Parc du Mont Royal - Montreal

We had a slow start to the day and headed out after 1pm for the Parc du Mont Royal which is not far behind the hotel. Well let me be a little more specific it is not too far UP THE HUGE HILL to the entrance of the park. 

After making it up the hill, gasping for air but trying to look somewhat cool I was stopped in my tracks by the sudden appearance of a large amount of wooden stairs that seemed to be ascending to the heavens. Now had I known at that stage that there was in fact over 400 steps to climb I may have found a good excuse not to go but that knowledge came all too late. 

Naturally Mr "I've just climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro" was fine and even Eyad decided to sprint ahead. I on the other hand took many opportunities to stop on the landings and pretend I was taking photos so that all those svelte gorgeous French Canadians who were jogging up and down the steps having conversations with each other didn't notice that I was close to collapsing in a heap. Frankly I am surprised that were no defibrillators on the route up, I mean seriously I can not be the only out of shape person climbing up there? 

Anyway I made it, no Rocky-Style dance from me, just a slow crawl to bench at the Chalet to enjoy the view which was some what blurred from the copious amounts of sweat running down my face (just a heads up, sweat and make-up - NOT a good look my friends). 

Eyad wanted  an ice-cream but I was looking forward to the cafe inside, ahhhh nice air-conditioning. Hmmm, no what was inside was a row of blooming vending machines, seriously! We got our waters and ice-cream and sat down to relax and enjoy the view. 

The view over Montreal was wonderful even on a cloudy day. 

Eyad loves taking photos with my phone, this was his selfie with Momma. 

There was a lot more park to explore but as there were no playgrounds Eyad lost interest pretty quickly and we decided to head back down and find somewhere for lunch. I am pleased to say the return was much more to my pace. 

After lunch we headed back to the hotel so I could finish some bookings and make our train reservations for the morning up to Quebec. After peeling off my clothes, yes jeans were not the best choice today, I relaxed in my bath knowing all too well I will feel this pain tomorrow!

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A Day in Montreal - Centre de sciences de Montreal

We arrived at Le Germain Hotel Montreal midmorning and thankfully that had a room ready for us (bless them!) so we checked in and then headed out to find some breakfast. 

Now usually I am pretty good at reading maps but somehow I thought the hotel was on the other side of the street and I read the map wrong and headed in the opposite direction. Well just as well I did as we stumbled upon some lovely cafes and found the prefect spot for some eggs benedict and pancakes for Eyad. Being a Saturday it was lovely because the city was just filled in people in no hurry enjoying the beautiful day. 

Once filled up we returned "back" the right way and as we passed a Pandora I thought it was a good opportunity to add a "Canadian" memento to my bracelet. Oh and then I spotted a gorgeous pair of earrings and it was one of those "I will always remember Montreal" moments and splurged, thank you darling Ali. 

Our next stop was the Centre of Sciences down on the waterfront. The walk down took us through the old city and I was awe struck with the beauty of the buildings. It also took us through a rather dubious area and Chinatown so we got the whole nickel and dime tour. It is very hard for me to remember that we are in Canada and not France! 

After one more hill we found our destination.

                                   

Unlike my visit with the kids in Toronto this one was, what's the word ... disjointed. Eyad was happy to stay at some areas, like the car tracks that you run a ball down, for ages but when we got to the "good stuff" he raced through like a lunatic and didn't really take any of it in. I know he is only 4 but I had hoped it would hold his interest a little longer. 

This was my shift so Ali took a power nap.

He did seem to enjoy his time in Fabrik which was a fabulous section set up with different challenges. 

There were large construction tables with tools, recyclables and all you need to be creative. I loved it and thought that this would be a great concept for Muscat.

It was Ali's turn to keep the lad entertained and I could see that it was a real challenge to keep him focused. 

Eyad's favourite area was the creating chain reactions. 

He called it the "contraption area". There was a video playing of one that had been created outside in the gardens which was fantastic and then it was up to you to create your own. 

This might just be the theme for Laith's 13th birthday, I think an outdoor version would be brilliant. 

