Tag Archives: Retirement abroad

Greece

Mykonos Island

We went to explore some of the Greek Islands in the Aegean Sea. We went to the Island of Mykonos which is one of the more popular islands and is located in the Cyclades group of islands.

View of the town of Chora on Mykonos Island

We stayed in the town of Chora which is also referred to as the town of Mykonos. Our hotel was well situated and we had a great view of the city and sea. We enjoyed watching the sun set from the pool area.

The view from our hotel in Mykonos
Pool area at our hotel with views of the sea.
Shelley and Ray with view from the hotel poolside.

We went into the old part of town and explored the narrow white washed streets. The white walls and blue trim on the buildings were very stunning.

Ray in the old part of Mykonos.
Typical street in the old part of town in Mykonos

There were many unique shops, art stores and restaurants. We explored some of the art shops looking at the unique pieces for sale.

Shelley looking at some art pieces

We explored the town walking along many interesting streets. There were small churches and even a fish cleaning station near the shoreline.

Fish cleaning station on the shoreline in Mykonos.
One of the many churches in Mykonos
Typical street with numerous restaurants in Mykonos.

We explored the town enjoying the spectacular sites and sounds. We found a beautiful little restaurant near the shoreline which provided us with a great view. We stopped and took some time to enjoy the moment.

Ray and Shelley at a restaurant in Mykonos

We enjoyed a glass of wine while looking at the iconic landmarks of the 16th century windmills that sit on the hill in Mykonos.

“φροντίστε και να έχετε μια καλή μέρα”

Greece

What time is Wine O’clock?

We found a great little bar called “Wine O’clock” It is located in the heart of Athens near the Acropolis.

Entrance toWine O’clock in Athens, Greece

The inside of the bar was decorated with wine as the main focus.

Behind the bar area of Wine O’clock
Wine corks made into the outline of Greece.

It was a quaint spot and our server Andreas was very friendly and helpful. We even had a glass of wine and our photo taken with him.

Ray, Shelley, Vicki, Mark, Andreas and Raf in Wine O’clock bar

The owner came out to meet us and took us for a tour of the bar. We went through the main floor looking at the decorations and artwork before heading up the stairs to the second floor.

The second floor had a wooden table set up for larger groups. The table was unique in that it had wine sayings on it.

Second floor of Wine O’clock bar in Athens
Wine sayings on table in Wine O’clock bar

Some of the quotes were quite entertaining and included a quote from the pope.

The Wine O’clock bar was one of the little gems we found while visiting Athens Greece.

“αντίο και να έχουν μια μεγάλη μέρα”

Spain

Telefonica museo

We went to the Museo Telefonica which is located inside the beautiful national Telefonica building in Madrid.

National Telefonica building in Madrid

The entrance which was free is at the side of the main building. We went into a lobby area which had a small model of the Telefonica building on display.

Shelley beside the model of the telefonica building

We took an elevator up to the top floor and explored the exhibit which was a history of the phone company in Spain.

Display of different phones that were used over the years.
Ornate telephone used in early 1900’s in Spain

There were exhibits of different pieces of equipment that was actually used in Spain.

Telegraph decoder of morse code which was used until 1950.

The telegraph decoder was used in Spain beginning in 1875 and was in use until 1950. The importance of the telegraph decoder was its ability to instantly decode into printable and readable text messages from morse code. This particular telegraph decoder was used to send news of the movement of Spanish soldiers during war.

Breaker switches and circuit wall which was in actual use at the telefonica company
This switchboard was used in connecting different customers manually.

After exploring the history of the telephone in Spain we went to the third floor to check out the digital exhibit. This exhibit was truly unique and very enjoyable. It is divided into three different parts. The first section called “Black Waves: Lost, Immersed, and Reborn” which is the largest part of the exhibit. When we entered the exhibit it was truly spectacular. There were large digital waves throughout several different large rooms.

View of the digital waves throughout the exhibit.

We walked through the rooms and were immersed into the 3D digital art.

Shelley and Ray in the 3D digital exhibit

The telefonica museum was an interesting spot and the 3D digital exhibit was very enjoyable.

“Hasta luego y que tengas un buen dia”

Spain

Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia

It was a rainy day in Madrid so we decided to go to the National Museum of Art to see some of the exhibits which included Salvador Dali, Pablo Picasso and H.C. Westermann.

Entrance to the Museo Reina Sofia

We explored the museum which had many different exhibits. We explored some of the ones which were of interest to us. The first one we went to was the cubism exhibit which featured some famous Spanish artists, including Salvador Dali and Pablo Picasso.

Bust and Pallet, (1925) Pablo Picasso
Face of the great masturbator, (1929)- Salvador Dali

Some of the exhibits were quite unique and interesting, in particular we enjoyed the Horace Clifford Westermann exhibit.

Ray looking at some of the HC Westermann exhibits

He is known for his folkloric sculptures and works on paper with playfulness and humour,

We saw some interesting pieces that were very unique including the “Memorial to the Idea of Man If He Was an Idea,”

Memorial to the Idea of Man If He Was an Idea, HC Westermann

We looked at the different pieces and some where quite interesting while others were simply strange.

Antimobile (1966) HC Westermann
Shelley “just missing the bullseye”
“In God we trust” HC WEstermann
Robot by HC Westermann

The Museum was well worth the visit and we enjoyed seeing the different styles of art on display.

Ray in mirror art

It was a great way to spend a rainy day in Madrid.

“Hasta luego y que tengas un gran dia”

 

Spain

The Chicote museum

We went to check out one of the iconic and original cocktail bars in Madrid called the “Museo Chicote”. It is located on the Gran Via and was formerly known as Perico Chicote bar. It opened in 1931 by Pedro Chicote, who was a former barman of the Ritz Hotel.

The outside of the bar was unassuming and had a modern look.

The facade of Museo Chicote bar in Madrid

We went inside and immediately it felt like we had stepped back in time. The inside of the Museo Chicote had some interesting features. On the right side were small booths with moulded chairs and in the centre tables and chairs.

View of the interior of the Museo Chicote bar in Madrid

The rear of the bar had some red velvet curtains with an old style pay phone mounted on the wall.

Pay phone at the rear of the bar

We sat down at one of the booths and took in the decor as we enjoyed a cocktail.

Shelley sitting in one of the booths.

The Chocote bar was one of the first cocktail bars in Madrid. It is known for the many famous people that have spent time in the bar. On the wall behind the bar there were pictures of some of the famous people who visited the bar.

Photos on display behind the bar

We took a closer look at some of the photos and came across some famous people including, Salvador Dali, Rita Hayworth, Bette Davis, James Stewart, Sofia Loren, Earnest Hemingway and Many more.

Picture of Rita Hayworth (top) and Bette Davis (below) in the Chicote Bar
Some of the pictures of celebrities in the Chicote bar.

It was a wall full of Celebrities from all parts of the world.

There is even a Spanish TV series called “Arde Madrid” which features the story of Eva Gardner when she was living in Madrid.

Throughout the series there are many scenes involving the Chicote Bar. In 2004 the Chicote bar received an award as one of the best bars in Europe.

It was a great experience being in the Chicote Bar. We enjoyed a cocktail at one of the historic and iconic bars in Madrid. We even took a selfie picture of us with the Chicote Bar.

“Hasta luego y que tengas un gran dia”