TRAVELS EXPERIENCES

2006-04-30T04:12:00.000-07:00

Travel Notes by Jock Pichette

Travel experiences
pichejovila@videotron.ca
FRANCE

1999 Used Train from Airport to “Gare du Nord”, excellent experience.
Began our journey at the Timhotel, not the best but nice and cozy.
We did have time to spare so we both got a Haircut at the local barber.
We used the red bus to travel about Paris, extremely comfortable and fun.
Travelled to nine different location including the “Louvre”.

Picked up our rental “ Mercedez”, beautiful grey in colour at the Airport.
We traveled the wine country – Alsace & Lorraine.
Reims, Strasbourg, and loved Colmar.
We purchased Champagne in Nimes, enjoyed Monttellier, Loved the ride to Carcassonne, and please read the story of dinner at the Castle.
Stooped at “Pont du Gard” – Travelled the Coat towards St.Tropez.
St.Raphael and Frejus was a great stop.
Antibes, Cannes and and what a wonderful stay in Nice
Eze, great stop atop the Mountain
Villefranche-sur-mer will take your breath away.
Drove the strip to Monaco.

Year 2002 – Europe, Switzerland, Austria, and Budapest.

Driving Europe offers an adventure with each turn into a city, town or village. Choosing a restaurant or creating an on-going itinerary makes the whole journey enjoyable.

From arriving at Zurich’s Kloten Airport, to chasing down an auto for our journey increases our adrenalin.

Luzern is fantastic and minutes after arriving, we downed a “Braugold” beer.

Bern, is the Capital of Switzerland.
Then to Murten, and Gruyeres.

Montreux, took my breath away starting with our view of Lac Leman.
So picturesque that instead of finding a restaurant, we bought our food, and made the balcony our dinning room overlooking Lac Leman.

We visited Castle of Chillon on our way out.
2,478m.
Lusanne, great room overlooking the city.
Next day, off to Geneve, and the Casino.

We wanted so much to drive the Alp’s “Nufenenpass” . Stopped at various point as we climb to the top. As we headed to Lugano, we drove a 16km long tunnel.

The thrill of planning an itinerary! – Breakfast in Lugano, Switzerland, Lunch in Vaduz, Liechtenstein, and dinner in Innsbruck, Austria.

Took a tour at Tirol “Hall & Watten” a two hour stop.

Kufstein, was magical and great fun. The hotel, the square, food, and music outstanding. Ate at the Café Auracher.

Salzburg, great city, a good time and a most interesting courtyard.

Vienna – a smashing entrance to a dream city along the Ringstrasse.
Schonbrunn Palace and Spanish Riding School.

Our first dinner served in frying pan’s. Caged elevators in our hotel, and during a walk we met buskers doing the Phantom of the Opera.

Budapest, Hungary and the Danube.
Vienna International Airport – so lucky because we had the inaugural flight with Air Austria – big time modern aircraft – great trip and many memories.

EASTERN CARIBBEAN CRUISE 1999

Princess Cruise “Dawn”

We remained in Puerto Rico after our cruise – great time visiting Casino’s, beaches, old San Juan, the Arena where the Cockfights took place.

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

September 16th, 2000

Cape Cod, Hyannis Harbor, Salem, Plymouth Rock, captured The Mayflower in the water. We also had a wonderful stay in Ogunquit, Maine. PlusToured Provincetown, and Mount Washington Valley.

MEXICO

March 23rd, 2001

The Copacabana, Mayan Riviera – we had a great time.
We visited Chichen-Itza and climbed the ruins.
The bus tour through the jungle was awesome.
Our lunch at the local hotel was educational, and gave us an opportunity to meet and talk with the Mayan people.

PUERTO VALLARTA

Riu Jalisco – November 24th, 2003 to November 29th, 2003

Great resort, with many extras. Two nice dining rooms – awesome landscape.
Beautiful room. Food was good with The Ocean and Pool side Grill set up.
Visited Las Cascadas in the Jungle – had lunch along the river. Many Canadians live along the main road. We went into Puerto Vallarta twice, and had great fun at the local restaurant near the boardwalk.
Good Visit.

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

Punta Cana - February 24th, to March 3rd, 2002

Catalania Bavaro Resort – Great resort, but immediate problems when we could not get into our suite. We all got sick- starting with Barry, Karen, Barry and then Jock.

CUBA

Varadero, Cuba – May 3rd, to May 10th, 2003

Super Club Breezes, enjoyable holiday
Theme nights were nice, but food was not the best.
Good entertainment, nice room, and good fun with the Lizard.

2006-04-25T06:21:00.000-07:00

SUNSET JAMAICA GRANDE – RESORT & SPA
OCHO RIOS, JAMAICA, WI.
MARCH 25TH, - APRIL 1ST, 2006

RIU TROPICAL BAY
NEGRIL, JAMAICA, WI.
ISLAND GOLD UNWRAPS A PLEASANT HOLIDAY
JUNE 11th.-18TH, 2005

WYNDHAM ROSE HALL RESORT & COUNTRY CLUB
MONTEGO BAY, JAMAICA, WI.
MARCH 19th, – 26th, 2005

After choosing another vacation to Jamaica, we have come to the conclusion that the food is the “common denominator”.

If we had to rate the above three resorts, then Riu Tropical Bay, in Negril is the winner. Sunset Jamaica Grande in Ocho Rios comes in second because of its Dining rooms which includes the Buffet set-up, and Pools. While Wyndham Rose Hall Resorts & Country Club in Montego Bay is a beautiful third.

Two of the above travel stories are written up already, and Sunset Jamaica Grande will be next. Each story differs, for example if you are traveling with young children, then the Wyndham Rose Hall is a great spot because they have a water slide & a lazy river which children love. The attraction offers parents a chance to sit back and relax within eyesight of the children, not to mention having a cool drink. They have one of Jamaica’s best golf courses at the resort.

SUNSET JAMAICA GRANDE – OCHO RIOS

The four-hours-and twenty minute plane ride skips along the same flight path as our previous two flights with one exception. Turbulence and there was a period when the “Seat belt” sign remained on for a good period of time starting from Cuba. And only when we began our descend into Montego Bay’s, Sangster Airport did our flight stabilize. Turbulence in the air is no different than a bus ride over pot holes, gravel roads or a throwing a nice flat-stone across a pond. The safety factor is being on an Air Canada carrier. When Air Canada rolls a plane onto its tarmac, the condition of that plane is a five star! So relax.

Air Canada, the transfer from the airport and back is with Jamaica tours bus lines with A/C. Only once did we use another service, and you can tell the difference, like poor brakes, older bus, and the clutch asking for two Extra Strength Tylenol. Jamaica is not a big island, as a matter of fact it’s less than 150 miles long and 51 miles wide. The roads are atrocious, so Jamaica’s Dept. of Public Works is working double time to complete better highways. Meanwhile your bus ride will take a bit longer to reach Ocho Rios or Negril. Our trip to Sunset Jamaica Grande in Ocho Rios took 2 ½ hours.

As you approach our complex from a distance you can see why they call it “Sunset”. It’s the colours of course, the north tower is 11 stories high, while the newer south tower has 15 floors. Excitement grows as you relish the sights including such names as Dunn’s River Falls, which we climbed last year and Taj Mahal shopping complex. The streets are busy with locals hanging out, and shopping.

The lobby of Sunset is huge, it’s possibly the largest lobby we have witnessed in all our Caribbean travels. Registration desk is efficient and quick. They are well organized with documents prepared in advanced. Within minutes you have your key’s to the room, directions, and if you wish to register for specialty restaurant, that can be done with equal efficiency. Our room 937 in the North Tower lacked hot water, and it took at least two visits by maintenance to rectify the problem. No hot water on the second day, but we did receive a call from the front desk suggesting we take another room on the 7th Floor. The change was good because the view included the Caribbean Ocean as well as the complex. The only bad thing was the loss of my watch $ 427.00 which was missing from my original room. When I asked about room 937, the man at the counter said, the room has been given to another customer? I wondered why they would give a room which had no hot water.

What is five stars at this resort is the SERVICE.
After we were all booked in and unpacked we decided to orient ourselves to the complex. It was about 5.00 p.m., and we find this nice Café Jamalicious located at the North Pointe Tower complex. The waiter can tell we are new arrivals, so he makes sure we are comfortable, and makes some suggestions. He came back with two sandwiches, one turkey and one chicken along with some fries and two Red Stripe beers. We enjoyed our light lunch, and continued with our orientation stroll. On Sunday evening we used the Grande Palm Buffet Restaurant. While setting up my utensils, I dropped a fork. Within seconds, a waiter was at my table with a new fork, that quick.
The best restaurant without a doubt is “La Diva” Italian Restaurant.
“Dining at South Beach” is a very close 2nd.
We did not enjoy Ginger Lily which is an Asian Restaurant. Too much like a warehouse and portions come at you too fast.
Bars – you can enjoy a drink at every corner of the complex, from swim-up bars, to lobby, beach, and restaurants. Liquor is local but the beer “Red Stripe” is excellent.
We did run into a funny incident at the Grande Palm Restaurant, it was about 12 noon, when a guests walked by with a plate of bread piled high. He did have a variety of bread, but what is he going to do with so much of it? The answer came quick, because now his wife followed with cold meats, tomatos, and other goodies like lettuce etc. He began to create six plates, and distribute the meats. Other guests even took a picture of the scene. The long and short of it is that they were going on a tour, and did not want to purchase food outside the complex. Good idea and quite a savings.

Next item of note is the swimming pools – Besides the two swim-up pools and bar, they have pools for every age and even one for toddlers (Enclosed) near the Caribbean Ocean. Some pool wind around the dinning rooms. One is a replica of Dunn’s River Falls.
They have a three rivers pool, even a splash pool which drowns you with cool fresh water from a height of 25 feet. The pools are not typical, and none are deep, bit enough variety to enjoy a swim. Our venture was to swim in all the pools as a means of collecting points for effort.

We are beach people, but at this resort the beach front is small. We still swam each day during our stay. We walked the beach from one end to the other. They do have security and a sign indicating that you are leaving a secured area. In a period of seven days, we walked the beach nine times. We even saw a Chinese lady screaming for her husband at the opposite end from our resort. She unfortunately stepped on a “Sea Urchin” which defends itself by injecting needles into your foot. It was a minor injection compared to another experiences some years ago in Guadeloupe which ruined a guest’s vacation.

There are plenty of chairs along the beach – they are comfortable and if lucky can find a few palm threes to rest under. The towel system is typical.

Mailing post cards to Canada cost 1.00 $US

While on the subject of beach & water – Sunset Jamaica Grande is located across from a cruise ship docking area. During our stay we saw, Coral Princess, Voyager of the Seas, Mariner of the Seas, Costa Magica, Imagination, Carnival Victory, and AIDAaura.
AIDAaura was an interesting ship with huge red lips on the front, its origin is Germany.
We were informed that a week earlier, the Star Princess took fire while at Montego Bay. No room was available for the 140 passengers, so they bused them all the way to our hotel. During their short stay one guest from the ship set fire to his mattress creating a minor scare, Talk about a coincident.

If you enjoy shopping for souvenirs, Ocho Rios is perfect. Taj Mahal is walking distant and you don’t have to fear for your security. The best time is when the Cruise ships arrive. On two occasion ships were docked, so the impact of visitors triples considering that some ships have 2, 000 passenger and crew. We visited town twice and had fun with the vendors, and people from the ships.

Jamaican’s are in great shape – I was informed that they stay away from Greasy Foods.
It did not matter which resort we were at, the people who serve you are great.

Our room is a 3 star, but our view on the 7th. Floor is a 5 star. It overlooks the pools, Ocean, and in-coming ships. To our right we have the Caribbean Ocean. We often enjoyed a nightcap on our balcony.

Wedding Gazebo is a busy place during the day, and they are building a new one overlooking the Caribbean Ocean. No doubt will be the choice of many who wish to get married at this resort.

There is one eyesore, and that is a Bauxite Plant across from our beach area.

Entertainment is awesome, the venue best ever witnessed. You can be close to the action or within ear-shot. There is a bar open all night nearby, even a grill if you wish some food. We were well entertained one evening when a group from Jamaica, some 5 men, produced a great show.

We met many from Toronto, a couple from Germany, a nice man and his wife from the USA. The one family we enjoyed flew in from England. They had an eight year old daughter. She loved to play basketball, and each time we watched her throw a basketball she was great. I believe the young girl had natural talent. We did have some Montrealers near us at the beach. We met four French couples from Quebec, and although they were on the same flight, it appears that Three Rivers which is about 1 ½ hours from Montreal.

We had an early departure time for the Airport. We have a tip for you, when you leave a resort, always try to place your luggage on the bus last. Reason of course is that you will have your luggage first, and be at the ticket counter first as well. Sangster International Airport is busy, and the line-ups for customs can reach a zigzag line-up. We once waited and walked the line for fourty five minutes before entering the custom area. Once inside this area you will see new facilities and shopping. They also improved the waiting time arrivals.

We hope you enjoy our stories.

Jock

2006-04-21T11:31:00.000-07:00

Driving Europe - 2000

Today as I was driving home, and listening to my local radio station ( April 21st,2006 ) - the topic was Driving on our highways. Most of us in our senior years who live in North America certainly has accumulated miles of driving. We also have come across a bunch of reasons why other drivers are bad.

My wake up call came while driving in France. My wife an I had just completed 42 Kilometers of wine region travel, and although we sampled a few glasses I was awake enough to continue towards Carcassonne, France. As we merged onto this beautiful clean looking four lane highway, it was void of traffic. So I began my voyage by choosing the third lane, and as we do in Canada my speed limit was 100 k/hr. I checked my rear mirror, and no vehicle in sight. When all of a sudden, a speeding car flies by beeping his horn going at least 160 k/hr. I wondered out loud why did he give me the horn. I move up to 110, and then 120, and I'm still getting the horn.

I manage to get to 140 k/hr. before I realize that I should be in the slower lane of let say the right side of the highway, even though there are four lanes. What is amazing is that every time I checked the rear mirror, I did not see a vehicle, and ten seconds later, zoom another car.
This experience woke me up to the fact that, France, Germany and other speed demon countries need at least three open lanes in order to pass another vehicle.

Over the years I have driven France (2), Switzerland, Austria, London, and Scotland. Excellent roads. It was a tremendous experience. I was comfortable driving on the right or left.

Therefore, driving Europe was an education and great fun. Hope to be back soon.

Jock

2006-04-16T08:06:00.000-07:00

TRAVEL STORY’S BY JOCK PICHETTE

Caribbean Tour – March 20th, to March 30th, 1999
Princess Cruise – “Dawn”
San Juan, Puerto Rico
Barbados, St.Lucia, St.Maarten, St.Kitts and St.Thomas.

Paris, France Sept. 1999
From Gare du Nord and rifles, to a great haircut in Paris.
A ride on the Seine. The Louvre, The Notre Dame Cathedral,
Alsace & Lorraine, and Strasbourg
La Route du Vin (Wine Route) Awesome
Colmar, Carcassonne, Nimes, Montellier, and Pont du Gard.
St.Tropez, Wonderful Frejus and fun. Antibes, Cannes, Nice, (Cote D’Azur.
Eze and all its Corniche….
Villefranche-sur-mer, so beautiful.
Nice and The Promenade des Anglais.
MONTE CARLO - MONACO

Sol Melia Sol Club Las Sirenas, Varadero, Cuba
March 2000
Plus excursion to Habana, Cuba

Please take a seat on the Verranda, and read about a romance on the Cape.
September 16th, 2000

Mediterranean Cruise – November 8th, to November 18th, 2000
Royal Caribbean – Legend of the Seas
Italy, Greece, and Turkey
Plus extra days in Barcelona, Spain and Athens, Greece.

Hola from the Mayan Riviera, Mexico
March 23rd, 2001 to March 30th, 2001
Plus an excursion to Chichen Itza

Catalonia Bavara Beach, Golf, & Casino Resort
A trip with friends to the Dominican Republic
plus side trip to Santo Domingo
February 24th. to March 3rd, 2002

Super Club Breezes Varadero, Cuba
May 3rd. to May 10th. 2003

Fishing trip to O’Sullivan Lake Lodge
May 16th, to May 19th, 2003

France – May 24th, to June 7th, 2003
Father’s Footstep – WWII

Riu Jalisco, Puerto Vallartta, Mexico
November 24th, to December 1st, 2004

SuperClub Breezes Costa Verde -Guardalavaca, Cuba
March 15th, to March 22, 2004

CRUISE – Explorer of the Seas
Miami departure, January 23rd, 2005
This was a family holiday which included, Keith & Rhonda from Toronto.
Bill & Irene Dow from Lake of two Mountains and Karen & Jock
San Juan, St.Maarten, Netherland Antilles, St.Thomas, U.S.V.I., and
Nassau, Bahamas.

A Cruise with Hurricane some 150 miles behind – return to port one day early.
Princess Cruise line. Cayman’s, Barbados, Princess Cay’s, Missed Balize and stopped at Cozumel.

Disneyland’s - Magic Kingdom.
Niagara Falls, Ontario
Miami, Florida
Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Touched Chicago, Detroit, many visits to New Jersey, New York City & Radio City Music Hall.
25 day travel on route #1, California into Las Vagas.
Venezuela (Doral)
Guadaloupe
Golf trip to West end of the Bahamas + 1
Nassau and Freeport, Bahamas
Puerto Plata, Dominican
New Orleans, Louisiana
Hawaii – Oahu, Maui, and Kauai
Business trip to Paris to set up meetings in Algiers
North Africa’s Algiers.

Jock@

pichejovila@videotron.ca

2006-04-12T07:00:00.000-07:00

Karen and Jock's trip to CUBA, from Varadero to Habana and some, discovers the best beaches in the Caribbean.
With an 8.15PM departure time, Iny and Bill show up at the front door in Dorval at 5.00PM, with Bill giving us the first taste of speed, as he jet's us to Mirabel in record time, so much so that we can have dinner together prior to embarking on an L-1011 Air-Transat loaded to the gills with about 400-500 holiday sun seekers. In order to get a decent seat on an airplane these day's you must pay ten dollars and call in advance or you could be in the last row with the Kleenex boxes and rolls of toilet paper. This system is equal to governments surge charge strategy. It should be first come first served.
The trip is a normal three hour and thirty minute, but just like Bill's top speed this pilot manages to cut off fifteen minutes of air time, as we land in a tiny Peninsula of Varadero, some one hour and fourty five minutes from Habana, Cuba - the city of revolution. As the plane taxi's towards our first taste of Cuban air, our watch tells us that it's 12.00 Midnight, and sixty four degrees, with clear skies and many stars leading us to a typical Caribbean Airport.
The big difference of course is the country, which won two major wars, the first with the Spaniards, and the second and most popular for us, defeating the Americans back in the late sixties. So its only right to say that we are intimidated, by this little country of ten million inhabitants, located on the Caribbean Sea, close to the mouth of the Gulf of Mexico.
Karen and I are holding hands as we touch Cuban soil for the first time.We head towards the main building, wondering about customs? And how they will react? What type of questions will they ask? Will we be detained? Will they confiscate our jewelry? will we be searched for secret American espionage papers? Your head just wonders.
We choose a line, and wait our turn. Unlike most custom's system, only one person walks up to the window of proof, so I suggest Karen go first, just in case she cracks a joke, and I must call Chretien, to release the blond crazy kid from Canada. No problem, as a matter of fact we are complemented when a custom officers puts two fingers to his lips and sends me a kiss, that my ring is very nice! There are over four hundred Canadians in line and this officer is in love with my ring. I wished the Custom official would get higher chairs to sit on, because when I approach the window, the security man's face was level with my navel. That's scary when you think we should be at eye level. The only conclusion I came to, was that they were x-raying our pockets for secret weapons.
We got our first taste of the Cuban tropics, slow, and slower. Now we have entered the concourse, and heading towards the baggage conveyors. It's a stop and go type with a warning signal that tells you, it's starting up again. No luggage, we are now in the slower stage, because I don't see one piece of our luggage, and the signal is driving me nuts. Karen is sitting on a steel bench, after all, we have been standing up now for the last twenty-five minutes, and by the looks of things, it just might be another twenty-five, and we want to get to our bus, and to the hotel, which they tells us is fourty minutes away. From Karen's vantage point she spots our luggage, and from what she tells me, runs towards the conveyor belt, smacks into a man from Teteagauche, New Brunswick, he flies onto the conveyor belt, yelling, what did I do, nothing sir, I just want our two pieces of luggage. Thank God he say's, I thought I was being frisked. Now we must find the signature agent who will direct us to the bus, but before I could ask, Karen are you ok? A bellboy jumps our bags. Bus # 649, we are informed, cost, well he tells me, two American dollars, senor. We are now sitting in our bus wishing to leave, but there are two ladies holding up everything because they are smoking! As they finally enter the bus doors, they are escorted to a cheer of Boo's, and rightly so. It's now one thirty PM, Montreal time but Cuban time is 2.30PM, and we never could figure out the hour difference? Was it daylight saving or is there an hour difference always? This whole day began at 7.30AM Dorval time.
To conclude, after four stops at different hotels along the strip of Varadero, we reach Sol Club Las Sirenas, a four star ALL-Inclusive. Our home for the next seven days. We are well received at the reception desk, and given a room at the end of the complex. Within minutes, a telephone call is placed to the front desk requesting a change of room. To our surprise, the next morning, we are informed that we are now proud parents of a third floor unit over looking the center court, pool, and the Caribbean Ocean, what a sight, what a beautiful room. Sol Melia all-Inclusive resort features beautiful architecture with a touch of European flair.
SUNDAY, March26, 2000 orientation day, we awoke late 9.15AM, shower, dress, and headed towards breakfast, a huge dining room, with a capacity for at least four hundred guest, but since it's now only minutes from ten, we have one half hour to get our breakfast which is lean of food by this time, but enough to get us going. After breakfast, a bellboy helps us transfer our luggage to 3292 from 1001. We unpack, and look over the complex from our balcony, what a sight for sore eyes. Our game plan is to walk the complex, and find out all about our next six days at this beautiful hotel.
First down to the pool, which we used only once, but on a few occasion sat around this "S" shape design enjoying a café au-lait. Located just off the snack bar, which supplied us with drinks all day, and if you wanted steak, pork chops, sausages and fries that's the spot. The pool-bar enabled guest to float onto a seat, and order a wide variety or tropical drinks while dangling your feet in the water. The clubhouse directed traffic, towels, reserving of water vehicles, dining room reservation to the Italian restaurant, or Chinese. You could also play Ping Pong, and Billiards, which we did on a few occasions while waiting for the entertainment to start. They had a giant Chess Board set up above the main pool with pieces weighing at least three pounds. As we walked towards the beach, we ran into another bar, where you could pick up juices of your choices, beer of course, and tropical drinks.
THE BEACH, what a beautiful playground, vast, white sand, beach chairs of your choice, with blue and white beach towels, a $ 15.00 deposit was required.Palm tree Hut's all along our complex, but we knew that these would be at a premium. Then trick is to wake up early, run down to the beach place your towels on your chair, then back up breakfast, and return to the beach for a most rewarding stay. For the men who read this story, puppies were all around you. Europeans of course led the way with exposures of every size.
THE WATER, AAAHHH,,,The Water…what we consider the absolute best part of Cuba. A gentle slope leads you into the most clear blue and turquoise salt water this author has yet experienced. The beach stretches as far a you can see; in fact there are 20 kl of uninterrupted golden sandy beach. The ocean floor is a myriad of sapphire blues and emerald greens which cushions your tootsies as far out as you walk without drowning. Once you're literally in over your head you start to see schools of yellow, white and black tropical fish dancing above the newer coral formations, which make up the first reef.
Both Karen and I can confirm that the Beach and Water, is the most rewarding attraction at this complex, and by Far outweighs all other features offered to us during seven days. We played, we walked, we waded, we swam, we floated, we rode on and in the Caribbean warm waters and when we needed a break, we sat under our hut ravishing the sights. We devoted most of our day to the beach area, only to surface for lunch, and dinner.
We also found out that the beach was listed as the ten cleanest beaches in the world, and we totally agree. In order to maintain our active pace we decided we needed a siesta daily, and managed at least one hour per day, to give our body a rest from the sun.
Our room was another plus, it was clean, large with a beautiful spacious bathroom and so was the whole complex, maintenance people believe in cleanliness, tiles are kept spotless right up to our room. Walkways to the pool, beach, restaurants, and garden walkways are well groomed with royal palms, bushes, not to mention little pools and water systems spitting water towards the skies.
This would be our second reason for choosing this complex.
Nightlife would be our third choice, and we used our imagination to plan a good dinner, by reserving for example dining at the Italian Restaurant, a full service restaurant, and it was good. But unfortunately the seating capacity was limited, which we found to be a negative point!Nightly entertainment took place each night at 9.45PM with a warm up show on most nights. We attended every night, prior to having a café au-lait near the pool. The shows were lively affairs, great music and tremendous dancing with theme nights. On our first night Karen wins a watch, by knowing the music to Cat's. She was one happy vacationer.
Our fourth choice is the food, breakfast, lunch with one exception, and dinners were at the Buffet Restaurant located in the main complex. We had a variety of choices, but meat dishes were mostly disappointing. Chicken and pasta good, salads good, cold cuts great, surprisingly, fruit was limited, breads without a doubt excellent, pastry and ice cream number one. As for wine, beer, and water it depended on who was working your area, we had some great service, and we had poor service. Waiters who enjoyed clearing dishes ruined our evenings, but the two-way waiters who looked after us were fantastic, our wine glass was always full, so was our water glasses. It's important to drink liquids when we consume so much sun during a full day in Cuba.
We are not being negative here, because Cuba has so much to offer.Front Desk people were excellent, Maid service "Four Star", maintenance people great, and we can say that the only bartenders who were consistent was the Snack Bar group.
My theory about Cubans work habit is a simple one - A waiter, cook, gardener, security all share in each others tips. So in actual fact they get a salary, and all tips are suppose to go into one pot, and shared at the end of the day, I presume? Therefore, if I give Ada our chambermaid, or Nelson our tour guide a tip, they must share with all the staff. So why, bust their butts.
American dollars is a commodity in Cuba, because the Cuban peso will buy products in a Cuban store, and these stores don't have all the quality products or enough inventory, but on the other hand if you have American Dollars, you can shop in what they consider an American grocery store, and get what you want.
Monday March 27, 2000, Tan day, and reservation day for tours to Havana "Habana", a trip to Varadero only minutes away by taxi, another trip to Plaza Americas, an expensive shopping mall and party night Thursday at the Habana Café located only a walk from our complex. Our signature agent, a likeable lady informed us on all aspects of our holidays.
Tuesday March 28, 2000 we visited VARADERO, located 3 km. From our hotel, we had a choice of how to get there, local bus $ 1.00 each, Taxi approximately $ 5.00 or our choice horse and buggy at a cost of $ 10.00 for some fun. He let us off at the flea market at 46th. Street. The flea market was just starting their day, but choices were limited to artisan's products. Most artisans spoke two and three languages, fluently. We bought a leather belt, felt good. Walk the streets of Varadero. We then took a taxi which looked like a half Orange, cute, slow and very touristy. We rolled down the main street towards Parque Josome, a beautiful park, we imagined the creators vision towards quality presentation was the way future playgrounds should be built like, entre fee is $ 1.00 per person, two beers $ 3.00 with great service, we sat on a park bench sat along the water, and walked the park, and even danced to the sounds of Latin America.
OLD CARS, without a bit of rust. 1940,1950, and 1960's Chevrolet's, and Oldsmobile's. The most popular car appears to be the LADA from Russia. Very few new cars.
We took the bus back to our hotel, $ 1.00 and quick. We spent the afternoon drinking beer at the beach, we decided to try kayaking , bad timing, because the oars were out of sink, and we hit each other. and had a few problems then we switched to the paddleboat, which we enjoyed, but most of the fun was in the water riding the waves as they tossed us about towards the shore. Then it was siesta time before our big evening at the Italian Restaurant.
Minestrone soup, brochetta, great homemade lasagna, mouth watering.Karen had the tough Veal, and Jock had the pork with red peppers, cream caramel for KC while Jock had the Profiteroles and café au-lait to complete our evening. We sat at the edge of the restaurant overlooking the water, and something so delightful happened while looking out from the restaurant, we saw Baby Karen, a blond little girl of about 3 years old, picking up stones from the garden, and then throwing the same into the water. Baby Karen was in a world of her own, Sweedish/Norweigian possibly. Her parent both tall, sat only a few table down from us enjoying the evening as their little girl ran towards the stage area, and then looked back, next thing she is in the snack bar lost of course, but, wait here she comes again, checked her parents, and again ran away tiptoeing and bouncing towards the stage, just a bit further, and again she would always make the wrong turn, and end up at the snack bar, only to find her way towards the restaurant once again to check out her parents. It was such a joy; we wondered what type of parents they were. To conclude our evening, we sat next to the pool, and waited for the theme of Disney to start the show.Afterwards, we sauntered towards the Lobby Bar for a nightcap, and then dreamville. We were one tired couple. Tomorrow Habana, Cuba.
Wednesday, March 29th, 2000 wake-up call for 7.00AM, rush down to breakfast, and a waiting air-conditioned first class bus. We left the hotel at 8.05 AM.Our guide for the day was Nelson, a confident young man, well-educated Cuban, who spoke good English, and although he was not an Historian, he managed to inform us about both wars, the education, and health system of Cuba.He informed us that education is free including your books, with University graduates such as a Doctor having to spend two years in a designated area such as the mountains or other remote area before he could go on his own. They also have trade schools. Nelson graduated in the tourism industry, which is booming. In fact it is CUBA # 1 industry. Health system is the envy of the Caribbean's, totally free they only pay for prescriptions. We saw their modern hospital, and they are extremely proud of the service they offer to the Cuban population.NO TAXES Cuban's own their own home; they are given the home by the state and they pay a monthly rent, so they really own it, and can't sell the home.We saw a complex which was built in the 1970's so that all Cubans could have a home. The housing complex reminded you a bit of the rag trade type building. Very poor people, but they appear to be content. On every rooftop water tanks, supply complex with hot water.
It's downhill from here folks most buildings are dilapidated; many homes are shacks, many with bars on the windows. All the buildings need paint. When we arrived in Havana, we were shocked at the city, the only decent buildings are the ones built by the Americans, even then they are run down.
Nelson pointed out what they call the "Camel Bus"; it's a truck cab pulling a long boxcar, with the middle lower than the first and last car. People are crammed in like cattle, cost for the ride is $ 0.20 cents, and you can see major line-ups for this method of transportation. Boy are we lucky people. Regular buses are dirty, full capacity and fumes are in excess. We visited a cemetery. Nelson pointed three tombs out to us, a monster of a statue depicted 9 firemen who lost their life in a major fire. The pictures of each man is etched into the stone. The next belongs to the first women to get a divorce in Habana. Her last husband wanted her to have the biggest tomb, but they would not allow it, so they planted two Royal Palms, which is Cuban's national three. These then grew to reach the same height as the largest tomb. The last involved a women who died during child birth along with her baby. As is the custom, she was buried with her baby at her feet, but when they retrieved the bones after three years, they found the baby bones in the women's arms, this women is considered a saint, and to this day, people visit her grave sight and pray for miracles, and when they happen people return to place gifts on her stone. When we visited, people were surrounding and placing gifts on her tomb. A chilling reminder that faith can create miracles.
CUBA is a counter culture and we received mixed messages like;We were informed that we should make sure that we get our entire luggage right away or else there is a good chance we will not see it later.This creates a bad image. In Habana, we bought some ice creams, and never got change.Its not an image, it's a fact! Two things happen when you don't have the exact change - Airport Tax is $ 20.00 per person, if we give a $ 50.00 bill, forget about the $ 10.00 Change and if you don't have $ 20.00, you are not leaving CUBA.That's terrible.
Beggars, kids roaming the street, so poor they have only pants on.One incident I can recall, Karen and I are sitting enjoying an ice cream on a ledge only seconds from our bus. I notice a little boy, possibly 12 years old, he has an alley, and a sharp piece of wood. He approached us and begins to jab the sharp object into the dirt, then he starts kicking the dirt, and glances our way. Another boy of equal age joins the boy, and they are now closer, about four feet away, when another boy of at least 16 years of age joins the group, and he also takes this sharp object, and jabs away at the earth. At this point I get up from my curb seat, just next to a school, and face the boys while I gesture to Karen, that we better leave. What was happening, is that these boys were up to no good, they used this sharp object to intimidate you, and then we would be approached or jumped, in any case, they were just poor kids trying to find money to survive?
This my dear friend, is something they need to address as soon as possible. Although this sort of behaviour did not happen in Varadero, I must say that the city of Habana is infested with such poverty and the Cuban Government should be ashamed. Black market is rampant by the looks of it, and the people who approach us are not young. Even while playing in the Ocean, several men would swim up to us, and say do you want to buy CUBAN cigars? .
Nelson gave us a test; he asked us on the Air Conditioned Bus what are the three main industries in Cuba. Of course, from all parts of the bus came shouts of Tobacco, Sugar Cane, Rum, these answers were right, but in different order.Nelson suggested that the real answer is Women, drinking, and Dancing.In fact Tourism, Tobacco, and Sugarcane are one,two and three.
A note about 6-year old Elian Gonzales, like the Missing Children Network do in Canada, his picture his posted throughout Cuba even on billboards. Based on what I saw in Habana, this young boy belongs in the United States with his aunts and uncles. The fact his Mom wanted out, is the deciding factor. I would have to assume, that the father would not be far behind if everything would have gone as planned. Mom's know best!
Hipocrasy, my dear friends is the name of the game, Cuban's say we don't accept American Express card, but please bring your American dollars. Al Gore who is running for President, says, he feels that Elian should remain in Florida, talk about bullshit, here is a man seeking the number one office in the USA, and he uses Elian as a method of getting the Cuban-American vote. Hipocrasy on both sides.
Cuba is a country in progress, needs a complete renovation and paint job.
Thursday March 30th, 2000 is Party night at the Habana Café located next door to our hotel. Visitors who traveled with Air Transat & Signature tours received an invitation. We enter the Café, and were presented with a rum punch, a powerful little drink, while music blared away making your feet move, and body sway to the latin music. The mood was happy, people jockeying for seats and tables. We found a table in front of a 1960 Chevrolet, and every now and then the horn would go off and the lights would flask, knocking us off our chair. It was a fun night with gifts to be won, along with dancing, and drinking. During this evening an American couple ask if they could join our table, we were flabbergasted that they were Americans considering the conflict of not only the War, but what about this young boy, Elian, who the Cubans want back in the worse way. The Americans said, they got in through Vancouver with a Visa only. They were let in after an hour of interrogation. We also met a couple from Nova Scotia, Tom and Judy, and although we had lunch with them, Karen was turned off by Tom's attitude.
Visited Plaza Americas on this day. We were told that this was the most expensive shopping Plaza in Varadero, but in our opinion, not so. Prices in Cuba were decent, no matter what place we were in. Unfortunately many stores were missing inventory/stock.
Friday March 31st. 2000 - Some experiences, snake in Ocean without a head! Just floating along. We thought a vulture must have picked the snake from the woods, and lost it in flight. Huge waves today, and when this happens, we can jump a wave, and get a ride to shore.
The Banana boat - What an exciting, and fun thing to do, and only $ 5.00.The boat picked us up at our beach and with a life jacket strapped on, we climbed aboard for our ride. We realized this would be a rough ride when he asked us for our hats, and glasses. Already the waves were powerful. The motorboat with a long line towing the Banana tube of yellow, with a blue round panels all along the tube, gave us a place for our feet and balance. He picked up another passenger, before heading off towards the middle of the Ocean passing other boats, hobby crafts. Then the real thing, waves were now reaching heights of three to four feet, and sure enough he made us flip over when he hit a wave on the curve. The first girl flew off sideways, Karen was next, and for some reason I flew backwards into the Ocean, and swallowed some salt water.
We tried to right the Banana Boat, and in order to get on, passengers must be equal on each side. I thought Karen was holding on, since I was on the opposite side, but nobody was, and I tipped the boat, landing it on my head and swallowing more water, Karen was looking for me, she thought I was drowning I guess. Finally, after a lot of struggling we get back on with one of the guy's from the boat joining us as a life guard, but in realty was more interested in the first girl. But still something is not quite right Jacques and Karen are facing the back of the Banana boat and the other two facing front. After some side splitting laughter we got it right and took off again. We also learned the art of counterbalancing in order to stay upright. Tremendous fun, and a great story to tell.
This would turn out to be our best beach day.
Tex-Mix is tonights entertainment. - Tall gay guy's in tight pants with spurs doing the Mambo? Very original.
Saturday April 1st, 2000 plans were to take the paddleboat out to the first reef, and feed the fish with dough balls. Beautiful Yellow, white and black fish. We were not the only people doing so, another couple joined us, as well as some snorklers and we played with the fish. We returned to the beach Beach day once again, and with a Siesta behind us, we did some shopping. Lunches, and dinners were being stretched out now, knowing that our vacation is just about complete.
Our flight was at 2.45AM, and check out time is 12.00 Noon. For $ 30.00 they extended time to 6.30PM, which was great. That meant more time at the beach, access top more food and entertainment, another Siesta before our flight
We saw baby Karen for the last time, she was on stage prior to the show, dancing to great Latin music, and she was having a ball. Cute with pigtails, and dress smiling, and wondering about the lights shinning down on her. What a great memory.
The show "Latin Mix" finished at 10.45 PM, we hustled for our luggage, changed into our Canadians clothes, and headed towards the bus with a departure time from the hotel set at 11.20PM. We picked up more passengers from five others hotels along the way to the Airport. Leaving Cuba was more efficient than arriving. Our plane was due to leave at 2.45AM, so we knew that a wait was in order, then we are informed that there is a delay, its now 3.35AM, what bad news for two tired people. Karen is now sleeping with her head on my legs, when I hear that passengers for flight TS 709, should go the gate # 2 for departure, what a pleasant surprise were back on schedule. Another giant L-1011
Well folks, here are some CUBAN facts; bordering on the tropic of Cancer, CUBA has a typically tropical climate. Blessed with beautiful sunny days plus gentle sea breezes and tradewinds to cool the air. CUBA offers little difference between summer and winter weather. It's the largest Island in the Caribbean.
ETHNIC BACKGROUND - Most Cubans are a mixed race;CRIOLLOS, over 60% are from European descent.MULATOS, 22% are a fusion of European & African descent.MORENO, 13% are of pure African descent, and finallyA small % of Spanish and Chinese.
In conclusion, considering all aspects we highly recommend CUBA. Choose your package carefully, and as we did then enjoy the priceless beaches along the Peninsula of Varadero.

