Three weeks and a day in Galicia

Beautiful Galicia

I certainly expected to be posting about this trip long before now: I arrived Sunday, June 9th, and I'll be leaving Galicia exactly a week from today (a day earlier from Trasulfe, as the plane leaves early in the morning, and I have no desire for a trip in the middle of the night to arrive at the Santiago airport in time for the flight).

There's a reason I haven't found time to blog. My husband stayed home on this trip (as I did in April) to take care of our old and ailing dog. Because I'm alone, I was busy opening the house (and this Sunday will be busy closing it). Because I'm alone, all our friends have been inviting me places. Because I'm alone, I was busy shopping and cooking for company. Because I'm alone, I've been the one driving everywhere, and managed to get lost twice, ending up in towns I didn't truly plan to visit at the time.


But, it's all been a grand experience. And, since I am alone, roadside walks take on a special significance. So I thought I'd share with you the wild flowers I've been talking about on Facebook, where I've been sharing short snippets of the trip. (Do come and visit me there:   on my timeline, and also on my author page  )

One day I walked down the winding road to the carretera snapping pictures of all the wildflowers I saw. They are abundant this time of the year (we usually come in spring or fall); some of them are familiar, some of them I've only read about but was able to look up, and some of them are still mystery plants that maybe you can help identify for me. Here they are:

Wild foxglove, and all in
this lovely color. All along
roadsides. 

Small white daisies -- and
a mysterious purple flower
I've never seen. Have you?

Wild broom everywhere;
really a bush more than a
flower, filling the landscape.

I thought these were
dandelions, but a closer
look makes me think not.
Maybe yellow daisies?

Purple thistles -- but so small!

Queen Anne's lace. 

I also have seen lots of yellow buttercups, pink and white primroses, and blue forget-me-nots with tiny yellow centers, but I haven't taken any pictures of them. 

Of course, ferns aren't flowers,
but these are abundant on
roadsides and in fields.

This wild elderberry bush
is growing just a few feet
away from our house. 

But what is this mystery flower?

Maybe the sheep could tell us if they weren't so busy having their mid-day meal:

If YOU know what that flower is, let me know.

Hasta luego.

The June Art Show and Reception at Art Ellis

Families looking in the window

As promised, I am bringing my after school Art Club's June Art Exhibit to you by way of this post. Saturday, June 1st was the reception, and the exhibit showcases work by students, ages 8 to 12. For those of you who live in the Sacramento area, the art will be on display at Art Ellis for the whole month of June. Art Ellis is an art supplies store at 2508 J Street in Sacramento's bustling Midtown. It's owned by Sharon and Jim Tanovitz who have kindly supported our art exhibits for many years.

Enjoy the 15 pieces of art, and, since art is subjective, I'll be interested to know which pieces caught your fancy and why. After the 15 art pieces, I have pictures of the reception. A happy time for all.

Julia Benson, Age 12
"Mother Nature's Toddler"
Watercolor

Daniella Bishop, Age 9
"Flowers in Abstract"
Watercolor

Ayla Adjari, Age 9
"Red Riding Hood"
Acrylic on Canvas

Ethan Bland, Age 9
"Kitchen Flowers"
Oil Pastel

Kaitlyn Bland, Age 11
"A Resting Cheetah"
Acrylic on Canvas

Erica Cruz, Age 10
"Still Life"
Oil Pastel

Hannah Cunningham, Age 10
"Butterfly on the Branch"
Watercolor

Ella Diltz, Age 8
"Music"
Oil Pastel

Maya Diltz, Age 11
"Pretty Lady"
Oil Pastel

Jamin Dunlap, Age 8
"Boys Rock"
Charcoal

Neviah Dunlap, Age 10,
"Bluebird and Poppies"
Watercolor

Bethany Huff, Age 12
"The Woodpecker"
Soft Pastel

Miranda La Torre, Age 8
"A Christmas Present"
Watercolor

Trisha Nagin, Age 9
"Sunset"
Acrylic on Canvas

Justice Olivier, Age 10
"Village Girl"
Oil Pastel

Ethan and Kaitlyn Bland; Grandmother,
Father, & Mother

Julia Benson, back row, to your right
Father, Mother, in back row; cousin,
sister in front row

Erica Cruz, Center with red blouse,
Father, Uncle, Grandmother, Mother;
Cousins in front row

Hannah Cunningham
and  Mother

Here are some of the families who were able to come to the reception.

