And the livin' is easy

For those of you who know our Victoria morning routine of sitting in the sunroom with our yogurt, fruit and coffee, here is the Montpellier version. Outside at 8:40am.

and now for meditation.....

Today we will take the tram to the end of the line, getting off in Pérois Étang de l'Or and then walk to the sea, which we think will be less than an hour and then along the beach, looking for coffee ;-) On the way home, we'll buy fish for dinner and likely stay indoors for the hallowe'en celebrations.

Why are French leeks bigger and better??

Yesterday we had our first full day in Montpellier, rising just after the sun, at 8am, in our temporary, but what feels more like permanent, home. We had a cup of coffee, threw in a wash and ensured that suitcases were completely upacked before we hung out the wash. All this activity, for what, you may ask? 

We had promised ourselves that we would try to walk to town, 4.5 km, at least a few times a week, and if we did this then we could reward ourselves with a coffee and croissant in town. So by 10:30 we were off and what a beautiful walk it was. Within 500 metres, we stumbled upon the Wednesday open air market. We wandered the stalls, and will do our shopping there next Wedneday. Not much traffic at all along Lodève and lots to look at as we went. Before we knew it, we had arrived in the centre of Montpellier with coffee shops galore. I stopped at the one that looked like it had the best croissants. And then we made our way over to the Information Centre in Place de la Comédie, a huge pedestrian area. Lots of brochures and maps to be had and an English tour runs on Saturday at 3pm so we'll be there. We carried on to the Antigone and it was empty of people, but very beautiful.

As we sat on a bench in the sun, checking our new maps to plan a diffferent route home, we spied a wee blue dotted line with little shell icons. The camino!! 

So, off we head to walk home via the camino, which took us to the Arc de Triomphe and the Aqueduc Saint-Clément. It looked from the map that we would be walking on top of the aqueduct, but that would be plain silly. The path indeed goes on the ground beside this enormous structure.

Within a km of home is a Gèant Casino (giant grocery/department store) so we stopped in. Walking along the edge of the parking lot, we passed a cow, tied to the fence and further along, a donkey. And then coming around the corner was a 2 year old, being held on a very small donkey, by mom and the donkey's owner. I assume that things are gearing up for festivites around hallowe'en.

After drooling over the prices of champagnes and crèmants in the store, we bought our groceries and headed home, arriving here by 4pm. A full day of walking and beautiful weather in which to do it. After a short rest, I was ready to start making dinner in the best equipped kitchen I've ever been in!!

The bump, the stall and the pardon me

We left Almería yesterday morning and had a stupendously beautiful drive north to Murcia, Alicante, and Valencia, stopping at a small town, Vinaròs, at a small hotel, with the hardest beds in the world, but for 46€ it was okay. This morning we had cafe con leches and croissant and were on the road by 8:40 am. We managed to arrive at the Hertz rental car park at the Barcelona airport at 11am, having stopped to fill up the car. An uneventful drive, quick checkin and then a walk through an overpass to the train to Barcelona Sants. Our train to Montpellier would leave this station at 4:20, so the idea was to check our luggage, which we did, have some lunch, which we did

 and then walk up to the Museu Nacional Art de Catalunya, which we did.

It was closed, and the fountains were off, but the views are spectacular and it was a nice day for a walk.

 We figured we'd walk back on a slightly different street, which we did, and standing at a corner, waiting to cross, Les was slightly ahead of me. Two guys were behind and a couple a little behind and to the side of them. I noticed this as Les was going to step forward and I said "there are still cars coming, fast". One of the guys kind of smiled at this. We made it across the street, more an alley than a two way street and the woman bumped me from the side, I felt something behind and whipped around, kind of hitting the woman with my small backpack. I apologized.....so Canadian, and gave the guys a fierce look, thinking, "gee, we almost got pick pocketed". The woman gave me an offended look and held up her right hand that had a new white bandage around, as if it had been recently sprained. I again apologized. Les had no idea what was happening, came to my side and I said "those guys were going to try and open my pack". He took a look and sure enough, the front pouch was unzipped. They could have taken my half bottle of water or my glasses. The rest of the valuables.....yes, the passports again, were in a pouch, in my MEC purse, inside the main pouch of the pack, underneath my raincoat and umbrella. Access almost impossible. We turned and watched the two guys and the couple and it was very clear that they were together, all very innocently looking in a store window. I was incensed but didn't want to start screaming and calling the cops (guess I could have) but we did decide to go directly to the train station and spend our extra hour there reading our books. 

