Oh Montreal..

I must admit, the romance I felt with Montreal faded drastically when Winter was here, but as the days get warmer I am quickly rediscovering the beauty of this city again. The nature that surrounds this city has blossomed with Spring and I have been very happily enjoying it. With some dear friends from Australia in town, I was able to play the tourist again and show them around, one of our stops was Mont Royal. Of course I have visited this mountain many times before but I had never taken the time to walk up to the top. Doing this last week was a beautiful experience. It amazed me that such a large, tranquil and green walk trail sat so peacefully right in the middle of down town Montreal. It is so nice to have this contrast of nature and the city to enjoy. The trail is such an escape from the hustle of the city and reaching the top has its own rewards, the view of Montreal is stunning. On my way to the base of the mountain I passed a boutique bicycle shop called Fitz&Folwell. I wondered in with no intention of buying anything, and I walked out.. $600 later with my lovely bike I named Basil. This was the first big thing I have ever bought for myself and so far, it has been more then worth it. My bicycle has enabled me to gain a whole new perspective of Montreal. There is a very unique beauty to the side streets and small shops of the city that I feel you can only find if you know the place well. I am actually quite sad that I am only discovering these special little places now when I only have 4 weeks left here.

One very special place that I feel so blessed to have visited is my coach Stacy's cottage. This place was absolutely breathtaking, no photo I took could truly capture the beauty of this place. The island "Pine Island" is only accessible by a boat, and the lake you cross is so picturesque, it is an experience in itself. As we reached the cottage the first thing that catches your eye is the docks, one with a very fun diving board. The name of the island does not lie, the whole floor is covered in a bed of pine needles and pine coans which are surprisingly soft to walk on. Pine trees crowd the island and provide a stand for the very comfortable hammock Stacy put out. The main structure is what any cottage should be, it is made out of logs and the bookshelves display "Cottage Life" magazines and books on bears, birds (loons) and nature. The decor was my favourite, lots of gas lamps, hand made quilts among other cosy bits and pieces. As we left the main house, we passed a very small beach and a selection of canoes and kayaks. The cabin the four Australians (me, Karina, Stacy's housemate Lisa, and her friend Kaleb) stayed in was the cutest little place I have ever seen. The Grandma in me adored the floral decorations and the pale yellow walls. The cabin is designed for children, and we slept on very cosy bunk beds. Spending two days at this amazing place felt like a retreat, I was able to swim for the first time in ages, enjoy the serenity of the lake on the canoe, relax around the bonfire, lay outside and enjoy the stars (which are rare in Montreal) and indulge in delicious food and tea provided by the lovely Stacy. I want a cottage!

On to the shows,
They have been going swimmingly, I am still having so much fun, and mentally it is becoming less and less taxing which I am pleased about. One show last week was delayed due to 74km/h winds and torrential rains, but other then that Amaluna is settling into a routine and running very smoothly. It is still sinking in that tour begins very soon, I can't describe how excited I am to tour. One thing I am intrigued about is how I am going to pack one years worth of stuff into the two suitcases I came to Montreal with, and carry this around with me for the year and a half. As the routine of show life has set in, we have been able to play around with other disciplines and I have become particularly fond of cerceau. Of course, having the amazing Marie-Michelle Fabre on our show is an inspiration in itself, her cerceau act is incredible and very inspiring for a beginner like me. It has been fun to try something new and search for inspirations for this discipline.

Hello Spring!

Hi! It has only been a week since my last update but I am trying to be a good blogger woman and update the adventures much more regularly. After ten months in Montreal we are only left with 6 more weeks until tour officially starts! We have started doing exciting things like choosing our hotel to stay in for the 4 weeks and deciding what to do for our one week holiday in between Montreal and Quebec City. All of the hotel and apartment choices are very nice, we have a choice of about 5 different places, with different qualities like closeness to the tent, swimming pools, gym etc. All are very beautiful and I feel a little bit spoilt. However, I feel we all deserve the best after spending nearly a year in this tiny, empty room in the residence. I can't say it has been the most exciting accomodation, but hey! It provided a bed and a roof over our heads and that is all we really needed during creation. I chose a hotel 2.5 km from the tent and in the heart of Quebec City. It is a rustic, homely looking hotel with a nice king size bed, I am very excited! My dear Australian friend Karina and I have decided to stay in Quebec City for our one week break. We were tossing up between a variety of places but it seemed more relaxing to just settle in and enjoy the full 7 days without having to worry about flights and all that! I would really like to find some National Parks or nice walking trails and a lake to get my nature fix though. I miss swimming and being around the purity of nature so much. I got a little today on Isk, Ellen and my adventure to St Helene island. There is some beautiful areas around this island and it was very interesting to visit the Biosphere and learn about the human impact on the environment, water and the efforts some amazing people put in to help sustain our lovely planet :) My favourite part was the fashion exhibition where Canadian artists were given the challenge of creating a garment out of recycled materials. There were some very unique and special pieces on show, including a dress made out of salmon skin! Initially I thought the Biosphere was where all the animals were and this is what I had intended to show my friends, but I mistook the sphere for the dome and took them to the wrong place! but anyway, I took them to the Biodome as well which was also very interesting. It is an animal sanctuary with lots of different 'habitats' set up. There are some very amazing animals on show, my favourite was the otters. I also got the honour of exploring a random mans house today. My friends Isk and Ellen are staying in a room in an art teachers apartment. They found the accomadation on a great website , I think it is a fantastic idea which gives travellers the opportunity to stay and experience civilian life in Montreal. So yes, I loved 'Ian the art teachers' house, it was very quirky, artistic and colourful.

Back to our show,
the intensity of 10 shows a week will begin to simmer down very soon, and our Saturday shows are starting a little earlier soon so we will be able to enjoy a Saturday night. It has been peculiar not having weekends. We finish work on Friday and Saturday night and see so many people out and about while we still have work, but then again, it feels nice to have Monday off while everybody else is having to work! It is really good if you want to go to places that are generally busy on weekend, as they are much  more quite on week days. Next week we have a 'double dark' which means we have two days of no shows. This is a great opportunity to fully rejuvenate, as one day off in between ten show weeks goes pretty dam fast! My lovely coach Stacy is beginning to face the challenge of moving out of her apartment and cottage and she invited us to come help her at her cottage. I enthusiastically volunteered and I am really looking forward to spending my double dark away from the city next week!

Tea at Babette cafe

The amazing Sakaino sisters

Montreal is like a different city when it is sunny! So much nicer.

My amazing physio, Myumi

Nap time..

Brunch at Old Hen

'Ian's house'

'Fashion for a New Era' exhibition 

Salmon skin dress

Pill bottle dress

Recycled book dress