The mayor’s wife sent over a giant organic savoy cabbage from her father’s garden, and along with the generous gift, she told me how she makes her favourite soup from duck confit. Confit is a traditional French dish of slow cooked duck in its own fat. The end result is a…
Imagine finding a statue of a Black Madonna in a cave high up on a mountainside: a relic from a time past, with a story to be sure. Some believe The Virgin of Montserrat – The Black Madonna was carved in the early days of the church, others say as late as the 12th century….
Gladiators were fighters who entertained Roman Empire. They fought animals, other gladiators and condemned criminals. Some were volunteers who risked their social standing in the arena. Most were slaves and despised, segregated in death. If they died well they could elevate their status Built in 70 AD, the…
How do you teach a child the value of money? Every parent has moments of sheer pride and beaming admiration for their children when they accomplish something that wasn’t easy for them. Daniel has been delivering bread from Au Palais des Saveurs Boulangerie the bakery in the square, each morning before 9:00am on Wednesdays,…
Gaudi created Güell Park with the intension of establishing an elite neighbourhood for 60 houses in a setting high on the hillside, away from the smoke and pollution of the city of Barcelona below. The park and its roads were designed with natural forms and lines in mind. To enter the park it is free…
Barcelona Spain Picasso Museum is for the art lover. A little known fact about my past- I worked 10 years for an Art Gallery where I met local and famous artists like Carl Brenders, Terry Isaac and Robert Bateman and participated in signings and sales in the Canadian art scene. I loved my job and…
If you do one thing outside of budget on your trip to Barcelona, go inside Sagrada Familia Temple. The large Catholic Church draws tourist from around the world. In 2010 Pope Benedict XVI declares the temple a minor Basilica. The unfinished work by Antoni Gaudi is different than any other church. Its vastness alone is…
Remembrance Day in Capestang was very special. A group of retired residents, families and children from the school, along with their teachers, members of the police department and the mayor and his men, meet at the City hall to walk in a procession towards the statue with the grand stair well. The building looks…
Halfway through summer holidays and I am nothing short of exhausted. All our students this year are little, between 10-13 years old, and most arrive with nearly zero of their new second language; no ability to construct a sentence, and very limited vocabulary. Of course not, as they only start really learning English in 6eme their…
Like this photo, when you visualize the course of your immediate future, what do you see on the horizon? New Year’s Resolutions 2013 It is the season for vowing to stop smoking, lose ten pounds and stop yelling at your kids. Do resolutions work for you? Here is my list… Finish My Book I had…