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The good news is....our traveling days are not completely behind us just yet! We are going to be in Montreal for 5 days (expect a few posts from the homeland) then flying off to British Columbia for 3 weeks! Yes, we are procrastinating on the whole "getting back to reality thing." Just for a little while longer! We bought the tickets on the morning of our departure for Europe. There was a seat sale and we knew that we would probably not have a chance to take 3 weeks off once we started working again, so we jumped on the opportunity. We have friends and family there, including Rob and Hil who moved there in the Fall, and we are dying to pay them a visit! I was actually born in Victoria but we moved when I was still a baby and I have never been back since. I'm really looking forward to exploring Canada's West Coast and I hope you'll tag along for the ride! That's right, LJ Away continues!
I am very happy to know someone who lives near Greenwich because it's one of my absolute favorite places to visit in London. It's especially wonderful on a sunny Saturday. You can explore the market, hang out on at one of the many happening pubs (I love The Coach and Horses, The Duke, The Greenwich Union and The Gypsy Moth), sit on the lawn of the Laban, go for a walk along the water or set your watch to Greenwich Mean Time. Ian's sister-in-law sells handmade jewelery in the market so we went to check out her stall and grab some late lunch from one of the food kiosks. I went for the red Thai curry while Mike had a plate of pierogis that could have fed a small village.
If ever you're in the area, check out The Royal Albert and The Amersham Arms in New Cross; two VERY cool pubs with awesome food (order the Club Sandwich at The Royal Albert. You're welcome) and some of the hippest people on this side of the Thames. Does using the term "hip people" make me sound old...?
I was particularly excited when Mike told me that the family friend, a lovely man named Fortuné, had a home overlooking La Sainte-Victoire, the famous Provence mountain that Cézanne painted countless times. Before meeting up with Fortuné we explored the city of Aix on foot and I found it quite posh. The shopping was surprisingly fantastic, the gourmet food shops were exceptional and the terraces were full of fashionable people sipping café au lait. There's lots to see in Aix and one short morning was far from enough time to take it all in. Fortuné had made us a typical Provence lunch with olive and lavender tapenade, walnut salad, ratatouille, boulettes provencales, local cheeses and the most divine peach and apple tart. We wobbled our way up the street to catch a breathtaking view of the mountain, from the very spot where Cézanne used to paint! Fortuné then drove us into the countryside, winding our way through vineyards and tiny stone villages. Provence is just lovely - albeit freezing at this time of year! I believe its actually warmer in Canada at the moment (blurgh!)
We leave France tomorrow morning and are heading back to our home away from home, London. We're spending a long weekend there until - OMG - we fly back to Montreal! I have yet to wrap my mind around that so I'll write a more elaborate post about my thoughts on the matter when we arrive in London. Aurevoir les amis ! ox
We continued exploring the savage wilderness of La Camargue and came across wild horses, flamingos (!!), bulls and one mule. No cowboys although we did see their famous thatched roof houses which are rounded at one end to cut the severity of Le Mistral, aka the INSANE Provence wind. The wild horses were grazing in the windiest of marshlands, their white hair blowing in the wind. I was reminded of 80's music videos.
Anyways, now we're in a beautiful Roman town in Provence and we're colder than we were in the North of England in December…it is absolutely gorgeous here but I would love to see it when it's not covered in a blanket of snow and ice. We spent Monday exploring Arles and its Roman ruins including the massive amphitheatre and the café where Van Gogh painted his famous Café Terrace. It's nice to spend some time with the folks and share our travel stories with them.
Now we're in Arles with my parents who rented a 200 year old Roman townhouse by the river. It's so nice to see familiar faces despite the fact that it's SNOWING here!!
At present, it's a very busy construction site, both inside and outside, and the scale of it is hard to grasp. The main entrance is mostly finished but the inside is still completely unfinished. You can walk around the perimeter but the middle of the church is filled with men at work with little white hard hats. They are pouring concrete, welding metal poles and finishing pain staking details. The grey concrete pillars and exisiting stained glass make the place feel like some sort of technicolor ice cavern. I kept trying to understand how Gaudi could have envisioned something like this. It's not like he had another technicolor ice cavern to draw inspiration from!
I hope I can come back in 20 years to see what the finished church will look like...
Inopia is one of the more happening tapas bars in Barcelona but you wouldn't know it by the small inviting space, blackboard walls and charming staff. Although there is a red rope on the outside, it's mostly there to control the line up that inevitably builds up outside on most nights. We loved waiting outside with our glass of wine, watching locals stream in and hug the owner. By the time we got out table, I was starving and unable to make a choice about what to eat so we ordered all the specialties including patatas bravas, marinated chicken skewers, ham croquettes and grilled cheese with honey. Everything was delectable and affordable. The atmosphere is lively, especially after 10pm, and you can tell that Inopia is something special. The celebrities who have eaten here share in our sentiment because they're autographed the tiles that adorn the walls including - to our surprise - Les Cowboys Fringants, a famous Quebec band.
Luckily, we got a second wind when we arrived on Monday and have not stopped walking around. Some of our favorite activities so far included the Picasso Museum, the Mercado de Santa Caterina, Parc Guell (INCREDIBLE!!!!), shopping in El Born, Barceloneta beach, checking out the port at night, admiring the architecture on every single street, and seeing Gaudi's famed buildings in person.
We had breakfast/lunch at Bar Pinotxo, one of the most famous food counters at La Boqueria. The owner, a local celebrity in his own right, served us one of the specials of the day, Chipirones con habas, which are tiny little squids with white beans, garlic and fresh herds. Outstanding.
For desert, we picked up some fresh fruit from one of the many fruit vendors. We walked to Barceloneta beach and ate our market goods in the sun.
A big congratulations to Lisa Maria Mattiazzi who has won 10 custom mini correspondence cards courtesy of Meg Paperie! Meg will be mailing your custom cards very soon. Lucky girl!
We made it all the way down to the port where the architecture already has me filling up my camera's memory card. Here are the first few snaps from Barcelona.
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