We had another slow start which was fine. Leo was up before 7, eating Pringles and listening to his iPad on loud and I was just awake. I've not slept well at all since being on holiday, the bags under my eyes are creeping towards my chin and I struggled to do my 10 minute hiit workout this morning, but I did it.
It wasn't long until we were all bundled into the car and off for our surfing lesson. The surf school was literally just down the road and Rob was lucky enough to park on the street outside so we didn't have to pay for parking and all our things could be kept in the car.
We all got our wetsuits and shoes on with plenty of moans from Ellis who didn't really like it but he did it and I was so pleased he was doing it with me.
Our instructor was Joe, who started the job on Monday. He was really friendly and good with the kids. We grabbed our boards and made are way to the beach.
We had a little chat about a couple of things before starting a warm up, which was a jog around the beach, some stretches and some yoga moves. Then we went in the water! I was expecting to be on the beach talking about it for ages but we actually spent a huge amount of time in the water.
We all loved it! It was so much fun. There were plenty of wipeouts and bangs on the head from other surfers boards and Ellis injured his toe, but we all said we would do it again and wetsuits are a must.
The instructor said the waves were huge and the current was strong today so we actually all did pretty well considering. I managed to stand up and stay up about 3 times, Ellis did so good, Leo was amazing and Oscar did fantastic. I was really proud of them and me! I think Rob wished he'd done it with us but if he had we wouldn't have any pictures or videos of the boys doing it for the first time. Definitely needs to have a go next time, so maybe tomorrow. 🤔
We had so much time in the water and it was very tiring. I was aching by the time I took my wetsuit off and got in the car. We went home via McDonalds so everyone could have a feed.
My friend Rachel is down here, about a 20 minute walk away so we arranged to meet up for a quick drink in her local pub. I haven't seen her since before lockdown so it was really nice to have a catch up.
It was a brief visit though as I needed to pick up dinner, an Indian take-away. 😋
We stuffed our faces and then I flopped on the sofa, exhausted but happy from the fun we had today. Not sure what the plan is tomorrow. It's our last day here and I would like to go to Padstow to walk around the harbour and maybe do some crabbing, but we could do that on our way home the next day. I suppose we could go back to the beach and do some more surfing 😁. I'll see what the others want to do and I'm sure there will be no rush to get out tomorrow. Need to go to Sainsbury's at some point too. Bed is calling and my head is banging. 😴
Where they to? 20th August Montreal
Montreal, as with Quebec City, has a history of being one of the first European settlements in Canada. As such, it too has an Old Town. The old town consists of some classical European architecture, some quaint shops, a decent variety of restaurants and the obligatory street performers.
We decided to economise by walking there rather than getting the metro and, with the skies looking ominous, hatched the cunning plan to get as close as we could using the underground city - a network of 33 kilometres of underground passageways connecting shops, the metro and offices that runs beneath downtown. 30 minutes after heading down an escalator, we resurfaced to find that we'd moved about 2 kilometres due east on the same road that we started on, that the old town was still no nearer, being 2 kilometres south of us, and that it hadn't rained anyway. Deciding that navigation was easier above ground, we agreed to change our plan and leave the labyrinth behind. We were about halfway to the old town - in a complete no-man's-land, when the heavens decided to empty their entire contents directly onto our heads. Mush took great glee in mocking me as I stood shivering in my sandals, shorts and t-shirt.
We've found ourselves growing rather weary of doing some of the touristy things after almost a month on the road. For all their splendour and appeal, there are only so many buildings of a similar style, such as town halls and churches, that you can visit before they start to become repetitive. This, combined with the pouring rain, left us with little to do to occupy our time. Our guide book mentioned an undercover market nearby so we tracked it down and spent about an hour looking around. Amongst other bargains to be had was the 4ft long fossilised femur of a Titanosaurus for £2,500 - I couldn't help but think that as talking-points go, it would make a seriously cool living-room ornament.
The sun finally broke through and we ventured outside to see no fewer than 5 bridal parties vying for space by a fountain to pose for photos. Ever the pacifist, I was willing it to kick off but no-one seemed quite willing to throw the first slap. Mush cast her entirely non-judgemental eye across the brides and noted that, while they all looked delightfully elegant in their dresses, none of them were as beautiful as hers.
Lunch was delicious, in a novel pasta bar where you select your pasta, sauce, ingredients and seasoning by ticking boxes on the menu which then gets handed to a cook who has pans running almost the length of the restaurant where she cooks your food before you. This hearty fill cost us the princely sum of £4 - I'd be surprised if you could buy the ingredients to cook the same meal yourself for that little back in England.
Having been without a TV for nearly a month, apart from the spell at Pam and Rob's where we didn't watch much anyway, we've rediscovered an interest in books which, as I've alluded to before, is becoming rather expensive. Making our way back to the hotel, after winding our way through the hectic streets of Montreal's Chinatown (every city in Canada seems to have one), we happened upon a bookshop with a decent selection of English language titles. 3 hours later, we'd both read a book each cover-to-cover and skimmed through a few others.
We eventually dragged ourselves away and back to our room where we whiled away the evening with a game of scrabble. Mush managed to beat me by about 40 points despite, at one point, asking me "What words can I make from the letters S, O, U and P?" I've a sneaking suspicion she might've been reading the dictionary when we were in the bookshop.
We had a quick shower before settling in for the night although Mush's experience was somewhat more agreeable than mine. The men's shower only has 2 temperatures - furnace or icicle, and it only has 2 speeds - water-cannon or off. I might suggest they ask Pam and Rob where they got their toetester from.
Tomorrow we are thinking about climbing what was originally billed as the volcano, was then downgraded to a mountain and further research has now revealed is a 233m high hill. I'm a bit concerned that by the time tomorrow comes, it may be little more than a small mound. I wonder, could this be the first case in history of making a molehill out of a mountain?
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