The great outdoors

A carpet of tiny Irises covers The Israel Trail near Jerusalem

Tiny iris ( Moraea sisyrinchium)

Recently I met a very interesting person, a tourist from Canada that isn't Jewish and came to visit the area out of curiosity and a sense of adventure.  I got to meet him through a friend we've acquired a couple of years ago on our great tour in Canada. Since the guy arrived just before Passover the DH and I took it upon ourselves to explain our non-suspecting visitor what happens in Israel come Pesach. We met him for beer and conversation in a Jerusalem pub. Although he is Quebecois he speaks very good English, far better than my pitiable French. We had a very nice evening, discussing many issues in history, geography, politics and a lot of explaining about Pesach, especially in Jerusalem. We've also recounted our own visit to Canada. I described to him my awe and wonder from the size of the country. The huge impression all the woods and running water made on me, coming from this arid corner of the world. I tried to explain how liberating it was to be in empty huge wilderness, as I'm not used to so much open space.

He was very attentive but didn't really get what I'm talking about.

He kept traveling here in Israel and in The Palestinian Authority, went to the Galilee and Golan Heights, enjoyed the night life of Tel-Aviv and before he went on in his travels he came to celebrate Independence Day with us. I believe he now understands a lot more about the complexity of the situation here and comprehended better the reality of life here for both Israelis and Palestinians. But what he understood best was the size of the country.  He was amazed that his hike in The Tel Dan National Park ended in an hour and was crammed with people. After telling me that, he said: "I now get the way you feel about traveling in Canada, you live in a very claustrophobic country, no great outdoors."  I just smiled.

Our guest has left for the great Turkey and its splendor. 

We're still here. Yes, it's crowded and there is not much open space left but we are trying to make the best of it. Those past months we went outdoors as much as possible. Not doing great hikes or challenging treks but rather picnicking, relaxing, and taking lots of pictures even in the weirdest of weather. 

There is great beauty even in the smallest of places as hopefully you can see in some of my photos.

Not to mention my DH who is a wonderful cook, in and outside the house.   

Having a picnic at Hirbat Saadim in The Jerusalem Mountains- we were freezing so a nice fire kept us warm

Carpets of cyclamens near Jerusalem

Green almonds

Anemones blooming 

Sunset on Lachis

Strider -Walking Wadi Barak, in the southern part of Israel

Happy campers-having breakfast in Wadi Barak camping site.

My travel log: The best breakfast in Newfoundland

Tablelands trail

 We woke up early that day, packed all our suitcases and many bags, managed somehow to cram everything into our already battered hired car and hit the road. We planned to have breakfast at the restaurant next to our room, but it was firmly shut and "opened at nine", as the note on the door said. It was Saturday morning. Although we were a bit hungry, we couldn't stay. Our mission of the day was to get our eldest girl to Lomond Camp Ground on the south part of Gros Morne National Park, Newfoundland. There she joined my friend Sarah and her adventurous family for a day of hiking: sixteen km of the Green Garden trail. 

We thought that 16km were too much for our three years old to walk and too much for his dad to carry him on his shoulders. Therefore we needed to devise other plans for the day. After bidding farewell to our daughter our next mission had to be food. My younger daughter already expressed her apprehension and a dire need for some carbohydrates. We didn't find any restaurants or eateries driving around this remote part of the park dotted with little fishing villages, but we found a nice picnic spot. A little clearing in the forest, scattered with a few benches.

There in the middle of nowhere, my DH demonstrated once more what a capable cook he is and made us the best breakfast we had on our entire journey through Canada. Mushrooms were cut, cheese and eggs beaten, bread was toasted, Canadian bacon sizzled, using only the little propane camping burner purchased 2 weeks earlier at a local Walmart and a 10 dollar pan.  Who needs restaurants when you have such a cook at home? For dessert my chef of a husband took some bananas, sugar, and a bit of rum and voila: Banana Flambé in the middle of the forest. Even the squirrels came down of the trees to see what's cooking.  We were lucky with the unpredictable weather of Newfoundland and had a lovely day with only light drizzle and fog.  

The rest of the day was dedicated to exploring the nature and amazing scenery of the Tablelands Mountains, Trout River and the lovely picturesque town of Woody Point. I am no poet so I lack the words to describe those views; I let my camera speak for me.

