Chattering Chough

Saturday, November 13, 2010

Trip to NOLA 8

We had home made pancakes for breakfast - plain and banana ones. Very scrummy. Then A spotted this interesting insect on the front porch.

D&S had plenty of jobs to do so we set off for the bike shop to start with. D's bike was in for tuning and we went into the bike shop with him. There are all sorts of bikes, some very high tech. Soon we were putting D's bike on the back of the van and taking it back to the house. Off again to Magazine St., where we needed to collect a footstool that matches the front porch chairs. D parked and we had just about reached the shop when he caught us up. Lots of designer furniture and a very nice woman served S. She knew S straight away and was chatting on to her. The footstool was all put together - it comes flat pack usually, but they wanted to be sure it was OK. Then we set off to find a cup of coffee, but places were very busy with Saturday morning shoppers. We just looked at the shops and then got back in the car. We drove to a sports shop that may have had Saints T-shirts for our neighbours twins, but there were only sizes up to 9 months then S,M and Ls, and they were $60!
At last we found a Starbucks for coffee and then we drove out towards Baton Rouge and the Plantations. We planned to visit Oak Alley, a plantation house that is featured on lots of the adverts because of its long avenue of live oaks some planted 300 years ago by a French settler and added to about 150 years ago by the later occupants of the house. There were grass verges at the side of the road and suddenly we saw an armadillo foraging along; then another and another until we must have seen about a dozen.
We arrived as the sky began to darken and we bought tickets for the 4pm tour of the house. A bell sounded and that signalled the start of the tour, so we joined a crowd of about forty people and after a short introduction, we were led into the reception room. The guide, in costume then took us on a very informative tour of the house. Meanwhile, it was pouring with rain outside and we went out onto the upper floor veranda to see it streaming off the roof.

By the time we came downstairs again the rain had stopped and we could walk round to the garden where we saw a red cardinal flitting in the trees. Then we walked back to the car as the sun was going down. We drove off, stopping at the view of the house down the avenue of trees and we could walk up the levy to look at the river and the sunset.
It was busy on the way back and we were running short of time, but a quick change and back in the car brought us to the French Quarter with just enough time for a quick bite before we went to the show 'Forbidden Broadway' at Le Petit Théâtre du Vieux Carré. It really is a tiny theatre, seating maybe 200 people on chairs on a concrete floor. The walls are the basic brick and all the lights and stuff are mounted on girders across the ceiling. There is a small stage. The show was performed by four singers accompanied by a pianist. All the songs were Broadway hits, but with different words sending up the stars and the producers of the musicals the songs came from. We laughed a lot and really enjoyed the performance.
Back to the car and home for a cup of tea before bedtime.

Oak Alley Plantation
Le Petit Théâtre

Friday, November 12, 2010

Trip to NOLA 7

D had gone for an early run, so when we got up he was just arriving back. After breakfast we had a few things to do starting with collecting a couple of pictures D&S had had framed. Then we parked near Audubon Park with the intention of walking around the lake. Just what we needed, but we kept spotting wildlife and in the end we didn't get very far. But we did see some woodpeckers - the Downy, we think; squirrels, other little birds; turtles/terrapins; a darter/anhinga; lots of ducks - not just mallards. So, we turned around and walked back to the car and D drove us off to find a coffee. The first stop was St James' Cheese Shop, but although we got to look inside and smell the incredible range of cheeses they keep, the place was full. Onwards and Borders wasn't too far away, so we parked and went in for coffee and a browse.

We had to leave town at one to get to the Swamp Tours place, so back in the car we set off into some heavy traffic. Eventually we got onto our road and whizzed back over the large bridge we had come back into town on last night. We turned off onto ever smaller roads and at last arrived at the edge of the swamp. Here there were large barges being pushed up and down the waterway, but also a collection of airboats of various sizes. D went and arranged for us to go on one of the smaller ones and at 2.15 we were all setting off - seven on our boat and all with the yellow ear defenders on. They are very noisy.
Jostin, our driver, took the boat across the waterway and into some of the narrow bayous, swinging sideways round corners. Around the first bend a very large heron flew up from the bank - a blue heron. Eventually we stopped at a sort of bay, overhung with trees dripping Spanish moss where we found at least four smallish alligators lounging around on logs and in the water. It's getting to hibernation time for the alligators so they are quite slow and lugubrious. The water is covered with Japanese water hyacinth which is quite a problem, but no-one is doing anything about it, just driving over it, which doesn't seem to achieve much. Our next stop was more open and here Jostin pointed out another alligator lurking in the weed. He threw something in the water and it sped across towards us snapping up the white marshmallow. J threw in a couple more while he chatted on about gators. It was quite funny to watch. There were also some large birds about, swamp buzzards and also lots of egrets. D spotted a woodpecker on a tree trunk that we think was a pileated woodpecker. The trees are mostly swamp cedars, the state tree of LA, and are a protected species. The afternoon passed along in the same vein until we met up with another of the company's boats where we were watching common gallinules, looking like large moorhens. Jostin came round to the front of the boat with a baby alligator - he had brought it with us in a cool box, not just picked it out of the water, and we all got to hold it before it was passed round the other boat, too. Apparently the company will keep it until next year when they will release it back into the swamp.
Now it was time to race back to the dock, which was great fun.We came to the main channel where there was a barge boat pushing four loaded barges up river. Our captain was very sceptical about it getting around the Mississipi bends. We were soon back at the car. We decided to find the NP visitor centre where there were some interesting facts about the swamp and several self guided walks along boards. We will have to come back to do those, as we needed to be leaving for the airport to collect S. D thought we would have time for a cup of tea at Starbucks on the way, so we did stop for a break, then we got stuck in Friday night traffic creeping along the freeway to the airport. At last we got there and D ran in to meet S as we parked the car. They came out almost immediately and we were soon on our way back to the house - having free parking, too.

