Summer's Fading

I get nostalgic about the end of summer almost as soon as it has begun. I've been known to sigh "summer's almost over" in early July. It just goes by so fast (in this part of the world at any rate). These images were taken in Oregon and California during my June trip to the Pacific Coast. This year has been full of wonderful travels and there's more globetrotting to come. Later this week I leave for an actual vacation. I'm going to Poland to visit family and we're doing a little side trip to Berlin as well. I'll be back in early September. Have a wonderful end of summer! Sigh.

A Little Less Conversation a Little More Ocean Please

There's nothing quite like driving down Highway 1 in California with the car radio tuned to a retro radio station blaring glorious 60s and 70s tunes. That's how I discovered this fabulous cover version of Elvis Presley's "A Little Less Conversation".

Cinque Terre - The Ligurian Coast

This is the last installment of my Cinque Terre tour. I thought the incredibly beautiful and rugged coastline deserved a post of its own. I must have spent hours walking along this path, listening to the waves and taking in the light.

Send in the clouds

The trip from Venice to Cinque Terre took longer than the one from Montreal to Venice. Due to rain, one of the train tunnels had flooded. We ended up sitting on a train (the last one of a three train journey) for over four hours, with next to no information about what was going on. The Italians on the train looked apologetically at the tourists and lamented how travel was a tragedy in Italy. As the train finally got moving, I asked the woman across from me how long it took to get to Riomaggiore, my final destination. Her eyes got wide and she slapped her forehead. "Riomaggiore!? It's only 10 minutes away!" Ugh. Then, the train failed to stop at Riomaggiore, and instead went to the next town of Manarola. I had to walk 20 minutes carrying all my camera gear on my back and dragging my suitcase behind me.

The next day, impossibly big, fluffy, gorgeous clouds rolled over the Ligurian Sea and all of that was forgotten.

Little fluffy clouds

The first part of my vacation was spent in Les Landes in the Aquitaine region of France. It's along the Bay of Biscay, very close to the Spanish border. The town I stayed in is a surfer's paradise. I never really associated surfing with France. It makes perfect sense of course. It's along the Atlantic coast where there are waves galore. But somehow, surfing seems so um, un-French to me. So it was wonderful to see a side of France that I didn't know existed ... a very casual, beachy surfer culture, completely unlike what I imagine the more famous, meditteranean beaches along the Cote d'Azur to be like.

And the clouds, when they came out, were to die for.