Welcome to my April edition of Writer’s Tips. In this edition, Hugh Roberts is back with two new helpful WordPress tutorials on using the new Comment Box on WordPress and how to reuse older blog… More
Sunday Book Review – Lovers at the Museum: A Short Story by Isabel Allende
This short book of only 25 pages was a free read offered to me from First Reads on Amazon. It’s a whimsical and bizarre love story by Isabel Allende – Lovers at the Museum: A Short Story
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Blurb:
From the New York Times bestselling author of The Wind Knows My Name comes a mesmerizing tale of two passionate souls who share one magical night that defies all rational explanation.
Love, be it wild or tender, often defies logic. In fact, at times, the only rationale behind the instant connection of two souls is plain magic.
Bibiña Aranda, runaway bride, wakes up in the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao still wearing her wedding dress, draped in the loving arms of a naked man whose name she doesn’t know. She and the man with no clothes, Indar Zubieta, attempt to explain to the authorities how they got there. It’s a story of love at first sight and experience beyond compare, one that involves a dreamlike journey through the museum.
But the lovers’ transcendent night bears no resemblance to the crude one Detective Larramendi attempts to reconstruct. And no amount of fantastical descriptions can convince the irritated inspector of the truth.
Allende’s dreamy short story has the power to transport readers in any language, leaving them to ponder the wonders of love long after the story’s over.
My 4 Star Review:
This was a very short story of twenty-five pages. It read like a fantasy of one magical night in the Guggenheim Museum in Bilboa, Spain. The circumstances about how these two people who only just met, were surely fantastical because the girl, Bibina, fled her wedding ceremony. In the pouring rain, a complete stranger she made eye contact with whisks her away into the museum for shelter.
The detective who found them both passed out cold and their bodies entwined, shook them awake and questioned them as to how these people were able to get into a locked museum with high tech security systems, undetected. But when taken into the police station and questioned individually, they both described the whole event from their meeting to their instant love attraction to one another with the same details told by both of them. The whole situation is a big mystery for the detective, more concerned about how they got into the museum, while for the lovers, it was one magical night.
This whimsical story has no real beginning or ending – or conclusion; but a brief fantastical interlude of escapism for readers, magical romance for the lovers, and a great mystery to one detective.
©DGKaye2024
Grief and Loss and Spirit Connection – 3 Years and Still Feels Like Yesterday
“Love knows not its own depth until the hour of separation” – Kahlil Gibran
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This week’s post is an acknowledgment to the third anniversary of my husband’s passing this past Sunday April 7th. That day wasn’t any easier than any past years, in fact, because I keep my husband close in my heart and talk to him daily, I still feel his presence around me daily just as though he is still here with me. Because he is.
I talk to him all the time. He hears me, this I know. I’m not crazy, I’m spiritual and I feel spirit. I’ve long since given up second-guessing myself, asking myself if every sign and moment I sense spirit is just wishful thinking, accepting what I feel as real and not imagined.
A medium I went to see last summer told me how she saw my husband, and relayed messages from him to me. Messages that may have made no sense to her, but I understood the language, personal things that only he and I would share with each other and understand.
I talk to my husband all the time, especially when I have a dilemma – large or small. He was always my best sounding board, and still from the other realm where he now resides, he always sends help. My magical husband seems to beckon to my call when I can’t perform a simple task, or when looking for something I’ve misplaced. Somehow it always works out, just as it always did when I relied on him here. There have been so many of those moments to even speak of, but with each time he is there in my time of confusion or need, problems are magically solved. Too many times to believe otherwise. All I have to do when I’m at my wit’s end of solving, finding or fixing something is look up and say, “Hun, please intervene here and give me a hand or a clue” and miraculously, dilemma solved.
Now, I don’t expect everyone to understand or even believe this continuing connection I have with my husband, and I do believe there are a host of elements attached to these uncanny gifts I receive from him, elements that many aren’t privileged to receive, but I have the gift of being clairsentient, being able to feel when spirit is around, and being able to identify who that spirit is. Also there’s the fact that my husband and I were twin flames together on earth. We were velcroed at the hip spiritually and often physically together whether physically together at a moment or not. We knew each other’s thoughts without speaking. We were each other’s biggest cheerleaders and both of us would have gone to the ends of the earth to make one another happy. We were beyond the realm of the physical on earth, so it is no surprise to me why our connection continues. And I am very grateful for that because it helps me get by daily knowing my husband is still with me in spirit. I’m not sure I could function otherwise.
