AMALUNA-THE NEW CIRQUE DO SOLEIL SHOW WAS AMAZING

WEATHER: Rainy and 25C

HIGHLIGHT OF THE DAY: Cirque Do Soleil…..

BUMMER OF THE DAY: Good weather comes to an end

WORD OF THE DAY: Africa reunion

I woke this morning at 8am with a message from Nancy that she would pick me up from the hotel at 7pm tonight for the Cirque Do Soleil show.  I was really looking forward to seeing the show as I haven’t seen any of them.  This was going to be Nancy’s 4^th show.  She also mentioned that she hoped I would have a good day even though it was raining.  News to me as I wasn’t even out of bed yet, but opening the curtains it was pouring down rain.  I guess the run of extremely good weather had to come to an end at one point.  I was planning to walk into the old town today and spend some time down there today, but after checking the weather for the rest of the day, it was going to get worse before it got better, so I decided to have a hotel day, blog day and head out for some lunch.  I didn’t feel too bad with this as I had now decided to stay the extra 2 night here now, so it gives me plenty of time now to see what I want to see. 

Breakfast wasn’t included in the room rate so there was no need to rush and I spent the morning catching up on y blog.  I seem to be 3 days behind again, so I need to get my butt into gear.  I was watching the marathon of Criminal Minds and was totally stoked when Zeme came online so we had a chat for a while before he had to go.  Considering they are 7 hours in front of us, it is always a nice surprise when we are online at the same time.  Man I miss him so much and just need to keep an eye on the prize of seeing him in July.  He got the last piece of paperwork from his boss today, so back to the consulate again next week.  Dang I hate this bit but it’s something I guess I am going to have to get used to.  I also used this time to double check all the train times, flight times and tours and on my way out to lunch I stopped by reception to book in everything.  So I added on an additional 2 nights here at the hotel, booked the Quebec tour for tomorrow, the 3 hour city tour on Thursday and I was still a little undecided about Friday and was going to play that one by ear.  What a great 3 days ahead! 

   

I headed out for lunch at a café on Saint Catherine Street and watched the people and crowds pass me by.  I take my book along with me as well so over lunch I read and people watched the afternoon.  It is a tough job but someone has to do it right?  I have started to have big lunches and something small for dinner while I have the use of the microwave, so it was a beautiful piece of steak for lunch with veggies, which also came with a soup for starter and chips and dip.  I stopped at the grocery store on the way home and bought some more 2 minute noodles, some banana cake slices that will suffice for breakfast, a carton of juice and some cans of coke.  I also forgot to tell you that in that little pouch that was lost at Barbados airport were my Katmandu knife, fork and spoon set.  So I had to keep this in mind when I was buying food as there is no cutlery in the hotel room.  So with my provisions I headed back to the hotel in the afternoon.  I got a message from Cheryl, whom I am staying with in Chicago, and she asked if I had seen Jersey Boys the Musical.  To which the answer is no, so I’m hoping that that will now be added to our ‘stay-cation’ packed holiday. 

I started getting ready for Cirque at 5.30pm.  I even washed my hair; blow dried it and applied makeup for the first time in a long time.  Man welcome back to western society and actually caring about what you look like.  It has been a long time that is for sure and to top it all off I donned the new dress I bought with the girls on the week-end.  Oh yes, I felt and looked (I hope) like a lady.  The only thing that did bother me was the only jacket I have is red and the dress I had on was purple.  Not a colour combination I would normally wear together, but I just didn’t have any choice, so I will just make a very colour statement.  But I felt nice.  It was nice to feel nice. 

I went to reception at 7pm and there was Nancy.  It was great to see her and she was also dressed in a very bright orange shirt, so we certainly made a very colorful couple for the evening!  We drove in Nance’s car down to the Old Port where the Cirque tent was erected especially for this show.  Like any major city, parking was a nightmare, but after driving around for about 10 minutes we found a park in a small side street not far from the venue. 

Cirque du Soleil is a Canadian entertainment company, self-described as a "dramatic mix of circus arts and street entertainment." Based in Montreal located in the inner-city area of Saint-Michel, it was founded in Baie-Saint-Paul in 1984 by two former street performers, Guy Laliberté and Daniel Gauthier.  Initially named Les Échassiers, they toured Quebec in 1980 as a performing troupe and encountered financial hardship that was relieved by a government grant in 1983 as part of the 450th anniversary celebrations of Jacques Cartier's discovery of Canada.  Le Grand Tour du Cirque du Soleil was a success in 1984, and after securing a second year of funding, Laliberté hired Guy Caron from the National Circus School to re-create it as a "proper circus". Its theatrical, character-driven approach and the absence of performing animals helped define Cirque du Soleil as the contemporary circus that it remains today.

Each show is a synthesis of circus styles from around the world, with its own central theme and storyline. They draw the audience into the performance through continuous live music, with performers rather than stagehands changing the props.  Cirque expanded rapidly through the 1990s and 2000s, going from one show to 19 shows in over 271 cities on every continent except Antarctica. The shows employ approximately 4,000 people from over 40 countries and generate an estimated annual revenue exceeding US$810 million. The multiple permanent Las Vegas shows alone play to more than 9,000 people a night, 5% of the city's visitors, adding to the 90 million people who have experienced Cirque worldwide.  In 2000, Laliberté bought out Gauthier, and with 95% ownership, has continued to expand the brand.  Several more shows are in development around the world, along with a television deal, women's clothing line and the possible venture into other mediums such as spas, restaurants and nightclubs.  Cirque also produces a small number of private and corporate events each year (past clients have been the royal family of Dubai and the 2007 Super Bowl).

Once we got to the entrance of the tent, we were scanned through with the tickets that Amy had printed.  We had a quick walk around the outer tent that had food and drink stands and paraphernalia of the show from the good old fashioned programs, to really cool looking face masks (they were 300CAD) keying’s, magnets, hats, shirts etc…..  Nancy and I tried on a few of the ‘cheapo’ masks and we were surprised we didn’t get into trouble when we decided to take our own photos with them on.  We then made our way into the tent to find our seats.  As the ticket man directed us where to go, he saw my camera in my hand and told me that no photos were permitted in the tent at all.  Not even then as people were still getting seated.  Well that’s a bugger, but after we sat down we saw a lot is people using their phones to snap off photos, so I took a chance and with a look over my shoulder I took one photo of the center stage as it was pretty impressive.  There were some character walking around the tent as people took their seats playing and teasing them and as it got close to show time the music began and the wonderful world of Cirque was to consume us for the next 2.5 hours.  I had seen a documentary a few years ago on the process of finding new and exciting acts for upcoming shows, so I had seen a little on what they look for but nothing prepares you for what the body can do, what gifts some people have been given and make it all look so effortless.  I can’t even give you a number of the WOW’s, shrieks and OMG’s I did during the show.  It was like we were transported to the island where the story takes place with all its magic and super human inhabitants. 

