Go Sens Go!

As most of you know, I have never been a huge fan of sports. I have never had much interest in sitting for hours watching people throw balls to each other or scoring goals. Joep, on the other hand, is a sports addict!! He is a complete sports nut. 

This weekend we found a common thread on the sporting front. A wonderful moment for our relationship ... Canada is full of surprises! 

Mel & Geoff headed to Ottawa this weekend. Our very first house guests! They arrived Friday evening and we sat down to a lovely dinner and a few too many beverages. Geoff very kindly brought his playstation with him so, once again, the boys were entertained while Mel & I gossiped until the early hours of the morning.

Saturday morning we headed for a big breakfast at one of our favorite restaurants in Ottawa. We then wandered around the market for a while and enjoyed the city until the boys got bored and wanted to play computer games again. Off they went while Mel & I shopped and gossiped and drank pots of tea … just like the old days!

We were home in time to have a brief afternoon nap to build up our energy levels in preparation for the big game. The whole point of the trip was to go and see an ice hockey match with the 4 of us.

I LOVE ICE HOCKEY. It is a wonderful wonderful sport! We caught the bus to Scotiabank Place and made our way to the seats … rink side. Yes. That close. Mel had done extraordinarily well to find us these tickets!! The game was Ottawa Senators v Boston Bruins.

Before we left Amsterdam our Canadian friends had given us conflicting reports regarding which team to support in the NHL however there was consistency in their advise to NOT support the Senators. Given that we live in Ottawa I was dubious about taking this advice. I am still undecided. I feel like I should support the Sens coz I live in Ottawa BUT they lost on the weekend in a penalty shoot out and after watching all of the Mighty Ducks movies I firmly believe that this is because they didn’t fly together. Not a good sign of things to come. In addition to this, the Boston Bruins have this guy on their team (I can’t remember his name) who is gigantic! He is bigger than Joep. He is so big that he cuts slits up the back of his shorts to fit his giant legs in them. It is awesome to see this dude skate. In addition to this they have a player who is teeny tiny. They also have a player called Wideman. He is not wide but it is a funny name. They are diversified. And they won on the weekend. And everyone likes a winner right? So I don’t know yet. I’ll decide soon.

The game was amazing though! I have no idea what the rules are but it is a fast paced game! I was challenged enough just keeping up with the puck. In fact, I didn’t even manage to keep up with it most of the time. My favorite parts of the game are when the players' body check each other against the side of the rink and when they fight. Mother ship don’t stress out!! I will not do the fighting!

But seriously, these guys are all padded up to play hockey. Then within the blink of an eye they have taken off their gloves and helmets and are throwing crazy punches at each other. The referees stand and watch the fighters without intervening until they fall over onto the ice. At this point they separate the 2 players and send them to the naughty box. On the way to the naughty box the players celebrate their fighting success and get the crowd all riled up. It. Is. Hilarious!

I have never liked physical fights (except when us 4 Delany girls were little and fighting over toys … or when we were teenagers and we were fighting over clothes …  ok so maybe I’m not as anti fights as I thought …) anyway … in my later years, physical fights scare me a lot. Joepinator loves to stop and stare when people are fighting. I hate it. Imagine his (and my!) surprise when I thoroughly enjoyed the fights during the hockey match.

At one stage during the game as a big body check happened right in front of us Joep turned to me with shocked eyes … I had no idea what was up. Apparently I had been chanting ‘Smash him! Smash him!’ out loud as the opponent came in for the body check. Awesome. I love this sport!! My dream is now to be a hockey commentator. I don’t know the rules yet but I don’t think there are many to learn plus the game is so fast that I don’t think it matters if you know the rules or not.

Accounting will soon be a thing of my past. I am destined for ice hockey greatness.

After thoroughly enjoying the match AND making in onto the TV (we were sitting directly behind one of the bigger fights and a colleague spotted me jumping up and cheering loudly … he was very impressed … Joepinator missed this particular game highlight coz he was getting beers. Poor kid.) we headed for the bus back to the city for late night pizza and cocktails. A perfect end to the evening!

Sunday morning rolled around far too quickly. We had a big pancake breakfast before Mel & Geoff hit the road back to Toronto. Joep and I went shopping for winter coats … we shall both look ridiculous but who cares when it is minus 40 degrees!

Another fantastic weekend with Mel & Geoff …  many more to come no doubt!!

A Whale of a Time!

This weekend was Thanksgiving weekend in Canada! Yes, this is a month earlier than the US Thanksgiving. There are various reasons for this however here’s the story I have researched. It was first celebrated in 1578 to celebrate a British explorer making it across the Atlantic. In 1872 it was then transferred to be the official celebration of the recovery of the Prince of Wales from a long illness … so the efforts of the British explorer were deemed less important than the recovery of the Prince. Nowadays it is apparently a celebration of harvesting … similar to that of the US but harvesting apparently happens a month earlier in Canada. So there you go. That could be completely incorrect but I gave it my best shot!

