Robyn's Wanderings

Sunglasses required for Himalayan hillsides

“Put your sunglasses on, because you ain’t going home till the morning comes.“ Frank Sinatra

Yes, the blog has been quiet for a while and hibernating much like our blogger in Toronto, Nicola Arnold. Luckily both the blog and our Toronto-based writer are back!

And what could be better to bring her back? Well spring and the sun of course. How is she going to see it? Well maybe some sunnies? Or perhaps a pair of aviators? You’ll just have to read and find out:

Clocks have changed, snow has melted, layers are unraveling, and sunshine is creeping out. And in my case, eyes are squinting.

I said adieu to my favourite sunglasses in the fall, and not just because it was wintertime. I inadvertently cut short their lifespan. One fall day in October I swung my legs out of bed and stood up. With a resounding CRUNCH (or was it just a tiny snap?), I broke my beloved red sunglasses in one swift step. Darn it!!

Now, as Canada creeps out of a wintry hibernation, I’m realizing I need to hit the shops to find another pair. For a few snowy month, who needs sunglasses? Granted there are, of course, sunny days that break up the monotony of a white winter. Then there’s the occasional winter getaway to a tropical (or sub-tropical ie. Bermuda) destination. Or even ski trips where sunglasses are required. But overall, lack of warmth = lack of sunglasses.

The French Alps, sunny side up

RIP spectacles. No, they were not expensive nor designer. No, it was not the end of the world. Replaceable of course, but they were just the best glasses I’d had in awhile and had their benefits too. It was a memorable buy – a 2-for-1 deal that I shared with my friend, buying at the same time cupcakes and enjoying a lazy spring day eating cupcakes in the park with our new summer accessories. Colourful red frames. Reflective lens making for fun photography. Sat in place without nerdy adjustments. Bought days before my 6-week trip to India (with temperatures soaring in the 40′s Celcius and sunshine beating down… much needed protection!).

We got 2 for $25... sunglasses of course, not cupcakes!

“My look is attainable. Women can look like Audrey Hepburn by flipping out their hair, buying the large sunglasses, and the little sleeveless dresses.“ Audrey Hepburn 

Let’s take our sunglasses and make them internationally & culturally cool:

- if I had travelled to Australia or South Africa, I may be sporting some sunnies
- if I was still gallivanting around Paris or Chambery, I would be saying mes lunettes de soleil
- if I was in the US of A, I’d be rocking some shades
- if I wanted to rock out to 1980′s music, I’d would belt out Corey Hart’s “sunglasses at night“.
- if I wanted to be trendy I’d have Aviators, or Ray-Bans, or some hipster style…

The kids definitely enjoyed rocking their sunnies as well

Where had my sunglasses had the pleasure of accompanying me on my journeys? Well, bought in Hamilton, Ontario, they were then transported to the sunny beaches near Hamilton, Bermuda. Their first main trip included several weeks in India, proving to be a great photo-taking device for Himalayan hillside sunsets and Taj Mahal, amongst other sights. Next, their adventures led them to Scotland, Germany and Croatia for some summer sunshine and family/friend reunions. Finally, they settled in Toronto where they ended their days prematurely.

“It’s 106 miles to Chicago. We got a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes, it’s dark and we’re wearing sunglasses! ………. HIT IT!!“ Blues Brothers movie

Visiting Taj Mahal when it was 49°C (120°F)

As the sun is here to stay, it’s time to go hunting for a new pair of sunglasses. The sunlight hours are extended and new adventures await…

Arriving in Bermuda....anything to declare?

What have condoms, rice, incontinence aids and artificial teeth have in common?

Why am I starting a travel column with this? As you know it has been a while since we’ve been here. Well, since I have been here on Robyns’ Wanderings.

There are lots of reasons why I have been typing free, but perhaps the more important reason why I am back is because I need to complete the trilogy: Quebec part trois!

As you may remember the trip (Quebec….quoi?) to Quebec City started with me struggling to leave Bermuda with my camera that customs would not register (i.e. and save me money on duty when I returned to the island).

And the last time I left you I was struggling with bed bugs, freezing temperatures and snow that kept my feet wet in the old town of Quebec (Quebec…part deux).

