TravelStream™ news feed for member kaylz on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/kaylz en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Sun, 26 Jul 2009 19:09:24 -0400 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kaylz/europa_06/1155473820/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kaylz/europa_06/1155473820/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kaylz/europa_06/1155473820/tpod.html Sun, 26 Jul 2009 19:09:24 -0400 "You picked the best summer to visit Europe!"

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Vienna, Austria

Ah, a place where we can wear jeans and jackets....and we were actually greeted by rain rather than blazing sunshine. Our first day in Austria treated us to awesome mountains, the best yet with crystal clear and/or bright blue streams running down from them. The mountains are not arid like Spain, nor craggy like the Italian/French border, but covered with trees and filled with little villages here and there. We definitely had a great feeling before we even arrived. Our campsite was close, a bus and 4 U-Bahn (subway) away from the city center. We found an awesome spot right under a few Austrian pine trees. There is also a supermarket right across the street.

Today we are exploring the city of Wein (Vienna), it is clean, beautiful, old and well preserved...everything a European city is stereotypically thought to be. The streets smell like German cooking which we are SO glad to be back around. There are many people that speak English and the transit system is so easy to follow. Even on a Sunday (today) the streets are busy with tourists and locals just walking around. We have been to Vienna's landmark St. Stephens Cathdedral (during mass, but we were nice and quiet); the romanesque Karlskirche; the High-Jet Fountain (that boasts a tribute to the Soviet 12th Army that liberated the city in WWII); and the Art Nouveau Secession monument were artists like Klimt used to go. After some Kebab for lunch we are online and then heading to the Hofburg Palace for the rest of the afternoon. Then tonight, the 61m tall Ferris Wheel! Already a favorite, we have to leave Vienna for Munich, Germany on Tuesday morning.

All is great.

]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kaylz/europa_06/1154036460/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kaylz/europa_06/1154036460/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kaylz/europa_06/1154036460/tpod.html Sun, 26 Jul 2009 19:07:04 -0400 "You picked the best summer to visit Europe!"

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La Rochelle, France

Well hello from La Rochelle! A beautiful town on the western coast of France, north of Bordeaux. We ended up here at random after deciding to travel south....and what a great place. The old city is enclosed by castle towers and a wall. It is surrounded by acres of awesome sailboats and tourists - mostly families and older people. Due to its popularity camping was full so we had our first hostel experience...and all we can say is that we wont be doing the hostel thing very often....lol. Matt and I were segregated to different rooms and although he had some friendly roomates, I had a drunken British girl who operated like our dorm room was a brothel ...thankfully the beach and the town made up for my promiscuous roomate!

We spent a great time at the beach, and found that the tide DOES evetually come in just afterlunch, making a questionable beach an oasis in about an hour. Poor Matt though as the only topless women have been 40+.....hopefully Spain and the rest of the south will be easier on his eyes.

We enjoyed cheap and delicious seafood, mussels being the norm here, while buskers, artists, and craftsmen entertained close by.

The weather was hazy and hot, of course, making the days look like a dream world ...so all in all a fantastic experience! ...and a great random find considering we had no idea what to expect from the town. A Thursday night saw everyone including families enjoying the atmosphere past midnight. Matt and I finally indulged in a couple souvenirs from a cognac store...he got an XO and I got a caramel bottle both for 39 €....not bad! So as we venture south, we hope the heat wave breaks soon, but still hope for sun on the Mediterranean! Love Kaylea and Matt
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kaylz/3/1247665945/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kaylz/3/1247665945/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kaylz/3/1247665945/tpod.html Sun, 26 Jul 2009 18:02:54 -0400 Sailing on Lake Ontario, a "Staycation"

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Ashbridges, Ontario, Canada

N 43. 36.933 Ashbridges Yacht Club, The Beaches
WO 79. 18.880

Today the crew woke with little issue, and tredged single-file the short distance to the Clubhouse for their morning constitutional. It appears the sailing life has already got us running on the same clock; a sign of true solidarity, essential to any challenge or need for co-operation faced by our team - or the final stage of the crew's "rumming" of the previous day.

We set sail after the morning shot of caffeine with a pinch of plantation sugar, waking us to ensure our safety as we prepare to maroon ourselves in a lagoon of some sort on the south side of Toronto Island. Yes, Toronto has an island.
Currently, this island is uninhabited by the masses of the great urban expansion to the North. The strike of city worker's means no ferry service to the island where Torontonians refresh themselves with the greenery much of our downtown lacks. Having the island to ourselves, with only the few residents that dot its acreage, is exciting especially as we test the theory of Stay-cation.

