Category epic
We got Oyster cards for the bus and subway, but when we’re visiting European cities, we prefer the bus, as you see much more. Especially in London, the double-decker buses are great. We actually met a guy from Port Credit… Continue Reading →
In 1888, Jack the Ripper murdered and severely mutilated 5 prostitutes in Whitechapel, London. During our month in the UK and Ireland, we spent quite a bit of time in Whitechapel, which turned out to be one of my favourite… Continue Reading →
Iceland is a very high-tech country, especially in computer software and geothermal power generation. But it seems to me that the biggest industry is tourist excursions. I thought it would be pretty quiet in mid-October, but there were hundreds of… Continue Reading →
The first thing I thought about in Reykjavik was that it was so much like St. John’s. Except the people talk even funnier. No offence to my Newfie friends (don’t worry… you guys still talk funny… and I love it!)…. Continue Reading →
We were also under the Tuscan sun, which was up to 35C everyday. We stayed in the town of Lucignano, which is a medieval walled town, originally built in 1391. We were actually staying in a wall, with no view… Continue Reading →
The next leg of our Italian adventure was a 6 day cycling trip from Venice (actually Maestre, which is the mainland part of Venice) to Florence. When I saw this graffiti in Florence, it made me think quite a bit…. Continue Reading →
There are 55,000 people living on the island of Venice, and over 20 million tourists a year, so we were a little overwhelmed. Yes, it was busy, but we found quiet places where you could relax and where the food… Continue Reading →
The second part of our Italian adventure was a cycling trip from Niederdorf, which is about 10 km from the Austrian border, to Maestre, which is by Venice, but on the mainland. The 6 day cycling trip covered 340 km…. Continue Reading →
Or sister? In Rome, for the first part of our Italian adventure, we were walking around the old Roman ruins area close to the coliseum. At one point, we were high up on a lookout point, I started thinking about… Continue Reading →
We left the ship for the last time at 8:30 this morning and on shore in Kangerlussuaq, which was a US airbase during the cold war, we boarded Mercedes Unimog all terrain trucks. It was a very bumpy ride up… Continue Reading →
This morning there was a AC Q&A panel meeting with much talk about the conditions of the Inuit – political, social and economic. Seems like the answer would be more and better education, which is expensive because of the large… Continue Reading →
This morning, we had a very interesting session about “Intergenerational Connections”, hosted by 87 year old Sally. The young people were very much into this, and I spent about half an hour holding 3 ½ month old baby Jane. In… Continue Reading →
This morning, we landed for a short visit to an ancient cemetery at Qilakitoq. Then, back at the ship, we had our polar dip, but it wasn’t too cold… about 5áµ’C. Spent the afternoon in the town of Uummannaq, Greenland… Continue Reading →
We lost another hour overnight, so now we’re in Greenland time. We entered Karrat Fjord, Greenland and the icebergs were spectacular. Other than birds, we haven’t seen much wildlife on this trip. Only one polar bear at a distance. I… Continue Reading →
We went into the 3rd time-zone last night; 1 more to go. This was a quiet day, and I was very tired. These AC expeditions are not relaxing vacations, although I’ve been using the hot-tub almost every evening. I’ve also… Continue Reading →
Walter and I walked around Pond Inlet together, visiting the Parks Canada office, library and town hall. Again, I talked to many people – teens and adults, and of course, made lots of photos. I visited the Northern Store, which… Continue Reading →
This was another busy day with 2 excursions. In the morning we did a zodiac cruise to the glacier and ice-bergs at Croker Bay on Devon Island. This is the largest non-inhabited island in the world. It was very cold… Continue Reading →
We lost an hour overnight… altogether; we would sail through 4 time-zones, Central, Eastern, Atlantic and Greenland. Even though we wouldn’t sail that great a distance, lines of longitude and time-zones get squeezed together in the far north. For the… Continue Reading →
About 35 years ago, in another life, I was working at a mine in Northern British Columbia. One weekend, when almost everyone left the camp, I stayed around, and was soon approached by the surveying team and asked if I’d… Continue Reading →
“What?!”, I asked Alain, our photography guide for the day, “I thought soccer was the national sport of Cuba.” “Actually,” he replied, “it’s baseball, but flirting is a close second!” I had hired Alain Gutierrez as a photography guide for… Continue Reading →