Random Thoughts: Gadgets and Innovations

During my travels on this trip, I came across a few innovations that were new to me.  Maybe everyone else knows about them and I just don't get out much but I thought I would share a few of them.

First off, in a number of the hotels where we stayed in Portugal, our rooms had built in USB ports; so, no need to carry an extra USB cube to plug in.  However, this was only in a couple of places so we still have to bring the stuff to keep our devices running.  Below, the outlet with the USB port, electrical plug and light switch.  I'd like one of these in a few of the rooms in my home!

Not exactly a gadget or innovation but I was impressed with the "pillow menus" that were offered in several of our hotels.  You just have to decide what kind of sleeper you are and, voila, there is a pillow to suit your needs.  Of course, that meant that the bed had up to 8 pillows on it to choose from and, somewhat frustratingly, I made my choices, put the rejects in other parts of the room only to find all the pillows back on the bed when the room had been serviced.  In another hotel, there was another menu and this one had several pages.  Decisions, decisions!

Another innovation (which I know exists at home) but that I hadn't seen or experienced, was the sensor attached to the windshield of our rental car that kept beeping (which meant charging us) every time we went through a toll booth or under a road tax bar.  Still not sure how much of a cost we incurred as I haven't checked my Visa bill yet!   When I Googled it on the Internet, I found it is called "Bip and Drive" and is also available in Spain and, more recently, in France.  We weren't given the option for the car we rented in Spain but, as it was, we only drove one toll highway there which was from Alicante to Valencia.

And, finally, this is my favourite gadget of all the ones we encountered.  When we were staying at the NH Collection Villa de Bilbao Hotel, in the bar, there was a little device on each table.  It had three buttons on it:  one you pressed if you wanted to place an order, the second if you wanted to cancel an order, and the third, if you wanted your bill.  I have got to say, I enjoyed pushing that "I want a drink" button!  When I asked the server how it worked, he told me it was linked to the watch he was wearing.  He said it was useful because some of the time he would be in the restaurant and not know there were customers on the bar (they were on separate floors).  Clearly, the device wasn't working the second evening though when, despite hitting the button several times, we got no service at all!  

So, those are a few of the innovations we encountered on our travels.  As I say, they may be commonly known by some people but they were new to me.

Random Thoughts: Portuguese Tiles

When I was in Portugal, I was very impressed with the tiles that covered pedestrian streets, sidewalks, and walls.  They were everywhere in different designs and styles.  Wandering around, I took a number of photos that I wanted to share in a specific blog about them.  First, however, some info about them and their history is helpful.  The following is from an article on the Internet titled "A Country of Tiles":

You can’t miss them, wherever you are in Portugal. Tiles travel across all-time styles and languages and fill any pavement or visit with colour.

Al-zuleique is the Arabic word that became the Portuguese azulejo (tile) and referred to the “small, smooth stone” used by Muslims in the Middle Ages. Their use of tiles to decorate floors and walls pleased the Portuguese Kings and subsequently won pride of place in architecture from the 15th century. We could say that Portugal adopted them in an unparalleled way, like no other European country.

It was in the 18th century that tiles “invaded” churches and convents, palaces and homes, gardens, fountains and staircases. With geometric patterns, telling the life stories of saints or depicting profane themes, such as La Fontaine’s fables, sometimes with captions like an old version of a cartoon, they became one of the main features of Portuguese decoration.

Travelling across the country is like visiting a living museum of tiles, but it is in the National Tile Museum in Lisbon that you can get to know, like nowhere else, their history and artistic and technical evolution, from early times to modern-day production.

Tiles are still used in the 21st century by the most avant-garde trends as a key feature of civic art.

It would be hard to list all the places where you can admire them, but it’s worth mentioning a few, where they were applied in a systematic or original fashion. The Lisbon Metro Stations are all lined with tiles, with works by Portuguese artists such as Vieira da Silva and Júlio Pomar. This style gained international acclaim, and can also be seen in works of art in metro stations in Brussels (Jardin Botanique), Paris (Champs Élysées/Clémenceau), Budapest (Deák Tér), Moscow (Belourusskaya) and Sydney (Martin Place).

