Doors of Paris & Madrid

 In Europe, you are very aware of the architecture, sometimes even the smallest aspects of it.  A few years ago in Paris, I noticed unique doorknobs and door hardware.  I took a few photos, and I'm featuring the ones I liked best in today's blog.  Most were on houses and businesses right on the sidewalks, not on famous landmarks.  In future travels I'll be looking for others.

The first photo is a doorknob taken by my daughter on a recent visit to Madrid.  Liking doorknobs must run in the family.

                                photo--Clarice Moran


                                                          This photo and those that follow--JoAnne Young

This fellow seems a bit unwelcoming.

                                                         

This nice, golden brass curve appears on

the door of a business.

A variation on the plain wooden doorknob

This handsome lion is a door knocker

Road Trip to St. Mary's

St. Mary's peaceful waters are ideal for kayaking, canoeing and

sailing as in this boat.

St. Mary's, GA is the doorway to the Cumberland Island National Seashore and most people go there to board the pedestrian only ferry and travel forty-five minutes to the island. Founded in 1787,  St. Mary's was once a thriving port.  Today it has one short main street and an atmosphere that appeals to history buffs and outdoors people.  There's lots of water for kayaking, canoeing, sailing and for fishing.  It is an ideal place for birdwatching.  Cumberland Island is great for camping and exploring. 

From Jacksonville, FL where I live it is a perfect day trip.  We took the Mayport Ferry to get to Fernandina and from there traveled on I-95 to St. Mary's.  We had a lovely lunch of crab cakes at the Riverside Cafe.  We took a walking tour using a map given to us by the Visitor's Center.  It was a quiet day in the little town.  We were there in the middle of the week, it was rainy and Tropical Storm, later, Hurricane Isaac wasn't far away. 

If you want to take the ferry to Cumberland Island, you have to get there early.  The first boat leaves at 9am.  You can make reservations by calling (912) 882-4335.  For more info about the town, Check out St. Mary's website.

A prairie marsh near St. Mary's

Orange House is an ante bellum home built in the 1820's. It 

received its name because it once had orange trees around it.

It was built for Rev. Horace Pratt.

The First Presbyterian Church 

Many of the residencies in St. Mary's are vintage.  Most have little signs out front giving the date of 

construction and who originally owned the house.

We enjoyed a nice lunch on the porch of the Riverside Cafe.

Visitor's Center of the Cumberland Island National Seashore. 

Going home on the Mayport ferry.

Cinderella, blue ponchos, and Artpark in upstate New York

Overview of Niagara Falls, American side with a bit of Canadian falls around
the corner.  Niagara is only 5 miles from Lewiston, home of Artpark.

      I couldn't resist the opportunity to see my granddaughter Katie, a theater arts major, play Cinderella's stepsister and to visit an area of the USA I'd never seen.  So, my husband and my daughter and family met in the tiny town of Lewiston in Upstate New York at Artpark.  This venue hosts world renowned performers in concerts and musicals every week, June to September.  Some of this summer's performers:  Foreigner, Sheryl Crow, Sting, and Bob Dylan.  

    Katie's performance was in Rogers & Hammerstein's "Cinderella" complete with a 21 piece orchestra, fabulous costumes and sets borrowed from the New York City Opera.  We saw the play twice and loved it both times. For us, of course, Katie made it grand.  She graduates next June from Elon and I'm looking forward to traveling anywhere to see her perform.

It was frowned upon  to take photos from the audience, so I do not have many

of the play.  I did take this no flash photo.  It is the scene where Cinderella 

crashes the ball and meets the prince.   

The two stepsisters complain about Cinderella.  Katie is in the pink gown.

This photo is from "The Sentinel," a Lewiston area newspaper.  See other

photos of the play from "The Sentinel" on their website under PICS(takes a 

few minutes to load the site).

While we were in the area, we visited Niagara Falls and the Eire Canal, which none of us had seen.  

Here we are all dressed up in the blue ponchos given to us by the boat,

"Maid of the Mist" before we head out to get as close to the falls as possible.

That small square object in the stream leading from the falls is "Maid of 

the Mist," the boat we were in to see an up close look at Horseshoe Falls,

the Canadian side of Niagara.  It was fabulous and  very wet even with

those blue ponchos.

This is the boat.  All that blue looked hilarious to me.  From a distance it

looked like a boatload of Smurfs.

This is one of the locks of the Erie Canal.  I had to remember

the song I learned in the 5th grade, "I've got a mule her name

is Sal, 15 miles on the Erie Canal."  In the early days, mules

pulled the boats from the little road to the side of the canal.