The show tonight was called Amaluna which premiered in Montréal, Canada, on April 19, 2012.  The story takes place on an island governed by goddesses. During a storm, a group of men are washed up on shore. The queen's daughter falls for one of the young men and the trials of their love are the elements composing this production. The title, Amaluna, is the combination of two separate words. "Ama" which refers to mother in many languages, and "luna" which means moon. The moon is a symbol of femininity, which is part of the reason it was chosen for this production.

Some show facts include the center stage in Amaluna has a mechanism allowing it to revolve. Similarly, the carousel suspended above the stage has this capability as well. The set design has very few moving parts, other than those previously stated, and has no visual effects. This decision allows for greater attention to the performers.  The stage comprises of 174 branches in 534 sections (90 in the canopy and 84 upstage) making a total of 1.7 kilometers.  There are three models of branches in the canopy and 35 in the upstage.  The 7.6m diameter carousel weighs 2,700kg.  The grid weighs 3,900 kg and includes three acrobatic winches, each able to lift loads up to 180kg at 3m per second.  The acrobatic winch in the center of the carousel can lift up to 450kg at 3m per second.  The water bowl is 1.65m tall, 2.21m in diameter, and weighs 2,500kg when filled with water.  The overall sound of the music in Amaluna is contemporary, which can be seen with the use of guitars. Bass, drums, cello, vocals, keyboards, and percussion support the guitars in delivering a direct music without embellishment. Amaluna is the first Cirque du Soleil show with an all-female group of musicians. 

Some of the main highlights for me included the Half-lizard, half-human man.  He had a tail that moved and it actually looked real as he walked and sashayed his way around the stage.  There were the crowd pleasers who kept the show running as the stages were set up over the course of the evening.  The Man Servant and the Nurse, and they were hilarious.  It was all spoken in French, but done so that you still had an idea on what was being said.  As the lights dimmed, there was a massive red scarf that seemed to just be floating and whipping up and dancing around in the air all on its own.  It looked magical and really set the tone for the rest of the show.  It was like magic !!!  There were two artists that entered on unicycles wearing hoop skirts of gold, weaving in and out of each other’s paths like the wind as they joyfully pirouette and danced.  The moves that they did on the unicycles were amazing.  There were the Chinese acrobats that sat on the feet of their male counterparts all the while spinning 1m length bits of rope the whole act and throwing them up in the air and catching them.  The strength, precision timing and sheer acrobatic skill was incredible.  I was on the edge of my seat just hoping that they would be dropped it drop one of the ropes.  And all this was done in unison. The water bowl performance was pretty amazing as the female performer dipped and dived into this 3m deep bowl and performed a challenging hand-balancing routine before diving and snaking through the water. The way and angle that her body bended looked painful as her head touched her bottom!!!!  The uneven bars were cool and the speed at which they get the sets changed over is so quick.  The men on these bars presented a fast-paced theatrical version of the classic gymnastic routine.  The young men launch themselves high into the air, twisting and turning over the bars.  The Balance Goddess was INCREDIBLE.  She started out with one palm leaf rib (looks like a stick) and then created a world in equilibrium with a mobile made of thirteen palm leaf ribs in total. An ode to balance, her movements were slow, deliberate and almost meditative as she concentrates all her attention on this literally breathtaking structure. And then she removes the smallest piece, the original stick and the whole thing fell to the floor.  There were four artists that performed a complex and innovative tight wire act. Working simultaneously on four wires they encounter each other headed in opposite directions, dance a tango in the same direction, bounce into the air like trampolinists and even walk the wire in high heels and en pointe in ballet shoes.  One guy even did 2 back flips landing back on the wire!!!  And last but not least the aerial straps.  They flew out over the audience on straps suspended from the Carousel, a rotating set element high above them. This is flight in four dimensions, calling for precision timing in addition to the skills and physical strength it takes to move at high velocity through 360 degrees.

When the show had finished all the performers came out on the stage to take their bows and I had to say I had a tear in my eye as they waved and said their thank you’s to us.  They even got a standing ovation and it really was a magical and amazing show.  In total the show went for just over 2 hours with a half hour intermission half way through the programme.  IT WAS AMAZING and if you get a chance to see any of the Cirque shows then I can highly recommend one.  Nancy took me for a quick walk around the Old Montreal all light up at night time, and it was just beautiful and a lovely way to finish a great night. 

I was dropped back to my hotel just after 11.30pm and we have arranged to meet up again on Thursday for dinner, which is really nice and I am looking forward to it.  It makes a difference to have some-one to chat to and to catch up on things that have happened to us over the last 12 months.  Thanks for a great night Nancy and thank-you to Amy for organizing it all and a shame that you weren’t able to make the show this time.   

FRENCH CANADA HERE I COME-B0NJOUR-WEE WEE-MERCI

WEATHER: Hot and sunny 29C

HIGHLIGHT OF THE DAY: Seeing more of French Canada

BUMMER OF THE DAY: Saying an early good-bye to Amy

WORD OF THE DAY: Bonjour

DISTANCE TRAVELLED: 200.1km

Today I leave the beautiful city of Ottawa and head north to the French province of Quebec for the next 4 days.  I have been told by several people that they are not too willing to speak English, and they don’t give English speakers the time of day, but I am sure I will make it through, especially after being in Spanish speaking counties for the last 6 months, I have international sign language symbols at the ready should I need to use it.  Crazy thoughts considering I am still in Canada after all!!!

We woke to a nice note left by Shauna this morning in the kitchen.  I still can’t believe my luck that I met these two gals on my Contiki Scandi trip just about 5 years ago to the day and we have kept in touch and nurtured our friendship.  I am going to miss both Shauna and Amy and know that we will meet up again in the future.  Ethiopia perhaps?  The amount of people that say they are going to come and see me and Zeme in Ethiopia is tremendous and I hope they all do so they can see what I have seen and appreciate firsthand what a great country it really is.  The rate I am going we should open our own agency, or at least pump the business through Minalu’s new company and get a commission.  Just remember the door will always be open……

Amy did a Tim Horton’s run this morning for breakfast and coffee and I stayed back to repack my bags for train travel.  Amy looked skeptical when asking if I will get everything to fit into my bags, and I was a little myself with the new purchases I had made over the last week, but I got it all to fit, even if I am travelling with my big backpack, my little backpack, my handbag and my rolly bag.  As long as I can carry it all myself then I will be okay.  This was a section I wasn’t counting on doing with all my bags, but with this train and the return are the only 2 things left on my own and then I have airport pickup and drop-offs and an extra set of hands. 

