Ute Lemper

As a birthday gift from my friend, Marcia, we went to see Ute Lemper at the Royal Conservatory of Music's Koerner Hall.

This hall is huge and the performance was sold out, but thankfully Marcia purchased tickets in advance.

Ms. Lemper sang a few songs from her newest album, Paris Days, Berlin Nights. 

Her deep German voice reminded me of Marlene Dietrich when she sang Falling In Love Again.

I remember Ms. Dietrich singing the same tune in the classic black & white film, "Blue Angel".

The concert was exceptional and well worth the money, even though I did not buy the tickets.

This chanteuse has quite a vocal range and the audience was very appreciative of her work.....they gave her a standing ovation.

Amritsar

November 14th Entry:

I didn't think anywhere could be dirtier and smellier than Delhi, but Amritsar wins!
My goodness, the fumes, and the noise as well as the filth in certain parts of the city was overwhelming.

Then, thank goodness, there was the Golden Temple.
Peace, quiet, cleanliness, serenity and gardens.I stayed several hours in the temple, and saw my first parrots.

The little Indian girls were so cute and so curious. Usually at any popular site, like the temple, 2 or 3 would call out to me: "Hello Uncle...Auntie", followed by giggling, and requests to have there picture taken with me. I think it's the hat, that causes the confusion about my gender. Sometimes I get "Hello sir, you can't go in there, sir....ladies only".
 

I am here in Bikaner for 2 or 3 nights. I have a nice room at the Hotel Harasar Haveli.

I will probably stay 2 or 3 nights, and then it will be on to either Jaisalmer or Jaipur (depending on available transport).

I'm not sure if I'll do the local version of a camel trek.

Here are some pictures I took:

This one is from the Pushkar Fair.

I am currently in Agra at Shanti Lodge. There is a nice view of the Taj from here.

I travel to Delhi tomorrow, and then board an overnight train to Jaisalmer, where I will probably be for 3 or 4 days, before heading back up, and hopefully, visiting Ranthambore (tiger country).

And here I am in front of the Taj Mahal.

Dharamsala

October 2011 Entry:

I was very lucky the Dalai Lama was in residence while here in Dharamsala; so I got to pay my respects, and sat for some teachings that he was giving on enlightenment.

Gosh, he keeps a busy schedule!

He taught us a morning and afternoon sessions (2 & 3 hours respectively); then in the evening he had a televised dialog with some white folks from...I forget where, about the environment.

On the Sunday of his first teachings, we had such a thunderstorm and there were cold winds blowing.

The shepherds told us that it was snow up on the ridge of the town, but it did not stay, as the weather turned warmer.

The storm cleared the air, briefly, which was great, since you could actually see the beautiful Kangra Valley below and Lake Pong (usually the view is obscured by an ever present layer of smoke).

I managed to do a bit of volunteering (one -on-one English conversation) at a local non-profit.

It was certainly interesting to a young monk one day, then a young Thangka artist the next.

I was sooo tempted to buy some of these beautiful works of art (Tibetan silk paintings), but just looked and admired.

Heard some local traditional musicians, and saw an interesting film about the Tibetan Oracle.I went on some nice hikes in the surrounding hills, and saw lots of monkeys and one mongoose.

There were many large hawk-like birds (kites) and vultures, I think.

I must get a slim volume of Indian flora and fauna.

We were surrounded by a large heard of goats , at one time (the little ones are sooo cute).

Saw the Norbulingka Art Institute and compound with its beautiful temple, gardens, cafe, workshops and guest house.

There were beautiful tapestries and paintings for sale that were too expensive to even consider...but lovely to look at.

Spent Diwali evening at 3,000 metres, in a place called Triund (part of the Dhauladar Range of the Himalayas).
The hike up included going through the lovely Deodar Forest, which look suspiciously like our Larch trees. Near the top came oaks...or so I was told, which the shepherd use for firewood because it burns slow and hot. Able to see the snow-capped peaks leading further back into the mountain range, but OY! getting this far was entirely enough for me. The gams are still not 100% recovered, and I'm winded.

I'm blaming part of it on the constant smoke that seems to cause stress on the throat and lungs.

It was a very cold night, but able to warm up under 3 wool blankets in a very spartan guest house.

I tried to get some singing started around the campfire, but my voice was not the greatest.

Biding adieu to McLeod Ganj with a bumpy ride through the beautiful Kangra Valley to Pathankot, then on to Amritsar by train.

From France to India

September 17th Entry:

After many emails and a few pictures from my little sister, I've decided to post some of her musings. The picture here was taken in a really old Jain Temple....her friend, on the left is Kristi from New Zealand, who happened to be staying at the same hotel.



But first, let me bring you all up-to-date.....earlier this year, she took a sabbatical from teaching and sublet her apartment in Vancouver. Then in August she traveled here, to Toronto for a visit with family and friends.
In September, she flew out of Pearson Airport on her way to Paris...the City of Lights.

So herewith are her thoughts and comments (with some editing) as she travels.


France - Vimy and Ypres were a bit of a disappointment.
Could not get to Vimy, in order to find my uncle's name on the Memorial.
Ypres was a pretty little town, if a little touristy and pricey.
Ah, well 5 trains, 12 hours, and 3 countries later, I was in Switzerland, right kerplunken in the middle of the beautiful Alps.
Caught a cold, so a week's downtime at the Swiss Kloster was wonderful. Once I felt better, I was off for a few hikes.Who knew I would be hiking in the Swiss Alps...Yodelayheehoo.
The hills are alive with the sound of......Cowbells?
Yes the ubiquitous Swiss cow is everywhere, even at 2,000 metres. there were choruses of cowbells, in seemingly different octaves in every field.


