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Phil Douglas

Retired teachers making up for lost time.
Living in: Scarness, Australia
  • Phil DouglasEurope 2019
    Day47

    Time for home

     October 28 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 13 °C

    Last night we had a never to be forgotten birthday bash for mama Douglas at Brooklyn Bowls. The bowling may not have been of the highest standard, but some of our favourite people came along and helped to make it special.
    Now all we have to do is sit and wait and sit and wait - all the long way home.Read more

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  • Phil DouglasEurope 2019
    Day43

    The Vessel

     October 24 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C

    Another touristy thing to do in New York - today we popped into Manhattan to have lunch with Rosie and visit the Vessel a new attraction at Hudson Yards (which is a fairly new development itself. It's a bit hard to explain this structure - we could see no function except as something to climb on. It was a beautiful day and the views were clear and dazzling.Read more

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  • Phil DouglasEurope 2019
    Day43

    Chez Jimmy

     October 24 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 14 °C

    Back in Brooklyn for our last week with Rosie and the boys before the fun flight home. First night dinner Tuesday at Colonia Verde. Last night a musical called Come From Away - a show based on the true events following the 9/11 attacks when US airspace was closed and 38 flights were diverted to Gander, a small town in the Canadian province of Newfoundland. The Gander airport had been important as a refuel stop for planes flying between North America and Europe before jets started making the crossing without stopping. It was truly sparking entertainment.Read more

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  • Phil DouglasEurope 2019
    Day41

    Holiday Inn - Heathrow

     October 22 in the United Kingdom ⋅ ⛅ 5 °C

    Overnight at Heathrow Airport and back to NYC.
    They couldn't give us seats together on our flight to New York, it seems that the flight is very full because Brits are heading over to New York to do their Christmas shopping?
    Even though we booked the flight ages ago and were a bit more than 2 hours early for the flight - more and more people are checking in online (or paying to select a seat) so check in at the airport types are left with the crumbs.Read more

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  • Phil DouglasEurope 2019
    Day39

    Van Gough Alive the experience

     October 20 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    Finally, a little tech wizardry to finish off Valencia (for now). A multimedia look at Van Gough's life and work. Simply, it was a room with wall sized video screens around all sides as well as a corridor with more space and screens. On the screens they showed a progression of paintings from different stages of his career along with quotes and background. At the same time they played a selection of music to reflect the mood of the paintings. It was really well done they didn't just show the paintings, but sections of each painting with varying degrees of detail. They even managed to animate them to some extent. Very well done.Read more

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  • Phil DouglasEurope 2019
    Day39

    Museu des belles artes

     October 20 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

    Next on the agenda is the fine arts museum. This attraction has a number of our favourite features - it's in a beautiful building, it's free and the featured exhibition is based around an artist we have encountered before and liked.
    The building lived up to expectations and the exhibit was interesting, filling in some information about Joaquin Sorolla, an artist that we had originally learned about in Madrid. He was born in Valencia and worked extensively here. The only disappointment was that they didn't have much of his work on display and what there was didn't appeal as much as the Madrid House paintings.Read more

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  • Phil DouglasEurope 2019
    Day39

    Jose Benlliure Gil

     October 20 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

    The rest of the day has been set aside for a little fine arts theme. We actually got a little wet for only the second time on our travels and only lightly as we walked to this museum. The Banlliure family had several artists including Jose Benlliure Gil and his son Jose Benlliure Ortiz. We liked some of the work, especially papa's, and the house garden and studio were also interesting and arresting in their own right. Admission was free on Sundays, they provided a locker and the rain let up so we could enjoy the garden - so a good visit.Read more

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  • Phil DouglasEurope 2019
    Day39

    San Juanes

     October 20 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

    Our last day in Valencia and Spain and we are still going strong. It was a great plan to finish up in Valencia. After 4 weeks travelling around France and Spain it could have easily been hard to maintain the enthusiasm, but instead Valencia stole our hearts.
    First on the agenda today is the the church of the St Johns. Truth be told we have had more than enough churches, but this one was a neighbour and we thought we should visit. The fact it was threatening to rain may have helped. A Gothic building with a baroque overlay - and a story of suffering brought by some Spanish civil war or another. And the extraordinary efforts to restore it as the necessary technology gradually became available. Not nearly as wow as St Nicks from a couple of days ago, but worth a quick visit.Read more

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  • Phil DouglasEurope 2019
    Day38

    Museu de Ceramica

     October 19 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    After the silk exchange visit it was time for a little grocery shopping (home cooked meal tonight) and then home for a coffee and a biscuit and get up for a bit.
    Then we kept the museum theme going with a visit to the national ceramics museum or González Martí National Museum of Ceramics and Decorative Arts of you prefer. The museum is located in the Palacio del Marqués de Dos Aguas reputedly the best example of baroque architecture in Spain. No idea about that but you would have to say the building was as at least as big a drawcard as the ceramics and they were very good.Read more

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  • Phil DouglasEurope 2019
    Day38

    La Lonja de la Seda

     October 19 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C

    La Lonja de la Seda is so much nicer a name (especially if you can pronounce it properly) than The Silk Exchange, but either way it was a pretty impressive building. We seem to be following our own little Silk Road here after staying in the silk quarter in Lyon we are practically across from the silk exchange here in Valencia. Certainly silk played an important role in the history of both cities.Read more

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