Category Archives: About Me

I’m a Fan of Duck(s)

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…thanks to Jez for hosting I’m a fan of…..https://jezbraithwaite.blog/2022/05/02/ducks-fan-of-154/

Ducks are everywhere and I can’t help but take photos when I see them.

In France, Duck is a very popular food item and at Easter we treated ourselves to a roast of duck stuffed with prunes. I couldn’t bring myself to buying the whole bird at the market. The heads were still attached.

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In London we went Clissold Park, in the Highbury Islington area. Here we saw ducks in the pond.

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On my first walk when we arrived back in Toronto I walked to the Rotary Peace Park and found this lovely female Mallard who had absolutely no fear of me.

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Travelling Day – April 30, 2022

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….waiting for our Uber driver

I can’t believe that our 24 day vacation has come to an end. I think the worst part of a trip is the packing. Packing for the trip and then packing again to come home.

Many people end up with more bags coming home but some how we have one bag less. I was cursing my carry on bag when we moved from Tours to Paris to London. Even with the new clothes and gifts for family and friends I managed to reorganize my packing and get everything into two bags instead of three. I’ve left my carry on bag with our son here in London.

It’s impossible to say which parts of the trip were my favourites but spending these last three and a half weeks with family has been priceless.

Now that we have one trip under our belts we are ready for more adventures. New Brunswick here we come …….not too soon……I have a marathon of painting to do before my show in July.

Ciao!

Last Minute Shopping in London

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….today was our last full day in London

Tomorrow morning an Uber driver will pick us up at 8:00 am and take us to the Heathrow Airport. All week I wanted to return to Liberty so that I could browse through this amazing but expensive department store.

Today we took the Victoria South train and headed towards Oxford Circus. When we got there I wasn’t disappointed. When you first arrive you are greeted by the most wonderful flower shop attached to the Liberty store.

As you enter the store your senses are accosted by the smell of perfume and the bright colours of the fashion display that is currently featured.

I was hoping to find a nice Liberty scarf for a friend’s birthday but the sticker shock may have sent the feint of heart back onto the street. I proceeded to the elevators and headed for the floor where the Liberty fabrics were on display. I knew that on this floor I would find something that fit into my budget. I wasn’t disappointed.

Kevin was walking around the floor while I went through a bin of fabric ends. When I selected a couple of pieces he assured me there was nothing else to see. When I peaked into the next room I found plenty of things that caught my eye. At the far end of the room there were some cosy chairs so Kevin settled in while I browsed some more. He quickly engaged in conversation with a couple of middle aged American women and I could hear them laughing half way through the store.

After making a few more purchases I picked Kevin up and we made our way to the basement where the men’s wear resides.

One of the things that Kevin has wanted for many years is a Barbour coat. Sure enough they had them there but unfortunately or perhaps fortunately they didn’t have one in his size. I say fortunately because we walked over to Carnaby Street and there was a store devoted to only Barbour clothing for men.

Not only did they have Kevin’s size they also had it in the blue colour that he really wanted, The best part, however, was that it was £90 cheaper than the same coat at Liberty.

We continued to walk through Carnaby Street and throughly enjoyed being tourists.

It was a great way to end our trip. After returning to our flat we started to pack up a few things and brought some of our leftovers over to our daughter-in-law, Azadeh, and we had a couple of new picture books for Sevin. Azadeh made us a wonderful farewell dinner. Unfortunately our son, Brendan had to work late tonight. He will drop by early tomorrow morning before our Uber arrives to take us to the airport.

Good-bye London. We had a great time and hopefully we’ll be back soon.

Cooking in France

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….One of Kevin’s must do experiences

With all the wonderful produce and selections of meat Kevin really wanted to cook an authentic French meal. The area in and around Tours is known for it’s pork so after some thoughtful research he decided to cook Medallions of pork in a port mushrooms sauce.

We took a trip to the market and bought the most expensive cut of pork behind the counter. Over at the vegetable stall we picked up mushrooms and green beans and from the wine store we purchased a port and local bottle of Envol wine.

Back in the apartment the challenge began and I mean challenge. We had a two burner cooktop a two smallish pans to prepare a dinner for five.

Suces sur!

The Food in France

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…..we’re on a culinary adventure

Before venturing out on this trip I lost 12 pounds. I’ve been walking anywhere from 10 000 to 16 000 steps every day. Both these things are good because the food here is amazing. There are cafés everywhere and boulangeries and patisseries on every street.

Right below our apartment there are at least five outdoor restaurants and across the street there are five more.

The market is about a ten minute walk from our place and it takes us through a lovely treed boulevard.

We’ve quickly learned that a lot of shops and/or vendors here don’t open on Monday and Tuesday, especially smaller places. Larger main stream stores are open all the time. Here are just a few delights from the market.

Paté de Pacque….an Easter specialty
The best croissants in town
…..and of course coffee
…..and lots of wine

To See or Not to See

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…..at what cost would you see the Mona Lisa?

We’ve all seen pictures, videos and documentaries of the Mona Lisa. You may have read books about that mysterious smile or where the art piece itself is central to the storyline.

I’ve heard over and over again how small the painting is in real life and yet when I actually saw it I felt it was larger than I had imagined. Was it worth the long line-ups, the crowds and the close proximity to so many people during a pandemic?

I am not sorry that I saw her up close, well at least as close as you are allowed to be. I stood in line with our son but my husband didn’t. He saw the painting from the back of the room. What I am sorry for is all the art that I didn’t get to see or spend time with, as we hurried along the u-shaped galleries to get to the room where the Mona Lisa hung. I knew we were getting closer when the crowds got denser.

There is so much to see at the Louvre that you need more than one 90 minute slot. We were there at the end of the day and leaving Paris the next morning. Here are a few other art pieces that we managed to see.