Shop Log: I Am Telling The Truth!

Shop's Log.  Halifax NS.  August 28th, Tuesday, 19:01.  Weather: Light rain, 20℃.

A man came and bought a few things for a gift.  He wanted them gift-wrapped.  We don't normally do gift-wrapping but it so happened that we had some extra wrapping paper, which I showed him.  I was hoping he'd just take the paper home. I was getting a little nervous...sending telepathic SOS signals to my wife.  Well, he liked the paper and...horrors! ...he asked me to wrap it for him!  Ugh!

See, I am a man with 10 thumbs.  I can't fold, cut, draw, write...let alone wrap...anything straight.  I am the crooked man!  And he asked me to wrap the box for him.  So, I generously offered to provide the tape and scissors and allow him to wrap it any way he wanted.  And, I told him in all honesty: I couldn't wrap anything worth jack.  He insisted he was worse than I was.  He insisted that I did the honours.  You asked for it, you got it!

Five excruciating minutes later, seeing my botched up collage-around-the-box of sorts, he finally realized that I had been telling the truth.  (He had thought I was just being humble!)  His birthday gift was beginning to look more like something from the waste basket.  So, he had to insist on doing the wrapping.  He was pretty good at it too!  Done in two minutes.

So did I say, "I told you so..."?  Of course not!  I am bigger than that.  he! he!

A Visit To A Winery

So we drove off to the Valley and decided to go on a winery tour...at Domaine de Grand Pré. 

Learned a few interesting things.  Walking around the vineyard was great but was disappointed that we didn't get to see the "caves" where they age the wine. 

The vines are not watered manually.  They will find their water.  Vines that are watered will grow roots sideways.  Vines that are left alone will grow deep roots.

No watering necessary...  You'd think grapes are low-maintenance, eh?  Wait till you here about the pruning chores.  

Grapes are grown only at the bottom of the vine.  Fruit growing at the top will compete for and not get enough nutrients to make them useful for wine-making.

So, these young grapes growing up top will be cut away.

Grapes for red wine also need higher sugar content compared to their green cousins.  So the leaves right above them are cut away to allow more sunlight to reach them.  Done by hand, mind you.  Still think grapes are low maintenance? :-)

This particular grape variety is called "L'Acadie" and is grown only in Atlantic Canada...because it likes the cold weather!  It is the only (?) variety that has a red vine...but the grapes are green.

Then came the tasting... we tasted a total of six different wines--two whites, one rosé, two reds, and one dessert wine.  I liked three.  The Ortega...a not-so-dry white.

The Castel...a fuller-bodied red.  A little woody taste in it too. ...as if I knew what I was talking about...!

...and Pomme d'Or...a sweet, golden dessert apple wine.  I didn't see any apple orchards in the estate but they do use Annapolis Valley apples.  By the way, Grand Pré prides itself in using only local grapes, no imports.  A truly Nova Scotian wine.

The other disappoint was there had been no ice wine tasting.  Ice wine, if you must know, is wine made from grapes frozen on the vine.  Canadian winters are perfect for them!  Note: You cannot put a bunch of grapes in your freezer and hope to produce ice wine from it! :-)

Due to the great weather, this year's harvest is expected to be phenomenal.  2012 will be a good year...maybe better than 2010!

WIne tour+tasting $7 per person.  http://www.grandprewines.ns.ca/

Life's Little Pleasures: Canelés!

I had never dreamed I could find a canelé in Halifax...and so was very happy to learn that they make it at Julien's.  (http://www.juliens.ca/)  My wife swung by the shop today and dropped off a couple of the goodies for my afternoon snack!  Thank you, dear.

Canelés are a small French pastry originating from the Bordeaux region.  Outside is caramelized (almost chewy) and inside is like a solid but soft custard.  Very tasty!

Cuba Beach!

Did I ever mention that Cuba is in the Caribbean?  You know what that means...beautiful beaches!

In fact, it's the south side of Cuba that faces the Caribbean.  Havana and Varadero (where the beach resort was) faces the Gulf of Mexico.  

