Greece 2026: Elika, Plitra and Mani

     Everyone was looking forwards to a return to the tiny village of Elika, Greece. It's hard to believe it was our fourth time, and it's wonderful to see it hasn’t changed. The food is still delicious, the beer and wine are cheap, and the coffee frappé is a nice treat. 

     Swimming in the Mediterranean Sea is the best. That turquoise water is so beautifully clear and warm, and the views are lovely. We relished our time on Tortuga Beach in Elika with a sublime routine of swim, lounge, read, chat, swim, sip, snack, read, swim, and so on. Bliss.

     We returned to Plitra beach — a little bigger and more polished than Tortuga, with more amenities and beach lovers. There is always some upbeat music bopping, and the bright yellow loungers go great with the cheerful atmosphere. 

       We did an overnight trip to check out the Mani peninsula, and one day was all we had, but not enough! While there are lots of secluded beaches, we chose one for the afternoon. It was beautifully tucked into a rocky cove. We played in the waves, and had the best club sandwich ever: BLT and breaded chicken with aioli and basil on focaccia— yes, please and EFKARISTO! On our way back to Elika, we took a little boat tour and walk through caves. 

It might take some time, but mostly likely we will be back on the Peloponessian again someday! 

Bordeaux, France (July 2026) 🇫🇷

    From Paris, we took a bullet-train to Bordeaux. With temperatures in the high thirties, we found fantastic ways to stay cool: water, wine, caves, and castles. 

     First the water: reflecting the majestic Place de la Bourse, there is the grand Miroir d'Eau, which is a gigantic shallow pool, that rhythmically drains, sprays a fine cooling mist, then refills to two centimetres. We chilled out there for a bit before seeking La Grosse Cloche -- a medieval wall and bell tower. We strolled, we had poké bowls for lunch (p'okay?), and we relaxed in our AirBnb.

            We went to an exhibit at the Bassins de Lumières, a World War II submarine base transformed into a massive projection gallery. Videos are projected onto the high walls and reflected in the water in the old submarine bays. The show that was playing when we were there was all about underwater action. It was dark, cool, psychedelic and scientific. 

    With plans to taste wine at Château Giscours, we rented a car and made our way to the Margaux region and appellation. Our host taught us the basics about how wines are blended and named, and how the climate and land affect the nature of the wines differently each season. We toured the warehouse of oak barrels, where wines are aged, and then we went outside to sit at a table under a big tree, next to the castle and its stables.  

    

    Our host set a white page on our table, as well as glasses and stainless-steel spittoons. She poured a Cabernet Sauvignon, and tilted the glass so that the sun shone through the wine and beamed its red colour spectrum across the paper like a liquid stained glass window. She poured four more and showed us the technique: smell, swirl, smell again, then taste. She was genuinely curious about the teens' take on the scent, taste, and texture of the wine. They weren't going for a second sip, but she was a good sport and got them to describe what they'd noticed. 

    After the tasting, we had lunch at a cool little roadside restaurant, swam in a lake in Carcans, and swam again at the beach at Lacanau, where the town was setting up for an international surf competition -- so much to see and do. 

        Another day, another roadie... this time to see the Lascaux Caves in Montignac! Well, those actual caves are closed to the public, to prevent further damage to the pigments used about 17,000 years ago to create some of the world's oldest known art. But, Lascaux IV is a precise replica of the nearby Lascaux caves, down to the millimetre, painstakingly recreated to allow us to appreciate their scale, complexity, beauty and atmosphere. 

    From the modern welcome centre, through a magic door to Palaeolithic times, you walk about 200 meters through cave tunnels. It's a gallery of incredible drawings and paintings, with symbolism and special effects. The "Great Hall of the Bulls" looked familiar from history books, but my favourite depiction was the five "swimming" deer. The stags are painted onto a curving wall and a natural ridge is used as a water line. The guide held a candle at a certain angle and as the light flickered, the deer seemed to bob across a river. ("Better than AI," she whispered.) 

    No photos were allowed in the tunnels, so the interpretative centre displays more replicated sections of the caves, with the "greatest hits". What a wonderful spot to contemplate the timeline of human history and to wonder how our ancestors lived. 🙌

   

     On our way back to Bordeaux from Lascaux, we had exquisite foccacia sandwiches (chicken Caesar 🥬for the kids, Caprese for us 🍅 -- omg the European produce is so good 😭) in the town of Montignac. The Tour de France flags were going up for later in the week, and we geared up for one more stop: Château Hauteforte. 

    We approached the castle on the left, through the tunnel of Canadian cedar, planted and curved to form a pergola. The sun was blazing and we were glad for the shade. Instead of the front door, we entered through the side door, the Maritime way 😊. So we started our tour in the kitchen and pantry, where holographic servants were chopping veggies and polishing silverware. Somehow a scent of roasting meat emanated from this lower level of the castle. As we walked from room to room, floor by floor, it was easy to get swept away by daydreams about who lived there over the centuries and what they got up to. The architecture and decor is extravagant, of course, and Sylvie had a Rapunzel moment gazing out of a balcony at the formal gardens. Magnifique!

    I'd return to Bordeaux in a heartbeat, but ideally in the spring or fall for milder temperatures. 💙⚪🟥

    

Mais oui, Paris! 🇫🇷

We arrived in Paris on Canada Day 🇨🇦, groggy from our night flights and vulnerable to all the baked goods, and —oh mon doux!— the AirBnb wasn’t ready. 🫣 We hung around a nearby café, then eventually talked to the cleaner, who was almost done, but had to run a quick errand to buy more towels. The beds were barely made when we flopped out. The cleaner let herself back in, did the last of the cleaning, and let herself out to the sound of all four of us snoring, sain et sauf! 😴  

        When we got ourselves back on track, we made the most of our convenient location in the Latin quarter, across from a Sorbonne campus. Notre Dame was around the corner, and we used our Catholic Fast Pass to get a mass in. The priest’s homily was solid and unpretentious, with a focus on living and loving life…. same message as Bad Bunny’s music basically. Tourists walked around the cathedral with solemnity and snuck a few pics of the faithful in action. 

