Sagrada Familia, Barcelona

20170608_181416(Sagrada Familia dominates Barcelona’s skyline)

Sagrada Familia is a Catholic basilica in Barcelona. Construction began in 1882. In 1883 Antoni Gaudi became involved and made it his life’s passion. It was only one quarter complete when he died in 1926. Construction of the basilica relies solely on donations. It is hoped construction will be complete in 2026 – one hundred years after Gaudi’s death.
Sagrada Familia is unlike any of the churches we have seen on our travels and seems to defy description. Eyes feast on a buffet of sights that soar, colours that shade dark to light as they rise to the heavens, facades that carve Christian messages in their towers. Astonish, amaze, admire – wow!DSC01370
(Gaudi’s tomb in a crypt beneath Sagrada Familia)
DSC01366(west facade)
DSC01346(east facade)

Sleeping Beauty and Vertigo

We had a great evening at the fabulous Palau de Música in Barcelona. Guest violinist was Kolja Blacher of Germany. He played Tchaikovsky’s Concerto d major, Op 35. It was a program of Wagner,Hermann and Tchaikovsky. Loved it!

Salou, Spain

Salou has been a welcome break from the fast pace/high energy of the crowds when touring. We are enjoying sun and sand in this little town that welcomes families to its beaches. In the photos John is trying to point out that his glass contains only water, whereas in my photo I’m holding a pitcher of Sangria😄

Nerja

P

The Caves Of Nerja are a series of caverns. Concerts are regularly held in one of the chambers which forms a natural amphitheater. Archeologists have found pictographs that look like ballet dancers (as well as many others). Cave paintings in these caves could be the oldest yet found. Unfortunately the caverns with the paintings are not open to the general public.

Ebb and Flow

20170330_082931
Seven days ago I ran alongside the river
that has flowed through our city
before it was a city.

Water that never stands still,
passes people, cultures, politics, technology
without a second glance.

She keeps flowing a graceful flow
sometimes slow and lazy
sometimes turbid and raging,
always moving.

Two days ago I stepped away
from my workplace
after thirty-two years
of coming and going.
Thirty-two years with a wonderful dentist,
Dr Brian Sacks, who was by my side
through the ebb and flow
of my life.
Over the years a wonderful dentist, yes,
but a wonderful friend, too.

I have had the pleasure of working with great staff
and of course, the best patients ever!
I am grateful for the opportunity
to have shared many stories
with many people
and to have had the opportunity to have been taught
so much by my patients over the course of my career.

I will miss the conversations and laughter.
I will miss the security of knowing
“where I am supposed to be” every morning
but I look forward to this new phase of my life-
flowing beside water that never stands still.

Writing Japan

toriiofshannoshrine

(internet photo: Torii of Shanno Shrine in Nagasaki after atomic bomb was dropped on August 9, 1945. It was the only thing that withstood the explosion in the area)
A friend challenged me to write a poem about Japan; this is what I came up with.

Japan is a tsunami,
a world of samurai and sumo
ikebana and kamikaze.
The land of the rising sun
graces us with cherry blossoms
and temples that flow
from a calligraphy brush.

Earthquakes reverberate
half a world away,
carry strength
to the west,
remnants of people’s live
swept out to sea.

A crewless “ghost ship”
sails to Haida Gwaii.
While we sip exotic tea
and inspect wreckage,
Hiroshima and Nagasaki
disturb us with grace,
slowly dissolving.

Japan is a sculptured garden,
glass and sleek steel
arranged with precision
next to paper walled teahouses,
Mount Fuji an elegant backdrop
to bullet trains that shuttle
honorable tradition
into a unpruned future.

We Can Find Hope

broken-web

Anger and tenderness: my selves.
And now I can believe they breathe in me
as angels, not polarities.
Anger and tenderness: the spider’s genius
to spin and weave in the same action
from her own body, anywhere —
even from a broken web.
(Adrienne Rich)

Women’s March Jan21,2017

I’m proud to have marched with men and women who stood up globally to unite against hate, to unite for love, who stood up to shout that all lives matter.

shoulder to shoulder
solidarity grows,
growls to a global roar

Here are the messages from a sampling of signs:
It is time for women to stop being politely angry
Women’s rights are human rights
I march because I refuse to go backwards!
Still we rise
I’m not usually a sign person but Geez!
They call it locker room talk, I call it insecurity
No longer the silent majority
We’re not going away
Our rights are not up for grabs
We are women hear us roar in numbers to big to ignore!