about a month ago amidst the many rainfalls of summer i invested in a dome umbrella. one that covers virtually the entire top half of my body and is perfect for keeping me as dry as possible. it's clear plastic so i can see straight through it at any oncoming golf umbrellas taking up the sidewalk/pavement with only one person underneath (one of my personal pet peeves). there is a black trim around the bottom and the handle is shiny black plastic; quite classy really.
i like the fact that my umbrella is only big enough for one. i rarely walk down the street with anyone else - sad i know - so i feel like bubble boy when i'm parading around with my pretty parasol.
when i told my mum about this brolly, she exclaimed "you have an umbrella just like the queen?" well yes, i suppose i do. except i'm still not quite sure how the queen discerns facial features through it as she greets her well wishers because i probably wouldn't recognise my nearest and dearest coming towards me on the street walking around with this thing.
but it does make rainy days like this one so much more tolerable.
and appropriate that i'm using my queen umbrella on the day of a *minor* royal visit to the gallery. the duke of kent will be visiting us this afternoon, so i had to iron my clothes. i knew my grandma taught me how to curtsy all those years ago for a reason.
9.21.2007
9.17.2007
davoud's birthday
it was davoud's birthday on friday and for those of you who are curious, he was 29...just entered his thirtieth year! his mum and i pointed out to him sunday that he really should be wearing sunscreen as the sun will age you quicker ;) just teasin!
we had a party at the house on friday night to celebrate and there was quite the gang there. luckily it didn't rain so we were able to bring the bbq out, although i did make a couple salads and some healthy dips for those not wanting to indulge in meat. there were also two very lovely cakes if i do say so myself - a chocolate cheesecake and chocolate orange cake.
(the garden we worked so hard on in the spring)
val, paul and harriet even came down from liverpool. so val and paul slept in frank on the driveway and harriet slept in the newly decorated junk room that's not so junk filled any more. and poor nick slept on the sofa...
it didn't take too long to recover on saturday since i had a 4 hour nap, but i have officially lost my ability to drink like i used to. and i don't think this is such a bad thing. it means i'm a cheap date, but also that i'm not drinking nearly as much as i used to ;)
we had a party at the house on friday night to celebrate and there was quite the gang there. luckily it didn't rain so we were able to bring the bbq out, although i did make a couple salads and some healthy dips for those not wanting to indulge in meat. there were also two very lovely cakes if i do say so myself - a chocolate cheesecake and chocolate orange cake.
(the garden we worked so hard on in the spring)val, paul and harriet even came down from liverpool. so val and paul slept in frank on the driveway and harriet slept in the newly decorated junk room that's not so junk filled any more. and poor nick slept on the sofa...
it didn't take too long to recover on saturday since i had a 4 hour nap, but i have officially lost my ability to drink like i used to. and i don't think this is such a bad thing. it means i'm a cheap date, but also that i'm not drinking nearly as much as i used to ;)
barca photos
best sign *ever* apparently hamilton is now *in* toronto!
parc guell
barcelonata beach at the end of the day...much quieter than it was last august!
davoud and i pre-dinner on wednesday night
a side street at night. davoud took this one and i usually leave the photo taking to him these days, cause, well he's just better. i'm sure he'll have photos up on flickr soon (see links on left side of page)in barcelona
we all know how much i love the place and this year for davoud's birthday trip we headed to sunny spain. i had alterior motives for stocking up on some much needed warmth and sunshine that was seriously lacking in the uk this summer.
we took an extraordinarily early flight on tuesday morning from liverpool john lennon airport. i usually very much enjoy the airport experience, but waking up at 4 am obviously put me in a bad mood. after being told that i was not going to be provided with a clear plastic sealable bag to put my carry on liquids in that were under 100 ml, and after paying 50p (about $1!) to purchase 2 of these bags from a vending machine, i discovered that i stupidly put our sunscreen in my handbag thinking it would save time when we arrived in barcelona as i wouldn't have to go through my checked luggage looking for it.
and even more shocking, boots (aka shoppers drug mart) actually sells items before you go through the security check that are over the 100 ml limit! it's the stupidest rule, no one has ever been charged in said terrorist plot that hampered my travels the last time i came back from barcelona, and it didn't start my day well. davoud also learned the very important lesson that it's not a smart idea to ask me to calm down ;)
but after making it onto the plane and finding two seats together - that's right, no assigned seating on easy jet - i got my iPod out and was happy enough.
