Part 1 - Québec and Ontario - Family and Friends

Working on the same day you leave for vacation can be really difficult. Working on the same day as you leave for vacation is probably not a good idea!... This past Thursday was no exception to this rule. Enter two hurried, stressed and did I mention hurried people....and you get a picture of the way our vacation started. Thank god we started packing three weeks ago....what neither of us can figure out is how we still ended up forgetting things. Why is vacationing so hard sometimes?

After a smoother than anticipated drive (Felix-wise) we stopped our first night in Québec city to visit with dear friends G. and G. The evening turned into ALOT of late night laughter. The next morning (which started a bit too early) made way for a great stroll through Québec City, breakfast and time spent at a local park. It was the perfect way to start a vacation. Here's an attempt at a family picture.... you may notice that "Someone" didn't want to stay still for the picture (Erik is such a brat sometimes! Heh!)



Here is HUGE cross at a location which is THOUGHT to be the landing place of Samuel de Champlain.



Made it to Northern Ontario in great time...and MOST surprisingly had to make almost NO stops except for gas. Narrowly avoided a head-on collision BUT realized that kid will likely NOT cry if he has a backseat buddy. Also, spent considerable amount of time questioning whether our Felix was indeed abducted by aliens and replaced with newer, easier baby. Odd...and incredibly pleasant. Discovered that the kid is COMPLETELY obsessed with trucks and tractors....OBSESSED.



Did I say OBSESSED?



In Cochrane, we went to see some pretty awesome Polar Bears. Entertaining and awe-inspiring. Also entertaining = the fact that "Someone" thinks that all animals are called "doggies". (Erik does know all of his numbers tho! Heh!)



DOGGIE!



Spent some time visiting things around town....



Spent some time visiting the back yard....(life in a Northern town can be quite glorious at times...)



And last...but not least...spent alot of time on the floor (mostly sober)....laughing and playing.



Vacation has started well....in fact, one might even say VERY well.

Natalie, Erik & Felix

Summer 2009 - Japan and Chicago

It's that time of year. The time of year when we find ourselves itching for a vacation, getting impatient for time off, and chomping at the bit to just get out of this tiny little City.

This summer will bring us to a few very different places that all hold great promise for fun and adventure . In just under two weeks, we leave the Tiny Capital and head to Northern Ontario, from there we drive back to Ottawa to begin a kid-less vacation (go team!). We then fly Ottawa-Chicago-Tokyo. Once in Japan, we'll spend time in Tokyo, Niijima and Kyoto with many stops between. On our way back to Ottawa, we'll also spend a brief stint (3 days) in Chicago getting a taste of the Windy City, probably just enough to convince us that we HAVE to return (so many places to visit, so little time!).

Pictures and itineraries to come, but first, there is packing to do, work to finish and plans to be finalized.

NYC - Natalie

Thursday morning 8am: arrive to a rainy day in New York. Think to self: wow...simply fucking wow!


Thursday morning about 9:30am: soldering through a pre-booked double-decker bus tour. Feel very dorky, but wow...also COLD and WET and this guy's head is really very shiny.


Thursday morning noon: note to front desk staff at Doubletree, please please PLEASE do not tell us to come back for our room until it is ACTUALLY ready. Thank you!


Thursday late afternoon: all previous angst replaced by intense desire to relocate to this City. Start imagining how I could sell this to MD.


Thursday 3pm: hotel still not ready...but it's hard to be really angry when you are seeing things like this....*le sigh* And, why did I not buy that shirt from Banana Republic when I had a chance? Am sometimes too cheap, *double sigh*


Friday morning about 11am: up bright and early,...this day is going to be great!


Friday afternoon: Circle K cruise, feeling happy, light and free...also staggeringly exhausted and wondering how on earth we will find energy required to see entire island in 4 days. Also, doing mental math concerning relocation costs.


Saturday morning: First stop of the day is Ground Zero. Saw this note, had a hard time keeping it together. Didn't expect to feel so emotional.


Watched a fireman work around a truck located in front of Ground Zero construction site, had to resist urge to hug him. Almost like an out of body experience.


