Galapagos Tour

Blue Footed Boobie

[Photo Album in progress]

We recently completed a week long adventure of a lifetime on the trimaran the M/T Camilla operated by Haugan Cruises arriving Isla San Cristobal by air from Quito and exiting again by air for Quito from Isla Baltra.

In between we cruised many of the islands (you need to be on a two week cruise to see them "all" and even then you can't see them "all" -- many are protected and no one can go there), we snorkelled every day and we explored the islands getting up close to all sorts of animals. We swam with lots of fishies, sharks, turtles, sea lions and even penguins. We chased a whale with its calf in our zodiak. We met the huge land tortoises which populate the green side of Santa Cruz (one of the very few populated islands) and visited the town of Ayora. And we shared the beaches with sea lions and their cubs.

The Camilla is a new boat and very well appointed. We picked it as a small boat with nice balconies. There are only 8 rooms and all are huge with king beds (actually two singles pushed together). There are 12 crew to serve you and at most 16 passengers. For part of our trip there were only 6 of us, for the remainder there were 14. We suspect recent riots in Quito may have dissuaded some tourists from coming. Sometimes the ship would travel at night and there were some rough nights at sea -- no one got sick but gravol helped while trying to sleep. We did have one served dinner on rough seas. But mostly it was cool and windy with calm waters.

We were sometimes up and about on walking tours of the islands before sunset and breakfast. Occassionally we only made it back on board after sunset -- there is a regulation that tourists may only be on the protected islands during daylight hours.

Every day there was 1-2 snorkelling trips (very good wet suits, fins, mask and snorkel are provided) and 1-2 walking tours on the beach or inland on rocky trails (walking sticks are provided) to see nesting birds. Marine Iguanas by the truck load! An occasional land iguana, Blue and Red footed Boobies, Frigate Birds, Albatross, gulls, flamingo, pelicans and more. Sea Lions and their young on sandy beaches. Our days were very full and sometimes quite strenuous -- the land is volcanic and often very rough. We skipped a couple of the strenous hikes. Each night, after dinner, the guide would give us a lecture on what we'd see the next day. After that, exhausted, we trundled off to bed and slept soundly.

Staff on the boat were outstanding as was their service. Breakfast and lunch were a buffet but dinner was always an excellent served three course meal. Chef Ramiro should be commended for doing so well in such confined space. Gabriela, the Cruise Director, was gracious, cheerful and always there to meet or exceed your needs.

The house cleaning staff were attentive and we luxuriated with fresh linens and fresh water showers several times a day (fresh water is a scarce commodity on the islands -- they sometimes trade fresh water for lobster or fish with fishermen). The guide Morris and zodiak drivers Jefferson and Manuel were friendly and always helpful. Sometimes our language was a problem with some of the staff (we have minimal Spanish) but the hostess and guide spoke flawless English.

The bar didn't open until 4:30 but often you were out adventuring with the guide until much later. Drinks were always available at lunch and dinner with barman Angel serving. The strenous workouts exploring the sea and shore meant that there was little time for and little alcohol consumed (although there is a full bar and a very good wine list). This most definitely is not a "Booze Cruise".

This isn't a luxury sea cruise where one rests in the shade by the pool with a cuba libre in one hand, an iPad in the other and a server at your beck and call. You are roughing it. It's an adventure tour for hardy souls willing to explore a unique, varied and demanding environment on sea and shore. There is no WiFi, no phone and most islands are barren landscapes with no human habitation. Nevertheless, it's an adventure well worth going. There's no place like it.

We are very blessed to have been there and done that! You can too.

Date of experience: November 2019

Quito

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Kate and I stayed in Quito Ecuador for a few days on either end of our Galapagos tour in November. We flew from Toronto, to Panama City and then to Quito where we stayed for a few days. From Quito to Guyaquil on the coast and then on to the Galapagos. Likewise on our return.

The tour company, Galapagos Adventures (we can't recommend them enough), had arranged for us to stay one night at the boutique Illa Experience Hotel at both ends of our trip. It's by far the nicest hotel we have ever stayed in. It's quite amazing, and ... quite expensive. It's the kind of hotel where you might never leave your room, it's that luxurious. They also have a fine dining restaurant but you need reservations for that. We did enjoy the breakfast they served and the fruit left in ours.

We arrive a couple of days early and stayed two nights at a nearby affordable Hotel Casa Alquima (oddly Google maps shows two by that name). We booked this ourselves, it was not part of the tour. Our hotel is near the old city by the Santo Domingo church/square at the foot of the Panecillo. Our Galapagos trip includes a shuttle service from the airport that takes us back and forth to our hotels. The airport is a considerable distance from the city; the city is huge and sprawling. But everything runs smoothly and drivers are efficient and friendly. I would not want to drive in this city, I would not want to navigate public transit. Taxis are abundant and nothing is very expensive.

The Alquima is a very old building built around an internal courtyard with rooms on the second floor. Two sides of the building are on the street, the other two sides are internal. We had a large internal room with no windows (a bit claustrophobic). I think we might have preferred the street side but it would have been noisy. We were served a nice breakfast in their enclosed roof top breakfast nook. I don't think they served any other meals. The host who ran the hotel was very nice to us. On arrival she was keen to let us know about all things we might want to see in the city. We were keen to go to bed. It's a nice hotel, a bit rustic but quite serviceable.

Quito is one of the cities that's very high and surrounded by mountains. It's near the top of the Andes at 2,850m (9,350ft) and is the highest capitol city in the world. Our host at the Alquima recommended we see the Panecillo (but not walk through the side streets to get there) and the gondola to the Cruz Loma lookout. The Panecillo (that's Spanish and means a little piece of bread) is a nearby peak at 3,016m -- we took a taxi up one day but the city was enshrouded in fog. We never made it to the gondola and the Cruz Loma lookout. The a gondola runs from the edge of the city centre, a short taxi ride away, up the east side of Pichincha Volcano to lookout Cruz Loma. It is one of the highest aerial lifts in the world, rising to 3,945m! I like hight views like that, but we never made it. Next time.

We spent much of our first day tromping around in the old city. It has a European/Colonial feel with lots of churches (it's a Catholic country), busy narrow streets, some plazas and lots to see. We visited some of the churches, especially the Basílica del Voto Nacional for the views from the roof and towers. My Spanish is pretty bad, I thought Basílica del Voto Nacional had something to do with honoring national voting. "Voto" actually means "vow", that makes more sense. The Basilica is modelled after Notre Dame in Paris ... lots of churches around the world make that claim.

Independence Plaza (sometimes I see it named the "Grand Plaza") is in the center of the old town. There's a monument to the "heros of 1809" when Ecuador fought for indepedence from Spain. They've been independent for a very long time, since 1822, but seem to still look towards Spain in the same way that Canadians and Australians favor Great Britain. Of the people you see on the street many if not most are clearly native south americans. See the young woman in the picture above.

Around the Indepedence square there's the presidential palace (Carondelet Palace) and government offices -- it was closed for tours because of the recent riots. On the one side there's another grand church, the Catedral Metropolitan. We had lunch at an outdoor cafe under the Catedral. The square is a lovely green space that people enjoy.

