A bit of U2 magic in Montreal last night, I've never seen so many fans on stage what an experience, great to see the band literally getting up close to fans, I missed that on the last tour. Can't wait for October when I'll be seeing them live!
Showing posts with label Canada. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Canada. Show all posts
Wednesday, 17 June 2015
Saturday, 10 September 2011
From the Sky Down Press Conference with Bono and Edge
Bono and Edge at the TIFF interview (Photo: David Abel QMI)
Just got round to listening to this interview from 9th September at the Toronto International Film Festival. Some interesting stuff there, especially at the end, where Bono is talking about "The edge of irrelevance" appearing quite upset and vulnerable. It's clearly something he's really struggling with at the moment. At this point in their career the band is at another of their crossroads, we know it and they know it, and it seems a bit of a scary place for them. But as Edge mentioned, they do their best work in when their backs are against the wall. Time for reinvention again guys. hope you can do it! Watch the interview here
Tuesday, 2 August 2011
The Songs Have Been Sung, Goodbye 360
So U2's 360 Tour is over. For me it's been a memorable three summers in the UK, Ireland, France, Germany and Canada. Great times with friends, amazing sights seen, fab food eaten, copious amounts of wine and champagne drunk, lots of laughs had. Shows that were all good, but a few that had that special U2 magic that touched me deep inside and created an intimacy that made a stadium like a small club.
28 years of being a fan has seen all kinds of changes in my life, but the band's music has always been there, often in the background, but there. My views on U2 have varied too, and sometimes I've been close to divorcing them! They may or may not be past their glory days of musical creativity, but they are still a damn side better than most and have been for 34 years. Bono has said, "Live is where we live." And there is no doubt in my mind that is true. Live, they are simply brilliant. And I'm not talking about the massive Claw this time round, as lovely as the effects were, the set doesn't really matter to me. I'm talking about them as musicians, performers and friends. There is something about them playing live that is totally captivating - and very hard to put into words because it's something you feel, a spirituality. I'm not being very articulate here, but other fans will know what I mean, right?
Here's a video of the last song, 40, from the last show of this tour in Moncton, Canada. I'm not ashamed to say it made me cry, and it was the perfect ending to the tour. God willing (well both the band and long time fans like me are getting on a bit now!) in a little while we'll be on the road again.
28 years of being a fan has seen all kinds of changes in my life, but the band's music has always been there, often in the background, but there. My views on U2 have varied too, and sometimes I've been close to divorcing them! They may or may not be past their glory days of musical creativity, but they are still a damn side better than most and have been for 34 years. Bono has said, "Live is where we live." And there is no doubt in my mind that is true. Live, they are simply brilliant. And I'm not talking about the massive Claw this time round, as lovely as the effects were, the set doesn't really matter to me. I'm talking about them as musicians, performers and friends. There is something about them playing live that is totally captivating - and very hard to put into words because it's something you feel, a spirituality. I'm not being very articulate here, but other fans will know what I mean, right?
Here's a video of the last song, 40, from the last show of this tour in Moncton, Canada. I'm not ashamed to say it made me cry, and it was the perfect ending to the tour. God willing (well both the band and long time fans like me are getting on a bit now!) in a little while we'll be on the road again.
Tuesday, 19 July 2011
Canada Part 3 - U2, A Howling Wind and Stinging Rain, and a Fan Jam
July 7
Another hot and sunny day. which we had delegated as one of our lazy days. We sauntered to the Rue St-Hubert to do some shopping. It was a lively colourful place selling almost everything under the sun. We bought three hats to protect us from the sun a bit - we snapped the three up for $10! We'd baulked at the cost of things in Quebec (food etc was much more expensive than here) but obviously there were bargains to be had on Rue St-Hubert.
That evening we went to another of Marie-Anne's recommendations, a Portuguese restaurant called Casa do Alentejo. It was what I would call cheap and cheerful with excellent food. I had grilled sardines to start - never seen such huge sardines and they were succulent with crispy skin. For the main I had a barbecued steak with fries, the steak was very tender and cooked perfectly. All washed down with a smooth litre of Valpolicella (between us I hasten to add!!)
July 8
Show time! We had standing tickets for the U2 360 gig today and Debbi and Julie left early to get a good position in the pit area. Dianne and I couldn't be bothered to stand in the heat for so long and left a few hours later. Luckily our Metro Stop, Beaubien was on the orange line which went directly to the venue so it was a simple trip.
The Hippodrome, which was just a ten minute walk from the Metro, used to be a racing track but it was demolished a couple of years ago and it was just open ground. A special stadium was built just for the two U2 concerts. The seats looked a bit scary, open, high and supported by thousands of metal poles. The signage was abysmal, little to tell you which was to go and once inside nothing pointing to toilets, concessions or merchandise. There was also a distinct lack of security staff organising things. There were lots of pointy tents that reminded me of Glastonbury and a music event called the Fan Jam going on.
Dianne and I found a really good place on the outer rail of the red zone on Adam's side of the stage. We could see the catwalk and the main stage and the screens from there so it worked out well. It was still very hot and I was really glad I'd bought the pink floral hat lol! It didn't do much for me but it kept my head cool. There was a good concert vibe around.
The support band was Interpol and they were as boring for me as they were years ago when they supported U2 in Glasgow on some tour (can't remember which.)
U2 took the stage at 9.15pm to the strains of Space Oddity by David Bowie and launched into the Achtung Baby songs that they opened with at Glastonbury - I was hoping for this. It took me back to those heady days when we were even madder than we are now lol! Great songs and an amazing vibe in the crowd.
Bono was in one of his funny moods evident when he did the band introductions after a quip, "I need another two minutes" as he tried to catch his breath. He introduced Larry as Bonnie Prince William (a nod to the recent tour of Canada by William and Catherine). Adam was Kate Winslet, not sure why! Edge was "Our own Prince of Wales" and he referred to himself as a, "Chien royal" which the French speaking crowd received with bemusement, "Corgis, you know, royal dogs?" The crowd didn't get it, not the best place for that kind of joke Bono, but we found it hilarious! He talked a lot in what sounded like a poor French and the translation in English of his words that appeared on the screens was very amusing, it seemed like another language at times.
I Still Haven't Found What I'm looking for was magical, with the crowd singing a verse themselves, all the more amazing seeing it wasn't their mother tongue. A snippet of Springsteen's Promised Land was added at the end.
Beautiful Day had an intro by astronaut Mark Kelly in a recorded piece from the International Space Station, where he let cards with the words on float off in the gravity free environment. The song was dedicated to Gabby Gifford, Kelly's wife, who was shot and seriously wounded at a political meeting in Arizona a few months ago. Everyone rocked and sang along, it was certainly a beautiful night!
