2017 September ----- Due to its geographical location, this hilltop has been occupied by different people since pre-historical time. Recorded history has the Romans, Visigoths, Arabs, Mozarabs, Jews, and Christians here successively, as well. It reminded me of the Moorish Castle in Sintra, only in much better condition, but as with Sintra, part of the... Continue Reading →
Portugal – Sintra
2017 September ----- Palácio Nacional de Sintra The next day, Sunday, we left Lisbon and headed to Sintra. We found a parking spot not too far a walk along a sculpture-filled ravine park from the Palácio Nacional de Sintra in the heart of town. The plain Gothic exterior of the Palace is dominated by two 33... Continue Reading →
Portugal – Lisbon
2017 September ----- I arrived in Lisbon the day before Ed because my flight would have arrived after his, and considering he was flying directly after coming off a night shift I didn't want him waiting for me. Also, I wanted to find the Mignac Hostel so we were not entirely lost. This turned out... Continue Reading →
UK – London – Part 2
2017 September 5 ----- Cutty Sark The Cutty Sark is a British clipper ship. Built in 1869 she was the fastest clipper on the ocean. Time was money, and she was fast! Her reign died with the onset of steam ships. She was sold to a Portuguese company and renamed. In 1922 a retired British... Continue Reading →
UK – London – Part 1
2017 August 22 ----- Ed's sister, Patsy, and I went to see kd lang at the Jubilee on the 19th. She spent the night at our house then the next morning gave me a ride to the Red Arrow bus terminal, where I took the bus to Calgary YYC Airport. I was supposed to be... Continue Reading →
Philippines – Palawan – El Nido
2017 May ----- Monday, 8 May Anthony gave us a ride to the domestic terminal 4 for our flight to El Nido, Palawan. The traffic was super slow due to the toll booths. It gave us a good opportunity to see just how packed the local commuter buses are during rush hour. There was standing... Continue Reading →
Philippines – Tagaytay
2017 May 3 ----- Wednesday, 3 May Allan and Bella had us meet them on the main road once more, where they picked us up with Anthony acting as chauffeur again. We were headed to Tagaytay where Caleruega’s Retreat Centre was located. Calaruega is a beautiful church sanctuary where one can get close to God... Continue Reading →
Philippines – Imus, Cavite
Allan & Bella Wedding ----- 2017 May 28 ----- Although the Philippines was never on our bucket list of places to go, when Ed's twin brother, Allan, said he was getting married there we simply had to go! Ed was the Ninong – keeping with the Filipino custom of the wise elder bestowing advice to... Continue Reading →
United Kingdom – London
2017 JANUARY ----- I arrived in London on 29 December 2016. The plan was to get the kids used to Grandma for a few days before Mommy & Daddy leaving for a well deserved holiday. We went to Kate's, the neighbour, for New Year's Eve again this year. There were lots of people crammed into... Continue Reading →
Mexico – Bucerias & Puerto Vallarta
2016 NOVEMBER ----- BUCERIAS We were originally going to go to Costa Rica, but Hurricane Otto changed our plans. WestJet allowed us to change our flights to a different destination. Considering we had 36 hours until our flight was scheduled to depart, we didn’t have a lot of choices regarding seat availability or hotel availability.... Continue Reading →