Sunday, January 31, 2010
Memramcook land of Ice and Snow
Had a good visit with Christina, Dany and Amelia. Minus 20 degrees this morning. We went out to dinner to a very nice vegetarian restaurant last night. Just a short note so I can post this little video, on my way to the airport in a few minutes.
Friday, January 29, 2010
My Island Home
I took a drive around the Island yesterday morning taking a series of short video clips and then I put some of them together into this short movie. I don't think I'm quite ready for an academy award yet but it gives you an idea of what Campobello is like for those of you who haven't been here.
I'm glad to say that I can now correct something that I said in my last post. Thanks to a YouTube friend , Jihad Acadien (I love his YouTube name), I now know that I will be able to upload video clips at Internet Cafes as I travel around France.
I hope to move on to my nieces in Memramcook today but I'm not sure yet if I will be able to do this, might have to wait until tomorrow, we had snow over night only an inch or so here but it is still snowing in Memramcook so I will wait until afternoon to make a decision. The forecast is for a good weekend though so there shouldn't be a problem getting to the airport on Sunday.
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Oh what to do...............
Oh what should I do. I just discovered the Flip Mino HD camcorder. Slips in your pocket, takes up to an hour of HD video, built-in software for uploading to YouTube and other sites like flickr. Supposed to be idiot proof, I might be able to give it a challenge though. The software even allows you to edit clips together into one movie. It would be great to have on my trip I could add clips to my YouTube account and attach them to my blog as I travel. I'm going to be in Fredericton tomorrow and I will go to future shop to have a look at them and I just can't resist this kind of thing so I will likely come home with one.
I love the little Flip and hope to have time tomorrow, before packing for my trip, to run around the island and make a short video to upload to YouTube.
I don't think it will be of much use to me in France though I can't find a way to use it without it installing software on the computer and then rebooting the computer before you can use it. I'm going to be in Beziers for a month so I might be able to convince one of the Internet Cafes to do it for me if I explain I will be coming back frequently to use it. Worth a try anyway.
Check-out this compilation of the first clips that I took with the Flip complete with bloopers:
Monday, January 25, 2010
Happy Burns Night
Address To A Haggis
Robert Burns
Fair fa' your honest, sonsie face,
Great chieftain o' the puddin-race!
Aboon them a' ye tak your place,
Painch, tripe, or thairm:
Weel are ye wordy o' a grace
As lang's my arm.
The groaning trencher there ye fill,
Your hurdies like a distant hill,
Your pin wad help to mend a mill
In time o' need,
While thro' your pores the dews distil
Like amber bead.
His knife see rustic Labour dight,
An' cut you up wi' ready sleight,
Trenching your gushing entrails bright,
Like ony ditch;
And then, O what a glorious sight,
Warm-reekin, rich!
Then, horn for horn,
they stretch an' strive:
Deil tak the hindmost! on they drive,
Till a' their weel-swall'd kytes belyve,
Are bent lyke drums;
Then auld Guidman, maist like to rive,
"Bethankit!" 'hums.
Is there that owre his French ragout
Or olio that wad staw a sow,
Or fricassee wad mak her spew
Wi' perfect sconner,
Looks down wi' sneering, scornfu' view
On sic a dinner?
Poor devil! see him ower his trash,
As feckless as a wither'd rash,
His spindle shank, a guid whip-lash,
His nieve a nit;
Thro' bloody flood or field to dash,
O how unfit!
But mark the Rustic, haggis fed,
The trembling earth resounds his tread.
Clap in his walie nieve a blade,
He'll mak it whissle;
An' legs an' arms, an' heads will sned,
Like taps o' thrissle.
Ye Pow'rs wha mak mankind your care,
And dish them out their bill o' fare,
Auld Scotland wants nae skinking ware
That jaups in luggies;
But, if ye wish her gratefu' prayer,
Gie her a haggis!
