First adventure of the year

Well, we're just about to leave. Our adventure south begins shortly.

T'was the day before

We spent the last two days hanging out at home and then took a little drive to Dryden Tract near Ayr.

Both days were beautiful with just a dusting of snow and the park was well protected from the winds. Warren and Joe both joined me.

A couple of pictures have been posted on Picasa.

Georgian Bay Adventure

We took a 5 day holiday around Georgian Bay this past week. The adventure included Parry Sound, the 30,000 island cruise, Sault Ste. Marie, the Agawa Canyon, Chi-chee-maun, and Halfway Log Dump on the Bruce Peninsula.

We stayed a day at Parry Sound and enjoyed the colours of autumn on the cruise ship, Island Queen. Spectacular views of some of the islands around Parry Island. Pictures here.

We then drove to Sault Ste, Marie where we took in the city and it's beautiful docks and board walks. Then the following day we took in the Agawa Canyon by train. Pictures here. And here.

We stayed a second night at the Delta Hotel and then drove to South Baymouth where we took the Chi-chee-maun to Tobermory. After staying a night at the Princess Hotel we walked along the Georgian Bay shoreline at Halfway Log Dump. Pictures here.

Pictures from this excursion are available on Picasa.

Montreal September 2011

This year, for the first time, we decided to fly from Breslau to Montreal. Instead of an eight hour train ride it only took 1 1/2 hours. We are spending 4 full days instead of 3 1/2.
So far, we have taken in Mile End and spent many hours on St. Denis attending an outdoor venue called OUMF.
As usual, I have posted more pictures to Picasa.

The Mighty Niagara

Joe and I went for a mini-vacation to the Niagara Peninsula taking in both Niagara Falls and Niagara-on-the-Lake. We took in a play at the Shaw Festival on Thursday and then went onto Niagara Falls on Friday where I took many pictures and a video.

The movie was taken on the Maid of the Mist. Very exciting. Since I first saw the falls, I wanted to see it from the boat. I remember as a kid looking over the cliff and seeing these boats but didn't get on until just this year. Fifty-seven years later.

Montreal 2

We ate at a restaurant in the Duluth neighbourhood of Montreal.

Our guests from Hungary enjoyed their stay in Montreal and in Canada over the last 4 weeks.

Montreal

We just spent the last 4 days in the beautiful city of Montreal. Montreal never fails to impress me. There is always something happening and lots to see and do. This trip was no exception. We arrived on Thursday and after booking into our rooms, we are off to see the city.

This time in addition to Joe, Warren and friends from Budapest were along on this trip. It was the first time that Zoli and Zsuzsa were in Montreal.

Our hotel on this trip was a new one to us. It was the Paris du Montreal located very close to our other hotels on Sherbrooke Street. This time our luck was not with us. The hotel, being an old mansion was one of the reasons for its choice but turned out to be a disadvantage. I was at the top of a long line of stairs that were not even and not the same height. The room was small and the air conditioning not adequate. On Friday while I was in the shower, room cleaner came in while I was taking a shower and never came back to clean the room.

This time around we took in the night life in the village as well as the fire works display from La Ronde. We watched from one of the nearby bridges, which was very impressive. We found a new restaurant and brew pub on St. Denis called 3 Brewers.

The weekend turned out to be very warm and a bit uncomfortable. But what make it worse, was the air conditioning in our room didn't work very well.

With all of the drawbacks, it still is a great place to visit.

I will post pictures as soon as get home. I forgot my patch cord.

Pictures are available on Picasa: https://picasaweb.google.com/wybell/Montreal2011

Halfway Log Dump, Tobermory and Bayfield

We took our Hungarian friends on a 2 day excursion to Georgian Bay and Lake Huron. We stayed at a lovely hotel at Tobermory called Princess Hotel. Then went to our favourite spot on Georgian Bay called Halfway Log Dump. In the 20's this is where the cut logs were dumped into Georgian Bay to be moved to Wiarton for finishing. You can imagine that this spot likely hasn't changed much in 1 million years. In fact, I heard that some of the scenes from Quest for Fire were filmed here.

