And then we take Paris!

We left Berlin on Tuesday afternoon, arriving in CDG around 2PM and getting to our hotel before 3. Wine (a very decent sancerre for 14 euros!) was soon acquired at the local Carrefour which we sipped as we rested a bit before heading out for the 30 minute walk through the 1st and 4th to dinner at the wonderful Robert et Louise, a high end wood fired steak joint. 

A wonderful dinner of lamb chops (Christos) and rare steak (Lisa) accompanied by a cote de rhone wine was enjoyed before we embarked on a leisurely evening return stroll to our hotel on Rue des Pyramides. The remainder of the wine procured earlier was dispatched before retiring to bed.

The next day we first visited the Tuileries Gardens just down from the hotel for an after breakfast stroll before a deeper walk into the 4th and surroundings exploring new ground for us. 

We lunched at a popular falafel place that despite the 15 minute wait (which was filled with people watching anyway) was well worth it; the best shawarma we have ever had covered in fresh toppings!

Our wander through the 4th continued during the afternoon with a soap purchase as well as a bottle of white wine from a farmer's market! 

We made it back to the hotel with enough time for a little break before heading out across the Seine to the 6th and one of our favourite places in Paris, Huitrerie Regis , for a dinner of smoked scallop, oysters, bulot and shrimp! 

Dinner was accompanied by a lovely bottle of sancerre and over the next two hours chatted with both the owner, the waitress and the lovely Parisian lady behind us who treated us each to a glass of meursault wine! 

After dinner we wandered to Cafe Des Beaux Arts which to be blunt is not really worth it but is a bit of an institution for us as a place we would have a late night carafe of wine and call Mom from as we looked out at the bank of the Seine (and the traffic). 

The time difference (ie 11PM in Paris versus 6ish in Ontario or 3ish in BC) was ideal for calls and while we decided to bury the tradition, we did so in style by calling some of our closest family and friends and sharing with them the memory of this spot. Ah well, nothing lasts forever. 

After the 1/2 litre of wine and litre of water were done it was time for the 1/2 hour stroll back across the river to our hotel; it was particularly windy and chilly as we crossed the Seine but that did not detract from our enjoyment of such a fine night in Paris.

Thursday in Paris was a stroll north to the cemetery of Montmartre, where we visited the graves of Dalida, Berlioz and others including some unknowns (as pictured!). 

The tour continued along boulevard de Clichy past the Moulin Rouge to rue Des Martyrs and the surrounding area where we shopped for lunch and other goodies. 

We got back to the hotel in the late afternoon and enjoyed a late lunch of the goodies we had bought earlier (with plenty left over for the next day) and then rested a bit before heading out for our lateish (9PM) dinner at La Bourse et La Vie  which served traditional Paris bistro food but upmarket. 

While the pate on artichoke heart appetizer was excellent and the mains were good (rib of veal and steak), the overall value for money was a bit lacking and the experience felt a bit rushed. Still an excellent dinner in Paris. 

Our final day in Paris was the most glorious from a weather perspective with sunny skies and temperatures in the high teens Celsius. We opted for a long stroll west through the Tuileries and then across the Alexander III bridge to arrive at Les Invalides. 

Here we visited the tomb of Napoleon with hardly anyone there unlike the time some twenty years previously when it had been swarming with tourists. 

We also toured the museum visiting the medieval arms and armour displays as well as the Napoleonic arms and armour displays. After a good tour of the museum (and the purchase of some Napoleon socks) we returned to the hotel for a rest before heading out for a long wander north and east through the 2nd, 10th, 3rd and 4th before stopping off for a pint of Guinness in the early evening. 

We had planned for dinner at Chez Michel this evening but were not feeling up to it after all the walking so we cancelled and instead enjoyed a cheap and cheerful dinner in our room from the decent place across the street from our hotel while we watched some shows on Lisa's laptop.

The next day is was a quick breakfast before hopping on the plane to Toronto and home!

First We Take Berlin!

