Hotel Tales and the Statue of Liberty in Colmar

Trivia: Did you know that the sculptor of the Statue of Liberty in New York City is a native of Colmar, France? His name is Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi. The statue was a gift from the people of France to the United States of America.



Statue of Liberty in Colmar









This goes naturally that when you arrive in Colmar, you will also see the Statue of Liberty, but a smaller version and the statue is placed in the middle of a roundabout instead of an island. I learned that there is a replica as well somewhere in Paris, and it was rumoured that the face of the Statue of Liberty is modelled from Bartholdi’s mother.



There is a museum dedicated to Bartholdi and to his works in the city. I was tempted to go but I am not really the museum type. I actually go to museums on very rare occasions. Nevertheless, some ofBartholdi’s works are found on the city streets as he designed several fountains in Colmar.



Hotel where I stayed in Colmar



In Colmar I stayed at the All Season’s Hotel Colmar Centre, a hotel that is part of the Accor & Ibis Group of Hotels. They have a slogan that says—Budget Hotel with Design Interiors for Family which I find misleading because the rooms start at 109 Euros. Is that budget? And what is design? At least this so-called budget hotel came with a free breakfast and use of the wifi.









The business-like room and the view. Remnants of what was once a brewery.







Pictures of the hotel taken from their website.









The colourful breakfast room and my breakfasts. I am not a breakfast person and when I am travelling and a free breakfast is included in the room, I always felt forced to eat them. I loved the juicer that they have. I pressed that orange juice myself.



The reason why I booked this hotel is because it is the cheapest hotel available in the centre with an 8 review score at booking.com. Yes cheapest in the centre at 109 Euros for single pax. There was another one that I really liked but I’m not happy forking out double the price. I’d rather spend the extra money on my dinners. They also advertised that the hotel is a former brewery, and that somehow piqued my interest. That actually closed the deal for me, although I found out later that there was really not much to see of what was once a malt production house.



Nevertheless, I find the hotel a bit like the business hotels I stayed at except that a) the breakfast room is too colourful and b) I am seeing a lot of retirees in groups



My Hotel Tales



On the first night I was in the lobby drinking tea and reading a few magazines. I just had my starred dinner at Le Rendez-vous de Chasse Restaurant and didn’t want to have coffee there as I was already stuffed. When you order coffee at fine dining or Michelin-starred restaurants, they usually bring you an array of sweets with it. I cannot handle that. So I declined coffee and settled for tea at the hotel lobby.







What I quickly noticed in the lobby are the group of retired women playing cards. The old dames were from Germany and they were very friendly to me, flashing smiles at my direction as they played and while I sipped my tea. I saw a few of the dames elegantly dressed. I wondered if I could emulate these elegantly dressed women when I reach their age? Interestingly, they were not the only retired women group that checked-in at the hotel. During breakfast I saw 3 groups, all German retired women and the groups did not know each other.



Hmm, must be the season for pensioned off ladies to go tripping around Europe.



On the second night I sat at the bar and ordered a gewürztraminer. I just came from dinner in Basel, Switzerland and in the mood to have a light nightcap before going to bed.









I overheard another group of retirees talking. 3 Belgian men and an American couple.



Belgian man 1: ‘We are from Brussels.’

Belgian man 2: ‘Brussels you know is the capital of Europe!’

American woman (in shrilly voice): ‘Oh really!!! So, um... do you guys feel French?’



*Belgian guys looking at each other, confused, with eyes wide and about to explode*



Belgian man 3: ‘Uh, what did you say again?’



Me listening at the bar: *palm on my face*



UGH. Total fail. You never ask a Belgian if they felt French (or Dutch). It’s like saying to Americans that they are Canadians, or an Irish that they are English. The cue was already there when the Belgian guys proudly said that Brussels is the capital of Europe! *rolls eyes* (sorry, cannot help it!)



Oh well, when you are travelling you really learn a lot, about people =)

NEW PA alpine route at Sunday School Crag

Tom Thomas engulfed in PA alpine sending this new line

Tom Thomas, Andy Shriner and myself decided to go out climbing. As per my last post conditions looked fickle at most SWPA ice areas. I didn't check Sunday School figuring its usually one of the first to come in. Neither Tom nor Andy have been to Sunday School making it agood choice as a first stop towards getting some climbing done. We had a fourth lined up for the day, but he bailed at the last minute making us an uneven 3 man team... Not the best way to go out when conditions have been so limited and everyone wants to climb as much as possible. We made the adventurous hike into the ice. It's fairly steep going and... well to make this readable, I'll just call it "alpine" in style.

