California Adventure

Well folks it is time for another adventure.

Our next adventure started in Sacramento, California.

We are lucky to have met Lynda and Larry on our cruise last year. When making friends on a cruise you always say "drop in if you ever get to our town." we decided to take advantage of the offer. Our hosts put together an itinerary that took us from the mountain town of Truckee near the Donner Pass to Fishermen's  Wharf in San Francisco with many stops in between.
Here are some pictures of what we saw while in sunny California.
Seeing that we are from the far North. Larry thought I may be missing the snow and cold weather so he drove us through the mountains where the temperature was only 28°.


The drive took us to Lake Tahoe where we stopped to view Emerald Bay. With the shining down on us we hardly noticed the cool weather and blowing wind. Besides, us Canucks would ever admit it was too cold!


Lynda, Larry, Danna and me sitting in the "Big Boy Chair"







As you can see from the picture this was the location of the 1960 Winter Olympics. Now it is one of THE places ski in the USA. This ski season is almost over for the skiers and boarders.


Our drive took us over the famous Donner Pass. In early November of 1846 immigrants to the West coast travelled over the Sierra mountain range to reach California. A snowfall stranded them in the pass. Of the 81 who started the trip only 45 survived by resorting to cannibalism. Seems strange that behind the memorial to those travelers we now see a sign for a Food Market.



The  next day  it was off to see the sights of San Francisco. It helps to have guides that have lived in the SF area all their lives. We went to places that would be missed if we had travelled here on our own. Back streets, shortcuts and background stories about each part of the city were shared by Lynda and Larry. After driving over the Bay Bridge we went to a park that gave us a fantastic view of the city.






Then off to see the AT & T stadium where the Giants play. For those that do not follow baseball the Giants won the 2012 World Series. Last year when we were in Italy Jeff and Mallory came to visit us. Jeff, being from the Bay area was always checking to see how his boys were doing. So Jeff this picture is for you.

Next stop at the "Ferry Building" to see some of the shops. Larry gave the ladies 90 seconds to do some shopping before our tour continued. Now I know why I like this guy! Then it was off to "Twin Peaks" to get a panoramic view of the city. Market Street is the tree lined street in the centre of the picture. At the far end you can see the "Ferry Building".



There were many stops on the tour and I am only telling you about a few to them. To list them all would take at least 10 pages.

The homes in the background are "The Painted Ladies". Very popular backdrops for movies shot in San Francisco. Today people were sitting in the park soaking up the sunshine.


Pier 39 is a must see for all visitors to the Bay Area. Here you find shops with all types of clothing, food and souvenirs. Along with the usual visitors we saw these loud chubby fellows relaxing on the wharf. The young sea lions took great pleasure diving into the cool water and them climbing over the others. Many of the older ones displayed their displeasure by barking at the youngsters.



Looking out towards Alcatraz we saw a number of sailboats. The one on the left was moving fairly fast in the brisk wind and the other one was going backwards.



Here is the Swedish yacht practicing for the next World Cup.



Larry had told us that the first genuine Irish coffee was made at a bar called "The Buena Vista" in 1952. Being chilled by the cold wind Larry did not have to twist our arms to have us go in for a coffee.


A visit to San Francisco is not complete without seeing the world famous cable cars. This shot reminds us of our first trip here when we were young and foolish. In the background you can see Alcatraz.

Dinner tonight was at "Original Joe's" another busy tourist spot. Three of us had the chicken parmigiana and Lynda chose the ravioli, all good choices.

Last stop today was at a book store, "City Lights Booksellers & Publishers". This store has been through the times of the Beatnicks through to todays Hipsters.
That is all for this edition.

New Westminster, BC Canada

I have always taken for granted the cities I have lived in until my stay in Italy last year. Maybe it was because I was thinking about other things. On our trip I had time to "smell the roses" and was seeing and appreciating the uniqueness evey city offered. Simple things like going to the vegetable market in Treviso was not a chore but an adventure. "What would Orlando have in his stall today?" I have taken this new attitude and am now looking at my home in New Westminster with new eyes. I am beginning to see things that were in front of me but never noticed before.

Danna and I went to the Fraser River Discovery Centre to see a travel show. Agents were there from several cruise companies and tourist destinations. Must say that the cookies and coffee were good...free. Our walk takes us by the Centre but we had never gone in. Inside we found displays showing the importance of the Fraser River in the development of British Columbia.