We arrived at the train station at 9.15am, it was only a 7 minute drive from Shauna’s house and Amy waited in the parking bay at the front while I ran in to make sure that I could get a ticket for the 9.55am service.  I went straight to the counter and I was very surprised that the ticket one way was 71CAD.  I checked online last night and the ticket for a return was 105CAD.  I asked if it was cheaper to buy a return and told him about the price online and he said that was an advance purchase fare, they are always more expensive on the day of travel.  Great, that would have been nice to read on their web site last night.  I have only booked a one way as I am still deciding on what I am going to do with my last 2 nights.  I have 3 options:

I extend my stay in Montreal by 2 days and train and fly on Saturday

I keep to the original plan and head back to Ottawa on Thursday-2 nights required back there

I add an extra night in Montreal, catch the train to Quebec City add a night there and a night in Ottawa

All these options, so for now I’ll just purchase the one way ticket and sort out my plans once I get to Montreal.

So I said my farewells to Amy and told her I will be thinking of her in the coming few days.  Funerals are so emotional and she is going to have a tough week.  I had 35 minutes to spare, so I called Zeme and spoke to him for a short while till they started to call my train and then I loaded up made my way to the train.  I had to climb the stairs to get onto the train and there was a staff member there to hand up my bag for me which was a big help and there was luggage storage at either end of the carriages.  So I dropped all my bags but my handbag and then made my way to my seat.  I forgot to ask for a window seat, so I was sitting next to someone in an aisle seat, but for the 1 hour 55 minute ride I am sure I can suck it up.  The seats are quite spacious and they also offer free Wi-Fi on the train for the whole journey, which is pretty cool and it was pretty fast as well.  I enjoy train travel, and with my IPod plugged in I settled in for the journey chatting to people on Facebook as we travelled 100km per hour.

Via Rail Canada is an independent crown corporation offering intercity passenger rail services in Canada.  Via Rail operates 497 trains per week in eight Canadian provinces (exceptions are Newfoundland and Labrador and Prince Edward Island) over a network of 12,500 kilometers of track, almost all of which is owned and operated by CN Rail. Via Rail carries approximately 4.1 million passengers annually, the majority are on routes along the Quebec City – Windsor Corridor.

We arrived into Montreal 5 minutes late and I waited for everyone to get off the train before I loaded myself up with my bags and made for the exit.  I asked the Via Rail person on my way out for directions for the taxi stand.  I had no idea how far the hotel was from the train station, but I knew I couldn’t carry all these bags too far, so I just jumped in a cab for the 5 minute ride to the hotel.  There is not much traffic on the roads due to the public holiday today and the cab only cost 6.85CAD.  Well worth the non- hassle of trying to find it all on my own.  Especially as it was pretty hot out there, like sweaty hot.  I am not sure I would want to be here in summer as I think it could be Australian hot during their summer.   

The check-in time was 3pm, but I have never been knocked back for a check-in time, considering it was 12.20pm it didn’t even cross my mind that I wouldn’t be able to get into my room.  Well the reception dude didn’t even look at his computer, he just told me check-in wasn’t till 3pm, no if, buts or maybe’s. It was a little spooky as I waited in line for looking at the international clocks they had on the wall and they had 5 countries and one of them was Addis Ababa-Ethiopia.  Is that a little random.  The other cities were Bogota/Colombia, Havana/Cuba, Milan/Italy, Jakarta/Indonesia and Addis.  An omen?  A good omen?  Well random at least and it put a smile on my dial.  So after dropping off my bags in the store room I got directions to town/shops and then made my way one block to St Catherine’s Street, one of the main shopping streets of Montreal and had a look around.  There were 50-50 shops open and closed due to the public holiday, but I found where the ATM was, a supermarket and I found a pharmacy as well.  So I went in there to buy some travel bottles to stuff the rest of my shampoo and conditioner into, some moisturizer and a new toothbrush.  I continued onto a shopping complex that had some food outlets so I sat and ate lunch and there was a store like Big W in there, so I wandered in there and acted like a normal person wandering around the appliances, the Manchester and I checked out some clothes in search for some new tops.  But after trying on a few and wondering where the hell they would go, I left them all and decided I just didn’t need anything else before getting home.  I had to stop that shopping bug before it got out of control.  But I didn’t leave the shop empty handed; I bought a packet of chips, some 2 minute noodles and a bar of chocolate.  I wasn’t sure what sort of facilities they had in the room, so this would for now.

By the time I made it back it was just after 3pm, so after checking in as Amy Bowins, I headed to my room.  It’s a decent sized room with 2 queen beds, aircon, a microwave, a fridge and tea and coffee facilities.  There is also a computer in the room, but it is a little on the dated side.  It would be okay if you didn’t have any gadgets yourself, but the Wi-Fi works fine in the room so I have the notebook and the IPod all hooked up.  Time to get some blogging done and a chill afternoon.  I obtained the Grey Line tour booklet from downstairs and a city map to work out what I am going to do for the next few days.  I didn’t even know what there was to do here as I was in Amy’s capable hands.  So I went through that, Googled some information and have decided to live a little in the edge and stay 2 additional nights here in Montreal and catch the train on Saturday morning at 7am arriving into Ottawa at 9.25am and then I have 4 hours to get from the train station to the airport for my flight out at 1.30pm.  I was always basing myself in Ottawa for the last night as a backup if something was to go wrong (train breaks down or something as drastic) but I figured it’s not like I am catching a flight to Australia or Ethiopia, I am only heading to Chicago, so worst case I can catch a later flight if need be.  So mapping out my time, I will walk to Old Montreal tomorrow, book a day trip to Quebec on Wednesday, do a ½ day city tour on Thursday and that leave a day of leisure on Friday.  Now that is a great plan and it is nice to know what I am now doing.  I am not one of these fly by the seat of your pants traveler (on my own anyway) so it feels great to have plans.  I have also been in touch with Nancy, she was on my Africa trip in July last year and she is going to be my date for the Cirque Do Soliel show tomorrow night.  It will be great to catch up with her and an unexpected meet up which was a nice surprise! 

So BONJOUR to Montreal.  I am excited to be here. 

