After breakfast, Vincent and I went down to the port of Carteret to sail. Vincent has many boats the biggest is a 35 ft Southerly which I have sailed to the English Channel Islands, Southampton and Bretagne many times over the years. We walked over the sand dunes and the took a type of row boat to the other side of the port where the large sailboats are docked. There were hundreds of boats tied up to the docks and as usual not 1sailboat out on the water. It took us a few minutes to prepare the boat and we were off.
The tides in Normandy are very high. Although there is water in the port at all times, there is a gate through which a boat must pass to get out onto the open sea, the English Channel. Depending on the tides, the boat can pass through the gate only at certain times a day and twice per day. Today the gate was open from 10:30 am until 2:00 pm. Passing outside of these times will result in a grounding.
Once through the gates we put up the sails and sailed down the coast of Normandy. The scenery which I know well never ceases to amaze me. We had 15 knots of wind with 20 cm waves. It was more or less sunny but still a chilly 16C. We came back 2.5 hr later and had dinner with Monique. V and M take a siesta after lunch everyday. I elected to catch up on my never ending emails and write my blog.
I was up early this morning and the pre arranged shuttle bus took me to Rome Airport. The airport is huge with several terminals and long corridors. The architecture, being Italian, is of course beautiful. There is a piano and someone was playing. With the marble everywhere and the high ceilings, the acoustics were wonderful.
I took the plane from Rome to Paris, another huge airport with a lot of walking to do. The baggage took some time to come off the plane so I had to run and walk quickly so as not to miss my train. I took the RER to Paris with 1 change and arrived at Gare St Lazare. I have 1 heavy bag and a carry on to drag up and down corridors and escalators. I arrived at the train station with 1 minute to spare. The train took me to Caen and then on to Valognes where Vincent was waiting for me.
I have not seen Vincent and Monique for 3 years so we had much to talk about. We drank champagne of course, wine and calvados. Vincent did a bar-b-que on the in door fireplace. I have never thought of doing that. During my trip, I quickly went through my 45,000 photos and arranged 100 or so to show to R and J as well as V and M. The theme was to show how our family has changed over the years with the additions of the sons and daughter in laws as well as the grandchildren.
Today was a travel day and tomorrow will be similar to today. Sometimes travelling is like that. You must spend 1 or 2 days travelling to get to where you want to go and then spend a few days there. I had breakfast with Rob and we had our usual enlightening political discussion. We politely solved all the problems in the world. Yannick came down to say goodbye and we promised not to wait 15 years before seeing each other again. Before coming to R and J’s home, I diligently prepared a ‘short’ presentation of the last 15 years of my photo stream concentrating on the developement of my family. We showed the photos on a big stream TV. Afterwards, Rob showed 2 movies, 1 on one of their daughter’s wedding and 1 on the construction of this house and the last house. The last house was an 8th century ruin complete with a chapel which took 4 years to rebuild. The house was then sold to an elderly lady who is now in her 90s. The present house took 4-6 months to renovate with 50 or more workers. The renovation is a marvellous success. R and J are wonderful hosts and I am very happy to have renewed our acquaintances.
Rob drove me to Chiusi, about ¾ hr away on small country roads. I had forgotten how beautiful Italy is, having not been here in over 15 years. Rob gave me 2 cans of olive oil from their garden which I managed to pack in my overflowing suitcase. The 2 suitcases are rather heavy as I am carrying clothes for a month as well as clothes both for the triathlon and motorcycle ride. Uniforms for the parade, Tri suite for the swim, bike, run, shoes for running and bicycling, motorcycle boots, my motorcycle suite, my helmet etc. The train ride took 2.5-3 hours with 2 changes eventually arriving at Rome Aeroporta. A shuttle bus brought me to my hotel, a ‘3*’ hostel, ok for 1 night. I had a seafood dinner in a local taverna recommended by the shuttle driver.
Love,
Brian
The last 200 meters of the triathlon with my American buddy, 20 years younger than me, 1 foot taller and a former pro hockey player.
Today we took a day trip to Montepulcielo a town in the Tuscany Mountains. The town of course dates back to the Middle Ages. It is fortified and is located on the side of a mountain. The streets are narrow and steep and take some doing to walk up to the top. Only cars belonging to the locals are allowed to drive here. On arriving we had a capuchino and pastries, some more walking and then had a light lunch in a plaza at the top of the mountain. We drove back home where I had a 30 lap swim. Yannick insisted that I take a hot shower afterwards.