S&D opened the remaining pictures from the shipment and we all were impressed with how good they looked. Now they have the problem of how and where to hang them. S also opened her birthday pressies from M&N and us, which she really liked. Just time to spruce up before we were due at the restaurant, Le Petit Grocery, for dinner. It was also busy, but we had a table booked. We suggested Sazeracs as an aperitif, but they were not pleasant - almost all hard whisky and hardly any of the sweet herby taste that I's had had. But dinner was tasty - steaks and rabbit were greedily consumed and a very pleasant Frog's Leap Zinfandel was a delicious accompaniment. Then there was dessert - plum cobbler was the special, but sadly it had all gone - and lots of people hadn't got as far as dessert, yet. So we had chocolate mousse, crème brulee and pear bread pudding. We intended to have tea back at the house, but ended retiring after a busy day.

St James Cheese Company
Louisiana Airboat Swamp Tours
La Petite Grocery

Thursday, November 11, 2010

Trip to NOLA 6

D took today off and so we didn't start too early, but we didn't dawdle either as we were planning a road trip. D planned to take us to the Wetland Jean Lafitte National Park Centre at Thibodeaux, so we piled into the van and headed west. A warning light came on to say that one of the tires had low pressure, so we tried to check the pressure when we filled up with petrol in Thibodeaux. No working air pump at the Shell station - this was the second Shell station we stopped at as the first had no petrol! Alan looked at the tires and found one had a huge nail in it. It didn't look good for travelling another 80 miles to Grand Isle as was the plan. But there across the road was a tire shop. We went over, but the man couldn't do anything for us for at least a couple of hours. We decided to go to the Wetlands Centre and have a look round in the meantime. This is not quite what you imagine and seems to be a centre for educating the kids about the history of the area, nothing much to do with wetland wildlife habitat at all. So in the car park we changed the tire to the temporary one and then drove to a decent café for a small sandwich and coffee. Then we went to the Chevron garage and after some help from the garage woman we got some pressure in that tire and she recommend that we go to the WalMart a few blocks away. We got there and the man said he could do it and it may take about an hour, so we handed over the keys and went to explore the huge supermarket. All went well and we were soon on our way again. It was quite a long drive following the canal all the way down into the swamp area, reaching Grand Isle as the sun was getting low in the sky. D had to stop and pay toll fees at a supermarket and we took some photos of the low sun on the water - discovering dolphins in the harbour and pelicans on the posts. We had seen lots of egrets and herons on the way down as well as a couple of belted kingfishers sitting on the telegraph wires. The National Park area was still a bit further on, so we drove along, but the sun was really about to set, so we turned off the road and drover to the end of the lane, just in time to see the sun dip into the sea and the light up the wispy clouds with the afterglow.

This spit of land is really built up with holiday homes on stilts - rather like large ETBs in Brunei. It looked as if lots of people have weekend homes here and come for the beach and fishing. To one side is the Gulf of Mexico where there have been clean-up measures taken following the oil spill, but there are offshore rocks looking very white with guano, so hopefully just here things haven't been as bad as feared. Back at the supermarket we stopped for refreshments and watched boats coming and going - so there seems to be some fishing happening.

D drove us all the back to NO which took about two and a quarter hours. We drove straight to Il Posto and D ordered two antipasti platters, some salad, bread and a bottle of Merlot. The wine came from the vineyard owned by the parents of the café owners. They were sitting at a table in the café and when they left, they asked how we had enjoyed the wine. It was the last bottle of the 2007. We had really enjoyed it, very smooth and just right with the food. Then it was home for a cup of tea and bed.

Wetland Jean Lafitte National Park Centre at Thibodeaux

I tried a direct link, but couldn't get in.

Who was Jean Lafitte

All about Grand Isle State Park and here, too

Il Posto

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Trip to NOLA 5

D went off to the office at eight and then we got up and pottered about before leaving for breakfast at Il Posto. They served us granola with fruit and yoghurt, coffee and fruity muffins. Well fortified we walked down to St Charles and waited for the streetcar. It is very leafy along the road and there were plenty of joggers bashing along the tram tracks. We were glad to see that most of them were running towards the oncoming trams with their headsets on. While waiting at the stop we saw a flicker bobbing up a tree trunk close by.
The tram journey down to Canal Street takes about half an hour and D had given us some tokens to pay for it. There is a standard charge whatever the length of the journey. We got off and wandered back into the French Quarter for a while. Everything was getting going, but the photographers with the 'good' was closed, so we just made our way back to One Shell Square to meet D. He walked us down to the French Market where we wandered passed the stalls selling fruit, veg, clothes and stuff as well as food. And then we crossed the road and went into a little café on the corner where we had salad and D had shrimp etouffee which was quite spicy. To finish off lunch we walked to Cafe du Monde for coffee and beignets which are rather like flat olie bollen covered in icing sugar.

Soon it was time for D to go back to work and we to get on the boat for the river cruise. As we walked along the Moonwalk we were entertained by the calliope on the Natchez steamboat. This is a steam organ that plays all sorts of tunes.

We joined the queue to get on the boat and soon we were pushing back from the dock with the red paddle wheel churning up the water. There was a running commentary as we headed downstream, pointing out various landmarks and giving us lots of facts about NO and the river. After about an hour we turned round and crossed to the opposite bank for the return trip. We were able to go below and look at the engine room with its huge pistons driving the paddle wheel. There are two huge boilers called Thelma and Louise providing the steam. We powered passed the other tourist boat with a paddle wheel, but apparently that is not a genuine steam boat. Our boat, Natchez sailed to the very large double iron bridge, then turned again and came to a stop at its berth. What a lovely way to spend an afternoon.

