We spent the afternoon in frontier town. This place is buzzing every weekend, never more so than today. People really get into it, wearing all the western gear. Almost all are wearing cowboy hats, lots for spurs on "real" cowboy boots. Guns are in evidence as well.
We start off at the Grotto Cafe where we park and walk to frontier town where we stop to watch a western show with seven cowboys....well done! We continue on to the end and on the return decide to stop in at the American Legion. Now this was an establishment that we have never visited, but always planned to check out. Today it was packed. There were a lot bikers, and a very good band. Everyone seemed to be wearing cowboy gear and a lot had Harley labels on their shirts. We were enjoying the atmosphere and people watching, listening to music from the Eagles and others.
Then a woman got up to the mike on the band stage and quiet was called for. She had a story to tell. It was about today's veteran hero, her daughter. The person standing beside her on the stage actually looked like a young man wearing a ball cap. The mum started her talk saying her daughter was born and had challenging health issues that continued on through her life to the time she joined the army. She spoke of her military life, service to her country and her bravery. Now her girl has cancer again, and it is terminal, she won't survive it this time. The mothers voice broke but she continued on. A hat was passed around the bar for donations, not for her girl, but for the homeless vets association in Cave Creek.
It was an emotional moment. The band started up again and Tina and her mum danced together, Tina removed her ball cap to bare her bald head, and her large black glasses made her look so young and vulnerable but she smiled big. I noticed a friend taking a video of their dance....what a memory that will be. We had to choke back our emotions. We left thinking about the sacrifice so many Americans have made for their country and we're grateful for their service.
Saturday, November 5, 2016
Thursday, June 2, 2016
Home again, home again 🎶🎶🎶 jiggity jig.
We left Paris early this morning, not knowing what to expect with traffic, strike activity etc. All went smoothly, we were super early, and our flight was delayed slightly. I had lots of time to get my vat refund.
We had to change terminals in London with a tight connection.......which turned into a long one as we were again delayed. The airport was incredibly busy, we had to wait in line for a seat in a restaurant.....beer and English fish and chips, which we shared, made up for it.
We then went to the British Airways counter to see if we could buy an upgrade. The upgrade price would have doubled the original ticket price.......a bit too rich for my Scottish blood! Really, our seats were not bad....already an upgrade to euro traveler. We were surprised and delighted to receive a complimentary upgrade to business class at the gate., which meant a pod bed! Yahoo!
We are now home and tomorrow the laundry begins, back to reality.
I always love arriving in Vancouver to the smell of the cool fresh air......home😄
Thanks to all family and friends for reading my blog, I enjoy writing it.......and reading it later myself.
Muriel
We had to change terminals in London with a tight connection.......which turned into a long one as we were again delayed. The airport was incredibly busy, we had to wait in line for a seat in a restaurant.....beer and English fish and chips, which we shared, made up for it.
We then went to the British Airways counter to see if we could buy an upgrade. The upgrade price would have doubled the original ticket price.......a bit too rich for my Scottish blood! Really, our seats were not bad....already an upgrade to euro traveler. We were surprised and delighted to receive a complimentary upgrade to business class at the gate., which meant a pod bed! Yahoo!
We are now home and tomorrow the laundry begins, back to reality.
I always love arriving in Vancouver to the smell of the cool fresh air......home😄
Thanks to all family and friends for reading my blog, I enjoy writing it.......and reading it later myself.
Muriel
Wednesday, June 1, 2016
Last day in Paris
This morning we decide to forgo the hotel breakfast and walk to the nearest Starbucks. Not that we are addicted, but it has been 3plus weeks since we have seen a Starbucks. Of course I always have to check out the merchandise and I was happy to find two espresso sized mugs, one with Paris on it and the other with France. I'm getting quite a small collection!
Next on our agenda was a walk to the Pere Lachaise cementary where many famous people are buried...including Mozart, Jim Morrison and many many others. I have had this on my list of to do things for at least the last three visits to Paris.......! We decided to walk as the distance according to google would take us 41 minutes. Along the way we stopped at a small restaurant for lunch......quite a delicious salad passed by our little table on its way to someone else....I said to the waiter, I'll have what he is having. The restaurant seemed to be from another era, an old fashioned photo took up the entire back wall, the kitchen was hidden from the seating area but there was a very busy little window where the cook,rang an old fashioned bell when he had placed a meal on the shelf. The staff seemed quite amused that I was taking photos.
We weren't far now from the cementary and I was so sure I was finally getting to see it! Not so! At the gate there was a couple of officials who told us it as closed, just for the day because of heavy rain, and that all the parks and gardens were also closed, but would open again tomorrow. This did not make sense and we thought it was probably that the workers were on strike in sympathy with the transit strikers. A disappointment, but I will try again next time.
We walked back towards our hotel and at the Place de Vosges park there was an interesting display. First we saw large bags of wool(sheep) in its raw form, next it was spun into spools of thread, then into bolts of cloth on a large loom. The fabric was beautiful and fine. Finally there was a section of finished products, clothing, pillows, blankets. Jackie, if you are reading this....I took photos for you!
We sauntered on towards home with a stop at Cafe Hugo....famous as it is on the spot of Victor Hugo's maison. Monsuir Hugo is most famous for Les Miserables. Jeff had a beer and I had a hot mulled wine. While we were there we saw a group of soldiers pass by wearing camouflage and carrying heavy artillery. We had also seen a noticeable presence of the same at the airport and several other times about the city.
A rest was in order before we would venture out for a fresh air walk. We walked to the river Seine, which is just a few blocks from our hotel......we were quite shocked to see the extent of the flooding. Normally you can walk along the waters edge on a probably 20ft wide sidewalk, and there is also a road beyond the sidewalk where two lanes of cars can pass under the bridges. All of this was completely under water! We crossed over to Ile St Louie on one of the bridges , everyone, Parisiennes, tourists alike were taking photos with cameras and iPhones, it was quite a sight to see.
Back in the Marais district in the St Paul area we wandered through a few shops, I purchased a black beret, I had left mine in the hotel the last time I was in Paris. A shop selling Mexican Ices.....their version of ice cream, with less calories they say. Jeff tried the peanut butter while I had a coconut. The shop was not busy, it being a cool and rainy day, and we chatted with them.....telling the we were going to have falafels for dinner.....they recommended l'As on Rue Rosier., but warned us there would be a line up!
Again we returned to our hotel.....seniors need rest after all the walking! We had a beer at the American Bar across the street from our hotel and then walked to the Jewish district which was not more than a few blocks and joined the line up at L'As. Jeff declared it the best meal he has enjoyed on the entire trip.
And so ended our last day in Paris and the last of our vacation. Tomorrow, strikes willing....we fly!
Next on our agenda was a walk to the Pere Lachaise cementary where many famous people are buried...including Mozart, Jim Morrison and many many others. I have had this on my list of to do things for at least the last three visits to Paris.......! We decided to walk as the distance according to google would take us 41 minutes. Along the way we stopped at a small restaurant for lunch......quite a delicious salad passed by our little table on its way to someone else....I said to the waiter, I'll have what he is having. The restaurant seemed to be from another era, an old fashioned photo took up the entire back wall, the kitchen was hidden from the seating area but there was a very busy little window where the cook,rang an old fashioned bell when he had placed a meal on the shelf. The staff seemed quite amused that I was taking photos.
We weren't far now from the cementary and I was so sure I was finally getting to see it! Not so! At the gate there was a couple of officials who told us it as closed, just for the day because of heavy rain, and that all the parks and gardens were also closed, but would open again tomorrow. This did not make sense and we thought it was probably that the workers were on strike in sympathy with the transit strikers. A disappointment, but I will try again next time.
We walked back towards our hotel and at the Place de Vosges park there was an interesting display. First we saw large bags of wool(sheep) in its raw form, next it was spun into spools of thread, then into bolts of cloth on a large loom. The fabric was beautiful and fine. Finally there was a section of finished products, clothing, pillows, blankets. Jackie, if you are reading this....I took photos for you!
We sauntered on towards home with a stop at Cafe Hugo....famous as it is on the spot of Victor Hugo's maison. Monsuir Hugo is most famous for Les Miserables. Jeff had a beer and I had a hot mulled wine. While we were there we saw a group of soldiers pass by wearing camouflage and carrying heavy artillery. We had also seen a noticeable presence of the same at the airport and several other times about the city.
A rest was in order before we would venture out for a fresh air walk. We walked to the river Seine, which is just a few blocks from our hotel......we were quite shocked to see the extent of the flooding. Normally you can walk along the waters edge on a probably 20ft wide sidewalk, and there is also a road beyond the sidewalk where two lanes of cars can pass under the bridges. All of this was completely under water! We crossed over to Ile St Louie on one of the bridges , everyone, Parisiennes, tourists alike were taking photos with cameras and iPhones, it was quite a sight to see.
Back in the Marais district in the St Paul area we wandered through a few shops, I purchased a black beret, I had left mine in the hotel the last time I was in Paris. A shop selling Mexican Ices.....their version of ice cream, with less calories they say. Jeff tried the peanut butter while I had a coconut. The shop was not busy, it being a cool and rainy day, and we chatted with them.....telling the we were going to have falafels for dinner.....they recommended l'As on Rue Rosier., but warned us there would be a line up!
Again we returned to our hotel.....seniors need rest after all the walking! We had a beer at the American Bar across the street from our hotel and then walked to the Jewish district which was not more than a few blocks and joined the line up at L'As. Jeff declared it the best meal he has enjoyed on the entire trip.
And so ended our last day in Paris and the last of our vacation. Tomorrow, strikes willing....we fly!
Tuesday, May 31, 2016
From Italy to France
Our plan this morning went off surprisingly well, thank goodness. After breakfast in the hotel we were off to Livorno to drop of our rental "hunk of junk" . We left at 9:20 am and arrived, thanks to GPS a few minutes before 10. Livorno is close to Tirrenia, like Richmond is to Vancouver. Jeff was going to tell the guys at the rental shop (politely, of course) what he/we thought of the car but he didn't say anything in the end, because the fellows were so nice he didn't want to spoil their day. They called us a taxi to take us back to Terrenia. An 8 passenger Mercedes Benz arrived! The drive back was interesting until we got stopped for a bridge to raise, meter running the whole time. Ahh the joys!
Back at our lovely Hotel Bristol we checked out at 11am and had to wait until 2pm for our next taxi to take us to the Pisa airport. We planned to spend the time laying around at the pool but then Enrico ((hotel owner) asked if we would like to use the bicycles to tour around. Yes! And we were off! The Hotel is not far from the beach and we rode along the bike path for about 6 km, sat for awhile and watched some surfers in the waves, and ended up at a cafe for pizza and salad. When we got back with the bikes, Enrico and Jeff were talking tennis as Enrico had offered to put on the big tv in the bar for us. Enrico told us that Milos Ranoic had stayed at his hotel for a week and he had a photo with him........soon Jeff was pulling up his photo of him and Federer......boys! It seems there is a tennis facility near by that the professionals use occasionally.
Our taxi arrived to take us to the Pisa airport, which is about 12 km away. On the drive we were passing km's of serious barbed wire fencing....razor wire on top. I asked the driver if it was a prison....no, it is a USA military base which was built during World War Two. He said it was 6km in length and though not many Americans were there now it employs many Italians. (Not sure doing what)
Pisa airport is quite small and our flight was delayed.
We finally arrived in Paris to rain and cold, and hailed a taxi for our trip into the Marais district. We
had landed at Orly airport, flat rate to Paris is $35, (CDG Flat rate is $55) we were in rush hour traffic
so it took a long time to reach our hotel Turenne Le Marais. The hotel for two nights was quite expensive so we were anticipating a lovely room. Not! It is one of the smallest rooms we have ever seen and truth be told it is a bit shabby! I know it's Paris....but really!
We did ask if there were any bigger rooms and were told there were not.
Tomorrow is strike day for the transportation systems in Paris.
We asked at the desk for some dinner suggestions and thankfully there were lots of choices in the square half a block away. Smoking in Paris is not allowed indoors so most people sit outside in plastic style tents. We are quite astounded at the number of smokers all over Europe, it was the same in Spain and Italy. Soup of the day was creme lentil, piping hot and very tasty.
We purchased some water at a little corner store and decamped to our teeny room.
What will we do in Paris tomorrow ? I have always wanted to visit Auvers sur Oise which is 41 minutes by train from Paris. It is where Van Gogh spent his last days, also Corot, Pissarro, so much art history in an old French village....but the trains are on strike.
Just may have to shop instead😀😀☔️.
I still love Paris, wet, expensive, rude at times, but full of history, art, architecture, and style!
Back at our lovely Hotel Bristol we checked out at 11am and had to wait until 2pm for our next taxi to take us to the Pisa airport. We planned to spend the time laying around at the pool but then Enrico ((hotel owner) asked if we would like to use the bicycles to tour around. Yes! And we were off! The Hotel is not far from the beach and we rode along the bike path for about 6 km, sat for awhile and watched some surfers in the waves, and ended up at a cafe for pizza and salad. When we got back with the bikes, Enrico and Jeff were talking tennis as Enrico had offered to put on the big tv in the bar for us. Enrico told us that Milos Ranoic had stayed at his hotel for a week and he had a photo with him........soon Jeff was pulling up his photo of him and Federer......boys! It seems there is a tennis facility near by that the professionals use occasionally.
