Safely arrived in Spain

04 September, 2019

One more farewell with "Lunch Bunch", my mother and her friends.

Getting ready to move to Spain was a whirlwind of chaos right up to the airport. Here is just a small part of what my room looked like leading up to departure date.

I did not leave everything behind as orderly as I would have wished, and there is a whole bin of stuff I wanted to bring but had to eliminate due to baggage weight restrictions.  Here is my cat Tiny Tubby supervising the packing process.

The thing I regret the most not getting into the suitcase? My handy dandy massage tool, which consists of two tennis balls tied into an old sock. I have three of these high tech devices at home, yet not one made it into my bag. I'll have to find a tennis court to look for stray balls.

My mother, God bless her, rode with me on the 3 hour bus ride to the Los Angeles International Airport for moral support. Without her I would have had a total anxiety attack, rather than just being stressed. We ended up having to repack my bags in the lobby, which was ok because I had lots of time before check in.

In the international terminal, there was a giant projection screen on two walls. When I walked in, there were old black and white silent films playing there. So fantastic!

Here is a short video showing the films in action:

On the way to the gate, my back was aching after lifting my bags over and over to weigh them as we moved stuff from one bag to the other, so I stopped for a 20 minute back and shoulder chair massage. No photo, but I enjoyed it thoroughly and felt so much better afterward. Then a little yoga time with "legs up the wall" while waiting to board the plane.

 

I upgraded to Premium Economy, and it was worth it after all the stress. It was so much more comfortable than Economy. 

This is how much leg room I had - my legs were extended straight out and I could barely reach the seat in front with my toes. Usually I can't even bend over to pick up my purse off the floor because my head bashes into the seat in front.  I didn't get a picture of it, but there was a retractable leg rest which helped immensely, even though it was too short for my legs, it provided some elevation and combined with a nice recline on the seat, made sleeping so much easier. I got about 5 hours of sleep, which for me on a plane is usually impossible.

No problems on arrival in Spain. Immigration lines were short and those with "nothing to declare" bypassed customs and went straight out the door.

The taxi driver refused to follow the careful directionss of my Airbnb host and dropped me off a block or so away, leaving me completely lost with a huge amount of luggage. Thankfully, my host came to find me when I finally called after wandering around and getting sweaty and frustrated.

My Airbnb is on the 12th floor with a lovely rooftop view typical of this area. There are some parks below and as evening fell the sounds of children playing drifted up.

I sat chatting with my host and watching the sunset from the window, after which I was treated to Spanish lessons by their 7-year-old daughter using her school textbooks.

And then finally to bed. Buenas noches!

Crouching Cat, Dragon Fruit

28 September 2012

A fruit became ripe on one of the cacti which earlier had produced the outrageously huge white blossoms, and I was very curious to know what it was like inside.

The flesh inside is amazingly similar to that of the Dragon Fruit, which I ate often when I was living in China. The color and texture of the outer skin is also somewhat similar, although without the "scales" that give the Dragon Fruit its name. I would not be at all surprised to discover that the plants were closely related.

The texture is the same - like a kiwi with crispy little tart seeds. The flavor of the fruit is slightly different, reminding me a little of flowers or passionfruit. I highly doubt that I will ever get the two fruits side by side for a taste test, though.

And in other news... where is my cat? Hmmmm....

He likes to hide under/behind things and then jump out and "tag" me (he doesn't use his claws, so it reminds me of playing tag). It always makes me laugh when he hides like this because he thinks he is cleverly hidden, but his backside is totally sticking out. I gamely walk back and forth wondering aloud where he is until he "surprises" me. Here he is stalking my toes.

 Awwww, all worn out from playing.

Cat under a box, and other stuff

15 August 2012

Why spend good money on cat toys? Empty box in the hallway = perfect toy.

Actually, this wand thing with a long dangly bit of fleece has been the favorite toy of every cat I've owned, so it is an exception to the rule and worth the cost. Some cats seem to like the wrong end of the toy, but they all love it.

Hilarious video of large cat squeezing through small opening under box.

Snoozing in the shade on a hot day, ahhhhh.

 He spends most of his time outdoors having a wonderful time chasing things, but occasionally he comes in the house for a cuddle.

