USA! USA! Springfield, Mass. & NYC

         Over the last few years, our daughter Sylvie has developed a love of R&B, hip-hop and 90s style. We knew she’d love to see some of her heroes live, so when we found that BoyzIIMen were performing in New England, we planned a trip around it. But we kept it secret… kudos to Chloe for keeping it under wraps for months (best sis). 

We dropped off our dog and took the Cat from Yarmouth, NS to Bar Harbour, ME. It was a smooth ferry ride, foggy for most of the way until the sun lit up the green tree-lined coast of Maine. From there we drove to Springfield. At Theodore’s Blues, Booze and BBQ, we revealed the news to Sylvie over a bowl of mac and cheese and brisket bites. She had tears of joy in her eyes. 

To keep the concert secret, we found some more good reasons to go to Springfield. We spent a day at Six Flags, a sizable Looney Tunes/Superhero-themed amusement park. That was a blast, with roller coasters, Dippin’ Dots, and overpriced drinks in the sweltering heat. Mike and I rode The Batman, The Crime Wave, The Riddler, and the Wicked Cyclone, and chose to watch the kids brave the scarier ones (The Harley Quinn, The Joker, etc). They were fearless. 

We checked out the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Both girls play bball, so that was a slam dunk. There were lots of famous sneakers to compare one’s own feet, and plenty of paraphernalia and history on display. The WBNA was well represented, which was awesome. There’s a gleaming gym where you can shoot on nets of all sorts, including ye olde peach baskets from the Heritage Minute. 

It also happens that Theodore Seuss Geisel grew up in Springfield, and The Amazing World of Dr. Seuss Museum is there. He’s a family-favourite author and illustrator, and the museum is a wonderful, whimsical manifestation of his work. It was inspiring to see more of his art and learn about his life. His funny phonetics and invitation to imagine warm my heart. It’s amazing how he portrayed universal and complex concepts in lighthearted ways. His poetics are on point as well – the rhythm, the rhyme, the weird imagery – I love it. 

Finally on Friday night, it was time for BoyzIIMen at the Springfield Symphony Hall. The Hall itself seats about 2600 people, with beautiful architectural details and excellent acoustics. The Boyz still have the voices for those emotional ballads and rich harmonies that we slow-danced to in the nineties. The audience was swept away in their feels and just about everyone had a hand on their heart, swaying and singing at the top of their lungs. For the last couple of songs, Sylvie made her way up to the front with the other superfans, reaching her little hand out and getting handshakes from all three of the singers, and one of the red roses they flung to fans. We all had so much fun and it was well worth the effort. 

Springfield exceeded our expectations, and with 4 more nights on the road, we drove to the Big Apple. We spent the first night in Manhattan, checking out some classics like the Empire State Building and Times Square (intense!). Then we had the great luck of being able to stay in our friends’ lovely home in Brooklyn. (Thanks again to Sarah and Gijon, who we met traveling in Tulum in 2019, who are now traveling in Iceland with their children!) From there we could take the subway wherever, and we also drove around to check out my dad’s childhood neighbourhood (or should I spell it “neighborhood”?)  in Park Slope, quite nearby. 

A few highlights were the general cool vibes of NYC and Brooklyn, the familiarity of always seeing it in movies and shows, the thought that so many artists and characters are from this megalopolis, and that there’s always a slim chance of catching a glimpse of someone famous. We saw the Statue of Liberty – she counts, right? 

We had the best pizza ever, and exquisite bagels and lox cream cheese. We walked a lot, just taking in the density of the city, the diversity of its buildings and its people, the importance of public parks and social spaces. NYC has over eight million residents and even more tourists and travellers at any given time. The stories buzz all around you. No wonder it's a cradle of creativity. 

Last but not least, we popped into Salem, Massachusetts on the way home. I’ve been reading and teaching The Crucible for about 15 years, so it was surreal to be in the town of the witch trials. The Salem Witch Museum does a great job relaying the history and psychology of events of 1692. It was creepy and thought-provoking, with enough kitsch thrown into the kettle to keep it cool.