San Francisco Plaza is another large square dominated the San Francisco church. We had dinner on the square one evening and shopped for gifts in a very interesting store under the church next to the restaurant. We got a Panama Hat for Kate's brother Gord -- they're misnamed as they actually come from Ecuador. There's a lot of clay masks and figures in the gift shop representing different stages in the Andean cultures pre-Spanish invasion. I found the pained faces on figures fornicating rather odd. Did they not enjoy sex back then?

There had recently been poverty riots in the city brought about by the IMF putting the screws to the poor over the debt the country has accumulated. The riots are over now, but guards and barbed wire baracades remain around the presidential palace at Indepdence Square. Things got so bad during the riots that the government relocated to Guayaquil on the coast! There had been a Canadian travel advisory against going to Quito but that had been lifted by the time we got there. The riots have had an effect on tourism -- many have cancelled. This is one reason why our Galapagos tour has only the 6 of us (two Quebecois, two Bulgarians and us) but those adventures are in another blog entry.

On our last night, when we were returning from the Galapagos, we wandered the nearby streets to a restaurant we had read about -- La Purisima which serves fine dining Ecuadorian dishes. When we arrive we find our colleagues Anna and Marin, our Bulgarian friends from our Galapagos adventures, are there for dinner as well! We join them and enjoy our time together (although Marin, as a banker, has some right leaning ideas). The "Good Thursday Black Tart" recipe in the menu has us intrigued -- it has a long list of ingredients starting with holy water. Who would use holy water to flavor a dish? We share the dessert and are impressed. It's sort of like a sticky pudding.

Anna and Marin tell us their hotel is on the same street as ours. We walk home together to discover we're next door to one another! The entrances to the two hotels are right up against one another. We couldn't have been closer if we had tried.

We like Quito and would have liked to see more. Perhaps we'll visit again another time.

Ps. Ecuador does not have it's own currency. They use the American dollar.

Port Stanley

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Port Stanley is a lovely fishing village south of London on the shores of Lake Erie. When we lived in London we'd often go there -- for their summer theatre (Port Stanley Festival Theatre), for the beach or for a feed of Lake Erie perch. From St Marys it's a little out of the way.

This summer, to celebrate our 39th annivesary, we returned and stayed over night at the Kettle Creek Inn and repeated those joys -- took in some theatre ("Ed's Garage" by Dan Needles was one of the best things we've seen this summer), enjoyed the views and tried more perch.

It was fun, some things don't change.

Ps. I recall the theatre being called the Port Stanley Summer Theatre (acronymn PSST). I wonder when that changed?

Utrecht - city of canals, churches and galleries

Anne Frank Statue.

May/June, 2019

[Photo Album in progress]

Kate's annual KBS conference was in Utrecht, Holland this year. There was another KBS conference a few years back in Maastricht that we attended (lots of fun, we learned about "Coffee" Shops). Kate has been to meetings in Amsterdam before, but we've not been to Holland very much. One should, it's an easy place to explore, with a long history, very fine arts, lots of things to see and English is so very common, it's almost like being in an English speaking country! To our shame it's much easier to speak English than to learn a bit of Dutch.

We flew into Amsterdam from Dublin and shlepped our luggage by train to the Central Train Station in Utrecht - a little over half an hour away. Another luggage shlep in Utrecht to the nearby NH Hotel Utrecht where we discovered that our hotel was the NH Hotel Centre Utrecht. And yes, the kind clerk explains, many people make that mistake. And yes, she says "It's just a short walk to your hotel." And no I say, I'm here to tell you no, it's not a short walk! It would have been a painful hike overloaded with luggage the several city blocks to our hotel. Instead we took a cab. The Dutch are fit, we are not.

Anyways, the NH Hotel Centre Utrecht is an older walk up building in the old city. Buildings in the old city are only 3-4 stories high. Nearby the hotel there's a statue to Anne Frank (why here? Isn't the Anne Frank home in Amsterdam?) and another large one of St Willibrod on horseback. The other NH hotel by the train station is a modern tower in a blight of concrete, glass and steel in an urban renewal setting. The old city is much more interesting and it was a convenient short walk to the conference site (the Winkel van Sinkel) on the nearby central canal.

Our first night, a Friday, we had dinner with Kate's colleagues at the LUC restaurant in the old city. It was a short walk from our hotel passing by the Winkel van Sinkel and crossing over the central canal towards the train station. We navigated by Google maps which we've come to rely on. The short walks was a good introduction to navigating through the old city.

Just a few blocks away from our hotel, and dominating the skyline, is the landmark gothic St Martin's Cathedral (or Domkerk) with it's tower (Domtoren) separated from the east end of the cathedral by a nave completely destroyed in a storm back in 1674. The nave area is now a pedestrian plaza with markers where the columns used to be. What remains of the east end of the church (the transept, choir and altar) is very impressive with flying buttresses like those of Notre Dame in Paris. Sadly, the Protestant Reformation was pretty hard on beautiful Catholic churches like this one. Much of the iconography, statuary, murals and artwork were vandalized during Calvinist riots meant to free the people from the domination of the Catholic Church.

What remains of St Martin's is well worth a visit. What remains of church is quite impressive and in regular use. There's a quiet attached cloister/garden you can visit just to the south. You can also climb the tower for a view of the city (oddly I didn't). The tower was covered in scaffolding for some restoration work when we were there and I never got up it.

It was St Willibrod who brought Christianity to this area. During the Reformation Catholics were persecuted and even outlawed -- so much for Protestant tolerance and the Enlightenment. Our Libro Financial Services, where we bank, used to be called the St Willibrod Credit Union so we have a connection. I've mentioned the statue near our hotel. There's also a lovely St Willibrod Catholic Church squeezed into the neighborhood in the very late 1800's. Like the Domkerk it's in a gothic style but as it's squeezed into the neighborhood and there aren't any flying buttresses and the like -- or at least none that I could see. There are lovely murals on every wall inside to cover the story of Christ. I like visiting churches, Kate not so much, and I found this one well worth a visit. The church is still active, there was a service one day when I visited.

When not visiting churches the canals are very interesting. At the Winkel van Sinkel (Kate's conference site) you're right in the middle of the old city with lots of shops, cafes and restaurants along the central canal. Other parts of the canal, which circles the old city, are more sedate with residences and green space. On our first day in Utrecht (a Saturday) they held a Pride parade on the canal. It was a beautiful sunny day for a parade and there were lots out to catch the sights. About 70 or so barges floated by each decorated, peopled by dancers in costume, music blaring, people having fun. It was a great parade and lasted for hours. Kate got some good pictures from a balcony at the conference site (they were having pre-conference meetings on the Saturday) and I got more from street level.

The Railway Museum was an interesting visit. It's just outside the canal loop, a short walk away to the south east in a residential area. There are some interesting old trains, some royal carriages, and even a box car that had been used to transport Jews to the death camps during the Nazi occupation. Much of the museum is directed toward children with "Thomas the Tank Engine" on prominent display. There was an interactive ride as well which was a lot of fun -- you were put into a virtual train engine and took an out of control trip (out of control because you were at the controls!) with the ride shaking and rattling you about. Very scary, but fun.

