Category Archives: travel

Nostalgia at Christmas: Sketches from Spain

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Last week I was reminded of my sketch trip to Spain in 2019, and I went looking for the sketchbook I’d used at the time. Previous to leaving, I’d joined a travel sketching group, and in preparation we were asked to choose something to sketch from a favourite place we’d visited. So I chose a photo taken twenty years earlier from the cathedral Sagara Família in Barcelona.

I was high in a tower which overlooked the city and focussed on the sculptured doves in front of me. I used water-soluble ink for the foreground. It’s wise not to load the brush with too much water when you pick up the ink pigment. I used a diluted watercolour for the background.

Some Images from the sketching trip to follow

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The best laid plans for a short southern sojourn

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The delightful town of Kaikoura

Kerry and I booked a short but interesting trip to Kaikōura, as part of a Great Journeys NZ trip. This included: a train ride, an overnight stay in a nice hotel, a dolphin excursion (or whale, or albatross watching), and a return train ride from Christchurch. We flew from Auckland to Christchurch, stayed overnight in an hotel, and with some excitement grabbed a taxi early next morning and headed to the station to catch a north-bound train, as Kaikōura is in the North Canterbury region in the South Island. We lugged our bags into the crowded station, went over to the ticket office, and after a quick exchange with the staff, found that our train had departed … Let me gloss over that part and leave you to fill in the dots any way you wish.

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A memorable read

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Recently I began helping out at a second-hand bookshop, and came across Memoirs of a Geisha, by Arthur Golden. The title was familiar, but after reading the foreword, decided I’d missed reading it somehow. It was published in 1998, three years before I went to live and work in Japan.

I knew little of the country when I arrived, but when It came to time leave, the place and its people were a part of me.

I made close friends, and was invited into their homes, to enjoy meals, attend art classes, and cultural events – such as New Year celebrations and rituals. These memories floated through my thoughts as I read Memoirs of a Geisha.

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A promise kept

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Cologne Cathedral

In last week’s post, I promised that you would see another sketch. Well, I did keep my word, and here it is, taken from a photo I took of the Cologne Cathedral on my recent travels. If you have followed my site, you will know I love sketching clouds, and that is why this sky over the Cathedral appealed to me. Nothing I like better than a great mass of brooding cumulus to get me going with the pencils.

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A couple of quick sketches, and sunny days in Lyon.

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I found little time while travelling up the Rhine to actually sit and sketch, though I did manage a few times. I have shown you the windmill sketch already, just outside Amsterdam. But here I show one sketched from my cabin as we moved closer to Basel and the finish of our cruise.

Beside the Rhine.

For this sketch I used fine pen, 6B pencil, and aquarelle pencil. I sketched swiftly across the two pages, getting this down in a matter of minutes, as dinner was ready to be served. I like using a darker pencil on a smooth paper (as this was), as I love rubbing the lead with a fingertip hinting at shadow or contour. I popped in blue and green to remind me of where I could lay a watercolour wash through at a later date. I never did the wash, but quite liked the immediacy of the sketch.

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Off to Cologne – The Cathedral & Museum Ludwig.

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The spires of the Cathedral under a moody sky

We continued our cruise through the night from Dordrecht, with me dreaming of the wonderful windmills we had seen in Kinderdijk that day. The ‘ship’ docked in Monheim at approximately 9am on Friday. Soon after we were on a coach and heading into Cologne where we would begin our walking tour. Our destination – the Cathedral. We needed to cross the bridge, you see in the photo, but so did zillions of others, and rather like we found in Amsterdam, the pedestrians had to fight with cyclists for the same space. I was surprised when the tour guide told us that we would likely be shouted at, or even sworn at by cyclists! And although I was never sworn at, the walk across the bridge was certainly memorable.

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Off to Cologne – The Cathedral & Museum Ludwig.

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The spires of the Cathedral under a moody sky

We continued our cruise through the night from Dordrecht, with me dreaming of the wonderful windmills we had seen in Kinderdijk that day. The ‘ship’ docked in Monheim at approximately 9am on Friday. Soon after we were on a coach and heading into Cologne where we would begin our walking tour. Our destination – the Cathedral. We needed to cross the bridge, you see in the photo, but so did zillions of others, and rather like we found in Amsterdam, the pedestrians had to fight with cyclists for the same space. I was surprised when the tour guide told us that we would likely be shouted at, or even sworn at by cyclists! And although I was never sworn at, the walk across the bridge was certainly memorable.

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Cruising along and visiting windmills

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Amsterdam to Basel

After joining the ship, we spent the first afternoon settling in to our cabins (named staterooms on board), and prepared to meet staff and other passengers whose company we’d be among as we made our way from Amsterdam towards Basel, the culmination of our river cruise. As we imagined, the food and wine was of a high standard and helped us enjoy the eight days on board very well. Added to this was a crew member, who doubled as a great pianist and singer, whom we listened to throughout the evenings pre and post dinner. There was a rundown by the Programme Director on the following days’ events each day, with guided walks included in overall cost of cruise, and other excursions which cost more. But, if you have trouble sleeping, I suggest you do such a cruise as I, an erratic sleeper, cannot recall such a sound sleep as we moved through the night, and docked without my hearing a thing.

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It all started in Amsterdam

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Amsterdam was where we would join the Viking Sigrun (they call it a ship, not a boat) and the other approximately 179 others who had chosen this trip up the Rhine for a week’s voyage. Kerry and I chose to arrive early in Amsterdam, giving us time to meet friends, and to rid ourselves of jet lag, after our lengthy flights from New Zealand. Over 36 hours should you wonder.

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From Devonport to Christchurch and back: theatre, family, and scenes to take your breath away.

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I took this photo the day before flying to Christchurch; A good omen I felt. Kerry and I were off to attend the first night of a play selected to mark the opening of the new Court Theatre in the Christchurch CBD. The original theatre in the old university buildings suffered irreparable damage in the 2011 earthquakes.

The play, The End of The Golden Weather, written 50 years ago by New Zealander Bruce Mason, is a Kiwi classic, and my daughter Lara was honoured to be asked to direct the show. We were thrilled to be at the opening and to see how she would interpret this beloved play. Yes, this was a big deal!

Lara Macgregor: Director
Sumner beach

The morning of the play, we were with my sister in Sumner taking a walk along the esplanade. It was a stunning day, and naturally I took a photo, looking along the beach towards the Southern Alps (which sadly, were hidden behind cloud at the time).

Behind me were dozens of surfers, mostly women who were there for a competition. The air was chill, and they all deserved medals for their desire to brave the cold water.

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