greendragonfly

Time flies...when you're not blogging

2013-01-12T23:09:00.000+11:00

Two years and no posts, quite the record! Life has moved forward. Our daughter Cordelia was born in March 2012 and with two small children time to think and write is scarce. My day to day routine seems boring compared to the days when I lived overseas - what to even write about? But the desire to write burns deep, and when I come back to read old posts I generally don't feel embarrassed by my words. It's time to start writing again.

2010 in review

2010-12-31T12:58:00.046+11:00

Once again, an appalling year when measured by blog posts. A single post here, a few more on Edward's blog, thats it. Oh well, maybe 2011 is the year to get back to it.

As per last year I thought I'd post a few bests and worsts of the year, and then a few goals for the new year.

Best of 2010

- Edward; his birth and watching him grow from tiny helpless baby to an increasingly mobile and independent toddler.

- Two great vacations, one in Brisbane and the other in NZ.

- One paper published an a second under review (fingers crossed!)

Worst of 2010

- Complete lack of sleep.

- A massive reduction in blocks of time available to think, read and write.

Some goals for 2011

- More reading. More writing.

- Get up to date on a number of long overdue tasks (Edward's blog and baby thank you cards are the worst offenders).

- Get back to learning French.

- More time spent cooking interesting things.

- Get back to making yoga a habit.

New baby!

2010-03-19T10:37:00.002+11:00

Our beautiful son Edward was born in March 2010! He is a delightful baby, very gentle and calm, and much loved by his parents and family. I've started a new blog for him, but for his privacy you need to be invited to view it - if you would like to read about his progress please email me, and let me know which email address you use for google services (you will need to be logged in to google to see the blog). If you're not sure where to email me, use julie AT thegreendragonfly DOT com

2009: The year that was...

2009-12-31T11:37:00.000+11:00

2009 is already almost over, can you believe it? It's been a dreadful year for me in terms of posting here, but in reality life has been overwhelmingly good. After almost six years living overseas it's been a relief to be home in Australia, not dealing with visas or the general dramas of being a foreigner. The flip side is that even though we're living in a different part of Sydney to where I grew up, everyday life seems more mundane and less interesting to write about than it has been over the past few years.

I thought I'd end the year summarising a few of the standout moments, and of course the best and worst of the last 12 months. Here's to a great 2010!

Best of the year
- Being home in Sydney.
- Living by the beach.
- Seeing family and friends at a normal pace, not jammed into a two week visit.
- Weekday lunches, often spent catching up with people.
- Matt's chocolate classes (especially the massive amounts of hand-made chocolates he brings home).
- No shoveling snow, no slipping on ice, no parka, no hat, no gloves.

Worst of the year
- No rockies, no camping, no vacation.
- No French classes (mostly due to my own inertia).
- Swapping countries with my sister - it seems we are never on the same continent for more than a few weeks.
- The worst year ever for updating greendragonfly.

The standouts
- Finally having a home of our own, not shared with anyone!
- Being calm and settled for a while. I haven't even been on a plane this year....
- Two lines on a stick - actually this was one of the most memorable moments of my life, and an even more memorable one should follow in March 2010.

Not lost... not missing...

2009-06-20T21:38:00.002+10:00

I'm sure that all my readers have long since decided that I've dropped off the face of the planet, but in reality, life has just been busy and blogging has been a victim of the lack of time. Hopefully I'll be back to the normal posting schedule very soon!

2009: Weeks 10-12

2009-03-21T12:22:00.003+11:00

How quickly the weeks fly by; suddenly I'm 3 weeks behind on posting. Again! Oh well, there shall be no blog guilt, just a catch up post.

Life has been rather busy - work all week and busy weekends. Which is fine, except that I'm really looking forward to sleeping in ... sometime. Setting an alarm on a Friday night just doesn't seem right. Arriving early at the markets was worth the early start, so was brunch with friends. Getting up to go to the lab on a Saturday morning though ... not so much fun, but at least the 2 hour incubation has given me some email and blog catch up time.

