Category Archives: Travels
Pompeii and Napoli
Our final leg of our trip brings us back to the Campania region to Pompeii.
We check in to a great hotel called Habita79 and go for lunch after a very long drive across the country from Adriatic to the Mediterranean. We take a stroll but as we are told, Pompei is a very small city. Basically built around the ruins and a big basilica.
We go to the beautiful rooftop patio and are treated to amazing fireworks and a procession. We are told it is a campaign to try to get someone to be declared a saint. 🤦♀️
Tonight the boys decide to go to the ….McDonald across the street to see how it is. I can not participate in that…I go to bed 🙂
The next day is a very full day.
FIrst we meet our guide for a 2-hour tour of the ruins. It is very much worth it and we learn a lot about the history of the city and how they lived. Some of the house that have been excavated are the house of rich merchants…they are huge, complete with a garden inside the courtyard. Pompei was a port city in 79BC when the eruption occurred and under Roman rule. We learned that this city that is being excavated was actually build on top of a previous city prior to Roman conquering this region. There are amazing mosaic, sculpture and artifacts…but we learnt that all the mosaic on the floor are reproduction as every thing of value is stored in the Naples museum.
At the end of our tour, we rush back to the hotel to get our luggage and drive to Vesuvius for our entry time. Fortunately, I realized a few days ago that you must pre -book your time for access to Vesuvius and that can only be done online.
Chuck drives up very winding and narrow roads where we come face ti face with full size tour bus….that is so crazy! And on top of that, we are driving along a very steep cliff….but the view for us, passengers is amazing!
We finally arrive at the parking (basically along a side road) and are told that we have to pay for the taxi that are waiting there to take us even further up. Very disorganized affair.
Once at the top, we begging the climb up a dirt / gravel road, much steeper than anticipated. But the view along the way is fantastic as well as when we reach the crater. The view of Positano and Capri is breathtaking! Well worth it!
The descent is tougher for me as my knee is protesting loudly but we take our time and finally make it to where the taxi should be picking us up but we find that we have to wait for them to feel like driving up. It takes a good 50 minutes before we are able to get room in one to take us down. We are all tired and hungry and so ready for the famous Napoli pizza!
We drive to Naples to return the car and check into our last hotel. It is complete mayhem in this city! The roads do not make any sense and no one cares about any rules – stopping anywhere to park, cutting people from any directions, scooters and pedestrians coming out of nowhere. Chuck thinks it is probably the worst city he has ever driven in.
The hotel is OK but 10 minutes from the airport which is important since our flight is at 6Am tomorrow morning. On their recommendation, we walk to Felece for pasta and pizzas. We taste meloncello and limoncello after dinner and are ready to go back and get ready to return home.
Since we fly via Paris, as a last treat, we buy passes for the boys to the Air France lounge at Charles De Gaulle and spend a confortable 4 hours waiting for our flight. When it is time, we say good bye to Alex who will fly to Edinburgh a few hours later than us and stay in England for an extra week.
It was a fabulous trip and we are so thankful to have been able to celebrate our 30th anniversary with our 3 amazing boys.
Life is good! Ciao!
Puglia
Our last morning in Amalfi, we are blessed with a beautiful day and I take the opportunity to take a selfies with each of my boy on this beautiful balcony! We loved it here!
As we leave amalfi to drive across to Puglia, we decide to make a stop at the Grotto di Castellana. We barely make it on time for the tour. What a treat! These caves are majestic, formed by a river thousands of years ago, it is hard to take it all in. While we take the shorter tour because of time constraint, we still make our way 72 metres below the surface and learned about the various formations. It is really something ! Apparently the biggest ones in Europe. The locals used to think that it was a direct path to hell so were quite scared of it until the Ministry decided to hire speleogues to climb down on rope ladder to explore what was beneath. And what was their surprise when they realized the magnitude of the caves and tunnels! Definitely a must see.
We arrive at our villa in the evening after our stop at the grotto. We realize that there isn’t anything walking distance so we must drive over for food 😦 Luckily our hosts had stuck the fridge with cold cuts, cheese, fruits, bread and more!
The next morning I drive over the the old part of Ostuni called the White City with Marc-Andre. It is beautiful and we love the piazza. Why don’t we have piazza in Canada? Marc-Andre and I have a nice caffè and explore the city a bit.
Tonight is the highlight of the trip. One of the main reason why we came to Puglia.
Dinner at the Grotto Palazzere!
Our driver picks us up on time and we are seated right by the water. It is truly unique and all that I had imagined! The food is excellent and we spend a beautiful evening serenaded by a sax players perched on top in a balcony gazing at the see and the cliffs and caves around us. Truly a magical experience.
The next morning I realize that we face east from the upstairs terrace and we are treated to a beautiful sunrise…for the early risers like me so we is really just me 🤪.
Beach day!! I finally get all our team up and at it and we make our way to the coast for a beach day.
The water is turquoise blue and everything is so beautiful! We all enjoyed some floating, some swimming and some relaxing with our books on the beach. A lovely half day!
We all change into our clothes and decide to make our way to the White City so I can show everyone the piazza and get a bite to eat.
We forgot about the siesta!
