Happy New Year

Well we had a very busy New Year's Eve full of site seeing and visiting with friends.

We started the day off with breakfast at the hotel, then headed to pick up Neely and Braden up from their hotel.  We took them on a modified "romance tour" as it was during the day at we had a set schedule as we had to be back to the bell center for the hockey game.

First stop, Schwartz smoked meat deli! The best smoked meat I have found in this city.  I think Neely and Braden really appreciated a good sandwhich!

Then headed to Olympic stadium.  The pool area was closed for renovations so we decided to head up the funiculaire on Olympic tower show them the view of the city.

Following that we toured to show them where Adam lived when he lived here, passed by the oratory and then headed up mont royal to the viewing area. 

Dropped the "kids" off and then headed to park the car to get onto the metro (subway) to head to the canada vs USA game we bought tickets for.  Once getting to the Bell Centre we got into a very long line to get into the arena.  I thought we were going to miss the puck drop for sure, the line was long but we did make it with a few minutes to spare.

The game was amazing, we got a little nervous at the end and weren't sure that canada would pull through but they did.  I bought a souvenir program, to be very disappointed that the Canadian team had a poor roster that doesn't even include Lazar, and no numbers to correspond with he players.  During the first intermissions, AA and I went for a walk and saw Craig McTavish.  It was exciting to know that Eric and Neely were watching The game too.  Tried to find them in their sections, but wasn't successful.  

Canada wins:)

After the game we went back on the metro to get to our car to get our outdoor gear for the rest of our evening.  We met Francois (Adams coworker) his wife Christine and their friends Ann and Justin at the petite marche for dinner and then headed to the old port to take in the New Year's Eve concert and fireworks.  There were likely 50000 people at this event.  I was a little short to see the activities but still enjoyed it.  We counted down from 10 ( in French) and then continued to listen to folk music, no auld lang syne.  The fire works show was great. 

Lola's view....

The crew... (Ann went home after supper as she wasn't feeling 100% the following day)

We then headed to the metro , like a large heard of cattle and went ours seperate ways on the metro.

Cars and people everywhere.

Now time for bed.  And we really don't know what we are up to tomorrow, guess we will sleep on it.

Happy new year from Lola and Arizona Adam (where it is actually snowing today, in Tucson that is)

Night, Lola

Cold Quebec Adventures

Well I somehow managed to screw up this mornings routine as well. This time, no alarm was needed but I somehow failed to lock the door to the room. Lola shot awake when housekeeping knocked on the door but I was convinced the door was locked so no big deal. Well the door opened and Gwen loudly said my name which must have startled the housekeeper who did not enter. 

It took some time (3 hrs) for Lola to finally forgive Arizona Adam... With some breakfast at L'Accent, just down the street from the hotel. 

After breakfast, we enjoyed a free coffee/tea from Keurig who had cars setup across from the "patinoire" (skating rink). What a great way to start an afternoon in the cold Quebec winter!

The day was more of an adventuring day - some shopping and some exploring.  Lola bought a new scarf, one that more closely matches her coat, and AA bought a new shirt for work. We then continued to meander through old Quebec and down to Basse Ville (lower town) which had some cool boutiques and nifty streets to walk down. 

Lola managed to find her favourite treat - maple syrup frozen on ice. Later on, both of us had a hot drink at Maple Delights - Arizona Adam having a maple grand marnier cappuccino and Lola having a maple tea. 

After our warm up drinks, we made our way to the parkade and got in the car to make our journey back to Montreal. AA took a slight detour to see if his medevac airplane was in town.  Unfortunately, it was not but the old plane was out on the Tarmac looking like it was getting ready for an evening run. 

Once in Montreal, we stopped at Le Biftheque for some steak. 

We are now nestled in at our hotel, Fairfield Inn and Suites near the airport - a location well known to Arizona Adam. 

What is in store for tomorrow? We know but you will have to wait to find out ;)

AA

QC day 2

Well today started a little later than planned. Arizona Adam decided to use his old iPhone as the alarm clock and set the alarm for 7am. Little did he realize that the iPhone was still on airplane mode and didn't connect to the wifi so the time did not adjust.

At just before 7 Winnipeg time, AA was lying wide awake wondering why the sun was so bright outside the windows... Then it dawned on him (literally). So instead of being at the hill for 9am it was more like 10:30. Oh well, a little extra rest was well needed.

The drive was pretty neat, driving along the St Laurence to a small town called Beaupre which had a huge cathedral and Jewish "cyclorama" (whatever that is...). 

The hill (Mont Sainte Anne) wasn't too terribly busy.  Lineups to get up the hill were small, except for the north side of the mountain which took about 10 mins of waiting before getting on the chair. The conditions were passable, described as "spring conditions" which we would agree with. There was some loose snow on top of the packed ice.  This caused for more than one "whoa!" And arms flailing to keep upright. 

The views seen from the top of the mountain are pretty spectacular. With the south side facing the St Laurence, you could clearly see Ile d'Orleans and other small islands (such as Grosse Ile). Here are some pictures from the observation tower at the top of Mont Sainte-Anne:

We lasted longer on the hill than we expected. We made it until 3:30 before finally packing up and making our way back to Quebec.  On the way we stopped at a grocery store and got some drinks and snacks for later tonight while we watch the world juniors (and jets game on the iPad). 

