Same face? I don't know

Me, 2006

Me, 2016

Mom, 2003

           
I remember visiting with Mom and Dad at their place in Mexico...San Felipe, Baja Norte, on the Sea of Cortez, around the turn of the century.

Mom and I were in town, shopping or just strolling, I forget...but a truck stopped to let us cross at an intersection and the driver called to us..."Look, same face!"
It was Mom and Dad's good friend Julio, who had known them well for a number of years. He and Dad always had a grand time fishing together.

Maybe Julio had never seen the two of us side by side in those years, despite my visiting them occasionally and his visiting them often, or maybe it just didn't occur to him, but I've wondered ever since.
I never really thought I looked like my mother, but perhaps I was wrong...I posted this to my Facebook page and everyone says yes...same face!

Linking to Lady Fi's popular meme,
Our World Tuesday

A little bit of sign fun

In our Scottish travels my friend Yam and I saw these hilarious (to me) signs, and she had the foresight to photograph them.

Signs of the times? Well, they make growing old a whole lot funnier. Apparently the first one can be seen in many places as the population of Great Britain ages.

As I'm not exactly in peak condition today, I thought I'd just post one more post, then go about finding a cure for what ails me. (No, no hair of the dog, although we have plenty of dog hair around our house.)

 Yamini MacLean photos

A lifelong dream, the Isle of Skye

As you may have noticed, my posts from my recent Scotland/England/Europe travels are not in any particular order. The first day of my journey with my blog friend Yamini MacLean, we were on our way the Scottish Highlands with an overnight stop on the Isle of Skye.

I must admit, up front, that my hope to see Skye had its roots in my youth when the popular Scottish singer Andy Stewart made famous a song called "Donald, where's yer troosers?" Donald, the song says, had just come down from the Isle of Skye, and was "no verra big and awfu' shy" when he appeared in his kilt in London. Said he, "The lassies shout when I go by, "Donald, where's yer troosers?"

Well, having Scottish ancestors on both sides of our family, my brother Clint and I had a wonderful time with this song when we were young, and I've loved Andy Stewart ever after, and have long yearned to visit the west of Scotland.

It's easy to find Andy Stewart on youtube, but the following link will lead you to my favourite of his songs, which actually isn't Donald and his troosers. My thanks to youtuber bruinebeer99 and I hope my use of this link in this instance is alright with you.

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SCSB_BiNSZo

Above, Lochgilphead
Photos by Yamini Ali MacLean

Below, on Skye, the Broadford Hotel,

which Yam and I recommend heartily.

Below: here am I on the Isle of Skye

Below: autumn on the Isle.

Arrived in Montenegro

I fell in love with a small, mountainous country when the Norwegian Spirit, on an Aegean/Mediterranean cruise, stopped in the beautiful seaside/hillside town of Kotor in Montenegro.
A Montenegran tour bus picked up my group of passengers (those of us who couldn't walk very far or very fast) but the driver didn't have to take us far before he stopped.
He parked in a peaceful spot in Kotor, near the end of a road of historic seaside buildings, so that we could walk back a bit to photograph the homes and businesses, boats, fishermen, and cats.
We weren't the only ones who were out walking, however. Despite a main road up above, our parking spot was so peaceful it attracted walkers from virtually all walks of life:

There were white clouds above us when we got off the bus, and the dark clouds that followed did bring rain... but, fortunately, not enough to prevent us taking photos of the area where we were parked, and of every scenic step along the way.

Verdant green amongst the roadside rock.

Green seemed to turn to black when the storm clouds arrived.

And now for something completely different

It's a mackerel, as some members of my family would say...
because being on an Aegean/Mediterranean cruise not only made me feel better, but also look better.
Who knew?
My husband took this photo of me on board the Viking Spirit, before the stress of London's Heathrow Airport (the airport from hell for passengers who require assistance) and of flying from there to Calgary, Alberta, without any sleep. Then I was waiting hours for my husband to join me there, because we had made different flight arrangements, and he didn't get there in time—all of which had me looking just as bad as my pre-cruise self.

So, I just wanted to show you I could improve with a little bit of stress-free living. Let's hope I get my relaxed cruising self back.

Besides my new favourite photo of me, here is the funniest photo from Montenegro, my new favourite place in all the world:

Much more Montenegro to come, a well as many more Aegean/Mediterranean ports.

This post, however, is for Lady Fi's wonderful meme Our World Tuesday

Did I say so long? There's more Toulon

A last look at Toulon, France, with its naval base, dry dock, and massive body of water, part of the northern Mediterranean sea.
Fortifications of old still stand, overlooking the bay, and contrasting with today's modern naval vessels.

