Guy & Judy's Adventures

My parents 50th wedding anniversary

2008-05-04T14:32:00.003-04:00

The Summer Solstice Moto Guzzi Gathering

2008-01-26T11:38:00.000-05:00

Just a little Party I planning for the weekend of June 20-21 2008. All makes welcome. Email me @ guyfortier@netspectrum.ca for details.

July 29th Ride

2007-07-30T12:16:00.000-04:00

Decided to take the day off and go for a ride on Sunday. Headed North to the Abitibi-Temiskaming region of Quebec. Total distance covered 686 Km

June 24th weekend with the family

2007-06-24T05:39:00.000-04:00

My parents and my sister with her soon to be
husband came up for the weekend. So we played a little golf and did some exploring of the area. Had a great meal at Saenchuir Flechey Resort.

Off to Killlarney today

2007-06-02T14:30:00.000-04:00

Took Judy out for a ride this morning. Went to Killarney out on Georgian Bay for a little lunch.

Had the best fish in a long long time. Pan fried White fish caught fresh this morning!!

Sunday afternoon Jam Session

2007-05-27T15:14:00.000-04:00

As you may know one of the things I have been most enthusiastic about is promoting the Sunday afternoon Jam sessions. Well today it paid off in spades, not monetarily but with the appearance of a talent in the shape of a 13 year old guitar picker. Here is a picture of him and his family playing this afternoon.

What I did on the long weekend

2007-05-20T15:55:00.000-04:00

Pulled the frame off the Red Guzzis engine to discover why I lost all forward motion.

My worst fears were confirmed, I had sheared the flywheel bolts!!

2007-05-11T09:40:00.000-04:00

we lost our dear friend and companion of 12 years this morning. Ginger on the left was our first cat and will always be part of our family.

May 6th weekend in Northern Ontario

2007-05-06T14:20:00.000-04:00

Rode the Guzzi up from Napanee this weekend and invited a few friends to ride along. Les and his brother Ken rode up with me while Klaus and John rode up from Toronto and Kitchener.

They all left for home on Sunday morning and I decided to go for a ride to Temagemi.

This is what I found when I got back to home base, life is pretty darn good!!

Spring in Lavigne

2007-04-25T18:37:00.000-04:00

Spring has arrived in the Near North. Business has been improving slowly and the snowbirds have been returning from thier southern wintering grounds. Also improving is the motorcycle traffic along the highway.

A new adventure begins

2007-01-28T10:40:00.000-05:00

Starting March 1st Judy and I will be taking possession of a small Tavern in the Near North of Ontario. Located in the small village of Lavigne at the western tip of Lake Nippissing this is a fulfilment of a long time dream. Our travels for the next little while will be curtailed by the necessity of getting the place on solid footing. But after that who knows

Newfoundland and Back!!

2006-07-20T08:14:00.000-04:00

We made it!! Might not sound like a big deal to some but for Judy and I this was our first solo longdistance motorcycle journey. On previous trips we had always had the company & support of fellow travelers. So traveling this distance on our own was something new to us, although I didn't realize it until we were nearly home that it was our first solo trip.

First some facts:

Distance covered 5383 kilometers or 3364 miles (mostly two lane back roads, only a few hundred Kilometers of 4 lane highway used)

Provinces visited 4 Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland.

Fuel consumed 372.9 litres or 93.22 gallons for an average of 36.08 mpg

Total fuel cost $458.61 at an average of $1.22 per litre (premium where I could find it)

Why did we go to Newfoundland? Why for Andre's and Deanne's wedding of course.

Now for some pictures of our trip.

On the New Brunswick/Quebec border we found this wonderful looking lake.

In Shediac New Brunswick we met up with the Einarsons where their young son Christopher decided to try and remove some of my facial hair!

Welcome to Nova Scotia.

We've arrived in Cape Breton and are on the Hwy 19 on our way to Mabou for the night.

In the town of Mabou we found the Red Shoe Pub owned by The Rankin Sisters.

Where two of the Rankin Family members entertained us with some fine Celtic music.

On to the Cabot Trail. It's everything you have ever heard about. 185 miles of breath taking scenery and amazing roads. We traveled it in a clock wise direction which meant we avoided being stuck behind RV's and tour buses which were all traveling the other way

More scenery from the Cabot Trail

We found a 55 foot schooner offering whale watching tours so off we went. Saw two fin whales and hoards of dolphins.

Welcome to Newfoundland. Not sure what I expected but this province blew me away. With it's scenery and it's people. The pics below are from along the Burgeo Rd. a 147 km stretch of road with nothing on it other than trees, rocks, mountains, moose and caribou.

A road where on a good day you can experience every type of weather imaginable from Sunny and Warm to Wet and Cold all on your 1 1/2 hour drive along it.

