Lake Champlain

08.09.22 — Vermont

A fresh new day dawned in Williston, but we had some rather interesting plans which would take us out of the neighbourhood and down to the waterside in Burlington proper. Before this, though, I woke up suddenly energised, and decided I should go out for a jog.

This was a terrible idea as it turns out. I’ve not done anything like it for quite a long time (foreshadowing for an upcoming blog post), but I managed to get out and about before arriving back and collapsing into the hammock in the back garden. There, I waited for Maureen to return home, as Megan was still out working at the summer camp.

Maureen soon showed up with some treats in the form of artesanal Oreos, which were absolutely delicious and soon turned into a problem as they became my go-to sweet snack whilst staying at Megan’s parents’ place. With our biscuits eaten, we rested our weary legs in the pool and waited for Megan to arrive back home.

After Megan had a quick nap the two of us packed and headed out for the afternoon’s plans: kayaking! This is a sport that I enjoyed back when I was a Boy Scout and used to set out on the suspiciously murky canals of Lancashire, but this time we were to head into the vast expanse of Lake Champlain.

Lake Champlain is a huge body of water which separates Vermont from the state of New York, whose border is flanked by a huge and beautiful mountain range called the Adirondacks. I’d caught a glimpse of it when we’d gone down for lunch at the docks, but this time we were going to head down to the local community sailing club and hire a couple of kayaks to head out onto the water.

The journey down to the lake took us through the centre of Burlington and past some frat houses: another thing I thought only existed in American movies! We arrived, rented our equipment, and were soon cast out into the somewhat unstable waters of the lake – it wasn’t like the peaceful stillness of the Leeds & Liverpool Canal!

It was great fun to be out on the water and back in a kayak after quite a few years. I am quite confident in a kayak, but in a moment of stupidity and brazen commitment to getting some good photos I had decided to take my phone with me. This made me panic the whole time about falling in lest I lose it in the murky depths, so I started with a bit of a nervous wobble.

The cloudy skies and the uneven water created some breathtaking views.

We’d set out in the late afternoon, so the sun was already pretty low in the sky, making for some beautiful displays of light as it danced on the waves. We headed out and towards it and towards a beach in the distance, which we dragged ourselves up on to upon arrival as I was developing a rather painful stitch in my leg.

Back in the water, we continued our journey onwards, a journey frustrated somewhat by the kayaks or the undercurrent (we’ll never know what it was) which seemed intent on dragging us port side (to the left). We eventually made it to the spot which the guy had designated as the outer limit of the area we could explore, where we watched a group of friends jumping from a rock and into the lake. It was a gorgeous spot, so we stopped to chat there for a while whilst the sun broke through the clouds.

The rays from the sun and the isolated rock made for an almost ethereal scene.

We then began our journey back to the sailing club, which was now quite far away thanks to the two legs we’d already rowed. It turned out to be quite the slog of a trip back thanks to the distance, our exhaustion, and the unwelcome turbulence created by some passing boats.

We eventually made it back to the shore, where we showered and changed into our glad rags ready to spend the evening on the water once again, but this time in a rather different capacity. We drove the short distance down the lake and parked outside a place called Splash, a gorgeous floating dock restaurant with views out over the lake.

Maureen joined us out on the dock, where we nabbed one of the best tables in the house just by the water. Cocktails in hand, we chatted the evening away as we nibbled on some good food, watched the sun set behind the Adirondack Mountains, and saw the return of The Spirit of Ethan Allen, a boat which takes people out to watch the sunset from directly over the water.

After tea, Maureen headed back home while me and Megan headed to a local bar where we’d arranged to have a drink with some of her friends. The bar was about as American as they get, full of sports memorabilia and people who’d been our playing baseball! We stuck to our plan of one drink and then home as we’d both a busy agenda waiting for us the next day.

Megan headed back for her penultimate day at summer camp the next day as I had breakfast with Maureen, who then took me out to begin our day’s explorations together. She’d a trip planned for the two of us which would take us back out to Lake Champlain, but this time over terra firma rather than on the water itself. It turns out that the lake has three main islands on it, and our plan was to head out and see the most important sights from these: North Hero, South Hero, and Grand Isle.

