Bonjour, Quebec City!

Chapter 1: Bonjour, Quebec City! 

With Gray in Quebec City!

Today was Day 1, or in French, la premiere jour.  We packed up the van, set up the 2015 Kia Sedona van’s built-in GPS to lead us to the L’Arche Quebec City L’Arche House at which we were to stay, then took off in 2 vehicles:  a rental Mazda small mini-minivan, and our Kia Sedona, to Quebec City.  On the way we stopped in Woodstock where all these years I thought the farm at which I first picked up Molly was, but I got a text correcting me that it was in Centreville.  But we stopped and picnicked with the whole group.  We later took off and stopped in a Tim Horton’s close to the NB\Quebec Border.  Once we crossed the Border we stopped in a Quebec tourist centre for some info on Quebec City.  We drove some more, watching Hairspray on Maren’s computer.  Within a couple hours we arrived in Quebec City and turned the GPS voice-over on, which guided us to the house we were staying at.  After settling, we watched a video the house’s leader produced.  Then Gray and I walked to a nearby pizza restaurant, ordered pizza, and left, stopping at a Jean Coutu for San Pellegrino and other drinks.  Then we had supper together at our house and watched Kristina’s copy of Mamma Mia on the house’s LG flatscreen.  Then we went to bed. 

Chapter 2: Bus tour, tour d’autobus

Today we woke up, had toast and got in our van, setting up the GPS, which guided us to an underground parking garage near the Chateau Frontenac.  We were to split into 2 groups and one would go on a bus tour and the other would browse and explore the area.  On the way we drove down the street with the McDonald’s where I had the hotcakes and sausages with Dad before meeting Molly but the Archambault where I listened to the listening posts had apparently went out of business a long time ago.  We had a picnic with sandwiches, chips, cheesies, juice, and, of course, our water bottles.  We walked, browsed at a few stores, and paid for and awaited our bus tour.  We boarded the bus, which was a double decker, and sat in the upper level, awaiting the tour.  We drove through Old Quebec as the narrator gave us information on each historical building, landmark, and monument.  After the bus tour Gray and I went into the Frontenac’s lobby and took a picture of me in front of the elevators which Dad and I used to go to our room that October 1999 time, and then we walked to the car...and found a water fountain at which people were walking and running through hoses spraying water, most in bathing suits, and we had a lot of fun!  Tonight we had supper...and watched Stephane’s copy of Mrs. Doubtfire on the flatscreen...and went to bed. 

Chapter 3: Frontenac area revisited

We left...and split into 2 groups again and this time my group was browsing and the other would go on the bus tour.  We picnicked again...and went back to the Frontenac area.   While the other group prepared for the bus tour, we toured the Basilique Notre-Dame de Quebec at which we heard an organ tuning in progress and had Stephane pray for his church friends and family, went to a gift shop where I bought a Quebec City book with photos and information, browsed at some stores, including a department store called Simon’s, walked down the streets in search of a gelato\ice cream store...and found a store at which our group, including Maren who needed a taste of Canadian Maple Taffy before she headed back to Germany, and all had a sample.  We walked further...and I found a Source by Circuit City...and bought a green mist fan, one thing on my wish list.  Then we walked back to the Frontenac area...and stopped at a bakery so all of us could have a Quebec croissant, including Maren.  Then we walked down the street...and found a gelato place and I had the Gateau De Fromage gelato for the first time, which I enjoyed.   Then we went to the underground parking garage...and went home.  That is, our Home Away From Home, which is what I call L’Arche houses in other places where I stay on Vacation or Exchange.  Then after supper I watched Babe on the flat screen, and with the Hi Def, Fly and Rex and the Puppies’ moves were so real it was like reliving the day Molly and I first met on that Centreville horse farm.  Rena, if you see this Blog, I would like you to know a few things:  That in 2006 I lost her at 6 years to a tumor, that I still think of her, that I hope her 3 other sisters from the litter live nice long lives, and that I still look at the photos of her at all stages of her life.  Then we went to bed. 

Chapter 4: Ou Est HMV, Ou Est Archambault? 