Crazy? Absolutely. Everything that could possibly go wrong on a trip….did and yet, I had fun. Unfortunately, the fun had to end and I needed to return to Bermuda (though the prospect of shedding the layers was definitely enticing).

Returning to Bermuda

So I return to my question: what have condoms, rice, incontinence aids and artificial teeth have in common? I will let you know that none of these things were in my bag when I boarded my WestJet flight in Toronto.

And these items were not in that same checked bag when WestJet managed to lose it for me.

Yes, somehow WestJet managed, between Toronto and Bermuda (a direct flight) to lose my bag. Luckily I was greeted with a slow-moving bag-finder lady in Bermuda so two hours after landing I left the customs area of the LF Wade International Airport with a promise they would try to find my bag.

I won’t bore you with that two-hour story!

So back to the condoms, rice, incontinence aids and artificial teeth. These items were not in my lost bag. They were not in my carry-on bag or with me as the customs officer grilled me about my lost bag.

“So you have declared everything?”

Innocent eyes: “Yes, Sir. Everything.”

“And you have all of your bags?”

“Um, well, no. WestJet has done me a massive service and will be delivering the bag to my door step if they can find it some time this week.” ( I swear there was no sarcasm here).

“Oh…hmm….”

He looked so disappointed. Here was his chance to send someone to get inspected. Ha! Triumph over the customs people for once and I was allowed to finally meet my driver (read: dad) who was probably close to leaving the airport without me at that point.

But even if I had been smuggling condoms, rice, incontinence aids and artificial teeth, well technically, I would not be smuggling them because these items are DUTY FREE!!!

Remember the useful yellow slips to ensure you have paid duty on your goods? No need for you to register condoms!

Who knew? Well, I certainly didn’t and I bet you didn’t either. The only reason I had any idea was because of research for this blog post.

You want to know what else we can bring in for free? Check out the site here.  Of course the Customs’ office will only do so much work for the concerned citizen.

To get the full list of duty-free goods? Well, then you’ll have to check-out legislation. I can see everyone quickly flipping through that!

So I know you have one more question: did I smuggle my camera back into Bermuda? Well….. I will never tell. That is one of my little secrets.

But what is not going to be a secret any longer is what I have been working-on for far too long without doing anything about it – my book. After my year-long trip around the world, I decided to compile the columns I had published in The Royal Gazette with the addition of the backstory that was never printed.

So for the next couple of posts, my plan is to start sharing some of the book with you. Let me know what you think……………….

And here ends the Quebec City trilogy….au revoir.

Perhaps the coffee is a bit less decadent than this cappuccino

 Our weekly blogger is back and Nicola is going to have a busy Saturday traveling around the world! From Toronto, to Greece and beyond!

How is she managing it? Well, here she tells us how: 

C’est le weekend! The work week may be over, but that does not mean the end of busy times. Here’s how my Saturday is going to work, in a nutshell:

A bit more of a sleep-in than the Mon-Fri alarm allows, it’s time to wake up and have some coffee… 

Today includes a reunion with a university friend/study abroad comrad/Greek travel buddy… so what better way to catch-up then to invite her to Toronto for a chat over meal & dessert crêpes and reminisce over our year in the French Alps? To top it off, we’ve chosen Cafe Crepe, a crêperie in Toronto that also has a unique feature on their menu – Nutella lattes. This is true… will report back if we do indeed give it a taste!

Nutella on my crêpe AND in my drink, please.

Next, time to hop on a bus and head north of Toronto for my next reunion. A Bermudian friend living in the GTA (Greater Toronto Area) is getting hitched in August in Bermuda… Cupmatch weekend, to be exact! I am delighted to be a bridesmaid (my first bridal party stint), so we are meeting up to check out bridesmaid dresses. Of course, this means modelling and I am all for that. My time to shine & report back to the others in the bridal party!

Dress to impress in India (may be different for this wedding!)

Naturally, Bermudians being Bermudians, we are going to catch up on news of friends & family back home. Maybe throw in a “wish we were at the beach right now”. Despite enjoying life in Toronto, it’s also nice to think of summery weather to keep us going in the Canadian winter.

August 2012 in Bermuda, here we come!