I think that pictures make up for a lot words, so here is a few pictures of the area.

The last photo is of the boat tour around the islands and Fathom Five Provincial Park.

Zoli and Zsuzsa visit

We look forward to our Hungarian friends to visit this summer. They are expected at the end of June and will stay a month.

Prague II

Just a couple words about Prague. We spent three days discovering Prague for the second time, this time with Warren. The city never fails to impress me. We were lucky this time because Easter was later than usual. The streets of Prague are full of vendors displaying their wares. Lots to see and eat.

We stayed at a reasonable hotel just outside of Wenceslas Square. The hotel was clean and comfortable but one of the staff members was a bit rude.

If architecture is your thing, this is the city to visit.

We're Home!

After 32 days in Europe, it is always nice to come home.

The holidays were great! We saw lots, did lots, and spent lots. Well worth the trip.

The highlight of this trip was our 10 days in the Northern Republic of Cyprus. The hotel was good, the food was excellent and there were lots of sights to take in. I found the Republic safe and inexpensive. I'm not a Turk or Greek and I think they may have conflicts to come but their island is well worth visiting.

When I arrived home I was surprised at the lack of spring progression. In a way, that is good thing because now I can watch the spring here unfold. It's like getting spring three times in one year. Cyprus, Turkey and Hungary and now in Ontario.

Warren and Joe were great company and adventurists on this trip.

If you haven't already, take a look at some of the pictures on Picasa.

Prague

One of my most favourite cities that I have visited.

The pictures tell many words.

A little catch-up

Since Istanbul, we have been to Budapest, Kisoroszi in  Hungary and Praque in the Czech Republic. We are now back in Budapest for the final leg of our trip.

Budapest is not new to me. We have travelled here 5 times in the last 10 years. It has become our central city for other travels. Budapest is a very large city consisting of Buda (in the hills) and Pest on the plains. We took in a day at the Gallert Hotel where we enjoyed swimming and the their thermal mineral waters.

Kisoroszi is just outside of Budapest and our hosts father has invited us to his weekend house. We spent two days there discovering the island and hanging out at the cottage.

We just got back from Prague. What a beautiful city. Joe and I were there 3 years ago and decided to take Warren there. It was well worth the return visit.

As always, more pictures are on my Picasa site.

Istanbul

We are now in Budapest enjoying the sunny warm weather. The temperature has been around 25 during the day and spring is in full bloom. Lots of lilacs, tulips and flowering shrubs.

Our time in Istanbul was very good. We managed to do most of the things we set out to do. The only exception was Dalmache Palace. When we checked it on line on Monday, our last day, we found out it was closed. Oh well, maybe another time.

We saw both the Grand Bazaar and the Spice Bazaar. Very colourful and wall to wall shoppers. If you can't find what you are looking for at the Grand Bazaar it likely doesn't exist. We took several walks down the main shopping district (Ikstikl Street) and did some beer drinking in the area.

I have lots of pictures for your perusal on Picasa.

We say our goodbyes

We ate at our favourite restaurant (Alesta) this afternoon. We enjoyed a Turkish Pizza called Lamacum and it was delicious. We found this place shortly after we arrived and ate there at least 4 times.

On our way to Kyrenia today, Warren wanted to see the Harley distributor (The Biker's Club) on display and we talked to the manager who told us he was from Kitchener. What a small world.

I did forget that we also went to Nicosia and I have several pictures on Picasa.

Cyprus, crunch, cats and more

Thursday, April 14

Story by Joe Szalai

We had an uneventful flight from Toronto to Istanbul.  Wayne reserved our seats on Turkish Airlines online so the three of us could sit together.  Before the plane took off we saw that there were quite a few empty seats so Warren and I grabbed window seats for the takeoff.  We stayed in those seats for the whole flight because it gave us extra leg and arm room.  It was easier to eat and nap that way, not that I managed to get any sleep.    Last year the plane was full and we had to stay put for the whole trip. 

