Mykonos: Summer Holiday 2009

Mykonos. I have fond memories of Mykonos. When I arrived there for the first time in 1999, I had no set agenda. In fact, I had only planned to stay 4 days before moving on to Santorini. But having just come out, and being on an island filled with men from all over the world, I decided to stay a bit longer. At first, 8 days. Then, thirteen. Note: The images in this post link to my Picasa photo album with all trip photos.

Super Paradise, drag queens, amazing sunsets, and wandering around the narrow winding streets of Mykonos Town at night. Those were my memories then.

And those are my memories now.



This time around, we tried an alternative form of transportation: an ATV. Sure, you get quite an adventure taking the buses (which we did). And everyone seemed to have a scooter. But, then we started hearing the scooter accident stories. And seeing people with their arms in a sling or bandaged or bandaged in a sling. I admit to chickening out. So, an ATV was the compromise.

I saw so much more of the island than I was able to last time. And we got to wear these dorky helmets.

The nice thing about revisiting a place is re-experiencing the things you saw the last time. I found and photographed a church and a balcony arch that I had photographed on my first visit. Now, these images (with some new perspectives) are preserved digitally. And, I redid the walk from Paradise Beach to Super Paradise Beach. Last time, there was an indistinct path, but, it was well-traveled. This time around, there was a lot of development and a less-defined path. Sometimes, it's better not to revisit everything.

Of course, drinks along Little Venice never disappoint.

And watching sunsets never gets old. The sky just kept getting better every night. But, I'll let you be the judge.



Sunsets and cocktails. Now that is the end of a perfect day.

For more photos of our trip to Mykonos, click here.

Oh, I did mention drag queens, didn't I? Enjoy!

Athens: Summer Holiday 2009

I was in Athens 10 years ago. I had followed the advice from fellow travelers and decided to stay barely 24 hours in the city before heading on to the islands. I hopped a ferry from Brindisi, Italy to Patras, Greece. Then, caught a 2am train into the city arriving in the early morning. It was everything everyone had told me. A hot, dirty mess. I slept for a few hours and began to explore with my limited time. I climbed the Acropolis and toured through the National Archeological Museum (go there is you visit). But, I was glad to find myself the next morning on the docks at Piraeus waiting for a ferry to Mykonos. What a difference 10 years makes.

Athens is still a hot mess. A little less dirty. But, still a hot mess. It didn't help that seeing main attractions required us to walk to/from our hotel through Omonia Square. At night in this square, we walked past addicts with needles sticking of their arms. The subway comes in handy in times like these.

Note: The images in this post link to my Picasa photo album with all trip photos.

The Athens I'll remember from this trip is all about architecture. Really old architecture. With really great light. There were some great little unexplored nuggets waiting to be found. Like the Temple of Hephaestus (above).

But, what was really nice was the opportunity to walk around the city at night. Lots of hustle and bustle in the main tourist area of Plaka. And some wonderful monuments that projected their former (and current) glory well. Walking beneath the Acropolis lit up at night on a quiet street away from the shopping and eating frenzy of Plaka is great therapy for erasing bad images of Athens.

The difference is like night and day. And the difference between walking around in daylight and at night is like, well, just watch the video.



Now, both of us ended up buying one of those gauzy, long-sleeved, white cotton shirts in Plaka. When in Greece...

For more photos along with descriptions of our trip to Athens, click here.

Musik i Full Fart [Music at Full Speed] v5

A long overdue post of the music I've been listening to and highly recommend. Artist links will take you to an informational website (MySpace page, artist website, etc). Song links will take you to a video of the song.

Swedonia Songs
There is some really great pop music coming out of Sweden. The varied offspring of ABBA and Roxette keep forming new wondrous variations. I only wish my friends in the States had direct access to some/all of it. So, I'll do my part to enlighten and encourage.