2006-04-12T06:47:00.000-07:00

HOLA FROM THE REVIERA MAYA, MEXICO - JOCK PICHETTE

It's March 23rd, 2001 twelve noons, and Brenda is already at the front door.A chip off the old block you might say. The inclement weather has brought us too much snow, a freak storm, but not unusual considering the climate changes throughout this world. It's definitely a motivator to reach Mexico as quick as possible. We managed to fight our way through three feet of snow piled up by the snowplow to reach Brenda's car parked on the street. The snow is almost rain, but steady. As we near Mirabel Airport, minor accidents are being tended to, with a huge truck off the road, and a bunch of cars with minor scrapes lined up behind each other. We reached the Airport, thanked Brenda gave her a hug, and she wished us a safe flight.
It goes without saying that the flight is delayed with our 16.15 departure time now set at 18.00. They tell us its something to do with the flight from Fort Lauderdale. So what's another two hour delay, once we reach Cancun all this will be behind us?
We took advantage of the time to relax in the restaurant, and from our vantage point we could see the snow letting up. We then walked off our barbecue chicken by roaming the vast territory of Mirabel Airport, and came to a stop at the magazine shop, and picked up the latest copy of Travel and some candy.Off we go to check point Charlie, and into the duty free shop. With only an hour remaining, we parked ourselves and began a game of "Vacation Wear" and check the monitor. Zippers no doubt were the in thing, on pants coloured Khaki, black, and beige. The traveler can leave the cold of winter zipped, and un-zip at the airport for his trip to the tropics.
Finally, the call we have been waiting for, would all 225 passengers for flight 458, please meet at gate 47, and help push the plane to the tarmac. Karen turn to me and say's did you know Jock that the Tropic of Cancer bisects Mexico into a temperate north and tropical south? Not really, well I got more good news for you, "The Mexican Riviera" the West Coast boast warm, tropical weather -Fantastic KC, but what about helping push the plane? Sorry, not finished -were heading for the Gulf Coast, and pleasant beaches. This is the Captain speaking, will the last two passengers please board the plane, as we are ready for take-off.
The power of Air Bus engines smoothly jet's us to 31,000 feet, to a great flight into Cancun Airport. The transition from Airbus to Customs to Air Condition busWith plenty of "Corona Beer" on board is fluid, now it's only a 45 Mexican minute ride to "The Copacabana" on the Mayan Riviera.
Stepping down from the bus at the "COPA" is special for many reasons;Its holiday time and Felipe with a smile and warm greetings registers KC and IWe are assigned a room at the "SOL" complex, meanwhile a waiter comes by with a tray full of cocktails for us, welcome to the Copacabana. The reception and lobby area is massive with a water fountain dead center while all around it, beautiful sofa's and chairs await you. The colour schemes are Yellow-beige with sparkling marble tiles. As you look up into a reverse cone shape roof the height is staggering at 100 feet. Log's from the jungle of Mexico are used as support beams, just awesome. Some 50 feet up, you can see beautiful painted flowersflowing along the walls.
The Copacabana opened in November of 2000, and the landscape is an Architects dream, because once we leave the lobby, you enter into a tropical jungle of splendor. Nature is very evident throughout this complex, with stone path's dimly lit, trees in place, and a bridge on stilts overlooking the lagoon stops you in your tracks. As you rest your elbows on the bridge, Latin American music awakens you, your body begins to move, and yes it's holiday time. But, were also tired, and we moseyed along to our tropical abode for the next seven days.But, the beauty just won't stop, as we turn into our complex of three stories high We are met with a gorgeous painted wall illustrating the beachfront and the Ocean. The entrance also has Mexican Olla's to each side, benches of design made for eight people, and no doubt opening your eyes to the Spanish traditions and culture. One flight of stairs, and we reach our room. It's a beauty; marble floor, marble bathroom, marble shower and all the amenities needed for a great stay.
Saturday morning March 24th and although we have a 10.30 AM meeting with the signature agent, it did not stop us from orienting ourselves with all the facilities. A total of six buildings exist in this complex, starting with Sol, followed by Brisa, Agua to our left while Palma, Luna and Arena were on the right side. Brisa and Luna were non-smoking units. The limestone type path was a bunch of esses strung together with Palm boxes, and benches in front of each building.Trees were saved along the path to create a jungle environment, so on many occasions you would zigzag around these slim trees. After the Agua and Arena buildings, you meet a ronde-pointe, and then a Spanish style arch introduced us to a "Boardwalk", approx 75 feet long shaped much like a banana on stilts. From this point you begin to hear the Ocean waves, the music from the "Tequila Bar", and people enjoying life around a signature pool. This idea deserves a 5 star rating.
Our tummies begin to rumble-hungry, so we hustled back to the main restaurant "La Selva" located off the main lobby. Two huge Spanish style doors greet you before entering a well-organized buffet style restaurant with a seating capacity of at least 500 people, and you also have the option to eat breakfast or Dinner on the patio at the rear of the restaurant. We did just that on a few occasions. Breakfast on the Patio
The food was above average, and a first for these eyes, on-tap beer (Dark or Light) and to boot (Red & White Wine) I was able topour our own beer/wine. We considered this a classy touch to a buffet style All-inclusive resort. Then you have Centenario Restaurant, Mexican food, but reservations were needed, and you had two dates available per stay. While you enjoyed dinner, mariachi band offered a touch of Mexican music.
Restaurant La Palapa served Continental Breakfast from 10.00AM-12.00 Noon, Snacks, Lunch-Grill 12.00 Noon - 17.00.If you want a 5-½ star rating idea, you'll find it here located a Mexican micro second from the Pool, and beachfront. It was difficult to just sit and enjoy a snack, the action surrounding La Palapa was on going with such characters as Banana boat man, The Pirate and his chimp followed by Bubbles and Package not to mention an intriguing couple "laugh some more honey", somebody just might be taken our picture.
AGUA MAN, My new name for Jocko is "Agua-Man"Never out of the water for more than one half hour at a time.I can hardly keep up with my new Agua-ManMore powerful than an "Ocean Buddy"More playful than an "Octopus"Able to swim great distances in a single strokeAble to hold his breath longer than Karen when trying to get rid of her hic-cupsYes - It's "Agua-Man"
Beach walk adventure needs a pair of running shoes, because you will run out of sand and run into "Sheet Coral and "Giant Brain Coral" with an assortment of crevices. If you manage to reach the point, you will then see Barcelo Hotel & Resorts.
Karen and I found the Ocean water warm compared to the pool water, so when we ventured into the pool for Aerobics, it was just a mater of a quick Rinse-shower, and walk in for some exercise
Our playground became the Ocean, and its variety of challenges.Boogie boarding definitely created some great laughs, not to mention rides up to the shore. A sweater is a must if you enjoy boogie boarding, otherwise a wicked burn will follow you to bed. Thursday afternoon, we were sitting on our lawn chairs, looking towards Cuba. The wind was acting up; sand was blowing into our faces, when we notice a Doctor and his wife entering the water. Both were into their 70's, and we feared for their safety, so we kept a close eye on them. To our surprise not only did they reach the buoyancy area of the waves, but floated like a buoy. The next day at breakfast we talked to Dr.Jason and his wife Melanie about their venture only to find out that they were expert swimmers.
The pool was a signature piece of beauty. It was designed to give all ages a way to enter and retreat from the pool. From beachfront, we would take a shower rinsing off the accumulation of sand, and then enter the pool at the lowest end.There were stairs of course at two locations, with the busiest located near the "Tequila Bar".
Another feature, which KC and I enjoyed, was Hammocks, approximately SEVEN were available just behind the Tequila Bar and Aquatic shack. It was so relaxing after a full day in the sun just to layback. You could literally fall asleep under cover or have a drink - your call. Water Aerobics took place at 12.00 Noon each day. Spanish lesson at 3.00PM, Movies at 6.00 PM, Gym just next to the pool was open all day.
Karen and I ventured on three occasions, first and most important "Chichen-Itza", a must - The famous site in the Maya World, was founded in A.D. 445 and inhabited until A.D. 1204, when it was abandoned. The city is divided into two areas: Old Chichen, built between A.D. 600-900; and New Chichen, constructed in the 10th.Century.The largest and most important structure is El Castillo (the Castle) with stairs ending in two large serpent heads. During the spring and fall equinox (March 21st and September 22nd) the sun casts shadows on the steps that create the illusion of a snake slithering down/up the face of the pyramid.
We had the luxury of an Air Conditioned bus and a very classy tour guide who knew is stuff about the Mayan people, as a matter of fact he was emotional about how nice these people were not to mention the suffering of years past.As part of our tour, he selected a Mayan market place, which only last year burnt to the ground, and some of the companies such as his tour company were instrumental in rebuilding the market place.
The bus came to a stop and we had 30 minutes to acquaint ourselves with the market place. With our tour guides description of Mayan people, we could pick a Mayan person in any ball stadium throughout North America. What a wonderful group of humans, as we browsed through their market place politeness surfaced immediately, and has our guide informed us, they have a big heart. We now know what the Yucatan Peninsula represents. All along the route tiny villages would catch your eyes with children void of toys playing in fields of rocks, bottles, and scraps of wood. These were not homes, they were shacks, yet if you looked above the house a television antenna or Satellite dish provided that family with an inkling of how we live in North America.
Here's what I learned -Chichen itza's reputation as the Yucatan's prize cultural attraction is well deserved. The combination of faultless ancient architecture set to a backdrop of stunning natural beauty provides for an esthetic experience not easily matched. Yet this alone is not why Chichen Itza, capital of the Mayan empire at its zenith, continues to fascinate some 1000 years after its creation. The site's glaring paradoxes are intriguing: a civilization both intellectually advanced and brutally savage; a culture crushed by colonization, yet still thriving in the language, customs, and hearts of many present-day Mayans. You can't claim to have seen Yucatan without a visit to Chichen…………..
We reached our final destination - Disembarking from our Air Condition bus we soon realized, this venture will require water, and more water. Luis our tour guide confirmed this felling when he began to find shade each time he had to describe "The Ruins". Unfortunately the entire site had minimal trees with each guide securing a spot of relief. Once we reached El Castillo, our guide bid us salut la visite, and hello sun.
EL CASTILLO, this pyramid built in honour of Kukulcan, rises in perfect symmetry from the neatly cropped lawn, culminating in a temple supported by pillars in the form of serpents. El Castillo stands as tangible evidence of the astounding astral understanding of the ancient Maya: the 91 steps on each of the four faces, plus upper platform, total 365 (the number of days in the non-leap year); the 52 panels on the nine terraced levels equal the number of years in a Mayan calendar cycle; and each face of the nine terraces is divided by a staircase, yielding 18 sections representing the 18 Mayan months. Even more impressive is the precision of El Castillo's axes alignment, which, in coordination with the sun and the moon, produces a bi-annual optical illusion. At sunrise during the spring and fall equinoxes, the rounded terraces cast a serpentine shadow on the side of the northern staircase. The sculpted serpent head at the bottom of the staircase completes the illusion. In March, the serpent appears to be sliding down the stairs precisely in the direction of the Sacred Cenote, while in September the motion is reversed. Climbing El Castillo to the top is exciting, and I did so using my hands as leverage, once I reached the top I was totally scared, especially when I looked towards Karen. There is not much space at the top level, and because of the degree of steps, looking down created a sensation of a long slide. One lady was yelling, I will die up here, no way I'm I going down. Then the calm which helped me, was a young Chinese boy he was definitely out of it, alone I presume so I approached him, and said follow me, I'm going down. I sat on my but at the last step, and told him to touch me with his feet, being tiny there was no way he could see beyond me which was great for him. We began our descent carefully, and making sure he was ok. His voice trembled with fear, until about half way, when I asked him to turn around so that we can grab the rope, and return to earth with more ease. He said, it's ok, I'm fine now - Thank you. I brought the camera to the top, and instead of Karen taking my picture at the top, I took her at the bottom.
A light-and-shadow lunar serpent-god, identical to that of the equinoxes, creeps up and down the pyramid at the dawn on the full moon following each of the equinoxes. Twice a year people from all over the world converge on Chichen to see this incredible phenomenon, crowding accommodations with calendrical precision. The exact equinox dates and times vary slightly from year to year, but are always on or around March 21 and September 21.
We found the sun to be powerful, especially when you are enjoying Boogie Boarding on the Ocean. We both received more sun than we should have, so we took a day off, and headed towards Playa del Carmen, a taxi drive shared at a cost of 7$ per couple. It's a typical tourist town with plenty of options, from acquiring pure silver, walking the boardwalk, sitting on the beach watching the Crystal dock, and tender their guest to shore, shop, eat, or just relax under a shade tree.
We visited Barcelo Maya Hotels & Resorts only one Kl from our complex. Just curious visitors, because when we arrived in the region a few days ago, the bus first stop was at this complex. It was a spectacular entrance with its high white walls, signage and lobby. We were well received and escorted throughout the grounds on a Golf Cart with Freddie at the helm, he was so proud and did a great job describing the newly constructed complex of a year and one half.1000 guest are accommodated each day with a sprawling beachfront with huts covering the majority of guest.
We will be taking home some great memories of the Mayan region:Starting with the Architectural Landscaping of our complex, just awesome, beautiful, relaxing and romantic in more ways than one.The Yucatan Peninsula, with its Quintana Roo drive through a Jungle, the villages but most of all the people - The Mayan People.
A most amusing incident occurred while having lunch at the local hotel in Chichen Itza. When I looked at a young boy dancing with his troop trying to raise a few pesos, he caught my eye. First because the dancers all had tray's on their head with glasses, a bad move would send glasses to the floor. All were dressed with typical Mayan cloth showing off the culture, gentleness, and pure beauty. But, this young lad all of 8 years of age, had beautiful dark eyes and although he performed his pirouette in unison with his partner some 12 feet away. I soon realized why he was hugging the corner wall, a swimming pool with some children of equal age were playing in the pool, and he was dreaming.

2006-04-12T06:44:00.000-07:00

Barcelona to Amsterdam - Jock Pichette (November 2000)

Our story began on a Sunday evening, November 8,2000 when Bill and Iny drove two excited travelers to Dorval Airport. KLM Royal Dutch Airlines flight 672, MD-11 Plane. It would take us about 6 hrs and 35 minutes to reach our first destination "Amsterdam Airport" and then transfer onto a Boeing 737 to our final destination of Barcelona, Spain. A further 2hrs and 10 min.
We had Turbulence over Boston, Mass, and even more when we reached Ireland. In all fairness to Airlines, the weather can't be predicted, because they do their utmost to make passenger comfortable and safe. It would be equivalent to riding a car on a bumpy road.
Our first glimpse of Amsterdam Airport illustrated a well-organized, clean looking, operation. Moving sidewalks to help you get from one end to the other with your luggage. Plenty of shops, fast food restaurants including a Burger King, and even a large grocery store. If you worked at this Airport, roller blades would be the ideal form of transportation.
Our connecting flight is starting to request passenger to gate 57. It's been a long day so far, with our early departure from Montreal we are a bit tired, but looking forward to Barcelona, Spain. Visiting new cities and countries has a way of supplying medicine to your body, it makes your trip so much easier to endure. We are about to reach Barcelona Airport, and informed that it's raining, 55 degrees, windy, and to adjust our watches for six hours ahead of Montreal time.
Adrenalin begins to flow with tiredness set aside we are two happy campers, we could not care less if the plane smacked the tarmac, as long as we can get off, collect our luggage and move on to our hotel located some 20 minutes away from the Airport. Cost for this ride is 3000$ Peseta's. .0089=1.00$ Canadian. If you think our dear Bill drives fast, you have not witnessed driver in Spain, these guy's travel at 140K, and smack walls for the fun of it.
We arrived at our hotel in the heart of Barcelona, at 12.30 PM their time. A bit early to take advantage of our room. We stored our luggage, and we decided to head out immediately even though we both looked like zombies. I found a barbershop, and Karen looked around the shops on Gran Vie de les Corts. Within 30 minutes, we were heading towards a most romantic square, "Placa Catalunya", and La Ramblas. It took us about fifteen minutes to reach the square.
Karen and I were amazed at the pace of the people, flying by us, we were at a standstill, and that's perfectly normal when visiting a new city for one reason, we are awed by the sights and they have an agenda. The Olympics took place here in 1992. You could see the changes. New buildings, hotels, sculptured Gardens, and plenty of new statues. You could actual find your way around Barcelona, once you realize Barcelona slopes gently upward from the harbour to the mountains.
The best way to visit Barcelona is by Turistic bus.There are 15 stops along a 28 km route. So we bought a two-day pass allowing us to get on and off as often as we wish. The one statue witch impressed us was the Monument of Christopher Columbus, which stands tall with his index finger pointing towards the American continent. Karen and I also tackled the "Temple expiatori de la Sagrada Familia" located on the Gaudi Route. We walked to it's top, by climbing too many stairs while circling and hugging the walls. Once above you get the best view of the Mediterranean Sea, not to mention overlooking a wonderful city.
The Bus had two lines, Blue and Red;The Old City Route, on this route we would visit the old quarter of Barcelona. The tour guide always mentioned Architectural gems. Starting as far back as the Roman Period right up to its maximum splendour in the medieval Gothic period.
The Port route, touched of course the Olympic Port, it's curved wooden walkway, and a modern day marina. The Olympic Stadium holds 150,000 spectators. We were impressed with the Passeig de Gracia route, which is located not too far from the Placa Catalunya, we have some pictures illustrating its beauty. Built by Gaudi it represents an expression of modernist architecture.
Our most impressive memory will no doubt be Placa Catalunya and La Rambla, which we frequented at night and people watched while listening to the fountains spraying water above the trees, and the glitter of lights all around us as we slowly sipped away a pint of San Miguel beer. We frequented a restaurant called "NURIA" right off Placa Catalunya, it was a great experience, but the one aspect of life in this city, which chokes you, is the smoking.
We endured five gentlemen puffing away while we ate, fortunately they left ten minutes after we arrived. La Rambla is an extension of Placa Catalunya. We kept a stroll along La Rambla for the next day. It's 9.30 AM and the street is jammed. There are two sides to this beautiful walkway, each having a sidewalk with all sorts of shops, selling everything from post cards, to gold, food, and clothing.
Each side has a street, with enough space for one car to park, along with hundreds of scooters. Then you have the huge walkway dead center, approximately 25 yards wide. More boutiques, many selling birds, magazines, flowers. You also have areas where you can sit and enjoy food and drink under canapé's/tarps. We picked a spot after some shopping to take in the action. You face the public of course, and it all becomes an urban carnival with street performers, Flamenco, Fortune-tellers, and only a few feet away, and American busker, is entertaining passers-by as he sings and clowns about a play on Broadway. Amazing stuff. One of my favourite authors W. Somerset Maughan declared the area, "the most beautiful street in the world".
Males and Females dress impeccably, dark shades are prominent, leather suits on the ladies are spectacular. Lots of tall beautiful people on both side of the gender scale, and they have a way of making colours Charcoal-Grey, and black outstanding to wear.
We found the people polite, nice, full of life, exciting, entertaining. Drivers respected pedestrians, and tons of cabs searching for fares. Our stay in Barcelona has ended, now it's off to the harbour, and the Royal Caribbean cruise line.
We had one bad experience, as we waited for our cab outside the Hotel doors. A cab pulled up, driver got out, and we thought he was our ride. After loading our luggage, we noticed that the meter was already running. How the cab business works in Barcelona, is that you have a running fare unless you make a deal. They charge you for instance 1,100 Peseta's for three pieces of luggage. We were informed that our fare should be 1,400-2,000 no more. Once we got in our cab we asked how much would it cost, he say's about 3,000-4,000 Peseta's.That's not right, we said. We were told half of that. He get's upset, so I get upset, please don't yell, we are the customers. He yells, back you Americans, all you want is deals, please pull over, I said. Ok, Ok, as he rants and raves with arms swinging. He drops us off at a corner, throwing our luggage to the sidewalk.
Within seconds another driver pulls up, and he is totally opposite, he can't do enough for us, and places the luggage in the trunk of the cab. . I asked how much to the port, he say's between 1,200 - 2,000 Peseta's. Let's go. We arrive at the port and the meter reads 1,400 pesetas. at which point we tip him with our remaining change, and his face lit up with joy.WE LOVE BARCELONA DISPITE THE ARROGANCE OF THE FIRST DRIVER.
It's now 2.30 PM, and we are entering the hanger to register for embarkation. Good system, lines are short and before you can count fifteen steamboats, were registered and on our way up the gangplank of the Legend of the Seas with our identification card and carry-on. We walked up towards the bank of elevators, gliding if you wish on these gorgeous carpets, while all about us the glitter of our home for the next seven days welcomes our presence. Without hesitation the elevators doors open, and the carpet on the elevator reads, Wednesday, when we hear a voice, going up with a ding as the door closed behind us.
Our departure time from Barcelona, Spain is set for Wednesday evening November 8, 2000 at 7.00PM, and tonight's dining room attire is Casual, being the first day on board. Our luggage is placed outside our suite, we unpack, and begin our orientation of the ship.
It takes about one hour to tour every deck familiarizing us with the locations of restaurants, dining room, and in our case it's the Romeo & Juliet Dining Room. Located on Promenade Deck, Champagne terrace, deck 4. Our table seats 8 guests. Our main waiter is Anthony who hails from India. He is a handsome man, extremely polite, and on our first night explains the procedures. Cink, from Turkey offers us all the liquids portions. There is also a wine steward, after dinner drink steward, and the maitre'd. So it goes without saying that we get good service.
Our Dining Table Guest are; Chairman of the Board is Tom, and his wife Anna from Panama City Beach, Florida. He is a retired police Officer/Jeweler while Anna was a Pharmacist. Gladys and Francisco recently retired are on a major tour, and come to us from Puerto Rico. Shirley is from San Diego, California, and Lois comes from Vallejo, California.
We all are on our best behaviour, as we introduce ourselves, before we enjoy our first meal on board. We are the main seating at 6.15PMAfter dinner, we have a variety of places to go, which include Entertainment Theater and the Welcome Aboard Show, and on this night it's "Make Mine Broadway". Staring the Royal Caribbean Singers and Dancers. Show time is set for 9.00PM. After the show we checked out the Casino, and then headed straight for our room.
Day two at Sea - Thursday, November 9,2000 and it promises to be a great day with Partly Cloudy Skies with a High of 57 degrees. We enjoy an all you can eat breakfast at the Windjammer Café on Deck 9. We walked for 1-¾ miles on the top deck, overlooking the ocean. Besides being formal night, this day is administration day, reserving tours, and Foreign Exchange bureau for some Lira's, then off to the Internet at the Centrum lounge. We have an appointment with all the honeymooners on deck 4 and we are greeted with a glass of Champagne, prizes, and wedding cake plus meet new friends from Michigan. We managed to get some sun on deck, and witnessed an Ice Carving demonstration. We played a game of mini golf, and Karen got two holes in one on a very professionally design course atop the cruise ship. We took in the Galley Tour on Deck 5, and then back to our cabin, shower, dress in our best attire, for the Captain's Cocktail Party in Anchors Aweigh lounge for 5.15 PM. Enjoy a drink and Chit chat with new friends, before our first Captain's Gala dinner. Each night after dinner, a waiter shows up with a tray of after dinner drinks, colour of glasses change each night. So Francisco began a tradition of having a drink each night until he got every colour. A fun thing. We also informed each other at these dinners what we did that day, because we all did our own thing. Tours would vary, and with this round table discussion, we would learn about each other's tours, and experiences.
We took in the show with our dinner guest, and were well entertained by Renato Pagliari. Great voice, and funny to boot.
Considering that this was a day at Sea, we certainly were kept busy. If you wish, you can just do your thing, and skip all the fanfare. There is a television in your room, offering a variety of channels for your pleasure.
Day three - November 10, 2000Livorno, Italy - Partly cloudy skies, 54 degrees.We took the PISA tour.Pisa is situated some 12 miles from Livorno, on the banks of the River Arno. It was once a republic and the city of commercial importance, and bears witness to this period with its majestic buildings and art works, the most famous being the Leaning Tower. The tower, Cathedral, and the Baptistry are all within walking distance of each other. But, you do tend to hang around the wonder of the Leaning Tower. It began to rain, so we strolled with ease throughout our stay.
DAY FOUR - Saturday, November 11, 2000Civitavecchia, Italy we were informed that it would be a great sunny day, 54F. We saw the ship enter port, and park for the day. A tremendous sight. Ciao, and off we go by bus towards Rome, the Capital of Italy, it's a hike, so the tour guide had plenty of information for us as we ventured our way towards the "Eternal City".
We were informed that we might see the Pope today, and sure enough, there he was, sitting under an umbrella taking in a mass. St.Peter's Square was jammed with visitors, we were about 100 yards from the Pope, and the police turned us back. We lined up for the Sistine Chapel, 1 ½ hours before entering, hugging the walls of Vatican City. It was worth the wait, wall to wall people in the Sistine Chapel. Since we had plenty of time in Rome, we walked to "Fontana di Trevi, a most impressive Fountain, and while on our way, touched the "Spanish Steps", Piazza San Pietro, Piazza Novona (Square) with fountain. Patheon, and of course the famous Tiber River which we crossed. This tour took a toll on our feet, and when we returned to the ship, we immediately returned to our suite, and called it a day. Need more time for this great city. We ordered from our dining room menu, and ate in our cabin.
Day Five, Sunday November 12, 2000Naples, Italy - Predicting mostly sunny skies today, and 64F. All the shops are closed today. It's 6.30 AM, and we are approaching the Port of Naples. A mountain looks over the harbour with many homes flourishing towards the top. The landscape very much similar to Mount Royal, except that its at the waterfront. From our balcony we watch the ship of 70,000 tons slowly penetrate the harbour, when all of a sudden it stops, and parks in reverse at the dock. The custom building with horses greets our ship some thirty feet below our balcony, so it goes without saying that this ship is many stories high. Ships are parked all about the harbour, including ferries. Cranes for unloading container ships are within eyesight. Modern tugboats sleep as we finally dock. Fisherman are cleaning their boats. We found out later that Naples is the second biggest port in Italy after Genoa.
We ordered room service so the waiter is at the door with our breakfast. On this day we decide to eat breakfast on our balcony while enjoying the view. After our breakfast we disembark from the ship, and head towards town. We find a church in the heart of Naples, and we enter to find only two natives, and one of them is a young pregnant women sitting at the front. Karen lights a candle, as I watched the local priest pacing the floor, just like a husband would do if that was his wife.
I wanted so much to talk to him, but every time we made a move in his direction he would saunter elsewhere. We departed and headed towards another church "Domo", which was located higher on the mountainside. We were now very much into a busy Italian community, with kids running all over the place, mo-peds speeding along with plenty of park cars, stationed in every direction as if they came home drunk last night, found a hole and parked.
We climbed many steps, through a passageway. All along galleries had flowers and plants beautifying the neighborhood. We finally find the church and enter only to find young kids being thought religions classes. It brought back many memories. We sat and watch.
We parted company, but rather than return to our ship we continued down a tiny street. Clothes were hanging across and over their balconies. Karen purchased a couple of gifts making the merchant so happy. As we walked along the street towards a street vendor selling fish & Sea food we noticed a lady on the fifth floor screaming at another merchant for a loaf of bread. Down comes a blue basket tied to a cord, and inside the money for the bread. T
The merchant takes the money from the basket, places the bread with change into the basket and up it goes. Only a few feet away another neighbour, but this time it was a Mother on the street screaming for her son to come out and send the basket down. On her bike she had three bags, which the son slowly pulled towards the gallery. That's when we noticed the whole neighborhood had blue baskets. The fish kiosk vendor was interesting you would think that the last place you would look for fish would be in the middle of a street. Oyster's, Snail's, eels crawling around a barrel, a variety of fish chilling on ice, crabs, and shrimps. What a great experience of every day life. Senior's were gathered at the corner sharply dressed enjoying the beauty of life chirping away a mile a minute. We took in a cute little restaurant, enjoyed a cappuccino, and Italian biscuit before heading back towards the ship
The afternoon was spent on a bus touring and reaching the highest peaks of Naples. We stopped for a beer at the Marina before returning to the ship.We dined, took in the Comedy show, and then went Latin dancing at the Viking lounge with Gladys and Francisco. Had a few drinks, then off to the toga party in the solarium, what a party, more dancing, and a lot of people wearing the bed sheets as clothing. After another drink, we packed it in about 1.00PM.
Monday, November 13, were at Sea. We slept in knowing that a full day at sea was the order of the day. Karen and I decide to order breakfast, and eat on our balcony. Play a game of who can see a ship on the horizon first. We spotted two, and we were hoping they would be a cruse ships, and close to ours. One was a fishing boat, while the other was a ferry with speed to waste. On this playground of salt water the ships were miles away. At one point our ship was sailing on the Ionian Sea that was 10,000 feet deep. Talk about sea creatures? We spent most of our day at poolside, playing some shuffleboard, and having a few drinks to pass the day. Dining was great, and passed on Showtime for the Casino, and then our room. After all tomorrow we reach Greece.
Crete is the most southerly and largest of the Greek Islands. It is rich in scenic variety, natural beaches, tall mountains, and gorges of astounding beauty, plains thick with vegetation and a wealth of historical relics.
Today, its panoramic Tour of Crete, and then we get off at the city center, and enjoy the City, and dinner on the square. Talk about a busy place, gold shops everywhere, leather goods and many ally ways to get lost in.
The Village is surrounded by stonewalls, to reach the shops and restaurants you must pass through these walls, and once you surface, you see tons of people window shopping, others inside buying gold, others hanging around the squares main statue, while restaurant beg for your money. The Morosini Fountain in Venizelou Square is the most popular monument built during the Venetian occupation of Iraklion. The 17th-century circular fountain is graced with marble lions. A great spot to have lunch and enjoy the view. It was at this café's that we met our dining room waiter "Anthony" having lunch just a table away. He even broke a beer bottle, which we never reported on his evaluation sheet. We dragged ourselves back to the ship for a siesta, the sunny day drained us.
As we passed through the walls there is a sight for sore eyes, as you not only see your ship, but many others it's a welcome sight. We dined, took in the show, and tried our hand at Jackpot bingo, Jock needed two more numbers and Karen three to win $3,000 US. We won our bed for the night.
Day eight - November 15, 2000Santorini, Greece - Great weather, sunny at 70F. Tender Boats will take us ashore on this stop. When we first looked out from our balcony, the Legend of the Seas was just approaching Santorini. We saw Rocks, lava rocks that is! The lights we did see were from homes atop the mountain. The tender boats can transport a minimum of 120 persons, and in this case we would be dropped off at the pier of Skala.
From this position a bus would zigzag up asphalt roads to the top. My first impression of Santorini was a city asleep. Homes and hotel are white and blue.Fira is the Capital, and many of the natives are away for the winter. Street are so tiny with shops lining the sides. This town landscape looks a lot like Ez, in France. You are either walking up a slope or down. Stairs get you to the next level. You can also use the cable car to ascend or descend, walk of course, taxis or Donkey's. Karen and I decided that we would take the Donkey down hundreds of steps towards the Pier.
Wending our way to the Donkey station, some 100 steps below to a plateau, we looked over the animals. It appears that if the owner, own five (5) Donkeys they would be tied up together. So if there were five persons wishing to go down or up, you would get that owners group. There were over 60 Donkey's parked.You can hear the owners yapping away and looking us over. A women standing next to us decides to run up the stairs as a pact of three donkeys heads her way. The husband follows, imitating a chicken, you're a chicken honey. Fear, my dear friends is not a time you take a donkey.
We have about another 500 steps before reaching the pier, and these steps are not equal, so your choice is to climb back up 100 steps, take the cable car down/taxi. Or walk, which by the looks of it would be safe, your only problem is that when you get down, throw your shoes into the garbage, because you will be avoiding or walking into Donkey dodo. Riding a donkey down the slopes is dangerous, these owners stop on a dime, while the donkeys behind you smacked into each other. Good thing some of them have gages around their mouth, or they just might take a bite of your leg. These Donkey's appear to be tame, it's the owner you got to be weary of! We slowly approach the stage where you get on these animals, since I'm first I get the leader, he is a small Donkey, attached to mine is Karen's Donkey, gray and much taller. Behind Karen three others are attached. Another couple joins, and they get on. The man is in is 70's, he is placed on the last Donkey while his wife get the fourth leaving the middle one free. She is much younger, possibly 40 years of age. We begin our descent on our Mules getting tossed from one side to the other. The owners, tells us to throw our bodies back, and relax. Right on. But he keeps looking at my Donkey's leg, and then up towards his eye's. I can see that my Donkey is slipping every now and then. At this point I can hear the lady in the back yelling to her husband, breath honey, breath honey. Obviously the man is scared, and I don't blame the man, if he falls, he could break his neck, bones or for that matter fall over the edge.
We are now about halfway down, when the owner spots a women walking down. Points to his lonely donkey, he can't talk English, but his gesture suggest she could get on. The lady is about 60 years old, and had every intention to ride the donkey down, but changed her mind, but when she saw us, I guess, she said why not. At this point you don't have the dock, to help you on, so the owner, who appears to be in his 60 himself, decides to boost this lady. It was a total laugh, she grabs the saddle, he puts his shoulder to her behind, and together they find a way to get her up. I can tell you one thing, when this lady got to the bottom, she was so happy, she did not want to get off until a picture was taken. Then Karen wanted a picture, and then the last two wanted a picture.
The owner tells me to get down, then points to Karen, wife, wife, and begins to put his fingers to his mouth, moola, moola, Karen say's he wants a tip. Yes, the man gestures. Does that mean if I don't give this guy a tip, Karen stays up?It was scary, but a total blast.
Day nine - Thursday, November 16, 2000Rhodes, Greece. We visited the Acropolis of Lindos, and the Ancient Kamiros. We also visited the new and old towns of Rhodes. The old town surrounded by medieval fortress walls welcomes you to its streets, only minutes from our ship. Almost everything of interest in Rhodes lies within these walls and its network of pedestrian streets and ancient alleyways. Plenty of souvenirs shops, gold smiths, and small café's.
Café's in Greece work this way, Karen and I wanted a beer with a Sandwich. We spotted a bunch of Café's, five as a matter of fact, and all together facing the town fountain. Lovely spot for a break. As we approach, yes sir, please take this table, good food. Good prices, while the other owner with his table cuddling the others, yells, yes, beer, beer, over here good seat upstairs. We are worried about the food, because they're not so quick with the food once you're seated.
The square is jammed, and we want a seat for our tired feet. We plunk ourselves dead center with the most aggressive owner, and order a great beer "Mythos", we get the beer quick enough, but it took 40 minutes to get a sandwich.These guy's run out of food. When we were in Santorini, we took over a visitors table who were leaving they informed us that they have been waiting for an hour, so if you like a club sandwich, and two glasses of water, take ours. We waited, but also left when we were informed that they had no tomatos, cheese, or bread. Just incredible.
Day ten, Friday, November 17, 2000Kusadasi, TurkeyThe Legend of the Seas is due in at 7.00AMCan't wait, and it's the one country Karen feared, only because of the old movies. As they ship approaches the port, you notice in the distance a small pilot boat, and this happens at every port, where the local pilot embarks the ship through a small door at sea level. This man is responsible for making sure the ship enters the port without a problem. As a matter of fact, when the pilot brings us out to sea at departure time, he gets an ovation when he leaves the boat from the many passengers on decks. As the ship approaches the pier, you will notice four men waiting two at each end of the ship, these men are responsible for tying the ship to the pier, so they wait for the rope to be tossed over at which point, they wrap the huge ropes around these mooring post, and off they go. Like clockwork, you notice a vehicle approach the boat and park their van or car at the gangplank, these are custom people and with their business cases embark the ship. I presume to officially welcome the ship, and verify the list of passengers. As we looked over the city from our balcony, we saw a modern waterfront, and extremely busy port. Ships were docked all around us, including ferries, and fishing boats heading out to see. The landscape illustrated office buildings, towers, and homes. Since our ship was only a stones throw from the streets, we saw hundreds of vehicles on the move, including our tour buses, and Taxi's. It' a total explosion encompassing, our ship being re-fueled, goods being brought to the ship, security preparing gangplank for disembarkation, the locals gathering, offering everything from books of the city, to rides into the market place by bike. Nothing to worry about, even the music from the mosques is welcoming.
Today tour will take us to, Ancient Ephesus.You see Turkish bath's along the route, but are not frequented as they were years ago. Homes today have their own. Ephesus is the best-preserved classical city on the Eastern Mediterranean. In ancient times, it was a great trading and religious city and was once home to the Temple of Artemis, one of the seven wonders of the Ancient World.
Today the remains are so well preserved that it is easy to get a feel for what life was like in Roman times. Behind the fence we could see the Amphitheater, which seated over 24,000 people
The market place is full of excitement, the music, the merchants, the gold in the windows, great looking leather jackets hanging from the shops, and the owner enticing you to come in. Alabaster vase, brass, copper, ceramic, you name it they have it. Part of the market place is covered, while alleyways seek your entrance. The carpet industry is considered art in this part of the world, and once inside, you get a lesson on how they manufacture the good stuff. A purchase here includes delivery to your house in Canada, tax-free.
We thoroughly enjoyed Turkey - We returned to our ship for a siesta. Our cabin looked great, Kenneth who has taken care of us for the past ten days, always kept our cabin spick and span. He liked Karen, and made sure she had a sufficient amount of chocolate each night before bed. He also wanted a good rating, so that he could get a day off.
Amazingly luggage was already placed outside in the hall, the whole scene, was climatic. We don't want the cruise to end, yet hundreds were already packed.
Tomorrow is it folks! we will dress casual for our last dining room dinner, we will exchange addresses with our new found friends, before returning to our room to pack our luggage, and take in the show which tells it all. Farewell Revue Spectacular Starring The Royal Caribbean Singers & Dancers in"RHYTHM NATION".
Our ten days on the Legend is over, but it's not so anti-climatic for us, since we will begin a three-day stay in Athens, Greece.
Our friends Tom & Anna are staying overnight before departure Sunday Morning. Gladys and Francisco depart on Monday Morning, while our California friends Shirley and Lois hit the tarmac Saturday morning.
ATHENS, GREECESaturday November 18,2000For the last time on the Legend of the Seas, we introduce ourselves to the great port of PIRAEUS, Athens, Greece. A most modern port, and the busiest so far. On our side alone there are 7 Ferries, and I mean huge ferries, which sails the Aegean Sea, the Mediterranean, and Black Sea's. So there is no doubt that Maritime shipping is a huge part of the Mediterranean's ports.
Despite its vast history, the Athens of the 20th century is a bustling modern city with overcrowded streets, traffic jams, pollution, and characterless modern cement buildings. The city has been criticized for lack of overall planning during an enormous population growth in the 19th and 20th centuries. When Athens became the capital of Greece in 1834, it was a mere village of 6,000 residences. The Athens of today is home to 3.1 million people and covers an area of 165 square miles.
Although at first glance we may not see the splendor of the Ancient Athens, the mental images of an historic civilization comes alive with the first glimpse of its most prominent architectural masterpieces, the Acropolis. Karen and I spent a morning, climbing and finding our way through one of the great wonders of the world, which actually consist of four ancient buildings; the Parthenon, Temple of Athena Nike, Karen's favourite, the Erechtheion, and the Propylaea. The acropolis was built during the apex of Greeks Golden Age in the 5th. Century BC. Throughout history, it has served as a military fortress and religious center.
Located 7 miles from the center of Athens, Piraeus has been Athen's port since early 5th century BC. Of course we needed a cab to reach our hotel, mostly because our luggage for some reason grew. We collected our luggage and headed towards the terminal, first you see limo's, then the black-market taxi drivers, followed by a long line of yellow taxis, BMW, Mercedes, great looking cabs. Black-market ( 40.00US) is in full force, so we joined the taxi line, which is the way to go. Our Taxi (20.00US), and pleasant. The Black Market people must have thought that we just got off the boat with a chicken under our arms or something.
Next stop, hotel Acropolis in the heart of Athens. We are in for a big surprise.Our room is ready, great news. Second, its only 10.30AM, and all our faculties are working perfectly. Excitement is brewing, after all we are in Athens, Greece.We ask the desk clerk, how to get to the Plaka? And she replies, zip, here, zap right, veer left, and bingo. As we walk towards our hangout for the next three days, we spot the Acropolis in the clouds. What a sight for sore eyes. Huge, and in our neighborhood. Excitement grows as we see a fountain ahead, but it's only an Archeological find. A sight we will often see during our stay. A sign directs us to the Plaka.
PLAKA, is the older area of the city, like old Montreal, but much older and located on the north slope of the Acropolis. You can walk the narrow cobblestone streets with winding staircases and old mansions, or take a rest in one of the numerous tavernas. Gold shops, tee's, leather and artisans products try to attract you into the many stores. There is many Greek's frequenting the area. Tavernas, are Café's to a certain degree. Tables are circular 24' with four chairs. We ate three times within these walls. The atmosphere outstanding, with a wide choice of food. Our favourite beer at this point was "Mythos".
Within range of our hotel, we ran into Dionysos theater, open air of course. Built in the second century AD. Seating capacity of 17,000, we were informed that to this day they use the Amphitheater for concerts. We also took in the Acropolis Museum, Tower of the Winds, Hadrian's Arch, and the Zeus Temple. From this point on, we used the public transportation (150 Drachma's each) to reach Syntagma. When we got of the bus, I felt as if I was in time Square. Buildings all around us had advertising posted reaching towards the skies. Buses, cars, scooters, and noise pollution bounced off our ears. Wall to wall people, American style fast food joints. Just awesome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!We ask for direction to the famous market place, and ultimately we found it. Dear friends, its huge, its big, its wide, and its long then the meat vendors catch your ears. You can't tell where one kiosk begins or the other ends. Is there a fight going on? Then why are they screaming? Attraction! We turn the corner, and more kiosk, but this time, its seafood and fish. We are now walking with our hands in the pockets of the man in front, the floor are wet from the ice keeping the fish fresh. One person was buying shrimps, and as soon as the customer placed her order the vendor went ballistic, screaming at a higher pitch, to let the people know that he is filling an order. Amazing strategy. Then dry goods section, and at this spot, we bought some peanuts.
From this point we spotted a church a few blocks away, and paid our visit to our first mosque. I sat back and watched people kiss statues covered with plate glass, not one, but many who sauntered into the church, solely to kiss the glass.
Back on the street, our sense of direction brings us back to Vasilissis Olgas.Our next stop the Parliament Buildings. We are informed that they are only twenty minutes away. Great, need a beer, great Idea. Finally we reach the parliament bldg. and we definitely want to see the changing of the guards, and so does 150 pigeons along with half that many visitors. It's the attire these guy's wear that catches your attention. Pom-pom laden clogs, short pleated skirts (Foustanela), and pony-tail-tasseled hats. On the other hand, a young gay man, was drooling standing next to Karen, I could not help see the good-looking young man stare down the two guards. Both guards were at least 6'5" tall, the black coloured jacket just about covered their butt's, with white leggings teasing our friends imagination. The young man never budge, then came the changing of the guards. To our left, we could hear footsteps, haw, more guards, three as a matter of fact. They approached the steps, the middle guard began sounding orders, at which point some fancy stepping started, and like puppets, the fluid motion of these guards, illustrated a step these eye's never seen before. Somewhat like half a can-can steps, with a twitch of the toe forward, and for good luck, clogs with spikes, scratched the surface like a horse.
They repeated these steps until a complete change was made. I guess you are wondering what happen with the young gay individual? Well, he did follow the retreating guards.
Now its our turn to retreat, and we decide a walk would do us good considering that we are so tired, and walk all the way back to the Plaka. Great, we stop at the first bar and order a nice cool beer spending some 90 minutes just surveying the people as they walked by our café. Even a beggar with her hands wrapped with bandages, cheerfully asked for coins. On this night we would be back for dinner, evaluating our stay in the Mediterranean.KC and I learned so much on this trip, with notes that Barcelona is a definite return for more than a few days Just as Rome needs a week or more.With our cab ordered for early departure, we hit the sack early.Our trip to the airport was smooth, exciting, because soon we will be in Amsterdam, enjoying half a day plus.
AMSTERDAM - Schiphol Airport is a modern Airport, and we got around by using moving sidewalks. This was our stopover getting to Barcelona, Spain as well as returning to Montreal from Athens, Greece. Most of the Gates have KLM/Northwest Planes. You can see a few 747, Asian connection on the tarmac.
On our return trip, we had a longer stay over, so we took advantage of this time by touring Amsterdam. From the Airport, we journeyed by Mini-Van first towards the countryside. We actual drove on a Dike separating higher grounds from lower. Many dams exist in this country, otherwise parts of it would be underwater. We visited a cheese Farm, and Clog Manufacturing plant along the way. While in the city, a diamond factory was visited as well as touring the canals by boat.
It's a most intriguing city, and when we passed the Red Light District, we saw a dancer in the window attracting our attention. Two young men from Bombay, India were flabbergasted, and questioned the driver about the lady in the window. We were told that Amsterdam has 2,000 registered prostitutes, regulated by the government. Each prostitute is self employed and incorporated. Others do exist, and use pimps. We were also in an area where the criminals live, as described by our tour guide, these people own expensive property. Some homes sell at 2.5 Million and up. Drugs from what I understand are legal to a certain degree.
We would have to conclude that nightlife in Amsterdam is awesome, covering every aspect of life. The canals, one after the other, and the boat you see in the postcard, actually stops at Museum during the summer months.
The homes as you can see are not too wide, solely for tax reason. They are long and thin. Each home has a hook installed at the top end, with a pulley as a means of getting furniture from the street to the windows, which are larger than the door, or stairway. It's not unusual to see an apartment, leaning slightly.
Bicycles, take a look at the picture, 600,000 of them hang about the city. If they are not locked to a pole, salut la visit. The tour guide informed us, that the canals we sailed on have 1 meter of Bikes, 1 meter of automobiles, and 1 meter of water.
This tour was more than we expected. We returned to the Airport to have a snack, and a bit of duty free shopping before heading home. Amsterdam would be the type of city, you spend two days, one day for museums, one day to sightsee, and take the train to our next destination after a nice dinner at a café along the square.
Enjoy the trip.

