Sat, 17 July, 2010
Greetings from Sylvie, enjoying the beautiful Sunshine Coast, and my hometown of Powell River, British Columbia. I got the green light from my oncologist on Friday for much needed R&R in BC. If you get the chance, Google Powell River, Canada. It's a small coastal town on BC's sunshine coast where I had the good fortune of growing up. Pristine snow capped mountains, oceans, lakes and rivers surround us and were probably taken for granted as a kid. We love it here and Bob and I bought a float cabin on Powell Lake a few years back. Bob will be joining me in a week.
Wednesday, 14 July 2010
I can’t remember if I’ve ever had a 31-day vacation, save for summers off as a kid...don’t know if that really counts. My business, EMTI, was sold as of July 1st and I feel free as a bird. I'm wishing for 100% good health, and am certainly working toward that achievement. This holiday will aid in that goal, I’m certain of it.
Ryan, my son, took me to the airport at 3:30 am, after a connection in Portland, Oregon, I landed in Vancouver at 11:30. Debbie greeted me at the airport…I was so happy to be there I cried all over the place. Debbie wrung out her shirt and we set off for Coquitlam. Deb, Roy and I had a really nice visit and my brother, Dan, picked me up after he got off work and we went out for dinner. Dan recommended the prawn curry and it was outstanding. The Pappeltini wasn’t bad either, an appletini-like drink but with Absolute Pear…yum! We hung out at his place, he showed me my new custom-built PC, watched a TV show and called it a night.
Deb picked me up the next day and she took the day off. We shopped, had our nails done and picked up some fixins’ for dinner. Roy grilled on the BBQ some Tandori chicken, steamed some rice, and made a Casear salad, made with fresh Romaine lettuce from their veggie garden. He also made a delicious Italian (did I mention he’s Italian?) cucumber salad with sweet success cucs from the garden as well as freshly grown garlic. He didn’t realize it would be as strong as it was, having diced about four cloves into some thinly sliced cucumber, peanut oil, vinegar and a pinch of salt. Deb and I loved the loads of fresh garlic (after the initial shock) but we’ll probably be wreaking for days! If this doesn’t rid us of all disease and illness, I don’t know what will…ha ha!! The strawberry and rhubarb pie we had for dessert was scrumptious too.
It’s now Friday morning and we were here in plenty of time for the 9:40 am ferry sailing from Horseshoe Bay headed up the Sunshine Coast to our hometown of Powell River. Deb’s spending the weekend and I’ll be here for a week or so visiting with family and friends until Bob arrives with the ‘supply wagon’, aka his Chevy Silverado loaded with goodies for the cabin, scuba gear, etc. My mom and brother, Dan, will be joining us at the cabin this time as well. Deb and I are looking forward to attending our 30-year high school reunion from Max Cameron of Powell River. I’ll be staying with a childhood friend, Kim, for the weekend and then over to my aunt and uncle’s house.
Friday's two ferry rides and drive to PR were fun. We'd made a ferry reservation with BC Ferries which is a must in the summer, unless you're prepared to miss a ferry if it gets too full to wait for the next sailing. Either flying or taking ferries/driving (about a 5-hour journey from Vancouver, BC) are the only two ways to get to Powell River. When we got to town Deb and I visited with Brenda and Warren. We sat out on their sunshine filled deck, 75 degree temps, and enjoyed some fresh salmon and chicken sandwiches, fruit and ginger ale. Kim picked me up and we headed to hear place. We've known each other since kindergarten and are having a great time.
I hope you enjoy the blog from beautiful BC. I'll upload some photos asap.
Love to all, Sylvie
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Saturday, May 8, 2010
Santorini exploration via ATV...whoohoo!
Then it was up to the highest point of the island, the monestary and military installation, an interesting blend. The views were spectacular and we were surrounded in meadows of colorful wildflowers, butterflies, birds and Greek architecture was scattered throughout the countryside.
We then started heading back to Fira, but stopped and had a Greek lunch in a panoramic restaurant, with sweeping views of the towns and neighboring islands we had visited over these past three days. Bob brought me back to the hotel so I could catch a siesta (I've not gotten the Greek word for that yet), and he carried on with the ATV back to Oia. When he returned we had a homemade Greek dinner at a nearby restaurant in Fira where the owner is also the chef - the food was spectacular and when we met him personally, strongly urged that he publish a cookbook. We are going back there for lunch today before our 5:00 high speed ferry sailing back to Athens, which takes about five hours. I'm glad the seats are like those of a spacious aircraft, with preassigned seating...I feel another siesta coming on...Our flight departs on Monday morning and we will return home late that night.
It's been a pleasure to share some of our adventure with you via blog. I hope you've enjoyed it as much as we have. We'll have plenty of photos and stories to share for those who are interested.
Our very best wishes to call and to all mothers, have a very happy Mother's day!
With our love, Sylvie and Bob
Santorini...picture book beautiful!!
