chrisnnancy

Nous Aurons Toujours Paris – Oups, je Veux Corsica * And Guess What – ABC x 2!

*(We’ll Always Have Paris – Oops, I Mean Corsica)

April 30 (reminder to readers to please enjoy this on your computer and not a smart phone)

(Zdraveite* from Sofia, Bulgaria) *=Hello in Bulgarian)

I see it has been almost two weeks since our last chapter was sent out. Mon Dieu! This particular chapter will not cover our current home but I wanted to let you know we were on the road again!

When we last wrote, Nancy & I were about to leave Calvi and head to Porto Vecchio in the far Sud of Corsica. We we were going to be there a week and then have two more days on island before heading to Sofia. What could have been a three hour drive turned into eight hours start to finish because of some typical Nancy & Chris reasons – beautiful scenery and food* being high on that list.

*Note the QUINOA in Nancy’s salad below…!

**The hill town of Sartene – not far from where I earned a speeding ticket that just came via email today!** **Tante pis pour moi!**

Here is our approximate route…..please note the twists and turns that we took!

When we finally arrived in PV, this is the view that confronted us from our terrasse – we are three for three on our accommodations selections!

Of course, there is no free lunch – that view was 54 stairs from the the street – a cheap price to pay – especially since we were used to the 123 stairs from Bastia (did I mention last time that the Calvi apartment was on the 1st floor AND there was an elevator?)

PV is known for a few things – beaches, islands and ahem – A CITADEL! Let’s talk about the bastion first. Again, the Genovese were worried about others stealing what they just stole so they built this place to fight off like minded people. The Pisans were their big bogeymen but this being the Mediterranean, there were lots of marauding marauders.

The PV Citadel is quite vital. More so than the two previous ones, this place is hopping. Here is the view of Porto Vecchio from the top:

There are many shops, restaurants, bars, offices and homes all within the walls. The very narrow streets are bustling with deliveries, scooters and cars as well as pietons (pedestrians) all co-existing peacefully. We have been amazed all over the island with the patience of other drivers when one stops in the petite rues to make a delivery or even to stop and chat with a friend. No beeping, cursing or light flashing. There is no place for anyone to pull over for their stop so right in the middle is the only option. We have seen backups of up to 10 minutes without a murmur. Here is a snap of an instance where a driver stopped to parley with an amie:

Parking is tight in the Citadel:

Our typical day in PV (as well as the other stops in Corsica) is breakfast in the apartment then walk either to the Port of PV or the Citadel and have coffee and watch the world wake up. Then more exploring, lunch, wander and sightsee, then sundowners, dinner and home. There MAY be a nap in there somewhere. Here are a bundle of PV pics:

That is me munching a Banette – NOT a baguette. As a semi-artisan baker myself, I appreciate the dedication to the cause by my fellow purists. (Also – check out http://www.communityloaves.org)

So, up the page I mentioned beaches – especially those in the south. They are amazing. You will note the lack of people – the season has not yet started. In the summer though, it is grain to grain covered in chairs, sunscreen, families and revelers. These are several of the top plages in the area – Plage U Benedettu, St Cyprian, Palambaggio, Santa Giulia & Rondinara.

**Everyone needs a place to hang their sandals**

After a little iced espresso pickmeup at the Palapa stand, we walked hand in hand down the sand to a place we happened on (we love doing that) called Playa Baggia – a fabulous chairs-and-tables-in-the sand restaurant. It was huge! Two big kitchens (not on the sand), full bar, kids play area (the beach), chaise lounges set up with umbrellas and a great menu. It was Sunday so it was packed with Corsican families, friends and kids all enjoying their time together!

While we are STILL on beaches – some of them are famous for their red rocks

We did a waterfall “cascade” (in Corsican) hike – you know how I love waterfalls! This hike was rated ‘easy’ by the person who wrote the guide. That is a subjective term in Corsica I feel. Or, there was something lost in translation? It was not HARD, but it was not easy either. It was glorious though!

Nancy here: this was one of the most rigorous hikes that i have ever done….climbing over boulders, scrambling down steep rocks and uneven paths for 3 miles plus-round trip – and all the while making sure that we were following the trail marked with a sometimes-difficult-to-read swatch of yellow paint. (But spectacular….OUI!)

**We were still smiling on the way down – maybe BECAUSE it was the way down!**

Back in PV we often hopped on the little free electric bus to take a mini tour of different neighborhoods. Everyone who got on the bus ALWAYS said “Bonjour” to the driver and “Merci.”

We made sure we did too!

The Place (pronounced in French not English) in front of St Jean-Baptiste church at the citadel is always very active and full of life. Restaurants, cafes, bars and a calliope (aka merry-go-round). Our favorite waiter, Cedric, kept drinks and olives moving to the tables of contented patrons sitting there for the sunset in the evenings and for a coffee in the mornings. And, perhaps some glacé (gelato) at anytime.

When researching PV months ago, I expected we would be spending most of our time in the New Town at the harbour. The area was quite nice and closer by a few minutes walk to our apartment than the Citadel but just not as vibrant. In the summer, I would say the opposite would be true. Lots of boat excursions up and down the coast and even to Sardinia. We did have some mornings there and dinners as well, including sushi.

**We still have not figured this one out**…..

We have another favorite person in PV – Catarina who is the only waitress at this restaurant. Great small place – but if you go there, they do not take credit cards…cash only.

Remember up above I mentioned we had the remaining two days on island with no place yet planned? Well, while in PV we decided to head to the southern tip of Corsica to Bonifacio. We booked a hotel and an 8 mile, 1 hour ferry trip to Sardinia for the day after arriving there. It was to be a same day round trip. We would go over to Italy for lunch! Well, the best laid plans…

Due to strong wind and waves, the return ferry was canceled the day we arrived in Bonifacio. Oh well, the bright side (“Always look on the bright side of life…”) was we would have another day to roam – yup, you guessed it – another Citadel. THE BEST YET!!! It was also the only time in Corsica that we were surrounded by MANY tourists. Speaking of tourists, in our 3 weeks here, we have not met nor heard any American voices….mostly French, Italian and Spanish.

We had a terrific dinner here

The next morning we were having breakfast and Nancy asked me something about our flight the next day from Bastia back to Marseilles where we were spending the night before flying out to Bulgaria. I whipped out my phone to check my travel app (Tripit is awesome – especially the Pro version). What do I my eyes behold? An Air Traffic Controllers union strike has been called for tomorrow! Zut Alors! Marseilles is heavily hit by cancelations including our own darn plane. Shoot, what to do? We spoke to the receptionist at the hotel and she suggested that we check out early and head north to try to rearrange our schedule. (no penalty charge, either)

Air Corsica was not answering their help line. Mon Dieu! I tried various options and eventually we booked an overnight ferry that night from Bastia (where we were dropping our rental at the airport) to Toulon and from there we would need to train-it to Marseilles.

While we were sitting at this lovely lunch spot, the airline emailed me they moved us from the canceled 3:30 flight to an 8:30 departure.

I then canceled the ferry tickets and booked a hotel in Bastia. By the time we boarded the flight and took off, it was 10pm – we shoulda taken the 11 hour ferry ride. Oh well. Just one of the joys of travel…sometimes you need Plan B and somedays you don’t!

Despite the strike (which was called off btw), and now the speeding ticket, we LOVE France. Especially Corsica! If only fewer people there smoked and vaped! (It seemed like even more than we experienced in previous trips to the mainland). Not indoors but it is not much fun when you are sitting outside at a restaurant and the guys at the next table finish their meals and all light up. Many younger people and it seems especially women have taken up the habit.

One of our experiences of life on the island is the seemingly unending politeness, happiness and Joie de Vivre! It is a joy to be surrounded by shining happy people! It is no surprise that the word “Corsica” means “Island of Beauty!)

So, we are back on the mainland with a morning departure through Vienna to Sofia to meet my cousin, his wife and seven year old son. They have been living there for several years and you will meet them in the next chapter.

Until then, see ya around.

много любов (lots of love in Bulgarian)

Nancy & Chris

Another Citadel, Another City…

Bonjour Famille et Mes Amies,

When last we wrote, Nancy & I were in Bastia for another day or so. We are really enjoying this slow method of travel through Corsica.

<< Our Corsica agenda is a week in Bastia (northeast), another week in Calvi (in the northwest where we are currently) then another week in Porto-Vecchio on the southeast coast. Heck, we even have two days after P-V before flying out. If any of you have experience in Corsica and have a suggestion where to spend those last two nights, we will be happy know them.>>

Here is our map and towel – dual purpose. Not great for driving but pretty good at drying and not wasting paper – good for the planet.

The beauty of slowly learning an area is we do not have to rush hither, thither & yon. That will stop for us though in our next several places on mainland Europe. C’est la vie.