Best of 3 weeks
- A trip to SMH growers markets with Peta - stand out purchases were fresh apples and pomegranate balsamic.
- Finally going to one of Angie's jewellery parties - what beautiful things she makes!
- Sound Relief at the SCG; especially the seat in the stands which meant we did not get wet when the (two!) storms passed through.
- Brunch with friends at Bellagio in Waverly.

Worst of 3 weeks
- Too much work, not enough play.
- Family illness.

2009: Week 9

2009-03-01T18:20:00.004+11:00

After 5 weeks in the apartment and 4 weeks at work (just 1 for lucky Matt) life is starting to settle down to some sort of routine. The meals are planned, the groceries are bought, and after a few teething problems with the machine (not to mention wet days) even laundry is getting done with minimal fuss. We have found good local Thai and pizza, and our suburb is filled with places to eat, so we're set for those nights when no one wants to cook.

This week we tried out a local restaurant called Churrasco, a brazilian barbeque place serving all you can eat meat. The menu states that they don't cater for vegetarians, and they're not kidding. Dinner consists of various kids of roasted and spit-grilled meat, brought to the table as long as you can keep shovelling it in. We had grilled zucchini, fried banana, and delicious grilled pineapple, but other than that it was beef, pork, lamb, ham, and sausage. The food was delicious, my only complaint was that I couldn't eat more of it. Highly recommended!

Best of the week
- My actual Birthday! Coffee, cake, lunch with Matt, home cooked dinner (not cooked by me), lots of cards, and a surprise present in the mail! All in all, a good day.
- Weekday lunch with my parents - it's lovely being able to just call and make plans for the next day.
- The actual last physio visit :)

Worst of the week
- A nagging cold :(
- Long hours at work for both Matt and I.

2009: Week 8

2009-02-22T19:51:00.004+11:00

Aaagghhhh!!! I'm already a week behind! Again!

Best of the week
- Dinner with good friends.
- My first birthday dinner at home for 6 years.
- Ponies!!!!!!!!

Worst of the week
- The "last" physio appointment that won't be the last :(

2009: Week 7

2009-02-15T20:26:00.002+11:00

Week 2 at work, and there's not much to report. I spent a lot of time reading, a good deal of time talking to my new boss, and a very little bit of time doing an experiment. OK, it was not so much an experiment as a PCR primer test, but it worked!

Best of the week
- Our first lunch guest!
- Doing lab work for the first time in 6 months, and not screwing up completely.
- Weekends!

Worst of the week
- Discovering that it takes exactly the same time to catch the bus to work as it does to walk.
- A coffee withdrawal headache on Saturday - it doesn't take much to "need" that morning cup...

2009: Week 6

2009-02-08T22:59:00.002+11:00

Last August, I walked out of the lab in Calgary, and into an adventure. This week, after almost six months of glorious unemployment, I walked into a different lab and back into the world of work. For those of you who haven't caught up on the news, I was offered a job at the University of New South Wales, and started this week.

It was a good week overall. Most of my work time was spent reading and becoming familiar with some of the software I'll be using. The project I'll be working on is really exciting, and I've enjoyed reading background material and beginning to know enough to ask questions of my own. I've also spent time starting to get to know my new colleagues - they are a great group of people and I think working with them will be a lot of fun.

Best of the week
- Morning coffee - just $2.50 and generally drunk in a lovely garden courtyard.
- Coming home each evening.
- Arriving home and discovering that dinner has already been prepared. What bliss!

Worst of the week
- The pile of things to read, which always grows faster than I can read it.
- Exhaustion in the evening - I've turned soft with all the time off, and a whole day of work really takes it out of me.

