Family

I have been blessed the last few days to be able to spend time with my family as we formed a circle of support for my Grandma. Tuesday morning she had a procedure done, and everything went perfect! She even has a picture that she is showing off as to how well everything went. It was so great to have family all together to just spend time, reminisce and laugh.

One of my aunts flew in from New Jersey to be here, and another arrived from Toronto. The amount of support my Grandma has, is amazing - and it's not just from her family. Her neighbours and all the people in her community care so much for her, it's comforting to know that she will always have someone there for her.

I am so thankful for my family and the time we spend together. This is definitely something I could not live without!

Cats of Prey....again...

Well, I guess I could say that I am proud of my cat (same one) for knowing his inner instincts so well.

He is becoming quite the predator - who would've known?

Pumpkin caught a bird again, and as much as he is being "just a cat" - I would prefer not to see it.

I think I am most shocked that he can catch all these things, because he is a not always there, mentally. He runs around aimlessly in every which direction - atleast when I see him he does.

Now, I'm worried to send him outside again in fear that he'll bring more things home.

Harry!!

Last night I had the privilege of spending the evening with the one and only Harry Connick, Jr.

Wow, time flew by so fast with his show and the big band.

It was so nice to enjoy live music again. Harry even ended up stopping his show in search for working nail clippers from the audience. He also had a vintage upright piano and an organ to play with when he wasn't on his beautiful Steinway.

His songs were focussed on the New Orleans theme that he either learned growing up or people from New Orleans wrote the song. The stage was set as a cafe in the French Quarter with the ceiling fans and street lanterns.

I loved the show entirely and wished it would have kept going. Some of his songs included Hello, Dolly; Won't you Come Home Bill Bailey, and Jambalaya.

His message was strong with one of his songs - All These People - that he wrote especially for the victims of Hurricane Katrina. He had suggested that we visit New Orleans to bring the tourism back up, as that is the biggest concern still today.

It was such a great show!! I can't hardly wait until he comes back!!

Pictures from top to bottom: The concert stage with the Big Band; Harry & his daughter repainting houses after Hurricane Katrina; Harry playing at Jazz Fest.

Lord of the Flies

I have just finished reading a classic novel that I hadn't seen since grade 10.

I read the Lord of the Flies by William Golding and it's all about the creation and destruction of a group of boys attempting to survive on an island after a plane crash. They deal with the struggle to be rescued, to eat, to survive from "the beast" and themselves.

I had forgotten how the plot went from before, so I was shocked with some of the things that happened in the story. It got me thinking as to how I would be if I were stranded on an island for a certain amount of time dealing with the chaos and disorder of those around me.

I just hope that never happens to me.

Cats of Prey

The other night, Pumpkin - my fluffy white cat, decided to catch a bird.

We had no idea what was going on until we looked at the screen door and saw this beard - screaming its head off and flapping its wings like crazy inside my cat's mouth.

Stephanie pried Pumpkin's mouth open to release the bird and put the cat inside. We saw that the bird was clearly injured and we set off to find a box to catch the bird.

The bird decided it was going to try to run away - but he couldn't fly, so he was hopping around the parking lot.

Stephanie caught the bird using oven mits and we put it in the box, and it calmed itself down. I think it was very happy not to be my cat's supper.

We drove to the wild bird sanctuary where they help abandoned baby birds, and injured birds. On our drive, we had to stop in the middle of the road because there was a flock of geese crossing the street with their goslings.

We arrived at the trail, and the bird sanctuary was closed. We headed for the drop-off where we could leave him overnight and came across a raccoon. We placed the bird in the box (it was a man-made box with a door and latch and holes, of course) and went home.

We came home to feathers all over our porch and cats desperate to go outside again.

We called the next day to see how the bird was doing - and they said he was great, just had a slight puncture in his stomach, but everything would be fine.

Montreal - Part V

DAY FIVE - FINAL DAY

Weather - a gorgeous cloudless day already at a heaping 25 degrees with humidity added on top of that.

We decided to skip breakfast and check-out of our room seen as how we had to be out by 11am anyhow. We headed for some breakfast at this Italian restaurant called Pacini - and with every meal there was all this Italian meat and tomato sauce.

We headed to the Biodome as we had yet to use our ticket that we bought as a package with the Insectarium and Botanical Gardens. We were lucky enough to be able to check our baggage.

We were in the hottest area first - after being hot from dragging a suitcase across the city and metro stations. We saw tropical birds, alligators, turtles, and bats.

