I have neglected this blog for too long. Many times I’ve planned to post but had been too busy and too tired that at night, all I want to do is relax and tend to my virtual cafe and farm.
So this is an update of the latest happenings around here. This should appease my guilt for neglecting this site, even for just a moment.
It has been more than two months since my parents-in-law arrived and things have never been better!
– For one, my ref, freezer, and pantry never looked as full. Mama obviously fell in love with the Asian grocery store located across the St. Lawrence river. When she buys, her cart is always full. Lots of meat, fish, vegetables, and fruits good enough for a month’s supply. The thing is, we go there weekly 🙂
– we go home from our French language course with dinner already prepared. Yep, our dinner is ready by 4:30 in the afternoon.
– our living room is slowly taking shape, with the addition of Louis XIV style caned chairs.
– our deck is looking good with patio furniture and a BBQ grill.
– dining table conversations and story-telling with topics ranging from business to politics to childhood adventures and future plans.
We’re lucky we have them with us for quite a bit of time.
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The past couple of months, we went to two different places.
In late March, we went to our first sugar shacking. Here in Quebec, maple syrup producers tap their trees on the onset of spring, around late March to early April, when the weather condition is conducive for the sap to rise. During this time, families visit maple syrup farms and eat traditional cabane à sucre food.
We were told that it takes 40 liters of sap to make just one liter of syrup! Maple sap collection lasts for only four to six weeks in a year. Now that explains why pure maple syrup is pricey.
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Two weeks ago, we took a bus tour to Ottawa for the Tulips Festival.
The story goes that in 1945, the Dutch royal family donated around a hundred thousand tulip bulbs to Ottawa in gratitude for Canadians for sheltering Princess Juliana and her daughters during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands in WWII.
We hopped on the bus again to see more of Ottawa.
One of them is Fairmont Chateau Laurier, a luxury hotel in downtown Ottawa. It was said to be haunted. The hotel was built between 1909 and 1912. It was commissioned by Charles Melville Hays, who was also supposed to open the hotel on April 26, 1912. However, Hays, on his voyage back to Canada for the hotel opening, was aboard the Titanic when it sank on April 15. The story goes that Hays’ ghost still resides in the hotel.
Picture-taking inside the Mint is not allowed, except in the souvenir shop where a pure 24-k gold bar is on display and visitors are allowed to lift it. The bar weighs 28 pounds and is worth close to $300,000.00!
Our last stop was Parliament Hill. This is where Canada’s representatives craft laws. There are three Parliament buildings, built in the Victorian High Gothic style:
…and the main building of the Canadian parliament complex located in the Center Block, housing the Commons and Senate chambers and offices of parliament members and senators.
