Summer in September

Happy Sunday everyone! Wow, I can't believe this weather. Incredibly hot and sunny, and more of the same for the next three days. I'm writing my blog on the deck now, in the shade, and I'm actually feeling a tiny little breeze.  Loving it!

So, here we are, back home, after an amazing vacation in Iceland.  It's good to be home with our pooches.  I can tell you that they were happy to see us on Friday, although they had the best of time at Camp Talemaker. A big thank you to Darlah, Nathan and Dennis for taking such good care of them. The drive home was smooth and Cooper & Spicy quickly returned to their routine. As for Russell and I, we are also back in the groove, so to speak. We are almost over the jet lag. We spent the past few days doing laundry and buying groceries but not much else.  We are both going back to the gym tomorrow...yikes, that will hurt. Having said this, we were quite active in Iceland with our walks and hikes so the gym may not be so bad after all. We estimate that we walked about 75 km in total and covered roughly 1,500 km during our photo tour days - thank you Jon at www.magicalskyiceland.com

Our garden is looking nice even with the lack of rain. Our front pots were watered by the nice man who looked after our house during our absence, so they still look beautiful.

On Tuesday, Cooper and I will start our Fun Obedience class. It will be every Tuesday until May. I look forward to resuming training with the Coop. At the end of October, I will take Spicy to Obedience class. Her training actually starts the day after her birthday, how special is that. At the beginning of November, Coop and I will take another class, Scent Detection, for 7 weeks. We thought it would be something different. He has a good nose so he will do well. On the topic of training, Russell starts a photography class this coming Wednesday. He is looking forward to it.

We had my parents over for lunch today. It was nice to see them and talk about our trip. We then drove to the Waterfront and had a little walk with our pooches, in the shade and on grass. Too hot for pavement. It was nice and breezy and Coop & Spicy got to meet many people.

I leave you with a few photos from Iceland. I wish you all a great week. If you like this weather, enjoy it, it won't last forever!

Black Sand Beach at Reynisfjara....stunning in the misty weather.

Chapel in the National Park Thingvellir.

Iceland reflected....near Vik.

Catching a waterfall...in Snaefellsnes.

Soaking it up in the healing waters of the Blue Lagoon.

The secret waterfall....

Spicy and Cooper back in the groove and all lined up for
a taste of BBQ. 

The taste delivered....Spicy and Cooper agree...
it is tasty.

Iceland, the Golden Circle and Blue Lagoon, last few days in Iceland

Hello everyone!

It is late Wednesday afternoon and our last full day in Iceland. It has been a wonderful trip and we saw more than we thought we would of this beautiful country. The weather has been very good all around and much warmer than expected. We overpacked thinking that we would need our long johns and thick sweaters. That wasn't the case.

The past two days were busy. On Monday, we toured the Golden Circle.  It is in Southern Iceland and offers a number of touristy and not so touristy attractions. We saw the famous Gullfoss waterfall. Wow, it is a beauty. We also saw a number of other waterfalls, each unique in its own way.  Some of them were situated in an area that truly tested our fear of heights....the Haifoss waterfall is one of them. Generally, we are not afraid of heights but both of us were not too brave looking down from the precipice.

We also went to the Geysir Geothermal Field and saw the eruption of the famous Strokkur Geysir. It spouts water to a height of 50 to 100 feet, every 8 to 10 minutes. Russell had his camera ready for the eruption. Quite a sight to watch.  We then went on to see the crater Kerid. Another natural wonder.

We drove through the Thingvellir National Park. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and offers incredible geology and landscape features. This park is exceptionally well maintained. We were very impressed by it all. It was a great way to end another great tour, with our guide Jon.  By the way, Jon is a great guy and gave us wonderful insight about Iceland. We highly recommend him as a tour guide!

Needless to say we've been doing a lot of walking since we got here so going to the Blue Lagoon on Tuesday was a nice way to pamper ourselves. It was a wonderful experience from start to finish. When we arrived, we were given robes and slippers... and strict instructions on the showering process before entering the lagoon. The "shower nazi" for men seemed much more strict than for women. It was funny to compare notes when Russell and I came out of our respective shower area. We then proceeded to the lagoon. What a feeling it was to walk into this huge pool of geothermal water, filled with minerals and silica. The temperature was roughly 104 F. We waded our way to the "silica bar" where we helped ourselves to the silica mud and applied it to our face, neck and shoulders. We could totally feel the rejuvenation working its magic.

After the lagoon, we had lunch at the Lava restaurant. We were impressed. The food was simply amazing. It was a great day and the perfect way to end our vacation.

So, here we are, getting ready to fly back to Toronto tomorrow. We had a wonderful time and we're anxious to get home.  Great to get away, always great to get back home. We will pick up Cooper and Spicy on Friday morning. We can't wait to see them, we missed them a whole lot.  The weather back home is still very nice so we will get to enjoy Summer like temperatures when we return.

