A night at Emma's

Emma and I shared a cottage at pueblo ingles and when she discovered that I was heading to Basque country she offered to show me around San Sebastián and Bilbao on her last couple of days of holiday. Because I had changed my itinerary I messed up my bookings and didn't have accommodation for one night so she and her parents generously put me up for the night. They live in a small village halfway between San Sebastián and Bilbao, nestled between the hills. The house they live in is hundreds of years old with beautiful old timber and lovely furniture. The family have actually rented it for several generations - the owners won't sell it, and some members of the family that own it come to stay in the second floor; Emma's family live on the ground and first floors.
It is a small village, the typical place where everyone knows everyone. When she is working Emma lives in a flat in San Sebastián. She is a doctor, working in the hospital there.
Emma and her parents speak both Spanish and Basque, but interestingly her parents speak two different dialects. They can understand each other, but use their own. Because the villages were so isolated in the past, each village had its own dialect and they are very different in form and words. During Franco's time they were not allowed to speak Basque so her parents grew up speaking Spanish. Now the schools teach Basque and some of the people have reverted to virtually only speaking Basque, possibly as a form of protest. All the signs are in both, the Basque being used is a created version of the language which is most similar to the langauge of the central area. This is the Basque used in school also.
Emma's brother also speaks some English so we communicated in 3 languages. I could understand parts of what they were saying in Spanish, and Emma and her brother shared the translating.
It was a wonderful experience to be in a home with a family and be able to talk about anything. I gained a bit more of an insight into what life was like during the dictatorship (they are always interested to learn that we have never had one) how life has changed since then, the battles over independence and the reasons why the Basque see themselves as separate.

San Sebastián

Old fashioned carousel on the shorefront 

View of San Sebastián from the fortress

The inside of the minimalist church

Looking up at the roof with the light creating a cross effect

Napoleon's cannons

More photos from San Sebastián

You can see the furthest sculpture through the other one. It is not accessible

How beautiful is this!

Beautiful buildings on the beach where you can eat.

The closest of the three statues

The holes where the water sprays out

Some of the beautiful street lights. They glow in white and blue. It may be coincidental that they are the football colours.

Halloween style sandcastle. A form of busking .

Photos from San Sebastián

Some of the architecture has a French style to it. France is only about 20 Kilometres away

This is one of 8 or 10 identical buildings along the river. Public housing. It created an uproar, not  just because it is prime real estate but because they were so ugly right in the heart of the city and the people living in the beautiful buildings on the opposite bank have to look at them.

This is also public housing but much more attractive. They seemed to have learnt the lesson.

The Basque flag

The bandstand with its beautiful art nouveau glass

Part of Emma's mother's vegetable garden. They never buy vegetables!

San Sebastián

I had a wonderful day in San Sebastián. It would have been lovely, simply because of the weather - clear blue skies and no wind - but I had the pleasure of Emma showing me the city. Emma is one of the Spaniards on the program, who lives about an hour and a half from San Sebastián. Before she arrived I walked the length of the large Bahia de la concha. Huge beach, golden sands, clear water; easy to see why San Sebastián is crawling with tourists in the summer. The bay is very sheltered because an island breaks most of the entrance so it is perfect for children.  Although it was Monday there were plenty of people walking along either the beach or the boardwalk, lots of dogs frolicking, and interestingly a significant number of elderly people being pushed in wheelchairs enjoying the sun. Apparently many of those pushing are paid; they must have a better ratio of staff to elderly than we do.
At the edge of the bay is a sculpture called El peine del viento - loosely translated as the wind comb. It is actually 3 huge metal sculptures attached to rocks. The wind is ferocious here in winter and the wind is broken as it comes through them. Carrida's vision was to have a place where the sea, wind, rocks and iron all come together. It was a collaboration between the sculptor, an architect who designed the surrounding area and the engineer who made it happen. To install them they had to build a bridge over the sea. The architect combined the geological formations with a series of platforms made from Spanish red granite cobblestones, with a few breather holes in which air and salt water spray up on wild days. It was lovely being there on a calm, sunny day but I would love to come back and see it on a windy day when the sea is wild. Photos coming!!
Emma took me up to the headland on the other end of the bay where a fort was built by Napoleon's army, then down through a very peaceful garden into the other bay. The garden reminded me of Burnham Beeches, for those who have visited it in the Dandenongs. The second bay gets more waves, enough to surf, but it was still when we were there. They've built a huge, very modern arts facility right on the shore line.  It caused a lot of fuss because people didn't think it fitted the character of the city. Further over is a very modern, minimalist church. Emma took me inside. It is totally unlike any Catholic church I have ever seen but beautiful in its simplicity. The odd thing is that there is a supermarket in the basement of the building.
We enjoyed some pinxtos at a couple of bars. They are the basque version of tapas - served on a slice of French stick, with a variety of toppings. They line up a selection on the bar, and you can also ask for the hot ones separately.
Then it was back to Emma's car for the journey to her parent's house in a small village between San Sebastián and Bilbao.

