So work brought me to Paris & Berlin. . .: January 2016

Ottawa during the holidays

I usually write these posts mostly for my friends and family I left in Ottawa but this one is for my friends and family here.

After meeting some former work friends, I walked down to the Byward Market and while passing by Parliament I saw this . . .

So apparently Ottawa is also all lit up over the Christmas season!

Home for the Holidays!

After, a crazy week of holiday celebrations (including too much champagne the night before) I flew home.

I was, however, very confused when I got there!

I think my parents have gone a little crazy but it was pretty epic. Note the complete lack of snow. And then a week later . . .

It was fun to be home and a busy couple of weeks hanging out with friends and family!

A morning walk in Porcia

Sunday we got up earlier than I do to go to work! Every Sunday morning runs/walks are organized in the surrounding towns. The weekend I was there it was in Porcia. While still chilly, it was a nice sunny day so quite an enjoyable excursion.

Markers are placed to identify the route.

And volunteers are set up a various points on the route with drinks and snacks.

I think it's a great concept!

The crew that headed out!

The scenery along the way:

A mid-route selfie

Could my jacket be an puffier? Feeling Canadian in this pic!

Dinner in Pordenone

Pordenone is the biggest city near where my family lives. I've been there many times but never during the holidays and never really for anything other than shopping.

In preparing this post I learnt that Pordenone was created in the High Middle Ages as a river port on the Noncello, with the name Portus Naonis - meaning literally 'port on the Noncello River. In the 1200s it was handed over the Hapsburg family and then it was acquired by the Republic of Venice in 1514. After the Napoleonic period, Pordenone was included in the Austrian possessions in Italy and then annexed to Italy in 1866.

Ok, enough of that - we went to eat and drink! Again, the town was all decked out for the holidays.

Town centre

The pre-dinner cocktail - why we sat outside I have no idea!

A restaurant dedicated to prosciutto, um hell yes!

And then we headed to nearby Cordenons, to stand out int he freezing cold to drink more. Apparently, Christmas markets are where people go in the evenings to hang out. Even though I'm Canadian, I was the coldest person there!

Sadly this is the only photo I have of the market

A Pre-Christmas trip to Italy

So this was a month ago but the pre-holiday and holiday season were a little chaotic. The weekend before I flew back to Canada for the holidays, I decided to head to Italy to see everyone one last time in 2015.

It was a little frigid that weekend but we still managed to take advantage of a number of outdoor activities.

Saturday I spent mostly in Palmanova and its outskirts. The day started with a trip to the pool to see one of the little one's swimming lesson and on the way back we had to stop for a photo op with a giant chair - because isn't that what everyone does?

We're hard to see but we are there!

Then it was off to lunch at the Dogana Vecchia which was the old border between Italy and Austria until the First World War.

Someone was ready for lunch

And then it was off to Palmanova itself. Palmanova was built by the Venetians in 1593 and is a star shaped fortress. Today it is a UNESCO heritage site. Of course because it was Christmas, the place was all decked out for the holidays!