Reflections

Could I have lived a French life?

I have been home for almost a week. The laundry has been done and the last of the summer clothes have been packed away in the empty suitcase. At this moment, I have no travel plans. Oaxaca next spring? France? Somewhere with Monsieur? Except he really is not a traveller...To fully enjoy travel, I think, you must be a dreamer...someone who sees possibilities...probably a fiction reader. After my time in France and in Shetland, I wonder.."What if my grandfather had returned to Shetland instead of settling in Canada?" "What if I had taken my degree and settled in France?"

What would it be like to live in a house covered in grape vines on an island in the Loire?

As I look at my photos, I notice that I often take pictures of the doors and windows of peoples' homes. Something that I really don't do at home. I wonder about the occupants and their lives.

This timbered house is Bourgues is very old.

When I travel by myself, I am content to wander the streets, just noticing...

I wondered who had ridden their bike to the luthier and if Monsieur was playing his bass.

These lace curtains seem so cheery. I had to stop and take a picture.

I am by nature a walker. I love to notice the world around me. I enjoy communities where most errands can be accomplished on foot. I'm not sure how I will maintain my energy and curiosity in my neighbourhood. 

More Connections (of a different sort)

Aberdeen

I have reached Day 55 of a 56 day trip. I have slept in 12 different beds. demystified 12 different showers, made and changed about 20 rail reservations and managed a wardrobe designed to take me from the end of August to the end of October. Did you know that travel is an especially beneficial activity for older adults because it fosters brain plasticity? I'm not joking. 

In Soft-Wired: How the New Science of Brain Plasticity Can Change Your Life, Dr. Michael Merzenich — known as "the father of brain plasticity" — explains the importance of getting outside our comfort zone and embracing the unfamiliar. People who travel to new places, keep learning languages and continue to experience new things into old age, are far less likely to develop cognitive decay, according to Merzenich's weighty body of research.


 

a new dress in Paris

Learning to navigate unfamiliar places and situations strengthens our problem solving abilities.

When I arrived in London, I found that Sterling money that I had purchased at my credit union was no longer current. It was a Bank Holiday. No chance of remedy! Fortunately, credit cards are preferred in post-Covid times. Vancity will reimburse me. No worries!

September was a peaceful month in La Charité.

My month in La Charité provided me with the opportunity to live a peaceful life in a French town. I had lots of time for reading, walking, speaking French and meeting new people. I gained a new appreciation of healthy cooking when I visited the local market to buy my produce. I also discovered that I am a person of much  energy and curiosity and that sometimes, at home, I get weighed down by other people.

 a few of my Shetland family

One of my goals of this 70th birthday trip was to share our family with my daughter. Many of our Shetland relatives have had the opportunity to visit Vancouver but many have not. Unlike when I first visited 35 years ago, no one has known my grandfather. In Canada, I have no living aunts or uncles and each nuclear family is busy with its own affairs. The Shetland people are extraordinarily friendly and hospitable. I feel very much at home. I believe that Christina will carry on the connection.

Three weeks of togetherness with mother is a lot of connection.

Daughter and I have never travelled for 3 weeks together. Twin hotel rooms and ferry cabins do not provide much alone time. I get anxious on transition days and I don't enjoy being busy all day. 

Today is our last day in London and we have chosen some alone time. She has gone to see the Beatles'

crosswalk at Abbey Road and to visit some vintage markets. I'm spending reading/writing time and having my hair done in Chelsea. We'll meet in the afternoon for our last hours in London. Hopefully, we will visit together another time.

one of my favourite views of the trip

Travel: Making Different Kinds of Connections

Bamburgh Castle

 Travel creates and renews different kinds of connections. I'm on Day 53 of a trip where I have met so many people. Winemakers in France, interesting folk at La Maison des Mots, the Syrian man at the market in La Charité, many Shetland relatives (some familiar and some not) and so many others that I can not list.

Sunday in Northumberland, we visited with a friend whose acquaintance began more than 45 years ago when my younger brother participated in a soccer exchange. My family maintained contact throughout the

years and so Daughter and I decided to make a stop at Newcastle to meet a friend that we have not seen in 25 years. She and her husband shared a beautiful touring day with us.

Bamburgh Castle is one of the oldest castles in Britain. It stands on the site of a 5th century Celtic fort.

From the Castle, you can see Lindisfarne, the Holy Island. During Covid, I used an app called World Walking and I walked the 600,000+ steps to travel from Iona to Lindisfarne. On Sunday, I saw the island,

which is only accessible at low tide.

Lindisfarne, the Holy Island

We ate sandwiches in the car looking at the North Sea at Alnsmouth where I bought (of course) a book called Murder on the Holy Island by L.J. Ross. I enjoy collecting mysteries set in other regions. 

Cragside, the first house in the world to be lit by hydro-electric power

Cragside, built by Sir William Armstrong was the first house in the world to be lit by hydro-electric 

power. Armstrong, an inventor and industrialist, planted 7 million trees on the estate which has an area called Canada Drive.

a view from the house

There is so much to see in the Northumberland area! Our friends spent 7 hours driving us around. We had to hurry to catch Hadrian's Wall before dark. The tree was a special favourite of Daughter, who loved theRobin Hood, Prince of Thieves movie in the 1990's.

Hadrian's Wall and the Robin Hood Tree.

When planning our trip, Daughter and I wanted to visit people as well as places. Had we not been in contact with our friend, Julie, on Facebook, we would have missed our visit to this beautiful part of the world. 