Our dear friend Ferdinand in Berlin reached out to tell us that his lovely daughter Clara would be getting baptized and confirmed in March 2022 and that it would be wonderful if Christos, Clara's Godfather, could attend.  

With the pandemic having curtailed our travels for the last two years an opportunity to once more cross the pond was well received by both of us so we booked a flight for a four night stay in Berlin but decided to add a bit and booked the return flight another four days after that but from Paris! 

The flight over was great for Lisa who got upgraded but less so for Christos with his sciatic pain and reliance on pills to get through the flight. Ah well, the rigours of getting old!

We made it to Berlin on Friday morning and stayed at the same place as when we visited in 2019, the Sir Savigny Hotel. Christos had wisely booked the previous night so we could collapse into bed at 10AM (rather than 3PM) and get a nap in before meeting up with Ferdinand later that evening. 

Around 4PM we met up with Ferdinand and after reconnecting went out for a tour of short Charlottenburg as the sun was setting. With the tour done it was time for dinner at a local restaurant where we both had enormous schnitzels accompanied by several glasses of simple but delicious pilsner beer. 

We left Ferdinand after dinner but ended up at a local bar near our hotel called Dicke Wirtin where the Guinness is only euro 5.30! 

Several pints were enjoyed as we watched the nightlife unfold (it being Friday night) before stumbling back to the hotel for a solid sleep.

The next day started with a lovely breakfast at our hotel before meeting up with Clara for a walk to pick-up Ferdinand at the local coffee shop and, after a brief pitstop at his place, to enjoy a sunny albeit brisk forty-five minute walk to Charlottenburg Palace. 

At Charlottenburg Palace Ferd and Clara left us, as Clara had to be back at her mom's soon, and the two of us enjoyed a leisurely stroll through the Charlottenburg Palace Gardens and then along the Spree and through Berlin for the sunny afternoon. 

We met up with Ferd in the evening at his place and had a few drinks before the two of us set off for a lite night dinner at a local, and very popular, Taiwanese Noodle House. After dinner it was back to Dicke Wirtin for our evening ritual of Guinness and people watching. 

The next day was the main event, Clara's baptism and confirmation into the Anglican faith! All told six kids were being confirmed and only Clara baptized and an Anglican Bishop had been brought in for the service. 

We arrived at the Church dressed in our finest at 10:30AM and the service began fairly soon thereafter. Some hymns were sung, some preaching was spun and about an hour later it was done! The only disappointment is that the planned standing of the Godparents for Clara's baptism did not occur so the need to be there in person was theoretically diminished but it was good to be there nonetheless.

After a quick trip back to our hotel, the afternoon was spent with Ferd, Lilly and two of Ferd's relatives back at Ferd's apartment chatting until Clara arrived a little later and then more chatting over beef ragout that Dorte had made earlier. Sadly Dorte was out of sorts and could not attend the day's festivities.

After Ferd's relatives departed we idled some more until it was time for Ferd to take Lilly back to her place. While he was gone, Clara and the two of us played cards (Clara's choice of game was called "Dog") and it was great fun as Clara's charm and fun-loving nature were on full display. Clara was exhausted after a long day and when Ferd got back it was time for us to go (the next day also being a school day with tests for Clara!), although not quite time for us to go to bed! So off we went for another night at Dicke Wirtin although this one was much subdued given it being a Sunday evening.

Our final day (Monday) was a subdued affair. We met up with Ferd in the early afternoon and the three of us went antiquing in Charlottenburg (no purchases were made but many fine things were viewed!) before Lisa and Christos headed back to the hotel in the early evening. Dinner for three was at a nice Prussian place where we enjoyed traditional German food such as duck with dumplings and purple cabbage (Christos) and veal in a white sauce with spetzel (Lisa). Bidding good night to Ferd it was time for one last trip to Dicke Wirtin (yes that makes four evenings in a row) where we closed down the bar with the staff.

The next day ... of to Paris!

A joyous return to the West Coast of Canada's East!

Due to the intervention of outside events, our frequent visits to Western Newfoundland had been curtailed from early 2020 until recently. With the borders to the Rock now open to those doubly vaxxed, 

Seeing Aare, the Ocean and Luggage Loss.