My favourite section of the show began with Miss Sarajevo. The operatic part was very emotional and Bono hit all the notes perfectly, it still amazes me that he can sing like that! Beautiful. Next up was Zooropa which I'd been waiting for not having seen it played live since 1993. The Claw screen stretched down until it was right on the stage with the band behind it, and like that they played the song. It was a brave thing to do as the song is one most of the audience wouldn't know and the band was out of sight, but it was fabulous! What a brilliant off the wall song it is and i loved the version they played as static and blue light played over the Claw screens. What a treat!
The Claw during City of Blinding Lights was beautifully coloured. Vertigo rocked and I like when the screen whizzes round at high speed at the end of the song.
Good also to hear a little of Scarlet prior to Walk On which had the One/Amnesty International supporters coming onto the catwalk with white lanterns. Bono acknowledged Aung San Suu Kyi's release but said he was singing the song for the other 2000+ political prisoners in Burma.
It was the usual encore, with a very powerful and emotional With Or Without You that had me transfixed. I've tired of songs such as Pride and Sunday Bloody Sunday which are played at almost every gig, but With Or Without You is played as much yet I love it every time.
The band closed with Moment of Surrender, and I still think it does not work well as an ending. There was such a fantastic vibe at the end of With Or Without You, that should have been the point to end.
As Moment of Surrender was finishing raindrops started falling (a storm had been predicted) and Bono started singing The Beatle's Rain. Then, suddenly, it was as if a dam had broken and a monsoon like rain fell, followed by a swirling, gale force wind came equally out of the blue. Talk of timing, right at the end of the show the heavens opened. I glanced up at the screen to see the band disappearing down the steps, a big smile on his face, it was ok for them!!
Dianne first put her umbrella up, it blew out one way, then the other way, no way could it cope with the wind. We had our ponchos with us but getting them on was another matter, the wind kept whipping mine off, I couldn't find where to get my head and arms through as it flapped in the wind. Then I got hysterical with laughter underneath the blue plastic, already well soaked. It took ages but in the end managed to help each other into our ponchos still giddy with laughter. All around us people were scattering, laughing, yelling, struggling with various items of rainwear, it was hilarious.
There was a sea of fans as far as the eye could see, we had arranged to meet up with Debbi and Julie , but in this mass of people being buffeted by wind and rain we knew we would never find them. I could hear my mobile text alert going but couldn't take out the phone because it was so wet. We peeped in a tent, it was crammed full of people sardine style and it was lovely and warm and dry! We squeezed in and I read the text which was from Deb, we agreed to make our own way home.
Then we braved the elements again, it was no better, huge puddles and mini rivers forming. It was hard to know which was to go to the Namur Metro station as there were no signs, no security to guide us and neither of us could see well because our glasses were waterlogged! Wide masses of people stretched off in four different directions so we just took pot luck and went with the nearest one. About half way to the Metro station the crowd of people came to a halt and for the next one and a half hours we moved forward a step at a time. It was truly a Fan Jam! It was still raining and thunder rumbled above. Being in the midst of a sea of people I didn't feel the wind anymore. It was now quite cold but the plastic ponchos helped keep us a bit warm, others were not so lucky and some and literally shivering with the cold. It was total chaos, I've been to many, many big concerts like this over the years and have never experienced such badly organised security outside a venue.
When we finally got into the station I felt like getting on my knees and kissing the ground! The Metro staff were well organised, people telling you where to go and which carriage to get in. We sank into our seats with a sigh of relief, good to get off our feet after all the standing and it was lovely and warm in there too.
When we got off at Beaubien the rain and wind had stopped, it was 1.45am when we got to our apartment, Debbi and Julie arrived five minutes after us looking as bedraggled and wet as us!
We have a tradition of having champagne, pizza and a U2 quiz after the last gig we see. It was a bit different this time, we had two gigs to go but, for various reasons we were having our celebration that night.
Due to the ridiculous price of the Veuve Clicquot in Montreal ($68!!!) we had good prosecco instead and it was delicious! Dianne won the quiz and we were up until 5am, we can still hack it as rock chicks LOL!
 |
| For sale on the Rue St-Hubert, Montreal |
That evening we went to another of Marie-Anne's recommendations, a Portuguese restaurant called Casa do Alentejo. It was what I would call cheap and cheerful with excellent food. I had grilled sardines to start - never seen such huge sardines and they were succulent with crispy skin. For the main I had a barbecued steak with fries, the steak was very tender and cooked perfectly. All washed down with a smooth litre of Valpolicella (between us I hasten to add!!)
July 8
Show time! We had standing tickets for the U2 360 gig today and Debbi and Julie left early to get a good position in the pit area. Dianne and I couldn't be bothered to stand in the heat for so long and left a few hours later. Luckily our Metro Stop, Beaubien was on the orange line which went directly to the venue so it was a simple trip.
The Hippodrome, which was just a ten minute walk from the Metro, used to be a racing track but it was demolished a couple of years ago and it was just open ground. A special stadium was built just for the two U2 concerts. The seats looked a bit scary, open, high and supported by thousands of metal poles. The signage was abysmal, little to tell you which was to go and once inside nothing pointing to toilets, concessions or merchandise. There was also a distinct lack of security staff organising things. There were lots of pointy tents that reminded me of Glastonbury and a music event called the Fan Jam going on.
Dianne and I found a really good place on the outer rail of the red zone on Adam's side of the stage. We could see the catwalk and the main stage and the screens from there so it worked out well. It was still very hot and I was really glad I'd bought the pink floral hat lol! It didn't do much for me but it kept my head cool. There was a good concert vibe around.
The support band was Interpol and they were as boring for me as they were years ago when they supported U2 in Glasgow on some tour (can't remember which.)
U2 took the stage at 9.15pm to the strains of Space Oddity by David Bowie and launched into the Achtung Baby songs that they opened with at Glastonbury - I was hoping for this. It took me back to those heady days when we were even madder than we are now lol! Great songs and an amazing vibe in the crowd.
Bono was in one of his funny moods evident when he did the band introductions after a quip, "I need another two minutes" as he tried to catch his breath. He introduced Larry as Bonnie Prince William (a nod to the recent tour of Canada by William and Catherine). Adam was Kate Winslet, not sure why! Edge was "Our own Prince of Wales" and he referred to himself as a, "Chien royal" which the French speaking crowd received with bemusement, "Corgis, you know, royal dogs?" The crowd didn't get it, not the best place for that kind of joke Bono, but we found it hilarious! He talked a lot in what sounded like a poor French and the translation in English of his words that appeared on the screens was very amusing, it seemed like another language at times.
I Still Haven't Found What I'm looking for was magical, with the crowd singing a verse themselves, all the more amazing seeing it wasn't their mother tongue. A snippet of Springsteen's Promised Land was added at the end.
 |
| Poster in Montreal |
My favourite section of the show began with Miss Sarajevo. The operatic part was very emotional and Bono hit all the notes perfectly, it still amazes me that he can sing like that! Beautiful. Next up was Zooropa which I'd been waiting for not having seen it played live since 1993. The Claw screen stretched down until it was right on the stage with the band behind it, and like that they played the song. It was a brave thing to do as the song is one most of the audience wouldn't know and the band was out of sight, but it was fabulous! What a brilliant off the wall song it is and i loved the version they played as static and blue light played over the Claw screens. What a treat!
