Welcome to NYC.. This is fabulous!!! After arriving on Monday, met Margaret (owner), completed the paperwork, etc., kind of got settled, more importantly went and got coffee, bread, milk, etc for the morning... The grocery store is only a couple of blocks, wine/liquor right around the corner, laundromat just a block away, so like all the convience around me, especially with no wheels... The apt is very stark/simple/clean in lines, I like it that way, no ca-ca, very comfortable... Now I can say, I'd lived in NYC... I am stoked!!! Tuesday, went to the laundrmat, gotta' tell you, I feel reborn when all my clothes are clean, awesome feeling!!! After, went back to the grocery store to get some more groceries... Since I missed Canadian thanksgiving, am celebrating on Thursday with our USA neighbours but with a chicken dinner (instead of turkey) with all the trimmings, can hardly wait... My first home cooked meal, on Tuesday, guess?... (those of you that know me well will guess, I'm sure) yes, mac 'n cheese with coleslaw, yummy! with, of course, red wine to wash it down... Felt ssooo good to cook my own food again! I am having trouble finding my Apothic r/wine, no worries, I'll find it... ha! Gotta' tell you, I was really tired on Monday night, what's with that? Didn't get up very early Tuesday at all and was verrry happy to name my own hour, that's for sure... Today, had oatmeal, yahoo! mush! then headed off to explore the subway system over to Manhattan... By the way, I am in Long Island City, Queens, just on the other side of the East River... My address is 50th and Vernon, 546 50th Ave... Only one stop on the subway to Grand Central Station... Sweet!! Anywho, headed off this morning to 79th & Columbus, apparently the Macy's parade balloons were to be inflated, wrongo! When I finally arr'd there (went the wrong direction, just about ended up at LaGuardia airport - another Helen moment), enuf said... The balloons will be inflated just before the parade so hung around Grand Central Station, that is very properly named - love that building!! This took the whole afternoon, on a very sloppy day... Apparently, tomorrow is going to be a bbrrr day, still w/be going to the parade, can hardly wait... 'til next time, as I enjoy mac 'n cheese warmups... stay safe... h

Good morning, my last from Boston... Before I forget, the name of the Italian restaurant I went to Saturday night is Giacomos, strongly recommend it, just remember they only take cash, no reservations, opening @ 4:30 p m... Yesterday was definitely an ear muff day, brrr! Cold wind, bringing temp down seriously... Sunny, but cold... I took the T, 4th oldest subway system in the world... The Boston Philharmonic was performed in Sanders Theatre Memorial Hall, Harvard University, conducted by Benjamin Zander... The building is awesome, hope you look it up... Beautiful bevelled wood, was totally overwhelming, then the music began, Wow! Before the concert, conductor Zander hosted a pre-concert talk on the selections about to be preformed... I was on Harvard ground!!! I feel smarter already... The concert was outstanding, the guest, Patricia Kopatchinskaja, Violin was amazing... Worth looking up, as well... When living on the north shore a few years ago had season tickets for VSO, really enjoyed them as well so will have to get back into it... Violin music is my favourite, with fiddle music, a close second, really enjoy the strings... A little culture never hurt anyone, right? I don't mean to downplay the concert of yesterday, at all, it was fabulous in fabulous surroundings... Can't remember how many standing o's they got, just fabulous!!! Oh, when I 1st arr'd, when buying my ticket, since probably this will be was going for the best seat in the house which was in the 100.00 range only to learn that "rush" tickets are available for seniors which are discounted by 92.00, that's right, my ticket cost 8.00 and I had the best seat in the house! Sweet, huh? with my subway ticket for the day of 5.00, the total for one of the best days so far, 13.00, gotta' love it... After a chilly walk back to the subway, stopping in the hotel restaurant for a bowl of chili, was excellent... A great day... So this morning off to NYC via Amtrak... Look out Charlie Rose, here I come, ha! 'til next time... h