Here are a few last day Bastia photos – food first including amazing ceviche and butternut mousse –

Before we left Bastia, at the local museum (in the Citadel of course) Nancy met her Corsican hero – the man who invented Cap Course Mattei Rouge & Blanc. This has become her sundowner beverage of choice – even better than Aperol!

On our drive to Calvi, we saw some beautiful scenery

We stopped in Sainte Florent (just another beautiful seaside village) for a delicious lunch and to sit out a torrential downpour – or as the French say “a deluge!) A note on our weather so far: very little rain (other than the above), fairly warm days with a couple very windy ones. Had I not forgotten to pack a light jacket, I would not have had to buy a Corsica sweatshirt!

We are now in Calvi which is another Citadel town – I guess when you steal someone’s island, you need to build all sorts of fortifications to keep the conquered from taking it back. It is a remarkable Citadel regardless – they certainly built the things to last. When you think that these took up to 300 years to complete, Sound Transit in Seattle taking 10 years to build a few train tracks is nothing!

Speaking of Citadels, faithful readers will know we are all about ABC – Another bloody – Church, Cathedral, Cloister & Chateau. Now we can add CITADEL! There is even another one coming up in P-V.

Here it is in all of its awesome glory….

We saw in a glacé (ice cream) shop this photo from the early 1900s. I tried to duplicate it. I think I did a pretty good job. Good thing the Citadelle has not been disneyfied!

Here is the view from our Calvi apartment:

One of the reasons we are renting apartments in many of our stops is to have a kitchen. We both really like other people cooking for us but not 3 meals a day, everyday for 3 months! This way we are at least preparing breakfast most mornings. Having a meal at home while watching the action in the harbor has been a perfect way to start our days.

The winds died down and the temperature has gone up – perfect for exploring by foot this beautiful hill town. (Did they never build towns on the plains?)

Late one morning we took the one car train on a 40 minute coastal ride to the smaller but no less noteworthy town of L’Île-Rousse. It was a lovely ride very close to the beach and shoreline for most of it. The town has some great white sand beaches. We wandered around, had lunch, a perambulation on the promenade and then took the train most of the way back. We exited a few stops from DT Calvi to stroll some more beach.

This Monsieur was preparing a huge leg of veal for his restaurant. It looked and smelled great – I’m sure it was delish but we found the first place in France we saw that serves Quinoa. We ate there. Yum?

Back in Calvi we wandered the Citadel a few more times – it just goes on & on. We found out that contrary to all we learned about Chris Columbus, he was born in Calvi – in a small house in the Citadel – not Genoa. However since Corsica was part of Genoa…

We found a nice little ice cream detour spot and Nancy snapped this photo from their window – it looks like a cartoon or a watercolor painting but it is an untouched iPhone snap!

What kind of Citadel does not have picnic tables and a very hip nightclub (named after my little brother) that does not open until 10pm?

We all know a good Citadel needs at least one church. This one has a few but only one was open to us: Sainte John le Baptiste.

There is even a unit of the Foreign Legion barracked in the Citadel – still!

Okay – I KNOW I have a lot of citadel photos here. But in my defense, it is a very impressive place, I have a great camera and I get pleasure from using it. That said – here are some more and that will be the last of them!

The third big attraction in Calvi, in no particular order with the Citadel and beach, is the bustling harbor side restaurants, cafes and excursion companies. More on the food in a bit (of course). Nancy & I went on a boat tour of the Golf of Calvi. It was a gorgeous day and we saw up close the ragged coastline, a cave and beautiful blue water. Even a couple dragons and a Bond villain looking house that is actually a Marine Research Center.

A short video form the boat

Another excursion was a dive (or “plonge” in French.) I had read about this dive site and was thrilled to be able to dive it. On February 14, 1944 an American B-17 had to ditch in the water right by the Citadel after losing 3 of its 4 engines. The crewmen who were alive before the forced landing survived it. Three crew members were killed by the German fighters shooting at the plane.

Here is a plaque posted at the Citadel:

I have an underwater (sous marine) camera but it only works to a maximum 50 feet down. The plane is at 27m which is @ 90 feet. I’m glad I did not have a working camera though as I was freed up to wonder at this site. There were many fishes, we saw bullet holes in the fuselage, a tire still on the retracted landing gear, the cockpit seats and the top gunner’s post. The expertise of the 22 year old pilot to put the dying aircraft down safely is mind-blowing. There are even .50 caliber machine gun bullets secreted by the dive operators that they show to the divers then replace.

I found this blog site from a diver who was here about a year ago. He goes into great detail with quotes from the airmen, photos and video from his dive on the wreck. If you are interested, please read it. (If you have the technical skills to help me, I would like to contact the writer but cannot get the links in his post to go anywhere.)

https://midlifecrisisodyssey.com/diving-the-ghosts-of-corsica-part-ii/

OK – I know you have all been waiting to learn about the Calvian Cuisine. Choose your adjective – delicious, amazing, sublime, magnifique, inspiring…

We found a fromagerie (cheese shop does not seem fancy enough to describe “Le Bistrot des Fromagers”). The lunch was huge – as you can see. We took leftover meats, bought some eggs (very fresh) and the Cheesemonger tossed in a chunk of Comté cheese for breakfast next morning, complimentary!

Here are some more foodie pics.

Thye 3rd pic is sushi French style. What is that you ask? Why it is Foie-Gras Sushi!!!

The harbor front I mentioned? Here are a few snaps – this is a great place for morning cafe, sunset beverage, and dinner. People watching is tres bon, too.

We are able to get by with our basic language skills and translate apps help. This photo is the translation of a sign in a shop window.

Speaking of signs – the one on the left is fun and the right one shows French and dialect (but not the Corsican language).

Some random pics to finish off this chapter:

Comme on dit en France……. à la prochaine fois!

Okay – one last Citadel pic.

Seat belts fastened, tray tables locked and AWAY WE GO…

Dear Family & Friends, Please join us for the next volume of Nancy & Chris’ World Tooddling. Here is Nancy in the traditional first photo of the trip. This time we are flying from Seattle through London on the way to Marseilles. (A word of advice to our loyal subscribers and new ones too….this missive is best enjoyed while viewed on the biggest device that you own – and not on a “smart” phone.

After a nice sleep at a VERY nice airport Hilton Garden Inn, we boarded Air Corsica for the forty minute flight to Bastia – The largest city on the island of Corsica (“Corse” in the local dialect).

The apartment we are renting for the 1st week of the trip is on the 6th floor of a tall (and ancient) building. No elevator but instead we climb 123 stairs! We are averaging three times a day. What a great way to work off the croissants!

Now, faithful reader, you might be wondering if my trip planning chops are deteriorating- 6th floor? 123 stairs?? Well, without more information coming your way I could see that reaction. Zut, I would think the same. If I did not read on, I would not see the reason I have bumped my head (‘conked my coconut’) in the local dialect several times on our loooow ceilings. These next photos will show you why we have our own eyrie……

You can see our place from the harbor. It is the terrace above the laundry drying in the photo below…

What an amazing view, oui?? About those ceilings though…ouch!

In some places the ‘ceiling’ is four feet high! In others, 8 feet. We have learned to walk hunched over and I put a folded towel on my head when going into the bathroom! (Our 6’10” friend would NOT rent this place- even with the view.) One interesting observation….it is VERY quiet here at night in our apartment in the sky. One might think that the sounds of the city would carry up here with our windows open for fresh air. No, mes amies, no sirens, no scooters, no honking….just the peace of the town below us. And, in the morning….chuckling seagulls wake us casually, along with a beautiful sunrise over the Mediterranean port.

We have had some amazing food already – I know you have been waiting patiently for those photos as well as the avant dinner beverage cultural appreciation time. Pic below in the middle is grilled sardines stuffed with cheese and breadcrumbs.

Bastia is a surprise to us. We were expecting a quiet town but it is a big city of about 43,000 – almost the size of Edmonds but is much bustlier (just made up that word) with hundreds of restaurants and cafes, a thriving weekend outdoor market and it is even a ferry town like Edmonds. These ferries are bigger though and go a fair bit farther – to mainland France, Italy and other Corsica ports. The Sunday Market (“Marche”) even has locals playing proudly in a community band in the middle of the Place d’Hotel de Ville. One pic below is of ‘beignets” available with sucre or fromage….very much like our “donuts.” oh my!

We took a drive a few days ago. We left Bastia and drove over 100 miles up the Mediterranean coast and around the top, down the west coast along the Tyrrhenian Sea and then back across to Bastia. I show the route in the green highlight.

The coastal drive in our petite rented Opel Cross was a lot of fun. Any of you who have driven the Big Sur, Oregon or Amalfi coastlines would be impressed. Not only with the scenery but the road conditions and the absolute lack of traffic! We saw amazing coastal features including Genoese Watchtowers (en Francais “tours”) from 500 years ago, black sand beaches, rocky limestone crags, mountain villages and even snow capped peaks.

