Ski Fun: Little Fats version

Hello everyone,

I hope the weather is nice back in Aus. Its really cold here, but very lovely..sometimes. So, what happened yesterday was mum was feeling a but under the weather so she decided to go on a bus tour of Quebec as you have probably read, and the rest of us went to the Le Massif ski fields.

It was an early start waking up at 6:00am except for mum who had a nice sleep in. As soon as we got outside a huge blast of wind hit Emily and snow covered us from head to toe. When we finally got to the place where the bus picked us up, we had to wait for the bus for quite a bit. A bus came but it stopped where it wasn't supposed to and after a while a frustrated young boy, who shall remain anonymous strode up to the bus and demanded that it come closer and soon we saw him riding up the front in the bus, proud of his accomplishment. The bus ride up to Le Massif took about 45 mins and as soon as we got there it was similar weather, probably even worse than back at the house. Once we hired our ski gear we had to get glasses at the shop. Thanks to my keen eye I saw proper goggles that were on sale and everyone bought a pair of those, otherwise we couldn't see. Finally, everyone was ready and we were all set to actually begin skiing.

Emily and I only wanted to ski on the green runs which were the easiest, as the weather wasn't the best to be attempting the black diamond runs (hardest). Some of the runs were a bit difficult and yes, everyone fell. Through one of the green ones, Herb was fixing something and he tripped over his skis, fell over and then Emily laughing at him, went into a snow pile on the side, and fell straight back, and then me laughing at both of them, fell over as well. It was like a Congram tandem fail compilation. A lot of falls happened that day, and most of the time Emily was standing still and just fell straight back whenever some fast people flew past.

Ahh, now we shall go onto the story of the gondola. Which was the main reason why I decided to do this blog as someone would have told my story wrong, and would make me sound more stupider than I was. So, what really happened was to get over the other side of the mountain or to get back once you had skied down to the river, you had to take a gondola which took a really long time, but it took you back to the start which was really quite convenient. So, as the gondola was coming around, it doesn't stop, it just slows down, and heaps of people are fighting to get into the gondola. Me, being small and petite, found it difficult to try and get around these huge guys, and I saw that Mim was already on it. Unfortunately, I had my skis around the wrong way so they didn't fit into the allocated slots and because everyone was pushing me and the gondola was moving a bit too fast, I couldn't get them in, and the guy just stood there and laughed and said, 'Catch next one.' When I looked at Emily she was standing and banging on the window yelling my name, and I was waving and laughing. The next one came along but failed to open, so I knew that Emily was going to freak out once she saw I wasn't in the next one. I was able to catch the next one and finally, my little cart arrived and I saw Emily standing there and she sighed in relief. After that debacle, I am forever and always known as the Queen of the Gondola's..

The weather was extremely windy and snowing so the snow created like a sleet of ice over the goggles and the only way that you could get it off was to melt it. We all had to constantly stop about every 10 mins to try and get it off, otherwise you couldn't see where you were going. David was frequently complaining that he was cold and at one point his nose was past the red colour phase and heading towards the white to blue phase. Emily and I were trying to clean off the ice from our glasses and we were telling him to go inside to the cafeteria, but he profusely refused and Emily and I were getting so angry at him because he was being ridiculously stupid. Eventually, he left us and we got a good 3-4 more runs in.

I think that this just about concludes the ski trip because in the afternoon all we did was return the ski gear, had a quick lunch and got the bus back home where we found mum, as she said she had arrived back just minutes before. Overall, the day was lovely despite the weather, and from Mum's story, I gathered she had a good day as well. I hope everyone is enjoying the warm weather and I hope all stay well.

Love Lol
AKA The Little Fats/Queen of the gondolas xx

Babalouies countryside tour

Bonjour famille et les amis (Hello family and friends),

I was looking forward to Canada the most and I have to say I haven't been disappointed (I was sadly underwhelmed with New York).

I have enjoyed listening to and attempting (poorly, as I have not spoken it since yr 10) the French (although at least I try - unlike Lol who just does "the face" which we will demonstrate when we arrive home).