I FORGOT HOW GOOD IT FEELS

WEATHER: Hot as an oven 29C

HIGHLIGHT OF THE DAY: SHOPPING

BUMMER OF THE DAY: Spending money is always a bummer

WORD OF THE DAY:  SHOPPING MOJO

Like clock-work I was awake at 8.30am and the sun was high in the sky and not a cloud to be seen.  You could already feel the heat of the day that early through the windows.  It was going to be another glorious day.  Things were still touch and go with Faron’s dad, so Amy preferred to be in the city and ready should a call come rather than be at the cottage we would be closer for her to make the dash to be there for Faron.  I hurt my back this morning as I was walking down the stairs at the cottage.  It just feels like a pinched nerve or something, but man it really hurt.  I didn’t mention it to anyone as I didn’t want to worry them and I am hopeful it will just fix itself over the next few days.  So after a cooked breakfast of bacon, sausage, eggs and toast we were on the road at 12 noon.  With goodbye’s to Shaun’s parents and a very sincere felt thanks we hit the road.  I ended up sleeping the whole hour ride back and we decided to take a small detour and headed to a major shopping mall for the afternoon.  Well why not.  We were back in the city, so Amy felt better and I hadn’t hit any western shops since Caracas at the end of March and a lot of those shops were high end ‘no way I would find anything’ kind of shops. 

Amy was on a dress quest for a wedding that she was going to on the weekend and I was just after some new clothes after travelling with the same wardrobe since November 2011.  Even then it was a small change as I needed summer clothes as I was heading to South America and London was preparing for winter and didn’t have much summer stock left.  My saving grace was the 2 bags of clothes I had left in a London Hotel when I went to Africa in July, I stored them at the hotel for 4 months and opening those bags in November was like an early Christmas present to myself and an instant wardrobe renewal.  Walking into the shopping mall was like a kid in a candy shop.  If I found some new bottoms (skirts or pants) would be nice and probably the only thing I would like to have something new of.  My clothes are starting to look like backpackers clothes and I would love to get some new items to refresh it and give me a ‘flash packer’ look instead as I am now back in reality and not swanning around on some truck where it didn’t matter what you wore, people expected you to look backpack.  If you look like that here in Canada or the USA I am going to feel like a right old dag. 

The first shop we went into Amy was looking for a dress and I walked out with a new dress I would wear to shows and dinner in Chicago, Las Vegas and LA.  It was perfect, fitted well and a new colour I wouldn’t normally wear of a light grape.  As Shauna said it looks great with my tan that has been enhanced with the 4 hours we got in the sun yesterday.  We were in and out of shops all afternoon and I found a shop that had a lot if bottoms, and they fit, so I bought 2 skirts, a new pair of shorts and a new top.  Ahhhhhh I forgot how good a shopping high feels like.  The last shop for the day I purchased a new day dress and a knitted jacket to wear over the new dresses and also the dresses I bought in Easter Island.  I can think of 3 things I can toss out of my backpack to make room for the new purchases, the rest of the things I will have to make room, somewhere.  I was also able to buy the shampoo and conditioner that I used at Marc’s place that made my hair feel like a million dollars.  They were 2 different brands and I am normally a same shampoo and conditioner kind of gal, but really my hair felt fantastic so I am more than happy to not head that rule on this occasion.  The only other down fall was that they only came in 500ml bottles.  They are far too big for me to be able to pack for travel but Shauna pointed out I can use my current near empty bottles to refill them and then I will decide what I do with the rest.  So what a successful day at the shops and I was happy with the haul I had bought.  I had a smile from ear to ear.  The only bad thing was Amy left dress-less but she did buy some tops and Shauna was more than happy to just be our guide and voice as we tried on the clothes.

We were staying at Shauna’s tonight and then heading to Montreal in the morning.  We decided to have an early dinner and walked to Shauna’s shops just up the road from her apartment.  We dined at a microbrewery that made their own beers and we ordered 3 appetizers and shared them between the 3 of us.  I have to say that I enjoyed the artichoke and spinach dip as it was something that I would never have ordered myself, the perogies and the chicken wings were just delicious.  I washed all that down with a raspberry wheat beer with the sun on our backs and a small breeze as we sat on the patio it was a great way to finish our time in Ottawa.  As we were sitting eating dinner Faron sent a message that all was stable and that Amy should go to Montreal, so this was good news for all of us as Amy hasn’t been there before either so it would have been new territory for both of us.

We headed home to watch some TV and rest the weary feet after walking around the shopping centre for 4 hours and to just chillax.  Shauna was on the morning shift tomorrow, so she was going to be up at 5.45am and leaving the house at 7am.  I have a feeling that we may not be up that early and got the low down on how to lock up as we leave in the morning at our leisure.  After having a chat with Zeme on Facebook, Aimes headed to bed at 10.30pm and then was back down at 11pm with the sad news that Faron’s dad had just passed away.  So my condolences goes to Faron and his family and this also meant that Amy was now not going to Montreal in the morning and heading home.  The accommodation was pre-paid and also the tickets to the Cirque Do Soleil show.  It was a shame, but something that you would not wish on anybody.  So we checked the rail times and there was a 9.55am or a 2pm train to Montreal, as I was still going to travel and decided on the morning train and to just purchase the ticket at the station in the morning.    

Another life cut short and as I closed my eyes to go to sleep I had my mum in my dreams, Amy and Faron not far from my thoughts and again the affirmation that I have done the right thing with the direction of my life.  This is my story and I wouldn’t change a word.        

CANADIAN COTTAGE TIME MAY 2-4 WEEKEND

WEATHER: Hot hot hot-woo hoo and 27C

HIGHLIGHT OF THE DAY: The sun is shining in paradise

BUMMER OF THE DAY: It had to end

WORD OF THE DAY:  Danford Lake

Happy May 2-4 week-end.  The sun wasn’t quite out yet, but it was making a really good attempt and you could see blue sky coming through.  It was going to be an amazing day. 

So what is the May 2-4 weekend?  Officially known as Victoria Day it is a federal Canadian public holiday celebrated on the last Monday before May 25, in honor of Queen Victoria's birthday. It is sometimes informally considered as marking the beginning of the summer season in Canada.  The holiday has been observed since before Canada was formed, originally falling on the sovereign's actual birthday, and continues to be celebrated in various fashions across the country on the fixed date. In Quebec, the same day was, since the Quiet Revolution, unofficially known as Fête de Dollard until 2003, when provincial legislation officially named the same date as Victoria Day the National Patriots' Day. It is a statutory holiday federally, as well as in six of Canada's ten provinces and all three of its territories.  The holiday is colloquially known as May Two-Four in parts of Canada and double entendre that refers both to the date around which the holiday falls (May 24) and the Canadian slang for a case of twenty-four beers (a "two-four"), a drink popular during the long weekend.  Either way, I am happy to be here and to celebrate a public holiday/long weekend for some dead patriarch.  I can think of nowhere else I would want to be in my Odyssey. 