Yesterday, I was up at 3:30 am to have a quick shower and take my previously arranged Uber to the airport. On awakening, my first email informed me that my plane to Rome would take off 2 hours late. Nevertheless, I was asked to be at the airport at the usual time to check in and then wait around. I did as told and had a very early breakfast at a cafe in the airport. Rome airport is located 30 min from Terminal Romani the Rome train station. I already had my train ticket from Rome to Chiusi so it was just a matter of getting to the train station on time. While riding in the local train from the airport to the train station, I realized that I would not make the train on time. I was able to change the ticket for a ticket 2 hours later. I arrived on the platform 1 minute late, just in time to see the first train leaving. Luckily I had my new ticket in hand.
I took the train from Rome to Orte to Chiusi. I had informed my friend Rob of the change and he was there to meet me. The drive to Rob and Yannick’s house located in beautiful Tuscany took about 3/4 hr. I have not been in Tuscany for over 15 years and I had forgotten how beautiful the scenery is. Tuscany has rolling hills populated with small towns. The countryside is dotted with olive trees and vineyards. The road to their house winds through small hills and valleys, perfect motorcycle country. I will think of this on my next trip.
I met Y and R about 35 years ago when they were living in Montreal. Y is a painter and we have several of her paintings hung in our house. R was a CEO of a large international corporation and has been retired for many years. We kept contact with each other over the years through emails and photos. They have 6 children including twins and 10 grandchildren. Y and R bought this house about 15 years ago. The house which is of mansion size was built in the 15th century. It remained in the original family’s possession for generations until the owner lost the house and property in a card game. The house changed hands many times and was even turned into a hotel. It then lay dormant for many years until Y and R bought it. The house is a perfect size for the family when they all get together for Christmas and other occasions.
The house had a very serious renovation which was supervised by Y. I have never been in a house like this. The ceilings are 4 meters high. There are 9 bedrooms as well of course, a living room, dining room, kitchen and several studies and libraries. There is a deep, well stocked wine cellar. The 6 hectare property has a vineyard and olive trees which are almost ripe enough to harvest. The house overlooks a hilly country sidc with neighbours few and far between. A village is however close by.
After lunch, Rob took me on a tour of Tuscany eventually arriving at Sienna. We parked the car and took an escalator several flights up to the old city. The city was built in the Middle Ages and is walled for protection. The streets are of course cobble stoned and narrow. There were many Italian tourists present but almost no foreigners. We wandered around the streets for a while with Rob acting as my tour guide. He is a history buff and is very knowledgeable about the region. The ancient Etruscans lived in this region 3000 years ago until they were conquered by the Romans and disappeared. We eventually visited the Duomo, a beautiful cathedral where a cardinal is in residence. The walls of the cathedral are adorned with paintings many of which have been refurbished. We had lunch in a restaurant overlooking the famous plaza where once a year there is a horse race with about 20 horses that race around the plaza which was built on a slant for water drainage. It seems to be reasonably dangerous.
Today was my last ride going from Cuenta to the Crown Hotel Plaza near the airport in Madrid. I dropped off the bike as arranged in the garage and picked up the luggage that I had stored at the hotel. I packed and repacked my bags until I was satisfied with the distribution. In 1970 I travelled around the world for 1 year with 7 lbs of luggage. My medical supplies, my cell phone, iPad and chargers weigh easily more that.
The Crown is located several kms from the airport in an industrial neighbourhood. I am having dinner at a roadside taverna which caters to truckers and locals and cops. The food is plentiful to say the least.
I will be up tomorrow at 3:30 to take the shuttle to the airport at 4:00 and board the plane to Rome at 5:55.
Today is Oct. 7th, the day that my life changed, the day that I realized that I could not, nor would return to my former self. Throughout my life, I have been a son, a husband, a surgeon, a father, and a grandfather. I have also identified myself as a Canadian, a Jew, an atheist, and a Zionist. These identities underwent a profound transformation following the tragic events of October 7th, 2023. On that fateful day, indelibly etched in my memory, the latter identity assumed paramount importance over all others.
