Naples Botanical Gardens

We visited the botanical gardens in Naples and we were impressed. The flora of the area is very tropical or sub-tropical with themes of Brazil and the Caribbean.

Most of the photos shown in Picasa are by Joe and they are quite impressive.

Key West

We visited Key West for the second time in 32 years. The pictures are worth a thousand words.

The homes are very typical of a tropical paradise with many verandahs and screened porches.

We rented an electric car to see the city in style. Lots of people and vehicle traffic to keep your eyes moving.

The flora is very attractive with lots of blooms.

My pictures are on this site.

Trip to Florida

We started our journey on March 12 and made it down to Wytheville Virginia the first day. The next day we were in Myrtle Beach where we met up with my brother and sister-in-law. We spent several days in the sunshine and warmth of the beach and went to the gardens of Brookgreen.

Our next stop was Charleston S. C. and we took in the plantation of Boone Hall, the city of Charleston and a buggy ride through the old town.

We spent a night in Wildwood Florida before arriving at our destination of Naples.

I have uploaded some pictures of Myrtle Beach, Charleston and Naples on Picasa.

Toronto

We took a small mini holiday to Toronto on Monday this week. We stayed at one of the most luxurious hotels close to the lake shore. The Fairmont Royal York is a very beautiful hotel right downtown. The room was overlooking the train station and part of Lake Ontario was in view.

We were in Toronto for Winterlicious. The restaurant that we chose was the Beir Markt on the Esplanade. The meal was exceptional with a 3 course meal for $35.

We took in the Barrel Works just south of St Lawrence Market, which was interesting what can be done with a very old factory district.

We found that one night on the town was a nice break from the daily routine and would do it again.

More pictures on Picasa.

Punta Cana

We just returned from a very exciting, fun, leisurely, sun-filled trip to the Dominican Republic. Except for a 3 hour delay in getting on the plane due to mechanical problems, we were off to the beaches of Punta Cana.

The temperatures soared to around 28c each day but with the cool waters of the Caribbean Sea and the crystal clear waters of the pool, we survived the heat.

We took an ecological discovery of a park just outside our compound that featured beaches, parks, golf courses and a iguanas. This was all taken in while we rode on Segways.

It was the first time for all of us to travel to the tropics and it was truly beautiful. Lots of sand beaches and lush tropical forests.

It may very well be an annual pilgrimage.

More pictures of our excursion are on Pacasa.

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.