Oot and Aboot in Canada Eh! – Day Six

Hubby decided to join me for a walk this morning and although it was only 8-9 degrees celsius, the sun was out so he decided a short sleeved t-shirt would be good enough.
I was happy to be walking but I forgot hubby likes to make stops along the way so as soon as he saw those golden arches, we stopped.

We came across a “stobie” pole on steriods. Actually, there were quite a few of these.

They’re called hydro poles here.

I got hubby to stand at the base so you can get an idea of how gigantic it is.

Today we had to do a bit of personal business/banking so we went downtown.

Hubby has been loving driving this Cadillac. It does seem like we’re driving around in luxury!

Passed some Cannabis store signs along the way. Took a few pics of the downtown area which looked quite nice.

It’s funny for me to see signs in two languages wherever we go.

This pic upper right was a very funny situation. Hubby had to get a copy of his birth certificate so we went to Vital Statistics and had to get a number and wait to be called. Hubby went to get a number and violently pulled the number tab. All of a sudden, the entire roll came undone without any tabs separating. It rolled across the floor and hubby, full of embarrassment, started rolling it back up as quick as he could.
What made it even more funny was that there was a customer immediately to his right who saw it and started laughing uncontrollably. It was such a funny giggle because he was trying to stifle it but just couldn’t.

We walked around Portage Place looking for some other department. Lot of interesting things and people around there.

We drove out to the country again late afternoon and stopped in at Tim Horton’s on the way and this time, we got some sweets as well!! We got a Maple Pecan Danish and a Cinnamon Scroll.

I love how here, and in the U.S too, they offer you coffee with milk or cream. I could get used to the lovely taste of cream in my coffee!!

Still not used to the fact that they display prices before the tax is applied.  You never really know how much you will be charged. The first few times I couldn’t work out why I had paid more than the ticketed price and then I was told.  Why don’t you people rebel!! This is a horrible system! The ticket price should include everything you need to pay. Price and tax! None of this add on at the end. And if you’re having a meal, you have to add on tip after that as well so you may think something is fairly cheap until all the extras are added on to it.

I had doggy cuddles this afternoon again. I could have sat here all afternoon with that little cutie.

We went with family to Portage la Prairie. It seemed like a nice place but it was so close we moved from the park to the indoor recreation centre.

Because it was easy, we went to Boston Pizza for dinner again tonight.

We started off sharing a big plate of nachos. These were great.

In our party of five, four of us had the New York Steak Sandwich. It was so delicious!

And we also ordered a plate of chicken tacos.

We said the first lot of goodbyes to family tonight and that’s the worst part. Always wonderful to see family and it’s never easy to say goodbye.

For now, goodnight and bonne nuit.

Day trip to Victor

The unimaginable happened today. I gave up my usual exercise routine and went on a full day trip to Victor Harbor with hubby!
I kind of felt like I owed it to him as the night before, he’d asked me to cut his hair (and believe me, I’m not hair dresser) Normally I cut his hair during the day because after 3pm, my brain cells have given up on me and it’s a risk at best.
So he gets home at 5.30pm and I’m already a couple of wines in and I start cutting. I’m actually congratulating myself at how quick I’m going. I really FEEL like a hairdresser for the first time in years! Snip, snip, snip… oh, and I’m doing something a little different back here but it seems to be working… until I comb it all down. No.. that is not right at all and I hoped to God he hadn’t seen the expression on my face. I tried to fix it as best as I could and I’m pretty sure I got away with it. It will grow…

So, after no exercise we got into the car and drove! Such a gorgeous day in Adelaide today.
Just perfect for driving and being out in the world.
Our first stop was McDonalds. What’s a road trip with some Macca’s after all???

It was still fairly early when we got to Victor. We parked and decided we were going to walk along the bluff to Rosetta Head.
I probably should add that while hubby does exercise, he’s a reluctant exerciser…

 

These are the nice pictures. After this bit, the grass was dry, the air smelt bad and everything was so sparse. Hubby was in a grumpy mood because he didn’t want to walk. He said he’d rather be walking in Italy, Japan or Greece.
I tried to sell the nature to him (hard at that exact moment) but it didn’t work.  Do you know how hard conversation is with a grumpy person?

At one point he asked me if I wanted to go for a bike ride when we got back home. The last time I had answered “yes” to that question was over twelve years ago and why is he even thinking of that when today has not even started!

We saw Rosetta Head in the distance and I suggested to hubby we should just walk to the cafe, have a drink, then if we felt like going further we would or we could just turn back.