Today was Shopping Day!   After breakfast we got in both vehicles, set the GPS systems, and followed the GPS to the mall.  This mall was like Quebec’s version of Edmonton’s West Edmonton Mall and Minneapolis’ Mall of America, as this not only had cool shops and services, but this also had a roller coaster, an ice rink where people could skate/play hockey, an arcade, an amusement park, and a huge IMAX movie theatre with all showings in French, except for Minions or in French, Les Minions, starring the yellow gibberish-speaking characters from Despicable Me.  We gathered, went up an escalator from which we could see the hockey\skating rink (Kristina took the elevator as she was in a wheelchair and did little stairs and no escalators) and within minutes, found HMV.  Here I bought Annie, Mrs. Doubtfire, Pitch Perfect, and Jurassic Park on DVD and Now Party Anthems on CD.  Others made great purchases too.  Then we went down another escalator, while Kristina took an elevator, to a store called Forever 21, specializing in fashion and jewelry, and during that whole time, I tried looking for a sac a dos or backpack, but there was none in sight, and Gray had to take Kristina back to our Home Away From Home while the rest of us did more browsing...and ate at the food court with a view of the amusement park, the skating/hockey rink, and the arcade.   Then we went home.  Then I watched my copy of Pitch Perfect on the flatscreen, enjoying the songs again, and awaiting supper.  Back when I was with family on Stay-cation, we watched that movie with Erin, Christopher, and Jen and Brian on their Samsung flatscreen, with Danny by my side for most of the time.  But I still wanted to do 2 more things:  get a gift for Debbie for her birthday which was the next day, and see Archambault and listen and make a purchase, so later after supper Gray and I left the house, following the GPS back to the Galeries De La Capitale, also known as the Mega Parc.  We went into the mall’s Simon’s which was apparently a chain in Quebec, as earlier we were in one down the road and around the corner from the Basilique Notre Dame de Quebec, and this one was in a mall in a different location.  Here we got a scarf for Debbie which she wanted when we were in the other Simon’s and played with ideas of gifts to give the house we were staying in as a merci for letting us stay in the maison.  Then we looked for a sweet shop and found one on the end of the rink and got Debbie and Jocelyn each a treat bag.  Then we went through Simon’s, got in the car...and drove to the Archambault, which I found in no time!  There they had computerized and 3-disc listening posts so I had to ecoute.  This not only had DVDs, CDs, and books, but there was also an instrument department with pianos, guitars, other instruments, instruction DVDs and music books.  Here I bought Beverly Hills Chihuahua 3, thinking it was 2 and 3 because of the look of the case.  We also bought Debbie a DVD as a gift.  Then we went into a home décor store next door as Gray wanted things for her new apartment and we played with ideas for the house.  Tonight, once we went home, we watched my new DVD, which showed a CGI Chloe the Chihuahua playing classical music on a hotel’s piano twice, once slowly, and once up-tempo. 

Chapter 5:  Poissons et Oursoms de Polar a L’Aquarium

At the Aquarium

Today we were to go to the Aquarium and there were amphitheatres like in Free Willy where Jesse is assigned to clean off graffiti after being caught by cops for vandalism and stealing restaurant food and a caterer’s cake with his friends and makes friends with the whale of the title.  Then and there I wondered if the whale tank draining scene was just CGI like the Jaws shark and the Jurassic Park dinosaurs and that amphitheatre is the same one in Free Willy.  Here we saw all kinds of sea life, 2 polar bears, some seals, and a walrus.  Here we picnicked, got a tour...and went home to get changed as while we were outside it poured rain, cleared up, poured rain, cleared up, and poured rain some more.  Kristina sat this outing out and it occurred to us she may not have been feeling well, which worried me.  Tonight we went back downtown or uptown (Monctonians call downtown “downtown”, and some Saint Johners like me call downtown “uptown”) and got some gelato (I got Gateau de Fromage) and we searched the downtown area for a restaurant, stopping in Notre Dame churches for a tour during which Stephane prayed to himself for his church friends.  After a short walk we found a pizza place called Pizz. I got the Hawaiian Pizza with a San Pellegrino Limonata as did someone else.  I ordered in French as I had been practicing my French skills for this entire trip.  Then we found the car...and went to our H.A.F.H. (Home Away From Home) 

Chapter 6: Bienvenue, Andreanne, et Bonne Fete, Debbie!

