KM 170 It had been three years since I had been on a bike tour, so I was raring to go on my first official riding day (I had put in 25 kms yesterday). I bolted out of the gates at 5:30 and I had great start with the first 20 kms being four lanes. After another 30, the traffic died down noticeably and by kilometre 75 it was dead quiet. The other nice thing was that the roads were all nicely sealed even though they didn't have a shoulder. But then again, vehicles were not passing by at 100 km/hr. One of those random moments I had was next. As I rode past an elementary school at about 8:00, I could hear the song Let's Get Physical by Olivia Newton John blaring out. At the ... read more

Overview Outside of a three-day business trip to Halifax 10 years ago, I have never been east of Montreal in Canada. Given that my brother was getting married just south of Halifax, Shauna and I thought we would take the opportunity to see a bit more of Nova Scotia. Trip I was well organized for this trip with all accommodation reservations complete and even a couple of dinner reservations made. TripAdvisor has changed the way I travel and for the better (Shauna smiles). After taking the red-eye from Edmonton, we arrived late morning into Halifax. The cloud and drizzle that greeted us would be par for the course for the first few days (we really didn't have a clear sunny day the whole week). We ended up with a really nice B&B just outside of downtown. ... read more

After my trip to London this summer, everything was just a bit easier this time. The real highlight of this trip was Paris though. It has been over 22 years since I was there, so it seemed like a new city to me. We stayed in the Montmartre neighbourhood which had a Bohemian feel to it with cobblestone streets, cafes, restaurants, and shops. Space, as defined by the distance between two tables at a restaurant or cafe, is certainly smaller here. At a number of restaurants, tables would be moved in and out for a person. It did make for some interesting conversations though, because you almost felt you were at the same table with other patrons… I now have a new appreciation for French cuisine. All of our lunches and dinners were fabulous! There were ... read more

We chose Barcelona because of what Shauna had heard from friends and colleagues in London. I hadn't been to Spain before and I knew it would have at least some flamenco to watch. After a quick two-hour flight we had arrived in Barcelona. It is amazing how close everything is in Europe. No wonder there are so many Brits that vacation here. Easyjet (UK's version of WestJet) had flights to all kinds of places in Spain that I have never heard of before. Talking about Easyjet, they have some interesting rules. For one, there is only ONE piece of hand luggage that can be carried on. It doesn't matter how much it weighs, but it has to be no bigger than the standard carry-on size. That included things like purses! Those had to be stored in ... read more

We spent Saturday in Houston. The car rental experience was fabulous and it was still cheaper than taking the bus into and back from town. We even rented a GPS, which was a great idea. The freeway system is fantastic here. Outside of breakfast and lunch we shopped at The Galleria (the West Edmonton Mall of Houston). Shauna got a second wind and went a bit nuts with her Christmas shopping. On our way back to the airport, we stopped at Pappasito's Cantina, which was recommended by someone at our cooking school in Rio. Portions of food and drinks were huge, but the service was fantastic. Even the manager came over to apologize for how long our meals were taking, which is unheard of by Edmonton standards.... read more