**This building is in closeup above. Look how it is so isolated. No idea what it is. Maybe a monastery?**

We saw many Red Kite birds along our route

The city of Bastia gets its name from the most prominent building complex – The Citadel. It is very impressive and many people live there along with businesses, restaurants, shops, a high end hotel, a noteworthy museum and a church. It even provides water sports. (More on the SCUBA later.)

In earlier volumes of our Travel Log, I have mentioned how some businesses just add “erie”to their product to tell you the purpose of their shops:

Like many towns in France, Bastia has central trash and recycle drop off spots instead of home pickup. They also have the zambonis sweeping the streets every morning. Early!

Like in many places, there are free little libraries here – even in some old phone booths.

I mentioned the SCUBA (invented by Frenchman Jacques Cousteau). I went out this morning to dive on a 1000 year old ship wreck (this is the Mediterranean after all). Understandably there is not much left of it. Lots of sea life growth, and colder water than in Hawaii a couple months ago, but still exciting to do.

Nancy took this shot of my dive group from The Citadel, while she enjoyed a Cafe au Lait (or Grand Crema as they are called here)

Many of you know the history of Napoleon Bonaparte coming from Corsica, leading an army to France, building it up, conquering a huge part of the world, being finally defeated (temporarily anyway), being exiled to Elba, escaping, causing more trouble, defeated (this time) permanently and re-exiled to Sainte Helene Island in the south Atlantic. What you might not know (since I did not either until last week), is that Elba is RIGHT THERE! Out our window!

On a good day, I could row there – maybe a stand up paddle board?

I am not sure of the irony, chutzpah or in-your-face humor regarding the placement of the classic Greek-style statue of him in the Place Saint Nicholas but he is gazing at Elba!

I mentioned up top that we have 123 stairs to reach our pied a terre. That is only part of the story. The harbor, marché, Saint Nick’s Square and other fun parts of the city are at sea level. Just to reach our building, the city fathers built staircases all over town and they all seem to lead to our front door.

I happened to snap the photo on the left (that I edited to b&w) and then I saw the right hand photo in a cafe. Shot from roughly the same spot almost 80 years later.

And now… a few random photos here for your continued pleasure….

Below our building these fellows are re-roofing a house. Looks like a long process but I bet these are 300 year roofs not 30 years! Note the nearby house with the hot tub. (Fashion note for above pic…scarf was not meant to be fashionable faux pas – merely to keep a bit of a chill away)! Je m’excuse. (but who really cares when you are traveling?!)

Another Corsica lesson – they do not like the French (well some of them don’t – kinda like Sicilians and Italy). The Island’s symbol is a soldier/rebel/pirate (nobody is sure).

The street signs are in Dialect and French

Despite this cartoon, we are not moving here (most likely). It may seem like it though as this trip is our longest to date – THREE MONTHS! (Zut Alors)! In addition to France, we will visit Bulgaria, Czech, Hungary, Austria, France (again), Spain, England and Northern Ireland.

So friends, stay tuned for future chapters of this volume of ‘Where the heck are Nancy & Chris?’ coming soon. Please feel free to comment – we love to read those. But… please do not comment on the repetition of clothes seen in the photos – traveling with one small suitcase each for 3 months does not give us much choice in wardrobe – even with mix-n-match!

Signing off for now and sending lots of love,

Nancy & Chris

3,514 Miles & 3,527 Photos (don’t worry, I won’t show you all of them) & 1 HUGE truck

Hello, Us Again….

SO, we left you off in Jasper. From there we headed for Lake Louise on a 3 hour drive (closer to 5 for us due to road conditions; those conditions are mainly the absolutely stunning scenery)

There was also a little hike along the way – Valley of Five Lakes that we just had to check out.

**Not sure if these would be tasty with our Poutine so we left them for Da Bears**

As I mentioned in the previous missive, when we were in Canada last year we visited Lake Louise and our return this year is the only repeat stop. The reason is in May 2022, the Lake was more Rink Louise:

This September, the ice had time to melt and we were able to see the Turquoiseness in all her glory.

This was actually Nancy’s third visit to LL. When she was 10, the Worner family had road trip through the area. The short one in front is my missus.

Unlike last year, there were sooo many tourists there that on this trip the parking lot could take no more cars. And, if you were not staying nearby in one of the two hotels (we were), you had to park a few miles away and take a shuttle bus.

**These people all took the buses and stopped at the first view spot to start snapping.**

**I’m glad we were there for the sunrise – the clouds cleared just in time.**

The big hotel at the Lake is the Fairmont (we did not stay there but at the Deer Lodge a short walk away). All of the above shots were from the front area of the hotel. Here is one from the other end of the lake looking at the massive hotel.

**The noisy construction is for a new Nordic Spa**

Speaking of hotels in heavy tourist areas like here and Jasper, I booked our rooms in March and it is a good thing as every place was sold out. We could not even eat in the Fairmont’s dining room as we were not guests there.

Right by LL is Moraine Lake but only registered guests of the lodge there can drive a private vehicle to it. Everyone else takes a Park Canada bus that has to be booked (for a specific date and time) months in advance. We did not do this but luckily two days out, the park service opens a limited number reservations and they sell out fast. We managed to get seats.

Not only is Moraine Lake out there but so is Consolation Lake (not sure why it is called that). It is a good hike to it with some boulder scrambling, but we made it. 5 miles round trip.

We saw a couple grizzlies quite a ways away and up the steep slope off to the right. Later, after we started back to Moraine, we heard a bit of a landslide that other hikers reported came from the bears dislodging some rocks.

**I think the hiking would be a lot faster without all this scenery along the way**

Well after our hike at LL and Consolation Lake, we had lunch and wandered along Moraine Lake. Yet another bit of stunniness! We walked over 30,000 steps that day – everyone one of them amazing!

Along the way from LL to Kimberley BC, we crossed the Continental Divide for the second time on this trip.

**My GPS app is a little off on altitude (or the mountain is growing!**)

We were expecting to switch our clocks when re-entering British Columbia. But… a corner in SE BC & another one in NE BC are on Alberta time not rest of BC time. Weird.

Anyway, Kimberley is a fun little town in SE BC. We have a BC born friend in Edmonds and he was surprised I found Kimberley and told me if he did not live here, he would live there. I can see why. Especially if you ski. They claim world class skiing and very low prices. We are not skiers but enjoyed the town nonetheless.

Their farmers’ market was on one night we were there and we bought dinner to go and ate it at one of the 3 breweries in town. How could you not like a town that has 7,245 people and 3 breweries? They also seem to be pretty liberal with their drinking laws…

There is a very nice waterfall in town and an odd set of stairs that don’t seem to go anywhere (I climbed all 186 to make sure).

There was a nice hike we did nearby until a local lady and her dog hurried up to us to report a black bear had walked across the path behind us a short time before!

A little video of the yodeler. This is the world’s largest cuckoo clock. You out in a Loonie and it starts up – no matter the time. Click on above picture!

So we left Kimberley and headed back to Alberta for our last stop in Canada at Waterton Lakes National Park. And what do we see only a couple hours after experiencing the big clock but the world’s largest truck! We are glad it is sidelined as it was used for strip-mining coal nearby.

This National Park is kind of a joint venture with Glacier NP on the Montana side of the border. The area shares Rangers, service staff and lots of wildlife.

**Flags of the 3 nations including the First Nations who used to be the only people around.**

We stayed at the Prince of Wales hotel overlooking the lake. This is one of the old style NP hotels and the place is beautiful and so is the location.

There were a few drawbacks – one was the the hotel was closing for the season in a couple days (this had a big influence on the timing of our trip) resulting in short supplies of many menu items and it was about the windiest place we have been to since Iceland.

**For an action shot of Nancy’s hair, check out the video below.**

Waterton also has a nice waterfall running through it – this one is a bit crooked.

I think I mentioned in our last chapter about the couple from Zurich who we met at the lodge by Tatla Lake. We “rendezvoused” with them again in Jasper and for the third time in Waterton! We actually ran into several other travelers who were making the same journey we were with variations here and there.

**This is Chris and Susan from Zurich. They are winemakers and have invited us to their winery!**

**While the tacos were good, we did not participate in the contest**

We said so long, farewell… to Canada the next morning and crossed back into the States after a month. Canada is beautiful (as you have repeatedly seen) but we think Montana is not bad either.

Our stay in Glacier NP was at the Lake McDonald Lodge. Last time we were there was in May 2021 on a semi post covid NP tour. The lodge was still closed for winter, the Going to the Sun Road was only open (after the first several miles) to pedestrians and bikes due to all the snow. We rented bikes and road quite a way uphill as a substitute to climbing the Columbia Tower in Seattle as part of the Big Climb – a fundraiser for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. (Picture below is from 2021 – no snow there this time around!)

