Author: JWF

London Days

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Days two and three in London involved more walking (only one Tube round trip so far), an art exhibit and a long browse in one of my favorite bookshops.

ART

It was Sunday, the last day of the exhibit, and very foggy.  Like us, many like-minded folks streamed toward the Tate Modern for the Georgia O’Keefe retrospective.  For most people, O’Keefe evokes the thought of flower images and New Mexico.  But she was so much more than a flower painter.  img_1226 img_1227This exhibit traces her work from early abstracts through a brief New York phase (who knew she painted skyscrapers?) to summers in Lake George, NY (loved the simple straight lines of a green door and her presentation of foliage), to the landscapes and adobes of the Southwest and her fascination with skulls and bones (which she insisted did not mean death to her).  Even later, she painted several series of patios and flowery trees.  And, yes, the flowers are here; I’m partial to the poppies and, of course, the stunningly beautiful and beautifully composed white jimson weed!

We rented the multi-media guide (audio with photos of the works being discussed) which was excellent.  Commentary by various curators plus the voice of O’Keefe explaining her approach to her art.  I find that having an audio guide, particularly in a crowded exhibit, helps me focus even if it means I don’t stop and peruse every work.  [I saw no one taking photos of the art and so was hesitant to do so, only taking the above two photos.]

We had lunch in the museum restaurant on the 6th floor and were just ahead of the crowd.  Veal milanese with sauerkraut on the side and a very nice panfried hake with sautéed greens were our selections. img_1230 In keeping with the coloring craze, the table was covered with a mat to color and a glass of crayons.  A diversion for the adults as much as the kids.

BOOKS–HATCHARD’S

After lunch, we walked across the Millennium Bridge and along Sermon Lane to St. Paul’s Cathedral.  From there we took the Tube to Tottenham Court Road and then walked through Leicester Square, past Eros on Piccadilly, and onward.  Hatchard’s has been around since 1797 and is a very proper bookshop. It not only has three floors of books, but is carpeted, not blazingly lit, and offers some quiet nooks where one might sit.  Several years ago it was taken over by Waterstone’s and there are now some signs of that with more gifty items and notecards on the main floor which are nice, but, to me, detract from the seriousness of the place.

The extensive fiction section has been re-located to the second floor along with the largest array of crime novels I’ve seen anywhere.  And there’s an inviting sofa under the window on which one may alight.  Small tables with piles of books on them are staged throughout the entire store, each with a titled sign and then a quotation from some author’s work.  Strong suits are certainly British history and biography as well as the aforementioned fiction and the latest new titles.  We easily spent an hour and I left with a short novel by Tessa Hadley and a few more notecards for my collection.

All photos by JWFarrington; header photo is London Millennium Bridge

Loafing in London

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We arrived yesterday morning in London and powered through the day with lots of walking, one nap, and a respectable early bedtime.  Today we increased our step count exploring Knightsbridge (think Harrod’s Food Hall) and spending time in both Hyde Park and Green Park.  The rose garden was mostly over except for one or two last blooms.img_1194 img_1206img_1219

 

img_1216RECENT READING

The Latter Days by Judith Freeman
Continuing my reading of memoirs by writers and reporters, I read this one by novelist Judith Freeman. She was brought up in the Mormon faith, but strained against its strictures and rules from an early age. Certainly by her teen years, she was rebelling internally, being given talks by one of the church elders, and subjected to little chats with her mother who admonished her to behave more like her older sister, Marcia.

Somewhat surprisingly, Freeman married a local boy at seventeen, got pregnant very soon thereafter and surrendered any thought of college for herself. Later she and her husband moved from Utah to Minnesota and grew even farther away from the church.

Freeman’s memoir is straightforward and plain as she recounts a childhood starved of warmth and thin on material goods. I found some of the early chapters slow, but appreciated more her later discussion of the turquoise notebook she found from her high school years and how she was eventually able to quench her thirst for learning and channel her desire to become a writer. She has written several novels based on her Mormonism.

All photos copyright JWFarrington

Cruise Wind-up: A Dose of Fall

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SAGUENAY

After Prince Edward Island, we cruised on to Gaspe (it wasn’t a very nice day and as we were anchored some distance from the town, not docked, we opted to stay on the ship) and then Saguenay River and Quebec City. Saguenay was a pleasant surprise. It’s a very small town, but we received the warmest welcome of anywhere! In fact, the town has won awards three times for providing the friendliest welcome anywhere in the world.  img_1016

Townsfolk dressed in period costumes greeted us with slices of blueberry pie, maple sugar on a stick, and the chance to test our skill by sawing a log (the Chief Penguin performed). This was all right outside the cruise terminal; further on, another ambassador practically embraced us with information and maps. img_1037 We wandered the few streets. Going into St. Alphonse, a beautiful Catholic church where we bemoaned the craziness of the presidential election with the greeters there, and then browsing the craft market before spending an hour using the free and robust wifi in the cruise terminal.