Unfortunately due to the ice storms, we really didn't see much of Toronto but Montreal is nice, so long as you stay away from the main shopping street on Boxing day (more treacherous than our boxing day sales as we don't have to contend with the icy footpaths). Mike and I went were having a day by ourselves which was great and I loved Mont Royal (main park at the top of the city), it was very pretty, all white, snow on the bare tree branches, photo opportunities galore (you will all be sick of my snow photos .....- when you see them of course), around every corner something more lovely to see and so quiet, all you can hear is the snow crunching under your boots. There are trails inside the park to snowshoe and cross country ski & also a lodge and the lookout over the city, where you can warm up and rest. Also Lac Castors (Beaver Lake) where you can ice skate, but it was starting to get darker at 3.30pm so we didn't want to get caught coming down the many, many ice covered stairs in the dark. Another funny site during our walk was a lovely golden retriever attached to a dogsled with a girl on the back, with her dad running backwards in front of her to encourage the dog to run, but like most household dogs, he was more interested in smelling what was on the side of the track so kept running the girl into the snow drifts.

Montreal also have a very ingenious (if not a bit confusing - got ourselves lost quite a few times) underground city, which links all of the city metro stations and main office buildings through walkways and shopping centres, so if the weather is bad, you don't have to go out in it again until you need to. When we get back to Montreal I plan to see the old city.

I loved the fact our accommodation was so close to Vieux Québec (old Quebec), as although it is now set up for tourists - I could see past that and admire the lovely quaint buildings, with laneways covered in snow, all trimmed with lights and decorated for Christmas it felt like a little village. I also love the old buildings, the architecture, stonework and copper roofs are very olde world (also lots of photo opportunities) and all within walking distance.

As Mike mentioned Babalouie was feeling a bit under the weather (have been trying to keep it at bay since Washington) so opted out of skiing - good choice as weather not great and they apparently didn't have a Babalou run! So instead went on a countryside tour, lasting about 5 hours. So after a sleep in, at midday I braved the snow and wind to head to our departure point at Chateau Frontenac. Our first stop was across the St. Lawrence river which is mostly covered with snow and ice to I'le d'Orleans (Isle of Orleans, discovered by Jacques Cartier), very fertile farming land and referred to as Quebec's fruit bowl, lovely farmhouses and summer homes, stopped at a choclaterie (handmade chocolate shop), where I bought some chocolate frogs - which I have just remembered and am handing out now - to much enjoyment. Then on to Montmorency Falls (1 1/2 times higher than Niagara and in my opinion more spectacular as I wasn't covered in mist and as it is icing over looks surreal). I even braved the freezing falls spray, that turns and into and hits you like little ice pellets to cross the bridge that tops the falls, spectacular view. Apparently, as the ice continues to form at the base of the falls during late February to early March, it forms a large mound, which you can climb on that reaches halfway up the falls. Also at the top is York Maison which was the summer home of Queen Victoria's father and also where he would bring his mistress.

Then to one of the oldest streets in the countryside - very cute little houses, some of them are from the French occupation in 1700's, which were built before the road, so if you walk out of your front door when a car is coming you could be hit! Also on this road is the Adams Family (TV show) house - no joke, sadly it is unoccupied and in disrepair, but it is still "creepy & kooky".

Next stop was a family owned copper artisan, impressive works of art, painstakingly done with a demonstration by the daughter - it is now run by his wife, two daughters and a neice with only two employees. The father was the artist who made the copper doors for Basilique de Sainte Anne (each door took between 12-18 months to complete and were made with one piece of copper, which if it splits or a mistake is made - you have to start again), which would be our last stop.

Chez Marie, a boulangerie (bakery), where they also make their own maple products was next on the tour. A little stone cottage in the middle of a village, where you were greeted with a slice of freshly baked bread (the smell was amazing) with maple butter - delicious!!

Last stop was the Basilica, beautiful! We arrived around 5pm (completely dark by this time - which made it more spectacular as it was all lit up), the amazing thing was that mass was just starting - our tour group was greeted from the pulpit by the priest in English and encouraged to take photos or just enjoy the mass, I did both - the mass was in French, but I was able to sing 'Gloria' with the congregation, it was quite lovely, unfortunately the tour had to leave before mass finished. Then back home. Lovely trip.

