A Visit from the Foodies

On Tuesday we said Adios to my sister Christine and her fiance Anthony, our most recent travel companions in the EU. After spending a few days touring Paris, they took the train to Lyon to check out our little french stomping grounds. 

As one of Niagara's top chefs, Anthony was excited to indulge in Lyon's top restaurants and gourmet food markets AND we were excited (but also nervous) to show him some of our favourite spots. 

The weather is still reasonably warm so we were able to travel by Lyon's city bikes. RIGHT: we cross La Saone River to Old Lyon.

LEFT: Christine and Anthony stop by Paul Bocuse's Les Halles. A gourmet food market owned by Lyon's most famous chef.

After catching an Olympique Lyonnais soccer game we started our road trip to Barcelona.

BELOW: We made a one-night stop in the lovely Girona Spain, to enjoy a lavish dinner at Massana, a spot Anthony researched before their departure.

Upon our arrival in Barcelona we discovered unseasonable +30 temperatures and gorgeous sun and sands. We found ourselves soaking up vast amounts of sangria, tasting tapas after tapas and settling into the city's El Born District. 

We toured Gaudi's architecture and browsed the expensive shops of La Rambla. What an amazing city!

Buen Viage Christine and Anthony, was a pleasure wining and dining with you!
Hope you enjoyed the tastes of France and Spain.

Joel & Amy

Home from Home

Another successful trip back to Canada. It was a pleasure to be able to spend Thanksgiving with everyone (I'm already going into pumpkin pie withdrawals) and attend two very special weddings.

Congrats to Avril & Conroy (right) 

AND Matt & Shufen (below)

Two amazing parties. Definitely glad being in France isn't keeping me from missing these big events.

(Just me on this trip as we've been a bit greedy with Joel's vacation time)

THANKS, Joel & Amy

Half Marathon - Run In Lyon

A successful day to report from here in Lyon. On Sunday, Oct 6th, both of us took part in Lyon's RUN in LYON. A combination Marathon/Half-Marathon/10KM Race held right in the heart of the city, through the city park and along it's two famous rivers. We both ran the Half-Marathon distance, crushing a mere 21.1KM. There were 7600 participants in the "Half" distance category. I finished in 02:09:11 pulling a 1123rd placement in the female category and Joel managed a 01:45:53 time, snagging the 2427th spot in the male category, not bad for his first race (talk about an over-achiever...ever heard of a 5K?? Geez).

Thanks for stopping by!

Joel & Amy