The Claw during City of Blinding Lights was beautifully coloured. Vertigo rocked and I like when the screen whizzes round at high speed at the end of the song.
Good also to hear a little of Scarlet prior to Walk On which had the One/Amnesty International supporters coming onto the catwalk with white lanterns. Bono acknowledged Aung San Suu Kyi's release but said he was singing the song for the other 2000+ political prisoners in Burma.
It was the usual encore, with a very powerful and emotional With Or Without You that had me transfixed. I've tired of songs such as Pride and Sunday Bloody Sunday which are played at almost every gig, but With Or Without You is played as much yet I love it every time.
The band closed with Moment of Surrender, and I still think it does not work well as an ending. There was such a fantastic vibe at the end of With Or Without You, that should have been the point to end.
As Moment of Surrender was finishing raindrops started falling (a storm had been predicted) and Bono started singing The Beatle's Rain. Then, suddenly, it was as if a dam had broken and a monsoon like rain fell, followed by a swirling, gale force wind came equally out of the blue. Talk of timing, right at the end of the show the heavens opened. I glanced up at the screen to see the band disappearing down the steps, a big smile on his face, it was ok for them!!
Dianne first put her umbrella up, it blew out one way, then the other way, no way could it cope with the wind. We had our ponchos with us but getting them on was another matter, the wind kept whipping mine off, I couldn't find where to get my head and arms through as it flapped in the wind. Then I got hysterical with laughter underneath the blue plastic, already well soaked. It took ages but in the end managed to help each other into our ponchos still giddy with laughter. All around us people were scattering, laughing, yelling, struggling with various items of rainwear, it was hilarious.
There was a sea of fans as far as the eye could see, we had arranged to meet up with Debbi and Julie , but in this mass of people being buffeted by wind and rain we knew we would never find them. I could hear my mobile text alert going but couldn't take out the phone because it was so wet. We peeped in a tent, it was crammed full of people sardine style and it was lovely and warm and dry! We squeezed in and I read the text which was from Deb, we agreed to make our own way home.
Then we braved the elements again, it was no better, huge puddles and mini rivers forming. It was hard to know which was to go to the Namur Metro station as there were no signs, no security to guide us and neither of us could see well because our glasses were waterlogged! Wide masses of people stretched off in four different directions so we just took pot luck and went with the nearest one. About half way to the Metro station the crowd of people came to a halt and for the next one and a half hours we moved forward a step at a time. It was truly a Fan Jam! It was still raining and thunder rumbled above. Being in the midst of a sea of people I didn't feel the wind anymore. It was now quite cold but the plastic ponchos helped keep us a bit warm, others were not so lucky and some and literally shivering with the cold. It was total chaos, I've been to many, many big concerts like this over the years and have never experienced such badly organised security outside a venue.
When we finally got into the station I felt like getting on my knees and kissing the ground! The Metro staff were well organised, people telling you where to go and which carriage to get in. We sank into our seats with a sigh of relief, good to get off our feet after all the standing and it was lovely and warm in there too.
When we got off at Beaubien the rain and wind had stopped, it was 1.45am when we got to our apartment, Debbi and Julie arrived five minutes after us looking as bedraggled and wet as us!
We have a tradition of having champagne, pizza and a U2 quiz after the last gig we see. It was a bit different this time, we had two gigs to go but, for various reasons we were having our celebration that night.
Due to the ridiculous price of the Veuve Clicquot in Montreal ($68!!!) we had good prosecco instead and it was delicious! Dianne won the quiz and we were up until 5am, we can still hack it as rock chicks LOL!
A little clip of the last moments of the gig below, gives a little impression of the rain and wind (By Cara)
Saturday, 16 July 2011
Canada Part 2 - Friends, Food and Flour Mills
5 July
Dianne arrived safely the next day, now there was only one more person, Debbi, coming tomorrow. Did a lot of catching up with Dianne, we hadn't seen her for two years, then we went out shopping. It was another very hot day and I was wondering if I would be able to cope with the heat during this trip.
We shared a dessert recommended by the waitress, yankee toast, something I'd never heard of. It was a thick slice of bread that seemed to be soaked in something then fried until brown. Over this was poured some kind of syrup (maple maybe) and topped with vanilla ice cream. It was lovely, but very sweet, my third was more than enough! We spent the rest of the evening drinking a lovely red wine and chatting, it was very enjoyable and relaxing and we felt back to normal once more.
6 July
It was a bit cooler and overcast today which was a relief! Dianne, Julie and I got the Metro from Beaubien to Peel in the city centre. We booked ourselves onto a hop on hop off tour of Montreal. The tours were in old London red double decker buses with the roofs taken off, ours was from 1967, they were certainly built to last. We were given blue, plastic ponchos just in case it started to rain, little did we know that these ponchos would be a godsend a couple of days later!
The first stop was the Notre-Dame Basilica in the Old Town area. A stone church has stood on this site since around 1672, initial construction of the present basilica was between 1824 - 1829. The architect was an Irishman called James O'Donnell who lived in new York but moved to Montreal to oversee the work. He died in 1830 just after the inauguration and was buried beneath the floor of the building.
There were fabulous paintings all around, many depicting First Nation people, which made it different from any European church. There were wonderful carvings too. All in all an amazing building. It was a beautiful church, very dark inside (the huge stained glass window behind the altar had to be removed and replaced by a painted, blue-lit wall as it was south facing and so churchgoers were often blinded by the sun). All around were racks of remembrance night lights in red, white, green, blue, yellow and purple holders, these looked beautiful flickering in the darkness.
We passed the Montreal Science Center into the docklands. Montreal is 1000 miles from the sea but it was a major port because of the mighty St Lawrence River. The docklands was very rundown and I'm surprised we we taken there, the guide even pointed out a flour mill as if it was something special!
The next stop was the Casino, a strange building that, to me, looked unfinished. Then it was onto a stop in the designer shopping area of the city, we gave that a miss!
Then we started to climb Mont-Royal and stopped at St Joseph's Oratory, which was a stunning building. We didn't get off as there were millions of steps up to it and we were not in the mood to climb them (and saving our energy for the U2 gigs, got to pace ourselves nowadays!)
The bus continued up to the park a-top Mont-Real and we got off here. It was a peaceful oasis far above the bustle of the city below. The rain that had threatened all day came down, there was a cafe called Maison Smith nearby and we had a delicious sandwich there. When we had finished and left the rain had stopped. We got the next bus back into the city, the last stop was unavailable due to roadworks and that was it.
