Filling our days ...

Tony and I are really enjoying time to ourselves and working to our own timetables, not those of the children's! We have been out exploring each day this week, gradually broadening the areas in which we venture and those with which we are familiar.

The roads have been a big challenge (I'm improving as a navigator). Lefts and rights have never come easily to me, so now coping with directions while driving on the opposite side of the road has made my directions a little challenging for Tony to understand. The first few days were terrible ... we frequently went the wrong direction on a freeway. And freeways world-wide are the same: once you get on them, you can't get off easily! I inadvertedly directed us onto a freeway, going the wrong direction, middle of the afternoon on a Friday afternoon. Busy time. Then there was an accident nearby. We've since done the same trip since and it should take a max 12 minutes. It took us the hour. The children were incredibly patient but we did have to take them sledding in the dark to make up for it! Sledding had been promised for the afternoon ... so there was no way we could get out of it. There were not many people on the local "mound" at 5pm in the afternoon!

So.... some of the things Tony and I have done this week include:

• made friends with the staff at our local ski shop. Love the display outside! But look at the range! Just so much stock. They generally sell products that are 12 months old and the prices are fantastic. We have new jackets as a result.

• Shop calmly and get to know some of the new products around. We look at the supermarkets as an activity during the day, discovering new items. We never have time to do this in Australia.  Self serve check outs are terrible - much quicker in Aust! We love the cheeses. Montreal is very like France in that respect - the cheeses are great and everyone has lots around. Most things are in French though, so we spend a bit of time trying to translate and guess!

 

 

• Explore Montreal. Montreal is an extremely flat city built around the St Lawrence River. In these photos you may notice that the river is partly frozen at the moment. There is one big hill in the middle of the city - Mont Royale - but you can only enjoy the view if it is a clear day. The river is in the centre third of the photo and it is partly frozen.

• Cross country skiing. We have found a great outdoor nature area and used the cross country tracks there. Lots of layers of clothing in this picture!

• Enjoyed lunches and coffees on our own. So calm and peaceful! We've been into a couple of cafes near the uni and student area. We were the only people not on a laptop. We felt quite out of it. As a business owner,Tony is perplexed at businesses that are happy for students to come in and hang out, drink one coffee over a long period of time and not spend much money. He wants a higher turnover than that!