2009: Weeks 1-5

2009-02-01T22:58:00.006+11:00

Best of the weeks
- being in Australia and not having to run around like a crazy person to see people
- being in the same time zone as most of the people I talk to on the phone
- catching up with friends and family
- being offered 2 jobs (on the 1 day) and having to choose which to take
- moving to our own place, just 5 minutes walk from the beach
- realising that I can live in Sydney without going back to being who I was 6 years ago

Worst of the weeks
- painting a house (but not to live in it) - so much work, and I severely underestimated how long it would take

2008: Weeks 49-52

2008-12-31T18:24:00.007+11:00

Despite my valiant efforts to write each week, the time has come to admit defeat and write a few posts to get back up to date. The last weeks of December were rather busy, filled with travel and preparation for travel.

We started the month in London, sending the last 5 nights of our trip in a nice little hotel between Paddington Station and Hyde Park. Despite constant gray skies and drizzle, and extreme tiredness we managed to fit in the Tower of London, the National Portrait Gallery, and the National Gallery. We also walked through Hyde Park, visited the Diana memorial fountain, and explored the very eclectic Victoria and Albert Museum. On the social side of things, we caught up with friends at a nice pub in Camden, and toasted our last night of holiday drinking cider with John. Then, after almost 3 months, we were on a plane and back to Canada.

Our 11 days in Merrickville were spent packing and organising, applying for jobs, and of course enjoying a bit of Canadian winter. We had an early white Christmas, and enjoyed walking around the snowy village. And we had a memorable trip into to Ottawa, trying to get around during a transit strike the day after a massive snow fall. Too soon, though, we were back at the airport, this time heading for Sydney.

After way too many hours on a plane (delayed because we had to be de-iced in Vancouver of all places), we finally touched down, and after a short wait for the plane to be be dosed with bug spray, we finally had our feet on the ground. All 4 of our large bags arrived safely, and we were soon through the gate and greeting my family. They were happy to see us of course, but there was better news to come for them - after months of secretly applying for visas and talking about where to live we finally told them that we were planning to stay.

The last week of December was filled with celebrating Christmas and my Dad's birthday and settling in to Australian life. Finally, we saw out the year eating great food and drinking great wine with some very good friends.

Best of 2008
- skiing Banff
- NYC with Lynda
- Elysa and Patrick's wedding
- Algonquin Park
- camping at Castle Mountain
- roadtrip to Vancouver Island
- Radiohead in Vancouver
- Quebec City
- Edinburgh
- Amsterdam
- white Christmas in Merrickville
- sunny Christmas in Sydney

2008: Week 48

2008-12-01T03:26:00.005+11:00

We ended our time in Paris with another meal at our local fave Le Volcan, then flew to Luton and caught a bus to Oxford where we spent a few days with Kerry and Anna. Since we've visited before we skipped the main attractions in town and ventured a little further afield to Blenhein Palace, a stately home belonging to the Dukes of Marlborough. It was mind-blowingly massive, with huge gardens and a lake - very interesting, although possibly not worth the massive entrance fee. Highlights were the gardens and family artworks; not so exciting was the modern-but-cheesy exhibition on the history of the house, complete with animated ghosts.

Our timing meant we missed a chance to participate in high table, but we did catch a Scotch tasting and visit several excellent restaurants. We also managed something of a cider tour of the local pubs - it turns out that there are a lot of good ones on offer along with the ubiquitous (and less tasty) Strongbow and Magners.

Best of the week

- A walk along the muddy banks of the Thames, then lunch at The Trout.
- A visit to Blenheim Palace, grand home and birthplace of Winston Churchill.
- A Scotch Whisky tasting at Nuffield College - very refined! And if you ever see a bottle of Ardbeg Uigeadail, I'd recommend you ignore the price and buy it.
- Spending time with friends, old and new.

Worst of the week
- The VERY long walk back from lunch at The Trout (although the problem had less to do with the distance than with the interval between bathrooms...).

2008: Week 47

2008-11-24T03:25:00.009+11:00

This was a week filled with museum visits - we bought a 6 day Paris Museum Pass and then tried to fit in as many places as possible. Highlights included the Musée de Moyen Age located in Roman baths just down the street from where we were staying, seeing Monet's massive waterlily rooms at l'Orangerie, and Musée de Arts et Metiers with its eclectic collection of scientific and industrial history. We also saw some small museums including the rather odd sewer museum and some excavations under the forecourt of Notre Dame.

