Salut! Well, we are finally here! We had quite an interesting trip. We stayed in Washington D.C. for two nights at Hotel Monaco. It was very cool. The first night we ordered room service for us and Alley! They brought her an entire buffet including treats, adult dog food and of course, bottled water. We were there January 20 - 22. We saw MLK protests as well as a pro-life protest. It was very cold and crazy trying to go and do anything with Ella and Alley. We ate really well and drove around to see the sights. The second night we ate at Fogo de Chao. It was awesome. The waiters were very impressed with the amount of meat Ella put down!
We hit the road for NYC Tuesday. We had a pit stop in Philadelphia and ate at Geno's cheese steaks. It was raining and freezing. Geno's is a walk-up place so we decided to eat in the car. Ella was sitting in my lap in the front seat and proceeded to say "I need to go potty." Being that we were in South Philly, we were not near a good place to relieve yourself. So we told her let us finish eating and then we will find a place. All at once, I felt a very warm sensation in my lap! She relieved herself right on my lap in the front seat of the volvo parked on a side street in south Philly! You should have seen us trying to clean-up and get to a change of clothes for me! It was not so funny then, but now it is hilarious! We made it to NYC later that night and ordered a pizza for dinner. We decided not to stay an extra night because we were so ready to get to Montreal. We made it through customs where we met a family from Columbia. The 8 year old daughter was the only one who could speak English. She was translating between the Canadian Border patrol and her family. She told me they lived in Gainsville, GA before coming to Canada. I asked how their trip was and she said it was long and they even had to go to jail! We were in and out and the police were still going through their belongings.
We pulled into Montreal around 6:30 pm Wednesday night. From that point on, every time we step out the door it is a new adventure. From going to the grocery store to doing laundry, nothing is "easy." We are having to learn a "new" way to do everything. I went to a STEP class tonight (aerobics) and the instructor taught it partially in English and partially in French. She would yell "overt" and I finally figured out I was suppose to go over the step. There was a French lady next to me who was probably in her sixties (she kicked my butt, by the way) and she had a frozen bottle of water. Every so often she would bang it on the floor next to her step and yell different things in French!
Ella's first day of school is tomorrow at Imagination. I love her school. When you walk in you know it is "kid" centered. Everything on the walls the kids made. There are two teachers both are bi-lingual but one "specializes" in French and the other in English. When we went to visit it was a little girl's birthday. So Ella had cake and milk with them. She had a great time and did not want to leave. There are 3 NHL kids in her class. Maybe we can get some free tickets.
Overall things are going well. The hardest part is being patient. Everyone, well almost, has been more than welcoming and helpful. Our apartment building is full of students and elderly ladies. The elderly ladies LOVE Ella. They all talk to her in French and she says "oui" or "merci." Probably because that is all Gary and I say!
Okay, hopefully I have blogged enough for our anonymous poster to continue reading.
We will do better about updating and Gary will post some pics tomorrow! Au Revior!