And to end a Saturday in the best way we know how, and maybe depending on how the dress shopping goes… we are going to turn “stressed” into “desserts” and make ourselves enjoy some sweet treats at Caffé Demetre, specializing in all things in sweet-tooth heaven. 

ps. I’ve also been told that I am spending the night in a “man-cave”… so I dearly hope the spiders are aware this wanderer is NOT willing to share the bed! 

Bounjour and welcome to this week’s blog post from Nicola Arnold…..all about Paris. There could not be a more appropriate follow to Quebec City so voila:

Voici ma bande annonce pour mon Paris je t’aime à moi. [Here is my teaser trailer for my very own Paris je t'aime]

Parisian pastries

Last night, we ate a marvelously rich & succculent French supper at Batifole in Toronto. ‘We’ being a friend from my university with whom I studied abroad for a year at Université de Savoie in Chambéry, France a few years ago. What better way to toast to our new working-worlds in the city and to reminisce about the days we spent hiking in the French Alps than to sit down for a meal that included such quintessentially French orders such as:

* Salade d’Endive, Prosciutto, Copeaux d’Emmental de Cave, Vinaigrette aux Figues.
* Le Cassoulet Royal; Confit de Canard, Saucisses Fermière, Poitrine de Porc Rôtie.
(Plus one of the daily specials that I am forced to describe less eloquently: Rhubarb tart with flaky pastry, shallots, cheese and garlic).

The venue? Authentique. The dishes? Délicieux. The memories? Nostalgique. The experience? Formidable!

A little quirk of mine? I am often aware (thinking to myself) of where I bought the that clothes I’m wearing. Last night, I was wearing a sweater that I had bought in France at one of my favourite shops – . Black & grey, with mismatching buttons. In university, if I was sitting for a French exam, I would try and wear something that I had bought in France for the exam. Authentic good luck would then come my way, n’est-ce pas?

Scarf? French. Jacket? French. Jeans? French. Boots? French.

To add to the French-ness of the evening, the easy-to-read-on-the-subway book in my bag was a comic-book style story about an American mother & daughter who live in Paris for 6 weeks in Jan/Feb 2007… full of hand-drawn doodles, funny commentaries on daily life in France, photos and of course food & wine!

Where am I going with this?

Yes, I’ve previously mentioned my experiences studying & living in France… A year in Lorraine. A semester in Paris. A year in Chambéry. But this January marks the 5th year that I was in Paris for a semester. And so far, for every day of 2012, I have thought about those 4 Parisian months. Lots of people love Paris… and lots of people don’t (Too dirty, not kind to English speakers, didn’t meet the hype I imagined, etc.).

But I lived there. Four months only, perhaps, but I had a neighbourhood. I bought groceries. I ran errands. In Paris.

See "Cite Universitaire" in the 14th arrondissement (center, bottom)? I lived there for 4 months.

If you are a fan of any of the following American tv shows, you may know that their dramatic endings involved (potentially) running off to Paris:
- Rachel Green lands a job with Louis Vuitton in Paris in the Friends finale
- Carrie Bradshaw battles between New York vs. Paris in the Sex and the City finale
- Jerry, George, Elaine & Kramer head to Paris for “one last hurrah” in the Seinfeld finale

Amongst others, I’m sure. City of romance, of lights, of history, and of baguettes! 

The Eiffel Tower from the Arc de Triomphe/Champs-Elysees

A la semaine prochaine, amusez-vous bien mes amis! [Until next weekend, enjoy yourselves, my friends!]

“To myself I am only a child playing on the beach, while vast oceans of truth lie undiscovered before me.” – Isaac Newton

Red Beach on the Greek island of Santorini is worth a visit.

It’s Monday morning and for those who might be sitting at their desks or trying to stay warm against the snow that sit outside, Nicola Arnold is here to make you jealous.

Our Bermudian wanderer is missing home, so this week she takes us around the world to visit beaches! So warm yourself with these images and plan your next holiday:

Has it really taken me almost a year of blogging to write about beaches? I come from Bermuda, for goodness sake, home of the pink sand and turquoise waters. You can illegally snatch some sand in a bottle if you visit a Bermuda beach (or inadvertently take some home in your shoes, swimsuit, suitcase… it gets eeeverywhere!).