Just outside the Railway Museum, as you enter, there's a Holocaust Memorial to those lost to the death camps. I recall reading recently that the state Railway, who were complicit in transporting Dutch Jews to the Nazi Death Camps, have made an apology and reparations. There are some sad stories in Holland, it's good they've not been forgotten.

Another church I bumped into was the Museum Catharijne Convent just south of the Domkerk. I went for the Museum (the Dutch call Galleries "museums" which can be confusing) which has an impressive art collection including some Rembrandt. I thought the museum was in the church itself and ended up sitting through a bit of a service that was happening that Sunday. Oddly the service was in English! I'm not sure what kind of church it is now, it was a Catholic convent at one time. Anyways it's another impressive church and again worth a visit. The attached gallery/museum has an impressive art collection, lots of religious works of course.

One day I took the train into Amsterdam to visit the Rijks Museum (or State Gallery). I was interested to see their collection of Vermeer paintings. "The Girl with the Pearl Earing" is the most famous -- it's in the Hague. There were four on display in the State Gallery on the second floor. They're quite lovely but I was surprised how small they are -- they're about 11"x14". That's a similar experience to seeing the Mona Lisa at the Louvre. Only here, in Amsterdam, you could get up close to the pictures, not so at the Louvre. The gallery here was busy, but not too crazy.

If you're interested in seeing "big" pictures. Rembrandt's "Night Watch" is at the end of this second floor gallery. It's huge at approximately 12'x15' and even then it had been cut down on the ends to fit an historical location many years ago (the gallery would never have cut down a Rembrandt). That gallery has several large pieces of a similar or larger size. Quite impressive.

There was a special exhibit of Rembrandt with an extra entrance fee. I was surprised by the number of etchings on display. I gather etchings, like posters and other mass market medium of today, were money makers of the time.

The State Gallery is huge and has much to see, I spent several hours there (much of the day). I didn't get to see anything else in Amsterdam that day. Didn't even see any canals or "Coffee Shops" or any red lights!

Kate and I spent a day visiting Rotterdam and the Hague by train. They're a short ride away -- trains are like city transit. They run frequently and all day long. You just go to the station and catch the next train. Trains used to be like that here but not anymore.

In Rotterdam we rented bicycles near the train station and did a bit of exploring of the city. We had lunch at Central Library overlooking the market square -- imagine that, a library with a lovely restaurant! We visited the modern enclosed market building and the nearby bright yellow Cube Houses. The architecture of these cube houses is interesting -- each apartment/home is a cube neatly balanced on one of the points of the cube -- but hardly practical. The rooms are small, there are a lot of stairs and headroom can be limited. Nevertheless people live there. We biked out to the Art Institute (which we really didn't understand) and visited a nearby Art Deco home the "Sonneveld House" built in 1933 with all "mod cons" of the time. We liked that a lot.

In the Hague (where you can find the "Girl with the Pearl Earring") we walked around a bit and had dinner at the "Luden" -- an outdoor cafe on a square not very far from the train station. There Kate found a modern silk screen of the "Girl with the Pearl Earring". There's lots to see in both of these cities, trying to cram both into one day doesn't work.

Back in Utrecht I continued my exploration of the canals and back lanes. I bumped into a old style Dutch wind mill not far from the city centre. Walking around you need to be careful where you step. Bicycles are everywhere -- they're a major mode of transportaion with devoted bike lanes. You need to be careful where you step as the bikes move very quickly. They'll often have someone riding side-saddle on the back rack, or perhaps 2 or 3 children on board, or perhaps they're busy texting on their cell phones and not attentive to the idiot tourists walking into their lane. I recall reading afterwards that laws have changed to try to get bicyclists off their phones.

Kate, Sam and I visited the "Central Museum" one day after wandering down the canals. I had thought it was a "museum" like the "Railyway Museum" but it turns out it's a large gallery like the "CatharijneConvent Museum" with an impressive collection from the very old to the very new. Again it's a well worth the visit.

On the last day I rented a bike from the hotel and went on an app-driven ride into the country. I was impressed by the network of bike lanes in the country and how they are such an important transportaion route. I'm impressed how fit the Dutch are as well. The route I was on was supposed to be only a few hours long on a loop into the country to the east. Many hours later I returned to the city tired and sore from the day of biking. On the way back into the city from my bike ride I stopped at a couple of old cemeteries. They're often interesting. These had impressive modern statuary.

Our final event in Utrecht was the KBS dinner and dance at the Ottone. It's an old church on a nearby canal that's been converted to a multipurpose event space. We met with old friends and even joined in a few songs (Michael, from Galway, wanted me to sing the Fairy Tale of New York but saner heads prevailed). I wanted to get the Canadian Contingent to sing "The Crawl" (Spirit of the West) but again saner heads prevailed again. It was a gay old time with old friends we've estabished over the last 30 or more years. But a little sad -- with Kate's retirement I suspect the annual KBS conference, which has taken us to all sorts of exotic places around the world, will be a thing of the past for us.

On leaving Utrecht the next morning we had a cab pick us up at our hotel to take us to the train station. He tells us that he'll gladly take us directly to the Amsterdam airport for 60euros (I think that's the figure, it's a flat rate for all taxis). After a little thought we gladly accepted -- it's a bit more expensive than taking the train but far easier than toting heavy bags. We ought to learn to travel with less luggage!

Utrecht was a fine city to visit. Lots of history, lots of churches, galleries and the many canals. If you get a chance to visit you will be impressed.

Cork to Galway

Kerry Tattoo Convention

May 28-30
See also a photo album of our adventures in Ireland.

We had rented a car in Cork and had spent a day driving to Mizen Head. Our plan today was to drive around the Ring of Kerry (that's a peninsula on the south west), see Parknasilla (a fancy resort/hotel recommended by our friend Jacquie) along the way and maybe even get over to Dingle (a small town on the next peninsula) before leaving the ocean side and returning to Killarney for the night.

Once again this was a case of distances in Ireland being much longer and roads not as good as expected. It's a couple of hours from Cork to the start of the Ring of Kerry (we were travelling counter clockwise around the peninsula starting in the southern corner at Kenmare) over pretty good roads by Irish standards. Nevertheless, by the time we got to Parknasilla, which is only about a half hour into the Ring of Kerry, Kate was pretty car sick and the jarring on rough roads was causing problems. Nevertheless, we stopped there for a light lunch, a bit of wine and some photos.

Along the way there were tons of rhododendron in blooom. Ireland is very green as advertised, but this time of year the hedge rows were blooming in pink.

We dashed around the peninsula making only a few stops to take some pictures and headed to Killarney where we had a room booked not too far from the downtown at the Dromhall Hotel. Kate rested while I explored Killarney. Again, it's one of those pretty Irish old towns. There's some green space and carriage tours of the town and the parkland. The weather was cool, wet and grey. The town seemed to be a big tourist destination with lots of shops ("Feckin' Ejit" T-shirts caught my eye), dinner shows and pubs advertising live music. Also, a coming Tattoo convention!

