Alive She Is!

Well hello there!  Yep, still alive!  Don't really know why I feel the need to write today, but I do!

It's only been four months or so, not that bad, really.

Life has been keeping me busy, somewhat, and I managed to stay out of trouble, so trust me that does take time, and skills!

I think I'm starting to master the art of avoiding some people, you know those juice suckers and always drama happening.  I've been keeping to myself, and even if one could think it might be lonely, one would be wrong... it is actually nice.

Our condo association(s) have been keeping me somewhat busy too, and having to deal with people who want everything and expect it all, makes it hard for this one to remain calm and quiet.  There were some rocky times, but overall, it is turning out good.  It's a slow process but changes are happening and for the better, so one has to remain positive.  I'm not really hopeful, because, after all, I do know who I'm dealing with, but having lowered my expectations helped a lot.

I'm still writing postcards and enjoying it.  If only I could get this enthusiastic about going to a gym, ah! not happening!  Deep down, I know, I've trained for so many years, that I fell like I've given all that I could, and now the thought of dragging my ass to a gym makes my skin crawl.

Last week, I played tourists with some friends in town for the week.  The weather was nice so it was pleasant, even if it was here, not some exotic location or new place to discover.  I'm not used to do that much social in a week.  They think we're acting old, and maybe we are at times, but both Hubby and I like our time at home, and if that makes us old, than be it.  I don't care.  There is nothing wrong with enjoying being home.  And if there is, then call me wrong!

Oh and I've come to the conclusion that some people, even if they do say nice things to you, will let their actions speak louder than their words.  I'm sure we all have that type of friend who often says ''I'll call you'' and never does, or that one who comes to town but doesn't say a thing nor try to get together with you... I have a few of those, and sadly decided not to let them play with my feelings anymore.  If I get to see them, good, if not, too bad.  I'm often the instigator of get together with people, not sure I want to call them friends anymore, and I've made a conscious decision not to do it anymore.  I've made enough effort and I'm tired of being the one trying... so if they want to see me/us, they I'll give them the chance to do so.  I'm not holding my breath though!

Toulouse in a week

Today was our last day in Toulouse. We've been here for a week now. We arrived last Sunday, for Hubby's work. I tagged along because I could and especially because I had never been here before. There wasn't much planning, since Hubby found out a few days prior to our departure that he was being sent to France for his client's client. Through Postcrossing I had contacted a member who lived in Toulouse to see if we could meet during our time here. We actually met up with her on Sunday evening, a brief encounter where she shown us the main things to see while here. She was super friendly and we hit it off.

The next morning Hubby went to work, and I walked around the city by myself. I will say this, I'm not crazy about doing the tourist thing all by myself. It is much more pleasant to visit with someone else, to have someone to share with, than being by yourself. Toulouse is a nice city, people are friendly and you can see a lot on foot. Our hotel was well located, right smack in town, so I could tour, on foot, easily.  I took a map and hit the streets.  I got lost (like every day I've been here!) and ended up by La Garonne (river).  Along the way I walked on "La rue du Taur" (top right). 

Bottom left, the flat bell tower of  "Église du Taur" and the St-Sernin Basilica.  It was interesting and very old buildings, all made out of bricks, orange bricks, even if they call Toulouse The Pink City, it is more orange than pink, for sure!

It was nice to see all those gorgeous buildings, and walking along these narrow little streets and back alleys, seeing all those shops selling local delicacies, postcards (which I bought!) and multiple little cafés.  Once Hubby came back from work, we walked around some, and made our way for a good dinner at Grand Café de l'Opéra on the Capitol Place.  It is what they call a Brasserie, which is very different from what we (in Québec) call a brasserie.  Their brasseries have a lot more class than ours.  Our dinner there was delicious, expensive by really good.

Tuesday, I got up later than the first day and made my way down to the Tourist Office, since a friend from Montréal, whose sister lives here, suggested to do a guided tour of the city while here.  Since the weather was nice, I was alone and didn't really know what to do, I decided to go for a tour of  ''Toulouse's Monuments''.  It was a walking tour of two hours.  We went to the Capitol, visited the Chambre des Illustres, where they now celebrate civil weddings and such, then made our way to Basilique St-Sernin, which I had seen (the outside of) the day before, but then got to go inside and learn about its history, construction.  Then we made our way to le Couvent des Jacobins, which is also gorgeous and so impressive.  Our guide knew her history and was (obviously) passionate about her city.  She gave us so much information, I was starting to zone out at the end; between being loaded with info, and having to walk and stand for over two hours (our tour started at 14:30 and ended by 17:15), I was cooked by the end.  She left us at l'Hôtel de Bernuy.  I got lost again on my way back, but did manage to make it back to our hotel.

The tomb (bottom left) is of St-Thomas d'Aquin, the center picture is of "le palmier" of the Jacobins and their refectory.  That building was among my favorites.  So much history in there, how Napoléon's men used that Church as a barn is almost unreal, and yet... the History of this place is unbelievable.

On our third day I spent it with C., the local Postcrossing gal.  We went to the market, get some local cheeses, bread, meats, and chocolates.  What a treat that was.  It is fun to hear them talk, with their Southern accents, and expressions, I love it!  We even managed to do a mini meet, the two of us, and send out about twenty cards.  After work, Hubby met up with us at their place, and we enjoyed a delicious meal of local food together.  It was a very sweet evening.  All four of us got along, talked a lot, laughed and ate well together.  We really hit it off with them both.

