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Welcome to my travel log! You will find here a lot more than in the travel reports, stripped from political correctness. Enjoy! 
Apr 30, 2011 06:00 PM Quebec (CA-QC) - another very sunny day
The May Day, the Work Holiday (a strange oxymoron), and this year beatification of the late Pope John Paul II or Karol Wojtyła, the second longest serving pope in history. But I was still on holiday. The second day in the historic Quebec. The plan for today, before my 17:30 train back to Montreal, was to explore the lower part of the old town. And to cross the river. The sun woke me up at about 06:00. It was hanging right above the Chateau Frontenac. I did a long breakfast at the Executive Lounge watching the Quebec Half Marathon to pass by below. Jean-Rudolph, who was manning the concierge of the lounge the night before, extended my checkout time until 15:30. He was working at the front desk this morning so I shook his hand on my way out to town.
I quickly realised what I had been missing the day before. The lower old town was even more picturesque than the upper part! It felt yet more French. The little stone houses had wooden window shutters! There was a little square with a church and a petite statue of Louis XIV! So cute! It would have been perfect if cars had not been allowed on it.
The lower old town also had pavement and street cafes and restaurants, which gave it this delightful colonial feel, particularly on this super sunny day.
The quick boat ride across the river was very easy. I stepped on the pier at 10:59, bought a ticket (after being questioned what type of fare I wanted, when I was going to get back and on what boat) and still made the 11:00 departure. The views from the top deck were great. The ramparts, the citadel, the lower old town and the very special Chateau Frontenac were all clearly visible. Only from the river did the Chateau Frontenac look like a castle - with the massive central tower and the little side towers around. I stayed on the same boat, just waited for it to turn back. Many people did that actually. They were there for the same purpose as me - to take pictures and rock a little on the river. I took many shots, still trying out my new camera.
Lunch on the Place Royale, a trip on the funicular up to the upper old town, a quick wander and a longer stop at the Hôtel de Ville for a few shows by circus students. I never considered that there would be colleges dedicated to teaching circus acrobats, so they become circus professionals. They were really good. Two guys did stunts on bicycles, one guy did acrobatic break-dance, and a couple (my favourites) did incredible acrobatics on a monocycle. His name was Philippe and her name was Marie-Louise. They were a real couple and their choreography and humour were stupendous! I had a quick chat with them to learn about that circus college. They were such nice people! Philippe's humour and mannerisms reminded me a lot about my French friend Olivier. But I could not chat much longer. I had to check out from the hotel.
Before heading to the train station, I did the last tour of the upper and lower parts of the old town, discovering a couple of new spots in the lower town. My 17:30 train departed on time. Montreal, I'm coming again.
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Apr 29, 2011 06:00 PM Quebec (CA-QC) - an incredible and unique place in North America!
An early start. In Quebequise terms, that is. When I got up it was already 10:30am in London, England. I scrubbed myself, had a small talk with the receptionists upon checkout, and strolled to the central train station. It was an easy 10 minute walk from the hotel, but the entrance to the station is very inconspicuous. I missed it on the first approach. Granted, I have raised my eyes to the top of the RBC tower instead of examining doors and passages.
Yet, the station fully hidden under ground, was relatively spacious, clean and well organised. There were a good number of eateries, restaurants, cafes and breakfast shops around offering a good selection of various types of breakfast options. I had 45 minutes before my train's departure. I printed my tickets in the machines of the Via Rail Canada train company. I had booked the tickets online late January, so three months before, and paid C$80 for a return ticket to Quebec in the economy class. Had I waited to book it a day in advance only, I would have had to pay almost C$150.
Then, I went on wandering around the station to pick a breakfast place - mainly around les Halles de la Gare. I stumbled at the Second Cup, which did not have anything hot - just a limited selection of sandwiches and a good selection of pastries. My choice eventually was the Saint Cinnamon. They had a few good options with fried eggs, toasties and crepes. I went for the French crepe with ham, two fried eggs 'over easy', small salad of tomato, cucumber and orange, and coffee (C$6.95). The maple sirup was delightfully served in tiny transparent cups, so it could be used at one's discretion. I ordered in French, but struggled with the 'over easy' eggs - I need to look it up or ask my French friends.
The station also had a great waiting area styled as a library with plenty of wooden tables and chairs, where one could sit and potentially consume their own provisions.
