This weekend caught both me and Natalie (who spent most of it as well) by total surprise. We thought it was gonna be a chance to get out batteries charged after these past two weeks, and get ready for the busyness of next week. Well, as the weekend processed we found ourselves doing things, meeting people and going to places that we had never thought possible, and which filled our "peaceful" weekend with lots of activities.
On Saturday, we headed out to our favorite (hahah, like there is many) windsurfing spot in Lachine. Due to the lack of wind that day, windsurfing turned into a boat ride on the lake. We made a deal with the workers of the sailing school that I would teach them how to surf on Sunday, and in exchange they would teach me how to sail. Well maybe we'll go sailing later, if the weather is nice enough, but in the meantime we got to see the island of Montreal from another perspective :DD I think it was a pretty sweet trade off.
Quite exhausted from this surfing trip, and the journey there (metro + bus one direction about an hour, ahh the way back always seems to last forever!) we were to meet Natalie's 'landlord' and their friends, and head out to a Quebecois Octoberfest (http://oktoberfestdesquebecois.com/). We had absolutely no idea what that wasgoing to be about. Nevertheless we ate up got dressed and hopped in the car. The car drive to the city of Mascouche, took a good 45 minutes with few wrong turns, dark roads, and a stop to a Couche-Tard (local gas station) to get some candies and sandwiches.
According to Natalie (who is half German) this Quebecois festival resembled an actual German "kyläjuhla" with its beer, sausage, pretzel, cider, chocolate, and poutine stands(poutine = a local version of pyttipannu, with french fries, gravy and cheese bites). Along with traditional dances and German slogans and music everywhere . There also was a local band playing which seemed to be the highlight of the festival at 9.00PM. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4bLuSbQ2P_s&feature=related.
It was interesting to walk around and look at the different stands, talk to the local producers, and obviously taste some of the local beers and ciders (it was an Octoberfest after all ! ) However, we both hadn't realized that this time of the year the nights are pretty cold, and maybe walking around in a sweater isn't the best thing to do. So as the festival came to the end around eleven, we were all happy sitting in the car to be heading home to Le Plateau.
This morning despite a sore throat, lack of sleep, and a nice dream, we were eager to go surfing for the last day (today was the last day the sailing school was open for this season). The wind was perfect in the morning for "my four students" to get into the water. Unfortunately the weather was a bit chilly, but everyone was super excited. Natalie got few really nice tacky-turns in a row, way to goo! After the lunch break at a near by boulangerie, the wind had picked up quite a bit! But it was so much fun to finish the season with a good surf session. (I hope it wasn't it, but you never know)
We finished the day off with a walk up Parc Mont Royal, with "my" puppy TG (my roomate's 5 month old puppy). Along the way, we heard the TAM TAMS (drum show performed every Sunday), medieval role players, and saw Montreal almost from a 'bird's eye's view'. Despite the rain, it gave the day a feeling of a lazy Sunday afternoon.
Right now, after makaronilaatikko (we decided it was time for some food from home), a bit of writing, candlelight and tea, I think its time to get to bed. Next week might not start with a great load of energy, but at least we had a fabulous weekend .
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