Posts by Rick Juliusson
Ugly-Yummy-Real – Camino Days 14-15 (Burgos)
This 2-day walk from Belorado to Burgos is one of great contrasts – in landscape, emotions, history, geography. We leave yesterday’s windy open hillsides and plunge uphill into beautiful forest land. So many branches and trees down, thankfully no-one was hurt in yesterday’s gale force winds. In hindsight, we maybe should have taken a safety/rest…
Read MoreAgainst the Wind – Camino Day 13
Today’s test was wind. Constant 35-50+ mph headwinds had us bent over, pushing hard on poles, and sometimes doing a quick about-face to withstand the strongest gusts. It never let up for more than a few seconds for an entire 6 hours of trekking, sometimes pushing us a few feet to the side, making us…
Read MoreBright Lights, Big City – Camino Days 8-11
Slipping out of a 12-bunk-bed dorm room at 6am without a light is a fine art, but with minimal rustling we can be on the road under the stars for an hour before the gentle blue awakening in the east behind us starts to chase the stars away. Slowly the shaggy world shakes itself from…
Read MoreCastles in the Sky – Camino Day 7 (Villamajor)
The new ankle brace and effective cream have me feeling positive and strong as we leave town through the medieval “Saint Nicholas Gate.” To be safe, Sarah’s made me agree to just a 10km walk today, and to send my big backpack ahead with the “donkey” transport company that shuffles packs between hostels for just…
Read MoreLet’s Get Physical – Camino Days 2-6
“What are you, a mountain goat?” asks Shelley as I bound ahead up the rocky slope to capture a picture of our fellow pilgrims on one of the steepest and most dangerous part of the pass over the Pyrenees Mountains. Not sure if she’s impressed or exasperated, I answer honestly “This is PLAY!” The first…
Read MoreStarting a Family – Camino Day 1
A professional trumpeter, a Catholic marriage counselor and a physiotherapist start hiking and get lost at the first intersection… It’s not the beginning of a joke; it’s the beginning of our five-week adventure hiking the Camino Francés to Santiago (Spain). Martin Sheen’s movie “The Way” promised us a quick quirky family, each with a burden…
Read MoreAtlas Obscura – The best travel hack for Bordeaux and everywhere
Finding good wine, visiting the impressive National Theater and a few of the 362 historic monuments, walking the vibrant old streets, and putting together a fresh local charcuterie tray for my wife’s breakfast are all easy and obvious things to do in Bordeaux. But to find the odd, quirky surprises, I turned as always to…
Read MoreNice! (France, that is)
When you get invited to Diana Ross’ 170th birthday party in a swanky boutique hotel overlooking the French Riviera, the only possible answer is Yes! My mother Diana turned 80, and her foxy beau Ross turned 90, so they brought us, my brother and Ross’ granddaughter to Nice for a week of luxury, food, a…
Read MoreGenoa Italy and Movie Sites
When Galen found out we were in Genoa Italy, he insisted we visit “the multi-coloured fishing village” but didn’t say why. It wasn’t until we arrived that we immediately recognized it as the beautiful setting for the animated film Luca (fish boy grows legs, rides bike, defeats the town bully…) On the earlier bike ride…
Read MoreRome in a Day
If you were raised in North America in the 70’s, you might remember eagerly plunging your dirty hands down to the bottom of the Kellogg’s cereal boxes to pull out the “Seven Wonders of the World” cards. Tony the Tiger at the Taj Majal or Egyptian pyramids, the Fruit Loops bird nosing a Greek acropolis…
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