Christmas holidays

We went to the Fraser Valley for a week and a bit for Christmas. (Sorry Bulkley Valleyites, no trip north this time... though the thought of a white Christmas was appealing.)

We flew out Saturday evening, with a stop in Toronto. There we got on a flight ultimately bound for Australia; it was ridiculously cramped and the seats were very close together, even for economy class. However, certain tiny passengers whose owners should have kept them in their crates had plenty of space.


We seemed to hang out with family a little more than usual, although we did hang out with friends a day or two. One couple from Ottawa had a Vancouver layover on their way home from Hawaii, so we headed over to the city with other friends--a family of former Ottawans--to entertain them for several hours.

We headed to the Vancouver Aquarium. There we saw all sorts of marine life, from turtles and eels to sharks and anacondas. There was also a 4D show which, it turned out, was geared toward kids and had nothing to do with anything marine.

Fortunately most of the sights could be seen from indoors, although we had to step out to take in some short shows of the dolphins and belugas.

Beauties.



Belugas.



Dolphins. Maybe hard to see, but in the second picture 3 dolphins are jumping to impressive heights.



Former temporary Hawaiians.


Former (we like to think future) Ottawans taking in a 4D show.



We had a couple of other former Ottawans to see who live in Washington, so we drove down to Seattle one night and stayed in a hotel on the waterfront. We spent the next day with our friends at the Museum of Flight. The guys probably had a better time there, but I consider it partial payback for the scads of art galleries that dot my past.

There was Wright brothers-era stuff, a WWI gallery, a WWII gallery, modern jets, and everything in between. Even a couple of simulators, one of which us guys went in.





An early stealth fighter. I'm a perfect fit! ...unless of course the cockpit needs to be closed while flying, in which I'd have to slouch a lot while flying.



We got to walk through a Concorde, which I found to be a surprisingly small plane up close.





There was also an old presidential plane first used 50 years ago. As an Air Force One, it served four presidents including Kennedy and Nixon. Not nearly as big as today's presidential jets, it was a neat step back in time.






Christmas gift-giving this year was affected mightily by Carrie's knitting hobby. She's been busy for a few months making things for each one of her family members, so that set the bar pretty high this year. Here's but a sample...


One day we went to Vancouver with the in-laws and hung out on Granville Island. We also cruised through the Olympic village, which is rather deserted; lots and lots of housing, hardly a soul residing there. Care to invest in a pretty summer spot on the west coast?




We flew back home yesterday, fortunately avoiding all the delay issues plaguing various airports. Of course that would have been too fortuitous, so our luggage decided to hole up somewhere rather than join us in Ottawa. Well, better at the end of the holidays than at the start. The luggage was delivered to our doorstep this morning, so all's well once more.

the single life... again

Nearly two weeks ago, on a Monday, I brought Carrie to the airport for another trip to Geneva; this was to be another nine-day excursion for her. She got as far as Montreal that day, where windy weather kept her trans-Atlantic flight grounded. So she spent a full day hanging out in her hotel room mere kilometres from home. She eventually made it to Geneva, where I'm confident she wowed the crowds with elegant arguments way over my head.

I headed south that weekend (well, on Thursday) to hang out with family. It was likely my last chance to go there before spring so I stayed there for a few days. I sort of hoped I would be snowed in and prevented from returning home Monday, but all we got there was a ton of rain. Oh London, why must thou get all the good weather(3+ feet of snow)?!! Anyway, the family enjoyed the dog's (and presumably my) visit, and I got back home Monday afternoon.

Carrie was expected to fly back home Wednesday, but she made it only to Zurich (which is technically the wrong way -- northeast). There, a couple inches of snow delayed some flights, causing her to miss her connecting flight to Montreal. Several hours of standing-in-line-looking-for-alternatives later, she was told she'd be flying out the next day via Frankfurt. So, another unexpected hotel stay. (For what it's worth, when you fly business class, they at least treat you to decent hotels and food when you do have delays like this.)

So Carrie got home a day late on Thursday, having to adjust to a 6-hour time change, only to prepare for our BC vacation two days later, which added 3 more hours of time change.

Anywho... we're in Langley now, with all our luggage, and thankful for an uneventful flight west.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Vienna

We spent last week Thursday until this past Monday in Vienna, Austria. Our previous visit to Austria was three years ago; it was unfortunate we didn't make it to Vienna that time, it being significantly farther east than we were prepared to go.

Carrie had to work in Geneva, after which she took a night train to Vienna. I flew to Vienna from Ottawa and met up with her. More precisely, my itinerary had me taking a bus to Montreal (I was one of only two passengers on the Swiss International Airlines coach to Montreal... roomy!) From Montreal to Zurich, then to Vienna.

We expected rain for the duration of our stay, but it rained only one day and a bit. Of course temperatures were in the single digits, and it was overcast and breezy almost the whole time, but overall that was better than first expected.

The food is great, if a little expensive. Vienna is not a cheap city, especially if you're staying in the first (central) district. Let's just say we didn't go there to make money...