Happy Sunday... Yesterday was cold, crisp and sunny, perfect for a tour of the harbour! Again, lots of history, good tour guide on board... Then off to the TD Garden... Yes, the Toronto Dominion Bank is certainly gaining ground in the U S northeast... Have been watching TD stock, they are doing quite well... When I first got to the Garden, walked all around the level, taking in all the pictures, memorabilia, felt great to be there... Carolina was in town... I had great seats, very nice people sitting next to me... Boston won in o/t, 3 - 2... I am experiencing something of a hat trick... When in Toronto went to a game between the leafs and the oilers, leafs won, can't remember the score, sorry, then in Montreal, the Minnesota Wild were in town, Habs 6 Wild 2, yesterday Boston won, so may have to merchandise my luck, ha! Anyway, the fans sure went away happy... From there explored Little Italy, old town Boston, cobble streets, the works! Found a good restaurant with a long lineup, for the life of me, can't remember the name, but you can't argue with a lineup, had probably the best pasta since my adventure began... Since I was on my own, invited 3 people to join me, a young male student from Korea, 2 young ladies from Boston (the one is living in L A, but here visiting), we had an Int'l table... After eating, wandered into a pastry shop having my 1st ever Canolli, sp? w/expresso, anisette, felt very Italian, for the moment, ha! There was a tree lighting close by in Fanieul Sq, hope that is the correct spelling... It is a Canadian tree from Halifax, N S... The story is, heard this during a tour of Halifax Harbour, in the early 1900s, two ships blew up in Halifax harbour, lives were lost, etc, bad, bad marine incident... Well, our neighbours in Boston were 1st to respond, helping immensely... Halifax has been sending a huge Christmas tree to this city every year since... The tree lighting is a big deal and what Canadian wouldn't attend? I was proud to be there amongst the throngs, good practise for Times Sq., huh? Home to the hotel and a quiet rest of the evening... Tomorrow, Boston Philharmonic matinee... Hope everyone is well... 'til mañaña (just found out how to do that - small minds, huh?, ha!) h

Reporting from Boston... This is a beautiful hotel! It is the oldest (longest running) hotel in north america... In the dining room is where JFK proposed to Jackie, also where his bachelor party was held... Very many Kennedy connections, that's for sure... It is an interesting weekend, to be sure, to be here... Lots of items on T V and the media commemorating the 50th anniversary of JFK's death... This a m made arrangements for transportation to NYC first priority... Will be travelling via Amtrak on Monday to begin my 37 day residency, can't believe it is here so fast, really enjoyed my time in eastern Canada... I purchased a ticket for the hop on/hop off bus... It was a perfect activity for today because it has been showering off and on all day... I really enjoy history, anecdotes and the like, ssoooo much history here, wow! I love Boston!!! Got off at the Cheers stop, no one knew my name! ha! I still can't believe I was there... Do you know what I had? Boston baked beans, were yummy! Last night in the hotel restaurant, had Boston Clam Chowder and for desert, Boston Cream Pie... This hotel (or the chef at the time) is the inventor of Boston Cream Pie as well as Parker dinner rolls, who would have thunk? Walked back to the hotel, enjoying the view of all around, so much history... Right beside the hotel is the very first church, grave yard, all is overwhelming... Back at the hotel, there is a scotche tasting bar so tasted a couple of my favourite - Glenmorangie... Very interesting... An early night, going on a harbour tour tomorrow, then to a Bruins afternoon game, so a little T V time will do it... 'til next time, lovin' Boston! h

This is going to be my last day in Quebec and have arranged a tour... I was picked up at my hotel, then we were off... It was a 3 hour plus tour on a crisp, clear day... All around the city, old town included... We also saw bldgs from 1967 Expo as well Olympic Games in '76... I just love tours, so much info, history, showing us different parts of the city... My fav. was Notre Dame, absolutely amazing... So many of the bldgs we saw were the first built in Canada, overwhelming! Celine Dion was married in Notre Same... After the tour, took the Metro over to Schwartz's, for some Mtl smoked meat... A very popular place, @ 4:30, lined up out the door... Gotta' tell you, not my kind of sandwich, 2 - 3 inches of sliced pastrami, too much for me... The young fellows sitting next to me at the counter, each had 2 sandwiches, oh, to be young again... When I was paying, the cashier told me if Celine and Rene (he owns it) call by, they usually p/u the tab for all in the restaurant, cool, huh? Back home to my little room for an early night, tomorrow is a travel day by Greyhound to Boston to stay at Omni Parker House, Hotels and Resorts... Stay tuned from Boston... h

