2021- Traveling a bit!

After a year of pretty much no travel following the 2020 Covid outbreak, we started to normalize a bit in 2021 with some domestic travel. It forced us to look within our own backyard and provided the opportunity to see a bit of Canada from Coast to Coast with new perspective. I haven’t been motivated to blog at all (deciding its not my fortee) and I’m rarely on Facebook or social media but thought I should make an attempt to record the memories of 2021 for ourselves as I like to look back at old posts. The best souvenirs from travel are the memories.

Even though work now only provides 3 weeks of vacation over the year (so miss the flexibility we used to have) and I can only take about a week at a time, we managed to work in a few trips. Beginning of April we spent Easter in Naramata, BC looking for our dream retirement property (still a dream) and visited with our kids in Kelowna. August we flew out to the East Coast for a one week Nova Scotia visit, then in October we drove out to the opposite coast to help move our son out west to Vancouver and then the beginning of December we did our annual retreat to Emerald Lake Lodge.

Above Naramata, BC
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Nuttin Matters in Naramata

The Naramata Wine Bench, BC
The Naramata Wine Bench, BC

We just returned from an awesome summer vacation and I can’t wait to go back again.  It was our first time visiting the enchanting Naramata Wine Bench which has something to offer everyone, from singles to couples to families.  I’d highly recommend it for anyone! For us this was the perfect family vacation with our adult children and dog in tow, it provided an awesome venue for a peaceful, restful and totally enjoyable vacation. It was perfect; Janet I had the first few days to ourselves, then the kids came out and we had 3 days as a family, then my cousin and her boyfriend joined us for the last few days and it was a party.

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The Calgary Stampede 2018- all the fun and festivities

Calgary Stampede Midway
Calgary Stampede Midway

Well its only taken me about three weeks to finally get to this post but took me that long to recover from all the Stampeding Festivities. The Calgary Stampede 2018 is a wrap and was one of the most successful with attendance way up. The gods brought us some of the best weather we’ve ever had for a week of Stampeding.  The first Friday in July is always the big kickoff starting with the Stampede Parade that signifies the opening of The Greatest Show on Earth. It’s the beginning of 10 days of festivities that transform the city into the wild west and a stomping ground of fun and gluttony. 

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The British Columbia Hot Springs Tour

Halcyon Hot Springs, BC
Halcyon Hot Springs, BC

Wondering what to do on your summer holidays?  Here’s a fab trip idea for locals or tourists heading out from Calgary, guaranteed to be memorable! One of our most relaxing and fulfilling trips was a hot springs tour that took us from Calgary and into the heart of the BC Rockies. Our itinerary was focused on visiting the pools of Halcyon, Nakusp and Ainsworth that we hoped would provide the rest and relaxation we were craving but we got so much more.  The natural beauty of the BC Rockies, the serenity, solitude and escape from the usual crowds of summer will fill your soul and leave you feeling more fulfilled than any other vacation.Continue Reading

How much does a year of travel in Europe cost?

Packed and at the airport
Packed and at the airport

I’m ready to answer the ‘Million Dollar’ question that everyone had been asking us:-travel costs ‘How much does a year of travel cost?’ and I’m happy to say its not a million dollars! I kept a meticulous spreadsheet that tracked every penny of our spending over our year abroad. I’ll share it with you but first I have to tell you about how our plan came to fruition. I think its an inspirational story about the universe providing! If you only want the numbers and want to skip my long winded, thought provoking story then scroll down to the bottom.

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How to pack for all four seasons and a year of travel

Trip Planning
Trip Planning

I’ve had lots of emails through the blog asking what we packed for our year of travel.  I did a lot of pre-thinking and planning for it and glad to say we did fantastically well!  After live testing I can offer proven advice and some packing hacks that made our travels go brilliantly smooth. Below is a video while we were in Wales that will walk you through what to pack.

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Avola, Ragusa and Siracusa, Sicily- visiting the baroque beauties

I’ve left finishing up my travel stories in Sicily for far to long, thought I was almost done but realizing I still have a bit more to finish off. My last post ended in Agrigento where we visited from our hill top villa in Castrofillippo but before we got there I missed writing about the amazing cities we visited from our base in Avola; Ragusa, Modica and Siracusa.