Energy never dies, hence the soul never dies, which makes it clear to me how my husband remains in my orbit even from another dimension. He has proven it to me so many times over. We were a true love story and love never ends, hence, never will grief. The more we loved, the more we will grieve. I can attest to this. Grief is just pent up love with nowhere to go.
One of my favorite mediums I listen to is Matt Fraser, as he talks about the connections we on earth still share with lost loved ones on the other side. I find comfort in listening to someone who understands much of what I experience. Truthfully, I feel that if it weren’t for this continued connection I am gifted to still have with my husband, I don’t know how I could continue living if I were to believe my husband’s death was the final end of us. I know in my heart it is definitely him pulling me along this journey, guiding me to where I need to be along the way to where my next path leads. He remains my guide while he knows I’m still in limbo going through the motions of life, not yet knowing where I’m going, walking in baby steps with many pauses along the way. Just as I know that as much as he will never leave my side, one day he will know when I’m strong enough for him to let go of my hand when I find the new path my life is supposed to take and once again learn to walk steadily on my own. And still, he will remain by my side. I take comfort in knowing this.
I brought some new ornaments to his grave (shrine maybe?). Doing these things makes me feel better.
The Bite – I Love You to the Moon
I love you to the depths of my soul.
When you asked me to marry you, my heart held all the joy in the world.
Yet, the fear of the future and concern about how I’d deal if I were to lose you because of our age difference, frightened me to my core.
I weighed the odds and decided that another love like ours could never be.
I hugged you in true laughter, and said yes, but I made you promise me at least twenty years.
What a fool I was, short-changing myself and not asking for thirty or more.
Your promise gave me twenty-two,
That fateful fear that’d haunted the corners of my mind, came back to bite.
No number of years would have ever been enough to have to let you go.
I love you now, still, and forever.
I love you forever into the beyond.
God gifted me you, but only on loan. Because he wanted you back.
I had to give back the most precious part of life, honoring the bargain.
You were my lesson on love.
I tasted true unconditional love,
A gift that many have been denied the privilege.
You’re a gift that will blanket my heart for the rest of my days.
I love you.
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And from the wise words of one of my favorite compassionate poets, Donna Ashworth, whose poetry speaks always of one who wears the badge of loss, and seems to sum up that unexplicable connection that remains long after loss, from her book, Loss:
“Maybe people don’t want to stop grieving…
Maybe they are terrified, that the grief they feel is the last thing they have left of their person.
That if they move on from this grief, they will lose the final connection, the only tie.
Maybe people feel united with their loved one,
in the realm just outside our reality.
United in pain and loss.
Banished to a parallel universe where they can both exist together, still together.
Maybe that’s just too precious to move on from . . .”
Donna Ashworth
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©DGKaye2024
Sunday Book Review – Julia’s Violinist by Anneli Purchase
Today I’m reviewing a book I’ve been meaning to get to for awhile, but somehow kept getting pushed down the TBR pile – Julia’s Violinist by Anneli Purchase. This is a memoir/novel about the author’s mother’s life after WWII ends, and as a Sudeten German living in the outskirts of the northern Czech Republic border and the Czechs and Russians punishing the innocent Germans after the war ends in relatiation for Germany’s war on humanity. I found it a fascinating read as I typically read historical fiction on the topic of WWII and about how all the persecuted people survived, and not about how the Gemans who endured who were caught up in war’s aftermath.
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Blurb:
The lovely Julia has it all—a seemingly perfect life. The aftermath of WWII changes all that. Widowed and homeless, Julia and her two small children become refugees in their own land. As she tries to rebuild her life, Julia is drawn into a love triangle. New flames or old flames—both can burn and destroy.
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My 5 Star Review:
A fictionalized memoir of the author’s mother’s life in the aftermath of WWII, which left a family struggling to stay together.
In the first part of the book we are in present time – 1949 where Julia is a young widow with two daughters living on the the northern border of the Czech Republic enduring daily retaliations from Germany’s enemies in the aftermath of war. The military wants to rid the Republic of Germans, and these citizens are sent to barracks to work in forced labor to starve and be raped.