I will resume my weekly blog on Sunday. Until then, I leave you with more photos and wish you all a great rest of the week. See you back in Canada!

Strokkur geysir.....vents regularly...the key to
capturing it is a photographers challenge - thanks Jon.

The Kerid crater 180 feet deep....created by volcanic explosion
over 6500 years ago...quite the marvel to walk around.

Gullfoss waterfall...amazing volume of water...not to
mention huge crowds to view them.

Haifoss...towering falls pouring into a lush valley.

Closer to Gullfoss waterfalls.....the mist was tremendous.

Thingvellir National Park waterfalls....amazing.

Horsing around at a horse riding stable on the
route of the Golden Circle.

Fall colours begin to reflect in a pool in Thingvellir
National Park.

Iceland, the past three days

Happy Sunday from Iceland!

It is 6:20 pm, local time, time for me to write my blog. Today was a rest day...how appropriate for a Sunday.  The past few days have been busy, lots of walking and sightseeing so it's good to rest a little. We had a leisurely breakfast, looked at all the photos that Russell took in the past few days and walked around town.

I'm picking up where I left off after my blog last Thursday. That night, we had dinner at Primo Ristorante, a quaint Italian restaurant in downtown Reykjavik. The best pizza that we've had in a long time....and I mean it. The place was packed with locals and tourists. As we were walking back to our hotel, we saw the Northern Lights but they were not good enough for photos. Nonetheless, we saw them, dancing in the sky, behind the clouds. Quite a sight.

On Friday, we did more city exploring and walked along the waterfront. We saw the famous Sun Voyager, "... a dreamboat, an ode to the sun. Intrinsically, it contains within itself the promise of undiscovered territory, a dream of hope, progress and freedom".  Beautiful sculpture (photo to come later). We then went to to the top of the Lutheran church and got to see Reykjavik in all its glory. The weather was beautiful. We had lunch at Jamie Oliver's Italian eatery....it opened two months ago and is already quite the place in town. We were not disappointed.

On the food topic, I have to say that, so far, we have not been disappointed with the food. High quality, no matter where we went, and good value for money. Many of the Icelandic restaurants that we have been to could easily rival some in Toronto or Montreal, no question.

Yesterday, being Saturday, we embarked on our second photography tour, this time in South Iceland. It was an incredible day.  We saw the Black Sand Beach in Vik, many beautiful waterfalls and wonderful landscapes. Once again, the weather cooperated although it was cloudy but not cold. Jon, our tour guide, took us to places not usually visited by tourists.  It was a great day with lots of photo opportunities for Russell. It was another 10 hour day tour. We got back to our hotel at about 7 pm, freshened up and just went out for a pizza....Primo Ristorante again. Gotta be good!

Tomorrow, we will visit the Golden Circle of Iceland, another full day tour.  Lots more to see before we go home. On Tuesday, we will go to the Blue Lagoon. We look forward to that.

I have so many photos that I want to share with you. For today's blog, I will share those that we took earlier last week.  I will do another blog on Wednesday and post photos of yesterday and tomorrow.....just trying to wet your appetite as far as photos go.  It goes without saying that Russell is in his element and enjoying this photographic experience. As for me, I am happy to be along his side and just watch the beauty of it all.  So, I leave you with some beautiful images, more to come in the next blog. If Cooper and Spicy are reading this blog, just know that we miss you a whole lot and can't wait to see you later this week. Until then, enjoy your vacation with our friends, and your friends, at Camp Talemaker. Have a great week everyone and enjoy this beautiful weather that most of you are having!

The Red House across from a fishing port in the
Snaefellsnes Peninsula.

Rugged sea cliffs along the Snaefellsnes Peninsula.

The Arch in the Snaefellsnes Peninsula.

The Yellow Lighthouse.....Snaefellsnes.

The famous Black Church of Budir, Snaefellsnes.

Another waterfall in Snaefellsnes...we called it a person, sheep
and waterfall.

Reykjavik from high atop the Lutheran Church.

Iceland, Day Two and Three

Hello everyone,

It is now late afternoon and we're putting our feet up until dinner time.  The past two days have been busy and wonderful. Here's a little recap.

Wednesday was our first photography tour in West Iceland, Snaefellsnes Peninsula. We got picked up at 9:15 am and off we went. The drive to the beginning of the West Coast was about two hours. Once we got there, we started touring the Peninsula, with many photographic stops along the way.

The West Coast offers, amongst other things, amazing terrain, lava fields, waterfalls and black beaches. One would think that once you've seen a waterfall, you've seen them all...not quite. Each and everyone is unique and such a natural wonder. Russell took hundreds of photos and was guided, at times, by our tour guide, a photographer himself. He gave Russell some good advice on the use of filters, lenses and aperture.

