The famous Porto sandwich (and more)

June 22, 2019June 21, 2019 / Greg / Leave a comment

I’ll remember Portugal for a lot of things. The coastal vibe of Nazaré. The beauty of Lisbon, especially as seen from atop one of its many hills. The old world charm of Coimbra. But most of all, I’ll remember Portugal for its food and drink. This trip ended up being one of the best in terms of eating that my wife and I have ever taken.

The three days we spent in Porto at the end of the trip capped off our eating adventures in a wonderful fashion. On night one, we saddled up to the bar at Cantinho do Avillez and let the bartender do his magic with cocktail creations through the evening. This was a very wise choice.

Continue reading →

A day in Coimbra

June 13, 2019June 12, 2019 / Greg / 1 Comment

On our journey north through Portugal toward our final destination of Porto, we stopped for a lovely twenty four hour stay in Coimbra. The main draw was to wander around its medieval old town and to explore the University of Coimbra. I’m glad we decided to spend a night here rather than just making it a day trip spot as we ended up having our favourite meal of the trip (and that’s saying something).

Our luck with the weather in Portugal continued unabated for our day in Coimbra. It is a beautiful town from any angle, but especially so from the point of view of the Mondego River.

Continue reading →

Delicacies in Lisbon

April 6, 2019April 6, 2019 / Greg / 2 Comments

In thinking back on the close to one week we spent in Lisbon last fall, the first thing that comes to mind is the food. While we did not explicitly plan for Lisbon to be a dominant foodie experience, we had a host of amazing meals, dishes and drinks scattered around the city. One meal was so good, I even just wrote about it separately so I could attempt to do it justice.

So, here goes for a tour through our Lisbon eating experiences…

Night one, slightly jet legged and craving an early to bed evening, we arrived at Cantinho do Avillez at the almost ridiculous hour (for Portugal, or for anyone under the age of 73) of 4:30 for dinner. What a great start to our stay in Lisbon. Olives, a baked cheese dish and some local pork sausage got us off to an amazing start.

Continue reading →

Giddy for seafood in Lisbon

March 17, 2019March 17, 2019 / Greg / 1 Comment

I’ll set the stage. It was early afternoon and we were standing in Sintra and at that point were making our plans on the fly for the rest of our day. Rather than having a late lunch there, we decided to hop an earlier train back to Lisbon to make a beeline to a restaurant that was on our “must visit” list.

In my mind, Cervejaria Ramiro, a down to earth seafood restaurant, had reached almost mythical proportions. As a former coastal dweller now landlocked in Saskatchewan, I was drooling at suddenly having unfettered access to fresh seafood for the first time in ages. I had read reviews of this place and had seen it on a Netflix special about six months earlier. It was love before first sight.

Continue reading →

Looking back on 2018

December 31, 2018December 29, 2018 / Greg / Leave a comment

For a host of reasons, I’ll be glad to put 2018 to bed and move on to 2019. Life threw quite a few curveballs this year, and throughout 2018, travel was a nice escape and respite. Like most years, many of my favourite moments came while I was away and exploring. Whether it be on a couple of baseball trips (New York, Philadelphia), a few first time adventures (Portugal, Calgary), some return visits to favourite places (Vancouver, Austin, Alberta’s Rocky Mountains), family-related travel (northern New Brunswick, Halifax, Edmonton, even here in Saskatoon), or the annual pilgrimage to a Riders game in Regina…. travel made me laugh, feel alive, and filled my heart and mind with memories that I’ll cherish forever.

In no particular order, here are my favourite travel memories from the past year.

1. The day brought to you by the letter M (part 1, mountains and Maize) – On a spectacular road trip into the mountains in June, I had a chance encounter with one of my favourite musicians, Andy Maize, from the band Skydiggers. He was gracious, charming, and I enjoyed the time we spent together chatting about one of my favourite bars in Canada, the Carleton, back in my old hometown of Halifax.

Continue reading →

Gary Carter and the Mets

December 18, 2018December 19, 2018 / Greg / Leave a comment

The New York Mets hold a strangely special, but very small, spot in my heart. One of my most vivid memories of my childhood was returning home from being out with my mom and dad on a December evening in 1984 and learning that my beloved Montreal Expos had traded my favourite player, Gary Carter, to the Mets. Feeling like a jilted lover is how I now recall how I felt that night. Whether or not it is possible for a ten year old to feel that is beside the point. I was devastated. After Blue Monday in 1981, this was the second of a long line of baseball-related traumas I experienced leading to my Expos leaving for Washington.