(I’ve been doing this for several years. If you want more information about this worthy cause, and/or want to donate, please check out my page – https://www.llswa.org/site/TR/LLSWA/llswaBC?px=1838823&pg=personal&fr_id=1770 – I just today signed up to climb next year. Hopefully I will feel comfortable enough to be indoors again instead of outside stairs like I have climbed the last couple years.)

On this visit the road was busy, the campgrounds were packed and the hotel was sold out (good thing we booked) and it was closing a few days after we left. And like the sister property across the border, their food and bar service was very limited in product. You have to be very open to changing your menu preferences on the fly.

All through this trip we have had terrific weather. Glacier was a bit cooler (get it?) and Nancy needed another layer as we were going on the open topped bus tour the next day.

These buses are over 80 years old and the Park still has all but one of the fleet they bought oh so long ago. That one was wrecked by a couple joyriding employees in the 50s. It is pretty remarkable they are still on the road.

**You can see everyone is bundled up. I drive a convertible and I know when to close the top!**

We went all through the Park including to the area called Many Glacier and the lodge there was already closed for winter (this was September 16th)

**They certainly have a nice view there**

A nearby motor inn was also closed and all their mattresses were outside the rooms leaning against the walls – looked kinda gross so I did not photograph that!

We met a couple at the Lodge there – they live a little over a mile from us and have been in Edmonds longer than we have but we have never met before! He too is a bit of a shutterbug so the two of us went out that night to try for some Milky Way photography. While the MW was ok, it turns out the Aurora Borealis decided to pop into our viewfinders! The first pic is the Big Dipper in the AB.

**Not sure how this happened – best call NASA**

We did a hike out to Avalanche Lake before we headed home. It was through a beautiful (of course) Cedar Grove. A couple of school groups were there on our way out.

**This is the western end of Lake McDonald**

We drove home through Missoula MT and Pullman WA. The reason for the indirect routing was so Nancy could see the distinctive area of Washington known as the Palouse. This area is renowned mainly for the amazing output of wheat, legumes and other agricultural products and that there is absolutely no irrigation. This is Dry Farming at its best. And, they have never had a weather related crop failure. It is a beautiful area to drive through and photograph. There is even a Palouse Falls!

Well, Friends and Family, thanks for following along on another Nancy & Chris Trip. The next one won’t be until sometime in 2024. Not sure when but we do know where…

Until then, lots of love, Nancy & Chris

Thanks British Columbia, we’ll be seeing ya’

Hello Family & Friends, When last I wrote we were spending our final night on Vancouver Island……The car was packed, the tank was full and we were looking forward to exploring the mainland. We had a 4am wakeup for our 5am departure with an 8 minute drive from hotel to harbour for the 7:30am departure of the Northern Sea Wolf Ferry. They (BC Ferries) ask drivers to be in the holding lanes 2 hours ahead of time. OY!

(The reason for the extended delay between chapters is that we were soooo busy with hiking, driving, exploring, eating, picture taking and sleeping during our Canadian Road Trip that we really did not have the time needed to put pixels on screens. We are actually now back home in Edmonds and I am watching the second to last regular season Mariners game before they (fingers crossed) go to the post season. Dang, the game is over and…No Padres/Mariners World Series—- again)

NOW, Back to Canada: This ferry is not like every other car ferry we have ridden. It is not a RoRo – roll on, roll off. Here it is docked in Bella Coola – our destination for the day – 10.5 hours after departure.

The first vehicles loaded (like us) drive on and then do either a donut, 3 point turn or U turn depending on how full the deck is at the time, since the space is very limited (I booked this ride in March)

The last ones get to do this:

Of course, he is first off! Enjoy the ride by clicking on the picture for a video

It is a comfortable ship and their cafeteria/restaurant opened for breakfast just after getting underway – on time. We spent quite a bit of our voyage on deck (bundled up) watching the beautiful scenery float by.

I ran into some camera snafus while a humpback whale and some white sided Pacific Dolphins cruised by and with the kindness of fellow travelers, I can show you what we saw. (Thanks Thomas & Brigid from Germany!)

What a great ferry ride! Click on the picture to appreciate the video

On the sun deck, we met fellow Washers (peeps from Washington), Jill & Leonard from Burlington. We hope to meet up with them again sometime soon.

Bella Coola is the westernmost end of BC Hwy 20. We plan on driving the full length of it over the next week. It is a small town with a few restaurants, hotels and lodges and a terrific coffee shop. We took a river raft float to watch bears. It turns out we did not need to get on a raft – just drive down the road!

Please enjoy this berry hungry bear on video by simply clicking on above picture

This is our cabin in Bella Coola…..appropriately named “Cinnamon Bear”

please click on above picture to access a video of this hungry bear

We saw a young adult male (we think) looking for food (ideally a nice fresh salmon) on the banks and in the waters of the Antarko River – near the confluence with the Bella Coola River.

Our local favorite coffee shop in B(Ella)C(oola) BC – check out their cool logo, also features pizza one night a week and luckily we were there for it. With advice from our river guide, we popped in early to preorder our crust – they only have so much dough. Dad was the chef, Mom was the waitress and Persephone the baby was the supervisor.

After a few nights we headed east on BC 20 – the first 20 km is a gravel road that is VERY steep, with a serious drop-off and no guardrails. Fortunately for us it was a bright dry day with no traffic coming the other way so we could hug the wrong side of the road – well away from the cliff. This section of the road is called The Hill & Heckman Pass. It used to be all gravel (60km) but the last part is paved now. We did see some dramatic landscape (no photos of the abrupt edges – sorry).

A fire came through a few years ago.

A nice picnic lunch (yey for leftover pizza) at Hotnarko Falls (thanks for the heads up, Jill & Len).

That Pizza looks familiar

Nancy found a perfect Christmas tree!

Our next stay was near Tatla Lake. According to Google Maps, this is a 3 hour drive. According to Nancy & Chris and our cameras and rose smelling stops, it is closer to 6! Tatla Lake is an even tinier town – in fact, there is not really a town – just a (usually closed) gas station/gift shop. The nearest grocery store is a 3 hour drive away in Williams Lake. That makes a long day for our hostess at the lodge where we stayed. It is certainly a beautiful area with several lakes nearby (Tatlayoko, Bluff, Horn & Sapey to name a few that we visited).

Note the close-up of a dragonfly above left (and a squirrel for Jen)!

Nancy found this strange box on the dirt road….

This is where we stayed – on the shore of Eagle Lake

Back on Highway 20 to Williams Lake the eastern end of the road – btw – home of the grocery store – they even have a Costco! I am sure you all heard about all the BC wildfires. Luckily, they did not have much impact on where we were but occasionally the skies were a bit dramatic.

**After all the dirt roads, our poor Subie was really filthy. We had to have it washed just so we could open the doors!**

The next stop on our tour of British Columbia was Prince George. There is no consensus on why the town was named that since when it was founded, the only royal George was already King. Maybe it was confusion brought on by high latitude and altitude. Regardless, it is the largest municipality in BC north of Vancouver.

At the Cottonwood Island Provincial Park at the edge of PG, there are several trees that have some rather intricate, otherworldly and slightly spooky carvings done by a local artist over the years.

The only reason we went to Prince George was to make it to Hwy 97 which leads right to Jasper, Alberta. A bonus of the route was the Ancient Forest – Count ‘Oh Whudujut Provincial Park. This is quite the place to see Old Growth Cedars – many over 1,000 years old.

My model is very helpful when I am trying to illustrate perspective – and she is so dern cute!

Another bonus was coming around a bend in the road and seeing Mt Robson. At almost 13,000 feet, it is the highest mountain in the Canadian Rockies.

Jasper is without a doubt our favorite stop on this trip. The scenery is amazing as is the vibe. It is not as over the top touristy (still popular though) as we found in Banff last year. Great restaurants and a very walkable town.

**View from Jasper Brewing on the main drag**

**A few of the local characters including Jasper the Bear**

Happy Huskies that we passed on our walk into town.

There is a Sky Tram (7 minute ride) up to the top of Whistlers Mountain, named after the noise Marmots make. This sound attracts hungry (are there any other kind?) bears. So, up we go.

**BEAUTIFUL** **MT ROBSON IN THE BACKGROUND**

**The length of the trains in this part of Canada are amazing. We saw a 245 car coal train going** though Downtown Jasper – it only had 3 locomotives and luckily no lever crossings!

We went on an organized tour to Lake Maligne the next day and even before we left town, we saw a herd of Elk on the side of the road with a coyote wandering through.