The actors in "Cinderella" were provided a lovely room complete

with fireplace in this hotel overlooking the Niagara River. Katie

couldn't believe she was paid to stay in a lovely room and sing and

dance all day, an actor's dream.

While we were there, Center Street in Lewiston was closed to traffic for an 

exhibit and sale of arts wares.

     Overall, it was a great trip.  The only downside was the depressed condition of the town of Niagara and Erie.  All of their industry and jobs have been moved abroad.  That will be a discussion for another blog entry.  

   

   

Drifting down the Ichetucknee

                      

The spring fed  Ichetucknee River flows 6 miles  to the Santa Fe River in north Florida. 

  One of the best places on a hot, Florida day is the  Ichetucknee River where the water is always a cool 70 degrees.  It is fed by several springs which spew forth 234 million crystal clear gallons of water daily.  Tubing down the river is very popular and many tubing vendors line  the roads leading to the Ichetucknee State Park.  For about $7, you can rent a tube for the day.  I floated the entire 6 miles last weekend with my out of state Florida visitors.  It was relaxing and fun.

                                Tubes are large with a bottom and some with backs like the

                                 ones in this photo.  Here I am impatiently waiting for the return

                                 of the car driver and those who ran into the woods to see a spring.

After renting a tube and lashing it to your car, drive into the park. One of your party must drive the car to a parking lot near the end of the run and get a park provided shuttle back to the starting point ( When your tubing is over, leave the tube at a designated spot and be on your way without having to return the tube to the rental vendor. ) 

    

Now all you have to do is spend the next few hours floating down nature's paradise.  You'll see much wildlife unless you're traveling with a noisy group that scares all of it away.Turtles, otters, many water birds, deer, raccoons can be glimpsed if you're lucky.  Are there alligators?  Well, yes.  This is wild Florida, but I've never heard of anyone being attacked.

You leave them alone; they leave you alone.  Never feed any of the wildlife.  

The water is clear enough to see bass and catfish, and mullet are constantly jumping above the surface,  the way  mullet do.  People tubing are asked not to swim in the river.  There are some springs near the entrance for that.  The no swimming is to protect the river.  Many people travel down it. The ecosystem is very fragile. The river bottom is covered with grasses that feed fish and birds.  The grasses can't be disturbed.  Eating and drinking are not allowed on the river.  You can imagine the debris of cans and bottles if they were allowed.

Turtles on a log are a common sight.  Unless you get too close 

they don't seem to be afraid.

If you don't want to glide down the whole 6 miles of river, there are several getting off points, but you must plan that ahead, or you'll have a hike to find your car.

Cypress trees line the south end of the river.

Most people tie their tubes together as these two are doing.

Tying them keeps you from drifting from your party and you have

someone to help if you get too close to the water plants on 

the sides.  We were afraid they might harbor snakes or alligators.

Lovely trees, reeds, and other wild Florida plants line the banks and are part of the river's forest.  I noticed that the north part of the river was mostly reeds and other water plants with trees on the banks.  Cypress trees were most noticeable on the south end of the river.  

If you decide to go, check the website for lots of info about costs, hours, rules and regulations.   I highly recommend a little cruise down the river.  It's fun, cool and entertaining.

Young teens especially enjoy it.  

                                   This is a difficult to read map of the river and springs.

                                    The website (link in the paragraph above) has a clear

                                    version.  The river is near Ft. White FL and about 40 

                                    miles from Gainesville, FL.  The website has directions.

Remembering a happy coincidence

                                           Dry Falls near Highlands, NC.  Our campground
                                           was close by.

