Time Flies!

Wow!  Has it really been 2 1/2 years???  What have we done in that time?  hmmm ... Returned to work, bought a house, filled it with more "stuff",  supported our now 13 year old in her various sports endeavours (by being chauffeurs, spectators and financiers), had some adventures, visited a few new places, spent time with family and friends.

We certainly haven't stopped traveling, though we now fit it in between long stretches of work.  We have been back to New York 3 times to visit Madeleine, took a very long drive that took us from Vancouver to Newfoundland via Western Canada, Chicago, Washington, New York, Rhode Island and Nova Scotia, hiked half of the West Coast Trail on Vancouver Island (Chloe is working on getting me to do the trail in its entirety this summer), enjoyed friends on Vancouver Island and the surrounding islands and hung out with family in Maui, Mexico and the cabin on the Sunshine Coast.  We have also had visitors from Wales, England and Sweden who helped us see our fair city from a tourists perspective.

So I guess we have done a few things since we've been home from our Round the World Trip.   It was such a whirlwind of a year and we experienced so many new things that being home most nights, going to the same place to work most days and seeing the same sights and people seems very slow in comparison, yet the time seems to have flown past.  

And speaking of time flying, Paul is turning 50 this year.   He was thinking that he wanted to see something new and different to mark the occasion so he booked us flights to Iceland!  We leave tomorrow.  

The other 2 intrepid travellers are tucked in their beds, resting up for a big travel day ahead.   Paul has reminded me on several occasions over the last few days that while he is driving to Seattle, Chloe and I can sleep whenever we like so I have little incentive to rush off to bed.  Although, a restful sleep in a comfortable bed before a night sleeping trying to sleep in an economy seat on an airplane does sound like a good idea.

I'm hopeful that I can convince my family to join me in writing a post or two about our trip over the next 10 days.  We will all just have to wait and see.   (Nance, this is for you!) 

What A Year!

How do I possibly sum it up in one post? Maybe I can start by answering the questions I am frequently asked,...

How was it? Amazing!! Definitely better than I had expected.

Was it hard traveling together for a year? There certainly were times when we got frustrated or tired of each other but for the most part we all got along pretty well and we definitely know each other better than we had ever imagined we could! Chloe probably had the hardest time,... Paul and I could (and did) get away on our own once in a while when we needed a break or if there was something that really interested us or was cost prohibitive for all of us to do. Chloe however was always with at least one of us. She frequently reminds us of the fact that she had exactly 7 hours away from us the whole year (the longest stretch being when she got to hang out with Madeline on the island of Koh Lanta in Thailand).

What was my favorite place? I have been finding that a very difficult question to answer. In fact, I think I've given a different answer every time I've answered. Galapagos Islands, South Africa, Kruger Park, Victoria Falls, Murcheson Falls, Cordoba, Spain, Peru and Peru's Challenge, Gili Air, Koh Lanta, Ankor Wat, Iguazu Falls, Valparaiso, Stockholm, Great Barrier Reef, Blue Lagoon in Bali, Cartagena, Goreme, Olympos, Venice, Wales, Chaing Mai, Dinan, St. Malo,... I could go on and on (guess I really have already!).

Are you happy to be home? Yes and No. Yes, it's great to see friends and family and it will soon be nice not to have to pack every few days. I'm happy to be reunited with Jessy. I appreciate having a comfortable bed to sleep on, a cushy pillow to rest my head on and reliable showers with good pressure and warm water. (thanks to Nancy and Scott!) I love the calm that overtakes me as I take the ferry from Horseshoe Bay to Langdale. I enjoy looking at the North Shore Mountains and have been pleasantly surprised by and proud of the friendliness of my fellow Vancouverites.

