Occasional musings from a Left-coast Canadian ExPat in Oxford.
It seems like forever ago now, but just before returning to work full-time we spent a week in Cuba, where I lived out the kind of vacation I have always loathed and scorned: the all-inclusive resort. Verdict: it wasn’t so bad! Now that our tans have faded and I’ve had time to reflect (and then … Continue reading All-In
Because I want to bring both my kid and dog to the pub, goddammit. Because a bunch of my other friends moved to Europe, and I miss them. Because I’m sick of living somewhere with a mandatory bike helmet law. Because, as much as I love my Kindle, who wouldn’t want to live near an … Continue reading In which the WaterCooler lives up to the “WorldWide” part
By far the thing that I found most challenging about this trip was planning all the travel. In previous trips Neil and I have gotten really comfortable with the no-plan plan; booking things as we felt inspired and traveling super light. In our younger, unencumbered days, we spent 3 weeks traversing Morocco and Spain with … Continue reading EuroTrip2011 – Planes, Trains, Automobiles
We only had one full day in London on a stopover before making our way home. Having been before, it was nice to not be under any sort of pressure to see and do a ton of touristy things. Instead we spent the time wandering about and just enjoying the uncharacteristically sunny day. We happened … Continue reading EuroTrip2011 – Part the Sixth – London
One of our big reasons for going to Europe was to visit some good friends who moved to Spain about a year ago. We took the Trenhotel (which I’ll talk about more in a separate “getting around” post) from Paris to Barcelona for a week of shenanigans. Since we were going for a social visit … Continue reading EuroTrip 2011 – Part the Fifth – Barcelona
I will get this out of the way now, and say that while in Europe we did not attempt to set foot in one art museum. I KNOW. It’s probably some sort of crime against traveling or something. Amsterdam, Paris, Barcelona, and NO ART MUSEUMS? Please don’t lynch me. I don’t have anything against art, … Continue reading EuroTrip2011 – Part the Fourth – Paris Sightseeing
We booked our flights to have us in Europe for about a month and knew we’d be starting in Amsterdam, flying home from London, and hitting Barcelona by the 22nd of September. But we weren’t totally sure what to do between Holland and Spain. Conveniently, Paris is like, right there in the middle! So we … Continue reading EuroTrip2011 – Part the Third – The Parisian Experience
As I mentioned in my last post, we were heading to the Netherlands to visit some family. My mom was born in Holland, and I’ve got more relatives there than I can count (eg. my mom has 31 cousins, nevermind aunts, uncles, second- and third-cousins and cousins 2 and 3 times removed) scattered throughout the … Continue reading EuroTrip2011 – Part the Second – Limburg
We picked our trip itinerary based on seeing family in the south of Holland, and some friends in Barcelona, so it made sense for us to start in Amsterdam. We booked a flat through AirBnB and stayed in De Pijp section of the city, in a canal house. I feel totally justified eating nothing but … Continue reading EuroTrip2011 – Part the First – Amsterdam
It’s raining, a LOT, but we’re still managing to have fun in Amsterdam! Continue reading New Label? I think so!
The reality of hanging out with an infant all day is that not much happens worth blogging about. But we have had some progress on a few things I mentioned recently, so for those who’re interested, here’s how life is shaking out these days: The Dog We had a session with a trainer who confirmed … Continue reading Up-to-the-Date
I re-discovered on this vacation that I’m fairly terrible at taking photos. Depending on the hour, it’s feast or famine in terms of what gets snaps and what doesn’t. And then there are the days I forget the camera entirely. Whoops. We did manage to come back with 169 shots of some of the highlights … Continue reading In Pictures
1. Washington, DC is stunning. And the Smithsonians are amazing. Be realistic about what you will see, and plan to go back! 2. Small-town North Eastern America is totally like Star’s Hollow. Still a bit disappointed I didn’t run into Rory. 3. Renting an infant carseat with your rental car is a great idea if … Continue reading What I learned on my summer vacation
4 Plains 2 Trains 1 Automobile And probably a motley assortment of public transit options on top of all those. We’re off this weekend on a 10-day summer trip, heading to Washington, DC to visit friends and take in the 4th of July festivities, then taking the train North to Montreal for a few days … Continue reading Planes, Trains & Automobiles
Remember that resolution I published about taking more photos? So far it seems to be happening. I’m not hitting a picture a day as I’d originally planned, but the camera now lives out in the open, and I’m definitely taking more pictures of things this year so far than last. And they’re slowly making their … Continue reading Snappy