Barcelona!

September 9-12th
I had 3 nights in Barcelona – it was great. I loved it. I arrived into Girona which is about 90 km from Barcelona and caught a bus from there. The queue for the bus tickets was huge but it moved pretty quickly and I caught the bus I was aiming for. There was some quite scary driving by the bus driver as we got into the city where we narrowly missed hitting a few cars! I wans’t dressed for the heat in my jeans and I baked in the metro from the bus station to the city centre! I found my ‘hostal’ in the ‘Barri Gotic’ (medieval Quarter) without much trouble – it had an unobstrusive entrance so I walked past it initially!

I rang the buzzer and could hear the door release buzzing but could I open the bloody door? I tried 3 times until eventually the exasperated care taker – an old woman – came down and let me in. The hostal was up several flights of steep stairs (with no lift) within a larger apartment building which had once been a single house belonging to the countess of Sobradiel. As I strode up them easily with my suitcase, the old woman hobbled and panted behind me – I can see why she hadn’t wanted to come down and let me in! http://www.pensioalamar.com/presentacion_i.htm

Placa Reial in the Barri Gotic

My teeny-weeny hostel room

The hostal was a single apartment split into lots of small bedrooms along a corridor with a communal kitchen and loos and bathrooms off the reception area. My bedroom was the only one off the reception area. It was very small (as expected) but everywhere was clean and well-maintained. There was a large new fridge-freezer for us to use in the kitchen, and we got towels and bedding. There was no air-con but a fan. I didn’t sleep very well- it was hot, around 29c, even at night and the bed was a bit hard so my shoulder went numb!

On my first night I had dinner in a veggie restaurant off a small square near my hostal then headed to the Harlem Jazz café where a cover band were playing mostly English songs including the Beatles, Elvis and Stevie Wonder. Blue Suede Shoes became Blue Suede Shoe! But the singer was good and the place was busy- unfortunately it was very, very smokey inside and my eyes began to water badly so I stayed till the end of the show but then had to go.

Me with my Spanish friend Rosalia at the Boqueria food market

Amazing display of fruit at La Boqueria- yum!

It took around 24 hours for my nose to adjust to the pungent odours of the city (bags of rubbish in the streets combined with the heat made for a smelly experience). I heard different languages everywhere. There were funky clothes in the boutiques. Barca young people’s fashion style is dreads, black clothes, piercings and floor-length ‘maxi dresses’. The mullet hair-do (short on top, long at the back) is surprisingly popular here.

I felt comfortable as a lone woman tourist as I didn’t stand out too much in the hoards of tourists. On Thursday night dinner was a let down- the venus deli downstairs from my hostal had been recommended in the guide book – perhaps they’d become victims of their own success but micro-waved couscous and very stingy salad didn’t impress- there wasn’t even ¼ of an avocado and ¼ of a nectarine in it – there was however half a bottle of olive oil over it. I then went to a flamenco ‘taster’ show at the Tarantos in Placa Reial- it was a full house and impressive.

Gaudi's whimsical Parc Guell with Barcelona and sea in background

The staircase in Parc Guell- heaving with people

Over the course of my short stay I went to the beach twice and even swam in the sea, I wandered round the city, visited the Miro gallery, Gaudi’s fantastical Parc Guell and the Sagrada Familia church, and the medieval Catedral Seu.


Of course the exchange rate is crap for us just now- roughly 1 euro to the pound where you used to get 2 euros for a pound! Makes everything much more expensive. I wish I’d spent a year out studying there while I was at uni! It’s really funky and fun. Not like other places in Spain I’ve been to.

Gaudi's fantastic Sagrada Familia- still being built


Me on the beach at Barceloneta

The waterfront at the harbour

I met up with a Spanish girlfriend Rosalia on the Saturday morning before I had to leave – she spent 3 months in Stirling last summer working at the uni and that’s when we met. She also studied psychology and does Iyengar yoga like me. She lives 1.5 hours away from Barca on the train but made the effort to come and meet me despite being really busy at work. I had managed to lock myself out of my room that morning- the only morning when the caretaker was not around owing to the Catalan festival the night before I couldn’t find the spare keys until a very helpful Polish guy also staying at the hostel found them in a cupboard in the kitchen – I identified mine and got into my room! Phew!

Rosalia and I had a wander round the Boqueria food market off the Ramblas and had a light lunch in a very nice restaurant before I had to get a bus to Girona to get my Ryanair flight. She’s invited me to go and stay with her in the coastal town where she lives with her husband which is not far from the other budget airport at Reus - tempting…

Crannog - Anniversary Outing

We have been married for 8 years on 7th September. Or, as I like to say, 8 lo-o-o-ng years :-) We decided to do something nice together on the actual day of our anniversay, a Monday, since I was on holiday from work.

