Happy New Year!

2013 has been an incredible year for us. New adventures, new experiences and new friends. Time has flown by. I can't believe that we've been in Paris for almost a year now. I can't wait to see what 2014 brings.

There is a lot to do on New Years Eve in Paris, including fireworks at the Eiffel Tower, but Lori and I are spending a quiet night at home. We've never been big on going out for New Years. We'll have some Chinese food for supper and a bottle of champagne later. We hope all of our friends and family have a Happy (and safe) New Year.

db

Joyeux Noël

Merry Christmas to all our family and friends. Sounds like most of you in Canada had a white Christmas this year. We had a wet and windy Christmas in Paris. Linda and Colin came over last night and we had a great time. It was part European and part North American. First we had some champagne and snacked on some delicious terrines that Linda and Colin brought.

Then I fell back on an old standard and we watched "Christmas Vacation". It's just not Christmas until I see Cousin Eddy in his robe, pumping out the RV. Lori gave me one of my presents early and I will be sure to have a Merry Christmas with it.

db

Weekend

We had a great weekend exploring Paris with Linda and Colin. Unlike Eastern Canada, the weather in Paris has been fantastic. On Saturday we walked through the city until we came to the two big department stores Au Printemps and Galeries Lafayette. Both decorate their windows for Christmas. There are some windows just for kids and others look like high fashion art.

We took the metro to St. Germain for lunch. Then we walked along the river where Linda and Colin took part in the local tradition of putting a lock on the bridge and throwing the key away.

Lori asked why we aren't romantic enough to do this and I told her that I don't partake in civil disobedience. Then we stopped in to the Great Canadian Pub for a few drinks (I was craving a Caesar) before heading back to our place to finish off the night. It was a great day.

On a side note, Lori finally broke down and went shoe shopping. Most people (including myself) have been surprised that Lori hasn't gone crazy buying shoes while in Paris. That changed on Saturday when she found a store that was closing and having a clearance sale. She walked out with six pairs.

db

Arc de Triomphe

I was out touring the city with Linda and Colin the other day and we went to the top of the Arc de Triomphe. I had never been to the top before because I hate waiting in lines, but it wasn't bad at all. It's much quicker than waiting at the Eiffel Tower, but that's probably because you have to walk up 284 stairs.

It was worth it though. The view of the city is incredible. This is the view to the east, down the Champs-Élysées.

This is the opposite direction. The cluster of office towers is La Défense where Lori works.

You get a pretty good view of the Eiffel Tower too.

I just love looking at the street layout. No wonder it's so easy to get lost, there are no right angles in this city.

We could see some really nice roof-top gardens as well.

It was a great day and I highly recommend making the trek up if you are in Paris.

db

Vienna

Another great weekend in another beautiful European city. Like Stockholm, we had no preconceived ideas and were pleasantly surprised with how much we enjoyed Vienna. This was even better because we got to share it with our friends Linda and Colin. The main reason we went was because we had read great things about the Christmas markets and this is a city that knows how to do Christmas. Many of the things we associate with Christmas like trees, evergreen boughs, yule logs and mistletoe originate from this region. There were several markets throughout the city and we visited 5 of them. Each one a little different than the others but they were all well-attended.

Lots of great stuff to choose from.

The food was incredible. The Viennese are known for their sweet tooth and the pastries and cakes were delicious. This cream ring was enormous and it weighed a ton.

Lots of great sausages as well.

The market looked even better at night.

It wasn't just the markets either, they had the whole city decorated. Here is one of the trams passing though downtown.

The lights over the streets were impressive.

If you love Christmas, you should really visit Vienna at some point. I'd love to go back.

db

Weekend

I'm meeting Lori in Vienna tonight. She's flying in from Oman and we are meeting at the airport. Then we're meeting our friends Linda and Colin tomorrow. We'll spend a few days in Vienna and then they are flying back to Paris with us. Linda and Colin have had a bit of an adventure getting to Vienna due to bad weather in London. I hope the rest of their trip goes well.

I'm looking forward to exploring a new city, visiting the Christkindlmarkt or Christmas Market and spending time with friends. I was hoping to see some snow in Vienna but I don't think that's going to happen. Speaking of snow, I hope all our friends and family in eastern Canada stay safe this weekend. Sounds like quite the storm is headed your way. I miss a good snow storm.

db

Marchés de Noël (Christmas Markets)

By the time we returned to Paris, all of the Christmas Markets had opened. Since I'm all alone this week (Lori is away on business) I decided to go out and explore a few of them. There are small markets like this one outside a church in our neighbourhood

and there are much larger markets like the one at La Defense. This is right outside Lori's building.