To celebrate the British explorer/survival of Prince of Wales/harvest time, Joep and I decided to make the most of the long weekend to check out another Canadian city – Quebec City! Before we moved here we both chose 1 thing we really wanted to do. Joep’s was whale watching (actually, he had two … lobster fishing is also on his list … I don’t understand it either) … mine you will hear more about later! So we combined the trip to Quebec City with a whale watching tour!

On Friday night we picked up the car and hit the road! We also decided to mix things up a bit and I gave the driving a shot … something I haven’t done for a long time … while Joep gave navigating a shot … something he won’t be allowed to do for a long time. Needless to say we had some navigational issues, which ended in hysterical laughter and eventually, finding our hotel late in the evening.

Saturday morning saw us sleeping in and enjoying a loooong breakfast before hitting the road for Baie-Sainte-Catherine, which is a small town right near Tadoussac. The drive there was amazing and once again we were blown away by the beauty of a real fall/autumn whichever you like to call it. It really is a whole spectrum of colors!! There were a couple of slight hiccups along the way. First we got stuck in an astronomical amount of traffic … this put us a little behind schedule so then we were rushing a bit. Whilst making a speedy recovery from this set back I glanced at the fuel gauge to see that it was on empty … and flashing. I announced this is a very panicked voice to Joep who responded to this announcement with a similar state of panic. Why? Because it is Canada, which is bigger than Australia and in Australia, it is a long way between fuelling stations. In Canada it is only reasonable that it is even further between fuel stations. A tense silence followed broken only by Joep announcing to me that ‘My hands are shaking Jenni! My hands are shaking!’ My fear was less because I had already concluded that I would not be the one walking in the snow (yes, snow was falling at this point) to the nearest fuel station. Thankfully, the reserve tank of a Toyota Yaris is at least 40km’s meaning that we made it to Baie-Sainte-Paul just in time to refuel. Crisis averted!

After fueling up and taking a few relaxing deep breaths whilst finally seeing the funny side of the situation, we hit the road again and made a beeline to Baie-Sainte-Catherine. We arrived just in time to make our boat … Relief!!

 The boat tour was amazing. It was freezing cold (literally … it was well below zero) but it was worth every freezing second of it! We spotted so many whales including minke whales; hump back whales and even a blue whale that came very close to the boat. Might I add that the blue whale grows to 27m long and is the second largest creature EVER to exist … yes, including dinosaurs. Incredible! Furthermore, all the whales in that area are there to eat up before winter hits. They double their weight in the months of August, September & October to survive the winter. A little bit like what Joep & I have been doing since arrived in Canada … joking! A little bit.

Whale watching over with we hit the road to enjoy a night in Quebec City. We were not disappointed. After wandering around the city for a little while we settled on dinner at a lovely, romantic spot called Le Maria Clarisse … perfect choice. The food was phenomenal. The service was infallible. The atmosphere was the epitome of romance. And the wine wasn’t too bad either! After enjoying a long meal we headed to a club recommended by our breakfast waitress … Chez Maurice. Hilarious. We hit the dance floor with gusto, enjoyed a few more drinks and had an absolute ball!

Sunday morning rolled around far too quickly and we were up early to make the most of the city. Quebec City is the only fortified city in North America. It is also one of the oldest cities in North America and is the home of many firsts. First girls school, first stone church etc. etc. It is also home of the oldest North American newspaper and oldest North American hospital. Random information. The city itself is beautiful and full of things to see and do. We were hard pushed to fit everything in and as a result we will most definitely be planning a return trip!

 Oh and there is so much to do that it is very easy to get confused between sights … for example, while walking down the street away from the Notre Dame an older couple stopped us and asked if we knew where the Notre Dame was. I confidently pointed them back the way we had just come. The lady was confused by my directions but her husband was grateful and they headed off. 5 minutes after this, as we walked in the opposite direction, we stumbled across the Notre Dame. Huh? No, the other church was not the Notre Dame. Joep, of course, already knew this. Right.  I. Felt. Terrible. And also a little bit scared that the people would find the Notre Dame and me in front of it and shout at me. The last hour of sight seeing was therefore a little bit stressful as I was afraid of bumping into the strangers and Joep was hopeful that we would.

We headed back to Ottawa shortly after this incident and made it back without issue. Monday we had planned to make a Thanksgiving feast. A 5kg turkey, sweet potato pie, broccoli and homemade stuffing were served … yes, enough food for a whole family. Or one ‘Jen & Joep’. True story. Dessert was still consumed … tarte tatin. We had it as dessert at the restaurant on Saturday night and decided to make it ourselves. It was a success!

The remainder of the day was spent vegging out in elastic waisted pants … and picking at the leftovers …

A perfect first ever Thanksgiving celebration!!

Joep for Prime Minister!

Our agenda for the coming months in Canada is jam packed with exciting weekend trips so to ensure we have enough time to enjoy our new relaxed North American lifestyle we have planned weekends off between each weekend trip.