Throughout the Biodome we saw fish, little ducks swimming to the bottom to get food, beavers asleep in their nest, a hedgehog asleep in a tree, crabs, starfish, and of course - penguins - my favourite!!

The penguins were so cute climbing the snow, or just standing on a rock not even moving. There was a herd (proper term?) of penguins slowly making their way to jump into the water - and I was waiting forever to get a picture of them jumping in, but the leader decided to change his mind and walk away.

We ended our sight seeing at the Biodome (and around the Olympic Tower) and decided to wait it out at a cafe until it was time to catch the train. We were totally exhausted anyhow, and our feet were so sore. It didn't help that it was the most humid day of all that we were in Montreal and I had to wear my boots because they wouldn't fit in the suitcase (too much shopping)




We got on our train and was all excited to see the sights again from that view, actually knowing what everything was this time. We went through a thunderstorm and it was really cool. The train got really dark and we could see lighting flashes every once and again. Clearly it was a long, busy vacation for us, as Will fell asleep on the train - without me even knowing - I was having a conversation, apparently with myself.



Overall, an amazing vacation - we took so many photos, can't share them all, and will definitely go back again some day (maybe not on the weekend of the Grand Prix). We also want to take on Quebec City, as everyone we've talked to has said it is a must, especially after a trip to Montreal.

Pictures from top to bottom: Will excited to see a turtle in the Biodome; 2 puffins in love or asleep; me in front of the Olympic Tower; Will asleep on the train

Montreal - Part IV

DAY FOUR

Weather: Started sunny and about 20 degrees and as usual became overcast as soon as we left from breakfast.

For breakfast we had an apple-filled pastry with sliced apples in applesauce. We also had some fresh fruit with yogurt.

We had decided that we would spend the whole day in Old Montreal as there were so many things that we would see and do.

Because I wasn't a big fan of the Bed & Breakfast breakfast, we searched for a restaurant near Old Montreal that was still serving breakfasts - and I got to eat my pancakes!!

We headed down rue Notre Dame as we knew for sure that the Notre Dame Cathedral was there. We headed inside the cathedral and found it absolutely gorgeous.

It turned out that there was a Chapelle de Notre Dame inside the Notre Dame Cathedral - which is where separate services would be held. Will was in complete awe of the detail and all the artwork that was in there.

We walked through the streets of Old Montreal on the cobblestone and saw so many historic buildings. While we were walking, after the Notre Dame Cathedral, Will discovered a very special store.

The store was called "Noel Eternel". He was in heaven. There was Christmas Carols playing in the background and Christmas ornaments everywhere - including giant Santas. We ended up buying a Christmas ornament (to add to our very miniscule collection) - as I don't think Will would have been able to leave the store empty handed.

We finally made our way to the Old Port and walked in and out of the pathways. We made our way to the clock tower and decided to see inside. We knew we were in trouble when the stairs were numbered - backwards. There was 289 steps. I was OK for most of them, until the stairs got narrower and in a spiral form. I looked up and decided that I could go no further. I still made it higher than Will!!

We grabbed some lunch in the pavillion (just like a food court in a mall) - and realized they were all closing up at 4:00pm - not sure why?

We saw these people riding these motorized scooters - and had really wanted to try them. Even our Bed & Breakfast owner told us about these. We found out where the rental location was - and decided to sign up for a 30 minute session (which includes training - which is mandatory). These are all battery-operated machines that you stand on and you just have to move back and forth with your body.

It was super cool - the time went by really fast, but they said the next time we come to rent - we get a faster speed because we'll be officially trained and in their system. I still can't believe that we did that. I really liked riding it on the cobblestone and grass (very amusing, and bumpy), but didn't really like riding on bridges (a little scary coming downhill - especially when they keep warning you that the machine costs $6000 - and will keep going even if you're not on it). Will preferred to stay on the paved road.

Will was getting cold and decided that he wanted to get changed before we headed out for our last dinner in Montreal. We knew that we were coming back to Old Montreal to see everything lit up with the old-fashioned lanterns and just the atmosphere we knew would be nice to be around.

We picked a French restaurant Le Sauvignon (I think that's the name) on rue St. Paul and it was a very rustic French-Canadian restaurant. We each ordered a roast which were served with vegetables and we had some wine.

I finally had some room for dessert - I think I forced myself to, as this was the last opportunity. I had a delicious chocolate mousse cake.

We walked along the streets after dinner and saw everything lit up. Will's favourite night-time sight was this fountain between a City of Montreal building and the Hotel de Montreal. It had these lights coming out of it that just made it glow.