How time flies?!? As tomorrow dawns, my Canadian eastern adventure draws to a close, it seriously saddens me as this adventure has far exceeded my expectations... On Monday, after mailing yet another box of clothes, momentos, etc., back west to Judy, Nicole drove me back to Montreal... I know I am repeating, but so enjoyed my time with Nicole and Brent, a fabulous family, made me feel very much to home... I am happy in this hotel, Montreal Downtown Hotel Europa, very central to everything... The reason I am telling you the name, I know some of you are following the b & bs, hotels, etc... The day progressed to be a frustrating day, interesting people in Montreal, they, or some of them, are wound way too tight, don't even think it has to do w/language, enuf said... This city is very different from Quebec City even tho' both cities have "old town"... Very much cosmopolitan... Tuesday was a cold, crisp, sunny day, perfect for investigating old town, successfully trying the metro (sky train/Canada line)... It is pretty easy, straight forward... I love the cobble stones, narrow roads, winding their way thro' old town, lots of restaurants, souvenir shops, etc., all with the Christmas feel... I went in Notre Dame Basilica, fabulous, took 40 years to complete the interior, awesome! I even saw the odd flake of snow - super! After an afternoon of investigating, had worked up a thirst, ha! so went to a sports bar for some pre-game food, and wine, of course, before my 1st ever Montreal Canadiens game @ Bell Centre... The Wild (Minnesota) were in town... Even tho' this is not The Forum, they have tried their best to transfer all the nostalgia and history, they have succeeded, really enjoyed reading all the plaques, seeing all the pictures/momentos... The game was successful for The Habs, Go Habs Go... Habs 6, Wild 2... Everyone went home happy... That's it for today... Keep smiling'... h

Just to let you all know... If you emailed me last night or today and I don't answer, my webmail was down... It is up now... h

Nicole arr'd. in the a m and we headed out to Ormstown... As we travelled thro' Montreal, I enjoyed seeing the city in the daylight, sunny, mild day... Really good seeing her once again... Nicole very kindly had invited me to her house for the weekend, great to meet Brent, hubby, as well as visit with Meredith (daughter), also met their youngest daughter, Daphne at lunch after we arr'd... I met Nicole and Meredith in St. John's, Nfld, we were all staying at the same b&b... In St. John's, Nicole and I spent a lot of time together, hitting it off right away... Meredith was attending a conference, so Nicole had the time to investigate the city with me... I have really enjoyed visiting with them, a really great family... Brent still works, a vet. with the provincial gov't., Nicole took early retirement from a gov't job, and is enjoying life very much... Ormstown is a town of appr 3500 pop., deep in ag. country, mainly crops of corn... Nicole and I walked thro' the town, originally settled by the english, now both french and English... I envy their life, seem to really enjoy, as well as living in a lovely home... Very nice people, have certainly made me feel welcome... It is so good to be enjoying a weekend off from traveling as well as getting my laundry done... Tonite, Sunday, am being allowed to cook, so am really looking fwd to that... Guess what I have suggested? yep, mac 'n cheese, comfort food, hope I haven't forgotten how, yikes! stay tuned... h

Happy Sunday, everyone... Friday was a travel day, enjoyed the countryside while traveling to Montreal with Via Rail... There was even a special rate, aside from being senior - yahoo! By the way, Donna and Dan, passed by cranberry fields, they had been harvested, thought of you, hope harvest went well in Richmond... Also, was traveling in corn country, lots of corn fields, both harvested and unharvested... After registering @ The Quality Inn, went out for a walk, very mild, no precipitation, but very much rush hour... I know it sounds weird but could have sworn I was on Georgia St. in downtown Van... Mtl does not resemble Van at all, just a weird moment, I guess... Found an Italian restaurant, oh, that even carried my favourite wine - sweet, then back to my little room... I am looking fwd to exploring the city, hopefully even take in a habs game... My friend, Nicole is coming to pick me tomorrow morning to drive me back to Ormstown ('bout an hours drive) for the weekend, looking fwd to seeing her, once again... to be continued... h