We had a full day excursion in Santorini yesterday, May 8th. After breakfast at our 20-room B&B, we got on the Calypso, a glass bottom boat. Our 1st stop was the volcanic island of Nea Kameni. We learned how volcanoes are formed and why they erupt - we climbed to the top of this volcanic island, which already had about 18 craters on it! We then climbed back down and next cruised to the tiny island of Palea Kameni and had a 20-min swim in some volcanic hotsprings, the water temp went from 60 f to about 72 as we got close to its shore. As I peered up the canyon, some mountain goats were climbing along the rocky sheer face, staring down at us as if to say what the...??
We swam back to the boat and next ventured to the island of Thirassia. Very rugged and extremely rural - we took our guide's advice and had lunch at the top of the island, away from the touristy food shacks at the sea front. Two choices here - walk up the zig-zag path to the top or take a donkey. Thank god we chose the donkey since the walk back down in itself was exhausting. The donkeys were well trained and it was a hoot! As I held on for dear life, I blindingly held the camera over my shoulder and clicked away, managing to catch a few of Bob en route. At the top was a delicious locally owned restaurant, very rustic but the food and homemade wine was amazing. It took the guide three days to convince the owner to make his wine available as there isn't much of this particular grape and the wine is scarce, it was offered at two euros which smelled a bit of brandy but completely different in flavor, a real treat!
We quickly ventured to the other side of this narrow island where we got some fantastic pics of Greek windows, doors and landscape - most of this rural community had been abandoned 100s of years ago, there were plenty of fixer-uppers although none appeared to be for sale. We could see farming communities far in the distance. We had the option of cruising next to the town of Oia (pron. Ee-ah) and getting off the boat here, and climbing up 250 steep stone zig-zag steps to the town. Of the appr. 40 people on the boat only four of us chose to do this, Bob and I and two young ladies from New York. We'd been told that the sunset in the town of Oia was the world's most spectacular, where the sun kisses the sea, and every bit of this is true! After a very long climb up the hill, we caught our wind back with sitting in the cool shade cast by one of the town's beautiful cathedrals.
We then strolled through some of the beautiful shops, took photos and found a restaurant overlooking the caldera and brightly sit Agean waters and towns of the islands. The buildings at the top of the islands from a distance are so bright it appears as though there's fresh fallen snow. We had baclava and ice cream, water, coffee and locally made Santorini wine - the grape grown on this Mediterrainean island is so unique - it appears like a liquor on the sides of the glass but is extremely full bodied in flavor. We leisuring sat at what appeared to be the top of a castle and enjoyed the most beautiful sunset we've ever seen.
I could write an entire book but suffice it to say, everyone needs to visit Greece - it's unlike anything I've ever seen.
Hope to see you again soon,
Love Sylvie and Bob
We swam back to the boat and next ventured to the island of Thirassia. Very rugged and extremely rural - we took our guide's advice and had lunch at the top of the island, away from the touristy food shacks at the sea front. Two choices here - walk up the zig-zag path to the top or take a donkey. Thank god we chose the donkey since the walk back down in itself was exhausting. The donkeys were well trained and it was a hoot! As I held on for dear life, I blindingly held the camera over my shoulder and clicked away, managing to catch a few of Bob en route. At the top was a delicious locally owned restaurant, very rustic but the food and homemade wine was amazing. It took the guide three days to convince the owner to make his wine available as there isn't much of this particular grape and the wine is scarce, it was offered at two euros which smelled a bit of brandy but completely different in flavor, a real treat!
We quickly ventured to the other side of this narrow island where we got some fantastic pics of Greek windows, doors and landscape - most of this rural community had been abandoned 100s of years ago, there were plenty of fixer-uppers although none appeared to be for sale. We could see farming communities far in the distance. We had the option of cruising next to the town of Oia (pron. Ee-ah) and getting off the boat here, and climbing up 250 steep stone zig-zag steps to the town. Of the appr. 40 people on the boat only four of us chose to do this, Bob and I and two young ladies from New York. We'd been told that the sunset in the town of Oia was the world's most spectacular, where the sun kisses the sea, and every bit of this is true! After a very long climb up the hill, we caught our wind back with sitting in the cool shade cast by one of the town's beautiful cathedrals.
We then strolled through some of the beautiful shops, took photos and found a restaurant overlooking the caldera and brightly sit Agean waters and towns of the islands. The buildings at the top of the islands from a distance are so bright it appears as though there's fresh fallen snow. We had baclava and ice cream, water, coffee and locally made Santorini wine - the grape grown on this Mediterrainean island is so unique - it appears like a liquor on the sides of the glass but is extremely full bodied in flavor. We leisuring sat at what appeared to be the top of a castle and enjoyed the most beautiful sunset we've ever seen.
I could write an entire book but suffice it to say, everyone needs to visit Greece - it's unlike anything I've ever seen.
Hope to see you again soon,
Love Sylvie and Bob
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