I had seen the Crannog on TV recently and wanted to visit and as the sun was shining, we set off on the gorgeous tourist scenic route via Crieff up to Loch Tay.

http://www.crannog.co.uk/

The Crannog- a replica of an ancient, iron age dwelling place. Made mostly of local alder wood.

Side view of the Crannog and its bridge. It took 3 summers to build basing the design on archeological evidence found in this and other lochs.

A crannog is a type of ancient loch-dwelling found throughout Scotland and Ireland dating from 5,000 years ago. Many crannogs were built out in the water as defensive homesteads and represented symbols of power and wealth. Often when you see a small isand in the middle of a loch, it was originally the site of a crannog.

View over Loch Tay from Crannog.


Michael carving a piece of wood on the lathe.

Here's one I made earlier. Using the foot-operated pole lathe.

We also both made fire using wood & friction! Ray Mears would've been proud!

Summer stuff

Well, I haven’t been blogging much the past few months – partly to do with job-related hassle and partly me going out enjoying the longer summer nights.

I had been saving up my holidays so took 2 weeks off in July- much needed after no (official) time off since the start of March. I spent one week down in York with my sisters, their kids and my mum and dad – we rented 2 cottages outside of the city at the same place we went to last year. It’s great for kids as there’s an indoor pool, tennis courts, a pool & table tennis table and a playground. Unfortunately the weather was quite rainy with unpredictable torrential downpours on most days including the day we went to the beach in Scarborough! We had a day at ‘The Deep’ – the aquarium in Hull, went into York city a couple of times, went to Castle Howard of Brideshead Revisited fame, and a lavender farm which smelled great!

Ruben watching jellyfish, The Deep, Hull

France family portrait (minus Sarah & Kate) at Castle Howard - from front left to right: Dan, Mum, Ruben, Me. Back left to right: Matt, David & dad

The last week of my hols I spent in Stirling- it was rainy here too and pretty cold for summer – only 16c. It wasn’t the best week cos Charlie our adored cat was ill and we found out he has feline aids (they can’t infect humans) – Michael was inconsolable until Charlie pulled through his illness really well after a course of antibiotics. He (the cat) is now eating huge piles of very expensive cat food! I swear his food costs more than ours!

We did have a few very humid and hot weeks in July but since then the weather’s been really wet and not very hot – some days it’s been downright cold! I don’t think the rest of the country has fared any better mind you.

I have managed to do a bit of sight-seeing in Scotland with a day trip to Glencoe and a hill walk up one of our most scenic mountains Stob Binnein. I also dragged Michael up one of our most accessible hills, Ben Ledi near Callander!

The ascent to Stob Binnein- the ridge up to the summit in the mist

Toni & Roser at summit of Stob Binnein having lunch

Carniverous sundew plants on boggy hillside

Glencoe - The Three Sisters

Glencoe - Micael trying the real ale at the Clachaig Inn

I’ve also discovered a fantastic salsa night here in Bannockburn near Stirling which happens once a month – it’s been years since I did any salsa but I am picking it up again and really enjoying it. I am considering taking a few classes just to improve enough to avoid knocking knees with my partner and stepping on his toes! I indulged in a wonderful pair of proper dance shoes which makes a big difference - they are really soft and comfortable despite having a 2.5 inch heel (I only tried on about 30 pairs)! They mean you can do turns without jarring your ankle and also don’t slip on the dance floor.

Salsatastic!

For Dad's birthday treat we went to 'Go Ape' an adventure course in Aberfoyle in the forest with zip wires, rope bridges, ladders etc. It rained quite a lot but we didn't get too wet under the trees.

Going ape- dad on longest zipwire in UK

I am still working at Edinburgh Uni just now although the contract is due to end in November. The job didn’t turn out quite how I expected and has involved dealing with huge amounts of NHS bureaucracy and hassle which has been demoralising and DULL. Anyway, on the plus side I quite enjoy being in Edinburgh particularly in the buzzy summer season and during the Festival when there are lots of interesting street acts all over (including bands playing outside my office window)! Also my boss has gone on sabbatical for a year so as of this month I am now spending most of the week at Stirling uni which is much easier to get to and means I can fit in more fitness classes!

The Udderbelly venue at Edinburgh Festival

Unfortunately I didn’t get the project grant I applied for although I did get through to the final selection round which is an achievement in itself. But my current project has been extended for a few months and I can work on that part-time based at Stirling Uni – the prospect doesn’t exactly fill me with joy but, hey, it’s better than nothing!

I am looking forward to my next trip which is a few days in Barcelona. I have only been once and that was for the Millennium celebration in 1999/2000 so it’ll be lovely to go back and this time in warmer weather. I find I work better when I have something to look forward to!

May Party Month

Mexican-themed party

me & Roser

Trying to smash the pinata to get to the sweets

Pinata action!

Barbeque

May - Mountains

To be completed...

Vane Farm RSPB reserve, above Loch Leven

Vane Farm, Loch Leven

Ben A'an - looking down on Loch Katrine and over to Ben Venue

Ben A'an looking at Ben Venue

The summit of Ben A'an behind the lovely, lush forest

Summit of Ben Vorlich - lunch with a view!