So my internal clock seems to be tuned into 8.30am.  It’s a nice time and I am finally glad that it has been reset from the 6.15am overland truck time.  It’s taken 4 weeks, but I now have a new body clock and I am happy about that.  Everyone else was already up, but breakfast was just getting prepared when I made my way downstairs.  It is always hard to know in other people’s homes to get dressed before or after breakfast.  I would prefer to get caught in my normal clothes rather than my PJ’s and when I got to the kitchen and the porch everyone was still in their jim jams!  This is the ‘cottage’ way and I’m liking it!

The McCormick’s have built their home in a very smart design. The screen enclosed porch catches the sun in the morning and then the afternoon sun falls onto the dock and outdoor area on the lake all afternoon.  So it was nice to sit on the porch this morning after breakfast and our biggest concern of the day was what time to head down the to the dock for some sun……tough I know right.  The sun wasn’t quite shining down there yet, so we needed to make a quick run to the general store for some stocks, so by the time we got back to the cottage, the sun was in the right place and it was time to get some sun.

There wasn’t a cloud in the sky and with cushions and a deck chair pulled onto the dock, the sun was in all her glory and man it felt good.  This was better weather than what I had in Barbados!  Who would have thought?  The sun’s rays were quite strong actually and I am glad that I remembered to put some sunscreen on my nose.  We were down there for 45 minutes before we got the call for lunch back up at the cottage and then armed with a beer and my book; we headed back to the lake for the rest of the afternoon.  George and Wendy broke out their new kayaks for the summer and gave them a run ‘the maiden voyage’ and when they got back Amy also went for a cruise in one.  I am not a small boat person so there is no way I was going out in one, but they looked cool.  The water was still really cold, I think around 14C but Amy was brave enough to go in for a dip.  It took her a while to get in and a few false starts for the final plunge, but she did it and kudos to her as I dipped in my feet and they nearly turned to ice, well not quite but it was freezing.  The lake freezes during winter, so that gives you an idea on just how cold the water was, it’s melted ice from winter.  Yeah, cold.  But it is so clear and not polluted in the slightest, it really is beautiful.  We watched all day as the boats got loaded into the water for the summer’s water activities.  They are stored around 30 minutes away and when summer ricks around they are collected like children from school and them launched into the lake and their new homes for the next few months.  Some had some engine problems after being packed for winter and others had no problems at all.  It was a busy day with as many as 15 boats launched while we looked on.  I also saw my first chipmunk ever and they are so CUTE!!!!  They are nervous little creatures, but this one stood long enough for me to get some really good photos and even came over to me to check me out.  I had to check with Shauna that they weren’t man eating animals as he edged closer to me.  I have called him Alvin (original I know).

At 5.30pm George came down and offered to take us out in his boat (tinny) for a tour of the lake.  The sun is still high in the sky at 5.30pm and it was perfect conditions to go for a spin.  Danford Lake is located in the Outaouais tourist region, about 287 km from Montréal and 532 km from Québec.  With its vast territory sprawling over 33,000 km2, its 20,000 lakes and dozens of rivers, the Outaouais region has many natural gems Danford Lake being one of them.  Geographically, the Outaouais is part of the Canadian Shield, whose origins date back 570 million years. The region’s geomorphology is basically drawn around a plain and a plateau. The altitude of these lowlands varies between 40 and 130 meters above sea level. The plateau itself owes its configuration to environmental effects of erosion that shaped the hill’s topography, with altitude rarely hovering above 400 meters.  It was a great opportunity to see the other cottages on the lake and George and Shauna would talk about if the owners were there yet, any work they had done over the winter, were their boats in yet and if the people were renters or other family members.  It really is like a big reunion each year for all the cottages and as we passed other cottages and their docks everyone would wave and have smiles on their faces.  Yeah well I would to staying in paradise and with the weather as it was everyone had a great reason for the smiles.  Apparently the May 2-4 weekend weather wise can be a bit hit and miss each year and is not typically this sunny, which I am going to take full credit for bringing it with me and I have been instructed to leave it when we depart tomorrow. 

Each cottage has a dock which is pulled from the lake at the end of each summer, as the lake freezes and then when it defrosts again at the start of the new summer season they can float away.  So a lot of the docks hadn’t been put back in yet for the summer and most of the people that we spoke to were looking at doing it next week-end.  It takes a bit of manpower to get them in and set up and as the weeks pass by the warmer it gets and the more people make it to the lake.  Each dock also has boathouses.  Most of the actual homes are on a hill, so they store a lot of the ‘lake’ stuff in the boathouses.  Attached to these are the Canadian flags.  They are proudly displayed and flapping in the warm breeze and sun was very patriotic for sure. 

Cottage life is an important part of the Canadian culture.  There are 2 types of cottages “winterized” and "unwinterized".  The ritual known as "opening the cottage" and late in the spring, usually the May 24th weekend, Canadian cottage owners make the trek out of the city to see what winter has brought. Lucky is the cottager who finds that his cabin has not sheltered a visitor or two over the winter months, be they four-legged or two-legged. The good news is that unless there is a significant problem, opening the cottage is a whole lot less work than closing it.  There are several tasks that are part of the opening procedure, from the initial inspection for damage, to turning the water and power back on, through dusting, cleaning, and unwrapping furnishings, and calling the appropriate repair people in.  So there is some work involved for their piece of heaven, but once the initial opening has been done, then that is pretty much the hard work done for the summer months.

So we were back to the cottage at 6.30pm.  The bugs do start to come out around this time, so even though it is still light, it was time to retire to the cottage and the enclosed porch for a drink, bug free as dinner was getting prepared.  BBQ steak, ceasar salad, corn on the cob and asparagus.  The hospitality of the McCormick’s was amazing, especially when George is offering to make our drinks for us as well. I bought a bottle of red wine and coke to make Kalimoto and Shauna was the only one game enough to try it and liked it so much we had a second glass each.  What a way to top off a magnificent day.  After dinner I sat down with a book that the McCormick’s have on their coffee table and it is called “1000 Places to See” and they get their guests to write their name and date in the book if they have visited that particular place.  Needless to say I was kept busy for the next few hours as I signed and dated my way through the book.  Yes it is a little bit if a bragging right, but I like to think I have earnt that stripe and I also put in my blog address in the front to complete the brag. Why not.

