Xi’an Through a Tattered Lens

Leaving Beijing, we flew to Xi’an, gateway to the AMAZING Terra Cotta Warriors, perhaps the thing I was most looking forward to seeing in China.

One of the first things we noticed as we flew in was how “lit up” the city was. This area has much more electricity available than they do in Beijing, and they use it to light up the night sky like Las Vegas!

We really had a diverse tour here, from meeting with a professor of comparative religions at the University, to a dance performance, to museums, to the warriors. The warriors offered the best fodder for photos, but I found others as well.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

WOW! Even just reliving this through photographs blows me away. What a treasure.

 

 

 

 

 

Beijing Through a Tattered Lens

Our latest big trip was to China. Mr. Tattered and I were both slightly nervous, given the tremendous language barrier and that it is a Communist country, and we weren’t sure how we would be received.

But, it was our 7th continent, and a biggie on our bucket list.

Truth be told, it was more like something to check off our list, than it was a place we were super excited about visiting. That made how much we enjoyed it all the more special. We both came home feeling like it had been our best trip EVER!

And now, how to show you the majesty of China in a few posts, is a challenge. I don’t want to bore you to death, but I DO want to show you what an incredible and diverse place it is.

I’ve decided that rather than break it down day by day, I’ll go with area by area (pretty much city, by city, although some of the photos will be from outlying areas rather than right in the city.)

By way of background, let me say we were welcomed by the people with pretty much open arms. In China, their elders are respected and well loved. We felt similarly elevated.   Even with language such an issue, we were encouraged to join in with locals as they went about their activities. Never did we feel like we were intruding or unwelcome. Our clumsy attempts at speaking a few words in their language were met with big smiles.

Often our group was photographed by Chinese tourists, and many times we were asked to be in selfies with them! I felt like a movie star. Children, especially, seemed drawn to my silver hair.

So, on to our experience in Beijing.

Our first view of the Great Wall as we flew in.

The local beer and wine were surprisingly good.

On our first day there, before connecting with our group, we went out exploring on our own. I fell in love with the statues in the shopping area. A clothing shop had one of a tailor, a bakery had a baker out front…very fun.

My biggest goal was to avoid using a squatie potty. Although I probably SHOULD have tried, I was afraid I’d pee all over my clothes! As it turned out, there were western style toilets almost everywhere.

 

 

Watching one of the opera performers put on his makeup was interesting…

 

Who knew I’d fall in love with Fu Dogs (the statues that guard buildings.)

 

The air was much as we expected it would be…so sad. We wore our masks whenever we thought we’d be exerting ourselves.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our tour took us to a less busy section of the Great Wall, a little more difficult to get to, and a higher entrance fee, but well worth it. We were very surprised to NOT see wall to wall people!

 

 

 

 

 

Off to a spectacular start!

 

St. Malo and Montmarin Through a Tattered Lens

St. Malo is the port you go to to see Mont St. Michel, but since we’d been there just a few weeks before, we opted to explore St. Malo itself, and the historic Chateau Du Montmarin.

First up was the Chateau, the perfect example of the crisis many old properties in France are going through. Maintaining them is grotesquely expensive, and the old families are struggling to hold onto their estates. There HAS to be an income stream, and they are hard to come by. Opening them up to the public is one way to add income.

This Chateau, although beautiful, was showing the beginning signs of decay which is characteristic of a struggling property. We met the grandson who was technically “in charge,” but having trouble getting buy in from the older generations on the changes that were going to be necessary for their survival. One of his ideas was to open the house up as a “bed and breakfast,” a move his parents and grandparents were resisting. We had a very interesting conversation with him, then were turned loose to explore the property.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From the Chateau we headed for St. Malo. After a brief tour, we were cut loose to explore on our own.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I had such a lovely afternoon. After walking all around town, I decided to stop at a creperie for a little snack before returning to the ship. I sat outside on the patio, sipping a glass of wine, filling out post cards and eating my crepe. It was heavenly!

La Maison des Megaliths de Carnac and St. Guston Through a Tattered Lens

Our next stop was the “Stonehenge” of France, an area where there are Stonehenge-like rocks that appear to be ceremonial in nature. It was so odd, because, unlike in England where they are in the middle of a vast field, in France, cottages were built right up to them. It was an amazing sight!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From there we took the coach to St. Guston, the historic village where Benjamin Franklin stayed when he went to France to attempt to get their aid for the Revolutionary War. Cute place!

 

 

 

 

This shop is available. Hmmm. My Favorite Things in France, and we’ll live in the Chateau at La Tour?

 

 

 

On to our next stop!

La Tour Carnet Chateau, Bordeaux – Through a Tattered Lens

Drove through Bordeaux enroute to La Tour Carnet Chateau/Winery. What’s not to love about a city that has so many red doors!?

 

 

As we’ve driven through the countryside in France, I’ve been trying to decide which Chateau I’d like to purchase. This one will do the trick. Moving soon.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After we left the vineyard, we headed back to town.

This shot was taken from the coach, and is a little blurry, as you can see. But I LOVE it anyway, so included it.

Thanks for visiting Bordeaux with me!

 

St. Emilion Through a Tattered Lens

Back in France again, this time docked in Bordeaux, a fabulous area for wineries. We had an overnight stay here, with a day trip each day, each with wine tasting at a different winery.