Few restaurant are opened but we manage to find a place to eat nonetheless.
The next day is supposed to be a rainy day but it turns out that we got major wind and rain overnight and it looks like we will be spared of rain so I suggest a day trip to Arberobello to see the trullis.
While there is one on our property and several in the fields as we drive, it is great to see the small museum as well as a whole neighbourhood of them. The cathedral is also impressive and we have a nice lunch in town.
Sunday is an exciting day for me. We have reservation for a tour of the “Antica Masseria Brancati”, speciliazing in produce olive oil manually. We learn that the current owner bought the masseria in the early 1800s from the previous Spanish owners. They are now on the 7th generation running the farm. They have trees that have been analyse with carbon method to be more than 2000 years old and e learn that olive trees are hollow and store water in the bark so do not need to be water often. Their biggest enemy is frost.
He also brings us to the grandfather tree….it is 3000 years old…it is crooked and needs support (from the stones on the photo) as they try to protect it but it continues to be a great producer of olives.
He explains that a large portion of these trees were planted by the roman who ensured that there was good distance between the trees so that they did not compete for ressources. They continue to adhere to the artisanal way, including absolutely no use of pesticide and fertilizer. He explains that the modern masseria plant trees much too close together to increase production but their trees do not live as long or produce as well. Puglia produces 40% of the Italian olive olive oil production.
He explains that extra virgin oil means that the olives must be harvested and pressed the same day and can not be mixed…check the labels! They harvest by spreading a large net under the tree and shaking the branches so that the olive fall. If the olive touch the ground, they decompose immediately!
He also takes us down to show the oil olive press from the Greek time and the roman times and explains the difference. This is all fascinating.
We do a taste test and understand clearly the difference in taste and use of virgin versus extra virgin. We plan to order oil in January after the next harvest! There are some type of olive oil that are so strong that they should never be used with fish as they will overwhelm the taste…good to know! Now I know how to taste olive oil as our guide is also an oil sommelier.
Olive oil has a maximum shelf life of 18 months so he suggest to the Californian people to buy Californian olive oil. The best oil is the freshest! I could go on and on. This tour was amazing!
Beautiful property and we take the opportunity to take a great family picture.
We meet visitors from Poland who are able to fly over for the weekend for 40 euros 🤦♀️ Again we are encouraged to visit Poland as our next destination. They tell also that they feel Puglia will become the next Tuscany in terms of popularity in the next few years. Good thing we visited now!
In the evening, we have a local Italian mama coming over to cook for us. She prepares a menu of typical local food including stuffed zucchini flowers fried, which she teaches me how to do, amazing orecchiette, stuffed fish and tiramisu.
What a great evening enjoyed on the upstairs patios and delicious meal. We are stuffed and have to store a lot fo the leftovers for tomorrow!
Monday is our visit to Lecce to visit the “Florence of the South” and meet up with my cousin’s daughter Myriam who is doing her PHD in archeology in the South of Italy!
She is so nice and has researched buildings and history to give us a fantastic private tour of the city. We visit the monumental cemetery, the old wall and vestige of roman road and the old city itself, including the Basilica and the church of Santa Croce which are the symbol of Baroque architecture.
We also walk by the roman amphitheater, still used for shows and concerts, the small castle and the private museum Faggiano, fully excavated by the owner family who wanted to open a restaurant but instead found vestiges from roman and pre-roman era, the templars and the medieval times. An amazing story of dedication and perseverance.
She has found a restaurant servicing typical local food and Alex choose the pasta with donkey sausage 😳 and Chuck the horse meat balls! Lovely day in her company.
We say our good byes where we started our day at the magnificent Porta Napoli.
I close by posting some photos of our beautiful Villa Aurora. Beautiful pomegranate trees, enormous bushes of rosemary, hedges of lavender bushes, magnificent views of the sea and Ostuni as well as a mischievous elf overlooking the pool. They even have their own trulli on-site which is fully renovated as an apartment.
Despite the big wind, we really enjoyed it!
Amalfi, Atrani and Positano
The boys’ flight was delayed for 2 hours so we enjoyed a few Birra and panini on the patio at the airport in Naples. Our driver was there on time to pick us up and drive us to Atrani. Unfortunately, it was dark by the time we were driving so we could not take in the scenery but the narrow, very winding road was very reminiscent of the Mountains of North Scotland or the road to reach Chamonix in France. We were glad that Roberto was driving!
Once at the villa, Antoinette showed us around and opened the door to the most amazing terrazzo! This is even better than the photos!
We take in the view and then walk down the 50 steps to the road to go to this restaurant on the water. We meet Andrea, one of our most friendly server. He informs me that I can not have parmigiana for my pasta with clams and mussels. Every time someone puts parmigiana on fish, an Italian die 😳 They are all most welcoming and the food is amazing!
The next day, the ones who are up by 6:45 are witnessed to a fabulous sunrise which unfortunately does not last long. Clouds are rolling in and the waves are huge!
Marc-Andre and I leave early to walk over to Amalfi and enjoy a coffee and the freshest orange juice (spurmate al arancia). In front of us, in all its glory is the cathedral. Absolutely beautiful! But even more touching is seeing these older couples all dressed up, climbing all these steps, very slowly, to attend mass.