I saved us a table while hubby went to get some cake and coffee. After a little while he comes out with a brown paper bag. “Don’t open it yet” he says. He knows there’s a high probability that whatever yummy thing is in there, is likely to be picked at by me if I can see it.
He went back for the coffee and I peeked.

While it may not look that exciting, the apricot squares were pretty delicious and I had the difficult task of looking surprised and excited when he opened the bag up in front of me.
Sometimes my life is so exhausting.

After the coffee and cake, and the promise that we didn’t have to walk any further, hubby’s mood greatly lifted.

By the time we got back into Victor we were starting to think about having some lunch. We walked past restaurants and cafes and hotels yet nothing seemed suitable for hubby. “No, not there, no that place doesn’t look good, no, not enough people sitting in that one.”
We walked and walked, then went back to the car and drove. We were on our way to Goolwa, potentially stopping somewhere along the way if we saw somewhere decent to eat.
I had lost all hope and said “I feel like we’re never going to eat” and hubby replied “What? We can stop wherever you want!” Seriously, like that last 90 minutes hadn’t happened…

We drove through Port Elliot without stopping, through Middleton without stopping and soon found ourselves in Goolwa.

We got out and walked to the waterfront.

Nice places but not anywhere that hubby wanted to eat.

I heard the Cockle Train so ran to try to get a photo but just missed it!!!

All that was left were the puffs of black smoke…

So we finally went to the first hotel we saw.
I won’t name it here. It was fine. Food was average. Not bad, not fantastic either. Drinks were fairly cheap.

Hubby had the Chicken Caesar (left) and I had grilled fish. Not sure mine was cooked all the way through but it still tasted ok.

After lunch we walked down the main street towards the bakery. We always get something from there but unfortunately we were later in the day and most of the cakes were gone already.

We bought this cherry yeast loaf/bun thing and a Chester Slice. Hubby seems to think the Cherry bun is all his.

Oh and we went by the Convenient Chef’s but they were closed.

How inconvenient!

Little message for Betsy there too….

We stopped at Horseshoe Bay on the way back. Before we got there, we heard that Cockle Train and guess what? It crossed right in front of us so I was able to get some photos!!! And then waved at everyone in the train. I got a couple of waves back too!!

Out of the car and down the steps, then hubby went straight for the rocks. It’s not like people get swept off them by rogue waves or anything.

He got quite invigorated down there which led to this clip…

The very next thing he said to me was “Did you see me Parkour?”

Few more pics as we walked along. We didn’t go all the way down to the middle of the horseshoe of Horseshoe bay because it was down hill and hubby knows downhill means an uphill is coming…

We took a different turn on the way back home which may not have been the best option. The road was narrow and curvy and I just had to shut my eyes and hope for the best.I know hubby is a fantastic driver but it’s everyone else I’m worried about.

Not sure what this is but we passed it along the way…

Our last stretch was along the coast. How beautiful is the state I live in!!!
We are so lucky to have these beautiful places right on our doorstep.

If you made it this far, thanks for sharing this day trip with us!
Feel free to leave any comments.

Until next time…

Roman Around – Day Four

We have done so much walking today!!
It was probably as much as the other days but it felt like so much more because we really went off track…

We started the day early, walking into the historic centre.

Had to stop for a coffee first and this place was kind of interesting!!! Something to note if you come here, if you have your coffee at the “bar” rather than at a table, you will save yourself at least 2 Euro!

We wanted to take a few pictures at the Fountain of Trevi during the day, and then continue on into Travestere.

We found the fountain ok, but even at that early hour it was full of people and hard to get a decent shot.
We still haven’t thrown a coin over our shoulder into it!! Must remember to do that.

Next stop was the Pantheon!! Another site I wanted to take day photos at. We stumbled upon it by accident. Such an impressive building.

I know we’ve seen these sights before but soon we’ll be gone and who knows when I’ll get to see them again.

Found this cute little sign on a wall.

We passed through Piazza Navona again which, in my opinion, is underrated. I looked up at the apartments and wondered who lives there!! and what are they paying to live there? Do the constant stream of tourists bother them? So many questions!

We hadn’t really had breakfast so hubby and I decided to look for more “special” pizza to have. We didn’t find it right away, but we did see this. Have you ever seen a bigger piece of Mortadella!!!!

I should have got hubby to stand next to it for perspective.

Before we knew it we were crossing the bridge over into Travestere

That picture on the left is not Bocca Della Verita but I really wanted it to be… so we went past it and continued over the bridge.

Oh my god was it so nice over this side!!!! It was quiet, and peaceful and just what you’d expect Italy to be. We also noticed the prices were much cheaper.
We just wanted to keep ordering food!! We got coffee at one place, dessert at another. I didn’t even photograph the dessert I was so excited to eat it! It was full of this delicious custard! Oh god, it would be worth the walk over the bridge to get that again!