We stopped at a little road side restaurant for lunch. On the menu, Plokkfiskur, an Icelandic fish stew. Very delicious. We were able to eat outside and take in the beautiful scenery. Our weather was very good, with temperatures around 13 celsius.

Everywhere we went, the sheep were around us, in the farmers fields. Cute little creatures. We didn't see birds, which was a bit of a surprise. It looks like they may have already migrated for the season.

After a day filled with photographic moments, we stopped at another little village for dinner. The plan then was to "chase the sunset" but unfortunately, the sun didn't cooperate. Next, came the second plan of action: slowly drive back to Reykjavik to try and catch a glimpse of the Northern Lights. Our tour guide, Jon, had already picked the perfect spot to park and wait. By then, it was 10 pm. The "aurora forecast" had looked good all day...unfortunately, the Northern Lights didn't make an appearance, despite a clear sky.  It's one of those things.  Having said this, we saw them from our balcony on Tuesday night, not the best display, but saw them nonetheless, so below is a photo that Russell took. We hope to see them again before we leave...maybe tonight, another clear night.

So, it's been a great trip so far. No surprises and the weather has been very good. We quickly figured out the best places to eat and how to get the best value for our money.  The food has been very good and the Icelandic people are very friendly.

Tomorrow, we will do like today, and continue to explore the city. It's quite easy to walk everywhere and very safe. Saturday, we have another full day tour, this time on the South Coast.

That's it for now. I include a few pics that Russell downloaded. More will be posted when we return home. I hope you enjoy them. Until my next update, have a good evening!

Waterfalls at Bjarnarfoss...foss meaning waterfall in
Icelandic. This one about 150 feet high.

Mount Kirkjufell reflected in a pond in Grundarfjordur.

Mount Kirkjufell or Church Mountain with its
waterfalls.

Me atop a lava field with luscious green moss. 

Northern Lights in downtown Reykjavik as seen from
our hotel balcony at about 11 pm...lots of light pollution
but stunning nonetheless.

Iceland, Day One

Hello from Reykjavik!

I thought it would be fun to do a blog update from time to time from Iceland, so here's the first one.

Russell and I had a great flight and saw a glimpse of the Northern Lights from the plane. Wow, amazing and we hope to see them again this week. We arrived at our hotel at 12:45 am local time. Worth mentioning, the cab ride from the airport to the hotel was a whopping $196.00 Canadian dollars, all for a 51 km ride. Yikes, that hurt! On arrival at our hotel, we were given an envelope with our key in it, no photo ID or passport required, and off we were sent to our room. As with most European hotel rooms, it took us a while to figure out the lighting, heating and other amenities....but we figured out the bidet pretty quickly :-) Shortly after we arrived, the power went out. Our iPhone flashlights came in very handy. So, we went to bed without unpacking and around 3 am, the power came back on, and all the lights that we had turned on when we checked in.  To make a long story short, we were not impressed with the way we were greeted when we checked in, and the power failure made it worse, so we complained...as any good paying customer would do. So, today, we had the visit of the manager who apologized for any inconvenience that this may have caused us....and gave us a voucher for a full dinner at the roof top restaurant. Not bad.

Our first day was all about exploring the city of Reykjavik. We woke up early, unpacked, then had breakfast...a nice buffet, European style spread. We walked a total of 9.72 km today, according to Russell's Apple watch. The city centre is small, quaint, and reminds us a bit of Quebec City. Lots of little shops and restaurants. The weather cooperated for the most part. It started out cloudy with a drizzle and 10 celsius but the sun eventually came out. We visited the famous Hallgrimskirkja, Reykjavik's Most Famous Church. Hallgrimskirkja (the church of Hallgrimur), is a Lutheran Church located in the city of Reykjavík. The towering structure stands 74 meters tall, making it Iceland's tallest church, and the country's sixth-tallest building overall. Pretty impressive.

We found a great spot for lunch, a French Bistro, go figure. The food and ambiance were very good. The menu included fermented shark but we decided against it. We are told that if you want to eat it, you best wear clothes that you are prepared to leave behind...the stench of the fish permeates clothes permanently....not my cup of tea.

So, here we are, in our room now resting our feet until dinner time. Tomorrow will be a big day. The weather forecast is sunny so our tour guide confirmed our tour to visit the Snaefellsness Peninsula, where dormant volcanoes and glaciers reside side by side, on a narrow westward peninsula full of mountains. It will be a full day, 10-2 hours, filled with amazing sightseeing and photography moments for Russell.

Until my next blog update, Eigðu gott kvöld!

Hallgrimskirkja Lutheran Church...
wow....amazing!

Hallgrimskirkja Church
interior....stunning.