To be a successful "Stay-cation" one must, of course, submerse oneself into a state of constant and complete relaxation, unable to identify one's experience with any aspect of their regular routine that may cause regression; no matter how familiar one's surroundings may be. For example, I have been to Toronto Island before, a few times; but, today I sail up to its sheltered south side, drop anchor and BBQ blue cheese burgers and read from Piers Brandon, The Rise and Fall of the British Empire, while my fellow swashbucklers flip through Anthony Bourdain's, Kitchen Confidential, and the Toronto Star crossword. We are in the baking sunshine, bobbing gently stop blue-green waters with sleek gas-powered neighbors languishing close by. Could this be an afternoon off the coast of St. Vincent if merely the co-ordinates were different? Oh, yes.

Its not over yet, but it seems success is assured.

=========================================

By late afternoon, the clouds begin to gather and we head eastward around the bulk of island and peninsula that juts out of the core of downtown Toronto. Ashbridges is a smaller, cottage-y yacht club - in the shape of a triangular beachouse, tucked in a sleepy inlet. Geese outnumber humans, and their prevalence has led to the destruction of smaller docks which they have clearly tried vigorously to congregated on.

Though its been a sun-soaked afternoon, the crew is anxious to walk on land and search out refreshments. After docking and checking in, we head into town for a stroll through a district of Toronto centred around Kew Beach, lazily coined, The Beaches. Window shopping, a quick cocktail-stop, and produce-run leads the crew to a new sushi restaurant called New Concept Japanese Cuisine. Its fare pairs perfectly with a Pinot Meunier Rose 2007 from Thirty Bench.

Since it is a race night, the ABYC (Ashbridges Yacht Club) is crawling with people after 20:00hrs, clinking glasses and laughing openly. Some neighbors, however, are stirred to mutiny sheerly by the requirements of the sailing life itself - and we are reminded how "open" our floating community is - as we await a big splash.

BoN nUiT


]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kaylz/3/1247493013/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kaylz/3/1247493013/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kaylz/3/1247493013/tpod.html Sun, 26 Jul 2009 16:26:45 -0400 Sailing on Lake Ontario, a "Staycation"

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Toronto, Ontario, Canada

N 43. 37.839 National Toronto Yacht Club
WO 79 24.277

A bright and early morning for the crew as we prepared for departure. Espressos were of the utmost necessity and prepared in time to hit a 9:30am bridge out of Hamilton harbour (the smaller of the two bridges rises on the half hour to allow nautical traffic in and out of Lake Ontario).

Although Hamilton harbour is thought to be one of the more unsavory locations on Lake Ontario due to the strong presence of the steel industry - the RHYC was tucked in a quiet and quaint small bay and as we chugged gently out to sea, I admired the scenery. It also helped to have limited smoking stacks pumping the sky full of smoke; ahh, the doubled edged sword of a recession.

Yet, if it were not for the global malaise we may not be here, setting up sail for ...home?!? Toronto: the sexy sister of our nation's capital in Mother Ontario and where the entire crew lives (when landlubbing, of course). We are half an hour AHEAD of schedule when the sails go up, and with what appeared to be good reason considering we were at the mercy of the elements and the Captain had quoted a possible ETA of 18:00 hours. However, the wind is present and off Mississauga we are skipping right into Toronto - reaching for 9 knots. The water is a chilly 9.C and the sunny morning becomes a variably cloudy afternoon as we glide into National in Toronto.

A youth with a mop of hair sadly affected by the humidity in his profession gives us an excellent slip (#34), and takes a brief chastising when he admits to his superior in front of our crew that he is grossly under trained in many facets of his position. This humiliation leads us to find him manning the entrance to the parking lot only an hour later.

However, we cannot be distracted by these episodes - for, it is time we scavenge our own city for supplies to carry on...

National Yacht Club is located at the base of Bathurst St. and Lakeshore in Toronto. So, we have a bit of a march to Queen's Quay LCBO if we want to find wine. There is a Beer Store closer, but for our purposes we must make the hike.
Its a warm afternoon as we pass condos, restaurants, and hotels. We admired the public photo display of the Boreal forest; urban art installations, and the perennial Toronto jogger ambling by. Thankfully, LuLulemon as not gone under in these tough economics times.

The Queen's Quay LCBO is to behold a wondrous thing. Well organized, and with an extensive Vintages section - it was our claim to failure that we spent so long looking for just the right wine we got distracted, restless, and nigh on mutiny. In other words, the hot sun and quest from Bathurst to Yonge caused, what I can only say is a natural phenomenon = the need for rum.

* Goslings Black Seal from Bermuda is like no other rum I have personally tasted, and happily the crew agreed. Taken in Toronto with lime and cola, the only issue arising from this product is the shock and realization when suddenly there isn't any left. Recommended to me by my Uncle in Bermuda around the age of 13 or 14, Goslings with ginger beer is a Dark n'Stormy, (nationally drank out of a brown paper bag in public, yet with loafers and a pastel polo on) it was just what the crew needed to calm their nerves.
In addition, a bottle of Featherstone Rose 2008; an Argentinian Malbec, a 750 Unibroue Ephemere, and Ontario micro-brew grandes ensured we may not need refreshments units for over 48hrs. Cheers!

