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Copenhagen Bloggin’

Our next stop on our European tour found us in Denmark. Copenhagen, to be exact. We only had a few days there before leaving so we tried our best to see as much as we could. Luckily our place had a couple of bikes that we were able to use. We definitely got into biking shape!

Day 1 had us venture into the city centre to see all the main attractions.

I was quite impressed with the architecture. It was refreshing to see so many unique designs that at times are bold, but it made the city quite intriguing.

We started to venture outward in search of the Little Mermaid statue which was inspired by Hans Christian Andersen’s story of the same name.

Afterwards we decided to explore a few of the more eclectic neighbourhoods that lay on the outskirts of the city centre. The first of these was Reffshaleøen. Once a shipyard, this area of town has become a thriving food market by converting old shipping containers into food stalls. I was reminded of Portland as this area seemed trendy, and a little bit weird.

Our next outlying neighbourhood we visited was Christiania. It was established by squatters in the 1970’s and is now a commune for free folk to live a more bohemian lifestyle. As DawnO and I rode in we were greeted by a nude beach which will forever be burned into our brains. After that we took in the sights, sounds, and smells of Christiania. I kept thinking, this was exactly what camping would turn into if it got frighteningly out of hand. I started to feel like the rich bad guy in a cheesy 80’s ski bum movie because I wanted to see the place shut down. My only comfort was to imagine pressure washing everything, including myself. We were warned not to take many pictures because there is an area called “Pusher Street” where they sell a variety of illegal substances. The police have agreed to look the other way, but they also send in plain clothes officers to keep an eye on things. This was the only picture we took before we entered:

Above was a no pictures sign. Whoops. Anyway, it was an interesting place, to say the least, and it actually was quite harmless. I just felt grimy the entire time, which may just be a personality tick. Regardless, we carried on.

This morning we rode to another town which was about 10 km from where we are staying. It is called ‘Dragør’ which looks like it should be easy to pronounce, but according to our AirBnB host, sounds more like something Arnold Schwarzenegger would yelp if he were trying to impersonate Chewbacca.

It is a lovely seaside town that was absolutely charming.

Tomorrow we board our cruise boat and begin 9 day journey on the Baltic Sea. Next stop, Russia!

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Second Chance for France

When DawnO and I first started dating we often spoke of travelling. One of the few places we had in common was France. We had vastly different experiences though, as I visited during my high school band trip with 20 of my closest friends, she visited Paris during a city-wide strike. I learned how to use the metro, climbed the steps of the Eiffel Tower, and enjoyed crepes and croissants (pre-celiac). DawnO experienced a city that was miserable, with garbage piling up in the streets, and trains not moving from their stations. Suffice it to say, I wanted to show her the Paris that I remembered.

Our first full day in Paris had us riding bikes from our AirBnB to the Eiffel Tower. We decided to pay the extra Euros to go to the very top; something neither of us had done during our original trips. There was no sign of a city strike, and the locals weren’t any more miserable than usual… so far, so good.

Next, we rode to the Arc de Triomphe, which had us riding our bikes around traffic circles like pros. Nailing it!

Afterwards we made our way to Notre Dame and surveyed the damage from the fire that occurred a few months before. They have already begun reparations and the Cathedral still looks quite beautiful despite the scaffolding.

We hit up the Louvre for a quick picture or two of the iconic pyramids before heading back to the Eiffel Tower at dusk. It was quite entertaining to see all the tourists who would take that weird picture of them “holding” the monument in their hand, or “dangling” it from their fingers. This is what they look like when the camera isn’t lined up particularly well:

The Eiffel Tower was certainly impressive as the sun was setting, but it went over the top once it started sparkling with a few hundred twinkling lights. I was certain this would seal the deal and wash away the scars of Paris past.

The following day we moved on to Arras, a town outside of Paris that is in close proximity to the Vimy Ridge monument. It was built to commemorate the 66,000 Canadians died who died fighting the battle of Arras in First World War. Vimy Ridge (Canadian Memorial Park) is now considered a Dominion of Canada. The large monument has the names of 11,285 missing Canadian soldiers carved into it.

We toured one of the underground tunnels and trenches that was restored from the battle. The tours are led by young Canadians enrolled in a Canadian Federal program that has them working in the park for four months before returning home.