Alphabeat's bouncy Fascination came out in 2008 but holds up well to global inspection even today. John ME has a yearning love song with the requisite reference to drugs, Love is My Drug, on which he duets with Amanda Jenssen (winner of Swedish Idol). At 3:05, it looks a lot like love. Another winner of Swedish Idol is Agnes Carlsson (or just Agnes). Her dancefloor hit, Release Me, is one of the best dance pop songs of 2009. YouTube seems to have pulled the video (since she has exploded on the music charts around the world), but you can watch it on her website. Another one of her songs, On and On, is more Eurodance but still lots of fun. Basic Element is a dance act from the 90's that re-emerged a few years ago. They are putting out blatant eurodance like Touch You Right Now. What's not to like about that? Then, there's Robyn. She's practically Swedish music royalty. Be Mine! is quirky pop. Very Robyn. Speaking of Swedish musical royalty, A Camp, the side group of Cardigan's lead singer, Nina Persson, released Stronger Than Jesus.

In spin class, I've gotten into the zone with some spirited music including Oh Laura with Release Me (Attic Remix) and Swingfly with Singing That Melody. Position 2, please.

Swedish acts are featured prominently in commercials. The Honeythieve's Reminder is used in television ads for Lindex. I love the global ad and the song for Magnum Temptation ice cream bars. Though, the music sounds a bit like the White Stripes. A DJ/music producer out of Stockholm creates sonic snippets for use in Cubus commercials. And I love them. Two ads, for Christmas and Summer, are the best. I think of them as my own personal soundtrack. I walk down the street and this music plays in my head. Try it. Oh, and the model in the commercials is Swedish supermodel, Mini Anden.

I'm a sucker for a good power ballad. I grew up in the 70's and 80's, so guilty as charged. When I heard Takida's Curly Sue, I knew I would like it in spite of myself. Why!?! And then there is my lone Swedish Alternative pick (cause Alphabeat is pop with a capital P), Mando Diao, with their Echo and Bunnymenesque song, Dance With Somebody.

Dance
Shena brings back the disco with her NuDisco gold, Can't Stop The Rain. David Guetta pairs up with Kelly Rowland for When Love Takes Over; this is the dance song of the Summer. And, yes, the Black-Eyed Pea's I Got A Feeling will compete with Guetta for song of the Summer. Hed Kandi continues to roll out (and rework) some great dance music including Warren Clark's Bitch is Back which features the aforementioned Shena on vocals. And Ali Payami's Dancin' which features vocals by Missum. She brings on the fun-K. Kraak & Smaak lay on the funk with Squeeze Me Tight. Utada is a Japanese-American who sings mainly pop who has had much more success in Japan. But, Automatic, Pt. II caught my attention. Sleek. Stylish. Tokyo at night. Laurent Wolf, French DJ/producer, has delivered with a followup to No Stress, again featuring Éric Carter: Wash My World. And finally a song from way back in 2007: Let Go by German DJ extraordinaire Paul van Dyk.

Alternative
Moby's new release, Wait For Me, traverses one amazing sonicscape. Shot in the Back of the Head is sublime. When the weepy guitar comes in at 1:08, it's staggering. Pale Horses harkens back to Play quite nicely. Lily Allen actually wrote a song I like (Lily Allen = not so much). Normally, I think the whole Brits singing with a Brit accent a little much. But, this cheeky homage to a Carpenter's song, F*ck You is quite catchy. Diane Birch has some great pipes. Fortunately for me, she was featured on iTunes where I was exposed to Rise Up.

Adult Alternative
Seriously, I love Laura Izibor. This woman's voice has me hypnotized. She finally released an album with all the wonderful songs I'd heard before and some new favorites. This includes the quite lovely If Tonight is My Last. It puts a big smile on my face. Another new voice with promise is Angel Taylor with Make Me Believe. True, Yael Naim made her name by having her song, New Soul, included in an Apple commercial. Don't hold that against her. Instead, check out another single, Far Far, and enjoy.

R&B/Soul
A great voice not to be missed is Chrisette Michele with Blame it on Me.

Trip Hop
Tricky! He's back. Puppy Toy. Check it out.

Guilty Pleasures
I am not sure if these guys qualify as a guilty pleasure or the end of all things with taste as we know it. Star Pilots competed in Melodifestivalen 2009 with their song Higher. Needless to say they did not make it to Eurovision representing Sweden. We can all breathe a sigh of relief. So, where do I start? How about a contest? See how many song lyric cliches you can identify in this song. It is basically just a string of cliches set to a throbbing dance beat. Not as egregious and 100% eurodancepop is their other song In The Heat of The Night. Enjoy.