Jock

pichejovila@videotron.ca

2006-04-12T05:46:00.000-07:00

JAMAICA IN JUNE AT RIU TROPICAL BAY

The motto of Jamaica is, “Out of many – one people”

JUNE 11-18TH, 2005

From the street named after a great U.S. President, the buzz began early on June 11th, 2005 – The excitement of a vacation in Jamaica was too much for Judy & Graham who only one week ago were married at the Mormon chapel in LaSalle. The “Bug” has reached out in welcoming Judy & Graham to the world of travel. It was pure joy for Karen and Jock to see beaming faces as we met them at another famous name the Pierre Elliot Trudeau International Airport. They were first in line at the West Jet Ticket counter and proud of it!

The Caribbean first “Aqua Babies” at the front lobby of the
Riu Tropical Bay.

Although we are early on all counts, the wait is exciting. We yap over coffee at the west end of the airport. Immigration is smooth, and security personnel needed a ladder to reach graham’s upper body with his scanner. The weather in Montreal is boiling not to mention humidity.

We are being paged to embark for our flight 6554 which will take three hours and fourty-eight minute to reach Negril, Jamaica. Our carrier on this day is West Jet - Judy & Graham have front row seats, as we sit one back in 2D & F. West Jet personnel are comedians, and make the pre-flight routine most pleasant. The Boeing 737-700 will be flying at an altitude of 38,000 ft. prior to take-off, flight attendants were called to their station to demonstrate flight safety regulations. The next procedure is to cross check, doors and other pre-flight rules. Judy made us laugh as she heard “crash test” instead of Cross check.

At this point the Boeing jet is moving big time down the tarmac, and kisses it good day, as we become airborne! Soon “we be jamming” in the Jamaica - Yeah Mon!

We are comfortable in our leather seats, as we reach an altitude of 20,000 ft. at speeds of 454/mph. On the back of each seat, a mini size television offers a choice of channels. Our route will be above the “87”, as we head towards New York, Connecticut and North Carolina. We can see the trolley with box lunch heading our way. The lunch contains, Ham & Cheese sandwich, an extra piece of cheese, some nice tasting sesame crackers and dad’s cookies. You have a choice of liquids from a cool Ginger Ale to hot drinks. Booze starts at $ 5.00.

It’s 1.20 p.m. and we are 40,380 ft above North Carolina traveling at speeds of 535/mph. In a couple of hours we will be landing at Sangster Montego Bay airport. The rectangular airport is not big in comparison to Dorval, but that Caribbean flavour takes over and you do the hustle towards immigration. Beyond immigration, signs direct you to the conveyor belts. The luggage is slow to reach you but then again who cares. With luggage in tow, we must seek out the Toursmaison rep. We are lead towards a counter, but the man behind it, is asleep? I knock on the counter, and to his and our surprise, he is not the rep. Finally we see the rep. running towards us. At this point a gang has formed, so he distributes the welcome briefing documents, and points to our bus driver – follow him, we do but at the start he brings us towards the wrong bus. We are now tucked away in our A/C older bus, Judy & Graham on one side and us on the other.
Being first does help, because in reality, the drive towards the resorts is our tour towards Negril, Jamaica.

Our driver is a tall man, approximately fourty-six years old. He informed us that he is married with five children. A nice chap who loves to talk about certain “potions” Jamaican male’s drink after a days work, or while relaxing on the weekends. You certainly get his drift.

The dynamite recipe – ingredients.

a raw peanut
a bottle of Guinness
the yellow of an egg
Molasses

The secret is to mix the yellow of the egg with the molasses before combining. Now start chasing women. Yeah Mon! He had such a smooth way of saying “Yeah Mon” after every sentence or word.

Every now and then we hit a small village, and everything appears to be happening, from shoppers, to walkers, and friends chating away while looking in every direction as they chew the fat. Gretting a Jamaican means eye-to-eye. Not belly-to-belly. Pop. Over 2.5 million, and you will find as many Jamaicans in major cities. Toronto is Canada’s most popular destination. As a matter of fact, when you mention that you are from Canada, they will respond I have a cousin, uncle, sister, or brother in Toronto.

To see goats tied to a twig is frequent, and cute to boot. To our right is the Ocean, and small fishing vessels wait for another day as the rain shows its ugly face. I would think that rain is not bad, because it’s hot in Jamaica, and the cool breeze off the water must be a welcome feeling. When you approach these corners, gridlock exist with a truck, bus or taxi all waiting for the other guy to move.

We are informed that Riu Tropical Bay is minutes away as the rain subsides. Excitement grows throughout the bus as we search for that perfect entrance along the road. Names of resorts we looked at in our brochures back home, flash through our windows. The range is awesome from a specialty attraction, to a two ** and of course a *****. The bus veers right into our complex “Riu Tropical Bay”.
Welcome – Yeah Mon!

The lobby is typical, and we are offered drinks from the get go.
Registration procedure, key distribution and overall service from the clerk’s at the desk to bell boys rate big time. Time 5.00 p.m.
Arriving in most resorts after two p.m., means eating in the same clothes you wore on the plane. With our room key in hand we are pointed towards our room. In this case we meander down a ramp towards ground level. The first thing you notice is the beauty of the landscaping at this resort. You can even learn a few tricks from the gardening crew, we use “Machete’s” as part of their grooming skills.

As we approach our complex, a wedding gazebo is available for weddings. Not as big as “Riu Jalesco” in Mexico, but who cares when you wedding is in Jamaica. The complex is Mauve in colour and three story high. KC & JP have 2118, while JC & GL have 2117. Side by each.
The rooms are a good size, extremely comfortable, with a mid-room closet on one side with a safe for your valuables. The opposite side has addional storage space, plus a dispenser for hard liquor (4) taps while below a fridge with a variety of soft drinks, beer, and mixes is at your disposal. You certainly have a choice now! Considering that 24 hour snacks are available. Hopefully you like the Ocean or pool side, otherwise book yourself another vacation at a two star resort with sandwiches and soft drinks only – please make sure they have a comfortable bed, hammocks, good beach & pool chairs with no loud music.

Once beyond this intermission, you have a full size classy bathroom with a mirror, and full size towels. Our balcony overlooks the lush green ground. Throughout the open air courtyard - Palm, banana, and a variety of tropical trees awakens your feelings of what “Eden”. We have table and chairs, and even an extendable rack to hang your bathing suits. Great start!

You can’t help but try the bed, tired and all – it’s a ritual.
Once beyond your fourty winks, you gradually find your way to the buffet dining room.

Ocean Front – Is the largest Ocean front we have ever visited. The sand is dark, and has ripples. Clear water with plenty of small fishes to play with. There was a Baby Stingray, bur kept its distance. It’s a natural bay – named “Bloody Bay”

2006-02-22T10:49:00.000-08:00

Singapore, Bali and Honh Kong - 2004

We can almost say that this vacation came about while flying to the Caribbean.
Because when we prepare our carry-on luggage, each zippered compartments has a purpose such as a vault to protect our passports, tickets and a few coins. Another area contains Tylenol, camera, films not to mention my diary and a few pens. Next, earplugs, neck rest’s, crossword puzzles for Jock, at least two travel magazines and a novel for Karen - settle in the largest pocket.

Once aboard, it’s obvious that our seats will have all of our attention, and sometime during this flight the travel magazines will surface. Ideas will fly, anecdotes from previous vacations pop into our minds, and there is a good chance that “sublimely” - part of this world will tickle our fancy. We booked this trip in April of 2004, and cashed in our first ticket on September 20th, 2004.

Air Canada, Montreal-Toronto
Cathay Pacific, Toronto-Hong Kong with a stop for refueling in Vancouver.
Cathay Pacific, Hong Kong – Singapore
Garuda Airlines, Singapore to Denpasar
Cathay Pacific, Denpasar – Hong Kong
Cathay Pacific, Hong Kong – Toronto with a stop in Vancouver for refueling.
Air Canada, Toronto – Montreal

We headed towards immigration at 11.10 p.m for our connecting flight to Hong Kong. Like us, many travellers are tired as we find our way to gate C33. The airport is awesome, huge, clean, and makes you proud to be a Canadian.

Our A340-300 has all the emenities to produce not only a smooth flight, but offerings of food, blankets, ear plugs, and television on back of each seat.
We arrive in Vancouver at 1.35 am pst! 4.45 am est. and can’t disembark as the re-fueling takes about one hour. The next leg is 6,387 miles to HK and it will take 13.23 min. So on long trips we remove our shoes. Cathay gave us a nice souvenir pkgs. One of the items is a pair of nice thin socks which we put on immediately.

We are flying at twice the speed of an F1 race car at an altitude of 31,000 feet.
At one point we are over the Gulf of Alaska, passing Juneau and Anchorage.
We tried to get some rest, but just can’t seem to doze off. Out comes a snack as we are now over Seiberia as they offer a snack of Sushi, Bisquits, fruit cup, blueberry bar, and any drink you little heart desires.

Unfortunately, KC has a major headache, and she is now falling in love with her television as she leans forward to relieve the pain, body aches, and stale cabin air does not help. Face mask is a good idea on long flights!!!! At this point KC jumps to her feet for some exercise, walks back and forth from our seats to the bathroom and back. This was a procedure often repeated during this flight.

KC – outloud, and dreaming, she wonders “would I ever do this again” thirty hours of mostly flying, and sitting around airports. Seat belts hardly fits! I feel like a giant in these seats. Headache and so tired. But after the break H.K. to Singapore, headaches gone so things are looking better. Is it possible I already had three breakfasts? Sushi for breakfast? It’s so confusing. H.K. Airport – modern, quite,clean, café latte from Starbuck’s – so International feeling. ($45.70HKD). .

Did I mention the lovely Cathay Pacific crew – gentle, polite and very skinny. Even the guys. I bet they have no problem getting the seat belt around them. Can’t wait to land and have a nap. Wake up, KC, wake up.

We are now over East China Sea, at an altitude of 35,000 ft sitting on fluffy white clouds, going 520 miles/hr. Never have I witnessed clouds so thick, and so high? Our captain just informed us that he is starting is descent into Hong Kong Airport, what a relief and elated to finally reach Asia. From my window the Airport is massive, and parked planes illustrates Asian carriers, like – Atlas Air, Dragon Air, JAL, Singapore Airlines and China Airlines.

We disembark, and touch Asian soil – and we feel special, big city – big airport – and well received, as English is very much part of their Airport language. Since our luggage is already off to Singapore, the only thing we have to do is check in, and chill. We are due to board at 8.15am, our final leg which will take 3.20 minutes. My throat is sore, KC’s headache is almost gone, but the fact that we are so close to commencing our Asian vacation, the adrenaline is flowing, and we are dancing our way towards a coffee shop using moving escalators.

We enter the bathroom, and wonder? Are these the real thing? So immaculate, I almost asked the sanitary worker if I can use the toilets? But he was so busy scrubbing down the urinal bowls. He was dressed all in white, with a mask, white gloves and a brush. Never have I witnessed such cleanliness!

No paging here, you must be at the gate when they tell you, and sure enough as we arrived, the agent waved us in, check our ticket, and down the gangplank towards our B777-300 to an almost empty plane. Talk about service, not that we had poor service prior to this flight, because that’s all you do on these flights, is eat, drink, and eat, and drink. You can even order during the flight as well.
We were on our way at 8.55 am, and the view was spectacular as we slowly work our way up to 36,000 ft. We can see Hong Kong bldg’s -The apartments buildings, condo’s are high, and as KC mentioned “It’s a vertical city”. Bldg’s are flanked in every which way. It would have been nice to arrive at the old airport, because, apparently you flew between the bldg’s. At about 10.55am, we were over Ho Chi Minh City, cute name, right!

Again we see huge white clouds, so white - Santa Clause would be proud.
Our plane begins its descent, and the view is spectacular as we follow the coast. The Ocean is busy with fisherman boats, the coast line unravels natures colours of yellow, gold, rust, and green. As we reach 4,000 ft, I’m looking for sharks, but no luck, only clear water illustrating a bunch of reefs as we bounce for the final time through a corridor made just for us. Finally, we touch down at Changi International Airport and we have a long drive to our gate.

No matter what airport you might be in, you always worry about your luggage but in Singapore the airport is so nice that you spend time just looking around at the beautiful architecture of the bldg. The conveyor belt is full of luggage, and our two pieces are easy to identify, because we use stickers from our previous travels. There they are, as they flip flop from the opening towards KC’s side, so I run over to take them off the belt. Now for our ride to our hotel, we pass through the doors and all we can see is 251 signs, good thing our man was tall, because he was standing behind the crowd, and we could see our name – what a relief. He was such a happy camper, he presents us with an envelope full of information about our stay in Singapore.

Our hotel was nice, comfortable, and clean. Off the main road, but easy to access. Opening the door to our fourth floor suite was pure medicine, everything about this room shows comfort with a playroom type bathroom, a bedroom large enough to practice your putting, a great writing desk, a bed we needed for our first leg of the trip, with plenty of storage space. When we asked for a wake up call one day, we awoke on our own, and went down for breakfast, when we return to our room to prepare for our day, we answered a knock at the door, only to find out that the personnel from the hotel were worried about us and came up to check why we did not answer the wake up call – nice touch.

One evening we decided to take a walk, it was 11.30 pm we felt revitalized, so why not walk the street of one of the safest city in the world. No jaywalking here, you respect the law – not KC & Jock, but only because traffic is less, and we are between blocks. . Just across from our hotel there is a café, still open with people enjoying food. In one case, I wondered when the table would collapse with all the quart bottles of beer. As I looked none of the guy’s seemed drunk nor were they noisy as we hear on Crescent or St.Denis just a bunch of guy’s having fun. As we pass 7-11, the place is jammed with customers. Another café with young males chopping away at some food, again very quite. Most bar’s along this strip appear to be closing up, chains around chairs and tired owners moseying along. Many customers on the bus heading home. Crickets, talk about noisy, the street has plants between the sidewalk and streets, and they must be having a convention, because – the decibels are high!. On the way back we drop into the 7-11, pick up a few goodies and back to our room for some food and drink

The following is a description of the tours waiting for us. You must remember that we are two tired travelers with eyes so big, they must have wondered if we are on speed. A wake up call is arranged for 5.00pm.

Sept.22nd - Upon arrival, transfer to Rendez-vous hotel. Take time to relax at the hotel or enjoy the rest of the day at leisure exploring the city – dream on buddy, its shower time, and some linen for a few hours. Dinner is a choice of local, western cuisine served on a self-cooking plate of sizzling hot rock by the Singapore river at Boat Quay……………………………………Singaporean’s latest sunset haunt. After dinner enroute to the world’s largest fountain, take in the beautiful sight of the central business district via Benjamin Sheares Bridge……………………. Continuing to Bugis Street, our guide will take you for a stroll at the night market or’passer malam’ where you may chance upon a bargains you never imagine. ………..Our last stop for the evening is at Raffles Hotel for the sample of Singapore’s very own concoction, ‘the Singapore Sling’. …………..As the saying goes, ‘if you have not been to Raffles, you have not been to Singapore’.

Every time we made a move, from Airport to Hotel or Hotel to meeting place, a bus was at our doorstep. The a/c mini bus or tour bus was a great added feature. It gave us a different view of Singapore and its people. In both instances our meeting place was “Suntec Mall”, and then joining a bigger groups for our tour. Driving Singapore, Bali, and Hong Kong is done from the right side! Singapore is immaculate, no littering or spitting is permitted.

If you ever visit Singapore, prepare yourself for a shopping – and you will have a choice from Haute couture, to malls with fixed prices, and then the wheeling dealing shops who price high, knowing that you will barter for a better price.
Boat Quay, Quay is pronounced “Key” – Known as “the belly of the carp” by the local Chinese because of its shape, this area was once notorious for its opium dens and coolie shops. Now it’s a beautiful mix of waterway, Canal Bank, with choice of restaurants while just a stone throw away towers flirting with the clouds is home to banking, and investment conglomerates. I learned the following while visiting Singapore – Two areas of the city center are relatively new, having been built atop huge parcels of reclaimed land. Where the eastern edge of Chinatown and Tanjong Pagar once touched the water’s edge, land reclamation created the present day downtown business distrioct, which is named after its central thouroughfare, Shenton Way. This wall street-like district is home to the manificent skyscrapers that grace Singapore’e skyline and to the banks and business that have made the place an international financial capital. Marina Bay, and Suntec City are two more area derived from reclaimed land.

For dinner along the Quay, we tucked ourselves into the Sizzling Rock, a restaurant with a flamboyant owner who gave us great seats overlooking the harbour and pedestrian wallk. KC had Salmon while Jock enjoyed a steak from New Zealand. Although we were tired from our long day, we had a great time.
Singapore Slings, and the Raffles Hotel. One of my favourite authors, William Somerset Maugham spent time here. We walked up a spiral staircase to reach the “Longbar”. I wondered if Somerset sat in the same chair I did. The music was great with a women band leader, pounding out feet stomping tunes. The athmosphere created a feeling of belonging, so much so that your tiredness understood the charm of this place and gave us the energy to keep up our pace. Waiters with tray’s of Singapore Slings move about with ease. The bathrooms are located on the outside of the Longbar room, and lucky for me to need a “Slash”, so off I go through French doors, and along a walkway, which oversee the Atrium/courtyard. You can’t help but stop and look at the most beautiful tropical display of Palm tree’s, arbors, plants, and seating arrangements to include privacy or straight out in the open, you choose because it’s a paradise that keeps you around, and coming back for more.
Visiting in the fall was good timing for us because January to June is the peak months.

Upon return we hit the sack and enjoyed a good night sleep. Sept. 23rd – An orientation tour of the city this morning begins with a drive through the “Colonial Heart” for a view of the Padang, cricket club, parliarment house, supreme court and city hall. Then enroute to Thian Hock Temple, one of the oldest temples in Singapore, the coach will pass Chinatown before stopping at Mount Faber for a panoramic view of the harbour and on to a local handicraft centre. The tour then continues to the National Orchid Garden located within the beautiful Botanic Gardens. Our final stop at little India will entrance you with the scent of joss sticks, jasmine and spices.

We had a nice breakfast, and we must admit the food here is outstanding, and enjoyable. What we found interesting while having breakfast is the people, we sat near a window facing the street corner. At 7.30 am the people are slowly walking to work, very similar to us. It’s a bit grey with light trying to break through. As it reaches 8.00 am, you start seeing small little trucks with labourers sitting together squashed together like a peanut butter and jam sandwich. These are the immigrants who perform tasks native deplore. On the other hand, the business people of Singapore, are one of the best dressed specimens of human beings. Please don’t get me wrong, nice casual is very prominent as well. We also notice that even though the sun is absent, natives tend to seek protection under canopy’s etc. – We are in the lobby by 8.30 am, waiting for the mini bus to Suntec Mall for our Day Tour……….

The Padang Area – It’s a large field which embodies Singapore Recreation Club at one end, and Cricket club at the other. Flanked by City Hall, parliament house, and Supreme Court . It goes without saying, the area is swanky.
Thian Hock Keng Temple, “the temple of Heavenly Bliss” one of the oldest temples in Singapore. Part of Chinatown, we did what most visitors do, light three jasmine sticks, and prayed, not is much as some Chinese were doing, but respectful. To light these sticks, took some doing, because I did not know which end to light, and I was not the only one, because I forgot to oil the stick, and turn it right side up. Fun, and not so embarrassing.
Mount Faber is typical of sightseeing, similar to Mount Royal. You get a panoramic view of the Harbour, and you do see why, this country is huge on distribution of tonnage. Ships are everywhere, even parked waiting to unload. We did see the cable car’s which can be taken from the top of MT Faber or at the World Trade Centre Ferry Departure. Some have glass bottoms.
We did get a close look at the 12 story “Merlion” which is half lion ,half-fish creature during our Bumboat tour – Include the boat here
Next we visited a typical handicraft centre.
Our final stop was the National Orchid Garden located within the Botanical Gardens. Awesome Orchids, but much too warm for two Arctic dwellers.
Little India was different than anticipated, people were not so pushy – just business people trying to make a living.
Esplanade Park and Queen Elizabeth Walk, two of the most famous parks in Singapore, were established in 1943 on land reclaimed from the sea. Reclaim land is something you hear from all the tour guides. Theatre on the Bay is a great example of Architectural purpose, the building which is a double dome structure is known locally as The Durians, because their spiky domes resemble halves of durian shell – the “spikes” are sun shields. Karen’s named it Bug’ eye’s. We did see a fruit which looked exactly like this bldg – it was the stinkiest fruit in the world, once beyond the smell, it was delicious.
HIMIDITY – if you enjoy humidity this is your Country, no wonder natives walk slower. In my case four blocks of walking and I begin to sweat- Big time.
7-11 depanneurs are very popular, not big, but certainly well organized with every product you might need.
A taxi to our river cruise $ 5.00 cdn. In school, first language is English! In years past, a family of ten would pay $ 10 Sing.$’s/month for a home, and share one bathroom. At the present time its $80 Sing.$, and they have their own bathroom in a 800 square ft. home.
Private homes begin at $ 300,000 Sing. $’s, while the mansions fetch $ 30,000,000 sing $’s.
The Penny Black, a Victorian London Pub was a joy to visit. Located at the Boat Quay. It must do extremely well considering that the banking industry is just around the corner. Declan O’Donnell managed the place.
After our boat cruise, we found a Tony Roma’s restaurant, by acciodent of course as we hustled in the Suntec Centre Mall. ($ 72.60 Sing. Dollars) Draft beer 8.90 – Crispy Chicken $ 14.50 – Babyback Half $ 20.50 – Café Latte $ 4.50 – Apple Crisp $ 9.90. All in S$’s. It was delicious!
Airport Departure tax, $ 15.00 SGD
$1.00 CAD = 1.33974 SGD
You know your paying taxes when you see “+++”

The country is made up of one main Island, Singapore, and around 60 smaller ones, some of which p like Sentosa and Pulau Ubin – are popular retreats. The main Island is shaped like a flat, horizontal diamond, measuring in at just over 42km (25) miles from the east to the west and almost 23km (14 miles) north to south. With a total land area of only 584.8 sq.km (351 sq.miles). Singapore’s geographical position, sitting approximately 137km (82 miles) north of thr equator, means that its climate offers iuniform temperatures, plentiful rainfall, and high, high humidity.

I hope I do justice to Singapore – In conclusion, Singapore is like a new born, your eyes pop from its beauty. They people have a caring attitude, and although the streets we walked were immaculate, a visit to Little India, Chinatown, explains why its present state exist. They renovate and make things better for their people. They reclaim land to expand. A visit to the habour illustrate why Southeast Asia converges on Singapore – It’s the world busiest port delivering the highest tonnage to the world. We heard about the penalty for littering, chewing gum, spitting etc. even the cane as the worse punishment. – If I may stray for a minute, discipline is not a bad thing. You learn quicker, you become smarter, and produce better with the end results that cost is reduced in every sense of the word.

The country is made up of one main Island, Singapore, and around 60 smaller ones, some of which p like Sentosa and Pulau Ubin – are popular retreats. The main Island is shaped like a flat, horizontal diamond, measuring in at just over 42km (25) miles from the east to the west and almost 23km (14 miles) north to south. With a total land area of only 584.8 sq.km (351 sq.miles). Singapore’s geographical position, sitting approximately 137km (82 miles) north of the equator, means that its climate offers uniform temperatures, plentiful rainfall, and high, high humidity.

The Changi International Airport is equal to most modern airports. It has duty free shops, restaurants, and clean, clean bathrooms. You have a choice of transport to and from the airport at reasonable cost.

While we were waiting for our plane to Bali, a gentlemen with his son sat next to us, he looked kind of nervous. He was loquacious, and it did not take long before he turned his attention to us. He introduced himself as Gde Berata, President of Indonesia Surf Life Saving Association. He was proud of the fact that he just attended a conference on life saving in France. Once he found out that we were off to Bali, he gave us his card, and said “if you need any help in Bali” don’t be shy call me. Thank you, Mr. Berata, I will definitely call you if I’m drowning.

SIX FULL DAYS IN EXOCTIC BALI… and the Melia Benoa – on the India Ocean. Garuda Airlines was our carrier to Bali. A -737 airplane for this flight. We arrived at Ngurah Rai International Airport at about 9.05 pm.
Sept. 25th, 2004 would be our second leg of our journey and for the next six days enjoy paradise.

We did have one concern, involving our passport. Our “Visa’s” were stamped into each others passport, so in reality, KC had mine. How would immigration would react was a definite concern? We passed with flying colours – Our next step is to find our contact, he’s the one with the sign – Jock & KC. we find our man. Off we go to the mini-bus with our tour guide and driver. We are the only visitors on the mini-bus heading towards Denpasar. The night is dark, the roads somewhat rundown, can’t indentify anything with the speed of the mini-bus, when all of sudden, I began to wonder about where the hell are we? The driver does come to a most pleasant stop – our resort……….. Next

The memories of the recent bombings of two night clubs packed with Western tourists, mostly Australians, in the town of Kuta comes to mind the minute we arrive at our resort. Two police officers stop you at the gate, and with a huge mirror check the bottom of the mini-bus, before entering our complex. Once in the lobby, we are greeted by a “Bong” an awakening sound to erase the feelings of a few minutes ago. As we approach the front desk, warm face cloths are offered to refresh and wipe away the accumulations of oils, and then a wonderful island drink to acclimatize our body to Bali’s soothing and refreshing liquids.

Words we learn from our new friend “Pettiwawa”, who had four jobs, not two like the TV commercial.

Terima Kasih = THANKS
Apa Kabar = How are you
Siapa Nama Anda = what is your name
Selamat Pagi – Good Morning
Selamat Siang = Good Afternoon
Selamat Sore = the same
Selamat Malam = Good Evening.

Pettiwawa, took care of the swimming pool, so when we asked him how do we say good morning, he was very obliging, and he became our friend. Each day we would meet and practice our Balinese language, not to mention talking in general about his country and Canada of course. For examples, families stick together and live is close proximaty of each other. With no government help, if one loses a job, the family supports that person. His father-in-law does have a new automobile with A/C. On the next day, we visited the Flea Market, and guess who we meet? Pettiwawa, and this time he is helping his brother in law who own a kiosk at the market. He tells us that once they load up the car, they are off to a major hotel for an on-sight Artisan sale. One morning, KC wanted to swim, and I wanted to walk. So, off I go towards the boardwalk. The design is brick, and full of “esses” with sand on each side. There is a breeze with the Ocean front to my right. After approximately 30 minutes, I see this gorgeous resort, huge, with “Pegoda’s facing the Ocean.
Each one is occupied with guests either reading, sleeping or drinking. I could just imagine an evening at this resort. It did not take me long to find my way into this 5 ***** resort. Total luxary, an Oases, describing the Paradise we are looking for.

The suite on the first level delivers a balcony only royalty frequent, but with a few extra dollars, its yours, and my dear friends throw away your inhabitions because this Paradise is the real thing. From your bigger than larger balcony it delivers you down a few steps into the a pool of water. You can now either relax in your private area or swim towards the Ocean front, under an arc bridge to a larger pool. The water is blue/turquoise and identical to colours you see when you are over water landing into the Caribbean’s Bahama Airport.

As you exit the main lobby, two gorgeous dining room over looks the grounds. Next you descend a few steps towards a maginificant terrace, followed by a most enticing resort swimming pool these eyes have witnessed. Rectangular in shape, and I swear to God, if someone was swimming, it would not matter, because the tranquility would blow your mind.

The next eerie feeling came about when the few guests sitting sparringly about the pools, looked like pictures from a magazine. Not one of these guest were moving, or sunning, but reading, rather than gawking. I did not want to leave this lavish expression of Architecture.

I walked down three steps back to my world, and guess who was waiting for me,
Pettiwawa. He spotted me, because with his disguise of cap, and shades, I did not recognize him. Hay, Mr. Jock, what are you doing, are you planning next years vacation, no I replied, I was flabbergasted by this resort and had to visit.
What are you doing here, he said, I sell sports packages for the hotel!

His fourth job is finding tours for his Father-in-law…………………………..

Now to get back to our resort, nice, pleasant, entertaining, a bit smaller than the five star I just visited, but good enough to lose yourself within the beauty of Melia Benoa.

Our room, bigger than most with a bathroom split into conveniences, so that if I wanted to shave I could while KC showered. Each day a new plate of fruit would adorn our coffee table. We had a sitting area looking out towards the pool, and well maintained grounds. A bed so comfortable that you never wanted to leave. Our balcony located on the second floor was about six feet by twenty with two chairs and a table. Roses crossed our path with enough privacy that you could literally hang your bathing suit in the nude without hearing a whistler.
The room had all the emenities, such as a safe, closet, drawers and a well stock bar. British Television produced western news, and great movies were available later at night. Soccer was big time sports here and the weather talked about Asia and Austrailia forecast. The walkway leading to our room overlooked the first floor which had artistic waterways void of water, but full of rocks so that when the water would be piped in, the view would be spectacular. The whole place is immaculate. Our next venture was towards the Ocean and beach front, and that was a shocker because this beach was without a doubt the worse imitation of a beachfront. Low tide, no waves and plenty of Jelly fish.

Now we must retreat to our swimming pool, and I must say it was a well organized design offering solid chairs, cover and blue towels. A bathroom was at our disposal seconds from our chair, and the swim-up pool bar was gigantic with wrap-around seats in the water, and seats also surrounding the concrete walkways. Perfectly manicured landscaping, and the young man who did that job was brilliant and showed great pride.

As for the boutiques, dead – no customers, and if you did entered one, words from the sales person was annoying, like “no sale today”, please buy. The resort had only 83 guests during our stay, with groups showing up for day trips, so you would hear German one day, and the next Spanish or Chinese.

Breakfast was excellent everyday, and you had a choice of western or Chinese.
They greet you at the entrance and bring you to your table. Lower end is smoking while we chose the non-smoking area a few feet higher. Everything about this dining section was supurb. We even showed the cook, how to cook two egg’s over easy. Bacon was most enjoyable, and I loved the variety of tomato’s, presentation of fruit platters, juices, breads and little breakfast desserts.

Our mid-day snack was within an open deck terrace which split the pool and ocean front. Tables were made of teak and heavy. KC and I fought each day for the table at the extreme end of this terrace, which overlooked the Ocean front, and the many pedestrian who walk along the boardwalk. They did have three sets of tables and chairs on the manicured grass area a few feet away.
Many choices, chicken, pork, fish, potato’s, rice and of course the extra’s such as pizza’s, melt’s, fruit, desserts, and all the drinks were brought to you by a waiter. If for some reason you wanted a-la-carte, not a problem, the lobby restaurant would create your desire.

Evening dining, totally numbing – especially when they produced a show.
We reserved on this night, and our table was dead center. The food on this night was “Babercue”, and a food lovers paradise of choices because nothing but the best came out of the Bali cuisine. Seafood, meat, pasta all the trimmings at your fingertip!

What I enjoy most about this style of dining, is the athmosphere, the calm, a slight breeze, Ocean waters and yes the clinging of utensils in the background.
No need to rush, because on this night, we are being entertained, and let the booze flow, ha geez, dream on old timer.

Legong Band is comprised of 20 musicians, with only a bongo resembling a western instrument. The dancers interpretation can be “eerie”, they are tiny people with the ability to maneuver their hand-wrist-fingers ninety-degree’s.
The dance features facial expressions with their eyes showing fear, and when they look towards the sky or to their side, you get a feeling something scary will happen. The devil is coming?

While on the subject of entertainment, I must mention the evening Cabaret show. We were having dinner one evening when two Balinese entertainers approached our table. The lady was about five-feet two inches, and if she weighed one hundred pounds she was lucky. The young man on the other hand who measured five-feet five inches tipped the scale at one hundred and
twenty-five pounds. In both cases, the human body never looked so good.
They invited us to the evening Cabaret show which starts at 9.30 pm.

Upon completion of dinner, we walked towards the main lobby, only to meet more entertainers displaying smiles and costumes as we walked up the main staircase. Please come to our show – KC and I looked at each other, and nodded, we will be there!

The show takes place in the main auditorium over the spa. We had one hour to kill, so we headed towards the Lobby Bar for a drink. A father and his daughter were playing music at the entrance steps, which made our stay pleasant.
We notice people moving towards the hall so without delay we danced our way over.

What a wonderful surprise, the hall was already dressed Las Vagas style with purples, dark blues, and streaming coloured lights including white. The next surprise was the table and chairs, draped in white, they were set for couples, and we had our own waitress supplying us with drinks at the snap of a finger or is that a nod/wave.

The music got louder curtains opened, and out came four female and three male dancers what a sight for sore eyes, this my dear friends is entertainment. Now we’re talking Bali! – Now we see why they are perfectly trimmed!
It was without a doubt a non-stop powerful exhibition of hard driving manouvers that would make your rinse cycle slow compared to this show. During the performance, some jumped and split their leg’s six feet off the stage. They certainly must rehearse, I just can’t see how they could perform with such precision, without missing a connection – definite high octane show.

We went to the next show – would not miss it for the world.

September 26th, 2004 - Our first tour involved The Magic of Northern Bali.

