March 17th, 2010
Note before going to S. Africa: Make sure you have ONE WHOLE PAGE free in your passport, or you’ll wind up spending an extra day getting pages stapled into it, as we did. But we enjoyed our off-season day in DC–walked around the White House and Washington Monument, and visited the Folk Art Museum and the terrific Phillips Collection, a little museum with wonderful stuff, such as the “Boating Party” and interesting Van Gogh and Impressionist paintings. Saw a traveling exhibit of Georgia O’Keefe’s abstracts and some of Stieglitz’s portraits of her–wonderful stuff, but no pix allowed.
At the White House
Canada Geese
Geese & Monument
Renoir
At Last
18.5 hours
Very long journey to get there, but what a place! Table Mt. forms the backdrop for the city, and the beautiful cape sweeps out below. The cloud bank up top is called–what else?–the table cloth. Doug was speaking at Design Indaba, a fascinating international conference, and we were pampered, to say the least. Lots of great food for thought as well as for tasting. One of the highlights was dinner at a local’s house, in our case an industrial designer and architect couple. Amazing food, a mix of countries and professions, and great conversation. We’re missing our Japanese friends in the photo below…
Table Mt. from Hotel Bar
Up We Go
Cape Town-Robben Island off Coast and New World Cup Stadium at End of Ridge
Blooming Up Top
Another Bloomer
Conference Interviews
Dinner Party-Partial Group
Winery Farewell Lunch
Martha Was a Speaker, Too
Road on Wildlife Reserve
Yeah, We Were Roughing It...
Saw a Journey of Giraffe
A Crash of Rhinos (7 here)
Lone Rhino Male
Springbok...Tasted Good!
Had a great farewell lunch at a winery and then drove our rental to a wildlife reserve for a VERY short stay (one night and one 4-hour safari)–all we could afford anyway! But we did see animals–hippos, giraffe, rhinos, springbok and other types of “bok.” No white lions or elephants, though….
Penguins Moved Here in 1983
Basking
Before we boarded for home, we took a quick drive down the cape to see the penguins. A perfect send-off. We hope to return soon!
Copyright 2010 Diana Rathe Pray
Categories: Diana |
Tags: travel | No Comments
February 19th, 2010
The Calm Side of the Island
Ruth on a Rock
Had a great trip with Ruth, who was down there for a medical conference. Strange place–one side of the island is packed with high-rise hotels and white powdery beaches, and the other side is empty lava-strewn desert with treacherous waves. About a fifth of the island is a national park. The people were incredibly friendly, and even the tourists were nice! It’s Dutch-owned, and many of the tourists were European. We snorkeled, hiked, and ate great food.
Our Chariot
North Side of Island
Wild Waves
Divi-Divi Tree
Small Natural Bridge
Hotel Denizen
Local Lizard
Butterfly Farm
It Finally Landed...
500+ Steps to the Top
Top of the Haystack at Dawn
Copyright 2010 Diana Rathe Pray
Categories: Diana |
Tags: travel | No Comments
November 27th, 2009
Our First View
We left the kids and took a couple of days in the Rioja wine region, part of which is in Basque country. The rain stayed away, the autumn color was at its peak, and we had the place mostly to ourselves. I never imagined it would be this beautiful.
LAGUARDIA
Underground Cellars
We stayed at a medieval town called Laguardia, a walled town on a hill with only four gates. Beneath the town is a maze of tunnels used as cellars and, back in the day, as a hiding place when the town was under seige. No cars are allowed to drive in town, for obvious reasons! These tunnels used to connect but have been bricked up into individual cellars now. We visited La Fabulista, one of the few wineries operating in town. They still stomp on the grapes there!
Surreal Vista
MARQUES DE RISCAL WINERY
We also visited one of the grand old wineries in the area, Marques de Riscal, which has been operating since 1858. We took a tour of the old cellars and the new, tasted and bought some rioja and rueda verdeja, and took a look at the adjacent Frank Gehry-designed hotel, which is now part of the marketing scheme called the “City of Wine.” Rioja is starting to fill up with these “Star-chitect”-designed buildings and spas.
