Showing posts with label nova scotia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label nova scotia. Show all posts

May 17, 2020

Travel Memories

As we spend yet another week indoors, I wonder if things will ever get back to "normal", or what the new normal will look like. I've spent the past 10+ years wandering around the globe, thinking about my next destination, but I'm not sure if travel for pleasure will exist in the next year or two. Obviously this is of low priority at the moment because, you know, pandemic.

I've been thinking about my previous adventures and for whatever reason, some moments stand out more than others. Some random memories to share:

istanbul

On a restaurant rooftop in Istanbul with the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sofia on the horizon while the call to prayer echoed around the city.

ha long bay
cruise shenanigans kayaking on the bay
cat ba island

The delight of riding a scooter on Cat Ba Island and the beauty of Ha Long Bay in Vietnam.

christmas eve in kl

Christmas Eve in Kuala Lumpur: people on the streets spraying cans of fake snow at each other in 30 degrees C weather.

tai o
grandma + grandpa sha tin racecourse

April 28, 2015

Halifax 2015

My friends and I had this crazy idea to drive out to Halifax to visit a friend, so that's what we did over the Easter long weekend. Mind you, it's a 17 hour drive one-way, so a good chunk of our five and a half days was spent in the car. We did a bit of exploring in Montreal, Quebec City and Hartland (home of the world's longest covered bridge), and then crammed even more sights in once we were on Nova Scotian soil.

The highlight for me was Blomidon Provincial Park:


The East Coast received an impressive amount of snow this winter and the evidence was everywhere – snowbanks that were as tall as I, potholes riddling the streets, etc. To get down to the beach, we had to carefully climb down narrow stairs that were still packed with snow (lest we slip and break out neck). It was cold, foggy and snowy, yet the weather seemed fitting for this East Coast setting. Imagine looming cliffs with waterfalls, tides receding over the red sandstone, no one on the beach but us – it was magical.

The weekend was also filled with food (so much food): smoked meat sandwiches, turkey with all the trimmings, a full-on lobster meal and a homestyle Quebecois lunch. However, this was my favourite:


Montreal is known for its bagels and they are best fresh out of the wood-burning oven, still steaming hot when you tear into them. They're so good that we went to St-Viateur twice and were so excited the second time that we forgot to pay for parking and got a ticket. These bagels cost an extra $53 and they were worth it.

September 29, 2011

Spaghetti with Walnuts & Anchovies





Another month has come and gone. Fall has arrived. I keep waiting for my life to calm down so that I can have some Me time, but that has yet to happen. I have shiny new kitchen tools that are begging to be used - a madeleine pan purchased in France, a gorgeous green ceramic pie dish, and a bread knife that wants to cut into some crusty bread.