Nous arrivons à Montréal

WEEK TWELVE—It's about a 4.5 hour drive to the U.S./Canadian border. We don't know what to expect. Our car is packed to the gills and we are hoping that nothing prompts any suspicions as we go across. We pull up; give the agent our passports and answer the standard questions: are you entering Canada for business or pleasure; where are you staying; how long will you be here; are you taking anything in that you plan to leave. Apparently, we had the correct answers, the agent welcomed us to Canada and wished us a good visit. As we pulled away, Jim said "We're sorry". He replied "For what?" Jim said "For Trump". The agent smiled and waved us on.  I think we may be doing a lot of apologizing while we're here. (Actually, I have quit apologizing for Trump. Instead, I apologize for me and my countrymen. We made this mess. We have to fix it. It does no good to blame  the ignorant and the rich and their elected officials. If we are better than we appear, we have to prove it,)

We arrive in Montreal about 8pm; locate our apartment; and set about trying to find nearby parking. It's Friday night and spots are very hard to come by. Miraculously, we enter a lot right next to our building and someone is pulling out—hallelujah, we have a space! (Our host has indicated the apartment includes free parking. Well, yeah, on the street for 8 hours a night IF you can find a spot. Which you can't. She apologizes and offers to pay 60% of our parking costs, so we are only stuck for about $6.50 a day–We can live with that. Problem is, if you leave the lot, chances are slim you will get a space when you return. We walk a lot...)

15 Notre Dame Ouest

Our host has provided all the information we need to enter the building so in we go. Our loft apartment is on the third floor and it is adorable. Very girly (Very girly???? I take two showers a day just to remove the excess estrogen...) and reflective of our host's Asian heritage.  However, cute as it is, it's not very large—basically just one big room; a small galley kitchen and a large bathroom. We bring in the necessities for the night leaving the rest for morning and collapse--it's been a long day. (Oh, and the apartment is actually owner occupied–though I don't know where she goes while it's rented. She does leave all of her stuff here, meaning our clothes and belongings are strewn all over the floor. On the upside, Zoey loves having the bed in the living room.)

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The next morning, we get up and set out to explore the area. Our loft is perfectly located in the heart of Old Montreal. We are steps from the Notre Dame Basilica  which sits on Rue Notre Dame directly across from the Place d'Armes Square; a ten minute walk from the old port; and no more than a 5 minute walk to China Town. 

Notre Dame Basilica.

Zoey is really curious about the carriage horses at the square.

Place d'Armes.

Entrance to Chinatown

We wander through Old Montreal scouting out potential restaurants for dining, patisseries for our morning croissants and coffee and interesting bistros for the cocktail hour. (Alas, dogs are not allowed on restaurant patios in Old Town, so the mutt doesn't get to join us for cocktail hour. I could live with that–my two companions can't.) 

Uber is not inexpensive here; parking is difficult to find so we avoid moving our car from its parking spot at all costs; so, we walk everywhere including to the grocery. IGA is the chain grocery here and we discovered that the one closest to us is in a great neighborhood called Gay Village or just The Village located along St. Catherine Street. Geographically, it is the largest gay neighborhood in North America. Businesses and government buildings are decorated with rainbow flags and the area is promoted by the government as a tourist attraction. Every summer, several blocks of St. Catherine become a pedestrian mallway, bars and restaurants spill out onto the streets with sidewalk seating, and lots of nightlife.

Plastic balls hang overhead spanning the spectrum
of the rainbow from red to violet.

 On our way back to our apartment, we walked through Chinatown. It is a bustling community with lots of restaurants, small food markets and convenience stores. It also has a pedestrian mallway inviting residents and tourists alike to stroll the neighborhood.

Street mural at an  entry to Chinatown.

Street market with clothing, toys and Asian foods.

Montreal has a very international dining scene–Afghani, Senegalese, Venezuelan, Syrian, Sri Lankan, Indonesian, Moroccan, Cambodian, British pubs and more. One of the best meals we've had here was at the Stash Cafe, a Polish restaurant...pierogies, yum, yum! (This is, in fact, a great restaurant. I ordered kielbasa and the plate was overflowing with food. And beer. Did we mention beer?)

That said, Starbucks (which I guess is technically international) is as ubiquitous here as it is in any U.S. major city. (I am not a Starbucks fan. But it is right across the street and there is no coffee maker in this apartment, so I plod across the street each morning for a medium dark roast. Where the very attractive young lady greets me with "Bonjour, Monsieur Hemingway. L'habituel?" I smile, nod and say, "Oui. Merci." I LOVE Starbucks.)

So far, our favorites have been Verses which describes its menu as New French-Québécois and Modavie, a wine bar with live music and great steak tartare. (How good is the steak tartare you ask. It moo'ed. It's that good...) We've also liked a couple of restaurants with good vegetarian options—Venice, with a Venice, California vibe and LOV (I got lots and lots of points for picking out a veggies restaurant-- enough points that I later got to go to a pub...), with really good vegan and vegetarian options. Others that we have liked include Rockwood Bistro and the Gaspar Tavern.

LEAVING ASHEVILLE...

