Canada, c’est tres froid!

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It is very cold here.   The temperature has not been above 0 degrees, in fact the warmest it has been is about -16 degrees.  So far the coldest it has been is about -29 degrees with a wind chill factor taking it to -39 degrees.  Believe me that is cold, certainly the coldest I have ever felt outside of a freezer.  To give you some idea of the cold yesterday (Wednesday 23 January) we went out into the  -29 degrees. I had on five layers of merino plus a jacket provided by Graham.  I had two pairs of socks on in my lined boots, a scarf, my warm hat, and gloves.  I looked like Michelin man.  What I did not have on was any long johns.  A big mistake!  Initially when going out into the cold it felt a little sharp. Within five minutes it felt like my legs were going to stop operating.  It was like they were permanently in a bath that was full of ice-cubes with all the heat being soaked out of them.  I did not have a neck warmer so my face got colder and colder until I wrapped my scarf around my face.  We lasted about 20 minutes in that cold before we sought refuge in a supermarche.  We were told that this was close to record cold temperature.  Even though it has been sunny unlike New Zealand there is no warmth to be felt when standing in the sun.  It was a disconcerting experience.

Taking a rest from snowshoeing

Backtracking a bit.  On Monday we were taken snowshoeing in the Gatineau Park  which is about twenty kilometres from Ottawa.  It is a park used for recreation throughout the year.  At this time of year it is snowshoeing and cross-country skiing.  It was a relatively mild day of around -16 degrees.  Once we got to the park snow shoes were rented and then we walked to a couple of marked trails where we inserted our feet into the snow shoes and then began a very different form of walking on the trails.  Despite the cold  (which we were well protected from) I quickly became warm from the exertion.  We went up and down hills and even went off trail to walk through the deeper non compacted snow and this worked really well preventing one from sinking to the waist.  The snow shoes we used were not at all like the tennis shoe ones that you might have seen. 

All the stream is not ice

We did that for about an hour by which time we were ready for a late lunch which we had at a local pub.  There we got a bowl of poutine which is chips smothered in gravy and melted cheese.  It was perfect food for the cold.  I had a burger but the pattie was badly over cooked.  This was accompanied by a refreshing local beer with 9% alcohol!

We then went to a local spa where there were hot pools, which were mostly outside.  We sat in a hot pool with snow all around us (sorry no photos) with the outside temperature dropping as night approached.  There was also a sauna that we tried which was quite nice as that got me really hot and sweaty.  After the second try at that I went into a pool that was meant to be bath temperature (I am sure it was close to 10 degrees not blood temperature) but it was very refreshing.  The whole experience left me feeling really good despite traipsing across icy concrete that would have been about -20 degrees, grabbing hand rails that were so cold you could feel your skin sticking to it and freezing when I got out of the pool and went to other venues. 

Hedy and Graham then cooked yet another lovely meal for us that included a nice soup, for the main quinoa and chicken with a maple syrup sauce that was delicious.   (I am sure I have put on some more weight and will need to be on salads for the next month).

On Tuesday we went to Montréal.  We went over the Ottawa river on a ferry where it was ice-free.  Then we went down to Cornwall which is beside the St Lawrence river.  It was interesting doing the drive as the amount snow on the land got less and less.  The river at Cornwall was not frozen.  We had a coffee and muffin in a Canadian chain called Tim Horton’s.  Apparently it is very popular with Canadians.

Street scene Gloucester

The St Lawrence River was quite fast flowing and there was ice around the edges of it but as morphed into a lake it still seemed ice-free.  It was a real contrast once we got to Montreal where there was a lot of snow around and a lake close to the motorway was very iced up.  It was very cold when we got to our destination where I met more of Bev’s relatives before being dropped off at the Bed and Breakfast where we were to stay for the night. 

Passing a ferry on the Ottawa River

We went out to a restaurant called La salle á manger for dinner with Graham and Hedy’s family.  This involved hailing a taxi from the street.  It was bitterly cold outside and a number of taxis went past before one stopped.  We got in and in my best French I provided the man with the address.  At first he did not understand my heavily accented attempt but with some repetition he finally understood.  He then asked where we came from and I said NZ to which he responded I wish English Canadians would use French more often.  He then chatted away to us in French and occasionally English until be got to our destination.  What was rather funny was that he was listening to the English version of CBC radio. 

The meal and evening at La salle à manger was wonderful.  The food was French style.  We shared a wonderful charcuterie (a mixture of dried meats, rillettes and pâté).  I could have eaten anything on the menu, but settled to share a dish of rabbit with Bev.  It was OK, not has tender as could have been but very interesting and I am glad that I had it. 

When we got back to the B&B we met the other person staying who was from Avignon in France.  I talked with her in French, not has well I would have liked but it was nice to have someone who spoke slowly and enabled me to stumble along with my French. 

Outside the B&B

The next morning (Wednesday) over breakfast there was another opportunity to speak a bit of French with her.  The owner of the B&B was a real character. He is a 68 year old architect who worked at Concordia University.  He was French Canadian but equally comfortable in either language.  His father had encouraged him to be fluent in both languages saying that it provided wider opportunities.  He also had a cabin near a lake about an hour north of Montreal and he showed us some pictures which looked wonderful.  It was amongst cedar which he said was really good for deterring the mosquitos during the summer. 

After breakfast we went out walking to get some bits and pieces at one of  the nearby shops.    It was still bitterly cold making photo taking seriously difficult as the hands almost stopped working if you took off your gloves  for any length of time.   It took an age for them to get warm again afterwards. 

Centre-ville Montreal

Graham and Hedy were at the B&B when we returned along with Maya (their daughter-in-law).  They took us for a drive up Mont Royal which provided a wonderful view over the city towards a very frozen St Lawrence River.  It was a good opportunity to take a few photos. 

It was lunch time and we were taken to a pie shop for lunch.  It is called TA  which is short for Tartiere Australiene. It is run by a New Zealander and his French Canadian wife.  There were the traditional pies of which we all had one.  They had decent meat in them.  The major difference between those and the New Zealand pie was that they used a short crust pastry instead of flaky pastry.  There were also afghans, melting moments, caramel slice, mini pavlova, and lamingtons.  One of the workers was a Melbournian and I guess that the New Zealander must have worked in Australia for a while to decide to focus on the Australian food although lots of things are shared across the Tasman.  The afghan was a take on the ones I am used to with chocolate constituting the biscuit whereas I think in New Zealand it is cocoa in the biscuit part with a chocolate icing. 

Mont Royal near our B&B

On our return to Ottawa we were again fed well with Atlantic salmon, sweet potato and peas.  The dessert was brownies, that had a soft biscuit base with a ganache then topped off with a chocolate icing - it was drool stuff. I have really enjoyed  having home cooked food.   After dinner we went for a drive to see if people were skating on the Rideau Canal and to see Parliament Buildings. I was disappointed that they were not well lit up as they are beautiful buildings but we did see some skaters on the canal.  This ended an enjoyable but action packed three days.   

-21degrees - almost warm

What I shall not forget is the snow.  It is everywhere, in big piles at the side of the road, with gaps in which people can drive their cars on the driveway.  The exception is Montreal where in the inner city people park on the side of the road.  There it was very rough and icy making it difficult to park or if you were parked to sometimes get out.  The roads are regularly salted to melt the snow so there is this white appearance to cars and the pavement.  There is also large amounts of ice on the edge of the road which if you hit would cause a bit of a problem.