First we take you inland to the most scenic area of Pupuan and Antosan, the morning light is ideal for taking pictures of the unique rice terraces. After passing through the florid fields where also coffee, cacao and lots of fruits grow, we are descending to the north coast. Lovina Beach, the quiet and nice black sand beach Area is our next stop. There will be an opportunity for lunch (optional). After a relaxing break we continue this total 230-km route winding up the mountain and offering magnificent views until About 1,200 meters above sea level where striking panorama is revealed. Passing by Lake Buyan and Tamblingan allow you the view onto an area habitat for many species of bords, trees and flowers unseen anywhere else on the island. We stop at Bedugul to visit Lake Bratan with the floating Temple of Ulun Danu, which is dedicated to the goddess of water, dwelling around the area. A bit further, we stop at the local flower – and Fruit Market, a good opportunity to get some tropical fruits fresh from the farmers. It’s a long day driving across Bali, but it’s worth to discover the heart of Bali’s nature.

September 27th, 2004 – The Beauty of Kintamani ( Full day)

Bali is famous for its traditional dances. One of them is the Barong & Kris Dance. Our first stop on this tour is to enjoy the skillful Balinese dancers before we continue to visit talented Balinese Artist: a woodcarver at the village Mas, in this traditional workshop. The journey proceeds to Kintamani to view on the beautiful
Lake Batur and the active Mount Batur Volcano. Opportunity for lunch with an excellent view. Next destination is Tampaksiring, “ The Fountain of Youth” and Holy Spring.

We did visit Bali at the right time, considering that the peak season is July-August. Christmas and New Years prices are higher with an increase in tourism.
The rainy season is October-April but only in burst’s. Heat and Humidity is greater during February and March.

Once outside the resort, you learn very quickly who controls the roads. Mopeds, Scooters, and Motorcycles. No signage, few policeman, and total chaos. What did impress me, was the courtesy, no road rage as we know it, a simple touch of your horn, and you can cut a person off. Two Bike accident while driving the roads of Bali, and in one case, the ambulance was nothing special – it looked more like an open mini-truck with a bunch men on their way to a job site? They also drive as Britains do. A nice touch on this vacation is the way we get transported from one place to another, always on time. It’s a great way to see the city and country side. We are always brought to a central point to join others on tour.
There are small cars, and trucks but not as many – what you see are “Tour” vehicles of every size and they can manouver as well as the bikes. Street are small, if there is a medium, think of a sandwich. Openings are staggered, and you must be wide awake, otherwise, a bike will dart in and out like Groundhog in heat. If a big truck comes along, the bus must move aside. As for sidewalks, again small. Unlike Singapore, the streets, sidewalks, and especially the gully’s are dirty. Littering needs to be addressed.
Pedestrians must be alert at all times. Then you have stray dog’s, some in pairs roam the streets. For me its confusing, but no doubt Balinese people are very comfortable with their situation.
$ 1.00 CDN. Canadian Dollar = 7,303.78 IDR, Indonesian Rupiah
They pick up your laundry in the morning, and when you return at
5.00 pm it’s in your closet. Excellent! If you wish more bottled water,
just ask, and its in your bar-fridge. You want a snack at 11.00 pm, why
not.
The resort has an Italian restaurant – a-la-carte, but nothing special.

Our Stop at Lovina proved once again that Bali food is consistant, we enjoyed a nice buffet dinner with the local beer. From our advantage, we overlooked the Bali Sea, and the black sandy Beach. Some fifty feet away there was a wall, then the ocean. Some of the guests at this hotel were sunning, and then all of a sudden, we started to see a display of artisan products being tossed across the concrete barrier including Serongs. The artisans are not allowed to approach us, so they use this technique of displaying their goods, and if they can catch our attention, flash signs at us – like two fingers for two dollars. After our lunch we did saunter over, but only to check the dark sand, and look at the sea without showing interest in their products. Cost for lunch $ 106,000 Rupiah’s….

The Rice Terraces is something special, we see them throughout this hike. They are built at different elevations in order to take full value of water distributions – The shack in the middle of the fields are rest area, where wives brings lunch to husband each day. We were introduced to fruit trees and other produce they consume. It’s a family affair.

At one point we were held up at least one hour – Balinese people are very religious. Over 90 % of the population is Hindu with the minority made up of Muslins, Buddhist, and Christians. The main reason for 20,000 temples and shrines.

Each town celebrates with offerings and a parade – well we got caught up in one, and thank God, because our one-hour delay was worth the wait. KC and I got out of our mini-bus, and began snapping pictures. They loved avery minute of attention, and smiles could not be broader, and the kids began to play and hug each other as you will see in the photo’s. The police officer’s also got into the act, almost coaxing me to take more pictures. I asked how many people were walking, he replied the whole town 5,000 – great stuff. There was one boy who followed our mini-van, possibly 12 years old, and he kept smilling into our mini-bus, I can only assume that he was happy with us, since we showed interest in his culture. He walked along side for the whole parade. As we looked at these beautiful people, a sea of yellow and white representing “Good and Evil” was predominant. Compared to Western churchgoing, celebrations in Bali are very casual; Women gossip, children play, and dogs wander temple grounds freely, snacking on offerings. A priest chants, people pray and then get up, and others take their places.

Our temple visit is without a doubt our best experience of Balinese people.
We were among few western people. We did get some looks from the young adult generation, but no more than our curiosity. Our tour guide lead us away from the temple, through a well organized flea market, and then to our mini-bus – it was night and day, we were pounced on, by the real pore people, who shoved banana’s at us, another a beautiful chess set, and would not let up, even after we got into our vehicle, they pushed, and hugged our mini-bus hoping we would get out and buy. We were informed not to take anything or we have to pay. The lady who followed me, must have been 70 years old, she was tiny, no teeth, with lines about her face, resembling a road map.

We did venture from our resort – first using the resorts limo service, and we took a taxi back. Cost – peanuts. The shopping mall, had a few shops open, but most were locked. High end clothes, but very few people to purchase. Terrorism I guess.

The flea market next to our resort was special, all the owners were related or at least it seemed that way. Kiosks that was empty one minute, saw a person jump from another kiosk in your face the next minute. We also found out that “Jimmy” the watchman was related to the watch lady at one of the kiosks.

We purchased a painting, which will be displayed in our playroom.

Our next venture placed us at the Spa – wake up your sense, find a map, and make sure it’s a door you go through. We followed the signs, walked down the stairs onto flat rocks surrounded by water, but for some reason I could not find the door, yet, if we continue walking, we will hit a wall or get our feet wet? What I thought was a mirror, was actually a small door.

Into the Melia Banoa’s caverns we go. The deal is for KC to get a manicure, and a message along with me at 3.00 pm. All of a sudden the place is buzzing, we are the only customers, and we are getting bids on our bodies. The manager, and two young ladies are available now for the message, would we like to start now rather me come back later – it’s a deal.

I’m starting to get the impression that we are in Fred Flinstones house with so much concrete around us. A wonderful aroma surrounds our nostrils as I peruse the different rooms. Fantastic idea, with great music to boot. They have a room for one, and for two. The rooms have inviting beds with a hole at the head, a pale of water to look at with rose scented petals.

My girl is 108 lbs, while KC’s girl touches 100 lbs. if she’s lucky.
Off we go, the oils is spread, and the war of messaging the kinks out begins at our feet. My girl is one tough cookie, because she is penetrating my foot dead center, and it hurts. Finally, moves to my calf, and I think she found a wash-board, because its seems like I have sand dunes, and it’s hurting more than my feet. But, I’m a guy right, and you can’t show pain right. I’m sure she’s using her knuckles or a blunt tool. The music is great, and all along I’m wondering where does she find that power for such a small person. I did think, that since my face is in this hole, there could be a guy up there? So I peeked, and sure enough it was her. Now I hear KC scream, that hurts. I felt so much better, knowing that there is a technique for hurting bigger people.

The rest of the body was pure pleasure, no hurting, just a smooth manipulation of skin, so nice that you are falling asleep, and then she say’s turn over sir. So business like. One hour later, and $ 78.00 US, and we are new people. Would you like to come back tomorrow, the manager suggest -20 % off. Too late sir, tomorrow were on a plane to Hhong Kong.

We have a perfect time for our departure from Bali for our final leg
“HONG KONG”, and it goes without saying that this is a dream city.
Our mini-bus to the airport is about to arrive at 12 noon. Our bag’s a bit heavier, and we expect a punctual mini-bus to show on time as they have throughout this vacation. Sure enough, we see our bus arriving and with Madi in the passenger seat. This would be our second time with Madi, who attended school to become a tour guide. He is 38 years old, married with two children. He spends his free time raising “Fighting Cocks”. He is a small man and extremely relaxed.

It takes approx. 40 minutes to reach the airport, and we find his company enjoyable and educational. Our flight is set for 3.55pm, with Cathay Pacific. All but 40 passengers filled the Air-bus A340-300 which has a capacity of 350 plus crew. The five hour flight is smooth into Hong Kong International Airport – no problem at customs, and now we follow the mass towards the conveyors belt, and our luggage. It took a bit longer than normal to retrieve our luggage, but fun anyhow. Next step Look for the tour guide with sign, and there he is with Carlson-Pichette. As we approach him, he is all smiles, and begins to blab away one hundred miles per hour – Put this badge on, sit over there, and a guide will pick you up in 45 minutes and deliver you to your hotel. Here is your Octopus card, and we would appreciate it if you would return the card before leaving for Canada. Value of the card is $ 100.00, and we ultimately added another
$ 50.00. This was our way of getting around on public transportation. By this time we are tired, but extremely happy to be in the “Live it! Love it” City.

Finally we literally walked the concourse of Hong Kong International Airport towards a depot, the meeting place for hotel drop-offs. We are excited, now because we are about to see Hong Kong for the first time, the adranalin pumps you up even though your tired. The bus is traveling much faster than in Bali, it’s night time with city lights displaying for example the harbour, as we approach Tsing Ma Bridge, a span bridge.

What we did not expect was the hotel reception, we could see neon’s flashing Marco Polo Hotel, and sure enough it stops at Marco Polo Gateway Hotel. A huge complex with bright light facing the water, - Honk Kong only eight minutes away by boat. The bell boy is waiting, and before you know it, he has our luggage in tow, the doorman opens the door, and off we go towards the lobby. We could feel the pulse of Hong Kong, and we just arrived.

We are greeted by Gabriel, he is a transplanted Torontonian Chinese young man, and he is happy to see us. We are even up-gradded for $ 20.00 CDN, and we have a perfect view of the harbour, and the city of Hong Kong to boot. Our luggage was delivered to room 1306. Up the elevator we go, mirrors, chrome handles, dark oak wood, and far more superior that we anticipated. Our room, just outstanding, as we open the drapes and see the Harbour, the buzz is just too much for us, so without wasting a minutes, off we go to the streets, it’s Christmas in October. Glittering lights everywhere, people flowing, cars, bus, and we are in awe! We can now add Hong Kong to our major cities visited. Our eyes are tired from trying to absorb everything, we see a small but organized 7/11 store. Its jammed with customer even though its 11.30 p.m. We decide to pick up a few things before going back to the room. For $ 7.00 CDN. We got two drinks, a bag of chips, two litters of water and a dessert. Party time at 1306 Canton Road, Hong Kong.

We have a great picture of our room, but what was most interesting was the “Pillows”, the one at the headrest was twice the size of the smaller one, and the smaller one was twice the size of our standard pillow back home, talk about cushion support. Our blanket was more like a “Duvet” blanket in one. It goes without saying that our room complemented everything about our stay. A great city, a nice hotel, and a wonderful room to rest and recover to plan another day in Asia.

October 2nd, 2004 – We have a tour booked – In the morning we take a ride up top Victoria Peak, and then visit Repulse Bay before stopping at the famous fishing village of Aberdeen for a chance to ride in a “Sampan”. Next to Stanley Market and the prestigious jewelry factory before heading back to our hotel. In the evening, we have a Sunset Cruise with unlimited drinks from the open bar on board the authentic Junk as she sails within the Victoria Harbour along Causeway
Bay, North Point, Lei Yue Mun Village. Watch the worlds greatest view turn into the world’s greatest light show! Having done this tour on the weekend saved us many hours from being tied up a weekday traffic jam.

As we return towards the pier, we can see all the major bldg’s turning into different colours of the rainbow, when all of a sudden, fireworks begin from the very top of each bldg and lasting thirty minutes. The ooh’s and aah’s from an appreciative crowd was a great way to end our cruise on Victoria Harbour.
The show could also be seen from our window at the hotel.

Getting on the “Junket” is not an easy task, because the waves from the water traffic creates a “Bob & Weave” reaction. So its imperative that the worker and passenger are on the same wave length not to mention being fleet afoot.
Although the Junket seats 260 passsengers, on this night only 100 were on board. Once beyond this stage, it open bar, and meet new people. At this point you should say to yourself, I wonder how some who enjoy the drink got off?

Finding a good seat on the railing is best, you face the shore where all the action is. Then you bet if that water taxi will hit the other coming across. The evening is cloudy with a slight breeze, so it’s a bit cool in the wind even though its twenty-two degrees.
Seven million people in Hong Kong, six million of them have cell-phones.
I was amazed to see that Bamboo is used in construction of bldg’s.
Trains very efficient.
Bus are a/c, and have television at the front.
Cars are very expensive, and so is parking them so if you do see cars in the city, it’s a high end model. Second hand models are cheaper. Taxi’s are Camry’s.
Our hotel was part of a major mall, and the shops are high end. Electronic products for instance are located on the same floor. Western style restaurant do exist, and are tucked away near the ends. Each floor has computer’s available for those searching for stores, business etc.
ATM machines not a problem.
Haggling does not exist at these shops, they will give a break, but were talking peanuts. Some shops will haggle at the flea Market, but were talking t-shirts.

Po Lin Monastery – Is located on Lantau Island, and we found out that it’s almost twice the size of Hong Kong Island. It would be the longest excursion on our own, using the MTR system. Armed with our “Octopus Card”, and the snap of our wrist we used a bus/train. Each time the Octopus card was scanned , we knew the cost of our trip and balance.
The metro stations are nice and clean. As you stand on the platform, there is a glass protector so that you can’t fall into the path of the on-coming train. So when the train arrives, and only then will both doors open. The seats are smaller. Chinese and English language is used to inform passengers. Arrows are placed at the entrance indicated position to get on or off.

Using the bus is well organized to a “T”, exact numbers are allowed to enter the bus for this trip. During the day when we are alone that is very much like back home. Except, that a bus has A/C, and a television. We noticed many passengers sleeping, so I presume it’s a custom.

After a good hour of traveling up the mountain, we managed to get a glimpse of the 202 ton Buddha. It’s huge of course at 26 metres high (85’). The big question on KC\’s mind was the 268 steps, there is an elelvator, right? Well we did manage to climb to the top, but unlike many Chinese we just rested at every second level, and watch the natives bow in his presence at each step.

To increase our excitement of traveling on our own, we decided to visit Stanley Market. The trip back was quicker of course as you descend down the mountain, but you still seek new scenes and even look for the Buddha, just in case he want’s to wave at us. We save ten minutes from the climb, and we are already on our metro car heading towards Stanley Market. Its during this ride that we noticed the “Commercial Harbour”, if you were to sleep for 20 minutes, when you wake, you still see the cranes, and containers.

This will be our second visit to Stanley Market – Located on the southern Coast area, they tell us it’s the most famous one in Hong Kong. Inexpensive clothing, sportswear, sweaters, and casual clothing, and silk blouses. Postcards of course, and novelties. The atmosphere gets you, and you are part of Hong Kong, although we see many westerners, the Chinese certainly come in droves.
Not every shop will haggle. What I found interesting at the close, was the amount of taxi’s that lined the market area, picking up fares. No horn blowing, just good mannared drivers trying to make a living.

We challenged our will for comfort by taking the #6 bus to the terminal, and one stop on the metro to our hotel. Talk about two tired people.

We can feel it’s our last night in Hong Kong – We are with the hundreds of Chinese people slowly wending our way towards whatever. We stop to see the sidewalk cookery, and wonder if it’s clean/healthy? We stop to listen to the shop keepers. The street is jammed with vehicles – but no horns. The red light at the corner brings everybody to halt with mostly taxis turning the corner and lining up with the remaining traffic. The neons signs are starting to invade the skyline above our heads even though its seven pm. We arrive at our hotel, and we say hi to Gabriele our new friend from Toronto who seems happy with our company. Next it’s off to the consierge, and ask the maitre’d, does he know a good Italian restaurant, sure thing he chirps out. Into his computer, and out pop’s “La Taverna” located on Ashley Road, minutes from here, and draws out the direction on the map – No matter how many times we asked for direction – a map would be drawn, and if need be, take us to the doorway and point towards direction!

La Taverna – After a brief rest, shower and all dickied up to paint the town, off we go with map in hand and no reservation. We want to be seated for 8.00 pm, so from our hotel it’s only a matter of a few streets, turning left on all occasions, and boom, La Taverna. But, we still have to absorb the charm of night life. From the time we leave our hotel to at least Ashley road, we are with the flow of humans – most are heading towards Victoria Harbour of course, while others seek out the bus terminal or the many metro stations along Nathan Street.

With some help we manage to find Ashley Road, now to find La Taverna Restaurant. To our left the streets continues on, but once we turned right a huge neon sign some 300 feet away display’s La Taverna Restaurant. Here in Canada such a sign would be above our business address. Hong Kong, signs are like tenticals reaching across the street. We can only presume that its because of the many businesses along that street. We once saw a sign for KFC, and McDonald plastered on the side of a bldg, but both restaurants indicated with an arrow that they were down the street.

With La Taverna in sight, we headed towards the cul-de-sac. The bldg in this area looked very much like the rag trade of Montreal. The closer we got to the end, the more crowded it became, even 40-50 motorcycles were parked in front of the restaurant. We walked around the bikes, and spotted the menu neatly placed on a barrel in front of the door. We were looking at the menu when the front door opened, a Caucasian man in his late fifties, (Giancarlo) quipped I hope your coming into my restaurant. Well, that was the plan and he clinched the deal because he did have an Italian accent, and the front door was inviting.

I say this for one reason, traveling offers experiences you would not get back home. History,time of construction, unusual entrances and most important athmosphere. In Carcassone for instance, we actually checked a restaurant twice before deciding to enter. The rest is history, what a wonderful dining experience.
First, let me tell you that the front door was tiny, dinner for one if you get my drift. Once inside we descend a few steps and seated three feet from the bar.

From our table, we can see red curtains on the front door, walls of white stucco, with arches separating us from the larger section. From the ceilings are hundreds upon hundreds of Chianti bottles. Nooks & cranny all along the walls are filled with souvenirs. The walls are adorned with with Oil paintings, plates, and souvenirs – I must not forget the horsesshoe for good luck! On this night we are the seventh couple to patronize the place. Three Britain’s were tucked into the corner, and having a ball – too much wine? Behind KC, it seemed like an interview was in progress between an Australian and an American. To my right three young Chinese ladies were enjoying some wine. I would only be guessing at the origin of the customer around the corner, but suffice it to say that we did
choose a nice restaurant. The theme was red & white, from our table linens to the waiters uniform.

Giancarlo came over to us and we ordered wine, and sparkling water for starters.
When he came back with the wine, he asked what country are we from?, Canada, we proudly echoed. That’s where I’m from, what you own the place? no, I just have some interest in this restaurant. He explained that he immigrated to Canada many years ago, and developed two restaurants in Huntsville, Ontario. Sold both restaurants, and now spends his day’s golfing, works during the evenings and travel on weekends. He will be back in Canada in 2006. So he does have a plan.

I want you to meet Albert, he became our waiter after a bit, because the place is buzzing now. From a distance I thought he was Italian, but once he got close I realized he was a partially deaf Chinese with a Frank Sinatra haircut. Standing at about five-feet six inches, he had a swagger of sorts, possibly due to his deafness, which made him lean to his left in order to understand.

Entrée, ministroni soupe and proscuioto Melon.
For dinner, Jock had Baked Lasagna with meat sauce and cheese.
KC chose the three pastas with three separate sauces - tomato & Garlic on one, Fetticiny Alfredo on the second, and Penne pesto.
Desert, we both had Capuccino & praline with infused tofffi.
We enjoyed a coffee, then Grand Marnier.

Albert was special, the type of waiter who makes you feel good and comfortable. We called Albert over and asked for a grand marnier, he came back all smiles with the bottle and his jigger. He must have enjoyed our company, because he did not rush the pouring. Meanwhile KC was having her own fun. KC was laughing at the cook filling his cup with on-tap beer and sipping it. The next time he came out, KC nodded, he’s there. As I looked he was lifting his cup to his lips, and sipping. Good fun. Where flying now, the Chinese girls are louder, two locals are downing a bottle of wine each, and Giancarlo’s golf buddy are cracking up. We catch Albert’s eye, another grand marnier, please. Within seconds he is back, and pouring our drinks, but this time, he double checks for the boss, and dumps more grand marnier into our glass – a classic impression of a classy waiter. We still have two stops before heading back to our hotel. Giancarlo came over to say good-by, and Albert nodded – a perfect evening in Hong Kong.

Off we go, skirting the motorcycles, and retracing our steps. We are two happy people, and about to grace the Peninsula Hotel, Hong Kong’s most famous hotel. The front entrance has asemi-circle driveway, and a water fountain with lights glittering through droplets of water. The door man opens the door, and wishes us a “have a good evening”.
Music is softly messaging ears as we walk up a flight of stairs towards the wonderful sound of a five piece classical band. We browse the boutiques, and the prices equal the cost of coming back to the Orient or down under.
Back outside and we lose our way back to our hotel, not once but twice. Finally we do it right, and run into a “Rolex” watch salesman an Indian from Calcutta. Do you want a “Fake Rolex”, best price in town he claims. Can I see them? Follow me he says. After a few minutes, I asked where are these watches, just around the corner. Once there he says, it upstairs. No way Josee, forget the watches. We walk away and he follows. He begans yelling we are not Americans here, we don’t invade countries and shoot people! Why are you scared? I stop in my tracks, enough. He backed off.

Good night Hong Kong.

What a night – Early to rise, early to breakfast, and back to pack. We sat next to two Chine businessmen, and both are talking English? Our transfer is waiting and off to the airport.

Enjoy

Jock - pichejovila@videotron.ca

10,871 miles (16,035 km) and seven planes later, we are writing our journal.

2006-02-20T13:31:00.000-08:00

FOOTSTEPS

This travel story begins on May 24, 2003 some fifty-nine years since the end of WWII.
Traveling offers so many opportunities to experience life – this story will do just that for this writer. An older friend of mine was a Bren Gun Carrier driver who often talked about the battles overseas. He mentioned cities where he was glued to the ditches in order to avoid being shot, he talked about booby trapped bridges, and the Falise gap. He talked about snippers perched in belfry’s in many towns along the route. He talked about a tough battle in Caen and the famous Juno beach.

Footsteps will be trace those steps under more secure conditions.
Let’s begin - May 24, 2003 –

We did have one interesting episode at Mirabel that involved us looking at our Airbus being filled with fuel, food, luggage and watching the technical crew checking the undercarriage of the plane. Pre-assigned seats offers the luxury of relaxing and although we did hear the first call, that was the extent of it. Vehicles were now moving away from the plane when we looked around to find that we were alone, we headed towards gate 47, and low and behold, no line-up, and we are last to board. Within minutes we are taxiing down the tarmac, and up and away we go. The pilot is a comedian and typical of French pilots who are considered cowboys at take-off. Next comes the food, and before you know it your over Gander, Newfoundland at nine-fourty-five p.m. and over the Atlantic by ten p.m. We are cruising at 596 miles per hour and with Paris 3,441 miles/5,539 km away. Flight time is 6 hrs.20 minutes.

An excellent smooth flight gets us into Orly on time, the time difference is six hours ahead of Montreal. We fly through customs pick-up our luggage, and seek our Europecar, which is located at section “C” outside the bldg. The concourse is busy, with thousands of travelers in your way, coming at you, smacking you, and even some angry ones jostling for whatever reason.

Finally, Europecar is within sight, and we cross a few barriers and present our confirmation papers to a very busy clerk at the desk. Fifteen minutes later we look at our Magane, and it’s a Mercedes-Benz “A170CDI Elegance”, great up-grade!
The car was perfect, dark blue, small enough to travel Europe with great luggage space.

You breath a sigh of relief, Paris, Auto, what’s next? A hotel bed hopefully!
We are tired from jet lag, our first stop is planned for Chartres located 60 miles SW of Paris. A major visit of this town is the glorious Cathedral of Chartres. Most of all its stained glass, which gave the world a new colour, “Chartres Blue”.

There is also a bit of WWII history, Jean Moulin the great resistance hero and friend of de Gaulle under torture, refused to sign a document stating that French troops committed atrocities. The Gestapo killed him in 1943 (today he is buried in the Pantheon in Paris). They named a street after him, and built a statue in his honour in Chartres.

Our hotel was located in the heart of Chartres, enabling us to visit the Cathedral within walking distance. Terrible reception at the tourist bureau. Some bldg’s are from the 11th. Century, with tiny streets and canals leading you to beautiful grounds. We see a playful dog with his owner diving in and out of the canal, water wheels, and small shops catching your curiosity. Baguettes under people’s arm are a staple we would see throughout our journey. We enjoyed a mid day lunch at a cute bakery, 2nd. Floor seat near a window. Ham and Cheese aplenty, beer, and water adorn the tables.

Our Hotel de la Poste is actually located across from a post office. This modest hotel offers one the best values in Chartres. Even though it’s short on charm. The rooms are comfortable. The surprise here is the good food at reasonable prices and having one of the town’s best wine cellars. The curse of this hotel is bookings by group tours.

Evening dinner took place at Le Madrigal, down the street from our hotel. We were able to get a table even though we needed a reservation. Sat beside an older French couple who were all spiffed up enjoying a steak while we are still dressed with our traveling clothes. We copied their choice, but did not enjoy cuisson. As we sat eating our steaks people kept arriving but there was no table for them. One groups even had a reservation but we took it. We felt slightly guilty, but it was the maitre’d who sat us. Which goes to prove anyone can make a reservation but the trick is to “hold it”. We depart for our hotel, It’s 9.45 p.m. but still very bright outside as if it was 5.00 p.m back home. We had a rough night sleep, but managed to focus and set off towards Bayeux, France early Monday morning, May 26th, 2003. The weather was perfect for driving, and our Mercedes-Benz was perfect. Roads in France are easy to drive, except of course when you are in Paris which is total chaos with ten millions inhabitants. This was our second trip driving France, so it was quick to re-adapt ourselves to the road system. Speed limits can reach speeds of 90km/hr. as you approach rond-points, you are informed to reduce speed. I love the rond-points, which can deliver you towards your destination quickly and accurately. Highways are much quicker with speeds of 110-130km/hr. The best I could do was 140km/hr. Otherwise, the signage is less than North America, but I find the system to be efficient and easy to deal with.

A rond-point might have a minimum of three exits, but can reach six or seven exits.
In Paris for instance, you have the Champs-ellyses, which has 16 exits, and if you have nerves of mush, you better bring your lunch because these Frenchmen will not let you off so easy.

Bayeux, France is a gift to visitors of the Normandie region. Located only 166 miles from Paris you can take day trips to many of the WWII sites.

Ideally located you have Hotel d’Argouges at 21 rue St.Patrice that is owned by Pierrette Ropartz and her husband. Talk about a classy little abode with charm located in the heart of Bayeux. We booked in for two days, but once we saw the complete package we decided to remain an extra day. The Ropartz handsomely restored this 18th-century hotel. The rooms are unique and quite comfortable. Breakfast is the only meal served; however, five restaurants line the plaza outside.

Entering Hotel d’Argouges – you are greeted by two huge white doors and façade of white with flowers and plants all about the courtyard. Above the staircases are flags representing Canada, USA, Germany and France of course. Mrs. Ropartz greets us as we enter the front door. Dressed impeccably, she set the tone for why this hotel would be so regal, and pleasant. She sent us off with a maid to check our room and with each step our love for this place grew even stronger. We passed a garden with roses, table and chairs set for an afternoon or evening tea. Our three-story bldg. was lined with edges of flowers on one side while the other had parking facilities for 15 cars.
Our walk up three flights of carpeted stairs with wrought iron railing was more of gymnasium exercise for me, but worth every calorie lost. What an exquisite room, so old, yet so young, huge bed, and furniture of quality with drapes covering two windows overlooking the rooftops. The centerpiece was an 18” beam on the ceiling and support walls. The beam was dark and sturdy. Three casement windows provided a limited rooftop view of the city. Now for that drink in the garden.

Bayeux would be our busiest stop and the beginning of footsteps.

We will never forget our approach to the Canadian cemetery – were driving along a country road, enjoying the scenery when we saw the sign for the Canadian cemetery.
An automobile was just leaving, as we pulled up along a small gravel road, the feeling was awesome as if we belonged..

The Canadian war cemetery Beny-sur-mer is a great monument to Canadian Soldiers.
On this day two caretakers were preparing the grounds with so much care. Just before entering the grounds, we climbed the two towers overlooking the many white gravestones. The view pictured heroes of WWII, in rows of military precisions with each site adorned with flowers. The carpeted green grass, proud trees, edges and caretakers all had a purpose – to protect our Canadians.

An amazing coincidence - we were looking for 17th. Hussars headstones, and in one case we found three in a row, side by each. One of them was SGT. Ryan, and I took a picture of that stone. On many occasions this man’s name pop’s up at parties or the breakfast club. Next breakfast meeting should be interesting.

Our next stop – Arromanches-les-Bains; only 6 ½ miles NW of Bayeux.
This is a dream come true to witness the beach the 17th. Hussars invaded.
From June 6 to July 18, “the longest day” was very long indeed. The greatest armada ever known – soldiers and sailors, warships, landing craft, tugboats, jeeps, whatever – assembled along the southern coast of England in late spring 1944. At 9.15pm on June 5, the BBC announced to the French Resistance that the invasion was imminent, signaling the underground to start dynamiting the railways. Before midnight, Allied planes began bombing the Normandie coast fortifications. By 1.30pm on June 6, members of the 10lst. Airborn were parachuting to the ground on German-occupied French soil. At 6.30am the Americans began landing on the beaches, coded-named Utah, and Omaha. An hour later British and Canadian forces made beachheads at Juno, Gold, and Sword.

The Nazis had mocked Churchill’s promise in 1943 to liberate France “before the fall of the autumn leaves.” When the invasion did come, it was swift, sudden, and a surprise to the formidable “Atlantic Wall.” Today aging veterans from Canada, the United States, and Britain walk with their children and grandchildren across the beaches where “Czech hedgehogs,” “Belgian grills,” pillboxes, and “rommel asparagus” once stood.

RELIVING THE LONGEST DAY – D-Day beaches are located at the modest seaside resort of Arromanches-les-Bains. In June 1944 it was a fishing port, until the 50th British Division took it. Towed across the English Channel, a mammoth prefabricated port known as Winston was installed to supply the Allied forces. “Victory could not have been achieved without it,” said Eisenhower. The wreckage of that artificial habour – known as Mulberry – lies right off the beach, la plage debarquement.

JUNO – our dream, our playground, our memory – the story’s now fulfilled.
As we reach the top of the “Sandunes” we stopped near a bunker? We presume.
Facing us with this massive beach, we knew it was Juno where Bert and his friends invaded. To our right finishing touches were being done on the Canadian Memorial for next weeks celebration. We asked to visit but they said no.

A touching moment came about while on Juno Beach – KC was about fifty feet away from me, as I looked her way, she was filtering small rocks. I walked towards her and I could see that she was not picking any rock off the beach, but choosing them deliberately. What’s up KC? I’m going to bring these rocks back home for the family!
Rocks from the place my Dad fought at. I understand that rocks come in all shapes, but these were KC’s choices. A piece of Juno beach for her mom and each sibling.
Further along the coast you reach, Omaha Beach and further still you’ll see the jagged lime cliffs of the Pointe du Hoc.

We visited the museum at Arromanches-les-Bains, and enjoyed films of WWII.
From the parking lot we were able to jump on a mini train, which delivered us down towards the water, the * Mulberry wreckage, and playtime along the beach including dipping our feet in the warm Ocean water. We also walked miles on this day, and yes even daydreamed about our proud Canadian Soldiers.

Mulberry – Artificial harour – As soon as Winston Churchill became Prime Minister on 10 may 1940 he began to push for the design and construction of landing craft and artificial harbours without which the return to France four years later could not have been achieved”. These two artificial ports, each with a capacity comparable to that of Dover. They would be built in sections, towed across the Channel as quickly as possible after D-Day and sunk in pre-selected sites.

From the history books - It all began in 1943 with the planning of “Overload” the code name given to the Normandy invasion plans. To sustain the battle for Normandy, harbours had to be built, these artificial harbours were code-named Mulberries and were to be protected by breakwaters known as Gooseberries. These comprised of roadways named Whale units, and caissons of steel and concrete called Phoenix units.

A total of 146 Phoenix units were needed, ranging from 10 of the smallest size units weighing 1,672 tons through six sizes to the largest weighing 6,044 tons.
600,000 tons of concrete, 31,000 tons of steel and 1,500,000 yards of steel shuttering were used in the construction.

The Cover Plan – The object was to provide a story, which would be circulated amongst all concerned in the manufacturer, in order to explain the reasons for which these structures were being made and to prevent undesirable speculation. The Poenix units were constructed of hollow concrete, 60’ wide x 230’ long x 60’ high and there were 25 contracting firms working on the project. To prevent speculation the suggested story was that the units are “boom defence units” and are being constructed for the defence of habours and roadsteads to protect shipping from attacks by aerial torpedoes and other types of German warfare. To add strength to the cover story, trials of the Phoenix units were to be carried out in the relevant areas. However the cover plan was never used, because at the time speculation about the Phoenix units indicated that junior civil servants in the Ministry of supply thought they were a “Floating seadrome” or a “Pontoon” to the bridge the channel, these rumours were allowed to continue as the cover story.Camouflaging – The camouflaging of the Phoenix units and the prevention of information to the enemy was the cause for concern. Many disguises were suggested but each was rejected on the grounds of being implausible or not worth the expenditure of labour and materials, ultimately nothing was done.

Trials – Each unit had not only to float, but also sink, and sink fast in varying depths of water according to their size. After a great deal of trial and error the sinking time of the largest units was reduced from 1-½ hours to 22 minutes. Each unit was a kind of ship, provided with quarters for crew and mountings for two bofors guns with 20 tons of ammunitions. They were not able to sail under their own steam, therefore had to be towed but on completion it was found that the towing fixture gear was inadequate. Teams of riggers in Chatham Naval Dockyards worked day and night in the few weeks before the Normandy landings to make them secure for the tugs.

The Assembly Area – The assembly of the units prior to their final journey across the Channel was cause of anxiety as the Naval Authorities wanted to shorten the tow as much as possible. The area near the Isle of Wight was the main site for assembly and would become very congested in advance of D-Day and therefore conspicuous. To avoid this happening it was decided to assemble a considerable number well advance of
D-Day in Dungeness Bay and at the same time indicates a threat to the Pas-de-Calais. The slightly longer towing time to the invasion beaches and the less sheltered water of Dungeness were considered acceptable risks.

Nothing more apart from normal security was considered necessary to protect the secret or deception. The Subject was left well alone in the hope no questions were asked, in fact none were. There were two Mulberry Harbours constructed, the British at Arromanches and the Americans at St.Laurent.

There were many problems prior to D-Day, for example the pre-loading of 185,000 men and 20,000 vehicles for the initial assault, and after maintaining a steady flow of men, equipment and stores.
· These were carried in 4,200 landing ships
· Supported by 1,200 Merchant ships
· And 1,200 Warships including seven Battleships
· And 23 Cruisers.
Following these were the strange floating objects of the Mulberries towed by a fleet of 100 tugs at 4 mph. On the beach were specially trained crews to begin the task of erection. Before the arrival frogmen and engineers had to clear the shallow of all obstacles and dismantle heavily mined construction of angle irons and steel. Its worth noting that the Arromanches Mulberry was a port as big as Dover, some two miles wide and nearly one mile from the outer breakwater to the shore. 2,000,000 tons of assorted concrete and steel went in to building the two ports at Arromanches and St.Laurent.

On June 19, 1944, 13 days after the first landings, a great storm blew up which raged for three days. The US Mulberry at St.Laurent was destroyed and the Arromanches port received heavy damage. By that time the Mulberries had played a major role in the invasion. It is said. The success of the Mulberries harbour was probably the most single factor to the establishment of a beachhead in those early days of the Normandy Invasion “Overload”. Around 9,000 tons of material was landed daily.

KC and I stood besides one of the Mulberry caissons as they lay about the beach, crusted with algae. Phoenix was the code name for this great idea “Mulberry port”. To build two Mulberry ports, 146 of these were required from ten of the smallest at 1,677 tons each through six sizes to the largest, 60 of which were needed at 6,044 tons each.
Here is how they created this great man-made port – Commencing on D+4, this was the day many of the Duke of York’s Royal Canadian Hussars soldiers landed on “Juno Beach”.

Returning to Bayeux would take us to a church along the roadside, we wondered about our soldiers, did they meet resistance at this church? We saw the caretaker, and asked if we could go in? It did not look that safe, but he informed us that if we were to go down the street to #4 the mayor’s house - the mayor would be happy to open the doors for us. Karen and I put ourselves in the shoes of our soldiers as we drove back home. Houses, tiny streets, and corners where our soldiers must have stopped to secure the area. I must admit that I did look for bullets holes, and other remains from the war’s artillery fire. One thing Karen noted was the front of the flat front on the houses even though the streets were curved, nothing jutted out.

It is noteworthy to write about Ste-Mere-Eglise – it was at this church on the first morning of the assault that an American GI landed, his parachute caught on the spires. In the souvenir shops we often see the postcard depicting this scene. A bronze statue depicts him (he was captured, but not killed). Another site of history was Pegasus Bridge, which straddled the Orne River, and marks the spot where the first French home was liberated.

Arriving back late to our beautiful abode, we showered and got ready for our evening at the Pommier, a cute restaurant at 38-40, rue, des Cusiniers. We were seated in the main dining room, two tables away from the window at about seven-thirty. We knew that this would be a great evening of dining. It’s seemed that when you have a great day, you also have a great evening of dining and laughs.

We were the third group to arrive, and before too long, a group from England sat behind KC, two from New Zealand were next to us at the window, at the back wall a group from Germany were having good fun, while a family from the United States completed the evening setting with a sprinkling of French to my right.Tapissserie hung from the wall, and columns of stone indicating a building of many centuries. The white table cloth, and white & red napkins with stainless steel utensils set the whole evening off right not to mention pride of ownership. Karen ordered the pork medallions, while I had the mixed grill. Crozes Hermitage 2001 wine was our choice for the evening. Pont Levesque, Livarot, and Camembert cheese completed Karen’s meal.

I notice that during our meal, the couple to my left and in particular the gentleman kept looking my way, so eventually I said are you from here? He said no we are from New Zealand, and said you do look familiar. We completed our dinner, and we struck up the conversation once again. They were in their early thirties traveling the world for three months. He was in advertising, and she was an interior decorator who took time off to accompany her boyfriend. The journey would cover 28,000 miles with a good portion of this trip paid by his employer, so he must have closed a big deal.

