It has been one of those weeks where I am wondering where it went.
But here we are; with less than one week left in Canada.
But here we are; with less than one week left in Canada.
It was a week primarily consisting of boxes...
...and putting things in boxes.
But we did get some breaks.
On Saturday we had to go downtown, and whilst there took in some of the Grand Prix atmosphere. The blue sky and hot sun were s stark contrast to when we watched the Grand Prix last year, in the rain.
We had heard about certain streets being closed off to traffic throughout the city and F1 celebrations going on, but hadn't managed to see it.
Walking along those streets in the late morning when the bars and stalls were just setting up it was pretty quiet; I am sure it would have been somewhat busier later in the day.
Nevertheless, it was still opulant and car crazy!
On Saturday we had to go downtown, and whilst there took in some of the Grand Prix atmosphere. The blue sky and hot sun were s stark contrast to when we watched the Grand Prix last year, in the rain.
We had heard about certain streets being closed off to traffic throughout the city and F1 celebrations going on, but hadn't managed to see it.
Walking along those streets in the late morning when the bars and stalls were just setting up it was pretty quiet; I am sure it would have been somewhat busier later in the day.
Nevertheless, it was still opulant and car crazy!
Once home, we then spent 3 - yes, 3! - hours packing our suitcases.
(Bearing in mind we had already started this, it was a ridiculously long time!)
But it is quite tricky packing things for the next three months, at least.
When you are staying in a hot Montreal, 12 days - with probably at least a couple of days rain - in England, and then an Australian winter (which, coming straight from Canada, is most definitely not what I call winter weather; but I do get cold very easily, and the word 'winter' does feature, so can't be too hasty not packing any thick jumpers...); you need to pack quite a variety of clothes - well that's my story and I'm sticking to it!
(Bearing in mind we had already started this, it was a ridiculously long time!)
But it is quite tricky packing things for the next three months, at least.
When you are staying in a hot Montreal, 12 days - with probably at least a couple of days rain - in England, and then an Australian winter (which, coming straight from Canada, is most definitely not what I call winter weather; but I do get cold very easily, and the word 'winter' does feature, so can't be too hasty not packing any thick jumpers...); you need to pack quite a variety of clothes - well that's my story and I'm sticking to it!
Sunday was another sunny day, and so before we went back to packing boxes we had a walk in the sun to one of our favourite coffee shops, Cafe Vito, situated in Little Italy (Petite Italie).
It's of those places which is always buzzing with locals. All the men sitting outside in the sunshine drinking coffee reminds me of Spain, where it was a regular occurrence on a Saturday morning. I was never sure if the wives had shoved them out of the house in order to clean, or just to get a break from them full stop...
It's of those places which is always buzzing with locals. All the men sitting outside in the sunshine drinking coffee reminds me of Spain, where it was a regular occurrence on a Saturday morning. I was never sure if the wives had shoved them out of the house in order to clean, or just to get a break from them full stop...
Little Italy they had their own Grand Prix street party:
I then - probably somewhat foolishly - made one last batch of biscuits for T's work.
The vision I had in my mind turned out to be nothing at all like reality.
First off, the dough did not want to roll out, and more planes ended up wingless or tailless than in one piece.
In a very hot kitchen, the icing dried out, and my aim for lovely little white planes with blue tails and wing tips to represent the series of planes he has been working on did not happen. Well it did, but it looked as though a 3 year old had done them.
So I had to do a bit of emergency, why-did-I-ever-think-this-was-a-good-idea-I-want-to-give-up improvisation:
So I had to do a bit of emergency, why-did-I-ever-think-this-was-a-good-idea-I-want-to-give-up improvisation:
It didn't help I had packed most of my kitchen utensils, and were using up the last of the packets in the cupboard - why is it you always put too much water in the icing when you have just tipped the last of the bag of sugar into the bowl?!
Then it was all full steam ahead to get packed up.
The removal guys came on Tuesday and made short work of packing the remaining items and carrying all the boxes down all those stairs.
It's always strange thinking the next time we will see our belongings will be in a different country. Hopefully they will all be intact (and have passed the strict Australian biosecurity laws which have been the cause of many a headache these past weeks).
The removal guys came on Tuesday and made short work of packing the remaining items and carrying all the boxes down all those stairs.
It's always strange thinking the next time we will see our belongings will be in a different country. Hopefully they will all be intact (and have passed the strict Australian biosecurity laws which have been the cause of many a headache these past weeks).
Now, in which suitcase did I pack the top I want to wear today...