Late September:

I am in sunny Italy, right now (Venezia) with lots of sunflowers and asters; and staying at a lovely organic farm just north of the old section of the city.
I spent a whole day just tromping around the city of Venice, and rode a bike around the nearby country side to-day.
I leave for Florence tomorrow, after I spend another day in the old town, seeing it from the water, this time. I love Italy!

October 1:

I took a day bike tour of Florence and into the Blue Hills of Tuscany, and had lunch at a 17th century villa, complete with resident Prince and family. I also toured the Uffizi while in Florence, seeing much of the classical Roman treasures and statues, as well as art a la Caravaggio, Botticelli, DaVinci and more.
The Duomo was huge, with Byzantine arches and statuary.
For the next week, I will be in an Italian Farm stay near a little town called Sora.


Enjoying the peaceful countryside at this small organic farm (pictured above).
I met a couple from North Vancouver, staying here....what a small world!
I even got to strum on the farm's resident guitar, last night.
The days are very hot, but the nights tend to cool off a bit.
Dinner at the farm is very good, but lots of starches and vegetables -mostly from the farm.

I knocked myself out the other day climbing a local hill, where there are ruins of a fortress from 500+years ago. I think I got true heatstroke for the first time.

We are in the Apennines, near Abruzzo National Park, which is a a day-long and difficult hike from here; so I think I will pass on it.... since there are no buses up there.

On to Roma tomorrow to see some sights before hunkering down for a week at Santacittarama Monastery until October 13.
From there, it's on to Milan, and fly out with UAE Airlines to New Delhi, where I'll be at a hostel called Mystic Moments.

October 17:

Everything is starting to blur, slightly. Rome seems an eternity ago.
I took an early evening walk through a huge park called Villa Borghese (an infamous family and currently a TV Series).
Anyways, the Europeans certainly don't fool around when it comes to creating a park.
The usual Italian complement of classical statuary, fountains, castles, and Roman ruins, as well as many huge, majestic, Adriatic (umbrella) pines.
The days are still quite hot (86F), but very cool at night, especially in the Sabine Hills, where I stayed on another organic farm.
This is the first time that I've used my Gortex jacket on my trip...but I was glad to have it.

I managed to find the Trevi Fountain, after trying three different times.
There were hordes of tourists, of course, and not a few Italian citizens, who clearly have come from other parts of the country.
On the train to Milan to catch my flight to India, we saw the first real clouds since arriving.

An art installation at the airport was quite appropriate, I thought. Milan is seen as the gateway to the East. You walk through a large, dark room, and your way is lit by small LED's in the floor.
Then you walk through a thin wall of light with mist emanating from the ceiling...it's as if you are walking through a portal from West to East.
We had a four hour layover in Riyadh, at the airport...YAWN! Boy, am I tired; but the Saudi Airlines feed you really well.

All the readings, movies, and advice by friends kind of prepared me for India, but still overwhelmed by the filth and the number of very poor and homeless beings(and that's just the people). I shudder for the dogs and one poor, emaciated cat I saw. THIS MUST BE HELL! Having to do lots of Loving Kindness recitations to kind of be OK with all this.

That said, my first impressions on arrival weren't too bad.....the smells I'd been bracing myself for didn't manifest right away. What I noticed was a smoky smell, of many fires, but that wasn't so different from Italy, where a lot of burning goes on in the countryside, of garbage, and farm detritus. Anyway, driving in from the airport, with Indian pop music playing not too loudly, was like watching a movie. Traffic moves fairly well on the large highways, but OY, get into the city and it's chaos. You take your life in your hands, whether as a passenger, or braving the streets as a pedestrian. The one saving grace is the Metro system, which I've been using to get from the guest house to various sites.
While in the National Museum, a group of Vietnamese/American Theravadan Buddhist pilgrims came through and circled the Buddha relics three times while chanting. Needless to say, I was enchanted by all of this.

So, India is certainly a land of contrasts, but the people, by and large, when not trying to scam you, are very nice, friendly, and helpful.
On to Dharammsala tonight on an overnight bus. We'll see what awaits there.

November 1 - Dharamsala and beyond:

My large CLEAN room, with my own shower, HOT WATER, a western toilet and TV seemed like a slice of heaven after Delhi! The Green Hotel, where I stayed, is quite popular. Someone on my last bus recommended it. They have a nice organic restaurant, and FAST internet access. Some Tibetan monks were also quartered in the back part of the hotel, which is run by a Tibetan family. The monks could be seen eating in the restaurant, chatting on their cells, and checking their email, just like real people. Of course, they are everywhere in McLeod Ganji, which seems to be a relatively happy mixture of Indians and Tibetan refugees. But what a scene in the main square on Diwali evening! Indians were busy letting off all kinds of fireworks and very loud fire crackers to celebrate; while the Tibetans were busy holding a rally and candlelight vigil for the latest spate of monks, and one nun, who have self-immolated in Tibet to protest the Chinese crackdown on them. Much sadness and prayers for them all.

Lillian H. Smith Library

The other day, I attended a "Memoir Writing" session at the Lillian H Smith Library.
This unique structure was designed by Architect Phillip H. Carter, and has been described as one of Toronto's most "happily eccentric buildings".
The huge arched entrance way is guarded by a winged lion and griffin.
It almost gives you a feeling of a medieval castle.



As you can see from the picture below, the building is square on the outside.....




..............but it is circular on the inside.


There is a curved staircase with torches lighting your way down to the meeting rooms in the basement.



Aside from the architecture, this library is home to The Merril Collection of Science Fiction, Speculation and Fantasy, as well The Osborne Collection of Early Children's Books.

The library was named after Lillian Helena Smith, a children's librarian, who, among other things, introduced a new classification designed to organize books in a way more suited to children's collections.