Shanghai – the last post

After eight months of wandering the globe, our travels have come to an end. We’ve saved some of the best and most interesting photos for last.

Shanghai was like nothing we’ve ever experienced before: a city whose time is right now. These pictures try to capture some of that energy. Anyone want to go to Expo 2010? (RE)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/swizzlestudio/sets/72157622667308570/

Going out west

We spent a month in British Columbia and Alberta, on what Christine dubbed “The Family and Friends Tour”. It was definitely enjoyable to get back to old stomping grounds and try to see as many people as we could.

I took a few photos, though nothing compared to the 1000s we shot during The Grand Tour. This album is a little more personal than the other ones from the tour, but you might enjoy the grim, grim photos of Valemount, B.C. (RE)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/swizzlestudio/sets/72157622531166814/

Shanghai sketchbook

I’ve just posted the first round of sketches from our two week trip to Shanghai. More to come once I’m over the jet lag – my brain still thinks it’s 15 hours ahead, tomorrow. (RE)

Trashy sketches

We arrived back in Toronto to find the city in the throes of a municipal workers’ strike. This included thousands of workers, from secretaries to ambulance drivers. But for most people, it was a “Garbage Strike”.

Toronto on strike was depressingly not much different than Toronto usually is. If anything, the place was a bit cleaner, because shopkeepers and homeowners weren’t waiting for the City to come along and clean messes up (which seldom happens). But as the weeks piled on, it was hard to deny the city was getting stankier. The whole sorry strike is over now, but the smell lingers.

Here’s some sketches I did over the past few weeks. (RE)

Barbecues & Futons

The Grand Tour ain’t over. We’re just taking a breather, flipping the record as it were, until we hit the road again. Up next, British Columbia and Shanghai.

We’ve been couch-surfing in Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal thanks to some rather generous friends. As this sketch shows, summer is a very good time to stay with one’s pals. (RE)

The whole Grand Tour

Here is the Flickr collection of all 14 sets of photos from Rob and Christine’s Grand Tour (El Puerto de Santa Maria, Cadiz, Cordoba, Sevilla, Valencia, Malaga, Canillas de Albaida, Madrid, Florence, Bologna, Prague, Loket, Berlin, London and Istanbul):

http://www.flickr.com/photos/swizzlestudio/collections/72157614276046529

Istanbul photos now posted

Ancient civilizations, busy harbours and street vendors. Take a gander at the megalopolis of Istanbul. Nearly 200 photos posted here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/swizzlestudio/sets/72157620732245045/

Homecoming Parade Route

That’s it for the European leg of the Grand Tour. There’s still some horsing around Ontario in July, an August trip to Vancouver/Victoria, and an Autumn adventure in Shanghai to come, before we are really and truly ready to get jobs and a home again.

The trip has been amazing, 129 days of mental overloading, with hardly a thing worth complaining about. The one thing we were underwhelmed by was much of the food. The options and quality in Canada are terrific, and we’ve been missing our favourite Toronto eating spots.

Here’s is the route Christine and I plan to drive when we get over the jet lag and wake up hungry. (RE)

Istanbul food sketchbook

Market City sketchbook