29 April 2010

It has been a few days since we updated the blog as we have been travelling and enjoying ourselves!

Our last day in Manhattan (26 April) was a very wet one, so we spent the day exploring the Lincoln Centre of Performing Arts. What an amazing place - the NY Philharmonic Orchestra, NY Ballet, Metropolitan Opera and the Julliard School of Performing Arts.We then spent a couple of hours in a public library which is a great place to hang out when it is wet and cold and connect a little with the Manhattan people from varying demographics.Great range of books and very comfortable chairs to lounge and read in - so lovely to have the time to enjoy public reading spaces.From there we stopped in at the Julliard bookshop which was in the processes of closing down before it moves into new premises. It was located in a shipping container behind the school building - very non-descript indeed!! The range of books and music was amazing - you could spend a whole day in there! While we were in there a young Chinese student excitedly whispered to us that Valery Gergiev was in the shop - we didn't know who he was so we excitedly responded "who did you say?" and he became more animated as he whispered his name again and said "the world's greatest Russian conductor!".We were excited at his excitement and we supported him in finding a CD which had recordings of Gergiev's work and encouraged him to get his autograph - which he did! It was one of those beautiful moments in life when you have the privilege to observe and share in someone's excitement in meeting a person whom they highly revere.The next day we saw an article in the New York Times about this conductor and could sit there and laugh with each other "we were in the same bookstore as him!"

After the Julliard we went to one of the 'big bookstores' for a browse and got treated to a free jazz performance - very hip indeed! The rain had got heavier by the time we left there and it was getting dark, so we decided to find somewhere to grab an early dinner. We ended up at a bar/café called PJ Clarke's which is on Columbus Square - what a thrill to discover that it was in fact, an oyster bar!!! We treated ourselves to a baker's dozen of freshly shucked East Coast Oysters (4 varieties) which we washed down with a Californian sparkling white - heaven on a platter!!! Life is very good. There was a large sign on the wall of this restaurant "Every day is a struggle, so we must be kind to one another".Our life is not a struggle at the moment, but we know that it is not the case for many, so it is important that we maintain our consideration and care for each other.

We left Manhattan early the next morning by train from NY Pennsylvania Station - we were on the Amtrak 'Adirondacks service 69' to Montreal.It was a 10.5 hour trip, but it was so beautiful and comfortable. We travelled the length of New York State along the Hudson River then along Lake Champlain - we stopped in towns with great names: Yonkers, Poughkeepsie, Schenectady, Saratoga Springs, Plattsburgh and Champlain.Going through Saratoga reminded Rachel of her childhood books of Trixie Belden, teenage girl detective, who lived in Saratoga! It is like travelling through books and movies! The biggest thrill of all was that a snow storm started in this part of the country - the photographs we have uploaded capture a bit of the scenery that we saw that day. The train was so lovely, cosy and comfortable - it was hard to believe that it was zero degrees outside!! When we crossed the border, Canadian customs came onto the train and processed us all in our seats - so much nicer than being processed at the airport!! Even though the trip was long, it was relaxing and there were no delays due to weather, which was probably not the case for those flying that day! We arrived in Montreal at 7.15pm amidst heavy snowfall - it was incredible.We checked into our hotel and were stunned by the huge room on the 22nd floor with sweeping views over the city.But being brave girls, we decided to go out for dinner - so off we went in the falling snow and icy footpaths to find somewhere to eat. It was hilarious - it was so cold and slippery, that we only went one block, found a pub and raced in for a red wine and pasta!!! We are definitely not used to such weather conditions.

Yesterday saw the end of the snow storm and it turns out that the Montrealeans were as stunned as us by the change in the weather as they had been having very warm days up to Tuesday.There was snow over all the rooftops and sheltered areas on the ground - beautiful to us!We spent the day exploring McGill University in downtown Montreal (Centre Ville) and some of the city.Lynda has a number of interviews at McGill University, including the MacDonald campus (the Scots didn't have much influence here!) which is about 40km from downtown.

Today is beautiful, sunny and should hit a high of 13 degrees - practically summer! Lynda has gone to MacDonald and McGill today and Rachel is doing the domestics (i.e. finding a Laundromat (baunderie - as they call them here) and getting the washing done).This hotel has a lap pool and gym, so we'll get some swimming and exercise here to offset the gastronomic journey we are having.

Hope this finds you all well and we look forward to your messages on the blog.

Best wishes,

Rachel and Lynda xx