It's cold...,,,

When I get asked about travelling with children my main mantra is "to be flexible". Have a pretty good plan but if things are going pear shaped throw it out the window or if everyone is really enjoying it stay a little longer and forget about the must do list. I'm also pretty firm with the kids and try and make them do things that they won't regret.  The very first ride we came to at Disneyland was "no I won't go on that one ... Maybe later". This reaction called for a"no, we are all doing it now there will be no doing it later". Once the first ride was conquered there was no stopping them. 

Yesterday was very much a travel day. The whole day gone with transfers, flights and waiting. The kids were great. Lucy finds any change of venue as a bit daunting. She missed Disneyland terribly when we went to banff. She missed banff terribly when we went to lake Louise and now we are in montreal she is missing lake louise. 

I have 2 words to say about montreal ITS COLD!  We were lulled into a false sense of no snow means it's not cold. The minute we went outside we were headed for trouble. No thermals, no triple socks and no double gloves. In hindsight we should have turned back but we thought it would warm up. The plan for today was extensive. We were given a tip to go to the heart of montreal a visit to open air fresh food markets gather some treats for lunch and then across to the park to view the sights of the city. Lots if walking. Lots of outdoors. As the wind blew we took to the underground pedestrian walkways. There is a city underneath the city with 33km of tunnels and shops for you to explore out of the cold air. There are 2 problems with this set up. One - it's like bring trapped in a never ending shopping centre (more like the old indroopilly) and two - it's like doing an ocean swim - you lose all sense of direction unless you stop and put your head out of the water (above the ground) to make sure you are going the right way. The cold called for an immediate change of plan. No fresh food markets no park and the underground was quite depressing so it called for a taxi back to our neighbourhood in the old town which is cobblestoned and gorgeous (don't know why we left?) we eventually found a French patisserie for lunch and after much waiting enjoyed scallop and lobster soup in a brioche bowl. Glass of red and and  espresso and I was ready for the stroll home. Z enjoyed quiche and the same liquids. Kids ate well and focused on the main prize of choosing a pastry.  With the temperature set to drop to -15 I'm not sure what tomorrow will bring butI don't  think it really maters...






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