Today was Debbie’s Birthday and she wanted a pancake breakfast for her birthday.  And Andreanne visited us from Montreal.  BTW, Andreanne was an Assistant in 2011/2012 and was with us on Vacation, McKin-Mas, said goodbye to me when I went to Atlanta with John O’Donnell, Jocelyn, and Don Dickson, and went with me and a few people to hockey games.  She joined us at our table.  After breakfast we sang Happy Birthday to Debbie, gave her a cake to blow out the candle...and gave her the birthday gifts which we had bought 2 nights ago.  Then we relaxed...and went downtown just one more time.   Here we parked by the Terminale de Croisiere, and went to a few shops.  Today some of us went to a few shops, had a few of us, including Maren, but except for me, try a Beaver Tail, which was like a giant donut sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar, another Canadian delicacy, and went to the Farmer’s Market, where Krista, who now had a sore hip, had a Diet Pepsi, and Gray had a San Pellegrino Aranciata, and looked around for oven mitts for the house as a merci gift without luck.  Then we took the Funiculaire, which was the train-like elevator that leads from way below the Frontenac to the area, which was so much fun.   Then we went to the gelato shop in the Frontenac AGAIN and I, once again, had the Gateau de Fromage in a waffle cone and others had the same thing.  Then Gray, Stephane, and I, all went to the Basilique Notre-Dame de Quebec for a Mass in French, which was on Stephane’s wish list and I shared this wish, as finding an all-English mass in Quebec City was like trying to find a needle in a haystack.  But I enjoyed this too with the music from the organ, and I donated $2 to the church.  After this we went to the first Simon’s, which was my idea, and looked for oven mitts and other kitchen accessories, as their current ones were not very good.  We bought some with pictures of lobsters to remind them that we were from New Brunswick, home of Shediac, dubbed “The Lobster Capital of the World”.  Then we took the Funiculaire again for the way back...and drove home...while at home Debbie and the others were thinking of places to eat for her Birthday.  She wanted nachos like she gets when she goes to a local Saint John restaurant called Thandi’s, so we walked, while some drove, from the house...to a Mexican Restaurant.  Here we were celebrating 2 things:  of course Debbie’s Birthday, and our last day of a successful, all-dream-filled vacation in Quebec City.  I had chicken nachos minus the onions with a Pina Colasa minus the alcohol.  Others had Mexican favorites.  Then the waiters, holding a cake, sang Happy Birthday and some of us added harmonies.  Then we went home...and straight to bed after our meds were taken, as it was a little after 10:00pm and next morning we had to pack up, clean the house, and head home! 

Chapter 7: Au Revoir, Quebec City!

Enjoying the drive

We indeed had breakfast packed up, cleaned the house, made sure we had everything...and headed home, saying good-bye to Quebec.  On the way we stopped at Subway for lunch for all different subs.  As a note, the Subway chain was Krista’s favorite place as she always says this was healthy with lots of veggies to choose from, compared to McDonald’s and burger places.  Then we drove some more, watching one of Kristina’s new DVDs, the 2014 update of Annie which we watched at the theatre the previous Winter after my New York Christmas, and I recognized the places shot in the movie from being there, and I was amazed at the size of the building where Annie stays with her adopted family.  Once we crossed the border we stopped at Tim Horton’s and we had snacks and I ordered in French. Then we went home a little after 10:00, unpacking our things and sending the rental car back to Enterprise.  

Carry The Dream: Atlanta 2012

John O’Donnell and I were to go to Mobile, AL., for a weekend, and then to Atlanta for a L’Arche International Assembly.  The day John O’Donnell and I met for the big trip I was met with a surprise:  He and I were to take a night at a hotel near the Airport.  And it was so.  We took a room at the Halifax Airport Comfort Inn.  I swam in the hotel’s indoor pool and went to bed that night. 

