Long time no post, my apologizes! I SAID (again) that I was going to make Stephen right the next one about work and such. Honest to God, he has started and written an entire 630 words. None of which are about work, aside from his first weekend Polish vodka party. And it’s only taken one month! I give up. You may or may never read it. Boys will be boys…..
To be completely honest, we were not hugely motivated to explore Montreal after traveling Europe for 6 months. It’s a big, modern city, a lot more “American” than Europe. The weather was already turning chilly at the beginning. And we had football all day every Saturday. But I am happy to say that we have eaten at a number of delicious restaurants (Montreal is known for it’s restaurants and famous chefs!) and I have become more acquainted with my current city since I had visitors over the last few weeks 🙂
Before I get to visitors, let’s back up a little bit. We are still enjoying living in our apartment building, with it’s great location, and lots of friends nearby! We finished the CrossFit 101 introduction class, and have been attending regular classes 3-4 times per week. I’ve been busting out a load of new PR’s lately, and my coach says I could be ready for the 2014 Games 😉
I began volunteering for a group called EMB that assists senior citizens throughout the community. About once a week I visit with a nice lady who lives on the street over from ours. She has limited mobility and no family in the city, so she sometimes gets lonely. She is 85 years old and an absolute hoot! She told me that a young college boy comes to her house every other Saturday to do her grocery shopping, and she described him as “good eye candy!”
Unfortunately, though I applied for a work permit months ago so that I could substitute in an English school, I am still empty-handed. Luckily, I was blessed enough to find a family to nanny for! Beginning in January, I will be taking care of 3-year-old twin boys and a first grade girl. They are a bit of a handful, but super sweet, and creative, and energetic. I am definitely ready to get back to work! Yes, that probably sounds crazy to a lot of you, but not having anything to do for 8 months is overrated. It gets really boring….
Over Thanksgiving, my little sister Jessica came to visit! She arrived on my birthday and so we all went out for a nice dinner to a steak restaurant with UNLIMITED french fries! Yes, you read that correctly. Unlimited french fries. My type of place! Thursday was Thanksgiving and Stephen took the day off from work to help us cook! We watched the Macy’s parade, the dog show, and football to make it a true Thanksgiving! haha. Luckily, Montreal is only about a 1 hour drive from Vermont, and we get a number of television and radio stations from there! We invited all of the grads over for Thanksgiving dinner, and divided it up potluck style. Amazingly, out of our cupboard-sized kitchen, we were able to whip up a turkey, stuffing, gravy, corn, and Grandma beans (the most perfect holiday food dish in existence, if you have not had the pleasure of eating them). The rest of the grads brought mac & cheese, mashed potatoes, etc. We had a full Thanksgiving feast for 12 with 5 Americans, one Singaporian (?) one Canadian, and 5 Brits! I think they had a successful first Thanksgiving experience: I told the story of Thanksgiving and had to assure them it is not about the colonists killing the Indians, and everyone ate until they couldn’t eat anymore and were dreading going to work the next day 🙂
That Friday, Jessica and I walked around the old-town area of Montreal with cobblestone streets, cafes, shops, and European-style buildings. It is such a cute area right on the port. We found a delicious maple syrup store with icecream, a bakery, and free taste-testing of everything! I bought some maple-cinnamon butter. But there is not dairy or anything in it, just a high sap concentration boiled at a high temperature, and it turns into the consistency of butter! I didn’t even know that was a thing! Friday night we went to the Montreal Casino because the drinking and gambling age in Quebec is 18, so the 20-year-old wanted to feel like a hot shot 😉 No worries though, we played the slots for over 2 hours with only $10-20 each! Saturday of course was Rivalry Weekend and we once again spent the entire day watching football. But with great success! Ohio St beat Michigan and South Carolina beat Clemson for the fifth straight year!
The following Friday my college roommate, Alison arrived! We visited many of the same places that I went with Jessica, and also went to a Christmas market, and shopping! We ate poutine for the first time. It’s a Montreal food that is made of french fries, cheese curds and gravy. It sounds, and looks, disgusting. But there is a great restaurant called Poutineville that everyone had recommended, and they have TONS of options including different types of cheeses, vegetables, meats, types of potatoes, etc. You can pick an already-made creation, or check off all the ingredients you want on the list and create your own! It’s actually good! But definitely not something you should eat every day! haha.
On Monday morning we bundled up like Eskimos and trekked our way through the snow to the airport shuttle bus. (Have I ever mentioned that, for the most part, I really really like public transportation?? Unfortunately it is a lot more expensive here than in Poland, but driving is also nerve-wracking because Montreal-ers are crazy and the traffic lights are different. More American cities should get on board.) The timing SHOULD have worked out great, because Alison needed to be at the airport by 12:30 and my other sister, Sarah, was arriving at 1:00! Of course planes were delayed and I sat at the airport for 3 hours, but both girls had safe trips so that’s all that matters 🙂
Sarah and I did the same touristy things again. But we also visited Notre Dame Basilica (where Celine Dion was married! They are very proud of this fact) and could not have gone at a better time!! The website said they held English and French tours twice an hour, so we went in the morning just before 11:30. But that must be their more popular summer schedule because the next English tour was not going to be until 1:30. So we went back at 1:30 and the tour finished just as the Montreal Symphony Orchestra was beginning rehearsal for a Christmas concert being held at the basilica that night! I don’t remember the singer’s name, but he had released a Christmas album 10 years ago, and was giving an anniversary concert. Tickets ranged from $40-95, but we were able to sit through 45 minutes of the rehearsal for free! The music and the lights and everything was beautiful!!
On Wednesday Sarah and I ventured to Mont Bromont for skiing!! We have skied a number of times before, but not for probably 6 or 7 years. Luckily it was like riding a bike, and I only feel one time! Sarah didn’t fall at all (go, girl!) Seeing as it was the middle of the week, there were not many people, which was very nice because we didn’t have to worry about running into other people! Here is my newest skiing tip: do NOT take your glove off on the ski lift even if you need to fix your scarf because your nose is so cold that it is going to fall off. Your glove WILL be blown away, conveniently in an area where there is not a ski run. Yes, true story. I got off the lift thinking this was the end of my ski day, even though it was only our first run after lunch, because there was NO WAY I could ski the rest of the day without a glove. But an Emergency Patrol skier saved the day!! Two of them were on the lift directly behind us, saw my glove fall, and got it back!! A happy ending to an unfortunate story 🙂
That pretty much sums up our Canadian adventures thus far! Yes, it has gotten very cold. Yesterday it was -6 Fahrenheit, before wind chill. This morning I woke up to 7 inches of snow. But my fur-hooded, knee-length winter coat, and my winter boots are holding up nicely. And we return to Atlanta on Friday!!! For 2 weeks!!!
Merry-almost-Christmas and all our love from Canada!
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