Thursday was a bit more slow for me, walked around a little, and crashed for a nap in the afternoon.  When Hubby got back from work, we stayed around and went to a place near by for dinner which wasn't that great, but they did have delicious fries.

Today, Friday, Hubby managed to leave the client at around noon, so that he could visit the city some.  We walked around some, and made our way to the Garonne River.  He wanted to see the bridges.  Along the way we stopped for lunch where we both had delicious meals; pizza for him and pasta for me.  We did some shopping, bought some souvenirs like a beautiful painting, a thin box representing the city and more postcards.  Today the weather wasn't all that great, but at least we did manage to finish this trip together.  Since I had been on a tour, I could share of the information I knew (and remembered) with Hubby.

We both agreed, Toulouse is a beautiful city and we would love to come back.  It was a fun, loaded week for both of us, in very different ways.  Worth the trip, for sure!

Feeling wonky that's what I need!

Here I am sitting in the main area of our temporary apartment for the next three weeks, minimum.  We moved ourselves this past weekend.  Besides preparing our condo for the work to start on Monday, we packed stuff to move here.  It's a cute little apartment, in a big building, right in the heart of town.

It has the basics and it was cleaner than our Bodø apartment.  The worst thing about this place is the sofa.  It is used and so low... maybe it's because we're tall but still it's ridiculously low.  Not good for old bodies like ours.  We brought a lot of our stuff over, beside our computers, our laser printer, we completed the kitchen with our pots and spices, etc.  Overall, the place isn't bad.  This morning they shampooed the hallway carpet, which is a good thing.  I haven't really heard noise, unlike our condo, but for the past twenty minutes I've been smelling some wonky tobacco... I might be high by the time the husband gets home.

The past few days, not to say weeks, have been challenging to say the least.  Not only is our patience being tested, our backs and mental health in general as well.  Besides having to deal with every day life, Hubby is super busy at his client, and we have to deal with our new roles as condo administrators.  At times, I can't help but feel it would be hell if we had kids to add to this mess.

Swimming against the current, or it's all relative?

As we were heading home after running some errands on the South Shore, I came to a realization, well, sort of: Hubby often said we were like salmons going up stream when we moved from the suburbs to downtown Montréal.  I didn't think much of it at the times, other then it might have been related to the fact that we don't have kids, unlike our friends, who wanted/needed more land, bigger house, etc. 

When we decided to go on our Norwegian adventure some people in our entourage mentioned they wouldn't do something like that; just leave everything behind and go away for a few months to live in a different country.

I, again, assumed it was related to the kid factor.  You know, having to deal with their schooling, etc.  During a  lunch with a friend, she mentioned how much of a pain it was for her to have to come to town.  She lives in a borough of Montréal, within fifteen minutes from downtown. 

I used to meet once every other month with a girlfriend, we would alternate once I would drive to her area and the following time she would come to town but when we moved downtown it went to once per season.  She didn't like coming to town.  She lives in the same suburb we used to, which is about thirty minutes away.  - By the way, please note that, of course, all the times I'm giving are traffic free, and since that is rarely happening, I have no clue how long it really takes to get anywhere.  Seriously.

Saturday morning, we wanted to have Dim Sum, since we had not yet gotten our fix.  The day we tried, walking to Chinatown, I sprained my foot (which is doing better and I was actually able to go walk around in a running shoe!).  We decided to go to Chinatown no. 2, i.e. Brossard.  We got in our car and drove to the South Shore.  It is about twenty minutes away.  We had our delicious fix of Chinese food, much needed after more than three months without any and then we proceeded to run some errands.  I had to get some supplies, so we shopped on Taschereau Blvd., then went for groceries on Nuns' Island and made our way back home.

As we were crossing the bridge back, that is when I thought "Hmm, I guess it's true were swimming against the current." Not only we don't stay in our hood for our everyday errands, but we go "far"! We both still drive to the West Island for our hair cuts, as well as for other things. I prefer to drive to Fairview for shopping than going downtown, not only because there is parking but mostly because they don't only cater to young skinny things. I've been known to drive to Laval, for a store in particular, because I like their clothes which are not only age appropriate but actually fit me.  Many people we know will only shop in their area, they go out in their neighborhood, they might work outside of their hood, but for the rest they stay in their area.  We are just the opposite.  We often say we're "grocery sluts" - we get our groceries wherever is near us at the time.  Since we've moved downtown, we've been to so many different grocery stores, in neighborhood we just drive through or happen to think of something we'll need and will go in the first store we see.  We are no longer loyal to a specific store; we do have our preferred places for different things, but we are not always going to the same place. 

I wonder why it is that we, as people, need to have this routine like behavior, this need to go at the same place, close by and not venture further?  Does it go back to the days when we had to fend for our food and would try to remain close to our caves, to be in a safe area?  I can't help and wonder what makes us want this?  One of the thing I absolutely loved from our Norwegian Experience, was the fact that I didn't know anyone, nor anything about where we ended up, and had to discover things. I liked that we tried Rema 1000,  and Coop and Eurospar each offering different things.  Some were near where we lived and yet we would go further to try some other store, to see what they also offered. 

I will admit, for my hairdresser I am loyal and somewhat scared to try someone new; especially for a cut.  We changed dentists (both of us) last week to give a try to a clinic walking distance from home.  I had the same guy since 1984, but his office looks run down now and in serious need of a revamp so I decided to change.  Hubby's dentist retired while we were in Norway, so he didn't have a choice.  I went for my exam and cleaning and what a difference - not only the decor, but the service, the high tech equipment... and the price!

