CHATEAU RAMEZAY MUSEUM

        Montreal's Jewel of a Museum

I can’t tell you how many churches, castles, old homes and museums I have visited over the years while traveling. I always look for something new or unusual and the Chateau Ramezay Museum in Montreal was a real gem for new discoveries. Here our 45-minute tour with Margaret, a retired British school teacher, married to a French Canadian, continued for over two-hours. What a delight she was! And we learned so much.

She told us, “Claude Ramezay built this chateau in 1705 as a family home. He started out as a soldier in a French regiment, eventually went into furs, then wood, and eventually became governor. At that time the average house was the size of the kitchen in this home. He could not bring his wife and ten children to Montreal to such a small home so he built this chateau.”

The lovely home now would have been magnificent in the early 18^th century! This building was the first in the city to be designated a historical monument. Mrs. Ramezay had 16 pregnancies, but only 10 children lived to adulthood. Three of the four boys died in war or conflicts, and the fourth boy after one such conflict moved to France to live. When Claude died in 1745, the house was sold to a fur trading company. Now the museum is run by a board of directors, not the government. In 1994 it celebrated 100 years as a museum.

In one large room we were told the mahogany paneling and ornate carvings around mirrors and paintings all came from a fur trading company before it was demolished and then installed in the chateau in 1967 for the 100^th anniversary of Confederation.

I had never heard of a butter drier, much less seen one. The copper wall mounted hand washing apparatus was unique and quite decorative. I had seen many tin candle holders, but never knew that they were wind proof and that was the purpose of them.

Candles in colonial days were often quite soft and we saw a clever candle holder that made sense to hold up a soft candle. It prevented potential fire by keeping the candle from falling over.

I was most fascinated with the pocket worn around the waist under a woman’s skirt with the slit in it. Talk about practical! My friend was most intrigued with the barrel that they put a dog in to keep the spit turning over the fire. A doggie treadmill, if you will. We both thought it was for a mouse, but of course, it was much too big. Now that was really clever!  It kept the dog out from underfoot and kept the spit constantly rotating!

It was so obvious that Margaret loved what she was doing. I loved that sparkle in her eye, and without her we would have missed a lot. It was an afternoon well spent!

SOME BASIC RUSSIAN INFO

Russian Info Good to Know

            Our first morning in Russia our guide whet our appetite for a fabulous trip with, “You’ll experience the dynamic city of Moscow and the opulent splendor of imperial St. Petersburg. Cruising between these cities you will discover the unknown Russia where daily life has remained virtually unchanged for centuries. Along the canals, waterways, and lakes is a land of ancient monasteries, shimmering forests of silver birch, thriving street markets, and churches filled with the sound of chanting voices.”                          

The country of 147 million people represents 40 nationalities. The Ural Mountains divide the country into two main areas; European Russia, and Siberia. European Russia is the lesser half but houses the majority of the country’s population.

The huge country has plains, mountains, rivers and lakes. The Volga River starts as a spring and runs 2325 miles to the Caspian Sea. The Siberian rivers Ob, Lena, Yenisey, and Angarta are so wide that when standing at the river’s edge one cannot see the opposite side. Lake Baikal is the world’s largest fresh water basin. The water is pure in the world’s deepest lake (5714 feet). The lake has only one outlet, the lower Angarta River, but 336 rivers feed it.

Oil fields lie between the Volga and the Ural Rivers. To the west iron ore is on the edge of Ukraine.

            In Moscow the Russian word tsentr, meaning center, designates the down town area, but throughout the country, tsentr refers to Moscow itself as the center of everything Russian. The sprawling city of Moscow has 2500 historical and architectural monuments, 70 museums, 125 cinemas, 50 theaters, 4500 libraries, and 540 higher education and research institutions.

Stalin built the Moscow subway system in 1932-35. They were to be the best and most beautiful in the world to outshine capitalism. Each station is a museum in itself and each is different. We learned the subway system is closed only four hours a day for cleaning. The wheat design bronze vents change the air in the system three times a day. Some of the system is 350 feet below ground level, and Stalin had an underground command post within the metro system.

The stations were so clean! There was no graffiti and they really were beautiful. The first station we entered was lined with huge bronze statues of fighting men—the protectors. Another station had beautiful crystal chandeliers, and yet another was literally an art museum.

Like all subways systems one must act quickly to get on and off the train. Trains run frequently, are inexpensive and easy to use.

Vodka is the national drink and lots and lots of it is consumed each day.

            Everyone in Russia referred to WW II as the Great Patriotic War.

This was a wonderful and most informative trip. My journal is thick and there are many more stories to come.

TULIPS

              The Netherlands in Springtime

 

            The tulip originally came from Asia and the Mediterranean. The word is said to come from

tuliban, meaning turban. The upside down turban-like flowers were cultivated for centuries in Persia before the first bulb arrived in Europe. The first bulbs sent to Europe were sent to Vienna, and the Crown Imperial tulip takes its name from the imperial gardens of  that city.

            The first tulips were long stemmed red cultivars and were illustrated in 1559. After 14 years at the Viennese Imperial Gardens, botanist, Clusius, moved to Leiden, Netherlands where he founded the first botanic garden (Hortus Academicus) to focus on ornamental plants rather than medicinal ones.

            He developed a private tulip collection from which he sold specimens for outrageous prices. Unwilling to pay the steep price, yet desirous of the plants, local gardeners broke into his gardens one night and stole many specimen tulips. It is from this that the now famous Dutch bulb industry developed.