Out trip started on the Sand Bar, a natural sandbar connecting the mainland with the first of the three islands. I took plenty of photos over the lake and we got chatting to another lady who was passing by before heading onto the island proper.

We first stopped at a little shale beach on another part of the island before then heading up to a gorgeous old hotel with views over the water which has now been transformed into an event space. We then headed to a hotel that Maureen used to work at when she was young, where we met the new owner and had a snoop around the renovated facilities.

These are called Adirondack Chairs, named after the mountains in the background.

It was then time for lunch, and Maureen had arranged for one of her friends to join us for lunch. We met up at an old petrol station which had a cute shop and sandwich bar. I bagged myself a turkey sandwich with all the trimmings, including bacon, cheese, and pickles – the Americans sure know how to do a sandwich properly!

We ate our sandwiches on the porch of the local parish hall, chatting away about Michael’s experience living between the US, the UK, and Spain, a trio of countries that I know pretty well. As we chatted, a cold and cloudy front blew in, so we eventually had to pack up shop and head back towards the mainland.

As the weather held out without raining on us, Maureen and I did decide to make a cheeky stop at a local institution, Seb’s. This pit stop on the island had a lovely gift shop, which we had a good snoop around so I could pick up some postcards, and a snack and ice cream counter. The two of us grabbed a hot fudge brownie ice cream, which was super rich and came with a cute little cherry on top. I simply had to get a photo of the two of us with out sweet treats!

In the car on the way home, Maureen showed of her skills tying the stalk of the cherry into a knot with her mouth, and I gave it a shot. Alas, I was useless, even after continuing to attempt it throughout the evening until it was time to go back out.

The evening took us back to the bar from before, but this time there was a whole different vibe going on: it was karaoke time! The rest of the bar didn’t seem too animated, so I signed Breen and myself up to be the first to sing. Naturally we had to kick things off with my go-to karaoke song, Wannabe by the Spice Girls. We then sang many songs, ate some free popcorn from the machine they had out, and had an absolute blast.

Back home, Megan threw some mozzarella sticks in the oven and I introduced her to the joys of dunking them in jam. It might sound a bit odd, but you can’t beat a good sweet and salty combination!

The next day was quite a relaxed one: I spent my time in the pool, having lunch, and then out shopping with Megan to pick up some supplies for her new place and our weekend plans – but more on that very soon. We ended the day with a Chinese meal back at Maureen and Terry’s place, which was a nice relaxed way to end a rather chilled day.

A scenic tour of Vermont, from the huge houses to the gorgeous sunsets.

I’ll leave this blog post here, as the weekend’s activities that followed deserve their own blog post – and because these posts are getting pretty long and it’s taking me forever to get them out! I can only beg you all for patience whilst I try and get them out in between my busy work calendar back here in Madrid…

Williston

29.08.22 — Vermont

Now in the United States after our weekend in Montreal, Megan and I cranked up the music and it was full speed ahead to the first place that I’d be staying: her parents’ place. They live in the sleepy suburb of Williston in the city of Burlington, the biggest city in the state of Vermont in the north-east US.

We rocked up outside their place around mid-afternoon and headed inside to a gloriously cool welcome from the air conditioning. This fiercely counterbalanced by the extremely warm welcome from Megan’s parents, Maureen and Terry, who had me in the kitchen for a couple of hours nattering away about all sorts.

Eventually I wanted to get unpacked, so I was shown to my room, a lovely space in which I was presented with a gorgeous gift in the form of a basket full of local goodies: maple syrup sweets, maple leaf decorations, and – of course – a huge jar of maple syrup to take back with me. Megan was not lying when she said that Vermont loves its maple syrup!

Once unpacked, I headed downstairs for tea (I still refuse to call the evening meal ‘dinner’). Maureen and Terry had prepared a delicious meal of meat skewers with roast vegetables, where the caramelised pineapple was really the star of the show!

