January 16, 2012 – A few months ago, on the spur of the moment, we decided to go to France in the Spring. So now that Christmas is out of the way we are starting to think about it a bit more and Kirk has been looking into flights.

A woman in my office was there for a month or so in the late Fall, so I asked her for some tips. Non-touristy, smallish place, somewhere we could happily lounge for a week or so. Somewhere on the Mediterranean side, perhaps Provence. Her suggestion – Antibes. Close to Nice, Marseilles, Cannes, Monaco, yet apparently not so busy as any of those.

Sounds perfect!!

That’s about as much research as we have done, or are probably going to do. It’s fun to figure it out as you go, to not over-think things, not over-research. Sometimes it’s just fun to book a flight and a hotel and then discover as you go.

Looking forward to the South of France in the Springtime!

Day 2 in Seattle and we just spent the day wandering and enjoying the city. We meandered through Pike Place Market and watched people wake up. This person was busking outside of a bookstore at the market.

We thought we’d stop by the original Starbucks and pick up a coffee, but apparently half the city had the same idea. The line up was out the door and down the block. We decided that we didn’t really need a coffee quite that badly. So we visited Sur la Table, walked up to the Seattle Fluevogs, and tried on some shoes at the Dr. Marten store.

Eventually we ended up in Pioneer Square, stopped in at a clothing shop we’d visited the day before to try on a fabulous jacket/dress/coat that I’d fallen in love with, and ended up walking out with it. We stopped for lunch and a beer at Fado, and then did the Underground Tour. That was pretty neat and I’d recommend it, if for nothing else than the wonderful history lesson.

That pretty much took us to the end of the trip and so we made our way back to the train station and enjoyed a relaxing trip home over a bottle of wine. The train is just such a wonderful way to get to and from Seattle. It’s relaxing, scenic (well, not so much at night), comfortable, and you can have a snack and enjoy some wine of a local craft brewed beer.

Great weekend!

We used the International Motorcycle Show in Seattle, Washington as an excuse to get away for the weekend and what a fabulous, entertaining weekend it was!

We took the train, which means getting up at 4:30am to get ready, deal with animals, and get across town for the 6:40am departure. We fell onto the train with all the other sleepy passengers and rolled out of town. It’s the prettiest ride along the coastline, with the sun creeping up over the horizon and bathing everything in a golden glow. The sea birds were still resting on the water, like floating armies waiting for a bit of warmth and some light to see by. The train rocks from side to said as it moves along the tracks, part of you wants to fall asleep to the motion, but you don’t want to miss the wonderful views, so you fight it. You can wander down to the Bistro car and get a pretty good cup of coffee and something for breakfast – oatmeal, granola, a bagel with cream cheese…

When the train finally rolls into Seattle we hail a taxi and head for our hotel. Along the way we pass a park in which all of the trees are wrapped in colourful knitted sweaters. A rather fun public art display that I never did get back to for a photograph. We’ll have to come back next month and catch a photo then. Our taxi driver tells us that our hotel is at the top of the hill which means that everything is down from it…of course that means that at the end of the day it’s all uphill to get home. But it’s only a 10 minute walk to the Market, or pretty much anywhere else.

After we check into a very nice hotel room, we grab our tickets and walk down to the Convention Center for the International Motorcycle Show. We can tell we are getting close because there are more and more motorcycles driving past us. We didn’t really expect much out of the show, neither one of us really needs anything, and the style of motorcycle I am looking for now doesn’t seem to be a hot ticket item on the market anymore. Everyone wants cruisers, multipurpose, or rocket ships. No one makes a sport touring bike that I like that is under 1200cc’s and less than some stupid horsepower to weight ration, and I just don’t need that much weight under me. Just because you CAN ride something, doesn’t mean that you should! Looking at kids under 20 sitting on a Ninja ZX14 just horrifies me. A bike with 200 horsepower has no business being for sale as a street legal ride.

So I didn’t really expect to find anything of interest. Ducati stopped making the ST I like back in 2007 and they are hard to come by. The Yamaha FZ1 is interesting, but it doesn’t come fully faired. The Triumph feels to big under me, and I can’t ride the same ride as Kirk anyway . I’ve sat on the BMW 800 ST and there is just something I don’t care for about it. I think the Suzuki VStrom is about one of the ugliest bikes on the road, so definitely not going that direction, and similarly, although the functionality is nice, I also can’t stand the look of the BMW8 800 GS Triumph Tiger, or the Kawasaki Versys. I love the Honda VFR Interceptor, but like so many other good bikes, the manufacturers seem to have capitulated to the public idiocy that seems to have taken hold – bigger numbers must be better – so what used to be a sane 750cc bike is now 1200cc. Same thing for the Suzuki Bandit. What started out as a 25 and 400cc bike that evolved into a 750cc contender has ballooned to 1200cc now. It seems that no one is satisfied with smaller engines anymore. Riders have been crossing the world on bikes, yet now everyone seems to think they need a bigger, more powerful bike. Why? All you end up with is a heavier monster that eats more fuel. Is there nothing left at the 750-1000cc range that suits me?

