Consuelo's Basement

Walking in the rain to hunt out a restaurant to eat by yourself sucks. Its just worth the effort.

So I ducked into this place. Its like the basement of a girl I knew in high school. Except instead of her cigarette reeking uncle Giancarlo, there is this guy - who looks like he definitely has a sawed off shotgun up his waistcoat.

He was standing in the doorway having a ciggie when I pushed past him.

Wish me luck.
(If I don't make it home, the dog goes to Maddie, Bethan gets the drums and Jacko can have my home theatre).

The Colosseum

Where gladiators fought to the death.
And many a Christian was thrown to the lions!

Matt G. looks like that......

None of us expected that look to be the source of our daily after school voice of CBC radio. Matt Galaway is a very cool little guy kind of reminding me of a short haired Jarvis Church.

Check out the Ladies

Unbelievable that these guys are celebrating their 20 year anniversary this year. This makes me feel very old indeed. Matt Galloway was very funny teasing them about their not so past stellar year mug shots included. To which they responded that it had best 19 years ever refusing to accept the most recent year.

Hey, hey, hey

Here we are at the infamous Glen Gould Studios. Incredibly we got there at 1:45 planning only on wondering around and checking things out. However the lineup was growing instantly so in line we stood. The studio held 340 in the audience and another 250 fans wound their way around the atrium. Our early arrival was a wonderful thing as we secured 3rd row seats. The guests were well worth it including Roger Mooking, Lilly Frost, Roxanne Potvin, cast of Sound of the Music, Sarah Slean and of course the Barenaked Ladies who sing a couple of very amusing songs, namely Green Christmas and Jingle Bells which had us all laughing.

Bulgari on via Condotti

Richard Burton once bought diamonds for Elizabeth Taylor at this store. The items for sale start at €30,000.

La Cicala e La Formica

The Cricket and the Ant.
This is the little place I ate tonight; recommended by a colleague in Toronto.
It is a nice local place in the old Monti district. No tourists crawling around here.

I had "lardo di montagna" on toast; which is like good ham, except that there is no meat - it is just the fat (the lard). Delicious!

I also had wild boar stew with dumplings and carrots with a mixed salad and a half litre of red wine.

While I was there a local painter came in to install once of his latest paintings.

I finshed off with a shortbread tart with prunes and hazelnuts, drizzled in chocolate sauce.

Nice.
*urp*

No Parking: table for 2?

In Rome, many of the store fronts are small. So many restaurants set up small rooms out front on the street. They take up parking spaces!

Sounds of the Season

hey! daddy!! Hows it going!! Were just about to leave for...Sounds of the season! And Guess what! i land- oops! gotta go!

Shave and a Haircut: €90!

So today I was out shopping - looking for something for my sweetheart. Well it started to rain very hard and I found myself standing in front of nice looking traditional barber shop. It was empty.
I was soaked from the rain. I looked awful.

Why not!

I went in and had a haircut, a shave and a manicure. It was expensive, but I look better.

miss ya!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I miss you so much!!!!!!Im so BLUE!!!!!from deedee:)(:

Mmmmmm!!!!!!!!

Mmmmm!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!the artichoke pie sounds good!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!from deedee:)(:

Shopping in the rain in Rome

By the Spanish Steps are all the biggest designer shops.

Artichoke "pie"

I had this great thing for lunch today.
It is like a mini artichoke quiche, crustless, served upside down, in goat cheese sauce. Pieces of a very thin cracker jabbed into the sides like a star.

Magnifico!

Gold

In my hotel, like in grand churches and theatres, gold is used to make a place special. Even if its not real gold - gold paint, brass, yellow dye in fabrics - the effect is to embellish.

This may seem obvious, but there is a small reminder of this here in my hotel. The door and inside of the guest elevator is richly decorated in brass, gold trimming, rich yellow marble tiles and mirrors to enhance the effect. The service elevator is around the corner from my room and it it painted the same creamy white colour as the walls in order for it to be unseen.

I suppose this makes sense even when we look at our own home. The special areas are more decorated, the utility areas unfinished (like the end of the basement where the furnace and water heater are).

But if you think about how precious gold is, you can see how it is a symbol and used as a symbol after all these thousands of years.

Walls to old Roma

My hotel is situated just inside the walls of the ancient Roman city. You can see the clever Romans built these walls from thin flat bricks. They have stayed up for a long time and are very straight.

Hiya! Daddyo!

How's it going! Ilove you daddy!!<3

Bwaaaack!

Basillica St Giovanni

St John the Baptist's relic (that fancy church talk for bones) is here.

Also.....are you ready for this?.....
They have a creche set up for Christmas that includes a piece of wood that was part of the cradle for the baby Jesus in the manger in Nazareth! Apparently they had the wood analyzed and found it to be very Jesusy-like. So it is now a relic too (that's fancy church talk for really old stuff that might be have been somewhere near a guy who heard about a sisters friend who's donkey once shagged the donkey in the manger right next to Jesus' best friends manger).

The Holy See has an amazing ability to find the most obscure pieces of evidence.

Hey

hi!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It's Alive! (Welcome to Roma)

I am back on the grid.
My powercord is en route from Milan to my hotel in Rome.

I have just arrived in Rome and managed to borrow an adapter from the hotel. So my BB is being charged right now.

Phew! I was seriously distressed at not having PC or BB power.

Anyways the breakfast terrace is closing so I need to run. Here is a picture of Roma from my breakfast table. What an Empire!

