about two hours northeastish of ottawa, inside the borders of french-speaking quebec, is montreal. so i thought id go for a visit. it actually reminded me a lot of european cities - with the foreign languages, the bulk of tourists, the cafe vibe and the expensive icecreams. its a very beautiful city. and i discovered that it was named after the (no longer active) volcanic hill in the north - mont royal - which, once climbed, has a huge park on the top. couldnt find the crater though.

global warming is most certainly upon us. ottawa - the second coldest capital in the world (after mongolia!) - still feels like summer! its amazing! apparantly it often is snowing by thanksgiving (second weekend of october), and if not snow, then definitely weather that is colder than what would be expected in auckland mid winter! yet this year it is still so warm. i love it! perhaps i will be able to have a perfect leap from summer here to summer back in new zealand...

the trees are starting to change colour. two friends of ours are coming up to visit this weekend from america (hurrah for jen and karin!!) - and i think we plan on heading across to the gatineaus to admire the colours. watching out of the bus window as i travelled to montreal - the trees are looking incredible! this was my favourite time of year in canada when i was last here so i am excited to see it once again!