Reset search
North America 2017North America 2017
SatelliteEdit route

North America 2017

November - December 2017
A 29-day adventure by Danielle and Co travels Read more
  • 84footprints
  • 3countries
  • 29days
  • 736photos
  • 5videos
  • 30.5kkilometers
  • 28.8kkilometers
Follow Calendar Share Bucket list
Date ascending
  • TravelerNorth America 2017
    Day 1

    Glen Waverley

    November 14, 2017 in Australia ⋅ 🌙 26 °C

    The final countdown - 2 sleeps left! Tomorrow Angus has his final exam - Physics - and there are a number of things to organise before we leave on Thursday morning. Coco is heading off to Kamp Kitty (Canterbury Tails) in the morning and Ian and I have some final jobs to do and then we have to pack!
    I will try to be disciplined in what I pack - I always over pack and I am determined to only take what I need. The biggest challenge will be to pack a range of clothes for a range of temperatures - there is snow forecast in Montreal this weekend.    Read more

  • TravelerNorth America 2017
    Day 3

    Montreal

    November 16, 2017 in Canada ⋅ 🌧 2 °C

    We have finally arrived at our first destination, beautiful Montreal. What a contrast to arriving in LA - no queues, friendly staff and a clean airport. We are staying at the Sofitel, Golden Mile in downtown Montreal. We plan to tour the city tomorrow as it is the pick of the days for the weather. I have been awake for about 33 hours, but I still feel ok - I find it easier to just adjust to the new time zone if I go to bed the same time I normally would. Snow is predicted to fall overnight - we might wake to a white Montreal!Read more

  • TravelerNorth America 2017
    Day 3

    LAX - in transit to Montreal

    November 16, 2017 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    Our flight over was uneventful. When we were waiting to check in we chatted to this guy who was a wrestler - he didn’t particularly look like a wrestler (my experience of wrestling was watching Mario Milano on a Sunday). He was off to Mongolia to compete in some big event they hold each year. He said he was being paid to participate, and felt he was there to make the locals look good! I didn’t sleep at all on the flight, although the boys got a couple of hours. I watched several movies and did a bit of reading. After clearing Customs and Border Protection in the US, we walked around LAX to Terminal 6 for our Air Canada flight - it was nice to stretch our legs in the outside air (it’s LA so I can’t say “fresh” air).

    Now we have two hours to wait!

    I am enjoying the people watching - and checking out the See’s Candy - and the travellers sitting at the bars (which are everywhere) drinking so early in the day.

    Just checked the weather in Montreal - snow is predicted to fall overnight and Friday will be sunny with a top of 0 Celsius - our long johns will be getting a workout over the next few days.    Read more

  • TravelerNorth America 2017
    1
    Day 5

    Montreal - sightseeing #1

    November 18, 2017 in Canada ⋅ ⛅ -5 °C

    After a very good sleep in very comfortable beds (thanks Sofitel), we treated ourselves to a delicious breakfast in the hotel restaurant. The boys had an omelette and I had bagels with cream cheese and smoked salmon. (I have been advised that Montreal’s bagels are superior to those of NYC - I will post my results after some further tasting!)

    The concierge suggested a 3 hour tour of the major sites of Montreal. The shuttle was late to pick us up and take us to the tour bus, so by the time we boarded we all had to sit separately. This turned out to be a good thing, as both Ian and I sat next to lovely people. I sat next to Yolanta who was visiting from Poland - she was accompanying her husband on a business trip - so while he worked she played the tourist. We chatted like we had been friends for years and she has invited us to visit her in Poland (I also invited her to give us a call if she is ever in Melbourne). Ian sat next to Sandra, who was from Toronto, and had accompanied her husband who was coaching his ice-hockey team in a regional competition. Sandra hates ice-hockey, so she too opted to do the tourist thing.

    The tour itself was pretty good as an introduction to Montreal. We visited Old Montreal, the Old Port, Notre-Dame Basilica, Chateau Ramzey, City Hall, Place Jacques Cartier, a (slow) drive along the F1 race track, McGill University, St Joseph Oratory, the Olympic Stadium, the Biosphere and the Biodome, a drive through a couple of inner city suburbs, and then a lookout at Mount Royal - where there was snow still on the ground from the snow fall overnight. That should give you an idea of how cold it is here! Very bloody cold, but we have the appropriate attire to ensure we remain comfortable and warm.    Read more

  • TravelerNorth America 2017
    11
    Day 5

    Montreal Sightseeing#2

    November 18, 2017 in Canada ⋅ ⛅ -5 °C

    As this app restricts me to 6 photos per footprint the next couple of entries will be fairly brief as I just want to post more photos.

  • TravelerNorth America 2017
    1
    Day 5

    Food in Montreal

    November 18, 2017 in Canada ⋅ ⛅ -5 °C

    As most who read this would know, the McNicol family enjoys food, and we try to be adventurous and try new and different cuisines. For breakfast I had bagels with cream cheese and salmon. Today we had lunch at Reuben's Deli and Steakhouse. I had a smoked meat sandwich, and Ian had Poutine, a local dish of French fries, cheese and gravy (also with smoked meat). Angus had a burger. It is a good thing we are walking everywhere - we need to so that we can burn off all the food we are eating.Read more

  • TravelerNorth America 2017
    Day 5

    Visiting Family

    November 18, 2017 in Canada ⋅ ⛅ -2 °C

    Last night was a night of firsts - first time Ian and Angus met my aunt and uncle (Anne & Will Vandenberg), the first time Angus ate duck (Duck a la l’orange), and the first time we used Uber to get back to the hotel (as my aunt didn’t have the taxi number).