On the way back to our starting point I noticed two circling birds of prey reflected in one of the skyscrapers, whatever they were, they were huge.
I must say I was pretty underwhelmed by what I saw of Montreal on this trip. These tours usually take you to the most interesting places in a city so when they are showing you rundown docks, flour mills and a casino you wonder about the place. Even the Old Town was very small. I may be doing the city a dis-service but what I saw of it on the tour wasn't that exciting.
Debbi was arriving that evening and we were also getting a visitor, my friend Michelle from New York who just happened to be in town for a couple of gigs by a certain band LOL! I met Michelle at the Metro station and we walked back to the apartment. It was good to see her again. Shortly afterwards Debbi arrived in a taxi and at last our group was complete.
I made a simple meal of pasta Alfredo and garlic bread and we finished with a slice of mango cake that Michelle had brought along, it was lovely. Then we sat outside in the balmy night drinking our favourite wine (Errazuriz Merlot) and chatting. At 11pm Debbi and I walked Michelle back to the Metro. We'd had a lovely evening, sometimes the simple things are best.
Dianne arrived safely the next day, now there was only one more person, Debbi, coming tomorrow. Did a lot of catching up with Dianne, we hadn't seen her for two years, then we went out shopping. It was another very hot day and I was wondering if I would be able to cope with the heat during this trip.
 |
| My main at Le Plaza That evening we went to a local restaurant Marie-Anne had recommended, Le Plaza. It was just five minutes away on the Rue St-Hubert. The restaurant was elegant, very brown and had large, sliding doors open onto the street. We sat on one of the tables by the doors, it was cool there and we could feel the ambiance of the area as life went on outside. I had beef with bourguignon sauce, haricot verte and a baked potato with sour cream and crab. It looked gorgeous and tasted divine! |
We shared a dessert recommended by the waitress, yankee toast, something I'd never heard of. It was a thick slice of bread that seemed to be soaked in something then fried until brown. Over this was poured some kind of syrup (maple maybe) and topped with vanilla ice cream. It was lovely, but very sweet, my third was more than enough! We spent the rest of the evening drinking a lovely red wine and chatting, it was very enjoyable and relaxing and we felt back to normal once more.
6 July
 |
| Notre Dame Basilica |
The first stop was the Notre-Dame Basilica in the Old Town area. A stone church has stood on this site since around 1672, initial construction of the present basilica was between 1824 - 1829. The architect was an Irishman called James O'Donnell who lived in new York but moved to Montreal to oversee the work. He died in 1830 just after the inauguration and was buried beneath the floor of the building.
There were fabulous paintings all around, many depicting First Nation people, which made it different from any European church. There were wonderful carvings too. All in all an amazing building. It was a beautiful church, very dark inside (the huge stained glass window behind the altar had to be removed and replaced by a painted, blue-lit wall as it was south facing and so churchgoers were often blinded by the sun). All around were racks of remembrance night lights in red, white, green, blue, yellow and purple holders, these looked beautiful flickering in the darkness.
 |
| Notre Dame Basilica |
The next stop was the Casino, a strange building that, to me, looked unfinished. Then it was onto a stop in the designer shopping area of the city, we gave that a miss!
Then we started to climb Mont-Royal and stopped at St Joseph's Oratory, which was a stunning building. We didn't get off as there were millions of steps up to it and we were not in the mood to climb them (and saving our energy for the U2 gigs, got to pace ourselves nowadays!)
 |
| St Joseph's Oratory |
On the way back to our starting point I noticed two circling birds of prey reflected in one of the skyscrapers, whatever they were, they were huge.
I must say I was pretty underwhelmed by what I saw of Montreal on this trip. These tours usually take you to the most interesting places in a city so when they are showing you rundown docks, flour mills and a casino you wonder about the place. Even the Old Town was very small. I may be doing the city a dis-service but what I saw of it on the tour wasn't that exciting.
Debbi was arriving that evening and we were also getting a visitor, my friend Michelle from New York who just happened to be in town for a couple of gigs by a certain band LOL! I met Michelle at the Metro station and we walked back to the apartment. It was good to see her again. Shortly afterwards Debbi arrived in a taxi and at last our group was complete.
I made a simple meal of pasta Alfredo and garlic bread and we finished with a slice of mango cake that Michelle had brought along, it was lovely. Then we sat outside in the balmy night drinking our favourite wine (Errazuriz Merlot) and chatting. At 11pm Debbi and I walked Michelle back to the Metro. We'd had a lovely evening, sometimes the simple things are best.
 |
| Michelle, Dianne, Julie, Debbi |
Canada Part 1 - Are We There Yet?
2 July
We had a convoluted trip to Montreal due to there being no direct flights there from northern England or Scotland, only London, with (good and cheap) Air Transat. So it was either fly from London - a long way for me - or go to Montreal via Toronto, we chose the last option. Due to the time of our flight Julie and I had to stay overnight in Manchester previous to the flight, we got a good deal at the airport Hilton which was great value for money. We also had an over night stay in Toronto, yet it was all still easier and cheaper than using another company or going to London.
3rd July
Our flight was delayed by a couple of hours and then we had the seven hour flight to Toronto, it actually passed over quite quickly and we were coming into Toronto, Lake Ontario and the CN Tower glinting in the sunshine. That's when things got hairy. The plane was banking a lot, and moving in an unusual way. As we were descending, there were short, but severe drops that made your stomach turn. A man said loudly, "Is this normal?" No one answered, but we knew it wasn't, a little girl cried out every time the plane "dropped". The runway appeared below us but it was a while before we touched down, very heavily. The brakes screamed and again, I've never experienced brakes being used so strongly, We were pushed forward in our seats, I gripped the seat arms and Julie put her hands onto the back of the seat in front. I thought the plane was going to run out of runway. Luckily it didn't, and people broke out into applause and sighs of relief as the plane slowed right down. I've never, ever experienced a landing like that, maybe it was the pilot's first landing, God knows, but it wasn't pleasant and hasn't helped my underlying fear of flying!
The heat hit us as we left the airport, in the taxi on the way to our hotel I saw a temperature reading of 31 degrees centigrade, yikes! Out hotel was the Sandman Signature, and it was lovely, excellent service and posh, quality rooms of above average size, very, very good value for money.
We went for a meal in Moxie's Grill, in the hotel. We were served by a guy called Colin who recited a huge list of side dishes and specials in one breath! The meal was lovely and we washed it down with a glass of red wine. We had an early night as our flight to Montreal next day was at 9am. I was beginning to wonder whether getting to Montreal this way was a good idea, it seemed we were never going to get there!
4 July
The flight to Montreal took just an hour, and we took a taxi to our rented apartment. The journey wasn't very scenic, lots of shabby and derelict areas, but the street in the Petite Patrie district where our apartment was situated was lovely. Most of the street was apartments and the stairs to the upper ones were on the outside of the buildings, very unusual to us. Our host, Marie-Anne, was there to greet us and we left our cases - we weren't able to take over the place for another four hours, we did already know this - so, not quite fully arrived yet!