We didn't get out to see any music that day, instead we just grabbed some drinks and a bite from nearby shops and spent the evening resting up.

May 29, Killarney to Galway
From Killarney to Galway via Limerick was a pleasant drive on very good roads. The day was grey and cloudy so there wasn't much too see. We had intentions of seeing the Cliffs of Moher on the west coast just south of Galway but the weather was against us. We did stop at the Blarney Mills along the way and noted the small Limerick Airport that had been in the news of late (wrt. Trump, Trump's visit and his nearby resort).

In Galway we stayed at the Harbor Hotel a short walk from downtown. Again this was recommended by our friend Anne who we met later for dinner at Ard Bia at Nimmos on the waterfront of the Corrib river right by the Spanish Arch a short walk from our hotel.

We did a bit of a walk about in the downtown area but it was cool and rainy. We missed the Galway Museum which is near the Spanish Arch. It would have been a good place to get out of the rain.

We enjoyed our dinner with Anne and Michael and they took us further afield across the river and harbor to see some live music upstairs at the Crane Bar. That was another great night of Irish music. When we got home to Canada we were watching a Netflix series "Jack Taylor" about a hard drinking former Galway Garda (police) who hangs around a lot drinking at the Crane Bar. Neither Anne nor Micheal had heard of the series.

Near the Spanish Arch we stopped to see the small monument to Christopher Columbus who apparently visited in 1477.

May 30, Galway to Dublin
Galway to Dublin was uneventful. We stayed near the airport at a modern Premier Inn Dublin Airport in a shopping area called the Airside Retail Park (lots of modern shops -- you'd think you were in North America). Dropped Kate off at the airport in the morning, dropped the car off at the rental agency and took their shuttle back to the airport.

From Dubin, off to Amsterdam.

Cork Ireland

Jameson Whiskey, Midleton (near Cork)

May 26-27, 2020
See also a photo album of our adventures in Ireland.

Cork is another port city on the Irish Sea south of Dublin (I was going to say "a little way south" but distances are deceiving). We were there for a couple of nights and although we didn't see much we did enjoy our time there and found a great live music pub!

We caught a train in the morning at Hueston Station, Dublin and arrived in Cork by the early afternoon (it's three hours by train, bus or car -- that gives a sense of the distance). Not wanting to hump our luggage ever again we caught a cab for the short ride to the Metropole Hotel which backs on the River Lee north shore and fronts on MacCurtain Street. It's a lovely Victorian era red brick hotel freshly done up. Quite nice with conference rooms named after famous writers Shaw, Joyce, Swift, Wilde, Yeats, etc. Included was a large English style breakfast in their dining hall overlooking the river.

We were quite comfortable in the Metropole and had booked it, in part, because it included a Jameson Whiskey tasting tour. We discover that the distillery is in Midleton (one 'd' in the middle) not Cork and that's a short commuter train ride away. We were just getting settled into our room and headed off back to the train station where we caught a  train out to Midleton (all Jameson Whiskey is made at this single location). It's not too far out, perhaps a half hour or so, and trains are fairly frequent.

We arrived on a lovely sunny day and wandered into Midleton looking for the distillery. There were no obvious signs other than a large factory type building in the distance. The distillery happens to be a fairly long walk on the other side of this small town. There we caught up with a tour which had already started. A young Colleen took us around through the old distillery showing us the malting house (they malt over coal fires), mash tuns, copper stills, barrel house, etc. There's a modern new distillery on the same site (the factory we could see in the distance), but we didn't wander there.

After the tour you got a drink of your choosing in the bar but before that we did a comparative tasting of Jameson/Irish (which is triple distilled), John Walker Black/Scotch (double distilled) and Jack Daniels/Bourbon (single but continuous distilled). I'm not sure if any of these are actually done in copper pot stills anymore -- certainly they don't do that with Bourbons. We had toured Jack Daniels several years ago on a trip to Florida. Anways, I was suprised by a couple of things: firstly I had always thought of Irish whiskey as being rougher/more bourbon like than Scotch and secondly I was surprised that one would drink and enjoy whiskey neat (actually they had cut them all with a bit of water). We've become fans of the Irish Whiskey, Jameson's is available locally. But, cad that I am, I take it with ice to dilute the strength. Connoisseurs dilute precisely with water.

Back in Cork we took a cab and had dinner at the Oliver Plunkett as recommended by our first taxi driver. Downstairs, where we entered, there was a lively crowd of 20-somethings and some contemporary pop music playing. Not what we were after. Upstairs there was dinner and a show of traditional Irish music and some dance. It was a show that catered to the bus loads of tourists -- fine enough but not that exciting. I'd not recommend the place for the food or music.

On our way walking back to the hotel we crossed over the river and stopped into a pub called "Sin e" near our hotel. Kate had researched live music and the original cabbie recommended it. The music there was much more to our liking. There were several musicians, an evolving cast, playing Irish tunes (jigs and reels) -- very few songs. The pub stands next door to a funeral parlor on one side (hence it's name "Sin e" which means "That's it") and there's another live music pub on the other side. We enjoyed ourselves so much we came back the next night.

There were some funny guys at this pub. One fellow asks me, "Where youse from?". And I replied "Canada" to which he comments, "I likes Canadians .... but I don't think I could eat a whole one". Some regulars seemed to be quite pissed and talking blather but I later learned it's the Irish language which only sounds like blather to fools like us. There were lots of friendly folk who engaged us -- you don't need to seek them out, they find you! And they ask you to come back tomorrow, which we obliged.

Cork May 27:
The next day our plan was to take a driving trip to explore the South West corner of the country. We rented a car from a Hertz rental walking distance between our hotel and the train station. I've driven lots of times on the left side (Australia, New Zealand and the UK). We also had Google maps on our cell phone which made navigating much easier.

We made it as far as Mizen Head which is a light house point on the very south west corner. It's not very far from Cork but it's far enough, on narrow winding roads, to occupy a goodly portion of our day. We didn't get as many stops along the way as I might have liked but we did get to see some very pretty towns. And an old Friary too -- with graves scattered around through the ruins.

I recall driving through one village with a narrow two lane road that had been reduced to only one lane with people partking on the side walk. Coming my way was a big truck. I don't know how they manage. And one of the short cuts we took ended up being a single lane road way. A Mini-Cooper coming the other way barreled right on by orcing us into the verge. He should have waited at a nearby lane way for us to pass. That's what we were doing. How crazy to just barrel on through?

Mizen Head has some lovely views (albeit quite windy) and you have to do a bit of walking up and down stairs. Kate's fitbit watch recorded her as having done 60 stairs in one day. Most of those we chalked up to bumpy car ride up and down the narrow roads.

Back in Cork we had dinner reservation at the Paradiso, a vegetarian restaurant recommended by Kath and Scotia. But we were running late (driving anywhere takes longer than expected). We phoned ahead to let them know and to see if they'd hold our reservation. But still got in later than we promised. In any case it wasn't that busy.