Lake Maligne is one of many achingly beautiful spots we saw. It is surrounded by mountains, it has a sacred island (actually a peninsula) in it and we even saw a perfectly positioned Bald eagle soaring over our boat.

While we were waiting for the tram the day before, we saw an ad for Star Gazing at the top of the mountain the next day (Saturdays in September). We jumped on that one. There were no clouds in the forecast and it looked like it would be a good Milky Way night. We were right!

Honey, get off your phone and look up! (Photo is not us, by the way.)

**We were hoping for the Aurora Borealis** **– That will have to wait for the next chapter.**

What a night! Thanks to the astronomers with HUGE telescopes from Jasper Observatory who were there to help us spot the constellations and planets.

On Sunday we visited a few more lakes including Pyramid and Patricia (named after my sister?) As well as Athabasca Falls (or as I call it, the Lost my Lens Cap Falls).

**Mountain Goats popped up along the Athabasca River**

**Above are Patricia, Pyramid and an unnamed lake**

I am going to close out this chapter now. I will pick it up next time (and hopefully quicker than this one came out). I’ll start with Lake Louise (which was featured in last year’s trip – LL was our only repeat stop. It was a sheet of ice last year so we wanted to see it in its turquoise splendor. If you missed that post, you can read it here – https://chrisnnancy.wordpress.com/2022/05/)

We Made it to the World’s 43rd Largest Island!

Okay, it was not a long haul to go from Edmonds to Vancouver Island- a couple hour drive followed by a couple more hours on BC Ferry Coastal Inspiration, but we have continued on to the top of the Island. We are currently in Port Hardy getting ready to take a 10 hour BC Ferry ride to Bella Coola first thing tomorrow morning. Hopefully I will be able to finish this chapter before that.

How did we get here over the last 12 days, you ask? By Subaru, of course! We stayed overnight in White Rock (see pic below of the actual white rock on the beach), Parksville, Tofino, Courtenay and now Port Hardy. We have had a fun time encompassing great food, amazing hikes, beautiful vistas, high and low tides and heaps of friendly people. We have also had smokey skies, red tinted sunrises and sunsets due to wildfires all over the Province. In fact two days after crossing the border, the BC Premier imposed a total travel ban in a large area. This was for ‘unnecessary’ travel (such as we are doing). Fortunately, the ban does not cover anywhere on our route.

White Rock is a cute little tourist town boasting Canada’s longest pier – see pic above.

Next stop was Parksville, up the coast from the home of the Nanaimo Bar. We had a lovely room overlooking the beach that had an amazing tidal swing. The beach there (and several other areas is so flat that when the tide goes out – IT GOES OUT! One afternoon, we walked over a mile from the high tide line to where there was actually water!

One of the reasons we chose Parksville was to make a return visit to a great beachfront hotel, Tigh-Na-Mara (House on the Sea). What makes this place special in addition to the location is their spa and the Unlimited Tapas menu and the fun of getting to eat your dinner dressed in the Spa’s robes! The menu is 14 courses of tapas with the option of ordering seconds on any and all of your favorites. The menu is here but the courses came out in the order the chef decided.

Now, here they are:

Dessert was Divine (as was the rest of the menu).

When we departed for Tofino, we faced a road closure of up to an hour due to major repairs being conducted on some rocky and no longer tree filled bluffs. A wildfire burnt the trees and left the proverbial VW sized boulders falling on the road. Luckily for us, we hit the roadblock with only about 10 minutes to go. You can tell from the sign that the wait can be long.

Tofino is considered the surfing capital of Canada as well as THE place to go in the winter for storm watching. It is a somewhat quaint small town with a LOT of tourists, great restaurants, nice beaches and a cool vibe.

The photo above with the line of people was at Tacofino – a local institution that has great food but a seriously LONG wait. I cannot remember ever lining up one hour for a taco or any other food. It WAS good though and actually worth the wait!

The day we were leaving Tofino had been chosen the day before by the highway construction gods to be an “All Day Closure Day” (8am-9.30pm) so we were up at 4, in the car at 5 and cruised through the impending blockage by 7. That quick retreat caused us to get to Courteney by about 9am and of course it was too early to check in to the next hotel so what are a couple waterfall enthusiasts to do? Why, visit Nymph Falls of course!

Courtenay is in the Comox Valley which also includes the towns of Cumberland, Comox and Campbell River – it is a very alliterative valley. We happened to hit it on the weekend of the local Rotary’s “Ribfest” (apparently this is a thing in BC) and the Comox Valley Farmers’ Market. What a blast the weekend was.

We even found a nice log shipping town for a picnic on our way to Port Hardy. (NOTE: bottle of wine is included for photo purposes only….it was not consumed at this picnic).

In Port Hardy we had a varied time of rest and hiking with a sushi feast in our room due to staffing issues, a hiking tour of Cape Scott Provincial Park and specifically San Josef Beach. We went with Chris from Cove Adventures who drove us out a 70km on a VERY ROUGH ROAD through the rainforest and logging areas. Some of the spots looked terrible due to all the clear cutting but we need wood and it has to come from somewhere- after all, it does not grow on trees! If you come up here – and we highly recommend it, we suggest you contact Chris to have a very informative guide and to save a ton of wear and tear on your car – even a Subie!

There are sea stacks, caves (where we had our picnic lunch and a huge white sand beach. The sky was fairly blah because of the smoke but Chris said normally in the summer it is very blue.

The Shoe Tree is for all the tired hikers…..located in a random place along the bumpy road.

Yes, bears do it in the woods!

We have lots of eagle in Port Hardy

Our last places visited today were the tiny towns of Coal Harbour, (a chainsaw, car, and airplane museum) Telegraph Cove (very cute – built on stilts and with a whale museum) and Port McNeil (with an orca statue and brewery). We will be sad to leave Vancouver Island tomorrow but another chapter will start. Onward and Eastward!

We Made it to THE Islands!

SO, after leaving Mexico City, Nancy & I spent a couple of days in Quito, Ecuador, the world’s second highest capital city…. at over 9,000 feet we are happy we stopped in CDMX (at about 7,000 feet) so we could get a little used to the thin air.

We had a great guide who showed us around. Antonio took us to the Equator interactive semi-amusement park and to a few local market towns towns and of course it would not be a Chris trip without – a waterfall!

(A word to the wise… there are a LOT of photos here. I am afraid to count them all up but rest assured, I severely culled down the 3100 total photos and videos!)

As we learned in school, water flows in different directions in the northern & southern hemispheres – or does it? Please click on on video above.

The pictures above and below show that we were not in the big city anymore. Ecuador is a VERY large producer and exporter of flowers. Valentine’s Day is HUGE there – especially for ROSES!

We visited a museum dedicated to Oswaldo Guaysamin, Ecuador’s most famous artist. We were very impressed with his art and architecture.

The Historic District of Quito is quite impressive – from shops selling beautiful pastries and desserts or soccer balls to a street vendor peddling glasses of water – you see most everything. Even Another Bloody Cathedral (or two around the corner from each other).

We ordered ice cream at lunch. Little did we know we would be treated to this creepy floor show! Enjoy the video….?

I doubt this would go over well at home!

We bid Adios to Antonio and Quito –

– and flew out to Baltra airport in the Galapagos. A small airport on a small island – the runway and taxiway are the same. But…the plane was big – a 737-700 flown by Equiair. We met up with most of our fellow boat passengers there. We would be a total of 11 travelers to go with 10 crew + our guide on the M/V Integrity. This is a beautiful and meticulously maintained 16 passenger ‘luxury yacht’ permanently chartered by INCA (International Nature and Cultural Adventures) out of California.

The other adventurers we met at the airport were four couples and friends of long standing. They were from Washington and Oregon so they are neighbors. The last guest we met shortly later – an Italian lady on her own.

Our first excursion was a short ferry ride to Santa Cruz Island where we were bussed to the Giant Tortoise Reserve. We spent the afternoon with these big, lumbering, magnificent creatures. They were not the first ones we saw – there were a couple crossing the road. Why? I don’t know.

What a great start to the National Park!

(This is a video – sometimes the play arrow is not immediately evident)

We enjoyed a delicious lunch at a lovely seaside restaurant in Puerto Ayoro with marine iguanas at our feet. We were fitted for our snorkeling wetsuits and then out to the Integrity – our home for the next week.

You will see photos that have boats other than ours throughout this essay. The Galapagos National Park is a very highly regulated region. They have strict rules about how many visitors can be in the park at any one time, where they may go and for how long. (They also mandate that visitors cannot be closer than 6 feet from any animals. Sometimes though, the creatures come right up to you.) Therefore, the other boats and visitors were our shadows for the week. We even got to know some of them as they had shore excursions at the same time as us. The Park even has stringent rules about who can live on the islands (only 4 of the named 24 Galápagos Islands are populated by people). If you are not born on the islands or not married to an island born person or you have not been living there since a certain year (not sure when), you may only be there for two months at a a time – even if you are a native and citizen of Ecuador.