Our taxi arrived to take us to the Pisa airport, which is about 12 km away. On the drive we were passing km's of serious barbed wire fencing....razor wire on top. I asked the driver if it was a prison....no, it is a USA military base which was built during World War Two. He said it was 6km in length and though not many Americans were there now it employs many Italians. (Not sure doing what)
Pisa airport is quite small and our flight was delayed.
We finally arrived in Paris to rain and cold, and hailed a taxi for our trip into the Marais district. We
had landed at Orly airport, flat rate to Paris is $35, (CDG Flat rate is $55) we were in rush hour traffic
so it took a long time to reach our hotel Turenne Le Marais. The hotel for two nights was quite expensive so we were anticipating a lovely room. Not! It is one of the smallest rooms we have ever seen and truth be told it is a bit shabby! I know it's Paris....but really!
We did ask if there were any bigger rooms and were told there were not.
Tomorrow is strike day for the transportation systems in Paris.
We asked at the desk for some dinner suggestions and thankfully there were lots of choices in the square half a block away. Smoking in Paris is not allowed indoors so most people sit outside in plastic style tents. We are quite astounded at the number of smokers all over Europe, it was the same in Spain and Italy. Soup of the day was creme lentil, piping hot and very tasty.
We purchased some water at a little corner store and decamped to our teeny room.
What will we do in Paris tomorrow ? I have always wanted to visit Auvers sur Oise which is 41 minutes by train from Paris. It is where Van Gogh spent his last days, also Corot, Pissarro, so much art history in an old French village....but the trains are on strike.
Just may have to shop instead😀😀☔️.
I still love Paris, wet, expensive, rude at times, but full of history, art, architecture, and style!
Monday, May 30, 2016
Last day in San Gimignano
We had a lovely breakfast in the breakfast room of the Cisterna Hotel with views that description does not do justice. Our friendly server from last nights dinner and yesterday's outdoor patio service was once again our server for breakfast. We asked her if she very gets to go home, we are not sure if she understands as she laughs and smiles. Jeff invited a girl who we had seen dining alone last night, to sit with us. It turned out she was/is a tour guide as we had guessed. She was pleased to be our guest I think.
After breakfast our plan was a leisurely exit from the hotel, I had a purchase to make and we would then walk down the hill to our car to bring it back up for our suitcases. All going according to plan till I suddenly remembered I had left my coat in Siena! What to do! In the end we decided we had time to return and pick it up. Our hotel reception kindly called Siena to make sure the hotel had it. Now we are in a rush. It took us 1 1/2 hours we had not allowed for. Consequently we arrived in Lucca quite late in the day. We quickly realized the walled city was not suitable to drive in, so after a bite of pizza and a beer we had a quick run up to the outer wall to have a look. Sadly we had no time for a bike ride around the old wall......many bikes and joggers were to be seen and it looked like fun.
We drove to Tirrenia, which is between Pisa and Livorno. As we drove through Pisa we got a glimpse of the leaning tower, sadly no photo! I had wanted to take one of those pictures where it looks like I'm propping the tower up. We were both tired after our very long day dealing with traffic and tailgating Italian race car drivers and thought a relaxing hour by the pool would be the best thing to do.
At about 8:30 we walked to the beach area to a restaurant recommended by our hotel.....real Sicilian food! The walk to the beach was long but we finally found the location. The Bagno Lomi is owned and operated by a Sicilian family, they live in Sicily in the off season and return to Tirreno for the summer. They did not have much English nor us much Italian but we managed .......sort of! I ordered grilled prawns, Jeff ordered Vongole. When my plate came I was pretty sure I was not looking at prawns and the 8 or so little fishys looked too big to be sardines. Hmmm. Well I have to say they were delicious, after I cut off their little heads and tails. Jeffs pasta was full of mussels and clams. The evening was losing light but we could still see the waves crashing in and the spray it was causing, quite wild.
It was a long way back to our Hotel Bristol where we still had a hotel to book in Paris and a flight to check in. Travel is fun and work!
Ciao......tomorrow it's back to Bonjour!
After breakfast our plan was a leisurely exit from the hotel, I had a purchase to make and we would then walk down the hill to our car to bring it back up for our suitcases. All going according to plan till I suddenly remembered I had left my coat in Siena! What to do! In the end we decided we had time to return and pick it up. Our hotel reception kindly called Siena to make sure the hotel had it. Now we are in a rush. It took us 1 1/2 hours we had not allowed for. Consequently we arrived in Lucca quite late in the day. We quickly realized the walled city was not suitable to drive in, so after a bite of pizza and a beer we had a quick run up to the outer wall to have a look. Sadly we had no time for a bike ride around the old wall......many bikes and joggers were to be seen and it looked like fun.
We drove to Tirrenia, which is between Pisa and Livorno. As we drove through Pisa we got a glimpse of the leaning tower, sadly no photo! I had wanted to take one of those pictures where it looks like I'm propping the tower up. We were both tired after our very long day dealing with traffic and tailgating Italian race car drivers and thought a relaxing hour by the pool would be the best thing to do.
At about 8:30 we walked to the beach area to a restaurant recommended by our hotel.....real Sicilian food! The walk to the beach was long but we finally found the location. The Bagno Lomi is owned and operated by a Sicilian family, they live in Sicily in the off season and return to Tirreno for the summer. They did not have much English nor us much Italian but we managed .......sort of! I ordered grilled prawns, Jeff ordered Vongole. When my plate came I was pretty sure I was not looking at prawns and the 8 or so little fishys looked too big to be sardines. Hmmm. Well I have to say they were delicious, after I cut off their little heads and tails. Jeffs pasta was full of mussels and clams. The evening was losing light but we could still see the waves crashing in and the spray it was causing, quite wild.
It was a long way back to our Hotel Bristol where we still had a hotel to book in Paris and a flight to check in. Travel is fun and work!
Ciao......tomorrow it's back to Bonjour!
Sunday, May 29, 2016
Departing Siena for San Gimignano
We awoke to rain this morning.......and on the positive side were glad we were parked in the underground garage! Small mercies!
Our plan to walk out and find a coffee/bar where we could sip our coffees outdoors changed to a full breakfast (for me) and coffee for Jeff in the hotel breakfast room. Soon we were packed up and driving towards San Gimignano which was only about an hour away, so we had lots of time to explore along the way. We stopped in to Casole de Elsa the old walled city we had seen on our trip to Siena, a very charming village, all the signs leading into the walls inexplicably led us nowhere! We tried to find the entrance twice and gave up.....it being Sunday there was nobody we could ask. Italy is as closed up as Spain on Sundays. The bonus in that is, the roads are less busy as they are either at church or "Sunday lunch"
We were hoping the rain would keep the motorcycles off the roads and I think it did some.
The scenery is really picture postcard. We came upon a beautiful old brick building with a gorgeous garden and restaurant and shop😄 A perfect combination and we pulled into the gravel driveway. Well, you guessed it.....we couldn't even get a coffee, they were very sorry, they were preparing for either Sunday lunch or a wedding! The room was perfection! The shop was closed and we hit the road. Another walled city, Monteriggioni was admired from the road as we drove on by.
We arrived in San Gimignano with very detailed instructions on how to find our hotel, thank goodness. We could drive into the centre of the old town directly to our hotel and park to unload for 20 minutes max. This took awhile as the narrow streets were filled with tourists.
Our Hotel Cisterna is truly lovely and I would recommend it for the location and charm. It is also very spacious for a European hotel. The hotel takes its name from the large stone cistern (well) in the centre of the square. It's walls of brick have ivy climbing up and around the windows. By now the sun is shining and it is quite hot. After about 20 minutes we are driving back outside the old town walls to park our car.....6 euros for 24 hours. The walk back uphill is about 600 meters......and we managed to spend about 200 euros on the way! The painting girls who I traveled here with in January 2015 will be amused to learn that ALL the shops that were then closed were now open......and filled with tourists. It was quite busy but we were told nothing like it would be in another months time.
We spent the day wandering the top of the town, drinking wine on the patios, eating pizza (Jeff) gelato (me). The painting girls will remember the best gelato in the world shop where we all had gelato in January. My choice was coconut flavour...yum! Very fond memories!
We decided to dine in our hotel restaurant and the view was staggeringly beautiful, we were seated at a window to enjoy it and enjoy it we did!
We will be leaving tomorrow to visit Lucca and Pisa and staying in a little town between Pisa and Livorno.
It was a wonderful day! ❤️
Our plan to walk out and find a coffee/bar where we could sip our coffees outdoors changed to a full breakfast (for me) and coffee for Jeff in the hotel breakfast room. Soon we were packed up and driving towards San Gimignano which was only about an hour away, so we had lots of time to explore along the way. We stopped in to Casole de Elsa the old walled city we had seen on our trip to Siena, a very charming village, all the signs leading into the walls inexplicably led us nowhere! We tried to find the entrance twice and gave up.....it being Sunday there was nobody we could ask. Italy is as closed up as Spain on Sundays. The bonus in that is, the roads are less busy as they are either at church or "Sunday lunch"
We were hoping the rain would keep the motorcycles off the roads and I think it did some.
The scenery is really picture postcard. We came upon a beautiful old brick building with a gorgeous garden and restaurant and shop😄 A perfect combination and we pulled into the gravel driveway. Well, you guessed it.....we couldn't even get a coffee, they were very sorry, they were preparing for either Sunday lunch or a wedding! The room was perfection! The shop was closed and we hit the road. Another walled city, Monteriggioni was admired from the road as we drove on by.
We arrived in San Gimignano with very detailed instructions on how to find our hotel, thank goodness. We could drive into the centre of the old town directly to our hotel and park to unload for 20 minutes max. This took awhile as the narrow streets were filled with tourists.
Our Hotel Cisterna is truly lovely and I would recommend it for the location and charm. It is also very spacious for a European hotel. The hotel takes its name from the large stone cistern (well) in the centre of the square. It's walls of brick have ivy climbing up and around the windows. By now the sun is shining and it is quite hot. After about 20 minutes we are driving back outside the old town walls to park our car.....6 euros for 24 hours. The walk back uphill is about 600 meters......and we managed to spend about 200 euros on the way! The painting girls who I traveled here with in January 2015 will be amused to learn that ALL the shops that were then closed were now open......and filled with tourists. It was quite busy but we were told nothing like it would be in another months time.
We spent the day wandering the top of the town, drinking wine on the patios, eating pizza (Jeff) gelato (me). The painting girls will remember the best gelato in the world shop where we all had gelato in January. My choice was coconut flavour...yum! Very fond memories!
We decided to dine in our hotel restaurant and the view was staggeringly beautiful, we were seated at a window to enjoy it and enjoy it we did!
We will be leaving tomorrow to visit Lucca and Pisa and staying in a little town between Pisa and Livorno.
It was a wonderful day! ❤️
Saturday, May 28, 2016
Crazy crazy day!
This morning we woke a bit late. First order of the day was to pick up our rental car. The rental location was about 5 km from our hotel so we hopped in a taxi and tried to remember the route as we had to come back to our hotel. Ha! Anyway we talked to the clerk at the agency about changing our drop off and at the end decided we would bring the car back to Livorno. That settled we got in our Fiat, which Jeff has since declared a "hunk of junk"!!!! Graeme, the gears are ridiculous! As is the suspension, and this was an upgrade! Nuff said about the car.
We are using Graeme and Joanie's GPS which they have kindly lent to us and we could not get the gps to switch off of Sardinia, so in frustration we set off to find our way to the hotel. We later rememberd that the gps satellite takes time to register. We found ourselves down a narrow street and drove smack into a market......normally this would be a good thing. We pulled over to the curb while we thought about how we could negotiate through as there was no way we could reverse. Jeff is wrestling with the gps, I'm connecting my phone to google maps and there is a knock at my window. Yes it is the carbinerios! Fortunately he was very helpful and told us two right turns ...then go straight . He knew where the Hotel Gran Duca was. Whew! Could have been a lot worse. He then proceed to hold back traffic and lead us to our first right turn. Amen!
Back at the hotel we had missed breakfast but there was a lovely coffee shop on the corner, not busy and the girl serving was very sweet....so a nice experience ! Now that we have decided to return the car to Livorno we have booked ourselves on a flight from Pisa (24km from Livorno) back to Paris on May 31st.
We packed up, checked out and were on the road, gps now operating in the correct part of Italy, by 12:30.
Our destination today was Siena and we were taking the coastal route. Livorno is quite large and it was taking some time to exit the city, the beaches were numerous and looked quite rocky. There were people laying on the rocks in every nook and cranny sunning themselves. It being Saturday every square inch of space along the side of the road had a parked car or motorbike on it. People getting out of their vehicles loaded down with towels, food and libation.
As we passed the port we saw the fishermen with the morning catch, cleaning it in sheds by the road, seagulls everywhere waiting for the spoils. Fishermen carrying crates of fish weaving through the traffic to waiting customers on the opposite side. Traffic is going every which way...why do they bother with lines?
We pass through many small villages, Castglioncello, Casole de Elsa, an old walled city on a hilltop just 22 km from Siena......looks worth a visit. The drive was through beautiful countryside, rolling hills, wine country, walled hilltop villages, unfortunately made less enjoyable by the insane motorcycles, who passed without caution or care for themselves or others on the road. It was quite unnerving especially for Jeff. Being Saturday they were out in full force. We stopped at a roadside bar for a drink and a rest on the covered patio with a magnificent view. Another village Monteriggioni, ringd by a stone wall and we were close to Siena. Entering Siena we had our eyes peeled for our hotel, we saw a sign with an arrow and followed it till the arrows were no more, round and round we went.....tired and thirsty. After way to much time we found ourselves at the same spot again......it was the entrance to the walled part of the city......yes our hotel was mere meters inside the walls!!!!!!!