Julia, now a widow, and her two young daughters, along with her sister-in-law and parents are re-located to forced labor camp for almost a year until they are loaded onto filthy cattle wagons and transported back to a refugee place in Germany.
In part two, we are taken to the the past – early 30s when Julia met her Michael who played the violin beautifully at weekly choir practice. But, due to hardships during wartime and Michael’s obligations to run the family bakery, it left little time for the star-crossed lovers to see each other. At the same time, handsome Lukas gave Julia plenty of attention, and they eventually got married. But Michael will re-enter Julia’s life again, later in Julia’s journey.
The love stories woven through this engaging story are a mix of the historical brutality with a softening aspect of the love Julia felt for her husbands, and especially her children.
The setting takes us to different time frames – pre war, after war and wartorn life for the Sudetens after losing their homes after the war, a new marriage to Karl, and a move to Canada.The timelines jump around, but the author makes this clear through chapter headings.
Karl has had a difficult life, but is quite handy at finding odd fix-it jobs, and with already losing one wife in a childless marriage, seeks the simplicity of having a wife and children. He eventually meets Julia and becomes an important character in her life. Julia’s relationship with Karl is a comfort for her to finally make a new life, have her own roof over her head, and have more children. Julia is a soft and compassionate character, while Karl is hard-working, he’s very rough around the edges, offering Julia a more comfortable life without the real romance. In the last part of the book, it focuses on the life Julia makes with Karl, but never fulfilling the emptiness of what could have been with Michael is never far from Julia’s thoughts.
Julia remeets her heartthrob Michael. Michael has never forgotten Julia through all the years and never stopped loving her. Michael knows Julia is remarried but makes a brave stance to contact her despite. Their friendship creates a world of jealousy for Karl, and plenty of grief for Julia. I’m not going to get into spoilers here about how this love triangle will play out, but the situation makes it crystal clear how damaging unrequited love can be to the heart, and how the strongest who love deeply can keep temptation at bay, and yet, so easily cave to it at the same time – and the repercussions that follow.
I found this book an addictive read as I was immediately invested in the characters for all their strengths and weaknesses, and whatever it took to survive a horrendous war. Julia’s tender mothering and strength shone through this story despite all the horrible living conditions she endured and the uncertainty of daily living. This is a story of love and loss, compassion, survival, and one selfless, loving woman, Julia.
©DGKaye2024
Mexico Part 2 – Back at my old Stomping Grounds
Welcome back to Part Two of my Mexican adventure. See Part One here.
Alas, my first two weeks were up at my rented accommodation and it was time to move over to Saul and Brenda’s place on the beach. I’d already learned that no cabs circle my condo area in Versailles – mostly because of the crazy one way streets, all named for places in Europe such as: Francia, Yugoslavia, Lisboa, Espana, Niza (Nice), and many more including my street – on the corners of Roma and Palm Springs. Ya, I’m still scratching my head on how ‘Palm Springs’ is part of the whole Europe thing, lol. When Mahvash left a week earlier, we literally walked three blocks to a main steet – on cobblestone roads with Mahv rolling her suitcase along, to hail a cab! I already knew when it was my turn to leave that I surely wasn’t walking for blocks with my many things.
I planned with Brenda’s husband Saul that he’d grab a cab from his condo and come pick me up and help me down the stairs with my suitcases and bags of kitchen stuff. I was more than happy to pay for the two cab fares. It didn’t take me long to settle and head out to the pool to spend the afternoon with my winter buddies. Brenda’s condo is on the ground floor, making it a speedy walk over to the pool.
The four Amigas at the pool: Brenda, Patty, Liz, me
We all got along famously with our bedtimes, movies, outings and taking turns doing dishes and cooking. It was like staying with family. Some evenings if all was quiet, I’d head up to Liz and Grant’s condo for a few hours. They had spectacular views from their balcony-wrapped corner unit, and always a great breeze on the balcony, also, Grant had purchased a newfangled TV box before coming to PV and could get any program on TV from every province across Canada. One night, it was like deja vu when I came to visit and Grant was watching the Toronto Maple Leaf hockey game. As I entered, the other team scored. I burst out laughing and had to share with him that often I’d walk into my husband’s mancave while he was watching his beloved Maple Leafs, and the other team would magically score. How many times my husband would say, “Cub, get out of here, you’re bad luck.” Yes, it was my fault, lol, but I laughed at the memory and told Grant I’d swifty get on the balcony. LOL.