We were all buggered from the day of relaxation and we all started dropping like flies after 9.30pm.  I held out till 10pm and then went to bed to read for a short while before Amy and I turned off the light.  Amy’s time in Montreal maybe cut short as her boyfriend’s father is terminally ill and has been readmitted to hospital.  Amy did prepare me a few months ago that this was the case, so it looks like I may be heading to Montreal on my own, which I am fine about but bummed at the same time as I was looking forward to spending more time with her.  But tonight I go to sleep with Faron and his family on my mind and the reaffirmation that life really is too short and I am living life while I can and not regretting a second.  I have been putting a lot of reaffirmation Facebook covers on my profile lately, but this is why as a reminder.        

CONTIKI CHANGE OVER

WEATHER: Glorious and 29C

HIGHLIGHT OF THE DAY: Arriving at ‘the Cottage’

BUMMER OF THE DAY: Goodbyes are sucky

WORD OF THE DAY:  Contiki

DISTANCE TRAVELLED: 120km

It’s a change over day today.  I say good-bye to my Contiki Spain Husbands and hello to my Contiki Scandi gals.  There are just some people you meet on your travels that you just know you will see again and I am happy to hope that I will see my Contiki Husbands again and get a tradition happening like my Scandi gals.  We have been able to catch up again 3 times since our Contiki Scandinavia trip in 2007.  We met in New York in 2009, at Amy’s hometown of Meaford in 2010 and then Amy met me in the Galapagos in 2011.  So this makes the 4^th time and both Shauna and Amy are friends that I can count on for life. This is the additional bonus of travelling and the best aspect, well after photography, which I love.  Making new and life-long friends. 

So Marc and Andy were up at 7am and out the door at 8am in a taxi to the airport.  Marc was off to Peru to start a Contiki Peru tour tomorrow and Andy was heading home to Boston.  It was great to see you both and I wish you both safe travels.  Thanks Marc for making the time, with you getting ready for your trip and finishing up the last thing you needed was the stress of guests, but hopefully we were worth it.

I was staying at Marc’s till Amy was to pick me up somewhere between 2-4pm.  She was driving from Meaford, so she had a big drive day today and after collecting me we were going to Shauna’s to pick her up and then head out to the cottage tonight.  This suited both me and Shauna fine, as she had come off night shift and I wasn’t going to interrupt her sleep and I had time to re-organize my bags to have a week-end bag for the cottage and not have to bring out my big backpack while I was there.  I also had an additional bag of stuff that I didn’t have to pack as we will be in Amy’s car for the next week, so I didn’t have to airline pack as such.  So my day was filled with watching season 5 of Nip Tuck, completing yesterday’s blog, packing and finally getting out of my PJ’s at 1pm.  I finished the dishes, unpacked the dishwasher, moved all the furniture back to where it belonged and threw out the trash.  Amy was keeping me up to date with her ETA’s via text messages and the traffic was terrible.  We all forgot that it is the May 2-4 long weekend, with Monday being a public holiday, so there was mass movement of holiday makers also on the roads. 

Amy arrived at 4.15pm.  It was so good to see her.  We had last seen each other only 6 months ago in the Galapagos, which seems only weeks ago and we are the type of friends that just pick up where we last left off.  We make great travel companions and it feels great to say hello to more friends after saying good-bye to Marc and Andy, it takes off the sad edge-ness if you know what I mean.  So with a final check of the apartment, I locked the door with a key we had cut a few days before and we left Marcs place heading for Shauna’s.  Shauna’s place was only a 10 minute drive, if that and she was all ready to go.  We got a quick tour around her pad and it was an amazing home over 3 levels. It is the type of home I would have wanted if I had been going back to Australia.

So we were back on the road again at 5pm.  We left the province of Ontario and entered into the province of Quebec not long after passing around the city.  You can notice the difference of leaving and entering the provinces straight away.  It isn’t like crossing states in Australia, the differences are quite noticeable.  Quebec is a province in east-central Canada and it is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level.  The signs were in French only, and if there was an English translation, by law, the French words have to be first and larger than the English words.  They have what they dub ‘the language police’ and if there is a sign that doesn’t comply with these rules they are fined and told to fix the sign or to pull it down.  Ummmmm are we in Canada or France?  We stopped at one of the general stores on the way to pick up some grog and I needed to get some cash out.  I tried both my visa cards in the small ATM machines they have in supermarkets but my card wouldn’t work, I hate that, especially when you know you have money in there.  I did use the card to pay for my 1.14L of vodka I got from the bottle shop and it worked, so maybe the link was down to access my funds in cash?  I still had 30 odd dollars in my purse, but I hate to not have money in my purse. 

After a further 20 minutes we arrived at the cottage.  I have heard a lot about this cottage over the years and to actually see it I can see what all the talk was about.  It was BEAUTIFUL.  STUNNING. MAGIC.  The McCormick’s have a cottage that looks onto Danford Lake and it really is a slice of heaven here.  We met Shauna’s parents Wendy and George and they gave us a tour of their home.  The original cottage is currently getting turned into a garage aka ‘man cave’ for George and was moved back and now stands the new cottage that was built 3 years ago.  With beautiful glass windows facing the lake and with the sun starting to set over the lake it was breath taking.  There is a feeling of family here.  George grew up in the area and his father’s place is across the lake.  Generations of families live in the area and it is like a big reunion each year as they all catch up with each other and with it being the first official public holiday heading into summer there are a lot of people heading to their cottages for the first time this year since winter and according to the weather forecast it looks like it is going to shape up to be a wonderful weekend of sunshine.

Dinner was around the kitchen table with chicken and ribs from the BBQ, salad and corn cobs and looked like a typical family meal.  This is what I didn’t have growing up and it feels nice to be included into some-ones family if only for the week-end.  I’m not knocking my mum, but with just her and I, you would never get the ambience you get with 6 people all talking and discussing things, life, trips and experiences.  It was a really pleasant evening with a visit from a long-time family friend, who grew up with George in the area, and her kids played with his kids and the generations and history continue on.  This is the things that we Australians don’t really have and I have to say I like the idea.  I know things will be different in Ethiopia as Zeme’s family is very important to him and in turn will be equally important to me and maybe I can start my own generation history.  After a few more vodka’s we were all tucked up in bed at 1am with the pleasure of knowing that there was no alarm call or anywhere to be in the morning.  We are now running on ‘cottage’ time. 

Welcome to the cottage.           