More photos from Salamanca

Love locks hanging from a well

Dome of new cathedral

Photos from Salamanca

Beautiful figures

More Cathedral images

old city wall and tower near where the English broke through.

Roman bridge

Salamanca

We've spent a lovely day in Salamanca. The buildings are a warm golden colour, like in Santiago de Compostelo and when combined with the autumn tones of the leaves it gives a glow to the city. We visited an amazing gallery of Art Nouveau and Art Deco. It is in a building originally built as an art deco style palace, with an exquisite stained glass ceiling. The collection includes bronzes, perfume bottles, lamps, furniture, toys and a fascinating collection of porcelain dolls.
We also wandered into a library nearby and discovered that it has an exhibition of the Civil War. Very unusual to see anything about the war or Franco. There were political posters, copies of identification cards, instructions on what to do at the bomb shelters, and two conflicting reports on how the losers would be treated. There was also a group of rooms on the Freemasons including a room set up as a lodge meeting room.
Then we wandered down to the Roman bridge. Next to it was a little plaza where guys were practising skateboarding tricks on various ramps and poles. A group had a little model they were huddling around working out angles of approach. All very scientific.
We moved on to the Cathedrals. The 'new' (16th century) and old are built next to each other. The old cathedral isn't open to the public unfortunately. The facade of the new one includes a little statue of an astronaut in it. No, they didn't go back in time; when they were restoring the facades the craftsmen added the figure as a signature. They also added a gargoyle eating an ice cream!!
Speaking of hidden statue images, the facade of the university is famous for a hidden frog on the top of a skull. Apparently the medical students are told that if they can't find the frog they will never graduate. All the gift shops are full of little frogs. You have to see the facade to realise how difficult this task actually is.
We had missed lunch so we had churros and chocolate for afternoon tea at 5, then dinner at 9:30. We are really getting into Spanish eating habits.

Photos coming. political posters, copies of identification cards, instructions on what to do at the bomb shelters, and two conflicting reports on how the losers would be treated. There was also a group of rooms on the Freemasons including a room set up as a lodge meeting room.
Then we wandered down to the Roman bridge. Next to it was a little plaza where guys were practising skateboarding tricks on various ramps and poles. A group had a little model they were huddling around working out angles of approach. All very scientific.
We moved on to the Cathedrals. The 'new' (16th century) and old are built next to each other. The old cathedral isn't open to the public unfortunately. The facade of the new one includes a little statue of an astronaut in it. No, they didn't go back in time; when they were restoring the facades the craftsmen added the figure as a signature. They also added a gargoyle eating an ice cream!!
Speaking of hidden statue images, the facade of the university is famous for a hidden frog on the top of a skull. Apparently the medical students are told that if they can't find the frog they will never graduate. All the gift shops are full of little frogs. You have to see the facade to realise how difficult this task actually is.
We had missed lunch so we had churros and chocolate for afternoon tea at 5, then dinner at 9:30. We are really getting into Spanish eating habits.

Photos coming.

Final days in Pueblo Ingles

I'm sitting in a hotel room in Salamanca the morning after our program finished. I'm sharing the room with Vicki, another Anglo from the program. One of the Spaniards, Javiér, gave me a lift, and I 'gave' him an extra one to one for an hour. I've changed my schedule slightly, and am then moving on to San Sebastián on the advice of many who tell me it is one of the most beautiful towns in Spain. That's a big call, I can tell you! There, Emma, another Spaniard, will meet me and show me about. The next day I spend in Bilbao, and Emma will meet me again for the day. That's an indication of how generous the Spaniards are and how close we became in just one week.
The program gives out the email addresses of all the participants (unless someone doesn't want it: unlikely in this situation) so we can keep in touch. I'm told there is quite a bit of email traffic for the first few months, then it tends to die out, but one of the Spaniards who also did the program 4 years ago still has lunch every Wednesday with one of the Anglos on that program. They both live in Madrid. I have one Spaniard who I will probably keep longer contact with because we shared so many interests.