The day we woke up we took a shuttle to the Halifax Stanfield International Airport from where we were to take not 1, not 2, but THREE different planes (thank God all jets) to Toronto, to Atlanta, and then to Mobile.  We went through security without so much as a chirp.  We boarded plane #1 of 3.  In no time we took off and in no time we landed at Pearson International Airport.  Here we were to fill out a US Customs & Border Protection declaration that declared purpose of trip, age, address, whether or not we were carrying fruits, vegetables, or forbidden things, and reason for trip, and then go through Customs before going through security.  We went through US Customs successfully, and then checked our bags again, and then proceeded to our gate only to discover that plane #2 was experiencing mechanical difficulties, and so we were diverted from the original designated gate to another one.  Due to the delay we missed the connecting Delta plane to Mobile.  We booked another one, boarded that one, and landed in Mobile at 10:10 pm Central.   There were people there to pick us up. 

Day 1 in the U.S. we took a drive to the Mardi Gras Museum in Mobile and saw exhibits that told us Mobile was the birthplace of Mardi Gras parades.  Then we took a drive to a house with a pool; a beach nearby; and a Bel Air-style house.  We had a BBQ and a swim. 

The next day we took a drive as a 3-rental-car convoy to Atlanta and on the way we stopped at the Cracker Barrel Restaurant.  A friend took my camera and took a picture of me holding a case of glass bottles of Coca-Cola, the reason being I read in my Atlanta Book that Coca-Cola was invented in Atlanta.  Soon we got to the Agnes Scott College, set up, and I went with my driver to the Airport so as he could return the rental car, and the 2 of us took MARTA (the city’s transit train) back to the College.  We had our opening ceremonies and our theme song was called “Carry The Dream”, written by John Coleman, inspired by Martin Luther King, Junior’s famous “I Have A Dream” speech.  All the songs during this week were beautiful.  I met lots of friends from all across the world.   

The next day we had a couple assemblies and a Catholic mass in both English and French.  Other days we had church services of all kinds.  We also went to church services at a Presbyterian Church and an Episcopal Church.  The assemblies we went to were spoken in English, French, and Spanish.  We had radios with headphones that translated to English French and Spanish, like say words and prayers were spoken in French or Spanish, we could listen to it in English nonetheless.  That was helpful.  Every night from that night on we had pub nights, and we had 7 pub nights in a row.   John and I went to Decatur CD store and I purchased the DVDs Like Mike, Space Jam, and Beethoven/Beethoven’s 2nd Double Feature, along with the CDs Black Eyed Peas The E.N.D. and The Black Eyed Peas The Beginning, all for great prices.

On our final full day in Atlanta we went on a bus tour on a school bus to the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site, with education about how before “I Have A Dream” people were separated from each other because of their races, cultures, colors, religions, faiths, and abilities, which I already knew about after being in STAR (Students Against Racism), and learning about the World Wars, at Catholic Church to which Dr. King went; got a tour of a museum; and listened to a gospel choir from Mobile singing beautiful songs like O Happy Day, We Shall Overcome, and other gospel favorites.  They then played a video of Martin Luther King Jr.’s famous “I Have A Dream” speech.  The next day the same gospel choir sang at our assembly at the College. 

After the final night in Atlanta we said goodbye to our new friends; took the bus to the MARTA Station; took a MARTA Train to the Atlanta Airport; tried to find the ticketing agent; checked our bags; boarded plane #1 of 2 planes, which took off in no time and took us to Pearson Airport.  We went through Canadian Customs and connected planes to plane #2 to Halifax Airport.  We stayed in L’Arche Halifax the day we landed.  At Toronto Airport I had purchased the CD Mumford & Sons Sigh No More.  ​

The next day we drove to Saint John, and that was the end of the journey, and therefore,  the end of the story. 

An A+++++++++++++++++++++ New York City Christmas Week!

Chapter 1: The Food

The day we landed we went to the hotel, the Smyth Tribeca, put things in our room, freshened up, watched a bit on our rooms’ LG flat screens, and went to a nearby restaurant and I had a New York meatball pizza with Pellegrino sparkling water for lunch. 

That night we went to a restaurant (Minetta Tavern) and I had a hamburger with fries and some others in our group were having the same thing, so I could say the famous When Harry Met Sally line “I’ll have what she’s having” after Meg Ryan’s oohs and aahs. 

