Santa Fe Opera tour #4

From there we went on to Taos, where we enjoyed the many shops and had lunch.  Then we continued on to the Taos Pueblo, considered to be one of the oldest continuously inhabited communities in the US. 

Pueblo is defined as: "a North American Indian settlement of the southwestern US, especially one consisting of multistoried adobe houses built by the Pueblo people." For more information, view its website here."

It was a very hot day and difficult to spend nearly an hour outside having a guided tour of the Pueblo, but it was very interesting.  

Above picture shows the ruins of a Catholic Church which was destroyed in the War with Mexico by the U.S. Army in 1847. This church was first built in 1619 then destroyed in the Spanish Revolt of 1680 but soon rebuilt on the same site. 

The white gate in the above picture is the entrance to the Saint Geronimo (or St. Jerome) Chapel, built in 1850 to replace the Catholic church destroyed in 1847.  I took refuge from the extreme heat by sitting in the church a couple of times. There was a thunder and lightning storm in the hills while we were there and some welcome rain fell on us.

Stock Picture of church:

Santa Fe Opera Tour #3

On Wednesday, July 31 as part of the tour, our bus took the group to Taos. On the way, we stopped at Chimayo, and saw El Santuario de Chimayo, a Roman Catholic Shrine, which still receives over 300,000 visitors a year and is an important pilgrimage site in North America.

 El Santuario de Chimayo

In Chimayo, we also visited the Potrero Trading Post next to the shrine which is renowned for its red and green chillies. 

And also part of this village is the Santo Nino chapel, below, you can see the strong Spanish influence in the design and decoration:

Santa Fe Opera Tour #2

We attended four different operas during the tour at the magnificent Santa Fe Opera House, which is about 6 miles outside of Santa Fe on a hilltop.

(Stock Picture)

 Entrance

 Entrance

 View from our seats

View behind the stage

The operas we saw were:

The Pearl Fishers by Bizet (romantic)

Cosi Fan Tutte by Mozart (fluffy & a farce)

Jenufa by Janecek (tragedy)

La Boheme by Puccini (sad and romantic)

My favourite was Jenufa because of the intense emotions, lots of action on the set and the drama between the players.

Santa Fe Opera Tour #1

From July 29 to August 4, 2019, I joined my friend Susy on the Vancouver Opera Guild tour to Santa Fe, New Mexico.  We stayed at the Inn of the Governors, which is quite comfortable, saw four different operas in the Santa Fe Opera House, and toured Taos and vicinity and the Allan Houser Sculpture Garden. Great trip, but very, very hot which made it difficult to walk around the city for long. When we did walk in Santa Fe, we headed for the museums and galleries to get some air conditioning.

The Georgia O'Keefe Museum was very interesting and we spent a couple of hours there. First we attended an excellent lecture about the art work of Georgia O'Keefe, which included a guided tour of Gallery Room #7, some of her later works.  After touring the entire Museum, we watched a video about her life.  She painted for many decades, with her style evolving from close ups of flowers, to the desert and hills around her home, to scenes of clouds and horizons that she saw when looking out of airplane windows in flight.

A few of her paintings:

Museum of Anthropology - Theatre of Puppets

Went with my friend, Janice, to the Museum of Anthropology on Sunday, June 30 to the special exhibit: "Shadows, Strings and Other Things - The Enchanting Theatre of Puppets".  I had no idea what this exhibit would be all about and was thrilled to see the displays from so many countries, the video shorts of puppets entertaining the audience and details of how puppets were created and operated.

There are puppets which are operated by strings, on poles, by hand and using shadows.  Quite fascinating.