Trout River

The lighthouse at Woody Point, Gros Morne National Park

Our Canada voyage in short: Landing in Montreal and spending a few days exploring the city, from there driving to the Mauricie National Park and further to Quebec City; a 1000km drive with only one stop on the way brought us to North Sydney where we took the ferry to Newfoundland. After 10 days we took the ferry back and stayed 2 days on Cape Breton, Nova-Scotia. Drove from there to Prince Edward Island, after 5 days on the island we got back to New-Brunswick's Fundy Bay area. All the way back to Montreal via Grand Falls, NB and Ile d'Orleans ,Quebec. We took the train to Toronto, and there we boarded the plane back home, to hot Israel. 

My travel log: The oldest city market in North America

Hello all, after five adventurous weeks travelling in East Canada, I'm back. I have so many photos and I've seen, heard, ate and done so much that I'm still overwhelmed. Not to mention the jetlag that made me feel like my head is full of maple syrup. At first I didn't know where to begin. I have so much to tell about so many things: gluten-free travelling, eating and travelling abroad with kids, Atlantic Canada cuisine, and so much more. The past week I sat in front of the computer staring at the photos we took and couldn't write a single word. So I decided I'll just start somewhere, and I chose to start with the day we spent at the city market of Saint John, New Brunswick. In the following weeks I'll add more posts to my Canada Travel Log from time to time.

Truth be told, I didn't consider a stop at the city of Saint John, we planned to hike around the Fundy Bay area and then drive back all the way to Quebec City. But after reading in my Canada guide book about St. John's city market, I changed my mind. Saint John is situated at the mouth of the St. John River on the Fundy Bay and it is the largest city in the Province of New Brunswick. Arriving the city from the Fundy Bay National Park region, we were greeted by a beautiful, warm sunny day which was quite refreshing after three days of fog and rain. We got to the market just before lunch time and it was already very crowded. The atmosphere was very lively and vibrant and although the market space is relatively small; it is packed with everything you can think of: from fresh produce to Chinese grocery, from ham sandwiches to lobsters, I found it quite charming. I bought cherry, scallions and a pair of silver earing made by a local artist. There is great emphasis on locally grown products.

The Saint John City Market is the oldest continuing farmer's market in Canada, with a charter dating from 1785 and it was completed in 1876. The current market building has a unique roof structure that resembles an inverted ship's keel. According to Wikipedia some of the businesses in the market have been operating continuously there for more than 100 years. The market was designated a National Historic Site of Canada 25 years ago.

Naturally sea food and fish are very prominent in the market, and among the lobsters, clams, fish and crab I found a curious plant sold as a delicacy. 

Dulse (seaweed)

Dulse is dry seaweed, a red alga actually named Palmaria palmate, and it is a good source of minerals and vitamins compared with other vegetables since it contains all trace elements. Dulse is commonly used in Ireland, Iceland, Atlantic Canada and the Northeast United States both as food and medicine. It is also used in cooking because its properties are similar to those of a flavour-enhancer such as MSG. Fresh dulse can be eaten directly off the rocks before sun-drying. Sun-dried dulse is eaten as is or is ground to flakes or a powder. It can also be pan fried quickly into chips, baked in the oven or simply microwaved briefly. I've stumbled upon this site,http://www.theseaweedman.com/recipes/dulse if you're in the area and got some dulse. Unfortunately we didn't buy any, so I can't attest to the taste and quality of dulse. It doesn't look very inviting. Maybe next time.

We decided to join the crowd and have our lunch at the market. Simple yet very tasty fish and chips and a salmon sandwich ended our lovely time at the market. The kids satisfied their sweet tooth with maple toffee lollipops and we were back on the road. Driving  300km to Grand Falls, NB but that is another story that will be told some other time.

Our Canada voyage in short: Landing in Montreal and spending a few days exploring the city, from there driving to the Mauricie National Park and further to Quebec City; a 1000km drive with only one stop on the way brought us to North Sydney where we took the ferry to Newfoundland. After 10 days we took the ferry back and stayed 2 days on Cape Breton, Nova-Scotia. Drove from there to Prince Edward Island, after 5 days on the island we got back to New-Brunswick's Fundy Bay area. All the way back to Montreal via Grand Falls, NB and Ile d'Orleans ,Quebec. We took the train to Toronto, and there we boarded the plane back home, to hot Israel.