Nice / Monte-Carlo

Side note: This blog post comes a little bit late because it has been significantly trickier to track down free WiFi (often pronounced weefee in many of these European countries) in France than it was in Estonia. Though only free from communism for the past 17 years, Estonia has one of the highest internet penetration rates in Europe and free WiFi (the Estonians use the North American pronunciation) can be found virtually anywhere in the country.

Since we were looking to warm up after two weeks in a still somewhat chilly Estonia, we headed to Nice (that’s niece, not nice), France on April 15th. We were greeted with warm sunshine on day one and took advantage the much needed vitamin D boost.

The Monte-Carlo Masters Series tennis tournament was taking place while we were in Nice and with Monte-Carlo being only 20 minutes away by train, we decided to take the opportunity to see some of the tour’s best players in action. Very sadly, it was pouring rain on the day we had tickets. As avid tennis fans and eternal optimists, we set out from Nice to the Monte-Carlo Country Club anyway, with umbrellas in hand. We quickly learned that Monte-Carlo does not get a lot of rain, since there was only one covered area at the whole tournament. Luckily we had arrived early and were able to secure two seats in the covered section, where there were approximately 1,000 seats at a tournament that hosts over 10,000 fans daily. After what seemed like ages of waiting for disorganized ushers to seat soggy fans, Jon finally remarked that they would be better off using the more experienced ushers who seat people in synagogue during the high holidays. Though we were excited to watch some of our favourite players, including Federer, Nadal and Djokovic, warm up, we quickly realized that the relatively low canopy providing shelter from the rain was too low to accommodate an actual match. We finally decided to head into Monte-Carlo for a look around, since there would clearly be no matches played in the ongoing pouring rain.



Monte-Carlo is a surrealistic experience. Virtually everyone in the city is at least a millionaire (literally) and every car on the road is incredible (other than those with an F or I designation on their license plates, which single out the French / Italians just passing through). The architecture is beautiful and the setting of the city overlooking the water is spectacular; however, beyond casinos and very expensive shops, there is not a whole lot to do in Monte Carlo on a very rainy day. Fortunately for us, by the time we had eaten a sandwich for lunch, the sun finally started to peek through the clouds and we decided to make our way back to the tennis tournament, hoping to see the first match of the day.



Back at the tournament, we were excited to find that the sun was out, the weather had warmed up and Federer was getting ready to step out onto centre court. Being a Masters Series tournament, the men only had to win two sets to take the match (as opposed to winning three sets in a Grand Slam tournament). Federer’s performance was surprisingly weak and he just managed to lose (6-4, 7-5) to his fellow Swiss countryman, Wawrinka, before it started pouring rain again. Unfortunately that was the only match we wound up seeing that day, as it continued to rain after the Federer match, and they wrapped up the tournament for the day at that point.


Inspired by the athletics and muscle we had seen in Monte Carlo, we decided to take on a little physical activity ourselves and on April 19th we joined approximately 10,000 other joggers in running the Nice Semi-Marathon (as previously noted). The Semi-Marathon is a pretty bid deal in Nice and most people in town know that it is going on. Luckily, for this event we got clear sunny weather and we both had a great time running 21.2 kilometres, most of which was along the waterfront. The support throughout the city, including all the people that hung out their apartment windows to cheer the runners on, was much appreciated and made for a fun event. Though still a little bit sore from the run, we pulled ourselves together and were back out hiking in the French countryside a few days later.


We will be back in Nice briefly on April 30th, which is lucky, because there is one restaurant that we didn’t make it to on our first trip through, Chez Palmyre. The menu changes daily, and the old woman who does the cooking runs the restaurant as though you are eating in her home - can’t wait!

Saint Raphael

We have been busy enjoying the warm weather in the South of France, so apologies for getting behind on the blog (including the belated Southern Estonia post that just went up).

Today we went for an incredible 6 km hike in and around Saint Raphael. The hike started in the Massif de L'Esterel, an incredible mountain range that surrounds the coast, and ended along the beaches outside of the cityl. It was an incredible hike and I think that the pictures tell the story better than words.

Southern Estonia

Despite being a relatively small country, Estonia has a lot of history and a lot of beautiful places to discover. After our visit to Saaremaa, we were back in Tallinn for a couple of days for a Passover Seder, then traveled south to Tartu, Estonia’s biggest university town.