Then met up with the rest of the gang, still a little frozen from their skiing and had a lovely French dinner. Mike and Dave even had escargot!

Love to all

Lisa xx

Quebec City

Bonjour
Early start today to catch the train back to Montreal. Temperature is around -11 dropping to -25 tonight. Everyone is tired after a big day of skiing yesterday, so it will probably be an early night I suggest.
First day in QC we checked out the neighborhood we were staying in which is only a few houses up from the main street with all the shops and restaurants which heads into the old city about 10-15 mins away.
Our accommodation is very nice. The owner met us there when we arrived.
After some lunch Lisa and I went grocery shopping down the street at the oldest store in town called JA Moisan Epicier. Its overpriced but was actually a pleasant way to shop as opposed to the big supermarkets we are used to. The male attendants all wore bowler hats and aprons like the old days.
The kids went exploring.
There is an old church at the bottom of the street from us and a pub across the road called Sacrilege!
Went for an early morning run the next day through the "Plains de Abraham" which was the site of the battle between the French and British in the 1700s which the British ultimately won. It is a big public park with lots of events being staged over xmas and winter. The sun does not come up until around 7ish and sets very early around 4:30pm. So I enjoy getting out at 6am to take some pictures while running. There are no crowds - in fact I am usually the only one out except for the workers who clear the streets of snow.
I took everyone back to the park after breakfast which is only 10mins walk up the hill from our digs. They had a skating rink which was a large circular track so Herb and Lol went skating and the lady hiring the skates talked me into trying it. I have never been on ice skates before. I kept thinking about the time Trish and Jen took the kids skating at Macquarie Center in Sydney when they were younger and they couldn't watch Herb who was all arms and legs everywhere and falling over, so I was trying not to laugh as I skated around. Didn't look too graceful but managed to stay upright until the very end when I fell leaving the ice. It is very slippery and nothing like roller skating. Anyway everyone had a good laugh and I'm sure the pictures will look funny.
I took everyone to the citadel next. Quebec City is the only walled city in North America. Then we went into the old city to look around and have some lunch. Its very quaint but set up for tourists, so it was very crowded. We caught the funicular ("funiculee funicular" - the kids didn't know this song. They must not have listened to Grumps singing it) and Herb, Lol and I had an ice slide which is a big slide you ride on a sled.
We booked a bus trip for the next day to Le Massif to ski. Its about 45mins from QC. Lisa was feeling off color so she booked a smaller bus tour of the countryside which was leaving early afternoon so she could rest up in the morning.
Up early again the next day to catch the bus to the mountains to ski. Walked to the bus stop - very cold and snowing, so it was going to be a different ski experience from the sunny day we had at Mont Avila outside Montreal on xmas day.
The mountain is a bit bigger than Kosioscko and has many ski runs. You can ski all the way down to the St Lawrence river and it has nice views from the top but there was no view the day we were there because of the weather and it was too cold to remove my gloves to take photos. We had a good time but were split up for most of the day. The chairlifts and gondalas finished at 3pm which was just as well because it was completely dark by 4 o'clock. I think the temperature on the mountain was about -27 to -30. The usher at the ticket office was laughing when I told him it was 36 deg back home! Our ski goggles kept icing over and we had to scratch it off each time we ascended the mountain in the enclosed gondala after skiing down the runs as you could not see out of them. I think Davo got frostbite on his nose - not really but the kids tell me it went completely white on the tip. He suffers the same as me with his hands and feet in the cold, so he visits the bathroom during the day to run hot water on them to thaw them out.
Trish - your kidneys would not survive!
Lisa enjoyed her tour and it was definitely a good decision not to come skiing in those conditions. I will let her tell you about her sightseeing.
We shouted ourselves a restaurant dinner together back in QC that night. Tried out our francais - the waitress was kind but I'm sure she had a laugh in private. Anyway we all got our correct orders so it can't have been too bad!
Early start again this morning to get back to the train station to catch the train back to Montreal and we decided to arrange a cab in case the weather was worse. As it turns out the day is quite nice and dry at present. The driver was nice and he showed us his koala bear which he attaches to his rear view mirror. Everyone wants to come to Australia - we are doing our bit for the tourist industry!
Au devoir.
Mike

Québec

Allo allo ma famille!