Back to the apartment, the rain does not let out….a few of us walk back to Amalfi to enjoy a lunch and I have a very flavourful and comforting vegetable soup. Pasta with mussels for chuck!
We walk around a bit to discover a small market where we buy salami and cheese as well as beer and wine. We find a vegetable vendor where I buy tomatoes, onions and pasta to cook at home so we can enjoy the terrasse tonight. Antoinette has warned us that Sunday afternoon and night, most stores and restaurants are closed so we will eat on our patio. Unfortunately it is mostly a rainy day so we enjoy the rain with a good book from the patio.
During a short reprieve, Marc-Andre, Mathew and I go down to the road to walk a bit in Atrani to discover the beautiful views of the cliffs from different angles as well as the church and the small back alleys with the never ending staircase.
On Monday we wake up to more rain and our tour to the lemon farm is unfortunately canceled. Disappointing since we walked to the town in the pouring rain but we sit at our favorite cafe to enjoy our freshly pressed orange juice and coffee, while Alex and Mathew order an English breakfast of bacon and eggs.
As I walk in Amalfi, I find a local marketto and fish vendor so I will come back to buy supplies to cook a nice fish dinner on the patio rather than walk around in the pouring rain again.
When we go back the fish market is closed! Italian have a very loose idea of time and things seems to close unexpectedly. We end up at the butcher and buy veal scallopini, 3 of the biggest amalfi lemons I have ever seem and supplies for pasta and salads. But first we walk to Atrani to try to get a “lemoni sorbetto” but discover that everything is closed because Denzel is filming Equalizer 3 in the area!
Back at the apartment we are treated to an amazing double rainbow!
Dinner is a treat, everything is so fresh and bursting with flavour!
Tuesday morning, the sun is finally out and we make our way to the ferry to spend the day in Positano. The view is spectacular of course and the 25 minutes ride is very picturesque.
While Positano is beautiful and as with the other towns, the houses are pretty and the views as we climb the twisting road is nice, it is much more touristique and commercial than Amalfi. I do love the street with the wines overhead!
We walk to the top and find this overpriced restaurant with an amazing view. Well worth it!
Who would have thought…I bumped into a mom from Mississauga I hadn’t seem in over 10 years!….what are the chances!
Back on the ferry to return to Amalfi in a rougher seas than in the morning. Once in the town, we do some last minute shopping, and again, the store I was going to buy some ceramics souvenir is closed! Why?!?! Nevertheless we find new little alleys to have fun!
And yes mathew is using a hat from our apartment 🤣
We walk back to the apartment, barely missing some unexpected rain and decide to still go for a dip in te Mediterranean. While it is chilly, it is surprisingly confortable once we jump in!
Final night in Atrani….we drive to Puglia tomorrow.
Sicily – 30th in Sicily
A long time in planning – we are finally off to Italy for our 30th anniversary.
First stop is Sicily for Chuck and I. Since we have a long lay over in Naples, we decided to take a taxi into town for a taste of pizza where it all began! The famous antica Michele has a long line up so we make our way to El Présidente. Watching the locals scream at each other across the road is a show onto itself!! While the slice is good, the crust could be better cooked in my opinion. We will try again.
First day in Catania, we decide to walk around the town to see the various landmarks. We are staying on Via Etna which is the main artery with high end brand name stores as well as cute cafe and trattoria in sideway alleys.
We start with the ancien Roman amphitheater that is very close to our hotel. Unfortunately it is closed to the public while they repair the walls and we can not walk down but we have a great view from the street. Very impressive.
Nearby a street market, piazza Carlo Alberto is full of life and….umbrella hanging above the street. As with everywhere, fish has the place of honour. The smell is almost overwhelming. 👃🐠
We arrive at the Piazza Duomo and cathedral Sant-Agatha with its famous black elephant statut (made of lava stone) and beautiful fountain. We walk to the Porta Garibaldi via a street that is fairly rundown area. Lots of small businesses seem to be closed unfortunately.
We stop at Castillo Ursino and visit the museum. This castle was moved after a lava flow covered Catania hundreds of years ago.
On our way back we stop at the Scirrocco fish bar in a small alley where everything seems to be fried. We order the specialty – a cone of fried pieces of fish and a drink. What a treat!! Chuck didn’t like the fried sardines so we will have to try again.
Then we are off to the Bénédictin Monastery that is now owned by the university and we see students in class in medieval classrooms!
We stop at another Theatro Greco, Sam Nicolo Arena, where we can walk all the way up and get a perfect impression of what it would have been to see a fight from those stands.
The garden Bellini is a must stop and yet more stairs to climb up. This is a very hilly town!
Along the way, more alleys with umbrellas and decorations 🤪
We have an excellent dinner at Be Quiet, a small restaurant near us. I have a craving for local tomato pasta and am not disappointed. Flavour is bursting in each bite. Chuck enjoys his grilled mixed fish skewer and of course we share a perfect bottle of Sicilian red wine. We learned that Sicily is the largest producer of wine is Italy!
The next day we have a full day tour to Mount Etna and Taormina.