We checked in and flopped for a few minutes then ventured out to walk up to the duomo It was an uphill walk and we were soon enticed into a bar whose chalkboard outside beckoned us for the view.
A wander around the narrow streets and many photos later we came to the duomo, which was closed to visitors.
Back in our hotel we made a reservation on our hotel patio for dinner .....it has a fabulous view of the surrounding valley laid out below.
The patio was quite full of diners, a young couple was seated at the table next to us.....the beautiful young lady was dressed fashionably in a very short skirt but what really caught my attention was her shoes! Black patent high heels with a gold strip on the heel and at the top of each heel there was a
small gold padlock!!!!! Exquisite.
Our meal finished we left the patio to walk down to an area below the hotel where a local Festival was in full swing.....many hundreds of people eating at long tables being served by young people who were delivering food from a large fired bbq. There will be a band and dancing afterwards. Tourists are invited to join in but it seemed too much to deal with after our day.
We wandered back to our hotel hoping the rain would be stopped at Roland Garosso so we could cach some tennis.
Bonne Serra! And Goodnigh!
We are using Graeme and Joanie's GPS which they have kindly lent to us and we could not get the gps to switch off of Sardinia, so in frustration we set off to find our way to the hotel. We later rememberd that the gps satellite takes time to register. We found ourselves down a narrow street and drove smack into a market......normally this would be a good thing. We pulled over to the curb while we thought about how we could negotiate through as there was no way we could reverse. Jeff is wrestling with the gps, I'm connecting my phone to google maps and there is a knock at my window. Yes it is the carbinerios! Fortunately he was very helpful and told us two right turns ...then go straight . He knew where the Hotel Gran Duca was. Whew! Could have been a lot worse. He then proceed to hold back traffic and lead us to our first right turn. Amen!
Back at the hotel we had missed breakfast but there was a lovely coffee shop on the corner, not busy and the girl serving was very sweet....so a nice experience ! Now that we have decided to return the car to Livorno we have booked ourselves on a flight from Pisa (24km from Livorno) back to Paris on May 31st.
We packed up, checked out and were on the road, gps now operating in the correct part of Italy, by 12:30.
Our destination today was Siena and we were taking the coastal route. Livorno is quite large and it was taking some time to exit the city, the beaches were numerous and looked quite rocky. There were people laying on the rocks in every nook and cranny sunning themselves. It being Saturday every square inch of space along the side of the road had a parked car or motorbike on it. People getting out of their vehicles loaded down with towels, food and libation.
As we passed the port we saw the fishermen with the morning catch, cleaning it in sheds by the road, seagulls everywhere waiting for the spoils. Fishermen carrying crates of fish weaving through the traffic to waiting customers on the opposite side. Traffic is going every which way...why do they bother with lines?
We pass through many small villages, Castglioncello, Casole de Elsa, an old walled city on a hilltop just 22 km from Siena......looks worth a visit. The drive was through beautiful countryside, rolling hills, wine country, walled hilltop villages, unfortunately made less enjoyable by the insane motorcycles, who passed without caution or care for themselves or others on the road. It was quite unnerving especially for Jeff. Being Saturday they were out in full force. We stopped at a roadside bar for a drink and a rest on the covered patio with a magnificent view. Another village Monteriggioni, ringd by a stone wall and we were close to Siena. Entering Siena we had our eyes peeled for our hotel, we saw a sign with an arrow and followed it till the arrows were no more, round and round we went.....tired and thirsty. After way to much time we found ourselves at the same spot again......it was the entrance to the walled part of the city......yes our hotel was mere meters inside the walls!!!!!!!
We checked in and flopped for a few minutes then ventured out to walk up to the duomo It was an uphill walk and we were soon enticed into a bar whose chalkboard outside beckoned us for the view.
A wander around the narrow streets and many photos later we came to the duomo, which was closed to visitors.
Back in our hotel we made a reservation on our hotel patio for dinner .....it has a fabulous view of the surrounding valley laid out below.
The patio was quite full of diners, a young couple was seated at the table next to us.....the beautiful young lady was dressed fashionably in a very short skirt but what really caught my attention was her shoes! Black patent high heels with a gold strip on the heel and at the top of each heel there was a
small gold padlock!!!!! Exquisite.
Our meal finished we left the patio to walk down to an area below the hotel where a local Festival was in full swing.....many hundreds of people eating at long tables being served by young people who were delivering food from a large fired bbq. There will be a band and dancing afterwards. Tourists are invited to join in but it seemed too much to deal with after our day.
We wandered back to our hotel hoping the rain would be stopped at Roland Garosso so we could cach some tennis.
Bonne Serra! And Goodnigh!
Friday, May 27, 2016
Our last day in Sardinia
Our final day with our friends started off with breakfast at Sandy and Mikes Hotel in Porto Rotondo, a lovely little hotel right on the water. After the typical Italian breakfast of meats, cheeses, croissants, buns, juices and cake we strolled along the boardwalk admiring all the moored yachts. Many millions of dollars in boats lined up, cafes, and little shops selling yachting clothes, bags and anything else you may have need of.
After an hour of walking the waterfront we said goodbye to Sandy and Mike and went back to our condo to pack up.
Our wonderful friends and hosts for the past week, Joanie and Graeme drove us into Olbia for our 2pm ferry to Livorno.
The Moby Ferries are the size of cruise ships.....the one we were on was decorated with large paintings of cartoon characters...tweety and Sylvester . We walked on to the lower car deck and took the elevator up......I think the ship was 10 stories high....huge😀. We went to the information desk to get the key to our stateroom. The room had 2 beds, either an additional 2 that could be pulled down from the walls above, a bathroom complete with shower, a desk, and a closet. We deposited our suitcase and backpacks and set off to explore the ship.
As we pulled out of port it was extremely windy on deck, it was interesting to see Olbia from the sea.
We walked all over the ship, it amazed us to see so many people with dogs, big and little all up on deck, inside the seating areas as well......having been used to ferries at home keeping dogs below decks. People were obviously old hands at this type of ferry travel, they had foamys to sit on, blankets to wrap themselves from the wind, shopping bags with drinks, sandwiches etc. Many were already curled up sleeping. Seemed like sleeping was a good idea and I slept for at least an hour.....in the stateroom, .....not the deck.
We were back and forth to our stateroom and the bar where we had a jd and coffee (me). Then decided to go to the dining room for dinner when it opened at 7pm. We ordered Bruschetta which came with prosecco, Jeff had a pasta dish and I had an appetizer which was zucchini wrapped around eggplant topped with buffaletta cheese....delish.
Soon it was time to disembark.....and the fun began......trying to get directions from staff re where to actually do this! Our room key was to be returned to the info desk....where Jeff asked about where to disembark.....he was told deck 8. Okay, this is different, we had entered on the car deck (at sea level). We are patiently waiting on deck 8 and a staff member sweeping the floor is waving his arm at us to move forward.....we ignore him! I am now asking other passengers where we get off, making a walking motion with two fingers! A passenger tells us the opposite direction from what the crew had said. We find ourselves back at info desk on deck 6 with a short line of people, I ask the last person in line, using my walking fingers!!!! If this is the walk off line. It is. Soon the door opens and the line starts to move......at the top of the escalator the staff member is letting 4 or 5 people advance at a time. We are finally back at sea level where we had originally boarded the ship. Now to get a cab to our hotel, Hotel Gran Duca. There appeared to be two cabs at the taxi area but no drivers in them. We enlisted the aid of one of the many staff who seemed to be watching the cars coming off the ship. He phoned a cab and said one would be there in 5 minutes. Our cab driver was very pleasant, could speak quite good English, enough to give us some advice re sights and towns to visit for the next 3 days. Our hotel is very nice as well.....so all is well in the world today!
We decided if we again were to travel by ferry, which is a 7 hour trip we would take the overnight ferry departing at 10pm and arriving at 7 am the next day............note to ourselves.....learn mor Italian for next visit.
Bonne Serra xo
After an hour of walking the waterfront we said goodbye to Sandy and Mike and went back to our condo to pack up.
Our wonderful friends and hosts for the past week, Joanie and Graeme drove us into Olbia for our 2pm ferry to Livorno.
The Moby Ferries are the size of cruise ships.....the one we were on was decorated with large paintings of cartoon characters...tweety and Sylvester . We walked on to the lower car deck and took the elevator up......I think the ship was 10 stories high....huge😀. We went to the information desk to get the key to our stateroom. The room had 2 beds, either an additional 2 that could be pulled down from the walls above, a bathroom complete with shower, a desk, and a closet. We deposited our suitcase and backpacks and set off to explore the ship.
As we pulled out of port it was extremely windy on deck, it was interesting to see Olbia from the sea.
We walked all over the ship, it amazed us to see so many people with dogs, big and little all up on deck, inside the seating areas as well......having been used to ferries at home keeping dogs below decks. People were obviously old hands at this type of ferry travel, they had foamys to sit on, blankets to wrap themselves from the wind, shopping bags with drinks, sandwiches etc. Many were already curled up sleeping. Seemed like sleeping was a good idea and I slept for at least an hour.....in the stateroom, .....not the deck.
We were back and forth to our stateroom and the bar where we had a jd and coffee (me). Then decided to go to the dining room for dinner when it opened at 7pm. We ordered Bruschetta which came with prosecco, Jeff had a pasta dish and I had an appetizer which was zucchini wrapped around eggplant topped with buffaletta cheese....delish.
Soon it was time to disembark.....and the fun began......trying to get directions from staff re where to actually do this! Our room key was to be returned to the info desk....where Jeff asked about where to disembark.....he was told deck 8. Okay, this is different, we had entered on the car deck (at sea level). We are patiently waiting on deck 8 and a staff member sweeping the floor is waving his arm at us to move forward.....we ignore him! I am now asking other passengers where we get off, making a walking motion with two fingers! A passenger tells us the opposite direction from what the crew had said. We find ourselves back at info desk on deck 6 with a short line of people, I ask the last person in line, using my walking fingers!!!! If this is the walk off line. It is. Soon the door opens and the line starts to move......at the top of the escalator the staff member is letting 4 or 5 people advance at a time. We are finally back at sea level where we had originally boarded the ship. Now to get a cab to our hotel, Hotel Gran Duca. There appeared to be two cabs at the taxi area but no drivers in them. We enlisted the aid of one of the many staff who seemed to be watching the cars coming off the ship. He phoned a cab and said one would be there in 5 minutes. Our cab driver was very pleasant, could speak quite good English, enough to give us some advice re sights and towns to visit for the next 3 days. Our hotel is very nice as well.....so all is well in the world today!
We decided if we again were to travel by ferry, which is a 7 hour trip we would take the overnight ferry departing at 10pm and arriving at 7 am the next day............note to ourselves.....learn mor Italian for next visit.
Bonne Serra xo
Thursday another Beach Day
We were off again in the car after breakfast...Mike and Sandy following behind us. We decided to return to Cinto Beach near Teodora....this is the "best beach in the universe". It was another quite windy day. We stopped at Brandinchi beach first and walked its length, the beaches are numerous all along the coastline. At Cinto beach the wind was blowing in instead of out to sea so it was not as clean today as it was on our previous visit......nonetheless still glorious with more kite surfers than ever whipping around in the surf.
Back in our cars again we decided to test Mike's driving skills.....to see if he could keep up ( Jeff is now officially an Italian race car driver) ......we lost Mike😋......Joanie called Sandy on whatsap and we pulled into a lay by to wait for them! All in good fun this went on till we arrived at the same restaurant we had been to a few days earlier in the hilltop town of Posada. The restaurant is called Mario and Catherina. She remembered us from our previous visit. The food and service was excellent. The bread sublime ! Catherine spoke virtually no English, except the word pasta! Anyway I wanted to ask her if she could sell us a loaf of the bread.......the light went on when she realized what I meant and off she went to comply.....I thought! She came back bearing 3 gifts, one each for Sandy, Joanie and me......gifts of the crispy flat bread they make inhouse. Each package tied with ribbon. It was not the bread I had meant but what a gift! I felt like hugging her.
On the road again we lost Mike, (haha) pulled over to wait, they caught up and passed us. All in good fun.
Home again we prepared an antipasto platter and a spaghetti dinner.
It as another fine italian day.
Back in our cars again we decided to test Mike's driving skills.....to see if he could keep up ( Jeff is now officially an Italian race car driver) ......we lost Mike😋......Joanie called Sandy on whatsap and we pulled into a lay by to wait for them! All in good fun this went on till we arrived at the same restaurant we had been to a few days earlier in the hilltop town of Posada. The restaurant is called Mario and Catherina. She remembered us from our previous visit. The food and service was excellent. The bread sublime ! Catherine spoke virtually no English, except the word pasta! Anyway I wanted to ask her if she could sell us a loaf of the bread.......the light went on when she realized what I meant and off she went to comply.....I thought! She came back bearing 3 gifts, one each for Sandy, Joanie and me......gifts of the crispy flat bread they make inhouse. Each package tied with ribbon. It was not the bread I had meant but what a gift! I felt like hugging her.