Once back at the hotel, we made our way to the heated pool to loosen up from a day on the slopes. However, with the temperature being 15 degres cooler outside than yesterday, it was no wonder that the water felt colder. So, we then went to the sauna to warm up a bit more.

After the pool and sauna, we showered and then went to Portofino for supper. Lola had gluten free pasta with muscles, clams, shrimp and scallops in a tomato sauce. Arizona Adam had chicken Alfredo.  

With dinner completed and the bill paid, it was time to wander around the city. First stop was at Simons, one of Lola's new-found favourite stores in Quebec. Unfortunately the store was closed.  From there, we made our way to the Ferris wheel that we can see outside the window of our hotel room. The entire "grande aller" is closed to vehicle traffic, most likely in preparation for New Year's Eve, and there is a Ferris wheel all lit up.

We then continued down the grande aller to a bar that we went to a few years ago when AA was in QC for a set of project meetings. The bar was closed, not that we were interested in going inside for a drink, not when the hockey games were set to begin in less than 15 mins. So, we made our way back to the hotel room and are now enjoying both of our teams up on their opposition in the second periods. 

Hopefully the cold weather passes soon back home. I knew we were having it too easy this winter...

Arizona Adam (Aka Adam incase people forgot...)

#quebecvacation, flying, driving and skating

We had a full day of travel but made sure to have a little fun along the way...

Blair and AA talking away on our way to the airport.

Our flight was pretty uneventful, pretty typical, adam watches movie, falls alseep, Lola gets hocked on some show, Total Diva's, and ends up shedding a tear. The flight was pretty quick, and we arrived in montreal a little earlier then scheduled.

Was a little bitter sweet to leave Winnipeg where the sun was actually very bright this morning.  But we were leaving -30 for about 0 :)

As we were taxiing away, what rolls in, chartered flight with likely the Winnipeg jets arriving back to Winnipeg from the Minneapolis.

So we left snow in Winnipeg to arrive in montreal to have no snow and much milder temperature

Winnipeg

Montreal

We got off the plane, got our bags and headed to the car rental location.  Adam is a blue chip member so we get to go outside directly to the outside desk.  This Express way wasn't so express.  The guy at the desk didn't know how to get a second driver added to the car and then tried to charge us.  Eventually he gave adam keys to go get the car to load up our stuff, but I stayed to try and get my information entered.  Eventually a man came to help, took one look at my last name and a smile came on his face.... "Where is Mr Coolidge, he was here about a week ago:)". We go the car all figured out and headed for a quick lunch of montreal smoked meat before heading to Quebec City.

The drive uneventful.  Lola fell asleep, and adam got us there.

Tunnel under the st Laurence river.

Arriving in Quebec City, we headed to the heated outdoor pool quickly because it only was open till 7, so we only had about 20minutes, but it was fabulous, reminded us of the hot springs in Banff.

Then headed to a favorite pub of ours that we have been to 2 times.  

The food was great, but adam and I both couldn't finish.

We ended off our first day with a skate at Patinoire de la place d'youville.

We plan on snowboarding tomorrow.  Time to get some sleep, and rest these legs.

Night, Lola (Gwen, if you have forgotten who Lola is)

IIHF and a little extra...

Well we are off on another adventure.  A familiar place but an unfamiliar event. 

We are currently waiting at the gate to board with a Tim's in hand and luggage for weeks according to Blair (who was so generous to give us a ride to the airport this morning)!

This weeks is supposed to consist of a little outdoor activity (snowboard and skates onboard the plane), 3 world junior hockey (#gocanadago) and a little site seeing in Quebec City and Montreal!

Well almost time to get on the plane! Hope you all had a good holiday season and I am sure you will hear from us soon!

Lola

Home time and (almost) game time!

Time to go home. It's been a quick trip. What was supposedly 7 inspections in two days turned out to be...1. Oh well, got my inspection done and lots of other work. Now I need to continue to work on brainstorming for te strategic planning meetings tomorrow and Friday...

I ended up killing most of the afternoon at the airport in the lounge 

I gave Doug my rental car when he arrived at 1:30 so instead of trying to figure our logistics to get to the airport from somewhere else, I grabbed lunch at Moes deli and then got some work done in the lounge. Good thing for free lounge passes from all the travel I did last year. 

Well time to board. Ttyl. 

AA

Heading for warmer weather

It feels like only yesterday since I was in the airport returning from Montreal. Well, I guess it was more like 4 days ago since I was in the aiport. Alas I am here again with flights (including a return!) to and from Montreal. 

This time it seems less planned and more undefined (yes, I am intentionally being redundant...). The schedule shows 7 inspections in 2 days, my guess is that 3 will happen. As tiring as it is to travel outside of work hours, I'd much rather do this than waste 4 hrs traveling during work hours and getting further behind. 

It's not so bad flying after hours - you can still relax and watch a movie, read a book or catch a few zzz's. It just sucks having to leave home and getting in late only to get up early and hit the ground running. Luckily I have lots of practice...

Maybe I'll have some spare time this trip to get some Christmas (or birthday) presents. However I need to make sure that I don't exceed my carry on liquid allowance so that I don't need to check my bag - my return flight is scheduled to get into Winnipeg just over an hour before puck drop at the MTS Center for our next Jets game. 

I'm not worried though, when was the last time my personal life was affected by work travel... Hmm, Maybe I should be worried...