Our excellent driver Francesco (we purchased the tour on getyourguide), explains the various craters and the particularity of Mount Etna as we take the road to climb to 2500 feet. Lava stones and craters everywhere! He tells us that Catanian are not scared of mama Etna. It is a volcano that creates slow lava flow in contrast to Vesuvius which is explosive so citizens have time to evacuate. The lava flows in return becomes a very fertile ground which provides them excellent produces. They regularly watch the “show” is short eruptions.
Arriving at the station which is a ski resort in the winter, we take the cable car up to 2750. It is a lot colder than expected. I needed to buy a sweater! The mountain currently stands at 3300 feet but this is the highest people can go. The road and cable cars etc…had to all be rebuilt following the last eruption of lava flow in 2001. Apparently they rebuild every time it happens. While some people still live in the park, houses can not longer be built or rebuilt.
At the top we take a bus to an area where we meet a guide that will take us around and explain the particularity of this volcano. We are lucky that there is a short clearing from the clouds and are able to see the top!
We are then driven to a crater that was formed in 2001 and we can still see steam from the heat. It basically was created from flat land at that time. Another hike up but well worth it. We feel like we are on another planet.
Next stop is a lava tube where we can descend to see a sort of a cave that was created in the 1700s by the flow of lava. This is followed by a quick stop to taste olive oil, honey and wine and then off to Taormina.
First, Francesco drop us off to walk the 200 steps down to the beach to see Iso Bella from the sea level. Water is surprisingly warm.
Taormina is very reminiscent of Santorini. Small pedestrian street high fashion stores, way too many people and amazing views of the sea. The Teatro Roman Greco is spectacular. Spectators in the stand would be able to watch the show with the beautiful view of the sea in the background. We are taking in the views from all directions! The best bucket list thing would be to come back to watch a show here! Our guide tells us he saw multiple acts here including Simple minds and Sting. Maybe we come back for the film festival!!
First stop is at Bam Bar for the famous Sicilian granite. We choose kiwi and it does not disappoint!
The pizza at the local trattoria wins the prize so far and the spaghetti with clams is excellent!
On our way back to the hotel for our last sleepover. The boys are boarding their flight from Toronto tonight with much drama about whether Mathew will make it or not 🤦♀️
Arrivederci Sicily!
New York – Billy Joel!
We arrive at Newark at 6am and take a cab to our east side airbandb in midtown. Luckily the apartment is ready so we can move in and rest a bit while we wait for our friends Henry and Heidi. The view is amazing.
Our first activities is a guided tour of Greenwich with a focus on Italian food and history. As soon as the Tamos arrive, we are off on an Uber to the meeting point, hoping for lots of good food. We meet in a church, where our guide Mike explains the interwoven history of religion for new immigrants arriving to New York. We then begin our walk though the neighbour hood. Mike brings us to businesses owned by the same families for multiple generations and who have survived the pandemic. A fantastic coffee roasting place with an amazing selection of coffee as well as tea and spices! All served in bulk! Love it.
We also get amazing food freshly made for us as well as a short talk from the daughter who is taking over this 3rd generation pasta place. They are thriving and now have a manufacture outside of the island that makes fresh pasta supplying many restaurants and grocery. A success story!
Next we come to a plaza where we wait for Mike to get a typical New York style « pie » / pizza for the group. It is amazing! Simple tomato sauce and the most gooey mozzarella. To die for!
We visit many landmarks and try more food while Mike recount anecdotes and history. This tour was well worth it!
We decide to walk from Greenwich to Central Park and walk this beautiful park in the middle of the city. How smart to keep this piece of land intact for everyone’s enjoyment!
Back to our building, we go up to the 26th floor to Ophelia bar to enjoy Manhattan and an amazing view! The tables and chairs are right at the balustrade and it is almost scary to look down!
Next day is Ellis island and Statue of Liberty. The museum at Ellis island is incredible well done. We feel the excitement and fear of the new immigrants as they are screened and walk through the same rooms they would have walked reading and hearing about their experience. Here I took a photo of the display of some of the currency that were exchanged upon arrival. The logistic of this was incredible, from feeding them, clothing them, exchanging their money and when needed caring for them in the large hospital. Amazing! We run out of time to read about their impact on the history and politics of the city. We will have to come back.
A Statue representing the very first immigrant that arrived at Ellis island.
Next we go to the Statue of Liberty. The pedestal is the highest we can climb and it is an incredible view. The museum explaining the journey to build it is also very interesting. A great outing for sure!
On our guide Mike’s recommendation, we walk to a Spanish restaurant El Nacionale ( a very long walk) for sangria and tapas. Excellent!
That evening we decide to stay in and enjoy the balcony (Heidi is studying the life of the people in the building next door) and play some Euchre!
Next day, we go back downtown to visit the 9/11 memorial.
I love the two waterfall built with the exact footprint of the two towers that were destroyed. The memorial is extremely well made – taking visitors through the timeline if that day,
Innumerable mementos on displays and a sobering memorial to all the victims.
I really appreciate that they took the effort of explaining the immense contribution of the search and rescue dogs, displaying photos of their work and of them in retirement. I love it! What beautiful animals.