All over the country, you will be surprised by tile panels in old railway stations, mostly with references to customs, traditions and landscapes of their surrounding regions. One of the most remarkable is in São Bento Station, in Porto.

In Aveiro, its use in Art Nouveau style buildings in the city centre is historical. One of the most renowned 19th century Portuguese ceramists, Rafael Bordalo Pinheiro, chose to make them more expressive and created patterns depicting insects and plants. You can see them, for example, in Lisbon, at the museum named after him, the Rafael Bordalo Pinheiro Museum.

In Sintra, amongst a World Heritage, you can admire a genuine display of tile craftsmanship over the centuries at the Palácio da Vila, so close to the heart of the former kings who lived there.

The Church of São Lourenço [Igreja de São Lourenço], in Almancil, is a perfect example of complete tile lining (on walls and ceiling) in the Portuguese Baroque style, and also a must-see visit of the Algarve's historical heritage.But these objects can live beyond memories and photographs. In a more classic or a more modern version, individually or set on a panel, they will undoubtedly be a good souvenir of Portugal to take home or give a friend. 

So, here is the collection of photos I took while I was there. 

Trading Summer for Fall - Good Times in CH

When we were in Bilbao, because it is so much further north than the other parts of Spain where we'd been, we noticed more deciduous trees and that some of them were certainly starting "to turn".  Wednesday, I flew from Bilbao to Zurich via Madrid.  As I had a window seat on my flight out of Madrid, I got a glimpse of the Pyrenees out the window of the plane.  

For the last part of my vacation, I will be staying with my friends in nearby Feldmeilen.  There is no way here that you can pretend summer isn't long gone and fall is upon us.  It was lovely to be able to extend my summer as long as I did, however.  

The trees in Roger and Kathrin's front year - definitely autumnal

I expect my days here in CH will be pretty quiet.  I am looking forward to relaxing, catching up with some friends and generally getting ready to go home.

The visit here started with me giving the gifts I had brought the family.  Their daughter was thrilled with the flamenco dress, fan, and shawl I gave her but I am not sure the parents were all that happy with the castanets that went with it!

The last couple of days have flown by - especially given that I haven't accomplished much.  Below are photos with Roger, Kathrin and Sascha (another friend here) including ones with the wolf mask I purchased in Bilbao for only 5 Euros.  I think I will be scaring some kids on Halloween at my home. 

Scary Wolf Mommy!

Sunday, I brought a Canadian tradition to CH when we carved a pumpkin.  This is our creation:

Monday morning, I will be taking a train up to Frankfurt airport (about a 4 hour journey) where I will stay overnight before my flight home on Tuesday.  Not sure I will be writing a blog about any part of that journey; however, I have a few more thoughts about this trip which I will write in two more blogs.  

The Guggenheim - Bilbao

Wow!  That word about sums it up!

Tuesday, we headed out about 10:30 for our timed entry to the Guggenheim.  It only took about 20 minutes to walk there.  Again, I was really impressed with this city – it is clean and feels very safe.  The cars even stop at crosswalks to let you get across the street!  Aside from the buildings from the last century, there are also some very impressive modern buildings as well.  Of the numerous city walks we chose not to do, one was called Modern Bilbao so clearly there is something to be said about other parts of the city than just the old town.

The architect of the Guggenheim was Frank Gehry whose works are world-renowned. The building itself is the real attraction, I think, but then again I am not art aficionado!  More photos of the building are further down in the blog.  Aside from the photos we could take in the foyer, photography was prohibited in all the exhibits.  So, other ones I have included in the blog, plus some of the text, are from the Internet.