We went to do some food shopping. There were lots of shops nearby and the Beaubien Metro was a five minute walk. It was very, very hot, a bit much for me and I think that along with all the travelling it made us feel quite weary. By then I thought we should have flown direct from London! In the end we parked ourselves in a MacDonalds and had a long, slow, cold drink until we could return to the apartment.
At 4pm, with huge sighs of relief, we flopped down on the couch and kicked off our shoes, at last, we had ARRIVED! The place was lovely, three large bedrooms, two bathrooms, and a big kitchen/diner, throughout it had beautiful, real wood floors. Outside, we had a small garden area with a table and chairs.
The third member of our group, Dianne, was due to arrive around midnight, but at 9pm I heard from her by text - she was stranded overnight in Minneapolis because her plane was "broken!" She would now be arriving around noon the next day, oh dear. Time for an early night and we'll be raring to go tomorrow!
Tuesday, 28 September 2010
Canada 5 - Niagara, Tourist Tat v. Nature's Grandeur
September 3rd
Our last full day in Canada, and we were booked on an all day trip to Niagara Falls. I had been there before during the time I lived in the country, but for Glenys it was a first and was also one of her long held travel ambitions. As we travelled along the highway it brought back memories again for me, I remember being so excited at going off on my own for a while, I'd visited Niagara and explored New York State. I drove a Mini that the family I worked for had for me to use and in America everyone stared at it! That was in the days of massive cars there and being able just to drive over the border.
We had a great driver, Salim, who was very informative and funny. He gave told us of a way to remember the five Great Lakes using their first letters = HOMES. He heard a passenger sneeze at one point and said that means someone is missing you - I'd never heard of that saying before but thought it was rather sweet.
For most of the trip we skirted Lake Ontario which was huge yet it is the smallest of the Great Lakes, it makes you realise once more what a massive country Canada is. The area we passed through on the journey was mostly built up and not very scenic.
Our first stop was at a place where you could take a helicopter trip over the Falls. We debated whether to do it, it would be a fabulous experience, neither of us had been in a helicopter, but the cost was $115 for a ten minute flight and we decided it wasn't worth it.
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| The rather fetching essential Maid of the Mist attire |
We then went on to Niagara Falls and there's no doubt it is a magnificent sight. The Niagara River is divided by Goat Island into the Horseshoe Falls in Canada and the American and small Bridal Veil Falls in the USA. The Horseshoe Falls drop about 173 feet, and the height of the American Falls varies between 70–100 feet because of the presence of many giant boulders at its base. The larger Horseshoe Falls are about 2,600 feet wide, while the American Falls are 1,060 feet wide. Both sets of Falls face Canada and therefore you get the best views by far from the Canadian side.
We first passed the American Falls, a curtain of powerful, frothing water. Then it was on to the Horseshoe Falls, which are simply amazing, at one point it felt like we were totally surrounded by the water, we went in a lot further than I thought we would. The "mist" at times blocked the falls from view. We also got well soaked despite the macs - memories of our Icelandic boat trip came to mind, but at least the water wasn't quite as icy. We always seem to get wet on boat trips! The roar of the water was deafening and around us the water swirled and frothed like a witch's cauldron, whilst birds swooped all around. It must take some skill to guide those small boats safely around the Falls, it was an exhilarating experience.
Leaving The Maid of the Mist we passed the queue for the next sailing then we found somewhere close to have lunch. All around the Falls there are tourist shops full of the usual stuff. I said to Glenys that it was a shame that Niagara Falls couldn't be more like Gulfoss in Iceland, left wild and almost untouched by the trappings of tourism. But I realise that it's inevitable that tourism would be eveywhere considering the location of Niagara. Thinking about it though, I think that nature's grandeur does manage to outdo the glaring materialism.
And, being tourists ourselves, we went to some nearby shops. We were barely inside when a rain and wind storm suddenly came out of nowhere. I was close to a door and saw monsoon-like rain fall and a strong swirling wind followed, whipping through the trees and sending people scattering for shelter. We were glad we were inside at the time. It was over quickly though and when we headed back to our bus the rain had stopped and it was calm.
We left Niagara behind and after a short stop at the nearby Whirlpool Gorge headed for Niagara on the Lake. This a picture-book beautiful town, full of flowers and beautiful homes and expenisve looking shops. We passed Cows ice cream parlour and shop "The best ice cream in Canada!" well, we just had to try it! The first thing I noticed was a life-sized statue of a cow with a label around its neck saying "Caution! Bessie may mooove unexpectedly". Inside there was a shopful of cow memorabilia - never before have I seen a shop dedicated to cows! I loved the humour of it. And the ice cream indeed was wonderful!
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| Bessie might mooove! |
There were lovely shops, one had hundreds of wind chimes, I bought one. Another had the most fabulous window display of homemade sweets/cakes looking too good to eat. All around the streets were awash with the colours of the flowers. We didn't have long there unfortunately, but it was nice to have a short visit to this lovely town.
In this part of Ontario there are lots of vineyards (we wondered how the vines actually survive the harsh Canadian winter, they must be special hardy species). Our last stop on this trip was at the Pillitteri Winery for a wine tasting. We had a very hurried lecture from a woman and had a tiny taste of white (nice) and red (not so nice) wines. It was all a whirlwind and a bit disappointing really, which was a shame as the winery has won awards.
After that it was time to head back to Toronto after a very busy day in which we saw so much. The trip had been reasonable in price too, definitely money well spent. If you are heading to Toronto yourself and want to take some tours I'd recommend the company http://www.kingtours.ca/
That night, as we'd had a busy day and were tired we ate in our hotel. We had a lovely meal and wine, the Novotel Centre is a great hotel for the price you pay. Good location, reasonable price, lovely rooms, excellent service. Relaxing in wiht our wine was a great way to end our last day in Canada.
September 4th
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| Me and a cuddly bear Mountie |
It was expensive to go to the top of the tower and we had to queue for over an hour, but it does have fantastic views over the city and Lake Ontario so it's worth it.
And that was it really. After that it was off to the airport for the trip back home. We'd done so much on this trip, it was a fabulous experience on all fronts. Canada was as wonderful as I remembered it and I kind of regret not re-visiting it sooner. But I'm making up for that by going there two years in a row now! And I do really appreciate that I'm lucky enough to be able to do that.
Saturday, 25 September 2010
Canada 4 - Sky Train and a Bar with a View
September 2nd
We stepped out of Union Station into the hurly burly, skyscrapers and speed of city life, a bit of a shock after the peace of the cottage! We knew our hotel, the Novotel Toronto Centre, was close to the station but decided to take a taxi anyway. Luckily, even though it was only noon we were able to check into our room. The hotel was lovely and our room modern and spacious.