We visited a huge wine museum, Dinastia Vivanco Museo de la Cultura del Vino (another vanity project by a winery), which was terrific (no photos allowed, though). Impressive building layout, all manner of historical presses and machinery, an eclectic but too-scattered collection of modern and ancient wine-related art, and 3000 corkscrews. The only problem was the quite obvious snubbing of the U.S. wine regions in the world exhibits. Harrumph!
Speaking of the U.S., another small town had something surprising–a statue of liberty. It was dedicated in 1897 to those killed in one of the Spanish civil wars.
A relatively new feature to the Spanish (and French and Portuguese) landscape is the wind farm. It seems like every hill is covered with turbines (and the plains are filled with solar panels). But this new technology sometimes doesn’t fit so well with the old; got stuck waiting as a driver negotiated the narrow medieval streets of this small town. He’s hauling a single turbine blade.
All photos copyright 2009 Diana Rathe Pray
Categories: Diana |
Tags: travel | No Comments
November 18th, 2009
The journey began on S.’s birthday after school. Here she is with her birthday “cake,” a selection of 12 pastries she sampled into the night. Long but pleasant drive to Paris.
Stopped by Chartres on the way, which was undergoing a top-to-bottom cleaning, including the windows. Can’t imagine how amazing it will be when everything is gleaming. Saw “La Boheme” at the Bastille Opera House–fantastic!
Walked out of our hotel to the Sunday Bastille Farmer’s Market–100 stalls of seafood, produce, cheese, and bread–unbelievable. Bought our breakfast and lunch materials for the next two days. Doug made us wild mushroom omelettes! Onion bread–mmmmmm.
Had a very rainy day at Versailles, but it was intriguing to see the place off-season. The weather didn’t deter the crowds much, at least inside.
Stopped by the Eiffel Tower on the way back. The top was closed due to weather, but we were able to go to the second level. No crowds! Wonderful views. Went to the Louvre the next day–again, very few people, given it was a Monday holiday with no other museums open. Saw the classic must-sees.
Drove through Bordeaux country and stopped at Saint Emilion, a classic old town surrounded by chateaux and vineyards. T. decided to sample the remainders–delicious!
Stopped by Hossegor, a little surfing town in French Basque country where the continental shelf is near shore. The waves are crazy.
All photos copyright 2009 Diana Rathe Pray
Categories: Diana |
Tags: travel | No Comments
November 9th, 2009
THE ATLANTIC BOTANICAL GARDENS IN GIJON
400-year-old oaks, pokeberry, hips, and Laboral University view.
SALAMANCA, SPAIN
Lively city between Madrid and Portugal. Massive square where the city once held bullfights, beautiful old sandstone buildings, and a 13th century university.
NORTHERN PORTUGAL
Porto church and pier; Viana do Castelo with a modern basilica on the hill–impressive view and Sophia’s dream car; lots of old and crumbling buildings.
SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA, SPAIN
Many pilgrims walking the Way of St. James in the countryside and arriving at the cathedral; gorgeous lighting.
LUGO, SPAIN
Complete Roman wall around a crumbling city in Spanish hills.
BAIONA, SPAIN
Little town north of Portuguese border where the Pinta returned in 1493 to deliver news of the New World. Below is a replica of the Pinta–hardly more than a tub with sails. It happened to be Columbus Day when we were there, hence the traffic jam.
All photos copyright 2009 Diana Rathe Pray
Categories: Diana |
Tags: travel | 1 Comment
June 30th, 2009
Rose Garden Pergola
The Herb Garden
The Huntington Gardens
Stopping to Smell the Roses
Thistle and Bee
New Chinese Garden
Ellen with the Thistle
Bust
Ellen
WaterLily
The Getty Villa
Into the Abyss
Statue and Alabaster
Siren and Guard
Getty Garden
Acanthus, Whose Leaves Adorn Corinthian Columns
Ellen Among the Emperors
Mark and Simone
Kaitlin and Mark
Oranges and Poppies
Hearst Castle
Outdoor Pool
Indoor Pool with Gold Tiles
Castle Theater Light
Categories: Diana |
Tags: Ellen, Fern, Gardens, John, Museums, travel | No Comments