dsc01035QUEBEC CITY 

Quebec City dawned sunny with a blue blue sky and stunning fall colors. It was a crisp morning, only about 50 degrees, and we walked the lower town (some unusual hanging canoe art here) and then took the funicular up the hill to the commanding Chateau Frontenac and a panoramic view.  dsc01043We wandered around taking in the architecture and the beautiful yellow, orange and red trees (I think I overdosed on photographing the trees!) and then walked back down the hill to the ship. We repeated the process after lunch only without the funicular. Sitting near city hall, I was struck by two lifesize straw harvest figures offering up pumpkins.  Overall it was a day with lots of steps—and stairs!  dsc01067

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MONTREAL

We had opted to go on to Montreal by motor coach, on what most of us would call a bus. This wasn’t really necessary (we’ve been to Montreal many times) as the trip was longer than it needed to be and the hotel wasn’t properly equipped to handle this large influx of cruise passengers. Nonetheless, the raw rain we left in Quebec City had cleared and Montreal was mostly sunny and a balmy 75 degrees. The natives had shed their jackets and scarves and were practically skipping about. We spent the afternoon strolling the streets and sitting in the plaza outside the cathedral before savoring a lovely dinner at Toque with our travel companions. The dinner was the right way to cap off a marvelous trip!

All photos copyright JWFarrington (some rights reserved)

At Sea: Cruising Pt.2

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IN THE NORTH ATLANTIC

Life on the ship continues to be most pleasant. While on board, there are lots of options for entertainment and enlightenment and more food and drink than one can imagine. If so inclined, you can play Mahjongg or bridge, learn to knit, participate in fitness activities, refine your computer skills, watch a movie, borrow a book or CD from the library, attend a lecture, or walk the promenade deck around the perimeter of the ship (this latter something I’m determined to do at least once!).

We have enjoyed the musical offerings throughout the various venues on the ship: from the all-female string quartet playing classical music, to the sextet of instrumentalists and vocalists who provide music for dancing, to the ship’s symphony who are part of the big “shows” in the theater. Last night we had fun at the rousing “Across the Water” show which presented dancers and singers performing pop and rock songs from Britain to the USA ending with a long string of my favorite Beatles tunes.

Lounges and quiet corners abound and it’s easy to find a comfortable chair with a view of the water where you can read or nap or just plain veg.

SYDNEY (Cape Breton Island)
The highlight of our stop in Sydney was “Spirit of the Fiddle,” a performance of Cape Breton music by three accomplished musicians. Two men and one woman on violin, guitar, and keyboard, who switched around as to who played what.

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It was a great introduction to a range of Celtic gigs, reels and other tunes with a bit of Scottish step dancing tossed in. This step dancing is closer to the floor without the high kicks of Riverdance, but still requires fleet and intricate footwork. Seating was cabaret style and we sampled Scottish oat cakes, each plate on the tables anchored by a square of a different tartan. Cape Breton Island is known for its music and there is a 55 foot high all metal fiddle sculpture in front of the cruise pavilion.
Later in the day, we walked around this small town, population 30,000. It reminded me of upstate NY as we wandered the quiet streets, checked out the shopping (would you believe I bought a pair of my favorite brand of shoes?), and got briefed on some local history from the guide at the historic Anglican church, built as a garrison chapel. Our last stop was the Jost House where our gray-haired colorful guide amused us with quips and stories midst the history. Sydney had a long history of coal mining followed by the steel industry. Both are now long gone and the town counts on these visits from cruise ships.

CHARLOTTETOWN (Prince Edward Island)
Our stops in port are brief. Most of our cruising is done at night and hence, we arrive in port around 8:00 am and then depart generally around 5:00 pm. We arrived in the port at Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, just before 8:00 and the first excursions left right after that. Since I had signed us up for one of these, that meant we had to get up and get moving a bit earlier and at a less leisurely pace than we prefer.

The CP ended up not going, but I did the island drive and stop at Anne of Green Gables Heritage Center. Very well worth it! Charlottetown itself is pretty and charming with a strictly enforced prohibition on changing the facades of any building and the frame houses are all neatly kept and painted in a variety of handsome colors. There are no billboards and no landfills (everything is either recycled or burned). I was pleased to see autumn colors, finally!

Leaving the town, we drove by the malls and big box stores (yes, there’s even a Walmart), noted the many, many oyster beds in the shallows, stopped to see a few moored lobster boats, and then were able to tromp down to the sandy beach. Soil here is either red sandstone or red shale which tinges the ocean water a reddish brown near the shore. It was cold and very blustery so we quickly trod down the sandy path, looked at the waves and then rapidly retreated. After snapping the requisite photos of red dunes and rolling water!

We then headed to the town of Cavendish, site of the Green Gables center, a state or national park. The short film was a good introduction and included quotes from Lucy Maud Montgomery. Montgomery lived in Cavendish and it and this house were used in her series of novels about a young orphan girl named Anne Shirley, the first of which was published in 1908. Like many young girls, I loved and revered these books. They have since been translated into more than 15 languages.

We had time to tour the house, furnished as it was described in the books, and to get glimpses of the several walking and hiking trails also in the park before purchasing some Anne books or memorabilia in the gift shop.