Our days were action packed. One reason I did not write and send blog posts while at sea is we were very busy all day, everyday. See the typical day’s activities below:

The second reason I did not write as we traveled (we have been home about 10 days now) is the boat, while super comfy and smooth, the wifi was sooooo slow. The third reason is it takes a very long time to go through 3100 photos and videos from 4 cameras wielded by 2 shooters.

All goods brought to the islands are thoroughly screened to make sure there is nothing present that may harm the native flora and fauna. They have a precious resource to protect and they seem to do a good job. The entire time we were there, we only saw a few pieces of litter (mainly in the water – which we picked up). We very much appreciated the efforts put in by the government, park service, rangers and everyone involved in the tourism industry, to protect this amazing place. That way we could experience this:

We met our guide – Pati, who showed us around the ship, gave us the safety drill and briefed us on what to expect for the week in general and the next day (Sunday) in particular. Just a note about Pati – she is an excellent guide who is very passionate about her calling. IF you manage to make this trip, Nancy & I strongly suggest you go on the same boat and make sure Pati will be your guide. She works for INCA and is their full time naturalist but does take vacations.

The rest of the crew consisted of the guys who made the ship go where it was supposed to and kept everything working, the ‘panga’ (zodiac) drivers,

and the dining room/bar/stateroom staff. Plus of course the chef and his sous. Great meals were served.

Most days’ activities included early morning kayaking, two shore excursions (wet and/or dry landings) with easy or not so easy hikes and one or two snorkeling sessions. This adventure is NOT for people with mobility issues.

In addition to the fauna, there is flora on the islands you won’t find elsewhere.

We visited nine islands in total and the terrain varied from solid lava fields to sandy beaches to rocky hills to almost forest like plains. Sometimes we needed hiking boots and other times we could be barefoot. Watershoes were popular amongst the gang.

We saw a LOT of wildlife. The biggest critters were the tortoises & sea lions.

Another video of the amazing underwater world

The smallest were probably the Lava Lizards and Sally Lightfoot crabs.

Other reptiles (other than the lizards that is – not the crabs as they are NOT reptiles as we all know (now)!) include Marine & land Iguanas.

The iguanas are red & green this time of year for mating season reasons.

The land iguanas don’t need fancy colors!

Do you suppose the fly is toast? It almost looks like they have opposable thumbs.

The Islands are especially known for a very diverse group of birds including Red Footed, Blue Footed & Nazca Boobies. Many of the creatures are Endemic, most of the rest are natives, visitors and a few are introduced.

Here comes the winged section of this post. When the different booby species are chicks, it is hard (for me anyway) to differentiate them. Upon maturity, you look at their feet – blue, red or tannish. It is funny the red footed boobies have blue beaks though! The Nasca are not so colorful. ALL of the boobies look like Pixar creations!

Good old Chuck Darwin loved the finches of the Galapagos. There are also the Galapagos Hawks, Short Eared Owls, Galapagos Mockingbird, Brown Pelican, American Flamingo, Yellow Crowned Night Heron, Red Billed Tropicbird, Magnificent Frigatebird, Shearwaters, Albatross, Swallow Tailed Gull and the Galapagos Penguin (penguins on the equator? – yup!) These are just the birds we saw. There are MANY others.

These darn penguins get their own group- doesn’t it look like they are in Arizona?

Here is a penguin underwater!

Underwater we saw Galapagos Sharks, White-tipped Reef Sharks, Spotted Eagle Rays, Galapagos Green Turtle, and tons of fish. We did not see any hammerhead sharks – guess we will have to go back. Nancy even had a close encounter with 8 dolphins!

The water is warmest this time of year and after the first snorkeling session in a wetsuit, I decided to do without it. Nancy kept hers on (btw, she was NOT thrilled about the prospect of snorkeling at the start of the trip but really grew to enjoy it – what a trouper!)

The weather was hot and sunny and hot. When it was 30F at home it was 30C in the islands. We went through a huge tube of reef safe sunscreen. One of us forgot to apply it to his shiny dome while snorkeling the first two days and ended up with a pink glowing head. Ow, did that hurt! It has been a long time since I have had a sunburn. We saw several species of sea life underwater and from the surface. Fishies, penguins, other birds, turtles, lobsters, sea stars to name a few.

This White Tipped Reef Shark just swam into my viewfinder!

So did the Green Sea Turtle – it is good to be lucky.

This fish is protecting her eggs – the white spray painted looking stuff on the rock – she was constantly chasing away intruders – including me.

Nancy had a birthday while we were on this trip. Hugo, the chef made her a birthday cake – it was very nice of him as she did not want a fuss but a fuss was made!

ANOTHER birthday in Ecuador?

I have mentioned the M/V Integrity. Here are some photos of, from and related:

A little video of fun on the zodiac

This was the route we traveled – two crossings of the equator. It did NOT cool off when we went back to winter in the northern hemisphere!

One drawback to the ship though was the lack of a gym. Not to worry Nancy said – I’ll lift weights on the beach.

Due to airline issues we had two nights in Quito on the way home. Probably the best part was finding Tratorria Pizzeria Napoli! Authentico pizza from my grandparent’s home town. Delicioso. We also ran into a bit of election weirdness. Just know we flew into the Q on Saturday at noon and left Monday morning.

This was posted in our hotel lounge!

As you can most likely surmise, we had a very adventurous trip. This was a bucket list item for me and it is now checked off. Now, if only I can convince Nancy we should go to Antarctica before it melts!

Adios for now,

Lots of love, Nancy & Chris

A NEW adventure so soon?

Chapter One of Nancy & Chris’ trip to the Galápagos Islands!

Buenos Dias from CDMX (Mexico City). Nancy & I have been here for four nights after leaving a cold and beautiful Seattle day on our way to sunny and warm Mexico. Nancy snapped Mount Rainier out the plane’s window. We cannot remember flying closer to this icon in all our travels.

When we started to plan this adventure, we found the best air routing was from Seattle – CDMX – Quito. We could have made the trip in one day but since neither of us have visited CDMX before – believe it or not, we decided to stay here a few days. Boy, are we glad we did. The time here has been educational, foodcational and fun….in a city of 9 million in city and another 12 million residents in the outskirts. In keeping with our new practice, we chose a centrally located hotel (Hilton Reforma) in the Historic District so we could walk to many attractions. The first of these attractions was the view from our hotel window.

And we were able to take advantage of the exec floor fringes:

We thought the hotel had come up with a great idea but everywhere we went, the staff would bring one of these purse holders when we sat down.

To acquaint ourselves to this humongous city (the largest in the Americas) we took a food walking tour on Saturday (after flying in Friday evening). It was a hoot! We had a great guide – Paulina, a 21 year old student in the university’s hospitality program, 3 other couples – from Vancouver BC, South Korea and Austin, TX. We spent almost five hours wandering the streets, taking in the sites and visiting five restaurants and the local market (those of you who read the France blog will recall how much we love these markets), and a candy store for dessert. Lots of different food was served including pig’s tongue salami, crickets and of course tacos. Tequila and mezcal were featured too – and why not – they even have a museum for those treats.

Here are some of the food tour and market photos:

Our gang at the mariscos (seafood) place and a shot of the very crowded pedestrian street – with autos on cross streets!

While at one of our stops, Nancy wandered the restaurant and came up with house redecorating ideas (I can’t wait to get home):

Do you remember from the France trip blog how whatever a business sold was highlighted in their name after adding ‘eria’ as suffix? They do that here too….

While on food, we saw these during a Lunar New Year street party on Saturday night.

After the Food Tour, we were too full for dinner so we had the Felize Hora at the hotel.

The next morning we walked the 3+ miles to the Museo Nacional de Anthropologia. It was a wonderful day for it as the two main roads we traversed were closed to vehicular traffic. This is something that happens every sunday of the year! From about 6am – 6pm just feet and bikes are allowed on these very wide boulevards. And it seemed the entire population took advantage of it.

On the walk, Nancy (of course) found her favorite summer beverage and while the weather was summery to us at least, it was a bit early to imbibe.

The museo was quite crowded as on Sundays all the Nacional museos are free to Mexicans and residents. We did not qualify (por que no?) so had to pay the entrance fee of about $8 each. Your money sure goes a long way here – what a great museo! Lots of different galleries following the history of this great nation.

For the longest time, this Sun Stone was thought to be an Aztec calendar. Nope, this 12ft diameter (3.6m), 54,210 lbs (24,590 kg) is not a calendar but a tribute to Sol.

A terrific upside down fountain greets the visitors in the forecourt (I need a forecourt – and an upside down fountain!).