     If you don't believe coincidence exists, hear my story.  Some people might have other explanations for this lucky experience.  As a teacher, I often had the summer free from work, especially when my daughter was young and I didn't want to leave her all summer.  So, we had lots of time, but little money.  Our solution the summer my daughter was ten was to camp at Cliffside Lake, NC near the little town of Highlands.  This was many years ago and my friends and family did not approve.  They thought it was unsafe and one even offered the use of his pistol, which I refused.
     We set out with excitement and high hopes of a happy vacation with borrowed camping equipment, $100 in cash and a gasoline credit card.  In spite of our ignorance about the ways of camp stoves and bullfrogs in the night, we had a wonderful week.  We swam in near freezing spring water, fished with canned corn kernels in the trout stocked lake and learned to build a passable campfire.
     After a week, we headed home too happy to care that we were down to $12 and the credit card.  Somewhere in south Georgia on a road surrounded only by soybean fields, the car engine began steaming and the heat gauge shot to "hot."  After pulling off the road, we were stranded only a short time before a young man and woman stopped to help.  This was in the days before cell phones or car phones and people really did depend on the kindness of strangers.  Though they smelled strongly of rum and were, in fact, still drinking it from Dixie cups, we accepted their offer of a ride to a repair garage.  Since it was late afternoon, I feared that in rural Georgia everything would soon close for the day.
      They dropped us at a garage yard littered with drink bottles, empty oil cans and several cars with flattened tires.  Inside, a tall, thin, grey-haired man was working on a car.  I described our problem.  Wiping his hands on a greasy rag he said, "Let's go have a look."  We drove the fifteen miles back to our car in his pick-up truck.  
     I was remembering the remaining $12 and wondering how much this road service was going to cost.  "Do you take credit cards?"  I asked casually.  "No ma'm, I don't," he said.  Anxiety tightened my throat and I didn't say any more.  
     At our car, he patched together a split radiator hose and told me to follow him back to the garage for a new one.  Following him, my mind was frantically searching for a way to pay for all this special service.  I hoped he might be willing to take an out of state check.  I confided my fears to my daughter and asked if she had any money left.  She didn't.
     At the garage, we waited while he installed the hose and refilled the radiator.  After he finished, I asked, "How much do I owe you?'  
"Oh, $12 ought to about do it," he said.
     How did he know?  

                                           A street of Highlands.

This was Greek to me--impressions and more photos

                                                      Protest signs in Athens, Greece
                                                  (Click on photos to see them larger)


        Since returning from Greece the main question asked of me is "Did you see any of the riots in Athens?"  We did see protest signs like the ones in the photo above, and we heard shouts from the streets until very late at night, but most of the rough stuff took place after we left Athens and headed for the countryside, where we heard nothing about the protests.  They were confined to a very small area in Athens and unless you were in those few blocks, you didn't know they were happening.  
      Almost every Athenian we conversed with did express his opinion about the cause of the unrest.  Our taxi driver, hotel doorman, and waiter were unhappy with the scheduled vote for austerity measures.  They always waited for us to ask for an opinion, but then did not hesitate to express that they thought the working person was being taken advantage of and the wealthy people would have no hardship if the measures were approved.  Political corruption was often blamed.
     The people in Athens are out of work and poor. In the our hotel neighborhood in the heart of Athens, young men walked and stood around on the streets, slept on the sidewalks and generally made it obvious that no work could be found. The unemployment rate is about 16%, but youthful joblessness is about 36%.  Walking down the street, we saw a purse snatcher run past us with a woman's pocketbook under his arm.  He ran into the crowd and got away. We held tightly to our purses on the streets and subway after that.  
       This poverty contrasts greatly with the abundance of crops in the country.  There is also a huge tourist influx.  In Greece life seems to be feast or famine.
        One area very popular with tourists and where everyone is working is the Plaka, a bazaar
like shopping area abounding in Greek made goods and Greek foods.  Narrow, winding alleys and streets form a labyrinthine maze of  shopping temptations.  
         Who could go to Greece and not write about the food!  Greek salads, baklava, and Greek coffee were my favorites.  I brought a bag of Greek coffee home to try to create that lovely, strong taste.  I'm now addicted to Greek coffee. Our tour group had wonderful luncheon stops where ever we went.  We  always ate outside under an arbor of grapevines or with a view of the sea.  One of our waiters insisted we all try a glass of orange juice, which was delicious, much sweeter than what I know in Florida.  He called himself "the Zeus of juice." 
We were in what is called the "valley of oranges" on that stop.  
       In spite of my dislike of tours, mealtime was good.  It was like sharing lunch with a large family with lots of talk and laughter.  I guess it is the school teacher still in me, but teens are fun.  
       One thought that continuously came to mind as we toured museums and monuments was that the Greeks created sculptures that show fully-developed women, not skinny girls.  The very beautiful Erechtheion on the Acropolis with the graceful Karyatids as columns is a good example.  It would be difficult to depict drapery and folds on undeveloped bodies.  This appeals to me as I find the pounds slipping on with age.
     And finally, one word about Mykonos.  Maybe the beaches there were nude at one time, but not on any we saw.  We saw only a few instances of toplessness.  The beach itself can't hold a candle to our Florida beaches.  They are narrow and the sand is course and yellow or else the beach is covered with little rocks.  Most beaches rent lounge chairs and umbrellas.  Those rocks aren't comfortable for sunning.  
       I'm still thinking about Greece and wake up seeing photos in my mind of the beautiful water and countryside.  It was truly a trip of a lifetime for me.  I thought several times of my high school Latin teacher, Mrs. Hardy.  I wish I could thank her for awakening me to the mythology and philosophy of ancient Greece and Rome.  I finally got there Mrs. Hardy, and it was even better than you said.   