A few observations, by a westerner on the eastern citizens... I have noticed there seem to be more people smoking here than out west... When in Nfld, any time I asked anything about history, geography, etc., always got a different story, decided that it really didn't matter what the actual story was, the person explaining was so passionate, it was all good... A friend, following my blog, exclaimed how she would have liked to go to the Maritimes, but never had the opportunity, well, I have, but am fairly certain I just covered the high points... I would dearly love to go in the summer, especially to P E I., as well as Cape Breton... Truly the Maritimes require summertime and a car to truly appreciate... Feel blessed for the time I did have there... I have discovered Cape Breton and Nfld are all about music and singing... I also have discovered my love of violin music as well as fiddle music, just love it! A bus driver told me (after discovering a big difference in gas prices between New Brunswick and Quebec) that in Quebec there are more taxes on gasoline, but not so much on booze and cigarettes... By the way, the locals pronounce Quebec - Kbec... I have met people in all the provinces I have visited that are passionate and proud of where they live... I have had Atlantic Salmon, gotta' say, can't tell the difference between it and pacific... Enjoyed lobster, actually have "lobstered out"... While on the site of Anne of Green Gables, was told by the tour guide that Lucy M Montgomery took her own life, which really saddened me, all that talent... And lastly, am sssoooo looking forward to being able to cook my own meals in NYC, can hardly wait... Finally, especially to Gwen, I MISS MY GATEWAY!!! I have seen far too many commercials, ha! That's it for now..

This will be my last night in Quebec City, darn... Golly, I have enjoyed this hotel, this city, the people I have met... I'm sure the guys in the bar have not been charging me for all the scotche and wine I've been drinking, don't know why, but very kind of them, that's for sure... Everything is so much more expensive in hotels like this, really appreciate any break at all... Speaking of which, the Frontenac is undergoing a major renovation, that's why my rate is so low... Even tho' my room faces the St Lawrence River, it is covered on the outside with thick plastic, a tear in it allowing me to see the boardwalk along the river a little... Enuf said... Today it was warmer, above freezing, ear muffs not required... I took this opportunity to go down to lower old town... The powers that be, are half way thro' transforming the autumn theme into Christmas theme... Lots of real pine trees gaily decorated with lights, beginning to look a lot like Christmas! Lots of shops, really enjoyed the afternoon... Will be a quiet evening, then off to Montreal tomorrow afternoon... Hope everyone is well... h

Here it is, Wednesday already, Bonjour... On Monday, did find a Remembrance Day service, just thro' the gates from old town... The service was held at the cross at the entrance to the Plains of Abraham... I have yet to explore, has been snowing on and off all week, making for icy steps, but plan on going over this afternoon... The service was well attended, it was not snowing, but a bit of a very cool breeze, brrr... I met a couple attending, husband a vet, participating, the wife to watch... She and I stood together, I didn't understand a word of the service, but she explained anything I asked... There was a 21 gun salute from a real cannon, slow process because of re-loading, etc, so asked my new found friend the French words for each number... For the most part, knew the words during that service, my accent sucked, now could not repeat any un of them... I marvel at all the people that can go from speaking English to French in a heartbeat... I very much enjoyed my time at the service, over too quickly... Then on to being a tourista again... This is such a beautiful city, love the buildings, not so much the steep hills/steps... The last couple of days have been exploring, enjoying immensely, yesterday pulled out my ear muffs, went walking in the snow... Rosey cheeked, am I... The friend I made in Nfld lives in Quebec, she told me to call when I arr'd, touched base w/her the other night... I am leaving this city on Friday, traveling via Via (couldn't help myself, ha!) to Mtl, she will p/me up on Sat., to stay w/her and her hubby o/n, she said so I can use her washer - what a friend, huh? Well, guys, going to go out and play in the snow... Stay well and happy...h