After several hours there, I found some street food while waiting for only our 2nd Uber ever. This treat reminded me of Thailand and my Mexicana sister in law tells me the world learned from Mexico to add chile, lime and salt to everything! Great way to eat a mango.

We headed over to Casa Azul, the birth and death place of artist Frida Kahlo. We had to pre-purchase the tickets to this immensely popular attraction. We spent time taking in the lively neighborhood before our appointed entrance hour.

PLEASE PRESS THE PHOTO TO PLAY THE VIDEO

We were able to shop with the street vendors but did not buy anything – this time.

The Frida museum (Casa Azul) was worth the visit – if you have never read her life story, we recommend you do. We were able to see her studio and everything in there was hers. Even the mirror she used for selfies and Nancy found the cocina (of course!).

Sunday night, my 6th generation San Franciscan wife thought it would be a good idea to watch her 49ers smack around those dern cowboys. We found a bar that was showing the game on MANY sets and we were about the only people in the SF camp – made the victory even better. We will be on the high seas for the next game so we will have to keep our fingers crossed.

Monday morning was as glorious as the other mornings and we were up early to go on a tour of Teotihuacan (teo-tee-waakan) – this Toltec city that goes back 2000 years. We had a car and driver (Arturo & Martín) who took us about 25 miles (an hour) to this ancient city. And city it was with a population of 250,000 at one time.

My first sight of the largest pyramid (the Sun Pyramid) was startling – I had to do a triple take as I though it was a mountain!

The one below is the Pyramid of the Moon – ruled by the Queen – the King had the Sun.

We ran into Arturo’s favorite vendor and managed to buy only two items! He was a nice guy and dug up a lot of the ancient jade carvings on his own land a couple miles away.

We also toured a nearby ‘townhouse’ that still had frescos on the wall – like in Pompeii. Including what our guide referred to as an ancient scuba diver.

After lunch we hit our last stop – the Temple of Quetzalcoatl – this one was climbable.

That’s Arturo cheering one of us on for the 52 very steep steps!

Check out our altitude. I think stopping in CDMX was a great idea for another reason. We have not had any altitude issues but Quito is t 9,350 feet – second highest capital city in the world. Maybe being here will help in acclimatizing.

Here are some more pyramid shots:

One last day in the city and what better way to explore than by foot…..

CDMX is known for – of all things- organ grinders! Not one of the couple dozen we saw had a minkey though.

PLEASE CLICK ON ABOVE PICTURE FOR A VIDEO CONCERT!

Apparently, they still have some ice houses here.

Well, everyone, I think I am out of words and photos, so you will hear from us on our way back from the Galápagos Islands – about February 5th. Possibly a short post may come your way at the end of this week so we can report in on Quito.

Until then…Via con Dios

Nancy & Chris

Chapter Last – Unfortunately

Cher mes amis, as I start to write this 6th and last chapter of our our Tour de France, Nancy and I are in the small town of Manosque in Haute Provence. We have a flight tomorrow to London then onto Seattle. It has been an incroyable trek through several provinces, many small and large towns, villages and cities, plane, trains, automobiles and barge. For over seven weeks, we have had the greatest trip and plan on returning to France in the near future. Maybe next year. Maybe for a few months. Qui sait (who knows)? Thank you, Nancy!❤️😍❤️🥰

When last I wrote only about a week ago, we were headed to the tiny village (actually the outskirts) of Anzex (pop 312) – you know, not far from Villefranche-du-Queyran (just about as tiny – pop 405) in Gascogne (close to the Culinary Adventure of a few weeks ago and written about in previous Travelogue). This stop of four nights was so I could attend a Croissant and Bread baking course at Le Gargantua Cooking School (https://www.legargantua.com). Our hosts were Marlene and Thomas, a French and English couple who live in a 200 year old house with their daughters and teach all sorts of cooking courses. Marlene was the instructor and Tom in charge of dishes and feeding us delicious meals.

It is in a beautiful location as we witnessed during our morning walks.

Fortunately for us, the one time each year Marlene offers the bread course worked with our schedule. There were three other participants and Nancy the photographer made five of us for meals. We met some pretty terrific and interesting ladies in the course. They made it even more fun than it otherwise would have been without them. Thank you, Ladies!

**Yuki (Chicago), Doris (Bahamas), Kelly (London) and Nancy (Edmonds)**

That is great Chris, you are thinking but where is the bread? Okay, you asked for it (sort of).

**First day croissants and Pain au Chocolat**

I also made the desserts for the first two nights – a raspberry mousse and a pear tart – busy day and we were only getting started.

The second day we prepared the dough for brioche, sourdough and a multipurpose blend that became a lunch pizza and stuffed bread. Mine had sun-dried tomatoes and chorizo. Everyone made their own imaginative blend.

**A deservedly very happy Yuki** (aka “Chicago”)

Saturday morning we went into Vianne (pop 1029), a Bastide town, to enjoy a coffee in the main square. All four of the town’s ancient gates are still intact.

Back to the kitchen to finish the bakes for the Brioche and my nemesis, the BAGUETTE! Thanks to Marlene, I conquered them (I think)!

**We also made breadsticks with leftover dough**

**Kelly (aka “London”) having doughy fun**

**Dorris (aka “Bahamas”) and I were hard at work on our Brioche**

After an amazing four days, we took off east to Provence to the town of Arles. While this place has been around since before Julius Caesar came through with a few of his mates carrying swords, it is probably best known for a later foreigner – Vincent Van Gogh who hung out here at the end of his career and life. (Christopher Moore wrote an excellent look at the Impressionists in his hysterical novel, “Sacre Blue.” One of the premises is Vincent was murdered and did not commit suicide. It is worth a read – available from the Edmonds Book Shop, BTW).

The city has ‘easels’ set up around town showing a painting by VvG where he was when he painted it. One of them- Yellow House (where he lived) was bombed in WW2 and has not been rebuilt. One of his most famous Arles paintings is his Café Terrace at Night. That place is still there and a huge tourist trap. Stay away!

All Vince, all the time around Arles.

In addition to the artist, Arles has a lot going for it. Great restaurants,

Although the food was great, the bread – meh, now that I am a bread snob according to Marlene!

Arles also has another of those Roman amphitheater still being used like in Nimes and a Roman theatre across the way. Our hotel was in between the two 2,000 year old edifices. Speaking of our hotel – yup – hard to get to but worth it.

**Still used for bull ‘events’ but not fights we are told**

**The hotel’s spa had an ice bucket challenge – one of us took it.**

Arles is a great walking town like most places we have been. We would come upon great homes, churches, cloisters and Places (aka town squares). Charming little rues abound as well.

Our second night found us dining at a restaurant called Chardon. We sat in a little courtyard and had a Cheffe in Residence prepare us a delicious but unusual meal. Halfway through, it started raining and we happily moved into the kitchen to watch the magic happen.

Lunch that afternoon featured Gazpacho and a roasted chestnut beer. Both very good.

After a busy couple days of class, culture, history and food, we drove down to the Camargue area to the Pont du Gau Ornithological Parc to see migratory birds, especially Pink Flamingos (Flamant Rose in French). Fascinating creatures and not as pink as the plastic ones we see at home or real ones in southern states. The official day count from the Parc for the pinkies was 1273. Not sure how they do that.

**I do not know what kind is passing by but I like the photo**.

**Nancy found a picnic table with a view!**

Well friends and family, I managed to get this to the printer before leaving for the airport! As I said above, it was an amazing trip and I am so happy that I have such a wonderful traveling companion. Nancy, you are a trooper to put up with my long form trips and I love you even more because of it.

I know Nancy’s most anticipated activity when we get home involves machines like this while mine will center around practicing my baking some more.

Nancy here: I wish to thank my awesome Travel Agent Husband for the beaucoup hours that he spent pouring over maps, guide books, histories, websites, etc to plan this trip!

And, we have enjoyed so many memorable times, met interesting other travelers and have a new appreciation for the history and people of la belle France.

So, until the as yet unplanned next trip, A bientôt.

Nancy & Chris

Manosque, France (19/10/2022) see pic below

A Bientôt Dijon, Bonjour Escommes, Vandenesse en Axois, Pont D’Ouche, La Bussiere, Gissey Sur Ouche, Fleury, Dijon, Nimes & Carcassonne – voila!

Chapter 5 – the Barge Trip…& & &

Bonjour to you all, again. When we said adios last, we were about to meet our small group in Dijon and head to our new home for the week…a barge – the Savoir Vivre. We had a little time to wander before the meeting so we went to – where else – a market. This was the Cite du Gastronomie, a fairly new “monument” dedicated to all things FOOD. We enjoyed a lovely walkaround and watched culinary artists….this is France, after all!