On the other hand I miss having only 3 pairs of shoes, 7 shirts, 1 pair of pants, 2 shorts, 1skirt and 2 dresses. I miss not caring about wearing the same clothes for days on end. I miss setting our own schedule. I miss not having to consider who I might be offending by not attending an event or inadvertently missing someone on 'the list'. I miss discovering new places and being awed about what is looming ahead of me as I turn a corner. I miss the European outdoor restaurants and relaxed attitude about drinking wine at the beach or in a park. I miss chatting with people from all around the world and swapping stories in the hostels or apartments we stayed in. I miss walking straight into the warm ocean waters. I miss snorkeling, swimming alongside sea lions and sea turtles and looking at colorful fish and corals. I miss the food in India, the cobblestone streets of Europe, the sky that seems to be bigger in Africa, the giraffes crossing our path and elephants who appear to be hiding behind bushes in Kruger Park, the warm waters, friendly smiles and cheap accommodation of SE Asia, the sea lions, lizards and boobies that we walked amongst in Ecuador, the rocks of western Australia, the breathtaking beauty of the undersea world at the Great Barrier Reef, the incredible architecture of the Incas in Peru, the awesome waterfalls of Canada, Argentina and Africa,... I miss the friendly people we met, the relatives we got to know a little better and the lasting friendships we made along the way (you know who you are). Mostly, I miss spending time with Paul and Chloe.

Would you do it again? DEFINITELY!! We met a British couple in Australia who were on part 7 or 8 of their RTW tour. Like us, they had traveled with their young child for an extended period and have since been on several shorter trips to various areas of the world. Like them, we have decided that our trip is not done or over, it is just on hold. Our RTW tour will be continued,...

Not Finished Yet!!

One of the concerns we had about coming home is that after all of the new experiences and moving around we've done over this past year, being back home would feel too familiar and frankly, boring. Chloe and I have been back for just over a week and we can definitely say that so far we have not been bored.* Everything certainly feels familiar but that hasn't translated to boring!!

Chloe and I landed in Vancouver last week to a fantastic welcome! Even though we landed at midnight, the whole family showed up to the airport to meet us. We were very grateful!!

We have spent some time at the cabin on the Sunshine Coast swimming, kayaking, jumping off Hopkins pier, hiking up the knob and visiting with family and friends.

Chloe is currently on a road trip with her Auntie Patty, Uncle Rick, Quinn and Carys. They have made their way to Wyoming and are having a great time visiting with Cathrine, Dillon, Zara and Sam.

I have spent the last few days swimming, relaxing, walking the digs and swapping stories with my friends Deb and Joe at Cowichan Lake on Vancouver Island.

I will be flying to Winnipeg tomorrow to meet up with Paul and Kathy. We will head straight to West Hawk Lake to visit with family, swim, boat and relax.

I am beginning to realize that although our "big trip" may be behind us, the adventures and travels will never cease!


*I do realize that we are still on holiday and have not yet had to deal with going to work/school 5 days a week. That reality will come and we'll deal with it when we get there. Will keep you posted!

The Lights of Broadway

The lights of Broadway became a glimmer in our eyes after meeting our friend Madeleine in Cusco. Madeleine is a spunky, fun and friendly New Yorker whom we first got to know when we volunteered in Peru. We kept in touch with her during the year and were lucky enough to meet up with her twice during that time (once in Quito, Ecuador and again on the island of Koh Lanta in Thailand). We always enjoy spending time with her and so we decided that a stopover in NYC before heading home was a must.  What a great decision that was!!!

Our last show on Broadway!

We arranged to be in the Big Apple for 5 nights and pre-booked 2 shows and 1 baseball game.  We were psyched!!

Madeleine and Chloe at the Yankee Stadium.

As it has turned out, by taking full advantage of the discounted ticket office and by lining up at 3:45am to obtain a free ticket, we saw 6 plays and 1 Baseball game.

War Horse (puppetry of the horses was AMAZING), Harvey (featuring Jim Parsons who plays Sheldon in the Big Bang Theory), Into the Woods (free play in Central Park for people willing to line up in the wee hours of the morning featuring Amy Adams as the bakers wife. A perfect setting for this somewhat dark but very funny play), Porgy and Bess (amazing cast of singers that I enjoyed while Paul, Chloe & Madeleine watched the Yankees play the Seattle Mariners), The Best Man (play by Gore Vidal that I saw on my own. Featuring James Earl Jones, John Larroquette, John Stamos and Cybill Shepherd among others), Wicked (Chloe & Paul went to this one as I had seen it a few years prior. They loved it as much as I had!!) and Spiderman Turn Off the Dark (a lot of controversy around this one - a number of accidents before the official opening and the musical score was written by Bono and the Edge. Full of high rope stunts and lots of energy).