Saturday 1pm: pre-Canal street purse adventure, trying to imagine what life must be like as an immigrant. Hard, yet full of so much promise.


Saturday 1:30pm: wondering why Little Italy (1 block away from Chinatown) seems so much more civilized than Chinatown...maybe has something to do with cannoli, or then again maybe it's because no one is assaulting one another with the promise of fake leather goods.


Saturday 5pm: feet legs and back hurt....yet must....go....on.


Sunday 10:30am: thinking that Central Park has to be one of the happiest places on earth, also, WTF is this guy doing with 5 dogs?


Sunday 11am: 5th avenue is full of magical places AND dichotomies. Felt like schoolgirl in the elevator at Tiffany & Co.


Sunday 11:05am: briefly wonder what it would be like to be independently wealthy and actually stay at the Plaza....then get a little sad that this will never happen, related: buy lotto tickets more often.


Sunday noon: So hungry I could eat a horse, or a metal model car, or both. Related, why doesn't anyone know where Serendipity III is? And I wonder if John Cusack will be there?


Sunday 5pm: wonder if it's normal that I cried for most of production. Also, SEE Billy Elliott, no really. See it if you can and bring tissues.

And finally, my ladyloves...my awesome, fun, creative and completely wonderful long-time, long-lost fabulous friends. I miss you already! Next time let's bring better shoes and more money!

Reykjavik - Pure Energy

What a place....what a place...what a place.

The last 6 days have been filled with great food, crazy drinking with insane Icelanders, lazy sleep, relaxation, swimming, sightseeing, wonder and wandering. Details soon to follow about exactly how we spent our days...but in the meantime, here's a picture of the Blue Lagoon, where we started (and will end) our trip...



PS - The colors are 100% real...no digital enhancement....word!

Iceland

To follow our adventures in Iceland read The 2-D Capers Of Genghis & Felix at GenghistheDog.com.
Older posts begin below.

heartbreakingly beautiful

It's trite to start a post saying that a picture paints a thousands words...but there's often simply no better way to convey a feeling, a color, a mood or a story.

I wish we'd taken more pictures, I wish we'd had more energy and motivation to be those people that constantly had their cameras ready...

I wish you could understand the heartbreaking beauty that we saw day in and day out...I wish I was back in New Orleans.


Bourbon Street, colorful, vibrant, decadent....you would not be complete without a Mango Mango at each corner!




The French Quarter was charming...





delightful...



and decrepit, all at the same time...




We saw the Bayou in all of its glory...



And we were witness to culture, proud and true....




We saw heartbreak....



But we also saw beauty...




and pride...

An Open Letter To New Orleans

You are a mystery worth discovering for so many reasons....yet you keep us guessing because there is far more substance to you than what you'd like to let on. You are not all Bourbon Street and Mardi Gras...

You are young musicians playing trombones on street corners, you are old jazz men wearing white hats sitting on bar stools, you are speak easy pubs where local legends stop in and get invited on stage, you are kids glistening shirtless giving tap performances using buttons stuck to their sneakers because they can't afford tap shoes.

You are gumbo and jumbalaya, sure thing...but you are also twenty foot oyster counters, lobster stuffed ravioli, fried aligator, sugar coated beignets at 2am, po' boy sandwiches for less than 10$ and portions that are good for the soul.

You are tragedy and heartbreak... but you are also resilience and passion and kindness. You are the guy at the end of the bar who has moved 9 times in the past two years, you are the guy in the Vodoo store who admitted to not yet having a kitchen, you are the entire family who was taking our cooking class who was from a parish that was completely destroyed...who was still laughing and still there...

You are about calling people 'Ma'am and Sir', you are about tipping your hat, you are about asking complete stangers you meet on the street 'How y'all doing today?'...

You are where the Saints live and play...on so many levels... and despite all that you've been through in these past couple of years...you are most definetly open for business.

And...we're off!

After a 5am rise in our hotel room, and clearly feeling the effects of only a few hours sleep, we are now in crappy Montreal airport, with an, ugh, 3 hour lay-over.