A view from Liz and Grant’s balcony at sunset
Another view after the sun had set
Another view from Liz’s balcony where you can see half the horseshoe Bay of Banderas and the malecon view in front of the mountains downtown
I snapped Liz and Grant at the pool awaiting their margarita refills
One day, Brenda and I went for a walk to the open-air mall next to our complex. As we were approaching the ‘tourist’ shop where she wanted to buy Saul a new pair of goggles, we came across two man-made ponds. One housed turtles and the other, Koi fish.
Me and Brenda at the Koi pond
Koi pond
Koi
Baby turtles
Here comes Mamma turtle
It seemed by March 1st weekend, the pool had less people and we all discovered nobody had to run out before 8am to save chairs for each other, a tender mercy. Unlike February, which seems to be the busiest month in that condo complex. There are five pools for these three sister buildings in the complex, but we always hang out at the same pool – a bit quieter, and not usually any kids splashing around. We did manage to see a few whales popping up in the ocean, but as usual, my timing trying to catch a shot of one surfacing above water was an epic fail.
The daytime was what it was all about in PV. Early rising, and early gatherings, spending the days at the pool/beach or outings was the perfect medicine for me. Although I went downtown quite a few times some afternoons or evenings with various friends, staying in at night and gabbing with my friends was a nice treat too. Two nights before my return home, me, Patty and Jamie, Liz and Grant, and Brenda and Saul went up the street to my other favorite Italian restaurant, Abbraccios.
Liz and Grant
Patty and Jamie
Brenda and Saul
I’m not sure what next year will bring. Every year I say I’m going somewhere else next winter. But it’s intimidating traveling alone to new territory, and knowing my friends will be back in PV, makes it difficult not to go. Apparently, I was such a good guest, Brenda wants me to come back and stay with her next year. Who knows what next year will bring!
Ole!
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©DGKaye2024
Sunday Book Review – Jacqueline in Paris by Ann Mah #historical fiction
Welcome to my Sunday Book Review. Today I’m reviewing an engaging book by Ann Mah – Jacqueline in Paris. This book is an historical fictional story about the coming-of-age life of Jacqueline Bouvier (not yet Kennedy), and the year she took off before college, spent in post-war Paris.
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Blurb:
“Captivating…Mah channels Kennedy and brings postwar Paris to life with exquisite detail and insight.” — People
From the bestselling author of The Lost Vintage, a rare and dazzling portrait of Jacqueline Bouvier’s college year abroad in postwar Paris, an intimate and electrifying story of love and betrayal, and the coming-of-age of an American icon – before the world knew her as Jackie.
In September 1949 Jacqueline Bouvier arrives in postwar Paris to begin her junior year abroad. She’s twenty years old, socially poised but financially precarious, and all too aware of her mother’s expectations that she make a brilliant match. Before relenting to family pressure, she has one year to herself far away from sleepy Vassar College and the rigid social circles of New York, a year to explore and absorb the luminous beauty of the City of Light. Jacqueline is immediately catapulted into an intoxicating new world of champagne and châteaux, art and avant-garde theater, cafés and jazz clubs. She strikes up a romance with a talented young writer who shares her love of literature and passion for culture – even though her mother would think him most unsuitable.
But beneath the glitter and rush, France is a fragile place still haunted by the Occupation. Jacqueline lives in a rambling apartment with a widowed countess and her daughters, all of whom suffered as part of the French Resistance just a few years before. In the aftermath of World War II, Paris has become a nest of spies, and suspicion, deception, and betrayal lurk around every corner. Jacqueline is stunned to watch the rise of communism – anathema in America, but an active movement in France – never guessing she is witnessing the beginning of the political environment that will shape the rest of her life—and that of her future husband.
Evocative, sensitive, and rich in historic detail, Jacqueline in Paris portrays the origin story of an American icon. Ann Mah brilliantly imagines the intellectual and aesthetic awakening of Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis, and illuminates how France would prove to be her one true love, and one of the greatest influences on her life.