The foyer has an installation in it which looks like a multi-coloured octopus with its tentacles reaching throughout the space.  It is quite something to see.  Designed by Joana Vasconcelos, the monumental creature in the atrium called Egeria is one of the most ambitious of this important group of works inspired by the female characters from Norse mythology. The artist combined different industrial textiles with traditional handmade techniques and LED lights.  This series of iconic pieces is characterized by its suspension from the ceiling and its unusual organic forms.  Seductive bulbous shapes and elongated arms burst out of the main body reaching different levels of the building.  Egeria will reveal an exuberant selection of colours, varied textures and rich details, resulting from an assertive combination of industrial textiles and artisanal techniques – patchwork, bead embroidery and crochet. The artist’s challenging work also incorporates thousands of LED lights, creating a spectacular play of light. Egeria will take on the character of a gentle guardian: the sublime heart of the museum that enlightens the creative spirit of woman.

More of Joana Vasconcelos' works were on the main floor with very interesting pieces often made with every day things – for example, one was a huge pair of high heels made from pots and pans; another an enormous white chandelier that, when you got close, you realized was made from tampons; another, a pile of ringing telephones which were in the shape of a gun; and yet another one, a helicopter made mostly from feathers.  It was all apparently linked to feminism and the pieces were quite striking.  It turns out the rooster and wedding ring photos I took yesterday around the exterior of the museum were also her works.

 A gilded helicopter decorated with thousands of rhinestones, has the outer surface of its cockpit lined with an extravagant and colourful coat of ostrich feathers. At the front of the cabin, a featherless mouth-like gap reveals its sumptuous interior, exhibiting intricate woodworks, gildings and embroidered upholstery featuring Marie Antoinette’s initials. Lilicoptère draws on the rich, glamorous and bold aesthetics of the royalty of the late Ancien Régime in order to suggest a metamorphosis from machine to animal; a return to the origin and to the inspiration that motivated the realization of man’s dream of flying.

Recognizable from a distance, an imposing chandelier displays a candid cascade of glistening pendants. When stepping closer to it, the viewer is surprised. Appearing at first to be made of glass or crystal, the thousands of pendants are in fact immaculate feminine tampons. Its shine results, after all, from the reflection of light upon the transparent plastic wrappings of the thousands of tampons composing The Bride; a work thus titled in order to expose the imposition of a hypocritical and repressed feminine sexuality to the corrosive action of irony and ambiguity.

Call Center presents itself under the form of an enormous Beretta revolver built with 168 black landline telephones, each of the same exact model. The hyperbolized form of a Beretta revolver points directly towards the violence that may be produced through the power of mass communication. The title appears to report to the manipulation and dehumanized excess that is characteristic of many call centers. 

The other exhibit on that floor is a permanent one by an American, Richard Serra, called A Matter of Time.  It is comprised of eight huge pieces of torqued ellipses made of weathered steel and formed into giant curled walls that you walk between.  It is designed to make the visitor feel somewhat uncomfortable and reflective.

From there we went to the next floor which featured works by Alberto Giocometti.  His work, both drawings and little sculptures, seemed dark and depressing to me.  So, we moved on to the next exhibition which was called Van Gogh to Picasso:  the Thannhauser Legacy.  This featured, obviously, works by Van Gogh (mostly his newer and, in my opinion, not so weird stuff) and Picasso plus some others by Monet, Renoir, and Henri Rousseau.  They were all part of a collection by the Thannhausers who were art dealers in Europe in the mid-20^th century and who came to New York in early 1930's. 

Following that, we were pretty much done so we headed out to take more photos of this iconic building.  It is really something to see.   The only disappointment about the visit was that the iconic "flowered dog" was covered in scaffolding so we couldn't get a photo of it!

By then, it was 1:30 and we set off to find somewhere to have lunch.  It took a few tries and quite a bit of walking but we really lucked out.  We went into a place called Restaurante Abando.  It was a bistro and we actually managed to sit on higher chairs.  They had a set lunch menu for €15 which we both ordered along with some rose wine.  I started with potatoes and green beans (Nawal had a salad) and then we both had braised lamb served with chunky fries and lettuce.  It was really good.  The guy initially wasn’t very friendly to us but we managed to get him to come around.  We had more wine and then dessert (included).  I had some sort of caramel soaked cake (very good) and Nawal had a chocolate cake.  We lingered there quite a while – it was packed and most people didn’t arrive until 2:30 or 3.  No wonder the Spanish eat dinner so late!  Anyway, it was a lot of fun and a great way to finish off our time in Spain.  