Punch & Judy - UK

Japan

Day Trip to Langley Wineries

On Saturday, June 29, 2019 I went for a drive for the day, taking my friends Susy and Sharon and we went out to Langley to visit wineries.  Such a gorgeous, peaceful drive through farm and pastural areas. We loved it. First stop was the Chaberton Estate Winery at 1064 - 216th Street, Langley. We started in the tasting room/store where we had small tastes of the following wines from their winery:

1. 2017 Estate Grown Madeleine Sylvaner Fraser Valley BC VQA (good)
2. 2018 Estate Grown Dry Bacchus Fraser Valley BC VQA (quite dry)
3. 2018 Estate Grown Bacchus Fraser Valley BC VQA (I liked this one)
4. 2018 Estate Grown Siegerrebe Fraser Valley BC VQA (award winning)
5. 2017 Estate Grown Siegerrebe Dessert Fraser Valley BC VQA (fabulous)

Chaberton Vineyards

Chaberton wines I bought to try at home

Then went to their Bacchus Bistro for a fabulous lunch of Butternut Squash soup and Okra Quiche.  So delicious!

Next we drove to the Township 7 Vineyard & Winery at their Langley location at 21152 16th Avenue.  We did not taste wines here but bought one of their wines which has won lots of awards - Viognier:

Side Trip to Grand Canyon, South Rim

While in Sedona, we took a one day guided tour up to the southern rim of the Grand Canyon and back, making lots of stops along the way. About a 12 hour return trip.

Trip to Sedona, AZ

Just got back from 5 days in Sedona, AZ where I went with my friend Susy for a change of scene. Well, we certainly got new scenery and it is so beautiful and mystical.  We loved the Red Rock Mountains and the Oak Creek Canyon.

My Neil

Neil, my husband of over 46 years, died on Tuesday, January 15, 2019.  He was the great love of my life. Here is the obituary for him which will be published online and in print this weekend.

ORNSTEIN, NEIL M.

March 2, 1934 – January 15, 2019

With sadness, we announce that our Neil passed at the age of 84 in Vancouver, BC. Lovingly remembered by Donna his wife of over 46 years, siblings Joan Howitt (Bruce), Jack (Micheline), Marilyn Goodwin (Don), nephews and nieces Vincent Kruger (Shannon), Janice Riahi (Nader), Gillian Morantz (Adrian) and great nieces and nephews Gabriella and Leila Riahi, Dylan Kruger (Katie), Montana Kruger and Chloe and Damien Schauer. Also by brother-in-law Ken Rowan (Libby) and Ken’s sons Chris, Sam and Teddy Rowan. Predeceased by sister-in-law Dr. Linda Vickars and brother-in-law Bruce Rowan.

Neil was born in Fort William, ON to Irving and Gertrude Ornstein. He cherished memories of Port Arthur Collegiate Institute, Loon Lake, and skiing at Mt. Baldy. The family moved to Vancouver in 1954 where Neil attended UBC and obtained his BA in 1956 and his LLB in 1959. His varied 52-year law career included serving as Counsel to the National Harbours Board, and private practice with Varty & Company for 25 years.

Active in volunteer groups, he was President of Vancouver Waterfront Lions Club, Vancouver Central Lions Club and B’nai B’rith Lions Gate Lodge.  He represented the Lodge on the Brotherhood Interfaith Society board.

Neil is remembered for his curiosity and enjoyment of people of different ethnic backgrounds, especially their languages, cuisines and religions. Neil and Donna travelled extensively visiting all 7 continents on tours and cruises.  Home and his family and friends were his greatest joys.

Thank you to Dr. Isaiah Bregman for his dedication to Neil’s care, Emmy and Lanie, Neil’s companions for their devotion to Neil as well as the staff at Weinberg Residence for their assistance to Neil as he faced many challenges with disabilities.

For those who wish, donations may be made in Neil’s memory to Temple Sholom, Louis Brier Foundation or a charity of their choice.

Remembering

Remembrance Day always makes me remember my father, Robert Rowan, who served in the Royal Canadian Navy, based out of Esquimalt, BC. He came back home in 1947 after serving 7 years.  He did not have a physical injury but I came to realize over time the toll those years took on his future life.  He mainly served in the Atlantic on a corvette escorting other ships back and forth across the Atlantic.  He was then moved to the Pacific Theatre after peace in Europe in May 1945 until discharged in 1947. Thank you Dad, I love you.

Remembrance brick for him in Victoria Harbour.