When we had disembarked, we took a long walk up to Basin St. This isn't anything to see, but we got there and then zigzagged back down towards the French Market area. There was a fabulous sunset to glimpse along between the streets, and we stopped at a Community Cafe, a sort of local Costa/Starbucks for a cup of tea. We were meeting D at six at Snug Harbour for supper before attending their Wednesday Night Jazz session.
Everything went to plan and we were soon seated in the restaurant having delicious fishy meals - Mine was blackened fish, D had salmon with a creamy sauce and A had a plateful of shrimps all served with baked potato. The chaps had pecan pie for dessert, but I had had enough. At 7.45 we went through to the small room where the jazz was to be. a stage at the far end was crammed with chairs and music stands and a grand piano. We were to hear the Uptown Jazz Orchestra - some fifteen or so musicians, sax, trombone and trumpet with bass and piano. The room was also stuffed with tables and we took one in a corner and ordered some tea and beer. Soon the musicians came in and started their session. It was fantastic and the hour and a half flew by. Everyone was very enthusiastic applauding all the solos. Each member of the band got to play some improvisation during the session. But it was time for their break and for us to go; they do two sessions a night at eight and ten.
We walked round the corner to where D had parked and drover home to find several large boxes on the front porch. These are some big prints they have had made to fill some of the large amount of wall space at the house. D was keen to open a couple to check if they were OK and we found a picture of a South American volcano and one of D&S overlooking Macchu Pichu. The rest will wait till S arrives back on Friday evening.

Il Posto
Shrimp etouffee recipe
Café du Monde
The history of Steamboat Natchez
About the calliope
Snug Harbour

Tuesday, November 09, 2010

Trip to NOLA 4

It really was an early start as we had to be on the road by just after seven. We said fond farewells and thanked I&M for they wonderful hospitality and gave Fergie a hug before setting out. We set up the Garmin, but all we needed to do was get on to and stay on I-78. The traffic built up and at times we were moving fairly slowly, but at least moving. All was OK until we got near the airport, and although we could see the road, Garmin seemed utterly confused and at one point we were in danger of entering the Hudson tunnel. Just escaping on to the last exit we were able to 'go round again' and this time, with Garmin unplugged we got ourselves to the rental returns. Then it was plain sailing to our terminal and the flight to >New Orleans. When we landed we collected the bags and headed off to the bus area. D was working, but we sent a text to say we had arrived. Then one came back to say that he would come for us, but we were already on the bus, so we sent him back. The bus took us to the Intercon, just across the street from One Shell Square and as we were ordering a sandwich D appeared and stayed while we ate. Then he showed us where the French Quarter is and had a coffee with us before arranging to meet up at 5pm.

Some of the old street signs we saw.

There were street performers everywhere.

And just a few of the hanging signs.

He swung the van by the Intercon and collected us and the bags and we were soon off to the house. As it was now dark, he put on the lights to welcome us - it looks very pretty and the Adirondack style chairs on the front porch are very welcoming. After a quick tour, D walked us down the road to the Creperie for supper. It was mobbed and we had the last free table for a while.

Delicious savoury and sweet crepes were consumed, then we took a different route back to the house. We saw where we would catch the streetcar tomorrow and D pointed down the street to Il Posto, their favourite Italian coffee shop and restaurant. Then when we got back, just a few final instructions and arrangements for meeting for lunch tomorrow before it was bedtime.

Monday, November 08, 2010

Trip to NOLA 3

- w/e in PA

We are getting better at sleeping, and although the sun was peeping over the horizon when we woke, we lay in bed for a while reading. Breakfast at nine, and M had already taken Fergie to the supermarket by the time we got down. But as he still needed a walk, we joined M for a stroll to Stage Stop Farm along country roads. It was lovely to be out and about and we saw lots of birds flying about. SSF is an old stage stop on the route to somewhere. Passengers could buy tickets for their journey by the entrance and get on when the stage arrived. The window is preserved, but as it is a private house, we couldn't walk up to the front door, positioned on the side if the house, to see it. They do have a huge pond to the other side where there were loads of Canada geese and some swans. It was very idyllic.

We turned here and walked back to the house where I. was ready to take us down to Barnes and Noble for a browse among the books. We had been talking about what we had been reading and watching on TV, and I. ended up with the first two of the Millennium Trilogy (Swedish version) and also two Wallander DVDs also Swedish with English subtitles. We had coffees at the in-house Starbucks, then headed back to the house as we were off to watch the grape pressing for this year's homemade wine. This year the club have bought Sangiovese grapes from Napa Valley and these have been sitting in barrels with sugar for several days. The fermentation has finished and now the group takes the resulting juice and divides it between their carboys for the next stage. To get the maximum amount of juice, they squeeze the fermented grapes (must) through a special press. This was quite complicated as if it spills it makes everything very sticky as well as staining anything it comes into contact with - like the walls and so on. So the process is mostly outside and it was suddenly very cold and wet, quite unpleasant. About halfway through, M decided it was time for us to depart up to the house and Fergie, where she made us some supper. I. would have supper with the wine club. We were then going to watch a film, but couldn't get the DVD player to talk to the TV, so we waited for I. to get back, then sat and watched the latest Bourne film with Matt Damon.