Tomorrow (Wednesday) we go our separate ways - Nawal to Amsterdam on her way home and me to Feldmeilen near Zurich to stay with my friends there a few days before I fly home next Tuesday.

"We Are Not Spain | France!"

That was the banner on a building in one of the squares in Bilbao.  Guess that says it all!

Sunday, we said good bye to Barcelona and flew to Bilbao in northern Spain in the Basque country.  Flying into Bilbao, the countryside, to me at least, looked much like the southern part of Vancouver Island: evergreen-covered hills, some of which had been logged, interspersed with deciduous trees.  It was certainly a big change from the arid land and palm trees where we'd been.  Once we'd settled into our hotel (the NH Collection Villa de Bilbao), we had a quiet night.  Most restaurants are closed here on Sundays so we ate at the hotel's.  We were looking forward to having a totally unstructured day Monday with nothing booked and no specific plans.

In the morning after breakfast - which involved freshly cooked eggs, what a treat! - we walked along Gran Via, a main boulevard and the street our hotel is on, to the old town.  Along the way, we passed some high end stores and were also impressed with the buildings.  Many are very much like you would see Paris and mostly built around the early 1900s and many with wrought-iron balconies.  The city seemed to have a very "continental" flavour rather than specifically Spanish - not sure that makes sense but it is what we both felt.  At times, it seemed the city could have been in Germany, France or even CH by the way the buildings looked.  The following photos were taken along Gran Via before we crossed the river.

We had decided to forego a walking tour.  One started at 9:30 and we weren’t up for another early start.  As it is, we enjoyed just walking around with no agenda.  We crossed the river to the old town admiring the style and architecture of the train station as we did.  

The old town, unsurprisingly, is a labyrinth of narrow pedestrian streets.  We just walked up and down them finally ending up in a little square where we stopped for a drink.  We weren’t hungry as the hotel breakfast is more than ample and, thankfully, has freshly cooked eggs.  It wasn't lost on me that sitting in the square sipping a glass of wine was probably the last time I would be able to do that until probably next spring or summer!  It was on that square where we spotted the sign I used at the title for the blog.  Like in Catalonia (where Barcelona is), here everything is also signed in two languages - this time in Basque as well as Spanish.  The former appears to have no relation at all to the latter and seems to have a lot of 'x's in it. 

A Theatre

I have no idea what this was about but thought it needed a photo!  Who knows what that shop was sellling?

One the square where we had our drink.  Note the sign hanging from the balcony.

It was a nice day and not too warm – around 20 or 21 degrees – so we just kept walking.  The stroll along the river from the old town toward the modern part of the city was beautiful.  We finally ended up across from the Guggenheim Museum which would be tomorrow’s destination.  This gave us the chance to take lots of photos of the very unique building from both sides of the river.  

And, here are some photos of the Guggenheim - more to come when we visit it Tuesday.

We also laughed at the various names given to some of the services here - maybe it was just the mood we were in.  However, Bilbobus and Bilbo Garbi amused us.  Oh, we also found a Bilbo Boat and mused about maybe there was a Bilbo Tram although the trams seem to have another name.  All that was missing was Bilbo Baggins!

As a last note for the blog, I wanted to mention something about the restaurants.  We asked at the desk for some recommendations around 7 pm that evening.  We set off to check out the three suggestions we were given.  Well, the first two didn't open until 8 and the last one until 9.  While that is true for most of Spain, we could usually find some that were open all day.  That seemed a bit more difficult here, or at least near our hotel.  While there were some tapas bars, they didn't look that appealing.  The other thing was that the restaurants we checked out were expensive.  We waited until 8 and then went to one.  We were not impressed to find the 3 course menu was 90 Euros and even the main courses all started around 28 or 30 (and went up from there)!   So, we walked a few doors down to a place called Goiko which was basically a burger joint.  We managed to get a table there but only after we promised the manager that we would be gone by 9:45 when our table was booked.  Of course, we would be; we'd be in bed by then!  The burgers were good and certainly didn't cost $50!