Judy McLeod
Special to The Lake Report
Last year, Peter and I planned a wonderful winter trip to discover Crete — an island with ancient ruins, beautiful beaches and wonderful Cretan food. From there, we would then spend a few weeks in our favourite part of France, Provence. Then, Trump and the 51st state threat happened …
As his “sabre rattling” picked up speed and the Canadian landscape turned murky, we wondered if it was a wise time to travel. But armed with our Canadian flag and maple leaf jacket pins, we threw caution to the wind and off we went.
First, a bit about Crete, which has been part of Greece since 1913. If you like ruins, they have them. It’s the birthplace of Minoan civilization from 3,000 BC. The natural caves at Matala, where Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan and Cat Stevens hung out in the late ’60s, was a fun day exploring hippie history.
And the food (Cretans are quick to say that their food is unique), with an emphasis on the use of wild greens, local cheeses and some of the very best bread we’ve tasted outside of France. And of course, the seafood was fabulous.
The weather in Crete was sunny and English is widely spoken. We were greeted warmly and there was some recognition of our Canadian challenges with Trump and the 51st state rhetoric.
As the news continued to deliver some of the most egregious losses of democratic process, Peter decided to rebrand his morning Americano. The “Canadiano” was accepted everywhere with great success.
On to France, where our challenges with Trump were widely recognized and acknowledged. We were cheered, hugged and apologized to by travelling Americans, and in the old port of Marseille had a rendition of “O Canada” sung to us by a Corsican gentleman after learning where we were from.
As we travelled through the Provence cities of Antibes, St. Tropez and Aix-en-Provence, we were greeted by sunny blue skies, warm French hospitality and the iconic umbrella pines.
We visited with one of Peter’s friends from his law school days at McGill — a 52-year friendship with a wonderful French couple. We had lunch with them at the oldest sailing club in France — the Marseille Sailing Club.
Another day, we drove to their country home outside Cuers for a typical French picnic in their vineyard. What a special treat.
Our favourite activities when travelling are food and fish markets, walking, some churches and historical sights, and a good cemetery or two.
But nothing can compete with the Provence markets — our afternoon tarte au citron and cappuccino became a necessary fortification before checking the latest American news.
I’ve always felt safe and proud to travel as a Canadian. I love our wonderful democratic and civil country.
Vive le Canada libre.