Archive Posts
Musik i Full Fart Volume I
Musik i Full Fart Volume II
Musik i Full Fart Volume III
Musik i Full Fart Volume IV

Hund Dag Eftermiddag

For the past few weeks, the weather here in Sweden has been nearly perfect. Blue skies with some occasional small puffy clouds. A nice breeze (or occasional strong wind) to cool you down. Temperatures have hovered around 27C (that's 80F for you Yanks). That's quite toasty by Swedish standards. And awe-inspiring sunsets. Det är sommar!

So, last weekend was a "home" weekend. As such, we decided to treat the dogs to a day at the beach. Like most places in the States, dogs are not allowed on beaches during this time of the year. But, there are a few places to be found. We headed about an hour South of Göteborg. Past the town of Varberg. To Holmen. The beach is situated right next to a nature preserve and a small boat harbor.

The water was extremely shallow. Which I found out once I thought I had lost the dog's water toy. The wind was pushing it further away. The toy was now quite far away and I assumed it was in deep water. I was in calf deep water wearing shorts with my wallet in my pocket. I looked to TJ for help. He had on board shorts. And likes to swim more than I do. So, off he went. It turned out to be shallow quite a ways out. He never had to swim at any point. Zoey, who followed him out, did. Good girl.

Zoey and Lily enjoyed themselves. Though, Lily had to retire a bit early since she's not the water dog she used to be. Here's a little video snippet of all the fun:

Weekender: French Riviera

Oh la la. We ventured to the South of France. The French Riviera to be exact. We arrived in Nice and traveled along the coast from Monte Carlo to Cannes. The weather was spot on. The scenery was picture-perfect. And the food was rich. Nearly everything was rich in this part of France. Note: The images in this post link to my Picasa photo album with all trip photos.

The concentration of wealth in this region was both breathtaking and mind-numbing. People made comments like, Bernie Madoff had his yacht berthed here or Bono owns a large estate nearby. People with money. So, this is what they do with it. The term "super yacht" could be bandied about with the greatest of ease; they were everywhere. Each town had a port with at least a few docked. In Monaco, TJ got his first glimpse of a super yacht breeding ground. There were tears in his eyes.


The beaches along the French Riviera were quite nice. Many of the beaches around Nice consist of smooth, flattened stones. And some extremely fine sand that borders on being invisible. But, there were some sandy beaches situated south of Nice in Antibes and Cannes. We sampled both areas. TJ is modeling the finest in Cannes beaches in this photo. Not too crowded. Warm, salty (bouyant) water. Nice, very nice.


And it was fun to walk around the old town sections of Antibes, Monaco, and Cannes. Some places, like Antibes were millennia old. Others, mere babes dating to the 12th century. I love wandering through narrow streets. Here, I'm taking in the sun and scenes in Cannes.


Quite frankly, while the sites and sounds of the French Riviera are full of delights, it's the tastes that inspire an out-of-body experience. Drool.


[You need to sing this next part to get the full effect] Flan, glorious flan! Oh how I love you! Every time I go to France, I get some flan. This trip was no exception. Rich. Thick. Creamy. It's worth every calorie.


And this little find topped off our day in Cannes. A mille-feuille nature. A crunchy crust like a crème brûlée. And that familiar custard inside.


For more photos of our trip to France, click here.

Weekender: Stockholm

This post is a bit en retard as they in French. And, no, that has nothing to do with my state of mind. It's just a bit late. After the fact. Tardy. Moving right along.

A few weeks ago, we visited Stockholm along with our friend Peter. What a difference a year makes. Last year, we went to Stockholm at Easter and it was bitterly cold. And then some. This time around, it was North of 30C (that's mid-80F). And so, everywhere we went, TJ took time out to recline in the sun. In fact, most of the few pix I did take on this trip consist of TJ reclining. Note: The images in this post link to my Picasa photo album with all trip photos.