Turns out that there is! Kawasaki has come out with a new Ninja – that bears a resemblance physically, but not functionally with their other similarly named bikes. hey have come out with a real contender in the sport touring market, at least in my eyes. I may just be falling in love with the new Ninja 1000 ABS in candy lime green and ebony. Anyway, it’s something to think about when I get to that point. Unless the Ducati dealer comes through and finds me that ST3 I left my name for.

After the motorcycle show we wandered down to Pike Place and enjoyed the sunny afternoon. We had a fabulous lung/early dinner at a restaurant overlooking the Sound. A salmon BLT with a spicy salsa instead of tomatoes, and a bowl of curried split pea and roasted eggplant soup. Yum!

We wandered Pioneer Square and found some fabulous shops to browse through. And then we saw something odd. Santas. Lots and lots of Santas. I don’t mean one or two, I mean hundreds and hundreds. We thought that maybe there had been a concert or something. Then we stopped and our jaws dropped when we looked into a pub up on Pine Street. The pub was full to capacity, and everyone inside was dressed like Santa! We finally stopped a pack of Santas and asked one of the women “WHY?” SantaCon she said, it’s “Santarchy“. She took hold of my hand and earnestly urged us along. “You MUST come” she said. Kirk’s back was bothering him so we bowed out and when we returned to the hotel we looked it up. Santarchy! Never heard of it before!

We rounded out the day with a stop at a recommended wine bar down a few blocks – Purple Cafe & Wine Bar – Fabulous place! They have wine tastings that they call “Flights“. Series of 3-5 2.5oz tastings of selected wines from everywhere. We tried a 3 white flight (called the “Hard to Say”) and a 4 red flight (Called “Filthy” – for their earthy taste). We asked our sommelier how many wines they stock – 500 labels he told us. On the island in the middle of the bar area I estimated that there were approximately 200 open bottles being poured from. How they keep it all organized was beyond me. Oh, and the cheesecake was amazing! We spent several hours there savouring the amazing wines that we’d chosen before we climbed the hill and collapsed into bed.

Fabulous day!

I think the highlight of the week was definitely riding the Duffy Lake Loop. Not the most comfortable experience on my bike, it’s not really a sport bike friendly road, more of an enduro/cruiser/touring road with its bumps and tar snakes, but I did it! All 600km of it. And I had a very sore back to show for it at the end. And my legs ached from holding onto the bike and lifting myself off the seat a fraction to reduce the impact of the ruts and heaves. And a sore neck from the riding position. Ankles a bit stiff and the backs of the knees too. But everything else (does that leave much?) was fine. Arms, wrists, etc, so I was riding properly and not getting lazy. Putting the weight where it is supposed to be.

Gorgeous scenery and a good indication that I could travel farther on that bike than I thought I could.

We stopped for a short break just before Pemberton at a lookout over Green River and Nairn Falls before making the decision to go the full loop. At this point it wouldn’t have been a big deal to turn back and ride home the same way.

162/365 (June 11. 2011) – It was hot and more humid than the previous days, and that just made it feel even hotter. I’m about ready to be home in the cooler and drier (!) air of Vancouver. I liked Mexico, but I like Vancouver better. Until next time, Adios!

Travelogue at Manus in Mano

161/365 (June 10, 2011) – I don’t understand the human fascination with fighting. I suppose if two humans want to get in a ring and beat the tar out of each other, that’s their choice. But why must we persist in brutalities such as bullfighting, pit (dog) fighting, cockfighting…. I just don’t get it.

These are fighting cocks. They are tethered to their shelter with just enough room to come within inches of the other cocks nearby, thereby keeping them in a constantly aggressive position and attitude and prepare them for the ring.

Travelogue at Manus in Mano

160/365 (June 9, 2011) – Today was a busy day. The entire group (save one or two who were injured or ill) boarded a 60 foot powercat and headed South on Banderas Bay toward Yelapa.

Travelogue at Manus in Mano

159/365 (June 8, 2011) – There are some strange things here in Mexico. Not sure what to say about these two, but it looks like time passed them by.

158/365 (June 7, 2011) – I wandered through Old Town today and did a bit of shopping. I love listening to the shopkeepers calling for us to come look at their wares – “Almost Free!” they yell from across the street. This is shoulder season for them, very few tourists are around, so there is fierce competition for your attention.

155/365 (June 5, 2011) – The business stuff started for Kirk this afternoon and so we have moved into the hotel now. Gorgeous place.

Earlier today we were sitting by this pool and a little girl in a pink bathing suit was attacked by a half dozen or so grackles. They were swooping and diving at her as she screamed and ran around the pool and the staff called to her to get into the water. They went after a man a little later. Aggressive little things!

Not a great shot this, too grainy, but you get the idea. It’s the only photo I actually took today, but it sums the day up nicely. This is a relaxing place (except for those attack birds).