Fredericton to Woodstock to Maine to Woodstock to Fredericton to Moncton to Fredericton to Woodstock to Fredericton. That was the route we took over the past week, criss-crossing the province to spend time with family and friends. I ate ham and turkey and dozens of homemade sweets, played plenty of games, saw The Adventures of Tintin, did some last-minute gift knitting, and just relaxed. I didn’t even take that many photos compared to years past, but here are a few scenes…

I get the distinct impression that this time it’s going to stick. Christmas Carol playlist: activate.

I can’t believe it took me this long to visit Montréal. Now that I’ve been, I know it won’t be nearly so long until I go back. I was completely captivated by the beauty, the culture, the food… and the fascinating way that the 7th largest city in North America manages to feel so cozy. Dear Montréal: I’ve got a crush on you.

Saturday morning we headed off to Mile End, to check out the neighbourhood and get our hands on some of those Fairmount bagels. So good! That and a mocha with friends at Café Olimpico was definitely the right way to kick off the day.

Afterwards we wandered in the general direction of a Métro stop until finding one and getting ourselves back downtown! Our stop just happened to have an exit station into the Grande bibliothèque, so how could we not take a moment to check that out?

Then finally we made it to Old Montreal (Vieux-Montréal). Gorgeous.

All the walking quickly put the bagel to rest, so we had a late lunch in Chinatown. Beef in black bean sauce and sweet and sour pork? Yum!!

I’ve seen some beautiful things in my lifetime, but Notre-Dame Basilica might be the most beautiful of all. We got there at just the right time – the Chanteurs de Sainte-Thérèse and the orchestre philharmonique du Nouveau-Monde were rehearsing for that night’s concert, so our visit of the basilica was set to Mozart’s “Requiem.” Magical. It was just as we were tumbling out in astonishment that AG said something along the lines of “UGH WE NEED TO LIVE HERE.”

After that wonderful moment in the church, we spent the rest of the afternoon wandering around…

In the evening we had dinner with family, and then caught a concert featuring a Haitian fusion band whose guitarist just happens to be AG’s cousin!

Sunday morning we said goodbye to our adorable apartment…

Goodbye to our adorable street…

And after a quick trip up Mount Royal, goodbye to Montréal…

…with just one stop on the way. :)

Well the last week has been wacky but things are finally settling back down: I’ve got Photoshop set up on my new computer, and I’m finally able to edit and share images again! So, Montréal! Normally I would not have been up for a roadtrip so soon after a previous trip (contrary to popular opinion, the vast majority of photographers are not actually rolling in cash!), but when Jamie Delaine announced that she was doing a 3-week stay in Quebec, I knew I had to try to get there to meet her. I needed to do some convincing with AG, but once in Montréal we both agreed that going there had been pretty much the greatest idea ever. I loved my time in this city SO. MUCH! Here are some photos from the trip down and our first full-day!

The drive to Montréal is long, though fortunately not as long as anticipated. Google Maps had me prepped for a 9-10 hour drive… instead it took around 7 hours. Not bad!

On arrival we settled into our weekend apartment rental (found on AirBNB!) and our host gave us plenty of great suggestions for things to see and eat. Our first stop was La Banquise for some classic Montréal poutine…

Friday we woke bright and earlier to see the beauty of our neighbourhood: the Plateau.

First stop of the day: Schwartz’s deli for some smoked meat. Amazing. A must-do, and we got really lucky – showing up at around 11:15 am, where we could get right in, sit down, and start eating… no waiting in a line out the front door!

Bellies full, we met up with Jamie for our photo session in the area near Atwater market, and then checked out the market afterwards. First souvenirs of the trip: some beer and cheese from Fromagerie Atwater. So good.

We checked out McAuslan brewery, and got tipped off to where we could find what may have been the last bottles of St-Ambroise Citrouille in the city, and then did a quick drive-through of Vieux-Montréal… don’t worry, we came back the next day, so more on this later.

Back to the apartment for a cheese break, and then we tried walking to Jean-Talon market… only to discover after walking for quite some time that we were only half-way there, so we ended up taking the Métro the rest of the way. That’s fine with me, I totally have a crush on subterranean transport.

Marché Jean-Talon Market… so many delightful things!

For dinner we again followed the suggestion of our apartment host, and ate at Khyber Pass in the Plateau. You can’t get this in Fredericton! We had a delicious meal with friends, and then grabbed a drink on St-Denis before packing it in for the night.

Stay tuned for the rest of the adventure!

Last night I went to see Africville Stories at the Playhouse. The presentation is a jazz reprise of Africville Suite, building on that work with stories of the people and community of Africville. Since Halifax is dear to me I was really interested in seeing the show… and I was blown away. Moved from the very beginning by the the music, the stories, and especially the mesmerizing stage presence of Jackie Richardson. Wow, wow, wow.

Unfortunately if you’re in Fredericton you’ve already missed it, but next stops are tonight in Saint John, followed by another show Saturday in Halifax. Go!

Images from a past trip to Africville. Read more about the community: Halifax Municipal Archives, Library and Archives Canada, Wikipedia.

I have noticed a phenomenon in photography, where the more you shoot for others, the less you shoot for yourself. I can see it happening to me: increasingly the camera gets left at home, too heavy to carry around with me all the time as I once did. Yesterday I decided to break out of that rut, and in the afternoon post-rain I hit the streets with just my camera and a macro lens, to see what I could see. It felt good.

Thanksgiving is one of my favourite holidays (though let’s face it, I am a fan of holidays in general), and this year I made the executive decision to not accept any Thanksgiving weddings so that I could spend the whole weekend with my own family! Given the astonishingly, unseasonably warm weather (I have my first ever Thanksgiving tan!), I’m so glad I did.

People kept asking me in the lead-up to the weekend what my plans were, and I always replied “I’m going to go to the camp and sit and eat.” That’s exactly what I did. I went to the camp. I sat. I ate. (I read a bit, knit a bit, watched TV a bit… really stretched myself). I reflected on all that I have to be thankful for (and then how thankful I am that I have so much to be thankful for). I had a great time, and I hope you did, too.

It’s probably apparent by now that I love being outdoors in September. Well, almost any time, but particularly in September. Part of it is that we’re actually home in September – I counted, I’ve been in Fredericton only 8 out of 20 weekends since May – part of it is that it is so nice out in September, and part of it is the sense of impending doom I feel as winter approaches, like I must DO ALL THE THINGS!! before we’re covered in snow.

One particular thing we like to do as a couple is go for a bike ride and then park it in a plum area to lay down in the grass and read awhile. This particular weekend we covered the 10 km out to Hartt Island, where I polished off Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim, and began New York: The Novel. A very pleasant way to spend a sunny Sunday.

Since kayaking is my favourite and I only got to do it once this year,  I’m maximizing my experience by making a second blog post about it. It’s hard to get interesting angles when trapped in a kayak, but I kind of love these anyway. Enjoy!

After a day in NYC we continued on down the eastern seaboard to our final destination: South Carolina. Most of the time we spent using our beach-front condo as a conduit to lazing on the beach between ultra-touristy excursions (Ripley’s Aquarium, Medieval Times(!)). Myrtle Beach itself I didn’t really find especially inspiring in terms of photography, so a day-trip to Charleston (on what ended up being our last day of the trip) was very welcome. Charleston is gorgeous; the abundance of Italianate architecture makes it as Europe with palm trees. The accents are like honey and Southern hospitality made me feel like I was raised in a barn. If it hadn’t been for the overwhelming humidity, I might never have come home. Here are just a few pictures from those days, as well as the Hurricane Irene-themed drive home.