On the road again we lost Mike, (haha) pulled over to wait, they caught up and passed us. All in good fun.
Home again we prepared an antipasto platter and a spaghetti dinner.
It as another fine italian day.
Thursday, May 26, 2016
Whacky Wednesday.
Today we planned to hit a few beaches around the island. Before breakfast Jeff and I made a quick trip into town to purchase an overnight ferry ticket from Olbia to Livorno, Italy. We discovered the overnight ferry was full.....at least all the staterooms were booked and we didn't fancy sitting up all night possibly falling asleep in chairs trying to hang onto our suitcase! There was an afternoon ferry got which we could still get a stateroom for 2 persons, which we did book. The ferry trip is 7 hours so we felt it would be a good idea to have somewhere to leave our belongings while we moved about the ship......which is in the Moby line and the size of a cruise ship. ....our ticket booked we hustled back to Porta Volpe as we were heading to the beaches with Joanie, Graeme , Sandy and Mike.
We had only about 600 yds to go when we were stopped by the police and not allowed to go further. We could see and smell the thick black smoke. Apparently it was too dangerous to pass as they were worried about a gas explosion. We had no choice but to wait it out......hungry and frustrated as they could not tell us how long it would be. This being Italy and the odd hours of eating it was impossible to find a restaurant open.....until 12 pm......at which time the road was passable.
Arriving back at the condo where J,S,M,and G were patiently waiting we put together a huge antipasto platter for lunch, cheese, salami, olives, prosciutto, melon, bread and veggies.
Hunger taken care of we piled into two cars and we were off once again to join the crazy Italians racing around on their winding narrow roads! Mike doing his best to keep up (just kidding Mike!) and Jeff doing his best to lose him (or not!)
We were driving basically to the northern tip of Sardinia, where Sandy and Mike would eventually catch the one hour crossing by ferry to Corsica France. The coastline was beautiful and rocky, there was a large lighthouse at the tip and many walking/hiking trails through waist high shrubbery over hilly terrain. We were told there were a lot of large turtles (tortugas) that lived in the area to watch out for them. We were not lucky enough to see one, although hikers we passed had seen one.
After a bit of hiking we were back in the cars, the next stop was at an archaelogical site Lu Brandali where we would see the Gianti Tomb. A collection of huge stone blocks which are a collective grave of about 60 skeletons from a nearby village, placed in the shape of a bull head complete with horns. This was found during an excavation together with bronze and amber jewellery and 2 pottery bowls. On the basis of the material found a chronological period was established.....middle and late Bronze Age (xiv - x. sec BC) . There was also remains of several abodes that had been excavated and the belief is that there are more.
It was a long drive back to Ponto Volpe after a stock up at a supermercado for shiskabob makings and more wine and beer.
The six of us had a great bbq then tea and biscuits to end the evening.
Bonne Serra xo
We had only about 600 yds to go when we were stopped by the police and not allowed to go further. We could see and smell the thick black smoke. Apparently it was too dangerous to pass as they were worried about a gas explosion. We had no choice but to wait it out......hungry and frustrated as they could not tell us how long it would be. This being Italy and the odd hours of eating it was impossible to find a restaurant open.....until 12 pm......at which time the road was passable.
Arriving back at the condo where J,S,M,and G were patiently waiting we put together a huge antipasto platter for lunch, cheese, salami, olives, prosciutto, melon, bread and veggies.
Hunger taken care of we piled into two cars and we were off once again to join the crazy Italians racing around on their winding narrow roads! Mike doing his best to keep up (just kidding Mike!) and Jeff doing his best to lose him (or not!)
We were driving basically to the northern tip of Sardinia, where Sandy and Mike would eventually catch the one hour crossing by ferry to Corsica France. The coastline was beautiful and rocky, there was a large lighthouse at the tip and many walking/hiking trails through waist high shrubbery over hilly terrain. We were told there were a lot of large turtles (tortugas) that lived in the area to watch out for them. We were not lucky enough to see one, although hikers we passed had seen one.
After a bit of hiking we were back in the cars, the next stop was at an archaelogical site Lu Brandali where we would see the Gianti Tomb. A collection of huge stone blocks which are a collective grave of about 60 skeletons from a nearby village, placed in the shape of a bull head complete with horns. This was found during an excavation together with bronze and amber jewellery and 2 pottery bowls. On the basis of the material found a chronological period was established.....middle and late Bronze Age (xiv - x. sec BC) . There was also remains of several abodes that had been excavated and the belief is that there are more.
It was a long drive back to Ponto Volpe after a stock up at a supermercado for shiskabob makings and more wine and beer.
The six of us had a great bbq then tea and biscuits to end the evening.
Bonne Serra xo
Wednesday, May 25, 2016
Tuesday .....Market Day in Olbia
Today after breakfast we went into town for theTuesday market. We had learned the location from the information Center. It as your typical town market, lots of vendors selling chest, meats, all kinds of fruit and vegetables. There was also sellers of just about everything else you could think of. Lots of clothing, linens, household goods, cell phone accessories, African baskets.
We loaded up on fresh vegetables, cheese and cured meat. Joanie and I also made a purchase each....where my fine bargaining skills came into play! Ha! Jeff and Graeme had enough of the market so with bags of produce in hand they went off to search out a coffee bar.
We came back to our abode and made a large antipasto platter with fresh bread for lunch.
It was a very windy day and we spent the rest of it at our beach on chaise lounges sleeping and reading.
Soon it was time for Jeff and Graeme to drive to the airport to pick up Sandy and Mike arriving from Vancouver. They were staying at the San Marco Hotel in Porto Rotondo..
A very lovely place a five minute drive from us in Porto Volpe. They left them to settle in and drove back to our place, then the four of us walked into town to meet Sandy and Mike for dinner.
Dinner was delicious, salads, seafood pasta, veal, red and white vino......all presented with style.
after a great catch up evening with lots of laughs we were all ready to call it a night. Sandy and Mike tired from their long flight.
Joanie, Graeme, Jeff and I walked home and hit the hay after.......a cleansing ale of course!
Monday, May 23, 2016
Best Beach in the Universe !
Today is super windy!
We have finally mastered the moka coffee pot, after three days of trial and error, with a little help from Google !
After an eggy breakfast we decided it was far on windy to sit by the sea and read our books we again took off exploring. Sardinia is quite a big island, about 200 miles long with beautiful scenery all along its coast.
We had perished the numerous guide books in our condo and were entice by a beach by the name of Teodoro. Today being Monday and the winds being high we rightly thought the beaches would be pretty well deserted. When we arrived at Teodoro Beach we could hardly believe the expanse of it, it seems to stretch forever in a perfect arc ending in a large mountainous rock. The wind was whipping up a perfect scenario for the half dozen windsurfers who were extremely adept at keeping themselves upright the length of the beach, turning and zipping back the way they had come. The sand was very fine and very white. The water was many shades of blue and green, so clear it was easy to see the sandbars beneath the surface. I really wish I could describe the incredible beauty of the area, we all agreed it was undoubtedly the finest beach any of us had ever seen. We probably spent an hour walking its length and back, there were a few other people enjoying the wind and water. I think it was with reluctance we got back in the car and continued exploring the coastline. Observing the flora beside the road I thought I was seeing haystacks until I realized they were moving ever so slightly! They were actually the shaggiest sheep I have ever seen!
Since it was now nearly 2pm and we were feeling hungry .....I was concerned we would be hooped as the Italians would be closing up shop for siesta! We entered the village of Posada and drove around its winding hilly streets.......success an exquisite pizzeria was open and there were half a dozen tables enjoying what looked like very good food. The restaurant was basically open air with a large tented roof and hedges of pink Bougainville mixed with white jasmine all around the perimeter . A lovely wooden gate with an arc of the hedge growing over top. The tables were clothed in a yellow and turquoise checked tablecloth with orange napkins. Our cameras were in overdrive! We decided to order our main meal of the day and just have appies for dinner at home. Two of us had seafood pasta and two of us had sea bass, which was served complete with head, tail and bones! Desserts were tiramisu and pannacotta .....both very nice. There was a family dining 'beside us who were finishing their meal and engaged us in conversation.......the "mamma" who looked like your typical elderly Italian grandmother was 95 and she beamed the biggest smile when I bent down beside her to take our photo. The family was made up of relatives from the island and from Toronto. We exchanged information as they wanted to have the picture for "mamma" . Such friendly people. The host of the restaurant then Brought us all a shot of grappa.....quite delicious! The restaurant was called San Lucia, so if you find yourself in Sardinia it would be an excellent choice. Back on the road again....2plus hours later we find ourslves in Sinsacola, a hilltop town with a huge tower at the top. It was quiet as it had not quite opened up for the evening hours. Driving the twisting coastal roads catching glimpses of the sand and sea never gets old!
It was six pm when we finally arrived back at our "home" ......after a stop at the local supermarcado for water, wine and other necessities.
Th tv went on to check out the French Open, which sadly has been delayed by rain, we watched an entertaining match of an old US open.
Dinner was bruschetta, olives, and chicken drumsticks, prosecco and red vino!
Another fine day in Sardinia. I'm sure we will all be reliving the wild and windy beach we were so fortunate to spend time at today. It is one we will definitely be visiting again before we depart Italy.
Arrividerchi and Bonne Serra.
We have finally mastered the moka coffee pot, after three days of trial and error, with a little help from Google !
After an eggy breakfast we decided it was far on windy to sit by the sea and read our books we again took off exploring. Sardinia is quite a big island, about 200 miles long with beautiful scenery all along its coast.
We had perished the numerous guide books in our condo and were entice by a beach by the name of Teodoro. Today being Monday and the winds being high we rightly thought the beaches would be pretty well deserted. When we arrived at Teodoro Beach we could hardly believe the expanse of it, it seems to stretch forever in a perfect arc ending in a large mountainous rock. The wind was whipping up a perfect scenario for the half dozen windsurfers who were extremely adept at keeping themselves upright the length of the beach, turning and zipping back the way they had come. The sand was very fine and very white. The water was many shades of blue and green, so clear it was easy to see the sandbars beneath the surface. I really wish I could describe the incredible beauty of the area, we all agreed it was undoubtedly the finest beach any of us had ever seen. We probably spent an hour walking its length and back, there were a few other people enjoying the wind and water. I think it was with reluctance we got back in the car and continued exploring the coastline. Observing the flora beside the road I thought I was seeing haystacks until I realized they were moving ever so slightly! They were actually the shaggiest sheep I have ever seen!
Since it was now nearly 2pm and we were feeling hungry .....I was concerned we would be hooped as the Italians would be closing up shop for siesta! We entered the village of Posada and drove around its winding hilly streets.......success an exquisite pizzeria was open and there were half a dozen tables enjoying what looked like very good food. The restaurant was basically open air with a large tented roof and hedges of pink Bougainville mixed with white jasmine all around the perimeter . A lovely wooden gate with an arc of the hedge growing over top. The tables were clothed in a yellow and turquoise checked tablecloth with orange napkins. Our cameras were in overdrive! We decided to order our main meal of the day and just have appies for dinner at home. Two of us had seafood pasta and two of us had sea bass, which was served complete with head, tail and bones! Desserts were tiramisu and pannacotta .....both very nice. There was a family dining 'beside us who were finishing their meal and engaged us in conversation.......the "mamma" who looked like your typical elderly Italian grandmother was 95 and she beamed the biggest smile when I bent down beside her to take our photo. The family was made up of relatives from the island and from Toronto. We exchanged information as they wanted to have the picture for "mamma" . Such friendly people. The host of the restaurant then Brought us all a shot of grappa.....quite delicious! The restaurant was called San Lucia, so if you find yourself in Sardinia it would be an excellent choice. Back on the road again....2plus hours later we find ourslves in Sinsacola, a hilltop town with a huge tower at the top. It was quiet as it had not quite opened up for the evening hours. Driving the twisting coastal roads catching glimpses of the sand and sea never gets old!
It was six pm when we finally arrived back at our "home" ......after a stop at the local supermarcado for water, wine and other necessities.
Th tv went on to check out the French Open, which sadly has been delayed by rain, we watched an entertaining match of an old US open.
Dinner was bruschetta, olives, and chicken drumsticks, prosecco and red vino!
Another fine day in Sardinia. I'm sure we will all be reliving the wild and windy beach we were so fortunate to spend time at today. It is one we will definitely be visiting again before we depart Italy.
Arrividerchi and Bonne Serra.
Sunday, May 22, 2016
Sardinian Life continues.....
After a nice afternoon at the beach we had a bbq at the house.....steak and roast veggies and copious amounts of vino. (Saturday)
Today is Sunday and most establishments are closed. Sunday is family day for the Italians, they go out for a big lunch, spending several hours feasting.
We decide we would have a drive around to various beaches and some of the small hillside towns, which tend to be more of the old style Italian villages. The beaches are beauty to behold, I can't express in words the blue colours that they are.
We had met a guy in the super mercado who tried to direct us to a gem of a beach he had found on his sailboat.......down a dirt road etc. We never did find it but had fun trying.