Greece 2022 – An Awaited Revisit: Elika, Nafplion, and Meteora

 

When we did our RTW trip in 2019, the whole family agreed that Greece was somewhere we’d return as soon as possible, so in the doldrums of February, we bought our plane tickets and started our research, booking AirBnbs in Elika, Nafplion, and Porto Rafti on the way out of Athens. We used booking.com for our accommodation in Meteora, and it worked out perfectly.

Elika was the ideal place to start our vacation. We spent nine days in the seaside village with a handful of great restaurants, one in particular I’d been reminiscing about for three years. Every night we had delicious meals, usually starting around 9pm. A quick list: gemista (stuffed tomatoes and bell peppers), tzatziki, roasted pork, gyros, dolmas (stuffed grape leaves), chicken or pork souvlaki skewers, saganaki (fried cheese), lemony Greek potatoes, calamari, zucchini croquettes, and Greek salads every night, with the signature slice of feta on top – fragrant oregano and good olive oil was all the dressing needed.  Our AirBnb in Elika was a tiny home on a quiet stretch of road with a sandy beach. While the home was humble, it was luxurious to walk the ten seconds from the cottage into the truly Mediterranean blue water. Interlude: I dove in with my swim mask. The water was crystal clear all around me, shimmering blue light filtered in. The beige sand was uncluttered, happy to keep its wavy ridges intact. I swam for a while alone but connected to the world. It was pure tranquility.

A private beach is exquisite, but it’s also fun to secure a couple of lounges under a thatched umbrella for the day. Tortuga Beach was a one-minute drive from our place, and we’d post up, play in the warm water and reeeeeelax. Of course we enjoyed a few treats from the cantina – frappes (iced coffee with foamy milk), chips (Please, Lays, bring us the oregano flavour!) and local beers Alpha and Fix. We ventured to two other beaches: Elafonisos and Plitra, both with beautiful blue vistas, hot white sand, and bathtub-warm water. We spent our days swimming, chatting, reading,and playing Uno. Vacation life. 

We took a day trip to Monemvasia (which we had done in 2019), a spectacular town carved into a mountain-island, an ancient citadel with a panoramic view. We wandered through the quiet town, sparsely inhabited, partly in ruins, explored the fortress, and ended the evening checking out little shops and having another great supper. Like everywhere in Greece, there are always cats nearby ready to take care of any scraps. 

Our next stay was for three days in Nafplion, a small city on the water, still in the Peloponnese. Traveling with Labi, Jill and the girls, we shared a beautiful two story house in the middle of an orange grove. This large, new modern home was beautifully designed, spacious and comfortable, and had a private pool, a must when the weather was always over 30 degrees. 

When we left our luxurious digs, it was to visit fascinating ancient historical sites. We hiked around the citadel of Mycenae, constructed over three thousand years ago, an elaborate fortress with a working water source. Then we checked out the Treasury of Atreus, an ancient architectural feat. It’s a beehive-shaped tomb that was the largest dome in the world for a thousand years. 

The castle of Palimidi looks over the city of Nafplion and we toured it before supper one evening. It was a bit unnerving to be walking around with our kids at such great heights, but the views of the city and ocean were fantastic. It’s interesting to stroll through places with such strange and long histories, and to imagine what life was like when they were inhabited – if these walls could talk. 

The final leg of our Greek journey was to Meteora, which is in central Greece. It was an epic six-hour drive from Nafplion to Meteora, over, around, and through mountains (lots of tunnels). Mike did great driving our rental car. He got pretty smooth at saying “efcharistó” to the many toll booth workers. Very “daxi” of him.

The town of Kalabaka is at the base of unique, massive sandstone rock formations. The road twists and turns up the mountains and there are six byzantine monasteries built into and upon the rocks. We toured the museum sections of several of the monasteries, which remain inhabited by monks or nuns for the last 600 years. The artifacts and paintings were engaging and definitely gave a window into the effect and evolution of Christianity. It was a great place for physical and mental exercise. 

In juxtaposition with the solemn monasteries, we stayed at a family-oriented motel with pools and waterslides. We all had a blast zipping down and floating around. The kids loved their poolside smoothies. In the evenings, we enjoyed the “Feel The Rocks” restaurant vibe so much that we went there twice, and we had a great supper at Taverna Gardenia in Kastraki, the older part of town.