Why is it we, well, most of us, need to have this security sense, this comfort I guess for things we know, near us?  Why is that some need to venture out while others are scared to do so or are simply not interested?  Doesn't it get boring, being so repetitive?  Do I feel like a salmon when I come home after running errands in an area outside my comfort zone?  I don't know, but I do know I'm not finding it hard to swim against the current in that case... 

Oh Great! Welcome Home, Sucker!

We've been back for two weeks.  We've caught up with some friends. Enjoyed some food we hadn't had during our time away. I will admit it is nice to be back in our crap, even if it's dusty and all.  Our sofa is comfortable and well padded, we have more than four of everything as far as dishes are concerned, and despite what everyone has been complaining about, it's warm here. 

One thing we did not have while we were away is dim sum or any Asian food for that matter. 

This morning, being a nice sunny day, we decided to walk to Chinatown and go for dim sum.  Like every friggin' summer (and winter for that matter!) it is humid in town. 

We made our way, slowly, chatting along the way, when whack I felt this sharp pain in my left foot, and fought hard to remain standing.  Turns out I've twisted my left foot on a fucking crack in the sidewalk!

We've kept walking to the restaurant we had planned to go to, but it's no longer in business.  It's been there for years but I guess it did close during our three months away.  The pain was bad, this throbbing was increasing with each step.  Once we made it to St-Laurent Blvd. I told Hubby I was taking a cab home.  Naturally there was none to be seen!  We then walked towards René-Lévesque and again not one cab in sight, so Hubby decided to go home to get the car.  While he walked home, I limped my way to the corner of St-Laurent and St-Antoine and waited for him to pick me up.  I've watched people.  There were many.  Of all styles.  I (normally) love people watching, it's so interesting.  I saw a few brides making their way to the Court House, many tourists, even gave directions to a few, and many Asian families.  They travel in packs.  And they don't travel light. 

When we got home, I took out the ice pack and put my foot on ice.  Man oh man, that is not pleasant. We had a 50th birthday party tonight, a long time friend of Hubby who's in town with his family, but between the pain and having to ice my foot, we decided to stay home.  Sucks!  Oh well. 

Montréal's streets are not only full of pot holes and under construction but the sidewalks are just as bad.  It's infuriating not being able to do anything, not even worth a complaint, it's sad.  We pay more taxes yearly and it feels and looks like the services we are getting is decreasing.  To drive around time is an adventure daily.  New holes pop up like flowers in a bed of flowers.  And let's not forget the orange cones.  They also pop up everywhere.  This city has so many construction sites going, it's crazy.  We can't estimate how long it will take to get somewhere as we can and most likely will be surprised by either a construction site, some traffic or deviation that will make a simple drive turn into a nightmarish adventure.

As I sit here, my foot on ice, once again, am feeling this was Montréal's way of welcoming me home...

Scandinavian Traveller: Likki the Trimmed Beaver - Chapter Ten, The Final One.

As I write this today, ten days after returning home, after a few days visiting Oslo, sitting in our living room, watching a movie, and after running errands part of the afternoon in hot and humid Montréal, we are back!

Before I get into how it has been since our return, I will share our last few days in Oslo.  Unlike Bodø, the weather was warmer and sunny!  We were able to wear shorts!  We walked around town, explore some.  We visited the Nobel Peace Center.  It's an interesting place, dedicated to peace.  Their main event was about children's rights with Malala and Kailash.  It was quite interesting even if their was a lot of reading to be done.  They also have a boutique, where they sold lots of postcards, and I did get a bunch, mostly famous quotes from Peace Nobel Winners.  Then after a refreshment, we made our way to Akerhus Fortress, where we had a nice view over the port and the city.

View from Akerhus Fortress

Akerkus Fortress

It was quite a large fortress and you could see why its location was so important.  Even if we didn't take the tour, walking around by ourselves on the grounds it was quite impressive.  

Not far from our hotel area, I spotted this little bookstore which had some postcards, or so I thought.  Turned out they had many artistic ones, very different from anything I could find in Bodø, so I bought lots. 

I had contacted J. a while back, asking her if she wanted to meet me when we would be back in Oslo.  She send us so many postcards from Norway, showing us different areas of their beautiful country, with explanations, I felt I just had to meet her.  And we did.  Likki got to send a few cards with her, which was nice.  We had planned a two hours meeting with her, and it lasted well over six.  We talked about so many things, such an interesting encounter and warm lady.

 J. and Likki, in Oslo

Our hotel had a nice lounge we could access anytime, where they served (Nespresso) coffee or tea and fizzy water.  After 6pm they also served dinner, which was also included in our room's price.We went twice but only ate there once.  It was actually a decent meal.  Because it was warm and humid, one afternoon we went up to enjoy a cold drink and since it was completely empty, I took some pictures of the view we had from there.  On one side we had the Palace and the other the North.

View from 8th floor lounge of our hotel towards the Palace

Overlooking Kristian Augusts gate

One evening we had made reservation at a little Italian restaurant, Ruffino, which we had tried to get in back in May with our friends, so we walked to it.  Along the way we passed this impressively nice building which had a little plate on its side, in Norwegian, of course, that I could read had something to do with the Gestapo back in 1942.  We had a delicious dinner at the restaurant, a nice way to end our few extra days in Oslo.