We end the night at our Billy Joel concert and he doesn’t disappoint! We can’t believe it is sold out and many in the crowd are young ones who can sing all the words! He is funny, relatable and in top shape. His voice is great and his band incredible! We love if they insert snippets of other songs seamlessly within a few songs and appreciate his two band members who do a solo. He comes back for 5 encore with big hits and tells us he is now exhausted and has to go 🤣. So worth it!
Sedona + Scottsdale
Early in the morning, we leave the tent campground in Utah to start the drive to Sedona. We loose an hour within 15 minutes drive as Utah does not follow daylight savings time.
We stop at the Dam near Page. It is very large and it makes you wonder how much this Colorado river can give to all these towns with the water so low!
As we approach Sedona, a completely new landscape presents itself to us. Beautiful forest with large conifers, valleys and large mountains and hiking trails after hiking trails. I had no idea!
In Scottsdale, we stay at Amara resort and spa. Beautiful view of large boulders / rock mountains and very friendly staff. We each have a facial scheduled for that day and it is amazing! After a stroll along the Main Street where stores after stores are lined up, we have an excellent dinner for Mother’s Day at the resort.
The following day is our anniversary – 30 years….how time flies when you are in good company! We have massages scheduled in the morning which are also excellent! This is a great place for treatments.
We leave shortly after the massage, on our way to Scottsdale. We are staying at Boulders Resort in a beautiful large casita. We make our way to the driving range to hit a few balls in preparation for my first golf round of the year. We have a lovely dinner at Paulo Verde at the resort with an excellent Barolo. Again the weather is perfect and we enjoy a beautiful evening on the patio. Onwards for 30 more years!
We have a great round of golf the following morning, followed by a dip at one of the pool and some relaxing time reading our book. We decide to drive outside of the resort to discover a small bistro serving American cuisine with a French flair. Again the food is excellent!
The next day, we have a flight in the evening so we enjoy the pool and go for a brisk walk in the morning. We check out and drive to old downtown in Scottsdale and walk around to see the town. We decide to stop at a nail salon to each have a pedicure. It is chuck’s first one and he now wants to schedule a monthly pedicure!
The flight is quick but the seats uncomfortable and very little service. This was not worth paying for business class. Note to self – American Airlines domestic business class is a no-no.
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Grand Canyon – Phoenix + Utah
Finally we arrive in Phoenix for one of our 30th anniversary trip.
After an uneventful trip and 3 hours drive to check in to our hotel in Tusayan. We are staying at the Holliday Inn in town as most of the places were sold out even though we were booking months in advance. Turned out to be pleasantly surprised with incredibly friendly staff, very large suite with a separate living room which works great for us as I am an early riser, and great breakfast! We decide to drive the 15 minutes to the Grand Canyon village and Mather’s point. What an amazing scenery that opens up to us! Truly spectacular and we know there are no pictures that will give it justice!
We make our plans for our hikes the next days and go back for a Mexican dinner in a very cute restaurant called Plaza Bonita. Portions are extravagant but my first organic margarita with agave syrup is excellent!
On day 2, we make our way very early to the South Kaibab trailhead full of energy. Very quickly as we descend though, we realize that the trail is narrow and the height will make this a nightmare for Chuck.
We go back up and decide to hike a bit more of the rim trail on our way to Bright Angel Trail. Without realizing, we are piling up the steps and the kilometres! Amazing how everything is well maintained….no garbage on the ground and anything in back condition. The paved Rim trail is incredibly scenic.
After restocking in water, we make our way to Bright Angel trail head and start the descent. We are warned that it takes an hour to get to the 1.5 mile resthouse and 2 hours to go back and that it is steep all the way but it gets very steep at certain points. We resolve to take our time and make it there.
The view and scenery is absolutely fantastic. Hard to capture in photos or describe with words. This is one that must be witnessed in person!
We make it at our destination in one hour and feel good but are worried about the hike back so we decide not to continue to mike 3.
Although very tough on and off, we realize that our pace going up is the same – we make it in one hour as well. We could have continued on…. A project for another time. Once back at the top, we go to the geology museum and take stock of the amount of dust on our legs and shoes. Incredible!
We catch the Grand Canyon IMAX movie in town and back at our hotel after dinner early.
Ready for tomorrow’s move to our « glamping » in Utah.
The road to Utah is awesome and we take our time stopping multiple times.
First we stop at a scenic overlook called Liban Point, just west of Navajo Point. What a view! This is our favorite view of the Grand Canyon – we can see a large section of the Colorado river as well as the famous rapids that drop 3 buildings! Luckily, there is a gate for Chuck 🤣 Pictures again do not do it justice but here we go.
Then we stop at the desert watchtower – again the canyon is beautiful from different spot.
As we are driving along 89, we see a variety of cliffs ranging in color from yellow to deep orange. We feel that we are on a different planet! We make a stop at Marble Canyon – vermillion cliffs. This is different as we can see the cliffs from below and the play of light shows different Shades of colour. We can see why this is considered one of the most beautiful highway in the world!