The town of Arras was a nice break from the French Capital. It has two main squares that provide a view to the Bellfroi, the local landmark.

Unfortunately, a few not so great incidents like a train mixup which cost us a huge ticket fee, combined with some less than friendly “customer service” still left us feeling like France wasn’t as enjoyable as it could have been. But at least it was better than miserable. I’ll take that as a win.

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Lost in Lisbon

What can I say? Lisbon has been a real treat. DawnO and I met up with her parents and since then we have been on a non-stop tour of Portugal’s capital city.

Day 1 took us all around the city, including a stop at the Castle of São Jorge for a view of the city.

Look waaaaay up for the Castle of São Jorge

That evening we were fortunate enough to get in to one of the highest rated Fado spots in Lisbon. We had some difficulty making a reservation, but as luck would have it, they still had room to fit us in. What is this Fado I speak of? It’s live music provided by a wider yet shorter guitar, and a very emotional singer. The vocalist serenaded us while we dined on tapas and drank sangria!

Day 2 had us venture a bit further from the city centre. This time we were viewing monuments along the Portuguese coast.

All that walking left us pretty tired and thirsty so we decided to get some refreshments and take a seat on the #28 tram which is known for its hop on hop off tours of Lisbon.

Unfortunately we had to split up our group and take two different trams since there wasn’t enough room for everyone on the first one. This caused some difficulties after we were dropped off in completely different locations. It took some crafty navigating but we were all able to reunite in the early evening and began the trek back to our place.

Day 3 began with a trip to the ATP Estoril Open! We caught a train to Estoril, a suburb of Lisbon, to watch the first day of the men’s pro tennis tournament.

I was very impressed with the event. We watched 3 separate matches, and in the down time we got to tour the grounds, which felt like a tennis convention. There were booths set up with games to play and samples to give away. There was also an area that was full of food trucks and makeshift bars. It was easy to spend the day there.

That’s it from me from Portugal. I loved every minute of it. This morning I got up early to start my journey home and DawnO left Lisbon with her parents. Portugal was always on my list of places to visit and it certainly lived up to my expectations. I definitely want to return one day!

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Sintra and the Enchanted Forest

DawnO and I arrived in Sintra, just a short train ride outside of Lisbon. This small getaway spot rests in the foothills of the Sintra Mountains and is the home of numerous palaces.

Our first stop was the brightly coloured Pena National Palace. It sits atop one of the tallest hills in Sintra and is classified as a UNESCO World Heritage site.

As we explored the palace I was reminded of a place I used to visit when I was a kid called Scandia. It was a giant theme park in Kelowna that housed a massive arcade, go-carts and an indoor mini-golf course. When I was 8 I thought it was built entirely out of LEGO. I’m convinced the same architect who built the Pena Palace later found work in the Okanagan.

The Pena Palace has one of the best views of Sintra, including the Castle of the Moors which was a 15 minute walk down the hill.

Today called for rain so we decided to visit Quinta de Regaleira, another palace which was within walking distance from where we were staying.

Whenever my family would drive to Kelowna, there is one thing that constantly eluded my sister and I. We never got to visit the Enchanted Forest, the most magical place on earth conveniently located on the Trans-Canada Highway just outside of Revelstoke, British Columbia. How do I know it’s magical?

I believe.

Every year we would ask our father to stop there, and every year we saw the Enchanted Forest for about 6.2 seconds as we throttled passed it at 120 km/hour with our faces pressed against the car window. Sadly, my father would not indulge in any enchantment on our annual road trips. He needed to “make good time”. What does this have to do with Quinta de Regaleira? Well, I believe I finally found the Enchanted Forest, but for adults. We spent the better part of the day walking through this wooded wonderland. I now choose to believe that this was exactly how the Enchanted Forest was in 1986.

Initiation Well View from the bottom Main house

Tomorrow we meet up with DawnO’s parents in Lisbon for a few more days of exploring before I fly home on Sunday.

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PortO

It finally happened! I got to see DawnO again after 6 weeks apart. We last saw each other in Vietnam but this time we met up in Lisbon, Portugal, where we then hopped on a train to Porto. Since she’s been blogging for the past few weeks I have to pick up the slack and write a few entries before I’m back in Canada.