The only downside to our flight to Cyprus was the six hour wait at Ataturk Airport in Istanbul for our connecting flight to Ercan airport in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.  While waiting we made the mistake of buying some Gozleme at the airport.  It was dry and tasteless and expensive.  They looked good behind the glass display case but we should have known better. 

The airport at Ercan is small and our driver was waiting for us as we cleared customs.  He took us to the Highlife Hotel (I hate names like that) but, because it was after midnight, hotel staff were not on duty so he showed us our room. 

Our split level room is at the end of the second building on the second floor with a bed upstairs and a foldout couch on the lower level.  We have a view of the north, east and west.  We have an excellent view of the Mediterranean sea and the mountains to the south.  

Around our hotel, there are tall palm trees, fields of tall yellow flowers interspersed with red poppies, bougainvilleas, red and pink woody geraniums, red and yellow roses, red hibiscus, oleanders that reach up to the second floor, various cacti and other flowers I don’t recognize.  The air is fragrant.

Crunch  

Because it’s been rather wet, there are hundreds of large snails everywhere around the hotel.  It’s difficult to walk and occasionally you can hear the crunch of snails as we accidentally step on some of them.  They remind me of the dew worms back home that crawl on the sidewalks after the first warm rainy night in spring.  The snails aren’t as gross but the crunching sound is a bit weird.  It’s a new experience for us. 
Escargots anyone??  I’m tempted…

Cats

There are cats everywhere at the hotel.  They’re all friendly and love to be petted but what they really want is some food.  There’s even a beautiful white Persian cat who has a green and brown eye.  Some reviewers on Trip Advisor mentioned all the cats here and they weren’t kidding.  If you love cats, this is the place for you. 


A cat story

Yesterday, as usual, we took a nap in mid-afternoon.  I’m already awake when I hear Warren come downstairs to use the washroom.  While in the washroom I hear him talking to one of the cats.  It seems one of them jumped onto the window sill and presented itself to Warren.  I’m still trying to get a few more winks but I hear Warren grab a beer on his way to the balcony.  Seconds later, through my half-closed eyes, I notice a cat walking beside my bed.  I wake Wayne and tell him there’s a cat in the room.  Sure enough, the black and white tabby was in our room looking for food and/or attention.  Seconds later he’s on the bed and we start petting him.  Instantly he’s on Wayne’s stomach kneading and purring loudly.   But how did the cat get in?  Well, after Warren saw the cat on the window sill, he closed the window partially but after he left the cat opened the window wide enough to be able to come in to our unit.   If I could, I would take this cat home with me. 

Bellapais

Our first outing was to the beautiful hillside village of Bellapais, site of a Gothic abbey.  The narrow road going up to the village is lined with colourful homes, most with large pots full of flowers.    It’s a small place that can only be described with superlatives.  I’m not one for village living but if I had to chose, this is the village I would love to live in.  

Nicosia

We took a dolmus to Nicosia, which is the last divided capital in the world.  A Venation wall, completed in 1567 (three years before the Turkish invasion) surrounds the Old Town.  We got off the dolmus at one of the gates to the Old Town and walked towards the centre where we had some cay (Turkish tea) before crossing the Green Line into the Greek part.  The only pedestrian crossing between the two sides of the city opened several months before the last time Wayne and I were here.  It’s an interesting experience for sure.

Famagusta

We took a dolmus to Famagusta and spent some time exploring the old walled city.  At one time it was one of the wealthiest city in the world but time and conflict have taken their toll.  Still, there are plenty of gems to be seen.  Lala Mustafa Pasha Mosque is a spectacular building that was built in the Lusignan period between 1298 and 1312.  It’s of Gothic design modelled on the French cathedral in Reims. 