            Today tulip bulbs are a major Dutch export product. About 93% of all bulbs in the word come from the Netherlands. 2700 growers cultivate 52,000 acres of bulbs, plus more than 23,000 acres of land are dedicated to greenhouse production. The industry employs 20,000 people. However, the average bulb farm is only 20 acres. Over 9 billion bulbs are produced annually, one third of which are tulips. Those three billion tulips, if planted four inches apart, would circle the globe at the equator seven times!

            Tulip mania occurred in the early 1600s. This sprang from the tendency of tulips to be infected with a virus, resulting in odd, yet often attractive colored streaking in the flowers. These broken tulips became prized, sought widely, and worth many guilders (money). This led to widespread trading and speculation until in 1637 when there was a sudden market collapse. Those lovely tulips are depicted in the art of Dutch masters and today tulips with streaking, but without any virus, are called Rembrandt tulips.

            Tulips adapt well to any soil type that is well drained. Tulips require cool spring temperatures to bloom at their best. Between September and December, tulip bulbs are planted in the ground at a depth equal to twice the bulbs' height.

            One must visit The Netherlands in mid springtime to see the absolutely gorgeous displays of tulips growing in fields creating huge pallets of vibrant color.

CORNWALL, ENGLAND

                                    Cornwall in a Nutshell

Although Cornwall is geographically close to the Cotswolds it is a world of its own with spectacular landscapes and stunning rugged coastline. Hedgerows climb the hills defining and dividing the rolling green pastures.

The River Tamar separates Cornwall from the rest of the country making Cornwall almost an island.  The once prosperous tin mining industry is no more, and at the time of my visit, the area was somewhat depressed with rather high unemployment.

 Small quaint fishing villages are found along the rugged coast in sheltered coves. The mild climate is conducive to sunning on the many beaches, and there are many good surfing areas.

         Cottages and churches are made of a grey stone, and English gardens continued to abound adding color. Rhododendrons were in bloom everywhere including growing wild along the side of the roads. We often passed under natural green arches over the roads where the trees and vines on each side had grown over the road and entangled with those on the opposite side. The hedgerow-lined meadows became part of panoramic views as the bushes and flowers along the roads thinned. Wild flowers were bloomed everywhere.

            Our guide told us, “Falmouth is the first port of arrival on the coast. In the 1700s the first ship to arrive with a cargo of tea from China received the highest price. The Cutty Sark won this unofficial race many times. Tea was a highly valued commodity and was kept locked in a wooden tea box. There is a large Celtic influence in Cornwall, and names of Celtic saints are evident. The Cornish language basically has been dead since the 1800s, but now there are organizations trying to revive and keep the language alive. The prefix Tre in a place name means village or field.”

            King Arthur resided in north Cornwall. The area has been the home of writers and artists for decades---Daphne du Maurier and Agatha Christie are but two writers who lived in Cornwall. George Bernard Shaw wrote The Doctor’s Dilemma  in 1906 while living in the picturesque fishing village of Mevagissey.

Most roads in Cornwall are narrow two-lane ones, with one lane going in each direction. Some roads are no more than a one-car lane and it got real interesting sometimes when our van met a vehicle going in the opposite direction. It is easy to understand that people living in this part of the country would want only a small vehicle. It was not uncommon to have stone walls at the edge of the road which eliminated any pull off—someone had to back up! Every once in awhile we’d find a small village or a thatched roof house, but we saw no tourists, buses, or fast food restaurants.

MANDROGY, RUSSIA

                            A Surprise Stop

Our final stop before St. Petersburg was Mandrogy.  This small area was not on the agenda/schedule, but Lake Onega  was still frozen over  and we couldn’t get to Kitzi Island.  In fact we had to lay-to and wait for an ice breaker to arrive to break up the ice for us to continue on our journey. That was a first!   So this stop was a surprise.

 A very cold wind blew on a cloudy misty day as we went ashore. The village is small but a guide took us on a walking tour and told us, “A good friend of President Putin bought this place and it is becoming an escape destination for the new rich Russian. This area is situated in deep dense forest.”

The wooden buildings were topped with steep metal roofs. Much wood carving was used as decoration. Some of the architecture was very unique, and I could definitely see a tourist flavor. The guide pointed out a building with decorated windows that she said was typically Russian.

The prices in the shops were astronomical and most prices were stated in Euros. Although Mandrogy isn’t on American agendas, it definitely is on European ones.

After warming up in one of the shops we walked down to a ferry landing where a hand turned cable ferry took us on a five-minute river crossing to Pushkin Island. Pushkin was a famous Russian poet of fairy tales. Walking a well-packed path through the woods we stopped every few yards to observe wood carvings illustrating a Pushkin fairy tales.

The misty rain abated, and it was most pleasant in the  little forest, as the trees  cut off all the wind. The entire circular walk took less than an hour and it was fun seeing all the wooden carvings and learning something about Pushkin. We even stopped to sit on the throne of one of his tales and of course took lots of pictures.

As soon as we left the little ferry again the wind hit us in the face. We headed for the vodka museum where 2600 different vodkas were displayed. I sampled the local Mandrogy vodka. I remarked, “I can’t believe I’ve been drinking vodka straight. This is quite good.” 

In Russia one does not just ask for vodka. One names his brand, as there are 4000 of them!