However, we do see the light at the end of the proverbial tunnel: we will be in NOLA in less than 8 hours.

At which time we will be sweating like pigs, drinking our alcoholized beverages in plastic cups in the middle of the street and jazz hopping.

As they say often in Cajun country:
Let the good times roll!
Or more appropriately:
Laissez les bons temps rouler!

way better than studying for the bar....

New Orleans 1 - The Big Easy

Alot of people we know don't tend to travel. They list many reasons for not traveling among them; lack of money, lack of time, and surprisingly, lack of interest. While I get the first two, I seldom get the third. I (Natalie) do think that it IS possible to travel with limited means and limited time when you plan ahead (we are both young professionals, we understand this and also understand that it's not easy) but I GET that not everyone is interested in traveling this way, on a budget and with a plan. I do get it, sort of. I also get that the Trans-Siberian Express is not everyone's "cup of tea".

In speaking to friends and family about recent trips, I've noted that generally we get that waning look or that wide-eyed look...people generally fall into the "I could care less about Mongolian culture camp" or "you two are certifiably insane camp". I have NOT however see either of these two looks when talking about our next destination: New Orleans, Louisiana. It seems to be a popular place....YAY. Anyone want to join us? It's still a week away!

In just over a week, Erik and I will leave on a 9-day trip to NOLA. While both of us have expressed interested in visiting the Big Easy many times through the years, this trip came about in a rather strange kind of way. It all started with the Police. Not the real "police" but rather the musical Police. Many of you know that The Police are one of my all-time favorite bands. EVER. Erik has known this for years and has even gotten extraordinary entertainment out of this fact in foreign countries. (I recall a day in Amsterdam, summer 2001, where I spent a frantic 20 minutes trying to spot Sting in a crowd....simply because Erik thought it would be funny to get me going...NOT FUNNY, imagine the injuries I could have sustained?!?). I really did assume that I'd never get the chance to see The Police live. I mean who would have imagined that they'd reunite to tour and play music?

So when the tickets went on sale this past Spring for the Police reunion tour, Erik and I tried to make what seemed like the impossible...possible. I logged onto www.ticketmaster.com an hour early. We had chosen Boston as our destination (close, drivable, as it were) and we even knew what kind of seats we wanted, it was the perfect plan. But the ticket gods had other plans. Rejected, I sulked for the rest of the day.

Then it dawned on us (ok, on Erik)....AIRMILES = UNLIMITED POSSIBILITIES

And thus a trip to New Orleans was born. We will be flying out of Halifax, NS on June 29th, returning via Washington DC and Halifax on July 9th, 2007. While in NOLA, we will be staying at a (hopefully) fabulous hotel in the French Quarter. As we are staying for just over a week, we are optimistic about getting the chance to do more than just eat, drink and see live music.

When I think of the Big Easy, I imagine early morning walks, long lunches, smoldering afternoons, lively people and places, chilled wine and spicy food on luscious patios and easy nights filled with smoky bars and smooth sounds. Easy, fun, relaxing and invigorating.

Updates and pictures soon. Please leave a comment with any useful information.

Natalie (& Erik)

Bleeding hearts in San Francisco

There's a saying that goes something along the lines of not being able to visit San Francisco without leaving your heart behind. I (Natalie) get it, I really do, but that's not really want happened to my heart when I was there over Christmastime. Yea, a little of my heart got left behind but a whole chunk of it got smashed, broken and melted into a tearful and sobbing mess.

...

One of the first things you notice about spending time in San Francisco are the sheer number of homeless people living on the streets. With the easy climate, dearth of places to live and eclectic nature of the city, one can easily understand the reasons for this occurrence. I assume (possibly naively) that it would be easier to be homeless in San Francisco than in NYC.

In the past decade, I've been to quite a few big cities in several countries. I've seen homelessness before that has tugged at my heartstrings (there was an incident involving the Statten Island Ferry terminal that haunts me to this day) and I've even visited cities with horrendous child poverty problems but NOTHING prepared me for the homelessness in San Francisco. It is rampant, it is sad and it is everywhere.

