In the Meantime

So, as the big countdown is on for the trips this summer I though I would provide some reading pleasure on previous trips.

And, since the first summer trip is Nova Scotia - why not start there.

As such - here it is.

Summer 2008 and I was on my first trip to Nova Scotia. It all started with a red eye flight non-stop from Calgary to Halifax.

I didn't get to see much of the city that day as we were headed straight out to Antigonish.



What a beautiful little town. It isn't a huge metropolis but the University certainly adds an additional flavor to Antigonish.







The town is also the home to a beautiful Catholic church. We were not able to attend mass there on Sunday but Clairise and I did pop in one afternoon to take some pictures. The paintings on the ceiling are absolutely incredible. I cannot remember the famous artist that did it but I am sure it is an item that is worthy of noting.























And I was certainly introduced to some of the other finer things of Antigonish:

Snow Queen
A fabulous Donair Pizza at the Wheel
Small town people that have beautiful hearts, open hospitality and of course. . . their signature waves!

Stay tuned to see more of Halifax and the fabulous beaches around 'the Nish'.

Menorca

As you know - we are still trying to decide on the target locations for our big trip.

Due to a bit of a change regarding the length of the trip, Portugal is no longer a forerunner. But we will be there for long enough that we could certainly visit more than Barcelona.

So . . . now what?? The options are endless - I am sure we could not pick a disappointing location but you still want it to be a great choice.

After piddling around on various searches one quiet night - I came across the Balearic Islands of Spain. They are in the middle of the Mediterranean, just off the Barcelona coast. Everything I looked at seemed to support the fact that this would be a fantastic choice.

I waited a day and searched again. Just in case anything had changed - and this time the sight boasting the beauty of these islands was sponsored by Tourism Nova Scotia. Surely they must be incredible then - at least Jimmy would think so.

I took a quick snag-it of the sight, copied the URL, created an email for Jimmy and fired it off to him to have a look before we put this forward as an option. And to my dismay he didn't seem as excited as I was. How could he not have been touched by his province' endorsement? What was the reason behind his slight hesitation??? I wasn't sure where I should look next.

But alas, when something points to being serendipitous, I find that it often is so. And last night at a fun little bbq, there happened to be some friends in town visiting from Halifax. And as every serendipitous moment also goes, the husband just happened to be from Spain. And they just happened to be on their way across Canada before they headed to Spain for 2 months. And we just happened to be able to talk about the various spots they were scheduled to visit and these places just happened to be many of the Canadian locations that I have spent some time in prior. And the conversation happened to move towards Spain. And so I was able to share that I thought the island of Menorca looked like a great place to visit. Before the night was over, not only did we receive further endorsement that Barcelona is the most beautiful city in Spain to visit but also that the islands are incredibly beautiful and a great vacation destination. The beaches are fantastic. The weather will still be perfect. And we can fly return from Barcelona for only $70 canadian.

Life truly is serendipitous.