(L-R) Bev, Me, Keri, Sonia, Kate and Kiwi (Michelle)

Today we headed into the city of Ottawa, as the canal (river) had been opened up for ice skating. Accompanied by a few of the locals, Keri, Bev & Sonia (along with the Kiwi - Michelle), we grabbed some skates and ventured along the 2.3km of river that was opened.

The ice was a bit rough to skate on at 1st, but we gave it a shot....much to the amusement of the locals.....but at least I didn't fall......YAY!!!

A local TV crew found it rather interesting that they heard so many weird accents - must have been the Canadians....ours isn't weird....or is it....

After an hour or so of skating up and down among the 1000 or so people around (some of which were skating pushing prams etc....will take photos - good laugh....we sat down to eat the fine cuisine they provided on the river (there are food outlets, drinks, tables and chairs, trees, toilets and skate hire places ON the actual ice....again...will take photos - it is a sight to see!!!)

Kate and I both indulged in BEAVER TAILS - a local cuisine. The very thought of eating a BEAVER TAIL was unusual....we soon found out that it was a pancake/dough that was coated in sugar and cinnamon.....DELICIOUS.....

Had an enjoyable day out with the girls....good fun day......look forward to next weekend -where we have the SUPERBOWL, dinner with some other Aussies over here and more skating....looking forward to it!!!

Australia Day - with school

Well today we celebrated Australia Day - on a technicality. I know that the date stated that it was Friday 25th January, however - in Australia - it was the 26th - so what are you going to do...nothing!

Every Friday (religiously) the staff has a massive spread of sweet foods, fruits, bagles and...well pretty much anything you could imagine on offer - BEFORE SCHOOL!!!! Yes, you read correctly. So this morning - being our "celebration" - i wore my Aussie cricket shirt and headed into the staff room bearing gifts (THANKS MUM.....YOU'RE A LEGEND!!!!!). Caramello koalas were divulged in seconds, crumbs were being sucked up with fury (Violet Crumbles) and the Tim Tams....well let's just say - if we had an announcer at school - it would be a fantastic wrestling match to watch....as the ladies LOVE chocolate....and are craving more......(little help!!!)

Kate made her first appearance in my classroom - which the kids thoroughly enjoyed. We decided that it would be fun to stick with the "Aussie theme" and got the kids to make ANZAC bikkies - or over here - cookies!!!

The kids laughed, made a mess and chomped on cookies for the best part of the day. A thoroughly good session!!! They were soooooo excited to make them, eat the dry mix and then cook them.....we joked that we had eaten some - which they thought was very unfair!

All in all, the Canadians enjoyed our celebration....lucky for us - we get to do it tomorrow as well!! YAY....i love different time zones!!! Till next time..... (will post photos ASAP of kids with bikkies)

Accueillir à Montréal

As you may or may not be able to tell from the heading above (hopefully the translation is correct - it means - welcome to Montreal).

Kate, Kiwi (Michelle - another teacher on an ITF from Jack Donohue) and I decided very last minute (Friday night at T.G.I.F drinks) to head to Montreal Sat morning and stay overnight. We left around half 8 - ready for the 2 hour drive. Taking us a bit longer than that - due to bad driving conditions- snow fall made it difficult for part of the journey. A very warm day greeted us upon arrival (-18 degrees). We stayed at the Holiday Inn right in the heart of Montreal, not a bad place.......except for the tour that was staying with us....:( read below...

We headed out on foot and soon found ourselves travelling on the local rail to the BIODOME- an area with 5 or 6 different environments under the one roof - rainforest, ocean, antarctic, woodlands, forest etc. The real buzz for all 3 of us was seeing a Beaver in action above and below the water- and we thought we had unusual creatures in the Southern Hemisphere!!!

After concluding our tour of the Biodome we looked at the 1972 olympic site, which included the pool and the stadium (no tours....too cold and icy!)

We caught the train again back into the heart of the city and headed into Chinatown for a bite to eat.....a bustling little area of Montreal - the food was good, and the weather.....well that was interesting too....(see the video!!!)

Continuing to venture around the city, we headed to Old Montreal - to view the "French" side of town. Notre Dame church was there too! We had fun navigating our way around (thanks to the kind locals- they really do love Aussies.....ok ok ok....and kiwis too!!!) the cobble stone paths and to other areas.
The next stop was the most important.....to the local watering hole....where they brewed their own beer....wouldn't recommend drinking it....but have to try it for yourself!!! Watched Montreal lose the ice hockey he he he he....which was quite funny....not many happy locals!!

Heading back to the hotel for a few quiet ones - we hit the hay around midnight - then the fun started.....the tour group kicked into gear....finishing at 6am.....enough said!

An exciting city (we scored free breakfast for all of us and also half priced accommodation for our next visit to Montreal - thanks to the tour group :) = so bring on the COMEDY festival!!!

Today it was a bit chillier-but a gorgeous sunny day (-28 with wind chill - bit fresh) - and had a wonderful look at a park with a skating rink, toboggan ride, hot chocolates, horse pulled sled and a wonderful view of the city. Definitely heading back there again....

You should always go - DOWNTOWN!