barcelona, as always, was beautiful and sunny. our hotel was immaculate for the price and even had a pool on the roof! check out the b-hotel and if you're planning a trip and can get the rate we did, it's incredible value.
it was the catalan national holiday on 11 september so there were many demonstrations in the area i wanted to walk around with davoud - barri gotic - but we muddled through, went to the picasso museum, and then went back to the holiday to relax by the pool before getting cleaned up for dinner.
one of my favourite things about barcelona will always be the food and the wine. it's incredible and tasty and included lots of things i've been depriving myself of lately like fresh baguettes and cheese. i felt i was allowed to indugle after being so good ;) customer service is not a strong point anywhere in the city and it's incredibly hit or miss on who smiles, who speaks, and who just throws food down on the table and walks away. nevertheless, you becoming extremely forgiving once you actually tast the lovely meal in front of you.
also tasted the wine with the best name ever: wrongo dongo. on the back it even says *dongo to the party without it*
the next day was all out gaudi. a trek up to parc guell, the sagrada familia, a long walk looking at much of the modernist architecture past the arc de triomphe, parc ciutadella and finally the beach. davoud isn't a big fan of the beach, but he humoured me for an hour so i could go swimming in the sea.
on our last night we splurged a little bit and went to this whisky bar that i found there last summer, but was too chicken to go into by myself as it was clearly a bar for locals of the old man variety. i'll let davoud describe this bar in the comments, as i think it was the highlight of his trip. the last day we went to the contemporary art museum and a wee walk up to montjuic and the national art gallery. it was a quick trip, but still incredibly relaxing.
we took an extraordinarily early flight on tuesday morning from liverpool john lennon airport. i usually very much enjoy the airport experience, but waking up at 4 am obviously put me in a bad mood. after being told that i was not going to be provided with a clear plastic sealable bag to put my carry on liquids in that were under 100 ml, and after paying 50p (about $1!) to purchase 2 of these bags from a vending machine, i discovered that i stupidly put our sunscreen in my handbag thinking it would save time when we arrived in barcelona as i wouldn't have to go through my checked luggage looking for it.
and even more shocking, boots (aka shoppers drug mart) actually sells items before you go through the security check that are over the 100 ml limit! it's the stupidest rule, no one has ever been charged in said terrorist plot that hampered my travels the last time i came back from barcelona, and it didn't start my day well. davoud also learned the very important lesson that it's not a smart idea to ask me to calm down ;)
but after making it onto the plane and finding two seats together - that's right, no assigned seating on easy jet - i got my iPod out and was happy enough.
barcelona, as always, was beautiful and sunny. our hotel was immaculate for the price and even had a pool on the roof! check out the b-hotel and if you're planning a trip and can get the rate we did, it's incredible value.
it was the catalan national holiday on 11 september so there were many demonstrations in the area i wanted to walk around with davoud - barri gotic - but we muddled through, went to the picasso museum, and then went back to the holiday to relax by the pool before getting cleaned up for dinner.
one of my favourite things about barcelona will always be the food and the wine. it's incredible and tasty and included lots of things i've been depriving myself of lately like fresh baguettes and cheese. i felt i was allowed to indugle after being so good ;) customer service is not a strong point anywhere in the city and it's incredibly hit or miss on who smiles, who speaks, and who just throws food down on the table and walks away. nevertheless, you becoming extremely forgiving once you actually tast the lovely meal in front of you.
also tasted the wine with the best name ever: wrongo dongo. on the back it even says *dongo to the party without it*
the next day was all out gaudi. a trek up to parc guell, the sagrada familia, a long walk looking at much of the modernist architecture past the arc de triomphe, parc ciutadella and finally the beach. davoud isn't a big fan of the beach, but he humoured me for an hour so i could go swimming in the sea.
on our last night we splurged a little bit and went to this whisky bar that i found there last summer, but was too chicken to go into by myself as it was clearly a bar for locals of the old man variety. i'll let davoud describe this bar in the comments, as i think it was the highlight of his trip. the last day we went to the contemporary art museum and a wee walk up to montjuic and the national art gallery. it was a quick trip, but still incredibly relaxing.
the cries of neglect
well, melissa finally sent out the cry of neglect for my small group of faithful blog readers. i must apologise for not being around of late. after the bank holiday i was just so focussed on getting all my work done before my week holiday. i seemed to be travelling to and from everywhere constantly, working for 8 days straight and just feeling too tired for anything by the time evening rolled around. but nevermind, i will hopefully delight with photos and tales of barcelona.
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