About Librarylady

Hi, I'm the Library Lady! Some people are bird watchers, I'm a word watcher, and whether written or spoken I think words are fun! I have the good fortune to work at a library where I'm surrounded by the most amazing words, and when I'm not working, I try to create some of my own. Read on, and enjoy.

Carry On: The French Connection

Posted on February 7, 2020 by Librarylady

Film Noire – Paris Pixabay photos

Eiffel Tower – Paris

Travel Blunder #367

It was midnight in Paris. Sound asleep, I was blissfully unaware that my husband was on his way to meet another woman . . . at her hotel.

It all started that afternoon when we flew into the Charles De Gaul airport. Since one of our travel companions wasn’t feeling well, we grabbed our suitcases from the carousel, hired a cab and hurried to the hotel so he could lie down. My husband John and I were eager to explore the city, so we stashed our bags, checked on our friend and set out to see the sights of Paris. Continue reading →

Cool Libraries – The Church of the Good Book

Posted on January 26, 2020 by Librarylady

This post is linked to Ludwig Keck’s Monday Windows

Maison de La Litterature

church sign 2

Have you ever been to a church library? No, not the type where you check out Bibles and Sunday School Manuals, but a real library – located in a church – featuring the likes of Clive Cussler, Jamie Oliver, and Peppa Pig. You’ll find several of these church/libraries in Quebec, and if you’re visiting you’ll want to check them out.

Apparently organized religion is on the wane in Canada and many magnificent old meeting houses are becoming obsolete. Last year in Quebec alone, 434 churches fell into disuse, and that’s up from 270 last year.

new quebec The good news is that rather than destroy these beautiful structures, the citizens of Quebec have come to the rescue. While it costs millions for a makeover, many churches of historical importance have been reimagined into theatres, cultural centers and best of all – libraries.

In the perfect blend of inspiration and education, one can now sit in divine tranquility among stained glass windows and soaring ceilings while enjoying a favorite book, or maybe even writing one of your own.

If you’ve followed the Library Lady for long, you’ll know I love cool and unusual libraries. So when my travels took me to Quebec, church/libraries were on my agenda. I found three – two right next door to each other – and another one 10 minutes away, and while I was thrilled at my good fortune I couldn’t help but wonder why all these churches were available.

My favorite, the Maison de La Litterature is particularly striking with its glowing white interior. Thanks to the immense leaded glass windows, the building is suffused with light and lifts your spirits as you enter.
Continue reading →

Irish Windows

Posted on January 15, 2020 by Librarylady

clon window

Arched window and geriatric Castle – St. Cirains’s Monastery in Shannonbridge Ireland.

Have you ever dreamed of going to Ireland? I did, and when it finally happened, I hardly dared to close my eyes for fear I’d miss something. Here velvet blue skies flanked rolling green hills, ancient stone buildings hovered on every horizon, and age-old rock walls snaked across the fields. Aside from that, people have remnants of castles in their very own backyards!

From what I understand, these medieval marvels are protected – big fines if you knock one down to make room for your backyard pool – and people in Ireland seem to take all this antiquity in stride. I remember one house in particular which had a laundry line strung from a crumbling castle turret to a tree. There were sheets hanging on the line and cows grazing peacefully nearby. What would it be like to look out your kitchen window at an ancient ruin? I’d love to find out.

Continue reading →

The Wide Mouthed Frog Gets My Vote

Posted on January 8, 2020 by Librarylady

Book illustrations courtesy of the Amazon Book store.

For the past year, I’ve focused on my travel blog and had a great time talking about my favorite places. But recently my husband began writing children’s books which got me thinking about my blogging roots. I started out as a book blogger but slowly became enamored with travel writing. Old habits die hard though, and every now and then I just have to rave about my favorite reads. So . . . if you all don’t mind, I’d like to change hats for a moment and tell you about some fun children’s books.

The Princess and the Pig

pig 2

By Jonathan Emmett and Poly Bernatene

Fans of Peppa Pig will also love this crazy tale of mistaken identity.

What happens when a baby princess is accidentally exchanged for a piglet? I dare you not to laugh as the families of both babies try to cope with this unexpected turn of events. In this spoof of a fairy tale, almost everyone lives happily ever after.
Moral of the story: a princess can be kind of a pig, but a pig cannot be a princess.

Continue reading →

Columbus, Ohio – More Fun than You Think

Posted on January 4, 2020 by Librarylady

garden lib

I used to believe the only way to have an amazing travel experience was to go abroad. Of course I was wrong! Our trip to Columbus, Ohio proved there are plenty of fun destinations in the United States which have the added benefit of not including a 16-hour plane trip.

We’d planned to visit our kindred spirit friends who live in Columbus, and while I was looking forward to seeing them, I assumed we’d spend our time playing cards and eating ice cream ( our favorite activities aside from traveling). Once again – WRONG.

As it turns out there’s a lot see in the Buckeye state. In fact, if I included all our adventures, I’d have to write two posts. For now, I’ll simply hit the highlights. (I’ve included our day by day play by play at the end so you can follow in our footsteps if you want.)

The Parks

For starters, Columbus has an astounding park system. It consists of a series of “Metro Parks”, nineteen in all, which include woodlands, grasslands, wetlands, rose gardens, water gardens, rock gardens, and a buffalo preserve to name a few. We also enjoyed the Franklin Park and Botanical Garden which features a butterfly conservatory.