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Agrigento, Sicily and The Valley of the Temples

As I’m sitting by the window watching the snow fall outside during this endless winter, my mind starts wandering to warmer places. Homesick for the warmth of Sicily I pull out my pictures of Agrigento and our tour of the Valley of the Temples deciding I have to render my video and do a post as I finish up the last of my Sicilian blog pieces.

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Pretty Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

On the Boardwalk at Puerto Vallarta
On the Boardwalk at Puerto Vallarta

Last minute plans are the best! Surprises are even better!  I finished up a job on Friday and Janet surprised me with a plan to join a few of my buddies that were leaving on Monday for Puerto Vallarta. My daughter arranged a cheap ticket for me (the perks of her being in the airline industry) and I found out about it all while on a weekend trip with our friends in Banff.  Although feeling more than a little spoiled I thought it would be a nice distraction and I could continue searching for job opportunities on line beside the pool. We got home from Banff, I had Sunday night to pack and Monday morning I was off to Mexico. I was lucky enough to get the very last seat flying standby so it was meant to be.

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Scala dei Turchi, Sicily

Its been months since I’ve posted anything.  Work is so busy these days, I barely have time to look up as I’m focused on building clientèle for a new sales position.  But working so hard in the dead of winter and trying to stay warm in temperatures that had dropped below -30’C last week has me pining for the beaches of Sicily.

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Hong Kong-shopping at Jardine’s Market and touring Victoria Bay on the famed Star Ferry

Victoria Bay Harbor
Victoria Bay Harbor

Yesterday I took myself out on a perfect date in Hong Kong. After a nice quiet breakfast at Starbucks, I got on the MTR and made my way to the Causeway Bay train station, arriving and exiting the station at Exit F. My plan was to wonder and do some souvenir shopping at the popular Jardine’s Market and  walk around in Hong Kong’s Times Square shopping mall. 

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Spectacular Sicily- our month long tour circling the island.

The harbor in Milazzo, Sicily
The harbor in Milazzo, Sicily

We spent an incredible month, actually 5 weeks slow traveling around the entire island of Sicily.  We had a lot of time so it was a real luxury to be able to pace ourselves, to dig deep into the Sicilian culture, to see the whole island, to live like a local and truly experience a lot of what it had to offer.  

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Palermo-starting our Sicilian Adventure

Piazza Grande, Palmanova, Italy
Piazza Grande, Palmanova, Italy

Our Slovenian adventure had come to an end and now we were excited to start the last leg of our 10-month odyssey in the south of Italy on the island of Sicily. At the crack of dawn, we dropped dad off at the airport in Ljubljana for his journey home and continued towards Venice, Italy where we would return our rental car and board a 2 ½ Hr flight for Palermo, Sicily. 

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Slovenia Part 4- Celje, Logarska Dolina and Ljubljana

Logarska Dolina, Slovenia
Logarska Dolina, Slovenia

After returning from our adventure in Tolmin we took a day to relax and visit with family.  Our hosts where the most incredibly hospitable folks and took such good care of us, typical of the Slovenian people we met throughout.  Our last few days were spent visiting a few cities; Celje and Ljubljana between a day at the most beautiful national park, Logarska Dolina. (Don’t miss the video of our visit to Ljubljana’s Old Town at the bottom of this post)

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Slovenia Part 3-Visiting the Julien Alps-Tolmin,Slovenia to Tarviso Italy to Klagenfurt, Austria

Along the Soca River, Tolmin, Slovenia
Along the Soca River, Tolmin, Slovenia

We returned to Smeteoz after dropping the kids off at the airport in Venice, Italy and spent another 9 days with dad in Slovenia. Our next tour began with a journey to the beautiful town of Tolmin, Slovenia nestled in the Soca Valley at the confluence of the emerald blue waters from the Soca and Tolminka rivers. Tolmin is situated on the southern tip of the Julian Alps and very close to the Italian border, an idyllic Slovenian mountain town.

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