“The Open” and Scotland July 17 to 25, 2010
St. Andrews
It was a dream vacation for my dear G! Two days at The Open, 4 days of golf, okay make it 5 and a tour on the Whiskey Trail – whoa! Many thanks to Lisa, Bryn, Chris and Lori for organizing the entire trip! All I did was show up :)
Our journey began in the hamlet of St. Andrews, home of the famous “Old Course” and the host of the 2010 Open. The weather mostly cooperated for us as we watched our golf idols battle for the top prize. As you know, a relatively unknown golfer, Louis Oosthuizen from South Africa, won The Open this year. It was noted that each time the gang has ventured to the event it’s been one by an obscure player. Unusual!
We caught the action from the turn on the 7 through 11 holes on Saturday then on Sunday cheered the players from the dreadful 17th hole. Had a great time watching as player after player bogey the hole – only one birdie last day!
Monday, September 6, 2010
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Bordeaux - June 18, 19 and 20 2010
I am so enthralled with France and we were lucky to find ourselves in Bordeaux for a long weekend in June. G had to visit the Parentis office for some meetings so I tagged along (because I was afraid if I let him go on his own he would have drank Bordeaux dry and left nothing for me!).
While he worked on Friday, I drove our cute little BMW mini up to Archacon in the northern part of the province of Bordeaux. The town is quite touristic but as the season had not started yet and the weather was on the coolish side there were few people around. Archacon has a lovely "plage" (beach) fronted by a boardwalk lined with restaurants. The beach was quite charming and I had no trouble picturing myself perched on a sun chair enjoying the sea air. Behind the plage there are streets lined with shops and many more restaurants to choose from. I managed to find some beautiful French linen tea towels and some regional specialty foods to take bake to Amsterdam.
The most fantastic site in the north of Bordeaux is the Dune de Pyla which is the largest sand dune in all of Europe. The easiest way to the top of the dune is via a set of about a 100 stairs. Once you climb to the top
While he worked on Friday, I drove our cute little BMW mini up to Archacon in the northern part of the province of Bordeaux. The town is quite touristic but as the season had not started yet and the weather was on the coolish side there were few people around. Archacon has a lovely "plage" (beach) fronted by a boardwalk lined with restaurants. The beach was quite charming and I had no trouble picturing myself perched on a sun chair enjoying the sea air. Behind the plage there are streets lined with shops and many more restaurants to choose from. I managed to find some beautiful French linen tea towels and some regional specialty foods to take bake to Amsterdam.
The most fantastic site in the north of Bordeaux is the Dune de Pyla which is the largest sand dune in all of Europe. The easiest way to the top of the dune is via a set of about a 100 stairs. Once you climb to the top
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Istanbul May 14 2010
What better place to have a birthday than Istanbul! Don’t you dare begin guessing while reading this how old I am – that would be rude! :) Leslie and Kathy decided to do a Bosporus cruise with an early departure while Cliff and I decided on a visit to the Topkapi Palace. The palace was home to the Ottoman sultans for many centuries and is full of the treasures from the Empire. The palace is composed of many buildings in a compound rather than one large mansion. The buildings have different purposes from living, armour storage to the reception of dignitaries.
The living quarters for the Sultan is the Haram which was a surprise to me. Haram means “forbidden” in Arabic; in Turkish it refers to the private residence of the head of the house hold , his wives, odalisques (concubines) and children. The Sultan would generally have more than one wife and keep a number (maybe hundreds) of concubines. A concubine could rise up in status to favourite or even wife if she produced an heir, particularly a male, of the Sultan.
The living quarters for the Sultan is the Haram which was a surprise to me. Haram means “forbidden” in Arabic; in Turkish it refers to the private residence of the head of the house hold , his wives, odalisques (concubines) and children. The Sultan would generally have more than one wife and keep a number (maybe hundreds) of concubines. A concubine could rise up in status to favourite or even wife if she produced an heir, particularly a male, of the Sultan.
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