We also ate and drank well. On Thursday we visited a local restaurant that was serving mussels (beautifully cooked in a slightly creamy sauce), and were treated to a free glass of Beaujolais Nouveau. Beaujolais Nouveau is new season wine, released on the 3rd Thursday of November each year, and an occasion (excuse?) for lots of merriment. We arrived at the restaurant quite late, and discovered that the staff had already joined the celebrations!

Best of the week
- Musée d'Orsay, Musée des Plans-reliefs, Musée de Louvre, Sainte Chapelle.
- Good food and wine.
- Lots of walking through interesting neighbourhoods.

Worst of the week
- Visiting the Louvre twice, and still seeing only a tiny fraction of the exhibits.
- French supermarkets and their weird opening hours - doors locked at least 15 min before closing time, and random closures (in this case for a protest march passing by).

2008: Week 46

2008-11-17T03:23:00.003+11:00

After just a week in Zurich we packed our bags again, and caught the TGV train to Paris. A quick ride on the metro, up a LOT of stairs, and we were home for the next 2 1/2 weeks.

The next day we wandered our neighbourhood (close to the Luxembourg Garden) and picked up a few food supplies. I was very excited to find passionfruit flavoured Pim's - chocolate and passionfruit, does it get any better? We also visited our local boulangerie to buy pain (lit. bread, a slightly larger version of a baguette) and croissants.

We also managed to fit in a little sight-seeing. On Thursday we went for a very long walk across town, finally ending up in Montmartre to enjoy the view across town from Sacre Coeur. Then on Friday we had a very different view of Paris with a visit to the Catacombes, a series of underground tunnels which house the bones of thousands of Parisians - the bones were moved from cemeteries that had become over-crowded. The tunnels were also used by the Frecnh resistance during WW2. We finished the week with a visit to the flea market at Porte de Vanves, an evening walk along the Seine, and a pleasant afternoon with a good friend who was in town for the day.

Best of the week

- Finally being in a country where I don't have to ask everyone if they speak English.

- Catching up with Laurent.

- Baguettes, pain, croissants, patisseries, good cheap wine ... you get the idea.

Worst of the week

- Needing to exercise self control with all the good food.

- Wishing my French was better. There has been a lot of improvement in the last year, but there is a long way still to go.

2008: Week 45

2008-11-10T03:20:00.002+11:00

Sunday was spent cleaning our apartment and taking care of last minute details (like booking train tickets from Zurich to Paris) before leaving our home for the last month and heading to the bus station. A bus from Amsterdam to Zurich is cheap, but fairly inconvenient. The trip ended up taking 15 hours with multiple stops in 4 different countries and a long stop at the Swiss border. But we made it at last and finally made it to my grandmother's apartment. It was weird to be there without her - oddly quiet. Last time I was in Zurich both my grandparents were there along with a few other relatives!

Our week was spent sightseeing, not the frantic kind where you rush from place to place, but more relaxed. We discovered that a number of attractions were closed for the seaon, and some of the smaller museums are no longer free, and didn't seem worth paying for. Actually, pay is exactly what you do in Zurich. Restaurant food is quite expensive, and a coffee and cake at one of the lovely cafés doesn't seem so tempting when you see the price. But not everything is over-priced. We enjoyed warm chestnuts from street vendors and plenty of chocolate!

We climbed the tower of Grossmünster Cathedral for a great view of the city, and visited the Landesmuseum to learn about Swiss history. We also visited the nearby towns of Zug and Schwytz (less than an hour by train, but very different). In Zug we tried their famous Zuger Kirschtorte (lots of cream, nuts, and cherry brandy), while in Schwytz we gazed at the Alps and saw the first contracts of mutual assistance between the states which eventually became Switzerland. The earliest is from 1291!

Best of the week

- the view from Grossmünster Cathedral

- hot chestnuts

- Schwytz, and the view of the mountains

Worst of the week

- language - Dutch has many words in common with English, but it was much harder to work out what's going on in German. At least the food is labelled in French, so we knew what we were buying .

