John – Page 11 – Travels of John and Flo

February 1, 2015

Lifestyle Navigation

Back in my 20s, I had an idea for a book that I wanted to write, and actually did begin working on it, whenever I had the time. But most often there was not enough time. Recently I’ve had more time on my hands and so thirty some-odd years later, I finally managed to finish it.

It has probably been one of the hardest things I’ve done. Close to a couple hundred books were read and studied, looking for commonalities or ideas that struck home to me. Once written I found that the editing process took nearly as long as writing the book. Then I had the page layouts and cover to design to do. And when that was all done, I had to figure out how the digital publishing world works. Needless to say, I learned a lot along the way.

This is the description that can be found on the back cover: Continue reading “Lifestyle Navigation”

November 22, 2014October 19, 2020

Paddle Boarding to Monaco

It was the 21st of November but the weather was still warm and beautiful, so we loaded up a friend’s car and headed for Cap D’Ail to do some paddling. We parked at the train station, which is right beside the coastal “sentier” walk into Monaco. This is one of our favorite walks in the area. I blew up the paddle board and started towards Monaco while Flo followed along by the coastal path.

November 22, 2014October 18, 2020

“A little bit of everything” Drive from Nice

Living in Nice makes it possible to explore and do a variety of things, all within a day. Recently we drove from Nice to Monaco to walk around and have breakfast. From there we continued on to Ventemiglia in Italy to do some shopping for parmesan cheese, ham, limoncello and vegetables as it is so much less expensive there.

October 21, 2014October 18, 2020

Great Beaches around Nice

These are some of are favorite beaches on the Cote d’Azur, from Nice to just before Monaco.

October 12, 2014October 19, 2020

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.

October 2, 2014October 19, 2020

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.

September 29, 2014October 19, 2020

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.

September 4, 2014October 19, 2020

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:

September 2, 2014October 18, 2020

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.

August 23, 2014October 18, 2020

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.