THE MINT, ROOTS, BEAVER, KALIMOTO AND POUTINE

WEATHER: Glorious 29C

HIGHLIGHT OF THE DAY: Holding a 650,000USD bar of gold

BUMMER OF THE DAY: It had to end

WORD OF THE DAY:  Kalimoto

Mark left home at 8.30am for his last half day at work.  He was working till 1pm and then coming home to get Andy and I and then we were going to hit the Royal Canadian Mint as we ran out of time to do it yesterday and just enjoy what looked like was going to be another glorious day.  I got up around 9am, but sleepyhead Andy slept through to 11am.  Well he is technically on holidays, so this is what you do on holidays; I was just keeping an eye on the time as it would look a little bad if we both weren’t ready by the time Mark got home at 1.30pm.  When he did walk in the door, we started bacon and eggs to have on sandwiches for lunch and then we were out the door at 3pm.

Our first and most important ‘must see’ was the mint.  Traffic was a killer getting into the city, but we managed to finally make it and get a park just around the corner from the mint at 4.15pm.  At The Mint, you can visit the boutique for free which is on the second floor of the building or you can pay 6CAD for a 30 minute tour that leaves on the hour.  For 6 bucks you can’t go wrong, so we paid that and spent the 40 minutes we had in the boutique.  In the shop is where you will also find the bar of gold that weighs 15kg and costs around 650,000USD!!!  You are allowed to hold it and get your photo taken with it.  The gold is attached to a heavy chain and is guarded by security the whole time the shop is open to visitors.

The Royal Canadian Mint's headquarters occupy the historic building in central Ottawa where the Mint was founded in 1908. Today, the Ottawa facility produces hand-crafted collector and commemorative coins, gold bullion coins, medals and medallions. The actual monetary coins are produced at the Winnipeg Mint.  Ottawa is where the master tooling is done to create the dies that strike coin designs for both circulation and commemorative issues. The Mint's gold refining and advanced engineering operations are also located here in Ottawa. We started the tour by looking down at where the silver and gold are melted down and then rolled back and forth through machines to get it to the correct thickness and then where they are cleaned and then finally stamped. We saw the massive strips of metal meet 50-ton presses to produce over 1000 coins per second in silver and gold on the work floor as we passed by large panoramic windows that looked over each of the workshops.  As this mint currently only produces the commemorative coins and medals it is a lengthy process and each coin has to be individually checked and approved.  People are pretty much buying the metal at the end of the day, but the stamping and markings make the coin a collectable, tells people where the coin came from and the year it was made.

In saying that there was a replica of a coin made with a face value if 1 million dollars.  There is one stored in the basement and it was the world's first million dollar coin! It is about the size of an extra-large pizza. Produced In 2007 and weighing 100 kg, it’s 99.999% pure gold and although the face value is $1,000,000 its actual sale value is considerably higher. Although its home is in the basement of the Royal Canadian Mint, it has gone on tour for special events such as the Olympics.  When created, the intention was to mint just one, but interested investors came forward and four more were created and sold for around 2.5 million and now today they are worth around 6 million dollars.  Nice investment return that is for sure. 

We also saw the famous Vancouver 2010 athlete medals on display that were also made at the Mint.  It was the first time that the able bodied and disabled Olympic medals were created the same size and each medal was unique, featuring part of an image cropped from two large master artworks.  When you matched up the medals each medal included its own signature elements of the orca and raven artwork to make a full picture. 

We also learned that the Mint has made over 55 billion coins for more than 75 countries around the world including Australia.  Apparently the Australian Mint is Ottawa’s number one enemy in claiming the title of ‘the world best Mint’ and we keep each other on their toes.  There was one time that Australia took on too many foreign coin orders and we couldn’t keep up with our own demand, so we had to outsource some of our coin production to Ottawa.  The longest continuous contract for producing foreign coins is with Barbados – more than 30 years. The Mint has the capacity to produce over 2 billion circulation coins or blanks per year for foreign governments. They get contracts from countries that either don’t have their own Mint’s; they don’t have the capacity to keep up with their own demand or the resources. 

Gold and other bullion products from the Royal Canadian Mint are universally recognized for their quality and purity. The Mint refines and produces Maple Leaf bullion coins, gold kilo bars, trade bars and gold wafers - all struck with their weight and purity. Our bullion coins are also recognized as legal tender in Canada.  The Gold Maple Leaf coins are the world's most popular pure gold coin. Since their introduction in 1979, over 20 million troy ounces have been sold. As the first bullion coin to achieve the heightened standard of 9999 fine, the Gold Maple Leaf is available in five weights from one-twentieth of an ounce to one troy ounce. Also of special interest are the one ounce gold bullion coins celebrating the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games and our 99999 Gold Maple Leaf.  Encouraged by the success of the Gold Maple Leaf, the Mint introduced Silver Maple Leaf Coins in 1988. The Silver Maple Leaf is minted with one troy ounce of 9999 fine silver. The coin has a face value of $5, the highest face value of any comparable silver bullion coin. Also of special interest are the one ounce silver bullion coins celebrating the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games.  Introduced by popular demand in 1988 are the Mint's one troy ounce Platinum Maple Leaf coins with a face value of $50 and lastly introduced in 2005 were the Palladium Maple Leaf coins with a face value of $50. This popular one troy ounce coin is made with 9995 pure palladium. 

The Royal Canadian Mint operates one of the most technically advanced and respected gold and silver refineries in the world, producing bars, wafers and custom products. In operation since 1911, our refinery services are among the largest in the industry. The Mint refines gold and silver from a variety of sources including primary producers, industry, recyclers and financial institutions. This is unusual to have the refineries on the same site as a Mint.  The Royal Canadian Mint began refining gold to 9999 fine purity in the mid-1960's. In 1982, our refinery became the worlds' first to produce 9999 bullion coins, an achievement surpassed in 1998 when we reached "five nines" purity levels. Today, we are even able to produce granulation gold that is 99999 fine.  I would definitely recommend a visit to The Mint with the tour finishing at the souvenir shop.  I was so glad we came and definitely worth the 6 bucks.

Back out in the sunshine we walked past The Notre-Dame Cathedral Basilica.  It is a beautiful church with silver topped spires that were just glinting in the sun.  It is ecclesiastic basilica and was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1990.  The site was originally home to the small wooden St. Jacques Church built in 1832. This structure was destroyed in 1841 to make way for a larger church.  The Basilica is the oldest and largest church in Ottawa and the seat of the city's Catholic archbishop. Its twin spires and gilded Madonna are easily identifiable from nearby Parliament Hill and the surrounding area. The church was recently renovated and restored in the late 1990s. Services are held in both French and English.  It really was beautiful. 

We then walked by the National Gallery of Canada which is one of Canada's premier art galleries.  The Gallery is now housed in a glass and granite building with a notable view of the Canadian Parliament buildings on Parliament Hill. The Gallery was first formed in 1880 by Canada's Governor General John Douglas Sutherland Campbell, 9th Duke of Argyll, and, in 1882, moved into its first home on Parliament Hill in the same building as the Supreme Court. In 1911, the Gallery moved to the Victoria Memorial Museum, now the home of the Canadian Museum of Nature. In 1913, the first National Gallery Act was passed outlining the Gallery's mandate and resources. It moved into its current building on Sussex Drive in 1988.  

