After dropping our rental car in Caen we were back on the rails and took the short train trip to Bayeux. What a beautiful town! A very walkable size, and lots of scenic attractions. We were just a short walk
The Bayeux Tapestry and more
Mont Saint-Michel and the Normandy beaches
To begin our tour of Mont Saint-Michel and Normandy, we rented a car in Caen and started our drive through the French countryside. Very picturesque journey through the Vire River Valley on our way to Mont Saint-Michel. Stopped in Vire
Arras and the Vimy Memorial
Last week we visited Arras in northern France as a base for visiting the Canadian National Vimy Memorial. (See our earlier post.) Our first stop in this picturesque city was the “Le Beffroi d’Arras”, the belfry. Hard to imagine that
Marseille – it’s NOT Paris
As the residents of Marseille kept reminding us, Marseilles is NOT Paris! Marseille is the oldest city in France, with a history going back 2600 years, and they are extremely proud of their history and heritage. With good reason we’d
Côte d’Azur – Antibes to Monaco
Côte d’Azur – Antibes to Monaco
Arles
Man, it’s a hot one!! 🔥 🥵 Arrived by train from Barcelona via Nimes and headed into Arles old town. Gorgeous cobbled streets lined with cafes and small shops. So nice to be back in France after 10 years.
Return to Barcelona
When our walking tour guide asked if anyone had been to Barcelona before, we were the only ones who said “Yes”. “So you guys just keep coming back?” “Sure, every 44 years!” We repeated some typical touristy things in Barcelona,
“Nit de Foc” (“Night of Fire”)
Every year on June 23rd, Catalonians celebrate La Nit de Sant Joan, the evening before the feast day of St. John the Baptist. Of course this Saint’s day is celebrated everywhere in the Catholic world, but the celebrations of the
Andorra, a very tiny country
Quite a tiring flight from Vancouver to Barcelona via Toronto. Transatlantic Air Canada flight was only moderately comfortable and food disappointing. Arrived at Barcelona Airport quite exhausted, and then began a 4-hour car drive to Andorra. Scenery along the
Visiting Mont Saint-Michel
We’ve always meant to visit the Mont, but despite visiting France many times over five decades we’ve never made it that far! That changes in 2023, with our upcoming Barcelona to Berlin trip! We’re going to be in Normandy for
“Ghosts of a forgotten town”
The brown hyenas of Kolmanskop, Namibia We shared a BBC Facebook post about the only remaining inhabitants of the former diamond mining town of Kolmanskop, Namibia. You can also watch that video on the BBC YouTube channel. (Link at the
Namibia; the article that got us dreaming!
Not sure whatever happened to KLM’s iFly magazine. It just stopped showing up in our inbox at some point. A victim of COVID? But back in 2017 they published a great story about a 3-week road trip in Namibia, and
“They replaced Vimy Ridge…”
Earlier this week, Canada introduced a new passport design which was immediately met with some (OK, a lot of) criticism. Here’s a link to an online article from CTV News. The quote that caught our eyes was from Pierre Poilievre,
Getting past Australian immigration
Watched this YouTube video to prepare for our next trip to Australia:
Is there a Botswana–Namibia–Zambia–Zimbabwe quadripoint?
(And if there is, who cares?) A quadripoint is a spot on the earth where four countries (or smaller geopolitical areas) meet at one point. When we were on our first trip to southern Africa, on a boat on the
“Midnight at the Pera Palace”
It’s always so much fun to be watching a movie or TV show and be able to say “We’ve been there!”. That happened to us the other night as we flicked through Netflix and came upon the series “Midnight at
Australian Coffee Culture
Australians love their coffee and they don’t have Tim Hortons like we do in Canada, but mostly independent shops doing espresso based drinks. And what’s a coffee without a “slice”? Many Australian cities have a coffee street. The photos above,
The Bust of Nefertiti
On our Barcelona to Berlin trip we are looking forward to visiting Berlin’s famous Museum Island, featuring several of not just Germany’s but the world’s best museums. The star attraction of one of these, the Neues Museum, is one of
Visiting the Vimy Memorial
We’re publishing this post on April 9th, Vimy Ridge Day. In 2003, the Government of Canada declared April 9 to be “Vimy Ridge Day”, to honour and remember the Battle of Vimy Ridge which took place during the First World
Through the Eyes of Van Gogh
Update 2023: We have realized that this trip just isn’t going to happen as we originally envisioned. A greatly modified version will happen in 2023 though! Watch for posts from our Barcelona to Berlin trip. The text below was written