The Under the Canvas luxury tent campground is exactly as we would have expected! The interior of the tent is spacious and well appointed and our view to the Grand Staircase from our porch is fabulous. The dining hall with its outdoor patio is also lovely. We go for a short hike on the property to their small slot canyon and enjoy a very informative talk from geologist Gary in the evening. He shares so much information about the “making” of the Grand Canyon but also shares about the water crisis they are currently experiencing. From an average of 6 inches of water a year, they were down to under 1 inch last year. Their local lake Powell created by the dam is down to 27% of its historique high, threatening their very water supply and the whole Colorado river water level. Astonishing that not much is being done to address this overconsumption of water.
Today is the day for the antelope canyon – the very reason we drove up here.
We rise early and have a lovely breakfast on the patio chatting with two ladies from Bahamas. We learn about their handling of Covid and the crazy patriarchal society that does not give ownership to children of a Bahamian woman born in Bahama unless the father is Bahamian – crazy! She shares the best islands to visit and we take extensive notes!
Next we drive to the Navajo tour check in and go on a jeep with our guide Abraham to the entrance of the canyon.
This is beyond beautiful – words can not describe it. The play of light on these orange/pink walls, the carving made over millions of years by the water brought through to this day by flash flooding in the summer – amazing! This is all embellished by the great narration of our guide, sharing history, legends and the best photos spots. He takes the best photos for us and simply makes this tour amazing!
We then go to Horseshoe bend trail and hanging garden trail. Two nearby short trails with a great view of a rock formation peaking from the Colorado river at the first one and some maidenhair fern popping from the walls of a cliffs at a most unexpected spots at the second. Again we walk on the trail to take us there surrounded by a landscape reminiscing of the moon! Desert and cliffs as far as the eye can see. We are also reminded of a trail we did in Newfoundland.
Off for lunch to a super cute roadhouse called Grand Canyon brewery in Page. An absolute must! The decor and atmosphere are really neat and I can not resist sending mathew pictures of some of the menu items. Cheese curds (our favorite) are fried and breaded 😳….and some variation of Mac and cheese.
We spend the rest of the day at the campground surrounded by the very loud noise of a wind storm – relaxing while reading our books and listening to lovely live music! Off to Sedona tomorrow.
Final days: Azenhas do Mar + Sintra + Lisbon
We leave Porto for a the atlantic coast near Lisbon, for a small village called Azenhas do Mar. It is near Sintra but also overlooking the sea which we are looking for!
Our first stop is in Nazare to enjoy a magnificent view and the freshest fish + seafood we have had. We find a restaurant facing the beach and order the sardines and shrimps – both we are told were fished this morning – and you can tell.
We walk down to touch the water and feel those huge waves attack the beach! The cliffs to the north are spectacular, reminiscent of Etretat which I loved!
Arriving in Azenhas do Mar, our apartment is well beyond our expectations. Right on the edge of huge cliffs with massive waves crashing non stop and breathtaking views. We spend time walking the trails by the cliffs (not too close to the cliffs of course).
We take our lives in our hands in the evening, walking in the dark to the nearby restaurant down by the beach…thank god for flashlights on our phones! You can see the windows of the restaurants on this pictures…all the way down!
The view is amazing and the food exceptional, but mostly the service is out of this world. Our server is incredibly knowledgeable and attentive – we love it. We see fishes being delivered right on the beach to the restaurant, it doesn’t get fresher than that!
Back we go in the dark, to our apartment, with the sounds of waves crashing in – what a night!
Sintra
The next day, we are off to Sintra for a walking tour of the old city and our PCR Covid test, which are required to get back in our country.
Our guide Franscico is a wealth of information about the moorish times as well as the influence of the Templar in the region. He also informs us that the Roman did not make it there and that there is no trace of their influence in that area.
Sintra is litterally built on an extinct volcano which mean….more hills! We learn so much with him, it is hard to describe everything!
He brings us to the original pastry store where we enjoy a Quesidijas…cinnamon and eggs delight!
The highlight is definitely the Quinta da Regaleira. This estate was built more than a hundred years ago by a collector of the Templar documents who incorporated so many of their symbols into the architecture, it is hard to take it all in.
The templar ritual was held in the large well to ensure the new candidates would pass, they had to find their way in the dark through several tunnels!
Unfortunately the estate was sold to a japanese group in the mid 1950 and some of the items were sent to Japan but it was taken over by the city in the 70s and restored to its original beauty. All the collection of historical Templar documents though were sold to the States and are now in the library of Congress.
From the distance we can also see the ancient moorish castle built on the mountain top.
We very much enjoy our tour, now off to the hospital. This Covid test could not have been easier. A drive through where we give our passport to check in and then move on to the testing station where the nurse administer the test from our car windows. Results will be sent via email and SMS within 24 hours…very efficient.
On our way back, we decide to stop at Cabo da Roca, which is the most western point in Europe – majestic!
Again a spectacular cliff with big waves and high winds where we stand more than a 100 feet from sea level.
Back towards our apartment, we stop at the well known Apple Beach to have excellent oysters by the beach – captured this morning, once again the freshest!
Over to our apartment, we sit in the garden to enjoy another spectacular sunset while sipping the beautiful red wine we bought from Dario back in Alejento….Life is good.