Québec is lovely, and I will tell you pourqoui... This portion of Canada was first settled by the indigenous population (Iroquois) 12, 000 years after the first evidence of Indigenous Australians in coastal QLD; connected to what is now Russia until just 52, 000 years ago; and, it maintained solid trading relationships with the Inuit people up until the C18 - by which time the area was heavily colonised by Europeans (predominantly the French). Québec is also linguistically interesting too - though not as bilingually leaning as Montreal, most people (NB. shop keepers etc.) will also speak English in addition to the local French dialect of Québécoise (which is tricky to understand: not as clean sounding as French proper and with less emphasis on fricatives [this is for Pete]). The English spoken bears as close a resemblance in present day to the sounds of English spoken during the reigns of the Tudors. It is said that Québécoise thespians are not to be sniffed at when performing Shakespeare, being as phonetically true to the original scripts as is possible.

Unfortunately, not dissimilar to most of the places Europeans eventually settled, Québec has a sad past - which is (un)surprisingly silenced by the tourist industry in Vieux Ville de Québec (where we have spent most of our time). Le Parc d'Abrabam (the oldest parks and gardens in Canada) was the site of a war during C17 and again in the C18 between the French and English settlers. During the fighting, both parties effectively reduced the indigenous Iroquois populace to a near nothingness and, consequently, drove those remaining to a posterity of nomadic dispersion. Now the battlegrounds are reserved for public use, housing - among other things - skating rinks, snow slopes, small châteax, and the original city fortifications including replica canons amid the crenelations. Québec is also the oldest fortified city in Canada and USA (the next closest is Mexico City). As a result, the town is built up into a high plateau skirted by a river on one side and (what was originally) heavy forestry on the other. This is the first place on our trip which hasn't been flat and the only place which boasts architectural features preceding the C18 (excepting Philadelphia). The local stone is a honeyish Greg color, and most preserved buildings like the Château du Frôntenac bear close resemblance to the exterior of Versailles - neoclassical, rectilinear, verdigris finials. The latter site was the place of the first meeting of what would become the UN (after WWII) to discuss the management of the world's agricultural production (Roosevelt, Churchill, etc., met here), and now the premises is owned by the Hiltons (for shame, Canada, for shame).

Today, after a walk in this park, the construction of a paltry snowman, and some faire du palinage (ice-skating), we explored this part of town. It is very picturesque, but rather like The Rocks - all tourist-driven boutiques and commercial galleries. Nonetheless, it is truly unlike any other place any of us we have ever seen and we were all thusly impressed. Tomorrow we are off NE to Mont Sainte-Anne for some more skiing. More photographs to follow anon.