The Translation
Fair is your honest happy face
Great chieftain of the pudding race
Above them all you take your place
Stomach, tripe or guts
Well are you worthy of a grace
As long as my arm
The groaning platter there you fill
Your buttocks like a distant hill
Your skewer would help to repair a mill
In time of need
While through your pores the juices emerge
Like amber beads
His knife having seen hard labour wipes
And cuts you up with great skill
Digging into your gushing insides bright
Like any ditch
And then oh what a glorious sight
Warm steaming, rich
Then spoon for spoon
They stretch and strive
Devil take the last man, on they drive
Until all their well swollen bellies
Are bent like drums
Then, the old gent most likely to rift (burp)
Be thanked, mumbles
Is there that over his French Ragout
Or olio that would sicken a pig
Or fricassee would make her vomit
With perfect disgust
Looks down with a sneering scornful opinion
On such a dinner
Poor devil, see him over his trash
As week as a withered rush (reed)
His spindle-shank a good whiplash
His clenched fist.the size of a nut.
Through a bloody flood and battle field to dash
Oh how unfit
But take note of the strong haggis fed Scot
The trembling earth resounds his tread
Clasped in his large fist a blade
He'll make it whistle
And legs and arms and heads he will cut off
Like the tops of thistles
You powers who make mankind your care
And dish them out their meals
Old Scotland wants no watery food
That splashes in dishes
But if you wish her grateful prayer
Give her a haggis!
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Ten days and counting.
Just an average normal winter storm for this area 10 to 15 centimeters predicted in total, but what a gray day. The photo is a full colour photo but you really need to search to find a bit that isn't gray, black or white. A flickr friend who lives in Beziers just commented on the photo and asked me to leave the snow behind when I come over.
Ten days and counting until I arrive in the south of France I just checked the weather in Beziers and it isn't exactly hot there either but daytime highs are averaging 10 degrees C. and hopefully will continue to warm up as the days go on. This link will take you to the Beziers forecast from the BBC website:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/weather/forecast/2094
Béziers (Besièrs in Occitan, and Besiers in Catalan) is a town in Languedoc in the southwest of France. It is a commune and a sub-prefecture of the Hérault department. Béziers hosts the famous... more
Some more good news, if you check the Le Puy live web-cam link in my previous post you will see that last weeks snow is almost completely gone. I suspect that is normal for the area they get snow because of the altitude but I don't think the area is know for sustained deep snow like the alps or ski areas. They no doubt will have more snow before the winter is out and I will need to keep an eye on it for my planned March first start from Le Puy.
My friend Pru who is planning to walk with me has had a bit of a setback. She has been having a lot of back pain and being treated for it by her Doctor. Monday her Doctor told her not to carry more than 2.5 Kg., an empty backpack weighs that much. In the true, pilgrim/long distance walker spirit Pru has found a company that will transport her pack to the next etape (stage) allowing her to walk with a light day pack. This of course adds to the cost of the venture but I was surprised that the charge is only 8 Euros per day for a pack up to 12 Kg. Now I will be jealous and tempted to have mine transported too. Seriously it is good to know about this service in case I have a need for it.
Saturday, January 16, 2010
Miserable day at the Opera.
Up early this morning and on the road for Fredericton, a three hour drive, to attend another of the live in HD Opera performances from the New York Metropolitan Opera. I've been attending them quite regularly for the past two years. The broadcasts are at the large movie theater in Fredericton, one of those places with numerous screens and they always show the opera in theater one which is the largest. I was there last Saturday for Der Rosenkavalier and for the first time I had to sit near the front and at the start of the performance there were not very many empty seats, less than 20. Well today was Carmen, I arrived an hour and a half early and went to the automated ticket machine to get my ticket and the screen said SOLD OUT . How rude. I went over and spoke to one of the ticket sellers to see if there was any point in waiting for performance time to see if there was a seat available, in case some one didn't show up and she said sorry we are not allowed to resell or fill those seats. Bummer. I haven't been buying my tickets in advance because of the possibility of a snow storm this time of year and not being able to get to Fredericton.
Went to Chapters and picked-up a couple more books to read on my trip, backpack is getting heavier every day mostly with books but I can discard those at gites after I read them. Nothing else to do but turn around and come back home. I always listen to CBC Radio 2 while driving and every Saturday at 2 PM is Saturday afternoon at the Opera which sometimes is a live Met performance and other times is a recorded broadcast from some other large opera house. A few minutes before 2 PM the announcer says today's broadcast is Carmen live from the Met, BRAVO !! A few minutes later the same announcer apologizes and says we have lost the feed from the Met but we have Carmen cued up in the CD player and will start it now and return to the live broadcast if we are able to restore the feed. The entire first act was a recording at the end of act one they restored contact and continued on with the live performance. At the intermission after act two I realized this is the same satellite feed that we get in the movie theater the singers are being interviewed back stage and you can hear the stage hands setting up for the next act. Now I wonder if I had been in the theater would I have seen act one or did they loose the transmission too. In which case most people would have left and asked for a refund.