We introduced ourselves, and they were Scott & Meg. It was at this point that he persisted on knowing me. To make a long story short, do you watch X-files, he said yes, and you are the cigarette smoking man right? No I said, yes you are, he continued. Wait just a bit my hotel is only up the street and I want to get my camera. I must take a photo to show my friends back home and off he scoots to fetch his camera, and before you could count sixteen steamboats, he was at our table shoving the camera into Meg’s hand, and telling her to snap a photo. At this point the restaurant is humming and clients starring our way. The English couple sneaked a look from the table with a tiny smile, confirming I was indeed the cigarette smoking man. It was a most enjoyable evening at the Pommier.

We enjoyed ourselves so much that we decided to have a nightcap. Just next door to our hotel was La Taverne des Ducs, a bar brasserie style restaurant. We ordered a glass of Calvados hor’s d’age, I believe it was fifteen years old the waiter said. This drink was very much part of our trip, we had promised ourselves that just like they do at the Armory, we would consume a glass of the famous Calvados.If we could put 10 days together as we enjoyed this one, this holiday would be a best seller!

With our second day just about to begin, we walked towards the garden, which is about five feet higher than the walkway. We lift the latch from the tiniest door, and walk up a few steps to the garden. The scene is marvelous, and breakfast awaits. More steps leads us to the breakfast nook, but in reality a most interesting nook, only because everything about it, is royalty, from table cloths to utensils and dishes. Our waitresses are dressed in black & white, extremely polite as well as perfect in their mannerism.
Even the owner Pierrette dresses beyond chic, and on this day, wears a flamingo/pink outfit with a scarf to match, with beige shoes. She makes it a point to check on you each day, as she routinely walks her way around the dining area. Unlike most hotels in France, where you must choose your breakfast and bring it to your table – not here! You sit, and everything is brought to you. You just don’t want to leave this place.

Here is example of a breakfast at Hotel d’Argouges – Orange Juice, Croissants, baguette, special breads, an assortment of jams & jellies. A cup of puree apples, and tea or coffee, you choose. Décor is splendid including some decent art on the walls, and fresh flowers each morning on the coffee table. During the evening, this room can be used for television viewing or reading room. A beautiful fireplace is dead center of the dining area with a sparkling chandelier to match. If you wish an American style breakfast you must pay a surcharge.

During our breakfast - KC & I are planning today’s visit to “Mont-Saint-Michel Abbey.
Located 201 miles W of Paris, our jewel of a side trip took less than two hours traveling the country roads. The word “awestruck” is the best way to describe our first viewing. Here we are driving down this road without Alice in Wonderland or the tin-man or the lion when all of sudden, KC screeches out, look at that Jocko, over there.
All I could see is a field, and at the end a huge Abbey “Mont-Saint-Michel Abbey”.
With no water in sight, we continued for some time until we reached the road leading to the Abbey. What a site, and I’m sure Mega Bloks would love to get their hands on this image. This is one of the most exciting sites these eyes have seen in my life, it’s that imposing. We parked our car, and began walking towards Mont-Saint-Michel. We were in row 5, and to reach the Abbey we had a bit of walk past many buses, and tons of sheep all grazing in the seabed in front of the Abbey. It goes without saying that the tide was out. They do say that the tide comes in like galloping horses, somewhat similar to the Bay of Fundy.

KC and I were able to walk up every step. There is a steep climb to the summit – pardon my pun, but that’s quite a feat for KC Le Grande Rue, is lined with 15th – and 16th-century houses, as we meander towards the abbey. As we move about, we visit the boutiques, and check out the restaurants. Making it to the top enables us to begin our exploration of the Marvel of the West. In the 8th. century an oratory was founded on the spot by St.Aubert, the bishop of Avranches. It was replaced by a Benedictine monastery, founded in 966 by Richard I. That met with destruction by fire in 1203. Large parts of the Abbey were financed by Philip Augustus in the 13th century.Ramparts encircle the church and a three-tiered ensemble of 13th-century buildings called Le Merveille that rise dramatically to the pointed spire of the abbey church. This terraced complex is one of Europe’s most important Gothic monuments, a citadel from which the concept of an independent France was nurtured during the darkest years of the English occupation of Aquitaine.

On the second terrace of La Merveille, midway up the rock, is one of Mont-Saint-Michel’s largest and most beautiful rooms, a 13th-century banquet hall known as the Salle des Chevaliers.Crowning the mountain’s summit is the Eglise Abbatiale (not to be confused with the less important Eglise St.Pierre lower down on the mountain). Begun in the 11th century, the abbey church consists of a Romanesque nave and transept, plus a choir in the Flanboyant Gothic style. The rectangular refectory is from 1212, the cloisters with their columns of pink granite from 1225.

SIGN OF TIDE – Mont-Saint-Michel historically has been noted for its tide, the highest on the continent, measuring at certain times of the year a 50-foot difference between high and low tide. Unsuspecting visitors wandering across the sands (notorious for quick-sands) have been trapped as the sea rushes towards the mont at a speed comparable to that of a galloping horse. However, the way around the abbey has silted, not only because of the causeway (le digue) but also because of various barriers and dikes erected. Today tides engulf the island less and less frequently. France will spend $110 million over the next few years replacing the mile-long causeway with a bridge so water can lap freely around the mont. Parking lots will be moved further away from the abbey, and ecology experts will work to encourage bird and marine life in the air & water. Construction and other engineering works began in 1998.

As we completed our visit, we purchased a typical French sandwich along with a drink. Found a set of stairs along the street, and enjoyed the freedom of life as we looked at visitors going by, doing much the same as ourselves. That’s life!

While in Bayeux, we also visited the Cathedrale Notre-Dame de Bayeux, and the Musee.
On the evening of May 27th, 2003 – we took in the restaurant “Le Florintine, Italian of course, nothing special other than changing pace. We unfortunately had to endure clients smoking next to us, otherwise, the evening was uneventful.

We could not stay at d’Argouges without using the grounds. The setting is perfect for a dinner in the garden al fresco. We purchased fruit, a baguette of course, some cheese, a large bottle of water, and a fine bottle of wine. With map’s in hand we took over the garden area near our bldg. The British couple that used the ferry to holiday in France noticed our soiree, and came over to wish us “bon appetite”.

CAEN – The town is etched on my brain from the story Bert, and his buddies talked about. Located 148 miles NW of Paris, and on the banks of the Orne, the port of Caen suffered great damage in the allied invasion of Normandy in 1944. Nearly three-quarters of its buildings, 10,000 in all, were destroyed, though the twin abbeys founded by William the Conqueror and his wife, Mathilda, were spared. The city today is essentially modern and has many broad avenues and new apartment buildings. Completely different from Deauville and Trouville, this capital of Lower Normandy is bustling, traffic congested, and commercial. The resident student population of 30,000 and the hordes of International travelers have made this city more cosmopolitan than ever, and its major rail and ferry junction.

We toured the WWII memorial with all the various countries depicting their involvement.
We viewed a tremendous movie, which was truly emotional. It was shown on a split screen showing one view from the allies and one from the enemy. There were no words and non were necessary in order to portray these historical events. They used actual footage to document the battles and this proved to be a truly moving documentary.

ROUEN, France – The Capital of Normandy, Rouen is the north’s second most important center. It’s also a hub of commerce, the fifth-largest port in France. Located 84 miles NW of Paris, Rouen is a bustling, vibrant place, bursting with activity generated by an explosion of industrial businesses connected to the port and a lively scene generated by students at nearby universities and art schools.

500,000 people reside in Rouen – Victor Hugo called Rouen ‘the city of hundred spires.
Half of it was destroyed during WWII, mostly by Allied bombers, and many Rouennais were killed. William the Conqueror died here in 1087, and Joan of Arc was burned at the stake on place du Vieux-Marche in 1431. The seine, as in Paris, splits Rouen into a Rive Gauche (left Bank) And Rive Droite (right Bank). The old city is on the right bank.

Our view from our hotel (7th. floor) overlooked a huge “water fountain” which we enjoyed tremendously. Circular in designed about 75 feet in diameter. With a chute sending water some fifty feet dead center into the air, while smaller chutes inches apart sprayed water in a circular motion. The noise created a feeling of comfort. After dinner, we spent some time around the fountain just resting. The park/square was oval in shape with the condos on the perimeter. Two lovers where at a statue embracing the moment, while a master and his dog played to our left. If you were to cup your palms of your hands, the fountain would be in the palm area, while the fingers would be the opening to the main street. From the main street came this elderly women, she definitely had a purpose as she approached the fountain, she starred, and slowly worked her way towards Karen and I. As she sat only 40 feet from us and starred, Karen & I wondered about her? Our conclusion is that people need something to hold onto to! Possibly her loss of her husband and this tranquility gave her that peace we all seek at times of loneliness.

We lunched at a “Bistro du Bouch”. We were part of the Square with action all around us. Church on this side with a fountain facing us, church at the back, sidewalk café’s by the dozen, plenty of art shops, and even antique dealers having to negotiate, 15 feet from our table. Cobblestone streets add to the charm of the square, statues, and locals with baguettes under their arms, and tinker’s.

We did walk the Seine area after our evening meal. Speeding cars are inches from you, the Seine is full of barges, and trees line the sidewalks..

There is so much to see in Rouen – example, side trips along the Routes des Abbayes. Hornfleur, is a charming village. The township has long been favoured by artists, including Daubigny, Corot, and Monet. A short drive away you have Deauville, a spot for the rich and famous. Then you have Trouville which feels like a fisher’s port, something like the charming and evocative Hornfleur but with fewer boutiques and art galleries.

We arrived in Calais with a million other visitors making this venture exciting. We did find a good parking spot near the jetty, which stretches out towards the English channel. We walked out to the tip of the Jetty, and parked along the railing were at least 100 fishermen with rods as long as 25 feet?

CALAIS – This is what we did see and learn. Services aboard ferryboats and hydrofoils operate day and night, in all seasons, with the exception of last-minute cancellations during particularly fierce storms. Most ferries carry cars, trucks, and massive amounts of freight, but some hydrofoils take passengers only. The major routes include at least 12 trips a day between Dover or Folkestone and Calais or Boulogne. Hovercraft and hydrofoils make the trip to Dover to Calais, the shortest distance across the Channel, in just 40 minutes during good weather, whereas the slowest-moving ferries might take several hours, depending on the weather conditions and tides.

As stated above, the shortest and by far the most popular route across the Channel is between Calais and Dover. Hoverspeed operates at least 12 hovercraft crossing daily; the trip takes 35 minutes. It also runs a SeaCat (a catamaran propelled by jet engines) that take slightly longer to make the crossing between Boulogne and Folkestone; the SeaCat depart about four times a day on the 55-minute voyage. $4.50 US/ person.

The Chunnel – The $15-billion tunnel, one of the great engineering feats of all time, is the first link between Britain and the Continent since the Ice Age. The Chunnel’s Le Shuttle also accommodates passenger cars, charter buses, taxis, and motorcycles from Flokestone, England, to Calais, France. It operates 24 hours a day year-round, running every 15 minutes during peak travel times and at least once an hour at night.

Before boarding Le Shuttle, motorist must stop at a tollbooth and pass through immigration for both countries at one time. We did not do this. They then drive onto a half-mile-long train and travel through an underground tunnel built beneath the seabed through a layer of impermeable chalk marl and sealed with a reinforced-concrete lining. During the ride, you stay in the air-conditioned carriages, remain inside your car, or step outside to stretch your legs. Many packages are offered, including hotel, meals etc.

Salut France for a bit – as we head towards Belgium and the cities - Brugges and Ghent. Busy, busy, busy, talk about bad luck, the tourist bureau in Brugges tells us that it’s a busy time “Ascension Thursday” and flocks of visitors have nestled there for the whole week. Hotel’s are available, but 50 miles away. God bless Canada. We made a decision – Brussels would be our next stop, the Capital of Belgium. We knew that from Brussels we could visit Brugges, which is 60 miles away, Ghent 35 and Mons 35 miles away.
As the lingo goes, we motored into Brussels at speeds of 140-142/km otherwise this leg of the trip would definitely put us behind the eight ball with regards to keeping our schedule. Arriving late into Brussels was pure magic, first because it was free of people, and second we stopped in front of hotel Chambord, which we booked for two nights.
Find a parking spot would you believe, hustle the luggage from the car, and run all the way up the elevator for “two” with luggage of course, and smack into our roof top abode which overlooked beautiful “upper Brussels”.

We freshened up ands moseyed down for a well-deserved dinner. Fortunately, a bunch of restaurants were waiting for us to choose, smoke filled, or little smoke, under the tarp or outside the tarp. Enclosed or wide open, or just a plain table and chair. We went with the trapeze restaurant, figuring that with the wires overhead, could it be that the flying Willenda’s would perform. It was a fun night, because we both ordered coq-au-vin, which looked like a duck in a mud bath, a salad, some wine, a huge bottle of water, and chewed on a baguette to start. Welcome folks to Waterloo Blvd, an expensive place to shop.

Our meal showed up disguised under a brown sauce, immediately KC asked, what is this. We forgot that were in Brussels, and these people cook food differently than Canadians. He convinced us that it was good, and enjoy. Our waiter was entertaining, he was Belgium of course, but began using a drawl, when he informed us that most of his relatives live in Texas. I thought he was a Canadian – obviously he was an imposter.

A feature I enjoyed, were the underpasses or tunnels, which takes you through the city. The first one we took was 3.5 km, and I immediately pulled over once out of this underpass only to find out that for those who know this city, you can reach your destination quickly, and each vary as to length. Otherwise you take the service road as we call them, and suffer the lights and pedestrian traffic.

After our dinner we checked out the area, and bought some water as we slowly worked our way back to our hotel at 11.00pm, for a good night sleep. Our next day would be a busy one. We had booked a city tour in the am, and a trip to Brugges from 11.00 am, to 7.30pm. The Brugges trip is something we really wanted to do, because Bert touched this city during WWII. We did a great job in Brugges on our own, walking the medieval streets and taking the canal cruise, visiting the main sites, and having lunch. Population of Brugges is 45,000, and it’s the capital of the Belgian province of West-Flanders.
“The Venice of the North”. – This place was also busy as we were unable to get a hotel here either.

Ghent on the other hand has 250,000 inhabitants and is the fourth largest city in Belgium, but not as popular with tourist as Brugges. Sea-going vessels bring their products to the city and its industrial hinterland. Ghent is also the flower city of Belgium and sells their beautiful begonias and azalea’s all over the world.

We managed a smooth return to Brussels, and find our way to Hotel Chambord.
The concierge informs us that the main elevator is not working, could we kindly take the one at the back. It’s the eerie side of the hotel, vacuum, extra towels, and soap hang out here, but it’s bigger and older.

We take time to rest and shower. If Karen & I started a travel agency, we would call it, “Adventures on the go”.

With 8.30pm upon us, its time to make tracks towards Waterloo blvd, and one of those beautifully El Fresco restaurants. No gambling tonight, KC will no doubt take the Lamb chops while I will go for the filet mignon. No wine tonight, a beer will do with a large bottle of water to share. This evening would turn out to be interesting, because only minutes after we were seated, a young couple sat to our right. They spoke a different language, and as we found out, they were from Holland and on holidays. We introduced ourselves, and told them that we are off to Holland tomorrow without a map or hotel or guide. Our dinners came, so we went about our business of eating. Meanwhile we could see that Gretal was quickly drawing a map of Holland on the paper tablecloth. . When our coffee came, we immediately resumed our conversation and enjoyed a most interesting evening together. It all started with, are you from Belgium! I will place the map she drew in our journal as a pleasant souvenir.

Next stop, Utrecht, Holland for a visit and then off to Arnhem to our Hotel Old Dutch.
My first impression of Utrecht it’s small, with rail tracks in the middle of the street, and hundred of bicycles coming at you not to mention bike paths everywhere. At each corner of the street, dozens of bikes were parked. When I stopped to ask for direction to the old town, the young man, said, parks your car here and walk. We did not take his advice and drove anyway into the old town, it was a mistake because the first thing I saw was a tramcar coming at me. Wrong way Jocko. Being Sunday everything was closed, except the corner hotel with its sidewalk café entertaining a few customers. After an hour or so, we scooted towards the highway.

Hotel Old Dutch (not to be confused with the white powdered cleaners) was the easiest hotel to find – the town’s three hotels were all within inches of each other. Old Dutch offered the best deal, and the owner was cute and proud of her hotel. When Karen questioned the quality of the room, she said, I’m giving you our best and biggest room. Up the elevator we go, so happy that we finally have a Jacuzzi, whirlpool, or something of that nature. Wrong, it was big all right, but reasonable for the cost but had a lot of wear and tear. We did not think about the railway and bus station across the street, so did we ever get a wake up call bright an early next day? The building had character, the front desk was set to one side, while a bar, and restaurant area with two lotto machines completed the first floor. All six bar stools were taken up by the local’s.
The bar was fully stocked, and laughter rained supreme. When we returned from the town square, the restaurant area had an older generation sitting and chatting. I did not see any food, just beer. It would have been nice to sit with them and shoot the breeze because they were just passing the time.

It was mid afternoon when we decided to have a bite. The restaurant was on a side street away from the square, but busy, and enjoyable. We had the table at the window, and we ordered a mild chicken curry with beer. The tinker’s playing music created excitement, people streamed by as if in a parade, people hugged, others kissed, and everybody knew each other. Worn out and subdued by the beer - we returned to our room for a siesta.

After our siesta we walked over to the square, and sat among the flowing crowd. Sidewalk café’s aplenty, walking space minimum, bikes taking up every inch of wall space available. Two beers we yelled out to our waiter as we watched young actors enter a playhouse just across from us, while a group of rugby players from Britain highlighted the chorus of “Bloody Hell”. The square was completely sold out, with chairs facing out and the name of the game was gawking while having a big choice of beers. Each café had huge awnings, the type you could use for a small wedding. 1,000 chairs if not more were occupied the square, and by the time we left, possibly another 500 were added. Ice cream parlours were busy, as well as the waiters running about.
The shopping area in this town was big time – with beautiful boutiques, and shops, offering quality goods - equal to any product we may have in North America if not better. I’m a firm believer of European goods.

Our evening in Arnhem was climaxed with a Grand Marnier at our hotel’s sidewalk café.
We talked about our conversation with our friends the night before. I was under the impression that Holland’s population was 60 million, but in fact it’s only 16 million. Our friend from Holland meant 16 million, but he could not pronounce the sixteen! I kept asking, where do you put 60 million people in such a small country? Netherlands area is only 14,413 square miles.

Prior to leaving Arnhem, we enjoyed a nice breakfast in a crowded room, off the restaurant area. Continental style. Our next stop is Nijmegen, Netherland. This is a town which the 17th. Hussars crossed during WWII. Within an hour we were sitting on the dock between two bridges, trying to figure out which of these bridges did our Canadians cross. It is difficult to imagine this peaceful setting and this small town being invaded by marching armies. We continued our visit into the city center, and enjoyed some time walking about the shopping area.

From Nijmegen, to Mons, Belgium. For some reason I noticed an increase in traffic from Nijmegen. The roads were not as wide, and passing convoys of trucks seem endless.
We were more careful during this run, taking no chances.

Mons, Belgium would get us closer to Paris where we have a three-day stay before returning home. The drive kept us on our toes right into Mons, and the center of the town square. Tourism bureau, City Hall, the European Union Office, and yes even the Monkey was all waiting for us – Auge Square. The young lady who took care of us in the Tourism bureau was better than most. She did a great job including showing us a film of Mons, Hotel St.George was recommended – we drove up to the door, found a parking spot, and walked in to find a kind middle age man sifting through papers. We settled for the top floors again, no elevator, but plenty of stairs leading us to our room overlooking the cobblestone streets. The room was huge with antique furniture, a bed on stilts, a chandelier missing a bulb and a tile floor making the room looks cold. The bathroom, let’s just say it was small. We did have a balcony - big windows with heavy curtains to keep out the eerie ghost of this town.

A bicycle racing team used part of our street so did the bus route. There were magical pewter pylons disappearing into the grounds each time the bus had to move up our street. There was an interesting casino of some sort tucked away at the corner but more like an off-track betting parlour with a cover charge, and you needed a passport to enter.

We walked the street of Mons, Belgium and brought back some interesting literature worth reading. Many boutiques and shops line the streets and there is even an expensive mall in the area. We found that post offices in Europe are a cool place, people hang out there, and even before opening you have line-ups.

The evening part of our trip to Mons proved to be relaxing. Dinner at Le Grillade, a Greek restaurant which did a great job on our food. We would only have dinner here as we decided Le St.Germain on the Grand’place would be our dessert stop. Everything was pleasant about the evening, Le Grillade for instance had charm, cozy-warm, a touch of Creece of course, a polite waiter, and good wine. Le St-Germain for instance was the busiest of all the outside café’s on the square, and had excellent desserts. We did have choice seats, and more rugby players. Before the night was over we had consumed, Espresso Grand, Cappuccino, Dame Blanche, Perrier, coupe 3 boule, and a few Grand Marnier’s.

It’s amazing how you can learn about people during a stay at these sidewalk café’s.
A short man with platform shoes walks with his taller friends and is the noisiest.
An older man in shorts with “Igor” type leg’s escorts a younger women towards the lane way. Lovers stop to kiss. Local’s walk and eat at the same time. The monkey has constant visitors, but only one person touches his head. Two gay men are enjoying a night together, a motorcyclist parking his Harley-Davidson sits down with two ladies in waiting. Our waiter, Alex is a polite senior. Next-door the café call’s it a night as they pile the plastic chairs and finally, most of the crowd is walking east? Could it be that ghost I mentioned earlier is chasing everyone home??

KC ” wake up its time for breakfast”. After my shower KC turn to me and say’s how did you get into that shower? Easy Girl, I turned sideways. You had to be there. It was on the tiny side. The owner, with minimal food, serves breakfast. After our breakfast we strolled the morning streets of Mons, as KC and the magical bus pylons meet up once again.

We are one night’s sleep from Paris as we pull into the town of Laon, France located 86 miles NE. We are minutes from our Hotel Saint Vincent, but stuck on a crescent, just a wrong turn. A retired gentleman is leaning on his fence, so I stop to ask for direction. Well, this man just about did cartwheels as he said wait a minute and ran into his luxurious home. Out he came with a piece of paper, and pen – began drawing the route to our hotel. Our hotel was part of the Citotel chain, and we lucked out again. Beautiful room, great dining room, and tremendous service. The owner’s daughter helped us with
Free-telephone calls, and even booked our Paris Hotel.

It took about three hours for our tour, and we brought back some interesting literature for your reading pleasure.

Wednesday June 4th, 2003 – Paris and the return of our car which is two days late, which goes to prove, you loose track of time on a good vacation.
We drop off our luggage at our hotel “Hotel Mon Reve” near Tour Eiffel. More exercise, three floors, plus 15 steps to our junior suite. With hotel in order, we head towards the Europcar deposit in downtown Paris. We did have some luck, the outer peripherique going west get’s us close, but we can’t see the Europcar office. We are at a red light when KC notices a green Europcar sign, it’s pointing down into the ground, like under the street. How are we going to get there, “watch me”, I tell KC The light turns green, I cross just like a Parisian would, straight across four lanes of traffic, one embankment, and down the tunnel to a waiting Europcar agent. Where have you guy’s been she asked? KC say’s we got lost, we have been in Paris for two day’s trying to find your office. Great story, unfortunately you still have to pay. An extra day was charged, instead of two making our trip easier to take and great fun.

Now to get back to our hotel, we could see the Tour Eiffel. This was out third time to Paris so the Eiffel Tower is a good start. With our hotel in the bag, we decide to begin our visit by walking towards the Eiffel Tower, and the Seine. By the time we were finished our walk had brought closer to our hotel, but still a fair hike away. We gave Arrondsissement 15 a good look, covering the major and side streets. With our limbs loosy-goosey, we arrived at our hotel. 55 stairs between the shower and us. We suck up some energy, and get to our room, flop into the bed for some bone relaxation, and wonder what in hell did we do?

Metro, is the way to go, and its easy, fast, comfortable, except when you have a transportation strike. Then you must watch for the roving gypsies “Tinkers” who have a knack of relieving you of your wallet in the metro or escalators. They work in groups, and for the first time in my life I experienced the confusion they create. Karen and I are standing on the platform, everything is quite when the door of the metro car opens.
All of a sudden, your being pushed and the noise level increases. A young girl of 14 years of age, ask for the time, while another unlatches my button of my back pocket. I presume the third young lady removes my wallet, but in my case, I backed up immediately, sensing, pickpockets, and push the remover into a seat or window.
Immediately the noise level stops, and the girls move on towards another visitor.
Thank God for hard buns, and quick thinking otherwise, Jocko loses some cash, bankcard, and licenses not to mention my air Miles Card.

Paris, I love the scene, the baguettes, the sandwiches, the Latin Quarters (arrondissements 5), the Metro, you name it, it’s an experience, and only Parisians can deliver. It will all begin in earnest tonight as we return for another crack near the Latin quarters, and the seine. Dinner with the Greek’s, breaking of dishes to attract your eyes towards their restaurant, and poof, you’re a target, and with the Greek music blaring from the restaurant, the maitre’d points to a table and offers a free drink, music, and dancers. Other restaurateurs are not too happy if he succeeds, because they want that same customers. Don’t pay attention, move on until you find the right place. It’s worth the aggravation for a good night along the Latin Quarters.
If you want to annoy a restaurateur, don’t look at his restaurants menu, soon enough he will ask, what’s wrong with my restaurant? Arrondissement # 18 – Monmartre is the most famous arrondissement, embracing Monmartre and associated with such legendary names as the Moulin Rouge, Sacre-Couer and place du Tetre (a tourist trap) – Utrillo was its native son, Renoir lived here, and Toulouse-Latrec adopted the area as his own. Today place Blanche is known for its prostitutes, and Monmartre is filled with honky-tonks, souvenir shops, and terrible restaurants.

Here is what they say about Paris – Paris is a city for strollers whose greatest joy is rambling through unexpected alleys and squares. If you have a choice, try to make it on your own two feet whenever possible. How else can you rub elbows (literally) with Parisians and experience the real Paris. Not only did we walk with the Parisians, we also walked away without paying from a Café after bad service. We rode the metro on sixteen different occasions, and thwarted four Gypsies from stealing our money. We did the baguette thing, and the ham and cheese sandwich as we strolled the streets. We sat among the throngs of people near the Champs-Elysee, and enjoyed lunch and then strolled the avenue. We stopped in a park, totally lost to verify our map, only to be told by a young Dad to watch out for pickpockets. We even began driving like them, what a thrill.

We learned so much on this trip – eating on the go, transportation strikes, pickpockets, late night dinners, friendship, proud owners of hotels, and there is more in France than the “City of Lights” yes - The little town and the many surprises we face each day along the country road.

Enjoy your baguette………….

Jock

pichejovila@videotron.ca

2006-02-20T07:17:00.000-08:00

BREAKFAST ON THE GO

Breakfast – Weekday breakfast of Cereal, fruit, toast and tea is the norm. When you live in a climate of warm summer months, and cold winter months choosing breakfast food differs. The Saturday we enjoyed the most was the cool months because we always paid more attention to the travel section of our newspaper. We would cook some cling to your ribs porridge, toast, with a glass of orange juice, and tea. We would devote a few hours to our travel section of our newspaper. We would check the Caribbean for early spring, and Europe in late summer or early fall. Breakfast in the Caribbean – The All-inclusive offers buffet style breakfast, and that’s fine because you loaded up on what ever fancied your tummy on that particular day. Europe on the other hand differed based on whether you were in a B & B, or hotel. Continental & American style breakfast exists in most cases, but you tend to follow the crowd and eat healthy during your stay. I can recall the first time I tried Yogurt. We were in a B & B, Paris, France and a continental breakfast was included in our cost. Sitting a few feet away, four businessmen were babbling away and in all cases each one had brought a Yogurt to their table. I returned to the fruit table, and took a yogurt. Many years ago while in Algiers, I was introduced to wine at the breakfast table. Water was expensive, and since we wanted a liquid to drink, a glass of wine was more enjoyable. The warm climate of Algiers and having breakfast later in the morning would be another reason. I was also introduced to Siesta’s, and shuttered windows. Cruising the Oceans – is another magnificent early morning breakfast enjoyment. The whole nine yards before you disembark for touring the many Ports of call over a period of seven to fourteen days. The secret to cruising is the Gym early in the morning before breakfast. The smallest coffee cup these hands have ever held was held in Bern, Switzerland, at MacDonald’s of course. I am involved with veterans of WWII, and during a recent visit to Hastings, England some of the men asked if I would take a picture of a plaque placed on a building. The plaques was in honour of 17th. Hussars and it also listed eleven of the men who died during the bombing of the hotel.
Baguette Breakfast – The boardwalk along Hastings shores produced a nice little restaurant.
It was empty when we arrived with enough seating for twenty. We chose the best view of the Ocean. For a minute we thought, is there any service? I picked up the menus on the counter as the waitress (Romanian) made an appearance. What can I get for you this morning, breakfast please, may I suggest the baguette breakfast. The name of the place was “Art Café”, and we were flabbergasted by the size of this all in one baguette breakfast. The contents included; eggs, bacon, a large sausage, home fries, mushrooms, and tomato. It goes without mentioning that we did not complete our breakfast! The place was busy now, so off we went towards the Queen’s Hotel, and our plaque. Nice experience. Breakfast offers a time to organize, and every now and then we will have a perfect view of a lake, the Ocean, a town’s square or the Old Port. We always make sure that our view is unrestricted. There has been an occasion when we ordered breakfast out, and dangled our feet from a bench or pier. Nice comes to mind, and the perfect place is “Le Promenade des Anglais”, so much to see and enjoy.

The one day which has become a tradition is Sunday – In nineteen-ninety five my wife was diagnosed with Lung Cancer. Between our country home and backyard patio we enjoyed the fresh air. There was an instance when we arrived home after a hospital visit, which hit home. Look Jock the buds on the tree. It was then that I realize how important such a small thing like a bud on a tree meant. The following Sunday, we began a tradition of having breakfast and it did not matter where! Over the period of fifty-six weeks, we traveled the Province of Quebec. We began with local restaurants, then a bit further towards the Eastern Township, the Laurentians, even Byward market in Ottawa, or the Old Town of Quebec City. The purpose was not to have breakfast anymore, but rather to enjoy nature’s gifts. We slowed everything down, but made sure that we were comfortable at all times. At one point when she was in good shape, we traveled the Maritimes -I will never stop my Sunday breakfast.

Jock

2006-02-18T05:24:00.000-08:00

TO ENGLAND, AND SCOTLAND ON THREE BEEPS.

AUGUST 27TH, 2005 – SEPTEMBER 9TH, 2005

FLIGHT TO LONDON, ENGLAND

Our UK vacation began with our departure from Pierre Elliot Trudeau International Airport – Dorval. Flight AC866 to London Heathrow (GB) 22.30 arriving on August 28th, 2005 at 10.15 – Terminal three. UK & Canada have a six hour difference. Jock loves the window seat, while KC enjoys the isle seat. The plane was a B767-300 (two-three-two) with full service. 286 passengers plus crew. Warm towels to refresh our face and hands started the whole luncheon affair. We were served roast Beef dinner with all the trimmings, and liquids. The on board staff, spoke both languages, and performed their duties with excellence.

This flight had a multicultural flavour, one family of Arabic origin looked splendid in their gown of pure silk. Women all covered up must have been a bit hot? Parisians sat in front of us. A young baseball player with Boston Red Sox bag looked in good enough shape to be a baseball player. Next to us a young lady must have been a gymnast just by the way she was able to twist and tuck parts of her body into the seat. Her cap became her “eye-shields” as she slept most of the way across the Atlantic Ocean.

We are informed that we are only ninety minutes from Heathrow, and from my window seat 24A, I noticed another jet to my left at least a mile away and some five hundred feet above. It sets you off wondering, because years ago, it would be an oddity to even see a jet above the clouds, let alone so close. I guess that’s air traffic these days.

The pilot orders his crew to get ready and cross check procedures as he informs all of us that he is starting his descent into Heathrow Airport. “Wow” my dear friends, this is a monster of an Airport – we can see a variety of planes including 747’s at gates with, names such as Saudi-Arabia, and Kuwait Airlines not to mentions many British Airway planes as we slowly drive down the runway towards our gate. Once on the ground – passing immigration and collecting our luggage is a piece of cake.

Earl’s Court is our Underground stop - and our hotel area for the next four nights. Although the location is minutes away from reaching any part of Downtown London, the Hotel itself is not worth the price we paid. Our room was not ready so we placed our luggage in a locked storage room – and began our vacation by visiting the area. We had two hours to kill, so we oriented ourselves to the neighborhood.

· We found a Marks & Spencer called “Simply Foods”, and that was our main focus when we needed snacks and take out food. We were impressed with this corner store. Extremely well organized with packaging for the single person. Everything was fresh.
· Our second location was Dino’s, an Italian Restaurant which had chairs and table at street level, and we used it as our Café spot. Cappuccino or tea. It was our Parisian style people watching area. Talk about our first impression of London and its vast multi-cultural population. The one episode which caught my eye involved three men and they were striding towards us – the man in the middle had his arms wrapped around each of the younger men. He was wearing decent clothes, a pair of sunglasses, and a baseball cap “incognito style” touching the top of his glasses.
· And three sheets to the wind! As they walked passed us all three were yapping away. The middle man was caressing the younger man closes to us while the other chap seems contented to tag along. The middle man continued caressing the youngest chap as they stopped at the ice cream parlour. At this point, separation took place to select an ice-cream flavour. It took about thirty minutes and the young lady server was not pleased at all.
· Young business men dressed impeccably – equally dressed are the business women. Most speed along, while others, such as lovers stroll hand in hand with no hurry. Couple’s do stop for a hug/ kiss.
· ATM’s machines are busy - always a line-up.
· At this café we met a young Russian student who was working his way through University. He told us that he makes good money, and travels the UK and Europe as much as possible. He was 21 years old. Spoke excellent English.
· On Wednesday and Thursday a fruit and veggie vendor added some character to the street.
· Our next stop was a bakery, talk about a nice touch to the area. On our second day I walked over from our hotel to pick up two coffees. The place is humming with customers lined up for coffee, a bun or even a wonderful breakfast sandwich all wrapped up in pastry. It became our breakfast place, because chairs and table were available at the back of the bakery – just awesome as we enjoyed the gawking at Londoners early in the morning.
· We had a beer at the pub near our hotel after a walk and one evening we decided to taste that famous “Fish & Chips” at another Courtfield Pub.

Pub’s work differently in the UK – If you wish a beer, you must place the order at the bar, pay your bill and bring your beer to the table. If you ordered food, same idea except they will bring the food to your table. In some cases like the Courtfield, they give you a wine bottle with a number on it and you place the bottle at your table so that the waitress will know which table the order is for?

Earl’s Court offers a different slant on life as well – we saw our first “Hooker” at the corner of our street. A nice looking young lady, in her early twenties. She was busy because if we ever passed the corner twice, the chance is that she got two gigs. We only know this because, now she’s there and now she’s gone. Not too far from her perch, we met a young couple sitting within a doorway. At first it looked like two sets of legs protruding from a doorway but upon closer inspection, a young man’s complete body surfaced in tattered jeans. He did not look like a homeless person. The young lady on the other hand seemed distressed. She also did not look that bad with only her hair being knotted and sipping on a bottle of “Teachers”. Gays & Lesbians certainly patronized the area. Otherwise, Earl’s Court is a wonderful place for a wake up call.

We began our touring of London by open air bus – purchasing this tour included a river cruise on the “Thames”.

The tour took one hour to complete, and it’s the best way to figure out which of the sites to visit upon completion. From Earl’s Court we used the Underground to reach Victoria station. As you exit the station, ticket vendors are readily available.
Jock gets senior rate which saves one pound! While KC adult fare cost eight pound-seventy-five. If you try to walk this tour, you’re talking more than a full days pounding.

For example when we reached Piccadilly Circus – adrenaline begins to flow and you certainly want to come back to this spot. Breakfast at Ponti’s on Piccadilly Circus – scrambled Egg’s and toast plus tea. (7 bp + tax) Cdn. $15.13
Then you spot SOHO, the excitement grows. You find the theater district, and Covent Garden at which point you see the huge sign for the play Chicago. We purchased two tickets for Chicago in the heart of Piccadilly Circus. Obtaining tickets for any London play can be purchased at kiosks (Piccadilly Box Ltd) only minutes from Harrods (Diana).
Cost for tickets seventy-two pounds (72.00 or Cdn. $ 165.56). We also visited Fortnum & Mason “The world’s most elegant grocery store” dating back to 1707.

From our tour bus we spotted Sherlock Homes Pub and we did pick-up a brochure on the place and its history – so enjoy. Fish and Chips was the order of the day. We place our order at the bar for Stella Artois, and must swing around the counter and follow the aroma towards the fish & chip counter. What a wonderful rest bit. From this stop, we headed to the River cruise along the Thames.

Other attractions of note include; Westminster Abbey, 10 Downing Street, Big Ben, House of Parliament, Tower of London and the Crown Jewels, St.Paul’s Cathedral and Trafalgar Square.

One of KC’s highlight was Kensington Palace – The palace was once also the home of Diana, Princess of Wales, and her two sons (Harry & William now live with their father at St.Jame’s Palace, and his probably best known for the millions of flowers placed in front of it during the days following Diana’s death.

Afternoon tea – Orangery, in its way, the Orangery is the most amazing place for afternoon tea in the world. Set 50 yards north of Kensington Palace, it occupies a long narrow garden pavilion built in 1704 by Queen Anne. In homage to her original intentions, rows of potted orange trees bask in sunlight from soaring windows, and tea is served amid Corinthian columns, ruddy-coloured bricks, and a pair of Grinling Gibbon’s woodcarvings. There are even some urns and statuary that the royal family imported from Windsor Castle. The menu includes soups and sandwiches, with a salad and a portion of upscale potato chips known as kettle chips. The array of different teas is served with high style, accompanied by fresh scones with clotted cream and jam, and Belgian chocolate cake.

We ordered, cream cheese & pickle sandwich “Yuck” but the fancyness of presentation overwhelmed us, so we chewed away. The sandwich was cut into four beams, and placed ninety-degree on top of each other. The piece of carot cake was fine and so was the “tea” as ususal in the UK. We do have a photo of the dining room.

You want total exhaustions – visit the Palace and its grounds

Tower of London – This ancient fortress continues to pack in the crowds.
There are more spooks to the square foot than any other building in the whole of haunted Britain. From a tired position of walking, we decided a break was needed and we chose Ciro’s Pizza Pomodoro which is located in tower place west. We sat at table # 28, which was once occupied by numerous celebrities from all over the world. Now they can add Jock & Karen to the list.

River Cruise – Having experienced many of the worlds famous River Cruises, cruising the Thames is magnificent. You see a new perspective of how the city grew.

POOL OF LONDON – Is a perfect example of “pro-active” thinking. Here is the way they describe the revitalized area along the Thames “In the heart of the pool of London, you will find one of the Capital’s finest independent four star hotels and a fantastic choice of attractions on your doorstep: HMS Belfast, Tower of London, Tate Modern, River Thames and much more!

EXCITING RENDEVOUS – KC’s sister in-law has a daughter living in London, and we had made arrangements prior to leaving Canada for a dinner date. Once in London we connected for place, and time to meet. Covent Gardens at 6.30 pm. The rendezvous point was similar to Prince Arthur Street in Montreal, but in this case much larger in every sense of the word. Shops, Pubs, café’s, cobblestone streets, and market places adorned the whole area near the Underground exit.