The Captain rested in his hammock at approx.17:00hrs; one hour prior to the latest ETA from Hamilton we had set originally. We had made it to Toronto five hours ahead of our plans, been to get food and refreshment units, and gone for a brief walk in the park! Now, it was time for our dinner.

Menu: Garlic herb marinated lamb's leg with fingerling potatoes and a chive mayo, and Caesar salad en crouton. Tonight's wine is a Tawse Meritage 2006, one that we had been saving since the crew's wine tour last fall. Exquisite with the lamb, it was full of blueberries, black cherry; jammy and cool. Silky. Can you tell we liked it?


]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kaylz/3/1247404631/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kaylz/3/1247404631/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kaylz/3/1247404631/tpod.html Sun, 26 Jul 2009 14:59:45 -0400 Sailing on Lake Ontario, a "Staycation"

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Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

N 43. 16.774 Royal Hamilton Yacht Club
WO 79. 51.804

Greetings and welcome aboard the "Expressway" a J30 racer/cruiser that will take three friends round western Lake Ontario for our summer "Staycation". Our ship is generously donated by the Clark family of Grimsby, Ontario. Thus, we head to Royal Hamilton Yacht Club to begin our journey!

Also, in an effort to further promote localism, we have chosen to add a small exploration of VQA Ontario wines as it is, along with travel, our mutual hobby.

* = Things we learned along the way
=============

The Captain of our ship is a seasoned sailor, beginning years ago at the Hamilton Club, and teaching and/or racing at the various venues that we will be visiting along the way. His route is a small sampling of cityscape and nature that we will get to see from a different vantage point on this vacation.

However, before we can depart there is a good deal of prep, inventory, and shopping to do. Electricity is only available to us at each club; therefore, food units must be chosen carefully and in small quantity. Tonight's "last supper" though is not compromised by the lack of land, therefore the BBQ at the club provides us with a grand menu of stuffed mushroom caps, steak with grilled veg, and Caesar salad.

* The purchase of "no name" olive oil, it is later realized, is a potential disaster as the cap does not screw back on and on ship anything that is left unsecured will end up on everything when you're pushing past 6-7 knots. This is where plastic bags, hopefully of the Zip-loc variety come in VERY handy!

The wine list for today included: Strewn Terroir Riesling 2006; Reif Cab-Merlot 2007; and Henry of Pelham Sibling Rivalry Red 2007 - with Reif taking top honours as CF (crew favorite)
Our captain felt it necessary to mention that despite his youthful years, he has been assured of Reif's capability's since 1998, which could only inspired the crew's confidence the night before departure!

Other points of interest today include:

- experiencing the end of a regatta at the club, as parents scrambled to pack up and pull out while their children ran amok like the Vikings entering Denmark.
- a bit of camaraderie with club staff as we discuss the Hamilton waterfront's future and the possible expansion and/or re-location of their site.
- inboard movie, Frost-Nixon, a "food for thought" film provided by lap-top
- Jazz FM fools us into believing its CBC radio, but only briefly!
- along with lap-top, the modern convenience of electricity provides us with the ability to make espresso/cappuccino on board, as well. Life is rough.

~ Bon Nuit ~

]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kaylz/europe_2007/1193260200/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kaylz/europe_2007/1193260200/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kaylz/europe_2007/1193260200/tpod.html Mon, 28 Jan 2008 22:47:47 -0500 Autumn in Holland and Western Germany

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Cologne, Germany

We arrived off the train from Utrecht to Cologne on Tuesday night and stayed at a hostel called Central Station. Although the bathrooms are the worst thing Matt has ever smelt, we got through the night with limited problems....lol.
The cathedral in Cologne was a re-visit from last summer, but so worth it and we took some excellent pictures. The
Rhine river that flows through Cologne is a massive and impressive body of water as well, surging through the city. The Roman beginnings of Cologne were also on display nearby to the Cathedral, which was cool too.
This morning though we found oversleves on a 7am train to the south of Germany, just above the Swiss border, in Freiburg...and it is one of the most beautiful places we have been in Europe, Matt and I both agree. Its on the edge of the Black Forest (think the cake & ham) and is so incredibly amazing you won't understand until you see pictures!!!
Which brings me to say, bad luck with being able put up pictures...i can't access the USB ports in any of the computers i have used :( sorry, i will keep trying.
Cable car ride up the mountain tomorrow!!!!
More from the glorious city of Freiburg im Breisgau tomorrow!!! www.freiburg.de
Kaylea and Matt!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kaylz/europa_06/1155667740/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kaylz/europa_06/1155667740/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kaylz/europa_06/1155667740/tpod.html Mon, 28 Jan 2008 19:34:11 -0500 "You picked the best summer to visit Europe!"