Hallgrimskirkja Church dominates downtown
Reykjavik.

Our hotel...Radisson Blu Saga.

A Viking moment post a French bistro lunch!

My Best Man

Happy Sunday from Perth, Ontario!

We were gathered here this weekend to celebrate Gord & Karen's wedding. And a beautiful wedding it was. The sun was shinning and the bride and groom were radiant. The whole event was stunning from start to finish. Oh, and the Best Man did a pretty good job and I thought was very handsome. The groomsmen each had customized socks....take a look at Russell's in the photo below.

We arrived in Perth on Friday for the pre-wedding festivities.  Perth is actually a pretty town, very quaint. The weather was a tad cool though....thankfully we had our Iceland luggage with us so our fleeces came in handy. The temperature warmed up considerably for the wedding.

We are about to attend a post wedding brunch at the Polk's house then we will be heading back to Toronto for the night.  Tomorrow, we leave for Iceland.

Cooper & Spicy are having a great time and we miss them a whole lot.

It's a very short blog today with a few photos of my Best Man. Next week's blog will be from Iceland.  I wish you all a great week!

Russell's "Dapper Dog" custom socks
for Karen and Gord's wedding....
the Groom and all the Groomsmen
sported unique socks which reflected their
special interests. 

Pre-wedding photo at the Perth Manor.

Russell ready to go.....

Russell toasting the Bride and Groom
at the reception at Stonefields.

Getting ready for Iceland

Happy Sunday everyone! It is a cool and rainy day for us. A good day to start packing for our upcoming trip to Iceland. Also the perfect day to get acclimatized to the kind of weather that we may encounter during our trip!

This past week was good and busy. Last Sunday, we had my parents' anniversary celebration. It was a wonderful event and everyone had a great time. We surprised mom and dad with a video slideshow of photos of them, going back to when they were dating, their wedding day and photos of them since. It was an emotional rendering of their lives together, with the background music of Glen Miller, "A String of Pearls".

Last week also marked our anniversary. Russell surprised me with a restaurant reservation at Le Gourmand, in Pointe-Claire Village, with our two pooches in tow. How nice that we were able to celebrate with them, out on the patio.  The restaurant allows well behaved dogs only....makes sense to me. This was a first for us and it was a total success. I admit that I expected to "eat and run", not knowing how Cooper and Spicy would behave in a restaurant setting. I give them full credit for being great doggies from start to finish. Russell and I both enjoyed our lunch, sipped a wonderful bubbly and relaxed the whole time. We ended up staying in the restaurant well over an hour and a half. A huge thank you to Russell for making this happen.

So, here we are, getting ready for our trip. If I was packing only for Iceland, it would be easy. But before going to Iceland, we will make a few stops along the way so we need to pack for these little stopovers....one overnight in Toronto, when we drop off our duo at Camp Talemaker, a couple of nights in Perth for Gord and Karen's wedding, and another overnight in Toronto before we fly to Iceland on September 11. So lots of driving starting with the latter part of this week but it's all good.

It feels kind of weird to pack for Iceland. We expect the daily temperatures to be around 10-12 Celsius so we have to bring warm clothes.  No sandals or shorts on that trip for sure....but we are bringing our bathing suit as we will be going to the Blue Lagoon for a dip in the thermal waters. We are very excited about this trip.

The next few days will be filled with gym, hair appointments, baths for Coop and Spicy and a few other things. I also will be registering Cooper for some training, to start when we return, and will become a member of the Lakeshore Dog Training Association. Spicy is already registered for Obedience Level 1 later this Fall. Lots of dog training on the horizon.

Coop and Spicy are looking forward to their vacation at Camp Talemaker. Darlah & Nathan haven't seen Spicy since we brought her home on June 22 so it will be a wonderful reunion. Oh, and Spicy became a granny yesterday. Her daughter Saffron had three beautiful gals. No doubt Spicy will want to take a peak at those beautiful pups.

That's it for this week's blog. I leave you with a few photos taken at my parents' celebration,  a few of Russell and I at Le Gourmand restaurant, one of me taken at the Montreal Dog Fest last Saturday. and one of Saffron with her new pups.  Have a great week everyone!

Me, Spicy and bubbly at Le Gourmand for
our 35th Wedding Anniversary. 

Russell and Cooper at Le Gourmand...
Cooper says, just a taste please!

The 60th Anniversary Family photo, a wonderful
celebration of Mom & Dad front row....
right to left back row; Russell, me, my brother Francois,
my sister Lynn and her sons Sean and James!

The Cinema room screening of...
The 60th Anniversary of Mom & Dad!

Mom & Dad watching... Mom & Dad,
photo courtesy of Sean.

Me with Cooper and Spicy at the Montreal Dog Fest.

Saffron.., new mom and her 3 female puppies...Spicy is the
proud new grandma!