And it was just so pretty over there. Please, if you find yourself in Rome, you MUST go to Travestere!

I really should have taken more photos. I felt so at home in this section.

Without any plan or guidance, we started walking south and it soon turned, not so nice.
Well , in fairness, it got average, and then not so nice.

I had been looking for a handbag since we were in Greece and didn’t see anything I really liked. There was this one bag from a street vendor in Greece I kind of liked but was not in the mood to haggle.

I noticed it on the street in Travestere and while hubby was looking at the price, the guy came up and said it was a super special morning discount. The price quoted was 40 Euro but he said he’d sell it for 30 Euro. I said I wasn’t interested and for that price, I really wasn’t.. but he was so desperate and he said “What price would you pay for it” and I answered honestly “20 Euro”. I thought that was fair. It’s not leather after all, just a nice big bag I can wear on my back.

He tried to ask for 25 Euro but when I said I wasn’t going to pay that and started to walk away, he said “Ok 20 Euro” and started to take the paper stuffing out to prepare it for sale right away, as if he was scared I was going to change my mind about the 20 Euro.

I felt so bad.

He just seemed so desperate for money and there is such poverty in the streets here.

I love my new bag though!

As we continued walking we found ourselves in an area that could be anywhere in the world. Not old, not new, just neutral. We didn’t really know where we were, we just continued walking.

We got some pizza at a pretty good price! And a couple of arancini balls.

We needed a bathroom break so ducked into the free washrooms at McDonalds and I took a photo of the menu – Not sure if you can see it. Interesting to see a familiar menu in a different language.

By now we were pretty tired and had no clue where we were. We crossed the bridge back over to “our” side but still had no clue. Nothing looked familiar and we were on wide roads with tons of cars streaming past. I looked on Google Maps and told hubby I thought we should be heading in a certain direction, but he was sure it was another direction and off we trotted…. and we walked, and walked and walked… and finally I said “Please for the love of God we have to ask someone or check Google Maps”
And turns out, we were walking in the wrong direction… Probably on our way to Naples.
Not that we could tell what Google Maps was saying as we had no reference point.

When we asked the guy at the petrol stop where to go, he pointed in the direction we had just come from and said “second left after the gate”

I think he meant this gate?

It still felt really foreign and we passed all sorts of ruins we hadn’t seen before or even heard about.

I’m sorry I didn’t take pictures. I think I was just too tired.

I promised hubby we would stop for icecream (haha) so as soon as we hit civilisation, (as we had been walking down a freeway for quite some time up until this point) I got us some ice cream.

It was absolutely  delicious!

When we finally got back to the apartment I had a glass or two of Limoncello and I was out like a light.

No more Limoncello for me ever again please!!!

Although we love pasta and pizza, we were looking for something different tonight.

Am I wrong in thinking there’s only so much pasta and pizza you can eat?

We walked past a million places and finally settled on this one place that seemed ok. I think we were just tired of walking and looking.

Hubby thought he might like some risotto and this place had it on the menu so in we went.
Most people sat outside but I kind of liked the interior. It was cute.

I don’t think you can see it in the picture but at the top of the wall there is a painting of different parts of Rome. It’s really well done.

I went for something light – Some bruschetta and minestrone soup and hubby had a risotto and cannelloni.

I wasn’t a fan of the bruschetta because it had rocket throughout it and not basil.
The minestrone was ok. Hubby was happy with his.
I feel like I need a change of cuisine tomorrow thought.

The supermarkets close at 10pm here which meant we couldn’t get any sneaky snacks to bring home! Probably just as well.

Goodnight and god bless.

Roman Around – Day Three

We wanted today to be a relaxing day. We just wanted to walk around, do a bit of shopping, take a few pictures and to see what happens.

First thing we did was go to the supermarket where I spoke to the guy behind the counter. I’m just so proud of myself whenever I do that! It’s only because I don’t expect to be able to speak but when I’m there, it comes natural. They don’t even ask me where I’m from or anything like that. It makes me feel like a local.

I had read a bit about Villa Borghese so we were sort of making our way towards that.
We were walking on Via delle Quattro Fontane and found ourselves at the intersection where the four fountains were!
I took pictures of the fountains – some were taken from across the road so not that great but still a cute little intersection.

We didn’t really have breakfast because hubby wanted to get some pizza like we had yesterday. Yesterday we saw these particular types of pizza places all over. Today, for some reason, we couldn’t find them.