We decided to go to a little village in the hills called San Pantaleo......our destination restaurant was closed but the hotel called another and got us a reservation. This is/was very important because if you have ever tried to have lunch on a Sunday in Italy you will know you can not just walk in off the street. The restaurant was full and they put up a special table for us in the adjoining room. We could look out to the little back courtyard where a chef was roasting two pigs on a spit....poor things were only 8 months old!!! Check out the web site .....www.ristorantegiagoni.it
My choice was a calamari, gazpacho, quinoa salad. Joanie and Graeme each had tempura monkfish with eggplant, Jeff had a salad of beets, quinoa and a lovely local cheese with nuts and a lemony sauce. Plenty of delicious bread with olive oil.
There was a small church in the village which was open. This town had many art ateliers and galleries, alas all were closed.........for the Sunday lunch period!
Home again we spent a little time at the Beach reading books, while Joanie and Graeme went into Olbia to get the hamburger condiments for our dinner.
Another great day relaxing and touring, and our evening will be full of stimulating conversation and laughs as good friends can!
Bonne!
Today is Sunday and most establishments are closed. Sunday is family day for the Italians, they go out for a big lunch, spending several hours feasting.
We decide we would have a drive around to various beaches and some of the small hillside towns, which tend to be more of the old style Italian villages. The beaches are beauty to behold, I can't express in words the blue colours that they are.
We had met a guy in the super mercado who tried to direct us to a gem of a beach he had found on his sailboat.......down a dirt road etc. We never did find it but had fun trying.
We decided to go to a little village in the hills called San Pantaleo......our destination restaurant was closed but the hotel called another and got us a reservation. This is/was very important because if you have ever tried to have lunch on a Sunday in Italy you will know you can not just walk in off the street. The restaurant was full and they put up a special table for us in the adjoining room. We could look out to the little back courtyard where a chef was roasting two pigs on a spit....poor things were only 8 months old!!! Check out the web site .....www.ristorantegiagoni.it
My choice was a calamari, gazpacho, quinoa salad. Joanie and Graeme each had tempura monkfish with eggplant, Jeff had a salad of beets, quinoa and a lovely local cheese with nuts and a lemony sauce. Plenty of delicious bread with olive oil.
There was a small church in the village which was open. This town had many art ateliers and galleries, alas all were closed.........for the Sunday lunch period!
Home again we spent a little time at the Beach reading books, while Joanie and Graeme went into Olbia to get the hamburger condiments for our dinner.
Another great day relaxing and touring, and our evening will be full of stimulating conversation and laughs as good friends can!
Bonne!
Saturday, May 21, 2016
Punta Volpe .....Porto Rotondo
This morning we all slept in .....a little. We had to go out for coffee, we couldn't find the one our landlord recommended but did find one with a nice outdoor patio. We each had to have two in order to equal the approximate size of one in Canada. After coffee it was back to the house where I found out by asking a young man that today was market day!!!! Markets are generally over by noon or 1pm and time was a-wasting! We were back in the car heading into Olbia, interesting little side roads kept popping up but I was adamant that we continue into town before we missed the market, my reasoning being that the interesting little roads would still be there.......later!
Well, we missed the market but had a nice stroll around the pedestrian only street of the town, looking for the market. The market was not to be found, we did find several gelato stores and finally an information bureau. The girl in the bureau gave us information re the important historical places, churches, museum etc that we should see. She also told us the market was about 30 minutes from our location and would be over by the time we walked there....but the good news, there is another market on Tuesday, so we will not miss out.
Strolling back to our car we entered an interesting church which looked quite old on the outside, the inside was from a much later period as the frescos on the walls were decidedly newer.
Our next stop on the way back to punta volpe was a supermercado for groceries, vino, etc. Then home again, home again! A quick stop at a beach for a cold glass of wine for the girls and beers for the guys.....the crystal clear turquoise water is a picture to behold! You could rent a chaise and an umbrella or sit under the pergola at a table and just enjoy the gorgeous view....and the few topless bathers. Leaving the beach we were able to get a small plastic bag of ice from the bar to take with us. Ice being in short supply in our small fridge.
Drinks at our beach and a good book in hand before dinner were in order.
We could get use to this life!
Well, we missed the market but had a nice stroll around the pedestrian only street of the town, looking for the market. The market was not to be found, we did find several gelato stores and finally an information bureau. The girl in the bureau gave us information re the important historical places, churches, museum etc that we should see. She also told us the market was about 30 minutes from our location and would be over by the time we walked there....but the good news, there is another market on Tuesday, so we will not miss out.
Strolling back to our car we entered an interesting church which looked quite old on the outside, the inside was from a much later period as the frescos on the walls were decidedly newer.
Our next stop on the way back to punta volpe was a supermercado for groceries, vino, etc. Then home again, home again! A quick stop at a beach for a cold glass of wine for the girls and beers for the guys.....the crystal clear turquoise water is a picture to behold! You could rent a chaise and an umbrella or sit under the pergola at a table and just enjoy the gorgeous view....and the few topless bathers. Leaving the beach we were able to get a small plastic bag of ice from the bar to take with us. Ice being in short supply in our small fridge.
Drinks at our beach and a good book in hand before dinner were in order.
We could get use to this life!
Friday, May 20, 2016
Sarsinia.
AstAfter a very delicious best western hotel breakfast......that was nothing like the best western American breakfast! Fresh oj, delicious coffee, croissants of every variety, chocolate, custard, coconut.Brushetta, egg, sausages, meats, cheese, toast, fruit, yogurt.
We had a few hours before our flight and went for a walkabout around the streets. I wanted to buy a new selfie stick as I anticipated a need for it in the coming days......we spied a street salesman and approached him....I pick one up and asked him how much...20 euros!!!!! I walked away! Of course he runs after me.....and long story short I paid 6 euros, I had seen them them in Winners at home for $10 so knew where my pricing was at.
Soon we were in a taxi, the rate to airport $50, for our flight to Olbia Sardinia. Joanie , Jeff and I , were waylaid by the Swatch store..3 watches were purchased!
Our flight to Olbia was just over an hour and we were looking down on crystal clear turquoise water and the red tile roofs of scattered communities.
On arrival in Olbia we proceeded to pick up our rental car and with the gps attached we were off to find our rented villa in Punte Volpe,,,,,,,,a few wrong turns and we were there. We are right by the sea in a beautiful location with a canopy of Bougainvillia over the patio and a jasmine bush laden with blossoms giving off a heavenly scent.
The boys went off to purchase a few rudimentary groceries including wine and beer while Joanie and I unpacked and settled in. We walked down to the seafront which is about 3 minutes from the house, what a glorious setting it is, complete with an outdoor shower for rinsing off the sea.
Soon Jeff and Graeme were back and we discussed our dinner plans over more cleansing drinks.
It was decided we should walk to the nearest restaurant as none of us would be fit to drive and taxis in this location at this time, just before the start of the summer season were non existent . It was about a 15 minute walk and we had several restaurants to choose from. We had a calzone and a pizza, bottle of wine, water and some kind of little dessert. The waiters were quite amused at my asking them to wrap up the few pieces of bread that we didn't eat...but seemed willing to comply. Imagine my surprise when at the end of of our meal they presented me with a new loaf of bread wrapped in Saran to take home!
The walk home was just what we needed and we arrived to finish yet another cleansing ale😛...... For some of us!
Tomorrow we will get more groceries and explore our surroundings more fully.
A fine Italian day!
We had a few hours before our flight and went for a walkabout around the streets. I wanted to buy a new selfie stick as I anticipated a need for it in the coming days......we spied a street salesman and approached him....I pick one up and asked him how much...20 euros!!!!! I walked away! Of course he runs after me.....and long story short I paid 6 euros, I had seen them them in Winners at home for $10 so knew where my pricing was at.
Soon we were in a taxi, the rate to airport $50, for our flight to Olbia Sardinia. Joanie , Jeff and I , were waylaid by the Swatch store..3 watches were purchased!
Our flight to Olbia was just over an hour and we were looking down on crystal clear turquoise water and the red tile roofs of scattered communities.
On arrival in Olbia we proceeded to pick up our rental car and with the gps attached we were off to find our rented villa in Punte Volpe,,,,,,,,a few wrong turns and we were there. We are right by the sea in a beautiful location with a canopy of Bougainvillia over the patio and a jasmine bush laden with blossoms giving off a heavenly scent.
The boys went off to purchase a few rudimentary groceries including wine and beer while Joanie and I unpacked and settled in. We walked down to the seafront which is about 3 minutes from the house, what a glorious setting it is, complete with an outdoor shower for rinsing off the sea.
Soon Jeff and Graeme were back and we discussed our dinner plans over more cleansing drinks.
It was decided we should walk to the nearest restaurant as none of us would be fit to drive and taxis in this location at this time, just before the start of the summer season were non existent . It was about a 15 minute walk and we had several restaurants to choose from. We had a calzone and a pizza, bottle of wine, water and some kind of little dessert. The waiters were quite amused at my asking them to wrap up the few pieces of bread that we didn't eat...but seemed willing to comply. Imagine my surprise when at the end of of our meal they presented me with a new loaf of bread wrapped in Saran to take home!
The walk home was just what we needed and we arrived to finish yet another cleansing ale😛...... For some of us!
Tomorrow we will get more groceries and explore our surroundings more fully.
A fine Italian day!
Departing Santiago before dawn
Our taxi arrived promptly at 4:55 am and we were off through the dark streets to the airport. Iberian airlines flight was for 6:45. The picnic breakfast our hotel had provided was discarded as juice and water were not allowed past security of course.
The flight was smooth except for the descent. Jeff and I moved seats to allow ourselves and seat mates more room, Jeff sat beside a girl from Los Angeles who now lives in Madrid......since I had finished reading the only English novel I had brought with me I had a sleep.
We had a one hour layover in Madrid ,before our fight to Milan.
On arrival we took the airport bus to the central train station as it was a five minute walk from our hotel. Hello Milan!!!! It was raining lightly but we just carried on. Joanie and Graeme arrived shortly after us and we left the hotel to walk to the cathedral and meet up with Ray and Lynda Stevenson. When we got to the cathedral the line up to get inside snaked down the block and Into the square in front. Disappointing, fortunately Joanie knew that we could walk up a staircase to the top. We went around the side of the cathedral to find another ticket office and NO lineup! For the princely sum of 8 euros per person we bought tickets to climb the stairs to the top of the cathedral. It was a bit of a stairmaster, but we have seen worse. What a magnificent view we had, the entire cathedral is built of carrera marble and in recent years it has been cleaned so it looked stunning. It was also amazing to see the sculptures and spires up close.
On descending we entered the galleria which is on one side of the cathedral square and we had arranged to meet Ray and Lynda. Soon we were in the beautiful Campari Bar with is mosaic walls.
After a walk about we found a bar where we ducked in for beer, while we waited for the restaurants to open at 7:30. Back out on the street again we went to a restaurant that Ray and Lynda had previously been to......it was delicious, we ended our night there, almost......walking back to our hotel the boys needed a cleansing ale.
A nice overview of Milan, makes me want to return......the shopping...oh my!
Bonne Sera.
The flight was smooth except for the descent. Jeff and I moved seats to allow ourselves and seat mates more room, Jeff sat beside a girl from Los Angeles who now lives in Madrid......since I had finished reading the only English novel I had brought with me I had a sleep.
We had a one hour layover in Madrid ,before our fight to Milan.
On arrival we took the airport bus to the central train station as it was a five minute walk from our hotel. Hello Milan!!!! It was raining lightly but we just carried on. Joanie and Graeme arrived shortly after us and we left the hotel to walk to the cathedral and meet up with Ray and Lynda Stevenson. When we got to the cathedral the line up to get inside snaked down the block and Into the square in front. Disappointing, fortunately Joanie knew that we could walk up a staircase to the top. We went around the side of the cathedral to find another ticket office and NO lineup! For the princely sum of 8 euros per person we bought tickets to climb the stairs to the top of the cathedral. It was a bit of a stairmaster, but we have seen worse. What a magnificent view we had, the entire cathedral is built of carrera marble and in recent years it has been cleaned so it looked stunning. It was also amazing to see the sculptures and spires up close.
On descending we entered the galleria which is on one side of the cathedral square and we had arranged to meet Ray and Lynda. Soon we were in the beautiful Campari Bar with is mosaic walls.
After a walk about we found a bar where we ducked in for beer, while we waited for the restaurants to open at 7:30. Back out on the street again we went to a restaurant that Ray and Lynda had previously been to......it was delicious, we ended our night there, almost......walking back to our hotel the boys needed a cleansing ale.
A nice overview of Milan, makes me want to return......the shopping...oh my!
Bonne Sera.
Wednesday, May 18, 2016
Last evening in Santiago........May 18/2016
We asked at our hotel for a seafood restaurant they would recommend, and they made us a reservation for 8:10. An odd time but the restaurant ....Don Quitote ....did not open until 8pm! We are in Spain! It was about a 15 minute walk from our hotel so we set off. The dining room was through the bar and was fairly formal, two guests were seated on the far side of the room, we were the only other patrons. Paella sounded nice, and it is a Spanish dish so we ordered a seafood paella. Now I have made this fish once before and it contained mussels, crab, white fish, salmon and sausage as well as rice, to the best of my memory. Our waiter talked us into the lobster paella. ......with rice. Jeff says it was the most expensive rice he has ever had! There wasn't a whole lot of lobster, plus we had to fight to get it out of the shell! The splatter on our clothes was a ....bonus?! To be fair the flavour was quite nice, the bill for rice was not, but what the hey! We did each have a refreshing simple salad, and heavenly bread like you can only get in Europe.
