From Spring to Summer

Long time, and no blog. I am over due for an update, so I think it is about time for another backlog of blog posts.  Here is what we've been up to for the past few months:

OTTAWA IN APRIL

Towards the end of April, Adam and I spent a sunny Sunday exploring the capital of Canada.  The primary reason for our visit to Ottawa was to have our wedding rings inspected as required by the warranty, and annoyingly there are no affiliate stores in Quebec.  But since that took an entire five minutes, we had the rest of the day to become tourists and see what we could of the city before we had to take a train back home to Montreal.  

We spent a lot of time wandering through downtown - checking out the architecture, historical monuments, and the Rideau Canal.  Adam found a lot of inspiration and reference for the game he is working on so we were taking pictures of EVERYTHING.

From left to right: Tomb of the unknown
soldier, Parliament Hill, and tourist Adam.

As it was a Sunday, many of the shops and restaurants in the downtown area were closed.  That meant we were unable to go inside the Marvelous Shop of Mustards, much to Adam's disappointment.  But we were able to find a British pub to stop for lunch and a pint before taking a (free!) tour of Parliament and the Peace Tower.

Unsure why there is a
crazy unicorn, but it works.

The beautiful reading room
in the Library of Parliament

Adam posing outside of
Parliament with a noble lion.

CASSEROLES IN MAY
Not as yummy as it sounds, and very noisy.  

Montreal university students have been protesting a proposed tuition hike since February by going on strike, boycotting classes, and holding demonstrations in the streets.  With such large groups gathering (as many 400,000 to 500,000 in one demonstration) things did not always remain peaceful.  Windows were smashed, property was vandalized, and there were several violent interactions with police.  It even led to travel warnings for Montreal.

The government passed Bill 78 in May, putting restrictions on how people were allowed to assemble for protests, which many feel infringe on their basic rights.  Inspired by the 1971 Chile cacerolazos, Montrealers young and old began holding nightly casseroles by banging pots and pans to show their disapproval of the bill.  Here is a casserole that paraded down our street.  

In case you were curious, Rook is not at all amused by the casseroles.  He is not a fan of noise in general, unless he is the one making it.  When our walks were interrupted by casserole parades, he would run back home and hunker down on the sofa with an occasional disapproving grumble until it passed.


ANNIVERSARY IN JUNE

In the middle of June, Adam and I celebrated our one year wedding anniversary.  Can you believe we have been married for an entire year?  

To celebrate, we ate a lavish dinner at our favorite steak restaurant in Vieux-Port and saw the new Cirque du Soleil show, Amaluna.  We had stuffed our bellies so full with delicious food, we were a little sluggish after dinner and I was worried we would end up sleeping it off during the show.  Luckily, Amaluna is spectacular and of course the acrobatics and music were amazing.  Definitely see it if you get a chance!

Our original wedding cake,
beautiful and delicious. 

The tradition of eating the top tier of our cake did not work out quite as well.  Our cake top didn't make it up to Montreal as I had more important things to pack.  But I decided that I would do my best to recreate it.  Everything was going really well - cake was baked, the chocolate mouse was set, and the strawberry filling was delicious.  When it came time to ice the cake, well, let's just say I have no hope of ever decorating a cake in a Food Network Challenge.  I gave up any hope of making it look pretty, and just accepted that there was frosting was on the cake.  Luckily it still tasted pretty decent.

                         

My best attempt at icing a cake.

But it still tasted good.

TORONTO IN JULY

For our summer getaway, we took a long weekend to visit family in Toronto.  And as everyone is very excited to meet Rook, he came too!  Rook had only taken about five or six short car rides prior to this road trip, but as soon as we pulled up with the rental car he was more than ready to jump inside and hit the road.  He spent almost the entire drive to Toronto alternating between watching out the window and trying to get in the front seat with us.

Seven hours later we arrived in Toronto, and Rook quickly befriended Adam's cousin Nicholas.  Who knew that an 11 year old boy would have the exact same energy level as and 11 month old pup?  Needless to say they were inseperable and got each other into lots of trouble.  It was great to see how gentle Rook is with kids, since we did not have many opportunities to socialize him with children when he was a puppy.  He did great with Nicholas and all of the other kids he met in the neighborhood and received a lot of attention from his new friends that wanted to pet him.  It didn't take long for  everyone on the street know Rook and they were soon greeting him when we took him for walks.  

Sharing secrets (and a ball).
These two are double trouble.

Rook and Nicholas were
instant best friends.

By the time we made the trek back home, Rook was completely tuckered out.  The exact opposite of our drive in to Toronto, he slept the entire way home.