I was then introduced to Megan’s friend, Breen, who’d nipped over with her dog, Libby. The three of us headed out for a walk after tea, wandering around the block whilst I eyed up all of the huge houses. It was also during this walk that I was introduced to the pressing issue around these parts: skunks. After years of only hearing about skunks in fairy tales and other children’s stories, I was briefed on how to avoid them and their dreaded foul-smelling spray.

We then stopped for a quick drink at Breen’s place, after which me and Megan pottered the short journey back home and I headed to bed for the night – it had been another day of plenty of travelling and moving around!

Another day of travelling ended with a relaxing evening in my new home for the next week.

The next day began bright and (way too) early thanks to the dreaded jet lag. I headed downstairs, had some breakfast with Terry, and waited for Megan to show up. She headed off with her dad for the closing on her new house – more on that to come – and so I stuck around with Maureen chatting the morning away.

When Megan got back, I headed out with her and Maureen for my first American excursion. This day trip first took us to Costco, a wholesale shop selling oversized versions of everything: from toilet rolls to cereals and even salads. I had a lot of fun people watching and even managed to pick myself up some new underwear, so it was quite the productive trip, even if I spent most of the time making crude observations about consumerism.

The three of us then split up, with me and Megan heading to her new place, a gorgeous condo closer to the centre of Burlington proper. She gave me a tour around, we ate some cookies, drank some coffee, and waited for a plumber to show up.

Here’s Megan with the keys to her fabulous new condo!

He came pretty late, so we wound up abandoning him to his work and heading down to a place that Megan had picked out for lunch. At this gorgeous lakeside spot we had some delicious nachos and a couple of sensuously smoky cocktails whilst sat at the bar.

The cocktails soon had their desired effect and we wound up gossiping with the girl behind the bar. I told her about what I’d seen of Burlington so far, and both her and Megan agreed that I’d to be careful what I said as everyone knows everyone in the small state of Vermont.

We had a lovely lunch down at the docks on the lake.

Lunch over, we wound our way into the centre of Burlington for my first proper look at the city. After passing through the chaos of the town square, we made our way onto Church Street, the main shopping street through the city centre. I bought myself a black cap with “Burlington, Vermont” on it as a souvenir and then a cocktail mixer from a speciality drinks shop. I tried a sip of it straight from the glass on the way back to the car – way too sweet!

Upon arriving back at Megan’s parents’ place we hopped in the pool, where Megan’s friend Malory was waiting for us alongside Maureen. We stayed in the water for probably way too long, gossiping and splashing around before we were summoned out to eat delicious pulled pork and homemade coleslaw sliders.

Fed and watered, we then gathered in the living room with a smattering more of Megan’s friends for their Monday evening ritual of watching “The Bachelorette”. This trashy reality TV programme sees a bunch of single men battling it out for dates with two single women. It was as terrible as you can imagine, but me and Breen had a good laugh throughout as we snickered away at how exaggerated everything was – until we got told off for being too noisy. The Bachelorette is serious business.

A dessert break halfway through the show allowed me to get some sugar in my body in the form of some homemade biscuits that Megan’s friends had brought, but this wasn’t enough to stop an overwhelming tiredness take over me. With the show over, I said my goodbyes and headed off to bed.

The Bachelorette was a fitting wind-down after another busy day.

Next in my series of American adventures was a trip to the high school that Megan has been working at for the past few years. She was back for a few weeks in the summer as she was working at a summer camp for students for whom English wasn’t their native language.

We rocked up early so that Megan could coordinate with the other teachers and also so that I could have a quick tour of the place. I was thrilled to discover that it was just like the movies, from the locker-lined corridors to the huge theatre, and then the American flags and individual desks in all the classrooms.

With the students seated, I was drafted in to help out with some of the day’s entertainment. I sat out such events such as musical chairs and other physical activities, but was more than happy to try my hand at cupcake decoration. I made myself a purple monster of which I was very proud, but was dismayed to hear that I’d have to wait for the end of the day to eat it.

My purple monster, Geoff, looked good and tasted bad.

