Entrance to the Church
The Church had 3 floors. The second floor was reached via a lift - the first time I have been in a lift in a church. Mandi and I took the lift. The wind at that height was really strong. The third floor is reached via stairs but due to the wind we found it impossible to walk up the stairs. Some people had made it up to the top, to the feet of Christ.
Various statues.
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Mount Tibidabo is 512 metres high and provides extensive views of Barcelona. It can be reached by cable car or train but we decided to drive. The drive is a bit hairy, up steep and narrow roads.
One of the first things you see is a huge telecommunications tower (Torre de Collserola)
and then the Catholic Church, Temple de Sagrat Cor.
I espied this garden when walking from the car park to the Church.
Dave and Mandi are in the picture on the left, and that is me in the other one.
Views from the amusement park.
Amusement park entrance and exit.
Entrance to the Church
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| Click to see the full size. |
The Church had 3 floors. The second floor was reached via a lift - the first time I have been in a lift in a church. Mandi and I took the lift. The wind at that height was really strong. The third floor is reached via stairs but due to the wind we found it impossible to walk up the stairs. Some people had made it up to the top, to the feet of Christ.
Various statues.
Visit to L'Escala in Spain - Ullastret - Tuesday November 9th
Dave and I then had a quick drive around Ullastret. It is a pre-historic Iberian village. I didn't have a chance to take photos.
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