When we got to the Paradiso, it's on another (south) branch of the Lee River, we were driving around trying to find a parking place. We stopped at the restaurant for some guideance which was fortunate. The maitre de told Kate that you could park on any of the streets in the neighborhood but .... you're not from around here are you? There are no parking meters, you're supposed to have a parking pass. And how do you get a pass? Well, you have to find a convenience store and then .... Fortunately he then remembered that there was a parking garage across the river and we parked there. I guess street parking just isn't something tourists are supposed to have.

We had a nice dinner. I recall some pasta made with nettles and some grilled tofu. It's vegetarian. But one of the better to be found.

Our last night in Cork found us back at Sin e for more music.

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As it turns out we really didn't get to see much of Cork. But we did find a great pub!

Dublin Ireland

Oscar Wilde at EPIC

May 23-26, 2020

See also a photo album of our adventures in Ireland.

Kate's annual KBS conference was in Utrecht, Holland this year. We decided to make a little side trip on our way there to explore a bit of Ireland -- we've never been and both of us have Irish roots. Long ago roots, but roots none the less. It's a beautiful country and well worth exploring. We found that a week in the south wasn't enough for us even though we had scaled back our plans from "let's see it all". You would have to live there for a life time and even then you won't see it all.


Dublin Arrival (May 23):
We flew in and out of Dublin arriving from Heathrow (we had made a day trip whilst there to visit our second Mom in Woking) and leaving for Amsterdam.

In Dublin we humped our luggage from the airport north of the city by bus to the Connolly Train Station and then city Metro/DART to the Sandymount Hotel. Others have good luck staying at AirBnB sites, probably a better idea if you're there for a long stay. We were just in town for a couple of days.

The Sandymount is an older Georgian hotel (or pasting of some old Georgian homes) with reasonable conveniences a little south of the city center. Anne, our chum from Glasgow, had recommended it as there is a car park (we didn't rent a car until Cork) and it is convenient to the city DART system. We road the DART from Connolly Station just north of the Liffey River to Landsdown Rd. some 4 stops south. Connolly Station is the busiest in the city with rail routes from the north and the DART on multiple platforms. It's named, since 1966, for James Connolly of the 1916 Easter Rebellion who was a martyr for Irish independence. There's lots of subtle Irish history you become aware of as you visit Dublin. I came out of it knowing that the English have a lot to answer for -- sorry, Mom.

Dublin May 24:
We had a DART pass and a Dubliner hop-on/hop-off pass that we picked up at the airport. That made it convenient for us to explore the city. Our first day we took the DART to the Tara Street station on the south bank of the Liffey and walked the short distance to Trinity College for a tour recommended by our friends Kath and Scosh.

At the college we went with a tour group shepherded by a graduate student in a faded college gown. You can tour the campus alone, it's not that big, but she helped to explain a lot: the founding in 1592 by Queen Elizabeth II in an attempt to secure a Protestant bulwark in a conquered Catholic country; the history of Protestant vs Catholic admissions (Catholics are only lately allowed by the college and by the church); the history of women's admission; and lots of trivia around traditions. The other part of the admission to the tour was access to the Book of Kells and to the Long Room of the Old Library. Our chums Kath and Scotia had recommended we take the tour and see these.

The Book of Kells is a very old, highly decorated, manuscript in Latin from the early Christian church containing four gospels. There's quite a good exhibit with lots of panels showing what pages from the book look like and the checkered history of Viking raids, thievery and worse. There's a glass case with the book itself opened to a page but it's very hard to get near to and not that clear anyways once you get close.

The Long Room of the Old Library (the Book of Kells exhibit is in the ground floor) comes after the exhibit. This is jam packed with rare and ratty old books on two levels. At each level the books are organized in stacks with the bigger heavier books on the lower levels and the smaller ones at the top. How do you find anything? You don't! There's a master index to locate the row and shelf number. It's an interesting place and well worth a visit.

After the tour of Trinity College we walked through the Temple Bar (it's an area of town, not a single "bar") and crossed the Ha'penny Bridge over the Liffey for a late light lunch at The Woolen Mills (recommended by our nephew Darren). I was a little surprised by the day time drunks in the Temple Bar area and glad that we had not stayed in that part of town -- you wouldn't get much sleep.

The Ha'penny Bridge and the River Liffey had separated the traditonally very poor Northside Dublin from the more wealthy Southside Dublin. The poor could be very poor...

"According to The National Archives of Ireland, by 1911, Dublin had some of the worst housing conditions for the urban poor of any city in the United Kingdom, with some 835 people living in just 15 houses."

We hopped onto the hop-on/hop-off tour bus and did a bit of the city including a quick peek into the old City Hall. Some of the drivers were hilarious telling outrageous stories. The Irish do have a "gift of the gab". We jumped off at Hueston Station with the intention of catching a street car over to the Connolly Station and then the DART back to our hotel to freshen up.

That day the Spice Girls were having their kickoff concert at Croke Park for their reunion tour (minus Posh Spice). The stadium seats some 80,000 devoted Spice Girls Fans -- moms of about 40 or so with their young daughters (nary a dad or Old Spice Guy anywhere in sight). This really mucked up our transit plans as Hueston station is the main station for people arriving from the South and West while Connolly was the nearest station to Croke Park and also the main train station for people arriving from the north. It took forever to get a tram over to Connolly Station and when we finally did we were squeezed in like sardines in a can. At Connolly it was very busy with fans arriving and we gave up on ever getting back to our hotel.

Instead we found a nearby pub, the Celt, that a friend had recommended. We had dinner there and enjoyed a singer who played guitar and sang Irish classics. Kate met some younger women (too young to be Spice Girls fans, too old to be daughters of Spice Girl fans) one who had a "F*ck Off Kate" T-shirt -- she was a Kate.

At the end of the day we walked back to Connolly Station just as the Spice Girls concert was clearing out. We talked with a few of the fans on their way home.

Dublin May 25:
We took the DART from Sandymount to the Tara Station on the South Bank of the Liffey. From there we walked along the north bank to the EPIC museum. Along the way we passed the Customs House (a grand bit of Victoriana) and stopped for a while at the Poverty Memorial and the Famine Statues.

The potato famine of 1845-1849 was a desperate time in Ireland. The Famine Statues are a frightfully moving reminder of how bad it was. I'm reminded of "Thousands are Sailing" by the Pogues:

"The island it is silent now, But the ghosts still haunt the waves. And the torch lights up a famished man, Who fortune could not save"

Just a bit further down the river there's a "coffin" ship (replica) you can tour. Of those poor souls who set sail for the better places many did not get so far "that they could change my name".

