Goodbye 2018

December 31, 2018, 2PM (Florida time): I'm sitting in bed in my underwear with the ceiling fan spinning at top speed. A little headachy from the noisy airboat ride yesterday. I'm such a lightweight. 

Our little family has shrunk so much over the last few years. My sisters and I tend to cling to each other like survivors of a shipwreck. So it is unspoken and understood that we will spend the Christmas holidays together. My married sister and her husband have been spending 3 months of the winter here in Florida for the past few years.  Last Christmas I flew to Canada from Turkey, had an operation, froze, argued with my sister over who got to drive her car, raced back and forth to malls and appointments and squeezed in cups of tea with both sisters. 

 So this year we decided to shake things up. Dar & her husband came to Florida two weeks early, Cathy & I rented the house behind theirs, Cathy flew down from Toronto, and I flew Istanbul/Dubai/Orlando (15 hours on the Dubai-Orlando flight; after 4 hours I wanted to jump out the window). The first crisis was finding Cathy in the Orlando airport. Our plan to meet 'at the luggage belt' didn't pan out. I sent her emails with updates on my whereabouts (at the Starbucks, at ground transportation A, at ground transportation B), but she hadn't turned on her phone (it costs her $8/day in the U.S.). I finally paged her. She had lost her voice (thank you Canadian winter), and my ears were firmly plugged (thank you miracle of flight). So she whispered questions, and I bellowed at the poor man who was charged with making sure we made it to Ormond-by-the-Sea (or Ormond Beach which is what I thought it was called.)

After I slept off my jet lag, Dar dragged me down to the beach to see the moon rise over Ormond Beach. 

Our first morning in Florida, I wandered over to Dar's house to see what the plan for the day was. She said, 'Rocket launch in 20 minutes!' I thought she meant we were setting off for our beach walk in 20 minutes. I wasn't sure what the urgency was. She literally meant that a rocket was launching from Cape Canaveral in 20 minutes, and we had to hustle to make it to the beach to see it. I ran home, grabbed my camera, and joined the rocket watchers on the beach. Fun fact: rockets go straight up into the air, but the curvature of the earth makes it seem as if they are travelling horizontally through the sky. 

Nature's artwork

This is actually a little sad. Some people feed these egrets, turning them into beggars. 

A royal tern, one of my favourites. 

If I could save these creatures I would. 

Beach disco

Taking her turn on the catwalk

We mixed beachwalks with boardwalks

the obligatory foot shot

We wandered off the boardwalk and rushed back on when we remembered that alligators live here. 

Anhinga

As soon as she sees the lens, she strikes a pose.

We set out one day for St.Augustine. Very very very touristy. We stopped to have our palms read. I went first (actually, at first I was the only one who was goin to do it, but both Dar & Cathy decided to take the plunge). Apparently my palm screams out that I'm brilliant and need to write. And travel. Cathy & Dar are both creative and need to share their talent with the world as well. 

Sunrise

We met this lovely couple on one of our beachwalks. They are Baptist missionaries who have travelled the world for 65 years. 

Ormond has a lovely park devoted to war veterans, called 'The Gardens.' It is a beautiful, peaceful spot, obviously tended with devotion. 

And then back to the Halifax River for another amazing sunset...

December 30 was Cathy's 60th birthday. We welcomed the day with a sunrise watch, then made our way to Seminole county to go on an airboat ride. We stopped at Publix on the way to have sandwiches made. I discovered something astonishing: Americans don't put butter on their sandwiches! Imagine!!!!!!

Roseate Spoonbills

We're still trying to figure out what this guy is. Possibly a boat tailed grackle.

Black skimmers

PRAGUE

Still on the trail of Josef Sudek

Many of Josef Sudek's beautiful photographs were made in St.Vitus Cathedral. So of course I needed to make a pilgrimage there. St.Vitus Cathedral is part of the Prague Castle complex. The foundation for St.Vitus was laid in 1344. It was finally completed in 1929. It is an incredible building. 

I set out for the castle at about 10AM. It took me a few hours to get there, not because it is far away from the hotel, but because I made quite a few stops on the way, for coffee and czech bread, to gaze lustfully at crystal chandeliers, and just to drink in the beautiful day. 

When I arrived at the outside of Prague Castle, there was a huge line up to get into the 'first courtyard.' I started chatting with an older lady from Boston. Neither of us was actually sure if we were in the line to buy tickets. When we got to the front of the line (which actually moved quite quickly), it turned out we were going through security. We passed security, and then walked into the 'second courtyard.' There was ANOTHER enormous line to buy tickets. It turns out you can wander around the palace grounds for free, but if you want to go into any of the buildings you need tickets. My new friend said that she was finished. The walk up the hill to the palace had given her enough of an idea. She turned around and left. 

