Rain

Well, it had to happen -- a day which had to be spent entirely at the hotel due to weather.  Make no mistake, I will take this rain over the snow and ice that has impacted all the activities at home.  However, with the blowing wind -- up to 80 km per hour, it was not the nicest of days.  The cobblestone sidewalks have a white strip made of a slippery stone, so you really have to watch the footing, especially if you are walking with sticks the way Ian does.  So it was best to stay home yesterday.

We had known about the impending weather and so had stocked in enough food and drink.  We had netflix and decided to watch all the Harry Potter movies in sequence -- 2 more to go.  I had my new tapestry stitching to keep my hands busy.  We watched the wind blow the palms around and the waves crash over the breakwater on the harbour.

This morning the sun is breaking through the clouds.  I can live with this.

Something new

I have always been excited by something new.  Certainly many people are delighted by new clothes, new cars, new toys, etc.  and I fall into that category. But more than that, I love new experiences -- a different resort, a place I have never been, a book I have never read, a piece of music I have never sung, a flower I have never seen, a food I have never tasted, an activity I have never tried.  While I can sometimes find these new experiences at home, I am much more likely to come across such things while traveling.

Today it was pineapples.  Yes, I have had pineapples at home and in the Caribbean and even in Hawaii where I was introduced to those special sweet little ones.  I even drove by a pineapple field in Hawaii many years ago, but I had never stopped to investigate how they grow.

Pineapples were brought to the Azores in the early 19th century as ornamental plants.  The first plantations appeared about 1860.  On this island is the only place in the world where the fruit is grown under glass, claiming to make it a unique tasting delight.  We have it at breakfast in the mornings and it is very good.

We walked to the plantation where we found about 15 rectangular greenhouses in various stages of the 18 month process of producing pineapples.  I had no idea about the bulb that it come from, the smoking process to encourage all the plants in a greenhouse to produce fruit at the same time, or that the fruit is staked to make sure it develops properly.  What a fascinating adventure!

Oh, and on the way back, there was a bush with flowers I have never seen before.

Water

I love water, especially the ocean.

I can walk for hours along the shore, be it sand or cobblestone paths.  I love riding along the ocean -- and wish that the lady who has the bike I got last year would get back to me.  There is something soothing and eternal and mesmerizing about the water coming onto the shore on a beach or over rocks.

When I used to windsurf, if I was too good and went too far just zooming along, I would deliberately drop into the water just because it was wonderful to get wet.

We can see the ocean from our balcony -- not quite as glorious as it was at the other hotel where we were right on the waterfront.

Ponta Delgada is lovely!

Three days in Lisbon

The internet connection here at the 4U Lisbon Guesthouse, has not been consistent, so there is only one post for the 3 days we have spent here.

Weather has been fabulous, if you like 18 to 20 degrees in brilliant sunshine.  Mornings are just under 10, so I have needed my jacket, which due to the breeze, I have happily worn all day.

First day -- Tuesday.  Learning to navigate the public transport in a city is always a bit challenging, and then when one has used it a few days, it becomes ordinary.  The metro here is no exception.  Our stop was about a km away, but just a nice walk to get the day started.  Our Lisbon card was a very good investment -- 72 hours of unlimited transit, and lots of free entrances.  So our first ride was down to the waterfront where the gates of the city face the Tagus River/estuary which provided the water access for all those Portuguese explorers.    We got an overview of the history of the city at the Lisbon Story Center, complete with a simulation of the 1755 earthquake.  Lunch of grilled sardines on an outdoor sidewalk -- mmmmm.  Then it was off to see the Music Museum which is in a metro station.  It was a grand little museum and to make the experience complete, there was a free concert at 6 pm of violin, clarinet and piano.  The students from the university music program did a very nice job -- especially the clarinetist who, according to Ian, was the best he has ever heard live.

Second day -- Wednesday.  Having mastered the metro, today it was off to the west using the local train system.  Here the national pastry was first made -- the Belem tart-- and they still make it exactly the same way they always have.  An espresso and a tart in the adjacent park was fabulous!  The Monastery of St. Jerome has wonderful cloisters and the remains of Vasco de Gama.  The Tower of Belem on the river bank reminded us that the peace of today was not always enjoyed in this area.  The monument to the explorers and discoverers is a contrasting modern monument.  The walk along the river is so pleasant.  We did not enjoy the 'art' in the modern museum. but the exhibits in the old electrical plant were very well presented and interesting.

Third day -- Thursday.  Any day that starts with chocolates being brought to you for breakfast, gets a positive kick.  Today we visited the art supply store that Ian found online.  Very Impressive in terms of scope of materials.  We mastered the bus system and made our way to the Tile Museum.  What a fabulous collection of historic and modern uses of this very Portuguese product.  We finished the afternoon with a circuit of Tram 28 which traverses the city and all the ups and downs of the many hills which are in this place.  We were very pleased that someone else was driving.

We saw lots, sampled new and different foods, saw the regular life of an old city and enjoyed some of the unique sights of Lisbon.  Highly recommended to all!

Winter Discussion II

So on Friday morning we flew from Lisbon (sunny and 12) to Stockholm (snow and -10).  As you may have figured out by now, I am not the greatest fan of the white winter.