On the Thursday night I did my presentation, a pictorial view of Melbourne and other parts of Victoria to counteract the : I know about Australia, you have that opera house on the harbour! I was only allowed 5 minutes, and I ended up speaking way too fast, but at least they could see the images even if they couldn't understand what I was saying. I apologised to a few afterwards, and they said that they were interested to hear my real speaking pace because I have spoken slowly and clearly all week. It made them appreciate what it would be like being in the country. They also loved the pictures!

That night we went into the town for dinner to another of the family's restaurants in an almost medieval setting - long table set in a horseshoe. It wasn't as congenial because you could really only talk to the person either side of you, but fortunately I was sitting next to JC. We spent the hour or more, barely touching our food, talking Greek legends, religion and philosophy and photography. We did attract some cheeky comments from the others across the other side, but we didn't really care. Obviously his English is very good, and it reminded me of how impressed I was by the wide vocabulary base of many.

When we returned, we had an informal party: "and we drank and we danced and we talked until the early morn, who'll come a waltzing Matilda with me"
Some of them ended up back in the cabin Emma and I shared, and staying talking until 4:30am when I tossed them out.

On the final day we had a group activity where we had to make up a song which told a little  of what we had done. As you may have guessed my group chose Waltzing Matilda as the tune. The final line of the chorus went "we'll be speaking English the whole bloody week."
One of the other groups chose the tune "we will, we will rock you" but they used the Anglos singing "we will teach you" with the Spaniards replying "we will kill you". Great fun!!

We had a Graduation ceremony, with certificates for all, and after lunch it was time to say goodbye. Most were heading back on the bus to Madrid, so for them the party continued - they were threatening revenge by having only Spanish spoken on the bus - but we were heading the other way so after many hugs and kisses we parted. 

Day 5 Rest Day

Day 5 was a bit of a break in the program. We had been speaking constantly for 4 days, from about 8:30, when mostly anglos gather in the bar area to connect to the internet, through to 11, midnight, sometimes later. Of course it is much harder for the Spaniards - all their talking has to be in English! Some of them have said that they have found it hard to sleep because their brain won't switch off, it wants to keep learning. Some of the Anglos, though, have found it just as challenging keeping a conversation going for 50 minutes. I had one comment how amazed he was that I could talk to anyone on any subject.

So after breakfast we went on a walk into the town. It takes about 15 minutes along a little path. As we walked, a local came past the other way, leading a donkey. Very traditional rural Spain still here. The people live in a bit of a time warp, which is lovely for them. In the summer it is much busier, with many Spanish tourists coming up to the mountains to escape the heat. The family who own the hotel also own several businesses in the town.

As we entered the village there was a stone cross on the side, and I saw another 4 of them in the village. There are also 2 little chapels, which had been erected at some stage to mark where a miracle took place. And in the town square carved into a stone is a very old scallop shell. Yes, another Camino, this time the Silver way which runs up through the centre of Spain. On the outside of the church, which unfortunately was closed, was a small section closed off with a very high wall, where apparently they threw the bodies of those who could not be buried in consecrated ground. It must have been a bit smelly!
They have a tradition that every night a woman from the village goes around the village, ringing a bell at every corner, presumably to keep the evil spirits away. Legend says that one night, it was cold and wet and the woman didn't want to go, so she stayed home. In the morning the others commented on how wet she must have got while she was ringing it. She confessed that she had not gone out, but the others had all heard the bell, and heard weeping as it was being rung. Apparently from that day one, no- one has missed their duty.

In the summer on their festival day, they close off the town square, gather in the balconies of the houses around it, and watch a bullfight. And the central cross in the square was the place where they would have the public executions.