The Metropolitan Opera Association of New York City, founded in April 1880, is a major presenter of all types of opera including Grand Opera. Peter Gelb is the company's general manager. The music... more
Building Function: Opera House
Contained by: New York City
Friday, January 15, 2010
Beziers - Friday Market
I'm arriving in Beziers on a Monday evening so I will need to wait four days before I can shop at this beautiful Friday morning open air market. I have a flickr gallery of 18 photos taken by various photographers at the market:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/dalecalder2003/galleries/72157622303585925/
Plans for my departure are almost all finalized I'm looking forward to visiting with my niece and her family in Memramcook en-route to the airport. They also get the job of babysitting my car while I'm away.
If my flight is on time I will have about four hours at the airport in Paris before the TGV train for Beziers departs the airport station. My friend Pru who lives in Sevre outside Paris is planning to come to airport to welcome me to la belle France . It will be good to see her again, we plan to find a cafe close to the train station for coffee and a lunch.
Other than finding Pru and the train station I need to find an ATM to get some Euros, need to pay my rent when I arrive in Beziers. I know I've looked for an ATM in this airport before and have never been successful. I remember traveling through there once with the walking group The Pathfinders and finding one of the women in the group standing in front of one of the machines where you pay for your parking time in the car park, with her bank card in hand hoping to get cash out of it. . I just checked the airports website and they say there are 25 ATM machines, evidently well hidden.
My landlord in Beziers has made a couple of suggestions for interesting areas to walk in the region and has even offered to provide transport and join me for the day. Pru and Ivan are planning to come down for a five day visit in early February. Lots of family and friends wishing me a good trip and several friends who I know only through flickr are sending good wishes and following my blog.
I'm getting so excited !!
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Bernie' s Press Badge
My pal Bernie and I are almost ready to travel. Bernie got his new Press Credentials today.
I did a trial run/packing my backpack today and I'm really pleased to say that I have the weight down to 7.7 KG and that includes all of my cloths even the cloths that I will be wearing on the day and with the water bottle filled. On the first day of my last Camino in 2008 my backpack weighed over 12 KG with empty water bottles and the cloths that I was wearing already removed. If I learned anything at all in 2008 it was to make due with the bare essentials and carry as little as possible. So this time I basically have one change of cloths, some toiletries, medications, two pairs of socks and liner socks , light fleece jacket, rain/wind jacket and pants and a change of underwear. This time I'm leaving the poncho home and using the nice Rain Jacket that my Brother and Sister in-law gave me for Christmas. I bought a pair of rain pants to go with it and will use them as my second pair of pants. Since the pants and jacket are wind proof along with water proof they will also help to keep me warm on any cold windy days.
Counting down the days.
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Camino Badges
The badges and flag are all sewn on my backpack and fleece jacket so I'm at lease
that much closer to being ready. I have lists for everything, even lists. So much to do before I leave and making sure I don't forget to take something that I will need either in Beziers in February or while walking La Voie du Puy.
Minus 10C here this morning and Paris is forecast to be minus 7C tomorrow, why is it I'm doing this, again. It's even chilly down south in Beziers hopefully everything will warm up a bit by February. I found a great web-cam live from Le Puy-en-Velay and I've been watching it snow there all week.
http://www.ot-lepuyenvelay.fr/webcam.php
Le Puy-en-Velay (Lo Puèi de Velai in Occitan, pronounced [lu/lə ˈpœj də ˈvəlaj]) is a commune in the Haute-Loire department in south-central France.Its inhabitants are called Ponots.Le... more
Fortunately I don't go to Le Puy until the first of March so I hope to use the web-cam to watch the snow melt.
Saturday, January 2, 2010
Yup looks like it is going to snow....... again!!
Todays weather forecast for this area:
.WINTER STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 1 PM EST SUNDAY...
A WINTER STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 1 PM EST SUNDAY.
