Food & Travel
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An Autumn Tour of Champagne
The late September day dawned cool and overcast. However, that did not dampen the excitement my friend and I were feeling for our upcoming adventure: an autumn tour of Champagne. We met our guide at a nearby Parisian hotel and settled in for a pleasant ride to northeastern France. In less than two hours, we arrived in Reims, the heart of the Champagne region. Here, we took a few minutes to visit the Gothic Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Reims. With it’s twin, square towers and stunning, rose windows, I couldn’t help but notice the similarities to Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris. I also found the expressions on some of the façade sculptures…
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A Row Through Paris: La Traversée de Paris en Aviron
It was a cool, clear September morning as over a thousand rowers slipped their rowing sculls into the Seine on the edge of Paris. The full moon reflected off the water as the rowers took their seats in the boats and waited patiently in the darkness. At exactly 7:00 AM, the horn sounded and the oars of 220 sculls began to churn the water. Overhead, on the Pont de Sèvres, fireworks heralded the start of our 28 kilometre journey, la Traversée de Paris et des Hauts-de-Seine, a row through Paris. The Crew Convenes My Toronto crew and I had begun our tour experience the day before, convening at le MiniPalais…
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La Sagrada Família – Gaudí’s Wondrous Masterpiece – Part 2
Having completed my tour of the Nativity façade and interior la Sagrada Família, as you can explore in Part 1, I exited this holy structure via the Passion façade. And before even stepping foot outside, it was obvious that I was in for yet another shift in design aesthetic. The Passion Façade For, where the bronze doors of the Nativity façade were covered in leafy vines of ivy and rose, these were filled with hard, blocked letters telling the story of the death of Christ. And a glimpse outside revealed a much more contemporary style of statuary. For there in front of me, stood a stylized carving of the whip-scarred…
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La Sagrada Família – Gaudí’s Wondrous Masterpiece – Part 1
Towering over the skyline of Barcelona, stands the wondrous la Sagrada Família. This singular, yet unfinished, edifice is the crowning achievement of Modernista architect, Antoni Gaudí. And I was fortunate enough to visit it after finishing an amazing rowing tour down Spain’s Ebro river. I approached from the east, having made my way down the street from exploring Hopital de Sant Pau: The Other Modernista Wonder of Barcelona. Upon arriving, I was met by the elaborately decorated Nativity Façade. The Nativity Façade Gaudí’s dream for the Basilica de la Sagrada Família was to recreate the Bible story of the life of Christ in stone. Thus, he began with the Nativity.…
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A Cathedral of Wine: El Pinell de Brai
My rowing tour of Spain’s Ebro river had just arrived in the picturesque village of Miravet. And the cohort I was with had taken a few minutes to settle into the fantastical Palau de Miravet, the guest house that would be our amazing abode for the next two nights. But we had no time to waste. For we were expected for a winery tour in nearby El Pinell de Brai. So we quickly hopped in our vehicles and made our way there. Little did I realize that we would be visiting a veritable Cathedral of Wine. A Modernista Wonder But that became abundantly clear upon arriving at our destination. So…