The EPIC museum is set underground in an old warehouse along the Liffey shore. It's a modern, recently opened, museum dedicated to Irish Emigration. Because of times like the Irish Potato famine the Irish have emigrated all over the world. Both Kate and I (and probably everyone else as well) have a connection to Ireland. Sometime that connection is because of immigration -- Kate's Graham connection got to Ireland from Scotland and of course there's all the British who came to Ireland. It's a very interesting museum that we recommend. There's lots of displays to engage the visitor and there's many rooms to navigate through. It takes quite a while to see it all -- so much so that we took a mid way break and had lunch on the ground floor level at a very nice restaurant, the "Ely Bar & Grill".

At the end of our visit we discover meaning of "EPIC": Every Person Is Connected. And indeed we all are.

From the EPIC Museum we caught the hop on/off shuttle to see more of the city with a view to visiting the "Little Museum of Dublin" near St Stephen's Green which was recommended by our nephew Darren. We crossed the Samuel Beckett Bridge -- it's shaped like an Irish Harp -- into the Docklands and Grand Canal area. The Docklands are no longer slums and warehouses (cf. the EPIC Museum and the Convention Center renewal along the river), instead it's all modern brutalism -- office towers of concrete and glass.

The Little Museum of Dublin really is a little museum. It's a narrow Georgian rowhouse with exhibits on three floors. The first had an exhibit of etchings by James Malton (a Brit) from the Georgian era with biting commentary. The top floor had a U2 exhibit (one of Dublin's more famous exports), a press room and a bit on a famous mayor "Alfie". None of those took much time at all. The best part was a conducted tour of a couple of rooms on the second floor. If you, and we recommend you do, do not skip the conducted tour!

The tour guide was quite entertaining. He came in dressed as an scruffy academic in a jacket with elbow patches, bow tie and glasses. He proceded to welcome us to a 3 hr tour which would start with an hour of his poetry readings -- the first of many jokes. The two rooms we toured are chock a block full of interesting artificats and models. There was a model of the Nelson monument from near the GPO on O'Connel St -- it had been blown up several times by the Republicans and has since replaced by the Millenium Neddle/Spire. Which didn't go up on the Millenium and people wonder "What's the point?". He also engaged the visitors: Who has read Ulysses? Only one had. Do you remember what it was about? No, just that it was long and boring. Then he gave us a 28 word precise of the book and pointed to a copy of the book left open to the last page -- many give up after reading only a few pages. You can say you've read the last page.

Another couple of stories. Does anyone recognize this fellow? Yes, it's Brendan Behan. He's a famous Irish drinker with a writing problem. He was going to Canada because he'd seen an advertisement to "Drink Canada Dry" and thought he'd like to give it a go. He was commissioned by Guinness to write a snappy slogan (no he didn't write "Guinness is good for you") and did so for a case of Guinness a day. Which he proceded to drink through every day for several months. After a while the Guinness folk asked if he had come up with a slogan. Well sure, "Guinness gets you drunk". They didn't use it.

Anyways, the tour guide at the Little Museum was very funny. He had us in stitches (they've bought the building next door to expand, so I guess we'll be the Not So Little Museum of Dublin).

We had a short list of restaurants we were thinking of for dinner in the area and asked his for advice, he confirmed our suggestions and sent us to Fallon & Bryne a short walk away. We had a nice dinner there. If you go, the restaurant is on the second floor -- the ground floor is a gourmet market.

That evening we wandered over to O'Donoghues Bar for some live music. It's just down the road a bit from the Little Museum (on the same street that's the north side of St Stephen's Green). Just inside the door there's a little snug where musicians played Irish music for tips from the audience. We squeezed in with them, and as the evening progressed and more musicians arrived, we were slowly squeezed out. It was one of the better nights of music on our trip to Ireland.

Dublin May 26:
The next day we took a taxi to the Hueston train station where we took a train to Cork. There was no way we were going to hump our luggage around given our arrival experience!

England

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On our way to Europe for Kate's KBS conference we flew through Heathrow airport. There are a couple of reasons: 1) there's a convenient day time flight and 2) we get to visit with an old chum.

Jean, our second mom, who I first met back in 1979 on a biking trip to England, is still living on her own in the nearby town of Woking. Jean is my best friend's mom -- Martin Fry who attended grad school with me.

We rented a car for the day and drove out to see her before flying on to Dublin. We had a lovely lunch at a nearby pub and enjoyed a sunny afternoon in the garden at her home.

Ps. English folk have gardens, not back yards as in Canada. "Yards" is for junk yards. So mind your P's and Q's.

Art Gallery of Ontario

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The Art Gallery of Ontario on Dundas St E, Toronto has a great collection and it's impressively housed in a modern structure recently updated by Frank Gehry. If I have a day in Toronto I will drop in if I can.

I went for a special exhibit of Impressionism in the Age of Industry. But what I'm always most impressed by is the Thompson Collection on the second floor of Canadiana. I don't know which is better -- this or the McMichael Collection in Kleinberg. For more on that collection see my 2018 Posting.

While I'm always impressed by the Group of Seven works I especially like the quirky, and more recent, work of William Kurelek.

If you've never been, you should go.

Westland Gallery

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The Westland Gallery in Wortley Village, Old South London had an impressive exhibit of super realism by several local artists. The photographic quality of the paintings was really impressive. Stunning really.

We don't often visit private galleries like this one but are pleased we did today.

These aren't quick works of art dashed off in an afternoon. They are detailed works requiring long hours of dedicated work. They're priced accordingly. I wish I had the deeper pockets required to purchase some of these.

When Kate and I were first married we lived nearby -- the gallery at that time was an antique store (before that it had been a drug store).

Wortley Village, when we lived there, was a transitional neighborhood. It's since become quite desireable place to live.

Corduroy Gordon at O'Leary's

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We went to O'Leary's/The Creamery to see Corduroy Gordon on St Patrick's day and enjoyed a couple of sets of fast paced music. I especially liked the original tunes (eagerly awaiting their abum) and the mix of covers from trad-Irish through Flogging Molly, Gogol Bordello and more. Ps. I tried the soup - delicious.

Here's some photos from the event.

Austin Winter Stay 2019

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We visited Austin Texas for 6 weeks this past winter leaving Ontario in late January and returning home in early March. I've lost track of how many times we've done this -- I think the first long stay was in the winter of 2013 but we've been visiting since 1990. We like Austin for the music, the weather, bike paths, the Tex-Mex food and the friendly folk. This photo album documents some of our adventures (click on the photo to enter the album).

This year we rented a three bedroom, two bath cottage just off of South Lamar in Austin near Maria's Taco Express and walking distance from the Broken Spoke and ABGB. It's a little further out than places we've stayed before which were much closer to the South Congress area -- but it's only a short distance further: south of Oltorf but north of Ben White. Other times we've had a smaller two bedroom one bath cottage. Our landlords this year, Carol and Kerry, have several properties in Austin and are found as "Under a Texan Sun". We had stayed with them last year in a great (albeit smaller cottage) within a block of the El Mercado and it's Backstage where we're often. We have already booked for our winter stay in 2020. Their properties are well maintained and conveniently located on quiet side streets with all "mod cons". I can't recommend them enough! We go to Texas to escape the snow and cold of Ontario winters; they have a cottage in Ontario to escape the sun and heat of Texas summers!