Victoria Terrace, the site of the Gestapo headquarters in Oslo. 

The morning of our departure, the street was mostly deserted.  As we walked towards the train station, we passed the university and I managed to quickly take a picture.

Oslo University, on Karl Johans gate

On the train, Flytoget, Likki made friend with a local, a little Norwegian moose, who was heading our way.  Lucky little fellow.

Once at the airport, we recuperated the rest of our luggage and made our way to check-in, security and duty free through which we simply walked through not even stopping anywhere.  We didn't even have time to get our tax reimbursement, since, once again, the line at check in was too long, and since we had a connection in Heathrow to Canada we couldn't use the automatic check-in machine, but had to go to the counter and see a person, which meant we had to do the queue.
 

Heathrow is a beautiful and big airport and we had over four hours there before our next flight.  We , hit duty free, grab a bite to eat and did some shopping while walking around.  We looked for a quiet place where we could get refreshed and rest a little before our long flight home.

A tea with some biscuits, please.

If not in London, where else would one truly enjoy a good cup of tea?  She knows her stuff that Likki, despite her your life, she knows!  It was strange, at the gate, hearing not only French, but Québécois and to see people with Montréal's Canadiens tee-shirts.  A fair sign we were heading home...

Last gate before heading home...

Our return home is done.  Our adventure in Vikingland is done.  We are now back to Montréal's never ending road construction, traffic and fast pace.  It was an experience of a lifetime, to be able to do so without the worries of what would await us upon our return. And this closes Likki's Scandinavian Adventure.

Souvenir as in not forgetting

Our Norwegian adventure will be coming to an end soon.  I will miss this place, the being away, the being unknown and the not knowing anyone as well.  I like this anonymity, not having to put on a brave or a smiling face on because someone you know might see you.  It's easy to keep to oneself when you don't really know anyone.  And that is the one main thing I did enjoy during our time here.

If there would have been more sunny days, our stay here would have been great.  Yes it was cold, and windy almost all of the time, but the cloudiness of the place did get to me.  I need to see the sun, and blue sky, not just gray and clouds.

We did see things we wouldn't have back home, experienced a few Norwegian things.  We did explore on weekends, took nice (long) drives, and this despite the rain. The one thing that I'm really happy to have seen is the Midnight Sun.  It is really strange to actually have to wear sunglasses at midnight.  The other night driving back from a view point, where we could see Landegode, a big island off the coast and behind it some part of Lofoten, I thought it was strange that the town was so quiet, when Hubby reminded me it was past midnight, on a week night...  It is strange to look out at any time and there's light, we can no longer tell time by looking out, we need a watch.

Overlooking Bodø

Landegode

You must admit, it looks pretty darn good.  One day, an air traffic controller invited Hubby and me to accompany him to his cottage on an island near by.  We had to take a ferry for about 10-15 minutes.  It was worth it.  The place is really more "country", the scenery was also gorgeous. I got to see stockfish up close.

Stockfish

Kjerringøy used to be a fishermen trading post

The island was beautiful.  So peaceful.  Whenever we've traveled to an island,we've brought back a picture of the place, something that reminded us of our trip.  There was a little art shop not far from here that had some interesting pieces, and some of it looked like things we've seen.  Today we went in.  We looked around and there was one artist that we both liked.  We went for fikka (coffee and something to eat), talked about it, and went back to get this cutie... that is so Norwegian.

by Lars Erik Karlsen

I love it! Whenever I will look at it, it will remind me of our time in Bodø, in Norway.  That and all the pictures I've taken during our drives around Bodø.

All About Me Mentality

Mise en scène

The wife wants to get back to some level of physical shape, but isn't to incline to do sports.  The husband is quite active.  For over ten years the wife hasn't touched her bicycle, and this even if the husband cycled to work almost daily.

The wife suggests they go for a ride.

Current scene

Not only is the wife feeling wobbly on her bicycle, she's hurting.  Her crotch is sore and her wrists are also sore.  This is not as fun as she remembered cycling to be.  Maybe it's an age thing?  She used to love riding her bike.

Because the wife hadn't cycled in so long, the husband wanted to go a safer way, and stay on bike paths.  Giving where they lived, a touristic area of town, no matter where they went,  they had to go through crowds, especially since it was a nice day.

The wife often (very often) heard the husband complained about how there was anything but cyclists on the bike paths.  He would complain about how baby carriage or people walking their
dogs or joggers were taking over the paths, how he couldn't ride without being aware of others. So, when she had to slow down and almost hit her brakes because of people walking in the middle of the path she understood the husband's complaints.  When she had to get off her bicycle and walked besides her bike because too many people were on the bicycle path rather than on the sidewalk, she got pissed off.  They had to walk for a few minutes to avoid mostly pedestrians.  Not even a few minutes after getting back on their bikes they came across four young women totally oblivious of being on a bike path and were walking side by side taking the width of the path.  The wife couldn't help herself and told them it was a bike path not a sidewalk.  They looked at her as if she was a mad woman and kept on walking, giggling.

One can't help and wonder where are we heading as people, as a society?  Why are we so focused on ourselves and nobody else? We all act as if we were alone, in our own little bubble, not giving a damn about anyone other than ourselves.  It's sad to see that future generation as well as current ones are so messed up and can only think about their little selves.  Not only have we lost respect not just for elders, but for everyone basically, we don't even care about our own selves enough to be polite and somewhat considerate of others.  As Professor Farnsworth said... I don't want to live on this planet anymore...

