Roadtrip!

Grandpa was very generous at Christmas, Jane has been very keen to see get out of Ottawa and see more of Canada. We own a minivan and Old Montreal is just 2 hours down the road. Add it all up and you get the 1st Wagoner-Family Canadian road trip last weekend.

Saturday morning we got up, had breakfast, and then piled into the car. We were staying in a lovely hotel right in the middle of Old Town. We dropped the bags in the room and then wandered just over a block away down cobblestone streets to have crepes for lunch. Tom and Lillian both enjoy cafes enormously, a combination of new surroundings, different food and people to watch. To their credit both were extremely well behaved at lunch and again at dinner. After lunch we had a quick walk around Old Town before hopping onto a horse drawn carriage. Everybody rugged up in blankets and away we go – clip clop clip clop - through the cobbled streets for a very leisurely tour through a very scenic neighborhood. After wards we shot through the hotel room and then headed back down the street for dinner at a nice steak and chips place. The steak was lovely, Jane got herself a lamb-fix and Tom got his groove on to a café Jazz version of Jumping Jack Flash while Lillian looked out the window waving to passer-bys and the occasional horse drawn carriage.




































































































The Montreal Biodome was the big attraction for Sunday. It has walk through exhibits, with live animals, which simulate a number of different climates. My high point was getting a good look at an actual Capybara, even tho at no point did it look like springing into action to fight the dreaded foot of crime. The kids loved the exhibits, but the best bit was right at the end. They have a big play area with a slide, snow blocks (made from foam), lots of arctic soft toy animals and costumes for the kids (Eskimos, penguins, polar bears and seals). The kids spent a good hour dressed up, 1st as seals and then as polar bears, and playing.

























































All up, a very successful weekend. Although, to be honest, we didn’t see much of Montreal. We drove to Old Town, stayed in Old Town, drove to the Montreal Biodome, and then went home. However, I am now a total convert to having GPS. The traffic and roads in Montreal are not pleasant, not even on a Sunday afternoon. Having the GPS made the whole ordeal far less stressful. And if we did not have a GPS, we would no doubt have seen far more of Montreal than desired.