The Plaka shopping area in Athens.

Buildings are very close together in Athens. This photo

was taken from the top of our hotel.  Note the Acropolis 

in the far background.

Olive orchards in the country.  Olive trees are small

with silvery, green leaves.

Erectheion with Karyatids as columns on the porch

area, my favorite Greek building.  Note that blue sky. It

is not  photographically enhanced.

Paradise Beach on Mykonos Island

Highlights from my Greek Odyssey and Photos

      When we flew into Athens, my first impression was that the city is a bowl surrounded on all sides by mountains.  All of Greece is mountainous. Our ride from the Athens airport to the first hotel was a little like Mr. Toad's Wild Ride.  Lanes didn't seem to exist and motorbikes  weaved in between cars creating their own lanes.  I expected to see accidents, but the drivers are evidently very skilled.  The ten days we were there, I didn't see one.  Athens is a very big city with a population of about three and a half million; nearly 1/4 the Greek population of 11 million live there. 
     Greece is very arid, but very beautiful.  We were never far from the sea and it's color is a deep blue with green in the shallow places.  I understand why Greece has a blue/white flag.  Those are the dominant colors.  The very blue sky, blue water and white houses stacked like white sugar cubes are the colors of every city and village.
     Almost every inch of countryside is used.  From the tall hills of monuments we visited, olive orchards dominated the horizon. Oranges, apricots, almonds and pistachio nut trees grow up and down hillsides and back roads.  I was surprised to see many of the flowers we have here in north Florida planted along road sides and in yards. I saw much oleander, bougainvillea, and other plants I have in my own yard.  The fruit trees and flowers are smaller than in Florida.  This has to be because of the very arid climate.  The countryside is not only dry but rocky.  I'm still cleaning the dust from my shoes.  We also saw sheep, goats and skinny cows on the dusty hillsides. 
      My husband and I were with a tour of high school girls.  My daughter had arranged the trip for the school where she teaches and we bought into the tour.  In all our travels, we had never taken a tour.  The advantages are that very knowledgeable guides gave excellent and interesting historical information about each location we visited.  We also realized that we could never have found some of the places we visited without a bus driver.  The disadvantages are that we like to set our own pace.  I never got to spend long enough at any museum or attraction we visited.  The pace was very rigorous.  We had six o'clock wake up calls and long bus rides.  All told, I probably will not take a tour again.  After the tour was over, my husband and I went on our own to Mykonos for three days.  That was heavenly!
      During the tour we visited the Acropolis in Athens; we took a day cruise to three small islands, Hydra, Poros and Aegina.  Boating on the beautiful Mediterranean was a highlight of the adventure.  Homer in the Odyssey described the water as the "wine dark sea."  I had to think of all the historical events and people that had been in that same place.  It is inspiring.  The land seems everlasting.  
      We toured Delphi and made secret wishes to the spirit of the ancient Oracle.  At Olympia, we actually walked on the same track the ancient contestants ran.  Some in our group, tried the run.  One of my favorite places was the theater at Epidaurus.  It is the best preserved Greek theater.  We had to stand in the center of the Orchestra to see if our voices really would carry all the way to the top.  They did.  
      At Mycenae, we saw the burial mound from an ancient civilization.  It was once filled with valuable jewels and treasure, but, of course, was looted.  Much that was valuable and desirable in Greece has been destroyed sometimes by enemies or thieves and even religions that wanted to remove what they did not believe.
     We visited the Temple of Poseidon in Cape Sounion.  It's columns are still well-preserved, and I was excited to see that the Romantic poet Lord Byron had carved his name on one of the pillars.  It is still there, though hard to see.  
       The end of the tour was a Greek Evening with traditional music and dances including a belly dancer who was much too thin to be one.  Seems as if you should have a belly to be a belly dancer.  All the students enjoyed the show.  They were invited on stage to dance and to dance with the belly dancer.  They filled the stage.  We enjoyed a lovely meal of traditional Greek foods.  Many students from other tours were there in addition to ours.  
     Finally, the Odyssey ended when my husband and I flew to Mykonos for a few days.  It was blue and white like the rest of Greece with many little winding and narrow alleys filled with shops and restaurants.  We stayed at a hotel overlooking the sea.  After the bustle of the tour, it was absolute paradise.  