On the way to the metro we found Square Victoria (yet another tourist site) and went inside. It looked like it was originally an outdoor park with surrounding buildings - but now there is a roof that connects the building. It was also lit up, and Will loved it. We seem to find the more interesting things by chance.

We ended up crashing around midnight/1 am and prepared for our final day in Montreal.

Pictures from top to bottom: me in front of the Notre Dame Cathedral before entering; Will inside the Christmas store; Will on his scooter (I was better at hit than he was); I love this picture as Will had no idea I was making that face - near the Clock Tower at the Port of Old Montreal; Inside the Square Victoria - it was pretty much a field of water.

Montreal - Part III

DAY THREE

Weather: about 7 degrees and it started out sunny, but when we ventured out - there was no sun to be found.

For breakfast we had a chocolate-banana loaf with cream and raisins, and then a fried egg sandwich with fresh fruit.

We fully planned out our day this time. I researched times and distances of all the places we were planning on visiting today.

Because our Bed & Breakfast wasn't very far away, we decided to walk to the Botanical Gardens and Insectarium in the morning. We purchased a package that let us visit the gardens, the insectarium, and the Biodome.

Because it was still cold, we started out in the greenhouses and then worked our way outdoors in hopes of it becoming warmer. We saw orchids, begonias, cactus, ferns, and South American flowers. Some of the rooms were really warm, and we didn't want to leave them.

There was so much to see outside, we limited the gardens that we wanted to see for this visit. We chose the rose garden, the Chinese garden and the Japanese garden.

In the rose garden we saw very few roses in bloom because of the cold. We did end up seeing a duck asleep near a fountain in the garden. We found the Insectarium - and Will was still cold, so we headed in.

We got to weigh ourselves in ants. Will weighed 3, 500, 000 ants, and I weighed 3, 250, 000 ants.

Next we headed to the Japanese Pavilion and saw some bonsais that we learned later were over 370 years old. Will fell in love with the waterfalls.

We managed to find our way into the Chinese Garden and learned that they don't use grass in their gardens. It was so very beautiful - even without the grass. Will was also so amazed by the water around everywhere.

We decided to pass on the Biodome today, and would head out there first thing Friday morning.

We even planned out where we were going to have lunch to incorporate into our busy schedule. Will loves St. Hubert, so we headed there for lunch downtown.

We walked back to the Architecture Musee (and yes, it was open) and went in to discover that there wasn't much going on as they were preparing for a celebatory ball the following evening.

We saw an exhibit by Gilles Clement and I fell in love with his art called Le Lustre, which is glass drops filled with ordinary things found on the street. It looks so pretty, and unique.

They also had a fully restored Victorian House as part of the museum, but there were too many things going on for the ball preparation, that we didn't fully admire it, as we could have.

We went to the front of the museum and all you could see was the Victorian House - it looked gorgeous!

We walked to the Queen Mary of the World Cathedral on the way to St. Patrick's Basilica. We passed this huge, gorgeous building, and later learned it was the Sun Life Building (insurance company) created in the early 1900s.

We walked to the Christ Church Cathedral and waited until admission was free for the Contemporary Art Musee at 6pm. I was fascinated by the neon exhibition of Bruce Nauman. You could tell that he had a large sense of humour. We also ran into some rooms where all you had were televisions on opposite ends of the room saying different phrases like "eat me, hurt me, anthropology" or "eat me, hurt me, sociology"

We decided to head to rue Crescent for dinner, not knowing where exactly we were planning on eating. We had heard that Crescent is known for its liveliness and is considered to be the street that never sleeps.

We found our way into a Mexican Restaurant and sat on the patio, while we had a clear shot of the potential Stanley Cup Final game across the street. We each had some enchiladas with rice, and it was delish!

We stopped in at Ben & Jerry's for some ice cream and made it home in time to see the Anaheim Mighty Ducks win the Stanley Cup. Will was a little sad, but he got over it pretty quickly - we were in Montreal!!

Pictures from top to bottom: Me smelling some beautiful Princess Diana orchids; Will pretending to be a butterfly; In the Chinese garden, I'm in front of the Tower of the Condensing Clouds; Le Lustre exhibit by Gilles Clement; the front of the Architecture Musee; the children's room inside St. Patrick's Basilica; Me pretending to be part of the fountain outside the Contemporary Art Musee

Montreal - Part II

DAY TWO

Weather - about 21 degrees and off-and-on rain


For breakfast we had a fresh croissant with jam, and an apple and cheese crepe with fresh fruit. It was really delicious.

