Montreal

The first week of our holiday has absolutely flown by. Simmie very happy to be back in Montreal and I’ve really enjoyed my first, but probably not my last visit. It’s got a real European feel to it and it seems to be full of good looking people, so obviously we fit right in.

The World Cup has been in full swing while we have been here and we have managed to see quite a few games. There are bars for every nation here, so it’s possible to get a great atmosphere whoever is playing. Would have been nice to see England do a bit better, but as I get older the less I care. Germany was by far the better team so good luck to them. My second team this year is Chile, although by the time I’ve posted this they may be out too as they play Brazil later.

We have also done quite a bit of cycling while here. They have this very cool system called Bixi, you hire a bike for 24 hours at the cost of $5 and they have docking stations dotted all over the city. You pick a bike up ride it where you want to go and leave it at your destination. You don’t keep the same bike all day, you don’t have to return it to the same spot and you don’t need to worry about it being stolen. It’s awesome!

Yesterday was spent moving furniture. Ged was moving from his old 3rd storey flat to a nice ground floor place with a garden. Getting the larger pieces of furniture down the narrow staircase that led to Ged’s flat was not easy, but throwing it off the balcony would have led to some damage. Unfortunately, we have a bad internet connection here so gonna try and get some photos up soon.

Next stop New York, which I’m very excited about and which we’ll have more about next week. Until then, au revoir.

B & S

Montreal has it's own Nelson's column. Yes I know, I couldn't believe it either.

The view from the mountain. More of a hill really.

Excited by the prospect of another fine England performance. That's right we're about to watch the cricket.

What a beautiful day for a bike ride!

We've entered this pic in a best holiday picture contest. We're hopeful!

I saw this tribute to the late 70's hit TV show Monkey in China Town

Even got to play some football at one of Ged's coaching sessions.

As an international cricketer I'm often asked for batting tips whilst in the park.

The front of our holiday apartment.