Sunday, November 07, 2010

Trip to NOLA 2

-w/e in PA

The clocks went back in the night, so we had an extra hour in bed, but not asleep. We did watch and photograph the dawn and watched some white tailed deer pick their way across the garden, before getting up and joining I&M for breakfast. Fergie was keen on retrieving some frisbee throws, so A was obliging for a while. After we had tidied up, we put on boots and jackets to take the dog for a walk down by the creek that runs through the area. It was lovely with the sun shining and there were even a few leaves left to take reflection photos of. We walked for about an hour and a half, enjoying the countryside views and fresh air.
Back at the house, we settled Fergie and then we were off in the Jeep again to discover the city of Bethlehem. This is a city that was built on steel, having good communications via the river, to bring in the ore and the coal for smelting. Nowadays that has all gone and the redundant half-mile long rolling mill and blast furnaces lie cold and silent. The town was created by the Moravians, a group of Germanic people with a strict Lutheran background. We walked around looking at various significant historic buildings, coming to the cemetery with its horizontal gravestones. This, like the community houses was also divided into male and female areas and there are many interesting inscriptions to be found, including one man who had been a soldier in Napoleon's army for fifteen years before emigrating to America. As the sun went down it got a bit chilly, so we were quickly back to the car and drove home.

Fergie needed a few frisbee throws after being inside, then we had a 'slideshow' on the big TV of the photos so far. There are some goodies in there. I. made us some drinks – a sazerac with the glass 'oiled' with absinthe, and a beer - and some of M's famous hummus. We had delicious chicken for dinner with some of the 'homemade' wine from the wine club - 2006 Merlot. Tonight we sat and watched the movie with Renée Zellweger in 'New in Town' before retiring.

About the history of Bethlehem PA
Sazerac information

Saturday, November 06, 2010

Trip to NOLA 1

- In PA for w/e

We arrived last night, driving down I-78 into the setting sun. The location is very rural, I and M’s place is set in acres of trees with a few houses dotted about. They have lots of wildlife about including deer, which render gardening nigh on impossible as they eat everything. We awoke early and just caught the sun rising and casting early morning shadows across the frosty grass. Downstairs, we found them throwing the frisbee for Fergie the friendly Golden Retriever who of course never tires.We had expressed a desire to see something of the area where they live, so that was the plan for the day. We set off in the Jeep, minus Fergie and made a tour up the Delaware River. On one side it is PA and the other bank is NJ, so we pottered to and fro across various bridges from one state to the other. The towns and villages are mostly a couple of hundred years old with quaint shops, churches and inns. As it has recently been Halloween there were plenty of pumpkins, ghosts, skeletons and witches decorating the doorways and porches.

One of the places we stopped at was Frenchtown with its pretty main street and alleyways with artisan shops. We drifted into an art gallery/shop where the theme was definitely nature. The owner had hundreds of bird carvings from local wood carvers, all very lifelike and beautifully finished in realistic painted plumage. The walls were covered in natural history art, it was good to see so much excellent work. This was, after all, the Decoy and Wildlife Gallery. But coffee called so we went next door to River Blue Café and enjoyed coffee and cookies before exploring further. One very brightly coloured shop front displayed equally cheerful handmade hats and scarves and just down a side street were more pumpkin displays. There was a certain French flavour to the town, one shop was even called 'Pardon my French'. So soon we were off again, heading for Peddlers Village. Although I&M warned us of its touristic cuteness, they said it was a good place to go, but none of us had anticipated the crowds. It was Apple Festival weekend and there were scores of big buses parked in the car park bringing people to the associated artisan market. All the car parks were full and we eventually found a space at the furthest away point possible. We walked back to the village only to find, as you can imagine, that it was mobbed. There were queues for everything from the loo to the café and with that many people we couldn't even see anything properly. What a shame, but then we will just have to go back again one day.

So we returned to the car and made our way back to the house via a couple of covered bridges to a welcoming Fergie. Dinner was booked at Don Shula's restaurant in the nearby mall. Shula's is famous for its steak, and most famous for serving a 48oz portion. If you can eat it unaided at one sitting your name goes on a plaque on the wall. There seem to be about 300 of them so far, with one guy having done it one hundred times. For the 100th dinner he was joined by Don Shula himself. The theme of the restaurant is a football season when the Miami Dolphins, that Don Shula coached, had a perfect season. That means they played the whole season unbeaten. We settled for steaks up to 12oz and still had plenty to take home for Fergie; and they were superb - tasty and tender. We followed them with chocolate fondant - just two between four and it could have been one between four it was so rich and flavourful. And then we had some refreshing mint tea.

Decoys and Wildlife Gallery, Frenchtown NJ
River Blue Café, Frenchtown NJ
Cathy Smith Designs, Frenchtown NJ
The Frenchtown Inn, Frenchtown NJ
Black Bass Hotel, PA
Peddler's Village PA
Covered Bridges of Bucks County, PA

Sunday, October 31, 2010

Falconry at Wisley

In sharp contrast to the sunny autumn weather of Monopoly day, we woke to a really wet one for our planned trip to see the birds of prey flying at RHS Garden Wisley. We first stopped by the small marquee that had been erected for them as they waited to perform for us. A short walk through the arboretum brought us the reward of seeing some beautiful trees in their autumn colours. But after the flying display, we admitted defeat and after a welcome, warming coffee at the Glasshouse Cafe we came home to dry out.

Saturday, October 30, 2010

Final Monopoly Day

The last Monopoly day came and was a lovely autumn day, We began our expotition by travelling to Euston Road. We explored around Euston Station, the British Library and then St Pancras and King's Cross Stations before continuing on along Pentonville Road to Angel.

Suitably refreshed in a local hostelry, we caught the tube to Liverpool Street Station and began a long walk from there passed the Bank of England and onto Fleet Street.

There are lots of interesting old buildings here with narrow alleyways leading to churches and pubs hidden away.The Loriner makes and sells bits, bridles, spurs, stirrups, saddle trees and the minor metal items of a horse’s harness.