There are all kinds of booths. Some are corporate like Samsung, others sell junk like Shamwows but it's mostly crafts and food. I found one booth promoting Quebec tourism. They were selling poutine and maple syrup among other things. The gentleman I spoke to told me they have eight booths in markets across France and Belgium. I was very happy to buy some beer from them.

The largest market in Paris is on the Champs-Élysées. I went over in the evening so I could see the lights. It's really hard to capture an image that shows it properly. This is what you get when you have a slow camera and shaky hands.

It doesn't really show anything but I thought it looked cool. Here is the entrance to the market.

I bought some roasted chestnuts while I was there.

I needed something to wash them down with so I bought a beverage to go with them. Here's my free tip of the day: when you see a sign that says "Hot Wine", that's exactly what you get. It's not a clever name for something else. It was pretty good but I'm glad I only got the small glass.

db

The New St. John's

Dennis has been back a couple of times, but last week was the first time I've been back to Canada for more than a 12 hour layover since we left in early January. We had a terrific visit back home in NL.  Too short as the visits always are, but we packed in as much as we could:  2 days at the cabin, a fabulous Jigg's dinner, 2 days of house hunting (we're buying a property with Mom and Dad), Ches' fish and chips, a great night out with my best friend Hilda and her husband Wayne, meetings with contractors and realtors, a day of staging Mom and Dad's house, and a little shopping to pick up all of the things you can't get in Paris.

St. John's has certainly changed from the St. John's I knew growing up.  Evidence of the new oil-fueled prosperity is everywhere.  Housing prices heading into Calgary territory, trendy shops and trendy restaurants, and much more variety in everything.  But so far, St. John's is managing to balance it with the old things that gave the place such character.  Jelly Bean Row house colours have taken over the city, live music can be found every night of the week in any number of cool pubs and bars, and people are as friendly as ever.

The greatest thing I noticed though was that the missing generation is back.  When we left in 1994, all of Newfoundland seemed to be populated with people under 24 and over 50.  The generation in the middle was conspicuously absent - we had all left to find work elsewhere.  I'm not sure when it changed, but I'm glad it did.  After 20 years of never seeing myself ever going back to St. John's, it comes as a bit of surprise to now realize that I'm looking forward to going home after I retire.

Happy holidays everyone!

Lori

Jiggs Dinner

One of my favorite things about Newfoundland is a Jiggs Dinner and Lori's mom cooks better it than anyone. For someone who's not from here and has never had one before, it may seem a little strange at first but once you've had it, you'll fall in love with it too.

The history of a Jiggs dinner goes back to the days when Newfoundland was just an outport and it was difficult to get fresh meat and vegetables. While the ingredients vary from region to region (and even within families) the basic version consists of salt beef, potatoes, turnip, carrots and cabbage. The closest thing I can think of would be corned beef and cabbage.

Salt beef is chunks of beef preserved in a brine and in order to make it edible, the beef has to be boiled to remove the brine and soften the meat. Housewives discovered if they cooked the vegetables in the same pot, the brine and meat would give them a great taste. The beef would be shipped in large barrels and you would select the pieces you want. Today the beef comes in buckets and can be bought anywhere.

Like I said, there can be other things in the pot as well like turnip greens and parsnips. The salt beef could be replaced with salt riblets also. One of my favorite things about a Jiggs dinner is the peas pudding. This is yellow split peas cooked in a pudding bag hanging in the pot. Some families do not use gravy on their Jiggs dinner but Lori's mom always cooks a roast or a turkey separately in order to create gravy. Here's a photo of my first plateful. I took it before I put the gravy on.

As you can see I'm not from Newfoundland originally because I have very little salt beef on my plate. I love the flavour it gives everything else but I'm not a fan the beef itself. Too chewy and stringy. I do love to make hash out of the leftovers the next day though so that makes me an honourary Newfoundlander.

db

Surprise Visit

Well it's not a surprise anymore because I let it slip the other day, but Lori is on a plane coming to St. John's to visit her parents. She lands late tonight and we are going up to the cabin for the weekend. We'll be back in town on Monday.