The train started boarding 5 minutes late, but it was still scheduled to leave on time, which it did. I had a front-facing seat 5A at the window in car 3. It was a modern and spotless carriage with large (and crystal clear) windows. Like in any civilised country, power sockets were provided and wifi Internet connection was free. I was selected to undergo a training how to open train doors and lower the steps in case of emergency. A young Francophone lady with braces took my hand and explained everything in broken English. My seat was then labelled to indicate that I was nominated an emergency officer at my end of the carriage. It made me feel special and very important.
When the train rolled out of Montreal's Gare Centrale, my carriage was about 25% full. About 20 people then boarded in Saint-Laurent. Then again about 10 in Saint-Hyacinthe. The train whizzed through vast expanses of this large country. It was clear that the spring's arrival had not happened yet. Trees were leafless. Grasses had only just started to pierce the ground's surface showing their fresh shades of green. Only just, and sheepishly though.
"A coherent and well preserved urban ensemble, the Historic District of Old Québec is an exceptional example of a fortified colonial town and by far the most complete north of Mexico. Québec, the former capital of New France, illustrates one of the major stages in the European settlement of the cololonisation of the Americas by the Europeans." - a quote from the UNESCO's justification to inscribe Quebec's old town as a World Heritage Site. I could relate to that, entirely.
I was told that the day I arrived was the first day of nice, spring weather. I could believe that! Snow still had not melted in a few places and although it was fabulously bright and sunny, the 30 April 2011 was a chilly day with temperatures not exceeding 10 degrees Celsius.
I wandered about the old town for an entire day. It was a completely cloudless day. The architecture was unmistakably French. Narrow alleys, small stone town houses with coloured window frames. And the citadel! A complete fortress with ramparts and barracks. What an incredible place indeed. Some restaurants and cafes put their tables in the pavement, taking advantage of impossibly sunny day. They were packed! I was lucky and managed to secure one at the Restaurant 1640 for a long lunch, a typical French fare: strong white beer, liver pate on toasted baguette, seafood and chocolate cake... Eh, life was beautiful!! Uh, and all that with the view of the magnificent Chateau Frontenac.
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Apr 28, 2011 06:00 PM Montreal, Quebec (CA-QC) - On the Royal Wedding Day
I left for the airport right after the royal wedding of Prince William, the Duke of Cambridge and Catherine Middleton, the future Duchess of Cambridge (she will also have two other titles, which I cannot remember). The roads were empty, public transport virtually deserted and suspiciously running on time. Heathrow airport ran very efficiently for a change. When I eventually found the executive lounge allocated to Air Canada at the terminal 3, I remembered it was run by SAS Airlines. I forgot how I hated that lounge! They had no real food there. The only [hardly] hot option were awful hot dogs. The selection of drinks was limited and the staff were somewhat unprofessional.
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Air Canada's Airbus A330-300 left almost on time. It was a new aircraft with touch screen entertainment system offering a good number of films (Hollywood, Indie, Canadian, World Cinema), TV programmes, other videos and plenty of music. I flew economy, but the service was superb and food was fantastic. I had grilled chicken with aldente green beans and mashed potatoes. Even the red wine was quaffable. The attendants regularly distributed water and hot drinks. The second snack was a posh wrap, served hot. Time flew. The aircraft flew smoothly despite strong headwinds, and it took it 20 minutes extra to reach Montreal.
The taxi stand at the arrivals was extremely busy. Yet, one had a choice to take a limo instead. It was only about $15 more on the flat rate to the centre-ville. And of course, they were not stretch limos but the so called 'town cars' - large lincolns. There were no people in the limo line, but the long queue for the taxis was moving faster than it looked.
My taxi driver spoke little English, but in addition to his French, he managed Spanish, so my combination of Spanish and French (Franish?) was sufficient to explain where I wanted to go. When I reached the hotel, it was almost half past midnight in the UK and half past six in Quebec. I had had ambitious plans to go for a stroll in the downtown area, but I eventually gave up. All I wanted was a light meal, perhaps a light drink and get my head down. I was leaving for Quebec City early in the morning, so it was sensible to go to bed sooner rather than later. So, a snack and a couple of beers in the Circos Restaurant & Bar later, I ended this long Royal Wedding day.
By the way, this is my first real visit in Canada, and definitely the first one to Quebec.