Very Cool!

Some people with ski or snowboard on any surface.  Hubby often says that if you've skied in Québec than you can ski anywhere else, since over here we tend to ski among rocks, grass, etc.  This year though, because of the big snow fall we've had between Christmas and New Year, there's a lot of snow.  At least in town there is.  Some area of the province weren't really affected by the dump we've had.

I came across this today (thanks Issy for sharing!): http://vimeo.com/56490557 - check it out!

This guy, Seb Toots, is actually snowboarding in town!  The Mount-Royal is located right in town - a great place to go to for nice walks, training, to enjoy the view of Montreal.  It is a known spot to all Montrealers and to many tourists. If you're curious about where I live, well... check it out, it will give you one of the many flavors of Montreal!

Depends how one looks at it, doesn't it?

We consider ourselves lucky to live in Montreal, a city which does offer a lot of variety (in food, clothes, people, etc.), and we enjoy that.  I've been told (by not so open minded relatives) that I was "special" because of I have friends of different colors, race and even sexual orientation than mine.  That is the one thing I love about friends, we get to choose them, and for that I'm very thankful.  I like variety in every aspects of my life.  I'm curious by nature, so being exposed to different type of people sates a need of mine to know more.

Since we've attended friends' wedding last weekend, I've been wondering about something I had noticed previously, but somehow became more apparent at the reception.  While talking with another guest, who is Lebanese, the subject of the latest bomb attack in Beirut came up.  Her husband was there for business, and that last bomb was in their neighborhood.  She was concerned, understandably so, and yet didn't seem too bothered.  It was part of life. In Beirut.

When the party started, actually as soon as the bride and groom made their way in the reception area, all the Lebanese people were on the dance floor (it was a mostly Lebanese crowd).  The party started and never really stopped until five or six hours later.  They partied hard.  It was such a fun time, so much energy filled the room.  Even if one wasn't too keen on Arabic music, the energy of it all, made one get up, clap and dance.  I tell you, it was fun!

During a speech, from the brother of the groom (who's Lebanese), he mentioned their childhood in Lebanon and talked very briefly about war.  It made me wonder if it was because they'd seen war and the devastation it creates that they partied so hard now?  I've had numerous talk with my friend S. and often the way he talks implies to enjoy life fully because it's we never know how long we've got.  Things can change rapidly.  He's got that right.

Thursday morning as I was driving to a client, I had a car accident, again.  The other driver ran a red light and I had no other option than to hit him.  Luckily nobody got hurt (let's say... tell than to me neck, back and wrist), and this despite the +$6,000 worth of damages on our car.  The other car barely had a little ding on the rear by the wheel.  The old man (again!) who was driving wasn't paying attention to the light since he was looking for a street.  This "no fault" shit in Québec really stinks, if you ask me.  All he got, once the cops got to the accident site was a ticket for running a red light.  He tried to play innocent by saying the light was yellow, but there was two witnesses who confirmed the light was red, and I had right of way.  After waiting for the towing to take our car away, I've made my way to my client.  I didn't want to be at home, alone.  I needed company.  I managed to get an appointment with an osteo for Friday, which really helped the stiffness I was feeling all over my back and neck.  During that treatment, she asked about my plans for the weekend, so when I told her about the wedding, she asked if I was planning to wear high heels.  I was.  She strongly insisted on me wearing flats.  Good thing I had a cute pair of flats I could wear with my dress. Saturday, after I got my make up done (which came out really pretty, thanks for the suggestions Marius!), I put on my dress and flats and made our way to the wedding in a courtesy car, which makes it super easy easy to spot in any parking lot!

See, it's all about how we look at things!

Expensive when you add it all up.

Yesterday I met a cousin which I hadn't seen in a year for dinner.  We ended up going at a friend's Vietnamese restaurant.  We took my car, since I knew where we were going, and I was lucky enough to find parking almost in front of the restaurant, which is rare since it's a very busy area of town.  There was a parking meter so I used my credit card to pay the maximum allowed so that I wouldn't be bothered checking time, etc.

My friend wasn't there when we arrived, but we ordered some food and started enjoying our food and catching up.  He eventually showed up and like every time I go there, he made us try something.  He has this thing about healthy, tasty food.  He had made this tapioca type pudding, which was soy based.  The look of it was really not appetizing, but it tasted really good.  I just love tapioca.

At the end of our meal, he came by and sat with us for a while telling us about his latest project.  He's been working on developing this natural base product to help rebuilt the immune system, etc.  He was very passionate about it, and his documentation was interesting.  Long story short, I bought a kit - supplies for one month - to try.  If it can help with my headaches and back pain, it will be worth it.

We had decided to go to another place for our desserts, so after paying for everything we made out way back to my car and drove off.  Within five minutes in the car, we noticed, at the same time, there was a fuckin' parking ticket stuck to my windshield.  Damn it.  I pulled over, grabbed it to see it was for $52 for "having parked a road vehicle in a space controlled by a pay station without the prescribed fee having been paid".  I was fuming. I did pay, I even used my Visa and put the maximum allowed.  I pulled out the receipt from my purse.  Looked at it and was calling the "parking agent" all sorts of nasty names, when I realized that the amount for that transaction was $0.25.  Somehow, the machine gave me eight minutes instead of two hours I needed and thought I had purchased. Fuck!  I royally fucked up on that one.  I know I did press the "max" button, but somehow ended up with not even a quarter of an hour.  I did fuck around with the machine, since we had a big storm yesterday at dinner time, and the display was all foggy and I never did pay attention at the end time.  I saw :59 and assumed it was until 9pm.  I was furious!  My cousin offered to pay for our desserts - that was nice of her - and suggested that I pleaded not guilty.  According to her I would have a chance because I had use my credit card to cover the maximum fee and a judge might give me the benefit of the doubt... I'm tempted to do so, but at the same time I know I fucked up.  I should have been more vigilant and look at the end time on the ticket.  I've learned a lesson, that's for sure!