Later we met up with Catherine and she took us on the subway to Yorkville, the posh area of the city. And indeed it was a lovely area. We went to the rooftop bar on the 18th floor of the Park Hyatt Hotel where we had a fantastic view of the city in all directions, definitely a bar with a view. It was a pricey bar though, the wine was $15 for a small glass - though I must say it was a very good wine. It was a very hot day again and there was no shade, but thankfully a few clouds covered the sun and the heat lessened a bit. It is definitely worth a visit for the panorama of Toronto you get. I'd love to go on a nightime one day, maybe next year!
Catherine was someone I got to know through our mutual U2 interest many years ago, but we'd never actually met until this day. She was much as I expected, out-going, chatty, funny and good company. It was really lovely to hook up with her after all this time and I hope we'll get together again next year.
We headed back to the hotel on the subway, said our goodbyes to Catherine and went back to our room for a while. We were tired and couldn't be bothered to look far for a place to eat, so we went to the handiest, The Old Spaghetti Factory opposite the hotel. It was what I'd call cheap and cheerful, full of Tiffany lamps, carousels and streetcars - we got a table in the latter. The meal was good value, (Glenys noted that our three course meal for two with a glass of wine was the same price as the bill for the three glasses of wine at the Park Hyatt earlier LOL!) and okay for the price. Then it was back across the road to our room and an early night - we had a long and busy day ahead of us tomorrow.
Time to leave the cottage and Dianne and Dan. They drove us to the railway station in Kitchener/Waterloo for our journey to Toronto. It's always sad to say goodbye to friends, but I knew I'd be seeing them both again next year as we'd be back in Canada to see U2.
Considering the twin cities of Kitchener/Waterloo have a population of approximately 320,000 the railway station was tiny! It was the size you would find in a very small town in the UK, but apparently train travel in Canada isn't a popular means of transport. We were early so had a bit of time to wait, I noticed the timetable of trains running from this station - three trains heading west and three heading east per day. Even with just six trains per day, ours was three quarters of an hour late!
The train was quite full, comfortable and, rather curiously, had blue sky and clouds painted onto the ceiling, The train took an hour and a half to cover the 60 miles to Toronto.
I contacted a friend of mine, Catherine, who lives in Toronto and she said she would meet us at the hotel later that afternoon. In the meantime Glenys and I went to nearby St Lawrence's Market. A market has been on this site since around 1820 - old for the New World. It was a vibrant, bustling place, a mixture of stalls selling almost every food under the sun and other stalls selling all kinds of non-food merchandise. A place of smells, noise, atmosphere.
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| View of Toronto from the Park Hyatt bar |
Catherine was someone I got to know through our mutual U2 interest many years ago, but we'd never actually met until this day. She was much as I expected, out-going, chatty, funny and good company. It was really lovely to hook up with her after all this time and I hope we'll get together again next year.
We headed back to the hotel on the subway, said our goodbyes to Catherine and went back to our room for a while. We were tired and couldn't be bothered to look far for a place to eat, so we went to the handiest, The Old Spaghetti Factory opposite the hotel. It was what I'd call cheap and cheerful, full of Tiffany lamps, carousels and streetcars - we got a table in the latter. The meal was good value, (Glenys noted that our three course meal for two with a glass of wine was the same price as the bill for the three glasses of wine at the Park Hyatt earlier LOL!) and okay for the price. Then it was back across the road to our room and an early night - we had a long and busy day ahead of us tomorrow.
Sunday, 19 September 2010
Canada 3 - The Tooth of Time and Rocky the Raccoon
We had another easy going morning of sitting outside our cottage soaking in the sun and view. I went for a walk through the cedar woods to the river, I really enjoyed the peace and beauty of the place. There is a beaver's dam on the river, I watched for a while from a distance, but the animals remained well hidden.
At noon we headed out to Elora, a small, pretty town about half an hour's drive from the cottages. It was our last full day with Dianne and Dan and Glenys and I took them for a thank you lunch at the place of their choice. We went to Shepherds, an Irish pub. It was quite authentic inside, and the food (I had fish and chips) was delicious.
After our meal we walked the short distance to the Elora Gorge. Here the Grand River falls 25 feet into the Gorge. Between the waterfall lies a small, angular rock islet known at the Tooth of Time (sometimes the falls are also known by this name) that just seems to hang precariously. In fact it has been shored up a little to prevent it being swept away by the constant power of the water. We had tea at The Mill right beside the waterfall - we could hardly hear ourselves talk for the roar of the water. We watched a group of six ducks swimming in the rapids, defying the swirling water and currents, nature is amazing.
It was an extremely hot and humid day (temperatures were above normal for the time of year) and I was wilting - trying to stay out of the direct sunshine. I love warm weather, but find it hard to deal with it when it is very hot. Luckily we next went shopping and everywhere is air-conditioned. Elora seems to have a strong artistic community as there were lots of interesting and unusual shops, often selling original works of art and merchandise, so there was plenty to browse round.
At noon we headed out to Elora, a small, pretty town about half an hour's drive from the cottages. It was our last full day with Dianne and Dan and Glenys and I took them for a thank you lunch at the place of their choice. We went to Shepherds, an Irish pub. It was quite authentic inside, and the food (I had fish and chips) was delicious.
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| The Tooth of Time and waterfall at Elora Gorge (Photo by Glenys Newcombe) |
It was an extremely hot and humid day (temperatures were above normal for the time of year) and I was wilting - trying to stay out of the direct sunshine. I love warm weather, but find it hard to deal with it when it is very hot. Luckily we next went shopping and everywhere is air-conditioned. Elora seems to have a strong artistic community as there were lots of interesting and unusual shops, often selling original works of art and merchandise, so there was plenty to browse round.
We left Elora and drove to another small town called Drayton to visit June, Dianne's sister-in-law who had invited us round for drinks. Her home was a beautiful, large brick built home, fabulously decorated inside in a Victorian style with lots of her husband David's lovely handmade stained glass. We sat in a covered outside porch and had orange juice, what a lovely place to live!
June came back with us to the cottages. Glenys and I did our packing before joining the others for a light meal of crackers, cheese and tuna followed by a delicious Dutch apple pie. Again we had a lovely evening chatting as the night fell.
At one point there was a loud rustling by one of the bird tables, Dianne shone a torch in the direction of the noise and there was a raccoon holding onto the bird table with its front feet and anchored to the nearby tree with it's hind legs. Rocky (as Glenys christened him) seemed unperturbed by the light being shone at him or our close presence and he continued to eat from the table. Glenys and I were entranced, we had never seen a raccoon in the wild before and here was one just a few yards from us! Rocky stayed around for about 20 minutes, munching happily on yesterdays leftovers, though he did leave the butternut squash!