Fleet Street and the Strand took us passed many famous buildings including the Courts of Justice as well as the newly renovated Savoy Hotel. A certain Mr Faraday was discovered outside the Institute of Electrical Engineers.

Our last location was Bow Street, famous for its Runners, which runs in front of The Royal Opera House, Covent Garden.

Sunday, October 24, 2010

Hyde Hall's Taste of Autumn

RHS Garden Hyde Hall also held a Taste of Autumn Festival this weekend.

There were several excellent exhibitors, apple tasting and lots of activities for kids. The sun shone on us as we walked around the garden, enjoying the autumn colours - from the Upper Pond down to the vegetable plots and back.

And then we wound our way around the dry garden, the Australia and New Zealand garden and finally past the lovely autumn colours in the beds on Clover Hill bringing us back to the entrance.

Thursday, October 21, 2010

Taste of Autumn at RHS Garden Wisley

The day began with a frost, which surprised everybody and gave us the chance to take some rimey photographs when we entered the garden early with the eager visitors to the festival. It was certainly a popular outing for lots of parents with their children on half term holiday. There were lots of apples to taste and buy as well as a host of different types of pumpkins. In a tent of its own Europom, the European apple club, had wonderful country displays of unusual apples and pears to delight all, and there were plenty of people keeping the experts busy with questions on apple growing and identification.

As the sun shone and warmed us up, we strolled through the Garden, enjoying the sunshine and the colours that it brought to life.

Sunday, October 17, 2010

Walking round Winkworth

Such a lovely autumn day, we just had to take a walk through Winkworth Arboretum. It was so rewarding.

Sunday, September 26, 2010

Jordan Journal Day 8

I got up and met up with Wendy and Lucy to take their photos covered with mud and bobbing about in the Sea. This was at 6.30am! Then Alan came down and we waited in the Lobby as gradually everyone gathered. All too soon, we were saying goodbye and waving them off in a great big bus, as Mohammed had been called away to another job, and we couldn't say goodbye to him. The others would give Moe our gifts and say thank you from everyone when they got to the Airport. That just left Maki and ourselves, so we went and had breakfast together. She went to get ready for her flight to Amsterdam, and we got ourselves ready for another bathe. This time after the mud, we used the platform to get into the Sea, which was better. We bobbed about, making it across to the float and rope barrier to hang about for a while, then came out and after a shower for me, we lay out of the loungers to 'dry'. At 11am we went to the bar for a coffee, then upstairs for a quick shower, before seeing Maki off with Khalid who will be collecting us tomorrow.

Now we are alone after our week of being thirteen - a strange feeling as it has been such a busy and fun time. A great crowd of people to spend some time with. We are going to have dinner at the Italian restaurant tonight before our 9am start in the morning.
After a second dip in the Sea, we tidied ourselves up in readiness for another sunset, but a sea har came up and that was that, so we had a quiet half hour when A watched some golf on the TV, and I read my book. Later we descended to the Acacia Bar for a lemonade with mint and a beer before dinner. Khalid will meet us at 8am tomorrow to drive us to the airport and our flight home.

Saturday, September 25, 2010

Jordan Journal Day 7

5am, just light and almost time to get up. It had been a quiet moonlit night with a few clouds, but mostly clear and quite cool towards dawn. We all started rising about 5.15, with loos and teeth cleaning, before clearing up our devastation of the camp - i.e. putting back the beds, and leaving all unnecessary stuff ready to be taken to the big camp. Moe invited us all outside (except Keith and Jenny) to settle us on camels in readiness for our safari to watch the sunrise. We clambered onto our mounts, then the camel leader encouraged the camels to rise, which nearly tipped us over their heads. Mick's camel was a huge grumbler and quite contrary, sitting down in the middle of the ride, then standing so Mick couldn't get off when we got to the sunrise spot! Before that, we swayed across the desert with the camels grabbing at the scrubby vegetation as we went by. It was so peaceful with only the odd voices breaking the quiet. We climbed up and down the dunes and as the camels were tied together in pairs, the leaders of the pairs were 'allowed' to hold the leading rein and take charge of their two camels. The Bedouin were only a stick's length away. By nearly 6.30 we had reached a high spot and our Bedouin leader got us to dismount and sit on the sandy ground, facing a bit of a mountain. Gradually we saw the red sun appear from behind it - sunrise in this part of Wadi Rum. Photos taken, we remounted and our camels strode off in the direction of the large camp, ready for breakfast.
We left the camels and walked through a narrow pass into a valley where we found a couple of camps, one of which was the one we wanted. Here we found a Bedouin breakfast buffet awaiting us. Some herbs mixed with sesame seeds and seasoning was one of the unusuall things on offer. Moe said we should mix it with olive oil to make a sort of paste. This was very tasty on our flat bread. There were eggs and jams, too. Lucy was very keen to get to the Dead Sea hotel, and persuaded Moe that we should leave asap. So Wendy and I teased her with the story that Moe had arranged for us to visit the Museum in Amman on the way - so Lucy was resigned that it could be a while before we got there. We set off with Mohammed in the driver's seat, stopping to take a picture of the Camel road sign and again at the Midway Castle - a souvenir shop with some tourist souvenirs, but also with Dead Sea products on sale cheaper than at the hotel. A and I had coffee and a stroll about only buying a couple of PCs and some mud impregnated cream for A to try. Back in the bus and on to take a photo of the Sea Level sign nearly at the Dead Sea. By now Lucy realized we weren't going to the Museum.