New York was busy and exhausting and we enjoyed every moment!   We are finding it hard to believe that the next flight will take us back into Canada!  We are looking forward to catching up with friends and family, settling into a new home and figuring out where our next trip will be!

Tour de Wales (and England)

We are here in Porthcawl with Jacqueline finishing off the final leg of our tour of Wales and our visits with my cousins and their children.

As some of you may know Aunt Peg, my mom's sister, was taken to Wales at a young age and grew up here with her aunt and uncle. She was married and had 3 girls by the time my mom finally met her in 1977 (at the age of 45). Their relationship quickly solidified and they wrote regularly and visited each other a number of times before they passed away.

While Paul was running with the bulls in Spain and visiting his good friend Todd and his family in France, Chloe and I took the opportunity to visit all of my Welsh cousins and meet or reacquaint ourselves with almost all of their children.

We walked along the city walls of York and discovered a little Gallilee family history in Whitby with Sarah and Ed.

We had a lovely afternoon out with Carys, Matthew and 7 month old Evelyn in Manchester. They kindly drove from Huddersfield for a visit and we were so grateful that they did!

We spent a day with Josie, Alice and 2year old Alfie visiting the science and technology centre, shopping for a Manchester City jersey for Paul (to the chagrin of Josie's husband Mark) and meeting Summer (Alice's horse).

We had a great time riding horses (well, Chloe did) and checking out castle keeps near Angela and Andrew's home in Pennygroes, Northern Wales. It was good fun playing cards and visiting with Robyn, Carys, Sophie and Rob.

A stop at Alma and Philip's in Ystrad Mynach, a short train ride from Cardiff, gave us a chance to see Helen (thanks for dinner), Fudgie and Peter. We also toured Castle Coch, big Pit mine, and enjoyed some good hikes (rambles) in the valley area. instead of riding horses Chloe got to ride in Philips cool sports car!

And that brings us to St. Fagan's and the Welsh open air museum where we met up with Jacqueline and made the transfer to her car to drive to Porthcawl. A visit with John in the Gower area and 1 final night at Jacqueline's will bring us to the end of our visit with the Welsh cousins.

We would like to thank all of our welsh relations for opening up their homes to us, showing us their Beautiful country and treating us so well. Chloe has especially enjoyed discovering a side of her family she's never known and a connection to a country that she has really enjoyed.

We will look forward to hosting you in Canada in the future.

Taking a Break in Bretagne

Have we mentioned that Chloe has not been overly happy about our decision to stay warm all year?  She has realized that she's an all-four-seasons kind of girl and since arriving back into the southern part of Europe has complained that it's been just too darn hot!   As Paul and I have decided where we should go (with input from Chloe as well) we decided that Chloe should have a chance to choose our next destination.  She could take us as far north as she wanted as long as it was within France and wouldn't take more than 1 day to travel there from Montpellier.

She took up the challenge, did a little research and chose the Brittany area.  Together we looked at possible places to stay and settled on St. Malo.

As it turned out, Chloe couldn't have chosen a better location for us to spend 5 days to "chill-out" before our visit to Paris and the arrival of our friends Simon and Joanne.

The little square in front of our apartment.
Ours was the 3 windows just below the
roof line.  Our 9th apartment through Airbnb. 

The weather was wet on and off and a little cool but that didn't stop us from enjoying the town within the walls (intra-muros) in St. Malo.  The area was intensively bombed during the war and many buildings and much of the wall of the old town were destroyed.  The city has restored the old town and it's surrounding wall and it is a lovely place to wonder on cobblestone streets and walk on top of the walls.

Part of the cooling down process.

We were told the tide can change up to 10 metres in St. Malo.
This is the view of the walled town from the lighthouse.

As many of you know St. Malo isn't the only attraction in the area.  One of our days took us to the even lovelier town of Dinan.  (IMHO)  The pictures speak for themselves,..

And of course we couldn't be in the area without a visit to Mont Saint Michel, the abby on the hill or as Paul noted, the perfect lair for a super-villain.

Plotting world domination (insert evil laugh)

We left the area rested, definitely cooled down and ready to take on the sights and lights of Paris.

Spain - We Will Meet Again!