They enjoyed punch and cookies, as well as browsing around inside the store and buying some art supplies.

Ella and Maya Diltz and Mother
(Sharon Tanovitz in window,
marking a piece of art "Sold")

Bethany Huff and Mother

Justice Oliver, Mother and Sister

Trisha Nagin and Father

Miranda LaTorre, Grandmother,
Mother, and Father

Neviah and Jamin Dunlap,
Father,  Younger Sisters

And that's it for this year. Hope you enjoyed this little art show.

An Overdue Post About Tui, Spain

A side street in Tui

Since we returned from Galicia last October, revisions, dog problems, and health issues in my god-family interrupted my posting about the trip. Because of our dog's age-related condition we are staggering our trips this year, and it occurred to me it's time to finish the post I promised: the trip to Tui, pronounced "Twee". (My husband just came back from his trip to Galicia two and a half weeks ago, and I'm leaving for my trip June 8th. I'll be posting while I'm there, though.)

But—returning to the trip to Portugal last fall—we spent an afternoon in Tui with our friends, David and Terri, on the way back from Porto. Porto, a bay city and a port, is on the Río Douro (the Portuguese name for Río Duero in Spanish); Tui is on the Río Minho (the Portuguese name for Río Miño, and pronounced the same way.) The Río Minho partially divides Spain from Portugal. (You can see a map of the Iberian Peninsula and the Río Minho HERE ).

Walking around Tui

Typical balconies

One view of the Cathedral.

 As is always the case in Iberia, it was a lovely drive from one city to the other. Once we reached Tui, we parked and spent the afternoon walking around. Tui is a cathedral town, as well as an old fortress town from the 12th and 18th centuries. The original city was enclosed by a crenelated stone wall. We started at the old quarter that clusters around the huge cathedral and ancient hospital for the poor (as well as for the peregrinos, or pilgrims—Tui is one of the pilgrim stops on the way to Santiago de Compostela). The cathedral was started in the 12th century and finished in the 17th century, and thus reflects a variety of architectures. It also has a cloister. And the front entrance, the portal, is truly awesome with fantastic stone statues of saints:

                   
Then we walked from the cathedral area with its adjoining buildings, down to the river, which was smooth as glass. The river walk along the Río Miño turned into a series of reflected scenes, as if on a mirror. On the opposite side was the ancient fortress city of Valença (pronounced Valensa) in Portugal. You can see we had good weather that day.
                                                                                           

There was also a small exercise park at one point; a "playground for seniors". And then, just as we thought we were coming to a dead end, we saw a road going back up to the Cathedral. By that time, we were all hungry, and David found a charming cafe (A Muralla) that overlooked another street and had outdoor tables covered by awnings, from which you could also see across to Portugal. (A nice view of the balcony section of the restaurant can be seen at A Muralla, Tui - Opiniones de restaurantes - TripAdvisor.) The food was delicious. And a very nice waiter took our picture before we left.

Senior playground?

                                                       

Starting back to the old quarter

A great end to the afternoon!

I hope you enjoyed this little taste of Tui. (Tui is in Galicia, in the province of Pontevedra.) I am always so amazed by the ancient stone buildings, the sculpture work, and the general architecture, that I see in that region. But I suspect much of Europe is like that.

For those of you who have traveled to other parts of Europe, I'd be interested in similarities or differences you've noticed in the places you've visited.