We drove there in our new Honda CRV with our three cats Piscine, Little Moe and Radar. Piscine has travelled with us many times over the years while for Little Moe and Radar this is their first adventure. They're still a little feral although we've had them for several years. We bought this larger vehicle (our older car is a Hyundai Elantra) so there would be more room for them to roam. Piscine does roam in the car about quite a bit -- standing on your head, screaming and crying for attention. The two boys hunkered down for the trip and didn't move much beyond where they were plunked in the morning. They found the ride no fun but it was a bit of a bonding experience.

The larger vacation rental made having visitors easier. They could have some private space and their own bath, the cats could have their room as well. Our good friend Cindy came for visit as did Kate's brother Gord and his partner Leslie. We enjoyed their visits and especially liked showing them why we like Austin so much. Cindy has been many times with us (even back in 1990), Gord has been once before, for Leslie it was a first visit.

If you've read about past adventures there's much that is repeated and documented in this blog: the El Mercado and the Backstage, Guero's Taco Bar (and under the Live Oaks), the Saxon Pub, C-boys Heart and Soul, the Continental Club and Gallery, the Austin Beer Garden and Brewery (ABGB), the Texas Chili Parlor Bar, the Little Longhorn Saloon, shows at Waterloo Records, the Cactus Cafe at UTX, trips to the Hill Country Wine region and the Salt Lick BBQ, day trips to San Antonio and Gruene, Esther's Follies, the Blanton Gallery, the Bullock Museum, theBouldin Cafe, biking around Town Lake, etc. There were some interesting discoveries (discoveries for us) to share. And adventures we missed -- Gary P Nunn still plays at the Valentine's day Hug'in at the hill country village of Luckenbach (where they say: "Everybody is somebody at Luckenbach")but we see he's announced his retirement so that's an opportunity which will end soon. Perhaps in 2020 we'll take another drive out to the Hill Country to see how Luckenbach has changed.

There were a couple of odd discoveries we found on our way out of town to visit the Salt Lick BBQ near Dripping Springs (fair sized town) and Driftwood (tiny crossroads). There's an interesting large Hindu Temple and Ashram called Radha Madhav Dham just of FM 1826 on the southern edge of town. It's very colorful with lovely grounds and life like deities. We visited a couple of times but it was never busy when we there. There must be a thriving Hindu community in the Austin area given the size of this place.

Another nearby discovery is the Wizards Academy just a bit closer to the Salt Lick BBQ. It's a sprawling complex set in the hill country. On the grounds is the small outdoor Chapel Dulcinea -- a tiny wedding chapel overlooking the hill country (and if you look closely below you'll see a statue of the Man of La Mancha). We were there one Saturday when a small wedding was held. There are facilities for wedding receptions. We found this place because there's also a Burbon Whiskey tasting room that was suggested to us. It's a crowd sourced but the whiskey itself comes from a northern state. They fiddle with blending whiskey. It's a hard place to find as it's not well signed and in a residential neighborhood. But you can see the Wizard's Tower from quite a distance so if you're looking for it, it can be found (Google Maps helps there). Another thing we like about the Academy is all the statuary around the grounds. Some things, like the tower, are closed to the general public -- you need to be somehow involved with the Academy. In any case, it's an interesting spot to visit.

On my birthday in February, when Cindy was visiting, we went to see Elizabeth Cook at the Cactus Cafe on the University of Texas at Austin campus. She's one of my favorite country performers who I have been following for several years ("Welder" and "Gospel Plough" are my favorite albums). We had seen her a year ago when we were on the Outlaw Country Cruise out of New Orleans in 2018. At the Cactus she performed a solo acoustic show. Some of her tunes, especially My Heroin Addict Sister which brings a tear to my eyes, work very well that way. She's clever and has quite funny stories -- she plays up her Nashville via Florida Hillbilly background and her struggles with alcohol, pills and bad relationships. The Cactus Cafe is a very good music listening room which we recommend. These attentive listening rooms can be hard to find.

On the other hand, on the Saturday night Cindy was visiting, we decided to go see Dale Watson at the Broken Spoke a short distance south of us on Lamar. The Broken Spoke is an old-timey dance hall and Dale Watson is a bit of a big deal in these parts (we've seen him several times before and thought Cindy would appreciate seeing him as well). There's dance lessons from 8:00pm until 9:00pm when Dale was supposed to be on stage. We arrived early during the dance lessons to find a bit of a queue to get in and once in (you get to shake James White's hand on the way in) we discovered the floor packed with people learning the two step and others crowded on the floor watching by the bar (where there's signs saying the dance floor is only for dancers). Around the dance hall there wasn't a table to be found and barely room to maneuver -- it was packed, standing room only and people were arriving all the time. This wasn't much fun and where we were we wouldn't get to see anything of the stage so at about 9:30pm (when no Dale Watson had appeared and the dance lessons were still ongoing) we packed it in and left. On the way out we discovered a long line out into the parking lot but they were still letting them into the dance hall! I've read reviews of those who were there saying it was a classic honky tonk performance and no doubt it was -- I just don't feel like being packed in like sardines. Well, for $20 we got to shake James White's hand as we entered. We've been here many times over the years (we've Gary P Nunn here several times) but I think we'll avoid the Saturday night crowds. It was a great place until it got spoiled by people like us.

We did get to see Dale Watson another time at C-boy's Heart & Soul on South Congress for Sunday afternoon Chicken Shit bingo. And we saw Mike Stinson at C-boy's for another Chicken Shit Sunday afternoon. There are blog pages and photo albums on both of those. Those were fun and not crazy packed solid.

There's many other things to do besides music and enchiladas. We visited the Umlauf Sculpture Garden (once for an evening event and another time with Cindy), the Blanton Museum of Art (there are several works there I really like) and the nearby Bullock Texas State History Museum. We went to a movie premier in the Bullock IMAX theatre to see "Alita: Battle Angel" in 3D. We were at a taping of the PBS show "Overheard with Evan Smith" at the KLRU studio at UTX where he interviewed the director of Alita, Robert Rodriguez. He's an Austin native and much of the film was created in Austin. We went to another taping where he interviewed Alejandro Escovedo; he's a Texas musician we've seen several times. We always like to peek into the tiny Mexic-Art Museum on Congress at 5th (very near the Pecan Street bar district). There were some beautiful paintings by John Patrick Cobb in a Chapel setting that reminded me of Gustav Klimt (fine details with the gold leaf). And the bigger Mexican American Cultural Center in the Rainey Street district has a gallery we visited with Gord and Leslie.

Outside of town we did make it a couple of times to San Antonio. We had lunch one day at the Pearl Brewery District and tried biking south along the River Walk to the city center. It's not bike friendly at the end of the river. South of the city center the bike trail on the River Walk is really great. We biked with Gord one day and had lunch with Leslie and Gord at the Blue Star Brewery district -- we often get a bite at a the Stella restaurant when we're biking that part of the river. We took Gord and Leslie to the Historic Mexican Market in San Antonio. Well worth a visit.

