Rain, rain

Tags

Beach, Canada, French River, life, PEI

Gee the weather is cold at 14C and it is raining non stop, it is suppose to rain all week.

A terrible start to July, meanwhile out West it is too hot for words. We are going from a Pandemic to a climate disaster.

Will is now fully vaccinated and I will be on Wednesday and so happy for it. Some 17 months have gone by and frankly I am happy that we can see the end of this tunnel.

Here are some pictures of me at the BBQ at the Club.

With my Sweeney Todd apron. I cooked for 40 members.

Mayor Philip Brown of Charlottetown, Club Patron cutting our Canada Day Cake.

We had fun and I enjoyed organizing the event. More events to come including the Golf Tournament. But in the coming days we are going fishing as they say, not in the literal sense but in the figurative sense. Looking forward to leaving town for a couple of weeks. Here is a photo of the area where we are going. Our neigbours at the cottage tonight told us that the surf was quite dangerous, high winds and driving rain and cold. But this is all changing by the time we get there. One strange thing we had to put the heat on in the house here in town today because it was a little raw. I have never done that in July. This is the New London Rear Light House on Yankee Hill Beach, it is our view and the sea is on the right.

Summer 2020

Tags

Food, life, lighthouse, PEI, Seafood

It has been a beautiful summer, lots of sunshine and hot days, I remember 2019 was cold and rainy, what a pleasant change. Now we arrive at the Ides of August without the usual Gold Saucer and Cup Week however given the nice weather many are at the beach and we had the opportunity to go to French River in the New London area and what fun that was.

So Ferragosto, the August Feast is upon us and many of my friends in Italy are at the seaside or in the mountains. Everyone is deserting the city and enjoying between 2 to 4 weeks of vacation. Here in PEI we will see friends and have quite a few social engagement within our bubble, Covid19 oblige!

Tonight we went across the street for dinner, today was a scorcher of a day, so hot and so humid. I remember 40C in Jordan and in Egypt but it was dry desert heat and you do not perspire, so the heat is tolerable. The hot humid air is difficult to tolerate. So it was easier to go to the restaurant, we had some halibut and potato salad, sitting outside with a nice breeze talking with the owner. Afterwards we went to see the sail boats on the river returning to the Charlottetown Marina. Lots of nice sails and we recognized some friends as they enter the marina.

The breeze on the river tonight was very refreshing. The view from the Federal Dock of the river as it stretches towards the entrance to the Strait of Northumberland is quite nice, at dusk you see the various lighthouse blinking in the distance.

Ferragosto

Tags

Ferragosto, Italy, Le Marche, Old Home Week, PEI, Pesaro

Ferragosto 2019 is upon us, in Charlottetown it’s Old Home Week with harness racing and parades, my neighbour already reminded us to not forget to come over for a stiff drink usually a Bloody Cesar, Canada’s Official Cocktail and food at 10am an old island tradition, no one misses the parade. It will be our fourth, yes 4 years already on the Island, time flies. This is also the peak or height of tourist season and signals also the end of the Season, after 16 August suddenly tourists vanish.

In Italy Ferragosto is the beginning of the Summer vacation for everyone, I mean everyone. It is pretty much the same in other European countries. Time to pack up and leave the cities for the beach, the mountains, the countryside. Leave the towns to the tourists. Everything shuts down and if you decide to stay in town better plan ahead because shopping is restricted and difficult to manage. ATMs machines run out of cash and gas stations are only open for a few hours if at all.

For us it was the best of time of the year, we would travel to Le Marche region on the Adriatic for spectacular towns, food, wine and festivals. A relax quiet time by the seaside and evenings at the opera.

We would stay in Pesaro, visit Rimini and Urbino a few minutes away.

Since Seafood is important on PEI, it is equally important in Pesaro and our favorite restaurant was Ristorante Bristolino “Lorenzo e Bibo” which use to be on the sea front at the Bristol hotel. However in 2015 it closed and just re-opened to the delight of its many fans on Via Mazzolari 54 in the centre of the city. Incredible quality of seafood and dishes so well prepared and presented with flair. So happy to see them back in action. Will wrote about this restaurant and so did I in my blog.

We came of course to Pesaro for the yearly Opera Festival to its most famous son, Gioachino  Rossini. We would drive from Rome on excellent Italian roads through scenic and dramatic at times, mountain views.

City centre park, Piazzale della Liberta, the Italian artist Arnaldo Pomodoro has left his golden sphere monuments all over the world. One of them has become the symbol of Pesaro in Le Marche. Tell any person from Pesaro that you’ll meet them at ‘la palla di Pomodoro’, and they instantly know where to go.

Wishing everyone a Felice Ferragosto!