- difficulty feeling like a local. It's a little hard to explain, but with the language and high prices I felt I was observing, rather than experiencing, life in Zurich.

2008: Week 44

2008-11-03T10:01:00.001+11:00

I don't have much time to write this week, but I did manage to post some photographs from the three major excursions of the week, a bike ride to Haarlem, and train journeys to Utrecht and Antwerp. Hope you enjoy them!

Tonight we're off to Zurich - internet access is likely to be rather sporadic for the next few weeks, but my Canadian phone is still working if you need to get in touch.

Bridge in Haarlem

Canal in Utrecht

Antwerp Station

Best of the week
- A bike ride to Haarlem, a beautiful town just 20km from Amsterdam.
- Catching up with Kerry for the first time in a year.
- Canals below street level, and the view from the Domtoren (112m above the street) in Utrecht.
- Drinking multiple flavours of lambic in some great beer cafes.
- Sint-Pauluskerk in Antwerp, a magnificent church which still houses artworks made for it by van Dyck and Rubens.

Worst of the week
- A late train from Belgium, missing the last tram, and the 40 minute walk home on a rather chilly night.
- Getting ready to leave Amsterdam; selling my bike, posting things home, trying to use up all the food we bought.

2008: Week 43

2008-10-27T05:45:00.004+11:00

Another week in Amsterdam; we had a few adventures exploring the city and surrounds. First up was a bike ride south of the city where we rode by a rather nice windmill and managed to get a little lost and ride much further than we intended. Fortunately we had brought oliebollen, a newly discovered Dutch delicacy. These fist-sized, deep fried balls of dough sound like they'd be more at home at a State Fair somewhere in the US - the reality tastes much better to me than any funnel cake or beaver tail.

Our next outing was to the Jordaan, where we met a friend who lives in Amsterdam for a walking tour of the area. After a quick stop for coffee and beer at t'Smalle we walked through the streets learning a little more about the history of this part of Amsterdam. Jordaan was once a working class area, but with it's proximity to the centre of the city it has become quite a fashionable place. We visited several lovely hofies, originally built as places for widowed or unmarried women to live, and make a little money by doing laundry. The outside entrance is sometime marked by a sculpture featuring bed sheets; in fact many buildings have sculptures depicting the type of activity found within. These signs allowed a mostly illiterate population to locate spcific house without street signs or numbers.

On Saturday we made our way to the Jaap Eden Ijshal - the skating rink - to see the local hockey team play. The atmosphere was rather different to what we've experienced in Canada. There were probably about 200 spectators, and the level of play wasn't quite up to NHL level. Nonetheless, it was a lot of fun. As we left the venue we passed a huge lineup of people who were waiting for the game to end so they could skate - perhaps we should take our skates to the next Sens game and see if they let us on the ice...

Best of the week
- a walk through the Jordaan with someone who actually knows the area.
- my first attempt to cook mussels - a complete success.
- watching the Amsterdam Tigers (ice) hockey team beat Groningen Grizzlies, 7-6 in a shoot out.

Worst of the week
- having to buy 5 stamps when I only needed one (yes, life is hard).
- rain, and being stuck in the house - rbiking in the rain does not sound like fun to me.

2008: Week 42

2008-10-20T13:48:00.001+11:00

A much quieter week, the highlight (and only substantial outing) being a bike ride to Marken, about 20km away. Marken was an island until 1957 when it was linked to the mainland via a causeway. Now it is a bit of a tourist trap, luring busloads of people with it's quaint wooden houses and pretty harbour. We avoided the rather expensive cafes clustered around the waterfront and ate chips with sate sauce for lunch.

The route we took passed along a series of canals running through beautiful farmland. There were plenty of cows and sheep, lots of ducks, and the occasional heron patiently watching the canal in search of food. Of course we crossed many bridges, but at one canal we had to catch a "ferry" - for 25c each we made the ~10m crossing on a barge which winched itself across the water using a tow rope.