We've been to Gruene Texas many times (and were again this year for shows at the Gruene Hall and dinner at the Grist Mill) but have never explored much of the town beyond. On Valentine's Day Kate and I explored New Braunfels (Gruene is a small part of it) and enjoyed a dinner show at the Seekatz Opera House with Kinky Friedman performing ("There's a place where you can go, where Marilyn still dances with Dimaggio", see Marilyn & Joe). We went on the Outlaw Country Cruise last year especially to see Kinky. This year was still in pretty good form. Kate bumped into Kinky (Never get between a man and his tequila... "Not your father's tequila, more like your grandfather's gardiner's tequila"), I bumped into an older lady I thought I recognized: "Isn't that Ruth Buzzi? Yup, it is."

I could go on but this is probably too much already. For us a visit to Austin wouldn't be complete without seeing some of the gang from the Flatlanders -- the famous band that never was (More a Legend than a Band). We saw Butch Hancock at the Acoustic Austin Cafe (it's near to a house concert kind of thing). Jimmie Dale Gilmore was supposed to appear one night at the El Mercado Backstage but couldn't perform because of a flu/cold that was going around. Fortunately we caught him near the end of the stay at a Mystery Monday show (again at the El Mercado Backstage). Joe Ely was performing in the area but we weren't able to catch him.

Anyways, the intention here is to give you some guidance as you wander through the photo album. Also for us to remember another fun holiday in our favorite home away from home.

Mystery Monday with Jimmie Dale

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Our last night in Austin. Mystery Monday at the Backstage, EL Mercado Restaurant South with guests Jimmie Dale Gilmore (who we absolutely love) and Chris Gage (sitting in for Bill Kirchen). Regular hosting by Christine Albert with Bobby Kallus on drums and David Carroll on stand up bass. It's a good night for singing and a great band to make that happen.

Jimmie had prepared a set list of songs he was going to play but that soon went by the way side with songs requested by his friends in the band. These guys have played together for years.


Here's some photos from the show.

Chicken Shit Bingo

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We were at C-Boy's Heart & Soul to see Dale Watson this afternoon. Some of the fun was the Chicken Shit Bingo held at the front by Ginny (of Ginny's Little Long Horn Saloon). Dale says he and Ginny have been doing this bingo for 19 years now. For the first bingo the chicken shit on the line and $114 was won by the ticket holder (a regular who has won several times over the years). We didn't stay for subsequent bingos but there were some laughs and great tunes. Another crowded honky tonk.

Folk Uke at the Saxon Pub

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Some photos of Folk Uke at The Saxon Pub from Saturday night. We managed to not pee our pants -- but they are so funny!

They introduced a new song, "Don't Bite Beyonce", which you can find on Youtube (try here). Apparently someone at a party did bite her. I guess she's just that tasty.

Amy Nelson (that's Cathy Guthrie on ukulele pictured at left) had her mom and older sister Paula in the audience. She also did a mean guitar solo (not!).

Fingerpistol at the Little Longhorn Saloon

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There's Kate's brother Gord Graham and his partner "Wesley" (Leslie Carmichael) cutting up the rug with the Fingerpistol at (Ginny's) Little Longhorn Saloon, Austin TX. It's a good night for dancin' and there were free dance lessons as well.

It's a fun place but very small with a very crowded dance floor and tiny stage -- the bass player sits on the dance floor as there's no room for him on the stage.

Bob Schneider's Lonelyland

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We went to see Bob Schneider's Lonelyland residency on Monday night just down the street from our place. We've been a few times before and enjoyed the performances (they are definitely "Keeping Austin Weird"). This time with Gord Graham and "Wesley" (Leslie Carmichael); they were suitably impressed as were we. The show is very hard to describe but well worth a try.

We had seen the show on other visits to Austin and had been there a week earlier but every show is different. Sometimes it's quite silly, sometimes quite raunchy, but always fun.

I understand it's broadcast live on his FaceBook channel but I've never watched it.

Purgatory Players

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The Purgatory Players are a bunch of musical characters (Jeff Plankenhorn, Seela Misra, John Dee Graham and Scrappy Jud Newcombe on acoustic guitars with Jon Greene on drums) who have been around for many years and play Sunday mornings at the El Mercado on South 1st in Austin -- typically they pass a tip jar to raise money for the Central Texas Food Bank. It's an event we always attend while in Austin. They're all very good musicians, comfortable playing with one another and very funny with one another. They say the event is a "gospel-ish" brunch -- there usually is some music with a gospel theme that sinners like us can tolerate. And there's usually lots of fine music without any tinge of religion.

When Gordon and Leslie were visiting in late February we took them. The show is from 10:00am to 1:00pm with a short break in the middle. We arrive early around 10:30 to get good seats and order a Tex/Mex breakfast -- with a "Morning Margarita" or similar beverage to wash it down.

The audience is usually pretty good at listening and the sound mix is always excellent. On this day Scrappy Jud Newcombe, a core member of the group, wasn't there -- other commitments. When the core group is too thin due to other commitments they'll have guests sit in to fill out the group.

Guests in the second set included Ray Bonneville, Barbara Bergin, Kelly Micheal McDaniels, Kate Howard and Shawnee Kilgore (who we had seen fronting for Butch Hancock at the Acoustic Austin gig).

There's a Canadian connection to the group -- Jeff is married to a Canadian, Seela and Roy Bonneville are Canadian ex-pats who have moved to Austin.

One of the really neat things about this weekly show is it's regularly taped and posted to YouTube by "DanViewTube". I met him one day recording at a Waterloo Records show (Hays Carll) and chatted a bit. I let him know that I really enjoyed the videos. Check out his Youtube channel -- the audio quality is surprisingly good.

Mike Stinson at C-Boy's Heart & Soul

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An album of Mike Stinson at C-Boy's Heart & Soul for Sunday afternoon Chicken Shit Bingo. Great honky tonk music and lots of dancers that put the most of us to shame. I like all his music but especially the tune "I may have to do it, but I don't have to like it" -- for some reason it reminds me of Johnny Winters version of Highway 61.

Los Texmaniacs at Gruene Hall

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We've seen a lot of great music here in Texas but this was a special night. On Friday February 22, 2019 we took Gord and "Wesley" to Gruene Hall (about 2/3 of the way to San Antonio) to see Los Texmaniacs who are from San Antonio. Great Conjunto/Tex Mex music made even greater with guests Rosie Flores (who also opened the show), Augie Meyers (who sang several Texas Tornados hits) and Flaco Jimenez (who also brought his son on stage to sing a few including: "I'm all strung out on heroin on the wrong side of town..."). It was packed with an enthusiastic audience cheering them on, lots of beer and friendly folk, people were dancing where ever they could find a clear spot. If you've never heard this kind of music (mostly Spanish, button accordion, plunky guitar and a polka beat) look up Los Texmaniacs on YouTube (or Los Pinkys from Austin or the Texas Tornados (who are no more) for a less jarring introduction...). It's nice to see the young folk in Los Texmaniacs keeping this music alive. They were keen to play with these guests who are legends in the genre.

Here's a photo album from the event.