I can’t say enough great things about Porto. It reminds me of an Eastern European city like Prague. The architecture here is absolutely gorgeous. One of the first things we did was climb to the top of the highest bell tower (seen in first picture below) and take in the view.

Praça dos Clérigos

Before long we took to the streets which seemed like a recipe to get lost, but we found that most roads funnel to the same places.

Dom Luís Bridge Our place

Today is our anniversary so we had a big day planned. This morning we stood in a line that spanned 2.5 blocks in order to walk through the bookstore that inspired JK Rowling to write her first outline of the Harry Potter novels. Legend has it that the interior of the store, including the twisted staircase, are what inspired the design of Hogwarts.

You may have already guessed it but Porto is the place where port is made. Next on our agenda was to take tour of one of the many cellars that house a variety of ports. We chose one at random for our tour and then headed to a bar closer to home to try a flight of 8 different regional ports.

Tomorrow we take a train to Sintra for a couple of days. Then it’s back to Lisbon where we’ll meet up with DawnO’s parents. I hope they like port.

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A Spin Around Ninh Binh

After our boat cruise we took a bus south of Hanoi to Ninh Binh, which has been dubbed ‘the Ha Long Bay on land’. Here the craggy limestone mountains jut up from the rice fields and rivers. Unfortunately it was difficult to capture great photos because of the hazy weather, so you’ll have to take our word for it on how beautiful it is.

We spent our 2 days in the saddle of gear-less Vietnamese bicycles, complete with baskets. It was a flat pedal to numerous temples, pagodas, and viewpoints.

A highlight was a hike up a million stairs to a viewpoint high above the river and village.

We also visited the boating area that was featured on the Amazing Race a couple of seasons ago. The women impressively row the oars of the boats using only their feet.

Today we parked the bikes to look at a viewpoint. When we returned, RobO’s bike was surrounded by Asian women. When they spotted him, they immediately gathered around him for a paparazzi photo op. He’s pretty sure that they recognized him from his band Audrey Three. 😂

Anyone have a hankering for a goat snack?

We’re now back in Hanoi, playing frogger in the scooter traffic again. Tomorrow morning I fly to India for my friend Raman’s wedding (eek! So excited!) while RobO starts his journey to the polar vortex of Canada on Saturday.

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From out of the chaos and into the Bay

We have arrived in Vietnam and have split our first few days between two very different places. First came Hanoi, a sprawling city of action which seems chaotic at first, but later reveals some method to its madness. Later we visited Bai Tu Long Bay, a serene body of water with far less tourists than its neighbour, Ha Long Bay.

Our first morning in Hanoi left us feeling a bit more out of our comfort zone than usual. Our mediocre task of finding breakfast seemed monumental. It has been a while since either of us had such a huge language barrier between us and a morning coffee. DawnO couldn’t even rely on her Spanish to save us. Below you can see what Dawn eventually settled on for breakfast. What’s that particular dish called? She called it delicious.

The traffic was also quite difficult to get used to right off the hop. Coming from a defensive driving standpoint, when I found myself in a game of chicken with a scooter, while we were both on the sidewalk, I wasn’t quite sure how to maneuver my body. Crossing a busy street also seemed like an impossible task, as there seemed to be a sea of never ending scooters, bikes, cars, buses, and tuk tuks, blocking our way across. A common practice of scooter drivers was to have one hand on the accelerator, and the other on their cellphone.

Eventually we learned to just go with the flow and keep moving. The traffic would move to accommodate pedestrians, either on the street, or the sidewalk (aka. The parking lot).

That evening we headed to the Water Puppet Theatre, which sounds a bit odd… and it was… but it was also endearing. There were people on either side of the pool that would sing and play music, while puppets would come out and perform. I would definitely recommend going.

The next day we went to the mausoleum that houses the body of Ho Chi Minh. The line was incredibly long (we estimated at least 1km), but it was constantly moving so it wasn’t too terrible. Afterwards DawnO set out to check something off her to do list since arriving… try an egg coffee.

Originally we wanted to go to Ha Long Bay, but when we were booking a trip, we learned about Bai Tu Long Bay, which left from the same place, shared the same cool islands, but had way less boats and tourists. That was enough to get us on board. We booked a 2 day, 1 night tour and even had a fancier room with a private balcony. The tour included a cave excursion, a kayak trip, and this morning we got to view a local fishing village. It was the perfect contrast to the hectic time in Hanoi.

