I guess we may have instigated this one with the Hinchey’s… the idea being to collaborate with our partners and come up with 10 “pinch me” moments. You know those “I can’t believe I’m here” or “Oh my God this is amazing” kind of epiphanies! After a lot of back and forth these were the ideas shared.
Montserrat – Visiting the Sacred Mountain (The Hinchey’s)
Our first ‘Oh, Wow’ spot!!! Montserrat, or ‘serrated mountain’, is the site of a Benedictine Monastery located outside of Barcelona, Spain where we visited in September 2016. Holy smokes. 10 years ago!!! Start with a subway ride from the centre of the city to the train station, change trains and then finish your journey with a cablecar and you’ve reached this spectacular site first constructed around 1000AD. The basilica was rebuilt in the 17th and 18th centuries.
You will find yourself wondering how they ever constructed this place up here. There are about 70 monks in residence here and it’s possible to time your visit to hear a performance by one of the oldest boy’s choirs in Europe. Spectacular views, great hiking trails and spots to just sit and think. There’s something special about just being there. A MUST DO if in Barcelona.
Globe Theatre – Much Ado “For” Nothing (The Lumsden’s)
In March of 2008, during our first European trip together, Janie and I had the good fortune to visit London’s Globe Theatre on our last night. An evening of Shakespeare… what can I say. Shakespeare was never meant to be read, it was meant for here. We were one of the first to get into the theatre and our seats were incredible. Middle row, front and centre with a totally unobstructed view of the stage… unbelievable. The viewing was sponsored by Deutsche Bank, who had partnered with the Globe to create a series of educational showings of Much Ado “For” Nothing for students across the UK. This “last performance” was open to the general public, and free.
The acting, the play, the setting, all contributed to what was one of the most memorable theatre events we’ve ever witnessed. Janie was totally smitten as well, and we both wondered what we’d done to be so fortunate. Being in London, after a full week of successful travel, watching the lights of planes fly overhead and the sounds of music / applause from the pit… totally overwhelming. We knew that we had been involved in something very special. We felt so very privileged to have been able to attend.
ABBA Voyage Concert: London, UK (The Hinchey’s)
ABBA Voyage concert at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in London. We attended the concert in 2023 and we still talk about the experience today. And of course, what made this concert special was that it was totally created with avatars (now known as ABBAtars). The four band members worked for a couple of years with Industrial Light & Magic to produce a 2 hour concert of their favourite songs in an arena built specifically for the event.
The concert uses their original voices, a 10 piece live band and avatars that look 100% like real people on stage. We felt like we could walk down to the stage and thank the band and shake their hands at the end. We will definitely return if we are lucky enough. The concert runs 7 days per week and has already had over 4 million people visit for a concert. Cameras were not allowed indoors so no ‘real’ pics.
Grand Canyon – Journey to the Edge (The Lumsden’s)
In the summer of 2012 our family crossed, by car, America creating memories all the way. As part of this amazing journey we spent two awestruck days in Grand Canyon National Park. It was magical! While tenting along the South Rim we basked in the crackle of dried pine & smoky campfires, took breathtaking glimpses into the depths of the canyon, woke to the shrill overnight howls of passing coyotes, and shared vistas of pink, in all directions that were other worldly.
Simply a feast for the senses and absolutely an attraction that can be enjoyed by all. Memories include family hot dog roasting, numerous elk encounters, a glass of red by the last burning embers, and fresh, mountain air. We were so proud… not only to have navigated the trip thousands of kms from home, but to have given our kids the opportunity to experience this remarkable landscape.
Venice Water Taxi: (The Hinchey’s)
Okay..we’ve grabbed regular taxis, Ubers, Lyfts, subways, trains and trams. But we had never even heard of a water taxi. We were staying in the San Polo region of Venice but arriving at a bus stop on the opposite side of the island(s). Since the city is built on 118 islands connected by canals and footbridges, no roads or motor vehicles exist there. So that ruled out the normal methods of transit. The vaporetto is their water bus but it would take too long to wind around the whole city. Gondolas are slow and expensive and a really just a touristy thing to travel a few hundred metres. After a bit of research, we settled on a “Water Taxi”.
When we arrived at our pickup spot, there it was. A beautiful wooden speedboat ready to whip us in and out of the canals to a drop off spot directly in front of our VRBO in about 10 minutes. We felt like a scene out of a James Bond movie, without bullets flying over our heads. We were a group of 6 saying very little…but instead just smiling at our new experience. On top of it all, we were seeing Venice from a whole new perspective. In the end, our driver offered to pick us up at 5 AM, a week later to take us to the airport. Yes, our boat pulled up in front of the airport leaving us a 20m walk to the airport entrance. Crazy.
The Colosseum – Emblem of Rome (The Lumsden’s)
Our March Break destination in 2010 was a four city tour of Italy, and it started in Rome. Amid the plethora of incredible attractions is the Colosseum. We managed two amazing encounters… our first being a nighttime visit where we would take the subway to the Colosseo metro stop and the Colosseum. All a bit surreal, as though you come up from a small hole in the earth to the sensitively lit building. It was too impressive. An amazing building… Truly awesome, to be standing amidst these powerful ruins.
Our second opportunity found us to be first two visitors inside the Colosseum. It was absolutely empty. The building is massive… and so is its history! Getting inside was a bit like standing under the Eiffel tower, atop of the Empire State Building, or viewing the Parthenon amid ruins on the Acropolis … You just can’t quite believe you are where you are. I think we were so excited we wandered the inside twice!