Once the summer camp was over, the yellow school buses had taken the last students home, and my cupcake had been well and truly devoured, Megan and I headed back home and were tasked with taking the family dog, Ellie, out for a walk. This allowed me to snoop around the neighbourhood even more, from the lovely houses to the intense green nature that forms so much of Vermont.

Back home, we waited for Megan’s brother Scott to arrive back. Once he did, we headed out for some food together at a series of food trucks that had gathered in the parking lot of a farm shop just up the road. There I tried my first Philly cheesesteak and some disgustingly sweet fizzy pop whilst enjoying some live music provided by a local a cappella group.

We then begun the short walk back home after the group had packed up and we’d finished our food, but stopped along the way to head into a field and watch as the sun began to set. We took lots of photos, but the coolness of the air and the jet lag that was still nagging at me meant that we didn’t manage to stick it out to see the sun disappear beyond the horizon.

Some cool tractors and a bit of accidental Wes Anderson.

I had to try my new hat out and climb inside this skip.

With the entire family gathered in the living room, I then spent a while introducing them all to the joy of Eurovision, running through my favourite acts from this year’s edition. It was like being back watching it in Norway, except that everyone was quite bemused by this most European of traditions!

The next day now took us out on another adventure around a spectacular part of Burlington and Vermont in general, but this post is already quite long, so I’ll have to live that one for next time!

Montreal

25.08.22 — Montreal

Hello there, I’m back!

It’s been over a month since I last posted, but the reason is a valid one: I’ve been gallivanting around across the pond for an entire four weeks! This American adventure took me on a wild trip around Canada and the USA doing so much that I’m going to have to break my trip down into a series of what I assume will be about a dozen blog posts.

But enough with the intro, it’s time to strap in, because here goes the first one…

My journey began as I said goodbye to my two plants, saying a little prayer that the funky automatic watering device I’d put in them would keep them alive for a whole month. I headed down to the train station with my suitcase and backpack and jumped on a train to the airport, where my first couple of dramas occurred.

I was firstly interrogated by a guy in the check-in queue over how long I’d been in Spain. I panicked, thinking it was some kind of immigration issue, but it turns out that he just wanted to compliment my Spanish! The next close call came as I’d no idea what kind of batteries were in some of the stuff I’d packed in my suitcase, calling for the stereotypical rushed unpacking and repacking of my suitcase in front of the check-in desk to fish the little buggers out of there.

The rest of the journey then went without a hitch, with the added little surprise of lunch being included which even came with a glass of red wine – I’ve been flying Ryanair for many years and so I was pretty amazed that anything was included for free. The wine improved the rest of the journey no end, and I was soon in Canada for my first ever visit to the country.

It was my first time in Canada and the first time I’d been to see Megan after so many years of saying I’d visit!

Things got off to a rocky start as the arrival forms I’d prepared to enter Canada wouldn’t work, and then my flight’s suitcases took an eternity to show up in the baggage reclaim. I did manage to spot my new bright blue case as soon as it came down the slide, and so headed out in earnest to look for my guide for the first part of my American adventure: Megan!

The last time I’d seen Megan was when she visited Madrid back in 2019 along with Loredana and Heidi. The four of us met in Madrid, and I’d always said I’d go and see all three of them: I saw Heidi in 2018 and 2022, and Loredana just last year. Megan’s from Vermont in the US, so this was always going to be a slightly tricker one, but it was time to be reunited!

Megan met me in arrivals with a balloon which said “congratulations” in French (apparently there were no welcome ones), and the two of us excitedly headed off to find her car and head into Montreal proper. We found our hotel, checked into our room, and got ready for our first night out checking out the city.

We wound up stumbling across a comedy festival hosted by Just For Laughs, the Canadian prank show that I used to watch as a child – I never thought I’d come across them again! We watched on in amusement as street performers made their way up and down the street whilst we searched for somewhere to grab a drink. Once sat down, the show continued on as we tried a local beer and watched the parade of comedians go past.

We’d decided that while we were in Canada we wanted to eat some poutine, and so ordered some only to be told that the kitchen was closed due to the fire system malfunctioning and dumping foam all over everything. We thus headed across the road and to another terrace, where we were served a hearty portion of the gravy and cheese curd-covered chips.

