On Tuesday we left Notre Dame du Portage to take the ferry from Riviere du Loup to St. Simeon on the north shore of the St. Lawrence. The fancy ferry brochure said that you could often see whales while crossing the river. I kept my eyes glued to the grey horizon for the hour crossing, […]
Moving right along, or maybe that’s biking right along, we tried another trail out of Riviere du Loup. Cycling around Notre Dame du Portage in the morning was lovely, but we were trying to find a few other bike-able paths in the area. In the afternoon, we set out for a linear park, created from
This short vacation trip – one week – along the St Lawrence river, may turn out to be a study in “clouds.” Yes, it was warm and sunny, when we left Toronto and nine hours later, it was still warm and sunny in Quebec city. It was great to sit outside for dinner at a
My type “B” personality has always enjoyed the phrase, “Indeed the world is unfolding as it should” – The Desiderata. On holidays, for example, I like the slow pace of discovering little gems here and there, rather than making a list of all the “things” that must been seen or done and then heading out
During our month’s stay in Seville, we took a number of side trips to other cities in Andalusia, southern Spain. Guide books are helpful in that they point you in the right direction, however, after that, most of your travel experiences can be called serendipitous. Let me explain. Of course, we had to go to
I think it had to be the Moors. Sometime after 711A.D, the Moors crossed the Straits of Gibraltar from North Africa and conquered Andalusia (southern Spain). Once firmly entrenched, they built their monuments – mosques, palaces, battlements, etc. all supported by graceful arches. Every place we visited – Seville, where we were staying, Cordoba, Granada,
How did Shrove Tuesday become Mardi Gras or Carnaval in Spain? Traditionally, the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday was the day you went to confess your sins (to be shriven), so that you could do your penance through Lent and resurrect yourself as a faithful Christian by the time Easter arrived. Perhaps the later Christians thought
After spending some time in Spain, I have to say that I am challenged by their food, their eating hours and their eating habits. Let me explain. My husband and I have just returned from a month in Seville. It was wonderful to spend February in warmer temperatures, surrounded by amazing architecture and equally amazing
In an earlier post, I mentioned that, by the time we were in our third week in Seville, I was ready to eat my way through the food market, we frequented, almost daily. I was itching to do a rabbit stew, a roast of fresh local lamb, and something with pork in any of its
Never let the inability to speak a language interfere with your travel plans. Although, my husband and I do not speak Spanish, we blithely set off for a month’s stay in Seville, Spain. Even though we had worked through a few on-line language programs before we went, somehow, we never managed to learn the phrases
