Travel

12. 09. 08 Friday Convened at Jon’s for the annual canoe trip out to the Bay. Didn’t get away until 11 as Jean-Pierre got caught up in restaurant business. Usual gang, Jon, Alan, Jim, Jean-Pierre plus Neville, a friend of Jim’s. Couldn’t find a greasy spoon on the highway so stopped for breakfast/lunch in Parry Sound at around 2. In the water and away by 4 on a beautiful early fall afternoon. Made it nearly to the mouth of the Key and camped. Odd weather with mosquitos still buzzing around in September! Saturday morning very misty so Alan and I paddled down to the mouth of the Key to check out the Bay. By the time we got back the mist had lifted and we had a very tranquil crossing to Puddick Island. Tasty dinner of Cariboo steaks courtesy of Jean-Pierre. Sunday weather dull and grey and the wind came up from the north and it started raining mid-afternoon so we retired to tents. Still raining at dinner time so it was steaks cooked on Coleman stove served standing in the rain. Wind really blew and we had to put tarp on our tent because of leaks. Tarp flapped and banged around all night. Monday morning cold with cold north wind still, however, as usual the weather changed by noon and we crossed safely back to the Key, even with a bit of umbrella saiing, had lunch and then paddled back to the highway. Another good trip, back in TO by 10pm.

30. 07. 08 Wednesday. Tomasz has been here from Korea for 5 days. I met him at the train station in Montpellier on last Thursday and we seem to have been busy ever since. We have been to the beach at Marseillan and at lac du Salagou. Saturday we went to the Voix de la Mediterranée poetry festival in Lodeve in the afternoon and then the Art Salon vernisage in Clermont in the evening. We saw Bons Baisers de Bruges on Thursday and Wall-E this afternoon. Stefan and Pam came up from Barcelona on Monday for the day and yesterday I went on my first ever VTT trail ride around lac du Salagou. Plus we spent a fair bit of time just talking, frequently with our after-dinner coffee at Les Negociants. Exhausting but stimulating, now I need to do some work before the ladies arrive at the end of next week!

22. 07. 08 Tuesday. Stayed at Claire’s last night so that we could get an early start this morning. Arrived in Marseilles at about 9 and stopped and had a coffee and croissant in a café where Claire received the results of her degree in 1974! We tried to get the ferry for the Chateau d’If, an old prison offshore made famous by Dumas in the Count of Monte Christo, but the water was too rough so all trips were cancelled. Plan B – we rented bikes. This required a degree in IT to finally get the machine to release the bikes but after much consultation we were successful – this is definitely a two-person task! The bikes are extremely sturdy and heavy but work well. We left the old port and started around the corniche and stopped at l’Anse des Auffes which is stunning little harbour hidden within the larger port. There do not appear to be any designated bike lanes in Marseilles so it quite exciting riding along with cars and scooters whipping by at high speeds. After a couple of hours we dropped the bikes off and found a restaurant for lunch. Not the greatest resto but we were hungry and when Claire offered to pay by cheque or carte bleu she managed to negociate the price down from 24€ to 20€ cash so we were quite pleased. After lunch we drove out to les Calanques which are rocky shores strangely lunar in appearance with hardly any vegetation. We visited Sormiou and Cassis before taking the autoroute back to Montpellier. I had a cup of tea chez Claire before heading back into the wind on the scooter to Clermont. Marseilles is a huge, muscular town (second largest in France) with architecture reflecting its former glories as a jumping off point for French colonies. The population is quite exotic and varied witnessing its history. I shall definintely come again, next time not in high tourist season and preferably when it is not so windy. There is much to explore.

18. 07. 08. Friday. Today was the day that the Tour came to Clermont. The town was quite animated this morning as there was also a flea market  which started around 8 – I looked at some stalls en route to buying my Midi-Libre but managed to easily resist buying anything. I had an early lunch and walked over to the route at around 1. The caravane came by between about 1. 15 and 2 with all the usual hooplah of the circus. Hats, sweets, coffee, cheese and various other products being flung at the eager crowd. The leaders flashed by just after 3 and then the peloton flashed by 6 minutes later. That was it! As a guy next to me said “le seul problème est qu’on attends deux heures pour un minute!” But it was worth it, there was a great festive atmosphere with people from all over chatting to each other. A surprising number of Australian flags in evidence too.