Lookout Hike.

Seaside restaurant, Trout river. Mussels for desert.

Friday night at the Voitk's! Mussels a second night in a row!

New found activities in Newfoundland!

Hiking and Kiting!

One last fire before we go!

 

Goodbye Mom, I Miss you and Love You.

Squirrel foster parents for 27 days

 One sunny day in mid-September, Lisa spied a tiny squirrel in our front yard and when Christos went down to investigate it was clear the little squirrel was far too young and small to be one his own and was desperate for aid as it tried to hide itself in Christos' jeans! We soon discovered that another juvenile squirrel was nearby as another couple had found a similar beast. A tragedy must have befallen their squirrel family rendering them orphans.

So we took the two desperate animals upstairs to the third floor deck and built them a home of a cardboard box (initially with a heating pad which was later removed) with issues of the London Review of Books (no low brow squirrels for us) as the floor. Food and water were regularly provided and it seems grapes and corn were the favourites. For four weeks the "guys" as we called them got bigger and stronger although it was soon clear that "Noir" (the black one) was dominant to "the Gris" (the grey one). 

They cuddled together at night for warmth, groomed each other

and scampered about the deck as they got stronger, often playing some sort of wrestling game with each other it seemed. 

When we returned from a brief visit to Victoria, Noir had advanced to the point where he could climb out from the deck and was starting to explore. 

After 27 days it all came to an end. 

The good news is that Noir is big enough to be on his own and has apparently moved out and made a new nest nearby for himself (we suspect under the neighbour's roof). 

The bad news is that Gris passed away on day 27. 

Around noon, Gris managed to get up to the deck railing for the first time (following Noir) but unfortunately he fell into the neighbour's second floor deck and ultimately down into her backyard. 

He survived all that and was soon our front of our house scampering desperately around .... Christos tried to catch him in a box but he was too fast and clearly having none of it. 

Eventually he scurried away into one of the other neighbours' backyards and we went off to shop for dinner, hoping to catch him later when he was tired out. We returned in the afternoon and Christos went searching for him but at 5pm he discovered his tiny body at the base of the tree in our neighbour's backyard; Gris had made it all the way to the neighbour's backyard but could not get to our deck from the tree and we suspect he just ran out of steam eventually or fell and could not get up after one too many tries.

While it was quite sad and tears have been shed for the tiny little bugger, we both revel in the fact that Gris got 27 days he would never have had (with mate cuddles, corn, grapes and sun on the body) and that Noir seems to have made it (he has already been back once on the deck for corn and climbs like a squirrel twice his size!), at least for the first lap of life in this cruel world.

Goodbye Gris and Good Luck Noir!!!!

Farewell and so long Lumpy Limpy ...

At the beginning of the summer, we encountered a lone raccoon in our back yard one morning. His gait was marked with a limp, his ear nicked from a long ago squabble and he bore the other marks of a long life of adventures in the concrete jungle. He made a hasty departure from our backyard when we first met.

When we next saw him we realized that "Lumpy-Limpy" (as we now called him) spent his days sleeping nearby, usually taking up a position on the deck next to ours but one floor down (which our neighbour never uses) or wedged under an eavestrough of a further neighbour. It became clear that he was an older fellow without a family and did not have it soft at all .... So we had to adopt him!

We started serving him a bit of old fruit and vegetables, soon discovering that he would only eat soft things such as banana, mango and avocado (bad teeth?) and soon we had a normal routine of meeting him every other day or so in the backyard and giving him a snack. 

Sometimes he would hear us while we were getting ready to head out on a bike ride and his face would suddenly appear through the bushes with a hopeful glint in his eye! Other times we would find him waiting for us in a chair or at the back door. 

He never rummaged through the trash or caused other problems (some juvenile raccoons once got into a plastic bag of empty beer cans, we wonder if they had hang overs later!) and while he grew accustomed to us he still kept his distance.