What I really wanted to see was Varosha, a deserted district south of the city.  It was once Cyprus’s biggest resort but today it is decaying and access is forbidden by the military.  The Greeks fled the city when the Turkish army invaded in 1974.  The once fancy hotels that line the beach stand like tall tombstones, a true testament to the stupidity of war and conflict.       

St Hilarian Castle

We took a taxi to St Hilarian Castle high above Kyrenia.  It is named after the monastic saint from Palestine who died here in 372.  The Byzantines built a monastery here in his memory.  We only stayed an hour but managed to take in the breathtaking views of Kyrenia, the Pentadaktyos mountains and the Mediterranean sea. 

Kyrenia

Wayne and I were in Kyrenia several years ago but, because we stayed for one night, we only managed to see the old yacht harbour, apparently one of the most charming in the Mediterranean.   This time we’re here for ten days and we’ve gone into Kyrenia every day.  It’s only a half hour walk from hotel and we sure need the exercise to burn of all the food we’ve been eating.  Kyrenia is a pretty place with lots of stores, hotels, casinos and restaurants.  There seems to be a building boom at the moment.  Our hotel is located down a long lane but several beautiful new homes have been built close to the main road.  We met too of the people who live in these modern mansions and they both have British accents.  Actually, you can hear Brits everywhere.  One day, while waiting for a dolmus to take us into town, a car pulled over and the women driver, who seemed to have a British accent, asked if we wanted a lift.  Naturally, we agreed.  It turned out that she wasn’t a Brit but was a real estate agent who was originally from New York City.  I’m sure she wouldn’t have picked up three men in Manhattan but had no qualms about it here.  We certainly never felt threatened by anyone.    

Istanbul next…

Saint Hilarion Castle

Yesterday, we took a cab to Saint Hilarion Castle just above Kyrenia. A very lovely castle that Walt Disney used as a backdrop for Snow White. It is the castle of the witch. It is set high (about 1300 meters above Kyrenia) overlooking the city and the Mediterranean below.

We spent an hour looking over the site and discovered a pretty well preserved historical site. You can read about it here.

The taxi ride is the only means to get to the site but the price of 70 TL is well worth it.

I have uploaded lots of pictures of the site to my Picasa account.

We leave for Istanbul tomorrow evening. Stay tuned for more pictures and stories.

Famagusta

Today we went to Famagusta. It is a city divided on Cyprus' east coast. In 1974, the Turks invaded and took control of the city. What is left behind is in the Greek quarter is a lot of building that gone into disrepair. We took in this ancient city that surrounded by a wall and contains many old buildings. Some churches have been converted to mosques.

The ride by dolbus to Famagusta over the mountains is very beautiful. It took about an hour from Kyrenia. I took a video of the return trip through this lovely area. I'll post it to You Tube when I have the time.

Lots of pictures in my Picasa web site.

Kyrenia at night

Last night we went into Kyrenia by dolmus and went to a restaurant specializing in French cuisine. Very good food. I had the pork chop with grilled apple slices and bbq sauce. It was quite a large amount of meat. Joe had a steak and Warren had the sea bass. The prices of restaurant food is quite reasonable.

Today we plan on going to Kyrenia after taking in some rays and spending some time around the pool. The water in the pool is a bit cool but not overly chlorinated. That is a good thing. Very refreshing and nice poolside chairs and patio.

The owner told me that April is a slow time for the hotel but it will pick up in May. In fact, we were here with only 2 other couples for the first few nights. The weekend has brought about 10 couples to the hotel.

In addition to going to Nicosia, we plan on visiting Famagusta, which is famous for the beaches and was a holiday destination until the 70's when it was invaded. There is an area of Famagusta that has been abandoned because of the war and is known as the green zone.

The Abbey at Bellapais

We visited the ruins of Bellapais Abbey this morning and looked out over Kyrenia. It is located about 8 km from Kyrenia and well worth the visit.

The tours were not available because of a strike but the ruins were still available to explore.

The vistas overlooking the city below were very spectacular.

Be sure to check out the pictures on Picasa.