We ended up enjoying Tartu more than Tallinn, mainly because the “old town” seems more oriented towards locals than tourists, so restaurants are more authentic / less stereotypical. As well, Tartu has some beautiful parks mixed amongst the city and the parks are dotted with sculptures, ruins or other points of interest.

We were also in Tartu for Jon’s birthday (April 11) and enjoyed a great home-curated lunch from the Tartu market, including a variety of herring and salmon, as well as some moose salami, coleslaw and home-made pickles (which were good, but not up to Ellenzweig / Tupholme standards).

We also toured the A. Le Coq Brewery in Tartu, definitely a non-Estonian name (Mr. Le Coq was a Belgian) but the leading producer of beer in Estonia.

After Tartu, we rented a car and toured around the countryside, including Viljandi, birthplace of Kristi's step-grandmother and home to another great park and castle, and we ended up spending the night in Parnu, a beachside resort town.

We finagled a sea-view room in Parnu and the weather crept up into the mid-teens, so we took a great walk along the beach / boardwalk and explored some of the other highlights.

We returned our car the next day to Tallinn and spent our final night in a hotel that also houses a pool / spa facility, with about 6 different hot tubs, multiple saunas, steam rooms, etc. - a relaxing way to end our stay in Estonia.

Nice - Semi-Marathon

Kristi and I just completed the Nice Semi-Marathon this morning! A beautiful day and an awesome setting with most of the race along the Med. Race info is here.

Saaremaa

Having enjoyed our volunteer experience in Spain, we decided to embark on another volunteer program in Estonia. We found an interesting project on Saaremaa, Estonia's largest island, located just off the west coast. We stayed in Kuressaare (population 16,000), the island's largest city.

Our host was trying to start a wool cooperative on the island and our project was to help put together a business plan, as part of an application for EU funding. Despite a large number of sheep on the island (approximately 11,000), the locals currently have no place to process the wool that is sheared from their sheep; however, many have shown interest in seeking a local solution.

Before we could commence the report writing, we had to get an understanding of both sheep and wool. Several days were spent visiting local farms with our host and learning about the farmers' wool-related needs. Fortunately, we quickly took a liking to the sheep.

The locals we met were very kind and we enjoyed learning about Estonian farm life. After touring around one of the farms, we were very excited to be presented with a snack of locally made food. On the table we found: bread, honey, lamb pate, milk, pickles and coffee (everything came from the farm, except for the coffee). At the end of our visit, we were also each given a pair of homemade socks, this was truly a local experience!

Apart from our volunteer project, we found some time to visit a few of the sites on the island, the best of which was the Kuressaare Castle. The castle is the best preserved castle in the Baltics, originally built in the 1200's, but reconstructed in its present form in the 1400's.

Overall, we had a great time in Saaremaa, but after having eaten at almost all the local restaurants in the span of five days, we didn't mind getting back on the bus and heading back to Tallinn, the big city, for Passover.....more to come on that in a later post.

Tallinn - Sporting Events

We are currently in Tallinn Estonia and have been in Estonia for the past week. Since arriving on March 31st, we have spent time in both Tallinn (the capital city) and on the island of Saaremaa (subject of a future post).

We have tried to stay on top of Estonia's sporting scene since arriving (which is pretty easy to do), and have attended a World Cup 2010 Qualifying Match as well as an Estonian Basketball League game.

Estonia does not have a very rich football (soccer) background, which has shown in their World Cup 2010 qualification efforts (Europe - Group 5). Thankfully, they were playing one of the few teams in Europe ranked below them, Armenia (Estonia is ranked #115 in the world and Armenia is ranked #124 - click here for the full rankings).

The match took place at Estonia's largest football field, A. Le Coq Arena, sponsored by A. Le Coq, one of Estonia's largest breweries (and the one with the most interesting name).

Positive notes on the match:
1. Both teams tried their best.
2. There were a decent number of Estonian fans that turned out, despite the early start time (6:00 PM on a Wednesday).
3. Surprisingly, some Armenian fans made it to the match.
4. Estonia won, 1-0.

Room for improvement:
1. The grass was very brown and patchy.
2. Neither Estonia nor Armenia are very good at football. Lots of players on both sides either play in their local leagues or in places like Iran, Kazakhstan, Georgia, etc.
3. No beer was sold during the match (a FIFA rule, not a local one).
4. The concession stand sold out of Estonian Garlic Bread (a GREAT local snack, not like Italian garlic bread) before half time, so we didn't get any.