Some of the homelessness in San Francisco is easier (for me) to take; the artist siting and sketching against a parking meter in Haight or the young dreadlocked couple playing instruments near one of the Piers. I'm not saying that any aspect of their respective lives is easy, I'm simply saying that I was less affected by the tragedy of their particular situation...at least what was perceptible to me. I ingorantly assumed (and may be totally wrong) that these kids probably have some kind of skill that will get them by and will probably find their way to a better life, eventually. There were however many others, including an aggressive man who approached me on Christmas Eve, for whom I don't hold this hope or belief.

As a small town Canadian, extreme poverty and homelessness isn't something I encounter (at least not to this extent) on a daily basis. I don't have a tough shell when it comes to dealing with the problems and personalities of people who are forced to live on the street. Yes, I do see people living on the streets. I try to buy samosas for the guy standing outside of the market on Saturdays and I try to remember to bring along extra coffee money for the guy that stands outside of the Tim Hortons each morning. However, that's about the extent of my day to day involvement with homelessness.

When it comes to homelessness, I don't understand, I can't relate. For this, I am eternally grateful. However for this I am also eternally guilt-ridden, upset and angry.

There is a part of me (which is not so small) that secretly wants to bring all homeless people home with me, feed them, clothe them and give them each a part of my life savings. I once almost naively invited a couple sitting on the curb, with their mangy dog, to sleep on our kitchen floor (it was all we had as we were living in a Bachelor apartment at the time). Believe it or not, I had to be convinced (in my slightly drunken state) that this was a colossally bad idea and was extremely unsafe and unwise. (duh!)

I naively think (and still do) that all people that I set out to help will be nice, kind and grateful..... I am a bleeding heart liberal. I can't help it, it's the way I am built. It probably comes as no surprise that I am woefully unprepared (emotionally) to deal with homelessness when we travel and often find this aspect of any trip to be particularly difficult.

There is another part of me however that takes a certain comfort in the fact that despite being exposed to so much homelessness and so many tragic situations that I haven't become hard. Sure, it would be easier, sure, it would make traveling a little less emotional at times. But the fact remains that I never want to become hardened to to the problems of humanity.

I guess I am doomed to more frustration, more anger and likely more tears. I can strengthen my resolve to take more action to help improve the lives of those around me and around the world.....but I won't strengthen my resolve to the point of judgment or ignorance.

I can't...I won't.

Faithful

On December 24th, 2006 Erik and I attended a game at Monster Stadium with Lori and Shayne.

I (Natalie) was the only one amongst the 4 of us who had never been to an NFL game. I've seen the Hollywood movies and I've had many male friends. I've been told many times that a great NFL game can sometimes be a thing of legend, can sometimes bring brothers, families and friends together. Funny enough, I also thought that these things could also tear these same people apart....(maybe that's just Hollywood speaking).

I was lucky to be seeing this particular NFL game through the lense of a lifelong 49ers fan. It was kinda like bringing a 5-year old to Santa's village. Everything about the game was like a trip to Germany for me. Everything about the game was like a trip to Mecca for him.


We walked through the expansive parking lot which was filled with entire families barbecuing, playing cards and throwing around a football. You could hear laughter, music and fun. Some came equipped with stereos, barbecues, TVs and I even saw a generator. These people are serious about their football....but they are JUST as serious about their tailgating. There was no lack of comfort.


Walking into an NFL stadium for the first time is something of a religious experience even for a football neophyte like me. The size of the crowd, the size of the stadium, the size of the field...none of which even compares to the size of the hearts on display....which are all hoping, wishing, praying that the 49ers would lead them to victory on the homefield. The cheers, the boos, the smell of hotdogs and most of all the laughter. There is no other way to describe these fans...but as a family.


Throughout the game complete strangers came together believing in one single thing...that the 49ers should WIN this game. I saw 60 year old men dancing and 3 year old girls waving and cheering. But on Christmas Eve, it was not to be.




