Indie On the Road

Category: Travel

  • Dog-Friendly Travel

    In the not too distant past, there were few places that allowed travellers to bring their dogs. But that is changing. Now you can find dog-friendly hotels, AirBnBs, and occasional timeshares offering no worry travel with your dog! However, for most travel vendors, dogs and pets are not the main focus.

    Typical Travel Vendors

    Most travel sites, such as Travelocity, now inlclude a “dog-friendly filter” for locating places you might travel with your pet.

    Travelocity Pet Friendly filter
    Travelocity Pet Friendly filter

    This search returned 300 results .

    Travelocity-pet-300-results
    Travelocity-pet-300-results

    But many listings indicate only service dogs are allowed. Without the training and without paperwork, no dog.

    Look for the details in the search results.

    Pet-friencly details on Travelocity search
    Travelocity-pet-details

    Pet-Centric Travel Vendors

    There is an uptick in quality search results when you deal with travel vendors who are pet-centric. An example, is BringFido.com.

    Bring Fido specializes in travel resources for dog travellers. Visit BringFido.com to search on all sorts of options.

    BringFido.com
    Bringfido.com
    BringFido.com website


    Bringfido.com

    This site offers a lot of amenities for the dog traveler, from pet-friendly hotels to restauarants, events to services. You can search for places across the country and apparently worldwide.

    Search options
    Many dog-friendly options

    Search for Hotels, AirBnBs, and More

    It’s all about your pet and finding those pet-friendly places. Use the various filters to search on type of places to stay and eat, different events and services, pet policies, and ratings.

    Search filters
    Search filters

    Another site about pet-friendly travel is GoPetFriendly. And there are several articles about pet-travel activities, resorts, and locations. It’s great for people who want to travel with their pets. Check them out. Have fun with no worry! Let us know how you make out! Don’t forget to check out dog-friendly beaches!

  • Old World Christmas in Colmar, France

    Destination Colmar, France. It’s an early Thursday morning at the Gare D’est train station in Paris. We are travelling to the town of Colmar, a small town east of Paris inthe Alsace-Lorraine region for a Christmas extravaganza in the little town Colmar, known for its wonderful Christmas decorations, markets, and famous people.

    Old World Charm

    There’s nothing I have experienced in the US like being in Colmar at Christmas. People stroll along the cobbled streets between century old buildings and churches, and across bridges over narrow wateraway stopping by outdoor Christmas markets selling ornaments, and local foods and and drink.

    Colmar Christmas Market
    Colmar Christmas Market

    Colmar has quite a history. As Wikipedia notes, “ The city is renowned for its well-preserved old town, its numerous architectural landmarks and its museums, among which is the Unterlinden Museum, which houses the Isenheim Altarpiece. Colmar is located on the Alsatian Wine Route and considers itself to be the capital of Alsatian wine (capitale des vins d’Alsace).”

    For example, Hansi, Jean-Jacques Waltz (1873-1951,is a local hero who was a prolific illustrator. Working as a journalist, he made fun of the Nazis and was beat up and left for dead, but survived and and fought in the resistance. There’s an interesting museum about him and his work.

    jean-jacques waltz
    From jean-jacques waltz

    Visit the Hansi museum. “The Village of Hansi and his Museum is located in front of the famous “Maison des Têtes”. Come in and discover the city of Colmar in the lifetime of the famous artist Jean-Jacques Waltz, so called “Hansi”. Find out about the fascinating World of Hansi in our Museum on the first floor. Nowadays as a part of the alsatian cultural heritage, his original artworks will allow you to dive into the romantic and fascinating Alsace that he experienced.”

    Further Information

    For further information about the Colmar area, visit the tourism site. Any questions, send us a message.

  • LES CHIEN (Dogs) IN PARIS

    As a dog lover, I was curious about what dogs I would see when visiting Paris. I saw fewer than I expected but those I did I encountered in different locations, from promenading with their owners along the wonderful, walkable streets to riding comfortably in shoulder bags.

    Acording to Per Traveler: “Parisians love spending time with their pets, and it is evident in how pet-friendly the city is. Dogs in Paris are allowed on all public transport including the metro, the subway, the commuter trains and buses.

