5C's Que Pasa

Breaking news 15 minutes later.

We have never ever seen such a storm in all the time we lived here.  It came up out of no where and was not in the forecast.

One of our very heavy wind resistant chairs went over.

The wind was incredible.

The rainbow, meanwhile the thunder and lighting kept up.

Taken from inside.

I finally went outside to take this photo.  The arrow says ‘the lake ‘.  Quite the sky.  During this storm the temperatures dropped from 90F to 73F within 20 minutes.

About three weeks ago a poster caught my eye. There was going to be a release of 500 butterflies on July 15th, yesterday and so we went.

This was put on by the Central Okanagan Hospice Association  at Falcon Ridge Farms.

There were butterflies for release that you could pre purchase, butterfly cookies for the kids to decorate and lots of butterflies to color.  There were even face painters, painting butterflies on the faces of children and adults alike.

Lots to see at the farm, music to listen to, vendors serving gelato, hot dogs, muffins, water and more all by donation to the charity.

Why did we go?

Longtime readers know that we have lost two sets of dachshunds over the last 20 years and this was our chosen way to honor them.  Butterflies have always been a part of our girls lives.

Our first two passed away very early, Cloii on the right due to poisoning in Mexico at five years of age and Channel at almost three years of age while on the operating table for spinal surgery to correct her paralysis.  Channel loved birds and butterflies.  Cloii mostly only cared about playing ball or digging or crabs.

Carmeh is two here and Caeli is just a few months old.  We loved her face mask but it faded as she grew.

So this event seemed the perfect way to honor the memory of our girls.

I was pleasantly surprised to see their names in the program along with may others including other pets.  Just after the release of the butterflies, a single butterfly landed on the sidewalk about 18 inches in front of us.  It then hopped almost to my feet before it took off again in flight.  We took that as a message from our girls.

There was a set time for the release of the butterflies which were to be picked up ten minutes before hand.

There were many gardens here and they and we chose to stand here to release our butterfly.  It might be difficult to see but I was wearing my butterfly dress.

Someone offered to take our photo.  My hand is shielding the box from the direct sun as the butterflies are dormant.

A bit slow coming out of the box.

She flew up and over to the flowers. We followed her flight for several moments before we lost her.

A different released butterfly showing the other side of its wings.

Just as we were leaving we saw this much larger butterfly alight for a few moments.  We are so happy that we had this experience and were able to create a special memory.

Does anyone want some extra kale or Swiss chard?  Hmmm no photos of the boards here.  Note the tomatoes on the right.

We will have a lot of tomatoes. I actually pollinate them by hand everyday by running my finger under the new yellow flowers.

I love fresh peas out of the shell.

This was a few days ago and last night we each got another 8 pods to snack on.  We also had fresh beets as well as their tops steamed with our meal last night.  Between the beets, kale and Swiss chard I no longer have to purchase veggies.  Our carrots  are still tiny, I think the soil is too hard for them.

Loved this sky a few nights ago with the layered dark clouds, especially the sun filtering through to the hills on the East.

Looks like we will be watering the garden a few times per day for the next week.

I took this photo to show you how narrow the apartment was.  It had everything we needed but it was long and narrow.

This was where Colin hung out to relax.  Here he is editing photos for me.  Those white cups along the floor were to remind me that there was a slight lip to step up into the kitchen.  Mi amore 🙂

Bags packed, hair washed, photos edited and a few glasses of vino consumed, we were ready for dinner.  Colin had spied a small Mexican restaurant just a block and a bit away.  I really did not want to walk any more than I needed to at this point.  Nice and bright.

They had a huge and very thorough menu.  We noticed that many locals stopped here to either eat in or do a take out order and we even saw a few Uber pick ups.

I had a vegetarian burrito with the works and it was excellent.

Colin’s vegetarian enchiladas came a few minutes later than my meal and he said they were delicious.  I just realized that I was never offered a bite.  We also shared a bottle of Mexican wine as it was much cheaper to buy the bottle than order by the glass.  It was actually very good.  This final dinner in Europe turned out to be one of our favorites.  Our host has added it to her recommended places to eat on her list for her guests.  Can you believe it, a Mexican dinner in Barcelona?  Yes we spoke Spanish with the staff who were all from Mexican.  Great final evening.

Saturday, June 9th, we were up early as we had to walk about five blocks to catch the airport bus. We certainly were perfectly situated to all that we needed here.  Adios Barcelona, we sure hope to be able to return one day and adios to our very special apartment.