I got into line and waited. If Josef Sudek could carry all of his camera equipment up that hill with one arm, then I could stand in a line for 20 minutes. After buying my tickets, I got into ANOTHER line to go into the cathedral. I am so glad I did. St.Vitus cathedral is stunning. There are different styles of stained glass and sculptures throughout the cathedral, representing the centuries of decoration. 

PRAGUE!!

Prague

For a very very long time I have wanted to visit Prague. It is full of wonderful art and wonderful architecture. It is also the city of one of my absolute favourite artists, Josef Sudek. I first saw his work in my first year at Ryerson University. I fell in love with his work, and I just knew that the man who made such gentle, quiet photographs must be a gentle, lovely human being. And I was right. He was.

I travel much how I live my life; with lots of enthusiasm, but often not enough information (because of the bursts of enthusiasm), with lots of detours, both inadvertent, and because of random curiosity. I mention this because that is how the search for traces of Josef Sudek went today. 

I had read in one of my guide books that there is a Josef Sudek museum in Prague, housed in the building where he spent the last 20 years of his life. I set out this morning to find said museum. I went in the right direction, then wandered up a hill and some steep steps. I stopped and asked a waiter in a coffee shop. He didn't know who Josef Sudek was (gasp!!!! I told him he needed to look him up!), but he knew where the street I was looking for was. I found the street and started climbing yet another hill. (Did I mention that it was very cold and rainy). I finally stopped in the doorway of the Swedish embassy and tried to figure out the maps in the guide book, and the sodden paper map from my hotel. I looked up, and saw that I was indeed on the correct street. I had gone uphill when I should have gone downhill. 

When I finally found the right address, I was so happy! I burst into the little museum, and started gushing about how much I love Josef Sudek. The receptionist informed me that none of his work was on display. But this was his house? Yes, but none of his belongings were on display. The receptionist kindly suggested that I go to his atelier. He repeated the directions a few times until it was clear that I knew I had to go right instead of left when I reached the tram tracks. 

I excitedly followed the tram tracks until I saw it!! A sign on an apartment building that had the name Josef Sudek. It wasn't open until 12:00, so I had to kill some time before I could enter. When I did, it was magical. Josef Sudek lived and worked in the little studio for years. After he took up residence elsewhere, he continued to work out of the atelier. Some of his most beautiful photographs were taken from inside the atelier, and in the little garden. 

The original atelier burned down years ago, but it was restored, and miraculously, some of his furniture survived. When I entered the little museum, I spotted a room behind the reception. I could see an old wooden desk. I asked the bemused young man if that was Sudek's desk. He said yes, and allowed me to go in, even though it is actually now an office for the museum. I almost cried as I lovingly rubbed my hands over the desk. And then the receptionist showed me Sudek's tripod leaning against a wall. For anyone who has a hero, an idol, you can imagine how emotional I was, to actually touch the desk where Sudek piled his prints and negatives and papers. 

This is actually one of Sudek's bottles, sitting on his windowsill.

Some views from the Charles Bridge:

Random Favourites

View from the Museum Kampa

View from the Museum Kampa

St.Francis Church

Walkway in the Little Quarter

Present Day

Present Day

A very smart friend (Janeen) suggested that I leap forward in my blog to the present. It is her opinion that I am in danger of getting stuck trying to catch up. Considering that my last blog post was in September, she may be right.

At the present moment, I am sitting in the Turkish Airlines business class lounge at Ataturk airport in Istanbul. I am on my way back to Canada. Yes, business class, yes, Istanbul. I have not won the lottery, nor have my financial circumstances changed radically. Over the last few years, I have been seduced by business class, first by an upgrade, then by a promotion. This time I actually handed over the credit card and closed my eyes.

Besides flying business class (if I ever get on the plane, it has been delayed by 2/12 hours), I am doing something else different this time. I'm an official flight volunteer. For the next 15 or so hours, I am the owner of two beautiful golden retrievers. When I arrive in Canada, I will hand them over to the Canadian Golden Retriever Adoption Service. As I have already fallen in love with them, that is going to be tough.  It's a good thing I'm going to say with my sister and her (my) three cats, so I won't be tempted to abscond with them.

As always, the end of the school year, and the beginning of summer vacation is an emotional mash-up. There are so many different types of goodbyes - people I will probably never see again, people I will see in a few months. I am relieved not to be in the classroom for a few months, but sad about not seeing some very special children ever again. I am so sad and worried about leaving my cats for months, but excited to be spending an extended time with my sisters.

So - Istanbul! Those of you who have followed my blog in the past know that I visited Istanbul in 2014, and fell in love with it. I had the opportunity to come here to teach and jumped at it. I am happy to report that after 10 months, I am still madly in love with this city. Turkish people are kind and generous, and Istanbul is like an incredible, historic, gorgeous onion. Every layer you peel back, you are further astonished.

Okay, I'm supposed to go to my gate now. Yay! Next stop Toronto.