Best of the week
- Buying fresh flowers at the market and feeling like a local.
- Making it back from Marken (the longest bike ride of my life I think).
- Visiting our local pub, Dopey's Elixer. It's the kind of place you could sit for hours on a rainy afternoon.

Worst of the week
- The pain in my legs after the bike ride - fortunately some stretching and a hot bath brought relief.
- Hail. This was quite a surprise; we were about to take the bikes out when it started raining. Luckily we decided to postpone our outing as the rain was followed by hail falling very fast !

2008: Week 41

2008-10-17T08:03:00.004+11:00

The week started fairly slowly as we continued to settle in to Amsterdam. We spent time looking for a second bike (one came with the apartment), watching TV to escape the rain, and exploring our local area. We've also been investigating some of the food and drink items available here. Blackcurrant seems to be a favourite flavour, and we have enjoyed blackcurrant jam, soft drink, and tea (all similar to Ribena, but a little less sweet). Salt and vinegar chips are non-existent, but the barbeque ham flavour is pretty good, while the balsamic flavour was disappointing. Beer is cheap; €10 buys 24x330mL bottles of Grolsch or Heineken in a plastic crate. At the market we can buy cheese of varying age, bbq kippen (miniature chickens; the taste is very similar to Aussie bbq chicken), and fresh herring (you eat it raw with onions and pickles). A new favourite is FEBO, fondly referred to by us as "the food in the wall place". There is a counter where you can buy hot chips and sauce (saté is my favourite), and a wall with many small windows holding various flavours of croquettes. Just drop your coins in the slot, open a door, and you're enjoying your hot snack. It sounds a little gross, but the turnover is high, so the food is fresh and the serve yourself option keeps the queing time to a minimum.

The end of the week was all about being tourists. Between us we had three family members staying in Amsterdam, so we spent several days showing them around town and visiting lots of museums. We saw the Rijksmuseum and the Van Gogh museum, took a canal cruise, visited the botanic gardens (and saw giant lily pads, about 1m across), and toured Rembrandt's House. Food-wise, we ate pannenkoeken, croquettes, frittes with sauce and had a wonderful Indonesian dinner.

By Sunday, only Lynda was still in town, and the two of us caught the train to Brussels for the day. It was a whirlwind visit, but we walked around town, admired Grand Place, ate waffles, visited chocolate shops, saw the lace museum, and ate mussels in a cheesy restaurant on rue de Bouchers. A little under three hours on the train and we were back in Amsterdam.

Best of the week
- Catching up with Tina, Jen, and Lynda.
- A day in Brussels with my sister (who even learned a few words in French).
- Buying a bike so we can explore the regions surrounding Amsterdam.

Worst of the week
- Dodgy and over-priced bike dealers; is it just me who finds it odd when someone has already sold the bike advertised but miraculously has another one (worth €300 new) for sale at a bargain price?
- Over-the-top waiters in Brussels - joking about going on a date is funny, offering (repeatedly) a sample massage is just sketchy.

2008: Week 40

2008-10-06T03:54:00.008+11:00

From Carlisle we took a bus to Newcastle-Upon-Tyne. The original plan had been to take the Hadrian's Wall tourist bus, but at the tourist office we were told it was a small bus, and since we would also have had to wait three hours for a connection we decided to take a regular bus. Bad move, the regular bus was slow, still required a connection (which we missed), and didn't give us even a glimpse of the wall. We'll know better next time. Actually, next time we'll probably try a driving holiday, it seems to be the most efficient way to see many of the smaller places we missed this trip.

We finally arrived at Newcastle and made our way to our hostel which turned out to be excellent. Newcastle is of course famous for the Tyne bridge, built around the same time as the Sydney Harbour Bridge, and another six bridges which span the Tyne. You can easily see all seven at the same time. Some highlights in Newcastle were a trip to Tynemouth, where we saw a beautiful old castle above the beach, Laing Art Gallery, with a small but excellent collection of local artists, and a trip across the Tyne to Gateshead where my paternal grandmother was born.