Next up on our sporting tour-de-force was a match in the SEB Korvpalli Maestriliiga, more commonly known as the KML or the Estonian Basketball League. You may be asking yourself, something like "Hm. I didn't know that Estonians play basketball. I don't recall seeing any of their players in the NBA or in the Olympics". Well, due in part to their Nordic ancestry, there are some tall Estonians out there and at some point, they got together and started playing basketball. Unfortunately, they are not very good, which is why we generally don't see Estonians in the NBA. They do, however, also participate in the Baltic Basketball League, which is typically dominated by Lithuanian teams.

The game we went to was between one of the local Tallinn teams, BC Kalev (mascot pictured above) and its chief rival, Tartu Rock. Thankfully, the local team won (boxscore) and the 1,200 (or so) fans in attendance all went home happy.

Ireland - Beer & Spirits

Aside from its beautiful countryside, Ireland may be best known for its beer and spirits, as well as the festivities that surround them. We were fortunate enough to be in Dublin two weeks ago for St. Patrick's Day (simply known as Paddy's amongst the locals).

Our day started with some pina colada's courtesy of Lindsay (a decidedly un-Irish start to the day) and we then took to the streets with the gang (Matt, Lindsay, Cam, Olivia - photo at top) to watch a brief part of the parade (above), which was somewhat low-budget and reminiscent of Toronto's Santa Clause Parade, although some locals take it seriously enough to line the parade route in the wee hours of the morning or to scale various street furniture to cop a great view (below).

We then headed to some local pubs for the rest of the day, to celebrate in a more traditional fashion, with pints of Guinness and some Irish folk music. While the streets were packed with tourists, we managed to find a great local crowd packed with several local church choirs that sang ballads throughout the afternoon.

Kristi and I also toured the Guinness Brewery in Dublin, which was much more interesting than we expected, given the tens of millions of Euro that Guinness has put into their Visitors Center - definitely a must see tour with a very fresh pint at the end.

Also, as noted in previous posts, we toured the Old Jameson Whisky Distillery in Middleton (County Cork) and also popped in on the Old Bushmills Distillery near the Giant's Causeway in Northern Ireland (photos above and bel0w).


While there may still be one more Dublin post in the cards, photos are posted here for those interested.

Ireland Road Trip II - Northern Ireland

Following the success of our earlier road trip to Cork and Kerry, Kristi and I set out alone on a 3-day road trip to Northern Ireland, with the primary goal if seeing the Giant's Causeway along with the beautiful coast.

Our first stop was Belfast, the capital of Northern Ireland and a city that really surprised us with its charm and new modern development. We were only in Belfast for 5 hours (not nearly enough time), but we were able to walk around a lot of the downtown (Kristi is pictured above in front of city hall) and we also took a black cab tour of the Protestant and Catholic neighbourhoods, to learn more about the political situation.



The neighbourhoods of Belfast are known for their murals, which were often painted in memory of various events or people. Our guide was very knowledgeable and helped walk us through The Troubles. He also gave us a modern day perspective and it does seem like the situation has improved significantly over the past decade, in large part due to the economic prosperity in the area; however, the current recession could incite additional unrest (which has started already - click here).


We left Belfast on Monday evening and made it to Portrush, a town on the Northern coast, very close to the Giants Causeway. The next morning, we paid a quick visit to the ruins of Dunluce Castle and then made our way to the Causeway, which is an incredible natural phenomenon which must be seen to believed. The Causeway also comes with a bit of folklore, the legend of Finn McCool. Although the weather was quite blustery, we hiked around the area before returning to our car to continue the beautiful drive around the coast of Country Antrim.


The drive was incredibly scenic and we really loved seeing the countryside. We spent the night just outside of Belfast and then had a relaxing day meandering around the countryside, eventually making our way back to Dublin on Wednesday evening.

For those interested, additional photos of our road trip are available here.

Ireland Road Trip I - Cork & Kerry

After arriving in Dublin on March 11th, we got settled into our friends’ Cam and Liv’s place, had a great dinner with the group (including our good friend Matt), and then headed out with Cam & Liv on a weekend road trip to explore Southwestern Ireland.