My 5 Star Review:
Jacqueline Bouvier goes to Paris for a year to explore and take art history courses for a year before heading home to college, and to escape her domineering mother before she plots Jackie’s life for her. She is enamored by the City of Lights and quite happy to be staying in a war-torn large apartment with a Countess and her daughters, meeting friends in interesting circles and loving the Parisienne life, despite her realizations of the state of what the Occupation had left Paris in. She befriends many new people, both from her accommodation circles and meets up with some bougie and political people and writers, and ultimately finds a rude awakening as to the political status of France. She learns how the threat of communism is looming large in Paris, and of ‘the resistance’ working in dangerous situations to attempt to thwart the stirrings of communism.
Her innocence or perhaps, ignorance of what the war had left for many European countries is revealed when she takes some weekend jaunts with friends to other countries, such as Germany and Vienna. As she witnesses the destruction of these cities and people and concentration camps, she is stunned to her rude awakenings of war.
Jackie polishes her French in Paris while discovering that even though the war had ended four years prior, Paris was still much in a war-torn state and many people were still struggling just to eat.
Mah’s story-telling is exquisite with her rich descriptions that made me feel as though I was there with Jackie, as an honored invisible guest. This fictionalized, yet historical backdrop of France, its architecture, remnants of war – mixed politics – art history, literature, and high society living among the many who still struggled in Paris, was all encompassed in this grand descript telling by Mah. Perhaps Paris is where Jackie really belonged, studying arts and literature, happy, and without tragedy, where she could be herself and be happy.
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©DGKaye2024
Writer’s Tips – March Edition – #Editing, #Writing Dialogue, A.I., WordPress, #Writing Gigs, Writer’s Block Hacks
Welcome back to my Writer’s Tips – March edition with some interesting gatherings of articles I come across in my keeping up with the writing industry. In this edition, D.L. Finn, writing at the Story Empire with a great article on all that’s entailed in editing, Anne R. Allen with two great posts on writing too much dialogue and how to remedy it and how to survive and thrive as a writer during the A.I. age, Hugh Roberts helps us find the ‘new comment’ box in WordPress, Jacqui Murray updates us on Writing Gigs and what’s new in the writing world, and Ruth Harris at the blog of Anne R. Allen with 7 Hacks to get past Writer’s Block.
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D. L. Finn is at the Story Empire with an excellent list of Editing Tips
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Anne R. Allen breaks down reasons and remedies for Writing Too Much Dialogue
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Jacqui Murray is at the Story Empire and fills us in on what’s going on in the Writing World and Writing Gigs
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Hugh Roberts with another informational on where to find the ‘Open Tab’ in a new box in the WordPress editor
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Anne R. Allen – the Writing Age and Surviving A.I.
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Ruth Harris with 7 Hacks to bust through Writer’s Block
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©DGKaye2024
Sunday Book Review – The Rat in the Python Book 2 – Shopping and Food by Alex Craigie
Welcome to my Sunday Book Review. Today I’m reviewing Alex Craigie’s latest release – book 2 in her Rat in the Python series – Shopping and Food and living for baby boomers after WWII.
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Blurb:
If you haven’t heard of a liberty bodice, believe that half-a-crown is something to do with impoverished royalty and never had the experience of slapping a television to stop the grainy black and white picture from rolling, then this series might not be for you. Please give it a go, though – I’ve suspect that most of it will still resonate no matter where you were brought up!
Book 2 looks at shopping and food after the end of WWII and how they’ve changed over the decades. From farthings to Green Shield stamps; from beef dripping sandwiches to Babycham, and beyond.
The Rat in the Python is about Baby Boomers who, in the stability following the Second World War, formed a statistical bulge in the population python. It is a personal snapshot of a time that is as mystifying to my children as the Jurassic Era – and just as unrecognisable.
My intention is to nudge some long-forgotten memories to the surface, test your own recollections and provide information and statistics to put it all in context.
Are you sitting comfortably?
Then I’ll begin…
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My 5 Star Review:
Alex Craigie is taking us back to the 1950s and 60s England in this book 2 in her memoir series of her childhood growing up in a post war U.K. and sharing her recollections and facts of the times in the Boomer era U.K. about diets, food availability and scarcity, and the rise of the refrigerator, which only one third of the population had into the early 70s.
