So, to get myself back in the swing of photo editing and learning more cool stuff, Alex suggested I put together a 'calendar of the Gower' photos. Well, naturally I wasn't able to narrow it down to twelve photos, but I've created this brief film of beautiful views of South Wales' Gower Peninsula from visits to the area during the last couple of years. It'll make you want to visit. Enjoy!
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Rhossili
Above: an interesting character enjoying the views of Rhossili
Below: Views from the headland
Another place with gorgeous views on the southwest tip of the Gower Peninsula is Rhossili, home of Worms Head (pictured just above here) and the Rhossili cliffs - just amazing. Again, we were so lucky with the weather! On a gray day, I'd guess you can't even see Worms Head...
Rhossili has been designated as an official Area of Oustanding Natural Beauty by the Countryside Agency on behalf of the UK government.
A family visit in Wales
In mid-April we flew to Cardiff (rather than our usual drive to France to take the ferry across the Channel to England and then a long drive to Wales) to visit with the in-laws. During our stay, we travelled back to Tenby, where we'd visited several months prior when the weather wasn't quite as cooperative (and sunny!) as this trip. On the first evening we celebrated several birthdays, including that of my mother-in-law, with the in-laws and extended family including Uncle Peter, Cousins Sharon and Jo, Jo's husband Mark and their two daughters, Lucy and Kate - and I can't neglect to mention Sharon's Westie, Izzie!
The following day, we spent our day in Tenby with sister-in-law Sarah, her hubby Dave, niece Catrin and nephew Steffan. It was a gorgeous day where we could enjoy the very colorful seaside town. This meal above was my first taste of faggots (these are like huge meatballs) with mushy peas, chips and gravy....yum!
Next up, Rhossili...
Kim's History Lesson Continues
From Boston we headed west, so I took Kim through Lexington and Concord - pretending be on horseback and shouting, "The British are coming, the British are coming!" Ok, not really, but we continued in reverse historical order eventually landing at the site of Plymouth rock and spending a day and evening in Scituate - complete with a visit from the wild turkeys that frequent my parents' back yard and some time experiencing the chaos and fun of a family gathering to celebrate multiple birthdays - including Kim's :)
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Boston welcomes Kim
After the FAWCO Conference, my friend Kim came up from Houston to spend a few days in the city about which I've bragged to her since we became friends back in Holland. Kim moved back to the States from Holland in July and it was an exciting reunion to which we'd both been looking forward for months.
After a looooong nightmarish trip - Houston to Boston, high winds preventing a first landing so on to Hartford, CT then back to Boston with landing gear actually being engaged and retracted, again because of high winds, to Newark, NJ to spend several hours in that lovely airport, and finally back to Boston the morning after she was to arrive - but Kim made it to my home city of Boston!
I was born in Boston and lived in and around the city for most of my life. I wanted Kim to get a sense of my roots and my attitude - and boy did she! My charming (dreaded?!) Boston accent (paaahhhk the caaaaah in Haaahhhvaaad Yaaahd) was out of the can - and I'm still having trouble putting it back. Brings out the 'feisty' in me. "You want some o' this??!!" I, naturally, gave her the grand tour, including much of the Freedom Trail and a ride on the Boston Beantown Trolly, to Faneuil Hall and Quincy Market, to the North End to Paul Revere's House and the Old North Church, and much more - including an afternoon drinking Guiness with St. Patrick's Day revelers and then an authentic Italian dinner in the heart of the North End followed by canoles from Mike's Pastry - yes, all fat and calorie free...
I taught Kim, although she resisted (to no avail), to say things like "Maaaa's Baaaa" (Mars Bar in my local tongue), Fenway Paaak, and "Yankees Suck" which the locals definitely appreciated. Boston lived up to its reputation of a city full of friendly, welcoming people who impressed both Kim and me. Here's a film of our adventures through this fair city :)
It was so nice to be in a place where I know what to do, where to go, how to act - speak the language...familiarity is such a comforting thing. And customer service!!! And Dunkin' Donuts coffee! Ah, and good old-fashioned, American-style customer service ... good stuff! Do I miss Boston? Absobloominutely!!
After a looooong nightmarish trip - Houston to Boston, high winds preventing a first landing so on to Hartford, CT then back to Boston with landing gear actually being engaged and retracted, again because of high winds, to Newark, NJ to spend several hours in that lovely airport, and finally back to Boston the morning after she was to arrive - but Kim made it to my home city of Boston!