SNOW WILL EXPAND FROM SOUTHEAST TO NORTHWEST ACROSS THE REGION
TODAY...BECOMING HEAVY AT TIMES THIS AFTERNOON. SNOW...HEAVY AT
TIMES...WILL THEN CONTINUE TONIGHT. TOTAL SNOWFALL AMOUNTS TODAY
THROUGH SUNDAY MORNING WILL RANGE FROM 10 TO 18 INCHES ACROSS THE
REGION. THE SNOW COULD MIX WITH RAIN AT TIMES LATER TONIGHT ALONG
THE DOWNEAST COAST...POSSIBLY LIMITING ACCUMULATIONS THERE. NORTH
WINDS WILL INCREASE TODAY...REACHING SUSTAINED SPEEDS OF 20 TO 30
MPH WITH GUSTS TO 40 MPH BY THIS EVENING. SIMILAR WINDS WILL
CONTINUE TONIGHT. THIS WILL CAUSE SIGNIFICANT BLOWING AND DRIFTING
SNOW AND NEAR WHITEOUT CONDITIONS AT TIMES WITH VERY DIFFICULT AND
HAZARDOUS TRAVEL CONDITIONS EXPECTED FROM LATER TODAY THROUGH
SUNDAY MORNING.
RESIDENTS OF THE AREA ALONG WITH HOLIDAY TRAVELERS SHOULD KEEP A
CLOSE WATCH ON THIS SYSTEM AND THE FORECAST FOR THE POSSIBILITY
OF AN UPGRADE TO A BLIZZARD WARNING. SIGNIFICANT IMPACTS TO
TRAVEL ARE EXPECTED.
.COASTAL FLOOD WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 9 AM THIS MORNING
TO 2 PM EST THIS AFTERNOON...
...COASTAL FLOOD WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM THIS EVENING
THROUGH SUNDAY AFTERNOON...
A COASTAL FLOOD WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 9 AM THIS MORNING
TO 2 PM EST THIS AFTERNOON. A COASTAL FLOOD WATCH REMAINS IN
EFFECT FROM THIS EVENING THROUGH SUNDAY AFTERNOON.
AN INTENSE STORM MOVING NORTHWEST TOWARD COASTAL DOWNEAST MAINE
FROM THE OPEN ATLANTIC WILL BRING A STORM SURGE OF AT LEAST 1 TO
2 FEET ON TOP OF VERY HIGH ASTRONOMICAL HIGH TIDES DURING THE
MIDDAY TODAY.
HIGH TIDE AT BAR HARBOR IS EXPECTED SHORTLY AFTER 11AM EST AND
AROUND NOON EST AT EASTPORT. MAXIMUM ASTRONOMICAL HIGH TIDE IS
13 FT AT BAR HARBOR AND 23 FT AT EASTPORT. TOTAL STORM TIDES AT
THE TIME OF HIGH TIDE MIDDAY SATURDAY WILL BE 14 TO 15 FT AT BAR
HARBOR AND AROUND 24 FT AT EASTPORT.
STRONG WINDS AND STORM SURGES WILL NEED TO BE MONITORED FOR
POSSIBLE COASTAL FLOODING OVER THE NEXT TWO HIGH TIDE CYCLES
LATE THIS EVENING AND EARLY SUNDAY AFTERNOON RESPECTIVELY.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
A COASTAL FLOOD WARNING MEANS THAT FLOODING IS OCCURRING OR
IMMINENT AROUND THE TIME OF THE REFERENCED HIGH TIDES. COASTAL
RESIDENTS IN THE WARNED AREA ESPECIALLY IN MACHIAS AND THE
CAUSEWAY TO DEER ISLE SHOULD BE ALERT FOR RISING WATER...AND TAKE
APPROPRIATE ACTION TO PROTECT LIFE AND PROPERTY.
A COASTAL FLOOD WATCH MEANS THAT CONDITIONS FAVORABLE FOR
FLOODING ARE EXPECTED TO DEVELOP. COASTAL RESIDENTS SHOULD BE
ALERT FOR LATER STATEMENTS OR WARNINGS...AND TAKE ACTION TO
PROTECT PROPERTY.
Campobello Island is a Canadian island located at the entrance to Passamaquoddy Bay, adjacent to the entrance to Cobscook Bay, and within the Bay of Fundy. The island is part of Charlotte County, New Brunswick but is actually physically connected by the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Bridge with Lubec, Maine - the easternmost tip of the continental United States.Measuring 14 kilometres (8.7 mi) long and about 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) wide, it has an... more
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