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Apr 25, 2011 06:00 PM Pafos, Lemesos, Larnaka (CY) - on the way out
On the way out. The plan was simple - to get to Larnaka in time for my flight back. The execution of the plan was going to be slightly harder. Few people whom I asked knew about any public transportation from Pafos to Larnaka. I had plenty of time (my flight was leaving at 3am), so I was considering stopping in Lemesos for a few pictures and lunch. Apparently, there was buses or coaches connecting Pafos proper (I was told "to go to town", although I thought I was already in town) but the location was not specified. I was also told to take a city bus number 611 or 603. Since I had no idea where I was supposed to get off, and as I was in no mood to keep asking. I eventually approached a taxi driver, who should be more knowledgeable about logistics. I figured that Lemesos being larger than Pafos, and half way to Larnaka, I asked him how to get to Lemesos. So, he convinced me to take a taxi. I negotiated a price, which I thought was fair, and we blasted off onto the motorway.
In Lemesos (aka Limassol), I took a short stroll in the older part of the city, just around the old castle. There was not much to do and see there. One would have to go beyond the city limits, to the archaeological parks, like the one with the Colossi Castle (not very big at all) or the one with the theatre. I was glad that I managed not to come here for a day the other two days, when everything was shut down. I took a longish walk along the rather boring seafront and dropped to a local eatery for lunch. Then pressure increased to get transportation further towards Larnaka. Lemesos was not that easy to navigate for a new comer. The seafront dual carriageway was leading nowhere it seemed and buses running along that route had Hotel Le Meridien stated as their destination. Bus stops had no map and people around were only speaking Russian. That was not a communication problem. The issue was that they new nothing about using public transport. So, I hailed another taxi, asked him how much for Larnaka and, knowing the distance from the motorway signs, I knew that he gave me a genuine quote. In about half an hour, I was at the Larnaka beach.
Larnaka beach was amongst the best I had seen in Cyprus so far. It was granted a blue flag (EU award/indicator that a beach is clean and safe), was wide and had many facilities. Although a single beach bar! It was called Finis Beach Bar Cafe. It served no food - just drinks; soft and alcoholic. The seafront boasted many places in terms of lounges, cafes, bars, pubs eateries, regular restaurants. Many of them were located in the bottom of new condos, apartments and hotels just across the beachfront avenue. In terms of places to see, Larnaka did not have an awful lot of places. There was a small fort right on the beach; a mosque next to it (called Grand Mosque), which was in desperate need of repair; a small but very interesting church with a grand belfry; and a short aqueduct - right in the middle of nowhere...
I had to kill time. I stepped into a cafe for a fruit cocktail, then strolled. Then, sat at the beach bar. And then, strolled. When the sun set, I strolled again. Along the beach and again to the few sights, to see them lit up for the night. Then, I went for dinner. And strolled. To the marina and along the beach. Yet again visited the beach bar, ordered mojito and sank my feet in the cold sand. Quickly got cold all over, so too my feet out of the sand. Then strolled to warm up.
Music from the Spy Feat Havana Club has dragged me towards it. In no time, I was sitting at a pavement sofa with a mojito in my hand. The place was absolutely packed. The clocks banged 11pm and the party seemed to have only started. It was good.
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Apr 24, 2011 06:00 PM Pafos (CY) - Still shut for visiting, open for strolling
Pafos. Still closed. No access to archaeological sites, no access to museums. Although serious consideration was given to go to Lemesos, the plans changed. After some thorough partying the night before, it made more sense to exercise. Pafos is actually great for that. The sea shore promenade goes for miles around the cape. It passes several beaches and pools belonging to massive seafront hotels. Weather was perfect for long walks and jogs. The temperature was about 25C and the sea breeze made all bearable. The western part of the promenade, which passed by the mosaics archaeological park, had a number of large frames installed with benches inside, overlooking the sea, as if made for people to sit down and wait for the second birth of Aphrodite. Or to just sit down and watch the sun disappear behind the horizon leaving the sky purple.
In the evening, after the last supper of grilled seafood, I went to check that party street again. It had over 20 bars, clubs, discos and pubs, one next to another. Some venues were empty. Signs saying "for rent" indicated that certain places were much more successful than others.
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Apr 23, 2011 06:00 PM Pafos (CY) - Day 2, party...
Total closure. Jolly good job that I decided to see the archaeological site of Pafos yesterday, although I had planned it for today. Today, everything to do with tourist attractions in terms of ruins and museums is closed. Absolutely everything. I wanted to see the Tombs of the Kings near Pafos and had to turn back from the gate! So, today will be a day of strolling along the seafront and sipping wine, beer and whatever to kill time.
Last night at midnight, I approached one of the churches to see the Cyprus traditional welcoming of Christ's resurrection. There songs being sung, candles being lit and a lot of commotion. Many people just stood in the street and on the church's stairs outside with the candles in their hands. It looked very festive and full of reflection. I kept snapping and snapping hoping the photographs would capture this moment well. It was not easy to photograph a dark street full of small candle lights from a distance...