15. 07. 08. Tuesday. Just got back from a wonderful weekend with my “French” family. I took the train to Bordeaux last Thursday afternoon to spend the holiday weekend with Marie-Pierre, Olivier and their two children Baptiste and Agathe. Arrived an hour late on Thursday (French trains are not as reliable as they once were) and we all went over to M-P’s friend Françoise’ apartment for aperos and then on to a Tapas bar for dinner. Friday lunch time Michele, Jean-Loup, Eliane and Julian arrived from Bayonne – more aperos and a superb lunch of fish caught and cooked by Olivier followed by a visit and tasting to the Forgotten Vegetables farm in the afternoon. Saturday market at St Medard then off to the Bassin d’Arcachon in the afternoon for a cruise on Olivier’s boat and some fishing – we didn’t catch a thing! Olivier’s sister Chrystal, her husband Bertrand and their two children came by for aperos after we had returned. Sunday was cool and grey so we went into Bordeaux after lunch to wander around and then we caught a Norwegian movie called M. Horton – interesting experience seeing a Norwegian movie with French sub-titles! In the evening went to the local Bastille day fireworks display which was very good. Monday was warm again and sunny. Had a superb roast lamb for lunch after which the Bayonne contingent left for home. Olivier, M-P, myself, Baptiste, Chrystal, her son Theo and Olivier’s mother Therese went to the Bassin again and once again tried our hand at fishing but with no better luck! In the evening M-P, Olivier and myself climbed up on the roof of their house and watched another firework display. Tuesday, Baptste gave me a lift to the station in Bordeaux and I caught the train back to Clermont where it all seems very quiet!

23. 06. 08. Monday. Virginia went back to Toronto today. It has been hot and sunny every day this week and we have driven to various local spots. The Vermillion coast was a disappointment – too much development and limited access to the coast in places. We went to the beach at Marseillan several times and had a wonderful meal with Claire at Le Galion in Pallavas les Flots. We explored Sete including a visit to the Musée de Paul Valery, and for me a wonderful lunch of grilled sardines! Yesterday we went to the Flea Market at Marseillan where I bought a great old B&W photo of a legionnaire framed with glass for €3! A real bargain! Below is painting of Marseillan plage.

18. 06. 08. Wednesday. Virginia has been here just over a week now and we have been zooming around locally on the scooter. Yesterday she rented a car and we drove north from Montpellier into the Cevennes and had lunch at a wonderful little restaurant recommended by Claire. It is at La Cravatte which is is just north of Le Vigan en route to the Gorges du Tarn. A beautiful spot overlooking the edge of the Cevennes. Unfortunately it was cloudy and a bit rainy but we had a sense of the view through the clouds. After lunch we drove through the Gorge du Tarn to Millau and then over the viaduct (photo by Virginia) back to Clermont. Tomorrow the Vermillion Coast south of Perpignon.

Monday 09. 06. 08. Debra and Richard have been staying with me for the weekend en route to Paris after their sojourn in Italy. They arrived Saturday morning on the night train from Turin to Montpellier. Unfortunately there was no consigne at Gare St Roch so they had to come to Clermont to dump their luggage at my place, however, we managed to get the 12.30 bus back into to Montpellier. After lunch on the Comedie we strolled through the Polygone and the Antigone and took a ride on the tramway. We then wandered through the old historic quarter. All afternoon we kept coming across the Gay Pride parade (very restrained compared to the one in TO) and the Fête des Fanfares which is a sort of brass band festival – an odd combination on the same weekend! Returned to Clermont in the evening and had a very pleasant dinner at Le Tournesol. Sunday we had a relaxed breakfast and then climbed up to the chateau. In the afternoon we explored the old town and ended up at Les Negociants for a drink and then La Venizia for dinner. This morning was an early start and they caught the 7.30 bus back to Montpellier where they were talking the TGV to Paris. It was a very convivial weekend and now they have sense of this little town in the Hérault.

Toronto 9/20. 05. 08. I had a great 10 days in TO catching up with friends and family. I went to the ROM with Poppy and saw the new extension – good idea but I didn’t think it came off that well – I found the crystalline effects compromised by too much drywall in the wrong places. Also went to a number of galleries, out for lunches, dinners etc. Had forgotten about the added taxes to the price of things, services etc which I found irritating – much prefer the European system of everything included. Am now back here after a long journey with a 4 hour delay on the tarmac in Montreal. It is warm and sunny and market day today so have to stock up as Alan and Lea arrive tomorrow from Barcelona.