Tom and Andy approaching our destination

Those that have been here know exactly what I'm talking about. After our approach, we stood before the ice laden walls. A little boney, but definitely climbable. In the recent years though, boney has become the standard, thus making todays conditions "in" I guess? Either way Tom was amped up and anxious as a high strung cat to start clawing at the walls. Understandably so having climbed here for 15+ years. How can't one get excited with all the various options of ice between chossy, usually protectable, rock sections. Its alpine climbing heaven (in an easily accessible, miniature form ;) I always find the climbing reminiscent of The Black Dike in NH. Not nearly as long, but harder, similar pitches in abundance and concentration. Tom racked up an arsenal of screws, gear and pins while Andy flaked the rope and set up to give Tom a belay. It was at that instant that I realized the predicament of having 3 climbers. Tom and Andy were paired up to have a go at a surely fun line. The reality that our ice climbing has been ultra limited and I could be picking a plum as well. It really bummed me out to say the least. I WANTED to be climbing too. May sound like a childish thing to some, if so, I guess our passions for ice climbing differ. Its pretty high on my list of fun things in the world... Here's one of a handful of days being wasted all because of a backed out partner. It made me realize how valuable my wonderful "better half" Laura really is. I can't stress how much of a trooper she is. I just wish she could've been there. We make such a great climbing team and having her there is priceless! So cutting my losses on climbing and being totally bummed about being partnerless. I decided to take advantage of the great climbing talent and work on some photograpic opportunities I seldom get. I started hiking and worked my way up around to the return of an adjacent cliff to click off some shots from different angles, hopefully documenting a first ascent.

From a distance, Andy is in blue at the base of the climb

The route looked awesome and Tom did a great job leading it for a first visit to Sunday School. He described the opening rock section to be quirky as do most other climbers. I found it took a few seasons to learn to read this odd style of climbing. The rock isn't as friendly as other local rock for hooking, etc. Slopers are the norm with some odd fractures here and there for a "thank god" moment every so often.

Tom enjoying the opening moves

Either way after a quick introduction he was into the business and working up through the rock to a steep snowfield which appeared to be in good condition.

Snow covered choss

The snow led to the base of a vertical ice section that offered some reasonable ice screws and three dimensional climbing around thin columns.

some ice...

Then more ice...

The ice ended at a steep rock cleft that offered up a piton placement before another snow ledge. Another section of ice was above, but extremely poorly bonded.

The rock cleft finish

Tom wisely opted to end the route at the base of this ice. He built an ice screw anchor and Andy followed the line in fine style. He seemed to be enjoying himself the whole way up, pulling his first "legit" pin and getting some V-thread practice in lean conditions. I snapped quite a few photos of all the action. Here's my photo highlight recap of the guys in action on this new unamed line at Sunday School Crag. Congrats go out to Tom and Andy on the great new addition.




Here's Andy in action seconding...

Sunday School partial crag overview

Andy starting up the ice

Tom belaying below the delaminating upper section

Crazy Angle, could be rotated 90 right?

Andy Shriner enjoying a wonderful day in PA

My artistic attempt

More Happy Hour Fun

We have had some really nice Happy Hours this winter, even without the Happy Hour queen Diane around. We have noticed that each year the food and the crowd both get larger in quantity. This week's Happy Hour was no exception to that. This one was hosted by Travis and Baxter and I'm guessing at least 40 people showed up.



Travis made two hams that were delicious. He provided mashed potatoes and Woody and Pat made gravy and the rest of the feast was provided by all of us who came as guests. There were three picnic tables full of food and lots of great company.



Once again, I was camera lazy so I'm borrowing Donna's pictures.



Living the life in wonderful Florida!

Happy Tears? Bracing for Winter...

At first glance, this might look like a "sad panda", but it's really not. It's just that today was 35° F and windy out. Riding to my destination I must have been a site, because tears were streaming down my face, then freezing in disgusting patches all over my cheeks. Mmmm!

So yes - Now I understand what cyclists mean when they discuss goggles for winter riding. I don't do well with goggles, because they mess with my spatial perception. But (some) sunglasses I can deal with, so I think I will wear them in the winter just as I wore them as "bug shields" last spring.

