Albufeira, Portugal on the Algarve

Beautiful flowers 

Sunset over Albufeira from our patio

Selfie with Old Town Albufeira in the background

Villa Petra - our digs for 28 days

Oura Beach in Albufeira - 

Click on the picture to make them bigger 

We took the tourist train around town 

Old town 

Old Town 

Our mail from home. Thanks Joseph for your wonderful artwork. 

Saying goodbye to my father

Joseph M. DeNoble

7/25/1918 - 1/21/2015

Everyone who knew my father had a different relationship with him. 

As an adult, mine was a complicated relationship which was never easy, simple or unconditional. 

He could be painfully controlling, argumentative, always always right, demanding, unappreciative, and he knew just what to say to reduce me to tears or howling anger. 

Yet, other times he would be tender, humourous, empathetic, generous, appreciative and forgiving and those were precious times.

I know that since Mom died, he was never again really happy or at peace. 

He was lost without her, not in a helpless way, but in an emotional way.  He lost his sense of purpose.

 I knew he loved me and I loved him. 

The last time I talked with him on face time from  Spain, a few days before he died, 

he said he loved me. 

He asked that I tell Tom that he has been a wonderful son in law. 

As a child, I thought of my father as dependable, responsible, and fervent in his faith in God.  

He was an usher at St. Therese, active in the Holy Name Men's Club and a life long member of the Knights of Columbus. He went to mass regularly and prayed daily.

 I believe that if there is a heaven, he is there with his God, mom and his beloved family. 

My father gave me many gifts.

The best-  my sisters and brothers.

Loyalty to family and the importance of taking care of each other.

A strong work ethic.

A liberal political view and a belief in social justice.  

A strong sense of patriotistm

The value of an education along with an exceptional K-12 and College education.

A blueprint on how to enjoy retirement. His was a LONG one, over 30 years. 

The love of travel.

Longevity

(and a full head of hair at 96)

Good bye Dad.  

Hug Mom for me. 

I love you.

Kit made this for Gramps 96 birthday. 

Happy 96. 

96th brithday. 

August 2014.

Looking good. 

Christmas 2014 

Two weeks later in the hospital reading the Patient's Rights Booklet :)

Sevilla, Spain

More artwork from home. Hurrah Joseph.

Scenes from the train from Malaga to Sevilla. Millions of acres of orange trees and olive trees and spectacular canyons through the mountains.

Beautiful buildings from the Expo 1929 in Sevilla.

The palace and the fortification from the 15th centurey to control the river. 

Upper right, Another Calatrava bridge creation for the 1992 Expo.  The brick stack is a pottery kiln. Other arial scenes from the department store 6th floor. 

A wonderful Mexican restaurant in Seveilla department store. 

The Catherdral, the third largest in Europe. 

This is the tomb of Christopher Columbus held by four kings of Spain.

More pics of the Cathedral.

Three M's -Maureen, Mijis, and Malaga, Spain

Maureen Haggard came from Brussels for MLK weekend. We had a fabulous time and she got some sun for one of the days! These goofy chairs are in the lobby of the MS Aramagua where we stayed for 19 days on the Costa del Sol. 

Mail from home. Such a warm hug.

Mijas a small mountain town near the Costa del Sol. 

Characters in Mijas. (Mee kass)

The bull ring in Mijas

Tapas and beer for a great lunch in Mijas.

Malaga - the Cathedral. 

The roman ampitheater in Malaga.

It was a rainy day in Malaga but still had a great day. 

Lunch in Malaga. 

The Picasso Museum in Malaga. He was born there and lived  there until he was 10 years  old.

Some of my paintings done in Spain. 

A sunny day in Malaga, and a rainy one in Malaga. 

A trip to the Rock of Gibralter, UK

A great violin concert at our favorite restaurant - The Canto del Agua

Gibralter, UK

A mosque near the Rock - there were 9,000 Morrocans who came to Gibralter to work after Franco closed the Spainish border and prevented the Spanish from working in Gibralter when the referendum failed to have Gibralter revert back to Spain.  A mosque was built for the Muslim Morrocans. 

The Rock, A light house on the point and a very windy day. 

Beautiful. 

Quite a view of Gibralter from the rock.

These tailess monkeys were brought by sailors to Gibralter during the 18th century. There are about 240 of them on the rock and they all have a name.  This inquistive monkey reached out to touch the cord on my jacket. 

A Statue commemorating the defense of Gibralter during WWII.  There are extensive tunnels  under the rock built by the Canadians for possible defense and hospitals - they were never needed. 

The home of the govenor is a former convent. 

Tom is checking out a square on the main street of Gibralter.  Good news: I found yarn in Gibralter. I had run out of my stash I bought in Brussels and was in a sheer panic!

Granda and more

This is the "And more"   

Mail from home. How sweet it is...

Missing you too.

Restaurants on the strand in Torremolinos. 

Our favorites: Canto del Agua and the Chinese Hong Kong. 

The Alhambra in Granada, Spain

This is a walled city which began with the Moors. They were conquered by the Catholics, and later the Catholics were conquered by Napoleon, who destroyed many of the buildings. 

Beautiful gardens and fountains in the patios which were the most important rooms in a palace or home. 

Doorways, archways, all very old and very beautiful. 

Tiles, sculpture, mosaics on the walls and ceilings. Some of this is writing in Farsi which can be read today. 

Upper left is a mosaic from the Catholics. 

Middle left is an example of the ceiling in the Sultans palace. 

The city of Granda. Lower left is a university building. Upper left is a cathedral. 

The lower picture is the old silk market. 

Columbus bowing before Queen Isabel before he left on his voyage which would bring him to America. 

The city of Granda was also a walled city.This is a remnant of the wall. There are homes dug into the mountain where the gypsies live to this day. All you  can see is the opening to the caves. 

Laundry done at the hotel. Can you guess how much this cost?

  One pair of jeans, one hanky, five shirts.

56.00 Euros.