Dining in Shetland

my last dinner in Shetland

 When I first visited Shetland 35 years ago, I stayed with my grandfather's younger sister who was probably not much older than I am now (70). My grandfather had left Shetland when his sister was only 10 years old and had never returned. My aunt and her husband, being extremely hospitable, treated me to a lamb dinner at one of the dark panelled hotel dining rooms of the day.

Shetland is the home of many sheep. They dot the fields and wander along the roads. Lamb dinners are listed on every Shetland menu. However, the fare on the modern menus is quite different from the lamb, tattie and neep dinners of earlier visits. Since I visited 6 years ago, a few new restaurants have opened. 

The restaurants are small, bright and popular. Reservations are essential.

Sheep wander on country roads.

My dinner at NO.88 restaurant in Lerwick was comprised of slow roasted lamb, a lamb chop

and lamb belly arancini. Broccoli stems and a bit of potato finished the plate. I'm not usually a meat eater but this dinner was delicious.

Shetland food is locally sourced.

Shetland's fisheries contribute about 320 million pounds to the islands' economy. Shellfish are plentiful. 

Last night, Daughter ordered crab in white wine broth. Chips and salad accompanied her dish. We ordered a glass of wine each. No grapes grow on the islands so there is no local wine but there is the local Skapa whiskey and Reel gin. 

delicious crab

We shared many meals with relatives in Shetland restaurants but I was shy to bring out my phone to snap photos. 

It is interesting to notice the skill with which the Shetland people have adapted the local foods to suit 

the tastes the twenty-first century.

Hamefarin 2022

Some family members met at the Whalsay Heritage Centre.

 "Hamefarin" means coming home in Shetland. If you are a Canadian or New Zealander in my Shetland family, Shetland is regarded as your home. If you visit, you will be hosted by as many relatives as possible. It is important to introduce each successive generation to their Shetland roots. 

Our family comes from the island of Whalsay, "The Bonnie Isle". Yesterday, we visited the house where my grandfather lived and had tea, ate in the only restaurant on the island (not quite soft opening) and attended a gathering held in our honour atThe Whalsay Heritage Centre.

Whalsay is an island of about 1000 people where everybody waves at passing cars because they are probably family or friends. My ancestors can be traced back 3 centuries on the island. If you visit he Centre's webpage, you can view the gorgeous display of Shetland lace knitting. We looked at photos of Whalsay weddings over dating back to the 1880's, war medals, deserted villages of stone houses. The older people "filled in" some of the details.

My grandfather lived in this house before he joined the Merchant Navy.

I always visit The Hoddens, my grandfather's boyhood home. His nephew's widow lives on the property today. Land on Whalsay stays in the family. Young couples often build a new house on the land. Where once people depended on the land and sea for their living, most people have jobs now.

Many of our Whalsay family are buried in the churchyard.

I believe that connection to our roots enriches our lives. It has been a wonderful experience to share with my daughter. She has met some younger family members. E-mail addresses and Facebook requests have been shared. 

After a full day of visiting, my daughter and I visited The Dowry restaurant for some wine and charcuterie. For a small town, Lerwick has some excellent restaurants.

The Dowry Restaurant where "Jimmy Perez" eats sometimes.

Sights to See

 

a Shetland pony

We have ben visiting with family and enjoying our flat in Lerwick. Many narrow lanes 

lead off Commercial Street. The lanes were used to transport goods to and from the harbour. Our flat is just a few steps up a narrow lane.

lots of lanes

 

Yesterday, we had coffee with one set of cousins, a tour of the Mainland of Shetland and dinner with another group of cousins. We passed many sites that have been used in the Shetland TV series.

Eshaness is often used for cliffhanger scenes.

Daughter is getting to meet family members of different generations:my mother' cousins, their children and grandchildren. We hope to keep those family ties intact. Today, we will travel to Whalsay where my grandfather grew up. It's a very busy visit after my quiet time in France.

lots of lovely knitwear in shop windows

Arriving in Shetland

berth on the Northlink Ferry

My grandfather left Shetland more than 100 years ago by sea. I'm certain that his Merchant Navy accommodation was not as comfortable as our was on the Northlink Ferry. I have never sailed to Shetland before but I thought it would be an experience for Daughter. Our relatives advised us to take a motion sickness tablet in preparation for the 12 hour crossing. Boarding at 5:00pm, we shared and order of haddock and chips, downed a Scapa Scotch whiskey and retired early to our beds. 

Shetland is a very welcoming place.

My cousin and her husband generously offered to pick us up at the ferry terminal and to take us to our rental flat which is located on Park Lane which is a narrow passageway that leads from Commercial Street,  the central market street of Lerwick. Many of the buildings in this area date from the 1700's.

My cousin has a shop on Commercial Streetthat has been operating since 1894.

a display of hand-knit sweaters from Wool Week.

The shop has been in operation since 1894.

My cousin, whose late father had the shop before her, showed us some murals that she had helped to select. Artists from Scotland and other countries applied to paint the murals in Lerwick.

one of the Lerwick murals

Ever since Ann Cleeves wrote the Shetland mystery series which has been made even more popular by the BBC television series, the Lodberry, a seaside house dating from 1772, has been known as Jimmy Perez's

house. A lodberry is a seaside house with facilities for loading goods from different sides according to the tides. This lodberry was built by a merchant nam James Linklater. The lodberry housed a marine store, a fish shop and  storage area for masts and sails. 

Shetland lodberry

We are settled in our peerie flat and today we will visit with some family and explore the town of Lerwick.