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Munich, Germany

We have arrived in Munich, Germany today..home of the original Oktoberfest; the site of the 1972 Olympics and the 1938 Munich concession that saw the West defer its eastern "bastion" in Czechslovakia to Hitler's expansionism. Of course, for Kaylea writing about the city in papers or discussing it in class for five years does not make it any less intimidating as a historical place...and even though we lived in Kitchener (home to the largest Oktoberfest outside of Germany) its easy to imagine the scale the festivities reach here considering it is only August and the place is running with beer and boasts a state owned beer hall that seats 4 500 people!
The train ride from Vienna to Munich was fantastic....Bavaria is a fantasy land of picturesque farms and villages set against the Bavarian peaks. If we had more time, a hike through the countryside would be a top priority!
We visited the massive onion dome cathedral that was rebuilt after 1945, the Marienplatz which is home to the famous staircase (if one person walks from the top and another from the bottom, they will not meet...an optical illusion to look at though would have you believe you could); and that state owned beer hall where Hilter led a putsch in the 1920s that led him to prison and to his writing of Mein Kampf.
I chowed down on goulash potato soup and sausages while Matt received a half chicken even before his 1 litre beer arrived....
We are going to relax tonight before our lengthy trip north to Berlin...drawing closer to Amsterdam. "Danke" to everyone for keeping up with us! Love, Kaylea and Matt
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kaylz/europa_06/1151779740/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kaylz/europa_06/1151779740/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kaylz/europa_06/1151779740/tpod.html Mon, 28 Jan 2008 18:57:29 -0500 "You picked the best summer to visit Europe!"

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Roskilde, Denmark

SURREAL! This festival is unreal. We are both great and looking forward to seeing Tool and Kanye West within the next two hours. We cannot even begin to explain the scale of the festival, there are just no proper words. We are using the internet quickly which is thankfully for free in the tent at one of the agoras. After arriving Thursday afternoon from Germany, the experience has been non-stop craziness, except for when we got to bed which is when we both drop like stones. Everything is fine and we are feeling great, if not a little dirty, smelly, and tired....What is there to say, we have seen Guns and Roses (nice work comin on so late Axl), Bob Dylan, Deftones, amazing and stunning house music from the Metropol tent (wish you were hear Ang), Lagwagon, and SO many others that I am too tired to type them...and its only half over...Our neighbours in our SWEET tent area (we scored with the CNIB card) have been awesome, from Norway and Demark and have made us feel welcome and the whole bit. I drank wine out of a cardboard box and Matt has been into the Turborg. We visited Roskilde - the cathedral and the viking museum for the whole day yesterday so its not all music and craziness (i made my own Viking coin necklace and Matt thinks I am a loser..lol) Pictures will come later, after I get up front for Damien Marley, so all is well and we will send out another entry monday....PEACE OUT FROM THE LONGEST RUNNING MUSIC FESTIVAL IN THE WORLD!!! Love: Kaylea and Matt
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kaylz/europe_2007/1201560000/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kaylz/europe_2007/1201560000/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kaylz/europe_2007/1201560000/tpod.html Mon, 28 Jan 2008 18:31:09 -0500 Autumn in Holland and Western Germany

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Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany

Although our last stop, and with the late October weather giving way to more cloud and cool, the sombre ruins of Heidelberg castle evoked Goethe's thoughts precisely as he described it in the early 18th century........not entirely an intact castle or palace in the sense of some structures that remain for the 21st century tourist - Heidelberg castle is spectacular in its own right, perched menacingly into the side of a small "mountain" keeping watch over the river it lies in various states of disrepair - but its gardens, ruins, tourist shops, and on-site watering hole all combine to make a fantastic visit. Even though we visited in late October, the place was teeming with tourists...again, I would not want to be within 10 ft of the town in the summer months.
When we first got into town, we walked the entirely wrong direction for a good 45 min. and upon realizing our misdirection, decided to find something to eat and drink before carrying onward....our little German deli experience was perfect. In the "suburbs" of this ancient university town we found incredible homes, gardens, people, and were catered to by a lovely cake-maker and his staff for an incredible breakfast...so sometimes we can only reccomend getting lost.....
Tomorrow we fly out from Frankfurt and complete this little journey....sad, but true.
I wonder where we'll go next year?!?
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kaylz/europe_2007/1225230900/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kaylz/europe_2007/1225230900/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kaylz/europe_2007/1225230900/tpod.html Mon, 28 Jan 2008 17:56:12 -0500 Autumn in Holland and Western Germany

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Heidelberg, Germany

From Heidelberg we will head to the HUGE new airport outside Frankfurt, then after 9 hours.....we'll be back in Toronto!
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