Ginger and Nutmeg spent 13 months in France, a journey that would have been impossible without the help of friends and family. They would like to pass on best wishes for a delightful holiday season to all their friends, new and old.
The English and French love to debate many things, including the origin of the popular Christmas carol, “The Twelve Days of Christmas”. Ginger and Nutmeg do not have the answer but thought it would be a fun way to show off some photos of their time in France.
Wishing everyone a safe and fun-filled holiday season. Watch for more posts in 2012!
Ginger and Nutmeg were invited to join some friends for a day of “easy” cycling on L’Île de Porquerolles. This is the biggest of three small islands that make up the Îles d’Hyères or Les Îles d’Or (Golden Islands), located just off the coast from Hyères. This is the rougher, wilder, “native” side of the Cote D’Azur. The ferry leaves from a couple locations; you can check the schedule on the official site.
Scheduled departure for the ferry was 10:30am, a bit of extra traffic congestion through Toulon, and a slight wrong turn made for a VERY tight connection. G&N were absolutely the last to board the boat, but they made it! This late February day was certainly not one for bathing suits or t-shirts, fleece and puffy jackets were in order. The temperature hovered around ten degrees Celsius, with gusting winds and a constant threat of rain. Nutmeg is absolutely not a boat person, so the short choppy crossing from the mainland was just the right length of time (approximately 20 minutes).
Tags: Biking in Provence, Cote d'Azur Travel Ideas, L'Île de Porquerolles, Provence Travel, Travel in France
In France and much of Europe, hiking or randonée is a significant part of the culture. There are walking trails for all levels that crisscross the continent. The longer trails form part of the GR system or Grande Randonée, there are over 60,000km of trails in France alone. Here is a great resource guide book.
Ginger and Nutmeg love hiking, but they never expected to start the season in January, when they were introduced to the International Hiking Group of Provence. G&N made it to as many of the scheduled Tuesday hikes as they could fit in to their busy European exploration agenda.
Each hike was unique, the scenery beautiful and weather at times unpredictable. All of the hikes offered opportunities for some laughs along the way. Some of the favorites are highlighted below:
Tags: Cookies, Cranberry, Guidebooks, Hiking, International Hiking Group of Provence, Oatmeal, Provence, Randonee
Ginger, Nutmeg, and Jade recently arrived back in Calgary after their “Year in Provence”. Ginger insisted that he had to return to North America for several commitments. Although, he did admit that returning in the month of November was dubious. The two ladies agreed to come back reluctantly, but only after Ginger promised that they would return to France next summer.
Nutmeg was thrilled that there was no snow on the ground for their arrival.
Jade was happy to get out of her travel kennel. She was not too fussed about where she was, as long as the food kept coming at regular intervals.
Ginger was probably the most excited as the NHL hockey season was underway and his regular “old boys” league were still playing on a weekly basis.
Tags: Blink Restaurant Calgary, Calgary Cooking Classes, Calgary Restaurants, Food in Calgary, Travel Alberta
