A storytelling home by Léa Plourde-Archer

Modern tales of a messy abode

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She/her. Montrealer. Full-time freelance content creator, blogger and translator (French to English/ English to French). Currently working on several manuscripts about the life of composer Violet Archer (my great aunt).

  • Montreal Jazz festival: dancing in the streets with the Lemon Bucket Orkestra

    A month ago while listening to the radio, I heard a beautiful song. Once it was over, the host mentioned the name of the band: Lemon Bucket Orkestra. I quickly bought their album and was hooked, so when I saw that they were playing at the Montreal Jazz Festival this year, I was really happy!

    They are from Toronto and their music is a hybrid of many influences, from traditional Ukrainian folk to Balkan dance to punk rock.

    Here’s a quick listen:

    And here are some photos of their set last Sunday. If you are in town, they will be playing again today and tomorrow between 1PM and 3PM (they move around the festival grounds so look for the big group of people with instruments, a belly dancer and a happy crowd formed around them).

    Lemon Bucket Orchestra_ Montreal Jazz festival Lemon Bucket Orchestra_ Montreal Jazz festival Lemon Bucket Orchestra_ Montreal Jazz festival Lemon Bucket Orchestra_ Montreal Jazz festival Lemon Bucket Orchestra_ Montreal Jazz festival Lemon Bucket Orchestra_ Montreal Jazz festival Lemon Bucket Orchestra_ Montreal Jazz festival

  • Photos of beautiful Cappadocia: discovering the landscapes that belong on another planet

    Rose Valley
    Rose Valley

    Cappadocia is one of Turkey’s most visited regions and with good reason: the whole region’s topography was  formed through thousands of years of erosion on the soft stone hills, thus creating unique landscapes that seem like they belong on the moon rather than on this planet.

    We spent  three full days over there and could easily have filled many more with loads of outdoor activities. Most people that visit Cappadocia take a hot air balloon ride that lifts off at 6AM and takes tourists through the area. We decided to opt out as we prefered to visit the area with our feet firmly planted to the ground. No regrets (though everyone we spoke to that took the balloon ride loved it).

    There are so many interesting things to discover while walking through the valleys!  We hired an experimented guide who goes by the name of Walking Mehmet. He took us to secluded areas and shared lots of interesting information about the region. The next day we decided to take another guided tour, this time by bus so we could cover longer distances. As things turned out, our good fortune stood by us and we ended up having another private  tour with yet another excellent guide named Mehmet (from what we gather, in Turkey Mehmet is as common a name as John is in North America). He took us to many amazing places during that day: among which an underground city, a caldera lake, the breathtaking Ilhara valley and the rock monastery of Selime.

    Here are a few photos:

    Ihlara Valley
    Ihlara Valley

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  • Culinary backstreets: Eating our way around the markets of Istanbul

    Midye dolmaThere are many great things about Turkey but one of the biggest highlights is the food. Turkish cuisine is fresh and full of vegetables, spices, perfectly cooked meat and excellent fish. It can be tasty and quite healthy (though people with a sweet tooth and/or an appetite for all things greasy will find many things to their liking).

    Every street of Istanbul is lined with dozens of eateries of all kinds,. Knowing this, we worried that we wouldn’t go to the right places during our short time in the city. Not wanting to miss out on any of the good stuff, we decided to book a food tour with Istanbul Eats/ Culinary Backstreets. Best idea ever!

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  • Turkey 2014: getting lost in the lively Istanbul

    The waterfront in Bostanci on the asian side
    The waterfront in Bostanci on the asian side

    It’s already been 3 weeks since our plane landed at Dorval airport, after a long journey leaving from Istanbul (with a 6h layover in Amsterdam). We spent 3 weeks discovering the beautiful and fascinating country of Turkey.

    Our first and last stop in Turkey was Istanbul, a city that I had already fallen in love with nearly 5 years ago and was excited to see again. My brother and mother had never been but it didn’t take long for the beautiful chaos of the city to win them over. Here are a few photos of our favorite places

    A church in Beyoglu
    A church in Beyoglu
    Street sights on Istiklal Caddesi
    Street sights on Istiklal Caddesi
    Street musicians on Istiklal caddesi
    Street musicians on Istiklal caddesi
    Galata tower
    Galata tower
    A view of the Golden horn
    A view of the Golden horn
    The port in Kadikoy
    The port in Kadikoy
    Inside the mevlana museum where the whirling dervish ceremony was held.
    Inside the mevlana museum where the whirling dervish ceremony was held.
    A whirling dervish ceremony
    A whirling dervish ceremony
    The view from our bedroom.
    The view from our bedroom.
    Aya Sofya architectural detail
    Aya Sofya architectural detail
    Architectural detail, Sultanahmet area
    Architectural detail, Sultanahmet area
    Aya Sofya
    Aya Sofya
    Inside the Blue mosque
    Inside the Blue mosque
    Blue mosque
    Blue mosque
    Inside the Blue Mosque
    Inside the Blue Mosque
    Political posters in Moda
    Political posters in Moda
    Waiting for (and missing) the boat in Karakoy
    Waiting for (and missing) the boat in Karakoy
    Street art in Moda
    Street art in Moda

  • Back to Turkey

    Istanbul skyline turkey travel
    Like the title says, I’m finally going back to Turkey. In two days I’ll be on my way to Amsterdam where my mother, brother and I will spend 3 days. Afterwards, we are heading to Istanbul, our first stop of a 19 day journey through western Turkey.

    I’ll be using this blog once in a while to update you on our adventures. See you later!