Winter Vacay 2010

Well it kind of ran into 2011, but I'm grad student, things are always running behind...

Despite some European travel delays on the way back to Canada, I made it back safe and sound. Instead of my nice direct flight back to Montréal, I took a more circuitous route via New York and arrived about 36 hours late (which unfortunately led to Emily and I missing a BSS concert we had tickets for since September :( ), but considering the delays others faced (especially through London, which apparently doesn't believe in snow), mine paled in comparison (also my luggage actually beat me to Montréal, which was nice). It is always frustrating at the time, but in the end if you make it to where you are going then it all worked out.

The next three days were spent cross-country skiing in the Eastern Townships (Parc national Mont-Mégantic) with a great group of Emily's friends from school. What an amazing way to get over way too much time spent in airports and planes. Being out in the woods at a ski-in chalet with a big wood fuelled fire, drinking maple slurry (TM pending) was so invigorating. Despite it being my first true experience doing classic technique, the conditions were fantastic and Em and I were able to ski quite a bit. I don't think I relaized how uphill the trail was into the cabin until leaving to head down the same trail and only needing about two double pulls before cruising all the way to the main gate.

Toasty...

Great conditions for a bit of a ski

The gang at the end of the merry adventure.

 I then spent about two weeks in Nova Scotia with family (my sister and brother-in-law were down from New Brunswick) and friends (some of whom I haven't seen a long while). I enjoy coming back and checking out the new improvments to the house and new additons to the yard (truck and trailer my parents purchased for their weekend road trips). Of course the greatest thing about being home is not having to cook and just eating loads. I enjoyed that immensely, although I'll admit it does get old after a while. Emily came down on the 29th and we rang in the New Year in Cow Bay in a hot tub with some friends. That was excellent. We also had time to drive up to Antigonish to stay with a great friend overnight and ring in a second New Year (although we might have missed midnight and celebrated at 1 AM instead...whoops). The driving conditions on the way back were less than ideal, but we made it albeit slowly.

 Plastic snowman wine glasses are an essential part of any New Year celebration.

The view from Julie's back porch in Antigonish.

Emily and I both went back to Montreal in the New Year as she had to be back for class and other related responsibilities. I stuck around for a couple of weeks in order to spend a bit more time with her before heading back to Europe. We were able to get to the gym a couple of times, take a quick weekend trip to Ottawa and also take in a Habs game at Le Centre Bell. Our seats were actually the highest one could possibly be. Our backs were against the wall in the 400s, but the views were quite good (once you got over the vertigo). We also sampled the fantastic Indian cuisine in Parc Ex and took in a couple of films.

The pre-game festivities at Le Centre Bell.

Of course the time passes too quickly when you know that you will be on separate continents in a few weeks, but it was a great time back in Canada. Thanks to everyone who made that possible!

-GK