Let's just say that when we did arrive at the other place, I made damn sure I was in a proper area to park and made sure the meter wasn't in effect (after 9pm).  It was a pleasant evening overall, but I could have done without that ticket, that's for sure!

What am I saying?

This morning I caught myself thinking like a real Montrealer and that was somewhat surprising to me.  I was born in a little town (some would say village, but it's a town, officially) eight hours north of Montreal.  I grew up in Montreal, but every chance we got we went back to "Meeting Place" (translation of its' Native name), we had relatives and friends there. In doing so regularly, distances were never a real big issue for me.  I drove to Florida a few times, and didn't mind the hours in the car.  Drove to PEI as well (about thirteen hours), enjoyed it.  I will admit that I can easily sleep in a car. Distance is not an issue.  Especially when I need to sleep.

When we lived in the suburbs, it was about thirty minutes to come to town, on a good day and traffic is good.  This morning I had to go to our old neck of the woods.  Strange things is, since we're downtown, we regularly go to the suburbs to shop. While I was getting ready to leave I thought "argh, drive to the West Island".  That's the first sign that I'm turning into a city mouse.  I'm getting used to having everything near, and yet, even if we don't do much shopping in town. Weird. 

I've been evaluating our living arrangements, we need more space since we have too much shit. Everything in town is exorbitant so maybe the suburbs are the way to go (back)... argh.

You don't really need imagination.

Only the 5th day and I'm running low on inspiration, this is promising.

While in Vegas in September, the conference organizers had asked the "newbies" like me to let them know via email, what our impression were.  I wrote a little email and send it away.  Imagine my surprise yesterday when I received an email informing me that a $50. Visa Gift Card was on its way to me.  I won!  Me!  Wow!  I very seldom win anything.  This is a nice treat!

Some day during the past week, we had a note in our mail box from the Cinema Bureau informing us they would be filming in our area.  That normally means our street will be closed, there won't be any parking and there will be a lots of people around. They also mentioned some gun shots. Well... they didn't lie about that.  It was not only a few, but many and it also involved some fire back shots as well.  Let's just say I don't know how people living in a place where there are guns being fired on a regular base manage it.  It was somewhat stressful.   I was hoping to see Eric Roberts or Eddie Izzard, but no such luck.  I only saw the crew.  I guess I'll have to keep an eye out for the TV Series "Bullet in the Face". 

I love to see a movie and realised it was shot someplace I know.  Last week, while watching Hawaii 5-0 they had a scene near the beach where we got married.  Both Hubby and I were all excited to see our beach. Magic Island will always be our special place, that's for sure. 

Nope not that way. Nor this way. Can't even turn around!

Driving in Montreal this summer is getting worst by the day. It is completely ridiculous. Our infrastructures are falling apart, everything is old and needs to be either repaired or changed. It's not safe. We have four main bridges coming in to Montreal, and two of them are under serious construction, and last weekend one of the other two had a police blockade (speed trap). It's bad.

To add to the fun of it all, Festival Season has begun. Driving in town feels like we're on an autocross circuit with all the orange cones everywhere! Streets are closed for either construction, repairs, some festival, sidewalk sales or even better, closed for the summer to give full access to pedestrians.  And then they wonder why drivers are experiencing so much road rage... really?

In order to get anywhere one has to plan lots of extra time, and this no matter the time of the day.  It used to take me seven minutes to get to my meditation class, the past three weeks it's been taking me between fifteen to twenty minutes.  I won't even talk about parking because that alone is yet another nightmare!

Last week I went back to see my little Chinese man for a treatment.  Something funny (well, not really) happened.  I managed to get there 15 min. before my scheduled appointment, and they took me in almost right away.  He came in the room, exchanged very few words and I ended up on my side with a few needles (acupuncture) stuck in my neck and left shoulder.  Since I was facing a wall, I started meditating and trying to relax.  I guess it worked since I dosed off a little.  At some point I started to feel like I'd been there for a while, so I managed to get up and look for my watch.  It was almost 6pm, and I had been there since 4:15pm.  I opened the door to the room and saw the little Chinese man, sitting at the front desk.  I asked him if he had forgotten about me... The look on his face... priceless!  He had.  He felt really bad, and wanted to treat me, but I had to leave.  This was the very first time a therapist forgot about me while I was in treatment.  It happened once or twice that double appointments were giving for the same time slot, but someone forgetting I was there, in a treatment room, was a first for me!

I feel like a freakin' alien!

Friday afternoon I saw a cousin of mine I had not seen in over twenty years.  She was in town with her son for a convention.  She's not from around here, she lives in Lebel sur Quévillon.  She doesn't come to town that often.  Walking around Montréal with them, made me realised just how different we were. 

I've been wondering how different I would be if I had grew up and stayed where I was born.  Talking with my cousin, she told me something that kind of surprised me: "You were always very open".  What surprised me was the fact she actually saw I was open.  She thought I was special to have a best friend, in high school, who was black.  I can't help but wonder if the fact of growing up in town made me that way by being exposed to more.  We're lucky in Montreal for that, our city is a big melting pot, I think every nationality is represented.  That's what I like about it.  Living downtown it's even more apparent.