We stayed in Gamla Stan (old town) which is right in the heart of the city. The Stockholm Marathon was being run on Sunday. So, lots of activity. I took a fascinating solo tour of the Vasa Museum (Vasamuseet). The Vasa is a preserved 17th ship that sailed 1500 meters out of Stockholm and sank. Now, if you are asking why I toured the museum alone, it has to do with Peter having been there already. And TJ being a bit "under the weather."

Um, yep. We had gone out the night before to two clubs (Paradise and Torget) and had a fun time. As usual, TJ befriended women and danced with them. And did his little jiggly dance (sans bottle on the head). There was a schlager cover band that performed most of the hits from this year's Eurovision finals. Oh, speaking of, some twink from Norway won this year's contest. Cute, the song, that is.

What trip would be complete without an animal adventure. This one involved Barnacle Geese. We took a ferry out to Fjäderholmarna in the Stockholm archipelago. A rather small island. And there were nesting geese everywhere. As usual, TJ wanted to pet whatever animals were in closets proximity. Now, Barnacle Geese are nice to look at. But, when they are agitated, they stick out their tongue which looks like a giant worm. Scary and gross. We had an encounter with one goose near a small path that went out to an outcropping of rocks on the shore. Needless to say, it didn't end well, but was quite comical.


All in all, it was a wonderful return to Stockholm. Such a beautiful, livable city. Retracing some of our steps from the last visit and exploring new parts of the city. Who could ask for more? On the way back to Göteborg, we had to stop outside of Borås and pick up the dogs. They were enjoying their stay at a kennel in the country. Just past Rude. Who knew it was a destination?


For more photos of our trip to Stockholm, click here.

Weekender: Medieval Germany

Our weekender was a northern Germany rewind. The original destination was Lüneburg, but hotels were filled up, so we headed back to Lübeck. Both cities retain a charming medieval look with old buildings and narrow streets.

We arrived in Lübeck on a Thursday afternoon and were informed that a special Father's Day celebration was going on in the city. This celebration seemed to involve lots of drinking. People were pulling around small carts and wagons filled with beer. At this point in the day, it was mainly empty beer bottles. Most people were headed home.

Stores were closed as we wandered around old town (innenstadt). So no window shopping opportunities. We stopped at Paulaner's pub and had a pint of the namesake beer. Then on to dinner at a great Turkish restaurant, Ali Baba. We had been to both back in December and heartily recommend them. Note: The images in this post link to my Picasa photo album with all trip photos.

Lüneburg was suggested by a German traveler, Martina, that we met on New Year's Eve in Tenerife. She insisted that we visit Lüneburg rather than go back to Lübeck. And so, I put the city name on a list of places to visit. Five months later and here we are. A most excellent suggestion it was.

TJ is standing in front of the Fish Market (Am Stint) which is also known as the longest pub mile in Lüneburg. I think I elicited one of TJ's best smiles in this photo. Wish I could tell you what I was saying to him to get that reaction. It was something gross...but not dirty.

Kind of odd to have the statue of a creature with horns outside of a church. But, there it was butting right up against St. Mary's Church (Marienkirche) in Lübeck. Naturally, I had TJ take my picture with it. At first, I proclaimed it to be a devil. But looking at it now, it seems more like a satyr. Kinship, nonetheless.

And, finally, this: an advert for a gym in Lübeck. With a photo of some "women" doing step aerobics. Lady Men Fitness. Sounds like a old comedy routine from Saturday Night Live. Pump you up!

For more photos of our trip to Lübeck and Lüneburg, click here.

Don't Feed The Animals

I feel like someone's mother when I admonish TJ with "Do not feed the animals." I guess if he actually listened to me this wouldn't be an issue. But, he doesn't. There is some deep satisfaction that he seems to get when interacting with wildlife. And by wildlife, I mean birds and, occasionally, sheep. And by interacting, I mean feeding, petting, and chasing.

The history of TJ's behavior is documented. Here he is in New Zealand (2007) trying to make friends with a Kea. Actually, it looks more like he is trying to birdnap it.


And, here are some seagulls that needed feeding. Also in New Zealand.


And, here he is trying to goose a goose in London (2008)? Really? Really.