It was a wonderful trip, spending lots of time together as a family, hanging out with friends (Labi, Jill, Alexandra, Olympia, Dave, Sotiria, Kyriakos, and Alexandra!). The beaches, the food, the friendliest of the Greek people, all make it an easy and interesting destination. We will return one day. Resisting referring to Odysseus here is a challenge. YASSAS!

More on Monemvasia (https://www.visitgreece.gr/mainland/peloponnese/monemvasia/) 

More on Elafonisos  https://www.visitgreece.gr/mainland/peloponnese/elafonisos/

More on Meteora

 

Norway 🇳🇴 & Iceland 🇮🇸

We hadn’t seen our friend Rob in years but he’s one of those people you can vibe with quickly. He and his partner Michael were amazing hosts, taking our family in for six nights in Oslo. They made us feel totally at home, and showed us around their city. 

Oslo is #goals for other cities. It’s a scenic city on the ocean, with a river and parks, designed thoughtfully and creatively. In front of one neighbourhood library there is a converted cargo container that acts as an outdoor room for the summer, stocked with children’s books and games. To top it off, they sell waffles, coffee, and lemonade. We must’ve eaten two jars of jam as a crew. Another library was « kids only » so we had to chill outside while the girls played for an hour or so - sitting in cable cars, exploring little reading nooks, making crafts. 

We also all enjoyed in The Kon-Tiki Museum, with the actual raft on display. It brought a lot of our travel experiences together with references to Rapa Nui, Raroia, and Ecuador. Thor Heyerdahl: what a paladin — the ambition, the hutzpah, the sticktoitiveness! The Kon-Tiki Expedition remains an inspiration. Available at a library near you. 

Our three day stopover in Iceland gave us enough time to drive around and see some of its otherworldly geography. Lava fields, dormant volcanos in the distance, sweeping fields, waterfalls, active geysers, and thermal springs — and that’s just the bit we saw. 

We spent a day at one of Reykjavik’s seventeen(!) pool complexes. The kids relished the water slide and we hopped from pool to pool as the temperature suited. Geothermal heat is a swimmer’s delight. Iceland was a calm, peaceful place to wrap up our trip. It would be nice to return there for hiking someday. 

In the last six months, we’ve done many wonderful things. It has been exciting, challenging, surreal, yet very real. Home is, of course, the last stop on our trip, and we are all ready to enjoy being back in Nova Scotia. 

Venice 🇮🇹 & Paris 🇫🇷

We spent a few days in Venice, where we tried to stay cool during the heatwave days, and went exploring the labyrinth of streets in the evenings. We stayed in Cannaregio (the Jewish Ghetto), which was the perfect neighbourhood for calm walks far enough from the main roads. The architecture of Venice is eye candy, and the gelato is fantastic. Just like we did at DisneySea, we took a gondola ride. This time it was just us, and the gondolier told us about the community and its history. 

We went to Murano one day and spent time at a glass jewelry workshop. We also went to San Marco’s Square where the girls fed pigeons. 

From Venice it was actually quite a gruelling journey to Paris. We had booked an overnight train, which would have been very comfortable, but there was a landslide in France that made the track impassable. So the new deal was a train to Milan, then an overnight bus to Paris. Sadly it was one step up from a school bus and was stopped at the French border because it didn’t meet the environmental standards. We waited five hours for the replacement bus, then made our way to Paris, where there was a heat wave. 

Luckily our AirBnb was another great one, a whimsical apartment in Montmartre with loads of fun stuff to look at and toys for the kids. To beat the heat, we went to the Louvre to appreciate the air conditioning, and the art. The Egyptian section is my favourite. We also found a community pool and went there three times during the week. 

When the weekend came, we were lucky to get visitors! James and Naomi zipped over from London. What a pleasure to spend time with family, especially these two legends! We had a great time exploring the city: la Tour Eiffel, great lunch, Shakespeare & Co bookstore, an amusement park. It was fun to spend time together and we were sad to see them go.