We had a long time to fill in before our planned 5.30pm IMAX show, Secrets of the Sea. We went to the food village next door and got some lunch and decided to sit outside. I got up to give Eyad a wet-wipe and some crazy huge seagull swooped down and tried to take my lunch. Needless to say I didn't find it as appetising after that. 

We went back for the movie which was in 3D. Eyad lost interest after 10 minutes and asked "when is the real movie starting", oh dear.  This time it was an Imax not an Omnimax as it was in Toronto and while it was ok I thought Toronto's was much better. 

Overall I thought Toronto's Science centre was better laid out and had a larger variety of activities to keep kids of all ages involved. 

A long slow walk back to the hotel occasionally stopping to watch squirrels on the way. We were tired and ready for the lovely big bath and comfortable bed that awaited us. 

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Valentines Day 2015

Ali and I agreed this year no gifts as I was still on my "Australia Shopping High" and didn't want him spending even more money.

Every year the kids and I make a cake. This year it was a chocolate fudge cake with fresh cream and raspberries, and it tasted delicious!

Earlier in the day the kids and I went scootering at Ghubra beachfront as Ali was up near Barka looking at some farms (that is another blog post, lol). We had a great time however I managed to well and truly flare up my planter fasciitis.  

This year it was late when Ali got home so sadly Eyad was already in bed and he missed the photo opportunity.

I am so grateful for the love around me.

Happy Valentines Day.

Eid Mubarak

Tomorrow we will be in Al Hamra With Ali's family for Eid so I thought I would post early to wish you all a very blessed Eid. 

As we are away tomorrow we gave the kids their Eid gifts early much to their delight! 

Lulu was reading the card but it was a bit hard to get everyone's attention. 

We have been busy making treats to take to Eid. 

I had the kids pit the dates for the date balls. A little quality control was needed but I was not about to criticize after all who ever wants to pit sticky dates? 

Cookies ...

Eid Mubarak and may you be protected, loved and live a long and happy life. 

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Climbing High

Ali is trimming the trees in the front of the yard over the weekends. The kids love "helping" ...

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Busy Days

I was under the impression I would have a lot more time on my hands with not working this year but somehow I seem to be proving that theory wrong.  Really have to work on being more productive and organised. 

The kids are starting their fourth week back at school and seem to be getting into a routine. I was at Laith's Middle School Parent night last week and snapped this on the back wall of his Language Arts classroom. 

Annoying siblings ... Really? 

My crochet class has been progressing well.

I do get very frustrated with the whole counting thing and at stages I seem to pull out more than I hook but I am slowly improving. 

I took a leap and started a group called Caring Caps Oman which has been established to co-ordinate the making of and then distribution of beanies / caps for those undergoing chemotherapy here in Oman. This kind of thing is done all over the world but I couldn't find anyone doing it here so this is my "baby" at the moment. I set up a FB page for it and now I am gathering up volunteers to get started. I received two donations this week from Tanya the lady who is teaching my crochet class. 

I had started one and in fact it is almost finished but I got the tension wrong and it is more a childs size but that's ok because sadly kids have chemo too. 

Currently I am working on the second of a pair of slippers for Ali and I have told him in no uncertain terrms that they will not look identical.  What is it that Pinkalicious' mother says ... "You get what you get and you don't get upset" ! This is especially true as I seem to have misplaced the original pattern and may have to wing it. 

I have enjoyed spending more time with Eyad. He really makes me laugh.

Last week Ali was out pruning the trees and after a large branch fell suddenly there was a swarm of angry bees everywhere very annoyed that he had inadvertently made them homeless. The honey from this hive was quite nice. Ali got stung a few times but I guess that was the price for the sweet rewards. 

Today he was out again trying to trim the trees and thankfully no more nests just a lot of mess and some adventurous kiddos. 

These trees grow like crazy. We planted them 3 years ago and given their rapid growth and all the mess they create with leaves and blossom we are going to uproot most of them and plant another kind of tree that we have in the back of the yard that should give us coverage with less mess. 

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