montreal-02
type: Article
content: Nine empty beds, one with me in. The fluorescent light that works is clicking rapidly. Muffled lively conversation from elsewhere in the hostel. Resting my legs. I started the day (after toast and hostel-chat) with an 8.9 mile run. Some walking. It was hot all day, I'm a bit red. I traversed the ports and almost started along the bridge to Ile Sainte-Helene before turning back; over two hours. I saw great abandoned buildings, grain silos, old and modern port industry. A boat spa with a tranquil pool, hidden away; Habitat 67; and plenty of green. As if that wasn't enough, I walked up Mont Royal, then rested by the lake for a while. Hot sun and piles of snow, tam-tams, jugglers, acrobats and hippies everywhere. Walked further, all around the city, over 12 more miles in total. I ate: coconut bubble tea from a bakery in Chinatown; shiitake teriyaki with cheese sandwich from Copper Branch; chocolate mousse from Crudessence; pizza sans fromage with wholewheat base, spinach, olives, artichokes, from Il Focolaio. The pizza was great, reminded me of Rigatoni's in Edinburgh. And they clocked vegan straight away, and even have a tofu pepperoni option.
name: Montreal 02
published: 2016-04-17T20:50:55-04:00
tag: canada
tag: food
tag: montreal
tag: travel
tag: vegan
tag: walking

montreal-03
type: Article
content: Trapped in La Banquise. Weighed down by the poutine in my belly. The air outside is cold and wet, but people in here are warm and in the process of making the same mistake I just did. Or are they? I ate half a large Rachel and half a large Mexicania, but now I'm noticing other diners are sharing one large between two, or eating a small each. Why didn't the waiter warn us? Substituting vegan cheese and vegan gravy was a steep $5.50 extra, but worth it. Comfort food and-a-half, and almost makes the rainy day worthwhile. The Rachel was topped with onions, mushrooms and green peppers; the Mexicania with tomatoes, olives and chilli peppers. This morning I walked to and around Ile Sainte Helene and Ile Notre Dame. The Biodome was closed (everything is closed on Mondays) but there were outside galleries and scuplture and greenery to see. Ile Notre Dame has the Olympic basin, and Formula One track to wander around. We found ourselves in the Casino, surrounded by old people and slot machines and extravagance. Warmed up there, before heading back into the rain to catch the metro back to the city, to warm safe poutine. Later: coffee in Cafe Gonzo; more walking in the rain; hearty, homely, friendly, dubiously-vegan Taiwanese food from Le Roi du Wonton. A walk through the underground shopping malls and a couple of hours listening to a traditional music jam in teeny tiny L'Escalier (which has lots of vegan food, though I didn't try it). Overnight bus back to Boston.
name: Montreal 03
published: 2016-04-18T23:50:55-04:00
tag: canada
tag: food
tag: montreal
tag: travel
tag: vegan
tag: walking

many-big-trees
type: Article
content: Deflating in beautiful Hidden Peak teashop. No photos, because no electronics allowed! I'm sinking into a soft, velvety plum red chair with dark wooden arms. The decor is tea paraphenelia, Asian rugs, paneling and wood carving. I can't place the music; it has a Middle Eastern Lint and is chanty. In the front of the shop are tea hardware and decor for sale as well as shelves of books. Lamps and dragons. The seating ranges from wooden chairs and stools to squishy (yet still elegant) armchairs and couches. The lighting is soft with a burgundy ambiance from the walls and dark wood flooring and furniture. I'm sipping Dama, a Yunnan, and couldn't resist picking one of their four raw vegan desserts (an orange, cardamom cup with cashew cream). They have $400+ (per serving) pu-erhs on the menu, which made me smile. They're very serious about tea here. As anyone should be. I came across this place by accident as I wandered through town looking for a place to sit, and it's perfect. There seems to be a guy here who has brought his tea-novice friends for a pu-erh tasting. That's a test of a friendship. I'm unwinding and sinking and stretching because I walked about 15 miles today. I'm glad I managed to drag myself out of bed for the 0830 35A to Big Basin. I followed this guide and started out on the Sunset Trail, through forests of giant Redwoods. I deviated by accident to Timm's Creek and doubled back to see Silver Falls and Golden Falls after Berry Creek Falls. Despite this, I remained between one and two hours ahead of schedule according to the times given in the guide. I also detoured (deliberately this time) to Sunset Camp; the guide said not to bother but the trail up was very pretty. A change in foliage, footing and lighting from the forest. The stretch that followed Waddell Creek was long and samey. But the guide hadn't prepared me for the stretch around a precarious edge of a mountain with a beautiful view of Waddell Beach. Seeing the destination made the last few miles…
name: Many big trees (Santa Cruz 03)
published: 2016-05-14T20:40:01-07:00
tag: beach
tag: big+basin
tag: ca2016
tag: hidden+peak
tag: redwoods
tag: santa+cruz
tag: tea
tag: travel
tag: usa
tag: vegan
tag: walking