Time heals everything, and while I haven’t yet got my Expos back, I’ve learned to love baseball again. So when work took me to New York for a few days back in September, I added on a couple of nights to hang out in Queens and watch the Mets play the Phillies. The Mets to me are the team that got Gary Carter his lone World Series victory, and wearing this Expos hat got me into some great conversations around the ballpark.

Continue reading →

My kind of town

December 9, 2018December 8, 2018 / Greg / Leave a comment

On my previous visits to New York City, I never made it across the East River to Brooklyn. When I started planning my most recent short visit, that was something I wanted to rectify. For my first foray into Brooklyn, a grey, dreary and humid Saturday morning, I hopped a subway to lower Manhattan, then popped above ground and headed for the Brooklyn Bridge. Sometimes when you travel, experiences don’t live up to the hype, but walking across this span over the East River was everything I hoped for. Crowds of joggers, families and tourists like me. All of us (except the joggers) stopping every few steps to take pictures and to take in the Manhattan skyline. The bridge itself is also spectacularly beautiful.

Continue reading →

Eating our way through Calgary

August 21, 2018August 18, 2018 / Greg / Leave a comment

Any visit to a new to me city means I get excited during the trip planning for laying out an itinerary for my eating and craft beer exploits. And then when I arrive in that city, I am usually consumed with where to eat the next meal or have my next craft beer, even with a plate of food and a cold beer within arms reach and actively being devoured.

I got a lot of strange looks when I told people that this would be my first visit to Calgary. But soon after reminding people Calgary was a lot further away from Halifax than Saskatoon, those quizzical expressions turned into many, many helpful suggestions of places my wife and I should visit during an extended long weekend stay.

One of the most common recommendations was the Calgary’s Farmer’s Market. A pouring down raining Saturday morning made this a no brainer while we waited for the skies to clear for a later day visit to the zoo. Exceptional gluten-free doughnuts from Jelly Modern Doughnuts, a perfectly balanced sweet-spiced iced chai latte from Analog Coffee (as well as a pound of coffee beans to bring back to Saskatoon) and a delicious al pastor taco from Los Chilitos Taqueria made for a nice second breakfast that morning.

Continue reading →

Playing the host

July 18, 2018July 17, 2018 / Greg / Leave a comment

I am now a little over two years into being a resident of Saskatoon, and if I’m being completely honest, it feels like I’ve been living here forever (in a good way). When I got a text from my sister asking if I’d be around to play host to her on a side trip to Saskatoon from a conference she was attending in Edmonton, I immediately went into planning mode, determined to show off this great, under the radar city to my sister. I wanted her to like it here as much as do I.

With a list of ideas for restaurants, bars and interesting sites completed, I was partially foiled by the usually spectacular weather here. My sister arrived under grey skies and spent most of her visit exploring an uncommonly rainy and dreary Saskatoon. Luckily for me, I had an ace up my sleeve. A welcoming ambassador greeted her when we arrived home after a short drive from the airport. My sister, a dog lover like me and the rest of my family, got introduced to Chloe. And suddenly the rain didn’t matter. Dog selfie time!

Continue reading →

A long way for one day

July 2, 2018July 2, 2018 / Greg / Leave a comment

Two years is both an eternity and a period that can pass in a blink of an eye. It is an almost unfathomable dichotomy of time, save for the fact that we’ve all felt it at some point in our lives. In the two years since I left Halifax for Saskatoon, my parents have moved away, my niece and nephew are growing up at what seems like a lightening pace, and the city that I used to find so familiar, while in many ways remains so to me, is also becoming increasingly foreign as time has marched on for it, much like it has for me.

Being back in Halifax to attend and present at a conference was simultaneously disorienting and welcoming. Between landing in the city and my conference activities kicking off, my wife joined me for a ridiculously short and fun one day visit to hang out with what is left of our family in Halifax. Before that day with family, after a long day of travel, our only plan for a Friday night was a seafood feast at The Five Fishermen just around the corner from our hotel. Mussels, lobster, scallops, salmon, clams, swordfish… we enjoyed all the creatures of the sea we are not afforded in our life on the prairies.