But, this time, he really takes the cake. It starts with a joke. Or what sounds like the beginning of a joke. A duck walks down the street. In this case, we were in Kalmar, Sweden, loading up the car for the trip home. The dogs had just been loaded into the car when I noticed a duck walking down the middle of the street towards us. TJ tempted it with a banana. Then, wondered aloud if he had to wash the banana now that the duck tried to bite it. Duck germs!


Next, TJ enticed the duck with some lowfat potato chips. The duck seemed to like this quite a bit. A dieting duck? TJ had made a new friend. However, I saw some potential problems with their relationship. I captured the events on video. So, as they say, on with the show....




The epilogue is that the duck walked into the convenience store, spooked a customer, and stood around the entrance until TJ came out. Luckily, the duck got distracted when TJ came out. And so, we made our escape. Lest we have a duck trailing us back to the car and flying alongside us on our way out of town. We drove by the convenience store and saw the duck standing out front eating crumbs on the sidewalk. He seemed happy enough. But, a nervous pigeon stood nearby and gave him the side-eye. There was now unexpected competition. TJ had reset the balance of survival of the fittest in Kalmar. Do not feed the animals!

Weekender: Småland and The Kingdom of Crystal

When TJ and I first heard that there was an area in Sweden where most of the country's glassblowers were located, we put it on our list of places to visit. The region is called the Kingdom of Crystal (glasriket, or glass realm, in Swedish). The home of glass royalty! How regal. If that weren't reason enough, TJ likes collecting glass objects. Hmmm, this may be a bit of an understatement. And I like one glass brand in particular - Kosta Boda. Besides, we smelled bargains. Glass factory outlets. How can you not find a deal there? So, a weekender to an area in southwestern Sweden called Småland. We brought the dogs along for added fun. Note: The images below link to my Picasa photo album with all trip photos.

Our first stop was the Boda glassworks and showroom. Boda was once a separate entity, but merged with Kosta-Boda. The factory was closed so we wandered through the showroom. No bargains to be found there. Luckily, this was not the main Kosta-Boda site. In an empty pasture, we exercised (read: wore out) the dogs. This way, they couldn't complain as we continued our tour of the Kingdom of Crystal.

The next stop was the Orrefors glassworks. The glassware here is a bit stuffier. Lots of stemware. And glass bowls that look like fancy ashtrays. Kinda pricey. Orrefors merged with Kosta-Boda in 1990. So, there was a Kosta-Boda store at Orrefors where this wonderful display was found.


These are my favorite Kosta-Boda glasses, called Mine. The Mine Collection includes glasses, tumblers, shot glasses, plates and bowls. We found some shot glasses in deep cobalt blue on sale. The purchase was prompted by a comment at a recent dinner party that we lacked a sufficient number of shot glasses. That situation has been remedied.

We eventually ended up at the Kosta glassworks. Kosta is Sweden's oldest glassworks and was founded in 1742. After wandering through the showrooms (TJ bought a small bowl), we entered the factory and watched a demonstration. Fascinating. But, it has to be a little monotonous to produce the same item with only slight variation.

One of our last stops was Transjö Hytta, a small glassworks with two Master glassmakers and two apprentices. When we arrived, the gallery appeared to be closed. We noticed an old barn next to a small stream and noticed movement. Upon closer inspection, there were two people inside rocking out to loud heavy metal music. As we approached, the music was turned way down. The two apprentices inside were in the middle of making a bowl. One, opened the gallery once he had delivered some color to the other artist at the prescribed time. TJ and I liked the work, but the signed pieces were expensive. TJ was leaning toward buying one of these despite the price. At that moment, one of the Masters came inside with a bowl that had a slight blemish. He priced it at nearly one-third the price for a similar bowl. In fact, he had only made three of these bowls; one of which was broken. That was good enough for TJ. Sold.

After a full day of glass perusing, it was time to head for Kalmar. We stayed in the Old Town area of this coastal city of 35,000. The building were old and charming. The town squares were reminiscent of grander European cities. For the rest of the evening we walked around with the dogs and explored the facades and cobblestone streets of the medieval town.


Back at the hotel, the dogs enjoyed playing hotel guest for a night. Zoey thought the beds were extremely comfortable.

