These are some of are favorite beaches on the Cote d’Azur, from Nice to just before Monaco.
Continue reading “Great Beaches around Nice”Great Beaches around Nice
Plateau de Cavillore Hike at Gourdon, France
We’ve covered most of the coastal walks around Nice, and now have begun to search out hikes that are in the hills behind Cote d’Azur. Our first was behind the hilltop town of Gourdon, where there’s a bluff that overlooks the town and provides a very panoramic view of the coast and Mediterranean.
Continue reading “Plateau de Cavillore Hike at Gourdon, France”Ile d’Yeu (Island of Yeu), France
While visiting the island of Noirmoutier, we decided to do a day-trip to the neighboring island of Yeu, which is accessible by a fast ferry that leaves from the mainland at Fromentine and takes just 30 minutes to make the trip. Another way to get there is by helicopter. It costs $100 euros and you get to take in the spectacular coastline of the continent, Noirmoutier and Yeu. Taking the ferry in one direction and the flying the other way would be a good option.
Continue reading “Ile d’Yeu (Island of Yeu), France”Passage du Gois, Noirmoutier, France
For many years we have spent part of our summers on the island of Noirmoutier, in the French Atlantic just below Nantes. There are a two ways to get to Noirmoutier, one is by boat and the other by vehicle. And by vehicle you can take a bridge that was built in the 1970s or you can take Le Gois, a 4.5 km. French national highway built in the 1800s that runs from the mainland to the island, and which is only passable at low tide. There are some, however, who try to take the road when it isn’t low tide, or those who have been out on the flats browsing around, who get caught when the tide rises. For them towers were constructed with ladders so they can escape the incoming tide. Unfortunately there is no room on these towers for their vehicles so on a high tide it will get washed away.
Continue reading “Passage du Gois, Noirmoutier, France”Callagnan & Cirque Lake, Whistler, BC
Have had the pleasure to enjoy a few hikes in and around Whistler, such as Garibaldi, and Joffre Lakes, but this most recent visit took me to Callagnan park with my cousin Matt, to paddle board across Callagnan Lake and then hike up to Cirque Lake. Callagnan Park is about halfway up Highway 99, between Squamish and Whistler. Sheltered by surrounding mountains, Callaghan Lake was so calm and mesmerizingly clear that it perfectly reflected back our images on our boards, along with the mountains and glaciers that formed our backdrop. WhistlerHiatus has this to say about a “cirque” lake:
Continue reading “Callagnan & Cirque Lake, Whistler, BC”Green Lake, Whistler, BC, Canada
Our family has been enjoying Whistler summer and winter vacations for nearly 20 years now, and before that, when I was living back in Canada, my father was the first manager of the Blackcomb Lodge so I spent a good amount of time up there skiing in the winter. Those were the early years of Whistler Village and back then it was just hopeful dreams that Whistler would turn out to the be international resort destination, for both summer and winter seasons, that it has become. This past long Labor Day weekend the town was packed, to the point of feeling a little overwhelmed by number of people. We heard languages from around the world as we walked the picturesque village. Afterwards, however, we enjoyed returning to our home on Green Lake, surrounded by pines and evergreens and hardly anyone at home around us.
Continue reading “Green Lake, Whistler, BC, Canada”Vancouver, Canada
We’ve been seasoned users of Homeexchange.com for many years, exchanging our home in Punta Mita for most of it, and most recently our apartment in Nice. Just like real estate, home exchanging is about location, location, location; the better the location of your property, the better the exchanges you’ll get. Nice has proven so far to be an excellent property for us to exchange. For the summer of 2014 we did a simultaneous exchange for a lovely apartment in Vancouver, Canada, in the chic neighborhood of Yaletown. The building has a stepped roof, so four units are actually penthouse-like units with very large terraces that overlook a park and the inlet of False Creek. We had one of those units and it couldn’t have been a better location.
Continue reading “Vancouver, Canada”Sailing in Croatia 2014
Having now sailed part of the coast of France, quite a bit of Italy, Croatia, some of Greece and Turkey, our favorite cruising ground remains the Dalmation Islands. Situated in the middle of the Med along its northern shore, Croatia has great weather, excellent facilities, and is wonderful for short or long trips. Nearly everyone seems to speak English and they are friendly, good-looking people. We certainly want to come back, still a lot to explore here, even after three trips. Sailing in Croatia is enjoyable as there are plenty of islands which provide numerous protected coves and bays because of their ink-spot shapes. As well, the shore drops off steeply so it is easy sail close and moor close to shore.
Continue reading “Sailing in Croatia 2014”Sailing in Turkey & Greece, Spring/Summer 2014
In the Spring of 2014 we returned to Turkey and Greece to once again join up with Jack & Yvonne on their 75′ gullet Teodora, this time with Jack’s daughters Kimi and Karen joining us, along with his granddaughter Malaika. The timing was similar to our trip last year, two weeks in length and starting from the same place in Bodrum, but a few new places were added to explore in both Greece and Turkey. Teodora’s hull had been recently painted, the wood varnished and new white cushion covers added so she looked really good sitting at the dock in Bodrum. We flew in from Nice to Istanbul but our flight was late landing and getting to the gate, and then the immigration line-ups were very long so we ended up missing our connecting flight. Fortunately they had another one latter that day and we finally arrived at the boat around 11PM.
Continue reading “Sailing in Turkey & Greece, Spring/Summer 2014”Historical Monaco Grand Prix
This may actually be a more fun event than the actual Grand Prix. Three days in May of watching old racing cars race on the actual Grand Prix track, a couple of weeks before the real event takes place. Races take place between old racing cars dating back to the 40s, racing against each other, and moving up into the late 70s. It is quite something to see how the styles of the cars, how they are driven and how then handle the course evolve over this 40 years period. And how the sound level evolves as well!
Continue reading “Historical Monaco Grand Prix”