Shrove Tuesday, Portugal & The Netherlands

March 2, 2012

Last Sunday Shelagh arrived to spend the week with us during her Reading Week. We had a good week of resting, shopping, walking, eating and drinking. 

All that week, the children in town were dressed up for Carnival.  The evening prior to Lent we had fireworks.  There is also a tradition in Lanciano of having paper mache figures admist the fireworks.  As a finale, firecrackers are exploded around various parts of a paper mache man (I will leave that to your imagination).   The finale occurs when they blow his head off; then everyone cheers. 

Paper mache man before his demise

He is on fire!

End result

On Friday morning we were up bright and early to go to Lisbon, Portugal for the weekend.   This is one of the most ancient cities of the world.  It is known as the City of the Explorers.   Upon our arrival we settled into our hotels rooms.  We then went to the Oceanario, the world’s second largest aquarium discovering the wonders of the earth’s four great oceans.  We then went up the Elevator Santa Justa, a lookout point and had a view of the city.  George, Shelagh and I enjoyed a nice evening sitting outside in the main area of the city for dinner and had Paella.  Delicious.

Ocenario

Oceanario

George and Shelagh hamming it up!

Overlooking Lisbon 

Saturday morning we started our day by taking the subway, which in itself are the cleanest and most artistic I have ever seen.  We headed to Belem Tower, a fortified tower located between the River Tago and the Ocean.  It played an important role in the Portuguese maritime discoveries.  This tower is a UNESCO world heritage site.   We then went and saw the Discoveries Monument, a statue that commemorates and celebrates the many Portugese sailors who set out to discover the rest of the world.  From there we walked over to Jeronimos Monastery, a most impressive symbol of Portugal’s power and wealth during the Age of Discovery.

Tile wall in subway station

Belem Tower

At the top of Belem Tower

At the top of Belem Tower

The Discoveries Monument

Jeronimos Monastery

For the rest of the day we walk through the city. We took the famous Tram 28 through the old parts of Lisbon on very narrow streets.

Tram 28

Our evening meal was at a Fado restaurant where we enjoyed dinner and music.  We were served traditional Portuguese food and enjoyed the music of a solo performer, accompanied by two guitarists. 

Upon arrival back into Rome Sunday, George and the students headed back to Lanciano.  Shelagh and I stayed in Rome overnight as she had an early flight back to Canada.  

After Shelagh left, I headed off to Amsterdam to visit good friends Carolyn and Jim Richardson.  Carolyn and I have known each other since the age of 15.  It was good to spend time together and to catch up.  In the afternoon we went into their local town Wassenaar which is a very pretty town where all the locals ride their bicycles to get around.  We visited the cheese shop to buy some local Amsterdam cheese and then the chocolate shop.  Upon arrival back to Carolyn’s home, two of her ex-pat friends came over for cheese and wine. 

Wassenaar

How people get around in town

On Tuesday, we headed down to the sandy beach nearby on the North Sea coast.  From there we headed to the town of Delft which is  another very pretty town with canals all around.  This town is famous for its Delft blue pottery and where the painter Vermeer lived. He painted the famous painting ":The Girl with the Pearl Earring".  From there we drove through the The  Hague, the capital city of the province of South Holland in The Netherlands.  Many foreign embassies are located here.  We then went back to the house and enjoyed wine and cheese until Jim came home for dinner. 

At the beach, North Sea

Carolyn

Delft

Carolyn made me do it and we hadn't had any wine yet!

Cheese Shop

Wednesday we started our day by driving through a small town (sorry can’t remember the name) in the search of windmills.  I didn’t realize that people actually live in windmills. 

Windmills

Me standing beside a windmill

After our windmill search we headed to Leiden, a university town.  It is also where the Pilgrms lived in the early 17th century before departing to Massachusetts and New Amsterdam in the New World.

Leiden

Leiden

That evening, Carolyn and Jim took me out to a fabulous restaurant. 

Jim, myself and Carolyn

Fresh tulips from Holland

I am now back in Lanciano.  We have March Break coming up at the end of next week.  Diane will be joining us for her first week where we will depart to Sorrento and the Amalfi Coast.  Once Diane heads home, George and I are off to Monaco for a few days.