Gallivanting

Company is visiting from Sarnia this week, so we have been gallivanting here, there and everywhere. Not much time to blog, but thought I would post a few pics to fill you in on what's up here.

Walks along the water in Almonte...

a rest on a very unique bench by the old Town Hall...
a stop at the vintage clothing shop...
then a cool drink at my favorite coffee shop.
Shopping in Merrickville...
and lunch at the Gad's Hill Place.

Growing Up!

My goodness CB is growing up so fast. Looks like a real little person doesn't he?

Daddy's little helper

The kids came over on the weekend to help us with a few outdoor repairs. While Daddy worked on the fence Smudge carried buckets of water and dirt back and forth, then forth and back. She got VERY wet and dirty so a change of clothes was in order.
Her second set of clothes didn't stay clean and dry for very long either. She did have fun though. Here she is hammering a board just like Daddy did.
She was such a happy garden helper too.
Yes, a good time was had by all.

Chateau Montebello

Instead of parking on the grounds at Montebello, we choose to park at the Tourist Information building just down the road from it, and walk through the woods to the Chateau. I am so glad we did because it was a delightful ten minute walk.
We even discovered some Red Trilliums along the way, something we went looking for a couple of weeks ago and couldn't find in Ontario. Here they were waiting for us in Quebec. How neat!
This old chapel was nestled in the trees along the walk and just down the path from this...
we came upon the Papineau Manor. It was locked up tight on this particular day, but we enjoyed walking around the grounds and looking in the windows. Maybe on our next visit we will get inside.
We continued on down the path to Chateau Montebello. You can't see it in any of these pics, but it is built in the shape of a wheel, with a centre hub and four wings coming out from the hub.This is just one wing of the four.
The grounds at the Chateau were beautiful...
and the Chateau itself - amazing. Don't know if you can see it too clearly in the pic below, but it is a log structure, and all the logs are stained a dark brown/black, with each cut end of the log painted red.
We walked around the whole building then ventured inside for a look around. We started in the basement and stopped to rest for a bit and take some pics of the stone foundation.

Then we went upstairs to the lobby, poked in all the nooks and crannies up there, took lots of pics, sauntered through the gift shops, enjoyed a relaxing cup of coffee then walked back to the car to continue our trek home.
We had a fun and fabulous weekend, but it was nice to get back home to our own beds. Be it ever so humble there's no place like home.

The Road Home

After a morning stroll along the water's edge at the Inn...
AC took a few more pics, then it was time to make tracks for home.
Once we left the Inn, we drove through the beautiful Quebec countryside...
queued up for a ferry ride or two...
crossed the Riviere des Outaouais more than once...
stopped for a picnic lunch...
explored picturesque walking paths at Montebello...
and sipped coffee at the beautiful Chateau.
AC has pics of the Chateau on his blog here. I will post more tomorrow. Stay tuned.

Memories - May 2009 cont'd

View of the Willow Inn from the water's edge. It was built as a private home in the late 1800's, but over the years changed into a boarding house, a store, and a hotel . Since 1989 it has been operating as this quaint country inn with cozy pub and elegant dining room a part of it.
We checked in and then check out the view from our room.
Mmmm, nice.

Next we unpacked the gift basket...
found a comfy chair...
and enjoyed a glass or two of wine before dinner.

Dinner was almost as delicious as the view.
Then is was time to head back to the room for another glass of wine and a relaxing evening.
Snuggle, snuggle, ZZZZZZZZZ!

Memories - May 2009

We are home from our weekend away, and had a wonderful time. We had a couple of cold blustery days, but this particular morning at the Willow Place Inn dawned sunny and warm so we headed down to the water's edge after breakfast. What a peaceful spot to soak in the beauty of the day. I commented to AC that the coffee was exceptionally good at breakfast and another cup sure would taste good whilst I was sitting down here by the water. "They really should have wait staff that will come down here to serve us drinks" I said in a joking manner.

A few minutes later AC set off to the car to get something, but I stayed put to lap up the peace and calm of the morning, while listening to the water lap against the shore. Not even the lure of an extra cup of coffee would get me to move from this spot right at that moment.

As I sat there, time passed and I wondered where AC had gone. He could have been down to the car and back a number of times by now. Where was he? Soon I saw him coming across the huge lawn towards me with a mug of coffee in his hand. He had gone on a merry chase around the building for that cup of coffee and it tasted all the sweeter because of that. I think this will be remembered as one of the most delicious cups of coffee I have ever had. One other one being a cup of coffee sipped in the shadow of the Rocky Mountains in Alberta. This cup was a close second, maybe even a tie for first!
Later in the day AC and I enjoyed another most delicious cup of coffee at Montebello.
As beautiful as this chateau was, I much preferred the quiet grandeur of the shadow of the mountain in Alberta, or the water's edge at the Willow Inn. Give me the great outdoors over the magnificent indoors any day!

Home Sweet Home - May 2009

We are home safe and sound, but too tired to upload pics of our trip tonight so I thought I would post a couple of pics of Smiles that we missed while we were away.

Talk to you again tomorrow.

Tulip Festival

Sunshine and blue skies visited us yesterday, so we set off for the Tulip Festival in Ottawa. There were many venues, but our favorite spot is the Parliament Hill area so we headed there first.
After we parked at the Art Gallery, this was our first stop. Pretty huh?
The tulips are just about done, but the lilacs are starting to bloom, filling the air with their delightful fragrance. The whole hill behind the Parliament buildings is full of lilac bushes.
We sauntered around Parliament Hill soaking in the beauty of the day and the area. This is a view looking down at our bike trail from the the top of the hill beside the Parliament buildings.
Had to stop for a picture with Laura Secord...
... before setting off on a walk along Sparks Street, then a trek through the Byward Market to shop at some of the outdoor stalls.
As much fun as the crowded market streets were, I much preferred our stroll through a park beside the water at the end of the day. This path wove in and out of the trees all along the Ottawa River, just minutes from the busy downtown area.
We enjoyed a picnic supper in Andrew Hayden park, feasting our eyes on this scene, whilst eating our dinner.

Ahhhh, what a great way to end a totally fabulous day.