We rounded off the night with a walk back to our hotel .......early call tomorrow, our taxi arrives at 5 am for our Iberian Airlines flight to Milan via Madrid.
Our Italian adventure awaits.
Arrividerchi amigos and amigas.....xo
We rounded off the night with a walk back to our hotel .......early call tomorrow, our taxi arrives at 5 am for our Iberian Airlines flight to Milan via Madrid.
Our Italian adventure awaits.
Arrividerchi amigos and amigas.....xo
Santiago day 2
We met another couple in the breakfast room this morning, Gordon and Sandy from Ladysmith! They were doing the Camino by auto and were most I tested in my experience. I should say, it is a question everyone asks of everyone else....are you "doing" the Camino ? Of course we say by train and Jeff tells them that I have done it and they should read my blog if they want a good overview. (Blush!) I write the blog for family and friends to keep track of me and to enjoy reading again myself as I forget the details.
The weather today is cool and overcast and as we head to the cathedral, the time is just after 11 am.....12 o'clock noon is the pilgrim mass and it is always packed so to get a seat you must arrive early. The cathedral is under some sort of maintenance/cleaning so the front was not a pretty site with scaffolding and blue tarps everywhere. We were directed around the side to another entrance and Inside the space does not disappoint. The pews were already full and people were finding places on the floor and along the walls. We were fortunate to find a seat near the front on a side wall, so not the best view but still a view.
The mass started and being a Catholic cathedral was conducted mostly in Latin. The tiny nun that I remembered from previous visits was just as memorable, her voice was powerful and sweet. She sang several hymns including the hallelujah chorus which the congregation joined in. Within the area that is reserved for the priests and nuns there is also seating for a number of pilgrims. These pilgrims would have been randomly chosen that day as they reached Santiago and visited the Compestella Office to receive their official compestella, which is only awarded to pilgrims who have walked the last 100 km into Santiago. They represent all the pilgrims that have reached the cathedral today. One of them that speaks Spanish is selected to do a reading. One of the priests also reads out the names of the countries today's pilgrims originated from. It is a very moving ceremony. For the final event of the mass the butefumerio (sp ?) is lowered from the Center of the cathedral, a tray of hot coals with incense is placed inside and the butefumerio is set swinging in an arc through the cathedral until it reaches 180 degrees, spilling smoke and the occasional ember down on the people/pilgrims. The swinging slows until the container is once again stopped by an attendant who grabs it and is swung around with the force and weight of it. A sight to behold. Communion is offered to all who would like to receive it and then in both English and Spanish we are asked to greet our neighbour in friendship and peace with handshakes.
We left the cathedral and wandered around the narrow streets of the old town. We came across the market just as it was ending and we walked through the fresh fish area where they were hosing down and reapacking in ice what didn't sell, there was one fish the fishmonger told us was Grapa that must have weighed hundreds of pounds , even he couldn't lift it us to show us. ....soon it would be two o'clock and the shops and most restaurants would be shutting till four. We were needing a beer and a bit of food and ventured into a middle eastern cafe for a falafel ......where we made the acquaintance of two ladies from Puerto Rico........they had also visited and loved Vancouver. We popped back into the cathedral which was now not so busy and joined the short line to hug St James statue from behind and say a prayer, then down to the crypt which hold his remains.
More wandering around and we came across the cafe where the girls and I had hot chocolate and churros! ......and I knew then that Zara was just across the street. A visit netted a scarf for someone !
We then came back to our hotel for a respite and to ponder where to have dinner. .......we are thinking seafood and were given a recommendation by Diego in our hotel.
The weather today is cool and overcast and as we head to the cathedral, the time is just after 11 am.....12 o'clock noon is the pilgrim mass and it is always packed so to get a seat you must arrive early. The cathedral is under some sort of maintenance/cleaning so the front was not a pretty site with scaffolding and blue tarps everywhere. We were directed around the side to another entrance and Inside the space does not disappoint. The pews were already full and people were finding places on the floor and along the walls. We were fortunate to find a seat near the front on a side wall, so not the best view but still a view.
The mass started and being a Catholic cathedral was conducted mostly in Latin. The tiny nun that I remembered from previous visits was just as memorable, her voice was powerful and sweet. She sang several hymns including the hallelujah chorus which the congregation joined in. Within the area that is reserved for the priests and nuns there is also seating for a number of pilgrims. These pilgrims would have been randomly chosen that day as they reached Santiago and visited the Compestella Office to receive their official compestella, which is only awarded to pilgrims who have walked the last 100 km into Santiago. They represent all the pilgrims that have reached the cathedral today. One of them that speaks Spanish is selected to do a reading. One of the priests also reads out the names of the countries today's pilgrims originated from. It is a very moving ceremony. For the final event of the mass the butefumerio (sp ?) is lowered from the Center of the cathedral, a tray of hot coals with incense is placed inside and the butefumerio is set swinging in an arc through the cathedral until it reaches 180 degrees, spilling smoke and the occasional ember down on the people/pilgrims. The swinging slows until the container is once again stopped by an attendant who grabs it and is swung around with the force and weight of it. A sight to behold. Communion is offered to all who would like to receive it and then in both English and Spanish we are asked to greet our neighbour in friendship and peace with handshakes.
We left the cathedral and wandered around the narrow streets of the old town. We came across the market just as it was ending and we walked through the fresh fish area where they were hosing down and reapacking in ice what didn't sell, there was one fish the fishmonger told us was Grapa that must have weighed hundreds of pounds , even he couldn't lift it us to show us. ....soon it would be two o'clock and the shops and most restaurants would be shutting till four. We were needing a beer and a bit of food and ventured into a middle eastern cafe for a falafel ......where we made the acquaintance of two ladies from Puerto Rico........they had also visited and loved Vancouver. We popped back into the cathedral which was now not so busy and joined the short line to hug St James statue from behind and say a prayer, then down to the crypt which hold his remains.
More wandering around and we came across the cafe where the girls and I had hot chocolate and churros! ......and I knew then that Zara was just across the street. A visit netted a scarf for someone !
We then came back to our hotel for a respite and to ponder where to have dinner. .......we are thinking seafood and were given a recommendation by Diego in our hotel.
Tuesday, May 17, 2016
Leaving Leon for Santiago
Our last leisurely morning in Leon, we packed up after breakfast and settled our account. We left our bags with the concierge and sat out in the square in the sun. It was getting too warm so we decided to pass the time in the hotel bar having our favourite beer.... cruzcampos.
Our train to Santiago was at 2:45 so just after two we started a slow walk to the station......suitcase will need new wheels after this vacation, cobbled streets are hard on more than your feet.
Soon we were back on the train for our 5 hour trip, happy to report that our seats were facing in the forward direction once more!
There is not much to do on a train but read your book, sleep or chat up your fellow passengers. Jeff met a German fellow who was wearing a tshirt with the name of an American town on it.....where we were about a month ago.......he left the train at the next stop saying ....say hello to Arizona for me! The train is what is called local and so stops at lots of towns along the way.....one fellow passenger gets out at every stop and smokes as many cigarettes as he can before getting back on again. Spain has rules now about smoking on trains, inside restaurants and other public places, so it is better than it used to be. We are still amazed at how many people, young and old still smoke. It is really quite astonishing, Vancouver/BC and other parts of Canada are miles ahead in that department.
The countryside of Spain is very beautiful, green and well manicured. The train does not follow the pilgrim route so we did not see many pilgrims unless we were in towns where they were often getting on the train ! It made me very curious to know why they were not walking!!!!
We arrived in Santiago at 8pm, still quite light out. We got a taxi to our Moure Hotel (7euros). This was my 3rd visit to the hotel as the pilgrim girls and I had stayed here on both our visits to Santiago. Jeff really likes it....quite modern, small but very functional and friendly young staff, coffee available 24 hrs, breakfast available, fruit, croissants, juice....just perfect.
We checked into our room and hurried out to catch a flavour of the town before it got dark. On exiting our hotel we literally bumped into two ladies who,had been on the same coach as us all the way from Leon. We were all going across the street to the sister Hotel of the Moure for a drink in their stunning garden so we set off together and sat down in the garden to share our stories. Susan and Marge were from California and had walked a small portion of the Camino due to time restrictions. Today was Susan's birthday so we insisted on buying their drinks. We told them quite a bit about my previous Caminos and Jeff said ....you should read her blog.....so of course they went off with the address. No doubt we will see them as are they not only in the same hotel but they will be on the same flight out of Santiago to Madrid as us on Thursday! What a coincidence !
We went two doors down the street to an Italian restaurant where we had a little dinner and a little wine!
Back at our hotel we decided to have a coffee before retiring to our room.....I got an excellent one and then the machine stopped working! Poor Diego was beside himself as the hotel (12 rooms) was full and people like their morning coffee . Diego across the street to the sister hotel as he insisted Jeff should have a coffee...meanwhile Jeff fixed the machine .....I think he just kicked it!!!! Diego was happy!
Tomorrow will be exciting....I can't wait to see what Jeff thinks of the cathedral , we intend to go to 12 o'clock mass.
Buenos Noches!
Our train to Santiago was at 2:45 so just after two we started a slow walk to the station......suitcase will need new wheels after this vacation, cobbled streets are hard on more than your feet.
Soon we were back on the train for our 5 hour trip, happy to report that our seats were facing in the forward direction once more!
There is not much to do on a train but read your book, sleep or chat up your fellow passengers. Jeff met a German fellow who was wearing a tshirt with the name of an American town on it.....where we were about a month ago.......he left the train at the next stop saying ....say hello to Arizona for me! The train is what is called local and so stops at lots of towns along the way.....one fellow passenger gets out at every stop and smokes as many cigarettes as he can before getting back on again. Spain has rules now about smoking on trains, inside restaurants and other public places, so it is better than it used to be. We are still amazed at how many people, young and old still smoke. It is really quite astonishing, Vancouver/BC and other parts of Canada are miles ahead in that department.
The countryside of Spain is very beautiful, green and well manicured. The train does not follow the pilgrim route so we did not see many pilgrims unless we were in towns where they were often getting on the train ! It made me very curious to know why they were not walking!!!!
We arrived in Santiago at 8pm, still quite light out. We got a taxi to our Moure Hotel (7euros). This was my 3rd visit to the hotel as the pilgrim girls and I had stayed here on both our visits to Santiago. Jeff really likes it....quite modern, small but very functional and friendly young staff, coffee available 24 hrs, breakfast available, fruit, croissants, juice....just perfect.
We checked into our room and hurried out to catch a flavour of the town before it got dark. On exiting our hotel we literally bumped into two ladies who,had been on the same coach as us all the way from Leon. We were all going across the street to the sister Hotel of the Moure for a drink in their stunning garden so we set off together and sat down in the garden to share our stories. Susan and Marge were from California and had walked a small portion of the Camino due to time restrictions. Today was Susan's birthday so we insisted on buying their drinks. We told them quite a bit about my previous Caminos and Jeff said ....you should read her blog.....so of course they went off with the address. No doubt we will see them as are they not only in the same hotel but they will be on the same flight out of Santiago to Madrid as us on Thursday! What a coincidence !
We went two doors down the street to an Italian restaurant where we had a little dinner and a little wine!
Back at our hotel we decided to have a coffee before retiring to our room.....I got an excellent one and then the machine stopped working! Poor Diego was beside himself as the hotel (12 rooms) was full and people like their morning coffee . Diego across the street to the sister hotel as he insisted Jeff should have a coffee...meanwhile Jeff fixed the machine .....I think he just kicked it!!!! Diego was happy!
Tomorrow will be exciting....I can't wait to see what Jeff thinks of the cathedral , we intend to go to 12 o'clock mass.
Buenos Noches!
Monday, May 16, 2016
Leon.....day Two
This morning we were not rushing off to the trains but still woke at about 7:30 and made our way to the breakfast room. This is not in any way shape or form like a Best Western breakfast. The tables are set with pristine white cloths and fine glassware and silver. Champagne and orange juice, heaping bowls of fruit .....pineapple, watermelon, kiwi, oranges, strawberries and grapes. An assortment of cakes, croissants, breads, pastries, and such. Another table with churros, roasted peppers, fried eggs, huge strips of bacon, Iberian ham, sausage, all kinds of cheeses. Truly a feast. Waitstaff were busy bringing pots of fresh coffee and hot milk, or if you preferred there were 4 Nespresso machines available. We languished over breakfast for an hour.
We were then of to enjoy the day, which was cool but going to warm up. I was surprised to see many pilgrims still walking through the square, stopping to take their photos of the building and the pilgrim monument.....for it was starting to get late in,the day for walking many km. We found ourselves back in old town wandering about, people watching, popping into the occasional shop. When I was here with the pilgrim girls I had bought a pair of hot pink shoes, and as we walked I said...i,think the store I bought my shoes in is,just up there......well the shoe shop is no longer there, instead there is a kind of a dollar store, we went in as we were in need of a corkscrew.
Back at San Marcos square we went into the hotel bar for a beer and lunch. Then with a glass of wine in hand for Jeff we spent a good hour or so touring the hotel reading all the history information in the halls, and in the garden. The inner garden has many statues and a formal boxwood design. The hotel was originally built as a refuge for pilgrims, offering rest,food and a safe haven. We sat in the square and enjoyed the warm sun and more people watching.
