Well, it's been a great week. I travelled off to Quebec on Monday - my third Canadian city (not a country as one of my family members, who will remain nameless thought!) and home to our factory in Canada. What a beautiful city! There are two distinct feels - the more modern, let's say quite plain (besides the beautiful parliament buildings), and then behind this fort wall lies the old city. These photos don't really do it any justice, but it should give you a sense - they can do better than my words anyway...
This is I think the oldest church in North America - it was built in 1608
... and no secrets how the Quebecians feel about NY...
Besides being a beautiful city, it is also a city of protesting. Every night there's a group of students marching the street at 11pm banging pots and pans (hundreds of them). They're protesting because the government wants to raise their fees by $300 a year. Needless to say the troops aren't too happy about this, despite the fact they pay less than half of what the rest of Canadians pay for university. The city was also hosting in the same week an olympic convention. Athletes and officials from around the world were in the city. This was also a good platform for another set of protests - a team of orange shirted guys were out the front of the convention centre (across from where the meeting I was in was being held) waving their flags, chanting and being interviewed by the media - but in this case I have no idea what they were protesting about and I couldn't find anything on the internet about it... but who cares, the point is that Quebec is now officially adorned by me "the city of protestors".
White Bean dip and Prosecco on arrival; antipasto and garlic bread to start; followed by a choice of Osso Bucco or Ricotta and Spinach stuffed shells with homemade tomatoe sauce; and finished off with a choice of blood orange sorbet or chocolate and amoretti cheesecake - Belissimo!
So guests were given their characters in advance and arrived in full costume - we had Angel, Pepper and Marco Roni; Mama Rosa; Bo Jalais; Clair Voyant, Tara Misu and her fiance, Rocco Scarfazzi (played by moi!). Poor Pepi Roni had been murdered and we needed to find out which one of us was the killer. Though I had a very strong motive, I was not the killer. Instead it was Bo Jalais, who actually meant to kill me, not my brother (oh, shock!). So after good food, good wine, and good company, guests departed the NJ Trattoria.
On Sunday I made my way to Long Island to a town named Bellport for a BBQ. This was for another Australian couple, Natalie and Stuart (and their two children, including 3 week old Anderson), who are actually leaving NY for Switzerland at the end of the month. It was a lovely day, though a bit tiring as it was a two hour trip both ways!
Finally today, was official "plan to do nothing day". I woke up (unfortunately to the sound of people grinding bricks next door), and set off on a walk. I went out for 1 1/2 hours and walked along the boulevard which is basically the road with the view of Manhattan. It was a lovely outing. Along the way I came across a service for Memorial Day - Memorial Day is in honour of the fallen US soldiers. There was red, white and blue outfits everywhere and a lot of patriotism. Along my walk I also saw a twin propellor military helicopter - the one with the props over the wings, not one in front ofo the other - it was flying pretty low down the Hudson river - really quite an amazing site to see. I then spent the rest of the day sitting in the backyard reading and finishing my book. I've now officially finished the three books of the Hunger Games (I can highly recommend the series).
The weather was hot, hot, hot all weekend - 28 to 30 degrees, but very humid, which made it feel much warmer. This weekend is considered the official summer kick-off, and if this is any indication it is going to be tough....I don't do so well in humidity. At this time, I'm wishing I found a place with a swimming pool - not a thought that was close to mind in chilly December when I found the house.
So, my weekend is now officially over and I'm back at work tomorrow. Luckily it's not too crazy, so I hope to get back in the habit at the gym (this dumpling needs it!). Then I'm back to Miami next Sunday for the week.
Anyway, I hope everyone is going well!
Ciao!
Michele