The next day, we visited Kalmar Castle (slott, Swedish). Built in the 12th century, the castle underwent many structural improvements over the centuries. The well-preserved site includes cannons which used to protect its walls. Luckily, they don't work anymore (plugged with wood).


After our tour of the castle, we took the longest bridge in Sweden over to Öland, the second biggest island in Sweden. We headed South for a bit down the center of the island. Which was also the highest point on the island. And, it was here that we saw quite a few old windmills.


The island was long, so instead of driving all the way North or South, we opted to head East. There, we reached the Baltic Sea. And found an abundance of fossils in the rock formations on the shore. I brought a few back, including a partial Trilobite fossil. Yes, Geology Geek strikes again!

For more photos of our trip to Småland and The Kingdom of Crystal, click here.

Here are some of the items we purchased on our trip to the Kingdom of Crystal. Cobalt blue Mine shot glasses from Kosta-Boda.


Blue-green bowl from Transjö Hytta glassworks.

Romanian Holiday

More like a Romanian excursion. Bucharest. An old world Eastern European city. Really old world. Where architectural gems are scattered amongst abandoned buildings and vacant lots. Where Communist era buildings dominate the sky and offer a reminder of the not too distant past.

Sometimes, it's enough to make you lie down, close your eyes, and reflect on it all. Until you informed by a stern-looking policeman to move along. Note: The images below link to my Picasa photo album with all trip photos.


Former Eastern Bloc country. Check. May 1st. Check. May Day Celebration. Of course. Well actually, we weren't quite so certain that any events were planned. But after wandering around the massive Palatul Parlamentului, we came across some festivities in a park. This was the mici si bere (grill and beer) party. The Social Democratic Party sponsored the party and provided music, beer, and traditional grilled meat to the assembled crowd; the beer and meat were free). Entertainment was a Romanian rap singer with four young female dancers dressed in short shorts and hoodies. Good for a giggle or two.


In one of the pocket guides we read, it stated that for a genuine local experience you could feed a few stray dogs. Um, no. I had never been to a large city with so many strays wandering around; they were everywhere. And seemed to know how to cross the streets and navigate traffic quite well. They seemed wary of people. Probably for the best. We were told that a few years ago, the city rounded up and killed up to 75% of the stray dog population. I cannot even imagine what it was like before they culled the population.


Just some harmless graffiti folks. Nothing to see. Move along.


There was a large police presence in the city. Quite noticeable. On our way to the airport, our taxi driver remarked that the number of policeman was unusual even for Bucharest. He guessed that the President was probably heading into town. Sure enough, a heavily guarded motorcade passed by a few minutes later.

To see more images from our trip to Bucharest, click here.

Finally, a little video. On our first night in Bucharest, we ate at a fun beerhall/restaurant called Caru' cu Bere. I had it on my recommended list. And, when we walked by it in the afternoon, TJ put in on our "must go" list. We were seated right next to the bar and staircase. Which, at first, we thought was not a good place. Then, the floorshow started. Dancers came out and started moving around the open space. High-kicking and twirling in and around waiters and customers. Awesome! We met up with some guys (Mike and Francesco) from London the next day. And decided to meet them at Caru' cu Bere (again) for a late dinner. And another floorshow.

Sweet Meat

I have always loved them from afar. Occasionally, succumbing to their pleasures. So tempting. Overpowering. Intimidating. Until. I finally broke down. Searched them out on the Internet. And decided to try it firsthand. With no regrets.

Yes, it's true. I made a batch of lemon squares. I've made them twice so far.
The ones pictured below are actually lemon-lime squares. Tangy.

But be forewarned, this dessert contains dangerous amounts of sugar. It's a giant sugar bomb. Which is why I wanted to share the recipe. Found it at the LA Times website. Everyone should experience the tart excitement of this sugar overload. With a little raspberry sorbet on the side.

Now about the title of this post. Can't figure out where it's from? Think early 90's Brit alternative bands. The Soup Dragons. Off their album, Lovegod. Now, for the life of me, I cannot find a video of this song anywhere. Except for a 12" version (remember those) that doesn't really reflect the post-haze languish of the original. But, all is not lost for your aural and visual pleasure. This song also would have been an apt title for the post:

Parting Shots [Valencia]

Old world traditions. Modern attitude. Valencia has embraced both. I wouldn't hesitate for a moment to come back to this thriving metropolis on the Mediterranean. The distractingly beautiful architecture alone is enough for a return visit. That and the food.