We arrived at the Marriott by 1pm, but our rooms weren't ready - such frustration, but we could grab stuff out of the bags and change in the loos by the pool. As lunch was up to us, some of us went to the sports bar for a snack. This turned out to be more substantial than we anticipated - A's a chicken sandwich with fries and my waffle chips and cheese would have fed a family of four each! And all the while there was boxing on the TV and loud music! Then Moe found us and said the rooms were ready, so we found our way to reception to collect the keys and changed in our rooms before heading down to sample the delights fo the ultra salty sea. First people cover themselves with mud from a pot by the shore, then it's into the luke warm water. It was a weird experience, you just can't get your feet down, but bob about on the surface and woe betide you if you get the salty water near your eyes. We could see the 'oily' salty liquid swirling about as we moved. We propelled ourselves to the rope and floats marking the edge of our pool, using the rope to anchor ourselves so we could 'rest' without floating away. Really strange!
At last we came out and I rinsed off in the fresh water showers, and A left the salty water to dry, doing his skin lots of good. It was so hot, probably nearer 40 degrees than 35. Eventually we retired upstairs and sorted out the bags.We emptied everything out, then shook the bags out on the balcony to get rid of the sand. Time for showers etc. before going to the terrace to watch the sunset. We couldn't find any of the others, but as they are leaving tomorrow, they were all sorting out their stuff. A mint lemonade and a beer were very refreshing as we watched the sun going down and waited.

When everyone had collected, Moe was there ready to take us to the restaurant for our final dinner together - a buffet of mezze and rice and lamb or quail. Some of us tried the Jordanian wine, the reds being typical of a hot country with a raisiny taste, not at all unpleasant. We sat with Wendy and Lucy and chattered away, then Lucy mentioned that she had once had a boyfriend whose parents lived in Oman and this turned out to be people we knew fairly well - what a coincidence! Some went to peruse the desserts and Keith brought Jenny a wonderful selection of small slices of cakes and mousses - we had to have some, too. Chocolate mousse cake and fruit. There was one called Alhambra cake, with purple and yellow stripes. (too much for me!) Over tea and coffee, we all said what a great time we had had, and Lucy read us her poem about our holiday together - email addresses were swopped and promises of sharing photos were made - a Flikr page for the Jingly Janglies, the mythical group of belly dancers we have formed while staying in Petra - lead dancer Terri with Jen, Sian, Lucy, Maki and Wendy as performers - Jason as manager, Alan as costume buyer, Mick as the FD, Liz make-up. And so to bed, with the promise that A and I would see them off at 8am in the morning.

Friday, September 24, 2010

Jordan Journal Day 6

A rare lie-in as we didn't leave until 10 and thank goodness Mr Mohammed was there to drive us down to Wadi Rum. As we agreed, we were not having lunch today, so there were several surreptitious napkins full of breakfast pastries and fruit! We at last saw the end of the DVD 'Kingdom of Heaven', especially for Mick, making the journey flash by. When we got to Wadi Rum Moe checked in with the authorities and then directed Mohammed down a back road. To start with this was a single track with stone wall edges - so we were very glad no-one came the other way. Moe stopped to point out a rock that was used for the front cover of the T E Lawrence book, The Seven Pillars of Wisdom. (Although Keith pointed out that it had little to do with Lawrence!) We found our way to the large camp where we would have dinner. We will sleep at a smaller place - just ourselves. All the bags were downloaded into one 'room' at the camp and we had tea in the shade. Moe explained that we would have a special Bedouin barbie, and showed us where they would be cooking it. Metal bins are buried in the ground and a wood fire is lit inside. When the flames die away trays containing meat wrapped in foil are lowered on top - lamb and chicken. Then a lid is put on and the whole is covered with earth and left for 3 hours.

But before all that we went wadi bashing in a couple of 4WD - a revolution car (Toyota pick-up) and a Mitsubishi. Wendy, Maki, Sian, Jason and we two were in the Mitsubishi. We had a splendid sunshade - we were sitting in the open back - but our seats were quite high and we could look out over the front cab. Definitely the wind in our hair as we sped along. The others sat below the cab level in the Toyota, but their sunshade wasn't as posh as ours! Away we went around the vast area of Wadi Rum. In reality we only covered a minute part of it, as there is a great agri-revolution going on in one area providing plenty of fruit and vegs for Jordan and also for export. We passed by lots of huge rock formations, and we could see plenty of scope for climbing. There were camels all over the place and long Bedouin tents. We did stop at the T E Lawrence monument - a large sandstone rock with two faces carved on it and some Arabic inscription, but not much really. Then we were off again to find the rock drawings of camels, that looked like llamas, ostriches and hunters. The next stop was on top of a sand dune and then the excitement of coming down the steep side. We gave our driver a round of applause as his van is actually not going that well and we were glad it got down in one piece - although really it's ascent that is difficult for it.
By now it was time for a cup of tea, and we arrived at a Bedouin tent where a kind man had some tea ready in an 8L kettle, simmering on the charcoal fire. We were invited to sit around and sip tea and he then gave us a waft of incense from a burner, making A and I think of Oman again, then opened some sort of perfumed block that he stroked across the back of our hands. After all this he sat by the fire and played us a tune on his special rababah and sang a song, too. It was just great. Then he got Alan to have a go with not too great results, but there was a bit of a tune.