I was born in Boston and lived in and around the city for most of my life. I wanted Kim to get a sense of my roots and my attitude - and boy did she! My charming (dreaded?!) Boston accent (paaahhhk the caaaaah in Haaahhhvaaad Yaaahd) was out of the can - and I'm still having trouble putting it back. Brings out the 'feisty' in me. "You want some o' this??!!" I, naturally, gave her the grand tour, including much of the Freedom Trail and a ride on the Boston Beantown Trolly, to Faneuil Hall and Quincy Market, to the North End to Paul Revere's House and the Old North Church, and much more - including an afternoon drinking Guiness with St. Patrick's Day revelers and then an authentic Italian dinner in the heart of the North End followed by canoles from Mike's Pastry - yes, all fat and calorie free...
I taught Kim, although she resisted (to no avail), to say things like "Maaaa's Baaaa" (Mars Bar in my local tongue), Fenway Paaak, and "Yankees Suck" which the locals definitely appreciated. Boston lived up to its reputation of a city full of friendly, welcoming people who impressed both Kim and me. Here's a film of our adventures through this fair city :)
It was so nice to be in a place where I know what to do, where to go, how to act - speak the language...familiarity is such a comforting thing. And customer service!!! And Dunkin' Donuts coffee! Ah, and good old-fashioned, American-style customer service ... good stuff! Do I miss Boston? Absobloominutely!!
Sunday, April 18, 2010
More FAWCO
This amazing group of women came together this year in Boston with our message "Make History." I am so proud to be part of this organization of accomplished, inspiring women who work to make the world a better place. You'll notice in this film that we were able to present a check to Oxfam for $14,000 (and we're still raising more) that will go directly to relief for Haiti. FAWCO also funds development grants, educational awards and scholarships. The Emergency Relief Fund (ERF) was actually initiated by AWC The Hague in response to the earthquake in China and it is this same fund which is providing relief to Haiti now. We do good things!
Most of these images are from our long days hard at work, attending general sessions and individual seminars and meetings, followed by themed evenings where we learn about the local area in which we're staying (this involved some history lessons from Abigail Adams and Ben Franklin!) and more fundraising.
The FAWCO Foundation Dinner (at which we raised $20,000 for charity - including the Americans Overseas Domestic Violence Crisis Center for which I am an outreach ambassador) was another themed evening "Black and White and Red All Over" which is why my friend Rachel is dressed in a newsprint dress and an Andrews Sisters-style wig! I played the role of cigarette girl to the fullest (what a surprise!) - "cigars, cigarettes, tiparillos!" and sold candy cigarettes and chocolate cigars to add to the pot for the evening. Thanks so much to my friend "Pamelita" for making this costume just perfect!
I don't have more than a couple of photos from our final evening (I was 'kidnapped' during dessert by my friend Anna :) , a dinner held at the Algonquin Club in Boston where we were thoroughly entertained by the Beezelbubs and the Tupelos, an all-male a capella group from Tufts University and their couterparts at Wellesley College - they not only sing (amazingly well), but create all of the music of the song with only their voices combined with some very cool choreography. It is impossible to convey how AMAZING they were with a photo but I think you can find videos of them on the 'net if you're interested in seeing what a performance is like.
I couldn't find a video of the two groups together, but a capella groups are actually a big thing on college campuses right now - here's a link to the Beezlebubs if you're interested:
and here's one of the Tupelos from youtube:
Next year's FAWCO conference will be in Marrakech, Morroco!
Friday, April 16, 2010
FAWCO Conference in Boston - March 2010
This year I participated again in the FAWCO Conference (remember my trip to Vilnius, Lithuania last March?) held in my home town of Boston! Here is a short film created from photos of the first of three themed evenings - the Boston Tea Party - with pictures of my many friends from around the world.
The conference was a four-day, three-evening event at the Park Plaza Hotel in Boston. More to come on the conference and my subsquent visit with my friend Kim, who joined me for a few days so I could show her around my old stomping grounds.
The conference was a four-day, three-evening event at the Park Plaza Hotel in Boston. More to come on the conference and my subsquent visit with my friend Kim, who joined me for a few days so I could show her around my old stomping grounds.
I was delighted to spend some time with my friend Pat, shown in this photo with me. Pat moved back to the States about a year and a half ago from Holland, and it was great to catch up with her. The 'friends leaving' is one of the hardest parts about being an expat.
Friday, April 9, 2010
The Beauty Project
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