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Stacy and Dallas’ wedding
Our daughter Stacy has been in a relationship with her girlfriend and partner Dallas Ruggieri for almost a decade. They made the decision to confirm their love for each other with a wedding ceremony. And, in keeping with their interests, the theme was to be “Day of the Dead”. Or, as some would say it, a Zombie wedding.
So, we all dressed up accordingly and appeared during one of Dallas’ (the city) hottest days. Fortunately air conditioning had been invented and the whole event went off without a hitch (except theirs, of course – pun intended). Family and friends showed up and demonstrated how popular Stacy and Dallas are – the outfits were spectacular!
With a lot of help from their friends Stacy and Dallas did a superb decoration setup in and around their house. The whole event was spectacular, and moving.
May I present Stacy and Dallas Riley. (Click on the small image for a larger view. It’s worth it!)
Walk with me in Vancouver, BC
I’m in Vancouver to attend the memorial service for my oldest nephew, Alan. He passed unexpectedly and will be missed by family and friends. Not the reason for a visit you would hope for.
But since I’m an early riser (and still some jet lag from my recent return from Barcelona), and the weather was beautiful, I took a nice early morning walk. Stanley Park is just a few blocks from my hotel, so the obvious place to walk. Vancouver had to be one of the most beautiful cities ever.
Looking towards the bay, Stanley Park on the right
Lots of flowers in the park
And lots of colors
My sister in laws apartment
A heron patiently waiting for breakfast
Vancouver yacht club
A skyline view
Denman strèet. Just about any ethnic food you may want.
Barcelona architecture
The Sagrada Familia and the many works of Antonio Gaudi are the most prominent architectural features of Barcelona. No question that he inspired a new way of designing buildings. But he was not alone, we visited several other sites designed by other architects that were spectacular.
Palau de la Musica: Designed by Luis Montarer, this music hall took only 3 years to build (1905 – 1908). It uses mostly organic forms, emphasizing nature, color and light. The exterior and interior feature beautiful statues and friezes, and fantastic stained glass to highlight everything. Certainly worth a visit.
Hospital de la Santa Crue Saint Pau: A magnificent hospital site, built between 1902 and 1930. A huge complex, with significant buildings and almost a mile of underground tunnels for transport of both patients and supplies. It is now a World Heritage Site. It is truly a city within a city.
There is so much to see and take pictures of, here are a few. More can be found in our photo albums, click here and click on 2016 then cruises then Barcelona
A view of the Nativity scene
The ceiling reflects trees and nature
Some of the artwork and stained glass
But you better put up with crowds
Stained glass skylight in Musica
Behind the stage Musica
View of one of the balconies
Sculpture denoting Ride of the Valkyries
Entrance to the hospital
Some of the spectacular buildings
Another architectural viewpoint
Montserrat, and Cava wine
Montserrat is a beautiful mountain range about an hour northwest of Barcelona. It occupies an important part in Barcelona history, and has been contested by various armies, including Napoleon. It also is the home of the Virgin of Montserrat, the patroness of Catalunya, AKA the black Madonna.
The monastery itself is spectacular, with portions dating back to 1200. Many people still make pilgrimages to the site, and it shows…. very busy even mid week. Also of interest is the Basilica boys choir, which performs twice a day. We got to hear them perform in a very crowded chapel.
There is also a very steep rail car to take you to the top for even more spectacular views. In short, a terrific spot for both history and natural beauty.
After our tour we stopped off at small winery. Actually, not a winery, as they only specialize in “Cava”, the local sparkling wine. Consider it the Spanish version of champagne. One of the winery principals gave an excellent tour of the original house, over 1,000 years old. Then a detailed explanation of how Cava is produced, followed by a tasting of the various vintages. Bought a bottle to take home. ..
Montserrat from a distance
The monastery, nestled in the rocks
A view from the top
Pat of the original monastery, dating back to 1200
Entrance to the chapel
Inside the chapel
Boys choir performing
Stained glass window
Entrance to the old house
Kitchen inside the old house
The old wine press
Portion of the wine cellar
More modern production area
The 1,000 year old olive tree in the back yard
Cruising to Barcelona
Our cruise left the Houston Cruise Port Terminal on April 16. It was the last cruise from this port, which is going to be converted to a container terminal. Our ship was the Norwegian Cruise Lines “Jade”, which was repositioning to Europe. A seperate blog post details our extensive dining experience.