Sadly we think his time has likely come. We check on his two sleeping spots every morning from the third floor deck and have not seen him since late July. There has been no sign of him in the backyard and the occasional pieces of banana offered in early August were left untouched. 

We will miss Lumpy-Limpy.

First we take London, then we take Berlin!

Between marketing and a conference, Lisa had a full four days of work scheduled in London in mid-November and with Christos having just resigned from Canstar (one year's budget was all Canstar started with in mid-2018, the money was all gone!) we decided to tack on an additional trip, a long weekend in Berlin visiting our friend Ferdinand whom we had not seen in a decade!

We travelled on Sunday, catching the early morning flight from Toronto that lands late at night in London, with Lisa front of the bus and Christos sadly not! As we always travel light, and Lisa had an express pass for customs, we were soon whisked to our lovely hotel in Mayfair, the Langham.

We grabbed a quick pint at a nearby pub and then opted for room service dinner and inane TV before drifting off to sleep for our first night abroad.

The next morning, Lisa was up bright and early for work while Christos, still feeling the effects of jetlag, slept in till noon. While Lisa toiled, Christos started with a full service stop at the barbershop before wandering from Mayfair to Marylebone, Oxford Street and back again over three hours.

With the sun setting it was time for tea back at the Langham. Christos had his first pot alone before Lisa joined him and a second pot was brewed. After tea and a brief rest, Lisa was off to a corporate dinner while Christos enjoyed Udon Noodle soup and green tea (costing 20 pounds!) at a nearby Japanese restaurant.

Christos encountered a guitar toting busker after dinner and was treated to a personal performance of "American Pie" lifting his spirits and setting the tone for the rest of the travels. Lisa and Christas were finally reunited around 10PM after Lisa's corporate dinner was done.

The next day was fortuitous for the both of us as Lisa had a meeting cancel and while she was up early, she was back at the hotel by 10AM! We packed up our bags after two nights at the Langham and hopped in a cab to take us to our new hotel for the next three nights, the Sea Containers.

After a disappointing burger lunch, we retired for an afternoon nap (it was also a rainy day) before a walk across Black Friar's bridge over the Thames and a visit to the Blacklock City (the same brand of restaurant Christos had visited with his mom six weeks prior but a different location) for a wonderful dinner of "skinny chops" and sides. While Lisa had a full schedule the next day, that did not stop us from visiting "Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese" and the "Black Friar's pub" after dinner on the way back top the hotel, finally getting in to bed some time after 11PM.

Fortunately, Lisa's start was not as early the next day and after a hasty wakeup she still made her 10AM meeting with time to spare. While Lisa was working, Christos set off on a walking tour with the first stop being Borough Market for a yummy breakfast bun of sausage, bacon and egg. The HMS Belfast, a museum ship, was the next stop on the stroll where a full hour was spent touring (well worth the 17 pound admission price) before heading to the iconic Tower Bridge (having never actually crossed it before) to cross the Thames.

Once on the other side of the river, Christos strolled past the Tower of London (not even considering the outrageous entry fee having visited the place with Lisa previously) and set his sights on Sir John Soane's museum where he and his mom had previously managed to arrive on a day the museum is closed.

An hour or so was spent at the museum enjoying both the nooks and crannies filled with antique as well as the main show of a series of Hogarth paintings known as "A Rake's Progress".

Next on the agenda was a walk over to Fortnum and Mason's to shop for goodies for Ferd and Co in Berlin. Christos loaded up on tea and chocolates as gifts before heading out seeking a spot for dinner.

As he was in a tony part of town, Christos passed Farlows, an upmarket fishing store with tackle and tweed in the window, so he stopped in.

It was just before 6PM and the place was about to close for the day but was hosting an information session, complete with nibbles and beverages, on luxury fishing trips to exotic locales including Zambia (where First Quantum has operations) and of course Canada!

Christos bought a holiday card ("Chistmas Fishes") while listening to the presentation and after 40 minutes (and much nibbling and imbibing) it was off to find a proper dinner which in this case happened to be fish and chips at the Admiralty Pub in Trafalgar Square.