We flew back to Canada on TAP Air Portugal in business class.   This is the first leg, from Barcelona to Lisbon.  I wore a scarf around my neck to protect my throat and chest.

After a lovely lunch, we flew into Lisbon.

The most uncomfortable business class lounge ever.  I have my blow up neck pillow at the small of my back and with my feet on the chair I was reasonably comfortable.  Colin sat on the same green chair at a small table just to the right of the photo.  The food was good here and the wine passable.   As you can see, I have my notes spread around me on both sides.  I was writing a post or two.  It might have been the post about Santa Croce in Florence with the tombs of Galileo, Da Vinci, Michelangelo, etc.

Airports in Europe are old and small which means that buses are used to take passengers out to the larger planes that are parked far out at the edges of the airport.  However that means that one must climb up to the plane.  After all Presidents, Royalty and the rich and famous must also ascend to their aircraft.

Adios Portugal, we will be sure to come back and visit.  We are flying to Toronto.

Tap Air is nowhere near Turkish Airlines, but we did have a lovely flight with seats that stretched flat out and all the amenities including a lovely duvet.  The food was very good as you can see by this menu.  The first course was Lobster Canape with Sunflower Seeds ( I cut off the top of the menu ).  Each course was delicious and the service excellent.  The wine was top notch, from Portugal.  The staff were a tad snobbish and would not reply to our Spanish and insisted that we learn Portuguese.  By the way we said no to the pre landing meal, water only was all we needed.

I can personally attest to the best porto ever, well at least that I have ever had.  I might have indulged in three wee ( and yes they only serve in small glasses ) glasses 🙂  Purely for medicinal purposes as it did calm my cough for a bit.

Sunset all the way to Toronto.  We arrived about 10PM and spent the night at an airport hotel.  Rather then head out first thing on June 10th we had decided on a noonish flight so that we could sleep in a bit and help the jet lag.  Of course we got back to the airport with enough time to enjoy the Maple Leaf Lounge before our lovely flight to Calgary.

After 90 minutes or so in the business class lounge in Calgary we were demoted to regular economy class back home to Kelowna.   As I did in Lisbon I walked out to the plane which was somewhat smaller 🙂

Home Sweet Home.  We live in what might be described as the tail of an arrow ( the outline of the lake  in the middle of the screen ) .  We are about mid tail, at the top of the length of the lake.

After our free Gaudi walking tour Colin also wanted to see the inside of Sagrada Familia as well as take exterior photos on a sunnier day.  I was able to get a pair of senior tickets for our last full day ( June 8th ) in Barcelona for an 11AM entrance for only 22 euro or $34.35CAD, a good price I thought.

So much for packing and hair washing bit it was worth the effort.

Gaudi dedicated 43 years, almost his entire career, to this, his most prestigious and complex project.

So much detail.

There are twelve bell towers, four on each facade.  They symbolize the apostles.  Note the different letters on the front of each of these.

I believe that this is the Pinnacle of Saint Judas Thaddaeus tower.

The pelican had been put below the Tree of Life.  It is the ancient Christian symbol of the Eucharist.

Veronica holds the veil with Jesus’ face on it.

In the sculpture above Gaudi put his own face on the statue on the left. I can see the resemblance.

There is a lot going on in this photo and it all means something.  Amazing mind that created these plans.

This had been taken on our first visit here with the waking tour.

This final facade is very modern looking compared to the other three facades.  It is called the Glory facade and behind where we are standing is an entire block of apartments that will be destroyed so that the entrance to the Basilica can be built.  It will be very grand indeed but not so much for those who will be put our of their homes.

We were told what the fruit represents but I can’t remember what.  My mind was boggled.  As you can see this entire project is such a mix of styles and construction that it is difficult to see how it is supposed to come together.

So much to take in.

Once inside we just kept looking up.  We were in awe.  It looks so different inside.  Once large room.

Stained glass was everywhere. One large section top to bottom would all be in greens and blues. Another section in oranges and reds.

Very difficult to photograph as it was so very very large and one really needed professional equipment to do justice to this wonderful Basilica.  We mostly just walked around looking up and taking it all in.  Under the main alter are crypts and Gaudi is in one of them.

I was so glad of our timing in that I was there for this.  They have put in a few pews in front of the alter and I just sat and listened to the Angelus followed by an Ave Maria solo.  As I listened I looked around me at the light streaming through the stained glass windows with goosebumps up my arms.  A rather moving moment.

I suggest that you Google Sagrada Famila for more photos of the interior. We were just happy to be in the moment while there.