WEEK EIGHT—We both left Asheville very early Thursday morning—Jim headed to Blanchester and I headed to Columbus. It was a beautiful day for driving and 7 hours and 45 minutes after leaving Asheville, Zoey and I pulled into Connie and Bill's driveway who once again were gracious enough to host me and Zoey (and all of our paraphasia) first and later Jim too. We had our usual euchre marathons and this time the women came out ahead! (Methinks Deborah is having a senior moment-- she and Connie only won the last evening. Total games over the course of the visit? The men still triumphed.) I guess this was wishful thinking on my part!

On Friday, I took Zoey to the vet for her annual vaccinations, met Suzie for lunch and then drove to join Jim at Patti and Tom's. Saturday was Jim's niece Lily's graduation. This is a big year for graduations: my two great nieces and nephew also graduated. Turns out Lily and Kelsey are both going to OU; Alex is going to Toledo University and Kenzie is going to Vet Tech School.

Patti and Tom, as usual, were the consummate hosts. We always enjoy visits to their house. Jim's class had a breakfast get together so he had a chance to catch up with friends from the Waynesville Class of 1966.

WEEK NINE—Chris Barney and Sandy Surface came for Memorial Day. Chris drove down from Michigan to play in the Barney Boys' golf tournament which begins on Tuesday. (Chris and John and I get together every year for a week of golf. This year it is John's turn to host, so we're playing southwest Ohio courses. It was good to move back into the winner's cricle after getting trounced by John last year. Maybe next year Chris will join us in that winners' circle–It's his turn to host and so far he has been shut out every year. I'm really enjoying the $50, guys...)  While Jim's playing golf, I'm visiting Samantha in Grass Valley, CA. She and Nick have recently moved into a new house and this will be my first visit there.

Grass Valley is a very quaint small town next to Nevada City,
an even more charming small town. Both have lots of boutiques, restaurants
and bars. This was originally the heart of Gold Country in California and
now it's the heart of Cannabis Country.

Samantha and Nick's house near Grass Valley--really cute.

I had a great time—met the duck grandbabies; did the Art Walk in Nevada City; had a fantastic dinner at the New Moon restaurant; had drinks at the Stone House; listened to really good music at the Golden Era bar; and met many of their friends including Karen and Ramsey. Karen is not only her landlord but also her mentor. They invited us to dinner at their lovely home not far from Samantha and Nick’s. AND, we also did yoga EVERY day I was there!

Hard to see them, but these are the ducks in their pond.

Dinner at the New Moon.

Samantha and Nick at the New Moon.

Inevitably, we got around to a couple of domestic chores—painted an ice cream table and chairs for her back porch and weeded her vegetable garden. 

Samantha's first experience with spray
painting (mine too)--it's harder than it looks!

Samantha harvesting collards from her garden..

We also visited The Forge which is a cooperative artists' studio where Samantha rents space. It is huge—20,000+ square feet occupied by a variety of makers including jewelers, welders, fiber artists, woodworkers, even a yurt builder.

Samantha's studio space at The Forge.

Since I visited, Samantha and Nick have expanded their menagerie to include a kitten, Bobby, and two Nigerian dwarf goats.

Bobby, the new kitten.

Yet to be named kids!

The country side is beautiful and the weather superb. I had a great time and am looking forward to coming back next spring with Jim to spend several weeks in Nevada City.

WEEK TENISH (AND ELEVENISH)) - I flew back to Columbus, Jim drove up from Wilmington and we spent a few days with Suzie and Jerry Picker who, once again, not only hosted us BUT played lots of bridge with us! We had a great visit with them. Jim was off to meet with a past boss, Mark Newsome, who wants him to help record the stories of his family. The idea is to end up with a book for the younger generations of the Newsome Family about the lives of the older generations—what a great project—one we all should consider. Samantha often asks me questions about my mom and dad’s family that neither Connie nor I can answer and there’s no one from the past generations left to ask. While he was in North Carolina with Mark’s family, I spent time again in Granville seeing friends and family. 

When Jim returned, we went to a gathering at the Bogie Inn to remember Pat McCafferty who passed away recently. We also learned this week that Cathy Hunt succumbed to the cancer she has been fighting the last few months. We will miss both of these dear Zoo friends.  

We visited Jerry and Lois Borin and saw their new house in progress. It’s going to be so nice—can’t wait to come back this fall after they’ve moved in. (And we got to see Bill Hoy-- how could you forget Hoy boy. Bill took us to the Zoo Board meeting where we got to see some old friends and coworkers. And eat and drink alcohol for free. That Hoy, he knows how to treat guests. On somebody else's tab...)

WEEK TWELVE – This is the week that we pack up and hit the road again. Since I drove my Prius from Florida to store in Granville, we’ve had our stuff distributed between two cars. Now is the time of reckoning—we have to fit everything in one car. It required only a little bit of hair pulling and a lot of cursing for Jim to get everything in the Outback but he did it. So after stowing the Prius in my friend Jim Jenkin’s barn, we said goodbye to Granville and headed for Montreal. 