Yes, I know, I know… DawnO appears to be paddling a 2-man kayak without a partner. Where did he go? Did he fall in? At the time it was quite chilly so I, like many other sensible passengers, decided to stay behind where we would be dry. I did not pack myself a shawl. I did regret my decision immediately after she paddled away. She didn’t get wet at all.

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Cambodian rendezvous

After 5 flights, 2 days and 4 hours of sleep I finally made it to Siem Reap, Cambodia, where DawnO was waiting for me outside the airport. We went back to our hotel so I could unload my bags and we headed out.

We decided to take a boat tour that took us up a river through the Chong Khneas floating village and out into Tonle Sap Lake. It is currently dry season so the water is low enough to expose the stilts that each house is built upon. In the wet season the water rises up to meet the main floor.

The end of the tour was spent on a floating restaurant out on the lake viewing the sunset. Not a bad start to the holiday.

The next day we decided it was time to see some temples. We bought a 3 day pass and hired a tuk tuk driver through our hotel to take us on the small circle tour of temple which included Angkor Wat, the capital of the Khmer Empire.

The above picture was taken moments before I had a game of tug-of-war over my container of potato chips. I’m still not a fan of monkeys.

The next stop on our tour was Prasat Bayon. This temple was built in the early 13th century and features many intricate stone faces.

Or last stop on the tour was Ta Prom, which was used as a filming location for Tomb Raider. It was interesting to see how nature had embraced the temple’s structures over the centuries.

Today we will continue on our temple tour. Stay tuned for more from Siem Reap.

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¡Feliz Navidad!

We took a break from our usual Canadian Christmas and headed to Cabo San Lucas for the holidays to meet up with DawnO’s parents. All it took to convince me was the promise of warm weather and guacamole.

We’ve had a few days to explore the town and I have practiced my Spanglish while DawnO has been having full-blown conversations in Spanish with the locals. She is learning about the subtle nuances of the local geo-political climate and I am an expert in ordering things with cheese.

Yesterday we thought we’d have a healthier breakfast so I suggested we go for a smoothie. As I was pulling on my grande strawberry chocolate yogurt blend, DawnO took a series of pictures. One is of me, and the other is of the gym across the street featuring a woman with forearms bigger than my ambitions.

Here are a few of the sites we’ve explored, including a local beach and a ridiculously large Mexican flag.

Christmas morning we were supposed to meet up with a local waiter that DawnO sweet talked into taking us on a hike to Playa de Divorcio (Divorce Beach) and Playa del Amor (Lovers Beach) but he was unable to meet up with us. That wouldn’t stop us though! We soldiered on and created our own route, which included infiltrating a resort and then climbing over boulders to reach our destinations.

We took a boat back to the marina stopping by the picturesque rock arch. Not a bad way to spend Christmas morning.

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Jumping into 40

It’s my 40th birthday weekend, and if you know me at all, you know that I needed to plan some kind of an adventure. After work on Thursday we drove to Whitefish and checked into our solar powered yurt for the weekend (bucket list check!).

This morning we woke up with some anticipation. After choking down a granola bar and signing a million page waiver, we boarded our plane for our first skydive. Do you recognize the plane? I guess it was used in the movie ‘Blow’.

The 20 minute scenic flight was cool, but a little lost on me because of the adrenaline pumping through my body. Once at 10,000 feet, things moved with precision. There was really no time to think. I was sitting at the door of the airplane, a final safety check done, then I was hurling through the air toward the ground. RobO says that I was there, then like a magician I was gone.

It was everything that I imagined, but nothing that I expected. I knew we were falling, but never felt my stomach in my throat. What was seconds felt like hours. It was impossible to think of anything else; an experience of being truly present in the moment. It was so loud I couldn’t hear my own screams, then so quiet we could converse without raising our voices. It was exhilarating, then peaceful. I can’t remember anything but relive it when I close my eyes.

This was right after they sang Happy Birthday to me, and moments before the jump:

We landed perfectly in the exact spot where the plane took off. I would highly recommend Skydive Whitefish.

The rest of the birthday weekend is filled with great food, great weather, lots more fun activities, and a long awaited celebration with friends in Lethbridge.

Bring it on, 40!