Back to the vans and off we sped, this time to some natural arches in rocks. The first was quite high up and inaccessible, but the second one we could climb up to and walk across.. They are quite beautiful. Near the top we found some lilac coloured rock - another colour to add to the greens, pinks, blue-blacks, yellows and whites seen so far. We then drove to a place where we could see how the Bedouin collect water. There is an underground cistern where water collects naturally, but the Bedouins have put in several channels to collect water off the surrounding rocks and direct it into the cistern. This lasts them until the next rains.
We were meant to stay out to watch the sunset before dinner, but the day was very hazy and cloud had formed to cover the sun - no desert sunset for us, so Moe suggested we go back to camp have some drinks and put our feet up. This we did and then some had showers before dinner. We watched the unveiling of the barbecue, then grabbed some seats in the open where there was a little breeze and queued up with various other parties to collect our meals. The meat was very tender and there were the usual salads to go with it. There was also some entertainment from a 'lute' player and a drummer. When the Belgium woman got up and started belly dancing, we decided it was time to head for our own place and an early-ish night. When we got there, there were cups of tea all round, some photos of the moon and then, having dragged the beds out into the open area to catch the breeze, we all lay down for a short night's rest.

Thursday, September 23, 2010

Jordan Journal Day 5

A repeat of yesterday saw us walking into Petra at 7am. It was quiet again but today the sky was clear blue and the sun already hot. We went straight to the Royal Tombs and spent some time looking around that area, then we walked across and down the hillside - a route that brought us across a bridge over a ravine. We were now by the Byzantine church with the mosaics and we walked to the Lion Triclinium where the 'face' came from. The 'face' is a carved plaque with a surprisingly modern-looking design. We only found a couple of lizards basking on the wall.

We went down to find the museum behind the restaurant and met Keith making his way up to the Mosaics and then he was going to climb up to the Monastery. We found the little museum, with various artefacts on display (including elephant heads on top of a pillar), but no 'face' so Alan asked one of the attendents and we discovered that it has been moved to the Archaelogical Museum in Amman. When we came out again, we stopped for a cup of tea before walking all the way out. The crowds were building and outside the Treasury it was very busy. We were very hot, but we decided to have a coffee in the Burkhardt Cafe in the atrium of the hotel. Burkhardt was the Swiss explorer who set off in March 1809 for Syria where he perfected his knowledge of the local Arabic dialect. Then he ventured forth along ancient trade routes, travelling as a Moorish trader, Ibrahin ibn Abdullah. In 1812, he took a detour from the proscribed route, much to the concern of his Bedouin guide, to Wadi Musa and the rest, as they say, is history. At midday we all met to join Moe on the bus to go to Little Petra. Our bus and Mr Mohammed our excellent driver, was held up in Aqaba by the dust storm, so we had another and the driver drove hell for leather over a roller coaster road - a bit sick making!

At Little Petra we walked into the area and found a stone room to sit in the shade and have a sandwich. Then we walked through the area and up some stone steps through a ravine. At the other side there was a Bedouin stall with the usual crafts for sale and we walked to the viewpoint at the end. Here an old woman was spinning camel hair by hand so I had a go and it was quite difficult. Little Petra is thought to be the last stopping place before travellers entered Petra, itself. Then it was back to the bus and to the hotel where we had a couple of hours to take it easy before dinner at 6.30. We just had mezze with mint lemonade and a little baclava to finish. We walked down to the Petra entrance ready for our candlelit walk to the Treasury. This was magical, with the rocks glowing pink in the candlelight. We were seated on mats on the sand and the whole area was lit by candles in paperbags. When the several hundred people were seated the concert began - a man played a tune on the stringed instrument, the rababah, then another played a piece on the short flute. When this was over, another man introduced the players and their music and told us quite a complicated story; and that was it - time to leave. All the while our companions were experimenting with new found skills with their cameras and they were getting some great results. What fun that they were willing to turn off the flash and auto settings and have a go. We will try more experiments with the moon and stars in Wadi Rum, tomorrow.

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Jordan Journal Day 4

We met Moe at 6.45 and as we were about to start a huge storm blew up whipping sand and rain across the hotel car park. It reminded us of the shamal we experienced in Oman way back in the early '80s, although that wasn't accompanied by any rain. Nevertheless we were already walking towards The Siq by 7. It was quiet and we had plenty of time for pics. Even when we reached the famous view of the Treasury through the rocks, we had little 'interference' from tourist crowds. That view was all we had expected and it was amazing to have reached Petra at last. Everywhere we looked there are monuments carved from and into the rock. It is a wonderfully warm pink that must glow in the sun but it was not shining. The sand stone has many different colours and one of the first stops was at a stall that made sand sculptures in bottles. The man showed us how he drew a camel from black sand in the bottle - very clever.

Then it was time for us to begin our climb up to the High Place of Sacrifice, 200m up the Jebel al Madhbah.This is up 300 steps, which we took at a steady rate and soon reached the top with stupendous views. It is thought that the Nabateans inherited this place from the Edomites and could well be the oldest cultic site in Petra. As we climbed we had to keep stopping to let people go by on donkeys - cheats!
We all assembled at the viewpoint and Moe pointed out the urn on top of the Monastery that we will visit this afternoon. It is facing away from this position, as just the urn is visible peaking above the surrounding rocks, but it must be huge. Moe lead us up the rocks to the actual place where sacrifices took place and on the way we spotted an amazing creature - a sort of spotty yellow grasshopper-type animal. Then we started down again by the Wadi Farasa route passing some fantastic rocks as well as seeing some more tombs, and being passed by donkeys picking their way precipitously down the steep steps.On this route we came across the Lion monument or fountain, with the rock wall stained by the waterfall and the remains of the lion - now minus head - carved into the rock. Moe explained that the water gushed out of the Lion's mouth when the 'fountain' was complete.We stopped by an old lady's coffee/tea stand for tea with mint before continuing down eventually coming to an area where they were doing excavation. They clear as much as they can, cataloguing all they find, then backfill as this is in the main pathway. Their 'dig' lasted three weeks. Our route brought us down to the main road through the middle of Petra and we made for the second bridge to the cafe where we stopped for sandwiches and drinks.

