Hale Chronicle - a tale of two Hales

Looking back at 2009

Sadly, we have neglected the Hale Chronicle for the last few months. Hopefully we can correct that starting with this post. When January 1 came around on the calendar, we got the urge to look back at the year before, so here goes!

The Hales had a big year in 2009; it was adventurous to say the least! 2008 had us feeling a bit restless, and we felt the need for a “shake up” of sorts. We dreamt big, and decided to sell our home, leaving our “stuff” behind so we could travel the world indefinitely. However, our dream quickly deflated along with the Calgary housing market, so we refocussed on work and “real life”. Later in the year we did get an offer on the house, and decided that downsizing was still a good idea; we could be debt free (except for the mortgage), and actually have some cash in hand – woohoo! After the move and some personal disappointments, we got the travel bug again and decided to forget about the bank account and take an abridged version of our trip around the world. We’re so glad we did it!

We were lucky enough to visit 14 different countries on our trip. Hopefully we’ll be lucky enough to return to our favorites some day down the road. Ireland, France and the UK were some of our favorites, and definitely Italy. In Italy we volunteered for two weeks in an attempt to offset some of the massive carbon footprint we made with the numerous flights on our trip.

Mid way through our trip, Jason was presented an amazing opportunity to work in Costa Rica. We didn’t have to think about this too long; what an awesome way to get ahead in his career, and for us to see more of the world! Along with the excitement of this move, we had some more exciting news; our family was about to get bigger! The best part of 2009 was the arrival of our little tico Braden.

And here we are now, in this always beautiful, sometimes frustrating country. We’re learning to live the Pura Vida lifestyle, and hoping to have an even better year in 2010. Best wishes to all of our friends and family for good health and happiness in 2010!

Less Siesta, more blog!

Hello everybody, sorry it has been a while since the last blog post. Steph, don’t knock siestas-I strongly believe we should adopt this custom in Canada! Also,  for the past couple of weeks we have been on tour with Contiki, seeing some highlights of Europe at a faster pace than we were used to at the beginning of our trip. Being on a tour with a set itinerary has been great, but we are definitely ready to relax a bit starting in France tomorrow. 

First things first – Many thanks to Pam and Chris! Wow, it has already been 19 days since our stay with you, but we still remember our visit to Manchester like it was yesterday. We had our first crumpets (I still laugh when I say the word) and true fish and chips – mushy peas included! Thank you for showing  us your beautiful city and having us to stay at your flat. It was awesome to hang out with you both. You really gave us the true Manchester experience! 

Next, thank you to Scott and Shanny for a great evening in Amsterdam. It was great to see you and check out your new place – awesome bathroom!  Also, thanks for bringing us to Albert Heijn to load up on goodies for the next day on the bus – stroep (spelling?) waffles are the best! Please send more stroep waffles!!

Now to catch everybody up, here are some observations/highlights of each city we have visited with Contiki:

London – Two days is not enough to find the perfect handbag, let alone explore all the sites in this city! There is just so much – So much to see, eat, shop, explore and do! British National Museum is awesome!

Amsterdam – A lot more to offer than just “window” shopping. There are also coffee shops everywhere for the “coffee” lover, and stroep waffles – yummy! Why can you only find these delicious treats in the Netherlands?  If we had only known, we would have loaded up!

Mmm, Stroep Waffle

Berlin – Cold would be a good way to describe this city. With remnants of the cold war and Nazi Germany, it was an interesting stop on our trip. We were reminded of the troubled history on an informative walking tour, and felt very fortunate to have grown up in Canada.

Dresden – A beautiful city in Eastern Germany that was completely destroyed by bombing in WWII. It has been rebuilt over the last 20 years, and was a lovely city to take an afternoon stroll through. 

Prague – The “City of a Thousand Spires”. Another picturesque city. We had no idea what the cost of anything was, as the currency used is the Czech Crown (two coffees cost 190 CR). *Note: The Czech version of “Jason” is surprisingly, “Tiss”. Or maybe there was something lost in translation? 

Barista: “What is your name?” 

Jason: “Jason” 

Barista: “Tiss?” 

Jason: “No, Jason”. 

Barista: “Oh, Tiss – you must be Swiss”.  

Dacau – It was very surreal to walk through the bunkers of Germany’s first concentration camp. At one point, 60,000 people were held in this camp. Again, we were reminded of how lucky we are to be Canadian, and how important it is to remember the past. 

Munich – Home to Hofbrahaus, the largest beer hall in the world. Where the pork knuckle is tasty, the pretzels salty and the beer plentiful. The true way to drink beer is out of a stein! *Tip – Ladies, beware of cute old men that look like Santa and are dressed in liederhosen. They may be kind of pervy. 