Our first day was spent in St. Emilion, a World Heritage site (we love those!) My camera was so very happy.

Because we were staying overnight, after dinner we went back on shore to wander through Bordeaux, where I fell in love with the Monument aux Girondins Fountain. Be still my heart!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Notice anything different about this photo? For the very first time, 2 red wines, instead of a red and a white. I told you the trip to Porto was life-changing!

 

Monument aux Girondins – lots of different views

 

 

 

 

 

I’m pretty much infatuated.

A gorgeous end to an amazing day.

La Coruna and Bilbao Through a Tattered Lens

We were back in Spain for two more stops, La Coruna and Bilbao, and I’m going to combine the two for this post.

La Coruna had the most darling public square – lots of picture taking happening there!

Bilbao was not one of my favorite stops on the trip, and we had a lot of rain, but we  made the best of it.

Apparently the Guggenheim Museum is the top draw to the city. The architecture was really different but not really my favorite style. None the less, some interesting shots.

In spite of the challenges, I ended up with a feast for the eyes (at least for mine!) I hope you’ll agree!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Portugal Through a Tattered Lens

As we get down toward the end of the year, and considering my desire to get caught up on posting my travel photos from the year, I’m going to combine our three stops in Portugal, Portimao (Sagros and Lagos,) Lisbon, and Porto – where there was a life-changing event. (More on that in a minute!)

In 1755 Portugal was hit with an enormous earthquake that destroyed much of the architectural history in Lisbon and the surrounding area. There are structures that survived and/or have been restored, but it’s not like most countries in Europe that have lots of buildings pre-dating that time.

Nonetheless, I WAS able to find some things that intrigued me.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So ya ready for the life-changing part? I’ve always despised red wine. I’m a white wine girl. Always have been. Thought I always would be. The whole rest of the family drinks red wine, but not me. I’d rather drink NyQuil. Seriously. It’s that bad. But I try. Every time we go to a wine tasting, I try. And it’s always the same. Yuck.

So, when we went to the Port Distillery, I expected it to be the same. I’d take the perfunctory sip, and pass the rest off to Mr. Tattered.

Well, guess what? I actually LIKED the port. It was incredibly smooth. Every sip of each of the samples, and I even snuck a couple of extra that no one else was drinking. Heeheehee!

So, tonight, back on board ship, I ordered some to have with my dessert. And it was sooooo good. It took a few nights to work up the courage to try a straight red wine, but I ultimately did it. And guess what? I don’t LOVE it. But I didn’t hate it. It’s a start.

And then there were custard natas. I tried them every time I had the chance, and they were incredible. I didn’t have a bad one any where. I’ve even looked up recipes to see if I can make them myself. But I’m thinking maybe that’s not such a good idea. Maybe it’s best they be a lovely travel memory.

 

 

 

 

Taking Time For a Little Creating

Hannah entered the world 14 years ago to be met by a “Hawaii-themed” bedroom, complete with wall letters hand made by yours truly. I designed the letters and the decor, and cut them all out with my bandsaw, and painted them.

In all the changes to her “theme” over the years, she always kept the letters as they were.

But when she turned 13, she was ready for a change.

She was (and still is) into a combo “steampunk/tie-dye” look, and her gift from her parents that year was a total bedroom redecoration – paint, furniture, wall decor…everything! I was a little nervous about making the combination work, but she has a good eye, and we were able to pull it off. It won’t make the pages of a decorating magazine, but it’s interesting, and best yet, it’s HER, which is the whole point.

Well, Gawgs fell down on the job a little, and it took awhile to get the letters updated. I actually STARTED them in a timely manner, but in typical ME fashion, when I hit a little roadblock (not being able to find exactly what I wanted!) they got shelved.

The old decor came off easy enough.

And even painting them and stamping them and scuffing them and adding metal embellishments went smoothly.

 

But I wanted to use different kinds of letter “H”s, and a specific kind of wire, and I wasn’t finding what I wanted, so I shut down. For way too long. I ultimately found some things close enough to get the job done, got over the analness of not having EXACTLY what my vision called for, and finished them off. Fortunately, she LOVES them!

 

 

Now all that is left to do is to get them up on the wall.

Thanksgiving/Fall Tree

Believe it or not, my whining post about lacking motivation to do anything back a few days ago, actually spurred me to DO something.

With in minutes of hitting “publish,” I was up taking the Halloween ornaments off the holiday entryway tree. And I didn’t stop there. I put them away (in the real place where they belong) and not only got out the Fall ornaments, but put them on the tree. No, Seriously. I actually did it! And I have photos to prove it! Not a lot, but some.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now, I have a ton of Fall decorations – whole collections of Pilgrims and pumpkins, and lots of fall leaves and berries. But very few of them made it out of their storage boxes this year.

The Lori Mitchell figurines did (of course, they’re for the kids!)

And one Pilgrim couple for the kitchen tablescape,

And a couple of new pumpkins that never made it into a storage box.

I thought it might be nice to dig out some of the photos from past years to show you what it COULD look like. And it WOULD have been.

But it’s apparently been a LONG time since I did full on Thanksgiving decorating. So long I have none of those photos on THIS computer. Which means pre-2014. Oh my.

Seriously. THIS is the only thing that’s made it out in the last 4 years?

I’m so ashamed right now.

Happy Thanksgiving!