I’ve never seen anything like these parks before. Frankly, the word park doesn’t seem like the right term for these massive plots of land. Battelle Darby Creek, for instance, encompasses 7,000 acres, and the amazing part is how accessible they are. One minute you’re fighting big city traffic, and the next you’re in the forest, listening to birdsong and the rustling of Aspen leaves.
Hard to imagine? Take a look.

colum butterfly

Continue reading →

Getting There is Half the Fun (?)

Posted on December 14, 2019 by Librarylady

businessman Imagine you’re going on a cruise which starts in Quebec Canada. You live in Utah, so you must travel from point A to point B which involves getting on an airplane. Flying is not my favorite activity. It makes me nervous, but I’m fine as long as I don’t think about the fact that I’m hurtling through the air in a metal tube 30,000 feet above the ground.

So the last thing I want to see is this.

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Yes, this was my tray table on our flight from Atlanta to Toronto.

Now I understand that that things break and cannot always be fixed immediately, but this caution tape was a bit much. What you can’t tell from this picture, is the tape was wrinkled, torn and stretched and had clearly been there a long time. Seeing things like his causes one to wonder about the maintenance of the plane in general. Was there a weathered piece of tape holding the engine together? I sent this picture to the airline since they were apparently unaware of the problem.

Our next stop was the Toronto airport. We knew we had a tight connection, further complicated by the fact that we were crossing the border into Canada. As we got off the plane we had to go through security again. Unfortunately, there were only two lines open for the masses of people who were anxiously assembling. When it was finally our turn my husband’s bag inexplicably set off an alarm. We couldn’t figure out what was wrong and they ultimately let us go, but by now we were getting nervous and began to speed walk. As we turned a corner we ran into a room full of automated PASSPORT CHECK KIOSKS!

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Continue reading →

A Mystery is Solved

Posted on November 29, 2019 by Librarylady

Here’s my entry for Cee’s Fun Photo Challenge – White

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For those who read my “Quebec is Amazing” post, you’ll remember I was baffled by this giant clown head balloon that appeared to be stuck between two buildings.

“What the heck ?! On our first day in Quebec, we were strolling around the city and stumbled onto this! It looks like a rogue hot air balloon . . . maybe it was running away to the circus? Or could it be a weird Halloween decoration? Are there any Quebecois (not a typo) out there who can shed some light on this?”

Well, no one had any light to shed, so I decided to look into the matter myself. You will all be relieved to know, I now have the answer to this burning question. The sad clown is part of an art installation called Passages Insolites 2019. Sprinkled around the city of Quebec are 14 different creations, all of which refer to passages in some way. I’m assuming this clown is making an unsuccessful passage through the buildings?

According to Urban Guide Quebec:

Quite possibly the creepiest art installation of Passages Insolites, Fin de partie is inspired by Nagg and Nell, a play by Samuel Beckett. The inflatable clown headsare squished between two buildings on rue Saint-Paul. Interesting during the day, the scene can be a tad more disturbing at night.

I’d have to agree with that last statement. Can you imagine – stumbling onto this on a dark and stormy night? GAHHH!! Cue the horror movie soundtrack.

clown head Speaking of clowns and horror movies, why is it clowns are always sad or scary these days? Whatever happened to the jolly clowns who made us laugh at the circus? And what about clown college, is that even a thing anymore? With the demise of the circus, it seems like clowning would not be an upwardly mobile career . . .

Oh well, enough of my ramblings. If readers want to chime in on any of this I’d love to hear your opinions.

For more interesting white photos don’t forget to check out Cee’s excellent photoblog.

Bullfights and Bad Guys – Ronda’s Provocative Past

Posted on November 25, 2019 by Librarylady

https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=23608724

Ronda is one of Spain’s most popular travel destinations. Home to scores of stunning views and a famous bridge, it’s also known for its flamboyant past. Early inhabitants were a colorful bunch, with a large percentage of bandits, highwaymen, and bullfighters filling out the ranks.

This Library Lady article is continued at Ronda Today

Pixabay Photos

Ocean Liner or Riverboat, What’s Your Travel Style?

Posted on November 15, 2019 by Librarylady

CC_STAR_Venice_Canal
The stars are in line, the money’s in the bank and it’s finally time to go on that cruise you’ve always dreamed of. Imagine exotic lands, beautiful scenery, fantastic food and entertainment – it’s not hard to see why cruising is one of the most popular forms of travel. But before you book your trip, you’ll need to make one important decision; ocean liner or riverboat, which type of cruise is best for you?

For the pros and cons of each type of cruise, continue reading this Library Lady story at All Things Cruise. P1090844

Photos by Viking

Doors of Quebec

Posted on November 7, 2019 by Librarylady

rustic door Greetings all, it’s time for more Thursday Doors. I have to start by telling you it’s not easy being a door aficionado. When I was taking this picture I heard a male voice shouting with laughter, saying “- photo la porte!” Which since we were in Quebec, Canada translates into something like, “Look at that crazy woman taking a picture of a door!” I know, I know, but while some may mock, I now have a picture of this lovely and dignified old door which, by the way, refuses to be diminished by the tacky graffiti in its personal space.

q green door

Quebec was packed with interesting doors. This pretty green specimen is the entryway to two apartments #33 and #35. It’s a well-tended doorway in an upscale neighborhood and, speaking of green, no doubt the rent here is astronomical. We looked into real estate prices in Quebec and they were pretty steep. From what we were told, the closer you get to the Saint Lawrence river the larger the dollar sign$. Continue reading →