There are many dates to remember, for my generation, for the generation of my parents, ‘the greatest generation’ and the generation of my children. Many people remember these dates, many remember exactly what they were doing at the time the event took place. Nov. 11, WW1 ended, Sept. 1, WW2 began. June 6, the Normandy invasion, Aug. 6, Hiroshima, May 8, WW2 ended in Europe, Nov. 22, Kennedy was shot. Sept. 11, the Twin Towers, Oct. 7, Gaza.
On Oct. 7, 2023, I made the decision to go to Israel and serve in whatever capacity I would be needed. Eventually I went to Israel 3 times. In 2024 I served 2 months, 1month with the IDF packing medical bags and 1month as a physician/paramedic with Magen David Adom. I repeated this in 2025 serving 2 weeks with the IDF and 2 weeks with MDA. Once again in 2026 I spent 3 weeks in Israel, including 2 weeks with MDA. I documented my experience in my blog entitled, ‘gobriantravel.com’. Subsequently, I wrote a book documenting my experience. The book includes several chapters on the history of the Middle East from 1900 to 1948. The book concludes with chapters dedicated to my family history and my personal opinions of the world today focusing on antisemitism and antizionism. All proceeds on the sale of the book will go towards the purchase of an ambulance for MDA.
I awoke this morning, at 6:29, 1 minute before my alarm was to go off, to lightening and the sound of thunder. Oh no! I really did not want to ride for 5 hours in the rain. By the time I had my bags packed and secured on my bike, the rain had stopped. I boarded the ferry from Palma, Majorca to Denia and settled in at a window seat for 5 hours. After a 5 hour boat ride I had no interest in doing a 5-7 hour bike ride. Last evening, I edited my journey to a 3-4 hour ride on the autoroute. The sun was shining, the road was bone dry so away I went. The speed limit on highways here is 120 km/hr. I rode mostly at 100 to 110 and was quite comfortable at that speed.
I am staying at a 4* at the outskirts of townfor a reasonable price. I just spent 2 hours at one of my favourite places, the laundromat. I am sitting at a local taverna with the locals, had a delicious meal consisting of fried calamara, writing my blog. I made friends with a few of the locals who promised to read my blog. We checked it out on the website and it had been automatically translated into Spanish. Great! As a reward, I was served a ridiculously large teramisu with an oversized glass of Scotch to finish off the meal.
My TomTom 550 Rebel is a GPS dedicated for motorcyclists. You chose your route according to whether you want the fastest way to get there or wether you want a ‘thrill’ ride which is usually on secondary or tertiary roads with the maximum amount of hills and curves. That is usually the type of road that I choose. To day was no exception and should be my last ‘thrill’ journey. I chose a route on the south western part of the island from Palma to Valldemossa and then down to the port. The road was steep and I was amazed to see hundreds of bicyclists on the road. They seemed to ride in groups of 5, 10 or 20 and were probably part of different teams. I spoke to several people and although most were from Spain, many came from different countries in Europe. They carried no luggage so probably a truck brought their bags to different hotels along the route. Many times the bicycles past me on the way down going over 50km/hr.
The first part of the route had the usual amount of curves and twists. The road from the town of Valldemossa to the port was the most difficult and adventuresome road that I have ever been on in all my days of motorcycling. The route was only 5 km long and the scenery was breathtaking. I wound my way down the mountain with a switchback every 30 to 50 meters. I rode in 1st or 2nd gear rarely achieving 30 km/hr. Many of the turns had to be taken in 1st gear at 5 km/hr. Often I had my foot on the ground for balance. Hopefully I didn’t do too much wear and tear to the sole of the boot.
I arrived at the port at the bottom of the mountain and had a capuchino in a cafe overlooking the port. There were many cars there and everyone was enjoying a full meal. I didn’t stay long as I was anxious to get going and the sky looked threatening. In the end, going up hill on the curves was no harder than going down hill. I arrived at my hotel 5 hours later.
My ferry boat from Ibiza arrived at 10:30. There was a long line up of about 20-30 motorcycles waiting to get off the boat. We all started up are engines together, you can imagine the noise, and proceeded in single file off the boat. Everyone nodded to each other and off we went, as if we had known each other for years and were in the same motorcycle gang.