We regrettably leave the next morning but we stop again in Sintra to take a tuk tuk to the top of Castle Pena to visit the grounds. We are sad that we do not have time to visit the moorish castle as well but the car must be back in Lisbon by 1PM…
Lisbon
Back in Lisbon, we discovered the museu of cerveja just near our hotel in the large square. We enjoy hearing the Serbian gather and get ready for the big qualifying game against Portugal. A large crowd is singing and dancing as they make their way to the stadium. We decide to find a pub with NFL games on but it is so packed, we can not stay….obviously never heard of Covid there!
We go back to the square by the water to enjoy some italian food and watch the games that is on in every patio…unfortunately Portugal looses but it was a good game.
Our last day in Lisbon is a Monday and unfortunately most museums are closed. We decide to still make our way to the Belem area to see the famous Tower and the Padrao dos descobrimentos – both spectacular structures.
Lucky for us the nearby maritime museum is open and we can trace the glorious history of portuguese navigators and explorer. Very interesting.
We then take a cab to visit our last place – the Castillo of Sao Jorge. Once again, amazing views and history.
On our way back down (yes it is up a hill), we stop at the Chapito restaurant for a late lunch. It is listed as one of the best terrace in Portugal and it is well earned! Bonus is that the food is excellent and the weather is fantastic – we are priviledge to be sitting there at that time with this sun!
This is the end of an amazing trip! Back home to Canada tomorrow with perfect memories!
Beautiful Porto
We leave Evora mid morning on our way to Porto but first we look for the monolithe that our friendly guide Joao recommended. These are rock structures dating 7000 years ago…the oldest ones in Europe. There are no clear explanation for their presence but it is thought that they marked a place of gathering for spiritual celebrations. One always has a sense of awe when walking amongst structures such as these….
We arrive in Porto and check in our beautiful apartment overlooking the Douro River and just steps from the famous Ponte Luis.
We love the atmosphere at night, typical of european cities with their terraces full with tourists, sounds of live music and smell of local food – the perfect evening!
The next day we have a 3-hour private walking tour with Orlando – a local from Porto. We walk up a steep hill to meet him in the city centre…Porto is a granite hill, the city is built on a big rock.
Orlando explains that this makes any construction or digging very difficult, that coupled with the fact that one can easily unearth historic sites, development are often completely which stalled. The city is currently undergoing a massive metro contruction projects and there are sounds of jack hammers everywhere as well as traffic jams worthy of Toronto!
Orlando takes us to magnifient viewpoints of the city and river and explains the history of the city that has never allowed nobles to live or rule here. It is a city that was ruled by bishops and where ordinary people have lived – there are no castles.
Interestingly, It has the most beautiful McDonald in the world. For once the mega American company chose to maintain and respect the Art Deco of the cafe building that it took over. Beautiful stained glass!
Porto had very little moorish invasion so it has not influenced the city at all, unlike Lisbon. There are signs of Roman occupation including signs of the typical roman walls throughout old Porto. This is a city that is just starting to be reborn as it has been neglected for decades. There are fewer people who live in Porto and therefore several houses and apartments are abandonned. The impact of the dearth of tourism caused by Covid is evident. An interesting fact to me is that Porto decided a few decades ago to save its architecture by creating the bank of material. Any building in old Porto that shows signs of being vandalized – for example tiles removed on the exterior – will have all its architecture elements removed: exterior tiles, door knobs, roof tiles and more! They are then stored at the bank and when any owners no of a house in old Porto wants to renovate, they can come get all this material free of charge and reuse it. It is amazing all the material they have.
The small, narrow and hilly streets are also a treat – so beautiful with their cobblestones and plants spread out by the owers on the street. Orlando explains also that Porto had a serious heroin problem 20 years ago and the city decided to create centres to help with addiction as well as operating restaurant schools to provide training and employment to those looking to heal themselves.
It is a very religious cities with numerous churches spread out throughout but it also has a dark past of persecuting the jews and forcing them to become “new-christian”. Its cathedral is also the beginning of the Camino de Santiago trail and you can see the yellow arrow signs leading the hikers to Santiago – 248 km!
In the afternoon, we take old Tram 1 to the sea and the beach on Orlando’s recommendation. We enjoy a beautiful lunch on a sunny afternoon by the beach!
We then walked the bridge to Gaia to visit the Taylor Fladgate’s cave. Very information and beautiful setting – so much of this area’s culture and history is connected to this Port wine!
The next day, we are off to a special treat with a tour of Douro with Manuel. He repeats that he wants to show us the authentic Douro and its history, not the big producers who are all the same…and he does! What a day we had…
The drive to the small town of Pinhao (heart of Douro) was spectacular and showed promises of an amazing day. We begin with a boat cruise where Pasquale tells us tales of the development of the region and the hard working people who developed this trade.
Villagers who risked their lives to take the big barrels of port wine to Gaia on small viking looking boat on a wild river that could be very shallow as well as dangerous with rocks flying from the riverbanks. They began filling the barrel only at 75% to ensure that if the boat sank, the barrel would float up to the surface so the next boat could salvage them. This is before the several dams were built in the Douro to control the water levels.