Bonjour, mon amí... 'tis the happy adventurer from old town, Quebec City, in the snow, yes it is falling, started thro' the night... The hotel I was in, Auberge dú Trésol, just didn't do it for me, long story, so googled hotels in this area to find a new one... It just so happened Chateau Frontenac, a Fairmont hotel, was offering "Christmas in November" at a rate not too much different than where I was, so since there was no penalty in checking out of Auberge early, did so right after breakfast... The Chateau is right across the square, so thro' the snow, pulling my bags behind me, off I went in search of new lodging... I am so happy I made the change, a lot better accomodations... This afternoon, while having a bite to eat, watched thro' the window, all the people enjoying the first snowfall... The snow looked a lot like we get out west, very wet, probably will finish with rain, we'll see... I will feel all snug as a bug tonite, tomorrow will be a different story as I plan on attending a Remembrance Service when I find one... Then the investigating of this beautiful city begins... Golly, as I sit in the lobby "blogging", surrounded by beautifully decorated Christmas trees, seeing the snow fall outside, feel very blessed, indeed, that I am so fortunate as to be able to take this eastern adventure... By the way, on my bus trip yesterday, one of the towns we passed thro', Hartland, has the longest covered bridge, almost a kilometer long, what a bonus to be able to see it... We went through another town, Florenceville, I think the name is, and saw another one, shorter, but am really happy I saw them... Great to be able to see the country... Stay tuned... Adieu, sp?

Good day everyone... Friday was a cultural afternoon, took in some art museums and the like, it actually snowed a few flakes, didn't amount to anything, but the beginning of things to come... Quite chilly, especially with the wind, but the sun was trying to stay out... Got my bus ticket to Quebec City, had a bite to eat, then took a cab to St Francis Asissi (sp) Church for the Newfie Kitchen party... It was presented by the church, well attended by congregation and friends... I really enjoyed it, again meeting very nice people, sat at a table of 10... A kitchen party is a gathering of friend/family, in kitchens (surprise, surprise), which involves lots and lots of singing... All the songs sung, were old standards of Nfld, sung by the cast of the show... One of the presenters used to live in Nfld 'til recently, and arranged for a couple of vocalists, still living in Nfld., to come over to Fredr'n to perform... We were even served lunch, bar was open and a good time had by all... On Sat., got packed up, again, caught the Maritime Bus, early afternoon, arriving in Quebec City 11:00ish (P M), that is... A long day, but enjoyed the trip... I know I have mentioned this before, but that is a good company, good trips and friendly helpful people... 'til manana... h

Well, already today is Friday, tomorrow I am on the bus again to Quebec City... I have calmed down from the excitement of booking my stay in the big apple... To bring you to date from, Wednesday, I believe... Unfortunately have been spending a lot of time on my tablet with NYC details, plus w/stocks... You know me, there was an IPO (initial public offering) for Twitter, wasn't successful, but them's the breaks... Yesterday it was a rainy, sloppy day here, but off I trotted, have gotten to know the bus routes (am staying uptown, requiring either a bus or taxi)... Did some sight seeing yesterday aft., looking fwd to the Opening Night Gala Film... I have never participated in a movie premier so was really looking fwd to it... The 13th Annual Silver Wave Film Festival is on this weekend, Nov. 7 - 10... The 1st film is called "All the Wrong Reasons", starring Cory Monteith (and was dedicated to him), Kevin Zegers (for those of you that watched "The making of the Titanic" TV mini series - he was the young hunk), Karine Vanasse (she was the cute little French girl in "Pan Am")... The writer/director is from here, Gia Milani... The film is very good, one of the films winning ?? @ TIIF... FYI, the film is being shown in Van., currently - worth seeing... It was shot locally and the film community here is very proud of it... Again, met some really nice people, made some more g/friends, was nice to sit with them, visiting, all the while... After was a reception/gala, gala due we were all invited to at the Crowne Plaza Hotel... It was a very enjoyable night, felt like a "high mucky muck, ha!" Now as I bring you all up to date, will head off shortly to go and buy my bus ticket to Quebec, do a little more site-seeing, then tonite am attending a Newfie Kitchen Party, can hardly wait... FYI have already booked into Auberge du Tresor, old town Quebec City, so talk to you from there... Stay safe... h

