Category: Travel

Last night, the biggest solar storm in decades hit the planet, resulting in the aurora borealis being visible in Ottawa. I went out to the North Frontenac Dark Sky Preserve to get away from the light pollution.

These are some of the photos I took:

I was able to drive out to just outside Cornwall and check out the total eclipse.

It was neat to see; the 3PM sky took on a colour I had never seen before, the birds were chanting as if it were morning, and you could see stars/planets in daylight.

The rural roads there and back was one long line of cars; you could tell who was using their phone to navigate because they were all in a long queue using the exact same backroads even though those running parallel to them were completely empty.

A month ago, I spent two weeks in France with my dad. We spent time in Paris, Nice, Marseilles, with day trips to Monte Carlo, Cannes and Èze.

This was my third time in the country, but the first time outside of Paris. French as spoken by French-Canadians is difficult for people in France to understand, to the point that my last times there they switched to English. Annoyed by this habit, I decided to alter how I spoke to approximate Metropolitain French. Twice I heard people remark that I was Belgian and never once switched to English, a win.

The intent of the trip was to live well and relax. We checked out Versailles, where we were evacuated due to a bomb threat. We went to the casino in Monte Carlo, and ate a great meal at the Salon Rose. I took a train to Èze, and climbed up the Nietzsche path, and visited the medieval village on its summit. I took another train to Cannes, where I had a glass of wine by the beach. I got to try socca, pissaladière, bouillabaisse and a salade niçoise for the first time. Delicious pastries and downtime abound. I heard the name Maëlys twice in the wild, and got a bracelet with my name on it.

Getting around was really easy; the train system (SNCF) has an app where I could buy tickets minutes ahead of a departure, and public transit similarly had apps that made it trivial. I also used Uber a number of times.

My only regret is not having checked out Antibes. If you come this way though, do visit Èze.

Last week I landed in Las Vegas. This was my fourth time in the city, but it had been a decade since my last stint. Work was paying; it was my second off-site with the start-up I’m at. I got there a few days early and rented a car, a brand new Jeep Compass with 500 miles on the odometer. It was a hell of a trip.

I arrived Saturday night. I stayed at the Mandalay Bay, before later moving to work-provided accommodations.

On Sunday morning, I walked the strip, picked up the car, and headed to Hoover Dam and Grand Canyon West with a teammate and their partner. The Hoover Dam was impressive; but Guano Point took my breath away.

On Monday, the three of us headed to Red Rock Canyon. We found out from a sign on the way that we needed reservations. With a failing cellphone connection, my teammate got the last open slot for us. We bouldered to one of the peaks, getting an inspired view of our surroundings. See if you can spot the rock climbers in the picture below!

That night, we hit up Hell’s Kitchen, Gordon Ramsay’s restaurant. The venue was fairly tacky, with large monitors showing footage of the eponymous show and it was as loud as a cafeteria despite the low number of tables. The Beef Wellington, however, was just about perfect, making it well worth the visit.

From Tuesday to Thursday it was meetings. In there was a team dinner and a trip to Omega Mart; a grocery store that wasn’t quite right. A freezer door, janitor closet, and display camping tent led to an alternate reality that echoed something that Aperture Science might dream up.

On Thursday after work, I hit up the pool, drinking a margarita. I then went to a Penn and Teller show organized by another teammate. It was funny and fresh. On Friday, I toured a bit more of the strip before heading to the airport.

For all the amazing time this was, I do need to talk about the transphobia. It’s not even May and Republicans have already submitted 500 bills in American legislatures in their aim to eradicate trans people. Meanwhile, having the television on the news a few minutes here and there produced the shots below. The effect of this moment is that I avoided using public washrooms, and dreaded interactions with officials.