Ottawa - the capital - put on a spectacular weekend for us ---- as you can see. Blue skies, not much snow covering the ground -made it a great weekend to travel around the town - practising our driving skills in the meantime!!!

Good fun.

First we headed to Parliament Hill- where we given an informative guided tour of parliament (and allowed to take snaps wherever we went - most unusual!!). We also got to go up the bell tower (if you look at the pic above - you will see it is just below the clock face- which provided us with a glorious view of Ottawa city and Gatineau across the river!!

Looking forward to the coming weekends now that we have our car - we can get oot and aboot - sorry the Canadian lingo is getting to us!!!

Post again Thurs our time - with some interesting pics ;) stay tuned!

The SUNFIRE!!!

SWEET.....we have wheels - WOHOO....and now they have snow tyres....not that we'll need them today - with the snow melting.....

Yesterday - Ottawa produced freezing rain, snow falls and freezing cold winds......turn to today....and we have sunshine.......no snow......and a beautiful day to practise driving on the wrong side of the road!

Good fun though. The best thing about driving in Ottawa is that if you cross the bridge (heading into Quebec province) - all signs turn from English to French - which can be pretty terrifying for a new drive.....

Well - here are a few pics of our wonderful car - 2004 Pontiac Sunfire......fire engine RED!!!

The "FALSE" Spring....

Well - above average temperatures have caused the snow to melt - leaving us with freezing rain, slushy puddles, cracking ice and worse - sightings of grass.

As promised, I have a few pictures, to prove that the snow is disappearing at a fast rate - but should return by mid-late next week. Looking forward to the huge winter festival they have here late Jan-early Feb "Winterlude", where you can ice skate along the river (longest rink in the world - 8km's long!!!) and meet the Royal Canadian Mounties!!! should be a laugh - wonder if Dudley will be there (Dudley Do-Right ;)

Will post more pics of my school once the snow returns......and if Ican be bothered looking like a "tourist"....already given the Kiwi girl heaps of stick for taking pics.....he he he...i am soooo mean!!

School is in.......already.......

Apologies for not writing after my first day of school at Jack Donohue Public - I had so much to

get my head around, i forgot to post - so it is now at the end of Day 2.....both of which have been very exciting!

Day One: Accents 101

Arrived early in the morning (courtesy of my wonderful tour guide / taxi driver / friendly young lady - Leslie!!!) as our car arrangements hadn't been officially finalised. Was given a quick tour of the school before embarking on my first day at school. With the warmer weather we are experiencing - also called a "false Spring" - it was like a group of penguins shuffle across the ice trying to navigate the slippery ice filled area - that we (in Oz) refer to as a "car park"

Luckily for me - i wasn't the only "newbie" starting to teach this year - with a handful of locals and another international - Kiwi Michelle - and yes - we've been giving each other plenty of stuck (stick when anyone else says it he he he - that one is for you Sandy!!!)

Met the kids at 9:15 - yes - we start school later!!!! Takes the kids a little while to get ready for class - what with having to remove all of their snow gear and all!!! (also have 2 x 45 minute breaks - finishing the day at 3:45).....which is pretty sweet.....nearly dark with fog, rain and snow most days - but exciting.....except we can't throw snowballs at school - well - you can - just don't let the kids see you he he he he.....:) - i'm terrible....

Got things underway - 30 children in the room - all grade 6 - so far so good. Friendly and chatty bunch of kids - but going to be a good laugh for the best part of 6 months.

Day went quickly - as we were all trying to understand one another - they like my accent - especially when i say "no worries" or "thanks mate!!"

A good day was had.

Day 2: Intros & Brekky

Another good start to the day - welcomed into the staff room with cookies, chocolate, muffins, pancakes and anything else that you can want to eat at 8:00am - most people indulged - too sweet (and too early) for me this time......look out Fridays.....going to be great!!

The very young and social staff have been wonderful involving both myself and Kate in their lives thus far! They are both helpful and friendly and we are both looking forward to being involved with them over the coming year!!!!

Looking forward to picking up our car on Thursday.....exciting - has taken us a while to secure some car insurance (over 30 phone calls - due to local regulations with licences etc) but it has finally been secured!!!!! Very exciting.....photos to come - promise....

Hope everyone is well - will post pics of school once the snow returns - as it is melting, dirty and there is ice everywhere....plus i keep forgetting the camera - so excuses will do for now!!!

Celebrating the New Year!

New Year's Eve arrived not long after the southern hemisphere had already sweltered in their own parties and celebrations. It was a bit chillier here - Kate and I braving the minus 5 conditions to head out - apparently it was warmer than they had expected - but bloody cold for us - which is why we probably got so many weird looks all rugged up!!!

This year was a special one to be in Ottawa - celebrating 150 years since it had been made the capital of Canada - so there were sure to be fireworks. Thousands of people packed the canal on either side, trying to get the best viewing spot for this event. With darkness creeping in at half past four daily, it was well worth the wait for the event to take place!

After the fireworks - Kate and myself indulged in some of the local product - Canadian pale ale - which was bloody good.....didn't even need a fridge to keep it cold - just dumped it in the snow outside ;)

Hope everyone had a great New Years.....all the best for the coming year!!!