Saturday morning dawned quiet and still and the early morning photo of Jenn and Richard's back yard showed a truly magical setting.

We headed to a town about 8 km away where Jenn teaches and TvE takes cross country ski lessons.  It was the local ski meet with appropriate length courses for everyone from 3 to whatever.  It was the first ski race for both TvE and R.  They were fitted with timing chips though their times were not given -- I guess it was to get them used to the whole routine.  The clock counted down 30 seconds between each entrant and beeped 5 short seconds and then a long sound for each to start.  R, being only 3, went with her Dad beside her.  TvE was very excited to go and had a great start and whole adventure, climbing the hills well and pushing hard on the downhills and straights.  Everyone -- yes even the adults, got a prize at the end with placing medals for all 9 years old and up.  There was friendly competition from 3 other local ski clubs with altogether 100 entrants.  As a total spectator, I was most impressed with the positive encouraging spirit for all.

Saturday afternoon it snowed and snowed.  It was necessary to shovel the driveway.

Shoveling snow is something very familiar from my childhood.  I lived on a farm in the late 50s and 60s which had a 275m driveway.  It was poorly positioned so that wind from the west regularly dumped snow in drifts over the drive.  Ours was a farm which needed 10 ton feed trucks to be able to come in weekly to supply the chickens and then trucks to take the birds to market -- about 4,000 at a time.  When we first lived on the farm, we did not have a snowblower and my Dad rigged a diagonal board on the old Massey Harris tractor with which he could push some of the snow.  It was not adjustable so there was still lots of the white stuff which had to be shoveled by hand.  It was a family work force, so we all participated.  My childhood memories of snow are the shoveling kind, not the sledding variety.  And we went to school at a time when girls still had to wear skirts and walking the 0.5 miles west to the bus stop in tights, my legs were always cold.  No need to wonder why I hate winter.

So we shoveled on Saturday and then again on Sunday because we were blessed with about 60 cm total.  We piled it on the lawn making a huge snow mountain which the little girls use as a sledding slope.  They wanted to make snow bunnies -- I even managed one they could sit on.  I have, probably for the first time in my life, snow pants that keep me warm enough to be outside.  I had a wool base layer which got a fleece over it and then was covered with a windproof waterproof shell.  I wore mini mitts inside big Omniheat mitts.  I had a neck warmer, a scarf, a knit hat, and a hood.  I had double socks inside big insulated boots.  I can say, that I was not cold.  I navigated through the snow, the girls slid and laughed.  We built a snow fort.  It was fun.

However, at home, snow usually means a raw wind and shoveling the sidewalk for the dog walkers.  Unless it is icy, I try to get in my walk outside, rather than on the eliptical.  It is determination, not fun.

So, I blame my perception of winter on my childhood.  The childhood of the 4 grandkids is about skiing and sledding in the snow.  We all have our long-held attitudes which define us, but if I look at it through my grandchildren's eyes, I may be able to change that perception.

Technology

Last evening we watched a documentary on Silicon Valley and all the discoveries and innovations that have come out of there the last 60 years.  Amazing, and things that I remember.  In the summer of 1972, I was building circuits to control and experiment for one of the Physics professors.  It introduced me to transistors and resistors, and was the most basic computing with And and Nand gates.  I taped the copper plates and then dunked them in acid to remove the unwanted conducting material.

Our hotel is 300m from the airport -- thanks to the internet search I did to find something close.  We have an early flight to Stockholm tomorrow morning so that we can get our rental car and make it to the grandkids before bedtime which is about 18:00 (6 pm to those uninitiated to 24 hour time).  Again, an internet search.  I have all my paperwork printed out so that it is easy to present at the appropriate place .  I am not quite confident enough to do everything on my phone, yet.

I needed to find a grocery store once we landed in our room -- thanks Google and on the phone it led me there with instructions the whole way.  I paid with my Mastercard.

And so I am amazed by how far our technology has come.  But we have monumental problems facing us in terms of environmental damage.  I guess I believe, that the impossible dreams of today will find a solution, for the sake of my grandchildren.  Reuse, repurpose, recycle.

Trading winter scenarios

Yes it is January and that means winter, but winter can have different faces.

Consider the face of Hamilton/Toronto area on Monday.  It was -16, snowing steadily and a strong wind.  It made for a most unpleasant day.  The car had to be brushed off.  The crawl along the 407 and 401 to the airport took 2.5 hours.  Almost every flight on the departures board was delayed or cancelled.  The KLM flight at our gate just before us had been diverted to Ottawa and then couldn't get out so the poor people who were meant to leave at 6 pm were told at 9 that they had to make other arrangements.  We were 2 hours late getting into the plane and then another hour waiting to get de-iced, but we made it out.

Now consider winter here in Ponta Delgada.  I am sitting on our balcony overlooking the city and the harbour.  The ocean is calm and the sunrise has been lovely.  It is +16 and forecast to go to 17 during the day and only 15 tonight.  There is the sound of a workman sawing something occasionally, but other than that, a bit of a traffic hum and birds.

I am happy with my choice!