One thing I truly love about the winter is the beautiful light. Velouria thinks it flatters her colouring and gives her a sense of mystery. She also thinks that she will look quite nice once the snow arrives. What a vain bicycle!

Dramatic self-and-bike shadow. That lumpy stuff on my face is the tears - next time the sunglasses are coming for sure.

Overall, I am still trying to figure out how to be consistently comfortable cycling during the cold season. While I continue to cycle almost every day, I have to be honest: It does not feel as great as it did in the warmer months and I do not get the urge to go on rides (as opposed to using the bike solely for transportation) when it is below 40° F. Maybe I just need to allow myself to get used to it gradually? Also, I must admit that I am getting slightly terrified at the prospect of riding in the snow. On the one day it seriously snowed here so far, I was sick and didn't ride anywhere, but more snow is coming soon and I am going to have to face it. The posts on other blogs make it seem like "wiping out" on ice is not just a possibility, but an inevitability, and that doesn't sit well with me. I can't imagine not cycling during the winter, but I need to think of a plan and to brace myself.

The Grand Canyon :: Navajo Point and Desert View

Navajo Point is the last viewpoint before arriving at Desert View. Quite Spectacular. Indeed.





And a closer view of The River.



And this is how it looks from Desert View. The exterior of the Watch Tower was being renovated the last time I was here and this area was not accessible. I think the little blue wheelbarrow adds something to the picture, I'm just not sure what!





A slightly closer shot of the same view as above.



Each one of the stones used in construction of the Watch Tower was reportedly selected by the architect Mary Jane Colter. She also determined where each stone was to be placed.





I did go inside and was going to go up but after the first few steps, my legs cried out “no way” so I turned around. I was completely enthralled by the interior and took plenty of photos the last time, which you can see here.





The view to the east, looking out over the desert. The Little Colorado Gorge lies a few miles away and the terrain is still quite rugged.



And so, as the road to Desert View comes to an end, so too does this Journey of mine... I've made it safely back to Indiana. I'm Home Again. Thank you to everyone who has followed along, I'm so glad you could join me for the ride...



For those of you who are feeling the need for a bit of adventure, my cousins Sue & Fred will be hiking into the Grand Canyon in a few weeks. Then they will be traveling in the West and in May will follow the coast north and “driving” to Alaska via the Marine Highway. They will be spending the Summer Up North! I wish them well in their journey and will be following along virtually, as many of you have been following me...

Old Bridge Across Rio Grande River

This bridge used to be the bridge that vehicle traffic used to get from one side of the Rio Grande River to the other side. It is known as the Alameda Bridge. There are several bridges across the river in the Albuquerque area. The Rio Grande Bridge, and the Bernallio Bridge are the oldest. I know they were there in the 1940's but not sure of exact age. The Rio Bravo Bridge was built during the 1960's and the Alameda Bridge I think. I could be wrong on all of these. Probably could have looked up exact dates but I didn't. And the newest one is the Paseo del Norte Bridge which was build in the early 1990's. Of course all except the Paseo Bridge had been rebuild at some point. That is why we were able to walk out on this bridge. The Alameda Bridge was rebuilt in the early 1990's and someone had the good idea of leaving the old bridge for people to walk across on. People on bicycles, horses, and skates can use it, also. Anotherwords non-motorized traffic.
The first photo is looking west, the second is looking east. The great views of the Rio Grande River is looking north. You can see the new bridge for traffic which is on the south side of the original bridge.
Most of the summer there had been lots of sandbars in the river but on this day there weren't as many. I don't know if the river was up due to more rain north of here or if they had stopped letting so much water into the irrigation ditches since it is now fall. Sometimes when I drive across the bridge I had briefly seen Canadian Geese, and ducks sitting on the sandbars or near the edges of the river, but not this day.

Wordless Wednesday :: Wiseman, Arkansas

Wiseman, Arkansas ~ September 1994
Copyright © 1994/.. by Rebeckah R. Wiseman

No relation, just thought it was neat that there was a town named Wiseman!Although, I think the town has seen better days...

Rio Grande River

This is photos of the Rio Grande River as we saw it from the walk we took along the river. The first one shows the bridge we walked out on shown in the next post down or the previous post. The brush was really thick along the banks of the river so we could only get to the edge in a couple of places.