Montreal Madness

We braved the freeway, heading back towards Montreal, this time - minus some snow, a kiwi, but with the addition of 3 Aussies - bound for glory....well no glory, but definitely Montreal!

Doing a quick walk of the city, we ran into an international culture festival, with food, dancing and plenty of fun! The city was buzzing - off to a good start.

The girls then headed underground for some of Montreal's finest shopping, whilst Dad and I wandered the city - taking it all in!

After a beautiful dinner - and watching the Penguins get thrashed at hockey, we headed for a snooze. Sunday morning arrived, so we headed toward the BioDome, which unfortunately had a minimum one hour wait - due to it being "free", so we looked around the 1976 Olympic building, which was fantastic.

Deciding we'd stop in at Montebello on the way home for a "late lunch", we made our way to Parc-o-Mega, a Park that plays host to Canadian Wildlife (in Quebec province) - beavers, wolves, coyotes, bears, deer, deer, deer, have I said deer, pig, deer and raccoon, deer, bison and a few deer, goats, baby wolves, otters and they had plenty of deer, just in case I forgot to mention it.


The deer ate a ridiculous amount of carrots throughout the day, even slobbering carrot juice and drool on Lozzy in the back seat - quite funny!

A great day - good to be back in Ottawa - another week to go and we hit our Provincial testing (EQAO), which is going to be fun, much the same as AIM or National testing now! Will keep you posted on how it goes!
Enjoy the pics

Niagara Falls

3:55pm Friday 16th, Ottawa Airport - the guests have arrived...........

MARG & PETE (my folks!!!)

A lazy Friday evening - pizza and beer - welcomed my family to Ottawa.

Making an early start Saturday, we piled in the car, heading for "Tronto", as the locals call it (referred to as Toronto by the internationals) to pick up Lozzy.

After a quick stop in "Tronto", we made our way towards Niagara Falls! After a six and half hour trek in the car (catching up on everything that's been happening worldwide - we probably bored Kate to tears!) we headed up to our hotel room, 19th floor overlooking the falls - enough said!

Wandering alongside the falls, taking in both the American and the Canadian falls (the spectacular horseshoe on the Canadian side!!!) taking in all of its glory, we chilled for the rest of the evening.

Sunday came quickly and with the weather turning ordinary sooner rather than later, we were able to gain a different perspective of the falls - beautiful one day, very wet the next!. Deciding that we were wet already, we headed for the Maid of the Mist boat tour, to get up close and personal with the great falls (the photos speak volumes).

A wet afternoon was enjoyed at Niagara-on-the-lake, a small township on the outskirts of the Falls (around 10 mins away), where the ladies enjoyed some shopping, especially looking at the Christmas shop!

Back into the car for the long trek home. Stopping in Kingston, we found that most things were closed, but still got to enjoy a wonderful meal at the "bakery" that Shanna recommended so highly (the one on the main street) and it was sensational!

Tulips, Pansies and a raccoon

The annual Ottawa Tulip festival has arrived - in full bloom! Kate, Sonia, Kiwi and myself pedalled into town, to see the festival (Mother's Day - a very busy day!)

There a many differing versions as to why the festival is held each year - but it is due to a Dutch Royal Family member and a war (keep the details to ourselves, as it is too long to write)

Colours filled 3 main areas - reds, yellows, pinks etc. Parliament Hill also had many tulips on display, making the place more vibrant and colourful (than the white of snow).

Enough words, look at the pics yourself!

AFL.....in Ottawa

Mark down Saturday 10th May as a proud day for the locals! Today was the day that the Ontario Australian Football League had a team enter from Ottawa - so we thought we'd tag along for a "footy fix!!!

Arriving at the Rideau-Carleton Raceway (the only ground big enough to accommodate them was the middle section of the racecourse. With bleachers (stands) set up for viewing, we grabbed a seat, wearing our AFL jerseys.

The first big hurdle for the Swans was flag favourite Etobicoke (pronounced E-Tob-i-co, which I was reminded many a time throughout the leadup to the game!)

The boys were eager and keen to play, with a mix of Aussies and Canadians filling out the two teams.

Throughout the game we answered many questions to our Canadian friends, who shuddered and turned away with every "hip and shoulder" that was made.

At the conclusion of their Debut OAFL game, the swans couldn't quite keep up with their highly fancied rivals, losing 23.14 to 5.3 (the scoreboard didn't reflect the closeness of the game), we thought they should have lost by more! Going to head down to training to get a bit "fitter" and have a laugh. They're a great bunch of guys and am looking forward to having a few brews with them!

Kisses from Hersheys!

About an hour out of Ottawa there is a little town called Smiths Falls, known to many as the "Home of Hershey", that's right this is where one of the Hershey's factories is based - despite numerous rumours it is still open till the public, however it will be closing later on this year. Unfortunate really as I think this is probably the reason why we were not able to see much of the factory in operation (plus it was the weekend), however, did manage to see the huge vats of chocolate - not quite like what you see on "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory".Even the lights in the carpark are shaped like Hershey kisses!