Trusting everyone had a lovely Christmas,

D. x

White Xmas without the trimmings

Joyeaux Noel
Montreal is a very pretty city. I am sure the other seasons would be quite spectacular because even in full snow it is picturesque. We freaked out the cabbies again after arriving at Gare Centrale as I proceeded to hunt down the biggest car I could find. He was happy at the end as I left him a good tip.
The apartment was unique and the kids were impressed - gadgets and electronics everywhere. Dad - you would have had no chance working the main TV but you would have enjoyed the surround sound, circular lounge and private media room. It was like your own little movie theatre.
The owner had stocked up plenty of food, beer, soft drinks and snacks (Pete - you and I as kids would have gone crazy. Actually I think you probably still would now) so we didn't need to do any grocery shopping.
We were only about 15 mins walk SE of downtown so we went exploring. There is about 30kms of underground walkways called the "Underground City" and with the signs in French we got a bit lost but did OK. Dave and the others went off to find the ice skating rink, so Lisa and I were by ourselves (yay!) to find the information centre and other places. The info centre people were so professional and everywhere we went people had no problem speaking to us in English. They are all bilingual. Our French is limited; so other than ordering food, small purchases etc; we have to revert to English.
After we spoke to you on skype, we decided to open our gifts on xmas eve as it was an early start on xmas day to get to the ski field that we found out about from the info centre.  We decided to do all our shopping in New York and each of us had bought a joke present for everyone, a souvenir gift and a Secret Santa proper gift for your nominated person. Wrapping was newspaper. Hopefully you will like the silly photos we will download.
Up early on Xmas morning to get the metro (also efficient and easier to use than US systems despite being in French) to the Gare d'Autocars to catch a coach to Mont Avila and Saint Seveur about an hour NW. So breakfast Xmas day was a toasted croissant/muffin at the bus terminal.
I was surprised at the number of people traveling on Xmas day - the suburban public transport was running frequently and plenty of patrons using it. Our coach was full as well and it was great traveling without luggage for once - wearing our ski gear and a backpack full of snacks!
The sun was just coming up as we left the bus terminal (about 8ish) and dry, so perfect conditions for outdoors and skiing, although a chilly -20 deg but nice in the sun.
Not many people at the ski field so there were no lines to get on chairlifts and we had a great day. I stayed with mum on the beginner slope ("Babalou") until she felt more confident. The kids coaxed her to try a bigger beginner run at the top of Mont Avila but that didn't go too well, although I remember her flying past me on the last bit of the run after a few earlier tumbles as she decided it was easier than trying to traverse side to side down the run. I shouted out "just keep leaning forward" and hoped for the best. Down in one piece but back to "Babylou" for the rest of the day, so she now has the nickname "Babalouie".
Herb had his "Go Pro" which was a video camera that you all contributed for his Xmas/birthday present, strapped to his chest. So there are some funny shots of them all falling over at various times. Lol fell over getting off the first chairlift and the others left her to fend for herself and laugh at her expense as an attendant went to help her. She was "Babalouie Mini Me" for the day!
Herb kept finding the trees; running into them forward and backwards, just like when we were teaching him to ride a bike for the first time - hope his driving skills are better. He also doesn't like to turn, so its pretty much straight down the slope for him - everyone else watch out....
Mim had all the proper form but had trouble staying upright while stationary and Dave was getting his skis crossed whilst copying the locals but we all had fun and I had them on the advanced Black runs by days end. On the final run Lol went flying past me - she was praying!
They shut the mountain early at 4pm so we went off to find some dinner and indoors as the sun was setting.
Xmas feast was a hamburger but it was warm inside.
The only downside was waiting back at the bus stop for the return coach. There was no shed and the bus was half hour late so we had to jump up and down to keep our feet from freezing.
Back at the apartment by 9ish, so it was a big day and after hot showers we were pretty tired. Jerome (owner) arrived around 10pm from visiting his parents in Mexico and then we all retired.
Next day was a slow one as everyone was sore, so after a cooked breakfast, Lisa and I went to Mont Royal which is a huge park above Montreal city about 10mins walk from the centre north. It turned out to be another beautiful day with light snow the night before and throughout the day. The park was very pretty and we took plenty of pictures to show you. Lots of stairs and all uphill on the way there but it was worth it as you are above the city sky line from the observatory.
The kids went to the movies - Lol was in particularly good humour!!!
So another day to ourselves - whohoo...Nice leisurely walk around the park, some lunch and a warm cuppa and few local beers after avoiding the boxing day shopping crowds.
Jerome cooked us all dinner and then off to the cot.
We are now back on the train to Quebec City. Its a 3 hr journey with very nice scenery, although looks colder than Montreal so far. Will let you know how we fare next blog.
I am trying to get the kids to post blogs but without success - their loss...
Take care all
Mike