As always the expulsion of the Jews comes up. L'Alberca was on the route many took to flee from the south through into France. Some chose to stay in the town. I guess they thought an isolated village would be less threatening. To show that they had 'converted' they would donate a piglet to the village each year in August. It still happens, but not donated by a Jewish family. The pig runs free in the village. If it stopped at your door at meal time, you had to feed it, and if it was there when the animals were being brought  inside ( the bottom storey, built from stone was the stable ), then you had to house it for the night. On January 15 the pig was slaughtered and the meat went to the poorest villagers. These days it is raffled off and the money given to charity. I'm not sure where it sleeps the night! There is also a statue of a pig right outside the church, and apparently if you touch the testicles you will have a baby 9 months later. There are 2 couples who have done the program where it happened!

Pueblo Ingles Days 3 and 4

It's Tuesday morning, Day 4, and breakfast is about to start, but the numbers are still low because we had a party last night after dinner. I left at 1:30am after dancing for 3 hours straight. The first hour it was mostly the women dancing - the Spanish men needed a bit more lubrication before they hit the dance floor. The music was a combination of 60s - 90s and some of the popular Spanish songs. With one, they immediately started doing a set of steps a bit like the Nutbush. I'm going to ask them to teach me, and find out the song, so we can do it sometime.

In Day 3 in the one to one sessions I was asked to listen to the presentations they had to give the following day. Their first presentation is about the work they do, because this is the language they know and feel comfortable about, but also what they need their English for most often. It was fascinating for me because I learnt about their work, companies and t we could talk about the wider political and economic situation as well. We also had a 2 to 2 session where we are given a range of possible topics to discuss but can really talk about anything. We started talking about what you would do if you won 5 million Euros and it went into a wider discussion as you can imagine. Yesterday in our 2 to 2 we talked about whether our country should have a monarchy. The 2 Spaniards had quite different views on whether their Royals were useful so it made for an interesting discussion. The economic situation is never far from their minds. Yesterday in the group session we were given the characteristics of 4 people and asked to decide which one we would choose as a world leader, and what characteristic of the others was the main reason we rejected them. Every single group rejected one person because he had corrupt friends. Corruption in politics is a real issue here.

In the break yesterday I joined a group playing paddle tennis. This is a popular game in Spain, and was actually invented here or possible Chile. It is in an enclosed court - the back wall and a section of the side is glass and the rest is a wire mesh. The racquets are paddles and they use a tennis ball. The ball has to land in the court first but can then bounce off the walls so it is a bit like squash. It was great fun.

I had a telephone session for one session yesterday. We went to our rooms and had to talk on the phone. There were some suggested scenarios but we adjusted one and so Antonio called me and enquired about a holiday to Australia. I pretended I was at the Australian Travel Bureau. I nearly hung up when he said he was planning to come to Sydney, but I got over it, and we ended up talking for half an hour about the various options then continued to finish the 50 minutes by talking about tennis.  

On Sunday night we had a special presentation of a quiemada, which is a ceremony to frighten away the evil spirits and welcome the friendly ones by drinking a drink which is rather like a rum punch. The alcohol is made from the skins of the grapes after pressing, lemon, sugar, cinnamon and coffee beans. It is set alight to help burn off some of the alcohol. The drink and ceremony come from Galacia, in northern Spain.

Pueblo Ingles - first days

It's the start of the 3rd day of the Pueblo Ingles program.
Day 1 we spent 4+ hours travelling by bus from Madrid up to the hotel near L'Alberca. It is in the mountains, in the midst of the oak area where they make the most expensive jamon (cured ham) in Spain. The black pigs only eat acorns from this particular oak and it gives a rich dark colour to the ham. So there are acorns all over the ground, as well as chestnuts which are also prolific.
The hotel is built like a monastery or castle, but we are actually staying in a series of cabins which are slightly down the hill and have our own dining room, meeting room and bar. This helps to keep the Spaniards away from hearing Spanish. At all times we are paired off Anglo/Spaniards: travelling up in the bus, in the cabin, at meals, during presentations and information sessions and, of course, in our individual sessions.
The day starts at 9 with breakfast, then from 10-2 we have a range of sessions: 'one with one', or 2 with 2',  telephone calls, telephone conferencing and Spaniards doing short presentations. So far we have only had 1 with 1 sessions, but the others start today. Lunch is 2-3 then we have a break from 3-5 where we can rest, go for a walk, use the internet, catch up with work or family etc. At 5 there is an hour of presentations, a group session from 6-7, then 2 more individual sessions, until dinner at 9. Early by Spanish standards: most of them would eat at 10. After dinner we generally stay around for a chat, some go back on the internet, or off to their rooms. I usually last until about 11:30 but I heard some returning to their cabins at about 3 this morning!