    Service dogs can travel for free on all forms of transport, and large dogs need a ticket to travel. Small dogs can travel in a bag or dog carriers and do not need a ticket. Larger dog breeds must be on a lead and muzzled when they are travelling on public transport. Parisian taxis can choose to accept or refuse to take your dog in the car; it is a good idea to mention your dog when you book your cab.”

    Dog on Paris

    One large border collie/lab mix was comfortable laying on the floor of one of the metro coaches between riders’ feet and legs. Even beggars on the street had their pups bundled up in blankets on their legs.

    Dog on train
    Dog on train

    Other chiens rode the metro tethered with leases to their ownership.

    Dogs were always on leashes. I didn’t see any dog parks like there are in the US. But people and dogs seem happy and comfortable walking around the cobbled streets and cafes no matter how crowded they are.

  • Fresh Fish and Clams in the Maritimes

    Clamming on PEI

    Travelling to the Maritimes means a great opportuinity for fresh fish. But besides eating out at restaurants, you can buy fresh fish from local grocery stores and coops to cook it up yourself. If you are little adventurous, you can catch it yourself. Did you ever try your hand at clamming? Fresh clams cant’s get any fresher!

    Fish Markets

    You can buy the catch of the day from local fish markets. Just go early. The smaller markets are usually sold out by late morning.

    While in in PEI we stopped at the coop in Tignish, Royal Star Foods Ltd. It is a subsidiary of Tignish Fisheries Co-op Association Ltd., which is the largest Atlantic lobster processor on Prince Edward Island.

    There was a wide selection, from lobsters to oysters, with very reasonable prices.

    Mussels from PEI
    Mussels from the COOP

    Clamming Misinformation

    While planning our trip, we watched some YouTube videos of PEI visitors digging clams themselves, and thought we’d want like to try finding our own once we got to the Maritimes.

    One of the first places we stayed was Fundy National Park. We inquired about places to clam (where the tide would go out leaving sand flats for digging) and were surprised that the rangers at the park didn’t have a clue. In fact one guy actually said he thought nobody had done clamming for years. That seemed odd since we had watched several videos on YouTube about clamming in the Maratimes.

    Finding Access and Watching the Tides

    By the time we got to Prince Edward Island, we learned a lot of people clammed. We learned no license is required for clamming but you need to be aware of any posted signs about potential contaminated shellfish areas, and follow the local rules about size and bag limited (maximum number per day).

    The difficult part about clamming was finding access and when. Mud/sand flats are ideal, i.e., when the tide is out there are these long stretches of exposed sand, still wet with shellfish between the surface.

    To find those sand flats, you need to watch the tides. It is kind of difficult to clam if the tide is low in the wee hours of the morning, or late at night. There are several mobile apps for listing tides in your area (e.g., tidesnearme from iPhone App store).

    Tides app for following local tides.
    Tides app for following local tides.

    We found one location near a light house where the tide was low early that morning. We drove out there, and sure enough the tide was out with a guy already there clamming about 200 yards up the sand flat. There was plenty areas to dig. We started down where there was no water or only a few inches and found razor clams, bar clams and several other types. We also found oysters lying in a couple inches of water!

    Eating Them is the Best Part

    Fresh Clams

    Whether you eat shellfish raw or cooked, fresh is the best. We enjoyed every bite.

    If you go clamming, send us a photo of your catch and tell us about it at indie@indieontheroad.net.

  • Aboard the CAT High-Speed Ferry to Maine

    Map of CAT Route from CAT Website

    Today, we are on the CAT high-speed ferry from Yarmouth Nova Scotia to Bar Harbor Maine. It’s about a 3.5 hr ride.

    CAT’s Stern Deck
    CAT’s Stern Deck

    After loading the RV, below decks, we were required to go up to the lounge. Nice venue to see the cruise, eat breakfast and do some writhing.

    CAT Lounge
    Lounge on the CAT

    On arrival we will without a doubt need to to walk our dogs who had stay onboard the RV during the crossing. Then back on the road toward home and the end this trip to the Maritimes. It was fun!