Not Long Till Spring!

As I'm writing this blog, I'm looking out at a beautiful sunny day in Kingston. Yesterday was rain, rain and more rain, effectively washing away much of the remaining snow. What's here now are big snow drifts where the snow has been scooped away from roadways by snow ploughs. It gradually builds up over winter and freezes. It really doesn't disappear very easily. There are actually snow removal contractors here who can come around and remove the snow (for a fee of course). Even though today is very sunny, its deceptive as it is around -15 degrees at the moment. we still cant go outside without rugging up - gloves, scarves, beanies (touks) & jackets.

It's really hard to believe that we left Sydney exactly two months ago today. The time has raced by. During our time here so far we have explored a fair bit of Ontario and Quebec. Two February highlights were the winter carnival in Quebec City and a visit to Niagara Falls.

Quebec City is a beautiful city and we revelled in the extreme cold and the ice activities available during Carnival time.

In contrast, Niagara falls has its own form of beauty. The falls themselves were spectacular. We tried to ignore the "theme park" feeling of the town as we walked around. Mind you, the kids wanted to explore all these attractions. Maybe during summer when we return - and we will return.

February is over and our calendar was full. We are staying pretty close to home for the next couple of weeks as everyone is a little run down. The kids have been sick over the last week and are all pretty much over winter. spring is in the air and March break is only a couple of weeks away. Stayed tuned for our adventures in new York City over this time!

The Freezer is cold. By Emily=)

Well I can say that it's very cold over here and I will never ever complain about another winter's day at Carroll College when it is 3 degrees. After experiencing absolute extremes (-27) I can say the people in Australia do not know what cold is. Maybe in places like Tassie, it could get down past zero but definately not in the Eurobodalla Shire. Though I am content to lie on a beach for several hours sunbaking and then suffer in the effects of sunburn but here you can get SNOWBURN!!!!!=O Isn't it amazing? The sun reflects of the snow and burns your skin. Also you can get snowblind because of the glare. I can't be outside for more than five minutes without getting sore eyes. When I ski I have to wear proper ski goggles because otehrwise you can go blind.

I like it the best when it snows because it is so pretty. The town looks like a christmas card. You know those old fashioned santa's workshops with snow everywhere. They look like that. Especially in Quebec in the quaint old streets with the original buildings.

Quebec. how can I begin to explain. It is a romantic, picturesque city on St Lawrence's River. The city is walled and still holds most of its original buildings. The Chateau De Frontenac was amazing. It was so big!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I couldn't believe that the structure could have been built when it did. Especially considering when it was built, technology was not as advanced. It was built in 1893.
I liked Quebec. It was cold but cool...

Niagara Falls was great too! The falls were huge. I'm only fifteen and I've already been to Vanautu, Fiji, America and Canada. Niagara Falls was breathtaking and so big that it didn't even fit in a whole photo!!!!

So whats next for me????? Well we are going skiing at Calaboogie!!!!!!!!!!!! YAY!I love skiing. I really like it cos I can do it and do it well. Not being modest or anything but it is so fun just to bomb down the slope but its cold when your hood falls off.

LOL

Anyway this is Emily writing stuff that you already know and have read.
I'm living in the freezer.
Out me back into the refrigerator! Its much warmer!

Bye bye for now
Tata au revouir, See you then

OOH! Btw, we got cable and we are enjoying watching shows

Niagara Falls

Family Day Weekend

Monday February 16th has been designated as a family day in the Province of Ontario so we decided to take a trip down to Niagara Falls for the weekend. This is one place both John & I have always wanted to visit so we really looked forward to the weekend. I decided to combine the trip to Niagara with a visit to John Menzo and his partner, Maurizio. John taught for a year at Carroll College about five years ago and proved to be good value. It was wonderful to be able to contact him again and organise a visit. We made our way to Guelph, (approximately 3 hours West of Kingston) late on Saturday afternoon after the kids finished their various commitments. The evening was great. It seemed like we took up where we left off five years ago. John and Maurizio showed us through their fantastic house and plied us with red wine and dinner. The kids really loved Zoe, the chocolate Labrador. I guess she reminded them of Cozmo in a way. The next morning, John took us on a brief tour of Guelph. We saw where the Knights lived for a year as well as John’s school. He showed us a great covered wooden bridge, the university and the birthplace of John McCrae. Guelph seems like a very neat university town. We parted with promises to return in the summer and explore the surrounding countryside and its various attractions.