For the 1 to 1 sessions there is a roster of who you are talking with, and for each session a verb, and a saying which need to be discussed at some point. You can sit inside or out of the central area, go for a walk around the property, or use the sitting room of your cabin. Walking for at least part tends to help relax the Spaniards, although by the last sessions last night it was quite cold and we were happy to sit inside. Some of the discussion points we had yesterday are 'ask for, ask about',  to 'come across', 'get to know', 'cheer up'. They are also given a book where they can write notes which has pages of idiom, which they can ask about if they like. But the purpose of the sessions is really to converse about a range of topics: their work, travels, life in Spain or Australia, music, sport, art etc. some ask to be corrected when they make a grammatical (usually verb) error, some will ask how to say a word correctly, but the aim is to help them widen their vocabulary. They are all in high powered jobs, so it is challenging for them to be the 'student' and to be occasionally struggling to find the words.
Some of the people I spoke to yesterday were a lawyer specialising in internet privacy/ market research/cookie issues, a psychologist who practices Zen, eats Japanese food, and is obsessive about jazz, the marketing manager of Real Madrid - a very charming guy!   a guy who provides Nestlé, Heinz, etc with bottles, and the marketing head of the European market for a magazine stable, including Elle.
In our group activity we had a large object (which was actually an old still made from copper which looked a bit like a bird) placed in the room. As a group we had to decide what it was put together an advertising campaign for it, with each person speaking.    Great fun!
Each of the Anglos is also asked to do a short presentation on one of the evenings, basically on whatever you like. Last night one lady spoke and showed pictures from a walk in the mountains of Washington State in the US - she's in a bush walking club, and a guy did an Elvis and a Beatles song (with backing music) and encouraged us to sing along.

My impressions so far? Very well organised, a great range of activities, excellent venue, totally committed people on both sides and really interesting and enjoyable. Although the days are long, they don't drag at all. The only down side is that I would like to get a bit more sleep because I still wake at 6-7.

Barcelona

I spent a day in Barcelona. Far too short, but I got enough of a taste to say next time I'll stay at least five days. My focus was Dali, in particular the Sagrada Familia, but I also went to Park Grüell. I hadn't booked a ticket because I wasn't sure when I'd get there, so I joined the line around the block waiting for tickets. At least I could appreciate the outside of the building while we slowly shuffled along. I chose not to buy a ticket for the towers - they suggested that people who suffer from vertigo and claustrophobia (tick, tick) shouldn't go up. I did get the audio tour though, and it was very worthwhile.
The outside is incredibly detailed, and you get a very sore neck trying to look up at the details. The nativity facade was my favourite, very complex and with some lovely traditional carvings.

As I went inside the first thing I noticed was the rainbow effect of light streaming through the stained glass windows on to the pillars. As the sun shifts the light is a constantly changing feature. The pillars are four different colours made from alabaster, granite, marble and basalt, each a particular size, and the different circumferences are dependent on position and what they are holding up.
There will be stained glass windows around the whole church but at the moment only about 1/4 are done. But they are exquisite and very complex. The colour palettes change according to the theme, and one part at the highest point behind the altar is deliberately clear to allow the natural light to shine through.

The columns spread out as they go up like tree trunks and are twisted and interlinked. Gaudi was very mathematical and developed ideas which had never before been tried. He used a lot of parabolic shapes to provide more light coming from the ceiling. In the museum they have displays explaining the mathematical concepts behind the designs. It would be a great thing for an extended essay or an extension class to explore. I was hoping there was a book specifically on the mathematics behind the design, but there wasn't one in the shop - I'll have to look on the web.

As I left the church I walked though the queue waiting for a ticket, right in front of two guys who had been in the hostel at Riomaggiore. What are the chances?? Then, as I was walking from the station to Park Grüell, I met a couple I had spent several hours chatting to at Cadaqués. Still no PLC meetings though.
Park Grüell was interesting, and very pretty in parts but not nearly as extraordinary. The design of layers of paths and terraces up the hill were interesting, and his use of trees in the designs of his columns was very pronounced. There were beautiful mosaics and lots of places to sit.
That night I went on a tapas tour on the Gothic centre of Barcelona. There were only 8 of us in the group so it was relaxed and friendly. As I was waiting at the meeting spot I heard whistles and bangs, and found that a large demonstration was coming down the street. It was very friendly, not at all confronting and the police presence was small and relaxed also. The tour was great fun. We went to a cheese shop and sampled some cow, goat and sheep cheese, then to a small family cafe which specialised in Vermouth (they had their own version specially made and served it on tap), then a typical Catalonian restaurant, and finally a small cafe for dessert.  

