One Year Away

Penny

As Joe mentioned in the earlier post, we returned to Canada for a total of 12 days to attend two of our friends weddings. We also took the opportunity to see our families (including Vincent, the newest edition to the del Moral clan) and our friends who we missed so much.

The break from our regular travel schedule was great.  Although we did travel over 2,500 KM within Canada to get to the different wedding locations, it was relaxing to be in a place where you know where  to find your nearest Starbucks and the nearest pharmacy! I took the opportunity being back in Montreal to enjoy simple things including having coffee with my mom on our back patio… It was things like that that I missed  the most!

After returning to Montreal from Toronto, we had a few days to spend time with our families.  We had a dinner at Joe’s place where his brother Michael cooked an amazing paella (a typical Spanish rice dish).  That was also the first time that we met his 3 month old son Vincent.  He is as cute as a button and his nickname “gummy bear” (given by his grandmother) is very appropriate. 

On Friday, we were back on the road and off to Chicoutimi for Alex and Marie’s wedding.  All of the “gang” from Montreal was there.  We went out on Friday for a bite to eat and then most of us went back to the hotel to get a good night sleep to be ready for the wedding reception the following day.  On Saturday morning, like true Canadians, we all headed to Tim Horton’s for breakfast.  Then it was off to get ready for the wedding.

The wedding was at 2PM in a beautiful church on a hill in the center of town.  The  ceremony was lovely and of course the bride looked stunning.  As the newly-weds hopped into their antique car, we hopped into our Civic and headed to an old theater where the reception was held.  The dinner was set up as though all the guests were actors taking part in Alex and Marie’s theater production.  After an excellent meal of Asian fusion cuisine, the party and music started with a great selection of 80’s music.  We all danced the night away until 2PM.

The following day, we were on the road again.  We returned to Montreal and once again packed our trusty backpacks for 6 weeks in Europe, the final leg of our trip.  We took advantage of the return home to replace most of our well-worn clothes with newer more stylish ones better suited for Europe.  By late Monday afternoon, we were on a plane again!