This weekend was one of those weekends! Except … it didn’t go as planned. During the week an email was sent around my office notifying everyone of a draw to win tickets to a live bull riding show on Friday night in the Deloitte corporate box. I was excited!! Apparently I was also very vocal about this excitement because when the draw winners were announced on Wednesday morning many people came to offer me their condolences that I was not a winner. Devastation ensued however it was short lived because a very nice colleague of mine made life that little bit brighter by inviting me to join him on a Saturday trip to Vankleek Hill! Yes. It sounds like a random town. And you are right; it is a random town between Ottawa and Montreal however this weekend it was home to one of the many Canadian versions of Oktoberfest!

Imagine my joy! (Mother ship is sighing in despair as she reads this … I can hear it from here!)

More than my joy … imagine Joep’s joy!!

Saturday morning we were up bright and early to catch our 10am bus to Vankleek Hill to join the German festivities. Our bus was slightly delayed and we arrived in Vankleek just after 11am. The party was just getting started.

For those of you who have been to Oktoberfest (every Australian reading this knows what I am talking about) … imagine the joy of Oktoberfest first impressions. Now flip it 180 degrees. You have Vankleek Hill. Basically the festival was a farm yard with a few beers tents around the place. Joep and I were dubious. But as we have learned … never judge a beer festival by its cover.

We joined the queue for steins and beer tickets immediately upon arrival … right in front of the fully clothed police officers who were queuing for the exact same thing. A sign of things to come? Believe me.

The tone of the day was set and we joined Fraser & Lindsey at a nearby haystack to watch the arrival of the town mayor. He arrived in a wagon sitting on a haystack. The locals were excited. They were also wearing very short Canadian versions of lederhosen despite the fact that it was freezing cold. That is not the Aussie in me speaking; the Canadians who were not from Vankleek Hill were also cold.

Either way, the arrival of the mayor was most definitely a highlight. But not as much of a highlight as the kinder fest. This was the area for children, which had been a big selling point for Joep and I. We were promised a ball pit, face painting, 50 pounds of playdoh and a petting zoo!! The ball pit was a cardboard box approximately 10cm deep with one layer of balls. Children stepped in, children fell over, balls rolled out of the pit. It was not effective. The face painting was well below par. But the petting zoo! Now that was a sight to behold! The llama with bangs was my favorite animal. Joep loved them all equally and was highly entertained for an extended period of time pretending he had food to trick them into coming close to him and then laughing at his own ingenuity at tricking the farm animals. Hmmmm …

I ridicule him now but I was highly entertained by him at the time!

Petting zoo finished with we resumed the remaining Oktoberfest activities. We found a table and sat down to enjoy steins of beer, duck schnitzel and delicious elk sandwiches. None of that is made up. Canadian food rocks my world. More on that later.

As the day progressed Joep, as would be expected, began to befriend many of the locals. This included 2 little old ladies who educated him on the mating call of the Elk. True story.

Sadly, in his drive to make friends he also alienated a few of the locals. Many of the people from Vankleek Hill are missing teeth. It was a very strange phenomenon and Joep & I were curious re the dental healthcare availability in this area. So Joep asked one of the local girls if there is a dentist in town. She said that there was in fact 1 dentist in town. She then left in a huff. I don’t blame her. She had nice teeth.

Towards the end of the night as we all sat in a beer tent enjoying the festivities things really got out of hand. Random women kept stealing the ‘Vankleek Hill’ flags which required them to stand on various tables and cheer loudly. Men, seeing the success of the women began to race each other across the tent whilst hanging upside down on the ropes … I’m talking fully grown men with no teeth shimmying across ropes. Joep was tempted to join them … thankfully he was easily distracted to do something else. Talk to the people next to him.

I am not sure what happened in the conversations after this because I was involved in my owned spirited conversations however before long I heard shouts announcing that Joep was ‘awesome’ and should, without a doubt ‘be voted the next Prime Minister of Canada’. Joep took the responsibility in hand and decided to show his leadership skills in full force by building the crowd up to even louder shouts of … I think they were saying ‘Cheers’ but I cannot be sure. Sitting next to the future Prime Minister meant I got pure noise. No sense.

The bus back to Ottawa was booked for 9pm so the festival organizers shepherded us all to the bus shortly after this time. We were told that we could not take any alcohol past the fence. Rather than getting rid of his beer, Joep made his first Prime Ministerial decision and moved the fence. It was the funniest thing any of us have seen for a while. He would pick up the fence, walk a couple of steps on his tip toes before replacing the fence, looking around sheepishly and taking another mouthful of beer. Classic. Until the intoxicated police, who had been laughing along with him for most of it, called him out. His beer was empty by this stage so he was happy to leave.

His arrival on the bus was met with cheers fit for a Prime Minister and we were off to Ottawa!

Arrival back in Ottawa city saw us head to Zak’s for more food and … beer. It was at this stage that I was treated to my favorite food experience since arrival in Ottawa. Except for the red meat of course … Poutine! It consists of chips, gravy and cheese curds. It sounds disgusting. It looks disgusting. It is delicious.

It was also a perfect way to end our evening! Sunday was spent on the couch with good food and the usual great company =) Our planned weekend of nothing was superseded by Oktoberfest but it was a worthy sacrifice to make!