11 May 2012: Cool weather. As you can see, Sheila has snagged Thom's coat as well. Left Prestatyn Railway Station to meet friends in Bangor.
Sheila at Prestatyn Railway Station
A beautiful photo of Porth Madog, Wales.
Then off for a visit to Port Meirion, a small village on the west coast of Wales that was built from 1925-1975 in Italian style! It became the sight of a popular 60s TV show called "The Prisoner."
Granville and Jeanette Masters from Amlwch, Angelsey, and Thom and Sheila
Sheila and Thom at Betws y Coed Railway Station
12 May 2012: A day in Liverpool, England with Sheila's sister Janet.
Other bands got their start here in Liverpool.
Sheila's Hallwood ancestors are from Liverpool. They were wood carvers, but their cousins were stone masons. Three Hallwood stone mason brothers, burly as they were from their work, were chosen to model for the Victoria Statue in Derby Square, Liverpool. This is just one portion of it - there are six statues altogether around a large statue of Victoria.
The afternoon ended with a trip to Speke Hall, near Liverpool Airport. It is a Tudor house with a Victorian interior. It belonged to a Catholic family, and while it was not illegal to be Catholic at the time, it was illegal to harbor Catholic priests. There is a hiding place to put a priest when unwelcome visitors arrived on the doorstep, and the way they knew visitors' intensions was by listening through a hole cut in the eaves above the front door - this is where the term "eavesdropping" came from.
We spent the evening in Runcorn, ready for our trip to Spain the next day. The Manchester Ship Canal runs through the town. Raw goods shipped into Liverpool were manufactured there or sent inland via the canal to another industrial city, Manchester.
13 May 2012: Our first day in Spain. We left early from Liverpool to Reus, a few minutes from Tarragona, where we stayed at Hotel AC Tarragona. We walked up the walking street "La Rambla," reached the Mediterranean Sea, and wandered around the town. Tarragona has many interesting Roman ruins, including a forum and an ampitheater.
We don't know which event came first, the human tower or the statue.
Note the bit of Roman wall in the middle!
No, we didn't paint this particular house...
14 May 2010: On our way to Barcelona!
Stuart, Janet, Thom and Sheila on the coast road overlooking the Med.
Gothic part of Barcelona; very narrow streets.
The Barcelona Cathedral
Part of the Cathedral interior
Thom and Sheila at Barcelona's Triumph Arch
Barcelona's beautiful Music Hall, built with glass towards the top and designed
like a giant music box. As with most of Barcelona's buildings,
they are unfortunately surrounded by other buildings, often magnificent in themselves.
Barcelona locals get around by motorbike, weaving in and out of traffic. Stuart was interested in the bicycle system they have around the city. For a nominal annual fee, residents can pick up and drop off a bike at any of the city's designated spots. Stuart and Thom often stopped to examine bikes, since they will be riding together from San Diego to Key West in October/November 2012, along with Stuart and Jan's son, Daniel.
Stuart and Janet at Splendom Suites, our stay for the night.
Inside, it is a modern two-bedroom apartment with kitchen/living room.
15 May 2012: Another lovely weather day in Barcelona, and in the morning we walked to the Cathedral of the Holy Family before coming back for the car at a parking garage and heading to Guell Parc on the way out of the city. Guell Parc was designed by Gaudi, and Sheila wanted to particularly go there after seeing it on the TV a few months ago. We took our life in our hands and headed up the steep northern hills of Barcelona's narrow one way streets to get there! No-where to park, so thank you Stuart for staying with the car in the taxi turn spot while we made our visit there. Wonderful!
Casa Batllo, one of Gaudi's designs we saw on the way to the Cathedral
Sheila, Stuart and Janet at the Cathedral of the Holy Family. It started off in a traditional design, but then Gaudi took over and it became much more fanciful. It will take another 30 years to complete!
Guell Parc, designed by Gaudi
Janet in Guell Parc, Barcelona
From Barcelona we travelled north to Girona. It is a large city but we visited the old part of it; very charming but especially so during our visit as we were there during its "Temps de Flors" or time of flowers. Museums, businesses, shops, and restaurants had decorated their premises with floral displays, and we could go in anywhere without charge.
First things first. Sheila kisses the lioness to ensure she comes back to Girona.
And yes, she was back the next day!
Beautiful old part of Girona, with its churches,
cathedral, Jewish section, and Roman ruins.
The Cathedral in Girona, dressed up for the flower festival. They are Christmas cacti.
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