Old buildings

Today was the epitome of an unstructured day.  We ignored our general plans to go to church in favour of sleeping.  Our mission to find old Montreal was hindered by first our need for sweaters(cooler than we thought!), then by our need to buy a camera lens cap, then by our need for food, and always by our, mostly Michelle's, need to stop and take pictures. All day Michelle was happy discovering the brick and worn-down buildings of the newer areas, but I was eager to find the old.  Nevertheless we did reach it, and it was lovely.  Old and stone and full of charming small details.  And we found the river, which was also lovely and a was hub of people out enjoying the sun.  It certainly is reminiscent of the UK, probably due to the width and layout of the streets more than anything else, and it makes me miss that place (Am I inclined to long for every lovely place I ever visited?). There are sculptures as well, in the classic style.  Why don't we have more of those in Calgary?

One of the surprises of Montreal is that it's windy here.  I don't know if it's always windy, or if it's been especially windy, but to me wind is not expected, something reserved for Lethbridge, and quite a bother. Another surprise is the amount of space for rent - they seem to be everywhere, even in busy areas.  There is also much more graffitti here. 

Sometimes there are people who only speak french, and then I am very sorry that I speak and understand so very, very little of it.  I don't even know the pronunciations.

Day 1 - exhausto Day

And we are here!  In Montreal!  Happily arrived to some deliciously warm weather, welcomed by family and settled in to our hostel.  I am more than exhausted.  My busy work week was pushed over the edge with this mornings 5am wakeup, and it is a wonder I'm still functioning.  Nonetheless we managed some exploration this afternoon.  We ended up aiming for an Art store in the area of Westmount, which we reached by conquering the mystery of the Metro.  We discovered as well many other cute shops which we plan to return to at some point to further investigate.

The travelling to come

Tomorrow I depart on another adventure!  I meant to give you all more notice in my heads-up,-this-blog-is-not-dead-yet post, but it has been a busy week!  Montreal is the destination, a city I endlessly hear about as a wonderful place to be and full of the arts.  As you know, I quite like the arts and so I am coming to investigate the rumours myself!  In addition, my previous travels have left me with woeful little experience of anywhere east of Saskatchewan's western borders (pathetic, I know), so to see more of Canada, especially the earliest bits, will be a joy!

Now to get back to packing.

The grand return

Well, we've both safely arrived back to Calgary.  Meredith was picked up by family this afternoon and is probably home now too.  It's nice to be home.  I've come home to a peaceful, empty house and am busy doing laundry and catching up on mail - all the mundane and strangely joyful things one does when one gets home from a trip.

All the transportation getting home went off without a hitch, and the views we didn't see flying in & out of airports on the way up, we got to see on the way back with the stellar warm & sunny weather everywhere else seems to be experiencing.  Here some things I notice upon my return:  Where have the hedges gone and why is there not more vegitation?  Also the road width is ridiculously liberal - you could make all our 2 lane roads 4 lanes, or park on both sides - no wonder we're so sprawly (I know, I know, we need it in the winter).  And the sky seems overly dramatic - there are shapes there, and depth!  And it thunders when it rains.  Weird.

Sand between my toes!

Ocean!

We drove rather a while today on big roads and little roads, all mostly obscuring the scenery, to suddenly arrive at Looe perched on the slopes above the river and the ocean.  Someone had mentioned this place to us with enough conviction that we figured it was a good idea, and it was.  All we did in Looe was sit about, explore, drink some tea, and sit about some more.  It was pretty lovely, and a really nice last full day here. 

Here the water is teal and fog laps like the tide, and boats sit lazily by.  Not that it's a quiet place.  For a cloudy tuesday it was surprisingly busy - shops filled with people.  The place is lined with ice cream shops, but somehow still doesn't seem touristy.  It was lovely to walk the beach barefoot (like a massage for our overworked feet!), and look at the shells and rocks half hidden in the sand. 

Tonight we pack.

Rugged Dartmoor

Today Meredith & I went to Dartmoor to see the moors and to do some walking.  This is a bit I've been looking forward to for some time, and it was definitely worth the effort.  We did a rather long walk connecting from tor to tor (peak) in a giant loop, and took our time.  We had good weather, including some sunshine, but today felt like the most humid it's been so far.  By the end we felt absolutely damp (in the last hour the weather seems to have finally wholeheartedly committed to rain). 

It really is lovely here and Dartmoor has a wild kind of quality about it.  I'm especially struck by the shapes of the rocks.  Although wading through ferns, tiptoeing through gorse and strolling among the horses also have their charm!

Arrived in Exeter

Today we have arrived at our new digs, a B&B just out of Exeter.  It's been a rather unremarkable day, I must confess.  All we've really done is take the train here and lounge around our room.  It being Sunday, we aren't able to get our wheels until tomorrow (quite a shame), and we are just far enough out of town that it's not reasonable to walk in.  Also, no local buses run today.  So we are forced to stay put.  We did manage a bit of a walk, saw a scenic view from the high point of a field, and stumbled upon a church (so I do have a few pics for you).

Tomorrow we have more ambitious plans.