What better time to think about beaches than when the weather in Canada takes a drastic turn towards the 0°C (32°F) mark? [Sorry, Bermudian/American friends, as I have converted to Celcius-ism given my years of living in Canada and Europe... there's no going back now!] I was actually happy there will be a high of 12°C on Sunday… until I saw that the current temperatures in Bermuda are around 22°C.

So, beaches. Let’s think warm, breezy thoughts…

In Croatia, reserve your spot on the pebbly beach early.

I’m lucky – I grew up on a 21sq. mile island, surrounded by ocean. It’s not a big mystery as to why we often had visitors in the summer months! I know that proximity to an ocean beach is not the norm. So when we don’t live in the tropics with a beach down the road, and we’re not sitting in a hammock under the palm trees, where do we go?

In Toronto we have The Beaches, bordering Lake Ontario. The islands and coastline in southern Croatia, known as the Dalmatian Coast, lead out to the Adriatic Sea (across from the boot of Italy). You could also find a beach in an enclosed area, like a bay or a harbour. What about when you make a special trip to Scotland to see the Scottish Highlands and the Loch Ness Monster? You may find yourself on a beach on a loch – whether you brave a quick dip or not!

Walks along a beach at Loch Lomond, Scotland - breezy but not warm.

Do beaches automatically bring up images of the Caribbean, Hawaii or Fiji in your mind? Perhaps you start dreaming of that trip you once did along the Great Ocean Road in southeastern Australia? Somewhere warm, tropical and sunny, right? For the most part, we think of bright summer days, cooling off at the beach. Summer holidays, a weekend vacation to the coast, or a much-needed winter getaway. Would you ever think about the beaches along the South African coastline? Probably not… but South Africa offers more than safaris and game reserves!

Welcome to the beach in Durban, South Africa.

And let’s not forget types of beaches. I grew up with sandy beaches, and even with sand there is variety – pink, white, grainy, fine…etc. On beaches elsewhere, the sand is red, white, black, grey, or some other rainbow mix. Further still, some beaches have no sand at all. Think pebbles, rocks, or stone stabs.

Winter vs. summer beach visit - boots just do not cut it!

Story time! Once upon a time…

Okay, okay: In 2005, I met a fellow foreigner while studying abroad at high school in France. We were in the same exchange program, and we became good friends. I was excited that she was a Canadian, from Ontario, as I was headed to university in Ontario in the fall of 2005. During our spring break, we joined 45 other exchange students on a bus trip through Spain, France, Italy and Austria. In the south of France, she and I dipped our feet in the ocean as it was a sunny day in the French Riviera. I joked that I had been landlocked in northern France for 7 months (my longest time away from Bermuda at that point), and she vowed to come and visit me in my sub-tropical island of paradise.

Cheers! From France to Bermuda, we are beach buddies... where next?!

Fast forward 3 years: In May 2008, my friend and I reconnect at the airport in Toronto to fly to Bermuda… she was my first friend from Canada to visit!! My family and I made sure to show her the best of Bermuda summers – the rum cake company (free samples!), the ducking stool (she was chosen as a victim to be dunked), taste testing rum swizzles at Friday happy hour, cross-island ferry rides, swimming in the crystal caves, and, of course, THE BEACH.

**While putting this post together, I realized that there was too much to cover all at once… Bermuda will be Part II of the beach blog**

Living near the CN Tower in Toronto

What do you know about your fellow traveler? Well for most of us we have been following our weekly blogger Nicola Arnold so we know a bit. But you others?

Well here you go. Her very own, “About Me” page. Where has she been? You just have to read and find out:

Last weekend, I met up with some university friends for dinner in downtown Toronto. That’s the great thing about being based in Toronto, now, – having attended a university one hour west of here, a lot of former school friends and housemates live in the GTA (Greater Toronto Area).

We work, study or live in/near the city, so it’s great to catch up on news & relive the good old days! One of the girls was my roommate from our first year of school. According to her, when I moved in to our dorm room I asked her which countries she had been to, to which she awkwardly replied, “Well, I haven’t travelled much… but I’ve been to Florida!”

Starting university, my travel experience was a little bit different (although I had been to Florida too!). I was fresh off a European travel whirlwind from my Rotary Youth Exchange year in France, where I had spent 10 months exploring not only northeastern France but also Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg which were all bordering the region of France where I was: Lorraine.

