Randonnée divers

A restaurant a few blocks away, near Pere Lachaise, where
we had lunch with Tawana and Wes two years ago

In the nearby 3rd, a fashion district...mostly wholesale

Also retro

Rainy day field trip to Nicolas Flamel, oldest house in Paris

Waiting for green light

Love the Metro, next to walking

Place de la Republique

Couldn't they have named it East Side Broccoli
or East Side Artichoke?

Men doing what men must do...at Place de la Nation

Nous Vivons A Paris

So. Maintenant, nous vivons à Paris, à la fin du mois de juillet. Dans le 11e arrondissement. Nous ferons plutôt moins les visites et plus juste qui vivent ici et le blog va changer en conséquence. Probablement moins d'entrées et surtout plus curiosités et les incidents. Et les visites de ses amis et de sa famille.*

Where we live...just to the left of the big green splotch on the right, that is, the
Cimetiere du Pere Lachaise; sort of in the neighborhood of Place de la Nation

"We'll always have Paris"..."well, at least through July 31st"

*So. We're living now in Paris, at least until the end of July. In the 11th arrondissement. We'll be just living here and not so much sight-seeing, and the blog will change accordingly. Probably fewer entries and more curiosities and incidents. And visits from family and friends.

Barcelona Out-Takes, 2014

Incipient shoe line at the Roman wall

Something new to us: jambon cones; yummy, too

At the priestly vestments store: a traveling
cocktail set

Condominium

The Last Cookie

La Rambla fixture

They really like Wagner in Barcelona

Renovation work at La Pedrera; note sophisticated safety
shield

In the apartment bathroom at La Pedrera; for
very precise enemas?

Moonshine and marble?

Today's wedding (running gag)

Doorman at Casa Comalot: "Now go away,
or I shall taunt you a second time!"

Door to nowhere...above a landing on the
stairwell in our hotel; but a really nice door

Chocolate strawberry kabobs at the Bouquerie

Sangria popsicles

National animal and nut

Demon absinthe

Spanish patisseries are out-of-sight

Needs a caption but is so full of meanings and symbols and
possibilities and...I can't decide

Barcelona Scenes, 2014

There probably aren't a dozen cities in which we have spent more time than Barcelona, so we had already seen pretty much all the things that interest us...apart from just being there. (Well, there are a few more things...a museum or two, the Liceu (no performances until the 19th, etc.)) Anyhow, the city was this time just a stop along the way to another, greater city, and we spent our day and a half in Barcelona merely visiting old friends. All those old friends always reward return visits anyway.

In or near the Bari Gotic, a stretch of the
Roman wall

In the chancel of Santa Maria del Mar, a favorite and very
unusual late Gothic church

The market was just a couple blocks from the hostel, and
always worth a visit, or two, or three

Casa Mila, aka La Pedrera, under wraps; we visited with
Norma and Marie

Us on the terrace

Caternary arches in the loft

In the Gaudi museum at La Pedrera, models of Casa Batllo,
before and after Gaudi's "renovation"; of course we walked
by the Block of Discord...

And visited our perennial favorite, Casa
Comalat

And the Family Sangria (!), still under construction...

Another favorite, the House of Points

One of its many gorgeous entrances

Sun setting on the citadel

And on the Cathedral

And on the Palau de la Musica Catalana

We've visited and toured the Palau a couple of times; but
this time, Vicki was determined to hear a concert there, and
we got, literally, the last two seats to a performance by
Raimon; the significance of which was mostly lost on us;
but we were at least dimly aware of being present at a
great musical event that could only occur at the Palau

Midnight Rambla

Debarcation In Barcelona

Our last night on the Epic was a flurry of food, packing, gaming, and howling at the moon. After breakfast the next morning, we debarked and headed on by shuttle from the port to La Rambla and our hostel there, the BeniDorm.

Norm and Marie; after a day with us in Barcelona, they headed
off on another cruise, all around Italy; they'll rejoin us in Paris
in a week

On terra firma again; two big Celebrity ships were already in
the Port of Barcelona...10,000 tourists hitting Barcelona from
this quay alone (there were other lesser cruise ships around
the harbor); Barcelona is to the Mediterranean what Miami
is to the Caribbean...

Bye, Epic; no longer first-time cruisers, we might well see
you again...

Chris Colon welcomes us to Barcelona...
reminding me of the old bumper sticker
that said "Welcome to Texas! Now go home!"

A last look at the Norwegian Epic, over the roof tops, from
La Pedrera

Not pictured department: the restaurants, and particularly the Garden Cafe buffet, where, alas, we spent most of our waking time. We enjoyed the cruise greatly, Vicki even more than me, and are sure to do it again, but the food thing en cruise can be a bit disturbing. I had lost 15 pounds while in New Zealand, then gained much of it back while at Fiji and with Rebecca and then at Carole's. Then comes the cruise and Norwegian's free-style gluttony approach...really good food, incredible variety, available at all hours and in whatever quantities...e.g., 2,400 lbs. of lobster tail served at the Garden just on seafood night. Even at the sit-down-and-be-served restaurants, the food, though not to rave about, was quite good, with the exception of a few Thai dishes, and the variety was fairly stunning. At one of the nutrition seminars we attended (!), it was observed that the average cruiser will gain 7-14 pounds on a week-long cruise. Looking around at the largely American, and therefore largely obese passengers, it appeared that many had already enjoyed quite a few cruises. A whole new meaning for heavy cruiser. So despite trying to eat sensibly and walking 10-15,000 steps a day and doing the stairs often, I am afraid I did not succeed in keeping a few more pounds off. I have to credit Marie and Norm for cruising as much as they do and still keeping very fit.

Also not pictured department: other passengers. Initially I felt like observing--you hear this often at assisted-living facilities--that we were among the younger (and therefore more attractive, well, photogenic) people on board. ("Everyone else is so old"). Imagine my shock at learning that I was eight (8) years older than the average passenger on board. So I spent more than a little of the cruise in reflection and self-examination (looking in the mirror: "do I look that old?"). But not very much. There was always another meal to go to. Pass the coconut flan, whippersnapper!

Pillars Of Hercules

We passed through the Pillars of Hercules about 11:45 PM Tuesday night. Lots of people were up on the 15th floor looking for the famed Straits of Gibraltar, including me, but it was pretty dark out there. I alternated between port and starboard and got at least a few decent night shots.

Ships passing in the night

A town on the Spanish side

A big town on the Moorish side

Next day, in the sea lanes 

Close by the coast of Spain, a white city in the haze...