Here, we also hear of the terrible worm that decimated the region and the clever solution to use american root stock to save the wine grape plants. History goes back to the 17th century and it is the oldest region to produce regulated wine. Here also they use nature to help protect their wines. They have rose bushes throughout to attract the bugs and warn the winmakers of a potential bug invasion. They use olive trees for the same pupose but also as boundaries between estates and between different varietal of grapes. They use eucalyptus trees along the riverbank because they repel bugs. We learned about the schists stones that are the secret to their wine grapes who attach themselves to these porous rocks which are a reservoir of water of sort. The roots grow stronger as they nagivate the rocky terroir.
We taste homemade parma from wild pig fed strickly on acorn, local cheese and olive paste as well as a delicious white port and tonic. Excellent!
Next we are off up the mountains to the top of the Douro valley. A treats as most tours only stay close to the river. The view is magnificent! It is a road that was named one of the most beautiful in Europe and no wonder why!
We are on our way to visit a small port producer who have been there for 100 years and meet the son who is slowly taking over from his father. we see the inside of a port barrel and taste several of their table and port wines.
The next winery is magical and beautiful. We are treated to an amazing lunch with excellent wines on a terrace overlooking the estate. Amazing Portuguese risotto! Who knew. And What a setting!
Again we meet the new generation taking over from his father but this time, it is the 11th generation, still living on the estate! He shows us a port that has been in barrel since 1848. He bottled 5 bottles 3 years ago and sold four but kept one ti show the color changes. A cool price of 4000Euros! He is so interesting and entertaining capping up a fantastic day with the other tourists in the group from Sweden, Chicago, Denmark, South Corea and Dallas.
One of the best tour we have had!
Lisbon + Evora
On our first day, we got lost in Lisbon – isn’t that the best!
First we had to deal with very long line at passport check – but why? Once we finally made it to the front, the border officer did not look at vaccination records, Covid test or mandatory locator forms…go figure!
Lisbon for one day!
A city of 7 hills – one seems to always be going uphill!
We discovered though that it is always best to look down – mosaic tiles everywhere on the sidewalks but also on the walls instead of stucco or siding 🙂
We stumbled upon a beautiful big flea market, stunning views of the city and a nice terrace for dinner with a view of the sunset….until a bunch of tourists came to take pictures 🤦♀️.
One thing that I didn’t love – I had forgotten how european smoke right at their table…one bite – one puff….incredible!
EVORA
Next day we are on our way to Evora after picking up the car. A nice 90 minutes drive and we are in a quaint little town surrounded by roman and medieval walls – full of history.
We are picked up shortly after check in by Dario from the Coelheiros wine estate….it is much more than a win estate!
The new owners purchased the estate in 2015 as their retirement plan from Brasil and began the transition to fully organic and sustainable farming.
They have 2000 acres composed of 40 for grapes, 20 for walnut, 20 for olives and the rest if their beautiful cork forest. They have 1000 sheep that move from section of the land based on the season to eat the grass and contol the weeds, they have strategically located bat and certain bird houses to control the bug population, they have moved to a varied planting in between the rows of grapes to atract the bugs to those flowers rather than the grapes…everything is interconnected and intentionally done. Amazing!
We learned that Portugal is still the number 1 producer of cork and that all trees are inventoried and controled by the state. It takes 30 years for a cork tree to be matured enough for harvest and then cork (which is the bark removed from the trunk) can only be harvested every 9 years. Fully sustainable and regenarative, the entire harvest is used for a variety of products – nothing is wasted.
We also learned that their portuguese grape wines are grafted on the original cabernet sauvignon trunk from France and the trunk is attached to american root system to fight a worm that came from America with import decades ago. This is true of almost all wines in Portugal.
Dario invites us for a wine tasting and while the wine is good, the olive oil is out of this world! Of course they are sold out….
Back to town for a nice dinner at Pateo (outdoor patio although chilly) where we have a nice conversation with retired Portuguese who come to Evora by train regularly for a getaway from Lisbon and a young couple from….Oakville!
The following day, we have a walking tour with Joao for 3.5 hours….so interesting
We learn that the Franciscan were a well established group in the 1200 and lived in poverty with a small church surrounded by the cemetery of villagers.
Once the royal family decided to spend a lot of time in Evora, they established a castle across from the monastery and decided to build a bigger, richer than the one that was there. Because the Franciscan refused to stop practicing, they built that church around the small one. Consequently it is the church with the biggest arches to support the ceiling in the world!
In that process, they dug up a lot of tombs and bones which angered the Franciscan. They decided to stack as many bones and skulls inside the chapel as a reminder to the royals that everyone returns to that state at the end.
During our walk, we come upon the garden of love where the statue of Vasco de Gama, Chuck’s favorite explorer.
João takes us to the highest place in the town where the original Roman temple was built during the second century BC.
To reach it, we pass by the cathedral of Evora which he tells us is the oldest cathedral in the world where you can witness pre-gothic architecture.
We are able to climb the stairs up the tower to the roof with a stunning view of the city.
Back to a terrace as we scout the town looking for Sardines for Chuck for dinner 🙂🍺
Found it!! Excellent fresh grilled sea bass for me and sardines for Chuck!
Good day!
Tomorrow, we are off to Porto!
Martine's food and places 