Liane and Ashton brought us to a wonderful Pub, minutes away from Strand Street, a place we would come back to another day to take in the play “CHICAGO”. We enjoyed a half pint of Stella Artois, and enjoyed each others company in and outside the pub.
From here, we headed towards Strand Street, and a neat little Italian restaurant –
Zizzi, it was a modern restaurant, with staircase leading us to the main dining room. The pizza oven was striking as you descended the stairs. Bronze (pink-rose) in colour with two chef’s at our service. Offered excellent selections of wine. As you peruse the restaurant, you notice a few “snug’s, which is an Irish tradition for Pubs. We all ordered Pasta, and the conversation flowed from family matters to living in London. Liane & Ashton are young entrepreneurs with tremendous potential as business leaders. They leave you with an air of confidence, power, and a mission towards success.

Just as we were impressed with Liane & Ashton’s future – the young business men and women of the UK flowed with energy. From their mannerism, dress code and personality. Great stuff.

The theater play of “CHICAGO” was spectacular, a total joy and most relaxing after a day of high power touring, on and off tour busses and climbing stairs cases.

Leaving London was not as difficult as you might seem – The weather for example was outstanding for tourist. Not one day of rain but rather sunny and warm. Shorts and tee’s the order of the day. Our hotel of course was not A/C, so hopefully finding some A/C elsewhere and a better hotel was at the top of our agenda.

Our next stop is Portsmouth in the south-east of England.
Our railway station in this case was “Waterloo”, and we ordered our first Taxi cab in London. As we stood outside the worst hotel we ever stayed at, we wondered back to Barcelona, when our luggage was on the sidewalk near the hotel door. A taxi pulls up and the driver places our luggage into his trunk. When we asked, how much, we realized he was not the cab we ordered. An argument ensued when we informed him that we were told the cost would be half the price he mentioned. He jibbers back that all you Americans are the same, stops his car, and begins to throw our luggage in the street and leaves. Another cab sees the commotions, stops and drives us to the harbour to our cruise ship. We had a good laugh driving with the new taxi driver.

Back to England, a BMW pulls up and blows his horn – you ordered a taxi sir?
Yes we did, well I’m the taxi. What you own the company, I asked? Yes I do!
It was one of the most interesting rides to an airport. The driver was from Iran, and bias towards Islam, but polite and very loquacious. He seems to think that having the Queen on our currency was not good. Why does the Queen rule Canada is the message we were getting? We tried to inform him that Canada does rule its own destination and that the Queen is only an old tired out rubber stamp. But, he kept it up. Then he began to talk about the USA, and how George Bush is insulting, arrogant, and a terrorist! He loved Iraq and as a matter of fact, he had a Canadian partner (Edmonton) who exported goods to Iraq. He enjoys London with his family. He considers himself an entrepreneur taxi cab owner and exporter. He informed us that he spent most of his adult life in London. Within twenty minutes we were now at Waterloo Railway station.

We purchased two tickets to Portsmouth, England. The station was huge with many trains waiting for passengers and we were on track fifteen (15). The engine and trains were of the latest model. We asked the bus boy which of the trains would suit us best, since we had luggage to stow. He said take this car, because you will have all the space, since it was fitted for wheelchairs. Was he ever right on that count? Not only did we have plenty of space, but a most luxurious “Lube”, toilet that is – totally automatic and extremely clean.

Our ride to Portsmouth would take us one hour and fourty-five minutes with about six stops along the way. It’s a bullet I remarked to KC as we sped along the tracks. As we moseyed along, the one aspect of rail travel in England is that they care about the passengers, and the community living. They offer a variety of goodies, such as tea, coffee, water, soft drinks and food. All along the route trees, bushes and vines covered the backyards of homes.
We did get a peak at the backyards, as small as they might be, it was home.
Car parks exist at all stations, and in many cases an overflowing quantity of small vehicles rested.

Jock fell asleep (15 minutes) and that is not the usual case while traveling. It must have been the clickety-clack of a smooth train car flying towards Portsmouth. Finally we arrived, and it’s the end of the line. We find our way towards the exit, and now we need directions to Hertz Rent-a-car. It’s a short taxi ride, so off we go to the side of the road where three cabs are waiting for a fare. Within minutes we are dropped off at 34-62 Stains Road. We enter the office, and a young lady welcomes us, and tells us to bring in the luggage, you never know she blurts out?

The manager brings out a Ford Focus, a small little blue bundle on four wheels.
There is a slight mix up, and next thing you know the focus is brought back in, and we receive an up-grade to a Volvo V70 2.4 station wagon with plenty of luggage space. Excellent!

With all the paper work out of the way – we said two Hail Mary’s and ten our Father. With our car on the right side of the road, we are ready to join the flow of traffic and we do so in fine stride. Within ten minutes we can already see our exit point to the Tulip Inn on Binnacle way in Portsmouth, England. Like most hotels we are early, so we decide to explore Portsmouth rather than wait around for our room.

Virginia, New Hampshire, and even Ohio may have a Portsmouth, but the fore-runner of them all is the old port and naval base on the Hampshire coast, seat of the British navy for 500 years. My friends of the 17th. Hussars are very familiar with Portsmouth, and surrounding towns, such as Brighton, and Hastings.

The D-day Museum & Overload Embroidery Portsmouth

D-Day Museum – Located next door to Southeast Castle, this museum devoted to the Normandy Landings, displays the Overload Embroidery, which shows the complete story of Operation Overload. The appliquéd embroidery, believed to be the largest of its kind (272 feet long and 3 feet high), was designed by Sandra Lawrence and took 20 women of the Royal School of Needlework 5 years to complete. A special audio program includes displays such as reconstruction of various stages of the mission. You’ll see a Sherman tank in working order, jeeps, field guns, and even a DUKW (popularly called a Duck), an incredibly useful amphibious truck that operates on land and sea.

We have a group of photo’s which will more than illustrate our venture onto the Sea Front of Portsmouth. Second we purchased a copy of the D-Day Museum & Overload Embroidery Portsmouth. Which will be part of this travel story? It was a most pleasant day to walk the Sea Front, and look towards Southampton. We walked the boardwalk pass the South sea Castle and down towards the amusement park. It is evident that this is a naval waterway, and from as far as we can see, commercial ships passed through this busy waterway. At one point we could see ferry’s coming into port, we believe they came from Gosport, Ryde, and Fishbourne.

We have returned to our hotel, and we find our room – perfect.
We plan a siesta, and then a nice dinner across the street from our hotel.
Feeling much fresher we head across the road to the Beefeater. We are escorted to our table, and order two Stella Artois, as we plan on having a most enjoyable evening. Quesadilla, a chicken Caesar Salad, - profiteroles for dessert, and a pot of tea brings our evening in Portsmouth to a smooth transition.

It’s now early Friday morning on September 2nd. 2005 – Our objective today is to drive to Hastings, and find the plaque which was installed on the wall of the Queen Hotel in honour of the 17th. Hussars and second to drive the coast. We also want to meet May Jackson - Before leaving Canada, we received a letter from a Mrs. May Jackson, who is a good friends of the 17th. Hussars and resides in Bexhill-on-Sea, East Sussex, UK. When we arrived in Hastings, we called Mrs. Jackson, and she described exactly where the plaque was placed. This is where Karen’s Dad had a near miss during a bombing raid – 11 of his friends were not so fortunate.

But, first we must get some breakfast into our bellies. We find the perfect restaurant at the start of our walk towards the Queen’s Hotel. “Art Café”, and the menu is a simple one – we choose a baguette breakfast along with a pot of tea. This was a monster baguette which was split down the middle measuring about one foot long, and packed with Egg’s, Bacon, a large sausage, home fries, mushrooms and tomato. It goes without saying that we could not complete this sandwich. Our waitress was from Romania, and very pleasant.

Mrs. Jackson informed us that once we reach the Sea Front, we should find the Queens Hotel Building. Queens Hotel does not exist anymore, because new owners have turned the building into flats, but that if we look back towards “Albany Court”, we should see a plaque above a door. We retraced our steps along Albany Court, and sure enough, we find the plaque above a doorway. Renovations were taking place, and we had to climb concrete dividers in order to get a decent photo.

We called May Jackson to inform her that we are heading towards her house. A 15 min. drive. That was not the case. So many small streets and we took the wrong round-about. Fortunately we met a young lady who lived nearby who pointed us towards the street we wanted. We were so close yet so far.

May Jackson is a wonderful lady and she was so happy to see us. During the war she was part of the Royal Army Corp (ATS) for six years. When she was in Canada not too long ago; she stayed with the Beterman family. She went on to inform us that Dunc was responsible for getting the plaque to Hastings. She talked about being introduced to her first Peanut butter sandwich, and having great times at the American Bar in the 17th. Headquarters. Mrs. Jackson played an integral part in getting the plaque installed.

SCOTLAND – Our trip to Scotland began early on a Saturday Morning, September 3rd, 2005. This would be our longest stretch of driving with one stop before heading into Peebles, Scotland. I will include in this story the research papers we put together prior to leaving Montreal. The majority of the roads we traveled on this day were good, four, three, and two lane traffic. Most cars stay on the extreme left side of the road and use the other lanes for passing. My average speed was sixty miles per hour. When using the passing lane, we would hit seventy which would ultimately reach eighty at times. European driving is very efficient, and safe. For example it was rare that we saw a vehicle stay in the passing lane – they pass and move over. Some driver are so good that they move in and out with ease.

We did receive some luck when we stopped in Carlisle, Scotland. Located on London Road, Carleton, and Carlisle. The Terracotta Restaurant has five bedrooms available to book any time of the year. All rooms are en-suite and television and tea and coffee making facilities available as standard. God bless the travel Gods, because the young lady behind the counter said, yes we do have one double room remaining. What a relief, because it’s difficult to obtain a room after four pm, let alone six o’clock. The room was so nice and comfortable. We took a cat nap, before refreshing ourselves for dinner.

The Lake District, one of the most beautiful parts of Great Britain, is actually quite small, measuring about 35 miles wide. We made a stop in Kendal and today, Kendal is famous for its mint cake and its surrounding limestone fells, which offer excellent vistas of the area and make for great hikes. We also made a stop in Penrith, Lancaster before landing in Carlisle. A motorcycle venture into this area would be the way to go.

The restaurant first seating was booked solid, so we went down at eight pm, and we got a cozy corner. Photos will illustrate the beauty of this gem located next to a small farm. KC ordered Lasagna, while JP enjoyed some Spaghetti bolognas. Agua-con-gas, and still water, a foster beer, half liter of wine, garlic bread, tea, Strawberries, and a Grand Marnier to complete a wonderful dinner. The restaurant was packed with local residents, but there were four men from Oslo, Norway who drove to UK on their motorcycle. We always look for a special place to enjoy dinner, and I must say, Carlisle and this B & B produce that result. The comfort of knowing your room is a few steps above the restaurant not to mention a bed waiting to hug you.

The next day, we had a wonderful breakfast before departing for our next leg of our journey to Peebles, Scotland. We could not leave Carlisle without teasing the cows close to the fence.

Our drive to Peebles was relatively smooth with a few exceptions, first because the weather once again is outstanding and it’s Sunday. Good highway driving until we hit the 702. 18 miles along the countryside with roads built for two decent size European cars. The whole road is inches from the side. In some cases its grass, then a piece of concrete then a concrete wall with jagged edges. And when none of that existed, a drop challenged your driving skills. But that’s part of the game when driving Europe. Round-about varied from a statue to just a circle at the corner. We have some nice photos of Peebles.

PEEBLES – 37km S of Edinburgh
Peebles, a royal burgh and county town, is a market center in the Tweed Valley, noted for its large woolen mills and fine knitwear shopping. Scottish kings used to come here when they hunted in Ettrick Forest 35km away. It’s one of hundreds of forest scattered throughout the Borders and is very pretty, but no more so than forested patches closer to the town. Peebles is known as a writer’s town. It was home to Sir John Buchan (Baron Tweedmuir, 1875-1940, a Scottish author who later was appointed governor-general of Canada. Robert Louis Stevenson lived for a time in Peebles and drew on the surrounding countryside in his novel Kidnapped (1886)

Once we found Kingsmeadow Road, we’re only minutes away and I’m dreaming of a castle in the woods. We spot the sign, Kingsmeadows House fifty meters away. We slow down as we see the opening, and drive into our Castle for the next week. This my dear friend is a forest, I will describe the grounds further on, but believe me when I say this is God’s country. The Tweed River is to my left as we approach the house. Administrator is not available, but eventually we find our key of flat # 11, and begin our sejours. Flat 11 is the top floor, but the stairs are wide and not easy to climb, especially when you have to lug two twenty-six inche pieces of luggage up a few flights of stairs.

The Kingsmeadows House is not a castle, but more like a mansion/manor style with all the trimmings to make your stay comfortable. You make your own bed, cook your own food and clean up after each meal. The facilities are great. Orientation began immediately, making sure we knew all about our flat, and the grounds. Once beyond this point, off to town we went hunting for the grocery store. Being Sunday, most shops were closed with the exception of Pubs, restaurants and hotels. We asked for direction from a local, and he said, it’s just behind you?

Armed with bags of groceries (we always buy too much – as if we were stranded on a deserted Island) back to our flat # 11 we go. Organized the placement of items, and before you could count fifteen steamboats we were off towards town. Downtown (high street) is minutes away from a car park this side of the Bridge on Kingsmeadow Road. We notice a river while traveling to Peebles, now we were along the Tweed. We walked across the bridge towards downtown, and walked the whole street within 15 minutes. We checked out the restaurants, and found a cute little pub in the Crown Hotel.

Most restaurants had pubs or restaurants. Crown Hotel had a pub, and we took refuge in the back. Our waiter was Darren Doyle, and KC called him a “Lurch” (he looks like the guy from the Adam family). He stood six feet tall, and slim. He was in constant motion as he stood over us. We ordered two pints of Tennents, a great beer. When he returned we placed our food order. KC favoured the Lamb, while I took the Haddock – fish & chips. Our position was next to a glass doorway which led to a laneway at the side of the hotel. A fairly large guard dog was pacing the lane, and once our food hit the table, we could see the dog smelling through the cracks of the doorway. He did not look that mean considering his size.

Our waiter Darren was something special – what part of Sweden are you from?
Sorry Darren, we’re from Canada. Hockey was his reply, do you like hockey Darren, Sure do. What’s your favourite team? New Jersey Devils and Scott Stevens is my man!
Well, between all the actions, we spent most of our dinner talking about hockey. He was a fanatic, and informed us that he has all the paraphernalia with New Jersey Devil logo’s at home. He continued by telling us that he watched the playoff one year on channel 5 in Scotland. There is a six hour difference, so this guy was up most of the night, and with a few hours of rest would go to work, and do the same thing each time the Devil’s played. He also told us that he will be in New Jersey for the year 2006-07 seasons. His plan will be to bring back a suit case full of Jersey memorabilia.

Darren grew up in Ireland – Tipperary. “How did you land in a place like Peebles?”
I was working in London when I met a girlfriend, and she was from Peebles. We married and moved to Peebles. His enthusiasm for Peebles was up there with New Jersey Devils. He would shake and dance on his feet, telling us that Peebles is the place to be. Yes, it’s growing.
Another pub we looked at stopped us dead at the door. Located next to the bridge, we opened the door, and smack, the stench of smoke and beer was just too much. At the Green Tree Hotel Restaurant, we enjoyed Scottish Beef Steak pie. The pastry is to die for! We also ordered Chicken supreme stuffed with pepperoni & mozzarella in a tomato & basil sauce served with roast & new potatoes and veggies. We also ate at the Tontine Hotel restaurant, upscale but reasonable. They sat us in the main dining room overlooking the Tweed River. High ceilings, curtains fit for the Queen Elizabeth and cutlery to match. We closed this place as we enjoyed a wonderful evening of fine dining. Menu - Pate, Canard coffle, sorbet to clean the pallet & then noisette of border Lamb. Carved on garlic butterbean mash and sugar snaps with pimento and spinach. Jock had Panache of soft fruits, then Grilled Sirloin Steak with button, mushrooms, tomato, crispy onions with chips. For desert, more wine and a varied cheese plate of Tombuie smoked gruth dhu, Dunsyre blue, and bonnet. Jock selected a selection of ice cream.

Beer – Tennent, if you ever get a chance order this beer!

One evening as we were preparing for an outing into Peebles, I was writing in my journal when KC screamed out Jock, I just saw a man shoot a rabbit! She was so excited, as I found my way to the window. Sure enough when I looked out he was on his way back to his truck holding the rabbit by its ears. We presumed it was a normal thing to shoot rabbits, after all we are in a forest, and rabbits are evident throughout the day. At night is another matter, many more rabbits can be seen. One evening at about nine pm, I counted 32 from my window alone.

VISITING SCOTLAND – We needed a break so we decided to hang around and visit places not so far away.
· Lochcarron, in Strathcarron, Ross-Shire. Was our first stop. A small little town which had a mill “Weaving a world of Tartan. A tiny museum at the back brought us up to snuff on weaving and history of Lochcarron.
· Melrose Abbey – Built in 1136, the surviving remains of the church are of the 15th. Century and are of an elegant unique to Scotland. Buried in the Abbey grounds is a casket believed to contain the heart of Robert the Bruce? The Abbey is also the starting point for St.Curthbert’s Way, a 62 mile cross border walking route. It was at this Abbey that I walked to the top floor, big mistake, because I suffered for three days – Thigh muscles ached.
· We had our lunch in Melrose and we were served by a most charming waitress.

* Our next stop was Abbotsford – The House Built and Lived in by Sir Walter Scott. Spectacular and set on the River Tweed, Sir Walter Scott’s romantic mansion remains much the same as it was in his day. Inside there are many mementoes and relics of his remarkable life and also his historical collections, armouries and library, with some 9,000 volumes. Scott built the mansion between 1811 and 1822, and lived here until his death ten years after its completion. KC and I continued our visit by exploring the grounds including the Tweed River, and fields. Many sheep were grazing, and further down some of nicest horses these eyes every witnessed were drinking from the river and chomping away at the high grass. We sat on the bench near Tweed River and drenched ourselves into the beauty surrounding us. As we returned towards the mansion, we step gingerly over a variety of do-do open the gate, and climbed up towards another bench. The beauty was outstanding. We took advantage of conversing with other visitors, and they informed us that each year, the make it a point of visiting the mansion. I would give this visit 10 *’s.

· Balloch & Loch Lomond – On the Bonnie, Bonnie Banks of Loch Lomond. The largest of Scotland’s Lochs, (Lake) The song “Loch Lomond” is supposed to have been composed by one of Bonnie Prince Charlie’s captured followers on the eve of his execution in Carlisle Jail. The “Low road” of the song is the path through the underworld that his spirit will follow to his native land after death, more quickly than his friends can travel to Scotland by the ordinary high road. We took the River Cruise, if you ever travel to this area – take the car.
· We asked for directions at one point, and the golden ager suggested that we head straight ahead to the football field, you will see it, he said. Turn left and drive towards the bridge at which point you turn left again, and right as soon as you get across. At the round about take the second exit and look for a petrol station? Karen interjects, will you be here in fifteen minutes as she laughed, the man checked me out, and I said thank you sir, we will find it?
· At the southern end of Loch Lomond, Balloch is the touristiest of the towns and villages around the lake.

EDINBURGH & THE LOTHIAN REGION

Edinburgh (pronounced Edin-burra) will remain etched in my mind for the rest of my life. We loved London – but my memories will be mostly of Edinburgh. Did you know that the name “Jock” is a popular name in Scotland? It has been called one of Europe’s fairest cities, the Athens of the North, and the gateway to central Scotland. You can use it as a base for excursions to Borders (we touched), the Trossachs (we touched) (Scotland’s Lake District) (we touched), the silver water of Loch Lomond (we touched) and the Kingdom of Fife on the opposite shore of the Firth of Forth (we touched).

Edinburgh is filled with historic and literary association: John Knox, Mary Queen of Scots, Robert Louis Stevenson, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (creator of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson) Alexander Graham Bell? , Sir Walter Scott, and Bonnie Prince Charlie are all part of its past.

Just as we did in London, our first order of business was the Hop-on, Hop-off bus tour.
We also did the Majestic Tour, which covers, most of Edinburgh attractions. You learn so much in one hour. Then you choose a return trip to Edinburgh Castle for instance or the Royal Yacht Britannia. We did both mentioned stops, the Castle & the yacht Britannia.

Our Final Evening in Edinburgh

We have two more items to write about, (1) Bar Napoli and (2) Dene Guest House
Bar Napoli is located at 75 Hanover Street while Dene Guest House is at 7 Eyre Place in Edinburgh, Scotland

Travels offers so many experiences and the more adventurous you are the better the experience will be. If for example you are scouting for a restaurant and you return to check the menu twice, or even three times before choosing the right evening of dining.
You just might be surprised – Don’t let the façade fool you or the dinginess of the inside. A Good maitre’d, will use the right words to convince you. A medieval Village or a wall city for example comes to mind. Here you will find a key board behind bars, and you certainly want the table close to that scene. You want to look for a restaurant that is unusual, such as having a tiny door, and steps descending to the first floor. Never be shy to ask for the most romantic table in the place. So much can happen over a period of two-three hours.

Bar Napoli or Dene Guest House will offer two tired travelers the ambiance to unwind.
We are one day away from departing Edinburgh, Scotland – it’s raining outside and has been all day. It’s Friday, and we are somewhat wet from the seat of our pants, to our jacket, not to mention the wind playing havoc with our folding umbrellas. First order of business is to return to Dene’s Guest House, and change into fresh clothes before returning to Bar Napoli. Although we have an early flight, we want our last evening in Edinburgh to be special.

We find our way to the covered bus stop just around the corner. Hop on the bus heading towards Princess Street. We are about five stops away from our restaurant.
Upon arriving, we are greeted and given a nice table. Your body is happy and everything about this restaurant looks good. You are guaranteed a dry seat compared to the tourist bus. The chairs hug’s your body while your legs and feet seem to find relief in being flat on the floor.

Antonio comes over, and we order two bottles of sparkling water, and a bottle of wine.
Antonio’s assistants Luigi seem to be preoccupied bring our refreshments. Our number one man Antonio returns for our order. KC orders Veal while I select Penne. Good choice he say’s. Luigi returns with a basket of bread – meanwhile an older couple are seated next us, and they look like tourist as well. We are contented being away from the rain, and looking forward to a nice evening. The wine is good, and we see Antonio heading our way with our meals. Enjoy he say’s. Our game plan is to stretch this out. Antonio is now setting up tables across from us, not for two or four, but for twenty-three customers. We are into our first hour of dinner when a young couple takes up two of the chairs across from. They have drinks in their hand, and just came down from a flight of stairs at the back of the restaurant. Karen and I shoot the breeze about our trip, and come to the conclusion that London is a great city, but favour Scotland as a place which gave us the most interesting experiences. Another group joins the table across the way, but they came from the street. Our conversation now switches to Abbotsford, a castle built by Sir Walter Scott, what an amazing castle. Karen say’s we should have approached the sheep’s, we tried of course, but they move away. Decibels are increasing as the remaining gang enter from the back of the restaurant, some with glasses of spirits, others jugging on a pint of beer, while some are carrying a bottle of wine.
The owner comes over to our table to pay his respect, and wants to know if everything is good – great we said. The nights entertainment is about to start.

What we found interesting was the age of the crowd across from us. I believe not one exceeded 30 years of age, and they were all well dressed including the young ladies who looked smashing. In crowds of this size, you always get at least one character who displays an ego problem and we spotted him immediately. He was about 26 years old, wore a nice navy blue suit, with a light blue shirt and pink tie. His coif, so different than any of his friends – blonde hair, and could not keep his hands from tossing it. Sitting in front of the mirror, he would turn on occasions to face the mirror and play with his hair.
When he was not fumbling with his hair, he sort of leaned towards a young lady to his left, and whisper. What was amazing about this couple is that she was not that far off from being his sister – they looked so much alike except she was more concerned with sipping on her wine.

At this point Karen and I are taking all this in. Its great fun. We are now completing our second hour and still not finish our dinner. Another couple asks for a table, but Antonio informs them that we are completely booked. Minutes later the couple next to us, leaves, and look at us as if to say, too nosy for us.

What amazed me about this group is the quality of life these young people have.
They were young people who worked in Edinburgh, and we figured that out from a speech one of them had to make. Second, the dress code was far above average.
I don’t remember ever seeing so many young men and women as well dressed as these young people.

Luigi removed our plates, and we ordered dessert and a pot of tea from Antonio.
We completed our evening at Bar Napoli with a Grand Marnier! Once outside the restaurant, we didn’t even feel the mist in the air, walking would be our mode of transportation. As we approached Queen Street, the rain increased as well as the wind.
We held our umbrellas with both hands, as we walked towards Eyre Place.

Dene Guest House, was such a nice B & B, a cozy room with nice amenities
They had a dining room, so nice and homey. That would be our normal breakfast place next day, but in our case – it would be wake up and go! The owner was also nice enough to give us room # 1 on the first floor. The bed was too perfect when you consider that you will be spending only a few hours in it? And what about waking at 4 am, how do you get a taxi. Rest in peace my dear friends because this B & B, had a public phone in the hallway, with a button displaying “Taxi”. We checked and packed our bags for the final time. We set the alarm clock, and hitting the bed worried me. It was too comfortable – nice fresh blankets, and pillows which fell in love with our head. Turned off the cute little reading lamp, and ask God to wake us up in time.

I must have fallen asleep at 2 am, because I tend to worry about waking up, so I open my eyes every now and then. We did fall asleep, and sure enough I kept hearing a rough buzzing noise, my head says, stay down and relax, but this irriting noise, said no, wake up.

I pressed the taxi button on the phone and within minutes he was at the front door.
He helped place the luggage into his cab, which was fairly big. He was a talker, and we got into so much over a period of twenty minutes. Edinburgh Airport is not like Heathrow but its typical and busy. Line-ups everywhere. We found our ticket counter and we were pointed towards our gate, since we already had our E-Tickets. Our flight was at 6 am, with a connection at Heathrow at 10.05.

Finally Gas/petrol – Two separate fillings cost 76.00 British Pounds = $ 163.00 Canadian.

Enjoy the story - Jock

2006-02-18T04:48:00.000-08:00

LONDON UNDERGROUND - TUBE

The London Underground is equals to our Metro System here in Montreal.
It’s an older system and extremely efficient when it comes to connections.
You choose a destination and within minutes, you can reach your destination, a railway station, airports, or above ground a bus or taxi cab.

We used the system upon arrival at Heathrow Airport (August 28,2005) – we had choices of course, but there is nothing like getting your feet wet in a new city, so we opted for the underground to downtown. As the photo will illustrate what an experience.

We noticed a ticket & information kiosks – “you queue up” and wait your turn. Even this brief wait is efficient and errorless as the team of service agents make sure you received the right information towards your final destination using the right “zone” at the right price – the thirty-five minute drive into downtown London cost us 2.10/bp. Each.
(British Pound) equals $ 4.53 Canadian. A taxi would have cost a minimum of
$ 60-70 Canadian.

We used the Underground every day and we learned to connect from early morning to evening travel. Rush hours packed you in like sardines, while off hours did offer a seat.
Coming back from the “Theater district of Covent Gardens” produced a rush due to most theater shows finishing at the same time. Covent Garden was a popular stop.
The night we met our friends Liane & Aston for dinner, this was our meeting place.
As we exited the station, hundreds of people stood around for the same purpose of connecting with friends. It’s worth noting that theater goers don’t necessarily dress up – smart casual is the popular choice.

The area is full of restaurants, sidewalk café’s, pubs, shops, and what we found interesting is the peoples at “Pub’s” drink their pints outside the pub chatting with friends. No chairs or tables, just leaning against a wall or around the light post. We can only presume that the smoke environment in the pub chases them outside.

Most days we used an all-day ticket at a cost of 4.70bp or $10.16 Cdn.
We never feared using the “Underground” as you are aware, bombings took place only weeks before our arrival. Fear does not come to mind as you become part of this fluid motion of people, and if I can use the term “Ants in motion” then you have an idea of the crowd entering or leaving the stations. The very first time we thought about fear, came about one evening when we had to take an elevator five stories down in order to reach our train. Once again as you wait for your elevator door to open, you’re not alone.
The elevator unit can carry at least six race horses, so were talking a huge box. Before you know it, you are at your destination!

Depending on the level, you can find newsstands, and coffee shops. Then you have the stairs, and escalators – some very steep, and you must always stay right on the escalators in order to give way to more urgent passengers. Within a day, the big secret is to know the final destinations, that way you always get on the right train.

Love the London Underground – even the seats are comfortable.

Jock

2006-02-16T08:04:00.000-08:00

FISHING TRIP TO O’SULLIVAN LAKE LODGE BRINGS A NEW MEANING TO LAYERS OF CLOTHING
May 19 to May 22, 2005

Our last venture into the wilderness took place - May 16-19th, 2003

The main organizer this year was Bill, and at one point had an over enthusiastic crowd coming, but a final count produced eight members for the trek up north. As for transportation, Ian managed to snag a late model Ford Explorer which sat four with plenty of space for gear. Cost $ 315.00 – Jock, Bill and Steven
contributed $ 100.00 each to cover, rental & gas.

With May 19th. Approaching excitement grew among the fisherman – Ian called Jock to inform him that he would be at the door at approximately 2.00 p.m. Ian who resides in N.D.G. was true to his word, arriving at 2.15 p.m. We managed to pack the explorer in minutes, and off we went towards Lake of Two Mountains to pick up Bill, and his nephew Steven. We were ahead of schedule, because Bill informed Ian that he would only finish work at 3.00 p.m., and that he would pick up Steven in Chomedey before arriving at his house. Meanwhile we managed to contact Carl to inform him that rather than come out to Lake of Two Mountains, he should find his way to Port du Nord, which is located just before St.Sauver. A perfect spot to meet before our next leg towards O’Sullivan. Carl & Jacques work for the same company, and would also be getting off late in the afternoon.

Meanwhile Jock’s Buddies, Denis, and Bob are just about arriving at the lodge. You see, they left St.Adele at 11.30 a.m. – What is interesting about Denis and Bob is that Denis postponed a trip to India in order to enjoy some fishing, and Bob had just got back from his Florida hiatus. We have some interesting stuff to report as we go on.

It’s approximately four-thirty in the afternoon when we leave Billy’s place in Two Mountains to meet Carl and Jacques at Port du Nord. Port du Nord at one time was locally owned, and if you had a place up north, it was the place to stop for either breakfast, or lunch. Presently, the owners are McDonald’s with the arch. Amazing!
We are now parked strategically, facing the down traffic from Montreal in order to see Carl & Jacques come down the ramp. Within thirty minutes we saw a Ram 1500, V8, coming towards us with Jacques driving his red pick-up truck. We were introduced to Jacques for the first time, and I thought he looked Chinese, but in fact was French – he is a good sport and a great fisherman.

Front row – Denis “The China Kid” and Jock the editor
Back row – Ian “The contractor, Steven “Dell finest”, Bill “The photog”, Carl “ Fidel”, Jacques “ Cognac Kid”, and Bob “The Floridian Kid”.

With all the niceties out of the way we begin our drive towards Mont Laurier. That my dear friends is within the confines of the Quebec Government area – land you can acquire for next to nothing, but must build a cabin/summer home over a period of time.
As we meander towards the lodge, we will pass such famous cities as Ste.Agathe, St.Jovite, L’annonciation, Mont-Laurier, and Grand Remous to Clova Road #13.
Grand Remous is our last stop before O’Sullivan lodge – It’s an all in one stop, Gas & food - which later on produces more gas! On this night the place is jammed, we can just about find a place for the Explorer, as Ian maneuvers the parking lot filled with semis, delivery vans and other sports vehicles towing boats of all sizes. As we enter the restaurant section, the only spot we see is a table with a cigarette burning, and a sweater on the back of a chair near the kitchen door. You snooze you lose, we grab the table – we order some grub, devour the food, buy a group 6/49 lotto ticket which Ian manages and off we go towards Clova Road some twenty minutes away.

O’Sullivan Lake Lodge is two-hundred-eighty miles from Montreal. Miles are used for the benefit of Americans who frequent the lodge. But, it’s a chunk of kilometers in Canadian lingo. O’Sullivan Lake is located in Western, Quebec. Directly North of Ottawa on Ontario’s eastern tip of the Outaouais Region. Two hundred and eleven kilometers are on decent roads, while the remaining seventy-seven awakes you to the wilderness.

With our bellies full, and excitement of fishing some seventy-seven miles away we make our turn onto Road 13, Clova Road – for the next 65 miles we will see nothing but dirt, sand, rocks, bushes, trees, with glimpse of lakes along the way not to mention bridges built for one vehicle - We still see daylight, and the occasional rabbit fleeing from the wheels of the explorer. Our speed at this point varies from 70 – 90 depending on Ian’s vision. We do meet up with other vehicles transporting boats etc, and they kindly move to one side. Although you keep an eye out for larger animals, so far nothing, but bat’s chasing down insects. We did see some beautiful small birds.

Our last trip was in the dead of night when we traveled the dirt road. It appeared that some minor work was done on the road Russell did a good job with new signage to the fishing camp. A small sign on the right side of the road indicated a left turn, approximately a mile away for the last twelve miles of bumpy rough terrain. The O’Sullivan sign was bright and clear, and pointing us in the right direction.

Cabin # 8 – Was occupied by Bill, Steven, Carl, and his buddy Jacques who works with Carl in the plumbing business. Bill and Carl have a few trips under their belt when it comes to visiting O’Sullivan Lake Lodge including flying into the lodge once.

Steven could not have a better mentor than his uncle Bill in the boat with him.
Bill being a seasoned veteran offered his nephew the tools required not only to catch fish, but also teach techniques of angling, and trolling on a major lake.
As an added bonus, Steven was also taught the proper way to clean and fillet a fish. When Steven came to the dock, after spending time filleting (4hrs) his fish he looked proud of the fact that he had his catch neatly wrapped in brown paper. Good Stuff.

Boat management differed from one boat to another – Bill operated the motor while Steven handled the anchor. Bill has the most comfortable chair and from our boat he looked very much at home, no matter what the weather. Bill & Steven not only caught some trophy catches, they also caught and released at least twenty catches back into the lake. Bill method for hooking bait is professional. By using a long needle, he enters the bait through the rear, and out the mouth. It enables him to use one triple hook as well as a single hook.

Overall – Bill & Steven were involved with a championship weekend. Bill for instance caught a seventeen pound trout! That my dear friends is a good size fish. They were well dressed for the rain and cold and when you glanced over at their boat, the scene was majestic.

First day -----As for Carl and Jacques, were talking mild, and meek. Even the fish stuck their heads above the water to see if the aluminum boat had fisherman aboard. If there was a fishing dress code for bad weather, this boat wins. One early afternoon all four boats were within shouting distance of each other, at the rock. The rock is famous for “Trout”, and we all wanted a trout. But, the weather started to play havoc, a bit of drizzle, some wind, and we are cold. One boat after the other decided to try another spot leaving only Carl & Jacques. Later that afternoon, in comes “CJ”, with a smile’s ear to ear. Carl yells out as he approaches the dock – the minute you guy’s left us, the fish began biting. After securing the boat, Jacques bends over to pick up three awesome looking fish, and his smile matches the brim of his green hat. Jacque not only caught thirteen pound lake trout, but also two smaller ones. Trout at O’Sullivan Lake are not small, and even catching one would warm the cockles of your heart! It was jubilation for two buddies. High-fives across the board. Good stuff

Carl feels that Jacques luck came about because that morning, Carl brought all the equipment to the boat, while Jacques relaxed in the cabin. It’s a load, when you think two coolers, rods, bait, chairs, and two tackle boxes must be brought down a thirty degree hill to the boat. Jacques reply was, I understand Carl, and I apologize, but the good new is that I have the two flask of cognac. Let the fishing begin. In order to let my buddy catch a fish, Carl began throwing his minnows overboard, in order for Jacques to catch a fish. I not sure if this is a fish story or a good deed? Carl say’s he was fishing with a bare hook only.

On this day, this boat lost at least seven catches. There was more excitement for these two warriors on day three, when Carl caught a six and one half pound laker.

There was an incident on the water involving Carl & Jacques – Carl snagged a “Laker” and yelled to Jacques to pull the anchor into the boat and to remove lines from the water. It’s a policy to clear the water in order to eliminate any possibility of anchor/lines tangling! After a tough battle, Carl asked Jacques to net his laker. It was at this point they realized that two of Jacques fish were still in the water. Carl’s worse nightmare followed as his Laker wrapped itself around both fish hanging at the side of the boat. Brut strength took over as Carl tried to save his fish. With all the commotion, frustration, and anger. The end results proved fatal, as Carl snapped his rod, losing two feet off the tip of his rod, and his Laker as well. Needless to say Jacques brought out the flask and offered his good buddy some cognac.

Carl & Jacques also had a most entertaining catch – a thirteen pound “Laker”.
It started innocently enough as they sat near the rock. Jacques feels a bite, and inform Carl I think I have a bite. Without batting an eye lash Carl pulls in the anchor, and removes his rod from the lake. He can hear that beautiful sound of the line flying off the reel. Keep fighting buddy, it sounds like a big-one. If you are a betting man, you just might put your dollars on the Lake, wind, and the catch? Within minutes the boat went from the rock area to mid-lake as Jacques struggled to win the battle. Before you can count fifteen steamboats, the boat is now on the sandbar. Carl is trying to film the catch and trying to remove the boat from the sandbar as well! The sand is flying as Carl wins the sand battle. Out they go towards the middle, and at this point Jacques must be wondering when will this fish give up? Jacques yells over to his good buddy, my hands are freezing, forget the hands Carl scream back. It looks like the fish is winning the battle, and the lake along with the wind are trying very hard to keep the laker in the water. The struggle as reached fifteen minutes, and the wind roars back, pushing the boat towards the shore and sandbar again. The adrenalin is flowing - we are now twenty minutes into the battle, and if Carl was in another boat, there is a good chance this scene would make a great episode on a TV fishing show. At one point the boat is going one way, and the fish another. You could almost say tantalizing Jacques and Carl. I could hear the fish say, this is my water guy’s, why don’t you go back to your own water closets. The boat is returning to shore once again, and for the first time, Jacques can see the laker, get ready Carl. Jacques hands are tired, but he can just about taste the laker who is within inches of the net when Carl smacks the laker on the nose, scaring the poor thing – at which point the laker drags out another fourty yards. What the hell Carl. Don’t swear Jacques, I’m a church goer, and I will say a few Hail Mary’s, and two our fathers – you will win, we have God on our side. It’s now twenty-five minutes into the battle, and the fish is pleading, either take me in or let me go? I’m bushed. Your coming into this boat my dear little speckle friend – don’t be worry!
I’m happy to report, Jacques & Carl won. High-fives and shouts could be heard across the lake. Next the cognac began oozing down the belly’s of one very tired man, and his good buddy Carl.

The brochure describes the camp this way – “Our cabins can accommodate four to six people comfortably and are equipped with a fully operational kitchen including a stove, sink, refrigerator, pots, pans, cutlery and dishes. An oil furnace in the living space provides heating. Each cabin also has two bedrooms, indoor washroom, hot water showers and a large kitchen/living space.”

You should also know that O’Sullivan Lake Lodge encompasses 95 square miles of exclusive territory. There is a main lake with ten other lakes to fish on. We are talking about the “Wilderness” bar none.