After our very Canadian meal we headed back to the previous bar, enjoying one last half-pint and chatting to the waiter before heading back to the hotel for a relatively early night – I was pretty exhausted after the day of travels!

I had a pretty rough night’s sleep thanks to the jet lag, but the early morning meant that me and Megan could squeeze in some activities before breakfast. We’d wanted to go check out a vantage point atop a hill near the hotel, but the drive up their turned out to be in vain as the road was closed off. The two guys manning the blockade suggested we walk up, a suggestion to which me and Megan laughed in unison.

At least we got to see some pretty houses and areas along the way.

We retreated back to the hotel to make the most of the free breakfast, after which we hopped back in the car and drove down into the Old Port, one of the oldest areas of the city. We had a wander around as the clouds rolled in, stopping by at a café along the way to grab a chocolate croissant after Megan spotted that an underground bakery had some really good looking ones on offer.

At this same café we grabbed some bread that had full olives baked into it, resolving to eat it as we headed back out on the road later on. We took some photos around the area, wandered down to the water, and then grabbed the car back to the hotel to pack and check out.

Don’t be fooled by my hat, it was sweltering out.

Once back in the car, we began our journey out of Montreal and out of Canada itself: it was time to cross the border over into the US. We waved goodbye to the city that I’d been in for less than 24 hours and headed south to a remote border crossing point that Megan had decided would be less crazily busy than the main one.

It was a lovely drive, passing through small Canadian towns and past some beautiful natural scenery before arriving at the backroad border crossing, which consisted of a little white hut and a cone in the road. Despite its benign appearance, I wound up stuck there for a while whilst I got asked a lot of questions and had my details taken.

I was very relieved to eventually be released and reunited with Megan, now in the US! The rest of the journey saw us power on through a bunch of small American towns, where the Canadian red and white tricolour had been swapped out for the Stars and Stripes.

But that’ll have to be all for now: stay tuned for my next blog post, where I’ll delve into the first destination on my American adventure!

Ollie vs. Heat

08.08.22 — Madrid

Now back in Spain after a few short days in England for Jess and Adam’s wedding, the heat has begun to prove itself to be somewhat of a nuisance. No matter, however, for there’s always fun summer plans to be made and innovative ways of cooling off to be found!

One weekend I headed down to Luis’ place, who then promptly whisked me off to his family’s finca, their casa de campo. This rather Spanish concept sees families families own two properties: the family home, and then their “countryside house”, a more rural dwelling used for family holidays and weekends away to escape the heat.

Escaping the heat was just what Luis and I had in mind, and so we headed off with supplies in tow: our swimming trunks, some beer, and a box of Turkish delight that Luis had brought me back from Istanbul. I do love me some Turkish delight!

A Sunday afternoon spent in the pool was just the ticket.

After a stop for lunch along the way, the two of us then spent the entire afternoon lounging by the pool. We chatted, listened to music, and setup an impromptu medical centre after I wandered into a wasp nest and got stung on my foot. Turns out that wasp stings are worse than the bee stings I always used to get as a child!

Back in the city, I also had an evening planned with Napo, who I’d not seen for a while. We arranged to meet up in Lavapiés, one of my favourite areas of the city. The walk to the bar that we’d decided on was a lovely one, with a relatively cool but still sunny afternoon providing for some lovely sights along the way.

This street is one of my favourite in the city, it reminds me of Lisbon.

We first had a few beers at an old bar, sitting at the bar and chatting with a caña in hand for a good while. We chatted for so long that we didn’t realise that our favourite restaurant, NAP, had already opened! No fear though, as we did manage to get a table in the end, and had a wonderful catch up over some delicious Italian food.

The melanzane alla parmigiana is one of my favourite dishes.

As the night drew to a close we headed back towards my house on foot, making the most of a relatively mild evening and the short downhill journey to my neighbourhood. There I got an early night and prepared for what the next week of heat would bring…

Jess & Adam’s Wedding

31.07.22 — Burnley

Just a month after the last time I’d been back in the UK, I once again found myself hopping on a plane up north to England in order to attend a rather important event: Jess and Adam’s wedding!