After lunch we began the climb up to the Monastery. This is another 800 steps and Moe, who was not joining us, said that it should take about 45 mins to an hour. The 'younger' ones headed off at a pace. Mick the Irish chap has his birthday (42) today and he is a super fit guy. He was challenged by some of the others including his wife to go up fast and they were at the monastery in 25 mins. Alan and I were joined by Wendy and made it in a sedate 40 mins. Another amazing monument and we climbed up the hillside facing it to a viewpoint with a great view of the Monastery as well as over the other side to the plain around the Jordan valley and into Israel. The Monastery, ad Dayr, has the largest façade in Petra being 45m x 50m, with its columns and urn - very impressive.
We then started down slowly, and the others sped off to another viewpoint. They caught us up about 2/3rds of the way down, almost running passed us. They practically raced up another side road, and then came passed us again, but we were pretty much at the bottom by now. Alan and I had decided to go and look at the mosaics in the Byzantine church, and branched off to the left and up the hill. The others had taken the main path through the middle. When they saw us, they turned round and came to catch us up again as they too wanted to see the mosaics. There was thunder rattling around the hills and there were dark clouds looming behind some. The mosaics were lovely and when we came out from seeing them the thunder was getting louder.

We hurried down the hill and the others were well ahead of us - we thought Mick was looking for a beer! So we decided to take a quick look at the amphitheatre, only all of a sudden the storm broke and the wind drove the rain across the site. We sheltered behind a rock, while the people on the other side were able to shelter in some caves. When the wind dropped we began to get very wet, but it eased to a drizzle and we went to look at the amphitheatre and then joined the crowds who were leaving. Many horses and camels were carrying people back to the Treasury in the middle of the crowds. It was busy now - people leaving as well as some just arriving and there were also calêches charging through the middle carrying people in and out - far to fast through the throngs of people.
We got back to the hotel by about 4.30 and took welcome showers. We were meant to meet Moe to go and watch the sunset over Petra, but that wasn't on with the weather, so we all met in the Lobby lounge for a beer before dinner at 7. Moe had found a great place for mezze followed by lamb and rice, then a birthday cake for Mick, and fruit. It was a very jolly gathering. They have all gone up to the Roof Garden for more beers, but we have decided to retire - tired after a busy day!

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Jordan Journal Day 3

We were up early for showers before breakfast. These are communal, so we got in before the rush. We sat on the veranda and watched the bulbuls waking up. There were also rock sparrows, rock doves, chukar, cragswifts, swallows and a blue bird that one of the guides thought could be a blue rock thrush - one to look up. Breakfast was a weird mixture for us - olives, cream, salad, salty curd cheese, fig jam, boiled eggs, flat bread and then came the chips! Luckily there was some tasty herb tea (Thyme) as well as Nescafe with powdered milk. We soon met our guide Malek who took us on a tour around the area around the village of Dana including the gardens where they grow many good food plants. We also saw a flock of grackles swooping over. Malek pointed out walnut trees, pomegranate, pistachios with tiny berry-like nuts, figs. All is irrigated with a falaj system using water from a spring high up the rock walls of the canyon. Malek pointed out the basaltic columns topping the high cliff, proof that the sedimentary rock of the early geological periods was later covered by volcanic rock - in the Cambrian (?). The village is now inhabited by a few older couples, but most people have moved to the new village a little up the hill, or to the towns where they can get work. There is a plan to make the village into a sort of theme hotel, with people staying in renovated traditional houses as their room with other buildings being cafes, restaurants, shops. The villagers could borrow money for the necessary change, needing to pay back half when they started making profit. It would be the Swiss lending the money for this.

When we had completed our circuit Malek took us into the Dana Hotel for tea and several men who were staying there came through to our covered terrace and gave us a recital of Jordanian music. The 'top' man was head of Radio in Jordan and was holding a workshop over the hill, but staying in Dana. With him were a singer and a lute player from the Jordanian Army music school. Another two men tagged along with them, too. It was great fun and we had a special welcome from the top guy while we drank sweet tea and listened to the Jordanian songs being played. They even played 'Happy Birthday' for Mick who is 42 tomorrow. But at last everyone had to leave, and we walked back to the Guest house for more tea and a 'plan' talk from Mo. We should get ready to leave and then come back to the terrace for a picnic lunch; more binos on birds in the meantime with all the usual suspects. After lunch we had to drive to Petra. We went via Shawbak Castle - a ruin on a stand alone hill in a very sandy desert area. It is also known as Montreal and was constructed by Baldwin I in 115. It was eventually taken over by the Mamlukes. We stopped first on one side and then on the other, to look across the valley at the castle. At our second stop we had a little search for fossils in the roadside bank - not much to be seen but then A looked up over the rocky wall and saw some Autumn Crocus. Climbing up to their level we found a whole load more.

Then we were back in the bus heading for Petra with the rest of the film to see. This didn't quite end before we arrived at Movenpick Hotel much to the watchers frustration as they had seen most of what was shown today, the day before! We checked in and went up to our room - very pleasant. After showers and changing we went down to the lobby for postcards, then coffee and cake; but we found that the cappuccino place didn't serve cake and the cake café didn't serve cappuccino, so we had to buy the cake and carry it on plastic plates with plastic forks in to the other café for coffee. This is a 5 star hotel!! After writing PCs we went right to the top where there is a roof garden where we met up with the others and sat with a beer watching the sunset. The day was rounded off with salads and pizza in the Red Cave Pizza restaurant. Very relaxing - even a donkey strolled by as we sat outside by the road - there were some very 'fumy' moments. We are to have breakfast early again and be ready for the off by 6.45 to try and beat the crowds walking the Siq into the Petra site.