I found this book a fascinating look at the ‘food times’ of post war U.K. With still no refrigeration, microwaves, or anything of its ilk, and food rations, Brits were pretty crafty about what they would eat to get by and how meals were prepared. As the author goes through chapters about food availability, preservation, and her childhood favorites and dislikes, I found this book to be a great informational about the past told with inflections of humor and wonderful images of gadgets of the times, and it was an eye-opener to me as a Canadian child growing up in the sixties with no lack of food choices, colorful refrigerator models, and all the comforts of home while England was just catching up with the modern times as it was re-building from the aftermath of war.
This book made me think about how much we take for granted in our lives without understanding that other parts of the world weren’t as quickly advancing into modern times because of war. It also reminded me of why I thought England was never known for their great food in such an era as I visited London for the first time in the late seventies and wasn’t impressed with food choices – as a North American. But look at the U.K. now with all its famous chefs and multi-cultural food choices. Amazing catching up in the world of food.
At the end of the book, the author offers some quiz questions about foods from different parts of the world, and about foods found in children’s books from the Boomer era. This author never disappoints, whether it’s her nonfiction or gripping fictional novels, Craigie keeps us engaged. This would also be a great book for school curriculum education of the past.
©DGKaye2024
Mexico – I’m Back, Ole!
Hello! I’m back! And time to share some travel adventures and observations with you from my trip to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.
It was great to go away and great to come home. The only thing I ever really miss when away, is my bed. And even though my friends Liz and Grant invited me to stay for another two weeks, I declined. I really felt that going away for just short of a month was perfect. I began the venture in a rented condo, twenty minutes walk from all my friends at the beach condo I used to stay at, and then moved there to my friends Brenda and Saul’s condo for just under two weeks. My friend Mahvash traveled with me to Puerto Vallarta. She was supposed to stay for ten days but after five days she was informed by her tenant there was a bit of a flood in her home, which sadly, had her leaving a bit earlier than scheduled.
Yes, all that stuff was mine, except the one black bag, lol. And a lovely torn chair at Toronto airport.
Our venture to Toronto airport began with the limo picking us both up. I had finally finished the weighing game with my first time to Mexico going with – One Bag, plus a carry-on, and filling my ‘personal bag’ as specified allowed by the airlines – completely stuffed with my purse, laptop and whatever other goodies I could shove into it. I was right on the mark once weighed in at the airport, leaving no forgiveness room for the way back and the extra weight I knew would add on upon my return, as the weight of clothes seems to grow from the humidity. That was a penalty I’d pay for on the way home.
We both had priority tickets, and lots to stow away in the overhead cabin, so I knew having ‘Zone 3’ on my ticket to board might leave an issue by the time we boarded – as in, no room in the overhead compartments left. I told Mahvash to get in line with me for Zone 2 boarding, just walk and look innocent. There were two boarding lines. Thankfully we each went in a separate line. When it was my turn to show my boarding pass, I knew the woman I had was going to give me grief. Sure enough, she looked at my ticket and harshly told me that I was in the wrong zone so now I could go back to the END OF THE LINE again. In that exact moment, Mahv was standing behind the woman, ready to board the plane. I spoke up and told the woman my friend was already through and I was traveling with her. She let me board.
The flight was a breeze, but PV airport was a nightmare! Typically, one could be out of that airport in twenty minutes – but I’m not typical. It took us nearly two hours to go through lines for customs, wait for bags, and then pass through the spotcheck for bags. I specifically went to the VIP window to pay for a cab, and still waited outside in that line for forty-five minutes until it was our turn for a cab. Besides stripping off layers of clothes I wore on the plane, and trading my sneakers for flip flops, I was melting under the hot Mexican sun. It was a good thing I knew where I was going because the cab driver was getting lost in a maze of condos in the Versailles area I was staying in, but finally, we arrived.
I wasn’t impressed to see a narrow flight of twelve stairs required to get up to the lobby, and no concierge to help with anything, let alone any carts around that are always in the other condo I stayed in to bring groceries or luggage up to a condo. I tipped the cabbie a little more to carry our bags up the stairway. We arrived!