For more fine art images from the Valencia trip, visit my Flickr photostream.

Like some strange future predator rearing its head, the Hemisfèric is a mass of lines and curves.

The Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía looks like it is coming in for a nibble on the overpass.

The Hemisfèric and Museu de les Ciències seem to be locked in a game of next-generation Pac-Man.

All signs point due East.

The Future is Spain

When I first saw images on Flickr of the futuristic buildings at the Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias (City of Arts and Sciences), I knew I wanted to go there and photograph them. A destination in sunny Spain is nothing to sneeze at either. And so, TJ and I put Valencia on the list. We ended up booking our trip for Easter weekend. Note: The images below link to my Picasa photo album with all trip photos.

Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias is a futurescape set in the old river bed that winds around and through the heart of Valencia. The white tile, glass, and metal of the buildings seems a bit out of place in an old world city like Valencia. But, it signals the future. And TJ and I were happy to get lost in its modern appeal.

I saw this coffee mug at the airport. The graphic was way too cute to resist taking a photo. However, the price tag prevented me from considering a purchase. Maybe if I drank coffee.

This adorable representation of El Toro was in stark contrast to the bull fighting event that was shown live on TV. There were at least 5 bull fighters in the ring. Spain's president was in the stands along with a host of celebrities; this was a big event. The bull looked old. And tired. And, I have to say, I found it difficult to appreciate the pagentry and tradition of the sport. It seemed very violent. And very unfair. A true bloodsport. I turned it off before the swords were used.

I saw a bat on several manhole covers and was a bit perplexed. It turns out that the bat is a symbol for the city.

The bat rests over an emblem (crown and shield) as shown in this gate ironwork at the old city wall. A bat! How cool is that? Between that and the multitude of orange trees (and their fragrant flowers) all around the city, it's hard not to like Valencia.

And it is hard not to like the food of Valencia. Between the paella and the seafood (grilled cuttlefish and calamari), TJ and I indulged in a bit of Spanish gluttony. I also found a new tasty treat in torrejas.


Paella is one of the most well-known Spanish dishes. In Valencia, they make a variation called paella valencia; it is not your typical paella. Ingredients include green beans and great northern beans. Typically, there is no seafood. Instead, the meat is usually chicken. We were offered rabbit in one restaurant. Since, it was so close to Easter, we passed. You can't eat Peter Cottontail on Easter weekend. Still, it could have been worse. Rata de marjal (marsh rat) was one of the main ingredients of early paellas in the 18th century. As living standards rose in the 19th century, this early ingredient was replaced by other meats. Rat. I bet it tastes like chicken.

Speaking of Easter, we were looking for a place to eat on Saturday night and came across an Easter Mass at Valencia Cathedral. It was quite the procession. Thought this photo captured the requisite amount of religious mysticism.

To see more images from our trip to Valencia, click here.

GLAD PÅSK!

Glad Påsk! That's Happy Easter in Swedish. And what better way to celebrate Easter than with a bag of Påsk godis. And, that is exactly what I did. Last night, we made a trip to ICA Maxi and there in the frozen food aisles was a Påsk godis display calling my name. This morning, the godis bag is empty. I know I will pay for this somehow. But, for the moment my stomach feels fine and my head does not feel the sugar rush associated with the overconsumption of very sweet things.

Easter is a big holiday in Sweden. But, religion is not a big part of it. As is typical, there are pagan origins to some of the traditions that carry on today. It's less about the Easter Bunny and more about the Easter Witch. More here.

But, now is not the time to contemplate the religious significance of Easter here in Sweden, or lack thereof. No, now is the time to savor the flavor of Påsk godis gone by.

Parting Shots [Dublin]

Things that caught my eye while exploring this great city. The history, mood, and color of Dublin in images.

Peeling Back Layers of History

Red-eye Structural Support

A Guinness Moment

Walking on Broken Glass