Vacation & Art

This past week Daniel has been on break from teaching, which means it's been both a relaxing and a busy week for us. It has also made it difficult for me to visit many of your blogs, which I intend to remedy this weekend!

We decided to go away for a few days and visit Apalachicola, a small town in the panhandle area of Florida. We loved it!

There really wasn't much to do around there, except walk around town, eat in several very good restaurants, visit the local coffee shop, the excellent bakery and a few of the galleries.

We were pleased to see that Apalachicola also has their very own brewery, where we sat for a while, tasted their excellent beer and talked with some interesting people.

On one of the days, we drove to a river that originates in one of Florida's warm springs. Our hope was to maybe see some manatees. They come to the warm springs in the colder weather as they need warm water temperatures to survive.

Alas, there were none to be seen, but we still had a gorgeous paddle! It took us two hours to paddle upstream, but just one hour to get back. The way back was definitely more relaxing.

We did see a few alligators and we both noticed how used to them we have gotten over the years. We didn't even take photos.

The scenery was gorgeous!

We rented a tandem paddle, which was fun! I was in the front because Daniel is so much better at steering than I am.

The water looked dark, but it was crystal clear.

We saw lots of lots of turtles. I loved how the one above was stretching out its hind legs. Very graceful... In the photo below an Anhinga was drying its wings.

Back home, I have been busy working on our taxes (oh, joy!) and also doing some painting. I am working on all kinds of things at the moment. Below is a detail of a large painting, which I am sure will change drastically, but I sort of liked this somewhat raw stage.

Then I've been taking the online class "Expressions" by Renata Loree, which is really good. I'm somewhat behind since we were on vacation when it started, but luckily it's self-paced.

I will be drawing different face and head angels and also expressions (like the worried one on the drawing below). Another part of the class will be dealing with hands. That will be a challenge! Drawing in general is a challenge for me since it requires a good deal of patience, which I often lack... Good practice!

And then, of course, there are my little paintings. I have three in the works right now, but none finished to show you.

I am linking again to Paint Party Friday, a great hub for artistic inspiration! Head on over to have a look!

In the meantime, I wish all of you who celebrate a Happy Easter! And definitely a beautiful week for all of us!

❧ Silke

More Food in Florida

As you probably guessed already, we ate a lot of very good food while in Clearwater and surrounding area. The general feel was that of sun and beach and casual food.

And ... gelato! There seemed to be an excellent gelato place on every corner and we tried most of them. Here I was sampling some delicious mango gelato, but I also tried mixed berries, hazelnut, pistachio and probably other flavors I can't remember now. Perfect for hot weather...

In St. Petersburg we ate at a wonderful mexican/cuban/south american restaurant, where Daniel discovered the cucumber/cilantro margarita! WOW!! He's made it a few times for us here at home...

Do I look happy or what?

This place, Crabby Bill's, really had some atmosphere. No air conditioning, but big ceiling fans and cold beer...

And really good food! 

Wishing you all a wonderful Wednesday!! And lots of excellent food...

❧ Silke

Dali Museum

When we were in Florida in June, we also visited the new Dali Museum in St. Petersburg. We had seen some of the impressive collection in Atlanta while this museum was being built and we were eager to see it finished!

We were not disappointed. The building fit the art!

And the Dali collection is amazing! We saw paintings from every stage of his career and paintings in every size, from very small to huge!

You can find more information about it here.

After looking at all of the art and fortifying ourselves with a coffee, we walked all around the outside, admiring building and gardens.

I loved this Dali-inspired bench outside and didn't realize just how hot the metal had become in the sun until I sat down for this photo...

Definitely worth a visit!

Wishing you a fantastic Monday!

❧ Silke