Back to School.............

Today is the first day of 2014 Fall Term at Portland State University.  Roger left early to take an art class and I followed at 10 a.m. for an Ancient Near East and Egyptian History class.  We love the challenge of learning and it is energizing to be with young people.

JAM - and Tick Tick BOOM...............

I'll admit that the title of this post sounds pretty crazy but there's an explanation............  JAM is a breakfast and lunch cafe on Hawthorne, across the street from my favorite bakery.  For years I've noticed people standing outside on the sidewalk waiting for a table to open so yesterday morning, Callie met me there to try it out.  It's a winner.................

http://www.jamonhawthorne.com/

Our timing was good because we had a table as soon as we arrived at 10 a.m. I love Portland's breakfast cafes because they know what people like and they offer eclectic and interesting dishes.  Check out the menu - it's three pages filled with choices.

Allison and I have season tickets to the Triangle Theater on Sandy Blvd.  It's a small theater group who come up with some "off the wall" and unusual plays.  Their goal is to provide plays that promote diversity and tolerance that addresses a broad range of social and political issues.  Last night was the first production of the season "Tick, Tick...Boom!   It's a musical so we not only enjoyed the acting and story, but we also heard really great music. 

To make the evening perfect we started out with an early dinner at Iorio, one of our favorite places to get fresh hand made pasta dishes.  The love affair with Portland continues.............

Adorable KYAN..........

This adorable little man is Kyan.  He is Roger's great-nephew who lives in Paris.  Here he is 10 months old.  Afram is his grandmother.

Duffy is the STAR..........

I never tire of photographing Duffy because he is just gorgeous.  Today Allison and I took Bella and Duffy out to lunch at the Riverfront.  We saved some bacon from our cheeseburger so here Duffy is patiently waiting for his bacon treat.  He's only seven months old but he is behaving like an adult.  He loves Bella but it's clear that he's still figuring out if she's a dog or some other unknown creature.....................

Finally - MONTREAL

We arrived in Montreal on Saturday, Sept. 6th..  The weather was sunny and warm throughout our stay and we had a great time being pampered by Lulu and Garik.  The city is modern but their history goes back at least 400 years.  We enjoyed a steak dinner in their "tourist area" the first night and it was like revisiting Paris with the streets and restaurants crowded with "beautiful people".

Here are a few photos from our visit to St Saveur, a lovely ski area north of Montreal.

Church in St Saveur

A Shop in St Saveur

And, finally a very sweet shot of Garik and Roger who are trying to show Lulu how to take a picture with her new I-Pad.  This is meant kindly but it truly was "the blind leading the blind".  The positive note is that, even though we're old, we're still doing our best to keep up with technology and Lulu got some beautiful photos while we were on our walk.  

Chateau Frontenac - Quebec City

This was the first view from the ship in Quebec City.  It is now the Fairmont Le Chateau Frontenac Hotel

http://www.fairmont.com/frontenac-quebec/

Shopping in Quebec City

I was surprised to see this shop window while we were touring Quebec City.  Yes, the "F" word means the same in Quebec as it does here, however, it is used in a less harsh connotation.  You might say that it means something like "heck with fashion". 

Now I regret not checking out the merchandise..............

MORE from Quebec City

Our favorite city that we visited on the cruise was Quebec City.  It's a large metropolitan city with historical buildings that date to the early 1700s.  This is a square with buildings all dated to that time.  The buildings are stone and some originally had a plaster type coating that has gradually worn away.  They are now shops and this is a tourist area close to the ship pier.  This is where we hired a bicycle rider who took us through the area.

Through the years I have traveled in many tourist areas throughout the world; most with trinkets and junk for sale at every port.  This area was much different with very lovely cafes and high end shops that specialized in leather goods, Canadian designer clothing for men and women and furs.  The galleries were elegant with beautiful local art work.

Our guide also took us to the marina that has a lovely skyline view of the city.

 

Nice to GO - Nice to come HOME................

We both enjoyed our cruise and visit with friends in Montreal.  I came home with a nasty cold that, unfortunately, seems to be getting worse instead of better.  We returned Tuesday and Roger flew Wednesday to Sacramento to visit with his brother and family who recently moved from Iran.   He returns home this afternoon.  This interim time has worked out well, giving me time to do all the post vacation chores and get lots of rest.

I'm just beginning to work with my photos so today I'm starting with a photo taken from a tender as we were getting ready to board the ship in Halifax.  We sat close to this very crazy/friendly man who was joking that my photo would have his nose in the picture so I purposely asked him to lean forward so I could get a nice big nose shot.  We joked and laughed the entire boat ride.  Now I regret that I didn't get his email address so I could send him a copy of the photo.

Quebec City .....

This is a fabulous city & it reminds us of both Paris & Brussels.  We hired a 2 seater bicycle surrey to take us around.  Now it's time to start packing & get ready to spend time in Montreal with Garik & Lulu.

Prince Edward Island

Yesterday we again took a horse & trolley ride to see Charlottetown.  It's a lovely city so we enjoyed the tour except for the thunder storm that pretty much soaked us.  

Today we're cruising down the St Lawrence River & it's a lovely sunny day.  The Captain is hosting a luncheon today so we opted for a room service breakfast.  Tomorrow will be our last cruise day & then we'll enjoy beautiful Montreal.

Missing Bella

Alicia spoils our little girl even more than we do so Alicia sent a picture of her on our bed ( we never allow that so does she have a little smirk on her face?)

Today is a lazy day on board ship.  We're anchored in the Sydney port & the town is very small so we're staying on board.  

Tomorrow we're looking forward to Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island.

Halifax NS / First stop in Canada

Now I have to practice Canadian - like about is "aboot".  We took a horse drawn trolley through the downtown & the horses were huge & beautiful.  This is Jess.