Yesterday was the day I wanted to get serious with lodging in NYC, after all time is marching on... Too easily I found an apt in Queens, 5 min from Times Square, or so the ad says... Many emails later, was lucky enuf to find something for the whole mo. of Dec, having a 2nd look, found that the apt is available from Nov. 25th to Jan 1st... Long/short, the previous tenant will be pro-longing their stay due to work so David (my landlord) is putting me in a 2 bdrm 'til the tennant leaves... Here are the links: http://www.citysonnet.com/east/blue.html ( 9 nights) http://www.citysonnet.com/east/white.html ( 28 nights) Info on the neighbourhood: http://www.citysonnet.com/east/lic_photos.html http://www.citysonnet.com/east/lic_links.html All last night, didn't sleep 'cause I was worried but this is thro' vrbo, have filled the reservation form, given my Visa, so it better be legit... Am I excited, you betcha'! I will be able to see Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade, plus spend Christmas in New York and be in Times Square to see the ball drop, bringing in 2014, yahoo!!! All of you know you are welcome to visit... David has said that for every person visiting, it is a $20.00 bill, so if any of you are up for it, will only cost you $20.00, plus whatever booze you want... Food, we can talk about when you are here... But you are all welcome, absolutely!! It will be on a 1st come, 1st serve... Let me know as soon as you can, if interested.. Yahoo!!! stay well... h

Here we are on Wednesday, already, still in Fredericton, yesterday was a 'tablet' day, catching up on a lot of things... I did go out, again, for a long walk, ending up at a shopping center to buy my winter boots... Yes, with the amount of studded tires I am hearing on the road, soon will be time for my ear muffs, toques (can hardly wait for toque hair, ha)... All in all, a pretty mellow day, and a pretty much sleepless night, you know why, I AM GOIN' TO THE BIG APPLE :-) to be continued..

Further to the tide I witnessed on Monday a m in Moncton, forgot to mention the river's name, which is Petitcodiac River, flowing through' Moncton... The Rodd lists the low and high tide times each day... What I witnessed was the low tide, very dirty water, the wave was appr. 1' high, yes I was impressed, that's for sure...

On Monday, had a great bus ride to Fredericton, but have tell you 'bout the tide... When I 1st arr'd in Moncton on Friday, had dinner @ The Tide & Boar, wondering what that name was all about, well, finally on Monday morning, before departing The Rodd, found out what it was all about... The Rodd is on the river where this all takes place, cool, huh? The boar part is easy, think at one time, pig farming was all important in the Maritimes, but like the grain farms in the prairies, pretty much a thing of the past, too expensive for the young to start out, sadly... Anywho, back to the tide... All weekend had heard 'bout this one wave twice a day, low tide/high tide... Being very skeptical, but wanting to believe, thought, gotta' see this... So, made sure I was available Monday morning @ 9:53, allowing 20 min either side, sure enough right after vveerrryyy calm water, this wave appeared, gotta' tell you, had I not witnessed it, wouldn't have believed it... After the wave went through, the water was very fast flowing with several undertows, etc... According to the hotel, Calif. surfers came up to surf this wave this summer, Carrying on, after the bus trip on Monday aft., arr'd in this province's capital on another sunny, but brrr cold day, at Howard Johnson's, Plaza Hotel in Fredericton... This is one of the cheapest I have stayed at so far, on my adventure, but very suited to my needs... Namely, price - all important, onsite laundry facilities, close to everything, feeling very well taken care of, in a room with a king sized bed, geeslouise, life is good, ha! So, 'til next time, gotta' go for dinner, talk Manama, dude... h

Happy Sunday... Great sunny day, but, below zero, not mentioning the wind factor... Really wanted to see the Hopewell Rocks, but again, past tourista season, sssoooo after brekkie, walked over to the Avis car rental, rented a car to take me to the rocks... First, made arrangements to take the bus tomorrow to Fredericton... Next on the agenda, drove south to the Hopewell rocks, did that, tide was high... Decided to drive on to Alma, had been recommended for great food, therefore enjoying the best corn chowder with home baked roll, then apple crisp, seriously? Wow! On the way back to Moncton, actually drove through' a covered bridge, viewed another, but it had been quordened (sp?) off because it wouldn't be able to support a vehicle any more... Had a great day, bright sunshine, good little car, back in my little room, 'til manama, dude, then I'm off to Fredericton by bus for my next adventure, yahoo! stay tuned :-) h