In the meantime, I've been touring around St. John's visiting some of my old haunts. Stopped into the Duke of Duckworth for a couple of pints and I bought a couple of CD's by local musicians at Fred's Records. I also went to the top of Signal Hill. It wasn't the best time to go up there. We had a wind warning in effect yesterday and when the wind hits 60 or 70 km/h in town it's about 1000 km/h up there. I just love the view though (even when it's not that clear).

I also stopped in to see the Terry Fox memorial. It was unveiled in 2005 and it's near the spot where he dipped his foot into the water in 1980 when he started his run across Canada.

Hard to believe that happened 33 years ago. Have a great weekend and I'll talk to you on Monday.

db

Snow

Last week I was raving about the weather in St. John's, but this morning I woke up to this:

I know I will come to regret this but I'm glad it snowed at least once while I was here. It wouldn't have felt like Canada if it didn't. I'm halfway through my trip and things are going well. Getting lots done and enjoying my time. After living in a foreign country and speaking a foreign language for 10 months, life at home seems so much easier now.

db

Things Forgotten

I'm enjoying my time in Newfoundland and I'm getting lots of things done. The weather has been great. I didn't expect it to be this warm in November. Lorraine is taking good care of me. Between the fish cakes, cod au gratin and beef stew, I should be happily slipping into a food coma any day now.

Whenever I'm away for an extended period of time, either now or when I was in the navy, I always think about things I miss. A certain type of beer or food, watching hockey and spending time with friends and family are always at the top of the list. There are always things about life in Canada that I forget about though. 

One of the things that caught me off guard this time is Christmas commercials in the middle of November. Do we really need to hear about the 'Ho Ho Hold The Payment Event' for two months. I always forget that there are no more pennies in Canada as well. It's nice not to have a pocket full of useless pennies but now I have a pocket full of nickels. One of the best things about being home that I forgot about was the concept of personal space. It's so nice not to have someone standing so close that we could share a coat.

db

What Do I Do?

The most popular question I get is "What do you do all day?" It's a reasonable question. By no means am I run off my feet, but you would be surprised at how quickly my day fills up. Imagine all those things you do after work and on weekends; shopping, cleaning, running errands. I get all those things done while Lori is at work so we can enjoy our time together. Our refrigerator is tiny and doesn't have a freezer so I am at the grocery store or market almost everyday. Our combo washer/dryer neither washes nor dries very well, so once a week I load up our largest suitcase with dirty clothes and spend a couple of hours at the laundromat.

I'm also the person who has to fly back to Canada to take care of things there. In April, I was back in Ontario to get the cottage ready to sell. In September, I had dozens of things to take care of in Alberta and tomorrow I'm flying to Newfoundland for three weeks to take care of some things. We had some airline credits that had to be used up and Lori has a couple of trips to the Middle East, so this is the perfect time to get back. Plus I need a new computer and it is a lot cheaper (and easier) to buy it in Canada.

You could call me Lori's personal assistant but I like to think of myself as the 'fixer' like George Clooney's character in the movie "Michael Clayton". Anyway, I'm looking forward to getting back to the rock for awhile. I'll keep you posted.

db

Armistice Day

Yesterday was Remembrance Day in Canada but in France it's called Armistice Day. It's a national holiday to mark the armistice of 1918. There was a wreath laying ceremony at the tomb of the unknown soldier underneath the Arc de Triomphe, similar to the ceremony in Ottawa. They were just tearing down everything when I took this photo.

Lori and I had our poppies with us and we received quite a few positive comments about them. They are not worn in France but some think they should. 

Personally, I think everyone should.

db

Quiet Weekend

Not much to write about these days. Lori and I have been staying close to home lately. The weather is still great in Paris. We actually sat outside yesterday, which was nice considering our friends in Calgary were hit with yet another winter storm. Calgary weather is just so bizarre during the shoulder seasons. Winter is predictable, cold and dry. Summer is predictable, warm and dry. Spring and fall are crazy though. I remember a few years ago, I was barbecuing in shorts and sandals on a Thursday evening and then shovelling 8 inches of snow on Friday morning. It's never boring at least.