After we dropped them at the airport on Sunday, Hubby and I talked about how different I felt from them.  I've always been curious by nature, but I've been wondering (since Friday) if that curiosity was brought on by me being exposed to more things in town, by the education I've received or simply because that's the way I am.  I do know I received a good education (private school).  I've always been interested in seeing and knowing about the world.  Was that because I went to school with kids from all over the world?  I thought, because of the Internet and all the "toys" available to the kids, they would be curious about other cultures and such.  Talking with the boy over the weekend,  I saw a kid from a small town, who was close minded about many things and with not much interest in the rest of the world.  At his age I had pen pals from Germany, Spain, Greece and France.  When my cousin asked where was my husband from and I answered he was Hungarian.  The kid asked "what is that?"  I was, to say the least, surprised.  Not to know that Hungarians are people from Hungary is... is... wow.  I'm not expecting a sixteen years old boy to know where it is exactly on a map, but at least to know of it and to have an idea of Europe. 

I actually took them to a Lebanese restaurant (because they didn't feel like Italian, didn't want Chinese, didn't want fast food) by their hotel.  They had never tasted that before (nor did they know where it came from), and weren't even willing to try something as easy (for the taste buds) as hummus.  They ate their chicken brochette (because they could identify that) and their potatoes and that was it.  The comments they made on what they saw at food counter were actually making me a little embarrassed.  By the time I went home I was feeling somewhat in shock, frustrated and confused. 

We might be from the same gene pool, but I'm thankful I'm not so close minded.  They are missing so much.  It saddens me.  And yet, they are happy.  Or at least they say they are.  Good for them.  I guess it's true what they say about a pig being happy in shit...

Excuse me for taking up too much space in your world!

Saturday night we've met some friends for dinner, on St-Denis St. in Montréal. It's a busy street, no matter the season or time of day. Since it was that cold and parking is always a pain in the arse on that street, we decided to walk it. According to Google map it was a thirty somewhat minute walk. We dressed warm (i.e. added tuques and mitts to our regular winter accoutrement) and went for a walk.

We were good pedestrians and waited for green lights all the way, unlike other times when we kinda do the Montrealer thing: jaywalk. Saturday we were good. It was mostly due to the fact we had time to kill since it was cold so we walked faster and this, despite me stating I didn't want to get to the restaurant all sweaty.

As we crossed St-Denis St., on the corner of Cherrier St., we were almost back on the side walk, when this minivan kept rolling very slowly, but still rolling. As it almost hit us both (in the knees), we both raised our arms up (you know like "What the hell?" type of move) and gave nasty looks to the driver with some choice words, I must say...

The passenger, a woman, has the gull to roll down her window and says:
"Sorry, we were looking behind us..." WTF? Seriously? You rolled down your window to confirm to us that you really are a moron? Wow! Some people are just that stupid I guess...

Ever wonder where I lived?

I saw this clip and thought I had to share it with you...

Eric Lapointe, the singer is know in Québec for many things (keeps our local rags happy) and this clip is about a hockey series on at the moment. There's always been a big rivalry between Montréal and Québec Ciry. It was at its peak when Québec had its own hockey team, les Nordiques. This friendly competition is always there... anyway, I wanted you to see our beautiful city.

Check it out on YouTube, it will give you a good idea of where I call home...


And if you're curious about Québec, check out their version of their promo for the same series.

Here comes the sun, here comes the sun and I say it's all right

It’s official: the summer months are here… or so it seems, if you don’t mind the nippy temperature at night that is. I know it’s not really before the 21st of this month, but things that make it summer have already started.

What makes it summery?

• Saturday was a beautiful day in Montréal, and it showed in and around Old Montréal (where we live), the amount of people out and about confirmed any doubts one might have. This picture is of Place Jacques-Cartier, in Old Montréal, always buzzing with activity (except in winter)... lots of street vendors, artists, terraces where you can enjoy a cold one while people-watching...
  
  
• I wore shorts for the first time this season.
  
  
• There were lots of people heading North on the highway out of town.
  
  
• The sound of bugs going splat on the windshield…
  
  
• « L’International des Feux d’Artifices de Loto-Québec » started – they’re celebrating their 25th Anniversary of fireworks competitions, even if this year it’s only once a week instead of twice a week. I must say I’m happy about that, it was a nightmare for us who live in an area where lots of people come to watch said fireworks. On those nights we had to be home by 7:30 the latest or not come home before midnight. We can’t access our place due to the City closing off some streets and the amount of traffic.
  
  
• We ate on our terrace, first of many times I hope…
  
  
• The Festivals are starting! Montréal is such a city of festival, it’s unbelievable, one after the other and at times simultaneously. With festival like “Just for Laughs”, the Jazz Fest., Film Fest., and all the others, there is something for everyone to enjoy that’s for sure.
  

All those things make it summer! And I didn’t even say anything about the humidity!

___
Place Jacques-Cartier

What a beautiful Sundae!

We started our day with a beautiful walk through Old Montreal making our way to a delicious breakfast. It’s a good thing the food was good, because the service sucked! I’ll spare you the details of all the delays in between the coffees, taking our order, getting it and getting refills… Let’s just say that for Hubby to leave a single dollar tip on a twenty-five dollar bill… the service was really bad!

