Good Friends and trip to Sélestat France

This is on my balcony, planted by a bird, I'm enjoying it's sunniness!

Ryan and Angela were here in Rieselfeld for two weeks to visit me and tour around these parts. 

Saturday Christoph took us to Sélestat, France, about an hour's drive north of Freiburg. We lunched at a Tunisian restaurant and the owner/waiter had a delightful sense of humour and food was excellent. I asked for a small beer and he gave me one in a shot glass! followed up by the regular small. He had several tricks up his sleeve and joked with us while at the table. Christoph was quite chuffed to have found the restaurant for us to try and so he should be!

Djerba is the name, food was all served in these colourful dishes.

After lunch Christoph got into "tour mode" and we walked all over town as he explained the history. There were two large churches, we could get into one but a funeral was being held in the other so we didn't enter.

What I enjoyed most was the elaborate painting on the exterior of the buildings. 

Here are some pictures showing the French charm.

Storks, nests are big enough for the entire family including Grandparents I think.

Inside the printing press library where a gent donated his entire collection of books in the mmid 1500's, see the link which explains it better.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humanist_Library_of_S%C3%A9lestat

Inside the church we could get in, St. Georges, with fabulous stained glass windows.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S%C3%A9lestat#/media/File:S%C3%A9lestat_StGeorges182.JPG

Beautiful door in the church, wonder what it leads to?

Building painting around a shop

Coffee shop we stopped at, very beautiful pastries! Good thing I don't have a sweet tooth.

It was a great day! We all enjoyed hearing Christoph's vast knowledge and stories about Sélestat and on the drive to and fro.

Crossing the Rhine river at the border between Germany and France what was very noticeably absent were the large (mostly Viking) cruise ships, there were none at all and the river looked clean and inviting.

Thanks to Ryan and Angela for the pictures!

Cheers, Bev

P.S. You may be wondering why we are travelling around during the crisis. We are taking every precaution by washing hands at every opportunity, using hand sanitizer or wipes after touching anything and wear our masks unless eating or drinking. You will receive more posts for the time Ryan and Angela were in Freiburg, plus, we are now on a road trip into Switzerland for three weeks. Cheers again, Bev and Lexi cat who is coming with of course.

 

I'm now in Freiburg

My July 2 flight was cancelled my ticket is now for July 11 so I’ve been tracking flights from Faro, Portugal where I am leaving from. Airlines have drastically cut back on flights and many are multiple stops which means waiting in airports, a place I don't want to be right now. Pepe and his lady Marta are taking me to the airport and Christoph is picking me up in Frankfurt to drive to Freiburg (both a 2 hour drive, both in Mercedes cars!). Friday evening before going and they have both confirmed - yes! Three hour flight with no stops, I think I have lessened my exposure as much as possible, long day but with friends on both ends a good one. 

July 11 is two years anniversary since Bruce’s death, last year I went to Dijon, this year it’s Freiburg. It took 13 hours total, tiring day but it was really great to have the support of  friends to drive me. Masks are mandatory except when eating or drinking and all conformed. Everywhere there are signs on the floors marking out the 1.5 meter distance. The airline served a good meal of moist chicken with pesto sauce on board. Attendants were cheerful and helpful. Getting through customs was no problem either so all good, just a long day for both of us (Lexi and I). 

Cheers, Bev and the very patient, great travelling, Lexi Cat

Happy Father's Day! and another update

Jacaranda trees in front of the Museo plaza

Happy Father's Day to you!

I am doing fine and so is everyone I know which is good news. 

Spain and the EU are opening up borders so I have booked a flight to Frankfurt/Freiburg for July 2 which is fast approaching. It is getting very warm here in Sevilla, making it time to say Adios. 

Since lockdown eased into Phases I've had a hair cut and two pedicures, done my weekly shopping but not too much else. 

Ryan and Angela come over once a week and we take turns cooking for each other which I truly appreciate. We even went to a restaurant for lunch one day to sit on the patio. Now that's something I took for granted and haven't been able to do while in lockdown. 

The next post will come to you from Freiburg, Cheers Bev and Lexi Cat

Happy Mother's Day! and an update

Here are a couple of door pictures I took prior to lockdown.

Note the fellow in the tree!

I am doing fine and so is everyone I know so that is a very good thing. I shop once a week and one of the door guards recognizes me. This is significant because while we all wear masks, smiles can't be seen and eye contact is often avoided.

The nightly clap at 8 pm continues, we wave and smile at each other from our balconies, heartwarming.

Tomorrow, May 11, Andalusia Region not including the provinces of Malaga and Granada will go to Phase 1 of deescalation (now that's a word I would never have thought of or used). Here is what we are allowed to do now, taken from https://english.elpais.com/politics/2020-05-08/spanish-government-announces-areas-that-will-move-to-the-next-phase-of-coronavirus-deescalation-plan-on-monday.html

Long article, scroll down to the highlighted box "what's allowed".

Uncertainty is the best word to use now, and not being able to make firm plans causes stress. I am doing my best not to stress over something I have no control over, like will or when I return to Freiburg. 

I have a new "balcony" friend! She lives in my building and had rented her flat out, came here from Las Palmas, Canary Islands for a weekend with her husband and two university student children and they were locked down. By "balcony" friend I mean she messages me when she wants to get outside to our common balcony and I go to mine across the courtyard and we chat. Ingenuity applied in unusual times.

I've been cooking daily or I wouldn't have anything to eat. Today I'm going to try making gazpacho soup, a cold Spanish soup for hot weather, just too bad this next week is supposed to be cool and raining, c'est la vie (that's life).

Cheers and stay well, Bev and Lexi Cat, who is finding new places in the house to snooze.