We are now on the train to Montpellier, travelling first class as it only cost 5€ extra and the seats are way bigger and more comfortable. 

Time to leave Spain!

The week has flown by and we have had lots of adventures, including a couple of trips to the big Carrefour to buy quantities of milk and water that become a burden without a car......and also to buy some treats.

Two days ago, Sal built a huge fort and my job was to keep Trin occupied until it was finished. Below is a picture of the completed fort, which was demolished by Trin about two minutes later, with Sal's permission.

And yesterday, Sal played hookey and we all drove to Mojàcar, which is a white, hilltop village about 90 minutes by car. The views were splendid but all the food seemed very expensive. So we drove to the Playa Mojàcar and went to a bar recommended by two English women. We all ate very well: hamburger, omelette, shrimp, chicken BLT, tomato and cheese bocadilla, plus complimentary olives, breads, sausage rolls and sugar donuts. All for 16€. And after we settled the bill, they brought out the complimentary liqueurs! Amazing. We hung around the beach for an hour or so. The wonderful thing about all of these beaches is that there is play equipment either on the beach or 10 feet away. So everyone is happy. We drove home through the national park and stopped for a view which happened to be at the top of a gorge in which two car wrecks were at the bottom. Here is the family clinging to the edge.

Today, while Hannah went to the gym, the rest of us had churros, chocolate and coffee with other families at a cafe on the main street. Then Stefan went off for a swim and Les and I took the boys to the park. When we all returned home it was hard to decide on a short trip to Roquetas del Mar to see a castle or go to the beach. We decided the castle needed visiting, but because it was closed, we only saw the outside and the cannon.

And then because it was 30C, it quickly became beach time.

The clocks fall back tonight, so we will start off from here around 9am tomorrow morning. A nice lazy start and we'll drive about six hours, leaving about another three for the next day when we return the rental car to Barcelona airport. We now know it soooo well!

Just another day in paradise!

We used to say this almost every day in Victoria, but truly, Aguadulce, with the sun, beach and paseo, really is the life.

We arrived on Friday in Almería and Stefan was at the airport to greet us and help navigate the way back to the apartment. By the time we arrived around 10:30, Hannah had coffee ready, and Trino was crawling at speed all over. We ate a bit, did some banking chores visited the fruteria and by then, it was time to pick up Salvador who insisted that "the whole family" pick him up. We got terrific running hugs and it was so good to see him. After a bit of a rocky first week of school, he's really enjoying it and loves his teacher. Yesterday he told us that he had "too much fun". Wonderful to hear.

On Saturday, just before we headed out to Granada, Les took this picture of Sal and I with the sun rising behind us.

The trip to Granada, along the coast, was long, but lovely and the kids were great. We parked in town, had lunch, walked to a park, to let off some energy and the walk to the Alhambra in a careless way so saw lots. We did not go into the Alhambra as there wasn't time to do it justice, but we did climb up to the park which surrounds it. We will definitely return in December when we are in this area again. The return trip was via the interior and was much shorter and the landscape again spectacular.

It was also in Granada where I thought the travel curse was striking again as my bank card would not work.....at any of the three banks I tried. A call to the bank confirmed my fears that in Europe, it's one mistake and you're out. However, another call last night was more helpful and this morning I received an email from the bank saying that my card was fine, so, I tested it today and voilà, I have money now!  

Today, after Sal's Tai Kwon Do class, the fog rolled in. So below is a view from the apt on Friday at 6pm, followed by one tonight at 6pm.

It's even worse now and there's no point in taking a picture as you would just see white.