The condo, although brand new, didn’t impress me. It was dark and noisy. The second bedroom was really a den with a pullout couch that was NOT comfortable. The condo faced west and was an oven, hence, we couldn’t leave the drapes opened because it would have been unbearable heat. They were also building a new condo right beside our condo, literally, not even one foot between buildings, and those workers began banging and jack-hammering by 8am, six days a week – right behind my bedroom and bathroom walls. But the infinity rooftop pool was gorgeous. It was an oasis up there, despite the pool not being heated and was literally like walking into ice cubes despite the over 90 degree temps.
Rooftop pool partial view
Location-wise, the condo was conveniently located to groceries and many restaurants in the fairly new Versailles area I stayed in right across from the beaches. We met up with Brenda and Saul at Costco because Brenda had bought me a well-sought over, gluten-free bread that seem to vanish off the shelves as (un)quickly as they are replaced. We then invited them over for dinner and sunset drinks at our condo. And Mahvash cooked us a wonderful Persian meal.
We enjoyed the rooftop pool area, and only once did I brave the cold water. The next night Mahvash and I went down to the Malecon for dinner with Brenda and Saul, to my favorite Italian restaurant downtown – Dolce Vita. Then we walked the malecon and looked at art and whatever many were selling throughout the boardwalk.
The three amigas – Me, Brenda, Mahvash
A great picture of Brenda and Saul in front of the famous – Puerto Vallarta letter statues. Ironically, they were standing in front of the ‘T and the O from Puerto, and the V in Vallarta which spelled out TOV, which means good in Hebrew.
Later in the week, me and my girlfriend Patty Girl met up at one of the new breakfast places, Fluffy’s, a mere block from where I was staying. Patty took a cab over and afterward we went downtown to the malecon to our favorite cotton store – Luisa’s. Patty was picking up a dress Luisa was making for her, and I couldn’t resist a lovely tye dye cotton sundress – despite the price now doubled what it was only last year! Then we walked around some street markets and landed in the main square on the malecon eating our real fruit popsicles before heading back in a cab.
The prices in PV have gone up again, unsurprisingly. But seriously, they are turning PV into over-Americanized Cancun with squeezing in more condos, for high prices, not to mention some of the scary rental prices I heard about. Even my American friends there were telling me they weren’t using Pesos, just their credit cards because they were getting a better rate. The restaurant prices are now double what they were pre Covid. And my golden days of $3.00 margaritas have turned to $10. I was also surely glad I’d brought enough of my favorite suntan lotion (which I got on sale for $13 here at home, and when I checked the price in a store, I almost fell over when I saw the sticker price of 500 Pesos – equivalent to $48 Canadian!). No longer the best bang for my bucks, but still a smidge lower than Canadian prices at home, and like a comment I found on Facebook in a PV group I belong to says, ‘Yes PV is more expensive now, but you’re almost guaranteed the sunshine and it’s not a country surrounded by war.’ That’s good enough for me!
The Night of the Iguana
One night I was climbing into bed when a slithery small gecko ran across my bedroom floor. I screamed and Mahv came running in. She laughed and said he’ll leave when he’s ready. I checked that room upside down from ceilings to walls and behind everything hanging on the wall and couldn’t find the bugger. I was scared to sleep so Mahv told me to put some pieces of garlic around the perimeters of my room because they apparently, don’t like the smell. Who knew geckos were like vampires! Lol. I never saw him again, but I left the garlic until I left and moved into Brenda’s condo on the beach.
At the end of my two-week stay, with many of those days spent at the beach condo, where my friends were staying, I finally moved over to Brenda’s place, which was like old home week for me.
There I am lounging on my ‘barge’.
A couple of interesting images:
Mexican art sculpture on the boardwalk
A wonderful sinking sunset
Another gorgeous sunset sky
An interesting moon. It shone like a crescent moon, yet you could see the whole round moon in the background of the crescent
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Something fun I thought I’d mention here. When I came home on Wednesday night. I was looking through my TV recordings to see what was recorded. I found the first episode of a new season of The Amazing Race. And the first episode had some brutal tasks for the contestants who began the race in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. I watched it all taking place in downtown PV , starting on the beach and Malecon and surrounding downtown areas laden with high hilly roads and cobblestones where the contestants had to complete grueling tasks in the sweaty heat. I found this one minute clip to demonstrate one of the tasks they had to do was bring up some heavy rocking horses back down to the malecon. I couldn’t help feeling their exhaustion. Below is a short clip of the task:
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Ole! Part 2 next week!
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