Love it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

love the Hello Kitty Christmas!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!From:Deedee:)(;

Designer sheep in Milan

You must look good here.
Even the sheep are tidy.

Hello Kitty Christmas

For Maddie!

Good morning from Milano

Bongiorno!
I am in Italy now and have already my morning espresso. I am in the city of Milan in the north. The north is famous for....risotto!

Crazy Madrid Airport

Bye bye Madrid.

Yesterday I had a nice paella made for this here fella!

Me and Deedee

Hi Daddy. That was funny about the bulls. Both me and Deedee are sick. I didn't skate last night or this morning and both of us aren't going to school. I miss you Daddy.<3

Welcome to Madrid

Look at this peculiar apartment building! All the rooms are round!
How would you like to live here?
I suppose you would need a round bed!

Now, let me tell you a little bit about Spain. See the map below. You can see where I was yesterday and where I am today. But I am pointing to another place called Pamplona where they have a very unique festival every July: The Running of the Bulls.
In Spain, one of the favourite sports events is Bullfighting!
Do you remember in Miami we went to the restaurant with everything made of buffalo? It was a latin restaurant. Latinos seem to really like big cows.


So every July in Pamplona, people come from all over the country and even from around the world for the thrill of Running with the Bulls. They turn a herd of angry bulls loose into the streets and the goal is to run away from them. (Why would anyone run toward them?) Well bulls are quite fast. Especially angry ones. So it is quite a thrill to be chased by an angry bull. Fear makes you run very fast. Here are some pictures of the event in Pamplona that I found for you on the internet.


Uh-oh! These fellas look like they are in trouble.

same old story..same old song and DANCE!

hey dad,
guess what? i'm learning same old song and dance by aerosmith i'm so happy its so fun!!
and we went to greyfriars pub for dinner and met dion nye's father, hes really nice.

Walking lunch

I am soon to be locked up working for hours. The sun is out. So I walk and eat.

Really Daddy?

So basically you can't understand anybody?!!! Awwwwwwwwwwwww!!!!!!!! You must feel very lonely with nobody talking to you in English!!!!!!!!!! It's O.K !

what treats??

i miss you soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo much!!!!!!!!!!!!!!what treats are you brining us????? from:deedee:)(:

Apparently I look like a Spaniard

People keep talking to me in Spanish. And when I tell them "no hablo espagnol" they just laugh and keep talking to me in Spanish.

Me they are making fun of me.
I dunno.
They seem nice enough.

Epilogue: octopus

Ok...I really buggered this up.

After the octupus and the calamari, they bring me the baby squids I ordered.

I could have swore I asked for asparagus.

I ordered Octopus?

I thought I was getting spicy potatoes!

Daddyo!miss ya!!!!!!

i miss you alot!!!!!!!about the tour,it was long but cool!!!!! from:Maddie:)(:

Lonely Daddy?

Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Was daddy lonely on his walk?! It's O.K! If you just tell me how to open mommy's E-mail you won't be lonely! Also did you get my e-mail about the chips the hockey players were munching on-all dressed?!
Anyways Love you daddy!
-Betty<3XOXOXOXO

A nice Sunday Walk in Barcelona

Sunday is such a calm day in European cities. Most of the shops are closed and the streets are noticeably quiet.

I worked all morning, then decided to go out for a walk up to Parc Guell. I have been there before but was mainly interested in a bit of exercise - and it is straight uphill from my hotel.

Along the way there and back there were many interesting diversions.
Navigating my way by sound and smell was the way to go. There are little shops selling baguette sandwiches and some roasting chickens with garlic. Mmmm the aroma is mouthwatering.

Up near the park there is an exposed rock face. Some climbers were getting in some training time. It was hardly dangerous - they were only a foot off the ground. But they were prepared to go 30 feet straight up.


Parc Guell is another Gaudi creation from the turn of the 20th century. A rich friend of his hired him to create a modern 15 acre estate for the rich to live. Unfortunately it did not get enough buyers to make it work and it was abandoned. But the city bought in 1918 and made it a public area. It is also a UNESCO world heritage site.

Gaudi loved curves. He would break beautiful tiles into pieces so he could use them in mosaics on curved surfaces. And the park has some amazing masterworks such as the lizard at the entrance, the balcony and the crazy houses at the bottom.



You can see the Mediterranean in the distance in these pics from the balcony.









I love street art. Here are a few examples from my walk. The graffiti is on the sliding metal window cover - used to prevent break ins when the shop is closed.



Rambling, rambling...


So I was walking back to my hotel feeling a little sorry for myself. On Sunday everyone is out walking with their sweetheart or their children or both. I have neither. So I was feeling a bit sad.
Then I followed the sound of some music - it was the swing tune Mack the Knife. Barcelona Spain is an odd place for such a tune. I came into the square in front of the church of St. Joan and found about a hundred people dancing! There was a DJ playing You Give Me Fever and a Louis Armstrong tune and everyone - all shapes, sizes and ages - were dancing! It was wonderful! I couldn't help but smile.



This is another crazy Gaudi building around the corner from my hotel. Its called Le Pedrera.


Feeling better I ducked in to a restaurant called Glop for lunch. There's nothing like a nice frothy beer, endive salad with Rochefort dressing and Sobrasada. Sobrasada is a soft, paprika spiked salami. It is gorgeous.

Well, back to work. I have some emails clogging my outbox and inbox and I am back researching Monday, so there is much to do. Later tonight I have a tapas restaurant in my sights. I got caught a bit late last night and couldn't get in. Not this time!