An adventurous travel option came next - we caught the overnight ferry from Newcastle to Amsterdam. This was quite a journey, with spectacular views as we sailed down the Tyne and on to the North Sea, then lots of waves throughout the night. We were very pleased that we decided to take the budget option and carry our own food as the on-board prices were horrendous (would you pay 5 pounds for a one cup plunger of coffee?). Breakfast was a sad affair though, without even a cup of tea.

We finally landed in Amsterdam (Ijmuiden to be precise), and after a short bus trip we arrived in the heart of Amsterdam. Out accomodation for the first night was a little unconventional, in a houseboat set up as a hostel. I have to admit that I'm not convinced this was a great idea. It was certainly different, but the room was even tinier than I expected, and the gangplang leading on-board was not really ideal for carrying luggage. I was not sorry to leave the next day when we moved to our long term accomodation in the lively area of De Pijp. We have mostly rested since then, with a few outings to buy food and explore the local area. The weather has been poor, but I've enjoyed spending a lot of time at home reading and relaxing after many weeks of travel.

Best of the week
- Visiting Gateshead and getting a feel for the place my great-grandparents lived, then boarding a ship and sailing away (after spending just one night on the ferry, I cannot imagine what it would have been like to sail to Australia). How would you feel as the boat left the place you were born and carried you to an unknown land half a world away?
- Segedunum Roman Fort and Hadrian's Wall. Both only visible after excavation work, but amazing all the same.
- Finally arriving in our Amsterdam apartment, home for the next few weeks.

Worst of the week
- The space between the top and bottom bunk in our houseboat cabin. Much too little head-room for my liking!
- Discovering that the supermarket runs out of bread on Saturday afternoon, and having to wait for Monday for more of the good stuff. Fortunately we could buy the bake at home variety to go with our soup, but I've already developed a habit of eating fantastic dark bread spread with blackcurrant jam - the last few slices have been rationed out today.

2008: Week 39

2008-10-03T02:12:00.006+10:00

A quick and scenic flight from Dublin, and we were in Edinburgh. And what a change! The accomodation helped - after 4 days in a hotel we had a serviced apartment and quite a bit more space. But the real change was the city. I'm not sure exactly what it is, but Edinburgh has a magic I just didn't feel in Dublin (or Glasgow). The first evening we went for a long walk around the castle, which sits on a massive rock in the centre of town. It's a spectacular sight, an ancient walled castle sitting on top of sheer granite cliffs. The next two days were spent exploring museums, visiting St Giles cathedral, walking in Holyrood Park, and visiting the castle.

Next up was Glasgow, a short bus trip away. Lyn and her friend met us at the bus station and joined us for lunch and a visit to Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum. It was a quick visit for them; after an hour or so the bright young things ran off to do some shopping, leaving the old folks browsing the museum. Our second day was spent around St Mungo's cathedral visiting Provand's Lordship (the oldest house in town), the Museum of Religious Life and Art, and the cathedral itself.

We finished the week in Carlisle, a town just over the border into England. It was a quick visit, but we managed a stop at the cathedral and Tullie's House Museum, where we learned about the history of the region from roman times onwards (Carlisle is at the eastern end of Hadrian's Wall). We also learned about the Border Reivers, families who lived in the lawless border region between Scotland and England and waged war on one another for 300 years. I was amused to note that Matt's family (on both sides it seems) were among the reivers.

Best of the week
- Edinburgh - the atmosphere, the castle, the contrast to Dublin
- National Gallery of Scotland
- Hanging out with Lynda and Yvonne in Glasgow
- Tullie House Museum in Carlisle

Worst of the week
- Discovering that the clothes dryer in our Edinburgh apartment didn't work - the night before we had to leave!
- Dragging my suitcase for what seemed like tens of kilometres. A backpack is looking like a great investment right now.

2008: Week 38

2008-09-22T07:23:00.002+10:00

Just a short post this week, as I'm using a shared computer at the hotel and I don't want to keep the next person waiting.

