Tuesday 16. 06. 09 Got back yesterday from a visit to the Annapolis valley. I arrived last Thursday on the afternoon flight and was picked up by Graham and his sister-in-law Martha. I had flown by Porter airlines for the first time and was quite impressed – flew from the Island airport (always a plus) and found it quite a civilized way to travel, free, good coffee and cookies in the waiting lounge and leather seats with lots of room on the plane. We drove straight down the valley and found Rob’s house without a problem. Unfortunately Graham and Martha had to turn around immediately and head back but we managed to chat en route. Rob was in fine form as were his other house guests Mike and Fiona from California (Mike was attending a conference at Wolfville). Friday we drove out to the coast for lunch of lobster and then returned for Mike to give an informal lecture in the afternoon and then beers at the pub afterwards. We also managed to stop by at the studio of Bob Hainstock. Saturday Rob and I went to the market in Annapolis and then Hampton Beach and on Sunday we went to Grand Pré which was very interesting and had an excellent introductory movie. Flew back here Monday afternoon.
Month: June 2009
Bayonne
Monday 01. 06. 09 Just got back from my weekend in the Pays Basque. Claire picked me up on Friday morning and we drove over to Bayonne via Toulouse, Tarbes, Pau etc. Beautiful warm sunny day, stopped at the Aire de Tour de France between Tarbes and Pau for lunch and arrived chez Michele at around 3. I stayed with Michele and Claire went on to stay with her friend Claire. Saturday we all went for a walk along the cliffs and then in the afternoon Jean-Loup and Eliane came over for a drink. In the evening we went out to a wonderful seafood restaurant right on the beach. Sunday we discovered that it was “Open Door” weekend so Michel and I went for a tour of the Citadel in Bayonne which was built by Vauban and is still a garrison for the paratroopers. In the afternoon we went to Izadia Park, an ecological park at the mouth of the Adour . A beautiful, very peaceful and zen-like park. We spent the rest of the afternoon wandering around there before coming back for dinner. This morning Claire picked me up chez Michele and we drove back here. Besides the fish on Saturday night we ate rabbit on Saturday and lamb on Sunday chez Michele. Delicious!