Winter Get Away

If you read Murray's blog, you will already know that we had a nice little holiday to kick off the new year. It all started way back on January 1 - we slept off the New Year's hangover (just kidding - we were at a party with some friends from church...lots of fun and games, and only a couple glasses of wine!) and made the trek up the 401 to Toronto. We had a nice visit with some friends we haven't seen for a while. Unfortunately, we forgot to bring the camera so you will have to rely on my descriptive storytelling to paint a picture for you.

The nice thing about having friends in a city the size of Toronto is that they know all the funky places to go - you know, the ones you would never think to go to because they don't look like much from the street. This is the case with Dr Generosity's. The food was delicious and the atmosphere was sophisticated but comfortable - like a classy neighbourood pub.

The next morning, we set out on the 6 hour drive to Montreal. Just outside of Kingston I had my first glimpse of the Canadian Shield - something I have coloured on many a Social Studies map, but never seen with my own eyes. Hooray! I'm discovering Canada!
We stopped in Kingston (see Murray's rage against the paper towel machine) and popped in a Tragically Hip cd to celebrate.

When we arrived in Montreal it was dark, which may explain why we got so lost. That is a hard thing for me to admit, since I have a superior sense of direction. At any rate, we found our hotel and set off down Rue St-Denis to do some exploring. Being in Montreal made me realize 2 things: I wish I had kept up my French, and I wish I had gone to university there (although being in university usually means that you have no money to do all the fun things there are to do in Montreal!) St-Denis was neat - lots of unique shops and restaurants; kind of like Whyte Ave in Edmonton. All the streets were still decorated for Christmas - lots of lights and real Christmas trees... The best part of St-Denis is a candy store brilliantly named Sucre Bleu!

The next morning we walked down to Old Montreal - only a few blocks from our hotel.

We found a place that served breakfast (mayonnaise with your hashbrowns, anyone?) and had a big screen TV so we (notice the "royal" we) could watch the semi-finals of the world junior hockey game. After the excitement of the winning shoot-out, we did some walking around in Old Montreal. It is beautiful, and yes, very historic! The streets are paved with granite blocks and there are lots of shops and galleries and churches. We saw a glass-blower at work (didn't buy anything because it is all very pricey...) and then we walked up to Notre Dame.

Notre Dame is a big Roman Catholic church with beautiful stained glass windows and such. The pews and railings are delicately carved with lots of gilded things. Very impressive. Of everything though, my favourites were these stained glass windows which weren't in the sanctuary.

Love the colour, love the pattern.

We decided to do the 'tourist' thing (being tourists, after all...) and took a horse-drawn carriage ride. No, jimmy, the horse didn't poop. Our tour guide was very knowledgeable and we enjoyed the break from walking.

We decided we needed a little excitement, so we hopped a cab up to Rue(?) St-Catherines. It is a crazy busy place with an underground mall (!) and all kinds of higher-end stores. And a 3-storey Gap! After a couple of hours exploring there, we went back to Old Montreal for a wonderful dinner at the Keg, and then walked back to our hotel.

Before heading off to Ottawa the next morning, we decided to check out St Joseph's Oratory. After being at Notre Dame the previous day, I was sort of expecting more of the same. In fact, it was quite different. Obviously not nearly as old as Notre Dame, St Joseph's has a definite '60's feel to its art and decor. It is a pilgrimage site for many, on account of the healings that have happened after righteous Catholics have prayed there (for a more 'tongue in cheek' explanation, see Murray's blog). It is a massive building on top of a hill overlooking the city of Montreal, with one of the highest domes of any Roman Catholic church in North America.

One of the neat things at St Joseph's is the 'museum' they have in the building. Since we were visiting just after Christmas (still in the church-year season of Christmas, mind you) there was a display of nativity scenes from all over the world. Some of them were incredible - carved, gilded, painted, made out of all kinds of materials. Sadly, there were no photos allowed in the museum.

We then headed off to Ottawa. A pleasant 2-hour drive and no trouble finding our hotel. Ottawa is much easier to navigate than Montreal. Upon arriving in Ottawa, we consulted the tourist guide book and discovered that the Canadian Museum of Civilization (across the river in Gatineau) offers free admission after 5pm on Thursdays. What a deal...

The museum has one of the most extensive collections of First Nations artifacts in Canada (though some of their items were borrowed from the Glenbow Museum in Calgary!) There is a huge hall when you first walk in, and it has a re-creation of a West-Coast long house and many authentic totem poles. I have mixed feelings about this. I've always been fascinated by First Nations art and culture - especially the bead work. My favourite field trip in elementary school was to Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump. I also love the work of Emily Carr, and much of her later work was inspired by West Coast First Nations. I recently read a book about her (a fictionalized account, but based on her real life and writings) and it affected her deeply to visit a village where their totem poles had been cut into pieces and shipped off to a museum. It is very sad to me too, and I hope that one day I might see totems in their original settings, not just in a museum.