santa-cruz-01
type: Article
content: I'm in Linda's Seabreeze Cafe in Santa Cruz. Feels like it's full of locals. Coffee is nice, in a large mug. Staff are friendly, reporting back from time to time as they discover things in their kitchen which are vegan. They have a few things on the menu, but only big meals, so I enquired after smaller things. I'm not hungry anyway, I only wanted coffee. The sun came out since I've been in here. It was grey when I walked. I'll finish my coffee, then continue walking to Twin Lakes. Oh that might be a while, I just got an impromptu refill. Santa Cruz so far feels pleasant and friendly. The Boardwalk is tacky... fairground rides, candyfloss, toffee apples... but somehow still charming. I walked around as the sun was setting last night and everywhere felt quiet and calm. Until I made it to the end of the wharf, which, underneath, is populated by noisy sealions. They bark and snort and sneeze and groan. I found a spot that was lit well enough to see a heap of them and watched them sleeping in piles, climbing over each other, awkwardly hauling themselves in and out of the water and over and around their buddies. I'm staying in an AirBnB, an adorable trailer in someone's backyard. It's tiny, only has a bed and some shelving inside. The bathroom is across the yard. A tiny space to myself in a quiet town is exactly what I need for a few days post-conference. I might go on the cablecars (Sky Glider) on the Boardwalk later. And maybe swim in the sea. Tomorrow I'm thinking about hiking in Big Basin all day. I need to look out for somewhere I can pick up lunch to take so I'm not eating week old bagels all day.
name: Santa Cruz 01
published: 2016-05-13T13:05:30-07:00
tag: airbnb
tag: beach
tag: ca2016
tag: cruz
tag: santa
tag: travel
tag: usa
tag: vegan
tag: walking

santa-cruz-02
type: Article
content: Following my stay in Linda's Seabreeze Cafe, I accidentally walked ten miles. Around beaches, through parks, to Twin Lakes and along traintracks back to the Boardwalk; entertaining an idea of going on the Sky Gliders, but they were closed. I also entertained the idea of a toffeeapple (available in great and exciting variety) as I wandered through the evening buzz of the funfair. I resisted. $7 pricing helped. I did google taffy to see if it's vegan though (unlikely, butter). Having neglected to eat I stumbled with relief into Saturn Cafe and downed a BBQ ranch not-chicken burger and fries. I also got a berry apple pie with mint chip ice cream but suddenly the burger caught up with me and only managed a bite of pie. Food was average veggie-diner style, prices higher than average. They had a wide choice though, so it's possible I just happened to pick a particularly uninspiring sandwich. Absolutely stuffed, I stumbled back to the trailer with vague intentions of heading out to Wholefoods for lunch supplies for the next day (so I wouldn't have to eat only old bagels). Instead I napped, woke back up just long enough to watch Perfect Sense on my laptop, then went back to sleep. My hands and forearms and face are tanned, my shoulders glowing red.
name: Santa Cruz 02
published: 2016-05-14T11:58:30-07:00
tag: beach
tag: ca2016
tag: cruz
tag: santa
tag: travel
tag: usa
tag: vegan
tag: walking