Ben Vorlich summit and ridge- badly eroded

Views from Ben Vorlich

Ascent of Ben Vorlich, getting steeper

Ben Vorlich from side of Loch Earn

Scottish Spring

April 2009

When Michael and I go on a bike ride we often go via Bridge of Allan, through the mine woods to Dunblane. If we are feeling particularly energetic we extend the route to go through the university campus, around the lochs and also explore a bit more of Dunblane, as we did on this occasion in April. Having spent all day on Good Friday writing a grant application for a future job I was ready to exert myself and get some fresh air. We must have clocked up 20 miles on the round trip, a lot of that being on rough ground off-road.

Dunblane Cathedral Doorway

The cathedral in Dunblane really dominates the skyline and is more or less at the heart of the town. The architecture looks like a bit of a mix of styles and stones with some very ancient looking doorways.

Dunblane Cathedral - another ancient doorway

Dunblane Cathedral Tower

On Easter Sunday I went over to visit my parents in Glasgow and stayed for lunch, we had Easter cake and sat outside in the sun for our lunch - a rare opportunity for outdoor dining! My day off on Easter Monday involved a straight 13 hours of work on my research proposal. I am looking at it as an investment in our future but it's a sad fact of academic life that you need to use your holidays and spare time to secure future funding!

The following weekend (18-19 April) was another glorious sunny weekend so Michael and I had a look in our local walks guide book, selected a hill in the nearby Ochils, and set off wearing more clothes than we needed given how hot it became. This necessitated Michael removing his trousers at one point, much to my amusement and enjoyment! I was not allowed to post the photo on my blog....!

Larch tree growing sideways along the ground on Wood Hill above Alva, Clackmannanshire

The approach to Wood Hill is through a lovely sycamore wood and then there's a fairly steep ascent to get to the summit. Once at the top there are no trees, just grasses and you can see for miles. You could easily walk across the top of various hills in many different directions without dropping down much in altitude. It was so peaceful , sunny and beautiful I had the feeling I wanted to stay up there all day.

Ancient Scots pines on Wood Hill

Top of Wood Hill looking down on Alva village

Inevitably, we got a bit lost on the way down as we were trying to macro-navigate and some of the landmarks in the guide book had changed since it was written! We ended up in a maze of gorse on a vertiginously steep hillside and finally came into a field of sheep including what looked like a large ram. Gulp! We stuck close to the barbed wire fence and hoped to god we didn't have to fling ourselves over it into more spikey gorse bushes- they have BIG thorns!

Beautiful gorse flowers- they smell sweet like peaches. Tillicoultry in background

Spring lamb with Mum on descent of Wood Hill. There was a big ram in the field too.....

The blossoming gorse covered a lot of the lower slopes of the hills and from a distance looks really impressive. In the towns all the cherry tres are in blossom with their big fluffy flower pompoms in pink or white. The petals regularly drop off and carpet the ground until around 2 weeks after they flower when the trees are bare of flowers again. Later in spring, in May, it's the turn of the Scottish bluebells to carpet hills and woodland floors - a really lovely natural 'wonder'.

Gorgeous pink cherry blossom in Riverside, only lasts 2 weeks

Red Kites

Red Kites at Argaty farm, 21 March 09
All the family, apart from Kate & Ruben (Ruben had a party to go to), came over to our house in Stirling today before heading up to Doune to Argaty Farm where they have a wild group/ flock of rare birds of prey, red kites, living. In the winter the birds group together before going their separate ways again in the spring when they pair up and establish nests across a wider area.

In the viewing hide -a bit chilly and windy

The farm is a working farm where they try to work with not against nature and they've built a viewing hide where you can pay to see the wild birds. They tag the birds so they can track their progress- some have moved up to enar Inverness and one has even gone to Wales to live. Michael and I have been once before in February when it was foggy and all we could see were the silhouettes although we could hear their eery cries.

Red kites - we counted over 30. They have a distinctive v-shaped tail.

The weather was ideal today to see them nice and sunny and windy. There were over 30 kites and we got some amazing views of them. The guide feeds themonce a day with a small amount of meat-usually rabbit but today they had sea trout which they seemed to love. The birds feed on carrion, worms, small mammals in the wild and they are also partial to fresh sheep's placenta- mm, yum! They are quite light birds- around a kilo in weight - so they couldn't catch or kill something as big as a lamb despite some people believing they are capable of this and persecuting them as a result.

Kites swooping down to get the sea trout

The guide set up a telescope so we could see some of the birds close up and he spotted one perched on a telegraph pole so we got a good view of its beautiful feathers. With our binoculars we could see the kites swoop down to get the fish and then eat it on the wing!

The sound is poor quality but the images aren't bad - they loved that sea trout even if it wasn't fit for human consumption!