Golly, I have had just THE best weekend in Moncton, really, really enjoy being here! This hotel supplies "hot" breakfasts, cool huh? enjoyed brekkie, which got me off fairly early Sat... Luckily went into a gift shop close by, owner an ambassador for Moncton... Without her help, this visit wouldn't have been nearly as enjoyable :-) Says she, there is a weekly Saturday market which is huge in area, I went amd it is, reminds me of Granville Island, same quality... Very nice! There just happened to be an Int'l Wine Festival in town, which I could not resist... Travelled over by bus, gotta' tell you the bus drivers here are much different, people actually wave to them from the street and the driver knows everyone by name, totally different, which begs the question; which came 1st, the rude bus driver or the rider who just won't take it anymore, what do you guys think, gotta' tell you, I was impressed! Got to the Colosseum, paid my entry and was amazed, this wine tasting began @ 1:00, ending 4:00ish, there was everything worn, After 5:00 to jeans... Very interesting!!! I really enjoyed, hit every champagne/sparkling wine kiosk in the joint plus very, very uptown appies... The whole afternoon was very sweet! Certainly got my money back, from my consumption of both, teehee! After, everyone there were transported back downtown free of charge, drinking and driving, et al... The lady in the gift store, you know me and names, geeslouise!, also told me of a dinner theater, within walking distance and very reasonable... I attended and was sssoooo much fun, fabulous, fabulous entertainment! The theater was a satire on a Newfie Kitchen Party, which I have yet to experience (hopefully a Fredericton experience, which, if I do, will share). We were all so well taken care of, entertainment was fabulous, food also fabulous, also sitting with a great crew of people, had a great time... The name is McSweeney's located @ 700 Main St., Moncton, absolutely worth it! Then, home to bed... A very happy day! 'til mamana, dude! h

Here I am again, from Moncton, N B... Today was very interesting and very much an adventure :-) First, I really enjoyed staying in the Aloha Guest House in C'town... The house I was in, really reminded me of my North Van house that I loved so much... Kelti's house is much older but all the character took me back to my ESL hosting days, to be sure! Took a cab to Maritime Bus to take me to Moncton... It was very stormy all night, 60 - 80 k winds and rain, but very warm, the storm is from the southern US... We got to the Conf. Bridge only to find out our shuttle bus was too high, exceeded 7 1/2', therefore we all had to be transported over the bridge in smaller vans... Apparently, when the winds exceed 60k, higher vehicles really rock and roll on the high part of the bridge, especially the semi's, that by now were lined up on both sides of the bridge... The shuttle bus was full, 28, in all, so all were concerned to make their connections whether they be by bus, train or plane... We waited over an hour for these vans, stormy weather, really windy... Finally, the vans showed up and we were off... The waves on the water were white caps, the wind was fierce, very exciting, but very safe... I sure do like that bridge, wow! We tsfd to a bigger bus on the other side and literally fish-tailed ourselves into Moncton... For some reason I liked the feel of Moncton right away, relief??? don't know... It is still windy... My hotel room is very nice and is downtown... I am staying at The Rodd, Moncton... Tomorrow, will be an investigating day, for sure... Hope you all had a Happy Halloween! Stay safe... h

Good evening from Moncton, N B... Just got back from having a bite to eat and had a very interesting, and good, salad... Thought I would share... The salad included oven roasted root vegetables.. Maybe you guys already use this as a different slant but this one is new to me... The root veggies were oven roasted in, olive oil, which were cubed carrots, turnips and beets... The lettuce part was a spring lettuce combination tossed with a shallot dressing... I didn't taste onion, but it was really good... With the holidaze coming and all that left over turkey and gravy, this salad with be such a nice compliment for a hot turkey sandwich... Thought you might find this one interesting, sure was good... bon appetit... h