**One example of artistry, Dijon style**

After a light lunch, it was time to head to the train station to meet up with our van and barge captain, Richárd, and our fellow travelers. The passengers were two couples traveling together from California and a couple from York in England. The conversations started in the van and did not stop for six days – it was great. A fun group of people.

About 40 minutes of driving led us to lock number 1 in Escommes and our slooooowly moving home along the Southern Bourgogne Canal.

Escommes and this area is known for their white cows. They are grass fed and well cared for before you know what (good thing they don’t).

Our typical day was an early morning walk along the tow path or into the nearby village followed by breakfast on board.

After brekkie, some would stay aboard and watch the world go by a little faster than an escargot can run from a garlic and butter packing chef, while others walked or biked along the canal. I may have mentioned, this is a slow paced trip. The furthest traveled on the water in a day was six miles (10 km). Just what we wanted.

Sometimes a little limbering up helped before opening the lock...click on above for today’s workout

We passed through a total of 43 locks in our waterborne days. The lock authority provided staff to do the work but we enjoyed helping and talking with them. There was even time to pick up walnuts that had dropped from trees on the banks.

**Capîtan Richárd supervising passenger Simon**

Some of the mornings were a bit foggy which made for great photo ops but then the sun would come out and we had great warm(ish) Autumn days.

Every lock has a lock keeper’s house hearkening back to times when the canals were much busier. The 19th century saw a lot of boat traffic bringing everything to market from the farms, forests and factories. Of course nowadays road and rail have supplanted the water (although there is some effort being made to use this resource to cut carbon emissions- one barge can carry six semis worth of goods). Anyway, after the hey day of the canals these houses were then rented out to whoever wanted them but now the livable ones are leased to staff of the canal system as a benefit. We saw some very cool ones and some that need some TLC.

**If it is metal, I’m attaching it to my walls!**

The local people seem to enjoy the great asset of the canals all over France. Fishing, biking, and walking along the canals seems to be a pastime. No traffic, no noise and friendly faces every now and again on a passing quiet barge.

After working off our breakfast along the towpath, it was time for lunch of course.

**Richárd and Eva kept the healthy calories coming**

I have not mentioned the meal situation yet. No time to ‘plain, I sum up. The Savoir Vivre is the only boat in fleet without a chef and galley. The others all have their meals made aboard. On the SV, Eva would bring breakfast each morning from town, and lunch would also be delivered to us. (Since we did not move fast and only on one road, we were easy to find). Dinners were in nearby villages at excellent restaurants- one in a Chateau (ABC) and another in an Abbey (ABA at this point). Gird your loins – here come some food pics (you knew they were coming). All of these were as good as they looked!

**The group agreed this was our favorite restaurant**

One of our chefs was a man named Guillame Royer – an excellent chef who was also our waiter and a bit of a ham. Here he is with our new friend and fellow passenger, KG…..

So, I was telling you about our typical day. After lunch, Simon (the guide Simon not passenger Simon) would take us in the van on a shore excursion. We went the first day to the Hôtel – Dieu Hospices de Beaune a hospital that was built in the 1400s and was STILL a hospital until 1982! It is now a museum so all the more modern bits like electricity and plumbing were removed (and a gift shop installed).

**They have kept up the exterior quite well**

**Your typical 15th century hospital ward**

**I know this is somewhat repetitive but I like this pic too**

**OK – there is SOME plumbing in the kitchen**

**We walked through downtown Beaune afterwards**

The countryside around here was covered in grapevines. This is the heart of the Burgundy region. I did not realize the growers can only have two types of grapes if they want their wine to be of the Burgundy appellation – Chardonnay and Merlot. And, they grow LOTS of it!

The next day Simon took us to Chateauneuf (no, not the Pap one) to tour the 13th C building. A very spectacular place but you have seen lots of ABC pics over the months we have been here so I will spare you. However, I must include the following pic for you Game of Thrones fans. Nuff said, Tyrion.

Our next shore excursion was to the town of Change (pronounced shonje) to a farm run by Lore, a 6th generation goat cheese maker and grape grower. She has over 60 goats and 2500 acres of grapes. She does not make the wine but sells the grapes to a wino who makes some beautiful vins.

Nancy had fun with the goats. She also looked quite queenly with her hat, purse and pumps. (editors note: pumps were a necessary fashion accessory to wear among the goats, FYI)

All of these excursions were within half an hour of the boat. It is an amazing area. We are not sure where we will move to in France but I did see a fixer-upper on a morning walk….

Our next stop was to Chateau Du Clos de Vougeot which is an amazing place where the monks made wine using humongous presses. It seems to me they could have used several smaller ones instead of two really, really big ones – but that is just me. They also keep a lot of the wines they produce as a museum display – not drinkable though as they are too old.

Some wine tasting with Annie after the Clos

Our last day with Simon saw us back in Dijon where he took us to some of the highlights and gave us a bit more history.

Simon is a Brit who moved to France many years ago (we have met a lot of these ex-pats.) He is very knowledgeable and a funny guy, too. He told us about this book which I plan on buying when (if) we return home.

**Do you suppose this is what stained glass looked like before color was invented?**

Nancy and I hit the Saturday market while in Dijon – for some reason, every one of these markets has merchants selling mattresses. They also had seafood and coffee.

I had the opportunity to drive the boat as well as operate the locks….click on video below

**Catherine, Simon and the new Capîtan**

**Our great crew** **Capitan Richárd and Admiral Eva**

**attempting to walk off a croissant (or 2)**

**We had to say au revoir to the gang – sigh**

Then, we picked up our mean machine, Toyota Yaris, and hit the road south. (If anyone can tell me how to use the cruise control on this car to keep to the speed selected instead of using it to limit your top speed, I would appreciate a heads up.)

The next waypoint on our itinerary was Nimes. Another lovely oooold city (the Romans were there and left behind some spectacular reminders). This city of course had the ‘Oh my, how do I find my hotel and pull in front of it to unload the luggage on a tiny rue secret.’

**Especially when someone was always in those little spots!**

**Nimes has a very well preserved Roman Ampitheatre**

**Roman old and Gothic ‘new’ across the street from each other**

Luckily for us, Nimes had a market just down the rue from our hotel.

**That is a LOT of pickled and delicious garlic**

This symbol is the city’s coat of arms. Conquered by Julius a bit BC, they quickly aligned with the conquerors (good thinking). When arch enemies Mark Anthony and Cleopatra were captured, the Nimeans came up with this ideogram depicting a Nile Crocodile chained to a palm tree. It was approved by king Francis I in the 1500s – slow moving bureaucracy back then? These are all over the city.

**This one is on top of a parking bollard – one of thousands keeping cars off the ‘sidewalks’**

There was a festival on – the final of the region’s version of the running of the bulls. It was inside the Roman Arena and featured the white horses of the Comargue. We did not go to it but saw the horses horsing around (sorry about that).

**The riders were all in period costume – mostly**

As usual, we had some terrific food. This time we had Tapas from nearby Espagña and also dinner from former colony Lebanon. And, now, the photos…

**The food was great but they could use a little help with the beer.**

Just up the road from Nimes is Pont Du Gard, a well preserved section of a Roman aqueduct….2,000 years old and a UNESCO World Heritage Sight.

The last wayside of this megature chapter (I just made up the word) was the Roman & Medieval (again) enchanting hilltop Citadel town of Carcasonne. Yup – one more time, finding the hotel presented challenges, especially here since no vehicular traffic is allowed inside the Cíte walls. Fortunately we found out after circling the walls a couple times and being unable to storm the castle in our trusty steed, that the hotel Don Jon has a parking lot outside the gates. We parked, some nice guys took our bags to our room and we were once again ensconced in the warm and welcoming arms of a Best Western.

We spent two nights inside the 5 foot thick walls, wandering the 13th century ramparts, visiting ABC (this time it was the Basilica of of Saints Nazaire & Celse – they needed 2 saints?), the chateau and even the little shops. Oh, we also had one of the best dinners of the trip thanks to my little brother Matt & his wife Brenna for an excellent restaurant recommendation.

The dishes below are foie gras, pumpkin soup with chorizo cremá, foie gras ravioli with seared foie gras in a FG sauce (of course)!

From the lack of crowds in these photos you can assume one of two things – it was not crowded, we took care on how we aimed the cameras, or it was early in the morning before the hordes invaded (ok, that was 3). You would be wrong if you thought the town was not crowded with tourists (a lot from Spain as we are quite close here) but right with the last two assumptions.

I think I like Gargoyles more than flying buttresses but the buttresses are more fun to say!

We left the big Citê of Carc to commence my four day croissant and bread baking course in the bustling metropolis of Anzex – population about 4.

I’ll have more on that and our last two stops in Provence in the final chapter. Until then, Nancy and Chris are watching the dough rise.

But first – A last bit of the barge – please click on the screen below for a video…

A bientôt for now!

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