We went over to Montreal for 10 days to spend time with Steve's family. We didn't get around to posting while we were there so I'll just do a quick summary of what we got up to.
We introduced Tadhg to his grandparents and Scott's family. The ages of the all the boys promises some fun times ahead when the cousins get together. Dustin is 3, Brendan is 2, Duncan is 1 and then there's Tadhg. They played really well together and it was fun to watch.
Scott, Dustin, Steve and Brendan went swimming on the first day and we just settled in. The next couple of days were spent playing at home, going to Fundomundo (a big soft play that adults can go on too), checking out second hand book stores, Value Village and a couple of nice shops in Pointe Claire Village, having lunch out, eating supper in and handing Tadhg over for cuddles with his Granny and Grandad whenever we could! Brendan's "granny and grandad" comes out as waggy and dad dad- very sweet.
On Wednesday we went into downtown Montreal on the train. Brendan was seriously thrilled about the train and going through a tunnel. He provided a running commentary along the lines of... "lots of people on train, going tunnel, dark, no sky, people sleeping on train, cars outside, lots of people..."
Our route took in the Biodome (an ecosystem museum of sorts), Saint Hubert Street where Steve and I breathed a sigh of relief at being somewhere with nice cafes and restaurants, interesting shops and a vibrant and busy kind of atmosphere, then to the Waldorf shop where we oggled lots of beautiful wooden toys and took mental pictures so we could copy them (one day), then to Steve's Aunt Margie's flat via a long walk and two buses while carrying a pot of daffodils, then back towards downtown where we walked around a bit and chose to eat in a great Middle Eastern restaurant. We finally got the subway home and Tommy picked us up. I feel like I'm starting to get a feel for Montreal now but there's still a lot of exploring to do!
On Thursday we left Brendan with his cousins and went for a delicious meal at an Indian restaurant that Shannon recommended. It was a reminder of what it was like when it was just the three of us and Brendan was tiny.
On Friday we drove to Ottawa and saw thousands upon thousands of geese heading north. Steve laughed at me and said I was like a kid in a candy store! I've seen huge numbers of shore birds and flamingoes but never that many geese so I was excited.
Ottawa was lovely. The weather was perfect and we walked a few kilometres around streets and along the canal and had lunch at a fabulous veggie restaurant. While in there we met a lovely girl with her two young kids who told us all about living in Ottawa and said, among other things that we shouldn't miss the Children's Museum. It was too late to go that day so we decided to find a place to stay the night. Found a good B & B right near the market, had a nap then went out for a walk, a smoothie at a diner and then took a delicious Thai meal back to our room.
The next morning we headed to the Museum of Civilisation. It wasn't the best start as Steve trapped Brendan's finger in the car door, but after putting a cold pack on it for a bit and noticing he could still bend it we went in and found the Children's Museum. It was wonderful, probably the best I've been to in terms of how interactive it was. There was so much to do but of course Brendan would have spent the whole time in the driver's seat on the Pakistani bus.
On Sunday we met Paul, Nat and Zach for brunch at Moe's and then all the Riffs ate at Scott and Shannon's in the evening.
All in all a nice break, good to get away from home for a bit and it was great to see Brendan and Tadhg getting to know the rest of the family.
Brendan keeps getting his bag and saying that he's going to the airport to go on a big plane to waggy dad dads. It's a shame to be so far from both sides of the family. I'm going to print out some big photos of everyone and stick them on his wall so we can talk about everyone. Which reminds me that we must get hold of a photo of the latest addition to the family... Eilidh is already 3 months old. How time flies!!
We introduced Tadhg to his grandparents and Scott's family. The ages of the all the boys promises some fun times ahead when the cousins get together. Dustin is 3, Brendan is 2, Duncan is 1 and then there's Tadhg. They played really well together and it was fun to watch.
Scott, Dustin, Steve and Brendan went swimming on the first day and we just settled in. The next couple of days were spent playing at home, going to Fundomundo (a big soft play that adults can go on too), checking out second hand book stores, Value Village and a couple of nice shops in Pointe Claire Village, having lunch out, eating supper in and handing Tadhg over for cuddles with his Granny and Grandad whenever we could! Brendan's "granny and grandad" comes out as waggy and dad dad- very sweet.
On Wednesday we went into downtown Montreal on the train. Brendan was seriously thrilled about the train and going through a tunnel. He provided a running commentary along the lines of... "lots of people on train, going tunnel, dark, no sky, people sleeping on train, cars outside, lots of people..."
Our route took in the Biodome (an ecosystem museum of sorts), Saint Hubert Street where Steve and I breathed a sigh of relief at being somewhere with nice cafes and restaurants, interesting shops and a vibrant and busy kind of atmosphere, then to the Waldorf shop where we oggled lots of beautiful wooden toys and took mental pictures so we could copy them (one day), then to Steve's Aunt Margie's flat via a long walk and two buses while carrying a pot of daffodils, then back towards downtown where we walked around a bit and chose to eat in a great Middle Eastern restaurant. We finally got the subway home and Tommy picked us up. I feel like I'm starting to get a feel for Montreal now but there's still a lot of exploring to do!
On Thursday we left Brendan with his cousins and went for a delicious meal at an Indian restaurant that Shannon recommended. It was a reminder of what it was like when it was just the three of us and Brendan was tiny.
On Friday we drove to Ottawa and saw thousands upon thousands of geese heading north. Steve laughed at me and said I was like a kid in a candy store! I've seen huge numbers of shore birds and flamingoes but never that many geese so I was excited.
Ottawa was lovely. The weather was perfect and we walked a few kilometres around streets and along the canal and had lunch at a fabulous veggie restaurant. While in there we met a lovely girl with her two young kids who told us all about living in Ottawa and said, among other things that we shouldn't miss the Children's Museum. It was too late to go that day so we decided to find a place to stay the night. Found a good B & B right near the market, had a nap then went out for a walk, a smoothie at a diner and then took a delicious Thai meal back to our room.
The next morning we headed to the Museum of Civilisation. It wasn't the best start as Steve trapped Brendan's finger in the car door, but after putting a cold pack on it for a bit and noticing he could still bend it we went in and found the Children's Museum. It was wonderful, probably the best I've been to in terms of how interactive it was. There was so much to do but of course Brendan would have spent the whole time in the driver's seat on the Pakistani bus.
On Sunday we met Paul, Nat and Zach for brunch at Moe's and then all the Riffs ate at Scott and Shannon's in the evening.All in all a nice break, good to get away from home for a bit and it was great to see Brendan and Tadhg getting to know the rest of the family.
Brendan keeps getting his bag and saying that he's going to the airport to go on a big plane to waggy dad dads. It's a shame to be so far from both sides of the family. I'm going to print out some big photos of everyone and stick them on his wall so we can talk about everyone. Which reminds me that we must get hold of a photo of the latest addition to the family... Eilidh is already 3 months old. How time flies!!
1 comment:
Sounds like you all had a great time...and all that talk of Montreal is leaving me a little sad - sometimes I guess I do miss the city! Might have to think of a little trip sometime soon...I'm sure Kaia would be fascinated.
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