Say hello to Köln (Cologne), Germany

The “where have you travelled” question popped up again recently in my Toronto wanderings. I found myself talking to a representative at the Adventure Travel Company in downtown, where I was looking into several products they offer.

At his desk, the guy had an “About Me” page relating to his travels. It was a neat way to learn more about him, where he had travelled and where he hoped to go next!

So, I decided to mirror the “About Me” with my own travel experiences for this week’s post!

I’ve seen a lot so far, luckily… but there is so much more to conquer in the world.

Here it goes:

Title: Adventurer/Wanderer

Location: Toronto

Country count: 27 Countries visited: USA, Canada, Bermuda, England, Wales, Scotland, Sweden, France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Spain, Italy, Greece, Austria, Switzerland, The Netherlands, Vatican City, Monaco, Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Netherlands, Zimbabwe, South Africa, India, Japan

Favourite country: hmmm… France. 

Next trip in my dreams? The Maldives. Realistically? New York City

The Maldives.The Maldives in my dreams... one day!

I don’t travel without… a Swiss Army knife, a spork, a water bottle and toilet paper (hey, you never know).

I travel because… Bermuda is a rock in the ocean, there is so much more to explore in the world!

My favourite travel moments are… the spontaneous adventures with travel buddies, especially when the unexpected happens and you have much to laugh about.

Beware of dodgy people along your journeys (like her?! Nicola...for anyone who has not followed her posts!)

As an aside: If you find yourselves in the Canadian cities of Calgary, Edmonton, Halifax, Ottawa, Toronto, Vancouver or Victoria… hunt down an Adventure Travel Company for more interesting travels, tours, and adventures!

The ATC offers many tours and excursions that are a great way to see the world. With slogans like “Epic Destinations. Epic Activities. Epic Hosts” and “It’s your life. It’s your adventure. What are you waiting for?” they seem to be experts in their field.]

In the words of Julius Caesar: Veni, Vidi, Vici!

Nothing like October leaves in Ontario

Tomorrow marks Canada’s Thanksgiving day and for Wanderer Nicola Arnold, it is also marks a new experience. As a Bermudian, Thanksgiving (at least the Canadian one) is not really celebrated. At least it’s not a public holiday!

So how is she going to celebrate? Here’s Nicola:

Whew, it’s here – the weekend. Here in Canada, we have extra reason to celebrate. It’s a long weekend: Thanksgiving!

Growing up in Bermuda, we tend to celebrate American Thanksgiving which falls on the fourth Thursday in November. As I attended a school on the American system, every November we’d whips out our crayons and colour in pictures of turkeys, pumpkins and pilgrims… high school was such great fun!! Ha ha, I mean grade 2, of course.

It was a quick switch coming to Canada. Thanksgiving in October? Before Halloween?! And if you are lucky… no early snow flurries. I’m very ucky to have had a true taste of autumn/fall/thanksgiving (affectionately referred to as T-gives, or Turkey Day) with different Canadian friends and their families.

Eight hour from Toronto to Northern Ontario: The drive to celebrate Thanksgiving with my friend's family 4yrs ago!

So far, friends have treated me to Thanksgiving activities such as:
- apple-picking in an orchard
- go-carting on a racetrack
- international student potluck dinner
- driving 8hrs north of Toronto to the boonies… I mean, northern Ontario (temp. only slightly above freezing)
- a long weekend in the Ottawa Valley (a hop, skip and jump from Quebec province)

When spending Thanksgiving in the Ottawa Valley... you can hop on over to Quebec to sit on a French-Canadian dock!

Here’s some trivia for you:

Trivia 1: While most Canadian provinces have a public holiday on the Monday of Thanksgiving, the provinces in Atlantic Canada including Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Labrador, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia do not regard Thanksgiving as having provincial holiday status.

Trivia 2: The Canadian Parliament proclaimed Thanksgiving as a holiday as of January 31, 1957, stating: “A Day of General Thanksgiving to Almighty God for the bountiful harvest with which Canada has been blessed – to be observed on the 2nd Monday in October.”

Who said pumpkin is just for pie?! Don't forget pumpkin spice ale and pumpkin ice cream... yum!

For now, I am off once again to celebrate Thanksgiving with friends. I’m going to throw Bermudian into the mix at my friend’s family gathering of Canadian/Scottish/Australian nationalities. Pumpkin pie, here I come!