    We had a lovely evening at Anne and Will's. My aunt, who is 87 years old, cooked a delicious 3 course meal - vol au vent for entree, duck a l’orange for main, and a croquenbouche for dessert. She wanted to prepare a French inspired meal to reflect her heritage (and dishes my grandmother had taught her). We spent about five hours there - it was great to catch up on what my aunt and her family had been up to. My uncle has been diagnosed with PSP (progressive supra nuclear palsy), which is similar to Parkinson’s in some way, and affects your vision and balance and causes tremors, and there is no cure. Currently my aunt cares for him with minimal assistance, but as the disease progresses she will need to bring in a nurse to assist as she plans to keep him at home as long as possible. Will is in good spirits and coping very well with his condition, and it was nice for Anne to have company.

    The roads in Montreal are in pretty bad condition, and there is so much road works underway that the traffic is a nightmare. The trip out to my aunts that should normally take about 30 minutes took over an hour. Luckily, the Uber ride back took only 30 minutes. Always nice to catch up with family, as they are so generous and welcoming.    Read more

  • TravelerNorth America 2017
    Day 5

    Leonard Cohen and more

    November 18, 2017 in Canada ⋅ ☁️ 0 °C

    This morning we headed out fairly early and walked to the Museum of Contemporary Art to see the Leonard Cohen Exhibition "A Crack In Everything". It was a very interactive and moving exhibition. I particularly enjoyed the "I’m Your Man" exhibit - a video installation which brings together a community of ardent Leonard Cohen fans to pay posthumous tribute to the late legend. Each of the eighteen individuals featured was offered the opportunity to perform and record his own version of Cohen’s comeback album, "I’m Your Man", in a professional recording studio in Montreal. The video installation also included the Shaar Hashomayim Synagogue Choir doing the album’s backing vocals. This was an all-male choir representing the Westmount congregation that Cohen belonged to all his life.

    As we left the exhibition we watched a bit of the Santa Claus Parade, before walking down to Old Montreal where we explored the cobbled streets and had a late lunch at a French Restaurant called Marche de la Villette. Here Angus and I had a croque monsieur, and Ian had a croque madame. We then walked across town to find the Leonard Cohen portrait that is on the side of a building. It took us a while to find it, but it was worth it. We also found a great little coffee place - Pigeon - best coffee so far in Montreal, even thought the sign out the front said it was the worst. (The barista said that this was to cover themselves, and was very chuffed when we said that the coffee was up to Melbourne standards.)

    Then, as we were heading back to our hotel along a very upmarket street, I noticed a store that had some lovely costume jewellery on display. It was called MUTT & JEFF. I went in to find out how much they cost, and met the designer/store owner, and so I ended sending Ian & Angus back to the hotel while I stayed to get dressed by Tom in a range of his clothes. It was a great experience, and I purchased a number of pieces. His clothes are beautiful, comfortable and so flattering. I walked out of the store feeling fabulous. On the way back to the hotel I ran into the Toronto Leafs, an ice-hockey team in town to play the Montreal Habs. I only realised who they were because of the fans waiting outside their hotel to cheer them on.

    We are going to stay in tonight as it is cold with rain and snow predicted around 9pm.    Read more

  • TravelerNorth America 2017
    Day 6

    Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow

    November 19, 2017 in Canada ⋅ 🌧 1 °C

    We woke today to the “pitter patter” of rain against our window. The forecast is for snow to start falling in about an hour (which it did), and the current temperature of 2 degrees Celsius is as warm as it’s going to get. In fact, they are saying that from 10 am the temperature will start falling, to a low of -7 degrees Celcius!

    🌨☃️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️☃️🌨

    Our plan is to visit the Museum of Fine Arts this morning, and then explore the “underground city” which comprises of over 1,000 stores and 22kms of walkways. So far our cold weather gear has done the trick, but today’s weather will be the real test.

    We had breakfast in a quaint little cafe called La Pendular just around the corner from the Museum, that also sold clocks and Stiff bears, and other animals. We then headed to the Montreal Museum of Fine Art - definitely the right weather to visit a museum. It has a wonderful collection of art work that is beautifully displayed. We saw art from modern avant-garde, Belle Époque and contemporary styles to Baroque and Rococo, Classicism to the Age of Enlightenment including a Napoleon Gallery and much more.

    We then headed to the ‘underground city’ and visited the Barbie Expo, the largest collection of Barbie dolls in the world. Afterwards, we wandered around the underground city, which just goes on and on.

    In the afternoon, my cousin Annick and my uncle Pierrot collected us from the hotel, and we headed to her place for a family dinner and to meet her kids for the first time. My cousin Genvieve and her family also joined us for dinner. It was lovely to catch up with them all and introduce Ian & Angus to the rest of my Canadien family. Ian and Angus went to watch Fred (one of Annick’s kids) play ice-hockey in an under 18's game, which Ian said was very entertaining to watch. After dinner the younger kids put on a show for us that included dancing and a range of gymnastics, all performed to music.

    Tomorrow we head for Washington DC (Trump territory but hopefully we won’t see him!) We will be heading into warmer weather, with Washington expecting a balmy 11 degrees Celsius, which is quite a jump from -7 degrees.    Read more

  • 2024© FindPenguins
  • Home
  • About us
  • Blog
  • Group Tracking
  • Press
  • Terms
  • Privacy Policy & Cookies
  • Support
  • Legal notice
  • English