On Wednesday evening we left Ottawa, arriving in Dublin on Thursday morning. Since then we've spent our time exploring the city and also learning a little about suburban life in Dublin as our hotel is about 45 minutes from the downtown core by tram. Dublin is an interesting city, but not one I think I'd like to live in. It's old, and there are lots of lovely old buildings, but the vibe is not particularly lively. The suburban sprawl was quite a surprise, especially the strip mall I saw on the way to the hotel. Perhaps if Quebec is the most European city in North America, Dublin is the most North American style city in Europe (at least in my experience).

Best of the week
- The Book of Kells and the Trinity College Library
- The Guinness Storehouse
- The Brazen Head Bar (oldest in Dublin)

Worst of the week
- Jetlag!!!
- My grandfather is unwell :(

2008: Week 37

2008-09-16T12:46:00.005+10:00

The last week before we head to Europe, and where did we go? Quebec City, the most European city in all of north america! And what a city - such a contrast to Calgary! We camped on the outskirts of town, just a 10 minute drive to the old city where we spent a day exploring the streets and walking on the city walls. That's right, Quebec is a walled city! You can see one of the gates in the photo above.

Highlights included amazing house-made croissants in the cafe where we ate lunch, two shops devoted to selling medieval costumes and accessories, and seeing a woman walking her dog in a pram. I highly recommend a visit if you're in eastern Canada.

The other highlight of the week came on Sunday morning when Lynda called to say she was in Ottawa for a few hours. We were able to change our plans for the day and rescued her from a few hours of boredom at the airport. The time was mostly spent in the car (Matt's parents live about an hour from the airport), but it was still good to spend time together and catch up on the last few months.

Best of the week
- A completely unplanned afternoon with Lynda after her travel was re-routed through Ottawa.
- Quebec City. Gorgeous architecture, great food, and ils parlent français.
- Catching up with friends in downtown Ottawa on Saturday night.

Worst of the week
- The traffic as we tried to drive through Montreal. Unbelievable!
- The last minute rush to get ready for our trip.

2008: Week 36

2008-09-08T03:17:00.006+10:00

Most of this week has been devoted to travel as we drove the 3600km from Calgary back to Ottawa. Monday we headed out and made it as far as Moosomin in eastern Saskatchawan. There's not much to see on the way, just mile after mile of flat prairies. Tuesday we drove right through Manitoba (more prairies) and ended up in Thunder Bay, a fairly large town on the western end of Lake Superior. Flat fields gave way to forests and lakes - a nice change, but those winding roads really slow you down! Wednesday was basically spent driving along the shore of Lake Superior. It's a rather spectacular drive, the lake is the largest of the great lakes and has waves that wouldn't be out of place on the ocean. We stopped at a particularly wild beach where the waves were crashing onto piles of logs washed on to the shore, and the sand was replaced by round stones larger than my hand.

Wednesday night we stayed at possibly the cheapest motel on the planet in Sudbury. It was clean though, and a welcome relief after we tried to stop an hour or so earlier and found every motel in town full (it was a paper mill town, and the motels were full of people doing maintenance). Thusday dawned with just 600km left, and we made it to Matt's parent's place in time for dinner. I cannot exaggerate the relief I felt on Friday morning when we didn't get up and drive again.

The last few days have been fairly relaxed, swimming (the first time I've used my bathing suit in Canada) and sorting through boxes to go into storage for a while. This coming week we're planning a short trip to Quebec City, and then the next week we're off to Europe!

Best of the week
- Arriving at Matt's parent's place and getting out of the car.
- Discovering that it's still summer in Ottawa. Real summer, not the sad Calgary excuse for a summer where 30C is an unusually sweltering day.
- Submitting corrections to a long drawn out paper that has been accepted subject to revisions.
- Realising that I can't think of more than one worst for the week, and adding an extra best instead.

Worst of the week
- Four straight days in the car. Canada is a BIG country, and there's not that much to see between Calgary and Ottawa.