Saturday, February 24, 2018

Palace of Versailles - 6/2017

Palace of Versailles. This needs it own blog.
Getting there required a bus ride, a nice train ride and then some wonderful walking -- not too far. On the walk to the palace there were wonderful markets on both sides of the street some open and some under shelter. The items for sale were so beautiful and the food was luscious. I felt we had to rush to get to our destination but wish we could have spent an entire day just in the city area. I'd love to go back.
The palace and grounds are huge and it was one heck of an exhausting day. It was the one day I reached the point of "I can't go one more step" and getting back to the train we had to get a taxi.
Fun this trip was seeing the grandiose Palace of Versaille. You start in the main palace filled with undescrible glitz and riches. Hard to believe even a king could live like this. The palace itself is overwhelming and really too much, over the top.
The grounds are glorious. One could get lost roaming around. Fountains, formal gardens, a canal where you can row boats, the King used to ride horses and hunt on the grounds.
There are several areas and one entire section was a little village that Marie Antionette created so she could feel like she lived a regular life. She had people living there who were gardners, farmers, trades people.
We had a rest break with coffee/tea and the pastry Angelina's in the palace is famous for Saint Honore' (if you have a few days to spare you can make some, here is the link to the recipe: http://www.roadtopastry.com/…/rec…/cakes/recipe-saint-honore) You will need a few day for real. Wow.
This was a perfect day from the minute we began, enhanced by probably the best clouds I've ever seen, train ride, market, pastry and more gold and mirrors than my eyes could handle. If you go to Paris, you must take a day and make the short trip to visit this national treasure. I will never forget my special day here.














































Merida, Mexico - a dream come true 11/24-30/2017


Had wanted to visit Merida since we spent one day there seeing downtown on a tour from our cruise ship.  That visit was way too short and unsatisfying and we always wanted to return to this colonial city.   We had planned on going to Cuba for 5 days to visit friends, but with Irma having just blasted through, thought Merida was a better choice.  We spent a week and stayed within walking distance to historic center.  Had an Airbnb that was interesting with spotty water pressure and hot water, next door to AA and around the corner from 3 hotels with prostitutes.  The actual colonial home was nice though and we enjoyed our stay.







Started my trip with a free walking tour and saw cathedral, the zocolo, and parks and learned the history of the downtown.  Merida has an interesting history and we learned about the economy of the area which was based heavily upon the henequen in the 19th century.  Merida was a very important commercial city.  After WW II the henequen trade died out with the invention of nylon -- and other political factors.

Catedral de Merida


Doors of Merida




Colonial home converted to a hotel



This was our tour pick up place in lobby

Museo Casa Montejo
http://yucatantoday.com/museo-casa-montejo/?lang=en



The Yucutan is full of great places to see and we took two tours:  a day trip to see the ancient remains of Uxmal - a UNESCO World Heritage site, and Kabah.

We visited Kabah, an ancient ruin where building had begun 7 CE.  Masks of the rain god abound throughout the site.  Rain was scarce and there were no cenotes in the area.  The Mayans had to depend only on the rain.








Uxmal, the ancient Mayan city was so impressive and amazing.  Our tour guide explained the significance of the ruins and interpreted many meanings.  The placement of the buildings and all carvings had a specific purpose.  They wanted to appease their gods for sun, water, so their crops would grow.  Construction began in 850 AD and it is estimated the population at the peak was around 25,000.










The ancient Maya ballgame called pitz was played with a rubber ball ranging in size from that of a softball to a soccerball, players would attempt to bounce the ball without using their hands through stone hoops attached to the sides of the ball court.  Some cultures occasionally seem to have combined competitions with religious human sacrifice.  The winner was sacrificed as it was a great honor.

Ball Court
 

Ball passed through hole to score





Part of our day included a visit to Chocolate Museum at Uxmal.  Self guided tour following a path in a jungle garden, walking along and following the process of the discovery of the cocoa plant to making chocolate.  Fascinating.  We got to taste the original Mayan chocolate drink.  The Mayans of Central America are believed to have been the first to discover cocoa as early as 900 CE. They learned that the beans inside the cocoa pods could be harvested and made into a liquid that became a treasured Mayan treat.  We saw a demonstration of making the drink and got to taste it.  With no sugar it was quite bitter.  We all added sugar, along with cinnamon and chili, and after those adjustments it tasted pretty good.





Demonstration of a sacred cocoa ceremony

You will find the jaguar everywhere in symbols in the Yucutan.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maya_jaguar_gods










Felt so lucky to be able to visit an old friend, Omar, while in Merida.  We met him in Cancun many years ago through Couchsurfing and he's a great guy.  We had a nice visit and dinner with him and his daughter.




Our other tour was to visit Celestun, a small town, population about 6,000.  The Natural del Flamenco Mexicano is 147,500 acres.  Eco-tourism is very important with a bird population of 400 species, truly amazing.  We took a boat ride out on the lake.  We couldn't get too close to the flamingos, but sat there a long time taking pictures.  We were not at peak time, but saw about 300 flamingos.  They say when it is the season, the lake is just full of the birds.  This is one time I wish I'd had a super lens for my camera.  It was fun to watch them, see them fly off and listen to their loud noises.  The flamingos at Celestun are the largest and most brilliantly colored of the six species.  




 



Pink flamingos and pink water - why?  check this out:
https://www.afar.com/magazine/the-pinkest-place-in-mexico



Had some good meals, plenty of my favorite, cochinta pibil.  Walked around a bit on the narrow that are crowded and busy during peak hours.  Many women wear native dress and I enjoyed that so much.  Shopped a little and I guess that was our trip.  So glad we had the opportunity to spend some time in Merida.

Some miscellaneous photos.




From colonial times through the mid-19th century, Merida was a walled city to protect the Peninsular and Criollo residents from periodic revolts by the indigenous Maya.

 Cute little Coke truck

Afternoon rest, chips and salsa
and a margarita




Cochinita pibil, my favorite

House of ill repute.  Usually there were 2-3 girls standing in the door way.  
Less than 1/2 block from our Airbnb.  

and.....always a rainbow

The history of the Yucatan is so rich and the Mayans were way ahead of their time in so many ways.  It is wonderful we are able to see some of the remains today.  It was a pleasure to spend time in this area of the Yucatan.  I love Mexico so much!!!!!