Tag Archives: wall art

Pieterpad: Swalmen to Montfort

July 7, 2025Hiking, The Netherlands, TravelB&B Botervleig, gooseberry pie, Montfort, Pieterpad, Swalmen, wall artkarenfranza

July 4 – Another clear and cool day, with temperatures again in the ideal 70s. 14.6 miles planned today.

The nice thing about our customized app is that you know your exact mileage right up to the door of your lodging, instead of a guidebook’s mileage to the town center, plus who knows how much longer til you can actually put your feet up! I’m liking the GUIBO app.

Is the corn as high as an elephant’s eye on the Fourth of July?

We had to walk along the road for a while in an industrial area

The first sunflower we’ve seen, all by itself

This man was looking for buried treasure with his metal detector and a spade. He said he was searching for ancient Roman coins, but all he was finding was old bullets.

It is the Basilica of St. Odilien, but it was not open for us to visit

Near the church is a memorial for those from this town who “died due to war violence”. Many of the names are female. Were they victims of a bombing? Killed for resisting? Sent to a camp? We’ll never know.

This farmer really loves to sculpt his shrubbery

We came to the place where a treasure trove of Roman coins were found. It is thought that a Roman soldier buried them for safekeeping, then never returned.

And now we are in Montfort. Here is the only wall art we found

…and here is a statue of a man and his dog

And now we are at the B&B Botervleig, where we will sleep for the next three nights. Our host Marijke met us with homemade lemonade and a huge slice of gooseberry pie. I think we’re going to like it here!

A Day in Gennep

July 1, 2025Hiking, The Netherlands, Travelcarillon, Gennep, wall artkarenfranza

June 28 – Today is a planned zero mile rest day. The pretty little town of Gennep deserves to be seen in great detail.

The toy store sells a wooden jigsaw puzzle featuring the town, with customized puzzle pieces. If Icould fit this in my backpack, I would buy one.

Lots of bikes, as throughout the Netherlands, but this is the first tricycle-built-for-two that we’ve seen

The town hall has a carillon of 25 bells that tinkle sweetly several times an hour – selections range from Ode to Joy to the Yellow Rose of Texas, with a lullaby the last song of the evening

We learned as much of the town history as we could figure out out without English signage

This is the original water spigot that the townspeople used to draw their water, for a fee

The Protestant church was open – very plain inside. The man we spoke to said the church is of the Calvinist tradition, but not especially strict

Mosaics in the square commemorate the 22 Jews who “left” during WWII and never came home

This tower is all that remains of the Roman Catholic Church that was bombed during WWII. We climbed to the top to see the view

There are murals painted inside the tower – see the Pieterpad hiker?

The murals were done by the same artist who painted the overpass on our way into town. I recognize the badger!

The top of the tower didn’t provide a view, but a reminder of the American pilot who died here in WWII. He thought he had crossed the border into Germany and dropped his bombs too soon, then was shot down and died in the crash.

This wall contains insets of some historical buildings

The River Meuse runs along the old city wall

A lovely day in a pretty town – tomorrow, we walk!

Pieterpad: Gennep to Vierlingsbeek

June 30, 2025Hiking, The Netherlands, Travelferry, Gennep, Meuse River, Pieterpad, Vierlingsbeek, wall art, Wildflowerskarenfranza

June 27 – We heard rain early this morning, but it stopped by the time we finished breakfast. Twelve miles planned for this cool and cloudy day.

Programming my phone for today’s itinerary

Good morning, masked horses! The masks help keep the flies out of their eyes

The way markers seem clearer today, or maybe we’re getting smarter? The Pieterpad marker is the red and white in the middle.

A bit of road walking, with a decorated overpass

Take care – chicken crossing ahead! We did not see any chickens…

This was the only cafe we passed by today, but we had already eaten our lunch with a pot of Jim’s good coffee, so we didn’t stop in.

Now, here’s a sign you don’t see every day! An unusual way to alert folks that there is a ferry crossing ahead.

Sitting and waiting for the ferry – how often does it run?

It runs about every five minutes, taking pedestrians, bicyclists and cars across the Meuse River

The ferryman collected one euro from each person, and before we knew it, we were on the other side.