Carrie had booked a hotel before she convinced me to come along. Once I was in the picture, we had to book a second hotel. On Saturday we made our way on the tram from the one hotel to the other, towing all our luggage. As we stepped off the tram near our destination, Carrie asked "Do you have the backpack?" Such a simple query. The answer was equally simple: "Aw, crap!" I was off immediately, chasing a rapidly departing tram. (I haven't run so fast in some time, and I felt it in my lungs for many hours later.) I was fortunate that the next tram stop was only a block or two further, and equally fortunate that the tram had a reason to stop there. So, all was well and Carrie's passport and wallet didn't spend the day touring Vienna alone. Phew...

My first meal: Wiener Schnitzel. (Nice big slab of veal.) It doesn't get more local than that.


Other local cuisine we enjoyed included sauerkraut and goulash...


...and Sachertorte, a famous Austrian chocolate cake. The original Sachertorte is made only in Salzburg and Vienna; we enjoyed ours in the cafe of the Hotel Sacher.


We'd had some ideas of concerts to attend, including a performance of Mozart's Requiem Mass and a concert by the Vienna Boys' Choir, but neither of these panned out. We did attend a concert at the Hofburg Imperial Palace. It largely targeted tourists and was quite entertaining... and it didn't break the bank.


Christmas was in the air in the city. There were many "Christmas villages" set up throughout the city; these are made up of little booths where various local or handmade goods are sold. Also popular are varying flavours of Weihnachtspunsch... Christmas punch, and yes it's spiked. It was hot and cider-y, but far too strong for our taste.


The main Christmas village downtown was at city hall, and it all looked quite nice after dark.


The largest Christmas village overall is outside of downtown, at the imperial Schönbrunn Palace. We went there on a weekend and it was very busy.


Friends -- not including the deer-in-headlights person on the left.


At Schönbrunn Palace.


The back of the palace. This is from a fountain only halfway down the grounds... it's a pretty big place.


Decorations downtown were being put up already, making for a nice atmosphere at night.



Right in the centre of the city is a plaza containing St. Stephen's Cathedral. It's an imposing building but not easy to photograph, partly due to the proximity of other buildings and partly because it's under construction and has fake facades hanging all over it.


Vienna has a plethora of beautiful old buildings, making it much more delightful to walk through than a city like Geneva. I won't bore you with any more architectural photos; it's better if you would just go there yourself.

Our most disappointing event was when we went to see the world-famous Lipizzaner horses at the Spanish Riding School. One can pay $35 to see a real show or $17 to see a two-hour training session. Being Dutch, we opted for the latter. Well, what a rip-off that turned out to be! They didn't practice tricks or formations or anything; for two hours, five horses jogged or walked around the ring while classical music played in a depressingly unrelated fashion. Someone could have told us the horses had to practice walking... grumble grumble.

Vienna is (apparently) known for coffee and chocolate. Between Geneva and Vienna, we came home with a healthy supply of coffees, sugars, chocolates and marzipan. Merry Christmas, us!


The trip home was great for me, less great for Carrie. She had a cold, and the pressure on her ears was too much after our descent into Montreal. She was supposed to fly into Ottawa from there, but she wasn't going to tolerate another flight. So she joined me on the bus instead.

She was travelling business class for work, and for the Zurich-Montreal flight she kindly swapped tickets with me. I'm not sure I ever want to fly economy ever again... did you know that there are actually seats with leg room?! I could stretch out fully and not bother the two rows in front of me. Awesome!

Oh yeah, one other not-so-bright moment. Don't jam your laptop into your checked luggage, as the screen is likely to get mangled. Oops. Time to buy a new one (we were about to anyway, so this just helped us along).

Ahhh, the single life

After a long day yesterday doing whatever it is I do for a living, a buddy called me up late in the evening to gauge my interest in a quick visit to the casino. Interest proved very strong, so at 11pm we headed over to Quebec. There, at the big eyesore of a casino, is situated the most welcoming of cigar lounges, mere minutes from my place.

We sat back and enjoyed all manner of deep discussion over a cool drink and a massive cigar.

I have in fact declined such cigar outings in the past when approached as late as 10pm, but in this case time seemed of little consequence. Carrie is in Switzerland on business for a time, so I needn't worry about abandoning her at home whilst I socialize; nor need I worry about reeking of (delicious) cigar smoke when I get home.

The single life shall end soon enough, however. Next Wednesday I head out to Austria to meet up with Carrie for a short holiday in Vienna.

I suppose you can expect a post-holiday update with pictures before too long...

Nova Scotia

Unlike some of our friends, we don't have a wedding to attend every other week all summer long. We had only one to attend, and it was in Nova Scotia.

Another couple wanted to come along to enjoy Nova Scotia, but the ladies couldn't get as much time off work as the guys. So in the end we decided the girls would fly and guys would drive. WOOO ROADTRIP!! How childish.