So long, Toulon, you're too long

My first view of Toulon was from an upper deck on the Norwegian Spirit, and it didn't appear too daunting.

Travels again, still in reverse order

When we are on a cruise, Dick likes to take on the most active of shore excursions, while I do the easy ones.
In Toulon, France, the easiest excursion on order was a tourist-boat ride around Toulon's huge waterfront, on the largest bay in France.
The sun was so bright I couldn't double-check any of my cell-phone photos because of the glare, so I have repeats of everything, often several, and it's taking me forever to edit them all.
Although our guide spoke at length about Toulon's naval fleet, including the dry dock with all its cranes, I turned my attention to seagulls, which I have always loved.
Indulge me on this one, please...the bay is so big that the gulls seem small, but I loved seeing them.









 From a T-shirt given to my brother Clint from his wife,  Maria, who also bought one each for their two sons.

Lindy is fine, thank you for asking

Many of my blogging friends have asked what our darlin' dog Lindy does when her daddy and I travel, so I must calm your fears...
We have wonderful friends, Gayle and Larry, who provide Lindy with a second home when we're away. She moves over there with all of her dog food and dishes, plus a supply of her favourite veggies, and money to buy more. Larry and Gayle won't take the money, so we always take them out for a nice lunch, brunch, or dinner, when their schedule allows.
Since Lindy first stayed with them, Gayle has taken up babysitting some other dogs, but she says our girl is still her favourite.
Who could resist this face?
These photos were all taken here at home, but let me tell you, Gayle and Larry have two matching couches, facing one another, in their living room...when Lindy is there, Gayle sleeps on one couch, with Lindy on the other.
Some of you will remember that, in our house (aka Lindy's house) we have installed Lindy-coloured flooring in the living room, dining room, and kitchen.

When the moon shines over the...

Remember this month's super moon? The first since before I was born, I think, or when I was a baby, anyway. My parents never told me such a thing existed, or was possible, or anything. Not a deficiency in my upbringing, but certainly in my education.
Himself and I got a little arty with it that night. Fun. And the pilot boat, in Rome's seaport town of Civitavecchia, cooperated with us.

Too sweet it is...

As I mentioned in a previous post, my photos are coming out of my cell phone and onto my computer in reverse order, but I'm sure no one cares except the photographer herself, and that would be me.

Our Aegean/Mediterranean cruise started in Venice and ended in Barcelona, so we stayed in our favourite Spanish city for a day and a night just to renew our acquaintance with the Ramblas and waterfront and the colourful market.

For those who don't know, the Ramblas is a wonderful pedestrian space between two roads, leading uphill from Barcelona's waterfront. A favourite feature of the Ramblas is the market, without which no visit to Barcelona would be complete.

Forget the Sagrada Familia, folks, my favourite discovery in the city was a market stall that carried sugar-free candies.

Below are some sugary goodies, some colourful veggies, and a wide range of colourful icy treats.







Kay Davies photos

Strolling Barcelona's waterfront and....

My dear husband loves his pedometer, so he walked up to the top of the Ramblas for a bit of exploration while I took the opportunity to nap. However, before darkness fell, I insisted on some waterfront people-watching at sunset. One of the people I watched was Himself, or at least the back of Himself.



See the pedestrian bridge in the first photo above? The bridge opens to let Barcelona's many sailboats through. Several people, much younger than either of us, hurried across before it opened, so guess whose husband made her "run" across just as it opened. I say "run" in parentheses because it was a slow jog at best, and I was beginning to fear for my life, but we made it through just as the bridge gates were closing.







Kay Davies photos

Reverse order will have to do for now

I'm in the process of getting photos from my phone to my elderly Apple computer. No easy task for oldies like the computer and me, but will continue to try.  I'm getting the newest photos first and the oldest ones last, so it's a tedious job, but someone's gotta do it. I took gazillions of photos, not only in Scotland, but also in England, and then on a 12-day cruise from Venice to Barcelona. So many photos, but I have plenty of time.

Meanwhile here are a few beautiful photos of northern Scotland from my mother's cousin Ian MacKenzie and his wife Audrey, who visited Scotland before I did.

Our MacKenzie ancestors came from the area of Culkein in the northern Scottish Highlands. I was privileged to travel there in the company (and the car) of fellow blogger Yamini MacLean. It is a beautiful wild land, overlooking the bays and inlets of the North Atlantic.







Photos courtesy of Ian and Audrey MacKenzie