New Westminster has served as a transportation hub since the time of the fur traders and miners during the gold rush. Today freight is moved by ship, rail and trucks to points in Canada and abroad. This picture shows all three modes of transportation.






Even though we had walked by the
"Tin Soldier" many times I had not stopped to read that he is the tallest one in the world. 9.75 meters tall and weighing 4540 kilos!
A time capsule was put in the soldier when he was built and will be opened in 2025.


Let's walk into New Westminster to see what is changing. The most obvious is all the new construction happening along Columbia Street. These men were getting things in place for the concrete wall. If you are afraid of heights do not apply for a job here.

Copp's Shoes has been on Columbia Street for the past 87 years but is now closed as the owner has retired. The building was in the process of being painted by the new occupants when we walked by.







Previous blogs have shown some of the palm trees along the river. Here is another one with Danna and Maggie.

Spring must be arriving soon as Danna is now wearing a white rain jacket with purple gloves.





If you did not look close and see the people wearing winter jackets you might have thought you were shopping in a hot, sunny city.


On our walk we meet a lot of dogs that are taking their owners for a walk. If it were not for these 4 legged critters a lot of people would be sitting at home watching TV on rainy days. When the sun comes out you are sure to see even more people walking along the boardwalk. Here we see Don Pedro and his owner taking a little rest and enjoying the late afternoon sun. Don Pedro wanted to play with everyone but he had some minor surgery and had to take it easy for a few days.

Doug's Birthday

The past few days have been foggy with little bits of sunshine thrown in just to keep us from getting too depressed. Here we can see the Skytrain Bridge peaking through the fog.

On Friday we saw a couple of gentlemen fishing or maybe just telling stories. Is the man on the right showing how big the one that got away was?

When I asked the man he just laughed and said "maybe it was even bigger but he did not want to exaggerate".

Walking back from the Market we saw something that reminded me of my cousin Adriano in Italy. This cat has a pampered life just like Adriano's two cats.



Saturday was a special day, our good friend Doug celebrated his 60th birthday. His wife Nancy was the mastermind behind the surprise birthday party. The planning was done with military secrecy and coordination.

A good time was had by ALL!

HAPPY 60th BIRTHDAY DOUG

All were concerned that the smoke detectors would sound with all the smoke from the candles.



Since Doug and Nancy are heading off to Mexico the sombrero and sunglasses were perfect gifts. Our toast to Doug was made with a shot of tequila in keeping with the Mexican theme.


Doug loves the idea of sitting in the sun and doing.....nothing! Here he is with his Mexican attire, sun glassed and a bandana. The only thing that would be different is that he would not be wearing long sleeves and maybe have a glass of "hydration" in his hand.

In the front row is "his favorite niece, Lacey".

"Take only memories, Leave only footprints!"

Westminster Quay - River Market

Our good friends Doug and Nancy stayed with us for a few days. On the Saturday we walked down to the market to pick up a few things for dinner. While there we sampled some bread from "A Bread Affair" which tasted great.

Wide variety of products at the market from "Albert's Organic Apricot Butter" to "Canadian Hazelnut Oil". Suggest not going there when you are hungry as you may buy lots of goodies.

Here is a picture of us enjoying the cold sunny day with Maggie.

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Later that day we sat down for a glass or two of wine and then had a butternut squash pasta dinner.



On the Sunday we went to see Doug and Nancy's first grandchild. There was a baby shower at Kathy's parents for baby Gus. Lots of people there and Gus has enough clothes to last him until he is 3 years old.

Here is Danna getting her baby fix with little Gus.


Cannot forget to mention the "Pulled Pork" and buns. I should have put a couple in my pocket they were so good.


Since New Years we have had lots all types of weather. Rain, fog, snow and then a couple of days of bright sunshine.


While we were in Venice I took pictures of the building reflections in the water. When I saw this reflection it reminded me of Venice. The big difference is that in this picture there is a thin layer of ice on the surface.



On my last blog I wrote that I wanted my next picture to be of a palm tree where it is sunny and warm. On my walk a few days ago I found several palm trees that were basking in the sun, I got two out of my three wishes.
Unfortunately it was only 2°C.

                 


          January 13                                                                     January 14

Danna and I thought about using the palm tree as a backdrop for some of our pictures. You will see that the weather has been very strange.