I had brought our camera with us because I wanted to take similar shots to the ones I had done this past winter. So while at the restaurant I figured I would also take a few shots of our breakfast, even if it was more like 1 o'clock in the afternoon, by the time we ate!

Here's my coffee which is actually an expresso mixed with hot chocolate. Yummy!

Here’s what Hubby ordered which is a sandwich style bagel, made with Swiss cheese, tomatoes, lettuce, onions fried egg and black forest ham. Served with fries (normally it is with grilled potatoes).

Here’s mine! A bagel cut in half dipped in egg batter, cooked on the grill, topped with bananas and strawberries. Served with yogurt and honey.


After having our tummies really filled, we walked back home. Along the way I took a few more shots. Isn’t it incredible what a difference a few months make? Check here to see the “winter” version (second picture).

I couldn’t get the exact same angle because of the leaves in the trees...but you get the idea, no?

There were so many people walking around it felt like we were on vacation or something. I love Old Montréal in the summer; it is so alive!

We finished this beautiful day with a delicious meal on our deck, by candle light... Life is good!

Our future? Really?

I grew up in town; downtown Montréal, in Little Burgundy, to be exact. It was rough and tough, no doubt about that. Despite it all, my parents kept a tight leash on me. By the time I moved out a lot of drug dealers had taken over the territory. The neighbourhood changed, like the rest of us I guess.

I then moved to LaSalle. It was fairly quiet. From there I moved to Verdun, also in a fairly quiet area. Then from there I moved to the suburbs, to Pierrefonds, in the West-Island of Montréal. Despite what we might think, it wasn’t all peaceful and such. The street where we lived had on one-side houses and town houses and on the other side apartment buildings. We lived on a corner. Often, people would cut across our yard. If either Hubby or myself were out we would ask them to not walk across. It worked most of the time, but not always. We had to file a complaint with the police because of a few kids who had thrown an empty bottle of vodka, taken from a recycling bin, against the side of our house. That time Hubby went out and followed the kids until he caught up to them and gave them crap. Long story short, the next morning we were awaken by two fathers and a kid, saying that they had heard that there had been a problem. Hubby explained what had happened, the kid apologized and that was the end of it.

When we moved back in town, I thought we might have issues with some homeless guys, since we are not that far for two local shelters for homeless. Turns out I was wrong. There are, across the street from us, apartment buildings. We only found out this winter that they are for low-income families. Since we moved here, we did notice some rambunctious kids, playing hockey in the street and slowly moving out of the way when a car was coming. Those kids had an attitude, and it was not their problem, that’s for sure.

A few weeks ago, as we came home, Hubby noticed that the kids, who were playing hockey, again, in the middle of the street, right in front of our place, were resting against his car, so he went out and told the kid not to lean against his car. At first one of the kids didn’t really move, so Hubby told him abruptly to get the f*uck off his car, so the kid turned around and said “No need to swear”. I was inside, cracking up. The kid was right, but his demeanour was just too cocky. He eventually, very slowly, got off the car. After what Hubby moved it to another street. Last week, I asked a bunch of them to go somewhere else because they were refilling their water bottles at the faucet in front of our basement window. Every time they opened the faucet the earth from the flowerbed splashed up in the windows. They moved, but with such attitude and so slowly to show me that “they” were moving because they wanted to. Those boys are between 8 to 12 years old. Last night they were sitting in our steps, feet covered in mud, which they were scrapping off their shoes onto the steps. Hubby went out and told them to go elsewhere. One of them got up, really slowly, and went down the steps. They were standing on the sidewalk, mouthing crap our way. Hubby came back in. A few minutes later we heard noise on the side of the house, so Hubby went through the garage to see the kids playing in the driveway. So again he told them to go play somewhere else. One of the kids had the balls to say that he lived there, which isn’t the case, so he could play there. I could see that their cockiness was building so I decided to call the cops. I asked to be transferred to the station, since it wasn’t an emergency but we were dealing with a mini street gang that could cause some trouble. By that time, one of the kids threw a rock in our window. Thankfully it didn’t break. I called the cops again, adding to the report, that it was building up. By the time the cops showed (of course!) another kid had thrown a can to our windows, again at the same time Hubby was opening the door. The kid saw him and scattered really fast. Those kids are like roaches when you flick on the light, they disappear!

After chatting with the police officers, who couldn’t do anything because the kids were long gone, they suggested to Hubby to keep calling them when we will see them back in the area. The live across the street!!! We should not hail them because we don't want to become their "target". I think that's advice is a little too late. I couldn’t help to think of those kids, in the West-Island who were a bit older than 13 years old, who decided to break in a house, killed the elderly couple using a baseball bat and stole their car for the “kick” of it! Or that movie I’ve seen, based on a true story that happened in England (can't remember the title of it for the life of me!) about kids who would terrorise people and then killed them for the fun of it. The youngest in that story was like 7 years old!

I don’t know about you, but when I was a kid, whenever an adult would address me I would listen. Just thinking that they could complain to my parents, scared the living day light out of me, because I knew there would be a price to pay. Today’s kids have not idea what discipline is and even less when it comes to respect. I never even thought of playing on a neighbour’s lawn. I would sit on their steps only if a friend of mine lived there and if I was there with her. I knew what was ours and what wasn’t. I guess I knew what respecting others meant. I only knew what fear was.

It saddens me to see this. That’s our future… now that’s one scary thought, isn’t it?