Some more good signage – don’t take this path!

Look in the distance – that must be Vierlingsbeek!

We walked into town and waited on the church steps for Nena from the Hotel de Kroon to come pick us up. The walk to Meerlo is too long for us old folks to complete in one go (24 miles and a bit) so our travel company split it into two 12 mile walking days with a rest day in between. This is the good life!

On to Xanten

June 27, 2025Germany, Travelflowers, wall art, Xantenkarenfranza

June 22 – This morning we took the metro back into Frankfurt, a long train to Duisburg and a short train to Xanten. We were met at the station by Jim’s dear friend Boris and his daughter Sofia. We are here for just a few days so that Jim and Boris can catch up. Then we will start our Pieterpad hike.

Boris and his wife Anke treated us to a wonderful barbecue with grilled eggplant and mushrooms, shish kebab, and all kinds of meat – steak, chicken and sausage. Their son Louis (17 and a student) speaks excellent English, as does Boris and Sofia (23 and a pediatric nurse). Little Emily (6 and just completed kindergarten) was cute as a button.

Xanten is is pretty little town with interesting shops

We had a wonderful time visiting with Boris and his family!

Happy Corpus Christi

June 23, 2025Germany, Travelbuskers, Corpus Christi, Frankfurt, wall artkarenfranza

June 19 – After a rocky attempt at a night’s sleep, we thought a nice walk in the sunshine would help reset our internal clocks. We ate our breakfast of fruit, yogurt, brown bread and cheese, downed a few cups of strong coffee, and set out toward town.

The first thing we noticed was that the supermarket we visited yesterday was not open – unusual for a Thursday, don’t you think? As we walked along, the streets seemed very quiet. As we approached the center of town, we saw that all the stores were closed. What’s up? Time to consult Google!

It turns out that today is the state holiday of Corpus Christi (body of Christ), a celebration of the Eucharist by the Roman Catholics here since the year 1246; always falling on the tenth day after Pentecost.

We made our way toward the cathedral, figuring that is where the action would be, and we were right.

The entire square was filled with folks participating in an outdoor mass, with dozens of priests handing out communion wafers.

Parades of priests, acolytes and musicians worked their way through the crowds

The shops were closed, but the buskers were out to entertain

This guy was whistling behind his happy mask

You may say I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one… We had enough excitement for one day, so went back to relax at our tropical hotel. More tomorrow!

More from Puerto de la Cruz, Tenerife

February 28, 2025Tenerife, Travelmodel ships, Molly Malone, Puerto de la Cruz, seated Jesus, wall art, wooden balconieskarenfranza

Feb 23 – So, for our last days in Puerto de la Cruz, we walked along the beach, browsed in the shops, visited churches, ate good food, and acted like the tourists that we are.

More of the lovely carved wooden balconies

This statue of a fishmonger at the water’s edge reminded me of my Irish Grandpa singing Sweet Molly Malone

…crying, “cockles and mussels alive alive oh!”

When we turned the corner, I saw that I wasn’t the only one who was thinking of Molly Malone

There are armaments to defend the Puerto

…and a seaside museum of ship photos and models

In the same museum, we came across another image of a seated, tired Jesus

…and one dressed like Elvis (?) singing Johnny Cash

At the supermarket, the lady in charge of slicing the Iberian ham would not let me take a picture of the hams, so I had to sneak around the corner and snap surreptitiously!

We watched the paragliders swoop overhead

…until one landed right on the sidewalk, to the amazement of everybody

And finally, all the way across town, wall art!

The little images are Bo Peep and her sheep

The city is setting up for Carneval celebrations – see El Teide in the background?

Feb 26 – 90 minutes on the bus got us back to the southern part of the island where the airport is. We had a no-drama flight to Newark and actually caught an early flight home to Virginia. Our dog still loves us. We loved Tenerife!

Santa Cruz de Tenerife

February 17, 2025Tenerife, TravelAfrican Market, Atlantic Ocean, buses, Santa Cruz, statue honoring General Franco, Tribute to the Chicharrero, wall artkarenfranza

Feb 13 – today was a hassle-free travel day. We had a lucky breakfast (with two double yoked eggs!), locked up our very nice apartment in Vilaflor and strode confidently to the bus stop.

