Halifax was a lovely, short transition back to Canada — where I could use my own phone, I didn’t have to covert currencies in my head, and I could speak in English without hesitation. But it was my first time in Halifax so everything was new to explore. I spent all my time at the harbour, taking pictures, touring the CSS Acadia, the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic and having a relaxing afternoon before returning to Toronto. I also had a fantastic batch of fish and hand-cut chips, the kind that’s so flavourful I laid off the tartar sauce this time (I have this thing for tartar sauce, which is strange because I’m not really into ketchup and don’t use soy sauce or wasabi on my sushi).

More Halifax photos here.

Technorati tags: Halifax, harbour, Maritime Museum of the Atlantic

Kermit stops to kiss the ground. We’re home!

The aborted landing was in Toronto and wasn’t explained until after we were back in the pattern. I don’t think we were much more than 500 ft above the runway (if that) when suddenly we went full throttle and made a power ascent. Everyone became very, very quiet. You could hear the worry. I wondered if it was our plane (a very new Embraer 190) or an order from Air Traffic Control. It was later explained that there wasn’t enough space between us and the next plane to land safely, so a quick decision was made to abort.

Whew.

Now that I’m home, I was half-hoping some Icelandic elf had stowed away in my luggage to whip my place into shape, but alas, it still looks exactly the same as I left it: an indoor yard sale!

I’m going to have to do some post-processing for these photos after I get home.

I was pretty excited over the shots of Vatnajökull glacier in Iceland, but I was even more thrilled to capture a bit of Greenland from the air! I was eating dinner on the Icelandair flight from Keflavik when I looked down and spotted bits of ice and snow-covered mountains! I quickly grabbed my camera and took some snaps, trying not to overturn my tray of food

This is why I *always* take the window seat:

Mark: the larger-resolution URLS are here and here. I can send you the other Greenland pic URLS in larger res if you send me your email address.

Technorati tags: Greenland, aerials

I’m feeling pretty good here in Halifax after a good night’s sleep, downloading photos in the lobby at the Westin Nova Scotia with a latte and a bagel. (Ah, simple pleasures.) I’m going to check out of the hostel in about an hour and leave my stuff there while I explore the harbour and area for the day before my flight tonight back to Toronto.

If there’s anyone who happens to be reading this and lives in Halifax (hint hint), has some recommended sightseeing or would just like to meet up, send an email to gailatlarge [at] gmail [dot] com with your phone number or suggestion. I can read email on my mobile phone (in North America). My flight from Halifax to Toronto doesn’t leave until 9:30, so I have practically the whole day to wander the city. After the hustle and bustle of Paris, I’m looking forward to some peaceful oceanside.

I’m at Keflavik Airport, waiting for my Halifax flight to board. I always take the window seat, and sometimes it pays off: I nabbed some great aerial shots of Vatnajökull — the largest glacier in Europe — on the east side of Iceland during the flight from Paris. It’s a beautiful clear day and the visibility is incredible, but ARGH!

I packed both USB cables in the checked baggage!! I never do stuff like that, there’s always one with me. Except right now. Oh well.

The staircase at our hotel

After a leisurely breakfast, Berit and Justi set off shopping and Iris and I — who weren’t particularly interested in retail items — headed to the Museum of Modern Art. The weather was off and on, so we spent the sunny hours outdoors and ducked inside places when the clouds rolled in. We all met up later for a late lunch at a brasserie and walked our feet off for the rest of the day, stopping only for my personal request — Berthillon ice cream on Île Saint-Louis — and a very late dinner near Le Quai de la Gare.

I’m going to make a separate food post later because (of course) I took photos but I need more time to write about the gustatory delights of our meals the last couple of days. Meantime, some random photos from today:

I got a big surprise this morning when I arrived at the hotel where my friend Berit had made a booking for tonight and tomorrow night. First of all, the front desk couldn’t match our names to any reservation. Turned out to be a (particularly awful) spelling error, but Berit and Company were able to check in. They were also nearby having some refreshments while waiting for me to show up. The only reason I discovered this is because I spotted a message behind the desk with my name on it. It eventually got straightened out, but the room was still being cleaned so I left my bag there and left to meet the others.

When the hotel front desk staff told me there were three others checked in — not two that I’d insisted upon — I thought that was a mistake as well. But they turned out to be right: our friend Iris flew in from Hamburg, too, seven months pregnant!

Happy Birthday to me! What a great way to celebrate: on holiday with friends. We settled into our “family room” and set our sights for an afternoon in the Bois de Boulogne, a massive recreational area on the west side of Paris. Four-year old Justi had a ball at Jardin d’Acclimatation (the kids’ park), and we hired some bicycles and a trailer to tour around.

I sound like a broken record, but I haven’t finished uploading today’s pics. Here’s what’s available now with the Bois de Boulogne tag, more photos later…

The streets were teeming with people tonight, and I still don’t know what the occasion is. I’ll go digging for that later…

… are what made me thankful I bought a DSLR before I went to Iceland:

Technorati tags: Tjörnin, Reykjavik, Iceland, seagull