Spain,... Is awesome! We only have 2 days left in our Spanish portion of this trip and although we are looking forward to heading to France, we will be sad to leave Spain. Paul is thrilled that he has committed to return (though is trying not to rub it in)!

Cordoba

What is so great about Spain, you might wonder?  I've been trying to put my finger on it and have come up with a few characteristics that combined, make it special.

It is culturally rich and tourist friendly yet seemingly unspoiled by tourists.  Unlike the places we visited in Italy, Turkey or Sweden, there have been many times here in Spain where the host of our accommodation de dias or restauranteur has not spoken any (or muy, muy poco) English.  The beauty of it is that they continue to chatter away to you in Spanish as if you understand every word they're saying.  They don't appear annoyed that we haven't taken the time or extra effort to learn their language and fortunately we do manage to understand the odd word and that seems to be enough to get us through.

We understood enough Spanish to know that
'churros con chocolate' would be yummy!

It has beaches and sun to basque in which we discovered both in Barcelona and Alicante on the Costa Blanca.  We had 3 days in Alicante to swim in the pool, relax on the beach and play in the ocean.  After being in Australia where we were wearing stinger suits and swimming only in the netted areas off the shore in fear of getting stung by a jellyfish, I was completely taken by surprise by a rather small jellyfish that got me with a good sting!  I enjoyed the pool that afternoon.

View of the pool in hotel and beach in the distance.

There are mountains to climb and trails between villages to explore.  After such a successful hike in the Sierra Nevada mountains, Chloe found another hike outside of Seville.  We caught a bus to Fuenteheridos and with the help of some friendly locals who drew us maps on napkins or with a rock in the dirt (we had to ask 3 different people along the way) we made it to the next town of Galaroza and part way to Castano before turning around and heading back.  We rewarded ourselves with a cool drink and a surprising snack of fried cuttlefish.  (We couldn't read the menu or understand the waiter but we looked it up later and realized what we had ordered!)

And what country in Europe doesn't have a plethora of museums to explore, architecture to marvel at, narrow cobblestone streets to wind through and wide boulevards to wonder along?

Plaza d'Espana in Seville

Just round the corner from our hostel.
Calle de Constitution in Seville.

Wondering and shopping on the narrow
streets of Cordoba.

I hope also to be able to return to Spain one day.  Maybe the Camino de Santiago would be worth a try.    Interested?  

Granada - A Fresh Look

I am beginning to recognize a pattern in the European portion of the trip (for me). I know that I've been to many of these places before so when I arrive and look around I expect to recognize something, and realize that nothing looks familiar. This may stem from the fact that it was 20 years ago and many things have changed or simply that I have a very bad memory! I fear that it may be the latter. On the bright side everything feels new and fresh and we are able to discover it all together.

Our arrival in Granada was no different than any of the other cities I have apparently visited before. All new!!

Walking alongside the River Darro

Paul and I have been told on a number of occasions that Europe may be more interesting for adults than kids. Apparently walking along narrow cobblestone streets contemplating the stories of all the people that have walked before you while admiring the architecture of the old buildings and reading any signs that explain the historical significance of an area is not fun for an 11 year old! Who knew??? We have tried to adjust our thinking and booked an e-bike tour for our first evening in Granada. How fun does that sound??!! - active, a new experience for all of us (we had not ridden electronic bikes before) with a little history and local information thrown in. Unfortunately riding an e-bike with squeaky brakes that is a little too big for you through narrow, hilly streets that can barely accommodate a car is not as much fun as it might first appear.

Chloe decided to take matters into her own hands and the next day she and Paul went for a hike while I got to tour around the Alhambra all by myself. Everybody was happy! (Chloe will be posting about the hike in the near future)

I do not get to go to museums very often but when I do get the opportunity I love taking my time, renting the audio-guide (unless I can download a podcast - Rick Steves has some good ones for several cities in Europe), visiting every building or room and reading or listening to as much as I can. Needless to say, Paul and Chloe do not like going with to museums with me. Here's a little bit of what I saw:

city views from palace windows

wonderfully carved columns and arches

beautiful gardens

a palace built by a king

an amazing view from the top of a tower

Sweden Plans - How it all Came Together

People we meet along the way often ask us how we planned our trip and how we decided where to go.  Although we had a rough idea of where we wanted to go before we left (see The Route page), we didn't actually do much pre-planning.  Here's a little window into how our planning goes:

Our trip started out with a lot of support.  Canada was easy: find the relatives and stay for a few days and then move along to the next (except Ontario as it took so long to drive through that we had to stay 2 nights in roadside motels before reaching the next relative, who was also in Ontario).  South America also started out simply as we caught a plane from Paul's sister Karen's to Lima and then were taken care of for the next 4 weeks by Peru's Challenge.  It wasn't until we left Peru that we had to start booking our own transportation, accommodation and activities.  It was a little daunting at first but we soon got in the groove and enjoyed the process of picking our next destination.  We tend to pick a place that we want to go based on reputation, location, climate or a particular activity that stands out and then we start figuring out how to make it happen.

Sweden was different!  For the first time since Canada, we did not chose Sweden based on location (it takes an effort to get to Sweden, not just a short train ride over from Italy), climate (it was cold, windy and wet when we arrived - not the weather that matched our 'all summer, all the time' theme for the year) or activity (we knew very little about Sweden so were not sure what adventures we could have).

We came to Sweden for one thing - Friendship!

With Helena, Mats, Ebba and Mans .

Let me back up about 8 months: when we worked at Pumamarca with Peru's Challenge we were lucky enough to be thrown together with a wonderful group of volunteers from different parts of the world (none of which were from Australia which was a first for the organization).  Two women from the U.S. (SanDiego and NYC), a man from Cape Town, South Africa, a family from Gothenburg, Sweden, a woman from Lulea, Sweden and our little family from Canada.  For whatever reasons we all got along really well and the mood in the house was relaxed and cheerful.  We knew then that we had come across some great people!

Jump to March when we started thinking ahead to May and Chloe's birthday.  We asked her what she thought would be fun to do for her birthday.  Knowing that we would be in Europe and fully aware that any material presents were pretty much out, she suggested that a visit with our friends in Sweden would be the best birthday present she could get.  We e-mailed Mats and Ebba and immediately got a reply suggesting that we would certainly be welcome and if we arrived 2 days earlier, we would be able to attend their wedding.  As we had celebrated their engagement in Cusco with them we thought it was only fitting that we be there for their wedding as well.  Flight to Gothenburg - booked!

We then e-mailed Helena to see if she would be in Lulea around that time - although we had NO IDEA where Lulea was, besides in Sweden.  She was going to the wedding as well so we would see her there and then also in Lulea a few days later.  Flight to Lulea - booked!

We had a few days in between and we decided to fit in a visit to Stockholm.  Train to Stockholm - booked!

And that's the secret to our successful planning of Sweden - Friendship!!

and cake!

By the way, Sweden has turned out to be awesome!!  More to come in future posts,.. 

What Could be Better?

Typical Tuscan Countryside

What Could be Better than spending a week at a countryside villa in Tuscany? A week in a Tuscan Villa with my sister!

My sister Cathrine* actually took me up on my offer of sharing our accommodation in Italy (as long as she could book a flight within the 2 week window that I left available - oops!). Paul was confident that Cathrine would arrange it and would be joining us for a glass of wine (or 2).

What Could be Better than taking a tacky tourist picture of me holding up the Tower of Pisa? Convincing my sister to take a picture supporting above mentioned leaning structure!

What Could be Better than climbing up the Mangia Tower in Siena? Looking down onto the Piazza del Campo and imagining the horses running around the outside in the annual Palio Horse Race.

What Could be Better than eating delicious Italian food? Having a lovely Italian woman teach you how to make the traditional, simple Tuscan meals as passed down to her by her mother and mother's mother. Thanks Paola!

What Could be Better than saddling up to the coffee bar to enjoy a cappuccino in Italy? Enjoying a cappuccino at a quaint little trattoria in the small Tuscan village of Rosano. In the cities you'll be charged extra to have a seat, but not here!

What Could be Better than overlooking Florence and the famous Ponte Vecchio?  Being on the Ponte Vecchio!

What Could be Better than spending your birthday in Tuscany? I just don't know,...

*unfortunately other members of the family could not join in on the adventure (probably the mainly due to my lack of organization and advance notice)