Claude Lyles Artworks / Estudio Cielo Azul LLC: Rhine River cruise #3

New Art:

Remember, you should be able to enlarge the photos by clicking on.

Untitled. This is the first time I painted a piece specifically for a show. It is juried so I won't know if I am accepted until September 25. It will be at the Alliance For The Arts in Fort Myers. The theme is Die de los Muertos (Day of the Dead). 16" x 20" oil on canvas board. The categories will include sculpture, painting, photography, prints, and drawings. I had to research what is celebrated in Mexico, South America and parts of the US. The use of symbols, family ties, etc. I decided to try a collage approach rather than one view. We shall see.

Art Purchased:

This is an oil by Doug Michalski, a fellow member of Punta Gorda's Visual Arts Center, unique style. Former art school teacher.

Lemon Bay Garden Club

Humor:

Listening To:
While painting this week, listening to Chris Botti - Regroovable and the album Italia; Phoebe Snow - enjoyed the words to Poetry Man and the whole package of McCartney's Every Night. I like it more than his version. Tonight I just want to stay in...and be with you.

Cruise - Xanten, Duisburg, Dusseldorf:

The path we took is below. Next up will be Cologne, Engers, Koblenz, and the Rhine Gorge where we cruised past about 18 castles. As I will mention later, we did not dock in Wiesbaden, but closer to Frankfurt in Mainz

Xanten is a small town founded by Romans in 15 BC. This was the first time I noticed that they have to clarify BC or AD, in the US we don't have to worry about that, do we? Primary site is an archeological park. It was somewhat disappointing in that only the foundations are the real thing - all structures are recreated guesses. And, it was the hottest day - an elderly couple from Bristol had to bail as his pacemaker was set off from the heat. Some enjoyed a bike tour along the river. In the evening we returned to the town for a Lantern Tour with a Night Watchman...some duplication from the afternoon but a heck of a lot cooler.

Some have asked about the ship. This is the info we received when we boarded. While it will accommodate 138 passengers, we only had 98, which made for enjoyable spacing, whether at dinner, in the lounge or boarding the ship after a land excursion. Low water levels are a problem in the summer months. We had to take an abnormal route from Amsterdam's harbor to the Rhine river, using a lock system. At one point we had approximately 14" clearance. I was told that a cruise on the Danube had to dock and convert to motor coach. The crew was mostly from Romania and Slovakia; The cruise director from Italy.

Avalon Felicity

Residence near the cathedral

Restaurant at the dock as you head in to town

Across the drive from the other residence.

This is their cathedral, restored from WWII

Duisburg:

Here I joined a group for a several mile hike around recovered lands from coal mines. The photo is at the top of a viewing tower. The Zollverein coal mine is the last coal mine in Germany. They are closing this fall as the mine is too deep to work, they will start importing coal from...Australia. Yykes. Much of Europe's steel is produced here. After the hike we were treated to a 45 minute motor coach view of the city. Linda took a separate culinary walk in the heart of the city.

Dusseldorf:

Only a short distance up river, this is a more vibrant city. The waterfront is active and accessible. We took a hour, hour and half walk around, along the waterfront, into the high-end shopping district, through the city park and back to the ship. We were graced by a visit from our Au Pair, Claudia. She watched the boys when we lived in Maryland outside of DC. She now lives in Munster and has three children of her own. Great visit on board. Best part of the trip.