I had a thought of going to Lemesos, some 40km away. But I gathered that over there, the archaeological park was going to be closed, too. Oh, well. Instead, I bought a few postcards, grabbed a pen, sat at a seafront cafe, ordered frappe (€4) and Chablis (€8.50) and waited for the muse. Now, I wonder how many glasses of Chablis I would need to down to wake up my muse...
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Time for lunch. Risto La Piazza, where waiter David of Hungary, owns the tables in the pavement few yards from the sea shore. Giant prawns was my choice. I substituted potatoes with rice. As I normally drink red wine (white wine struggles to convince scientists that I has any health values), David called in the sommelier to discuss whites with me. I wanted a round, well-balanced and buttery, a little oaky one. I was not being easy at all. A few minutes before with David, I speculated about the local Ezousa Xinisteri Dry 2009, which on the wine list was marked with the 'sommelier's choice' stamp. But it was only €15 a bottle. That triggered a few alarms in my head. Yet, the sommelier in person still recommended that one, having considered what I just ordered for lunch. My dish was coming with white rice and lemony virgin olive oil. He actually said this "sir, I am going to offer you a glass and if you do not like it, I am going to give you any other bottle for free." That was a powerful statement, as the wine list contained wines for over €1000! Well, the Ezousa was really nice. And the giant prawns were perfect. I immediately made plans to come back for this dish in the near future.
I had an epiphany. It was about the service industry. On Cyprus, or in Pafos, many waiters did not speak any Greek. Only English. Shockingly, in my view, locals accepted this as a normal thing. 'Sure, we are Cypriot, but this is a tourist area, and it is okay for the waiters not to speak any local language'. Now, I have just been a witness to a couple of situations like this and I was impressed with the attitude the locals demonstrated! Perhaps they would not want to take those jobs themselves, but the level of their relaxed acceptance really flabbergasted me. I have always considered myself a tolerant person, but I suddenly realised that if I were being served in my country, anywhere in my country, and a waiter or waitress could not speak my language, I would have flipped a big time! Actually, I had this feeling while staying at the Warsaw's Hilton Hotel. They employ students, or other casual staff, from a wide range of countries, including Ukraine, Romania, Pakistan, Nigeria, who have struggled with their Polish and that got my blood boiling. Is it right or wrong, now it hit me - while I observe how the Cypriots are so blasé about the service staff not being able to express themselves in Greek...
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Apr 22, 2011 06:00 PM Pafos (CY) - an early arrival
A very lazy and extravagant day. Having plans to get up early and see Nicosia in a better light did not pan out well. Despite the alarm getting off three times, I changed my mind and slept in. Got breakfast in the very last minute (they served until 11:00am), showered and checked out from the Hilton hotel. It was too late for crossing over to the northern side and travelling to Kyrenia (Girne). So, I investigated with the more-reliable-looking hotel clerk about the ways to go to Pafos. She suggested three things: a private taxi (€120); a collective taxi; and Euro... something transport. Only the private taxi was going to take me directly to Pafos. If I was to use the other two, they would only take me to Lemesos (Limassol) and then I would have to change. Lemesos was not in he plan for today, so, rather extravagantly, I called for the private taxi. It took just over an hour and twenty minutes to reach my Pyramos Hotel in Pafos. It was a good decision, after all.
Having driven through parts of Pafos, my camera just could not wait for getting out there and shoot. An afternoon stroll along the seafront was obligatory. I soon congratulated myself with the decision of coming here and escaping Nicosia. The atmosphere was so laid back that it was effectively horizontal. A short trip to the fort (and eyeing a few bars and lounges for later) and a houndred photos later, my feet took me to the Archaeological Park. Much of which had been excavated by the specialists from the University of Warsaw, Poland. To be fair, though, there was not that much to see in the park. Three houses with superb mosaics, a small odeon, and ruins of tiny fort and that was it. A small group of short columns looked the most spectacular out of all the other spots. The mosaics, however, were incredible.
Towards the end of the tour, my feet and stomach started telling me that I was running on low fuel. I need to charge my batteries and fill the tank. The Pelican Restaurant at the seafront promenade, with a view of the old fort, happily obliged. I had noticed it had been very busy at lunch time before, so I picked it out of some 20 others along the avenue. It also had a table in the sun, and had local lager, the Keo, from draft. My table (#1)
was also perfect for people watching. The evening sun caressed my skin as I cooled my insides with Keo.