I’ve known Jess since we were quite young, as we worked together on a drama project together back in the day and then worked together at Burnley Youth Theatre for quite a good while. I then received the invitation through the post last year and was super excited to attend what promised to be a fabulous celebration.

After flying back with Danni from Madrid, I had an early night as the very next day was the big wedding. Awaking early, I dressed myself as quickly as possible in order to not be late to the wedding: I’d had very clear instructions from Amber that I’d to be there bang on time at 1pm.

I put the effort in and was out the door on time in order to rock up at the venue just before 1pm. I waved goodbye to my parents and they headed off as I headed inside to check out the lovely rural venue: a barn in the Ribble Valley.

I followed the signs round to the entrance to the barn, entering into the space for the ceremony itself, set out with plants, lights, and some lovely views over the valley. There was nobody there, though, so I headed further inside and past the dining area and the bar, both of which were also empty.

Figuring that Amber had just told me to be there half an hour before everyone else – knowing me as she does – I set out to find a staff member to ask where I could leave my stuff before the celebrations began. Coming across a woman in the corner of the room, I let her know that I was here for Jess and Adam’s wedding, and her response left me frozen: there was no wedding there today!

She also mentioned the name of another venue, The Out Barn, which was when it fully dawned on me that she wasn’t joking and that I had, indeed, come to the wrong place. A blind panic then set in, as my parents had already headed off and the lady informed me that a taxi could take up to 45 minutes to arrive thanks to the rural setting.

As you can imagine, I was furious at myself: I’d managed to be on time, but I’d gone to the wrong bloody venue!

After much panicking and frantic phone calls, my parents showed back off and whisked me the short ten minutes in the car off to the correct location. I arrived flustered and half an hour late, but at least I had a good story to tell. Also, it turned out that Amber really did know me: the ceremony didn’t kick off until 2pm.

The views over the Ribble Valley from the wedding venue were beautiful on a gorgeously sunny day.

I spent a fabulous half an hour recounting my dramatic tale and catching up with some old pals that I hadn’t seen since secondary school about ten years ago, but we were eventually ushered into the main space and seated for the ceremony to begin.

The ensuing day was an absolute blast, with the picturesque setting and the intimate size of a group of great friends and some hilarious new people that I had the pleasure of meeting. With the tears of the main ceremony over, we grabbed drinks and began lunch, which was then followed by a night of singing, dancing, and having a big loud celebration as only us ex-theatre lot know how to!

The wedding was an absolute blast from start to finish.

The next day I had a somewhat heavy head and a distinct lack of energy – something I should have thought about beforehand! It was nothing that an early breakfast cooked up by Jess’ dad couldn’t fix, however, so we all sat around and recollected the highlights of the previous evening whilst gorging on bacon, sausages, and black pudding.

Once I’d recovered and been sent home with a generous wedge of the delicious wedding cake, I rested for the rest of the day to recover from the crash I’d had after so many days of fun with some of the best people I know.

I can’t thank Jess enough for inviting me to form part of her gorgeous wedding, and extend once again my congrats to Mrs & Mr Barrett as they begin married life together. Also a shout out to Amber for whipping me into shape, and my parents for putting up with my chaos. Oops!

I’d then a week to work back at home from the UK, but this had been cut short in advance thanks to an event with a client that I’ll have to go into more detail about some other time. I had three evenings in the surprisingly sunny British summer weather to enjoy though, and so spent the most of the time available enjoying the countryside with my parents.

Instead of wittering on, I’ll just leave you with these lovely pictures taken around my village.

And thus concluded a very short five days in England. I’d liked to have stayed a bit longer to enjoy the unexpectedly warm weather and great company, but a work event called, as well as plenty of other plans that I’ll have to get into shortly.

For now, I sign off with this photo of me enjoying the great outdoors and pretending to be one of the very farmers who used to scare me off as we played in these very fields as young kids. How time flies!

When I was young, rumour was that the farmer had a gun!