Last day of walking

As I walked along the beachfront on the last walking day I saw a familiar symbol.

But what was the Camino scallop shell doing at Port de la Selva? I was about to embark on a short section of yet another Camino route which started at Port de la Selva and went up the mountain to the monastery of Sant Pere de Rodes.

The road zigzagged up the mountain. The track cut off all the bends by going virtually straight up! Partway up I went past a Neolithic shelter made from stone slabs. That area has a number of them scattered about.

The monastery had been around since at least 878 AD, and had its best times in the 11th and 12th century but was deserted by 1792 and fell into disrepair. It had been 'restored' more recently, except that there are absolutely no religious symbols in it at all - no statues, carvings, anything! Some of the original pieces are in museums, others just disappeared. I guess they may have taken some when they abandoned it as well. So it was weird standing in a church which was totally blank.

On top of the hill was an old fortress dating back to about the same time. It was definitely a ruin, but was interesting to wander through and had brilliant views over the valleys. No one would have snuck up on them.

The walk continued on past a little church of Saint Helene which had also been restored, and on around the mountain. I left the Camino trail further along as my track wound me back around the other side of the mountain and down into a town nestled partway up the valley. As I came off the mountain I walked through a grove of chestnuts - the ground was littered with the husks and nuts.


As I entered the town I could smell food, and I was hungry, so I went straight in (on to a terrace) to eat. Lunch was shared with a lovely cat who sat (mostly) patiently by my side, and enjoyed the salmon filling of the choux pastry starter, the scallops in a beautiful red wine vinaigrette, and the salmon, exquisitely cooked in a lemon reduction.

The town was quite different in character. Not much of an old section, but the bit that was had large courtyards behind big walls. There were a lots of new, very nice looking houses - an unusual site in Spain where most people live in apartments. It seemed like there was a lot of money there, but I don't know what the people would be doing for work.

The next morning I was picked up early to catch a train to Barcelona. As Steve (who is from the UK) drove me in he told me about the quirks of trying to run a business directed at English speakers in a Catalan area where they insist that all communication (website, brochures etc) must also be in Catalan. It's very similar to the situation in Quebec. There's a big push again for independence from Spain. Apparently Catalunya (which includes Barcelona) contributes significantly to Spain's economy but doesn't feel that it gets a reasonably share back. Familiar issues.

Walk to Port de la Selva

The wind blew fiercely overnight, and it was still windy when I headed out to Port de la Selva. The route was inland, across the back of the headlands, through what appeared to be abandoned rural areas. I was walking into the wind, and for the first time on the trip I had long pants and a long sleeved shirt on, both light though. The views across the bays were lovely and I could also see across to the mountains, including the mountain which would be my last day's walk.

I passed small huts made from slate, abandoned farmer's shelters. I could imagine how cold this area would be in winter, with rain blowing horizontally across the headlands.

 The only evidence of others were some hoof prints and horse droppings - it would have been a beautiful track to ride. Unlike the previous day of walking, this was easy, mostly flat around the hills, once I'd reached the required elevation.

The descent into Port de la Selva was rocky but not too hard, and a bit more sheltered.
Port de la Selva was virtually deserted. Granted, I had arrived at siesta time so the shops were shut, but even later in the evening, the only people around were a few intrepid windsurfers having a great time in the windy conditions on the bay.

Apparently it's a fishing village, and there were certainly plenty of boats moored in the bay, but I expected a few more people. Lunch options were limited to 2 restaurants on the main square, both quite pricey: even the supermarket was closed 'for the season'. That said, I had a delicious late lunch with very fresh seafood.

The hotel was also a health resort; unfortunately, being off season, there was only one person doing any massages, and she was already booked. It had an interesting decor though, a of traditional Spanish, modern art, classical pieces, including a fascinating picture of the different amphorae across the Mediterranean, and Egyptian images.

In my room I had a pyramid and a living bamboo plant as well as a whole range of spa type brushes.