The next day we gathered in the hotel’s restaurant and I had a New York bagel with cream cheese. 

The lunch was a Chinese buffet at a restaurant with a sparkling orange drink. 

The supper was a Fettuccini Alfredo supper with both sparking and regular water at an Italian restaurant in Times Square near the location for our play. 

The next day breakfast was Greek yogurt with berries and a croissant with sparkling Orange Pellegrino. 

The lunch was a McDonald’s McChicken with fries and a strawberry smoothie. 

The supper after the Rockettes Christmas Spectacular at Radio City Music Hall was chicken tenders with fries, sparkling water, and an ice cream plus some shared New York cheesecake at Rockefeller Center’s café and we had not only a good meal, but we could see the outdoor rink and fountain where Buddy the Elf and Jovie kiss on their date scene. 

The breakfast was a brunch at Mom and Dad’s luxury suite with fruit, yogurt and berries, crackers, croissants, and sparkling lemon and sparkling orange Pellegrino. 

The lunch was a New York street-stand hot dog with ketchup, mustard, and relish RIGHT IN FRONT OF MADISON SQUARE GARDEN!  [See the full story of why this part is great in the Sights chapter] 

The supper was at Mercer Kitchen and I had Fish and Chips (Flounder, Ariel’s friend in The Little Mermaid, as opposed to the cod and haddock I order in Canada) with sparkling water and mango sorbet for dessert. 

The following breakfast was another yogurt and berries with orange drink. 

I had one of the store-purchased New York cheesecakes with a Starbucks strawberry smoothie. 

For lunch I had a pizza sub at a Potbelly’s sub shop with sparkling blood orange Pellegrino. 

For supper before the Movie On-Location bus tour, I had, yet, another street-side New York hot dog with all 3 condiments. 

For breakfast before takeoff I had another New York bagel with cream cheese with water. 

Chapter 2: The Sights

From the first plane during takeoff I could see the highway and most of Moncton before dawn. 

When we landed in Montreal I could see the Olympic Stadium, home of the Bio-dome and the old MLB team the Montreal Expos. 

After customs we headed to our gate and I could hear final boarding calls for places like Chicago, Orlando, Minneapolis, and then finally...Newark, where we were landing. 

When plane #2 finally landed in Newark it looked like the opening of The Blues Brothers before Jake is freed and is picked up by his brother…”IN A POLICE CAR!”  When we got out of the gate we went up an escalator…and met up with Stephanie, Glen, and Mary! 

When we got in the shuttle van, I could see the Statue of Liberty, the Chrysler Building, and the Empire State Building. 

Enjoying Smyth Tribeca to the fullest.

When we got into the hotel and finally saw our rooms I could see we had a large LG Flat Screen, a bed, a luxury bathroom with shower, and an excellent street view. 

Then we went to a few shops to browse and one had lots of good clothes, and another had great jewelry and another had lots of furniture…and a Steinway grand piano with a picture of New York City above the Steinway logo on the cover. 

The first day we went to Schwartz’s Toy Store where the giant foot piano Tom Hanks and his friend/s play with in the movie Big and I was hoping the foot piano would be there so I could play Let it Go from Frozen, but it was not there. 

Then I saw the Empire State Building and the inside looks almost exactly like in Elf.  The decorations throughout the building were beautifully lit up for Christmas.  When we went into the elevator we soon arrived on the 25th floor where we were to meet Glen’s friend at LinkedIn, who would give us the free tour to the observatory.  When we went through security, we went onto another elevator, which took us to the 80th floor.  And there was the observatory.  Too bad it was too foggy to see the buildings from the observatory, but we went anyway.  Then we saw the gift shop and I bought the movie Sleepless in Seattle, which ends right in the observatory of that very building with Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks finally together with their son!  Mom also bought some souvenirs for McKim House! 

Waiting to go up to the observation deck inside the Empire State Building.

After this we saw the giant department Macy’s, AKA Gimbel’s in Elf.  We went up several wooden escalators and had drinks at the 6th floor’s restaurant.  Between floors Stephanie and Mom bought clothes there and I wanted to see the electronics/movies/music section if there was one. 