discovering-trieste
type: Article
content: I spent the first few days wandering around the center of Trieste, and easily stumbled upon all of the Piazzi (I'm going to assume this is the plural of Piazza without looking it up), piers, statues and Roman ruins that todo-in-trieste guides tell you to see. The core of Trieste is small and compact, as well as alive and beautiful, day and night. The town is set into the base - and creeping up the side - of hills which turn to mountains. From any perspective the backdrop is stunning. Green mountains dotted with orange rooftops in one direction, and the bright blue Adriatic Sea in the other. More photos from wanderings here and here. You probably know you can't confine me to a new town's core for very long though. Yesterday we took the 42 bus to Grotto Gigante, a giant cave about a 30 minute ride up and over some hills out of Trieste. Well worth the 9 EUR entrance fee (for student; 12 for 'adult'), this enormous chasm is one of the largest publicly accessible caves in Europe. Guided tours are hourly, and we learnt about the history of the cave's discovery and usage, the growth of the stalagmites and stalagtites, and the scientific research that goes on down there. Our tourgroup was occupied by an enormous pack of schoolkids, but the guide did a great job at distracting them so we (the handful of non-Italian speakers) could take undisturbed photos, and keeping them quiet whilst she recapped the information in English. The cave really is enormous, and the rock formations are really cool. It took about an hour to tour through it. The temperature inside is a cool 11 degrees C, and damp. The tickets included a 10% discount at the nearest restaurant, but the staff there were surly and none of the food looked good. There was nowhere to buy a bus ticket around the Grotto Gigante, so I figured we could walk along the bus route a bit and somewhere would surely pop up in one of the villages. Bus tickets here are bought before boarding, from corner shops or (less available) tick…
name: Discovering Trieste
published: 2017-05-24T18:00:00+02:00
tag: castle
tag: cave
tag: italy
tag: travel
tag: trieste
tag: walking

to-hel-and-back
type: Article
content: The Hel Peninusula is a narrow strip of land poking out over the north of Poland, in the Baltic Sea. Yesterday I took a one hour ferry there from Gdynia, walked 20 miles along it, then took a one hour train back. It was exhausting, and beautiful. The ferry from Gdynia runs from May to September, and is 40PLN (~10EUR). There's one guaranteed to run in each direction, and two which run if there are enough people demanding it. I went at 10am, and it takes about an hour. The port is about a 15 minute walk from Gdynia main station, in a straight line. I bought my ticket from the office on the port (they're also available online) about half an hour before departure. There were only a handful of other people on board. Hel itself is the biggest town, on the end of the strip. It is surrounded on all sides by beaches, and backed by woods with many remnants of the World Wars, like bunkers and shelters. I didn't stick around in the town for very long after disembarking the ferry, but plunged into the woods to cross to the less inhabited beaches on the northern side. For a while I followed the beach. It was windy, mini sandstorms peppered my ankles; the waves crashed to my right and there was no-one. Miles and miles of soft white sand, stretching out in both directions. It really felt like paradise. The beach is separated from the woods by banks of sand dunes of various sizes. It was much more sheltered and warm to walk through here, but the dunes were deep and soft; ploughing through took more energy. I wandered between beach, dunes and woods. The trees were far enough apart that an absence of well defined trails didn't matter. Pale green-blue moss on the ground was deliciously crunchy underfoot. Sometimes the woods would open into wide patches of dunes, pure and white and sweeping, completely undisturbed by other footprints. Periodically I came across a bunker or a rusty watch tower, half-buried in the sand or overgrown by trees. I had planned to walk from Hel to Cha&#0322upy,…
name: To Hel and back
published: 2018-05-19T14:50:00+02:00
tag: travel
tag: walking
tag: poland

week-in-review-3
type: Article
content: Walked the Gdynia coastline. A 20 mile walk on Hel Peninsula. Generally went to the beach a lot. Had a reasonably productive work week I think? Went to a bunch of museums during the Long Night of Museums.
name: Week in review: 14 - 20 May
published: 2018-05-20T23:59:59+02:00
tag: walking
tag: tourism
tag: week+in+review