Tomorrow, after Stefan and Sal are finished school, we will go to Almería for lunch and a visit to the Alcazaba and likely dinner there as well, before heading home.

Life here for Stefan and Hannah seems very good. After walking Sal to school, they return (or go for coffee) and have 30-60 minutes together before Stefan heads off to work. After school, at 2pm, it's time for lunch, a chat about everything and then a walk some quiet play, or like today, time on the beach. Sweet!

Passport success OR another day in London

We had a wonderful relaxing time with Craig, doing some walking, some cycling and taking lots of rest. Oh, and great meals coming out of Craig's kitchen. Thanks Craig!

Craig and Les atop the Cisseley circle (apologies for any misspelling)

And this morning Craig dropped us off at Terminal 2 on his way to a workshop in Canterbury. We hope the traffic was smooth sailing after he left us. 

I had phoned the Bloc Hotel a few days ago to ask if we could store our luggage as we would be arriving at 9ish and the checkin was 4pm. We were promised an early checkin, and wow, did we get service. Not only was a room ready but they upgraded us to a room with a window. No view, how could there be as it's actually in the south terminal? Small room, but perfectly serviceable and the lobby is beside the security for the departures gates.

It will take all the stress out of catching a 5:45 am flight tomorrow. Plus, we can check our bags...one of ours and two for Stefan and Hannah, between 8pm and midnight tonight.....so as soon as I finish this post.

We had a bit of breakfast at the closest Nero caffe and the headed into London, stopping at the National Portrait Gallery and took in a special show on Virginia Wolff.  We walked up Rgent Street and they are all ready for the NFL.

Then off to the Canadian Embassy by 2:30 so we'd be in plenty of time for the 3-4pm window for the passport pickup. We were not allowed in the building until 3 and then all iPods, phones and cameras had to go into a locker and our small knapsack and selves had to be put through security. BUT, I got my passport. Only a two year one but I've got it. I then used the phone in the embassy to call Easyjet to let them know my new passport number and expiry date so that I can get on the plane tomorrow. Oh, it will be wonderful to be relaxed and warm and have the grandchildren to hug.

Me with my new passport outside the embassy.

Canadian turkeys in London

This is the sign we saw at the embassy doors. As Les said, we were the biggest turkeys in London yesterday. And now having a very relaxing time with Craig. Visited Chichester cathedral today after a short bike ride and lunch.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Lynn and Mel gave us a warm send off on the train for rainy London this morning. At Euston station we caught an almost £20 cab ride to Victoria station with the suitcases. I figured we'd have lots of time, but after getting the bags settled at left luggage and then queuing up for an underground ticket to Green Park, which we didn't get because apparently it was just around the corner, almost an hour had gone by. Anyway, Les and I set off at 2pm, still without lunch, and headed to the Canadian embassy to pick up my new passport, which could only be picked up between 3 & 4 pm. As we walked in the drizzle, stopping to clarify our direction, many thoughts floated through my mind. One, of course, was how wonderful it would be to be in a little piece of Canada on this day. I wasn't expecting a turkey dinner or anything, but maybe some pumpkin tarts with a bit of whipped cream.....some pecan squares.....a cranberry/cream cheese/cilantro salsa. But I certainly didn't expect this posted on the front door!

Closed for Thanksgiving!

We are feeling quite deflated. 

We returned to Victoria station in the rain, had some soup and are now on the train to Angmering to visit Craig, a friend from my Glasgow days. Our next "passport plan" is to go early on Thursday to Gatwick,store our bags at the hotel and then take the train into London in time for 3pm at the embassy. We fly to Spain on Friday morning at 5:45am, so wish us luck!

Could this be a food blog?

We had a lovely drive to Wales on Wednesday to look at a couple of caravan parks with Lynn and Mel. They see this might be in the future for them. One in particular was lovely, a small grouping of caravans, across the way from a seemingly endless beach. We stopped at the only place open and had some sandwiches for lunch. I, being a hardy Canadian, sensibly stayed in the car while the three even hardier English folk enjoyed lunch in the drizzle at the picnic bench.

