food, fun and travel
Jenner brought me to the fanciest department store in London. The food section was amazing. Wheels of cheeses as far as the eye can see. A caviar selection to impress. Exotic fruits and vegetables I had never seen before and so much more.
I had to be very sneaky taking pictures because there are security guards everywhere waiting to stop unruly tourists.
I took my wonderful Jenner out for lunch for her birthday. We ate London sushi which was very enjoyable yet not as good as BC sushi. I miss toro.
Carla and I stayed at the Flying Pig by the park in Amsterdam.
We fell in love with the black brick buildings with cream windows.
We were impressed by how very inexpensive and delicious the cheese was.
And also enjoyed the coffee shops.
13 months later and I still love Amsterdam just as much.
It’s easy to get lost when you are walking around but every street is amazing so who cares.
We stocked up on Belgium beers while visiting Antwerp. The city reminds me of an even more sterile Vancouver but with a castle. I was expecting everyone to be wearing diamonds but I guess diamonds are expensive, even in Antwerp.
Vancouver seawall???
Look, we can have picnics on our rooftop patio!
Belgium beer is strong and flavorful.
We bought a multi use gas burner back in Czech Republic and haven’t had a chance to test it out until now. The wok was purchased in Amsterdam’s Chinatown.
We’re in Dunkirk, France, wasting time before our 11:50pm ferry to Dover, England arrives. We stopped at
McDonalds because it has free wifi and a clean bathroom. Matt asks me to order a cold coffee while I wait for him so I go up to the counter and put in my ordering French:
“Bonjour, do you have cold coffee?”
The young pimply man looks blankly at me then firmly answers
“Non!”
“Ok, can I get a coffee with a cup of “glace” ice.”
Again, blank look followed by a wince.
“Ok Madame, what type of sprinkles would you like?”
I clue in, “glace” in Quebec French can mean, anything from ice to mirror and in France you must say “glaçon”. Of course at that moment I draw a blank and can only think of the word in English.
“ummmm, Ice, you know, “glace”, ummmm”
So I whip out my best charades and preform ice and cup for the young man.
In the end I got my coffee and my cup full of ice with a side of nasty looks from the staff, I swear they are still talking about my weird order.
Have you ever been to Amsterdam?
If your answer is no, please book your plane ticket ASAP. Guaranteed you will dream about this city for the rest of your life. Yes, pot is legalized and there is a large red light district, but it’s the residential areas that will drive you crazy( in a good way).
Tall, dark and handsome buildings along the canals with beautiful window boxes, are you kidding me!?! It’s awesome here!
We have about 200 pictures waiting to be posted as soon as we have a firm wifi signal.
After Amsterdam, we drove south towards Bruges, stopping over night in a tiny town. We busted out our new 15″ wok and propane burner in a grocery store parking lot. We made a gallon of mussels in butter, garlic and white wine with a meter of fresh baguette to soak it all up. Champagne to quench our thirst.
I love my life.
Next morning we entered Bruges. It’s simply beautiful. I didn’t expect such picturesque place. You must cross a moat and bridge to enter the fortified city center. I recommend a visit.
Never!