The girls were going to land in Halifax shortly before 11pm on a Thursday, so we figured we'd have to start driving by 7am to be there to pick them up. But we also wanted to do some sightseeing on the way...

Google chat conversation between Reuben and me the day before leaving (paraphrased for greater accuracy, of course):
[2pm]
me: so to get there on time we'd have to leave at 7am, but that's without stopping anywhere
him: so we should leave at like 4
me: ouch... 3:30 wake-up... haha, i'll get to sleep in!
[8pm]
him: so i'll try to be at your place at 4am
[11pm]
me: i can't believe you're still up! go to bed already!
[11:01pm]
me: hmm... thought: why are we leaving in a bunch of hours and not now?
him: i need some sleep... just finished packing
[11:05]
him: i'll be there in 30 minutes
me: AWESOME!

So we left at 12:30am on Thursday because, well, why not? Hours later, we had a leisurely breakfast at some diner and then didn't stop until Hartland, NB, home of the world's longest covered bridge.


Next stop was Fredericton, NB. Not because it's known to be terribly exciting, but because... well, why not? After starting a guided walking tour, we abandoned it before too long and wandered about for a bit.

Fredericton conquered.


As we drove out of town we noticed a peculiar sign. I guess Tim Hortons is such an institution that it warrants mention on local traffic signs.


After a delicious dinner at a pub in Moncton called the Pump House Brewery, we drove on and ended up in Halifax right around 10pm. Unfortunately I'd gotten the flight time wrong and we had to wait about an hour.

We stayed at our former minister's place in Kentville area, which is truly more wonderful than any bed and breakfast. I need only to dream of fruit loops and chocolate milk and, PRESTO, they appear on the breakfast table.

Oh yeah, we took the dog. The options were to drive her, buy her plane tickets or have someone dog-sit. The road trip was the best option at the time. Our hosts had a sad old beagle, a fat cat, and (temporarily) a big retriever pup that couldn't control its gangly paws. One of our friends was initially the least impressed by the menagerie, but Daisy took the longest to adjust. The playful retriever pup wanted nothing more than to properly greet Daisy, but his sudden movements and lack of limb control meant Daisy would have nothing to do with him. The first day or two she hid behind things or fled to people for safety. After that, she started barking with such ferocity that eventually he got scared of her and gave her cautious detours every time he passed by. I wasn't impressed by her sudden command of her vocal cords, but most others seemed amused.

Friday was designated for Halifax and environs. Carrie spent a few hours visiting with former colleagues and classmates. The rest of us went to Peggy's Cove and various other sites.

The obligatory photo of scenic Peggy's Cove. What do you mean, "where's the lighthouse?"


That evening each couple had respective dinner plans with acquaintances in Halifax, after which we headed back to home base.

Saturday was wedding day. While Carrie and I attended a wonderful wedding and reception, our friends spent the day hiking and touring the northern shore of the province. We didn't really use the camera much during our stay so we'll have to borrow photos from someone else for our records.

Sunday was filled with church and visits, pretty much the way we like Sundays to be. Except for the weather. Not to complain, but I like my Sundays cool. We had 30+ degree weather during our entire trip (other than the drives to/from NS). Some people like that sort of thing... ugh.

On Monday Carrie had to work, so we dropped her off at a restaurant in Wolfville where she worked for most of the day. The rest of us checked out the Acadia University campus, visited some local wineries, and generally hung out trying to avoid the heat.

After supper, we drove to the airport and the girls flew home. We guys headed back to the house and socialized with a number of others for a time. Or a little longer than 'a time'. One guy and I had a history of staying up a little later than the rest, so I didn't get to bed until after 4am. I'll just say that getting up 3 hours later wasn't as easy as it used to be...

On the road again by 8am. We had planned to see the Hopewell Rocks (a.k.a. flowerpot rocks) at low tide on the Bay of Fundy in New Brunswick. We were there before noon and spent a couple of hours roasting outdoors.


The stairway down to the beach.


Hopewell Dog.


Daisy on the beach. She got good and muddy; she also became very thirsty, and it was amusing to watch her constantly trying to drink water only to find that it was gross and salty.


You almost expect Obelix to show up and haul that thing away.


Reuben's rock collection. It seems to be growing fur.


Cool formations...


... and seaweedy ones too.


After traipsing down the beach for far too long, we decided to continue on and look for a way out rather than head all the way back to the stairs. Except that every bunch of rocks and cliffs we went around would give way to more rocks and cliffs. Notice the yellow danger sign hanging on the chain. There were plenty of these, as going into the caves or climbing up the cliffs is highly discouraged.


Here's a clue that you're far enough down the beach: an elevated platform in case you're still in the area when the tide comes in. On we traipsed.


Traipse, traipse. Not too easy with flipflops on.


We finally rounded a bend to find miles of muddy beach... and no rocks!


Mission accomplished (making it out alive).


And that was it. We drove straight home after that, making it by 1:30am or so. I did the same road trip with Reuben two years ago for another wedding (the brother of this wedding's groom), but it was nice to see some things along the way this time.