More cacti in bloom. This one is the same type of cactus as the one that bloomed like crazy a few weeks ago, but the blossoms are no less beautiful when there are only two of them.

 The leaves behind belong to the neighbor's tree, as this is up against the fence.

 This one is a night blooming Cereus - a very scrawny and unremarkable looking cactus, until it blooms. The bloom withers when the sun hits it, so it is very ephemeral.

  I forgot to take a photo with something in it to reference the size. The blossom is wider than I can stretch my fingertips, and I have fairly large hands.

Here is today's dinner - delicious but not pretty. This is quite possibly the worst food photo ever. I guess I won't make Iron Chef anytime soon.

The above picture shows Pork with Rhubarb Sauce, which turned out quite well - the rhubarb sauce is very tart-sweet, so the overall effect is similar to serving turkey with cranberry sauce. The tangy sauce contrasts with the flavor and texture of the meat. The rhubarb is from the garden, and I wanted to try a non dessert recipe with it.

Going Home

20 July 2012

Another chapter in my life has come to an end. Time to return to my own country - for now.

If home is where my heart is, then my heart must be growing because there are pieces of my heart all over the world.

This is quite possibly my favorite photo of the entire year. My very last view of Santa Cruz do Sul was of my best friends, who came to the bus station to say goodbye. This made me feel so loved. What a precious gift. I am so lucky to know them. We were all crying at the end - see the red noses?

I was glad the bus was dark inside because I think I cried most of the way to Porto Alegre.

I cried some more when the plane took off from Porto Alegre, and after that I had to accept the inevitable. The TV in the seat helped to distract me from feeling sorry for myself, and I watched a couple of excellent movies. My favorite of these was "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel".

The Panama airport has the fewest toilet facilities of any international airport I have visited. Each restroom had only two or three stalls, and twenty women waiting in line to use them. Tip - go upstairs to the food court, the restroom there was the only one without a line.

The trip from Panama to LA was pretty routine. Here I am waiting for the shuttle bus to go from LA to Santa Barbara. I was surprised how cool the weather was when I arrived, must have been around 75 F / 27 C.

 The LA airport's famous architectural landmark thingy. I think there may be a restaurant inside it.

 My first view of the beach in Santa Barbara, from the bus. Almost home!

 My baybeeeeeeee!!!!!

More autumn leaves and cats

29 May 2012

More pretty fallen leaves.

 As you can see, the rest of the place is still green as green can be.

 Happy cats flopping on my feet in the sun. These cats have a serious foot fetish.

Kaleidoscope Garden

27 May 2012

Busy lately with work, not much to report, just the occasional photos.

The neighbor's red roses peeking through the kaleidoscope of my block glass windows.

And one very old arthritic cat happy in the warm sunshine.

This and That

15 May 2012

News of my life recently... I spent last week with some kind of tummy upset and didn't do much. This week I've started a membership at a local gym, last night was my first workout. I don't want to take all of Brazil home with me around my middle, so I want to slim down before I go.

Speaking of going home, I will be leaving Brazil on July 19th and arriving home in the USA on July 20th. The time seems to be speeding up as the end draws nearer. My remaining time here can now be measured in weeks rather than months - just 9 weeks left. I'm torn between feelings of not wanting to leave here and wanting to see my family again.

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I have a few photos hanging around that don't fit into any particular category or event and didn't get uploaded at the time, so here is a batch of random stuff.

Giant chimarrão!!!

Watermelon Havaianas sandals. If they were in the right size I would have bought them for sure. Eu sento saudades de meus amigos melancios ultimamente!

 Moonrise from the balcony at school.

 Practicing my nighttime photography.

 A trumpet flower (?) behind my house.

 The two male cats getting some love.

 A sunset from the upper walkway at school.

 Coffee.  Best perfume ever.

 I love the animal pictures on the money here. I'm not sure if they are reforming all of the denominations, but they have certainly changed the R$50 bill; below are the old and new versions.

 A gorgeous yellow finch (?) outside my window one afternoon.

My new haircut, shown here as it was carefully styled and straightened by the salon... 

...and naturally curly, because I don't have the patience to spend 20 minutes fussing around with my hair every morning.