After this we walked down the streets and I saw and went in St. Patrick’s Cathedral, and I wondered what New York’s bishop’s name was as it is often read in the Eucharistic Prayers before communion at Mass, and I thought of my grandparents, Stephane, and Marilyn.  I paid 2 American dollar bills and lit a candle in memory of my grandparents. 

After this we walked past several stores and then past Rockefeller Center and saw its giant Christmas tree and its outdoor skating rink where Buddy and Jovie skate in the date scene of Elf before the big fight with Miles Finch.  Then, after walking for several miles, that’s right, US miles (if we were in Canada I’d say kilometers) we took a cab back to our hotel room. 

We then saw Times Square at night and the lights were unbelievable!  It was like giant flat screens and video screens on giant pro arena and field scoreboards. 

The following night we went to an Italian restaurant in Times Square [see the menu in the food chapter]. 

Then we saw It’s Only a Play, at a nearby theater, starring Ferris Bueller’s Day Off’s Matthew Brocerick, Grease’s Stockard Channing, and Stuart Little’s Nathan Lane, whom you may know as Snowbell, the snooty and funny white cat.  Each star, on their appearance, got a rousing cheer and applause. 

Across from the theater was a huge Marriott Hotel, which, judging by the size, was, I guess, very expensive to stay in.

We took a cab after this through and past the big, amazing lights of Times Square back to our hotel. 

The following morning Mom, Stephanie, and I, and Mary, all went to Barnes & Noble, and we went up an escalator...and there was the bookstore.  Originally, I was going to buy, that’s right, buy, my own copy of Nop’s Trials, expecting it to be in stock here, but it was not in stock, so instead I bought a Border Collie book and Stephanie bought me a James Herriot book, a compilation of short dog stories, and Mom promised me she would order Nop’s Trials and Nop’s Hope for my birthday, in fact coming up on January 7th. 

Then we went to Whole Foods to pick up some local groceries for the hotel room, like small New York cheesecakes, 2 Pellegrino sparking lemonades and 1 Pellegrino sparking orange drink, BBQ chips and nachos, lots of berries, Greek yogurt, and croissants. 

Tonight was the big show at Radio City Music Hall, where Warbucks and Farrell take Annie for Camille in the movie Annie, with the Rockettes and a fabulous Christmas Story with real live sheep and camels!  There was a huge rising stage, a 3D movie, a giant moving orchestra pit, and 2 huge pipe organ keyboard sets with 2 organists dueling with each other! 

Then we had supper at the Rockefeller Center Café and it was amazing.  [See the food chapter for the menu}  From where I was sitting I could see some Christmas trees and the outdoor skating rink, where some people were putting on skating shows.  When I walked around I took a picture of the giant tree where Kevin and his mother meet up near the end of Home Alone 2 and the rink. 

The cab that took us home drove, unexpectedly, past Madison Square Garden where the Knicks and Rangers play. 

When we got to the hotel, channel 26 had started 24 Hours of A Christmas Story and it was probably the only year I got to see this movie on a hotel’s LG flat screen, and as you see in the picture, something else rare, on the LG flat screen in the hotel, the closed captioning under Miss Shields reads a famous Christmas Story line “You call this a paragraph?” 

The following morning Mom gave me my socks back, which I had given her to use as Christmas Morning stockings, and in it were a package of mints from the Empire State Building with the picture on it, shower gel from the hotel, a New York t-shirt, a New York key chain, and 2 extra US dollar bills.   

I watched my new Sleepless DVD on Mom and Dad’s suite’s flat screen and took a picture of the Empire State Building scene where Hanks and Ryan meet in the end.  We noticed that from the suite we could see the peace tower, which replaced the World Trade Center after the horrible terrorist attacks with hijacked planes on September 11th, 2001, and the Empire State Building, which is beautifully lit at night, as you can see from Kevin’s room in Home Alone 2.  We also Face Timed Melody and Erin. 

Then we took the subway to a place called the High Line, where there used to be train tracks and a train, now a park, with good views.  Also from here we could see the Empire State building. 