It was the perfect way to end our time at the cottages, it was like he was saying goodbye to us, and indeed Dianne and Dan who had another week at the cottage said they didn't see him again in that time.
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| Rocky the Raccoon (Photo by Glenys Newcombe) |
I felt sad as we walked the short distance from one cottage to the other our way illuminated by torchlight. We lit the oil lamps for the last time and chilled for a while before retiring to bed. A place like this is not for everyone, but I (and Glenys too) had found it all a bit of an adventure, it was quite nice not having TV, the Internet, watching the time, or the noise of our modern world. I coped fine with no electricity or running water, though I did miss a "proper" toilet a bit. I enjoyed drawing water from the well, showering in the cute outdoor shower with apples on the roof. It was good just to slow down and kind of be part of, or at least almost live alongside nature. It's an experience I will never forget, and I'd like to thank Dianne and Dan for inviting us.
Monday, 13 September 2010
Canada 2 - A Great Lake, Creatures of the Night and Shopping
30th August
We had breakfast outside our cottage, at 8am it was already very warm, the chickadees were chirping all around, the cicadas lazy summer sound filling the air. Below us the Conestoga River meandered through the valley, and I watched a blue heron flying low over the river, what a wonderful way to start the day!
After this we headed home and relaxed for a while at our cottage in the afternoon sun. Where ever I am I always love the late afternoon/early evening, when the colours become rich and the mood mellow.
We later joined Dianne and Dan at their nearby cottage for our dinner. We had a lovely evening eating, drinking wine and chatting as night fell. The creatures of the night started to come out, we heard a rustle nearby and shone a torch (torches are a constant companion at the cottages due to having no electricity) in the direction of the sound just in time to see the black and white tail of a raccoon disappear into the night.
31st August
I woke at 5am with my legs and feet itching madly - unfortunately as well as creatures of the night coming out it also meant the flies of the night come out and I'd got a lot of now very itchy mossie bites. I managed to get to sleep again and in fact ended up having a bit of a lie in. Once up, I counted my scarlet bites, 23! Glenys had a few too but not as many as me.
We were short of well water so I went to the hand operated pump and drew some water, quite hard work! Then we went over to the other cottage and had a brunch of peameal bacon (a bit like gammon, very nice) and waffles with syrup, though I skipped the syrup, too sweet for me.
Then Dianne and Dan took us to Conestoga Mall in the city of Waterloo about a 40 minute drive for our shopping fix. We agreed that they would come back for us in three hours. We wandered around the mall which was really nice, not too big so not tiring to look around. I bought a bag and some shoes, unfortunately prices in Canada are not as cheap as the USA compared with UK prices, so neither of us bought a lot, still it was fun. I also got some cream for my itchy bites!
We had a snack, and used the toilets - which were gorgeous, you really get to appreciate proper toilets when you are using porta potties and a privy LOL!
We had breakfast outside our cottage, at 8am it was already very warm, the chickadees were chirping all around, the cicadas lazy summer sound filling the air. Below us the Conestoga River meandered through the valley, and I watched a blue heron flying low over the river, what a wonderful way to start the day!
Soon we were on our first trip away from this idyll, to Lake Huron. which was around an hour and a half drive north west. The countryside we drove through was mainly flat farming land, corn seemed to be the main crop, it reminded me of the area where I used to live, which wasn't that far from here. Occasionally, along the roadside were signs bearing religious quotes such as. "Repent and ye shall be saved" and the suchlike. There is a strong Mennonite community in this area, their homes and farms often distinguished from others by a star on the outside. The Old Order of Mennonites still wear old fashioned clothing and drive horse and carts, we saw a few on our travels around the area.
We arrived at a small town called Southampton which was on the shores of Lake Huron. The pure blue sky was reflected in the lake which stretched off in all directions to the horizon. It was like a sea - in fact this lake is at least as big as our Irish Sea. Often it just hits you how massive a country Canada is and this was one of those moments.
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| Lake Huron |
The only break on the horizon was Chantry Island, which is about a mile out in the lake, it's white lighthouse dazzlingly bright in the sunshine. In the 1850's six lighthouses, called Imperial Towers,were built along this dangerous coastline to help settlers sail safely on the lake. The Great Lakes can be as treacherous as any sea or ocean, there are 50 shipwrecks around Chantry Island alone. The lighthouse was first operational in 1859 and is still in use today and you can go on tours there. The island is now also a bird sanctuary.
The shoreline at Southampton had a lovely beach, it was a very hot day, but a cooling breeze came in off the lake which made it very pleasant. Surprisingly there were few people on the beach, and we just wandered along it and paddled in the water.
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| Glenys and me outside the Little Barn shop |
We had lunch outside in the shady rear terrace of the nearby Walker House Hotel before heading a short distance north to one of the Saugeen (a local river) First Nation Reservations. The original people of Saugeen are Ojibway. They became known as Chippewa by people who could not pronounce Ojibway and this is the name the people are now known by. It was noticeable how much smaller the houses were within the reservation.
We stopped at the Little Barn Craft Shop run by an elderly, chatty guy called Orlyn Solomon. The shop sold native goods, some made on the local reserve. We all bought something, I got a wooden horned owl cleverly carved using the natural contours and colours of the wood and bark to show the bird's details.
After this we headed home and relaxed for a while at our cottage in the afternoon sun. Where ever I am I always love the late afternoon/early evening, when the colours become rich and the mood mellow.
We later joined Dianne and Dan at their nearby cottage for our dinner. We had a lovely evening eating, drinking wine and chatting as night fell. The creatures of the night started to come out, we heard a rustle nearby and shone a torch (torches are a constant companion at the cottages due to having no electricity) in the direction of the sound just in time to see the black and white tail of a raccoon disappear into the night.
31st August
I woke at 5am with my legs and feet itching madly - unfortunately as well as creatures of the night coming out it also meant the flies of the night come out and I'd got a lot of now very itchy mossie bites. I managed to get to sleep again and in fact ended up having a bit of a lie in. Once up, I counted my scarlet bites, 23! Glenys had a few too but not as many as me.
We were short of well water so I went to the hand operated pump and drew some water, quite hard work! Then we went over to the other cottage and had a brunch of peameal bacon (a bit like gammon, very nice) and waffles with syrup, though I skipped the syrup, too sweet for me.
Then Dianne and Dan took us to Conestoga Mall in the city of Waterloo about a 40 minute drive for our shopping fix. We agreed that they would come back for us in three hours. We wandered around the mall which was really nice, not too big so not tiring to look around. I bought a bag and some shoes, unfortunately prices in Canada are not as cheap as the USA compared with UK prices, so neither of us bought a lot, still it was fun. I also got some cream for my itchy bites!
We had a snack, and used the toilets - which were gorgeous, you really get to appreciate proper toilets when you are using porta potties and a privy LOL!