Cabin # 9 – Our cabin faced the main lake, and from our landing you descend a few steps to grounds of sand and slopping towards the lake. If you had a few drinks too many, you better watch your step, otherwise you will roll right down to the lake. We did have company on the landing, two cute little birds nested under the canopy, and each time we would exit, they would fly away except for the one that looked like a chicken. Check with Bill Dow.

Our fearsome foursome was extremely young, and in our captain was Ian who has a few trips under his belt. Jock the missing “Anchor” was next with two trips, followed by two good buddies Denis the “China Kid”, and Bob “loquacious”. If we would have brought along a tape recorder, we would have recorded enough stories to fill a number one “best Seller”.

Its six a.m. Friday, and Ian is already brewing coffee. I’m next out of the cot, and I can hear Denis & Bob in the next room sniffing the aroma of hot coffee.
Within minutes cabin # nine is ready to mosey. Breakfast is set for seven a.m.
as a group. We all arrive at the same time, and help set a table for eight, talk about cooperation and punctuality.

Although we had an idea of partners, it was a great time to discuss “fishing Holes”. Ian & Jock plus Denis & Bob opted for Pikes bay area. While Bill & Steven along with Carl & Jacques favoured a wider edge for Pike and potential Dore. Our breakfast did not start with that hardy presentation of being in the wilderness. It was more like plain bacon and eggs. That change came quickly next time in, when the whole nine yards was offered. French toast, pancakes, home fries, sausages, plenty of orange juice and coffee. Great stuff.

With all our equipment in the boat, we headed off behind the base camp and into Pike’s bay between the two lakes – We were told to tie up to a dead branch, very similar to a cowboy in a western movie, except that we are in an eighteen foot boat. Once anchored, we had a choice of Jigging for Dore with live bait, or cast for pike.

All four of us decided to cast, Ian & I had the branch while Denis & Bob were twenty yards away. It was nice out at this point, cool but calm with anticipation of bagging the biggest fish this lake had to offer. Most of you at one time must have watched movies in which comedians Walter Matthau and Tony Randall made us laugh. Well, the scene was perfect because from my advantage we saw the re-enactment of those two famous comedians. Ian was in awe of these two guys, who were battling over words of right & wrong. As a matter of fact, it was a sight for sore eyes. Apparently Denis had brought up four fishing rods, while Bob felt one fishing rod was sufficient. The story goes that when they were loading up back in St.Adele, Bob wanted to know why; Denis was packing four fishing rods? The answer came quick for Bob, because on the first day of fishing, Bob breaks his only rod, so tell me Bob, Denis cries out, would you like to borrow one of my four rods? It goes without saying that Denis won his point.

For this writer, looking over at these two Engineers brought back memories; I was knee high to grass-hopper when I first met Denis & Bob. I just got a job as junior clerk in a major Consulting Engineering firm, and they were already big players in the Engineering business. I was accepted as one of the boys. That moment in time was special, and on this Victoria Day weekend, it was no different. They are great human beings!

At one point Ian & I were sitting pretty at the north end of O’Sullivan Lake, and some sixty yards away, Denis and Bob were doing good with already two catches. All of a sudden Ian, say’s what the hell is going on over there, meaning Denis & Bob. The perfect “Matthau-Randall” scene is taken place, as Denis & Bob are screaming at each other.

The story goes like this (Denis says) – Bob put a third monster pike on the chain, then we heard some bumping and thrashing, Bob pulled up the chain to check and found we had only one pike left. Two others somehow got loose. I told him between me throwing the fish over the side of the boat and forgetting to anchor the other end of the chain, and him not properly clipping the fish on the chain we’ll be lucky if we bring back any fish. Bob shot back saying I shouldn’t by these cheap chains, so I told him to stop bitching, as a mechanical technician with thirty years experience he should know hot to operate these mechanical clips. It ended with him saying “ferme ta guelle maudit Anglais” of course after we laughed, it was just too funny. Ian’s last words was – where did you find these guys. Great stuff.

Well, back to fishing Ian was the first to bag a Pike, nineteen pounds of twisting, pulling and riding the line. When the pike got close to the boat, it was huge, and it was my job to use the net in order to bring the monster into the boat. I was also informed that I was being trained to un-hook the nineteen pound which was now in the belly of our boat. Once un-hooked and free from the net, he began to slap me around, mostly my legs and ankles at which point I jumped to safety onto the seat while the boys broke out into hysteria. Lot’s of fun!

During the next four day’s at breakfast we would organize our days and fishing holes to patronize if you wish. (1) The dock for instance was a great place to relax with a rod in your hands. (2) Between Island one and two, a fourty-five foot drop offered a chance to nab “lake trout”. The best way for me to describe this spot was “peace & tranquility”. (3) Grassy Bay, was another interesting spot. Parking just in front of Beaver dam – you could jig for Dore. (4) This time it was a Beaver house located behind a small Island where we could hope for some small Dore’s. (5) At the north end corner of the Island, we maneuvered our boat slowly to avoid rocks, but once beyond this point it was pure joy.

Besides these challenges, some of the boats did some trolling while Carl & Jacques for instances searched for new holes to fish – not a bad idea when you consider the many lakes at our disposal.

This adventure into the North Country on “Victoria Day 2005” came along with a challenge. Our first full day on the lake was great, most of us caught fish. But, then the climate conditions came into play the following day. We awoke to cloudy skies for instance, but you hope for change. As we drove our boats to fishing holes, it was a bit cooler. Increase wind plus strong currents played havoc with our boat, except for Carl & Jacques who had a system to stabilize the boat in place by using two anchors. As for Jock & Ian, if the giant stood up, he became the sail, turning our boat into a “sloop”. There’s more, you could see from our boat, dark skies coming our way, and then drizzle followed by rain. When you add any of these combinations you’re battling the elements of nature.

You must “suck it in” as some coaches would say, you came to play so let the fishing begin, in hell or high waters.

Layers of clothing came into play real quick, and none better than Carl & Jacques who seem to be so comfortable at any temperature. From my boat, I could see they came prepared – we could only see their faces. Carl of course brought along some cigars, so is venture was perfect and Jacques caught a “trophy”. Bill & Steven also brought along proper layers for the North Country.

If you have any inkling for sportsmanship or camaraderie the situation creates options.
This writer for instance learned more on this fishing trip than the last. I learned by watching Bill un-hook a big fish. I learned by watching Carl & Jacques sitting in their boat at ease and enjoying life. I learned to un-hook fish, because Ian informed me at the very beginning that I’m in training? Ian also let me run the boat –even though, I lost the Anchor on the first day, and I ran the boat onto the shore line, losing Ian’s eight $$ lure. But I do have an excuse on running the boat onto the shoreline – Ian caught his lure onto a tree resting in the water, and with powerful wind at our backs, I managed to hit a rock, chocking the motor, and landing on shore like a falling helicopter. Ian was not a happy camper. My biggest reward was Denis & Bob – they brought back some interesting and great memories.

Bob Burke and this writer spent one and one half day together on the lake. We touched on every subject matter, including experiencing Bob’s two major catches at the rock. His first was a “trophy” a Walleye weighing eleven pounds and his second a fourteen pound Pike. He was one happy camper. We used Bill system for embarking a fish into the boat – Take the hook from the fish’s mouth while he is trapped in the net, and then bring it into the boat. It eliminates much of the entanglement from the fish trying to escape. You can now slide your finger into the gills of the fish and remove from the net.

It’s now eleven thirty in the morning, and both Bob and I are freezing, especially our hands from retrieving both fish out of the lake. A drizzle appears when we decide to head for the cabin. What a feeling of joy, two nice catches and a warm cabin. Bob gave the oil stove a hug in order to warm up quicker, and prepare for lunch.

Our cabin was a gourmet delight considering the food we had to choose.
There is one lunch episode I will remember for many years to come. It all started the night before, when Ian boiled some potatoes. I took those potatoes and sliced them up into chunks, and made home-fries.

Next Denis decided that it was time for him to cook his three pound Dore. With his sharp knife, he cut up the fish into fillets – text book style. The fish fillets were salted and peppered then rolled in a spicy batter, and deep fried in vegetable oil only a few minutes on each side in order to keep it from overcooking and drying up inside. By this time we are warm, cozy, and drooling over the aroma. White wine, beer, Ginger Ale or water as a liquid balance.

Bob Burke, point of view winter is never over in Quebec – he only mentions that fact because he is a Floridian. Bob brought along a huge ham, and although we had already taken a few slices, he decided that it was time to cut the monster up for the gang.

On Sunday evening, I walked over to the main cabin, and spoke to our waitress.
Asked if she would play along with a prank involving Bob, who loves Florida. The idea was for her to come to our table at breakfast the next day, and pretending she received an E-mail from the U.S. Government, asking that Bob pay an additional seventy-six dollars. The e-mail read – is there a Bob at this table, of course Bob said yes that’s me!
Well sir, you must pay an additional seventy-six dollars to the U.S.Government Fish & Game control. Bob stands up, his blood pressure mounting, and say’s they don’t even know I’m here. Let me see that paper, the waitress backs up – where do I pay this fee? To the manager sir. He tries to grab the e-mail once more, she backs away. The waitress was so convincing that Bob was about to pay the amount, but I piped up, Bob it’s a joke. “You crazy bastard” he yells out.

Although all eight of us brought up our share of food, we certainly had too much food in cabin # nine! Denis also brought up six bottles of wine. We also had water, Ginger Ale, plenty of fruit, and healthy bars for Ian. Smoke meat, rye bread, mustard, pickles, coffee, and so much more. Cabin # eight also had a decent inventory of goodies.

One day, Denis brings out his paper thin slicing knife – on the table he has a deli’s delight concoction of tomato, onion, ham, smoke meat, rye bread, mustard, and lettuce. Every item is cut thin to fit the sandwich, to a height of three inches, Ian goes bonkers, and talks Denis into making one for him. We figured that Denis certainly can cook a mean dish, but his sandwich no doubt made him the sandwich king of O’Sullivan Lodge.

I will end with a pictorial ending – enjoy this story

Until next time

Ciao

Jock Pichette
pichejovila@videotron.ca

2006-02-15T19:05:00.000-08:00

THE GASPE PENINSULA - July 1999

The Gaspe Peninsula and the Lower St.Lawrence. - Our trip began on July 23,1999, a time of the year when the weather offers a climate we dream about during the winter months. Its warm, sunny, and a most beautiful time of the year to visit the province of Quebec, and the charm of – The Gaspe Peninsula and the Lower St.Lawrence. Our bags packed, route planned, maps all wrapped up with an elastic band sitting on the backseat wondering, "When will this trip begin". There is another bag full of goodies, Apples, Banana’s, oranges, and candies and in the trunk a cooler with refreshments waiting to be sampled along the road. From our address we head towards Cote de Liesse Road, and what better way than the Metropolitan to catch route fourty. Of course Karen, who lacks any sense of direction, is not aware that we are heading towards the Louis Hippolite Lafontaine tunnel. This tunnel located in the East end of Montreal is long. At one-point it supports the St.Lawrence Seaway. Hollywood should use this tunnel the next time a movie needs an underground passage. We left our house early for the simple reason we wanted to beat the traffic. Since Karen has never visited Three Rivers, I thought, " why not stop for breakfast". We arrived in Trois Rivieres (French) in record time, and stopped at the local bus terminus, which is no bigger than a postage stamp. The terminus is an all in one, bus stop, market, and mall. From what we can see, it’s the local’s hang out. As we looked about for a breakfast place, we find that there are two kiosks, and both have a breakfast menu. We ordered, "Two Eggs’, yellow to the sky, bacon side by each, toast and don’t burn the jam". Since we are Sunday morning breakfast people, our evaluation of this breakfast was –1, yes that bad. Just outside the door, a kiosk vendor of fruit and veggie’s was doing a booming business due to the bus, which pulled up with passengers from Montreal, the place we left a few hours ago. Prior to catching rte 20 towards Quebec City and the Gaspe I saw an Irving gas station. Needing gas, I pulled up into a self service station. Irving’s home office is in New Brunswick, so it heart-warming to see one in Quebec. When he gave me the receipt the station attendant, asked me why is the slip only in English? I told him (as I pointed to my car) it’s the fault of that lady. How is that he asked? Well she believes she is from Vancouver, Canada. Oh, he said as he scratched his head.With two left turns, and one right, were back on the fourty, traveling the road towards Riviere du Loup. The plan was, if I’m tired we stay in Riviere de Loup, but we are doing great time so we continue. If you enjoy whale watching this next town is for you, Trois Pistoles. A seasonal ferry takes you across to Les Escoumins on the North Shore, at which point you will spot whales playing. We made fun of our next stop, Bic no it’s not the pen manufacturer, but a small town with a big Canadian flag. If you have any artistic bones in your body, you’ll want to be in this town at sunset. The area produces skies of magnificent colours, hues you dream about, not to mention peace of mind. We pass through Rimouski, we have all heard of this quaint little town, which cuddles along the shores of St.Lawrence with its greenery, trees, mountains, and rocks - all contributes to its pure natural beauty.A traffic jam, a two-way thoroughfare, and we are crawling, who knew? Unfortunately, it’s a fender bender, but people are hurt. The police slowly wave us on, as we approach mid day. We have no reservation, so its time to check in somewhere! Our port of call is, Sainte-Flavie – We spot a motel just ahead, "Motel le Gaspesiana". The parking lot is jammed. We reach the front desk, and the clerk, "do you have a room". Yes, we have two, please take these keys’s check the rooms, and choose one. Karen falls in love with room "Twenty-Seven" with all the essentials, and a balcony to boot. We have been on the road since the wee hours so rather than bring up the entire luggage, we just scramble up some clothes from the trunk of our car for tomorrow. The balcony was at our beck and call. The scene was a sight for sore eyes. We overlooked the Ocean and escarpment that only nature could design. With two cool beers, we parked ourselves on the balcony, and gazed in awe at one of Quebec’s finest wonders. We started a conversation with our neighbours. I don’t remember if we looked at each other, but I do know that they were also enjoying a pint of beer and all four of us, were in dreamland. The whole place was in a buzz, a tranquility type buzz, if you know what I mean. Just below our balcony two couples were sharing the garden. Ten to one (Karen), these people are retired. The men have beer bellies and they are from New Brunswick. I don’t agree on the beer bellies. I think it’s a food & beer belly, and by the looks of those two well " coifed" ladies, they are Acadian’s. What about that lady sitting on the shale type rock, with her face resting in the palms of her hands? Could it be Zen in action or did peace and tranquility bring her to Sainte-Flavie. I believe she is being rewarded as she hears the water softly caressing the rocks, just as water erodes the shoreline, so is her mind eliminating the stress, she brought with her. Its life way of cleansing a persons body. She never moved from her position. Obviously she was at peace with herself. To our left a jetty reached out towards the Ocean. Well-organized rocks ascended to the top of the jetty, protecting it from the pounding of waves and wicked winters of the Gaspe. Only one hundred yards away, another women who I spotted some thirty minutes ago was swimming alone, just off the jetty. It was not an attractive beach yet the swimmer who floated on the water didn’t care and seemed at ease with herself. Both these ladies sent me to bed for a nap. There was just too much meditation going on, why not try fourty winks before dinner?I began to think about our trip thus far, the scenic beauty is without a doubt awesome. There was a time when we reached a part in the road when all we could see was water, blue aqua water, should I stop? Are we going to fall into the Ocean? Majestic heart pounding sight. It was to be the first of many other images we would store. I could hear my name being called, Jocko, come and see this. It was Karen calling, what is it? "Come and see the Sunset", Karen claims, "this Sunset over the pier could rival the Key West Sunset on Mallory Pier".The city of Sainte-Flavie is about four football fields long, with our hotel of 46 rooms the main attraction. We decided that we would have dinner at the main dining room but the maitre’d say’s there is no space, and we would have to wait until nine for the next sitting. Its too bad because the dining room was a classy, cozy, and from what we saw on the menu, just perfect. They also had a fast food section, but we decided to take our action elsewhere. We visited the pier, crowded with locals, many with fishing rods, and pales full of fish. A lonely busker shouted the words of "Swing la-bacaisse" as he stomped his feet to the music.The beach area is full of shale type rocks with diagonally shaped markings. There is some sand, but not enough to write home about. Some three hundred feet away we could see many gulls in a "vee" formation along side a creek running down from the road. Karen and I wandered towards the Gulls, jumping over puddles of water. Gulls were eating minnows, flowing from the top.It was at this point that we found our restaurant for the evening, a huge red barn type building. We had to climb the sand bank towards the main street to get to it with the help of a few branches we pulled ourselves up, and before you could count ten steamboats we had a great seat overlooking the St.Lawrence. The choice of food was fish, cooked perfectly. We chose a French wine, and listen to some great music as we slowly enjoyed our first night in the Gaspe.After our meal we sauntered towards our next stop, you got the impression people/visitors were looking for something to do. From our vantage point, we saw an Ice Cream Parlour nestled along the road. It was busy serving more than ice cream as we watched people take out Hot Dogs, Hamburgers, fries and the famous Quebec product poutine. We reached the front of the line, two servers were taking orders. Karen and I ordered two chocolate dips, and away we went. No space was available to sit, so we strolled around the "Casse-croute". We noticed some flashing lights down the road, so we hustled towards the commotion. This would be interesting, could it be cops and robbers? It was cop’s all right, six of them discussing something? They must be part of the evening’s entertainment because, we could not see any reason for them to be there.We reached our hotel room and our plan was to let the doors & windows open on the Ocean side so we can listen to the water coming to shore and enjoy a peaceful nights sleep. We awoke to the bird’s cooing, and flying about the fresh air cleaned our lungs. We were starved once again - finally we could use the dining room for breakfast, everything was fresh was fresh including the greatest cup of coffee this writer ever enjoyed. Just incredible!!Our next city is Mont-Joli, and Metis-sur-Mer. a place our Indian ancestors lived years ago. Just like our first taste of this wonderful country, it got more beautiful as we moved towards our focal point of PERCE, "The Rock". Our next city is Matane, unlike others so far, there is growth here. Famous for its shrimps, it also has a mall, which we frequented. The Old Lighthouse, which you can see from the road, is also a tourist information center. The Salmon migration channel built in the Mathieu-d’amour dam is located on the Matane River. You can see fisherman under the bridge casting and not too far away another fishing village, Les Mechins is yours for the asking. Fishing is the main activity – Cod, Turbot, Mackerel, and sole as well as crustaceans such as lobsters, shrimp, and scallop make the Gaspe peninsula famous.Our next stop is Cap-Chat we could see from a distance the attraction.A huge windmill farm. Once at the spot, you are met by a gigantic Vertical axis windtower. It’s the worlds most powerful and highest at 360 feet. The field reminds you of Palm Springs in California, but on a smaller scale but still impressive. As we left the windmill area "Alvin" the chipmunk crossed my path, flying through the air at orbital speeds. We can taste Perce now, with only Ste.Anne-des-Monts between us. You must remember the coastline of the Gaspe, can be intimidating, but it’s also calm, beautiful and full of natures features. Boom, voila here she is Karen, PERCE, QUEBEC – Small narrow street, with cars moving at a snails pace, visitors everywhere and shops on both sides of the road with the occasional restaurants in between. You could toss a football the length of the street. A point after get’s you to our Hotel Le Mirage, on route 132 Ouest, Perce, QC.Karen spots the hotel on top of the hill. Great news, we will not need our car to come back into town. The Ouellette family who has been in this business for 61 years greets us. We register. The hotel is spotless; the staff is clean looking, nice little bar next to the reception desk, and impeccable dining room.Mrs. Ouellette explains the Hotel’s policies, and surroundings. We are allocated room 35, overlooking the St.Lawrence and Perce rock. The room is large, clean as a whistle, a gorgeous bathroom and everything about this room is first class.Karen and I sit on the balcony, silence, not a word is spoken as we survey the great landscape before our eyes. Just awesome. We found out later that the Molson family once owned the red roof house, (our immediate view) located on top of the hill to the side of Perce Rock. It’s now owned by the Quebec Government and free of tenants.We rested a bit but the excitement of being in Perce is just too much. We changed into clean and crisp garb and begin our trek towards the main street.Our first sights as we stroll down a narrow sidewalk to the main street, are the Rock, the St.Lawrence, the Motels/Hotels, parked buses, cars, and of course people. Perce is a souvenir trap, like most tourist towns so find the most reasonable shop, and buy. Then move on. We found out that a store, restaurant along the strip also rents rooms, and it goes hand in hand with the business environment of this town. But we also found out that you must reserve a room days ahead or you will be camping out. It’s a busy place. If we ever go back we will book a room outside of Perce and take advantage of cheaper rates and drive in each day. There are plenty of parking spaces available.Once beyond the shops a sharp right turn gets you to the Pier. Buskers are all around you and it’s enjoyable because it’s not the typical music. It’s the Quebecois stomping and playing of the accordions and spoons. At the other end another busker with a guitar is singing regional French songs and he has the crowd singing so obviously there are locals in the crowd. At the end of the pier, what else? Fisherman, trying their luck, and winning. We should have brought our fishing rod! The night was now upon us its cool and we are only tee shirt busy, but we can handle the evening’s offerings of a beautiful sky, no breeze, a welcoming night for Perce’s guest.Music emanates from a restaurant-bar off the pier, its regional music, foot stomping at times, but they don’t shy away from rock & roll. Courtyards are within range. Karen and I decided to purchase a beer and sit and gawk at passerbies. There is plenty of entertainment all about. At this point were both getting hungry? Again we only ate breakfast. We mosey down the boardwalk towards our Hotel, and spotted a restaurant painted red. People were eating outside, a stones throw from the Sea. We checked the menu, "Lobster & Shrimps", just what we want. The maitre‘d approached us, a fine looking Frenchman, and you could tell he was from Paris. He spoke excellent English. He was tanned, dressed like a French Sailor with his neck covered with a thin scarf, a sweater with bars across, and beige slacks. He pointed towards a choice of two tables, cozy and both located at the windows facing the Ocean. Everything about this place was European, French of course. Old antique tables each with a candle adding a romantic flavour. We received our dinner, lobster was great, but the shrimp were too well done, otherwise, it was a most pleasant evening near the rock. The daughter of the owner took our dishes away, while the owners wife, gave us the bill. Just perfect as we continued to drink a great wine from France. I must say something about the bathroom, located in the corner of the restaurant. The sign said, M/F, and when you walk in, it’s tiny, resembling what you will find in France, a smallish sink of great beauty with little red handles. One handle said chaude/hot and the other froide/cold. Excellent conversation piece for the evening. Early the next day while walking along the boardwalk, I saw our Parisian Frenchman cleaning his tables outside his restaurant, a sign that we chose well last night.Throughout our ride along the coastline, Catholic churches could be seen and as we approached them, Karen would say, they always get prime location. The churches were spanking clean with great landscaping. Another significant feature was the Canadian Flag. They were all over the place compared to Montreal and other Quebec regions where the Quebec Flags is more evident.Day two in Perce - Began early for this writer. Its six-fifteen and the cool fresh air is waiting. Karen is sleeping, enjoying the comfort of being on holidays.The street are bare, only Jocko and a few natives enjoying the morning. As I reached the end of the tourist area, I noticed a walkway heading up to the Molson house. Why not, take a look. It was a cute little street with many little summer cabins, rentals I presume. The landscape was perfect at the top, the Molson house was chained off but I did spot another opening. At cliffs end stairs descending to rocks and the Ocean invites you to challenge the shore towards the Rock. As I looked towards Perce rock, I could see people walking towards the rock. It was low tide, so I have choice to make. Return or continue, but just twenty feet in front of me a father with his boy are enjoying the time of their life together. I could hear the Dad giving the young boy instruction, no son, move to your right, pick a flat rock, son, watch out for the slippery tree limbs, which was ten times the height of his child and a girth five times the size of his twelve year old body. Each rock presented a challenge, and with just running shoes, you had to be careful of wet rocks. Hiker boots would be the best. At this point, were about thirty feet from the top, some ten feet from the splashing sea and about 150 yards closer to Perce rock. You have to pinch yourself, because this hike, is just tremendous and the closer I get the more people are up for the challenge.Making a decision to cross over at low tide is easy because I still have two courageous people in front of me, the Dad and son and they are moving at a gung-ho pace. From the shore below the cliff, were talking a football field, before reaching the rock. Later on during the late afternoon, you would need a boat to cross over. The length of this rock is 1,565 feet, and 250 feet high. The purpose of this hike is to reach the arch at about 1,500 feet. The walk along the rock begins with enough space to walk at ease, when all of a sudden, your hugging the walls of the rock and pursuing a comfortable rock to step on, otherwise your swimming in the St.Lawrence. With running shoes pleasantly wet, and almost half way to the Arch, I meet the young man with his son going back. Decision time, I pick a rock and survey the water, rocks, shore, only to be inspired by a lady and her husband standing under the arch. Off I go but I must watch my every step, when I plunge into the water up to my zipper, and then realize, why all this picking and choosing a rock. I was able to complete my journey, and enjoy the excitement of standing under the Arch, which was 50 feet high. It was interesting, because I was not the only one who reached the Arch on this day, about twenty others were in awe of this huge hole. You could hear the shale falling from the sides of the Rock.Karen was so disappointed when I got back, she looked at me with my wet jeans and asked what happen to you? I fell into the St.Lawrence, what? I went for my walk and decided to challenge the Rock. Are you crazy? Why didn’t you wait for me? There is no way, you would have made it across and furthermore I would have not taken a chance if you were with me. After breakfast, Karen and I returned to the area, we found a dry log along the northern end of the rock, and I could see she was thinking about going across, but no way would I agree. You must be in good shape to challenge the rock, being an athlete and having challenged numerous obstacles in life, you gain so much experience and think about what you would do if something did happen. The weather is great, sunny, with a slight wind. We bought tickets for the ferry, which takes you to Bonaventure Island. The ferry purposely moves towards the "Rock" to give us a better look at natures creation and then around to the East side where you get a better picture of nature at work. A wind was hammering away at the rock, and at times shale would fall into the sea. You could see grooves in the wall, carved over millions of years. The Arch for example, must have been a small hole at one time, and only water could excavate an Arch so large. As we approached Bonaventure Island, we skirted a wall where Seals were at play. Above them, we saw a wall of 200,000 birds sunbathing, and resting. We were informed that the greatest colony of Gannets in Northern America nest here. Each Gannet couple nest here for seven months to raise its only offspring.Gannets in French are "Fous de Bassan". These birds have a yellow head.Macareau are Birds of grace, beautiful, small with a colourful beak. There are Gulls as well. You can spend the whole day on the Island or every half hour a boat leaves the Island. It would take you hours to walk this Island.Coming back from Bonaventure Island, Karen and I decided to take a seat above the boat, and take in the scenery. Just about halfway over we saw Whales playing in the water. We all got excited and wanted the captain to bring us closer, but he just chugged along. Meanwhile everybody had his or her cameras out clicking away at this marvelous sight. It bugged us to no end that he would not stop. When he dropped us off we asked about the whales. His reply was that his job is to ferry us over to the Island and back. Others were also looking at the whales playing in the water. We even purposely walked along the shore towards our hotel, so that we could watch these creatures of the seas battle. When we got back to our room, we immediately sat on our balcony and looked towards the whales at play. Before, I go on I must confess the Whales were rocks, creating an optical illusion or for that matter a tidal change might have created this formation but when we first saw, what we thought were Whales playing, we believed it. Great excitement.We would complete two other visits on this day – The Grotto, and the Interpretation center. The Grotto is 1.5 kl from our hotel. The dirt road leading to the Grotto is dusty, so a car wash is in the works. We reach the top but we must park in order to reach the Grotto, some 100 feet beyond the chain fence. The water falls from about 250 feet straight down into a man-made concrete water container. Were not talking Niagara Falls, were talking Mickey Mouse. We figured out that this man-made Grotto belonged to the church, because two locked "collection" boxes were place at the sight and next to an Icon. Both asking for donations, as a matter of fact when we were just about to leave, we saw the local priest taking the money from the boxes. Please don’t get me wrong, this Grotto is just fine, we even walked under the waterfall, and enjoyed the sprinkling of the cold water. Upon return, we reached the chain fence and saw a van next to our car.A woman was walking towards us, and she was feeling good, one of the guy’s was having a leak behind the van and singing while the other two guys were doing the same into the bush. They were obviously three sheets to the wind.As I approach my car, the lad behind the van, asked – is the cave a big one?No I replied, its just two Icons with a waterfall. Scratching his head, he turned to his buddies, and yelled no cave’s guys, it’s a church up there. He was not that far off, and we did pass a church on our way out.The interpretation center is excellent, we learned so much about the area. The way of life, the Ocean, but most of all Karen and I learned about the power of the Sun, Wind and Water in only 30 minutes.With a good nights rest behind us, we checked out and drove to a breakfast spot we noticed the day before. Located off the Ocean, it was a typical motel with a restaurant. The parking lot was full, so that was a good sign. From our view we could just about see the area where we thought the Whales were playing in the St.Lawrence. The fog cover was major, and a slight mist covered the windows of the restaurant. We enjoyed a nice breakfast, and fell in love with their home made jam. Dressed for the weather, off we go and we are informed that in Chandler, the weather is much better. Thank God, I could not see myself driving the hills of Gaspe in a fog. We never saw a sign for Chandler, all we know is that we are on the 132 west, heading towards our next stop. No major traffic to talk about, its smooth all the way through New Carlisle, Bonaventure and into New Richmond. The biggest change on 132 west is the scenic view. The Ocean disappears; mountains become the focal point on both sides of the road and beautiful greenery to help us along. New Richmond, if you enjoy peace and tranquility "Auberge La Maison Stanley" is for you. If you enjoy reading a book you want to be here. It took us three hours to reach New Richmond, and they had plenty of signs along the road indicating route to follow. From the front gate to the house, 1.5KL, that’s a stretch. We passed a dense forest, and as we peaked into the woods we saw nothing but trees. We registered, and brought our luggage to our room.We were in a mansion, with artifacts surrounding our every move towards the second floor. The stairway had a huge polar bear fur hanging on the wall. All the bathrooms were outside our room, five in all only a few feet away.We were given the Lord Stanley Suite, with our room facing Baie-des-chaleur.Our bed was a four-poster unit giving us the feeling of a Queen and King, only because the accessories were of royal quality. There is so much more, but its time for a walk to the Seaside. Karen and I picked up walking sticks and began walking all we could see is water, clear water, and rocks galore for the many Salmon who invade these shores. From our vantage point we saw the Grand Cascapedia River, a Salmon fisherman dream spot. After skidding a few rocks atop the water, we headed back towards our mansion. Walking into this great country Inn, you can’t help but be in awe of its beauty. Lucille, who owns the place with her husband, gave us a tour of the mansion, and we then sat in what must be described as a dream living room. So large, and when you scan the room, you see numerous wall hanging’s, with bookcases all along the wall containing books from the 1800’s.It appeared to Karen and I that the five owners of this graceful home, upon selling, must have left behind all their belongings. Two items stood out, the coffee table which measured about six feet by six feet with its aging natural wood, seemed contented with all the books and magazines upon it. Surrounding this beauty, were sofas, and chairs each having an end table with lighting to suit your taste. Secondly, the "Fireplace", took up a major portion of one wall and although its July, Edgar who is Lucille’s husband lit the log’s, displaying a winter feature. Imagine for one moment, you just spent an hour skating on a frozen pond, and return to the warmth of this living room, you then plunk yourself in front of this brightly glowing fire, and start sipping a cup of Hot Chocolate. Yes, it’s a nice dream. We had purchased a couple of sandwiches on our way towards Lord Stanley, and we had stored them in the fridge. We asked Lucille, if we could have them, and she quickly replied, give me a minute and I will set something up for you in the dining room. We were flabbergasted, and never before did we enjoy a sandwich in such luxury as the two of us sat munching away. Karen and I decided to find the only mall in New Richmond, right –OK.Near by, the city of Bonaventure had a Loyalist Colony, and $ 4.00 each enables you to visit 14 buildings on the site. Our first stop was the Blacksmith shop, as we were unsupervised, we made a few changes. In doing so we caused a racket, at which point a neighbour came into the stable, claimed her husband was sick, and could we find some medicine. Not a problem, we walked to the chemist down the street, and to our surprise the prescription was ready. So we made the delivery. Karen took off on me so when I looked outside there she was entering the church. As I opened the door, I could hear Karen praying for Shamus Smith, but before she could say one more amen, I began my sermon on deceases. The churchgoers were amazed at my words and one yelled out no such deceases exist, and if I were correct I would say that only in the 19 century would these deceases surface. Say what? I’m a fortune teller, and my cards has pictures of these deceases, which translate into the 19th. Century. Amen lady.Did anybody see a blond lady leave, yes-sir, she just stepped out a minute ago. Thank you my children – ciao. Sure enough, wouldn’t you know it, Karen’s in the bakery and of all places, they have people dressed in funny clothes selling, cookies, and fudge, imagine that fudge. KC, what are you doing here? buying some fudge, and with that remark grabbed me by the ears, and hauled me over to the school house, and began telling me how good she was at school. Yes, KC that’s fine, but I’m tired, and these desk and chairs are just too small for this big man. Haha, put the chalk down, ok, ok, but let’s get out of here, the barns awaiting. What a wonderful barn, it looked as if the farmers just left everything, and scooted home. It’s about closing time, and we still have a few buildings to visit. Karen of course tried to attached a wagon to my body, but that would not work because our car was only one hundred yards away, and even if I tried, that Indian you see parked on that roof, has a bow & Arrow. Salut! La visite.We drove back to our beautiful, stately home for the night. Lucille & Edgar were sitting on the Balcony. Postcard perfect. We joined them explaining our day’s activities. They were pleased that we took in the Loyalist Village in Bonaventure. Lucille made us some tea, and together we went into the living room. Edgar, informed us that this was the original home of Lord Stanley, the same man who donated the Stanley Cup to the National Hockey league.Lord Stanley photo hangs in the foyer area along with the four owners who followed his venture. There are 11 rooms, on a beachfront which measures 1,500 feet long.6000 feet deep. A huge Canadian Flag facing our room proudly flying and saluting Les Anglais. We hit the sack, and enjoyed the most peaceful evening sleep. It was so quite, Karen could not sleep for the lack of noise. Lying in bed, I would make little sounds, like boo, or try listening for a bird, cricket, but no luck.We awoke early, and I went for a walk on the grounds, enjoying life. Caught up in my search for animal life, I finally heard noise, as I looked back towards the house, It was Karen screaming, breakfast is ready. Within two minutes we were sitting in the dining room with a capacity for 30 people. The Dining room was filled with magnificent Antique tables and chairs. If you are a breakfast person like Karen and I, the enjoyment of presentation was out of this world, as they already had the coffee out, fresh eggs an assortment of meats, juices, fresh fruit, and pancakes. We had our own waitress, and she lived in the same area we live in, back home in the West Island. So, not only did we enjoy a great morning breakfast, but also we had the opportunity to talk about places of interest.Who knew, that traveling so far, would bring together neighbours. Awesome.Although our main goal on this trip was the Gaspe Peninsula and the St.Lawrence. We could not go back home without stopping off at Ste.Anne de Beaupre and Quebec City. Ste.Anne de Beaupre is special because, if you have faith, and you wish to pray, the statue, which you can kneel at glows, almost real. The statue is round, with space for about 8 persons. It has been refurbished, but in the old days, you would see many crutches, and other items left behind by people who were cured during their visit.From Ste.Anne de Beaupre, you have a short drive to Quebec City. Summer is the best time to visit Upper and Lower Quebec. They have so much to offer. On occasion we drive down to Quebec City from Montreal just to have breakfast, and walk the streets in the afternoon. Sidewalk café’s although different than what you would frequent in Paris, the flare, the "Joie de Vivre" is enjoyable.Nightlife, choice of restaurant, is done at a slower pace, and if the opportunity arises, lower Quebec offers some excellent choices. So try to find a spot where you can have a drink first, enjoy life, and then a romantic two and one half hour dinner.Thanks for reading our story.

Jock
pijas@videotron.ca

2006-02-15T18:22:00.000-08:00

FISHING TRIP TO O’SULLIVAN LAKE LODGE MAY 16 TO 19, 2003

O’Sullivan Lake Lodge is not only a dream location but also a dream vacation according to Billy and Bill. We could not ask for two better leaders, because both are avid and experienced fishermen. Then we have Ian (Al Unser) who is a crack golfer but also knows his way around this lake not to mention the lodge. He was also the kibitzer in the group and kept everybody on their toes. His cigar totting brother in-law Carl (Fidel) has to be the most relaxed fisherman on the lake. Our youngest member in the group is Steven (the sleeper) Paul, Bill’s son of course and the twosome enjoyed quality time together over the four days. The rookie on the lake was non-other than this writer Jock (Newbie) .

O’Sullivan Lake Lodge is two-hundred-eighty miles from Montreal. That’s a chunk of kilometers in Canadian lingo. O’Sullivan Lake is located in Western, Quebec. Directly North of Ottawa, Ontario’s eastern tip of the Outaouais Region. Early this year we held a meeting at Billy’s place in Lake of Two Mountains. It was established that Ian (Al Unser) with his Ford Explorer V-8 4X4 would pick up Carl (Fidel) Jock (Newbie) Jock was more than ready when they arrived, and how we got everything in that beautiful dark blue explorer is beyond me?
From Chomedey Laval, Bill with his Jeep Cherokee Laredo 4 X 4 along with his son sleepy Steven would pick up Billy, and then we all meet on the Laurentian Autoroute
# 15, near the General Motor Plant. With cell phones ready, Carl called Bill as we approached Laval to make sure about the connection, and within eyeshot, we could see the silver Cherokee moving at a fair clip towards the 15. Bill answered did you see me to Carl, is that you in the gray, yes – OK ten four, were right behind you. (Makes you yearn for that old cb day’s, eh good buddy)

Great connection, now for our first leg towards Mont-Laurier. Mont Laurier is known for great snowmobile trails, and one of the bigger towns after St.Jovite. We are ahead of schedule with Ian (Al Unser) leading the way. At 2.15 a.m., we find a great little truck stop at Grand Remous (have you ever seen a not so grand Remous, a few inches from Mont-Laurier. Ian fills up with gas, Carl, Bill, and Billy are already in the restaurant, and naturally Steven is sleeping in the Jeep, while Jock & Ian join the others for the earliest breakfast ever in my life. “Early bird gets the worm no thank you I’ll have an egg McMuffin”! Good food, lot’s of laughter, and scaring me, because I’m the newbie, and newbies get initiated into the group. I wonder?

With approximately 150 miles under our belt and our bellies full, we begin our next trek towards Clova road, north on road 13. We see some big rig’s coming at us every now and then on the Trans-Canada 117, otherwise the ride is pleasant and enjoyable. The sound system in the Explorer is great with Willie Nelson & Etta James belting out some tunes from way back.

Carl (Fidel) is starting to freeze by this time with only sandals on, his toes are looking for cover. The weather meter in the Explorer say’s it’s only 7 outside, you see Carl, believe me it’s going to be cold at night here! Carl (Fidel) yells out, Clova Road Ian, to your right – great balls of fire, it’s 3.08 a.m., and our next leg is for 65 miles north, dirt road and Carl mentions there is a speed limit, what? Ian fires back. What’s this anyway miles, why is everything in miles, here in Quebec it’s been kilometers for the past 30 years. It must have something to do with so many Americans frequenting the Lodge. Right on, Ian! Mr. Al Unser.

