Back to life... back to reality

September 4, 2005

It's been a fun two weeks of vacation. The first week we went to the Laurentians, 1 hour north of Montreal, and met my whole family there - my parents & my brother, his wife and 2 gorgeous baby boys. We had a WONDERFUL time. I won't go into all the details but here are the highlights:

Our condo was 1 hour north of Montreal in a picturesque Laurentian village called Ste. Adele. The condo itself was beautiful and our whole family 6 adults & 5 kids had plenty of room.
I enjoyed plenty of down time - staying up late, sleeping in, reading, sharing cooking etc.
We spent one day in Montreal touring the old port area. And oh the food! Montreal has the best food of any city I've visited. This day entailed lots of walking, relaxing, eating (gotta love those creperies). In the evening we ate (more crepes for me please) in a gorgeous open air restuarant. These are quite common. Unfortunately on this day I also lost our camera. I left it in a public restroom and by the time I remembered a couple hours later and went to retrieve it the camera was stolen.
It was so much fun to share meal planning and prep. Each couple was responsible for 2 nights - to plan, buy groceries & prepare. Wow, did we ever eat well.
The lower Laurentians, where we stayed, are close to vineyards and orchards so we spent one day touring those. Or I should say "les vignoble et verger". The kids loved the orchard which had a very large playground on site. The adults loved the wine tasting at the vineyards. The countryside was beautiful.
Another afternoon was spent in nearby St. Sauveur. This was the very touristy town in the area. It had both an eclectic downtown with shops, cafes and boulangerie (oh, the freshly baked croissants!) as well as an outlet shopping area a few minutes away from downtown. We also visited this town daily during our trip for baked goods and lattes.
The day after our arrival we drove up the road 15 minutes to a little town called Val David nestled in the foothill type mountains. This town was reminiscent of a mountain village with you guessed - more great food. All along the Laurentian mountain corridor is a shale path 200 km long. We took a walk along this path in Val David. Each morning the runners of our entourage ran along this path at Ste. Adele. This is a beautiful and well used pathway (P'tit Train du Nord - little train of the north?) that goes well beyond the Mont Tremblant resort in the upper Laurentian mountains.
Our last full day we went to the beach in Ste Agathe des Monts. This was another cute "mountain" village on a lake with a very lovely beach. The kids had a blast swimming and the adults took delight in playing with the kids. It was just so nice to all be together.

After our trip to Quebec we drove home with my parents. My dad stayed 3 days and my mom stayed until yesterday (7 days). This too was a wonderful time. Last weekend we had a gorgeous Saturday so we headed to the ocean - and oh it was so much fun. It was warm enough that I was actually swimming in the surf.

Damien worked while my parents were here but the kids and I continued our holiday. During my parents visit I took them to all the places locally that we love - farms, cafes, beaches, restuarants and shops. While she was here my mom kindly sewed curtains for my kitchen - thanks mom!

And now it is time to get back into routine and start workin again! I'm ready. I had an awesome time with my family but now I need to resume regular life. Actually all of summer has been off routine - with moving, summer stuff and vacation. And now I'm ready to start this new season.

But not until we celebrate Labor day tomorrow at Sebago Lake!

Our condo at Ste. Adele.

View near our condo

Baby Joah

Eating outdoors in Montreal

Enjoying St. Sauveur

Stosh & Brienne at the orchard's playground.

The whole family on the beach in Ste Agathe des Monts

Back in Maine at Popham beach

Popham Beach Maine

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Amanda on Sept. 5, 2005, 1:40 p.m.

Sorry to hear about the camera. It sounds like such a wonderful holiday. I am happy you got to spend time with your family. We all need it every once in awhile. I hope getting back into routine will come easy and that the kids won't give you a hard time.

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becky on Sept. 5, 2005, 6:29 p.m.

Wow, what a beautiful place! Can you post a pic of your new curtains? Looks and sounds like your trip and visit with your parents was a blast! Was the place you stayed a time share?

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- renee on Sept. 6, 2005, 1:27 a.m.
  
  No, the condo was a privately owned home. I found it on-line and it is managed by a local (in St. Sauveur) reservation company. I assume the owners must stay sometimes throughout the year. The rest of the time they rent it out through this company. The area we stayed is close to many ski hills and xcountry skiing so the winter is a high rental time as well.
  
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melanie on Sept. 11, 2005, 4:18 p.m.

Sounds like you guys had a great holiday and from the looks of the pictures, a nice time with family. Thanks for keeping us up to date with your life and interesting things happening in Maine. Sorry to hear about the camera.

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