Passing the gallery is a MASSIVE spider as outdoor artwork.  Known as Maman (1999) it is a sculpture by the artist Louise Bourgeois. The sculpture, which resembles a spider, is over 30ft high and over 33ft wide, with a sac containing 26 marble eggs. Its abdomen and thorax are made up of ribbed bronze. The title is the familiar French word for Mother.  It is disgusting and interesting to look at all at the same time.  Maman is amongst the world's largest and most impressive sculptures. Maman was first displayed outside the Tate Museum of London in 2000. The sculpture picks up the theme of the arachnid that Bourgeois had first contemplated in a small ink and charcoal drawing in 1947. 

“The Spider is an ode to my mother. She was my best friend. Like a spider, my mother was a weaver. My family was in the business of tapestry restoration, and my mother was in charge of the workshop. Like spiders, my mother was very clever. Spiders are friendly presences that eat mosquitoes. We know that mosquitoes spread diseases and are therefore unwanted. So, spiders are helpful and protective, just like my mother” — Louise Bourgeois….. A little weird....

We walked to Nepean Point which is a hill overlooking the Ottawa River, Parliament, the Museum of Civilization, and other features of downtown Ottawa and Gatineau. It is located between the National Gallery of Canada and Alexandra Bridge and gave us a phenomenal view with the blue sky and beautiful backdrop.  At the peak of the hill is a statue of French explorer Samuel de Champlain holding his famous astrolabe upside down. It was made by sculptor Hamilton MacCarthy in 1915.  There is also a small amphitheater on the point is known as "Astrolabe Theatre", presumably a reference to Champlain.  I also saw my first squirrel running past us as we walked up.  The boys were non-plussed but we don’t have these critters in Australia and they are so cute.  He was a fast little bugger and was running across the lawns and jumping like Tiger or a kangaroo. 

We made our way back to Byward Markets and I stopped into a French bakery that had advertised that they sold Obama cookies and they had pictures of him visiting the store.  It took only a few words from U.S. President Barack Obama and the Moulin de Provence bakery in Ottawa's Byward Market is still selling cookies at the rate of 2,000 a day, somewhat more than the 200 or 250 cookies they used to sell each week.   With Obama asking "I understand you've got some Canadian cookies … in the shape of a maple leaf," The baker, Claude Bonnet, obliged Obama, presenting him with a maple-leaf-shaped sugar cookie with red and white icing.  Ever since his employees have been working overtime and by noon Friday they had sold 3,000 cookies.  Since then, orders have been coming in even from Europe and the United States. What a way to get a product endorsement.  The sign said 6.95 for the cookie, but that was just for the tin, you needed to add the cost of the cookie AND the damn sales tax making it a grand total of 10.62!!!  For a cookie!!!! BUT it is an Obama cookie.  It looks too good to eat, but for 10.62 I will be consuming that sucker in the next few days. 

I wanted to get a Canadian jumper (aka sweater in ‘Canadian’) and there was a Roots store in the market and I was told this would be the best place to get one.  They were quite expensive, but apparently worth the cost.  I didn’t quite fit into a women’s size, so I got a men’s size in red and I love it.  It was on the expensive side to start with and then I forgot about the damn sales tax again that gets added to all your purchases at the register.  Ahhhhh, why they don’t include the sale tax in the advertised price is really annoying, but I still bought it anyway.  I LOVE it.  Roots Canada Ltd. (commonly called Roots) is a Canadian clothing and lifestyle products retailer. The retail stores sell Roots' own brand of products in Canada, the United States and Asia. Roots was founded in 1973 by Michael Budman and Don Green, formerly of Detroit, Michigan. The store concept was based on their experiences at a summer camp called Camp Tamakwa in Ontario’s Algonquin Park during their childhood.  The company originally sold footwear at a single location in Toronto. Its first product was the Roots Negative Heel Shoe (also called the Earth shoe). It has since expanded its line of merchandise to include items such as jackets, bags, watches, luggage, sweatshirts and fashion accessories.  Roots was the official outfitter of clothing for members of the Canadian Olympic team from 1998 to 2004. The same line was sold at Roots stores in Canada.  Roots also clothed the United States (2002, 2004) and British Olympic (2002) teams.  In 2009 A Roots Leather Bag "The Satchel" was famously worn by the character Alan in the 2009 movie The Hangover leading to increased publicity of Roots leather bags. So I am definitely leaving with something typically Canadian and with it being a men’s size, Zeme will also be able to wear it.  Maybe I could gift it to him, as the days are so hot, I am not sure how much wear I am going to get out of the ‘sweater’ anyway!

Our last stop of the day was to get an original Beaver Tail.  Beaver Tails are a Canadian-based chain of pastry stands operated by BeaverTails Canada Inc. The chain's namesake product is a line of fried dough pastries, individually hand stretched to resemble a beaver’s tail. The chain originated in Ottawa and now has franchises and licenses in three countries, Canada, the United States and Saudi Arabia.  BeaverTails Canada Inc. through franchising currently operates 33 stores and 43 BeaverTails stands worldwide.  BeaverTails pastries began when Grant and Pam Hooker decided to turn their family recipe for fried dough into a corporate business. In 1980, the Hookers opened up the first BeaverTails stand in the Byward Market in Ottawa two years after they had formed BeaverTails Canada Inc.

The company expanded within Canada and then internationally in the 1990s. All that from fried dough!

We were running on a time constraint as we had to get back home and get some washing done before the laundry closed at 10pm.  So we raced home, put on a load of washing and made our way to the local chicken restaurant for a quick dinner (chicken, sangria and poutine) before having to jet back and get the clothes in the dryer.  This was the first time I have done my own washing, with a machine for the first time since April last year when I did my own washing in London and then realized that for an additional 5 bucks I could get some-one else to do it and have had someone else do my washing ever since.  Not including the hand washing of my underwear, not lie, first time in over 12 months.  I do love the smell of freshly washed clothes and it is just one of those things you take for granted when at home.

So this was my last night with the boys and we had to drink the red wine and coke concoction that the Spaniards from the Basque region drink called Kalimoto.  Like I have mentioned before don’t knock it till you try it.  So with a few of them under our belts, a movie and some more chatting we were all tucked into bed at 1am, with the boys having to get up and out the door by 8am and a travel day for both of them it is funny how 1am was an early night!!!!