How often have you cracked three eggs and gotten five yolks? It’s gonna be a lucky day, for sure!

We rode without incident an hour back to Los Christianos, then pushed our way through a crowd onto the next bus (not everybody made it on, but being a New Yorker had advantages here). An hour of traveling north, with the Atlantic in view for the whole trip, brought us to the city of Santa Cruz.

The bus let us off in the heart of the bustling seaside tourist zone. This is the African Market, which sells, food, meat, and all manner of trinkets.

Tribute to the Chicharrero, the native fishermen of Santa Cruz, is right outside the African Market

How the Chicharrero dressed, back in the day

We strolled down the busy streets toward our new apartment. Lots of restaurants and statues and flowers.

These have leaves like geraniums but flowers like tulips? If Eliese was here, she’d tell me what they are!

An old advert for Cod Liver Oil – a universal remedy!

Santa Cruz is a major shipping port, and also hosts German and English cruise ships

This monument to General Franco is impressive

So here we are in our new, very modern apartment, on the sixth floor overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. There is a big supermarket and lots of restaurants nearby. Jim is making us a pot of chicken vegetable soup. Our terrace faces east, so we will wait for the morning for a view of the sunrise. I think we’re going to like it here!

A little more from Progreso, Yucatán

September 10, 2024Mexico, Travel, Yucatán Peninsulacoconut shrimp, lighthouse, malecón, pier, Progreso, wall artkarenfranza

Sept 6 – What do you do when you just can’t swim and sleep anymore? Walk into town, of course, where you can:

…admire the lighthouse, which is not on the shore, but blocks back into the town

…and a tribute to kids and their cellphones with the long pier in the background

Walk all the way to the end of the malecón to admire the world’s longest pier – 4 miles long, as the water is too shallow to allow large container or cruise ships to dock any nearer

Walk under the pier to the old wooden boardwalk

This end of town looks more like an old fishing village

Back on the malecón to look for beach souvenirs…

…and find a place for a seafood lunch – we eat seafood every day when we’re at the beach

Interesting appetizers – papaya with hot sauce, hot dogs in French dressing

When you order coconut shrimp here, you get the coconut!

Would you like one more sunset? Here you go! Thanks for the R & R Progreso, best beach ever!

Celestún, Yucatán

August 30, 2024Mexico, Travel, Yucatán Peninsulabeach, Celestún, flamingos, wall artkarenfranza

Aug 26 – So here we are in Celestún. The conference folks got back on their big bus and returned to Mérida last night, to catch flights home or travel onward. We had our packs on the bus with us, and checked into a very modest small hotel a block from the Gulf of Mexico. This is where our beach vacation begins.

This little town is about as different from Mérida as can be. If tourists come here, they only stay for a day.

It rained yesterday, and the streets are quite flooded this morning. We got our feet wet before we got to the beach

A calm, sandy beach with body-temperature water

Celestún’s claim to fame is its proximity to the Ria Celestún Biosphere Reserve, accessible only by boat. This is a place where flocks of pink American flamingos can be seen during mating season, but we are not here at the right time of year. Here is some flamingo wall art instead

Eat chiliquiles for breakfast and fresh fish for lunch

Admire the jungle that separates our hotel from the beach

Collect shells and swim every day – watching the pelicans dive for fish and then rest close to us on the water was a special treat

Look at the different ways to get around – the multi person moto…

Or go on foot – just bring your own shade!

…and our favorite baker, Flor. She gave us a sample coconut macaroon, warm from the oven on our first day, and we went back every day thereafter.

Watch another fine sunset – thanks for the leisurely days, Celestún. A very relaxing week!

Back to Mérida Yucatán

August 26, 2024Mexico, Travel, Yucatán PeninsulaCelestún, Mérida, Monumento a la Patria, Palacio Maya, peacocks Yucatán cuisine, wall artkarenfranza

Aug 22 – Today we got back on the big bus to return to Mérida. This time we are going to the northern, more modern side of the city so that Jim can give a presentation at the Parapsychological Association Conference. This is the reason we are here.