We made only one stop along the way—in Cleveland to see Maja and Julie. It was Julie’s birthday and her sister and mom were visiting as well. We got to meet them and the infamous Bronx, Julie’s 130 pound German Shepard who doesn’t like other dogs. With a little adept juggling, we were able to keep Bronx and Zoey separated so no blood was shed. This is the first time we have visited them in their new home. She and Julie have done so much work including laying new hardwood floors throughout the entire first floor. And by doing, I mean, they did the work themselves—impressive! (Of  course, Maja had a great teacher, ahem....)

Maja, Julie & Bronx--who would believe he's a
killer dog????

NOW, OFF TO MONTREAL!

HOME ALONE 2

WEEK SEVEN--There is a little town about 25 miles from Asheville named Waynesville so given that Jim grew up in Waynesville, Ohio we decide to visit this little town in North Carolina. The story is the same...close to Asheville, quaint downtown, shops, restaurants and local art. We have lunch, go to the Mast General Store where Jim buys a souvenir Waynesville, NC teeshirt and then head back to Asheville.

We have time for one more hike—Mount Mitchell. At 6600+ feet, this is the highest point east of the Mississippi.  We get an early start and it's a beautiful drive up the Blue Ridge Parkway; however, it's quite foggy so the distant vistas aren't there. The Romantic Asheville website, our go to site for information about trails, indicates that this is a moderately difficult hike, but it is the most strenuous one yet for us. It's beautiful but we weren't rewarded with a stunning waterfall this time and the view from the top was very hazy.

Zoey has become an incredibly hardy hiker—she loves it!

This is the result of acid rain.

View from the top of Mt. Mitchell.

Wild rhododendrons are prolific in the forests of WNC but they don't bloom until early June. It will be a dazzling display—sorry to miss it.









Tuesday, we began the day with breakfast at Five Points, a diner-kind of place in our neighborhood. Turns out the best breakfast in Asheville was only a short walk from our house. (Judging by the weight I've gained, it's a good thing we didn't discover this place sooner...)

For dinner we went to the Red Stag Restaurant in the Grand Bohemian Hotel in Biltmore Village. The hotel is a Tudor-inspired boutique hotel themed as a hunting lodge. The food was exceptionally good. (I had the elk. The waiter told us "our elk is from New Zealand so it doesn't taste gamey like  American elk." Well la di da. But he was right. It was very, very good. Better than beef and no game taste at all. Mmmm, so glad I quit being a vegetarian.) After dinner, we went back to the Omni Grove Park Inn for a drink on their terrace to enjoy the beautiful view. (Martini, $3. Jack on the Rocks, $3. View $26. It was worth it...)

Wednesday is our last day in Asheville and we spend it packing up both cars and cleaning our house. I have yet to see the full Chihuly installation at Biltmore Gardens so I went to the gardens in the late afternoon—the exhibition is stunning. What a treat to see this beautiful art in a beautiful garden.

Front of the Biltmore.

This was my favorite.

The roses were in full bloom.

Dinner at the Farmburger—and Goodbye, Asheville!

Patti & Tom Come to Town!

WEEK SIX - We are so excited that Patti & Tom Hicks came to visit (well, Zoey and Deborah are excited. Some of the rest of us think "oh, lord, more visitors")and that we got to show them around Asheville. They arrived late Monday afternoon. We had dinner in and spent the evening catching up. Next day we took them to our favorite art galleries, the Omni Grove Park Inn and lunch at the Tupelo Honey Cafe featuring great Southern comfort food. Later that afternoon, we went to the West Asheville Tailgate Farmers Market to get strawberries for the first strawberry shortcake of the season—it was delicious (OK, now I'm excited Tom and Patti are here. Deborah even made it the right way in theri honor, not the Varner way which is a biscuit saturated with strawberry soup. This time it has real strawberries and ice cream on top. Thanks for coming Tom and Patti!!!!)!

Patti, Tom and I on the back steps
of  the Omni Grove Park Inn.

Interesting guy at the West Asheville
Tailgate Farmers Market.

Wednesday is kind of a drizzly, gray day, but we make it better by taking the Hicks to a late breakfast at Biscuit Head in West Asheville. It's a hip little restaurant serving the fluffiest, biggest biscuits ever. Actually rivals the Heavenly Biscuit at Fort Myers Beach. But the best part is the amazing array of toppings—butters, jams, and preserves, all homemade—so good!

One of our favorite Asheville restaurants.

Yum, yum!

Patti & Tom left late afternoon—sadly, we have no more guests coming to Asheville. (So I saved the trip to the Pinball Museum where you can play 100s of machines all day for a few bucks until Tom could go with me. Damned if it wasn't closed the days he was here. It opened 4 hours after he left, so in his honor, I'm saving it for our return visit.)

But there is a neighborhood arts and music festival in Montford on Saturday. We walk down, stroll through the artists' booths and listen to a little music.

That evening, we went to Highland Brewing. Highland opened in 1994 and was the first legal brewery in Asheville since Prohibition. Today, they brew 60,000 barrels of beer each year. But we went there to hear bluegrass music—the beer was only a bonus. Can't remember the band's name but they were good—especially the guitarist. (I can remember the name of the beer....)

                                                         (Who's the guy with the pinhead?)