Off to Canada

I'm almost caught up now with my blogs and about 90mins away from Montreal subject to any further delays.
So we waved goodbye (temporarily) to the USA and boarded the train to Canada. The journey was very good with plenty of legroom and heaps better than the plane. I would recommend it if you have enough time to spare as it takes about 10 hours but the scenery is very pleasant and they have a cafe car which is well priced. It was an early start having awoken the kids at 5:30am to be back at Penn Station NY by 6am to check in for a 7:15 departure. They all slept on the train except Herb who watched movies on his laptop non stop!
Wasn't sure what to expect at customs but it turned out to be very painless and we were processed in no time at all. The border staff at Niagara were very courteous as well which was different to our arrival in the US. Our accommodation was just around the corner which was a good choice as it was raining and dark even though it was only 5pm.
We arranged to get some Chinese delivered to the hotel so we didn't have to go out. Early night and up to visit the falls after a leisurely breakfast at the Inn we were staying at. It was a scenic walk beside the river to the falls but it rained on and off so wasn't the best day to sightsee. Didn't matter though as we still took plenty of pictures.
After another hot chocolate we headed back to pick up our bags and board the coach and train to Toronto. Had some fun with taxis in Toronto as they tried to tell us we needed 3 cars so we had a bit of a verbal altercation and arranged to send the girls off with luggage to the hotel and the boys walked. I was not going to pay for 3 cars but was prepared to spring for 2 and got annoyed with them. Warm shower at the hotel and hearty meal and beer around the corner bought my good humour back!
The weather was not good due to an ice storm so we had a lazy morning over breakfast and then headed out doors to visit some neighborhoods. Toronto has many different cultures so we visited Kensington markets, Little Italy, Little Portugal and some shopping downtown. I would have liked another day to visit the Irish and Polish districts. We also canceled dinner in Greektown as we had filled up too much on pizza in Little Italy and hot chocs of course....
Very early start this morning at 5am and I wanted to book a minivan and car to the station but couldn't because it was only a local fare - avoid taxis in Toronto if you can! Anyway I wanted an early start to make sure we had plenty of time in case we couldn't get cabs but all worked out OK and we are on the train to Montreal where we will spend Xmas.
I will call you tomorrow night which will be your Xmas day about 10 or 11am.
Mike

The Big Apple

Couple of hours delay on our rail journey to Montreal from Toronto, so I have some more spare time to catch up the blogs. Ice storm 2 days ago while we were in Niagara has left parts of Eastern Canada without power, road closures etc. So the decision to take the train was a good one as I'm sure the planes are all grounded.
The last stop I wrote about was Philly. The next stop was New York and it immediately lived up to its expectations as we got off at Penn Station and headed to the street level to work out which way to go to our apartment. While we were consulting the map, we could hear a lady berating someone from a distance and then her victim came into view. He was an Amtrak employee wheeling her luggage which included a small dog poking its head out of one of the bags - no joke....In a very new York accent we heard "you are not listening to me - I cannot walk that far"; to which the rail employee sought to ignore for as long as possible. The kids were cracking up and the phrase became a bit of a favourite to use over the next week!
Our apartment was only a few blocks away but the hardest thing everywhere we went was to get our compass bearings. The streets and subways are easy if you know your NSEW...
We had arranged to meet the housekeeper Alex who was very Russian and I didn't really understand what he said so just not nodded a lot and thought we would work things out ourselves.
The accommodation was well located and presented, so while Lisa and I went to work out how to do the laundry, Dave and Mim went off grocery shopping and we had a first night indoors.
Next day we went across to "Joisey" (New Jersey) on the NJ Transit system to see the NY Giants play the Seattle Seahawks football game. It's a spectacle (not only the game but the crowd as well and we managed to observe some more classic communications) and it was cold (for us) but we enjoyed it and had some hot chocolates huddled under blankets in the stand.  We have lots of hot chocolate stops on our travels to get out of the cold!!!
Next day was Lisa's birthday and the kids shouted take away dinner and a movie (the Hobbit) after a day of sightseeing on the harbour and downtown Manhattan.
We took in a Broadway show - "Newsies" which was quite good but no better than our own productions.
The rest of the week we split up and did sightseeing, museums, galleries, parks and shopping. For Xmas we decided to all buy a souvenir and joke present for each other and one Secret Santa present for our nominated recipient.
We had some nice sunny days for the second half of the week and I went for an early morning run around central park, covering about 3/4 of the park.
On the last day we walked across the Brooklyn Bridge to Brooklyn. The bridge is quite nice but not as impressive as our Harbour Bridge in my opinion. But I did like Brooklyn and if we had our time again would have preferred to stay there and travel into Manhattan on the subway.
We did well with riding the subways and only went the wrong way once in Brooklyn, but a nice man sitting next to us put us on the right train back into Manhattan.
It was enjoyable in NYC but I prefer the other cities we visited particularly Chicago and Philadelphia. Manhattan is just a bigger version of Sydney in my opinion and does not have character like the other places. More like just a place for everyone to come to work and say you live in New York. I get the impression that the locals live mostly in the other burroughs like Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island.  Anyhow it was still good but I wouldn't rush back. The older kids liked it more than Lisa and I.
Pics to follow shortly and I wanted to send a postcard to everyone before we left but the lines in the post office were absolutely crazy so I will try and post them from Montreal when we arrive this afternoon. We might be home before you get them!
Mike