Although we didn't go anywhere this weekend, it was still enjoyable. We actually had a long weekend as Friday was a holiday. I'm not sure why, I just know it was a Catholic holiday. There are so many that I've stopped learning the names. We spent our time reading, listening to music and watching Netflix. We discovered Sons of Anarchy this weekend and did some binge watching. That's the only way to watch TV. I hate waiting seven days to watch the next episode. Of course you have to tread lightly around the Internet or else you'll mistakenly stumble upon a spoiler, like I did with SAMCRO. Stupid internet.

db

Schneider Weisse

Yesterday was exactly four weeks since my Schneider Weisse was bottled. Being borderline Obsessive Compulsive (Lori would argue the borderline part) I made sure that I opened it on the exact day. The bottle even came with instructions.

It might be a little cheesy but I thought it was a fun way to explain the brewing process. How did it taste? It was OK. The carbonation was good and the colour was right but it didn't have as much flavour as I expected. Maybe it was too agitated in my suitcase, I don't know. It wasn't bad, just not as good as I had hoped. Maybe I'm just too picky.

db

Fall

The weather in Paris has been beautiful this fall. This is our first experience with fall weather and we have been pleasantly surprised. After the cold, wet and grey spring, we were expecting the worst but it's been warm and sunny. There is a wind storm hitting southern England and northern France that is affecting us this morning but it's nothing compared to what Calgary got yesterday. Here is a picture my friend Darren sent me.

I'll take warm wind over that any day. We spent our weekend out walking and exploring our neighbourhood. We are slowly but surely finding everything that we want or need. Sometimes you find what you are looking for in the strangest places. We made another discovery this weekend that made me happy. 

A few weeks ago, Lori found a natural foods store that carries natural peanut butter. In France, peanut butter is not readily available. Nutella is the spread of choice and it's very good, but sometimes I just want peanut butter. You can find the commercially produced stuff in some large grocery stores, but I hate it. Anyway, we needed some more so we stopped into this natural foods store and over in the corner was beer from French micro-breweries. I knew these existed but I could never find them. I picked up a couple and they were very good.

I'm sure we will have everything figured out just before it's time to leave and return to Calgary. Where did I put that snow shovel?

db

Sucré ou Salé

Lori and I had a great weekend. We went shopping in the new mall we found and we picked up some great stuff. We also learned a valuable lesson, never go grocery shopping on a Saturday. It was like Lord of the Flies in there, kill or be killed.

On Sunday we went to a movie. You can find English movies in Paris fairly easily. You just have to check the listing for either VO (Version Originale) or VF (Version Francaise). The Version Originale will have French subtitles while the Version Francaise will be dubbed into French. Now that the summer is over and we are approaching Oscar season, there are quite a few good movies coming out. We saw Woody Allen's latest film "Blue Jasmine". It was a little weird but pretty good. Kate Blanchett was really good though.

Movie theatres are a little different in Paris. They are similar to a theatre where you would watch a play or a concert. At some of the larger ones, they will have lobbies where you can buy wine and beer. When you buy your tickets you also select your seat. Popcorn is available but when you buy it, they will ask sucré ou salé, which means sweet or salty. I've never tried the sweet but I assume it would be similar to Kettle Corn. Regardless, it's never very good. They don't pop it fresh so it's not warm, usually stale and there's no butter either. The M&M's are good though.

db

Home

I've been back in Paris for awhile now and it's amazing how much it feels like home. Everything is familiar and normal now. Of course, I will never be mistaken for a Parisian. The fact that I never wear a scarf and my English accent will always give me away. Even though it feels like home, sometimes I still long for things from my true home, and Lori has found a couple of ways to make that happen.

While I was away, Lori figured out how to use the alternate audio feed on the TV and now we can watch certain shows and movies in English. Watching in French helps us learn, but sometimes you just want to sit down and watch some mindless entertainment. Just because we can watch more TV doesn't mean that we do, there seems to be a lot of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Charmed on Paris TV. We stay away from those but occasionally we'll watch an episode of Friends or Two and a Half Men in English.

The other thing Lori discovered was a mall close by. They have a large North American style grocery store that will make shopping a lot easier. There is also a Marks & Spencer in this mall. This is a British store and they carry products that I can't find anywhere else like meat pies, cheddar cheese and British Ales. Don't get me wrong, I still love French cheese but it's nice to have a good cheddar once in awhile. These are small things, but they make me happy. I hope everyone has a good weekend. 

db

Bamberg

Our final stop on our beer journey was Bamberg. Although Bamberg is officially in Bavaria, the locals still consider it to be part of Franconia. Franconia became part of Bavaria in 1803 and I don't think they ever got over it. It's a beautiful city of about 80,000. It's situated among seven hills, just like Rome, but our tour guide told us that the archbishop named one hill twice so that Bamberg would be considered Rome's equal.