The museum was also featuring 3 special exhibits: one called "Petra" (something about an archaeological discovery), one about the history of ice skating in Canada (pretty cool - they had old Olympic medals, the figure skating outfits worn by Sale and Pelletier, and Wayne Gretzky's skates), and one exhibit about Candadian artisans (some beautiful textile work and ceramics).

The next morning we decided to catch a tour of the Parliament buildings (the Centre block, to be specific).

Our tour guide was great - very informative. Unfortunately, Stephen Harper was making an announcement outside the House of Commons so we couldn't see that part on the tour. We decided to hook up with another tour once ours was over, since the media had cleared out of the area.

After the tours, we went up the elevator in the Peace Tower (the middle part) - from the elevator you can see the bells of the carillon - very cool. On a clear and sunny day (which it wasn't) you can also see the city, the Ottawa River, the National Gallery, and Gatineau. But we could see the clock...

We could also see the make-shift hut for the homeless Parliament Hill cats...I guess they have been around since the '70s and some guy decided to feed them and build them a house. One of the kittees was there, and he was very friendly (unfortunately Blogger has had enough of my photos, so I can't add any more right now).

We then drove up Sussex Drive to see where the Prime Minister lives. It's a far cry from Braeside (the community where he lived in Calgary) but not really fancy or impressive. In fact, I wouldn't have guessed that was the PM's house except for the RCMP cars at the gate!

After an exciting and politically-charged morning, I took Murray back to the hotel so he could watch the Canada/US gold medal hockey game. I headed out for a little shopping and a walk through the National Gallery. The Gallery is beautiful, but I must admit that I didn't see the whole thing. I was mostly interested in seeing the Group of Seven paintings (I know, I know, very shallow and un-educated of me, but that's what I wanted to see!) The paintings I saw were incredible. Prints on posters, calendars, and coffee mugs really don't do them justice. My favourite was Lawren Harris' "Snow II." The colours are so different when you see them up close. Amazing.

Sad for me was that their Emily Carr collection was out on loan to a travelling exhibition.

Also sad for me was leaving...the 8 hour trip home was grey and dreary, but I'm thankful that we had a chance to see our nation's capital and some Quebecois culture!

Six Weird Things About Me

It seems as though I have been "tagged":

THE RULES:Each player of this game starts with the ‘6 weird things about you.’ People who get tagged need to write a blog post of their own 6 weird things as well as state this rule clearly. In the end, you need to choose 6 people to be tagged and list their names. Don’t forget to leave a comment that says ‘you are tagged’ in their comments and tell them to read your blog.”
(I don't know if I know 6 people with blogs, but we'll see...)

Weird thing #1: I HATE FRUIT. Yes, even strawberries. People seem to have a hard time believing this, but there it is. I don't mind vegetables, but even the thought of fruit makes me gag. I don't really count tomatoes as fruit (although I don't really like them either - just salsa and bruschetta). I have endured endless harassment because of this. I just don't like it, okay?!

Weird thing #2: I love candy more than the average kid. (You will notice the link to Welch's candy store in Banff). Rock Candy is my favourite - basically sugar crystals on a string (sometimes I eat the string too...does that count as another weird thing?) Gobstoppers are next, followed by Nerds, Bubblegum, candy canes, horehound twists...I could go on, but the diabetic coma is setting in. Needless to say, I have spent a lot of time in the dentist's chair.

Weird thing #3: When I read Becky's blog, it is like reading my own. (I'm not that great at knitting yet, but the putting-off of housework in favour of crafting sounds eerily familiar!) I also identify with the attraction to shiny things (especially beads), and wanting to live in a sod house or back in the old west.

Weird thing #4: I like hockey. I don't claim to be a hard-core fan, or to understand the nuances of the game, but I do enjoy cheering for the Oilers. Even without Chris Pronger. Maybe hockey reminds me of my favourite season: winter. I love snow and rosy cheeks and hot chocolate.

Weird thing #5: I have see Top Gun about a hundred thousand times. I used to love that movie, and I could still recite most of it. Tom Cruise, what the heck happened to you?! Val Kilmer, you seem to be on the right track...

Weird thing #6: I talk in my sleep. And I say weird things. Just ask my husband. For instance, I tend to think that there are spiders and other creepy crawlies dangling just above my head as I'm falling asleep. Or, I'll be snoring like a lumberjack and Murray will give me a little nudge and tell me I'm snoring, and I'll get really angry and snap "I wasn't snoring - I wasn't even asleep!" (I think that one is genetic from my dad...) At any rate, I hate being told to "go back to sleep." Also regarding sleep: I can fall asleep at the drop of a hat - especially after 8:30pm. When I get tired, the jig is up! (am I right, Jimmy and Kari?!)

So there you have it - six weird things about me. I'm sure there are many more!