Montreal to Alaska

I love the sound of the train whistle.  It was an easy five hour ride from Toronto to Montreal passing through flat countryside which I assume was farming land not yet prepared for the next crop.  Montreal seems to be more a part of France than Canada and, where Toronto uses English then French for all announcements and signs, Montreal is just French.  Lucky for Trina I did get an A for high school french so I could work out approx .5% of the written word...yes, not much help!  We stayed at a little hotel in Old Montreal which was 200 years old so lugging heavy suitcases up the stairs was not much fun and we did have to walk sideways at times for the three of us to get around the room.  We spent very little time there so we coped well enough and the people were very friendly and helpful.  This area of the city where we spent most of our time is so old and it has a charm to it that takes you back in time.  The old warehouses and other portside buildings dating back hundreds of years, the narrow streets and alleyways ...you can imagine the drunken sailors and ladies of the night lurking in the doorways.  Tess celebrated her 5th birthday here and her treat was to go for a ride in a horse and buggy.  She sat up with the driver, shared the reins and helped to steer Marilyn around the streets of Montreal.  Did she feel special? No question about that!

Tess taking charge of Marilyn

The Basilica

Tuesday evening we walked down to the Notre Dame to view the Light Show.  We sat inside the church and watched a short doco on the history of the Basilica then they dropped the large screen.  The front of the church was still covered by a curtain but then the lights shone down and all was revealed.  This was the most beautiful vision I have ever seen.  I could feel the tears running down my cheeks I felt so moved by what had been created.  I looked at Tess and her eyes were like saucers and her mouth had dropped open (as had Trina's).  From then on the smile never left her face and I could tell by the sparkle in her eyes that, even at five, she knew she had seen something very special.  A photo cannot do justice to the Basilica.

Following this visit we had to move on to the Cirque de Soleil where we sat in awe of a different show.  These performers are unbelievable and we were so pleased we decided to go along.  Tess was enthralled and she would start clapping before anyone else and was calling out 'Bravo! Bravo!'.  Not sure where she heard that before but it was so spontaneous and so funny.  Unfortunately we had to crawl out at 5am the next morning for our flight to Juneau.  A long day as it is a bit of an up and down trip to get to Alaska.  Four landings before the final one so it was a 16 hour journey  Definitely worth the effort though as Juneau is gorgeous.  In a valley with snow capped mountains on each side and a lovely laid back feel to it.  Very popular tourist stop and there are three cruise ships in the harbour each day.  Our hosts, Tasha and Lincoln, are wonderful and their focus seems to be on making our stay as enjoyable as possible.  We have been out to the glacier where large chunks of ice are still floating.   Lincoln went down to the lake to get a piece for Tess and she did so want to       Ready for a day out in Juneau

bring it back to Australia.  Some things really are impossible.  Last night was the opening of our hosts newstudio, as they are glass artists, so it was an opportune time to meet some of the locals.  

Trina has just completed a beautiful chocolate cake for her Mama to celebrate the ....th birthday and tonight we are off to the ladies roller derby, a first for all of us, in fact a first for Juneau so Lincoln says the whole town will be there.  This weekend is the Independence Day celebrations so there will lots happening and we also have to make time to learn how to make jewellery from glass.

Not much longer now before we have to return to normality so we will make the most of our last days.  Bye for now....Glor