The Masters: A tradition like no other (The Hinchey’s)
Quoting Jim Nantz: “It’s golf’s symbol of excellence that began in 1949 with Sam Snead and is part of the very FABRIC of the Augusta National Golf Club. It’s as much a part of the Masters, as SPRINGTIME. It’s the green JACKET, and the competition for it has seen the greatest players in the GAME FASHION MAGICAL MOMENTS”. Definitely the finest sports spectacle we’ve seen. And what makes it cool is that you can’t just decide to go. Millions of people each year apply to ‘have a chance’ to buy a ticket to enter Augusta National… only to be told year after year…’Sorry. Your request for tickets has not been successful.’
But 2018 was different. Kathy and I received a call from great friends, Paul and Ann Marie Cameron. They asked if we were up for a visit to chat about something. Twenty minutes later we were seated in our living room with a nice glass of wine. And then Paul handed us the envelope that said ‘Congratulations, you have secured 4 tickets to this year’s Masters’. We didn’t want to look too excited as we weren’t sure if we were numbers 3 and 4. But we were!!! Lots of quick planning (including $800 per night hotel rooms about 14km from the course) and we were on our way to Atlanta in early April.
Too many details but to cut it short, the experience was nothing short of incredible. We were there on a Tuesday practice round which meant we were allowed to take our phones and cameras. These are not permitted on Thursday-Sunday. Just try to sneak them in and you are on your way home. We arrived around 7:00 AM and wandered every hole until about 6:00 PM. Phil, Tiger, Mike, John and Rory were our walking buddies on a number of holes as well as Nick, Ricky, Jordan and Bubba. Every blade of grass, every flower and every tree is perfect. It’s hard to describe the feeling even though we’ve had a ton of experience talking about it. It’s unlikely that we’ll ever be lucky enough to go again…but that’s okay. We were there.
Third Reich & WWII Walking Tour – Munich (The Lumsden’s)
In 2012 we made our first visit to Germany. Being students of history, we keenly reserved space in a walking tour that examined Munich and it’s specific role in regard to the Third Reich and the rise of National Socialism in Bavaria and Germany during the first part of the last century. Our host, Juliet, guided us about Munich’s many sites, tracing the steps of the Third Reich through those early days prior to and during WWII. She expertly set the stage and enlightened our group of the sentiment in Bavaria both after the First World War and in the prelude to WWII.
This blog item is no place for a history lesson, but suffice to say that our walk through Munich with Juliet provoked much thought in respect to a time and a place in history that went terribly wrong. Being in München and seeing, hearing and touching the physical spaces that were home to this movement was powerful yet sobering… In many ways the morning could best be described as profound.
Biking Europe (The Hinchey’s)
Not as much a single event, but an experience. We don’t consider ourselves ‘expert bikers’ but we do like to get 3-4 loops in at home during the nice months and we always try to hop on a bike somewhere in Europe. We have Croatia, France, Netherlands, Spain, Portugal, Austria and maybe a few more under our belts. It’s just a fun way to roam around and explore just a bit further than you would if you were on your feet.
Amsterdam was by far the scariest as you are sharing the paths with thousands of people who use their bikes for everything…work, shopping, exercise, school and whatever needs to get done. San Sebastian was the most challenging as I planned our own 30km bike route for our group. And it didn’t go real well as we got lost several times in the hills of Northern Spain as our phones, one by one, started dying and we were climbing dirt roads through a farm. At one point I said ‘That cow is giving us a strange look’. The reply from one of our crew was, ‘That’s because it’s never seen a human before’!! Munich was probably the safest as they have dedicated bike lanes everywhere both inside the city and outside of the city.
One day saw us cruise out to the BMW Museum and the Olympic site with a pit stop at a monstrous outdoor beer garden, ending with some laps up and down many of the older city streets. There are reasonably priced bike rental shops everywhere with experts on site to guide you in your choice of tours.
The Beautiful Game – Lazio/Bari Match (The Lumsden’s)
Alright… almost every guide book & Rome website/forum suggested that for real taste of Roman culture you need to attend a football game. That suited us well… as long time live sport enthusiasts. It was our good fortune, while visiting Italy in 2010, that a Lazio vs Bari match fit very nicely into our early planning. We gathered info in regard to times, prices, seating and the “do’s and dont’s” when making such a visit. Finally, the week prior to our arrival, Janie managed to reserve tickets for the match, and the next fine Sunday afternoon found us in front of Stadio Olympico to see SS Lazio vs Bari.
It was education at its finest!!! Crowds in light blue, carrying scarves, flags and banners began to congregate out front. After a scramble to locate will call for tix (we handed our passports through a barred window) we entered. The rest was just eye candy. Through the singing and chorus of the crowd we held our ground, cheering and booing with the home team fans that surrounded us in all directions. The Bari fans were isolated by high fencing to one section of the stadium, with no seats sold in the sections to the right and left of that group. As the game’s momentum took shape we watched the antics and listened to the roars of tries taken and missed. Smoke bombs, whistles, jeers… eye popping! It turned out to be a rough game for Lazio. They lost 2 – nil and, although spirited on the pitch, were no match for the away team. To show their displeasure the home team fans started fires in at least three sections leaving a haze over Stadio Olympico and the distinct odor of burned plastic! Just WOW…
Thanks for indulging us in this flight down memory lane. As we continue to collaborate, Mike and I will post our online discussions in regard to shared experiences while travelling. Next in the hopper is a city review… an effort to land the “quick facts” on some of our favorite European destinations. Stay tuned!!!
