Our plans, decisions, and adventures
Wine. If you enjoy it, then Oliver in late September/early October is a great place to be. Tourist season has slowed and temperatures have cooled, but the wineries, for the most part, are still open. It is also time for the fall Okanagan Wine Festival, a collection of wine-related events throughout the Okanagan Valley from wine-paired gourmet dinners to grape-stomping family festivals. Continue reading “Oliver and the Okanagan: Land of plenty”
We are in the middle of a repeat house sit in Oliver, British Columbia. Vineyards and orchards cover the hills and valleys here, and accompanying wineries (and now cideries and distilleries) are abundant. The Kettle Valley Rail (KVR) trail offers easy cycling along the Okanagan River, but there is one section of this trail that we have been wanting to cycle since we learned about it many years ago. Finally, we have ridden the Myra Trestles (and tunnels) section of the KVR. Continue reading “Trestles and Tunnels”
It’s odd to think of people who are living nomadically taking a vacation. Despite the title of this post, we don’t think of it that way ourselves. But when we return to the familiar–our hometowns replete with family and friends–it feels a bit like a vacation. Though we posted about our comings and goings in Canada over the summer last year, many of this year’s locations and meet-ups were similar, so writing about them might have seemed repetitive. However, since we don’t have a home of our own anymore, even in familiar places, we have to find ways to accommodate ourselves. Here’s how and where we lived over the last 3 months. Continue reading “How we spent our summer vacation”
After months of walking on towpaths and watching the narrowboats ply the canals last fall, we were finally ready to board our own boat and try our hand at maneuvering around England’s waterways. We took the train from Glasgow to Coventry and then grabbed a cab for the short ride to the Coventry Basin, the home of Excellence Afloat at Valley Cruises, our boat rental company (see circle 1 on the image Our narrowboat journey, below). Continue reading “Oxford: A week on the canals”
We took our second road trip through Scotland, but this time with company and a different itinerary. We met my sister and brother-in-law, Janice and Mike, at Gatwick Airport, and rushed them off to the train station to board a train for Saint Pancras and then a switch at King’s Cross for our long train ride to Glasgow. Ken and I were well-rested after a night at the Marriot (on points, of course), so didn’t mind the 6-hour train trip. Our travel partners had just completed a 9-hour flight but still managed to appreciate the interesting vistas provided by the train ride through the English and Scottish towns and countryside.
With a week to fill between our month in Deal and our next commitment in London, we were lucky enough to book a house sit for 5 nights in Waterbeach, a bedroom community just outside of Cambridge. That left us with only 1 night on either end of the sit for which to arrange accommodation. Continue reading “Waterbeach: A quick stop near Cambridge”
Mostly, we are relaxing here in Deal. We walk to the beach frequently, take Coco for a swim, and occasionally stop for a coffee or drink at a seaside cafe. The larger grocery stores and shops of High Street are close to the beach, so a seaside walk also gives us a chance to restock in small doses since we don’t have a car to haul bags back home. Continue reading “Deal: Castles, cathedrals and sandwiches”
Having enjoyed the warmth and ocean of coastal Cyprus so much, we were a bit apprehensive about heading back to the UK in April. Pre-booked flights and train trips, and a committed house sit (not to mention the lack of accommodation elsewhere), won out and we set off for our next adventure. Continue reading “Deal: Sea swap”
I thought I had finished talking about Limassol and Cyprus, but we created enough time in a few workdays by rescheduling our dog walks to Ken-only afternoons to get up to a few more interesting things in our last days there. Continue reading “Limassol: Last words (again)”
While planning what to do after our house sit in Kalkan, Turkey, we found a 2-week house sit in Cyprus. An island just south of Turkey, Cyprus appeared to be a really convenient next stop as it is an island nation just south of Turkey. As we always do before applying for a sit, we did a quick transport check and found that we could fly from an airport near Kalkan to an airport on Cyprus quite cheaply and quickly.
Istanbul. A city split over two continents (Asia and Europe). A city with a countable population that is roughly half that of the entire country of Canada. The Turks speak of the country’s uncountable population (refugees and their growing families, primarily) as, well, uncountable–nobody knows how many more this adds to the population number–and Istanbul is a significant landing pad for many residents in that category. Continue reading “Turkey: Istanbul”
Just left: Oliver, BC
Now: Calgary, Alberta
Up next: Road trip!
