Busy, busy...

Long time, no post! It's been such a busy time, travelling, seeing sights, packing, sleeping, eating. Just no time for blogging! But this is taking a crazy moment out from the busy-ness, at 12am, first day in Montreal, to write a little word about what we've been doing.

Our itinerary so far, just to sum up - New York for a week, Toronto for 4 days, Montreal.

The mix of places has been quite interesting, and varied. New York is the busy engine town, everyone set about their business, very efficient, but at the same time, very impersonal in its nature. If I had to sum up New York in one word, it'd be HUGE! The largest city so far, it stretches enormously north, south, east, west, and up. Put the tallest building in Melbourne among the buildings of New York, and it'd be inconspicuous. That said, there's so much to see, it's impossible to expect to do New York to any degree of detail in a week. Most of our time was spent at the major attractions, such as the Statue of Liberty, World Trade Centre (its remains, rather, ground zero), Empire State Building, Central Park, Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the American Museum of Natural History. If the USA ever had a reputation of wanting everything big, well, they deserve it.

Toronto is far more Melbourne-like, at least where it comes to scale, and also the friendliness of the people. Everyone is so approachable, willing to help, and the atmosphere far more relaxed. There's just so much less to be concerned about, and you feel really quite safe. Niagara Falls is just a short drive away (though the time might vary depending on weather conditions). When we got there, the weather wasn't too bad, just very misty and cold. But after lunch, a step outside left us all soaked because of the hostile rain! We decided to see the falls from behind them, from within a network of tunnels. It's quite scary, the thundering sound is overwhelming. We're left with a sense of wonderment and awe, although this might've been dampened by the sheer hostility of the cold and mist, which left the trees of the nearby forest snap frozen (and that might've been us too, if we'd stayed outside much longer). Went also to Inniskillin Winery - ice wine is something to taste, if you've never done so before! Just be prepared for the assault of sugar upon sugar, but the fruits are so nicely mixed, and a tiny amount satisfies the tongue after dessert.

Which leads me briefly to Montreal, which strikes me as a confusing mishmash of French and English. I don't know whether to make myself at home with English (perhaps with a slightly americanised accent), or to try my (very appalling) French. Alternatively, I'll let Sal do the talking, she seems to cope pretty well in French anyhow, although her French was described by the cab driver as more French than the locals. Alas, after the hot steamy bedroom (due to uncontrollable heating vents) in Toronto, it's a welcome change to have a comfy, albeit very cosy, room here. Will try out the bed tonight!

Have to comment on the weather. Ice, ice, ice. It's been following us around. First day in New York was the first day of snow they had there. Then we had the worst snowstorm Toronto has had so far this season. Niagara Falls had the most frigid, icy weather that our tour guide has yet seen in his career. If the trend continues, then predict ice for Melbourne in January when I land back!

Anyhow, lastly, but not least, have to say a big thanx to Sal's relatives in New York, and Stef in Toronto, for showing us around their respective cities. And of course, to God, through whom all things are possible. And He gives us blessings beyond belief. I pray that all of you are also enjoying a great festive season, and best wishes for our Lord's birthday, and for the New Year, if I don't write by then!

Cheers & God bless!