Philly by Mike

Bonjour folks. We are on the train to Montreal so thought I would use the time to catch up on a few legs of our trip for you. It was an early start this morning so tempers will no doubt be frayed before we reach our destination. I don't mind because that is the best time to do some teasing!
I think the last time I posted was our stay in Washington which seems an age ago now although was only 8 days previous. So the next stop for us was Philadelphia.
We left DC on the Northeast Regional AMTRAK train. This was our first experience with train travel and was only a short journey of about 90 mins. Union Station in Washington is very impressive. It puts our central stations back home to shame. Its certainly a good way to travel and would be even better if we weren't lugging around large bags with us. Lol is getting bigger muscles everyday and Mim hasn't fallen over her bags once yet!
The best part is always finding our digs once we arrive at the destination station. I like to use public transport which is an adventure with 6 people and luggage. We arrived at 30th St station and found our way to the subway - stairs without lifts causes some tantrums! Next challenge is working out what form of ticketing you need, subway lines, transfers and destination. Its all in the planning folks and I had done my research for each city. My job was transportation!
We were staying in South Philly and caught the subway to city hall and transferred to the north/south line and got off Lombard St and walked about half doz blocks avoiding ice where possible. Arrived without any mishaps and then carted all the bags up 3 flights of stairs in the guesthouse we were staying. Still having fun even though the men do most of the heavy lifting. The best is yet to come in Boston which is a 5 story walkup!!
Lisa is going to send all our Philly pics in a separate blog.
Mooched about close by and headed to the Italian market on 9th St for a pizza and grocery shopping. Very authentic and I liked this place the best so far. The boys and I went into a bar for a drink the next night and the barman who looked after us was "Darrmonic" (Dominic) Deluca. The owner let Will sit up at the bar even though you have to be 21. He had a root beer which is sarsaparilla. Jen will be jealous as this street was the scene for the original Rocky movie when Sylvester Stallone was running through the streets. There is a picture over the bar.
We bought some items from the Mexican area next door to make dinner.
Next day I went for an early morning run - it doesn't get light until after 7am. Found the Schyukil river which runs through town and ran along there. Its good to get out early but the others don't agree!
Went to all the historic sites during the day which are all within walking distances, although I think the locals use public transport a lot more than walking even if it's only 1 or 2 stops away.
The city was the main centre of the revolutionary congress and was the largest US city up until early 1900s, so there is plenty of old sites to visit and we saw where they signed the Declaration of Independence which led to the war with the British and where the elected delegates convened for 4 months after the British surrendered to draft the Constitution. I like all the history and the Americans have lots of memorials, statues, parks etc commemorating events and people everywhere.
It would have been good to have one more day to look around but next stop was NYC so it was back to the train station the next day. I will post another blog or two about New York because there a few stories to tell about that city.
Mike.....

Philadelphia

Hi All,
Sorry we haven't been updating you all on our adventures lately, but I hope you have been enjoying the photos.

Our B&B was about a 10 minute walk to the city centre, or we could catch the train, but I enjoyed the walking as you always found interesting things. Our digs were unusual (see the photos) to say the least, but cute row house, with separate rooms for each "pair" - Mim & Lol, Dave & Herb & Mike & I. We were on 3rd & 4th floors, up a very narrow staircase with a shared kitchen for the girls & us.

The area was quite ethnic, as we were one block away from 9th street market, which was a mix of mainly Italian and Mexican. Had a pizza in an authentic little pizza joint on day one, I felt like we were in a movie set, with all the Philly accents around.

Day two, lots of history & beautiful architecture, we visited - Town Hall, Liberty Bell, Independence Hall (where there Declaration of Independence was signed - even saw the final draft).

Sorry there is no photos - Herbs computer battery has died and he needs a new one we think, so they might be a while, or maybe upon our return.

Much love from all.

Lisa XXX

Washington Pics

Here are our favourite photos from Washington DC, the Capitol.