As we walked around looking for this special type of elusive pizza place, we stopped at different sights.

I could not believe we were taking so much time to look for pizza in Rome. I don’t blame Rome, I blame hubby who passed quite a few places that were “not right”. He could have had pizza if he wanted.

We were walking for about an hour when we got to the top of the Spanish Steps and decided to explore the church that is there.

There was a guard up there refusing entry to anyone who had exposed shoulders/arms or legs (Wearing shorts) About half of the people trying to enter were turned away.

I took a few pics inside.

It was very quiet in there. People were respectful of their surroundings. I had spent a bit of time by myself taking photos and looking at it all and realised hubby wasn’t with me. When I was done, I looked around for him and saw him sitting quietly in one of the pews. I motioned that I was ready and he got up and we went out.
When we were out I said “Were you there all that time? What were you doing?”
Without missing a beat he replies “I was praying for pizza”

Alas, that prayer took a little time to be answered.

Took a few pics of the Spanish Steps during the day this time.

We walked and walked without any direction. Passed lots of places selling foccacia…

We eventually found ourselves in Piazzo del Popolo. The Piazza del Popolo (the People’s Square) is located inside the northern gate of the city, which was once called Porta Flaminia. The square is situated at the beginning of Via Flaminia and was the main entrance to the city during the Roman Empire.

There is a Leonardo Da Vinci Museum there and we were going to go in but when we went to buy the tickets, it was SO stifling hot and humid in there we couldn’t stay!!! What a shame.

Shortly after, a miracle occurred. We saw a place that had pizza that hubby wanted to eat.
I hear the angels singing as I write this.

I spoke Italian to the guy behind the counter like a champ and ordered us some pizza slices. They charge by weight so you just tell them how much you want and then they cut and weigh it.
I took some pics through their display windows.

It was REALLY good. I think they fry the base or something. It was really crunchy and the one we had was filled with prosciutto. YUM!!

With our hunger satiated we were able to think clearly and we moved on to Villa Borghese.
It was an interesting little place! There’s statues of lots of famous people. The one to the right is Victor Hugo.

Lots of people were getting around on bikes and carts which you can hire relatively cheaply.
Here’s a few more pics from inside.

There’s nice views of Rome from the top. It was really peaceful up there and if you find yourself in Rome and want to get away from the hustle and bustle of the tourist spots, I recommend you come here.

We were tiring by now.

Looking for the perfect pizza place will do that to you.

We just walked and surprisingly, we found ourselves at the Vatican again.
Although we didn’t have a plan, that wasn’t the direction we would have chosen so we changed direction and before we knew it, we were at Piazza Navona.
At least I think that’s where this is.

 

Very pretty place!! Probably more so if you’re not sun struck and tired.

Hubby and I wanted to try some authentic Italian Limoncello so we went into some place that advertised a 500 ml bottle for 5.20 Euro or something like that. When I paid for it, it was 7.20… damn those people who scam tourists!!! In any case, it was still a good price and as I write this, I’m quite a few shots in so I really don’t mind!!!

We’re full up on Limoncello, cheese, proscuitto, salami and bread. Not sure we’re going anywhere for the next few hours!

When we eventually woke from our gastronomic stupor, we wandered back out for some good authentic food. Everyone here beckons you to come in. It’s hard to say no. We went into one place and didn’t really like the menu so after being sat down, we got up and said we were looking for something else.

We walked past this one place close to our apartment and liked the look of what we saw on other people’s plates so stopped in.

It’s getting quite addictive for me to speak Italian to the servers or really, anyone else!
I’m just so darn proud of myself. (Yes I’ve said that more than once)

I was pretty happy with my pasta! I just wanted a simple meal with a beautiful, flavourful tomato sauce and I got that.
Hubby’s pizza was also good. I can’t remember the pizza’s all having a thin crust when I was here last but they are all like that. Super thin!

Water in restaurants is relatively expensive. We paid 3 Euro for some table water.
Public washrooms are something else that mostly aren’t free. We’ve seen them for one Euro. Hubby and I will usually duck in somewhere and get a drink or coffee and use the bathroom rather than pay extra for a public one.
I won’t tell you how long we spent trying to locate a McDonalds one day, so that we could use their restroom!! If you have young children and you’re coming here it’s probably something to consider.

Only a few days left of vacation now. We have to make the most of our time here.

Buona notte amici

Turning Japanese – Part Seven

Osaka awaited us this morning.
With full confidence we left our lovely apartment and walked to the train station.
We were going to see Osaka Castle
No breakfast included in this accomodation apart from what we choose to provide for ourselves and as we’d gone grocery shopping we had the luxury of having a few coffees before we left our apartment!