As the game wound down, 49ers down by 7, dozens started to make their way down the aisles, back to their cars. The final game of the year would not be one of legend.

Others straggled in the aisles, exchanging Christmas wishes, hugging fellow fans and extending warm handshakes "See you after Christmas" was heard all around me.

I didn't learn much about football on December 24th, 2006, but I learnt a lot about football fans. In a word they are Faithful....faithful to their team, faithful to their sport and most surprisingly.... faithful to one another. It was a good day.

Merry Christmas Everyone

May you all have a wonderful day filled with love, tenderness and
lots of the good things in life.


Natalie & Erik

Out of Africa.....

Fresh off a pretty interesting tour of Alcatraz, all hungry and tired, we set out for our hotel. We waited in vain for a cable car (too full). We ambled through the streets laughing (men are bad at not knowing proper directions) and ended up walking up Battery Street from the Pier.

I (Natalie) casually remarked that a friend of ours had told me about the great comedy clubs in San Fran when not a full block later, we stumbled on the awning for the Punchline Comedy Club.

We decided, on a lark, to check out the billboard and quickly saw that for the dates of December 22nd and 23rd ....right beside the words "SOLD OUT"...was written DAVE CHAPPELLE!

NO...fucking...way.

Again, on another whim, we climbed the stairs to the door, saw a last minute lineup and were informed that stand-by seats might be available, but only for the 10pm or midnight show. We collectively laughed at our "good try" and went about our way walking back to our respective hotels.

After eating and sleeping, some texting took place and despite my protests (haha) we decided (again, on a whim) that we'd be stupid to NOT try to get into the midnight show. What IF? So we set out to walk to the club again, leaving at midnight with Red Bulls in hand.

We waited in line for a little over two hours (still not thinking that it would be possible, to see Dave Chappelle LIVE ....at such a late hour)....and the stars aligned....WE GOT IN.

After two opening acts, Dave took the stage at about 3am...and played for over 3 HOURS!....when he started he was stoned out of his mind...then he sobered up....then he got delirious with fatigue....but the WHOLE time....he brought funny to a WHOLE new level. Man, he is one seriously funny (and deranged) guy.

Thanks for the awesome Christmas present San Fran. We might have to leave our hearts here for good.

San Francisco here we come (sung to the tune of the OC) UPDATED WITH PICTURES

Why the title? Wanna guess? It's not really because we are still "on our way" .....but it MIGHT have something to do with the fact that Erik sang that damn song intermitently for about 10 hours on Thursday, it has stuck....and it's stuck good. I was working on the "flowers in my hair" thing....his song is however much more annoying....therefore much stickier to get rid of in the brain!

We got here late on Thursday night after a very painful flight (babies crying, hotter than hell and turbulence that kept Erik saying "remember that scene in Lost"....thanks hon!) We are staying in this funky little hotel called Hotel des Arts, which is a neat, if not a little too beatnick...but so cheap that we really can't complain. Our room is small but brightly furnished and we have a perfect window view into the next building (which is located about12 feet from our window at the same level....ahhh...the joys of staying in a downtown hotel!). I hope to make a new friend!

We got alot done on our first day in the SF. We walked through the Castro, the Mission, the Shopping District and also wandered into Chinatown (which is about 2 blocks from our hotel). We had a fabulous lunch in the heart of the Latin Quarter at the Rosevelt Tamale Parlor.
At the end of the day, we climbed Hayes Street to see the much anticipated Painted Ladies....funny, I didn't see Uncle Jessie anywhere...we did step in lots of dog crap and Erik managed to slide (baseball style) down a grassy hill getting mud all the way up to his elbows.....(you can't take us anywhere)

We capped off the the night meeting up with Shayne and Lori for dinner at Brindisi, drinks at Voda (a vodka bar, as it were!) and then more drinks at the Irish Bank where an Irishman rather aggressively tried to take Lori home with him....in front of Shayne.

Today has started with a hangover.....but not of the monumental St. Petersburg kind. Will post more pictures later.

Natalie (& Erik)