Like It Is

Well, the Great Christmas Getaway has begun in earnest in England. But I feel a bit for those whose travel plans have been abruptly put on hold by none other than Nature.

Britain has been hit by a veritable blanket of dense fog, causing travel chaos at both Heathrow and Gatwick Airports. How well I remember the fog in England. It is very hard to describe it unless you have experienced it, but describing it as pea soup is not a misnomer. I remember once driving home from work through dense fog and being terrified, because literally it was almost impossible to see more than a couple of feet in front of you.It was like being wrapped in a blanket. And it was at night. The fog had fallen quite suddenly in the late afternoon and got thicker and thicker. My 20 min drive home took an hour, felt like 3, and I was gripping the steering wheel all every inch of the way home. Not only can you not see anything, you probably can’t be seen by other drivers either. Never have I been so relieved to pull into my driveway.

But today, I am happily not sitting at Heathrow Airport because my flight’s been grounded nor travelling up the M25 to visit my parents, but writing about it in Toronto. Big difference.

About 100 flights have already been cancelled and the disruption is due to continue into Friday. It probably couldn’t have happened at a worse time as this week has to be the busiest travel time of the year as millions travel home or abroad for Christmas. Now people either have to sleep at the airport, queue (for hours) or make alternative arrangements (if they can) to travel by rail. And of course, let’s not even imagine the travelling in this fog on Britain’s roads. Still, Brits will find something to laugh about in all this despite the disruption. It’s the good old British weather after all. As long as we don’t hear that it’s the “wrong kind of fog”

You can read the full story on BBC News UK here and you can see some readers wonderful photos here . And because they are so wonderful, I’ve posted a couple here. It’s humbling to know that every so often, no matter what our plans might be Nature couldn’t give a fig. Nature’s in the driving seat right now, and all we can do is wait.

Enjoy these amazing photos of my foggy Britain, courtesy of the BBC

Warwick Castle in fog

Breathtaking!

Beautiful!

We had such a wonderful time in Montreal and Quebec City. As a Brit used to hopping on a plane to go on holiday, driving to our destination was really something quite different for me. When going on holiday within Canada and to the States Canadians tend to drive, since it’s where they are going is usually but a few hours away by car. I’d hesitated in the past, but now can’t wait to do it again. Our experience was wonderful –romantic, relaxed and leisurely. No waiting for planes, rushing to airports. lugging luggage to the various gates which are always miles away from where you actually check in. I really relished the difference.

A picture is worth a thousand words I believe, so our photos on Flickr will hopefully help capture the story of the fantastic time we had. Right now I’m working on re-naming them our photos, and will upload to my Flickr site over the next few days. I’ve uploaded some already, and some are also on the blog, so feel free to have a look. And enjoy.

As I mentioned in my previous posts on Quebec we spent most of the time walking – almost all it uphill, exploring Old Quebec, taking photographs, taking in the stunning views, and sampling the excellent gastronomic delights of Quebecois cuisine and hospitality in the great restaurants. Portofino, the photo in my current header is one of the restaurants we went to that came highly recommended – it did not disappoint. It is known as the best Italian restaurant in Quebec City. Oh my! It was amazing. The walking was great exercise – there is nowhere that is flat in Quebec City – especially visiting the Citadelle and the Plains of Abraham. We are pretty fit, but boy, did we feel it the day after. We had great weather, and the one rainy day was the last day we were there, so that worked out very well.

My husband is into beer rating (he has rated over 1,700 to date from all over the world) so we also visited a couple of Brew Pubs and Microbreweries – La Barberie being one of them. La Mere a Boire was another – where we could taste (and he could rate) some interesting Quebec beers. It was great fun – just us and whatever we wanted to do. I think the most pressing question we had was “Where shall we have dinner this evening?”

So, for those interested in visiting historic Quebec City – I would highly recommend it. People told me I would love it and now I know why.

I absolutely did.

Education Originally uploaded by TownieBrit.
One of the amazing sculptures we came across during our walk through Old Quebec City, on Rue Sainte Anne. It’s hard to describe how I felt when I saw this, but when I did I absolutely had to take a photo of it and pray it captured the sense of the surreal.

Originally uploaded by TownieBrit.

Just a few of the over 200 photos we’ve taken so far in beautiful historic Quebec City. Over the next few days I’ll be uploading most of them to my Flickr photosite, so if you’re interested in seeing more you can see them there.

Originally uploaded by TownieBrit.

Originally uploaded by TownieBrit.

Originally uploaded by TownieBrit.

Originally uploaded by TownieBrit.

Quebec City is amazing. It’s old. It’s beautiful. If I were to say it reminds me of anywhere in the world I’ve been before it would be probably be Montmatre in Paris. Wonderful history - and we are going to be doing lots of walking, exploring the historic Old Walled City, eating and more walking. And of course taking photos!

This evening we had dinner at Restaurant Aux Anciens Canadiens, just under the Citadel. We enjoyed an amazing gastronomic experience sampling some Quebecois specialities from the extensive menu, and the hospitality at this restaurant is just wonderful. Highly recommended.

One of the great things about not having children is the freedom we have to simply get up and go whenever we feel like it. No baby-sitters to arrange for, no worries about children being taken out of school. This week my beloved and I are spending some time in Montreal and romantic Quebec City (apologies for the missing accents any French speakers). A wonderful chance for me to get to know more of Canada, and I have always wanted to see Quebec City.
So if my articles are somewhat sporadic this week it’s because I’ll be too busy sampling the restaurants and boutiques in Montreal, and exploring the wonderful architecture,food, walking and beauty of Quebec City. We’ve made sure where we are has Wi-Fi so I’ll be checking in from time to time. Stay tuned!
For those interested here’s a link about Quebec City.