Happy Easter in strange times

While I am saying Happy Easter, it really isn't so happy for this world today. Easter is a time to get together to attend church services and have a special meal with loved ones. This year we will be using media to get together and I think my Easter lunch will be a pasta casserole.

I have had trouble writing to you but felt it necessary to carry on the tradition. Angela suggested I write about happier Easter's past so here we go with a short trip down memory lane (the only trip we can take for now).

Easter on the farm as a child my family always had turkey dinner with all the trimmings, in the proper dining room, with grandparents and friends.  

Skipping ahead, when Bruce and I left Canada for our first long stay in Heidelberg, Germany I started this blog to keep in touch with family and friends. We arrived beginning of April 2012, Easter time and the above cartoon was on my first post. We listened to the prolific church bells that rang from four churches in the town below, being on the hillside we certainly had a great advantage to hear them.

After three years of Semana Santa in Sevilla with Bruce I became tired of the noise from the celebrations directly on the street in front, but maintained the highest respect for the tradition. 

I vowed to get away for the fourth and managed to invite myself to Lagos, Portugal with Ryan and Angela. 
http://bevbrucelexi.blogspot.com/2019/04/happy-easter-and-im-in-lagos-portugal.html 

When the virus hit Spain and I wondered about the crowds that gather for Semana Santa, and two weeks before isolation Rocio said that the celebrations had been cancelled along with the April Fair. Unprecedented is the word that applies this year.

Gift from Bruce for Easter, I miss him!

As I am writing this I can hear multiples of church bells! 

That is all I will say for now except to repeat the relevant: Stay home, stay safe and try to have patience through these difficult times. 

Cheers, Bev and Lexi Cat who is snoring as usual

Aracena with caves and Distillery visit

A small update, all over Spain we gather on our balconies and clap to support all necessary workers especially the medical community doing their very best. It happens every night at 8 pm and I am participating with gusto! 

An update on the coronavirus or COVID-19 from me. Spain is now in lockdown until April 12th, four weeks total. I am doing fine, grateful for what I have, but missing my walks and interaction with friends. Oh how innocent we were when we went on this trip, or how the situation changed so rapidly, we went on a Tuesday, Saturday they announced the lockdown. 

Our next visit on another road trip is to Aracena about an hour and half drive from Sevilla. On the way is a distillery called Destilerias Martes Santo with a museum to showcase their history from 1870.  

Exterior of the factory

I found it really interesting seeing the previous processes showcased in the museum. 

Now they only do one process in house, the other ones are done in a nearby large factory. 

Lots of products using creams, fruits and even coffee!

In Sevilla I was walking past a relatively new cafe and shop named Viandas Romero, the following day to find them selling the whole offering of Martes Santo, checking prices, about 2 Euros more.

At Aracena we bought tickets for the caves, the castle and the Jamon museum (which we didn’t go to but I have been to one with Ivan). 
http://bevbrucelexi.blogspot.com/2015/12/jamon-museum-and-monastery-in-monesterio.html 

We booked our tour through the caves named Gruta de las Maravillas open to tourists in 1914. http://www.aracena.es/es/

We had a few minutes for a beer with fantastic large olives at La Serrana, a family run restaurant which was obvious with Mom at the helm and her daughter and son as wait staff. 

The caves = WOW = but physically challenging for me and others. No cameras were allowed which we didn’t know and got chastised by the guide. Here are the couple Ryan and Angela took.

That was one of the things we weren’t told before going in, the other was the length and diverse levels of the caves themselves, many people on our tour had trouble with the multitudes of stairs going through, there were hand rails along much of it. Terrain was rough in places so for me the experience was both fascinating and scary at a couple of points, I got through a couple of them with Angela or Ryan's steady hand. The caves were extraordinary, all the splendour of hundreds of years of developed nature of simply minerals and water. It was well lit but the lights were motion sensitive so as the group left, the lights went out, more protection for the stalactites (hanging from the wall or ceilings) and stalagmites (pointing up from the floor). 

Went back to La Serrano for lunch which was excellent! 
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g616234-d984543-Reviews-Restaurante_La_Serrana-Aracena_Sierra_de_Aracena_and_Picos_de_Aroche_Natural_Park_.html

The squares in Aracena have statues, here are two depicting activities of the town.

Then drove through the narrow windy streets up to the castle which was built by Portuguese located on top of the town with sweeping views of the countryside below.
https://www.andalucia.org/en/aracena-cultural-tourism-castillo-de-aracena

We didn’t stay long, just enough to get pictures, it was coffee time, so back downtown to a restaurant with children’s playground in the middle of the square.

Very large, ornate casino next to the square with playground.

That was our trip to Aracena, sadly it will be our last day trip for at least a couple of weeks due to the lockdown in all of Spain.

My hope for other trips in the future!

Cheers, Bev and Lexi Cat. Thanks to Ryan and Angela for the photos, especially the purloined ones in the caves! and...

HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY!!!!!!!!!!!

The Virus

Hello Friends, 

You may be reading about the coronavirus in Spain. Tomorrow, Monday, the entire country is on lockdown. That means restaurants and all shops except food and pharmacy are closed. Semana Santa and April Fair are cancelled which is a big deal here. This has happened rapidly due to a spike in cases in Madrid. I am thinking of the economic impact.

Here is a link that explains what's happening (with poor spelling). 

https://www.thelocal.es/20200314/coronavirus-what-you-can-and-cant-do-during-spains-state-of-alert


Last Tuesday we went to Aracena and a distillery so I've got a post coming for that visit which was great and I'm grateful we got it in before lockdown.

Cheers, Bev and Lexi Cat