ar·chi·pel·a·go: Azores

+ADW and I are off again! We've elected to travel to the Azores, a set of 9 green volcanic islands in the North Atlantic Ocean. The Azores are one of two autonomous regions of Portugal (the other is Madeira). 

The 3 main cities of the Azores are: Ponta Delgado, Angra do Heroísmo and Horto. All the islands are of volcanic origins but some have not had any recorded activity since being settled here. The first islands were discovered in the early 1400s during the Portuguese Age of Discovery (1415-1542) and helped settled by Gonçalo Velho Cabral. The islands' climate is mild and sub-tropical considering its northernly location but is affected by the Gulf Stream and location relative to continents. Temperature ranges are temperate ranging from 3-30C throughout the year with a distinct "rainy season". The main industry on the islands is agricultural in nature; São Miguel's current agricultural yields are dairy and beef, pineapple and passion fruit and Pico's wine is fantastic.

As any opportunity I have to travel, the top of my travel bucket list is to visit as many UNESCO World Heritage Sites as possible but the two in this area are on the islands of Pico (Landscape of Pico Islands vineyard culture) and Terceira (Central Zone of the Town of Angra do Heroísmo) but we won't be heading there this time... since there is already plenty to do and see on São Miguel.

Check in to see what we are up to, through the Instagram account and I'll be sure to give everyone proper updates whenever I have a chance to do so :)

War and Cabaret

To add to the growing list of sites of Paris, we visited Les Invalides (officially L'Hôtel national des Invalides). This site is a complex of buildings that include the Arms Museum and the burial site for many French war heros, most notably Napoleon Bonaparte. Louis XIV started the project for the site as a place for old and unwell soldiers in 1670.

The museum is an impressive collection of various military pieces from different wars, piece types and periods. The suits of armour for both men and horses is impressive and there are many canons that line the walls of the court yard or hallways. It's definitely worth a visit to see all the artifacts they have on display. This was a really pleasant surprise considering we didn't realize there was all these artifacts and went to visit the tomb of Napoleon. Napoleon's tomb is a sight to behold... found in the dome portion of the complex, it is a huge red (quartzite) sarcophagus on a green (granite) base set in the center of the lower floor with a circular balcony on the ground floor.

The ceiling of the dome

Our evening continues in the Montmartre district when we visit Moulin Rouge. That's right! The source of the French can-can and cabaret. Dinner and a show is what we had in store for the evening. Photos and videos are forbidden by patrons so I didn't get a chance to take any but there's a video the establishment's put together about the show that they have currently going "Feerie". The hyperlink isn't available through youtube so here's another preview:

It's such a energetic show that is literally non-stop and complete with feathers, sequins and a dinner. Oh and miniature horses; 6 of them prance around the stage! Most certainly worth checking out if you've made the stop in Paris!

Horse Learning... FREE!

My instructor always tells me that to truly learn about horses, the sport and become a better rider, one must get their hands dirty (literally). Most of us don't have that time though (or the money). So, we need to find other ways to learn and enhance our knowledge. As well, as adult riders, we face an entirely different pile of challenges than someone who's been doing it since they were tots.

One of those challenges is finding a support group or resources for information. So, I started a Blackberry Messenger Channel called Adult Horseback Riders Learning. The main objective is to share resources, information, tips and accomplishments or tips with others in a similar situation. If you're in a similar situation as myself, then I encourage you to join and add your knowledge too :)

I've since posted two items in there:

1. The Horse Course being offered through Coursera--an online place where you can take the best online courses for free!
2. A give-away from She Moved to Texas for subscriptions to EquestrianCoach.com.

Good luck and never stop learning!

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The Royal 2013

It's been weeks since I've ridden outdoors and it's the start of a new fiscal year at work. Fall is my favourite time of year because the bugs are gone and the weather is comfortable. And right after Halloween, it's time to visit the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair and see the animals, food and farming. This year, we've chosen to watch the rodeo and this time, I'm prepared for photos with a zoomy lens and great seats! Amber Marshall is co-hosting with Ross. Who's Ross? I don't know because I can't find any information on him! :(

We started out checking out the Angus competition with ADW drooling all over the place thinking about steak and hamburger...

Angus calf

Now onto the big show! :D

Amber & Ross

Bareback Bronc

Pole Bending!

Trick Riding

Guy Mclean, Aussie horse whisperer

Barrel Racing

More Barrel Racing!

Yeehaw!

The most dangerous sport in the world

I hope these photos gave you a sampling of the day ADW and I had at the Royal :)

A Review: Austenland

Let me start off by saying, wow. What a whirlwind read: I picked up Austenland because I have been avoiding Blindness for weeks; I started it and just couldn't get fixated enough to read it on my own. So, as Amb did too, I grabbed Austenland and away I went... 2 days ago. I finished reading this in 2 day, folks! I figured this would be one of those smutty "chick lit romances" that throws in this poor woe-is-me heroine who hasn't the foggiest idea of what to do with herself in terms of her love life and readers read as she awkwardly struggles to grow and mature as a character and then coincidentally finds love with a wonderful Darcy-esque man. *swoon*

I generally shun and abhor chick flicks/lit romances. Yuck. But, as Amb promised, I fell right into the rabbit hole on this one. I didn't have high hopes for the literary quality of the prose and I suppose that was the weakest point for me... the conversation style writing. It felt lazy and lacking a solid grasp of quality writing. However, I'm no writer and similar to my perspective on wine, if you like it, then that's good enough.

The story presents us our heroine, Jane Hayes. Similar to the target reader demographic, she is in her 30s and probably read Jane Austen's Pride & Prejudice and then was introduced to the impeccable BBC rendition of the same story, in 1995; and like many of Austen's modern female readers, fallen in love with Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy a la Mr. Colin Firth.

(Note: most of you male readers might be completely confused about who this "Mr. Darrrcyyy" is and why us females swoon so much over him. It's ok, you'll never get it; it's a girl thing. We're all in love with Mr. Darcy in some way.)

Oh don't look at me like that, Mr. Darcy!

Jane is down and out on her love life and through a surprise inheritance from a great aunt, finds herself gifted a trip to Pembrooke Park--a fantasy place where the Regency era comes to life and the patrons participate in a staged farce of Regency romance and a life of leisure. The reader follows Jane's story from starting as an awkward, damaged and unsure heroine. She becomes the heroine that we all want her to be: strong, confident and comfortable with who she is and what she wants.

The book makes a great premise for a chick flick movie, and that's exactly what happened--though I have yet to watch the movie that came out earlier this year--but lacks real "meat" as a literary gem and could easily be defined as being a quick and easy read that fits the purpose of being a literary palette cleanser; a break from something heavier. It was fun and thrilling for a P&P fan like myself but it certainly doesn't make you think or react viscerally like The World According to Garp.

If you're looking for a guilty pleasure rush of excitement, girly thrills and a Mr. Darcy fantasy, then this is the perfect read for such a purpose!