Edward Monkton says it best every time

Our wanderer Nicola turns 25 today! What better way to celebrate her birthday then navigating the world of Nicola? Well she couldn’t think of one either so here is Robyn’s Wanderings wishing her a very special birthday and a quarter of a century of Nicola’s travels:

A quarter of a century has come & gone, my friends. For me, at least.

For the third year in a row, I celebrate my birthday in Toronto, Ontario. This weekend coincides with two other big events in Toronto and throughout Canada - Scotiabank’s Nuit Blanche all-night art festival, and CIBC’s Run for the Cure.

Everyone is celebrating for one reason or another! Therefore, I deemed it appropriate to write 25 Things About Me. Birthday and travel-related, more or less.

1. I took my first flight at 4 months old and we moved to Bermuda… I slept the whole way
2. As a child, I was little enough to sleep on blankets on the floor below my family’s airplane seats on overnight flights.
3. I celebrated my 18th birthday in France, enjoying champagne and strawberry shortcake with my host family.
4. Two plastic figurines join me on travels: a California Raisin & Simba from the Lion King [Looking at that link for California Raisins, I found out that "Ben Indasun" is my toy!]
5. The first Broadway show that I ever saw was Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.
6. Katie and I saw snow for the first time when we were visiting family in England one Christmas.
7. My first winter sport experiences include 2 middle school ski trips to Colorado, and ice skating in Rockerfeller Center in NYC.
8. I saw the movie Lion King at the cinema in Africa, while spending a summer with my grandparents in Zimbabwe.
9. …Speaking of Disney, I’ve been to Disneyland California, Walt Disney World Florida, and Tokyo Disney… I have yet to conquer  Disneyland Paris, Hong Kong Disneyland & Shanghai Disney!
10. While visiting Japan for 3 weeks, I rode bicycles, developed a love for corn chowder, and dressed up as a meiko for a day [The meiko blog link is very similar to my own experience. I wish I had photos to post of Japan, but sadly they are in Bermuda, tucked away in an album... I took 6 rolls of film on that trip!]
11. Once, I fell asleep in my soup at a hotel restaurant and my parents & sister have never let me live it down.
12. While taking a home-video at the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, Katie and I danced around singing “We are space aliens, we are space aliens”. Oh, the good old days!

If you are reading this sentence, then congratulations – you are almost halfway through the list!

Your birthday: a day when you are allowed to wear the crown.

13. On my 10th birthday, I open a cereal box (nice gift-wrapping!), and dug through it to find 2 plane tickets to Oklahoma. My best friend’s family had recently relocated there, so it was my dream trip. We kept in touched, reunited in Europe & Bermuda, and are still best buddies today!
14. My week-long high school French trip to Paris served as a taster for the 3 times I would live in France as a student – in Lorraine, in Paris, and in Savoie.
15. Both sets of my grandparents moved to Zimbabwe (formerly Rhodesia) post-WWII – one half from Croatia, the other from England.
16. Give me a window seat on an airplane any day.
17. The top 3 countries that I’ve been to that hold a piece of my heart are: France, India and Greece.
18. The longest flight I have been on so far is 13hr from New York to Tokyo.
19. After graduating university, I was treated to a First Class, overnight flight – champagne included! [A rather big step-up from sleeping on the floor of the airplane seats... re: #2]
20. My dream islands to visit are the Maldives… one day, I hope.
21. My 21st birthday turned out to be an awesome surprise party, although I had planned to do homework that evening…
22. When we visit my grandmother in Croatia, we go for 6am walks including a morning swim in crystal-clear sea – much chillier than Bermuda waters.
23. … Despite my affinity for Croatia, I must hark back to my adoration for Greece. Islandy. Laid-back. European. And f-e-t-a! [In fact, I'm celebrating this weekend by going out for a Greek feast... OPA!]
24. Hurricane Felix hit Bermuda in 1995, and we got our dog shortly afterwards from the SPCA. We changed his name from Felix to Chipo.
25. Lastly: Katie and I share this birthday month (October 17th and 2nd, respectively), and we are family friends with two sisters in Bermuda who have eerily similar birthdays (October 17th and 1st). We were meant to be friends!

Here's for a sweet treat... or 6.