We made a quick stop in Miami to pick up more passengers. Our first real port of call was St. Thomas, VI where we got off for a walk before 6 days at sea. A ride up the cable car gave some good views of the surroundings, and our ship.
We joined with the cruisecritics.com crew and had a great time. There were over 100 of us, from around the world. We even celebrated joint birthdays with Romola and Jennifer. Special thanks to Viet for including us!
Our next stop was Funchal, Madeira where we had a nice excursion. Our first stop was at the market, with the usual collection of plants, veggies, meat and seafood. Always interesting to see what’s local! Then, a short stop to taste the local Madeira wine. We even took a ride on their famous toboggan!
Then on to Barcelona. I managed to get a picture of the Rock of Gibraltar, even though it was late and I only had my small camera. Then on to Barcelona, where I’m sure new adventures await us.
Serial in St Thomas
Not all people that live here are poor
Or ship on the left
Or new friends Dan and Veronica
Cliffs at Funchal
Fishing village colors
In the fish market
Flower merchant in traditional clothes
In the Madeira winery
Living on the side of a hill
Hang on!
Vietnam and his new wife, who had a birthday
Jennifer's birthday on the same day as romola
Gibraltar at dusk
Eating our way to Barcelona
Norwegian Cruise Lines had a cruise from Houston to Barcelona that was reasonably priced, and since we were parked near the port, we booked it. As a bonus, we received an Unlimited Dining Package.
Most larger cruise ships have specialty restaurants on board, rivaling those on shore. So we prepared to spend 16 days of gastronomic excess. The specialty restaurants are:
Cagney, a Chicago style steak house.
Le Bistro, classic French.
Moderno, Argentinian Chucassaria
Tepanyaki, Japanese steak house
La Cucina, Italian style country
So here are a few highlights. Yes, we gained weight but a lot of walking kept it somewhat in check.
Tenderloin (Le Bistro)
Cornets (Le Bistro)
Lobster and Fettuccini (Cucina)
32 Oz porterhouse (Cagney)
Chicken drumsticks (Cagney)
Lobster, shrimp, calamari and filet (Tepanyaki)
Lamb chops (Bistro)
Roasted pig (Grand Buffet)
29 oz. Tomahawk steak (Cagney)
Filet (Moderno)
Art Car Parade, Houston
Every year Houston holds an Art Car Parade. This is a parade that anyone can enter that has a car (or at least a moving mode of transportation) that has been customized for the occasion. This brings out the best in the would be custom car builders: some are whimsical, some are laughable, some are political, but all are enjoyable.
So we drove on down, found a place to put down our lawn chairs, and enjoyed the spectacle. BTW, if you ever plan to attend, come early… it is very popular and good places (and food) are hard to find.
Here are some of the pictures, many more in our Photo Albums, see Art Car Album. No attempt was made at a description, these are far beyond descriptions!
Going to the dogs
Our friends Roland and Tish Stuebner raise and show dogs. Specifically, Standard Schnauzers. They’ve done quite well, and have raised several Champions and a Grand Champion, and are on their way to another. At this show, Roland was showing Chase, their Champion dog. Their handler was also showing Quinn, one of Roland’s other dogs.
They travel in their motor home (with a small army of dogs) to various dog shows. One dog show happened to be close to us, so we paid them a visit and took in some of the event. A lot of dogs, and this was a small show!
It was great to meet up with them again and watch them prep and show their dogs. There sure are a lot of dog breeds, so we had fun and just had to take some pictures of the many dogs being shown.
Time for spring flowers
Spring is here, and so are the wildflowers. We had the bluebonnets a few weeks ago (see other blog), but now flowers are appearing all over the place. Here are a few that I took with my new Pentax K-3ii camera with 105mm Macro lens.
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Bluebonnet time in Texas
Spring time brings out the bluebonnets in Texas! Many times, next to the highway or other public area. I was lucky to find a field close to where we are currently camped that had a good field of bluebonnets. They weren’t as thick as some other places we’ve seen, but still lovely to look at and admire. Even caught a bee hard at work!
A closeup of one of the flowers
A field of bluebonnets
A bee hard at work
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