    Day Two took a macabre turn as we toured the famous Paris Catacombs. We descended a spiral staircase 20m to the former quarry, under the city in dimly lit tunnels. Eery music played in our headsets and we listened to stories of how the place came to be. A few twists and turns down further corridors of yore, and we got to the ossuary. Truly, wow. Bones of millions of deceased Parisians backfill the quarry and become supportive walls. The bulbous ends of femurs and tibiae are stacked in tessellating rows, bracketed by rows of skulls. The empty sockets of the eyes, noses and mouths call silently: I was someone. I was a real person. You too, eh? The halls curve on forever. On the walls, there are thoughtful quotations -- some poetry, some religious, some historical. Despite the initial creepiness, it's a wonderful place for reflection on the meaning of life... and the heavy metal aesthetic. We got about 20,000 steps in and eventually exited to a whimsical gift shop. No regrets. 

    Back on the level of the living, we spent a fun night on Champ de Mars, the big field facing the Eiffel Tower with a few thousand others. We had a drinks and snacks, took a bunch of photos, saw the tower light-show, and just enjoyed the scene.  

    Another day, we went to the Musée D'Orsay where we saw masterpieces of art. We also took a quick jaunt through the Galeries Haussmann, which is obviously a lot to take in -- the macarons, the architecture, the designer brands, the prices(!), the rooftop. At some point we got in a visit to the Paris Panthéon, and saw the graves of some legit GOATS, like Louis Braïlle, Marie & Pierre Curie, Josephine Baker, Victor Hugo, JJ Rousseau, Antoine de Saint-Exupery, Voltaire, etc. Solemn and cool.

     We made the most of our stay in Paris, and it was a wonderful way to start our trip. 

Bad Bunny in Paris! (July 2026)

         The first time I heard “Titi Me Preguntó”, I was hooked on Bad Bunny. I understood enough of the lyrics and vibes to get his sense of humour, and his voice and music were exquisite. That song reminded of me being young and single back in the day, and having people asking me about my beeswax. 😆 I kept listening and learning the Puertorriqueño Spanish and it’s not unlike the Français Acadien that I know and love. 

    Bad Bunny mixes deep messages about love, culture, economic disparity, and politics, but with humour and very danceable beats. He keeps his regional accent and dialect, and he plays around with fashion and style. (Here in the Maritimes, we can catch P'tit Belliveau, from "up the bay" doing his thing his way with his Acadian French. I saw P'tit Belliveau live, and it was incredible -- so singable and danceable. He's not at Bad Bunny-level global recognition yet, but maybe un jour! Buddy puts on a good show, though.) 

August 2025 (Halifax) 

    Anyway, I really regretted not seeing Bad Bunny's 2024 tour, where he did a show in Toronto, so I vowed to get a ticket asap. The DtMF (Debí tírar Mas Fotos) album is such a cultural masterpiece that I did not hesitate to buy tickets that lined up with my vacation dates. The most appealing date and flight path led us to Paris on July 4th! It was an incredible show, with three main sets, and a great Puertorriqueño family band called Chuwi as the opening act. 

July 2026, (Paris, La Défense Arena)

        I screamed, I laughed, I cried, I danced my 🍑 off, and so did Mike, Chloe and Sylvie — great sports! Plus, we all got lanyards with "cameras" attached, which contained LED lights that flashed in different colours all around the arena, to the beat of the music, making everyone part of the light-show and party atmosphere. At the end of the concert, people sang his songs together on the way out. 💖

          

Canadian Cities: Québec, Montréal, Toronto, Windsor & Niagara Falls! (July 2025)

    The catalyst for this epic road trip was Chloe's request to see Tyler, The Creator in concert in Montreal. We decided to take the opportunity to see great friends and family along the way. We spent the first night in beautiful Quebec City, walked around Vieux Quebec and Chateau Frontenac. The next day, we stopped in Trois-Rivières to meet up with friends on our way to Montreal. 

    In Montreal, we hiked up trails in the Parc du Mont-Royal, did a little shopping, walked on the waterfront, and the fam got pumped for the Tyler show! Mike & the gals, plus our friend and his daughters went to the concert together. The kids were awestruck and the dads were great sports. The ladies went to Basilique Notre-Dame for a light & music show called "Aura" - émouvant! 

We got to see more friends in Ontario: Jay, Justin, Peter, Warren, Christian & family. We took the kids to Canada'a Wonderland and they had a blast riding the rollercoasters. It was very sunny and hot, so we ended the day in the waterpark there. It was a bustling spot to say the least. Luckily we were staying with Justin & Peter and their beautiful home was the perfect place to relax. 

We kept going west to Windsor to see family, and had a great time touring the southernmost part of Canada, learning its history, swimming in Steph's pool, and enjoying the company at every stop. We saw fireflies, and played pool, and had a wonderful relaxing stay. 

    Heading back east, we spent a day and night at Niagara Falls -- the natural wonders juxtaposed with the fun-house-carnival downtown is a pleasant mix of beauty, schtick, nostalgia, good moods. Definitely a fun spot. 

To round off our appreciation of our own country, we ducked off the 401 into Kingston, where we had lunch at the Queens University pub, and peaked into the windows of the closed high school where the Tragically Hip met. ("The walls are lined all yellow-grey and sinister, hung with pictures of our parents' prime ministers..."). 

All in all, vive le Canada Est.   🍁