Who knows, perhaps if I eat my vegetables and walk everyday I will make it to 100. If we still write blogs 75 years from now, perhaps I can write my “100 best travel experiences”. For now, though, back to the cupcakes!

Do these abbreviations mean anything to you: DH, CF, SS, E, RBI? That’s what our wanderer Nicola Arnold wants to know.

So do you? Well, if you’re going to travel to Toronto, the United States and….well anywhere that baseball is a passion then, as Nicola found-out, these terms are necessary reading:

If you never forget your first love (insomuch as it applies to sports), then my first love always was & always will be tennis. Although… it has to be said that “in tennis, love means nothing” [FYI: "love" indicates a score of zero]. Apart from being courted by tennis, squash and badminton for the better part of 10 years, my dreams came true in 2005 when my aunt took me to the Wimbledon tennis tournament. We sat on Henman Hill (or is it Murray Mount?) and came THISCLOSE to Serena Williams after her match. Score!

Tennis courts right in our backyard in Bermuda... also perfect for stargazing

But we digress. Friends, I never thought this day would come. I’m falling for baseball… and it came completely out of left field!

Baseball and I never had much of a relationship, but we did share a few common interests. Growing up in Bermuda, I knew little to nothing about baseball. What I did glean about this American pastime came from entertainment, pop culture & various holidays:

- children’s classic 90′s movies: The Sandlot, Rookie of the Year, Angels in the Outfield
- a family holiday in NYC when we saw the revival of the Broadway musical Damn Yankees
- knowing of Babe Ruth, or the great Bambino… but preferring to turn my attention to the Baby Ruth instead
- another family trip, when teenage Katie & Nicola were treated to their first baseball game in Oakland, California, home of the Oakland Athletics

Let's play ball at the Rogers Center... aka Toronto Skydome

Fast forward to August 2011. On an overnight stay in Toronto, my friend Cat invited me to a ball game, the Toronto Blue Jays vs. Boston Red Sox. During my recent visit to Boston I passed by the legendary home of the Sox, Fenway Park, but I must admit that I did not stop to admire it. However, going back to my baseball invite, I am of the opinion that you a) never turn down an invitation and b) don’t knock it til you try it. Depending on the situation, of course. The Jays lost that night… but it was an exciting atmosphere, I knew the basics, and my friend is a super-fan so she filled me in on the rest!

A weekend game in the afternoon sunshine

So where am I now in my relationship with baseball? After moving to Toronto last Wednesday, I attended a home game every night from Friday til Thursday (against both the New York Yankees & the L.A. Angels) I was in a bookstore on Friday and I spent 15 minutes scouring the baseball shelves of the Sports section… and no, I did not return home with Baseball for Dummies.

For the most skeptic people out there, my “Top 5 reasons to enjoy a baseball game” may convince them to give it a shot:

Which is better - the Frog & Onion Bermuda t-shirt, or the baseball yarmulke head cover? I cannot decide!

Atmosphere – You know those places where you walk in and you know the “atmosphere” is right? Well, the baseball stadium is one of those places. Even for a newbie! From the face paint to the catchers’ mitts, from the toddlers to the 91 year-old celebrating her birthday, baseball fans proudly flaunt their love of the game. The collective crowd cheer is also rather amusing… as the ball soars into the air, a collective “YAYYY!!” can quickly turn into an “Awww…” as the outcome is a foul ball [read: a dud].

Jumbotron – The big screen over the outfield, where all the magic happens – player stats, birthday shout-outs, and most importantly, crowd scanning! Cat has been on the jumbotron 6 times this summer, but last week she made her first sign on a bright pink poster board that helped us make a guest appearance on the ‘tron! It’s exciting to make it up there and it’s hilarious to see other people’s reactions on-screen. Only thing more entertaining would be a “kiss cam”… then again, a friend of mine had an awkward experience sitting next to her cousin when the kiss cam panned on them!

One way to successfully get yourselves on the Jumbotron...

Music – Tuesdays are “Twitter Tuesdays” when you can tweet in song requests during the game. Players on the home team walk up to the plate to their own theme song. Around the 7th inning, there are songs for the crowd to rock out to – stretch, dance, or some other ambiguous movements! Music engages the crowd to clap, cheer and root. Of course, everyone gets the chance to sing “Take me out to the ball game“…. replacing “home team” with the Blue Jays”!