We were picked up at the agreed time and just had an easy rest of the day. We watched birds in the valley with our binoculars. We saw a flash of scarlet - a red cardinal and we also saw a red tailed kite in a tree by the river. If you,love nature and wildlife, as both Glenys and I do, this is a wonderful place to be.
ianne and Dan and again had a lovely evening. Glenys hadn't known either of them before but now they were like old friends and of course they have been good friends of mine for years now.
We went back to our, Russell's, cottage following the beam of the torch, and something scurried away as we got near the building, maybe a raccoon? The sky was pitch black and stars very bright, there was no sound except for the cicadas. We got into the cottage and lit the oil lamps (I loved the smell of the oil) and switched on the battery lights. It created a gentle light, and I found it nice to have no TV, I liked this simple life.
ianne and Dan and again had a lovely evening. Glenys hadn't known either of them before but now they were like old friends and of course they have been good friends of mine for years now.
We went back to our, Russell's, cottage following the beam of the torch, and something scurried away as we got near the building, maybe a raccoon? The sky was pitch black and stars very bright, there was no sound except for the cicadas. We got into the cottage and lit the oil lamps (I loved the smell of the oil) and switched on the battery lights. It created a gentle light, and I found it nice to have no TV, I liked this simple life.
Tuesday, 7 September 2010
Canada 1 - Memories, Apples on the Shower Roof and Peace
On August 27th my cousin Glenys and I was flew to Canada. As we descended into Toronto airport I saw the azure blue of Lake Ontario glimmering below, then plane then banked sharply and I saw downtown Toronto, dominated still by the elegant CN Tower. In that moment I suddenly went back in time to when I was arriving in the same city, 22 years old, young, adventurous and somewhat scared. After having worked in offices since leaving school and being bored out of my mind, I knew I needed to rethink my future career, I was in arriving in Canada to work as a mother's help for a year and to give me time to work out where my life was going to go. It turned out that the woman I was going to work for was a psychiatrist, I read her books and realised that was the way ahead for me - two weeks after returning home I started my training as a psychiatric nurse, and, as they say, the rest is history! I was surprised how strongly that arrival all those years ago hit me, this was the first time I had been back to Canada since.
Immigration was surprisingly easy and soon we were on a shuttle bus to Waterloo, Ontario. My friend Dianne and her husband Dan were there to meet us, it was great to see them again. It was about a half an hours drive to the cottages where we were going to stay. Dianne had inherited the two buildings from her parents, they were in the country north of Drayton by the Conestoga River. By time we arrived it was dark and we had to walk down the step incline to the cottages by torchlight! We got to Russell's Cottage (named after Dianne's father, Dianne and Dan were in the other cottage, named Edna's after her mother, nearby) which was to be our home for the next six days. It was cosy and homely, full of character, lots of pictures on the walls and ornaments.
You have to be flexible, willing to rough it a little and easy going to stay at the cottage. There is no electricity or running water. You get your water from a well, use a porta potty at night and an outdoor privy (in a wooden building) during the day. Lighting is by oil lamps, and solar/battery lights, torches become your constant companion at night. No TV or phone. There is an ingenious shower inbetween the two cottages, rain water is piped by gravity to the wooden shower building, water is heated up by propane gas and you end up with a lovely refreshing shower! The plastic roof of the shower was covered in tiny apples that had fallen from a nearby tree.
We were exhausted and went to bed soon after arriving and I was asleep within minutes.
Next morning we woke up to blue skies, sunshine and a wonderland! Our cottage looked out over a hill that flattened out to create what Dianne and Dan call The flats, running through this area is the Conestoga River. Bird feeders were everywhere and the cheeky Chickadees were as numerous as our sparrows. To the left around Edna's Cottage were cedar woods, to our right more woods. It was beautiful, relaxing and peaceful, Glenys and I both love nature and we spent ages watching birds we had never seen before.
We had breakfast in Edna's cottage with Dan and Dianne. It was dark in there as it was surrounded by trees (which gave it shelter from the sun) so for the first time in my life I had breakfast by candlelight!
We had a lazy day just admiring the view and chilling out. That evening, Dianne and Dan had a barbecue, Dianne's brother and his wife came, along with their daughter Shelley who looked 20 but to our astonishment was 34! Also there was a friend called Shirley. All were very nice and we had a lovely fun evening. It's lovely having barbecues, something we do rarely in the UK due to the weather.
Sunday too was spent just relaxing and getting over jetlag. I loved this life, no rush, no looking at the time, no computer or TV. The only sounds are from the wildlife, including the loudiest cicadas I've heard - they sounded like an electric saw! It was simple but wonderful, for years Dianne has told me how much she loves this place and now I can see why, it's a paradise.
Immigration was surprisingly easy and soon we were on a shuttle bus to Waterloo, Ontario. My friend Dianne and her husband Dan were there to meet us, it was great to see them again. It was about a half an hours drive to the cottages where we were going to stay. Dianne had inherited the two buildings from her parents, they were in the country north of Drayton by the Conestoga River. By time we arrived it was dark and we had to walk down the step incline to the cottages by torchlight! We got to Russell's Cottage (named after Dianne's father, Dianne and Dan were in the other cottage, named Edna's after her mother, nearby) which was to be our home for the next six days. It was cosy and homely, full of character, lots of pictures on the walls and ornaments.
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| Russell's Cottage |
We were exhausted and went to bed soon after arriving and I was asleep within minutes.
Next morning we woke up to blue skies, sunshine and a wonderland! Our cottage looked out over a hill that flattened out to create what Dianne and Dan call The flats, running through this area is the Conestoga River. Bird feeders were everywhere and the cheeky Chickadees were as numerous as our sparrows. To the left around Edna's Cottage were cedar woods, to our right more woods. It was beautiful, relaxing and peaceful, Glenys and I both love nature and we spent ages watching birds we had never seen before.
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| Conestoga River |
We had a lazy day just admiring the view and chilling out. That evening, Dianne and Dan had a barbecue, Dianne's brother and his wife came, along with their daughter Shelley who looked 20 but to our astonishment was 34! Also there was a friend called Shirley. All were very nice and we had a lovely fun evening. It's lovely having barbecues, something we do rarely in the UK due to the weather.
Sunday too was spent just relaxing and getting over jetlag. I loved this life, no rush, no looking at the time, no computer or TV. The only sounds are from the wildlife, including the loudiest cicadas I've heard - they sounded like an electric saw! It was simple but wonderful, for years Dianne has told me how much she loves this place and now I can see why, it's a paradise.
Saturday, 19 September 2009
Canadian Interview With Bono
I can't keep up with all the plethora of interviews, reviews etc about the North American leg of the 360 Tour, though it all seems to be going well. But here's one interview with Bono I did get to read, it's quite short but has a few interesting snippets for fans. Hope he isn't just waxing lyrical about the albums in them, you know what he's like! Also, I think that reporter should be grateful it wasn't Bono driving that SUV! Read the interview here
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