They have a section along the river that they refer to as 'Little Venice' as well and I can see why.

I do know there are 8 breweries in the city though. That may seem like a lot for a city of 80,000 people, but when you consider all of Germany has around 1,400 breweries, it's not that many. The most famous of these breweries is called Schlenkerla. Most breweries used to roast their own malt using a fire fueled by wood. This gave the malt, and subsequently the beer, a smokey flavour. During the industrial revolution, most breweries got their malt from a malting house. For efficiency, these malting houses switched to coal. Obviously, the coal smoke did not provide a pleasant taste for the beer, so they filtered out the smoke and just roasted using heat. Schlenkerla did not do this. They continued to roast their own malt using wood and today they are one of two breweries still producing a 'Rauchbier' or a smoked beer. A lot of Germans outside of Franconia do not like this beer, but I thought it was great. If you enjoy BBQ, you'll probably like this beer too.

We had a great talk with the current owner Mathias about the history of the brewery and pub. His English was perfect, primarily because he spent his Grade 11 year on exchange in Welland ON. Afterwards we had a great dinner. I had a local specialty called the Bamberg Onion. It's essentially a meatloaf stuffed into an onion. Very good.

The next night we had our farewell dinner. Lori flew in to spend a couple of extra days with me in Bamberg was able to join us for the meal. It was a lot of fun and we ended up staying out quite a bit later than we planned. We joined a group of local beer enthusiasts for an impromptu beer tasting.

The next couple of days were a little quieter and more our pace. We went for a walk along the canal, read and spent time on patios watching the world go by.

Our final day, we left early and took the train to Nuremberg. We spent a few hours touring the city before we caught our flight back to Paris.

This gave us one more chance to enjoy nice light German meal (can you detect the sarcasm?).

Despite the awful ending when we got back to Paris, it was a great trip. I was exhausted by the end though, but that had more to do with the fact I had just spent two weeks in Calgary plus a trip to Rome before that. In total, I was living out of suitcase for five weeks. Add in all the beer I drank and food I ate and it's no wonder I was burnt out. Having said all that, I would do it again in a heartbeat. Next time I just won't plan another two week trip right before it. I think I'd like to do the Farmhouse Ales of France & Belgium next though, so if anyone else is interested, let me know.

db

Munich

After three nights in Prague (as a group) we boarded our bus and headed for Munich. Along the way, we stopped in a small town in the Bavarian Hills called Eck. It was a beautiful spot. 

We stayed at a small, family run brew house with a restaurant and hotel. The brewery is run by Gerhardt whose family has owned it for generations. He gave us a tour and then we had a fantastic meal.

Early the next morning we were on the move again. We stopped in Kelheim for a tour of Shneider & Sons Brewery. Schneider Weiss is one of my favorite beers, so I was excited about this. It's an industrial sized brewery so it was a different experience than in Eck.

Of course every time we took a brewery tour we had a tasting as well. With a group of beer enthusiasts and home brewers there were lots of questions and interest in the beers. This made the brewers happy and more willing to share their beer. At Schneider & Sons, they also gave us a beer to take with us. It was bottled just before we got there. It hadn't gone through its second fermentation yet, so we were given instructions on how to make sure that happens. So on Oct 28, I will complete my tasting of my Schneider Weiss.

After another great lunch, we boarded the bus for Munich. Quite a few people in the group brought beers with them. Either something they brewed at home or a favorite from their local brewery. This seemed like a good time to have a beer tasting on the bus, which made the ride to Munich more fun (except when we tried to use the tiny bathroom on the bus).

Munich isn't as picturesque as Prague, because it suffered quite a bit of damage during the war, but there are still plenty of beautiful sights though.

The next day was our Oktoberfest day. Of course, the Bavarians don't call it Oktoberfest, they call it die Weis'n after the fairgrounds. Growing up near Kitchener ON, I've never been a big fan of Oktoberfest. I wasn't sure if I was going to enjoy it, but I ended up with a smaller group for the whole day and we had a lot of fun.

Just imagine the waitresses carrying eight of those full glasses through a crowd of people. I don't know how they do it. Tomorrow I'll talk about the final stop on our tour, Bamberg.

db