We went to the Castle and took in the wonderful and awe inspiring sights. I’ve added a couple of pictures for you to get an idea of what we were looking at.

We had picked a couple of things we wanted to do in Osaka and one of them was to visit this mall that apparently went for kilometres… We were going to take the Osaka Loop line but once we googled, we saw it was only a couple of kilometres away so we walked there.

It was pretty interesting!! Lots of little shops and little food places. My stomach was starting to growl as apart from the coffee, we hadn’t eaten anything.

 

After walking through the mall our hunger was building! We decided to put “food court” into google maps and go to the nearest one. That ended up being 2.5 kilometres away however once we got there, we saw it wasn’t what we consider a “food court” to be.
We were in the Hankyu building.
If you’re familiar with this building you may know that there isn’t a food court. There are plenty of restaurants in the basement level but not a food court as such – just a lot of restaurants – just as you’d see on the streets.
We went to the enquiry counter and they sent us to the 12th and 13th floor. They told us we’d find the “food court” there.
Once we got there we saw it wasn’t what we call a food court, and not only that, but these restaurants were definitely more hoity toity. Not what we were looking for in our walking clothes. But there were streams and streams of people lining up to go to them! There were so many people everywhere!!

So we went back down to the ground level and started walking back through the streets to find somewhere to have lunch. Disappointingly, some of the places we were interested in didn’t open until five. I’m not sure if that was because today is Saturday, or if that’s the way it always is.

We walked and walked and walked and finally fell into a place that had a picture of a sandwich roll on the window.
I think by this stage, I would have gone anywhere, even eaten octopus, just to be able to sit.

Very few people speak English here. They all say they speak a little, and they can get by with a few words but they can’t really communicate beyond a basic level. And that’s not a criticism!! Most people in Australia can only speak one language!
So hubby and I got a couple of “pizza’s” (similar to a sub or slice) and a premade sandwich.

The pizza was actually very good!! Now that could be because we were super tired and starving, having walked over eighteen kilometres at this point, but it was still very good and definitely hit the spot

The sandwich was ok. Very thin and no crusts!! I love my crusts! Never take off the crust people it’s the best part!!

 

Did you notice what is said on the sandwich?

How cute is that!

I wasn’t smiling until I actually read that message, but after, I was…

People here are just so courteous and nice. I wonder if I’m in some twilight zone. It just seems too perfect.

I made hubby walk all the way back to the apartment. Hubby and I decided to walk back to the apartment – all six kilometres, and before we got there, we stopped at the big supermarket near home and grabbed some treats AND a small bottle of Jim Beam (bargain price!) and a nice bottle of red for me.
Deeeeelicious and long overdue!

This evening, being creatures of habit and comfort, we headed back to that fabulous food court (staying well away from the place we’d gorged ourselves at yesterday) and ordered something different. Even when we’re handed an English menu, we still don’t know what we’re getting.
Throughout Tokyo and Osaka, we’ve seen street vendors and restaurants alike making these cute little balls. We didn’t know if they were savoury or sweet.
There was a vendor in the foodcourt that was making them so, being brave, we ordered a couple of dishes.
Even though the menu was English, it said “Takoyaki”. We don’t know what that is!
Later on, hubby googled it and we reaslied what they were. Octopus balls!!! We don’t normally eat seafood but I have to say they were soooo creamy and delicious! The only thing I could have done without was the barbeque tasting sauce that was on the top of one of our dishes.

And each serve had eight balls so they were pretty filling!
We both felt like dumplings though and the beauty of being in a food court is that you can choose different things.. so we ordered some dumplings and some rice from another vendor (and sat at another table so hopefully no one noticed)

The dumplings were nice but not as nice as others we’ve had. There wasn’t much filling in them but the taste was ok.
The rice was very full of flavour and crunchy!! Hubby and I had a little spat over them.
“But you said you didn’t want rice”
“I didn’t, till I knew you were getting some. How can I not eat it when you’re eating it in front of me”
“Because I wanted them. You said you didn’t”
“That was then, this is now, besides, you’re the one who always wants to share”
“And you don’t so get out of it. I got this for me”
Typical conversation between us really.

And to carry on with our bogan food theme today, we went to McDonalds to try to get a soft serve cone for dessert but they stop serving them after a certain time, so instead, we went to the convenience store and got something that kind of looked like a soft serve cone and it was delicious!! Vanilla and Coffee flavour and very creamy.

If these people didn’t all ride bikes incessantly, they’d be in trouble with all this creamy, highly processed and fatty foods!
I love it!