Montreal

Today was the first day of school, and after a seemingly interminable amount of time filling out the first-day forms, I am finally able to finish off my vacation posts. We spent the final days of our vacation in Montreal.

We had several relaxing days at my parents' place. They cook seafood magnificently, and we had two excellent meals there that included lobster, crab, oysters, braised mushrooms and greens from their garden. Mom and Dad had devoted lots of time and energy to their garden, as they do every summer. Kate was very impressed by the "melon tree" and tried to pick some of its fruit, with Gong-Gong's help. We were also treated to snails ("escargot" for the refined) in two forms: small ones in a slightly spicy sauce, and a giant snail, cut-up and simmered in soup. Kate, always the picky eater, had to be cajoled into trying a few new things, but Julia enjoyed almost everything that was offered. Todd loves my parents' cooking too, especially when it's washed down with one of Unibroue's beers.

We ate dinner one evening at the Furama, accompanied by a number of family friends, and we were treated to an excellent dim-sum there by my cousin Teresa and her husband Leo. We had a brief visit with their family earlier, which was fortunate as their kids could not join us for dim-sum. Quebec kids went back to school a week before Ontario kids did. The Furama is my parents' favourite Chinese restaurant, and we've never had a disappointing meal there.

On our last day in Montreal, my cousin Beryl invited us to her house for a barbeque lunch. At left is her husband Rob, the barbeque master, with their twins Olivia (in blue) and Amanda (in orange). We had a great time seeing all the kids, including Emma, who is very tall now. My cousin Basil and his wife Kathleen were there too, with their kids Nicholas and Evelyn. Next year, we need to have a longer vacation in Montreal, so that we can enjoy more time with all the family members!