This dirt road is good for two vehicles, it contains speed bumps, holes, rock, sand, stones, bridges, and every now and then it will tease you with a flat sandy-stone road.
Trees, bushes in clusters create a feeling of dense woods. I was looking for a caribou or bear but all we could see were Bat’s flying off the road! Rabbits, ground hogs and other small animals were also seen at roadside and some crossing our path. There were many surprises along this road, which Ian and Bill had to deal with. Ian (Al Unser) is settling in, pushing the buttons for more power with his explorer. Would you believe that he had, low, medium and High on his Eddie Bauer Model? In the meantime we heard Bill is driving his vehicle as a “2 X 4” – no one mentioned “The buttons”.

All four tires are moving at 60 k’s/hr. while Bill behind us is still on two wheel drive, but keeping up. Comfortable at 60, Ian moves it up to 70 k’s, in the dead of night when we see a small crevice in the road ahead but too late to slow down, so Ian increases speed whacks the hole, and we all reach for the heavens from our seat – welcome to the back country folks. Etta James is now a great listen, as Ian (Al Unser) decides to move the gage up to 80 k’s. Bill and company is still with us, and you can see his Jeep enjoying the ride, and we could hear Billy wishing he were driving!

The bridge Ian, the Bridge, holy macro will we fit? No choice now Ian, “baff” we make it. Awesome, now we are getting brave. The road is a bit wet, and slippy. I believe Bill told us that it was at that point that he realizes with the push of a button he could be driving at full speed? We almost hit the next bridge, but the scariest moment came when we could see boards missing from the next bridge span, what the hell, Ian said? The hell with it, it’s too late, he floors it and we literally flies across the bridge.

It’s now 4.55 a.m., math & logic tells us we have missed our turn (not our strongpoint), and Ian is going banana’s, what going on? “We should have reached our turn by now”. We stop and have a meeting of the minds, and decide to return. We are a minimum of one hour away from our turn. At this point Carl is driving because Ian is tired and frustrated. Ian see’s a man near a front-end loader, “stop”, he yells out, jumps out of the explorer walks over and finds out that we are only a few minutes away from O”Sullivan Side Road. Finally, we find the road going west to towards the lodge. 12 more miles to four day’s of fishing. It would have been nice to have a sign on the right side approx a mile from O’Sullivan Road. We would have saved an hour and a bit.

Even though we had 12 miles remaining. We were happy to be on the right road! 6.35 a.m. American & Canadian flags greet you before entering the main office at O’Sullivan Lake Lodge,
50 Aquaduc, Maniwaki, Quebec J9E 3A2. Owners are Russell & Stanley Gagnon.
We are assigned cabin # 7, with our own parking spot for our boat.
No room service, but all the amenities to survive four days of fishing.
Ian, tells me that the cabin’s are typical of a fishing Lodges, no frills, just a rectangular box, 24 feet X 18 feet approx. sitting on stilts about four feet off the sandy terrain.
A bunch of stairs get’s you to a platform, and the door leading to our main area.

The cabin is divided in two. At first you enter into a combination kitchen, and living room, den area. To our right, we have a fridge, stove, and sink with cabinets above and below filled with dishes, pots, and utensils but no soap. A typical kitchen table with a vinyl cloth, toaster, and coffee urn. An assorted bunch of chairs to rest your buns. To our left, we had an Oil furnace, which produced heat quickly, and most evenings, and early morning we needed the heat even though our days were wonderful tanning days. Attached to the wall we had a leaf, which could be used as an extra table, or store condiments, bread, can food etc. The bedrooms were equally divided with a bathroom dead center. To your right we had the Cherokee Laredo Suite, while to your left we had the Explorer suite. Each room had a bed and a bunk style system. The single bed was two feet off the floor giving you room to store your bags. I found mine to be very comfortable and restful. Sleeping arrangements saw Ian in the single bed, with Jock in the bottom bunk and Carl climbing above. Billy, Bill, and Steven (the sleeper) respectively in their room. Earplugs were a prerequisite with this gang. As apparently they all suffer from “ Noisy nose humungous”

FISHING - Billy got a few bites, and the newbie caught the first fish, a seven-pound Pike, which was cool. Billy cleaned and cooked the Pike immediately upon arrival to our cabin. You see the sluggishness in all of us as the overnight drive sapped our energy

Some of us took a nap during the afternoon, while others enjoyed a stint on the jetty facing the main lake. From this vantage point you see a glimpse of the famous rock which represents the spot for TROUT. What amazed this rookie was the lingo of holes on the lake, you would think that with 11 lakes to fish from, you would find fish everywhere? In many ways the wooden jetty was more than a place to sit and throw out a line. With a fisherman like Carl (Fidel) sitting beside you, the whole scene was pure tranquility and relaxation. On the other hand, if Bill (the gadget man) was next to you, he would talk your ear off. In fairness to Bill, I must say that at times, he was emotional.

Ian was the first to grab a shower, but no hot water as a matter of fact no cold water either. Ian could hear the water, but unfortunately it was outside the shower box, and squirting every which way including flooding the complete toilet area. Obviously the winter cold splits the pipes. Ian screamed for Carl (Fidel) who is a plumber by trade. Carl, asked for black electrical tape, but Bill (the gadget man) wanted to know what colour tape? Black Bill, Black as we laughed. Management solved our problem as we trotted down to cabin # 10 for our shower. We were one tired group of fishermen, on this night, earplugs or not everyone slept like logs.

O’Sullivan Lake Lodge covers 95 square miles of territory with a main lake, and ten others to fish on. For this writer, it’s equivalent to playing hockey at the Montreal forum.
An enormous expanse of water, yet each excursion on the water took at least ten to fifteen minutes to reach the “Rock” for instance. We met two American’s from Pennsylvania, and they have been visiting O’Sullivan Lake Lodge since the nineteen seventy’s. At the very beginning of the main lake, you can fish off the jetty, which we did every day. It was a great spot to just talk about our day’s catch or miss. Smoke a cigar, have a few pints, and wave to friends as they left or came back from a day on the lake. Lot’s of laughs, and freedom of pressure in bundles not to mention healing process of the mind. Saturday May 16th, 2003 is what I expected, you awaken to the smell of coffee, which Ian prepared the night before. At the stove Billy, executive chef of cabin #7, is creating an aroma which filled the rooms, and which reaches your nostril’s quick. It’s an outdoorsmen breakfast of Bacon, egg’s, potato’s, beans, and toast. (Cholesterol calamity)
Ian looks wired, all set to hit the waters, and Billy trying to reduce that time. “Two egg’s” Billy yells out, grab your extras and enjoy. Carl is set with his coffee, which includes a shot of cognac, and some cream. Bill “The gadget man” is yapping about numerous issues while Steven hugs the couch a few feet away. My job is to get our fishing gear out to our boat, so that when Billy is ready were off like a bat out of hell. I spent two days with Billy, and it was a total joy to compare him with his Dad who I think is still the greatest fisherman pound for pound. During both day’s Billy did all the rigging of my rod, it was appreciated, but unfair. I must learn to handle my own equipment.

The significant factor this morning is that we are able and willing after a good nights rest. With seven a.m. approaching we are out the door and moving towards a favourite fishing hole. It would be a great day for Billy, because a seventeen pound Pike was parked waiting for him. Billy wanted action and he got it quick as the Pike swallowed the hook, line and sinker. “When else can I literally use this line” Furthermore, the Pike wanted no part of our boat. The fight exceeded five minutes as Billy kept the tip of his rod up, and the base resting on his rather large comfortable stomach. Eventually we could see the size of this monster, the ugly Pike, slammed into the 14 foot Princecraft and scooted adding another minute or so, before he got tired. Bill and “the sleeper” were about 50 yards away enjoying the struggle. Now to bring the Pike into the boat without a net required talent, and Billy was up to the task as he deliberately maneuvered the Pike to his advantage, and with his right arm free, he grabbed the Pike by the gills, and into the boat he came. Hook, line, and sinker – great stuff. For this writer, this would be a first, never before did I see such a huge fish being retrieved from a lake with a line no bigger than a whisker. Later in the afternoon, Billy caught a 6-pound trout off the pier, while sitting around with Carl and Bill chewing the fat. I was napping at the time.

While at the Jetty, Bill (the gadget man) brought out his underwater camera.
Dropped into the water, about ten feet, and we could see the action and fish swimming about. Bill is a great guy to have along, he brings more stuff than you need, and whatever you might have forgotten, he has. From a zapper, to pre-cooked hamburgers, and sandwiches. The healthy guy’s are Ian & Jock who bring Fruit, and cereal.

It was a profitable day, fish wise, as we began to get bites. Ian was not happy with the bait, some as big as twelve inches and fat to boot. So we hit the lodge, and purchased some smaller smelts $ 10.00 for a dozen, and that did the trick. I was teamed up with up with Carl for the evening run, and Carl caught a Laker as they call them. I got a runner he yelled over to Bill, “let the line go” he screamed back, I know, I know. He has some weight, good, bring him in, “I’m trying”, then we got our first look, it’s a trout as he surfaced for a second. With the net waiting, we scoop in a 4 pounder. What a thrill, earlier with Billy, now with Carl.We had some planned meals, like lasagna from Ann’s kitchen Friday and Nick from Terra-mare supplied us with big time steaks for Saturday night. The fish must have realized that if they are to get to our table an effort must be made on their part.

We were altogether now, and we found an old barbecue near the lodge. Ian grabbed the tank, and the barbecue on one end while I pulled the other end towards our cabin. With a match at the ready we opened the propane valve, but the control valve were faulty. We could smell the propane flowing, “throw the match Ian” and move away quick, ok – here goes. What a blast as the flames reached six feet high. Were ready Billy, as he prepared the steaks for our evening meal. Corn, potatoes, and plenty of vegetables were at the ready. Watching Billy cook steaks with a kitchen fork was too much, but he managed to move and dance the steaks from one spot to the other in order to get six medium steaks. We had no control over the flames as Billy more than once gave out a few ouches. Out came the beer, wine, and rum, as we gathered for our feast and a party deep inside the wilderness of Northwestern Quebec. We had some great laughs, as Bill claimed I was scared of Billy’s big Pike. He claims I tried to exit the boat at one point, because the Pike decided to do a dance. I would imagine you could get hurt if he connected. The Pike swift twisting body would certainly leave a bruise of some sort.

Great day, great Cabin fun, great shower, now into our comfortable bed, Good night.
“noisy nose humungous” here we go. We did have company on every night as two birds used the beam above the door as their nesting place. I did wonder about young Steven, who used the couch to sleep on with a wide-open window to boot. What were the chances a Bear would roam by the window?

Sunday May 18th, 2003, we took advantage of some rest as we filtered towards the busy kitchen at 6.45 a.m. Coffee was ready, and Billy already had the bacon smoking, potato’s fried in peanut oil, and beans at the ready as he began to knock off two egg’s per customer. Ian must have told Billy that he is the greatest chef since slice bread, over, over and over again. You could come to my house anytime Billy. I’m also good in bed, Billy retorted – “no way Jose”, just your cooking is fine with me.

Talking about cooking, Billy organization skills in the kitchen include doubling up for the next day. On this day, Billy was cooking potatoes in peanut oil, he kept opening one can after the other, but was not aware that Bill was gulping them down like chips, when he realized what was happening. What the hell are you doing Bill”, what? those potatoes’s are for tomorrow. Sorry, I thought you were feeding me!

On this day, we would see the team of Billy and Ian hitting the lake for some trolling, a figure eight I heard Bill say. Carl suggested to me that a Laker is what we want to catch today. Bill would be alone, because “the sleeper” picked up some allergy, and wanted no part of fishing. So the three of us headed towards the rock some fifteen minutes from our cabin while Steven headed for the couch-again.

Our boats were anchored some 100 yards from the rock looking at the points of two islands while Bill's boat was 60 yards from ours. It was about 9.15 a.m. when we heard the call from Bill the professor of gadget’s, telling Carl & I, that he has snagged a fish. Big weight, he continued, his enthusiasm grew with each turn of his reel. Then a huge splash shot up his adrenalin factor through the roof. He was in for a fight, without help. Hah, Hah Bill blurted, he’s trying to escape, take your time Carl yelled over, come on Bill you can do it. It was now 9.31 a.m., and he still fighting when all of sudden the fish comes out of the water some twenty-five feet from his boat. It’s a biggy guy’s; wow did you see that Carl, that is a loch ness monster baby sister - he’s fighting. Now, it’s 9.45 a.m., when the Pike hits the boat with power, Bill is going bananas, happy, tired as he wishes Steven would be at his side. He continues to tire out the fish, and with some extra energy, he manages to place the fish in the net. Some of the words that came out of Bill mouth made the fish blush. What a happy camper. Now chained, Bill places the fish outside the boat, and boom, biff, bang the Pike struggles to free himself. Bill looks down in amazement, sits down in the boat for a well-deserved rest. Great stuff.

It was only matter of a few minutes when my line began to run on me, Carl jumps to his feet, and say’s “it’s a runner”, “what in hell is a runner”, it’s a Laker, “what in hell is a Laker”, “it’s a trout” good grief, I like trout. Give him the line, don’t touch the reel, and just keep giving him the line. Carl brings up the motor and anchor, now Bill wants to know what’s going on. “He’s got a runner” he yells back at Bill, keep the rod up, Bill yells back, keep the rod up yells, Carl, you got a doozy. Now I’m getting excited, because my line is about half way down the bobbin, when the Laker stops. “Hook him” Carl screams, hook him, he stopped. I did it, I have my first trout or should I say Laker? Now it’s time to pull him in, I could feel the weight and energy of the trout trying to escape. My left hand is showing weakness, but I continue to reel him in, then for the first time I see my catch looking at me some twenty feet away as he splashes towards the boat. Carl is going crazy, you did it Jocko, you did it! Bill is cheering, as I bring what we feel is an eight pounder into the boat. Awesome. Carl places the fish on a special line, and returns it to water in order to keep him fresh. What a feeling, I must come back and catch a few more Lakers.

It was only a matter of minutes when Bill strikes again, same scenario, “a runner” he yells out, “I got one”, what’s happening, I’m alone now so the fish come, I wish Steven was here to help me, we just might catch a dozen. The Laker gives him a run for his money, and Bill brings him into the boat. Bill is so excited, the biggest Pike, now a Laker. He’s beside himself as he places his Laker beside the big monster. From our vantage point, you can see Bill check his fish every now and then. Then he say’s I think the big Pike want’s to eat the Laker, and laughs. Actually the two fishes are saying, “I guess were both in the same boat”. What a great morning, this was fun, and understand why. Bill is a great team player. When I caught my Laker he moved his boat away just in case the Laker would go towards him. We would have reached Bill’s boat, and to my surprise, we reached the left side of the rock. What a thrill. Carl was not as lucky on this morning even though he caught a Pike but returned it to the lake. I’ll wait for it to gain 10lbs and catch it again next year. We remained for an hour, and returned to fillet our fish. We now found out the official weight of all our fishes. Bill’s Pike 18 lbs. his Laker is 5 lbs. Mine came in at 6 lbs. Carl took out his honed knife, and did a marvelous job filleting my Trout. He began by cleaning the trout, cut open the stomach and removed a bunch of minoes. Down the backbone, removes the fins then more cleaning, beautiful pink fillets, and wrapped for the trip home tomorrow. Amazing.

Next Bill tackles his monster of a Pike, measuring 43 inches long, he places in the tub, but this guy is still fighting as he rinses the slime. Cut’s the belly open, my God Bill you could park Ian explorer into his stomach, naw, I don’t think so, but, it is a huge cavity. He filled the bucket with the guts from his fish. I’m leaning against the freezer, and notice that the Pike is twitching on the side table, did you see that I asked Bill and Carl, “no what’s up”. Watch the Pike, sure enough he smacks the side of the backboard and falls off the table to Carl’s surprise who is standing in the way. The look was a candid camera look. Bill roars of course, and we all begin to laugh. Carl decides to place a brush between his jaw, and sure enough, there is a twitch, but nothing to write home about. The fish is still flipping and flopping gutless. He still won’t die when all of a sudden, I see this two by four coming from the roof, it’s Carl swinging it, and smacks the poor Pike right across the head, killing him – he never moved again. What a great time in what you might call the slaughterhouse of O’Sullivan Lake Lodge.

Ian came back that same day with a 4lb. Dore, he was so proud. This is good fish men, we are eating it for dinner tonight. He was right, that is a great fish to eat. Bill, Carl and I spent the afternoon on the jetty with a case of 2-4’s and reel in hand just in case a Laker would meander down the channel towards the sand barge. That night, Carl and I tried a new spot, and explained how he mishandles a 15 pounder the last time they were here. We sort of hid in the shade because today was the warmest yet. Then we began to troll down the lake towards the rock, enjoying the company of the Loons, and imagining the potential of a bear descending from the woods or a caribou. We found only one spot that looked big enough for a bear or caribou to reach the water. The calm water makes you dream, the closer you are to shore, the better you witness the mirror vision on the water illustrating the shadow of course of the many trees, and bushes.

There is more to this fishing trip than fishing – I began thinking about my friends at lunch. They would never be part of this scene, I don’t even know if they ever held a reel? The best way for me to explain what I want to say is “cleansing” putting your mind at rest, erasing the bad, and moving on. I believe that this part of life comes naturally and provides great medicine. What I can tell you is that when I showed the boy’s the pictures of our fishing trip, they were flabbergasted. We hit the sack at 10.30 p.m. too pooped to play cards, not that we did any night.

Monday, May 19th, 2003, our last day. The magic of winning comes to the forefront, as we now must duplicate yesterday cache, if not triple it. Breakfast is quick as we have fish on our minds and head out towards the rock. Carl and I are leading the pack, as Billy and Ian, are within eyesight, and Bill is solo. Nothing happens as usual, but at about 8.45 a.m., Ian starts the ball rolling with a fine catch, a Pike he was hot today, because he had so many bites, you could see the excitement from our boat. What Billy was not aware of, was that his line was running – he was so busy watching Ian battling his fish that he forgot about his line. When he turned to check his line, he screamed out I have one, it’s a runner to his surprise he had only a few strings remaining on his reel. Just in time, what a surprise, because the end results proved that he had a Laker as well, and was able to save his catch. From our vantage point you could see Ian standing up in the boat, he looked like a mast in a sailboat with his height, and now Billy fighting to retrieve his catch side by each. When Ian brought his laker into the boat, he smacked Billy across the face with it, surprising Billy for the second time. It was great fun watching these guy’s, and listening to the banter, it’s a double, it’s a laker, and it’s about bloody time. Now all three boats were cheering. Ian & Billy owned the lake on this day. After all the excitement, Billy sat in his wonderful portable chair which he used in his boat, and looked more like a director from Hollywood rather than a fisherman while Ian’s frame lying horizontally illustrated a look of championship fishing.

It was time for Ian, Carl and Jock to head back to Montreal. Bill and Billy wanted more time on the lake, but we had three boats. Bill with his son Steven, Billy with Ian and Carl and Jock. We became the “picker-up-hers”, off we go to Ian boat who transfer all his equipment into ours and jumps in. Then 50 yards ahead to Bill’s boat and pick up Steven who wishes to go in. Most boats on this lake have two fisherman only, now they see this slow moving boat heading towards shore with 4 fisherman? Those who see this are confused and unaware of the situation. The last time I was in a similar situation, the coastguards were towing us in, and then, people thought we were smugglers. Only yesterday, while on the jetty, the American fisherman where questioning a boat with three fisherman?

Ian, Carl, and Jock said our good by’s to the staff at O’Sullivan’s while Steven helped us pack our Eddie Bauer for our trip back to Montreal. They did not want us to go, but Ian’s has a thriving business and must get back – after all he is our driver.

Our trip back during the day produced a new picture. We saw the bumpy roads we took only four nights ago, and the 62 miles of dirt roads, and bridges we nearly hit or miss during the darker travel. The big difference this time is that we met a few more vans, trailers, and pick-up trucks with boats and other all terrain vehicles. The result of course was dust, dust and more dust. Although we had air conditioning in the Ford Explorer, we opened the windows every now and then. Ian (al unser) did a great job passing these guy’s with the end results that the inside of our Explorer was now dusty grayish-black.

Trophies – Bill 18 lb. Pike followed by Billy 17.5 lb. and Steven 9lb.
Bill 8lb. Trout followed by Jock 6lb, and Bill's 5 lb.
Ian 4lb. Dore

Others - Steven , Carl , Ian, Bill, Bill
and Jock all caught their share of Pike’s but not as many Trout.

Ciao, until next year?

Jock
pijas@videotron.ca

2006-02-09T05:48:00.000-08:00

Switzerland, Austria and a Touch of Budapest - June 2002

You would think that two pieces of luggage and one carry-on for Europe was too little, considering our schedule of driving from Zurich, Switzerland to Vienne, Austria and a side trip to Budapest, Hungary. Well, that's exactly what happen!

The first impression of Switzerland is healthy. Arriving into a breakfast nook, you are greeted with cereal bar offering up to five choices. The dishes are not huge, but just enough to hold a few tablespoons with a splash of milk. Sugar in all cases was on your table.
The bread basket catches your eye with fresh baked bread of at least four choices with an aroma to boot. Within reach lie your Oleo's and a wide variety of jams, and jellies.
The scent of fresh brewed coffee allows you to keep your eyes closed as it flows about the nook.
Juice decanters offer at least three choices with the basic orange juice. Hard boiled egg's sit in a cute little brown basket. Fruit aplenty. Awesome start to a bright and sunny day.

We used local transportation in Zurich - Zurich is situated on both shores of the Limmat River, which flows from the northern end of Lake Zurich. During our stay we we touched, walked, crossed, meandered and visited; Lindenhof, this square is the architecture center of historic Zurich. From here we surveyed the city as it rises on both banks of the Limmat from Bahnhorfbrucke (Brucke means bridge) to Qauilbrucke. Below the suare runs Bahhofstrasse, one of the most elegant and expensive shopping streets in the world.
West or left bank - this district is dominated by Bahnhofplatz, center of all rail connections and Bahnhofstrasse, which is the main commercial and banking thouroughfare.
Niederhorf - We enjoyed a great evening heet at Restaurant Reinehause located along the strip of Cafe's people watching. Our meal consisted of Veal in mushroom-onion sauce with rossties potato fries. Beer - Cardinal is excellent while Quinto was not so good.
Luzern - arriving is Luzern was a surprise. As we approached a corner, a decision was required? Do we go straight, left, right or retrace our steps. We decide straight along a one way narrow street. As we reach the end, its near the chapel bridge. Can't turn right because there are steps, nor left due to pedestrians, and a dead end. So we back up, and as we faced the exit, we spot our hotel tucked away some two stories high at about fourty-five degree. Total joy, and before you can count fifteen steamboats, we are booked in, and back along the river to celebrate with a Beer, Braugold.
Bern is the capital of Switzerland. Nice hotel, great view and cute homes Norman Rockwell would have loved to paint. Murten, Gruyeres good rest stops. Montreux on the other hand is a lovers paradise, especially if you find a hotel with a room overlooking Lac Leman. It was so spetacular that we decided to purchase our dinner at the local market and enjoy an evening of dining on our huge balcony overlooking the lake. On our way out of Montreux, we stopped at "Chateau de Chillon". Lake is on one side, while the mountains face the fortress.
Lausanne has 127,000 inhabitants - and the smallest cup of coffee these hands ever touched.
Ouchy, we crossed a bridge to catch a train into Ouchy. As we waited a well dressed elderly women came over to us - you are visiters she wispered? be careful she continued many pickpockets travel these train routes - Thank you. Our next stop Geneve was one day only as we had already decided on Lugano as our next overnight stay. But, the Alps and the mountain tunnel come first. Talk about excitement. To make certain that we don't make any mistakes we found a tourist bureau and secured a map illustrating the exact route to Nufenenpass and ultimately the mountain tunnel. NUFENENPASS 2,478m it all begins innocently enough, when all of a sudden you are essing your way up towards beautiful snow peaks. Only a month ago (May), you could not pass! Each turn increased our adrenalin with small towns popping up. The roads are good, but you must be careful otherwise you could tumble down the valleys. I believe my eyes grew searching for an unusual sight, and at one point I pulled over. What caught my eye was natures throughs with clear water descending at above average speeds. Our camera was elated to witness the vast landscapes with boulders coming to rest far below its original birth. As we ascended, we could hear helicopter noise, and sure enough as we turn the corner - there she was leaving the scene with a patient being taken to the hospital. These same helicopters are used to transport building material to construction site. We noticed snowplows at roadside, and during the summer move boulders from the roads. We still had many metres to climb before being sandwiched between walls of snow along the road. I would say at one point, placing a few cars on top of each other would be the exact height. Again we stopped and played along the road. Some twenty feet apart we could manage a snowball fight. Just too much excitement. We stopped for lunch at the rest-stop, and the view was spetacular. We needed a jacket to reach the restaurant, because it was clear-cold, if you get my drift. From this point on its downhill. This whole excursion is a time when you wish you were a passenger. Its a sight for sore eyes. At one point we noticed a cow behind an electrical fence along the road and we stopped to say hi! What a beautiful animal - with ear's somewhat stretched out like antenas she stood so proud as she looked our way wondering what's your problem buddy? Nothing twitch during the period we stopped, not even a fly for its tail to swat. You had that feeling that with her hoofs firmly planted we were being challenged - if her size did not scare you the horns so finely honed sent you on your way. It must be the air?
16 km long tunnel - The road to Lugano brought on another first experience a long tunnel. As you enter this tunnel, you don't really think about the distance even though the sign shows 16 km. After a few kl. huge vehicles travelling at 100 kl/hr. create clouds of dust. We can see air ducts working at full capacity to keep the tunnel clear and safe for the many vehicles using this passage. Then its 8 kl. and you wonder where is the light at the end of this tunnel? What about accidents, or fire? All sorts of scenarios pops into your brain. We start reassuring ourselves that its fine, we will see that light. Is that daylight we see ahead? Finally we see the daylight -Yes, thank God. We wanted to exit at St.Anton, but at the speed we were travelling, we swished by
this exit which was at the end of the tunnel.
LUGANO - The excitement of this day was too much, so with the hour being late afternoon, we knew problems finding an hotel room would be tough. We kept our eyes opened for the "I", the tourist office. There it is I shouted, and I did about everything you don't do in a strange town.
Like breaking all the traffic laws in order to reach that bldg. Once inside, the lady must have seen how tired I was, and said we do have one cancellation, and pointed towards the hotel - hurry! Next thing you know, I'm up on the sidewalk near the hotel entrance, do you have a room I asked the man behind the desk? He hesitates, yes, we do but it's expensive. We all know at this time of the day, we are the customer. We did get a reduction in cost, but what a wonderful room overlooking Lake Lugano. The routine is a simple one - KC, open the doors overlooking Lake Lugano and set the dinning room. Off I went to secure our feast. Within minutes I was back with a bottle of wine, bread, meats, fruit and a couple of millefeuilles. Awesome folks, just awesome. I have a funny story for you, when I booked in I asked about parking? The man said its included in the cost of the room. So he takes me outside give me a remote key, and points towards the parking garage, but I can't see the entrance. Where I asked once again. Come with me he chirps , drive your car in here and then turn right. I still can't see the garage. All I can see is the Facade of a famous jewelry store " Bucherer" and a beautiful floor of marble. I returned to my car and said KC, we must enter that space behind us, and turn right at the Buchere store. Are you crazy, no, that what he thinks I am. So off we go, and sure enough we see this huge garage door to the right of the Bucherer store. It goes without saying that we had much to talk about on this evening in Lugano.
Flying by the seat of your pants in Europe is not for the meek and mild. But, the end results are exciting, entertaining, and fun. As we overlooked Lake Lugano, we came up with an idea of having breakfast in Lugano, Switzerland - lunch in Vaduz, Liechtenstein, and dinner in Innsbruck, Austria. Breakfast in Lugano was as described in the opening of this story. But, Liechtenstein was a different story as we found a recommended restaurant called "Old Castle Inn" along the main road. The menu is German/Austrian/Swiss, you choose. There is a good selection of wurst and steak dishes, or you might choose one of the cold dishes or a well-stuffed sandwiches. There are different kinds of "Schnitzel" available, each platter served with pommes frites and salad. The menu also includes such standards fare as minestrone, spaghetti, hamburger and veal liver venice style. Our waiter was entertaining and spoke five different languages, and had to in order to satisfy so many nationalities. The cost factor was good compared to Swiss! After enjoying a wonderful lunch, we checked in at the corner depanneure purchased a post card, and mailed it to ourselves back in Montreal. We had a great conversation with the owner, before moving on. Reaching the Austrian border was quick and without delay waved on. But a frightening episode took place within minutes - Police and Army soldiers lined the streets creating a roadblock. The armed guards with their weapons directed us to the curb-side. What the hell is this? I rolled my window down as the guards approached us with huge rifles pointing towards our car yelling passports is what we understood. I screamed back, we are visitors from Canada. They backed off without checking our passports and waved us on. Phew, what a relief! To this day, we have no clue why we were stopped. We talked our ears off as we headed towards INNSBRUCK, AUSTRIA - With some luck found a room with ease. We settled in, checked with the innkeeper, and he suggested to take the bus ( 3.20 ) to downtown Innsbruck. Great idea. We found the square, it seems that square and checked out the restaurants - Famille Furtner restaurant was in the square within eyesight of the Golden Roof which is a tourist attraction. We met people from Ohio, and Canada as well. It was a fun night. The following day we did what most tourist do, visit the highlites of Innsbruck including a two hour tour of Crystal factory. Our next stop was a "GEM", and we don't mind recommending this hotel and city. Hotel **** Andrea Hofer in Kufstein, Austria - After having a small siesta, we sauntered down into the town square. It was typical of most town we visited. Many shops lined the square, and we patronized most of them. At the far end, we spotted a cute restaurant "Auracher". We selected seats overlooking the square, and a stage. We immediately ordered two Fohrenburger beer. We asked about the stage, and the waitress said, yes, we have a band coming to play tonight. Can't ask for more, great hotel, nice little square, good food, Austrian beer, and now muisic. We began to see instruments being placed starting with a "tuba", and each time we looked over, another instruments would be introduced. By the time the music started, some 22 musicians sat in a circle in black tuxedo's producing sounds we would pay a couple of hundred dollars to see. Just magic. You guessed it - our next stop was "Mozarts Country. Salzburg, Austria. - We dreamed about Salzburg, now here we are roaming the streets of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. I would say that we enjoy sitting in Cafe's after dinner not to mention after long walks, museum visits, and churches. One evening we found a seat along the river, darkness was setting in, lovers were gathering, and the hues of nights in Austria was in full bloom. The lights began to flicker along the canal banks, small critters scrambled from passing bicycles, even rushed pass a young couple on a blanket sipping on wine. We were forunate in having an Inn with a courtyard. Each morning began with an elegant breakfast. Some evenings the courtyard would entice us out into the courtyard for a nightcap. We enjoyed a wall illustrating horses, and they even had a bath for horses. We visited the famous home "Sounds of Music". Live like a king in VIENNA - What a smashing entrance we made into Vienna, here we are just off the Autobahn, lost of course trying to find the Ringstrasse, why? Its beyond me because the last place we want is a circle that will never reach our hotel. Then we turned the corner onto what I thought was a one-way-street. What happen I said to KC, cars are everywhere, people are crossing, circus noise and an athmosphere of total confusion for this Canadian driver. This was inch by inch movement, and if the driver driving the car next to me wanted, he could blow my nose, that's how close he was. Forget parking its worse than Paris, France. Cars are facing any which way, crossover, why not. Pedestrians, shoppers, natives are swarming all around us, oh my God watch the bike KC screams. The stores, boutiques, shops are pinched together like a bug in a rug and you want to look, after all we just arrived in a famous city. The first chance we get we turn off and pull over.
We are informed by a very caring young lady that we are heading the wrong way. Within fifteen minutes were back into the maze but certain that we are close. We pulled into a parking spot, and I said to KC we are not moving from here untill we have the right direction. A gentleman was heading my - do you speak English/French, yes he replied, I do speak English. I gave him the name of the street Grashofgasse. You are very close, let me walk you over. Great stuff.
Within a few minutes he says, I walked you the wrong way. Let's go to your car, and it will be quicker if I drive you to the street. Sure enough within minutes he finds a parking spot on the street, and justy around the corner from our hotel. He said you don't know how lucky you are to find this spot. Fantastic. As we walked together he had mentioned that he visited Vancouver, Canada and loves Canadians. He goes on to say that his wife works for the Canadian Embassy in Vienna. Talk about a coincident. From our hotel room, I called Eurocar, and asked they pick up the car - no problem sir, within minutes they were in the lobby. It cost a few $Eurodollars.
Our Schedule in Vienna kept us on the go - The must sees of the inner-city, Ringstrasse, Schonbrunn Palace, Hofburg Palace, Belevedere palace, Kunsthistorisches Museum, and St.Stephan's Cathedral. Highlight " Schonbrunne Palace". Spent two hrs. at the Spanish Riding School, if you like horses like we do, its worth visiting. We had a ringside seat at Cafe Landtmann, Claudio Magris wrote in his book "Danube", Vienna is "one vast Cafe". You are not rushed from your seat; you can see an elderly man reading a newspaper with a contraption that keeps his paper straight up. To our right two young ladies in Tee's squate in chairs, while just across from us a group of elegant women chatter about tonights ball. Extremely high class, automobiles beyond our budget skirt the Red top Tarpaulin. Waiters are in black with bow ties.
With our city map in our hands, we designed a return to our hotel. The day is warm, so we plan a few stops, like corner Pub's for a beer. Austrian beer is very good and refreshing. We headed back to our hotel for a siesta. Dinner would be at a local restaurant, and we both chose a a typical Austrian menu. Our table was not the largest, but we managed great fun as the waiter laid down the frying pan on our table with our dinner still sizzling. Oh yes I forgot to mention an egg topped the meal. We did have some fun - next day we are lined in the Cathedral behind 8 Chinese visitors and and English chap waiting for the elevator which brings you to the top. The view overlooks the city. The door opens to the elevator but the inside is not huge. So half the Chinese people get in, the English chap, and this writer who thinks his KC is along for the lift? As I turn around gingerly, I notice that KC is missing and I have paid for two fares.
I tell the mafia style elevator guy, my wife is missing - no problem he say's I will go back and get her. Meanwhile the English chap cracks up. When the elevator returns, no KC just the remaining Chinese gang. Off I go to find her, the Cathedral is jammed with people, but I do notice KC sitting like an Angel in the third pew. What happen, he closed the door in my face, I had no money, so I relaxed here. We did go back up, and he did not charge me for the extra ticket.
One night as we sat in the Square's Cafe, we were enjoying Cafe-au-Lait's. two young ladies were talking French, we could tell they were from Quebec, Canada and more than likely from Montreal. They became our entertainment, because we understood their conversation about how rough a night they had with two young men. "Buskers" aplenty, are spaced far enough apart to enjoy their show. They attract good crowds, and I'm sure make big bucks. Not too far from our hotel we enjoyed a concert before a nightcap. At another location, a production of "Phanthom of the Opera" was being performed. Horse and buggy is common along the square. DINING - We kept hitting interesting restaurants. For example "Heindl's" located out of the city center on a street so small that two horses and a buggy would fill the street. The cafe style restaurant sat fifty people outside, abd much more inside. We began by ordering a liter of water-con-gas, and wine. Kc ordered Viennese mix. Stuffed/ham/spinach/cheese rolled in sesame seeds and wrapped in a crepe. The dish included mincemeat savee & melted swiss cheese plus stuff cabbage & bacon. Plus a salad & veggies. I chose the pepper medallion with roasted potato's in onions. It came with green peppers, Zucchini's and a cold salad on the side.
Our dining experiences presented us with foods, presentations, and excellent service. As for "Beer" breaks, the choice was varied so we samped many. In one restaurant, two women were arguing over who will pay the bill - they looked like sisters, and one was upset because one had given away $ 100,000 this week. It came down to the women from the USA paying, after all she said, I am living at your house during this stay. When the waiter returned to collect the money, she had exact change, and she said to him, "No tip". All because the bread was stale and no good. She walked over to us, and said, you should not tip the waiter.
BUDAPEST, HUNGARY - Our Autorental contract stipulates that we can't bring leased car into Eastern block countries. So we organized a tour bus guided tour. Early next day, our A/C bus which seats 50, left the terminal with only eleven tourist. This trip started at 8.00 a.m. and we would be back for 9.30 p.m. The cast of characters on this bus belonged in a movie; starting with Hop-sing and her partner. They were both Japanese and polite. The next chap was Indian from New Delhi, and he had a cad-camera that never left his right eye lid. He also was always late for departing to our next stop. The man in plaid, (British) was the most entertaining. We saw this man sitting in our lobby the night before in the same outfit he had on for this tour. We sat together during lunch in Budapest, and he gave us the impressions that he was well educated not to mention loquacious. He told us that he was an magazine editor while the clerk behind the desk at our hotel informed us he was a regular at this hotel and that he was a piano player.This chap never strayed from the bus, he was always ready to move on. A couple from Germany looked puzzled at the group, but in their case it was total organization from bottle water to a picnic basket. Next was a Muslin young lady from Illinois, dressed far beyond the dress code of the day - very warm!. She remained with us throughout the trip. I guess she was a bit nervous. When we arrived in Budapest, two more tour guides joined us, one for the Japanese people, and ours English & German. The tour bus operators were experienced. Knew their way around the custom shack. For example a beer and Coke got us through quicker than normal. Coming back into Austria took only twenty minutes. I believe they put on a show, like coming into the bus to colect your passport. You did feel intimidated, considering that they have your documents, and can do what ever they wish. Truckers for example were lined up for miles. Tourist buses, seem to have a clear passage. One bus who acted out of turn was pulled aside, and he was getting a tung lashing. When another driver tried to enter the cubicles of the custom shack, he was told to get out in no uncertain terms. We had just completed a Cathedral visit, when the tour guide "Gabriella" turned to us in a low voice, and said what an unusual group you have. We did have time on our own, and after some shopping you got the impression the clerks did not care. We noticed a man on the corner of the street with tons of dollars. He did leave you with the impression that the "Black market" was alive in Budapest. We returned to our bus and of course were missing one the Indian man. We waited and some of us disembarked to help the tour guide chase down our friend from New Delhi. Our trip back to Vienna was smooth and without delay. This was a nice experience. Our flight back to Montreal with Austrian Air was fantastic, so comfortable, with great food and service. We had three seats to ourselves which made the trip even more enjoyable. It took me about a week to decipher my journal, notes, photos, and create a nice presentation for the family to read.

By Jock

pichejovila@videotron.ca

2006-02-03T11:22:00.000-08:00

SO EARLY IN THE MORNING 2005

Early morning in my forest,
The trees stand tall above the mist.
The shrubs below are thick and cuddly,
As dew rest on every leave while grass glistens.
So early in the morning.

The colour silver-grey comes to mind,
As the mist hugs nature so lovingly.
Even the River to my right is alive
With a fresh dose of moisture.
So early in the morning.

The crunch of stones,
Flee the birds away in droves
And rabbits scurrying.
The birds seem grey, and
Rabbit’s greyer.
So early in the morning.

From an adoptive son named “Jock” in Peebles, Scotland.

If you would like to see the Image of forest - please forward your E-mail address.
pichejovila@videotron.ca