Montreal....

Saturday morning we packed the car, heading south to Montreal. Pulling into the hotel car park at around 12, we made our way upstairs, before getting ready to head out for lunch. A knock at the door came not too long after our arrival. Sue answered the door - with an ear piercing squeal of excitement - as a familiar face was standing in the doorway - Brett had surprised everyone by catching the train. Sue quickly headed to the next room - to fetch Bedgie and Ruth - who were shocked, surprised and excited to see him standing there! After a quick wander through old Montreal and a wonderful feed, we headed towards Ste.Catherine - to spend some time looking through the local underground shopping mall - unfortunately, it was beginning to shut as we arrived (two people were excited - Brett and Colin), whilst the rest of the group were a tad disappointed. We then headed to the local brewery for dinner and a few drinks - enjoying it all -before retiring to a game of pass the ace.....and some well needed rest. Sunday - the final day of the whirlwind visit - saw us venture to the Montreal Olympic site - with the group deciding to take the cable car to the top of the tower of the site. A beautiful but wet view stood before us - but was enjoyed - more so on the way down - where the car goes that "bit faster!" The time came to farewell the group. After a short ride in the "Monster Truck" we hugged, waved and said our goodbyes to the "visitors from Oz". A great time was had, with many laughs, sights and events had in the short time they were here......the girls are off to NYC....which we are sure they'll have a good time.......

Downtown and Quebec City!

Once Bedgie arrived Tuesday and we heading back to our house, we invited our next door neighbour Heather over for a few drinks to meet the gang. After a few beverages, we headed to Dow's lake for some Mexican-beautiful views and food!!!

Wednesday the girls gathered their things - ready for a day "DOWNTOWN", as Kate and I both had to work - at JDPS. Touring around the CBD area, Parliament Hill, Museum of Civilization and the Byward Market area, the girls packed their things - readying themselves for a long drive to Quebec city. After a 5 1/2 hour drive we arrived in Quebec, at the Hotel Sepia - where we crashed for the night.An early start Thursday allowed us to make the most of our short time in Quebec city. Catching the bus into town, we caught the cable car up the hill towards the Chateau, where we took many photos - posing and and taking it all in. We then headed up the beautiful staircase / board walk to the top of the mountain (near the Citadel) which provided us with panoramic views of the water and new and old Quebec. After a short wander, the girls got a horse and carriage ride, taking them on a 40 minute tour of Quebec - with many sights being shown to them. After a busy morning, we managed to grab a table on the main street, where we ate a beautiful lunch, listening to one of the local buskers singing and well known songs in both French and English. The afternoon was spent crusing the local streets for souvenirs and general fun! Another couple of drinks were consumed before finishing the evening with a game of pass the ace - very relaxing.

Waking early, we took the "Monster truck" to Montmorency Falls - accidentally stumbling across the top car park, where the house and bridge were located. Strolling across the bridge, taking many photos whilst admiring the view we spent considerable time here - as everyone was enjoying the natural beauty / setting. Heading into the Manor, we had a coffee (with Bailey's) YUM. Driving into town, we found a park (relatively easy) then walked the strip - searching for a "souvenir to take home".....it was raining.....so it was a great excuse to keep dry ;) Dinner rolled around, so we headed to the Greedy Pig - a local restaurant that is highly rated by the locals - where we ate a beautiful meal, consumed many drinks then treated ourselves to dessert - we deserved it! Overall a fantastic day, with many memorable moments and giggles.

Waking early on Friday, we took the "Monster truck" to Montmorency Falls - accidentally stumbling across the top car park, where the house and bridge were located. Strolling across the bridge, taking many photos whilst admiring the view we spent considerable time here - as everyone was enjoying the natural beauty / setting. Heading into the Manor, we had a coffee (with Bailey's) YUM. Driving into town, we found a park (relatively easy) then walked the strip - searching for a "souvenir to take home".....it was raining.....so it was a great excuse to keep dry ;) Dinner rolled around, so we headed to the Greedy Pig - a local restaurant that is highly rated - where we ate a beautiful meal, consumed many drinks then treated ourselves to dessert - we deserved it! Overall a fantastic day, with many memorable moments and giggles.

The Girls Days Out!!

Monday the awesome foursome headed to Hertz to pick up the "car" - which turned out to be a 7 seater monster SUV - twice the size of our little Sunfire......then it was off to Montebello - home of the world's largest wood cabin and also to Parc-o-mega, which has become a favourite of ours.......no shocks! Admiring the wonderful wildlife and feeding them until there were no more carrots (but plenty of drool), they made it back to Ottawa, before the heavens again opened, drenching the city!
SHOPPING DAY......Tuesday - the girls headed in to Kristy's for a bite to eat, ready to gain the strength they needed to carry all those shopping bags they were going to carry! Driving on down to Bayshore shopping centre they wandered around some of our favourite stores (Old Navy, Roots - yep - that's the name of it - American Eagle, GAP etc). After some quick shopping down Richmond Road area, we headed out to the airport, picking up Bedgie - who arrived late afternoon.

Gatinueas and Wakefield!

Sunday came before we knew it -so we headed up into the Gatineaus, taking in the sights of Pink Lake, the viewing area and also making our way towards Wakefield (to show one of the many covered bridges that are found in North America - very cool).
That night Kate took the three visitors downtown to watch the light show at Parliament Hill - not before they had to try a beaver tail - which was enjoyed by everyone (luckily they had good weather, as it had poured with rain for a few hours prior).

1000 islands

After a busy first week of school for Brett (poor thing had to work 4 days after 9 weeks off!!!) we made our way out the the airport - to collect 3/4 of our visiting group - Sue (Kate's Mum) , Joan (Kates Grandma) & Ruth (Brett's Aunty).

Grabbing our favourite Thai, uncorking some wine and a big catch up - we rested for the coming weekend, ready to head on a tour.

Heading to Ganonoque (1,000 islands) we boarded a boat, taking in many of the wonderful properties and islands that make up this Canadian / US border. Ruth, Joan and Sue were amazed at how big and how small some houses and islands were. The trees put on a bit of a "premature" show - with some leaves turning beautiful shades of red and orange to welcome them in.

After the boat ride, we made our way to Kingston - for one of Canada's finest ice-cream stores - White Mountain. "Yuuuuummmmmmmm" was the only sound made on the way home!