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Apr 21, 2011 06:00 PM Nicosia (CY) - aka Lefkosia, a divided capital
Nicosia brands itself as the last divided capital city in Europe. It is true, very sadly. I had a very clear plan to cross over to the 'evil' part of the city despite what the hotel clerk had told me the previous night. The crossing was completely painless (the Turks actually stamped a piece of paper with my name, passport number and nationality, rather than a page in my passport) and there were absolutely no questions asked.
The 'other' part of Nicosia has a couple of superb sights. One was a great mansion with a large courtyard inside, now converted into a cultural centre. The other was the massive Saint Sophia Cathedral converted into a mosque with two very tall minarets, between which a flag of Turkey and Northern Cyprus were flying. It was very pleasant to walk about this part of the city. Kids played football pasionately at the larger squares and piazzas and it was clear that they were taking no prisoners. The obvious difference between the Greek Cypriot and the Northern Cypriot parts of Nicosia was that businesses in the latter part had prices quoted in both the euro and the Turkish lira, with 1:2 exchange rate. And it was about 35% cheaper there (and so the hotel clerk lied!). Shredded baked chicken with chips and salad was EUR5 in the northern part and EUR7 or EUR8 in the Greek part.
It was getting late. I had not checked until what time they kept the border crossing open, so I turned back. The were sights in the southern part, which I had to visit yet. Then, a light shower began to fall, and my new camera was not very happpy about that at all. I stopped for a meal hoping that it would stop pissing down, but it did not. I had to sneak under the marquises from sight to sight and snap quickly. I had checked the weather forecast, so I had been expecting weather like this. It was supposed to improve dramatically in the next day.
This being Good Friday, a public holiday on Cyprus and a religious one, churches in Nicosia rang their bells and people attended masses. They kept bringing pieces of food in small baskets to be blessed by the priests. This is what the Poles do on Good Friday, too. I peeked into a couple of churches, including the richly decorated one, right by the grand Archibishop's Palace. I found the masses rather busy if not to say chaotic. The worshippers kept moving about the temples as if they were at a train station or a concert and not attending a holy mass at a church.
It was time to sit down for a local lager and watch people a little. I found it hard to get a spot. Everywhere tables were booked! Finally, a table became free at the Flocafe, along the main pedestranised avenue in the old town. It was perfect for people watching. Actually, I was also lucky to catch the glimpse of a holy procession at about 9pm, which passed right by my table. Two bottles of local lager later, I got my hotel. My EUR60 taxi receipt was waiting for me, so was a bottle of champagne, curtousy of the hotel manager and a bowl of fresh fruit. Nice!
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Apr 20, 2011 06:00 PM Cyprus - on the way...
Landing was easy. Perhaps I snoozed for a while, but I think the aircraft touched down not too long after passing the extensive lights of Istanbul. The Embraer 170 (as per the onboard safety and emergency card and the flight attendants, although the the pilot claimed it was the Embraer 175 model) touched the ground smoothly. The airport was spacious and modern. The passport control was virtually non-existent for the EU citizens. The arrivals hall was small and there was no cash machine. I had to go upstairs to the departures hall to withdraw the euros.
I had actually expected Larnaca to look more glamourous from the air at night. Instead, the bay seemed very quiet and almost abandoned. Strange. As I heard from the hotel clerk that the area was exceptionally busy with tourists from Russia. Anyway, the clerk also told me more implausible stuff. He said that the Turkish-occupied part of Nicosia was very expensive to visit and that tourists tended to 'disappear' in Northern Cyprus. I had never heard of situations like that. At that stage, I decided to stop talking to him.
Uh, I wanted a receipt for my taxi ride from Larnaca airport to the Hilton Park Nicosia hotel, which was EUR58, bu the driver had none. He promised to drop one for me the next evening. I was wondering how genuine this promise was.
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Apr 08, 2011 06:00 PM Berlin - cherry blossom
Weekend in Berlin! It was so windy that the aircraft had major difficulty with the landing. The entire machine was being blown from one side to another as if it was just a pack of feathers or a light kite. People clapped their hands, when the wheels touched the runway!
The wind blew the clouds aside and the weekend was terrific. It was very sunny and warm. Berlin's cafes, bars, clubs, restaurants all set up tables and chairs in the pavements under the blossoming cherry trees. I was actually planning to go to Tokyo for the cherry blossom season, but the situation following the massive earthquake and the tsunami complicated things.
It was all party party party. Wandering about the city, the Simon Dach Strasse, the Bergmannstrasse, and a number of strasses in the Kreuzberg and Treptow districts.
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