November - Whoosh, Bang, Wallop and it's almost gone!

Gosh, where did November go....there's only a week left and it all seemed to happen in a blink.

Last weekend I took part in a Reindeer Run at Glamis Castle - a 10k organised to raise money for the Royal National Lifeboat Institution, where you are given a pair of antlers and a flashing red nose before the race starts. I am sure I could have run faster than 54 minutes if I hadn't been carrying antlers the whole way round ;-)  It was fun and a beautiful place to run and I am sure I'll do it again next year. 

Here's a link to the story in the local paper - if you can see the pictures I am there somewhere in picture 3 of 16.

 Race t-shirt

My friend Francoise visited from Germany on Saturday and we took a day trip to the East Neuk of Fife and walked from St Monans to Pittenweem and had lunch at the Cocoa Tree . It was a beautiful day and we enjoyed the walk. Not so sure Francoise enjoyed the 36 hour journey home = delayed due to fog!

 Sunset over the Firth of Forth!

The knitting group have been knitting penguins. We are making them so we can do a toy drop at the Christmas Lights Switch on - if a kid finds one they can take it home, give it a name and love it! A little bit of Christmas cheer

Penguins Galore!

Lest we Forget

Madrid

There was a lot more to Madrid that just food....honest!

We visited the Reina Sofia Museum (a little disappointed - it was a large building that didn't seem to contain much, with minimal direction for the visitors) and the Thyssen Bornemeszia Collection - definitely not disappointed - one of the best galleries I've been too and I've been to quite a lot. A collection built over years by the Thyssen family, now on public display - over 1600 paintings from the 16th century onwards....Picasso, Van Gogh, Franz Marc, Kandinsky oh and to my joy 3 little Klee's around a corner, just as I had said the collection would be more complete if there had been a Klee! Had chocolate and churros (typical Spanish dish  thick rich hot chocolate with doughnut like pastries to dip in the chocolate) at Chocolateria San Gine, walked through El Retiro Park, took in the cathedral, markets galore, crowed over the architecture, wandered the shops, met an old friend for dinner and ate a lot of tapas - octopus, fish, croquetas, chorizo, patatas bravas.......yum.

All in all a good few days was had!

Museo Reina Sofia

Old Market

El Retiro Park

Madrid Cathedral

El Retiro Park

Annual Craft Fair

It's that time of year again....the once a year that I have a stall at a craft fair....well, I have a stall at a craft fair with 3 friends....so at least I don't have to make too much. Which is just as well as production has been at an all time low this year. I have managed some cards, some knitted Santas (3), some appliqued bags (12), some fabric necklaces, some tree mobiles (2) and some Christmas decorations....I had plans for so much more....but neither the time or the motivation.

Oh and it's that time of year when the sunrises are amazing again....

Happy Halloween

OK- reposting an old photo but I still love the Mummy!! Happy Halloween Everyone!

Mercado de San Miguel, Madrid - A Market for the 21st Century

Staying near the Opera in Madrid, my friend Tracey and I stumbled across the gloriously restored Mercado de San Miguel. It would seem that Madrid had a number of covered markets and the Mercado de San Miguel is amongst the oldest. As the only remaining iron built market in the city (built in 1916) it was already quite special, but the beautiful restoration that has been undertaken makes it even more special. With it's soaring wooden roof and glass walls, this is a place to go and buy food but more than that....it's a place you can go to enjoy a taste of great quality local foods whilst sipping a glass of rioja.....

There are 33 "stalls" selling the best of produce. You stand at each counter where you can  buy taster sized portions...... then wander over to one of the many small tables dotted around the market to drink your wine and taste the gourmet delights you purchased - we tried bacalao, croquetas, stuffed olives, cheese, paella, octopus, wine, ice cream .....oh and the mini burgers in mini buns.

It's open from 10am everyday to midnight (2am at the weekends) with it taking on the appearance of a wine bar after 10 when the food stalls close. It seemed very popular with locals and tourists alike - and we were hardly surprised - we were there 3 times in 3 days. If you want to eat outwith the usual Spanish hours it seems a good place to go.

Way Behind...

Hello!

I am way behind on my posts - just too many trips in a short space of time. I'm just back from a flying visit to Madrid to catch up with a friend from the US who was there for a conference. What a great city.....helped I imagine by glorious autumn weather. Posts will follow, but in the meantime, some shots of what I seemed to photograph most - food!!

Favourite Photos

Along with the new header photo here are a couple of my favourite photos from recent weeks.

I love that the dew settling on the dandelion clock makes it feel so much more substantial than it actually is!

I love the colour of the "blob" of moss like stuff that had formed on the wild rose - I've seen it once before, not sure what it is. My mum thinks an insect lives in it.

Nature is so beautiful, so inspiring and so worth taking a close look at!

Provence 2011

A week in the south of France, all the way there from Dundee by train (OK I stopped in London for 2 nights each way)....from the grey, damp summer in Scotland to the beautiful bright blue skies and warming sun of Provence.

My friend Karen and I rented a house in Arles. It was a beautiful house, just newly renovated, impeccably decorated and right in the centre of town, just 50m from the Roman arena.

Arles was a great base to explore Provence, although to do justice to the area you'd probably need to spend months rather than a week. We spent a couple of days just relaxing in Arles, wandering the town, visiting Roman remains, eating ice cream, sitting on the roof terrace listening to the crowds in the arena...

We took the train to Avignon one day - to visit the Papal Palace (I didn't know that from 1309 to 1376 the papacy moved from Rome to Avignon), a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Built over a period of 20 years, this immense palace dominates the Avignon landscape.  We also saw the half bridge made famous in the song Sur le pont d'Avignon. 

We hired a car for 3 days which definitely makes it easier to see Provence. We took a tour to the Camargue to see flamingoes, to St Remy de Provence, where Vincent Van Gogh spent his last years, to Pont du Gard to see the Roman aqueduct, to Gordes high on the rocks of the Luberon, to Uzes in Languedoc - a beautiful town of outdoor cafes, alleys lined with renovated buildings, cute little shops - a great place to spend time. We ate ice cream made with violets and sea salted caramel, had tapas in a cute little restaurant called La Querida in Arles.... I got to swim in the sea at Saintes Maries de la Mer and in the river at Pont du Gard, fulfilling my need to swim outdoors at least once a year!  All in all a fantastic week!