After My short nap we were ready to head out again for some dinner. THis being Spain and their propensity to eat very late we were only able to find bars with tapas. Purely by accident we chanced upon a bar that I had been in with the Pilgrim girls back in 2013!! I recognized it from all the art on the walls, which was mainly of different bullfighters, Bulls, cocks and such! I remember being there, Joanie had got the 4 beers and soon we were offered gratis 4 little silver bowls of a tomato looking something....I now know was a regional soup. In Spain in the bars you are offered a choice of 3 items when you buy a beer....olives, chips or soup. Then I was realizing that the fellow serving us today looked awfully familiar.....yes, he was the same fellow from 2013. I took a photo of the bar and him so pilgrims you will have to see if you agree with me and my memory.
We started talking to a few of the other patrons, two Spanish fellows who,were on their camino, doing about 50 km per day!!!! It was a fun night. We left the bar to walk back to the parador in a light rain.
And.....oh...the stew we had for dinner last night, which is a regional speciality was called Maragato, the first course was a selection of meats....sausage, pigs ear (!!), veal, Iberian ham, and lamb. Will not be having pigs ear again!
And ......tonight at the bar one of our tapas was a deep fried cheese, but I must say the lives are delicious!
Buenos Noches.
We were then of to enjoy the day, which was cool but going to warm up. I was surprised to see many pilgrims still walking through the square, stopping to take their photos of the building and the pilgrim monument.....for it was starting to get late in,the day for walking many km. We found ourselves back in old town wandering about, people watching, popping into the occasional shop. When I was here with the pilgrim girls I had bought a pair of hot pink shoes, and as we walked I said...i,think the store I bought my shoes in is,just up there......well the shoe shop is no longer there, instead there is a kind of a dollar store, we went in as we were in need of a corkscrew.
Back at San Marcos square we went into the hotel bar for a beer and lunch. Then with a glass of wine in hand for Jeff we spent a good hour or so touring the hotel reading all the history information in the halls, and in the garden. The inner garden has many statues and a formal boxwood design. The hotel was originally built as a refuge for pilgrims, offering rest,food and a safe haven. We sat in the square and enjoyed the warm sun and more people watching.
After My short nap we were ready to head out again for some dinner. THis being Spain and their propensity to eat very late we were only able to find bars with tapas. Purely by accident we chanced upon a bar that I had been in with the Pilgrim girls back in 2013!! I recognized it from all the art on the walls, which was mainly of different bullfighters, Bulls, cocks and such! I remember being there, Joanie had got the 4 beers and soon we were offered gratis 4 little silver bowls of a tomato looking something....I now know was a regional soup. In Spain in the bars you are offered a choice of 3 items when you buy a beer....olives, chips or soup. Then I was realizing that the fellow serving us today looked awfully familiar.....yes, he was the same fellow from 2013. I took a photo of the bar and him so pilgrims you will have to see if you agree with me and my memory.
We started talking to a few of the other patrons, two Spanish fellows who,were on their camino, doing about 50 km per day!!!! It was a fun night. We left the bar to walk back to the parador in a light rain.
And.....oh...the stew we had for dinner last night, which is a regional speciality was called Maragato, the first course was a selection of meats....sausage, pigs ear (!!), veal, Iberian ham, and lamb. Will not be having pigs ear again!
And ......tonight at the bar one of our tapas was a deep fried cheese, but I must say the lives are delicious!
Buenos Noches.
Sunday, May 15, 2016
Leon Spain may 15/2016
Leon is one of my favourite cities in Spain.....perhaps because of the Parador, the grandeur of it and how glorious it felt to stay here after walking for miles. For years since I have wanted to bring Jeff here to this hotel.......it is still great but it is never as great the second time as often things aren't . We checked into our room, I was a teeny bit disappointed it didn't face the garden which is finely manicured with beautiful little box woods but otherwise it was good. ......until we start hearing the horrid music of the carnival just past the square. Serenity and peacefulness was gone.
We quickly unpack a little and head out to take advantage of daylight and explore. We head for the old town area which is about a 15 minute walk. .......on the way we cross a road where a group of motorcycle guys are waiting at the light.....we enter old town and find ourselves at the San Isidro Collegiate Hotel (another of the pilgrims 4 favourite spots) I insist Jeff has to see it and we walk through the entrance and courtyard to the office and ask if we can have a walk around........the inner courtyard was under some type of construction so not looking it's best but the hotel/converted from a convent was still spectacular ! As we were entering into the courtyard roared all the motorbikes we had just seen. On our way out we stopped to talk to one of them, a group of 9/10 from England on a massive ride across Spain to Portugal and back to England on the 24 hr ferry. Sounded amazing!
Next we went to the church that is attached to the hotel/convent and then sat at the boccadia restaurant/bar in the sun.....where the pilgrims had sat before.....Jeff was getting a feel for our pilgrimage. We wandered back to San Marcos square for a little rest in our room......finally deciding we really couldn't put up with the awful noise of the carnival and asked to get our room changed......we were shown to another 2 Rooms which for various reasons were not suitable......until finally the hotel put us in The most glorious suite overlooking the square!!!! Truly amazing! A lovely breeze is blowing in from the little balcony fluttering the curtains ....I could get poetic!
After moving rooms we again head out in another direction , right turn out of our hotel across the centuries old bridge and we wandered through the grassy park areas along the river. It is Sunday and virtually everything is closed, including most restaurants.. We had missed the Saturday market and the Saturday light show on the church in old town.
Dinner we reserved in our hotel dining room which is quite formal, we ordered a traditional Spanish stew to share (forget the name!) ...not to be ordered again.
We were discussing our trip so far today and Jeff told me his most enjoyable part so far was the drive we made to Orisson in St. Jean Pied a Port . Even though the trip was harrowing on the extremely
narrow road, winding and with sheer drops the beauty impressed him very much. He even got out of our taxi, much to our drivers confusion, and jogged down the road for awhile just to get the whole essence of it. I was so glad we had taken the time to make the trip, we very nearly didn't as we had arrived so late in the afternoon, light and fog were threatening. After driving it I can not imagine how we walked it!
Tomorrow we will do some more exploring including right here in The paradore, the walls are filled with art, statues, and history to be read.
Despite a few blips along the way we are loving Spain.
We quickly unpack a little and head out to take advantage of daylight and explore. We head for the old town area which is about a 15 minute walk. .......on the way we cross a road where a group of motorcycle guys are waiting at the light.....we enter old town and find ourselves at the San Isidro Collegiate Hotel (another of the pilgrims 4 favourite spots) I insist Jeff has to see it and we walk through the entrance and courtyard to the office and ask if we can have a walk around........the inner courtyard was under some type of construction so not looking it's best but the hotel/converted from a convent was still spectacular ! As we were entering into the courtyard roared all the motorbikes we had just seen. On our way out we stopped to talk to one of them, a group of 9/10 from England on a massive ride across Spain to Portugal and back to England on the 24 hr ferry. Sounded amazing!
Next we went to the church that is attached to the hotel/convent and then sat at the boccadia restaurant/bar in the sun.....where the pilgrims had sat before.....Jeff was getting a feel for our pilgrimage. We wandered back to San Marcos square for a little rest in our room......finally deciding we really couldn't put up with the awful noise of the carnival and asked to get our room changed......we were shown to another 2 Rooms which for various reasons were not suitable......until finally the hotel put us in The most glorious suite overlooking the square!!!! Truly amazing! A lovely breeze is blowing in from the little balcony fluttering the curtains ....I could get poetic!
After moving rooms we again head out in another direction , right turn out of our hotel across the centuries old bridge and we wandered through the grassy park areas along the river. It is Sunday and virtually everything is closed, including most restaurants.. We had missed the Saturday market and the Saturday light show on the church in old town.
Dinner we reserved in our hotel dining room which is quite formal, we ordered a traditional Spanish stew to share (forget the name!) ...not to be ordered again.
We were discussing our trip so far today and Jeff told me his most enjoyable part so far was the drive we made to Orisson in St. Jean Pied a Port . Even though the trip was harrowing on the extremely
narrow road, winding and with sheer drops the beauty impressed him very much. He even got out of our taxi, much to our drivers confusion, and jogged down the road for awhile just to get the whole essence of it. I was so glad we had taken the time to make the trip, we very nearly didn't as we had arrived so late in the afternoon, light and fog were threatening. After driving it I can not imagine how we walked it!
Tomorrow we will do some more exploring including right here in The paradore, the walls are filled with art, statues, and history to be read.
Despite a few blips along the way we are loving Spain.
San Sebastián .....continued.
We headed out for our evening in old town, where we planned to visit the bars for pinchos. We randomly picked a bar that was busy but not yet too crazy. We ordered a few dishes and wine enjoying the ambience of watching the mainly Spanish people enjoying their Saturday festivities.
As we were planning to visit one or two more bars we didn't order too much ......we were incredulous at our bill for 33 euros! We knew the wine charge was wrong for sure but after a short debate we realized we weren't going to win this one and we chalked it up to experience. Most annoying to feel you were ripped off even if it wasn't breaking the bank!
We didn't end up in another bar for Pinchos but wandered the streets watching the festivities. We stopped in our hotel lounge for a nightcap and ordered our wake up call for the morning. Back in our room We discover not air conditioning but only heat.....on inquiring we were told that the hotel can only be one or the other not both!!!' It was much too warm , so we were moved to a corner room that had two windows instead of just one, for better airflow!
We were up and at the train station this morning for our 9:30 train to Leon where we are booked into a glorious parador in an old restored monastery.
On this train, we were thankfully facing in the forward direction with large windows....and two adorable twins seated behind us, age about 11 months and they were crying for more of the 5 hour trip than not. Nothing you can do! The parents did their best so again just our luck.
A funny thing happened.....with the toilet in the train ..,., how to open the loo door was a mystery, I stood there trying different things and finally a train employee came to my rescue......all was well until I tried to get out, and pushed the alarm button which alerted all in the train. The poor train employee was afraid to open the door in case I was indisposed .
We arrived in Leon to sunny skies and made the short walk to our parador in San Marcos square.
More later as we must go out while the sun shines.
As we were planning to visit one or two more bars we didn't order too much ......we were incredulous at our bill for 33 euros! We knew the wine charge was wrong for sure but after a short debate we realized we weren't going to win this one and we chalked it up to experience. Most annoying to feel you were ripped off even if it wasn't breaking the bank!
We didn't end up in another bar for Pinchos but wandered the streets watching the festivities. We stopped in our hotel lounge for a nightcap and ordered our wake up call for the morning. Back in our room We discover not air conditioning but only heat.....on inquiring we were told that the hotel can only be one or the other not both!!!' It was much too warm , so we were moved to a corner room that had two windows instead of just one, for better airflow!
We were up and at the train station this morning for our 9:30 train to Leon where we are booked into a glorious parador in an old restored monastery.
On this train, we were thankfully facing in the forward direction with large windows....and two adorable twins seated behind us, age about 11 months and they were crying for more of the 5 hour trip than not. Nothing you can do! The parents did their best so again just our luck.
A funny thing happened.....with the toilet in the train ..,., how to open the loo door was a mystery, I stood there trying different things and finally a train employee came to my rescue......all was well until I tried to get out, and pushed the alarm button which alerted all in the train. The poor train employee was afraid to open the door in case I was indisposed .
We arrived in Leon to sunny skies and made the short walk to our parador in San Marcos square.
More later as we must go out while the sun shines.
Saturday, May 14, 2016
San Sebastián
We arrived in San Sebastián about an hour later than we would have if the whole journey had been by train......the bus section took longer as we had to go into the towns to pick up passengers at the various train stations that also were traveling to Hendaye. One benefit was we got a tour of towns we might not have seen.
Interestingly the train stop in San Sebastián has been updated and modernized since I was here in 2013. At that time the station was called Donostia, it is now call Amana!, and it is still San Sebastián. A light rain was falling and it was a 12 minute walk to our hotel Silken which is a very modern high rise building. I had wanted to stay in La Perla Pension but they had no rooms when we booked. La Perla was where the pilgrims four had stayed in 2013, not as grand and a whole lot less dineros, but much more central than the Silken.
If wanting to stay in a pension in Europe it pays to book early as they are generally smaller, boutique style and the staff are personable and friendly, so popular with tourists and weekenders, not to mention pilgrims. The northern route to Santiago starts here, although we have not seen as many pilgrims as there were in St Jean Pied Port.
After settling into our room we headed out to walk towards the beach, lunch and the old town.
We had lunch in a tapas bar where I enjoyed salads mista .....just for old times sake, Jeff had something local with Serrano ham and Brie and San Miguel beer. We then walked on to the beach promenade which is a sight to see, the tide was way out and a lot of writing in the sand appeared to be in protest for something. We made another stop in a square for a few more tapas and a glass of vino. We plan to go to old town tonight.....Saturday, it will be bursting at the seams with people enjoying tapas, us included. San Sebastián is famous for its abundant and very fresh sea food....straight from the Atlantic Ocean which is right on its edge.
Note ....about the rest of my post which I had lost in cyber space...I found it briefly today before losing it again! I was on a French internet service which was sketchy and weak, the spanish service today seems stronger.
I will post this before I lose it!
Frustrated today!
Yesterday we travelled from Paris on the TGV......I wrote a long post last night on our day and evening and it has disappeared into cyber space somewhere. I've looked every which way to Sunday.
So even though it was just yesterday I may not remember all details.
Our trip went as planned even with the 10 minutes to change trains in Bordeaux. Other travelers were very helpful.
