The Cote-d’Azur has a lot to offer. Although there are no official boundaries, the French Riviera as it is also known, spans the coastal parts of the Var and Alpes-Maritimes Departments in south-eastern France. From the Italian border in the east to Toulon in the west, it includes the independent nation state of Monaco and Nice, its largest city. In addition to the beaches, medieval villages, wineries, olive groves, the casino at Monte-Carlo, and mountainside roads with stunning views out over the Mediterranean Sea, the Cote-d’Azur is also home to the perfume capital of the world: Grasse, France. Continue reading “Is ‘Offshore’ on the Shelves Yet?”
Month: December 2016
The Greatest Pangean Tree Expedition
Pangeans love natural Christmas trees. There’s something special about the fragrance of a freshly cut natural tree wafting through the house. 
That smell, greeting you in the morning, when the house is still dark, tells you immediately that this is Christmas. Unfortunately, some of the
younger Pangeans consider anything shorter than 9 or 10 feet (3 metres for those scoring at home) to be a Christmas ‘shrub’. Granted – you need Continue reading “The Greatest Pangean Tree Expedition”
Refugees in Collioure
This isn’t one of those weighty stories about the tragedy of boatloads of refugees fleeing a war torn country and washing up on one of the Mediterranean shores in Europe. Rather, and without in any way minimizing or trivializing the plight of those forced to flee their country, this is the story of how a Canadian family came to be refugees in Collioure, France.
We hadn’t initially planned on going to Collioure. We had booked a nine night cruise to Morocco and the Canary Islands sailing out of Barcelona. The plan was to follow that up with a driving tour through Provence, central France, and ultimately to Paris.
Continue reading “Refugees in Collioure”
The Problem With Taxis in Monaco
The problem with taxis in Monaco is quite simple: they don’t exist. In hindsight we should have expected this. Of course there are no taxis. Why would one need a taxi when you can just get your driver to swing by with the Bentley or the Rolls to pick you up. Yes, of course there are no taxis. In any event, one of our extended port stops on a recent western Med cruise was Monaco and
since we’d been there before and seen several of the sights, our plan was Continue reading “The Problem With Taxis in Monaco”