Blanket Fatique

These are my three blankets and a shawl that are all hibernating. Sigh . . .

Knitter's ADD

I start projects, mostly blankets, and then get "blanket fatigue". Right now I have three blankets and a shawl in my knitting queue. I get bored (or hot) and start reading my knitting books and magazines and before you know it I'm trying some new stitch pattern in a swatch. I have swatches galore. Knit, crochet with acrylics, wool, and even thread. So many patterns, so little time. . . .

Staying in Italy Vineyard

Just a few pics from our trip to Italy . . .

Vineyard in Tuscan where we stayed - this was the old wine cellar used for the dinning room.

This was our building/room, an old storage building converted to a guest room.

A round (wine cask) bed and stone interior. Pretty to look at but hard to climb out of in the middle of the night.

Our Favorite Stop

Dubrovnik, Croatia was our favorite stop. It has the amazing Old Town, a well preserved walled city, which is an UNESCO World Heritage site.

Croatia is the origin of the neck tie - so we had to buy a silk tie and a silk scarf made in Croatia!

First Port - Villefranche

First stop was in the natural deep harbor of Villefranche. A village on the Rivera with a train station and direct lines to either Nice or Monte Carlo.

We declined to spend the day on trains and rather enjoyed poking around the town and having a bottle of wine along the harbor. There is no dock for the cruise ships, so we had to take a small boat into town.

Our floating hotel dwarfs all the boats in the harbor.

Day 1 - Barcelona

After three flights and almost 24 hours - we arrived in Barcelona. Asked the taxi driver for a recommendation for Paella. We walked down to the water to eat in a very nice place called the Seven Doors. Felt a bit underdressed since the waiters were in white tuxes - but they took our money and served a great Paella.

The next day, I wanted to at least see Gaudi's "House of Bones," but sleep and the need to get on the cruise ship limited our sight seeing to what was right outside our Hotel - the St. Joseph's Market (great place) and the street performers on La Rambla.

For a few coins the Performers will give you a thumbs up or touch your hand.

Caesar and Patton were next to each out and they argued a bit.

What fun.

The Gypsy returns from Europe

We just got back from 15 days in Europe. I will try to add a little each day as I sort and label my pictures and go through all the detritus that we brought back.

It was a great trip, but I am glad to be back home (am I getting old?). The return trip took 24 hours - the wonders of flying on points. Our nice soft bed looked like heaven.

Yesterday was a day of just laundry and food. I left myself a grocery list and boy did I need it - the brain was not totally in gear yesterday. I kept chanting "follow the list, don't try to think, just follow the list."

Unpacking and laundry is the bane of travel. My next vacation I just want to pack a bathing suit, a sundress, and a pair of shorts. I'll buy a t-shirt and call it a wardrobe. Sounds like a plan.

Today I deal this all the "non-clothing" stuff that was in the suitcases. Then download the pictures and start to remember what we did and saw.

More to come. . .