We had planned our day a little better this time and went directly en route to find this department store called "Simons" that is well-known. Apparently I was given a wrong address in my tourism book, and we yet again failed to find our destination.

We did end up climbing a hill partially on its way to Mont Royal but detoured around the McGill campus. We fell in love with the campus and wondered why we never considered this as a potential school when we were finishing high school.

All the buildings were historical and the gardens were so fresh and green.

We next headed down avenue Sherbrooke and found the Musee des Beaux Arts. The gallery was a free entrance - but we were particularly fascinated with the exhibition going on - "Once upon a Time: Disney"

We learned that Walt Disney was influenced heavily through fairy tales and paintings and we even got to see the special Oscar he got for Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (there was one big Oscar, and then 7 little Oscars). At the end of the exhibition - we bought two children's books that we will be saving. One was a fairy tale book incorporating the charcters of Walt Disney, and the other was just random stories.

When we got out of the museum it had started to rain, so we quickly found the first restaurant in site and decided to grab some lunch. We ate at Dundee's Bar and Grill and ate some french onion soup, chicken wings and bruschetta.

We headed out again and it wasn't raining so much. We were headed in the direction of the Architecture Musee, and discovered in passing that it wasn't open on Tuesdays. My luck with travelling was running short on me.

After walking down rue Ste-Catherine, we finally discovered Simons and decided to do some shopping. This is a big store, and it's 85% clothes. There were people everywhere and it made it hard to move around.

After Simons we headed to the Underground City and was amazed at how big it was. The higher we went, the more expensive stores there were (DKNY, Dior, etc) plus there was a gorgeous chandelier and I think they were also preparing for a runway show along the stairs.

We headed out back to rue Ste-Catherine in search for dinner. We were trying to maintain the idea of having a different type of food each night for dinner. Monday night was Italian, and Tuesday night turned out to be Thai.

We found this great Thai take-out restaurant and ordered too much food (as always). It was really good, though.

By the time we got home, we were completely exhausted and decided to borrow the cribbage board from the Bed & Breakfast to play while relaxing in bed. I won.

Pictures from top to bottom: Rutherford building near main McGill campus, Will in front of an engineering building on McGill campus; Will with a painting called "Ken Dryden" in the Musee des Beaux Arts; the chandelier inside the Underground City Shopping area

Montreal - Part I

DAY ONE

Weather: Ottawa - raining, about 15 degrees

Montreal - raining, about 23 degrees

We caught our train at 9am and while waiting there was a group of teenagers waiting to go on their band trip for Toronto, which their train left a few minutes before ours.

There was only a few stops between Ottawa and Montreal, and it was such a beautiful ride. Totally stress-free.

We arrived in Montreal around 11:30am and was slowly learning our way around the city. We arrived at a metro station and bought ourselves a weekly pass (totally worth it!) and lugged our suitcase through the station.

I knew what stop to get off at, and had my trusty map ready - I just had forgotten to write down the address of the Bed & Breakfast down before going. I knew the name of it "Le Gite Dezery", and the street it was on - but it turns out my sense of direction is not so good. We headed down the wrong way of the street, and finally asked someone who told us the place was at the top of the hill - not the bottom! The B & B was a little northeast of downtown Montreal - but with metros everywhere - that wasn't a problem

We finally found it - and it was good that I told the owner to check us in at 1pm beforehand, because that gave us time to get lost - which we did!

We got into this really gorgeous room with a couch and flatscreen. It was a very modern room. We headed out to explore the rest of the day out in Montreal - to pretty much learn that most museums or anything we wanted to see - wasn't open on Mondays!

We checked out the underground shopping areas and cruised the streets when it wasn't raining. We decided to head back to our room to actually plan our trip out and see what we could do on Monday. We ended up catching a quick nap (getting lost can be pretty exhausting) and then headed out downtown for dinner! Our plan was to just search for anything that looked good.

We found Guido & Angelina's on rue University, and ended up sitting down just as the hockey game was starting. It was more of a casual Italian restaurant. Will ended up eating a tortellini dish with prosciutto meat. I ended up eating this whole wheat linguine with vegetables (kind of like a pasta primavera) and we each had some wine.

We had no room for dessert - as we had a pretty late lunch (around 2pm) - which seemed to be the case for the rest of the week.

We headed back home as we had to prepare ourselves for the long day we had planned for Tuesday when more things would be open.

Pictures from top to bottom: Will in the front of our Bed & Breakfast Le Gite Dezery; Our bedroom in the Bed & Breakfast Le Gite Dezery; Will on the train to Montreal, before the train got full at the Ottawa Station.