Our seats were facing bavkwards and Jeff wandered off to find a forward facing seat. After about an hour I went looking for him.....found him in a jump style seat in the train doorway chatting to a young French girl traveling with her cat, complete with litter box! Yes the French allow dogs and cats on the rails.
Well friends....must close off and post this bit......we are heading for a bus to take us to Hendaye.....normally it is a train but there is something on the tracks.... It is a short leg and we will transfer to a local train to take us into San Sebastián.
Bye for now.
So even though it was just yesterday I may not remember all details.
Our trip went as planned even with the 10 minutes to change trains in Bordeaux. Other travelers were very helpful.
Our seats were facing bavkwards and Jeff wandered off to find a forward facing seat. After about an hour I went looking for him.....found him in a jump style seat in the train doorway chatting to a young French girl traveling with her cat, complete with litter box! Yes the French allow dogs and cats on the rails.
Well friends....must close off and post this bit......we are heading for a bus to take us to Hendaye.....normally it is a train but there is something on the tracks.... It is a short leg and we will transfer to a local train to take us into San Sebastián.
Bye for now.
Friday, May 13, 2016
May 11/12, 2016 Vancouver to Paris
I will give a little background to this trip .......for Jeff's 65th birthday I plotted a trip to take him on the Camino.....by train. I particularly fell in love with the Parador in Leon. While the girls (Joanie, Sandy, Jan and myself were on the Camino we treated ourselves several times to "nice " hotels instead of the usual pilgrim fare) Now here we are almost two years later finally fitting it into our busy lives.
We left Vancouver on British Airways, slightly delayed.....and that was to be the pattern for the days travel to Paris, delays in London as well. We managed to keep our cool, which can be a challenge when tired and delayed.
On arrival in Paris we walked for seemingly miles to retrieve our one checked bag, then more miles to find a toilette! Finally we were outside the terminal getting a taxi. Fixed price of 55euros to our hotel. Timhotel is walking distance to the SNCF train station where we will be heading tomorrow morning.
Our cabbie was a transplant from Cambodia, very pleasant, travel time was about 40 minutes from the airport.
The hotel is in the Montparnase district which is full of small restaurants and boutique hotels. We checked into our room and since it was now 10pm we ventured out for a light meal and a glass of vino just 45 meters from our hotel. Pilgrims, we are a stones throw down the street from the Odessa Hotel which we stayed in on our last girls visit. The restaurant was run by 3 young fellows one of which spoke passable English, we had a lot of laughs ordering our pizza.....with buffalo meat (seemed a cross between carpaccio and prosciutto ) very good anyway, with handfuls of arugula and shaved Parmesan on top. I finished off with a latte which was drowning in whipped cream. On leaving the restaurant we asked for the card so I could mention it in my blog.....the Oggi, our waiter was Giovanni. He gave us the trip advisor card as he thought we wanted to comment on trip advisor!
We will be having a lot of language gaffs I can tell!
We stopped to purchase some water across the street.....good thing we hadn't ventured far as the rain is coming down!
So ends our first travel day, we have a 7:30 wake up call, not trusting ourselves to wake on time. Tomorrow will be interesting as we have some close train connections !
Bien Nuit!
Tuesday, March 1, 2016
Dinner with an Old and Dear Friend
We were invited to have dinner with my old friend from elementary/high school days, Jane and her husband Greg. We called for an uber taxi for the 15 minute ride. We were immediately captivated by their house when we pulled up in front. Lights were shining and we could see figures beyond the beautiful old door with a glass oval. Jane and Greg enveloped us both in hugs hello! So nice! Their son Carl was also there to meet us and visit a bit before he had to depart. Ainsley and I felt right at home. We sat and chatted over wine and delicious appies. We were both in love with their old (100 yr old) house, so utterly charming and warmly decorated. Jane had made a delicious dinner with scallops and a wonderful spicy sauce, rice and a beet and carrot salad. Yum! Dessert was a hazelnut cake with hazelnut Sicilian ice cream with blueberries and strawberries. We were full! By 10:30 we reluctantly called another uber to take us home. Jane generously took Ainsley's phone number for possible future meetings. It was a really special night.
My Last Day!
This morning we awoke to snow blowing sideways❄️☃ I guess the weather report of a big storm was correct.....-8 with the wind chill -16.
Ainsley said turn left out of the building and after about 50 steps I would get a cab.....sure enough I did. I asked the cabby to take me to the A.G.O, he did not know what I meant and I of course did not have the address. It's the biggest art gallery in Toronto, doesn't everyone know where it is? ,,,,I said to the cabby. Whew.
It didn't take long to get there and soon I was inside. I spent about 4 hours there including a short break for lunch. The Group of Seven, a y Jackson, Emily Carr, Lawren Harris, a European section, amazing. My favourite area was the drawing exhibit, many rooms with drawings from every artist you can think of, Degas being my favourite. There were very few people in the gallery which meant I could get quite close and stay there😀. There were artist easels set up and encouraging signs to sit down and draw. One young fellow was copying one of the exhibited drawings. I was surprised that picture taking was allowed.....and I took lots. One exhibit that I nearly missed was quite interesting. It was on the contemporary art floor, and by this time I was near the end of my visit. I decided I would spent a few minutes on the 5th floor. This exhibit was digital and took 14 minutes to view. There was an empty room with a large outline of a rectangle on the floor and a projector high up in one corner. The " show " started with graphics in black sand soon tumbling down the length of the rectangle you could see human figures, chairs , more human figures. It was depicting the falling of the twin towers........dark and shocking, lest we forget, the image changed to tree branches with leaves fluttering in wind, then the colours started changing...pink, purple, red, yellow moving in soft waves, quite extraordinary, and soothing at the end.
My Last Day!
This morning we awoke to snow blowing sideways❄️☃ I guess the weather report of a big storm was correct.....-8 with the wind chill -16.
Ainsley said turn left out of the building and after about 50 steps I would get a cab.....sure enough I did. I asked the cabby to take me to the A.G.O, he did not know what I meant and I of course did not have the address. It's the biggest art gallery in Toronto, doesn't everyone know where it is? ,,,,I said to the cabby. Whew.
It didn't take long to get there and soon I was inside. I spent about 4 hours there including a short break for lunch. The Group of Seven, a y Jackson, Emily Carr, Lawren Harris, a European section, amazing. My favourite area was the drawing exhibit, many rooms with drawings from every artist you can think of, Degas being my favourite. There were very few people in the gallery which meant I could get quite close and stay there😀. There were artist easels set up and encouraging signs to sit down and draw. One young fellow was copying one of the exhibited drawings. I was surprised that picture taking was allowed.....and I took lots. One exhibit that I nearly missed was quite interesting. It was on the contemporary art floor, and by this time I was near the end of my visit. I decided I would spent a few minutes on the 5th floor. This exhibit was digital and took 14 minutes to view. There was an empty room with a large outline of a rectangle on the floor and a projector high up in one corner. The " show " started with graphics in black sand soon tumbling down the length of the rectangle you could see human figures, chairs , more human figures. It was depicting the falling of the twin towers........dark and shocking, lest we forget, the image changed to tree branches with leaves fluttering in wind, then the colours started changing...pink, purple, red, yellow moving in soft waves, quite extraordinary, and soothing at the end.
Toronto Visit February 2016
It was pretty exciting to visit Toronto and Ainsley in her new environment. I should have blogged about it each day instead here I am on my last day of 8!
My arrival was on time and I took the train into Union station......a $44. Return trip. The train reminded me of the London trains as we went by little pockets of housing areas along the way. The station itself is similar to Grand Central in NYC.....I walked to the big clock over the info booth, texted Ainsley and waited. Eventually I went outside to wait for her and was hit by a blast of freezing wind! In my not warm enough Vancouver coat! There were people everywhere who seemed to be going somewhere in a hurry, a sea of black coats and briefcases. It was 5 o'Clock rush hour to the trains!
Ainsley arrived and we grabbed a cab to her apartment. She seems to know her way around!
I was anxious and excited to see her place. It is tiny and beautifully decorated, she has used every bit of space efficiently. The bedroom walls and all ceilings are grey unfinished cement which is very modern and edgey. Living room/kitchen is white. We settled in, had a glass of vino and then walked out to Gustos for a bite. Her location at 12 Charlotte Street is in the heart of downtown close to transit of all kinds, streetcar, and easy access to cabs, uber and car to go!
And that was my first day. Ainsley has the next three days as holidays plus the weekend.
Day two we took the subway to Yorkton mall for a little retail therapy. Lots of window shopping and a few purchases. We decided on sushi for lunch......not very appetizing......I think Vancouver wins as the sushi capital.
We met her friend Aaron for dinner at Lees, a popular Toronto spot within walking distance. Ainsley and Aaron had gone there for her birthday dinner last week and loved it, they were very happy to be going back ....special treat. If you are ever in Toronto you must try their salad called Singapore Slaw, it has 19 different ingredients and really is 'to die for'. Aaron was taking an uber home so dropped us off on the way.
The next few days were girly days, walking about the different areas, I was amazed at how well Ainsley seems to know her way around after being here such a short time. I can get lost very easily!
We rented a car to go and drove to the area known as "the beaches ", the beach is Lake Ontario . It wasn't too cold or windy and we walked along the front stopping at the art exhibits built around lifeguard posts. There were a lot of dogs on sectioned off parts of the beach.....last hurrah for them as March 1st is no dogs on beaches for the season. We walked out on a breakwater, the water splashing all around. We wandered and walked a few streets looking at the architecture and did some people watching, so many out and about in the good weather. Soon we were looking for another car to go to take us to the Distillery District. This is an old area with lots of shops and restaurants in preserved buildings...lots of brick roads and buildings. After a bite to eat, we made our way back to the apartment.
The weather the last few days has been a mixed bag, cold, snow, rain, sun, windy, we've had it all. Most of the dogs wear snow booties, we even saw one large shaggy dog wearing full pants and boots on a snowy day.....we guessed his coat would have been the type to be covered in icy snow balls. The snow booties protect the paws from the salt on the sidewalks. Quite a sweet sight to see .
We visited the St Lawerence Market which is like an indoor Granville Island, or more like the famous market in Barcelona! Lots of fabulous cheese, meat, fruit samples....and purchases were made.
We haven't cooked in very much but plan to now we bought fresh pasta and sauce.
I'll sign off and hopefully refresh my memory on the rest of my visit on my next post. xo
My arrival was on time and I took the train into Union station......a $44. Return trip. The train reminded me of the London trains as we went by little pockets of housing areas along the way. The station itself is similar to Grand Central in NYC.....I walked to the big clock over the info booth, texted Ainsley and waited. Eventually I went outside to wait for her and was hit by a blast of freezing wind! In my not warm enough Vancouver coat! There were people everywhere who seemed to be going somewhere in a hurry, a sea of black coats and briefcases. It was 5 o'Clock rush hour to the trains!
Ainsley arrived and we grabbed a cab to her apartment. She seems to know her way around!
I was anxious and excited to see her place. It is tiny and beautifully decorated, she has used every bit of space efficiently. The bedroom walls and all ceilings are grey unfinished cement which is very modern and edgey. Living room/kitchen is white. We settled in, had a glass of vino and then walked out to Gustos for a bite. Her location at 12 Charlotte Street is in the heart of downtown close to transit of all kinds, streetcar, and easy access to cabs, uber and car to go!
And that was my first day. Ainsley has the next three days as holidays plus the weekend.
Day two we took the subway to Yorkton mall for a little retail therapy. Lots of window shopping and a few purchases. We decided on sushi for lunch......not very appetizing......I think Vancouver wins as the sushi capital.
We met her friend Aaron for dinner at Lees, a popular Toronto spot within walking distance. Ainsley and Aaron had gone there for her birthday dinner last week and loved it, they were very happy to be going back ....special treat. If you are ever in Toronto you must try their salad called Singapore Slaw, it has 19 different ingredients and really is 'to die for'. Aaron was taking an uber home so dropped us off on the way.
The next few days were girly days, walking about the different areas, I was amazed at how well Ainsley seems to know her way around after being here such a short time. I can get lost very easily!
We rented a car to go and drove to the area known as "the beaches ", the beach is Lake Ontario . It wasn't too cold or windy and we walked along the front stopping at the art exhibits built around lifeguard posts. There were a lot of dogs on sectioned off parts of the beach.....last hurrah for them as March 1st is no dogs on beaches for the season. We walked out on a breakwater, the water splashing all around. We wandered and walked a few streets looking at the architecture and did some people watching, so many out and about in the good weather. Soon we were looking for another car to go to take us to the Distillery District. This is an old area with lots of shops and restaurants in preserved buildings...lots of brick roads and buildings. After a bite to eat, we made our way back to the apartment.
The weather the last few days has been a mixed bag, cold, snow, rain, sun, windy, we've had it all. Most of the dogs wear snow booties, we even saw one large shaggy dog wearing full pants and boots on a snowy day.....we guessed his coat would have been the type to be covered in icy snow balls. The snow booties protect the paws from the salt on the sidewalks. Quite a sweet sight to see .
We visited the St Lawerence Market which is like an indoor Granville Island, or more like the famous market in Barcelona! Lots of fabulous cheese, meat, fruit samples....and purchases were made.
We haven't cooked in very much but plan to now we bought fresh pasta and sauce.
I'll sign off and hopefully refresh my memory on the rest of my visit on my next post. xo
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