We had a new terrace built at the front of our house which really showed off the garden. Often Paul and Marielle could be found enjoying wine and cheese while watching the sun set.
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Lac Simon Québec 31 July - 1 August 2010
We have great friends who we met at folk dancing and have a cottage on a wonderful location on Lac Simon, Québec. We were ten that weekend to enjoy the warm lake waters, the sumptuous food (pot luck), magnificent sunny weather, fireworks, and even a get together around the fire. Nights can get cold.
A typical day for Paul was an early rise to swim in the lake and enjoy the peace and quiet (was that a loon I heard?), a hearty breakfast, more swimming, sunbathing and reading, a hearty lunch, a boat event, trip on the zodiac or the kayaks, hearty supper, and off to bed.
Wildwood Beach, New Jersey 21-28 June 2010
To get a head start on a tan for Summer Marielle and I decided to go to the beach. We didn’t want the hassle of airports or different locations so we chose Wildwood Crest beach on the New Jersey shore, a beach we had visited twice before. However this time we were all alone. Paul chose a low cost apartment off the Internet. As things turned out the only good thing about it was its proximity to the beach and the reasonable sized covered balcony. The rest of the place needed lots of tender loving care or demolition. Nonetheless the weather was fine and hot and we adapt well to almost any circumstances.
A typical day started with breakfast on the balcony, followed by a walk on the beach, the beach is several kilometers long and quite wide, followed by lunch, siesta, more beach with body surfing for Paul and supper out at a restaurant. The only interruptions to this pattern were an afternoon shopping as it was raining, a short tour of the local winery and a walk through historic Cape May.
And yes we did come home with a tan.
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Cuba: 26 March - 2 April
The last time Marielle and I went for a vacation to the Caribbean dates back to 1982 when strangely enough we also went to Cuba, and to the same beach Varadero. Needless to say the landscape has changed markedly since then although the 1950's look still persists. The cars are vintage 1950’s, the buildings need a lick of paint, and the people live very frugally with few commodities we take for granted. We stocked up with T-shirts, after shave and perfume samples, make-up samples and colouring pencils.
We flew from Ottawa to Varadero where the airport is still under construction. At least we didn’t have to fly to Havana and bus it to our resort. Our resort was rated as a five star. The food (buffet) was OK however we soon made friends with the chefs and received special treatment, custom made pizzas and pasta for lunch or supper and egg, bacon and crepes in the morning. Our bedroom was spacious and overlooked a large pool where Paul swam every morning. In fact we spent most of our time there as Marielle was bitten by sandflies at the beach and reacted severely to them. For the two days we did try the beach we found it to be clean at the resort but strewn with garbage further down. The water was reasonably clear, warm and turquoise.
A routine day started with orange juice, a walk around the resort, breakfast of above mentioned eggs, bacon and crepes with maple syrup, followed by a cappuccino and pastry upstairs on the deck which had a magnificent view over the resort grounds down to the ocean. Afterwards we would go to the beach where we could, and often did, stay for lunch accompanied by very good beer. We would then read, played boggle, people watched and swam. Included in our trip were three nights out speciality restaurants. So at night we would go to the restaurant or the buffet then go and check out the entertainment which was very uneven in quality.
Would I do it again? Yes but not at Varadero.
We flew from Ottawa to Varadero where the airport is still under construction. At least we didn’t have to fly to Havana and bus it to our resort. Our resort was rated as a five star. The food (buffet) was OK however we soon made friends with the chefs and received special treatment, custom made pizzas and pasta for lunch or supper and egg, bacon and crepes in the morning. Our bedroom was spacious and overlooked a large pool where Paul swam every morning. In fact we spent most of our time there as Marielle was bitten by sandflies at the beach and reacted severely to them. For the two days we did try the beach we found it to be clean at the resort but strewn with garbage further down. The water was reasonably clear, warm and turquoise.
A routine day started with orange juice, a walk around the resort, breakfast of above mentioned eggs, bacon and crepes with maple syrup, followed by a cappuccino and pastry upstairs on the deck which had a magnificent view over the resort grounds down to the ocean. Afterwards we would go to the beach where we could, and often did, stay for lunch accompanied by very good beer. We would then read, played boggle, people watched and swam. Included in our trip were three nights out speciality restaurants. So at night we would go to the restaurant or the buffet then go and check out the entertainment which was very uneven in quality.
Would I do it again? Yes but not at Varadero.
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