Encore l'hiver

Hoo boy, it's been a long time since I used this... so I make no promises about the aesthetic quality of this post. In fact, it will probably be as badly laid out as past posts. Anyway, here are some photos of our recent trip to Montreal...

This was one of the first things we did. No, not stuff our faces (that was just a bonus) - go to the saucissier William J Walter and get a William Suisse, all dressed:

Our third day in Montreal it snowed 35cm! Here is Jason being a good son and shoveling the driveway. Thank goodness I can claim girl-ness and not-knowing-how-ness to get me out of that thankless chore.

It did snow a lot, which was nice, because apparently it hadn't snowed much over the winter, so we were lucky. This is at l'ile de la Visitation in the north of Montreal. We went cross country skiing.

Just in case you don't believe how cold it was, here is a completely non-doctored picture of the temperature (-27 - it got colder) one night up in Entrelacs. Oh boo to you Canadians laughing that this should be of note, but we Australians will kick your ass at world sports of dubious reputation every time!

We also went up to a lovely chalet in Chute St Phillippe for a week, here it is:

Every evening at dusk a group of four deer would cross the frozen lake from the little island to the shore. I worry about what would happen if they were on the wrong side when the thaw came. Can deer swim? (Yes, I realise there are only three deer in the photo, you nit-picking pedant - one of them was too fast for me)

Another lovely shot from our balcony:

After that we went to Ottawa to see Shannon and Phil. This structure stands in front of the National Gallery. There are eggs in the body. It is called 'maman'. It almost makes me proud to have a gallery which has empty drought-afflicted fountains full of litter in front of it instead.

And of course we saw the family. Here are Juju and the godparents. Don't mess with them!

And, erm, here is a plate of local jambon cru from our new favourite stand at the market, les cochons tout ronds, which basically just sells pork products - and how!

And on our final night we got a farewell fluttering of snow, providing Juju ample opportunity to slap Jason up the side of the head with a snowball.

These are all out of order, I realise that now, but anyway... this is our last dinner in Montreal at the brilliant Montee de Lait on Villeneuve. The very gorgeous Sabrina and Natacha.

There is a story behind this picture but it is mostly incomprehensible and ridiculous - funny photo though!

Finally, here is me trying to look miserable while watching television at Albany bus station on the way to New York and then home. A second later a sheepish security guard told us 'no photos' then scampered off, as if worried we would ask why. Well, clearly it is obvious - this photo could be giving vital security information to terror cells intent on bringing down the extensive coach and in-seat television service of the United States. If I go missing next week, you'll know why, but at least we'll know that the safety of the salubrious interior of Albany bus station has been kept pure.

And that's pretty much it. Some photos from Flick & Andy's wedding up soon too! Maybe.