Novelty – The Toronto games start at 1:07 and 7:07pm. Strange! Despite the overpriced food and drink,  we all still indulge in hot dogs, peanuts and beer. In fact, one of the coolest beers was from the “bottom-up” beer stall where the plastic cup has a hole on the bottom. The beer is filled upwards and a magnetic disc seals it in. Plus… you drink it out of a straw. What’s not to enjoy?! Also, on weekend games, they count the number of strikes against the visiting team, and 7 strikes gets everyone in the Roger’s Center a free slice of pizza. I can bear witness!

Swag – Free stuff. Everyone loves game swag: you can text-in for the chance to win a Blackberry phone, have free t-shirts thrown at you, or a foul ball may just end up being yours if you catch it before your neighbours! We were sitting in the 5th section (aka steerage) when a guy in the front row of our section caught a ball in his cap… you never know what’s going to happen!

Convinced? Hope so!

And so the sun sets on another summer of baseball!

Oh, and those abbreviations - DH, CF, SS, E, RBI – stand for designated hitter, center field, shortstop, errors and runs batted in.

Emily needs to stop looking at my food photos.

I hope you ate your breakfast this morning because our wanderer Emily Ross is opening her food photos from around the world!

Her move from pastry in Amsterdam to pad Thai in Thailand will entice the tummy and, hopefully, your tastes for traveling! Annnnd it’s on to Emily:

Aaaand Emily emerges from the darkness yet again.

Bermuda has an effect on me, causing me to procrastinate yet simultaneously make obsessive compulsive routines. God forbid I go a DAY without my Lindo’s hummus, but my suitcase remains unpacked and the blog remains neglected.

It’s time for me to get off the island. Getting out of Somerset (one end of the island) is feeling like sightseeing, let’s be honest. I’m off to Toronto this weekend to visit the younger sibling and MAN, am I psyched. I’ve been googling Chinatown restaurants with mounting anticipation.

Go to Amsterdam for the pastry Whove thunk it

I truly hope you all take some time to watch the brilliance that is ‘An Idiot Abroad.’ Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant send their idiot/idiot-savant radio colleague Karl Pilkington on a journey to the Seven Wonders of the World and document his reactions to travel.

Before he begins his journey, Pilkington expresses concern at the prospect of travelling to China because he worries he may develop a ‘taste for toad’ and then not be able to get any toad when he returns to the UK. Brilliance. And, I find upon my return to ‘the West’ – a fair point.

There are SO many foods I miss. I had a rather pitiful experience late night in London’s Chinatown – I bought dumplings from a random restaurant and well…they were ALL wrong.  Sigh. I miss the Asian respect for the eggplant. I miss chopsticks. My aunt gave me a family set of chopsticks for my birthday but they seem so misused when applied to roast chicken and peas. Woe.

My kingdom for xiao long bao

Toronto has a reputation for being one of the most multicultural cities in the world and the food scene really reflects the demographic diversity. The fact that there are restaurants sporting xiao long bao, my beloved soup dumplings, truly bodes well for my quest to find The Foods That I Miss.  We’ll see if I’m disappointed.

Perhaps I subconsciously find certain products or foodstuffs to fall in love with when I travel so that I have a greater incentive to return.

Peru – Ambrosoli mint toffees. Oh, the pain when I finally ran out of the stash I brought home.

South Africa/Botswana – All Gold Tomato ketchup. That stuff brings Heinz to shame. Oh, and impala and warthog weren’t half bad either.

France – Speculoos spread. As magical as the name implies.

These barrel pastries in Prague were amazing. Still need to find out the real name

Czech Republic – Activia Aloe Vera yoghurt. Thankfully I can find this in other European countries.

Germany – So. Much. Haribo.

Spain – There was this beautiful, beautiful pasta dish which was SO simple – just a runny fried egg, salt, pepper and pasta. You broke the egg yolk and mixed it in with the pasta to make a ‘sauce.’ Sure, I could make it at home but I could never recreate the pasta my host mother made for me.

I will never forget this pad thai.

If I continue my descriptions into China and Southeast Asia I think I’ll depress myself. Hopefully I’ll find the answer to my cravings in Toronto.

And I suppose if not…well, I have no choice but to return.

Right?