Our first stop brought us to one of Ireland’s best foodie towns, Kinsale. Located on Ireland’s southern coast, about 4 hours from Dublin, Kinsale was a lovely little town. We checked into a small lodge and then headed out for dinner at a highly recommended local pub/restaurant, Jim Edwards. The meal started with Jon and Cam ordering a much needed pint of Guinness, while Liv and Kristi enjoyed a Bulmer’s Light (a favourite Irish Cider). We then all had a fabulous meal of delicious, locally caught fish.


On day two, we enjoyed the Irish Breakfast at our lodge, which provided a good base for our first stop, the Jameson Distillery, in Middleton. We learned the art and science behind the famous whiskey, and then had the pleasure of sampling some of the output. We also had the opportunity to compare Jameson’s to the smokier Scottish Scotch and the sweeter American Bourbon. Given the setting of the tasting and the sales pitch by our tour guide, we both preferred the Jameson’s!


Our next stop was the Blarney Castle. Originally dating back to the1200’s, the castle was rebuilt by Cormac MacCarthy, the King of Munster in the 1400‘s. Today, the castle is most famous for the Blarney Stone, which lies at the top of the castle. Legend has it that those who kiss the Blarney stone will be granted the gift of gab (eloquence), and this legend seems to attract an awful lot of tourists. Kissing the stone involves lying on your back and hanging your head over the edge of the castle (while being held onto by a very old Irishman, who supposedly ensures your safety). All four of us went through the motions of kissing / pretending to kiss the stone (for photograph purposes). Consensus among the four of us has it, that only Jon was granted the gift of gab - apparently it does matter if your lips touch the stone.

Day two of the road trip ended in Killarney, where we enjoyed a dinner of Irish Stew and a restful night.


On day three, we rose early, to again enjoy a delicious Irish Breakfast, which provided fuel for our hike around Killarney National Park. After our walk, we headed out to enjoy the scenic drive around the Ring of Kerry (above).


In addition to enjoying the beautiful scenery, one of the highlights included an unplanned detour following signs marked “Farmhouse Cheese”. We were rewarded for our efforts when we arrived at a private home and were led into a Dutchman’s “cheese room”. The gouda style cheese on offer was delicious, and we walked off with a piece of both garlic gouda and the cumin gouda.

The trip ended with a marathon drive home and a great sleep back in Dublin.

For those interested in viewing more photos of this roadtrip (including photos of us kissing the Blarney Stone), click here.

San Sebastian

Following our weekend in Bilbao, we took the bus to San Sebastian, an incredible seaside city and the foodie capital of Europe. Between the incredible picturesque setting, the friendliness of the local residents and the wonderful food, we fell in love with San Sebastian and it may perhaps be our favourite stop so far on the trip.


Nestled into the Bay of Biscay on the Atlantic Ocean, the city is home to some beautiful urban beaches as well as great surf spots.


The harbor of San Sebastian is also home to a great series of sculptures by local Basque sculpture Edouardo Chllida, called "Comb of the Wind" (above and at top of blog post). These weathered steel sculptures are built into the rocks at the end of the harbour and are truly captivating when the waves crash into them, adding a variety of experiences to the art. We ended up taking a lot of photos of these sculptures, which are available here.


Building upon the great pintxos of Bilbao, San Sebastian is truly a food mecca and every little bar / restaurant takes their food extremely seriously . The photo above depicts two of our favourites that (skewered grilled shrimp and a fried crepe containing asparagus, mushrooms and langoustines) that cost about 3 Euro each and would have been at home as starters on any Michelin-starred restaurant. After spending several days of eating pintxos like these (including foie gras in every form known to man), we were sad to leave and can only hope that the tapas/pintxo culture makes its way to North America beyond the "small plates" craze. The big difference between what exists in Spain vs North America is the casualness of these bars - locals just drop in for a glass of wine (usually priced at 2 Euro or less) and a couple of pintxos, before continuing on to the next bar. There is often no menu and certainly no formality. There are also often few/no chairs in the bar and young and old intermingle with no pretension. Definitely a great way to dine.


With this post, I believe that we are finally caught up through Spain. (although we still may have 1-2 belated Barcelona posts over the next week). We have been in Dublin for the past week (including St. Paddy's and will be posting some photos soon!.

Cheers