My hotel, Juan Miro Museum is a 4* located 5km from downtown Palma, the major city in Majorca. It was impossible to find, and much too expensive to be in the old city. This hotel proved to be much less costly and has all the luxuries that one expects in a 4*.
I dropped off my luggage, parked my bike on the sidewalk which is apparently acceptable here and headed off for late night refreshments at 11:30. The manager gave me explicit directions, ride down the hill, turn right and you will find many small restaurants open at this late hour. I came upon 1 restaurant and had a few tapas. Somehow, I managed to head off in the wrong direction. Very soon I was on an autoroute going I am not sure where. Unfortunately, I had neglected to bring along my GPS and had a vague idea of the name of the hotel. It came across my mind that I may be obliged to sleep at another hotel along the way. Just in the nick of time, I spotted a sign for Palma. I followed the sign and arrived at a gas station. I asked directions from a young man filling up his tank who suggested that I consult the GPS on my phone. Why didn’t I think of that? The elderly should not be allowed to travel alone in a foreign country. I consulted my GPS and what to my surprise, my hotel was listed in living colour with the correct directions of how to get there. Off I went hoping to have enough battery life and 15 minutes later I was back at my 4*.
My 4* has a buffet with no fewer that 50 items to choose from. The cook, from Ghana prepared a 2 egg tortilla with an assortment of vegetables for me. I added another dish of fruits with yogurt and I was set for the day. I decided to take the bus to town instead of the bike. It is easy to park the bike but it means that I must carry around the heavy helmet. The bus trip took 20 minutes and passed through downtown. Palma is much bigger than Eivissa and shopping area id very well developed for the local population,
I got off the bus and wandered through the old, walled section of town. I was pretty much alone until mid day when the tourists woke up and flooded the streets. The old city has the usual narrow, windy streets with the usual shops dedicate to the tourist population. I eventually arrived at the cathedral but did not enter as I was unwilling to pay the 6Euro entrance fee. I settled for the basilica which was much more modest and probably at least as old.
I had a capuchino at the town square and walked along the waterfront. It is Sunday afternoon, sunny, 28C, not a cloud in the sky, blowing 10-12 knots and not a single boat out sailing. It is the same everywhere in Europe and North America. People buy boats, leave them in the harbour and never use them. It takes both time and knowledge of sailing to sail a boat or even to sail a motor yacht. People don’t have the time or energy to learn how to use their toys. Eventually the boats are sold at a loss.
I walked along the waterfront, eventually walking up the steep hill to my hotel. The journey took the better part of 2 hours. I spent the rest of the afternoon at the pool, swimming and reading my book.
I woke up to cloudy with sunny periods, packed and took off on the bike for my daily ride. I had prepared my journey on my iPad at breakfast and synced the route to my bike TomTom. I went north to Santa Eularia, parked the bike and walked around the port. I met up with a couple from Birmingham who are sailing around in a Bavaria, 40 which they keep in Dania during the year and do a few sailing trips per year.
I continued north to Figueral where I stopped to have a cappuccino and dip my feet in the Med. The water was pleasant and it was great to walk along the sandy beach for a few 100m.
I stopped again at Cala de Sant Vicenc which has a hippy market on the weekends. It seemed like all the hippies, young and old congregate here every weekend for the festival. Many tents were set up where you can buy the usual, t-shirts, rings, necklaces and pottery. The village is set on a steep hill and the narrow streets were filled with onlookers. A local rock band was playing Spanish and American rock music from the 60s. Their rendition of Proud Mary was super. The band consisted of a drummer, 2 electric guitarists, and a male and female singer. The audience consisted of teenagers, young and middle aged adults as well as a grey haired group that was reasonably well represented. 1 grey haired Spanish hippy came over to say hello to me. I knew that he was a genuine hippy as he had long grey shoulder length hair, an open shirt, a necklace and a head band.
I continued on my way to Portinatx at the most northern part of the island, before head back to Eivissa. There was a slight drizzle at 1 point which cooled off the weather and make it more comfortable. I left my helmet visor open to feel the breeze and the drizzle. I am sitting in a small cafe, eating a snack and writing my blog. I will take the ferry to Majorca at 8:00 in 3 hours. The crossing should take 2.5 hours.
Love,
Brian
I don’t know why my selfies print upside down. I will ask Chat this evening.