Yesterday was a visit to downtown St. Helens where we bought some cards and stamps and Les applied for his old age bus pass. Funnily enough, the only postcard available anywhere was at the glass museum.  http://www.worldofglass.com  Les' dad worked for Pilkington glass for years. We'll visit the museum perhaps tomorrow. Clearly St. Helens is not a tourist town.

Last night we drove to Frodsham, about thirty minutes from home, to Oswalds@Helter Skelter. The pub on the main floor serves all types of real ale (is there any other kind?), so we ordered our beer and carried it up to the restaurant. Lovely service and food.

Mel's order of Bury Black Pudding with potato and cheese cake.

My sea bass with chorizo, roasted red peppers and yams. Marvelous!

Les' and Mel's order was the same.....steak pie with handcut chips and peas....not mushy peas!

Please note that we did not order dessert, although it was tempting. And here are the happy sibs.

Train delay

We had a fabulous visit in Glasgow, our friends picking us up at the airport, Wednesday night after 10:30pm. The customs man looked at my passport, looked at me, and said "so, you lost your passport?" I didn't have the energy to say anything more than "Yes, at the Barcelona airport". We had a lazy time and were treated so well, with food, drink and conversation. Below is a picture of Les, with lunch, at their home.

Our travel by train on Friday afternoon to Edinburgh was, of course, eventful. As we approached the turnstiles with our tickets, the gates refused to open. A wee man, an official, took a look at our tickets, and remarked that they were for September 23, (I had booked them when we were in Santiago) but we had just picked them up thirty minutes before, on October 3. He said, "Just wait a minute" and disappeared. He returned with this:

We've got horseshoes.........

It was throwing it down when we arrived at Waverley Station in Edinburgh, so we took a cab to my cousin Doug's (and Sheila's) house. Lovely reception of prosecco and dinner, and the bed was so comfy. A tasty breakfast with Doug's cardamom buns set us up for a day of walking Edinburgh with our Victoria friends, Marion and Wendy.

That evening we attended an arts show, featuring modern dance with video and music, Polish singing and dancing, a young couple with fiddle and guitar, piano solos, all interspersed with reading of poetry and ending with Sufi whirling dervishes. Fabulous!  So I didn't realize until we returned to the house much later, that I had left my iPod at Ken and Margaret's in Glasgow. Fortunately their son Richard was attending a BBQ in Edinburgh the following day, so Les and I walked along a route we would not normally have taken and saw a different, and very pleasant, part of Edinburgh.

So, as I type this, we are on the train.......which is currently not moving.......from Edinburgh to Warrington Bank Quay, the station close to Les' sister's home. It was 30 minutes late leaving, then it was announced that there is a tree on the lines south of Carlisle so we'll go no further than that. That's about the halfway point. We are now stopped about an hour south of Edinburgh as there's something wrong with the signals up,ahead. The good news is we can get free tea and coffee. Perhaps in another hour, they'll roll out the free beer. We are due to be picked up at 3:29 and it will likely be more like 6:29 after transferring to a bus, or perhaps hit hiking. This holiday certainly is an adventure !

A continuation.......we sat on the train for two hours and then returned to Edinburgh.  We are now on the 18:06 to Birmingham, leaving on platform two.  No, let's have everyone go to platform 10. No, it's really platform 9, and it's half an hour late leaving. We hope to be with Lynn and Mel tonight around 10:30pm as they've said they'd pick us up in Manchester. We're on the move!!!!!

A miracle diet!

Lose your passport and three pounds too! Stress is a wonderful way to lose your appetite naturally. Why use those diet pills and liquids advertised? Just lose your passport.

Seriously though, it's been quite a two days of back and forth, but this morning at 10am I picked up the new passport.....and don't I look happy?

We spent the rest of the day walking Barcelona, up to the Parc Guell and over to another interesting street and then south on the Ramblas Catalunya as you can walk down the middle of the street and see the cafés and not have to listen to the cars.

Here is Les in front of a store that we ogled. We're trying to figure out if we should buy one of these hams to have in the apt in Montpellier.