I  wonder if we can see the Florida Keys from the Malecon (that is the sea wall in Havana)...

Anyway, the second half of our vacation was in a beach resort.  This was the entrance.

A sweeping view.

Feeling envious already?  he! he!

We took long walks in the early mornings...

...collected seashells...

...and simply enjoyed the water and salty air.

That was where got our limonadas and piña coladas, by the way... :-)

The pools were pristine.

It was a good idea to bring our waterproof camera.

We had lots of fun with it!

It was a short one week in Cuba.  Before we knew it, we were back in Canada!

(West Jet wing photo credit: the daughter.  All rights reserved.)

Los Habanos - Cuban Cigars

I was in Cuba...I had to try at least once, right?  And so I did...twice! :-)

FIrst night, I had a Guantanamera.  It cost 3.50 CUC.  This was my beginner cigar. :-)

Next night, I had a Cohiba.  Supposedly the best of the best and it was a whopping 8.75 CUC for one.  This cigar used to be FIdel Castro's private brand! (Note: the ones in the picture below are chubbier versions compared to the one I smoked.)

The resort had a cigar room.   You can buy your cigar by the stick and smoke it there.

I told the bartender I was a newbie.  So he did the cutting and lighting for me. 

He also poured me a shot of Santiago de Cuba rum in a snifter.  ¡Excelente!

In his deep baritone voice, he advised me: "Don't swallow the smoke.  Just enjoy in your mouth."  So that's what I did...and it tasted pretty good.

I never smoked cigarettes (and never will).  I actually don't like the smell of cigarette smoke.  But in this room, the cigar smoke was fragrant!

Another local taught me how to hold the cigar "like a man"...wrapped around the forefinger with the middle finger extended.  And you were supposed to wave it around as you chit-chat through the night.  I guess I wasn't holding it 100% correctly...my fingers look a bit obscene!  he! he!

 

Savoured the Cohiba to the last leaf! :-)

So did I pick up a cigar habit?  Nah.  It was good while it lasted but what happens in Cuba, stays in Cuba.  :-)  I'd probably be banished from the house if I started smoking at home!  It wouldn't be the same anyway... but man, in that cigar room, I felt like the "most interesting man in the world."  he! he!

Cuba Shopping

If your vacations are all about looking for bargains on brand items...or even knock-off's...don't go to Cuba.  From the point of view of a decadent capitalist consumer, there's really not much to buy here.

Cuba has a few iconic things going for it.  See how the budding entrepreneurs try to capitalize on them.    

VIntage cars.

Old architecture.

Salsa music.  I did get tired of Guantanamera and Quizas, Quizas, Quizas as it seemed like all the musicians serenading you (while you eat) only had these two song in their repertoires...but I did buy a set of 5 CDs of Cuban music greats for 20 CUC (my biggest purchase!) and the contents went beyond my expectations!

Ernest Hemingway and his rum-drinking habits!   "My mojito in La Bodeguita, My daiquiri in El Floridita."  was what he said.  So, if you are a Hemingway fan (or if you like rum!) you have to make a pilgrimage to these two places. 

Somehow, La Bodeguita was the one that got featured in most of the paintings I saw.  This one, bought for 4 CUC.

I didn't go to either place.  I had my mojitos and daiquiris elsewhere.

...like here in Dos Hermanos.

Established 1894.

...and guess who's on the wall.  Ernest and Fidel, buddy-buddy!  I thought the other gentleman might have been Al Capone (because he was reputed to frequent the place as well) but it turned out to be Alejo Carpentier, a famous Cuban writer.  (Google image search works!)

And if you are a Che Guevarra fan, you'll be in heaven.  He's everywhere!  ...although it looks like there's only one photograph ever taken of him.

...his writings too.

...and even on buildings! (In fairness, there is another building with Castro's image on it too.)

He is also on the three-peso bill...not the CUC but the real Cuban money. The person on the one-peso bill is Jose Marti, the national hero.

And last but certainly not least, a trip to Cuba is not complete without los habanos--the Cuban cigar.

(To be continued)