Quebec City

Our weekend in Quebec City was an adventure not to be missed.After leaving Kingston at the ungodly hour of 2am we arrived in the city around 8am that morning. Our first stop was the st Anne De Beaupre basilica folowed by a visit to the Montmorency Falls. We arrived at our Hotel (the Hilton) around lunch time for a quick snack before heading off to explore the city and experience Carnivale. After layering up (it was about -30 outside) we headed to the site of the main carnivale attractions - The Plains of Abraham. actually, this is quite an historic site, It was here in 1759 that the British defeated the French ensuring Canada's predominance as an Anglicised nation. feelings about this are still raw 250 years after the event with some animosity between modern day Quebcois and English speaking Canadians evident.

The carnivale itself was alot of fun. the kids were able to slide down hills using air fill tire like toboggans and experience ice slides. As a family we made our way over to the ride known as the Torpedo. This prooved to be a 30 second adrenalin charged experience where we hurtled down a rather steep slope whilst seated inside a large rubber raft. We all screamed and hooted but agreed that it was worth the experience.

After recuperating in our hotel room (read that as returned to room to warm up, we ventured out again and made our way to the old sector of the town. Quebec City is a walled city established about 400 years ago, so walking the streets seemed like a trip back in time to 17th century Europe. Outside the Chateau Frontenac, there was a giant ice slide. Feeling up to the challenge, we hired two sleds and made the arduous climb to the top. The ride was brief yet exhilerating. I think I even heard Nick swearing as we thundered down to the bottom of the slide!We found a small Italian restaurant for dinner. Here we were given the opportunity to employ our rather dodgy French - little success but we had a lot of fun trying!

The kids were keen to explore the shops and hunt down coveted souvineers.

The following morning saw us board our bus and travel to the ice hotel. This structure is unique in North america and is made completely of ice and snow. Guests can stay overnight as there are 36 suites of varying themes. A highlight was a visit to the ice bar. here I was able to purchase a shot of baileys in a glass made completely from ice. Feeling magnaminous, I let all the kids have a taste so they could understand the expereince.

Emily made some taffy. this consists of a type of maple syrup toffe that is poured hot into the snow and as it cools, is rolled up to be eaten.

Once we returned to the city, we went downtown to catch the ferry across the St Lawrence River. This was an expereince in itself as the ferry was actually an ice breaker and we were able to hear the ice crackle and snap as it ploughed its way across the river.

To get home, we had to ride the Funiculaire to the top before taking our weary legs back to our hotel room.

In the evening John was ill so after dinner, Em, Max and I went out again for a walk. We went back to carnivale where the kids once again rode the tubes. We also walked around the upper and lower cities. In some ways, I think this may have been ahighlight. The weather had warmed considerably (ONLY -4) and the atmosphere in the city was spirited and relaxed.

It was with reluctance that we boarded our bus home early on the following morning. quebce City is a place to be visited. I would really love to revisit there in the summer on our way out to the Maritimes.

We Visit The Ice Hotel

Quebec City Winter Carnival Weekend

On Friday Feb 6th, we got ourselves out of bed very early (try 2am!) to board the bus for the CLEE Weekend in Quebec City. We had hosted Anne & Rod Casey, some Australians from Victoria living in Verona for dinner and they accompanied us to the bus. After driving all night, our first stop was breakfast at a very old and quaint restaurant. Here we had our first taste of maple butter. Its surprising how well it goes with bacon and eggs. Our next stop was the stunning Sainte-Anne-De-Beaupre Basilica. The site of the Church dates back to the 1600's and Sainte Anne as the mother of Jesus is venerated here. There have been reported miracles as evidenced by crutches and other parapernalia discarded by those who have claimed to have been healed by her. We spent some time admiring the beautiful mosiacs, altars and statues found inside this church. We attempted to take a few photos outside but the windchill factor was extraordinary. My big mistake was not wearing a beanie and my nose and ears were almost frozen by the time we got back on the bus.

After this, we located the well known Montmorency falls, the site of our next stop. These falls are quite spectacular; even more so because it is currently winter. The water at the bottom of the falls freezes as it hits the waters of the St Lawrence River creating a spectacular mound of snow and ice. Braving the cold, (ONLY -30 give or take a few degrees) we took a walk over the suspension bridge above the falls. From here we could see all the way across the river into the City of Quebec itself. After a brief stop for souvineers and purchasing carnivale effigies we were once again back on the bus and headed for our accommodation at the Hilton Hotel in the centre of Quebec City.

January in Canada

Our calendar is really important. It provides us with a ruuning record of much of our daily life whilst we are here.

Cross Country Skiing

Last Sunday whilst it was a balmy (by Kingstonian standards anyway) 3 degrees, John & I took Em & Nick to Lemoine Conservation Area to try Cross Country Skiing. The conservation area is a short drive from our home and runs along the edge of Lake Ontario.

We are enjoying all types of Winter sports whilst we are here. In one weekend, the kids went toboganning, skating and cross country skiing; Things they could never really do at home! That's what we are here for.