Our final full day in London (Thursday) saw Lisa working once more while Christos went out for a four hour trek through Mayfair with stops at Pre (for breakfast), Sharps Pixley (where they gave him a lovely book on gold for free), Williams & Son (seeking a replacement hat to the last one he purchased here, sadly they no longer make the style sought), the David Aaron gallery (where for a lousy 2000 pounds one could own a 1200BC statuette of Bastet!), Purdey's (more hat seeking), the Houses of Parliament (just a walk by) and finally a visit to Apsley House, once the home of Arthur Wellesley, first Duke of Wellington, and now a museum to his life and times.

With the tour complete, Lisa and Christos met up around 5PM , rested a bit and then headed off for dinner at "Indian City" which was quite good (London really is a great place for Indian food). After dinner we revisited Black Friar's Pub for a few pints before heading back to the hotel and indulging in late night cocktails as we celebrated Lisa being done work for the time being and our upcoming visit to Berlin slated to commence the next day!

We caught an 11ish flight to Berlin and met Ferd, accompanied by Lilly, at the airport.

He soon whisked us to his apartment where we had a lovely soup for lunch before taking us to our lovely hotel, the Sir Savigny, where Lisa and Christos relaxed for a bit before heading off to meet Ferd and Lilly at a local Austrian place called "Josl" where we dined on dumplings, cabbage and other Germanic goodies.

After dinner, Lisa and Christos enjoyed beer and fries at the hotel restaurant called the Butcher before finally turning in for bed.

The next day was Saturday and we made a full day of it. We met Ferd at our hotel for lunch before heading out to for a long walking tour of Berlin.

We stopped at the "Hollow Tooth" remains of the Kaiser Wilhelm Church and thought on the tragedy of the Christmas Market Massacre whose victims were commemorated nearby.

Next it was off to the Bendlerblock to visit the German Resistance Memorial Center and to see the spot where they shot Stauffenberg and several other participants in the July 20 1944 Coup attempt on the Nazis.

After the heaviness of the Bendlerblock, it was time for some lighter fare and so our final stop on the tour was the Berlin Museum which has some nice pieces but pales compared to the Prado.

After an hour at the museum it was now dark and we wandered through a darkened Tiergarten until we made it to the Brandenburg Gate . We milled about with the other tourists for a few minutes before hopping in a cab for the trip back to Charlottenburg. Having spent the day with Ferd, we opted to part ways this evening and Lisa and I dined alone at Dicke Wirtin on large portions of traditional German food such as schnitzel and cabbage. A very decent meal although certainly not amazing!

After dinner, we opted for a lovely bath back at the hotel as we had popped into Lush earlier int he day and grabbed a bath bomb. After a long day of walking through Berlin, a soak in the tub (with cold beer in hand) was the perfect way to end the day.

Our Sunday started with cappuccinos from the Cafe Aedes across the street. The cafe had once been a favoured haunt of Ferd's and a picture of Ferd from a decade ago hangs on one of the walls.

Once we were caffeinated, and with a little breakfast in our bellies, it was off to visit Ferd at his place where we had a low key day of cooking and family time planned.  Christos made a bolognese sauce, without celery as it the Germans seem not to stock it, for later consumption and we settled in to play a board game amongst the three of us. Later in the afternoon, Clara had to go to her mom's house so we said our goodbyes and Lisa and I headed back to the hotel for a couple hours rest before dinner.

Dinner with Ferd was at 7PM at a local Latin American restaurant (nothing special) followed by drinks out and much chit chat before we made our way back to the hotel for bed.

Our final day in Berlin was a wet and rainy Monday. Ferd had things to attend to during the day so Lisa and Christos opted for a limited wander and visited several antique shops in the neighbourhood; Lisa ended up buying a lovely change purse from a different era. In the evening, we met Ferd, had a couple drinks at the bar and then dined at a local German place (Ferd and Christos both enjoyed goose leg, Lisa had a less satisfactory meatloaf) before we said our penultimate goodbyes. Tuesday morning we met Ferd and Dorte in the lobby of the hotel and were driven to the airport before saying our final adieus.