We looked for a place to have lunch… and where should we find a hot dog stand on a nice sunny day…but Madison Square Garden, where a Knicks game just finished.  My memory associated with that arena was that every February the Westminster Dog Show happens in 2 days, and my favorite year was 2005, where there was a Cardigan Welsh Corgi by the name of Harry Potter, and the winner of the herding group, the last group before Best in Show, was, in fact, a Border Collie by the name of Merlin, a big moment for Border Collie lovers like me, and I hoped he would win Best in Show, but he was shortlisted.  Other events that happen here include pro hockey games, pro basketball games, college basketball games, and concerts.  This building is also Penn Station, a train station.  And from where I was standing it looked like a giant mall, linked by escalators.     After this…we went in to find a gift shop.  Then we found the subway station…and took the subway to our hotel.  Tonight we went to a restaurant for supper by cab [see chapter 1 for the menu].  Then we walked down a street past several stores, including the furniture store.  Then we picked up a cab and went back. 

Madison Square Garden

The next day some of us went to Central Park by subway and it was like living in the movies set there.  At a gift shop mom bought a book called Strawberry Fields.  We thought of going to the zoo, but we decided to skip it.  We walked past the Plaza where Home Alone 2 was set.  I took pictures from all angles.  Then we walked past this and went past several stores.  We went into Tiffany’s Jewelry Store, where the new locket comes from in Annie.  Then we walked past several other jewelry and department stores, one more time past St. Patrick’s Cathedral, one more time past Rockefeller Center and its giant Christmas tree, and past Empire State Building, which now had a 2-hour wait to see the observatory due to the now nice sunny day. 

The Plaza

We played with the idea of going to Macy’s again, but it was crazy busy.  We steered out, picked up a cab, and went to the hotel to relax and freshen up.  Tonight we went to Time Warner Center, a giant mall, and we had another street side hot dog, went into the mall, browsed a little, and went to the second floor to watch the Christmas light show and to gather with a group, as this group was to be led with a tour guide to a bus, and this bus was to take us on a guided tour of Christmas movie locations, with clips and trivia on the screen.  This took a couple of pit stops, and at one, at Barney’s Department Store, we had to stop for 15-20 minutes, as we witnessed a robbery in progress, where a woman was caught red-handed stealing a purse and was screaming at the top of her lungs, denying that she did it when she knew she was caught, and fighting as security guards, dressed and posing as fellow shoppers, were holding her until NYPD cars came and took her to jail, and someone behind me on the bus said it was not her first time doing this and being caught here.  After a few locations, we bailed at a pit stop at Macy’s, flagged a cab, and had it take us back to the hotel room.  It was so sad to see New York at night for the last time. 

The next morning we woke up, had breakfast, enjoyed our hotel for the last couple hours in which I made a video to thank Franck, our hotel’s concierge as I had not met him yet, flagged a cab, and had it take us to Newark Airport.  And it was so sad to see New York City and its amazing sights in the cab’s rearview mirror after such an amazing once-in-a-lifetime Christmas vacation.  We went through security and found our gate, and I was expecting to go through customs here.  Within hours our plane showed up, and within less than one hour we boarded.  We took off, and after less than an hour we landed in Montreal and I saw the Olympic Stadium.   After we came out of the gate, we saw Stephanie, Glen, and Mary en route to their gate, next to ours!  We gathered, went through security one final time, found a restaurant, and ate together one final time on our vacation.  We went to our gates and within minutes Steph and Glen’s plane showed up, then ours showed up.  Within hours Steph, Glen, and Mary, boarded their planes and later we boarded ours.  When we landed in Moncton it was about 11:30pm!  We were so tired. 

Thank you, Stephanie, Glen, and Mary, Mom, and Dad, for making this possible.  And thank you, Franck and the Smyth hotel staff, for the hotel room and its many great amenities!  A thank you to the salesperson at Barnes and Noble who sold me the Border Collie book, a thank you to the LinkedIn people at the Empire State Building for the free tour of Empire State Building, a thank you to the salesperson at the gift shop who sold me the Sleepless movie, a thank you to the waiters at Minetta Tavern, Mercer Kitchen, the pizza place on the 22nd, and the hotel’s restaurant, a huge thank you to the hot dog stand people who sold me the hot dog, and all the people I met who served and helped me during the whole trip, all without whom this trip would not be a huge fun success!