Walking. Gossip. Travel.

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  • Montreal – Five Guys

    Montreal – Five Guys

    One of the reasons I keep this blog up is that otherwise I forget easily where I’ve actually been. Looking back on these photos from 2015, I hadn’t realised that I had been to a Five Guys in Canada. It was back in January 2015, when there was snow on the ground and it wasn’t exactly warm outside.

    Unlimited soft drinks.

    It’s hard to photo Five Guys hot dogs to make them look appetising, as they fall apart and don’t look very interesting. But, they’re excellent, and the little fries aren’t really that small a portion.

    I can’t add much to this, since I’d forgotten that I’d even been here a few years ago, but I’ve checked and the restaurant, which is located on McGill Street, is still trading. Well, it will be when this virus is over.

  • Montreal – Berlin Wall Fragment

    Montreal – Berlin Wall Fragment

    This piece of Berlin Wall is located in the World Trade Centre in Montreal.

    The section of the wall was given to the city of Montreal in 1992 from the city of Berlin, as part of the Canadian city’s 350th birthday.

    The section was brought from a location near to the Brandenburg Gate. It’s from the fourth stage of the wall’s construction, known as Grenzmauer 75, which was built between 1975 and 1980. There were 45,000 pieces of concrete involved in that rebuilding effort, which lasted until the war fell in 1989.

  • Montreal – Montreal Library (Duplicates)

    Montreal – Montreal Library (Duplicates)

    I wonder just how many copies of a book that one library needs….

    These were the Lonely Planet books in French, there were an equal number in English….

  • Montreal – Valentine

    Montreal – Valentine

    It’s important to visit independent restaurants when travelling, but I can’t resist popping into some local fast food chains as well to see what they offer. Valentine is a burger and hot dog restaurant which was founded in Quebec and which now has around 100 outlets.

    It was a hard decision, hot dog or burger…..

    I went for the burger. Poutine is often called the national dish of Canada, although it is from Quebec and they’re very proud of it. To be honest, I’m quite happy just with the chips and gravy, I’m not too bothered about the cheese curds, but when in Montreal I felt the need to eat like the locals….

    All was fine, pretty good value and I’d happily go back.

  • British Airways (Seattle to Heathrow T5)

    British Airways (Seattle to Heathrow T5)

    This flight was back in October 2014, and I hadn’t intended to upload the photos so there aren’t many interesting ones of how the aircraft looked. But there’s a lot of food photos at least. Anyway, with the caveat that this is a very limited trip report, since there’s not much text about the flight itself, here we go…..

    Woooo, I was lucky enough to get seat 1A.

    The First seat has a television screen which comes out and the whole area turns into a bed. For those travelling with someone else, the footrest can also be used as a seat. The table comes out and so it’s possible to dine as two people, such is the generosity of space.

    I still have the menu, so this is a photo from today…..

    Photos of the menu.

    Proceedings started with a Kir Royale (Creme de Cassis and champagne) and warm nuts. How decadent.

    The amuse-bouche, although I’ve long since forgotten what it was and they don’t list that in the menu.

    The starter of lobster, mango salsa and a Thai sweet chilli glaze.

    Butter chicken with rice, dal and a toasted naan.

    The dessert of a cheeseboard.

    And coffee to end the proceedings with.

    Unfortunately, the mists of time have meant I’ve forgotten anything of particular interest about this flight. The First experience was one I certainly couldn’t afford if I had to pay for it, but it of course makes flying an absolute pleasure. For me, I find the attentive service all a bit much, I could do without the tablecloth, the placing of the napkin and the laying of cutlery, but I can understand why this is such a treat for a special trip.

    I haven’t taken photos of breakfast and, from memory, I think that’s because I ordered another cheeseboard. There’s dine on demand on BA flights in First and so you can have whatever you want at any stage. This flight arrived in at something like 07:00, which meant that I had access to the Arrivals Lounge at Heathrow T5, where I could have a full English breakfast after my busy flight of eating.

    BA crews were nearly always excellent in First and I always tried to stay awake for the entire journey, as it seemed a bit much to just fall asleep with all this luxury. I probably won’t travel First for some considerable time in the future, so trips like this were always an exciting treat.

  • Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue – Day Twenty-Two

    Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue – Day Twenty-Two

    The Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue was first published at the end of the eighteenth century, and given that the Coronavirus crisis is giving too much time to read books, I thought I’d pick a daily word from it until I got bored…..

    Beggar Maker

    A short and sweet definition from the dictionary, this is “a publican”. This doesn’t appear to have ever been a widely used phrase, although the sentiment behind it is rather more timeless.

  • Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue – Day Twenty-One

    Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue – Day Twenty-One

    The Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue was first published at the end of the eighteenth century, and given that the Coronavirus crisis is giving too much time to read books, I thought I’d pick a daily word from it until I got bored…..

    Beau Trap

    The dictionary defines this as “a loose stone in a pavement, under which water lodges, and on being trod upon, squirts it up, to the great damage of white stockings”. Since the word ‘beau’ was used to mean a foppish man, I assume this was a problem for men and women alike. I can’t imagine that the the phrase was ever much used, I can’t find much evidence of it being in common usage. It’s a nice phrase to use though, if anyone writes to their local council to complain about a damaged pavement, they should certainly include it.

  • Boston – John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum (Berlin Wall Fragment)

    Boston – John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum (Berlin Wall Fragment)

    I’ve seen sections of the Berlin Wall in numerous different cities around the world, not least in the male toilets of a hotel in Las Vegas. This section was a gift from the German Government and it was brought to the museum in 1989 by Jean Kennedy Smith, the sister of John F. Kennedy (she’s the only one of the nine Kennedy children still alive). It’s quite a bright piece of wall and it stands twelve feet in height and four feet in width.

  • Singapore – Seaweed at McDonald’s

    Singapore – Seaweed at McDonald’s

    I found Singapore very hot, so I had a lot of little sit downs in various shopping malls in the city to cool down, in this case I quickly popped into McDonald’s. The burger was some Japanese themed arrangement, but it was the seaweed shaker for the fries that intrigued me the most. And, they were lovely, lots of flavour.

  • Chengdu – Photos

    Chengdu – Photos

    Just photos of Chengdu in this post, although I didn’t intend at the time to upload them and they were taken back in 2014, so the quality isn’t great.