Venice – Incomparable. Our day flew by while we explored the narrow streets and canals of one of the most beautiful cities in the world. It was fun to people watch and see all the people pass by in their elaborate Carneval costumes. 

Rome – Jason was like a kid in a candy store – sooo excited, and he just couldn’t hide it! The highlights of the day were exploring the Roman Forum, Colosseum, and Vatican City. We also visited the crypt of the Capuchin monks. This tiny crypt is decorated in a unique way; wall art and even chandeliers are all created out of the bones of the Capuchin monks – creepy!

Us in the Colosseum

Pisa – A quick stop to see the famous leaning tower of Pisa, and to take some cheesy pictures. Also the highest concentration of counterfeit watch and handbag salesmen we have ever seen. *Tip – The salesmen do not seem to understand the word “No”, but make a ridiculously low offer, and they will leave you alone. 

Florence – Home of the Renaissance, this city is heaven for art lovers. Our favorite was of course, Michaelangelo’s David – “WOW”, nuff said. 

Lucerne – Our current location. We happen to be here on “Fat Tuesday”, the final day of Carneval. The city is filled with people dressed up in costumes, and there are bands playing everywhere, setting a very festive mood. Think Halloween meets Stampede – yeehaw!

And now, we are caught up! We’re off to Paris tomorrow, and after spending a few days there we will be traveling to Spain, and then home! See you all soon!

Also, there is a new development brewing in Hale land (some of you already know), and we will make an official announcement soon.  Don’t get too excited, it has nothing to do with babies!!!!

Ciao!

The Micra’s Maiden Voyage – “Watch how tight this thing turns!”

Jason and I were feeling a little bit iffy about taking on the driver and navigator roles while in Europe. Although I am writing from the safety of our intended destination, I must say I am thankful Ireland will be the only country we take the challenge up in. 

We planned to depart from Dublin at 9:30 am, after a short 1.4 km walk from our hotel to the Budget car rental office. We did not anticipate the delay caused by strapping 30 and 20 pounds to our backs for an uphill walk. After we finally arrived at the car rental office, we were off (at 10:30 am)! 

My job as navigator was simplified by the GPS graciously lent to us preloaded with European maps. Thanks Justin – your personally recorded voice instructions are a nice touch! Once Jason made it out of the parking lot in the surprisingly spacious Nissan Micra we rented, I hopped in and we headed out of the city with only one wrong turn. Newgrange here we come! 

Yes, the previous bit of information (Newgrange here we come) would have been quite helpful during the first part of our trip. Little did I know, Jason had programmed the GPS with the destination being “some village that is supposed to be close to where we are going.” I discovered this fact after the wrinkles on Jason’s forehead grew increasingly pronounced. “Why aren’t you listening to the GPS lady,” I ask. “Well, the destination in the GPS is not exactly where we are going, and I think we were supposed to turn at one of those signs back there.”  Me: “Why would you program the GPS with the wrong destination!?! — Pull over!” After we find a place to pull over on the tiny two lane highway and reprogram the GPS with the correct destination, we are once again ready to go. Newgrange here we come!

So, GPS lady now insists that we must turn back the way we came in order to get to Newgrange. Should be simple, right? The only concern is the tiny *tiny* highway,  maybe also the cars whizzing by in both directions, okay maybe also that we are stopped around a ’somewhat’ concealed bend in the road. Not a problem. Jason seems to have caught on to this European driving thing no problem. “Watch how tight this thing turns!” I’m excited to be getting on our way once again, and so glad my hubby has experience driving a standard transmission car – I definitely wouldn’t be able to do it! We move forward and screech to a stop 10 feet ahead. “What’s that burning smell?” Angry muttering ensues on the driver’s side. “Just the clutch, no big deal.” Okay, just the clutch. That doesn’t sound important. So we try again. I watch on the left, Jason on the right for the perfect moment when there are no vehicles approaching on either side. We’re off! Okay, so we’ve lurched forward, and we’re sitting perpendicular to the road now. No problem…we’re only blocking both lanes of traffic. “Reverse, where’s reverse?!?!” Right, reverse. There we go! Now forwards. Oh, now reverse again…oh crap, there must be cars coming…oh good – we’re going forwards again. And we’re off! I feel a renewed sense of optimism as the funny burning smell dissipates behind us. **Jason’s version of events may differ slightly**

Overall, our drive through Ireland was exactly how I envisioned. Sheep decorate the Irish country-side like the cattle of Alberta’s prairies. Baaa!! After the morning’s driving adventure, we enjoyed an informative tour through Bru na Boinne World Heritage Site in Newgrange, a lovely stroll through Loughbrickland (where Jason’s Great-grandfather was from), and made good time to our small, but clean and comfortable hotel room in Antrim.