Vacation Highlights

It feels like it's been a month since having blogged. While I was away, I finally saw the expansive Atlantic Ocean from the Canadian side (instead of the cold, bitter Irish side), and indulged in Canada's coolest city (it's Montreal, without a doubt). Seems like everyone knows Montreal well, but did you know that it's crawling with celebrity chefs? And did you know that they have a public bike system? Instead of taking the bus to work, you can pick up a brand new cruiser and park it in one of the many stops around the city. You can take the bus home or whatever you like. Best of all, it's free (for rides less than 30 minutes). It's something Vancouver needs badly!

Speaking of green cities, I was impressed by the efforts in Nova Scotia to keep things eco-friendly. I found divided garbage bins across the Halifax (for garbage, organics/compost, paper and plastic) and efforts to conserve energy and water everywhere.

We took a drive to a very photographed spot, Peggy's Cove. Along the highway, we saw a landscape that retains the coastal charm of another time.

Since I was in Halifax, Andy and I checked out the penultimate concert of Joel Plaskett's 3 tour at Dalhousie. We heard two sets of amazing music from Plaskett and also his backup singers Ana Egge (listen: "Farmer's Daughter") and Rose Cousins (listen: "Lost in the Valley"). Both women sound better in person than they do on myspace but either way you can hear that forlorn sound of a woman caught in a bittersweet place.

After 10 days of exploring, feasting, and relaxing, I'm excited for summer in beautiful (scorching hot) Vancouver.

See you soon!

P.S. For anyone keeping track, on the books and magazines front, I finished Service Included (about life working at Thomas Keller's Per Se) and Whatever It Takes (about a school reform program Barack Obama has elected as his choice to offer education to children in disadvantaged communities) and devoured copies of New York magazine, which you can buy on the east coast! I would highly recommend Whatever It Takes. Author Paul Tough's writing style is admirably lucid but light for such heavy stuff. The story, however, seems incomplete... we all want to know the end: will President Obama commit to his promise to implement Geoffrey Canada's program across the United States?