Saturday we saw a cat sitting in a tree. Danna and I thought of the cat sitting on top of a telephone pole in the middle of a snow storm in Edson Alberta. Will not go into details now but we refer to him as the "divorce cat". The cat in this picture made his way down without any help so we call him the happy cat.

"Take only memories, Leave only footprints!"

January 2013 in New Westminster

The arrival of a New Year requires a toast with our favourite bottle of bubbly.. Prosecco. A toast to all of our relatives and friends for Happy and Healthy 2013.

The last few days have been cloudy with constant rain showers.
Very gloomy and we long for the days last August when it was sunny every day.
Temperatures of 32° C have been replaced by 32° F.
On sunny days my friend and I go for a walk to soak up the warm sun.

This morning we woke up to a strange thing called sunshine. Out I went for my morning walk with Maggie. While she was sniffing I was enjoying the view of the sun trying to burn through the morning fog.
Here is our Happy little dog waving to all of you.

Even though the fog made everything look grey I did find some colourful plants to brighten my day. This rose looks as if it was dusted with icing sugar.

The gardeners do a great job of keeping the flower beds stocked with plants year round. There are several varieties of winter cabbage along the Quay.

I would like my next picture to be a palm tree somewhere warm and sunny!

"Take only memories, Leave only footprints!"

Fall in New Westminster

We have arrived home and have been busy getting back to our "normal" life.

Last week our friends Doug and Nancy from Vancouver Island stayed with us for a few days. Too bad they could not stay longer as we both enjoy their company.

Here is a picture of Danna, Nancy and Doug walking next to the Fraser River. A bright sunny fall afternoon has now turned into a series of dark, rainy and windy days.




Now that things are getting back to "normal" I will have time to post some more pictures and stories about our adventure.

There are lots of people that we miss from our adventure and we think of them all the time.

Palermo After Dark

Sicily - last night

Our last night in Sicily proved to be very exciting. This adventure started when we left our lunchtime restaurant. There were several three wheeled taxis called "Ape" parked on the street.

While waiting for our bus to return one of the fellows struck up a
conversation with the drivers. We got on the bus and did not think anything more about it until we were having dinner. Romeo asked if we were interested in going for a tour of Palermo after dinner. Rather than the bus we were going to get nine "Ape" scooters to ride in. Each "Ape" can hold 4 passengers plus the driver.
We heard the buzzing of the "Ape" scooters before we saw them. Everyone got into a scooter, three in the back seat and one beside the driver.





Danna and I were lucky to ride in our own private scooter.

The quiet sedated ride we were expecting never happened. From the moment we left the hotel everyone knew that you had to hold on and say the occasional prayer. The scooters travelled down the roads in typical Italian formation, all of the drivers wanted to lead.

Here you see all the passengers smiling or is that just fear on their face?



One of the scooters had a very loud sound system that was blasting out the music.
Several times the scooters came in close contact with one another. Our driver said they had lots of room and not worry. I now know that Sicilian's definition of lots of room is 25mm or less!

We must have been quite as sight as even a local bike rider made a video of our parade of noisy scooters.

This couple on the bike just looked at us and did not want to make eye contact with these crazy tourists.

Our ride took us through some back streets of Palermo that tourists do not see even in the daytime. The scooters bounced over cobblestone roads, kicking up dust on the gravel sections and as people on the sidewalks cheered. Is this how it felt to be riding a chariot in the Roman times?



It was a bit difficult taking pictures with all the bouncing around but you can get an idea from this picture of the narrow streets we were on.
How many moving violations did I notice? Here is a list, no turn signal, driving on the wrong side of the street, passing on the right, tailgating, speeding, driving on the shoulder of the road, blocking the street.

All of this in only three blocks!!!

Stopped at a red light ahead of us were two motorcycle police, I guessed that we would all be thrown in jail when they started yelling at one of the drivers. The only thing they warned him about was his loud music.
All the scooters stopped in front of the opera house for a short break. We walked across the piazza to a small shop were we had a chance to taste some gelato or granita.




After our treats some of drivers started dancing with the ladies. The Sicilians will take every opportunity to have a good time.


With everyone in the scooters, horns honking we raced across the piazza in front of the opera house with people jumping out of our way.

Our tour lasted about 90 minutes and happily we made it back to the hotel without anyone being injured.

What a way to end our Sicilian adventure!
Everyone walked into the hotel laughing about our "sedate" tour of Palermo Italy.

"Take only memories, Leave only footprints!"