walk-st-andrews
type: Article
content: Day 1: Dysart to Dumbarnie Links We covered about 19 miles on the first day. Dysart to Leven is familiar territory; we powered along in record time. When we stopped for a break under the bridge between Buckhaven and Leven, we found a surprisingly good agate in the riverbed. I lost Max's ball, and hit my head on the bridge. At Lundin Links we spent more time looking for agates (and found a couple). We camped at Dumbarnie Links, among the dunes. Tired and achey after the longest walk in a while. It was plenty warm enough, but I slept terribly. All photos from Dysart to Dumbarnie Links. Day 2: Dumbarnie Links to Anstruther In the morning, we took it easy. Walked out to a little island that was accessible with the tide out. It was beautiful, with wildflowers and rocks and soft grass. Someone had planted an orange flag on a cairn at the end. We sat on the grass, in the sun, and threw the ball for Max. We headed off towards Elie. We couldn't do the whole Chain Walk with the backpacks and Max, but I scrambled about half of it before we turned back. The next stop was a hidden concrete bunker hideout. It smelled of wee, but the views were amazing. Next stop: Elie. We got great chips for lunch (Lincolnshire potatoes), and spent ages searching for rubies (garnet) at Elie Ruby Bay. I had a nap in the sun. We found lots of not-rubies, then gave them all away. It rained on and off, and we continued on to Pittenweem. Both the chippy and bakery were closed. I got Irn Bru sorbet from the ice cream shop at the harbour, which was a regrettable choice. Boosted by sugar, we powered on to Anstruther, and had our second meal of chips. It started to rain as we came out of Cellardyke, and we pitched the tent just in time. All photos from Dumbarnie Links to Anstruther. Day 3: Anstruther to Kingsbarns It was raining torrentially in the morning. We waited it out until about noon. The rain got lighter but didn't stop, and there was no way we could dry the tent before packing it up. It wasn't fa…
generator: no-ceremonies-are-necessary
name: Walk to St Andrews
published: 2021-05-27T22:03:05+01:00
tag: pittenweem
tag: elie
tag: crail
tag: anstruther
tag: beach
tag: fife+coastal+path
tag: st+andrews
tag: fife
tag: max
tag: walking
tag: hiking
tag: life
tag: travel

walk-dundee
type: Article
content: It's the time of year again for a long hike. This time, through the middle of Fife to the north coast, then along the coastal path to the Tay bridge, and over to Dundee. I had thought if we were at the bridge with enough time and energy, we might continue round to St Andrew's from the other direction instead, but that was not to be. We had way points, but not a route plan, and figured it out as we went along. The result was less direct than it could have been. The weather was primarily great, and although my walking boots rebelled and were causing pain by the end of the first day, it was still a fab trek. Loading... Distance: mi — Duration: — Pace: /mi — Avg HR: bpm — Elevation: + ft, - ft (net: ft) The quality of the photos is atrocious; my camera is now completely out of focus on the right hand side. Day 1: Dysart to Falkland Hill I was absolutely convinced we could get to Pillars of Hercules by tea time, but after 12 and a half miles of walking we had barely even made it to the Lomond Hills. We followed Queen Mary's Road from Wemyss to Balgonie, went through Markinch and skirted around the east and north of Glenrothes via a little detour through Balbirnie Park, and stopped to fill up our water bottles at the Pitcairn Center, before heading towards the Lomond Hills and pitching camp at the corner of some woods, away from the main trail at the foot of East Lomond. This was all familiar territory, and we were perhaps overconfident in terms of ground we could cover, and did lots of unfocussed zigzagging. At some point Max picked up an empty plastic bottle and decided this is much better than a ball for fetch. See all photos from day 1. Day 2: Falkland Hill to Pitmedden Forest We walked between East and West Lomond, along the lime kiln trail, and into the back of the Falkland Estate. We finally got to Pillars of Hercules, in time for a spectacularly disappointing not-sausage sandwich. But a nice coffee, and some communing with a friendly robin. The accessible footpath…
generator: no-ceremonies-are-necessary
name: Walk to Dundee
published: 2022-05-30T21:01:36+01:00
tag: dundee
tag: camping
tag: max
tag: fife+coastal+path
tag: fife
tag: walking
tag: hiking
tag: life

week-review-27th
type: Article
content: Did some procrastawork on sloph. Had an oyster mushroom emergency. Walked from Berwick to Eyemouth. Made rose, coconut and almond cake, raspberry ruffles and chocolate muffins at Community Kitchen and mushroom tempura at home. Enjoyed the Greener Kirkcaldy volunteer social in Ravenscraig Walled Garden. Harvesting and flowering is beginning in earnest. Went to Edinburgh to dogsit Tara for a week.
generator: no-ceremonies-are-necessary
name: Week in review: 27th June - 3rd July
published: 2022-07-03T23:59:59+01:00
tag: greener+kirkcaldy
tag: gardening
tag: foraging
tag: sloph
tag: walking
tag: dogsitting
tag: hiking
tag: week+in+review
tag: food
tag: hacking
tag: life

walking
type: Collection
total items: 12

https://rhiaro.co.uk/tags/walking
type: CollectionPage
items: week-review-27th
items: walk-dundee
items: walk-st-andrews
items: week-in-review-3
items: to-hel-and-back
items: discovering-trieste
items: many-big-trees
items: santa-cruz-02
items: santa-cruz-01
items: montreal-03
items: montreal-02
name: walking
part of: walking