Burgeo

The Beaches and some nature type pics from the Sandbanks Provincial Park within walking distance of the town of Burgeo. Our friends Chuck and Tricia flew in for the wedding and we spent lots of time together exploring Burgeo and it's surroundings.

according to the information given to us in the map that came with $5.00 per car load admission there are 7 kilometers of sand beaches in the park. We saw two other people the day we were there.

The Journey Home

The ferry home arrives.

On the way home we decided to go see the Gaspe peninsula as neither of us had seen it before. So we rounded the Gaspe, found Perce rock and road homewards along Hwy 132 all the way to the Ontario border. This highway follows the south shore of the St Lawrence.

Well folks that's all for now. We had a wonderful trip and met some of the nicest people in the world in the town of Burgeo. Special thanks to the ladies at Gilletts Motel in Burgeo for their kind hospitality. Thanks also go out George, Ron, Les, Cal, Eddie, and John for being the best hosts and finest ambassadors a town can have. We will most certainly be back.

7 day's till the next adventure begins

2006-07-01T18:24:00.000-04:00

7 day's until we leave for the wedding of our dear friends Deanne and Andre in Burgeo Nfld. Just to make things interesting we will be riding the bike.

The bike in question is a 2001 Moto Guzzi California EV, with a Corbin seat and some Bieffe hard luggage.

In the background of the photo you will notice Judy training very hard for the upcoming Newfie wedding!

Below is a link to Deanne and Andre's wedding website

http://www.deanneandandre.com/

This is me being supportive of Judy's training efforts.

Btw I almost forgot Happy Canada Day!

2006-06-20T20:10:00.000-04:00

My Brother in Law Don keeps on sending me reminders of why I would love to live and work in Bermuda.

2006-06-04T07:46:00.000-04:00

Some pics from Mike's 5oth birthday celebration

Venice

2006-05-16T21:11:00.000-04:00

Couldn't resist more pics of Venice

Casanova was arrested here!

Murano glass showroom

Leaving Murano

More Venice

2006-05-16T20:55:00.000-04:00

Don we found your next sail boat for you while in Venice. Just needs a nice coat of yellow paint to become Yellow Bird II.

Some other boats in the harbor

Last stop Venice

2006-05-16T20:42:00.000-04:00

The best B&B on the whole trip, monocal (Venician for bachelor apartment)
Thanks Sonia for an amazing stay
http://www.gliangeli.net/

The rest of Venice needs no commentary

A little Tuscan sunshine

2006-05-16T20:25:00.000-04:00

This grin brought to you via a fine Tuscan meal, two bottles of Chianti and a Espresso and Sambuca.

Florence

2006-05-16T20:15:00.000-04:00

The Ponte Vechio, The Ufizi, and more Florentine sights

Florence

2006-05-16T19:53:00.000-04:00

It's Wednesday so we must be in Florence!

Views from our B&B's window.

We were a little disapointed by this B&B as it had the most impressive website but offered only moderate value. It's strong suit was location, location, location. Right in the heart of Renaissance Florence. http://www.bed-breakfast-florence.com/

Once the tour buses and the hoards they carried with them left, Florence was truly a marvel with countless back alley's with hidden treasures at every turn.

Rome day 3 part 2

2006-05-16T19:36:00.000-04:00

Inside the Vatican museum on our way to the Sistine Chapel (no photos allowed!)

Rome day 3

2006-05-16T19:29:00.000-04:00

Day three off to The Vatican and it's museums and St Peters Basilica.

Motorcycle side bar

2006-05-16T19:19:00.000-04:00

Some of you might know that I could not resist stopping by the "local" dealer while we were in town. Saw the new Guzzi's the Breva, and the Griso. Nice pieces of kit!

Ancient to modern Rome

2006-05-16T12:46:00.000-04:00

So as we move from ancient Rome to a somewhat more modern era.

Benito Mussolini used to give speeches from this balcony.

Ancient Rome

2006-05-16T07:33:00.000-04:00

Nothing I can add here other than the coloseum and the walk up to the forum is an awesome site.

Rome day 1 part 3

2006-05-16T05:19:00.000-04:00

A few more images taken from in and around our B&B in Rome. Highly recommended for its comfort and friendly service.

Edoardo e Maurizio
B&B "Orti di Trastevere
www.bbtrastevere.com
L.go Bernardino da Feltre, 100153 RomaItalyTel.: (0039) 06 5896794

The next morning off we went to see the sites, Circus Maximus, the Coloseum and the Palantine Hill.

Rome day 1 part 2

2006-05-16T05:11:00.000-04:00

After checking in we crossed the Tiber River and walked passed the Piazza Argentina to the Pantheon where we encountered the first hoards of tourists.

Rome day 1

2006-05-15T05:08:00.000-04:00

May 6th 2006. Upon our arrival in Rome's Trastevere district we locate our bed and breakfast run by Maurizio and his brother. Nice spot not far from anything. Lots of great restaurants, cafe's and bars. This is a view from the window of our room.