A very few photos of the zillions I took, click on photos to see them larger.

The Parthenon, the main building on the Acropolis

sits high above Athens.  At night it is lighted and is

visible from most of the city. It was a rigorous climb to

the top.

The Acropolis museum has a section of glass floor 

where visitors can see excavations of newly discovered ruins.

Beautiful Greek countryside.

Our girls enjoying a swim in the blue sea at Hydra 

Island during a day cruise.

The theater at Epidaurus, the best preserved in Greece.

From the middle of the Orchestra (circle) voices

can be heard to the top row.

Columns leading into Olympia.  In ancient times, 

there was a row of statues for the winners of games 

and a row for the cheaters.  The statues were stolen

and broken long ago, but the footprints of where the

statues stood is still visible on the pedestals.

Ancient tomb at Mycenae

Temple of Poseidon, god of the sea, overlooks the sea

at Sounion.  It is here that the poet Byron carved his

name on one of the pillars.

Blue sky, blue water, white rocks, the colors of Greece.

During Greek Night, the boys were invited to dance

with the belly dancer.  Many eagerly responded.

The town part of Mykonos is

a web, a labyrinth of tiny alleys

like this one.

Mykonos Harbor at sunset.  The photo does not do 

it justice.  This is just a part of it.  The harbor is horseshoe

shaped and this is one side.

We're off on a Greek Odyssey

                                
                                        Bags are almost packed to fly to the Aegean.


     Today, we bought tiny shampoos, sun screen and other toiletries in flight acceptable sizes.  Yesterday, I found a hat with SPF sun protection.  After much anticipation and preparation, Dan and I fly to Athens, Greece on Monday.  Unlike all of the other traveling we have done, we'll be on a tour.  We bought into the school tour that my daughter is hosting for some of her girls' school students.  I hope my husband can tolerate lots of giggling.  My daughter and I  are used to it since she currently teaches and I'm a former teacher.
     After the tour with the girls, Dan and I will travel alone to Mykonos for a few days of island life.  I have wanted to travel in Greece since I was a high school student and saw all the photos of Greek architecture and statues in my Latin book.
     I hope to write blog entries while I am there.  That will depend on internet access and time.  I have had international access programmed to my iphone.  So a few words and photos from the iphone may be possible.  With luck, I can find an internet cafe, but I don't know how much free time a tour permits.
     After three days in Athens, our tour will take us to  Delphi.  I'm already posing a mental question to
convey telepathically to the spirit of the Oracle.  We also visit Olympia, Argolida, Epidaurus, Mycenae, and then back to Athens.  Every stop is filled with Grecian wonders.  We will experience a Greek Night the last evening in Athens which will include demonstrations of Greek dancing and dining on good food.
       I can already tell the two weeks we will be there won't be nearly enough.  Nothing brings all my senses and alertness into play as travel does.  True, a tour is dilettantish, a look here, a look there, nothing in much depth, but I'll take it. 

Whan that Aprille

  
 April makes me think of Chaucer and the Canterbury Tales, which I taught to seniors for too many years to count.  Chaucer says April and spring make people want to travel, go on a pilgrimage.  In England, April is still cooler than it is here in Florida, but the daffodils are blooming, sheep are running in the meadow, and the light rains are falling.  You'd have to be hard of heart not to feel the pulse of life and hope of newness. It is easy to see how Chaucer's pilgrims wanted a trip after being cooped up in dark houses all winter. Spring,  makes me want to travel too.  April really is a great travel month,  in  spite of T.S. Eliot who said it "is the cruelest month."  Perhaps Eliot needed to get outside a bit more.
     This April, I'd like to travel in England again, or maybe Brugges in Belgium.  Perhaps a warmer climate would be fun,  Jamaica or other places in the Caribbean.  I'm lucky to have visited all of the above.  This summer, I'm going to Greece.  I'm really excited about that--except for the 10 hour flight.
     Chaucer's travelers went only 55 miles from London and they walked or rode horseback, yet they felt they had really been someplace.  It was the journey itself and the other travelers that interested them.  I think flying anywhere for 10 hours would have spoiled their journey.  The stops together at inns, telling stories, interacting with each other created their fun and their memories.