Bergamo, Italy.

(Our B and B in Bergamo)


La Citte Alta, the old city, is high above the new city, and it's definitely the crowning glory of Bergamo, which unfolds beneath a backdrop of snow-capped mountains.

Sean and I arrived via a suffocating(ly) hot train from the central station in Milan, and discovered that no one spoke English. Not a syllable. I was able to gain directions to our B and B from a woman who spoke Spanish-Italian, and we set out.

After walking for about 2o minutes with our heavy luggage, I remember saying to Sean: "This is the point at which normal people would hire a taxi." Not us, of course. We were walking in entirely the wrong direction, and it took, indeed at least another hour before we did find the B and B.

It was lovely, and not too much of a hike up to the old town, although there was a funicular if we
wanted to take it.

We've found throughout Italy that people -- contrary to the stereotype and warnings we received -- have been very friendly and helpful. True, we're not in the major centres, like Florence, Rome, Sicily or Venice, but I tend to think that people are the same everywhere you go: essentially good.

I loved the walk up to the old town. This seems a very elegant and wealthy city.


We only had one night in Bergamo. We picked up our rental car from the airport the next day, and drove (only about 20 minutes, once we left Bergamo) through a valley to Leffe.





This is one of the four ancient gates into the old city of Bergamo.









Bergamo rooftops, as we climbed up to La Citte Alta. Mountain in distance.















This is the typical architecture in Bergamo. I love the shutters. I also loved the temperature here ... about 20 or 22 degrees.

Switzerland.

Switzerland, ah.

We were met at the airport in Basel (half of which is in France) by my dear sister-in-law and niece, Susanna and Kyara.

The following two photos are from Suhr, where Susanna and Kyara live. One of the best things about Switzerland was just hanging out on Susanna's tarped patio, below.

Sean and I walked in the woods above the town. The air was so clean, there was delicious water in the fountains, and villages spread out in every direction around the hill. Each village is marked by a church, as you see here.

Back, briefly, to Basel. I remembered much of it from my visit five years ago, but this time I saw more. Below is the inside of city hall, in Basel. Fancy, eh?

The Rhine runs through Basel. It's a storybook city.

Here I am with my niece, Kyara Meetoos. She's a wonderful girl, and we enjoyed several excursions during our days together.

One day we drove to Lenzburg Castle (Schloss Lenzburg), near the town of Suhr, where Susanna and Kyara live. This was followed by a trip through Bremgarten, which may be one of the prettiest towns I've ever been in (photo below), and so quiet! (Susanna says the Swiss are quiet in general)

Our last stop that day before returning to Suhr was to this lake, Hallwilersee. It was great just to collapse on the grass beside the water and let the ducks entertain us.


The next day we drove to Sarnen, a town where Susanna's boyfriend lives. Loved it. We were in the centre of town and happened onto a place where townfolks were drinking beer, wine and coffee, while a trio of musicians perfromed traditional music (sounded like slow polkas).
Then it was to Lucerne, and again ... I could live here. What a great city. We did loads of walking, and Guido gave us a guided tour of the old part. One of the highlights was the old covered bridge (there are two in the city) containing ancient paintings. And I got some great finds at a flea market, including a traditional Swiss cow-milking cap. (Never know when I might need one.)

Here is Kyara ... happy girl.

And one more of Lucerne and its swans.

And here is Susanna, Kyara, and Guido. They treated us so well.
The man here is Franz, a Swiss feller I met in Sarnen. I was going to ask him to dance (to the slow polka music), but chickened out.

Ah ... this pretty town is Bremgarten, mentioned above.


So many great memories ... including exploring caves. I hope to get back to Europe before too long, so will see Switzerland and my family there again soon-ish. Susanna and Kyara are coming to Canada next year, and I'll host them in Middle Lake, but how I'll ever repay Susanna for the great meals is beyond me ...

As soon as I have time ...

I'll post about Switzerland and Italy. I'm currently in Leffe, Italy.

Ciao,
Shelley

Last stop in Spain: Logrono

I met Sean (Virgo) in Logrono on April 27th. He'd been invited to present at the University of Logrono. Here we are below with scholar Inmaculada Barco, who is doing her doctoral thesis on Sean's work. She is particularly interested in myth, dreams, archetypes, and the 'forest'
in Sean's fiction.

The ice cream? I ate the whole thing.

And here is my city photo for Logrono.

Inma and her husband, Chema, took us to the neaby village of Laguardia, where Chema lived for many years. It's a traditional walled city, high on a hill, with narrow stone streets, and a beautiful parador around the top. One looks out onto fields of grapes, and wineries. This area, La Rioja, is Spain's wine region.

In Logrono, this statue is called Espartero. (The Spartan).

And here's one from our evening walk around Laguardia.

Beneath this bridge in Logrono, a young gypsy caught a large "carpa".

Very typical street in Laguardia. Chema knew almost everyone we met. Then we went for wine (of course) and tapas.

Here is Sean and Inmaculada at the university.

And the four of us. Good times.

Elche.

After my retreat, I spent a night in the city of Elche (aka Eix), near Alicante. There are numerous palm tree farms here, and it's yet another fabulous city to explore.

One can definitely get "cathedraled out' in Europe, but I liked this one in Elche very much.

And here I am again ... I always try to get a photo taken near a sign (or garbage bin, or anything else) that includes the name of the place I'm in. Just a thing I do, like collecting magnets wherever I travel. Schlocky, but one of my little traditions.

A few more from Mojacar .... with love.

The food at Fundaction Valparaiso ... loads of fish, calamari in its own ink (above), paella, and several things I couldn't put a name to. I loved it all.

This is Mojacar, again, from a different angle. The photo was taken by the photographer among us, Corrie. I could easily spend a year here.

Happy days on the beach.

And sometimes we sang. There was a guitar and a piano at FV, and we also had a dance night, in which was a riot ... I was doing handstands.

We also had a painting night. I set up a still-life, and four of us painted. My interpretation is below.

I got such a kick out of walking around Mojacar pueblo (two photos below).

Adios, Mojacar. Te amo.

The writers and artists have a lovely time ...

In a campground close to Fundacion Valparaiso. German beer, sunshine, friendship.
Is this my real life?