Author: Christie

Constantin Brâncuși, the man who made the stone sing and featherless birds fly

| Christie

His heart continued to beat strongly long after nightfall. As darkness fell, an eerie silence enveloped the entire train, and only the jerky rhythm of the wheels on the tracks could be heard.

He raised his eyes to the sky and saw the gates of a new universe opening. As a child he had run away countless times, but this time his run was no longer a run from the past, but a run to the future, towards a new, rediscovered self, almost like the suffering of a new enduring and overwhelming passion, as he sometimes liked to accept.

The Gate of Kiss
The Gate of the Kiss
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Winter medley

| Christie

I had a silly thought at one point that if I didn’t post any winter picture, this season would pass quickly and the spring would arrive right away. A few people told me in late fall, while we were still admiring the fall foliage, that we are going to have a mild winter. I was reluctant at the thought of a gray winter and was amused and encouraged by the idea of a short and warm one.

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Visiting Nera Gorge – Beușnița National Park, Romania

| Christie

The 90,830-acre Nera Gorge -Beușnița National Park has been declared a protected natural area since 1990 and is located in the southwestern Carpathian Mountains of Romania, called the Banat Region. The complex landscape, characterized mainly by beech forests, rocky slopes and various shrublands, forms a well-established national park since 1990. The limestone substrate, the low altitude (150-1150 m), the temperate continental climate with sub-Mediterranean influences, along with the presence of thermophilic species, create interesting travertine formations, and the rivers and the waterfalls make the park quite famous.

15 km from Sasca Montană, where we set up base for a few days, is Sasca Română. Sisters in appearance and remoteness, these two villages were probably more famous 2000 years ago, when the Romans called this area “Centum putae”, meaning The region of a Hundred Mines. And if not, it would still be one of the most beautiful national parks in Romania where you can go chasing waterfalls!

Bigăr Waterfall

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The Bey’s eye

| Christie

The legend says that, when Banat region was still under Ottoman occupation, a handsome and rich bey with blue eyes was hunting in the Flower Meadow. There, he met a local girl from the village of Potoc, who was guarding her grazing sheep. The young prince’s father did not approve of the love between the two young people, so he sent his servants to kill the girl. Fighting for his love, the young bey lost an eye in the battle. In that place, a small lake appeared, with waters as blue as the bey’s blue eyes: the lake of the Bey’s eye, and his tears turned into the Bey’s Spring.

Definition: Bey = a title given to senior officers and/or high officials of a city or province in the former Ottoman Empire

the lake of the Bey’s eye

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Algonquin park – a promise for new adventures

| Christie

Established in 1893, Algonquin Park is the oldest provincial park in Canada. It is located about 3 hours north of Toronto, and its unique mix of forest types, contrasting with the colourful Canadian Shield, along with over 2,400 lakes and 1,200 km of streams and rivers, and thousands of square kilometres of forests, makes the park one of the most famous in Ontario.

Whitefish Lake
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Aubrey Falls, Algoma Country’s Tallest Cascade

| Christie

Located in the heart of Algoma Country, Aubrey Falls is an underrated destination. About two hours northeast of Sault Ste Marie, Ontario, these stunning waterfalls are somehow off the tourist radar.

Returning from a road trip along the north shore of Lake Superior, we thought we would take a detour off the beaten path and see Aubrey Falls for ourselves.

Aubrey falls
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Hiking in Sleeping Giant Provincial Park

| Christie

A visit to the Thunder Bay area along Lake Superior, Ontario, is not complete without a visit to The Sleeping Giant. We had the opportunity to see the giant’s profile from Marina Park back in 2021 and I have been thinking about it ever since. Famous primarily for one of the most iconic trails in Ontario, the Sleeping Giant was the main reason we returned here.

Top of the Giant, above the clouds, Sleeping Giant

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Exploring Ontario: Our Favourite Day trips from Thunder Bay

| Christie

Thunder Bay is the largest city in northwestern Ontario and was composed of two formerly separate towns: Fort William, a French fur trading outpost on the banks of the Kaministiquia River, and Port Arthur, the eastern terminus of the Canadian Pacific Railway, the major transshipment point for lakers carrying goods from across the Great Lakes.

Thunder Bay centre boasts a small variety of buildings, but no one really visits this area for the city. The panoramic view of the Sleeping Giant and Marina Park are the main attractions of the Waterfront District and an afternoon spent there will give you an idea of the other activities available.

Sleeping Giant from Marina Thunder Bay

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